Nature's Candy

My hubster and I have never had beets as the centerpiece of any dish. I only have two references in my memory. One is seeing them all mushy in salads and looking like pieces of canned cranberry sauce. The other is Skeeter telling Doug that they're nature's candy. When I saw them at farmers market, I was hesitant to try them until I asked a friend how to cook them. Her recipe was simple, so I went for it. The outcome? Well, it's a texture we'll have to get used to. They definitely taste like a healthy root vegetable. They're like a cross between a carrot and potato. In theory, it sounds lovely. However, we're not quite used to it yet.

Petite Lap Giraffe

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Throwback Tuesday: So Into You - Tamia

Hiking & Beach Hunting

Inspired By: Dr. Gary Greenberg

Pineberry

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 Pineberries - Strawberry shape and texture but with the smell and flavor of a pineapple. 

Like a Wedding

After watching way too many episodes of Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?, I'm coming to realize that getting my classroom together is just like wedding planning. I need to choose a theme, colors and decorations. Instead of floral displays, I need to decide how to organize pencils, post-its and erasers on tables. I need to stay organized and collected. Not feel overwhelmed and definitely not procrastinate. Here are some elements that I would love to incorporate: 

 

My Kind of Party

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Rome -> Athens- > Istanbul?

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Hubster: You know what sounds good?
Me: What?
Hubster: Turkey?
Me: For dinner?
Hubster: No. Like Istanbul, Turkey. 
Me: Oh! For vacation. Why?
Hubster: I got an email at work from a guy that lives in Istanbul. 

Of course, my heart totally skipped a beat. I've been eying Istanbul ever since I took my introduce to architecture course my freshman year at Poly. Of course, we watched the Istanbul Anthony Bourdain episode. I had to see what we could eat before we started to figure out the logistics. Mmmm...lamb, kabobs, cheese, olives and coffee. Yum!  

Small Things

I love that he calls me on his way home from work when I don't carpool with him even if it interrupts my afternoon nap.

Brilliant!

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Throwback Tuesday: Nothing Fails - Madonna

Country

Life is Wonderful

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I'm gradually learning to fully appreciate all the different shapes that life assumes. I love hearing the stories of our friend who lives in New York and is getting her Ph.D. She loves watching my hubster and I lovingly joke with each other. I adore spending time with our other couple friend and they're three beautiful children. Their sweetness for one another is exactly what I imagine having our own little family will be like. Then, there are my friends who are world travelers. Their adventures remind me that a part of my heart will always want to wander the world. All of our lives intersecting with one another, how marvelous! 

Vegas, You're So Fancy Now

Catch Up: Farmer's Market

My FiL and I have totally bonded over our love of photography. When we spend sometime with my hubster's family, my FiL always tries to squeeze in a photo field trip. This time, we made it simple and went to the Farmer's Market. The colors were vibrant and enticing. Unfortunately, we got there a bit late, so it was very crowded. Barely, any elbow room to squeeze in the photos that I managed to take. The light was also too intense. I'm happy that I did get to snap a few photos.

Gold Star

(I'm sitting on a picnic blanket in the middle of our garage surrounded by boxes of teacher stuff.) 

Hubster: How did you get that gold star?
Me: The one on my shirt?
Hubster: Yea. 
Me: I gave it to myself for a job well done. 
Hubster: (laughs) You should put that as your Facebook status. 

Loving that conversation for so many reasons. A) He's not one bit shocked that I gave myself a gold star. B) He indulges my love of publishing the silliness in my life. 

Throwback Tuesday: Tribute to the Killers Mr. Brightside - The String Quartet

To Be Young & Carefree

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It's rare that we do something without putting much thought into it. My hubster and I are those detail oriented friends with the mental checklist and a paper checklist. Yesterday, we woke up after a ridiculously long afternoon nap to find that it was 7 o'clock. We had wanted to squeeze one scooter ride into our busy weekend. Impulsively, we hopped on wearing shorts and thin long sleeves for a short ride. There's nothing like watching the sunset in the country while riding a scooter and having goosebumps on your legs.

Catch Up: Planting

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One of my all time favorite things is hearing people share their memories about our wedding. I've previously mentioned David's love of pulled pork sandwiches. Last Sunday, my hubster's friend, Ruka shared that she remembered we loved planting things. Why? Well, she remembered our favors. We gave away little terracotta pots with packets of potting soil and basil seeds. She even planted our seeds. The story gets better. She even got little seedlings to grow!

Throwback Tuesday: Just A Gril - No Doubt

Too Cool

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Little Photographer

This past Sunday, my hubster and I went to Jon and Jen's wedding and had a wonderful time! During the reception, we got to sit next to the most adorable two year old. He spotted by camera then asked if he could take a picture. What did I say? Of course! There wasn't any hesitation even though it was my SLR that he had his eye on. Here are his photos.