Switching things up

David and I both love to cook and we adore having a kitchen where we can comfortably cook together now. The problem is we sometimes get stuck in the rut of cooking the same dishes over and over again. In an attempt to switch things up, we decided to very simply make a Monday-Saturday loose menu so we can start planning meals a little earlier. Here's the breakdown:
Mondays are going to be vegan/raw. Tonight I am making raw zucchini pasta with walnut pesto.
Tuesdays  are going to be a mix of what's seasonal, combined with American dishes.
Wednesdays we are going to experiment with making a different ethnic dish each week. Last week David made Indian food and I'm so happy we're starting to attempt more exotic ethnic dishes at home, rather than just go out for dinner. Thursdays we will incorporate seafood. When we moved to Oregon I began eating seafood again since it so regional and fresh. Friday is our homemade pizza night. David's gotten really good at making dough and we love making different varieties of pizzas. Last friday he made a WONDERFUL mexican pizza with blackbeans, tomatoes and lots of yummy cilantro. Saturdays are going to be our special dinner nights. David will be splurging on some sort of meat and I'll either be having some sort of yummy substitute: seitan, tempeh, or maybe even seafood. Sundays we will either be using up leftovers from the week, or maybe making one of my big pots of homemade soup. I love making a big pot of cabbage soup, spanish garlic soup, or potato soup and having leftovers for the week. I am really excited to structure our meals more. I think it will be so much easier to plan now at the farmers markets and grocery stores, AND it will be a good way for us to add more variety. How do you like to plan your weeks meals?

This Will Destroy You

I could listen to this allllll dayyyyyy longgggggg

yum.

Hello Lovely

 After receiving a very generous gift card, i just couldn't wait to head down the street to Anthropologie... the guiltiest of all pleasures. They have the most lovely things. I decided to try and be practical and get some comfy shoes. These do not disappoint... and they are CUTE! I think I'm smitten... and they are MY color! Woot http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=20995395&catId=SHOES-FLATS&pushId=SHOES-FLATS&popId=SHOESBAGS&navAction=top&navCount=366&color=040&isProduct=true&fromCategoryPage=true&templateType=D&tabStyle=Info

Pixie Project

If you are in the market for a pet and happen to live in the Portland, Oregon area, I cannot stress enough how wonderful PixieProject.org is! They a non-profit, no-kill facility, that offers a really fresh approach to pet adoption. They were warm and friendly and super helpful and made sure we went home with the right animal for us. We are so very happy to a pet again.

This is Miss Gypsy Rosalee Sloan. She's a 1.5yr old cat. She was a young momma. She was brought into the shelter and then had three babies... they were all adopted quickly but she wasn't. When we went in we immediately fell in love with her, she's little and pretty and quiet and has such a sweet disposition. She likes her belly rubbed and being held. What a wonderful little cat. So happy with our choice and for Pixie Project being so great!

Friday Night Dinner

Yum Yum Yum!

Made wonderful yam, white bean and cilantro salad and quinoa burgers topped with olives, pickles and blue cheese. FANTASTIC! Happy Friday. What's your favorite Friday night meal?

and this is what happens

when i try to grow things.... poor poor cilantro.

comme-ci, comme-ça, pretty much

i love new york... but lots of the same things i love love love about new york... i don't love so much. i love the people and the size and the culture and the craziness and the neighborhoods, and and and....

i don't love not being able to get to see those people and places and things as easily as i wish i could. you know what i mean? like sometimes it takes hours to get from one neighborhood to another and a train could be down or a bus just decides to stop or it's freakishly hot and the concrete emanates more heat and then you just want to lie in your bathtub in cold water.... but you probably don't have a bathtub because your bathrooms too small for a bathtub and then if you do have a bathtub you share it with four roommates...

sound familiar?

i do miss things about new york... especially friends and culture. but most days it still feels a little 'meh to me. i'm happy to be in portland but mannnn do i wanna meet some more folks and man do i hope there is more culture than what i see so far.

anyways, it's pretty lovely to be here with my best friend and husband in a rad apartment that we love... where i can take a bath if i want.

and when i think of nyc, i still think for now we've made the right decision.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0811874567/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=acoj-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0811874567