Seedy little things

My tomatoes and cucumbers finally hit 4 inches so they just underwent their first transplant.  My little apartment dwellers are thriving and I finally have strawberry seedlings peeking through!  Now I'm waiting for my basil to get a little taller and my new seeds to sprout.  Nothing makes you appreciate life like watching it grow.

Sotd: Best of You

SONG OF THE DAY

"Were you born to resist or be abused?"

"with lots of chevron and mint accents"

My blog is for me.  It is my sacred place for dumping any and everything I have in my brain at the end of a very tiring day.  Some days I don't want to blog, some days I really do and I get so tangled in the blogosphere of all the other perfectly designed, hip, trendy, money-making, perfect-life-crafting blogs out there that I feel "why bother?" then I remember that no matter how hard I try, how still I hold my camera, how hipster my font is, I will never be them, just as easily as they will never be me.  I love my life and I want to share it with those that love me.  Which is why my nearest and dearest know where to find my blog, along with a few wayward readers who found there way here via my wedding photos on Pinterest (hello!).  

About a month ago I deleted my Facebook, a week after that I "fasted" from Instagram.  The main reason for this is that I am facing big changes in my life and I needed as much good karma as possible, whereas these social networks that were created in order to make friendships easily sustainable have instead become a breeding ground for a host of bad thoughts, jealousy and judgment against the people we call our "friends".  We want to show everyone what we ate, what we bought, what we got, where we're going, who we're with and rarely done in the spirit of sharing and more brought on by "so and so was doing such and such, I need to do something too".  I found myself going on several times a day only to roll my eyes at someone's typo's or scoff at the amount of over-compensatory hashtagging because they #dontneedaman and are #aboutthatlife when you know personally that they are #lonely and just #needahug or you see the back and forth one-up of "frenemies".  

My husband shared THIS AWESOME article with me and it took the words right out of my mouth.  We were both community development majors who had had the importance of strong community ties beaten into us regularly.  These social networks are tools and are very useful when they are legitimately used to stay in touch with old friends and family, but when 1/4 of your friends are people you went to high school with but never talked to but you're friends because one of you just wanted to see how they turned out it's disingenuous and while it may not be affecting you they may see the highlights of your life and comparing it to their everyday life and naturally thinking they're falling short.  

I don't know if it's the fact that I'm so far away from my real friends or that I'm just getting older and willing to withstand much less bullshit, but I have come to the realization that those whom I love and hold dear get pictures sent to them directly, when something exciting happens I tell them before I tell all of facebook.  As of now I don't have a Facebook or an Instagram, I have a Pinterest which I use only when I have something specific I'm looking for.  It's time I got rooted and by clearing out the overbearing shrubs whom I allowed to suck up all my sunlight I am now more confident than ever that I will grow in the way that God has intended and be a much happier, gracious and genuine being.

Sotd: Sweater Weather

Song of the Day

Some days a song will be playing that just strikes the right chord. 

Lentille Verte du Puy...oh you fancy huh

As a francophile and a lover of lentils I came across the lentilles du puy in a the bulk bin, did a little research and found that they are a sturdier than regular green or brown lentils and grown in volcanic soil (a little more about these beauties here.)  So I thought they would be perfect to cure my lentils craving.  I normally make a dish called Mujaddara which is an Arab lentil dish served with rice, caramelized onions and Arab salad.  This is one of my favorite dishes to make especially when I'm homesick and miss my Dad's cooking but the lentils and rice can be very heavy.  I decided to make the lentils as I would the Mujaddara but skip the rice and mix in the salad.

What I used:
For Lentils
1 c. lentilles du puy (any other lentils will work but require a little more cooking time)
2 c. water or chicken broth
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. salt
1 bay leaf
3 small onions
olive oil

1. Sort and rinse your lentils, make sure there aren't any rocks or debris in it
2. Soak them for about an hour beforehand but if you don't have time to soak just extend your cooking time and water amount
3. Boil 2 cups of water, add lentils and return to boil
4. Add bay leaf, salt and cumin, boil for 10 minutes then cover and turn down the heat to low for 30 minutes

>>Carmelizing Onions
Slice 3 onions and place in a heavy bottom pan with enough olive oil to lightly coat the bottom.  Cook on medium high and stir frequently to prevent onions from sticking and drying out.  If you find onions drying out and small amounts of water to deglaze the pan. You'll use these onions to either place on top of the lentils or mix into lentils.

***everyone's methods, tastes and equipment vary so watch your food closely and follow your instincts

For Salad
1 cucumber
4 roma tomatoes
1 bunch of parsley
1/2 fresh jalapeno (optional)
juice of 1 small lemon
1 tsp. salt
1/4 c. olive oil

1. Finely chop parsley
2. Cube tomatoes and cucumber
3. Add oil, salt and lemon juice
4. Mix thoroughly and refrigerate until ready

Things to make: out, love, life

Forgive the lovey-dovey, possibly over-share that is this post but I'm filled with alot of love today and was remembering how this perfect man came into my life and I thought I'd better write it down while it's fresh.

I have known my husband since I was 18.  I met him through a mutual best friend.  I thought at the time that he was much older than me because he was very calm and very sure of himself, which is something you don't typically see in a 20 year old manchild.  I would see him every now and then at hangouts or events and he always had girls around him, laughing at what he was saying or listening to him play the guitar or watching him crochet (dreamy right?).  I was not the cutest thing at the time, not very sure of myself and going through the typical high school life crisis.  A few years later I began going to a new Starbucks to study and he was a barista there.  At the time the surfer look was very much in and he had the long wavy black hair with the side burns and he appealed to every part of me that was obsessed with The OC.  He would take his breaks and come sit at the table with me, give me free drinks and pastries and tell me about his girlfriend and how things were a little rough, I was also in a relationship so I just assumed he was venting to a non-threatening third party and never thought more of it.  Sadly one day I showed up at Starbucks and didn't see his forest green stickered up '95 Pathfinder in the lot.  I asked the other baristas where he was and they said he got transferred because he was starting school in Davis.  So a whole year passed without seeing his beautiful face and then fate intervened.  I ended up going to Davis and moving out there knowing very few people.  I had lost touch with my best friend that had introduced me and Dan in the beginning and luckily he too was at Davis, so I reached out to him and rekindled our friendship which led me to inquire "so what's Dan been up to?"  turned out we were in the same major, so I looked him up on facebook and asked about the classes he was taking.  He was kind enough to meet me in the quad one day to bring me his old textbooks.  So this wasn't the moment I fell in love but it was when I realized I had a chance.  I was sitting on a bench looking around waiting for him and then I saw him across the way on his skateboard weaving through people and I was once again all about him.  He sat with me on the bench and we talked and joked for about an hour before I had to go to class, he didn't seem to want to leave which to me was AWESOOOOOME.  The following quarter to  my unbelievable luck, we had a class together.  We were sorta awkward at first, thinking it too forward to save each other seats but eventually we warmed up.  When one of us would miss class we'd text the other.  We had a discussions class where we both got in trouble for signing the other person in when they were absent.  It was a genuine friendship budding and every now and then I'd sneak in a  "head on the shoulder" or a knee-to-knee graze but I couldn't figure out if he liked me or was just nice.  One class we were discussing how my hair was too big to fit in any hats, he invited me over to measure my head and pick some yarn and he'd make one for me.  I was a little ehhhh because that just sounds like a sex trap, right?  But it wasn't, it was me and this dreamboat sitting in his room, crocheting and listening to music.  My husband is a Baha'i and I've known many guys in college who say they are strong in their beliefs and then turn around and do some heinous stuff.  Not this guy.  He was so rooted in his morals and in his faith, he couldn't have been more of a gentleman if he tried.  For the remainder of the quarter Dan would walk me out of class everyday and sit with me at the bus stop until my boss came and then he'd walk home.  Some days we'd stay there until the last bus came just so we could talk.  For whatever reason when the quarter ended so did this little love affair.  I didn't want to be pushy or look desperate so I didn't reach out to him and he was thinking the same.  The following quarter around midterms time I was about to sit down for my test when I realized I didn't have a scantron.  I took off for the student store and while I'm panting and panicking speed-walking there I see this tall, tan, deep v-neck, beanie wearing piece of art walking by eating pizza.  Having forgotten all about my test I stopped and hugged him.  I made fun of him for his shirt being so low (and so hot) and asked him why he was such a bad friend for not keeping in touch to which he asked the same.  I told him that if I did good on my test I'd take him out for being my good luck charm.  After bombing my test I texted him and asked if he'd like to hang out after school that Thursday.  This is when my life changed.  

We met at the bus stop after school and he wanted to take me to this frozen yogurt place I'd never been to right off campus, we walked there and hung out out front for a while talking.  He then wanted to show me the schools arboretum after I told him how much I loved trees.  We walked there and found a picnic table nestled in the woods and sat there joking about all the graffiti on it.  We talked on this bench for hours, starting sitting across from each other and ending with my head resting on his knee.  We talked about everything we could think of and eventually how I had just started eating fish and love fish tacos.  He said he knew where the best ones were and took me to the restaurant (where he later gathered all our friends and family for a surprise proposal).  The tacos were not the best, but as soon as his debit card came out I realized that this went from a hangout to a date and I couldn't believe my life.  After dinner we went back to his apartment where our friends were and watched The Office which we continued to do every Thursday until we were engaged (and Michael Scott left).  We had a few more "real" dates after that before he gave me a rose down on one knee and asked me to be his gf (which he re-created when asking me to be his wife).  

All of this came to me as he was leaving the house this morning.  We still make-out like we're dating, it doesn't have to lead to anything, it just is what it is.  We want to kiss as long and as much as possible to make up for all the time we missed.  I'm so lucky to be able to love and be loved by the man of my dreams.

Brownie S'more Pie

On Easter morning I was up way too early shopping for food to make for dinner.  I've never been much of a dessert person and I was not too long ago a disaster in the baking world, I couldn't make a box cake to save my life.  One day I woke up and decided I wouldn't accept this weakness and took a few classes, fine tuned my skills and started a little cupcake business out of my home which didn't do too bad.  ANYWAYS, I didn't want to make cakes or cupcakes for dessert because Dan has had more than his fair share of these the last few years so I thought I'd get inventive.  I couldn't decide if I wanted to make a pie or brownies so I grabbed:
1 chocolate graham cracker pie crust
1 bag of mini chocolate chips
1 bag of mini marshmallows 
1 box of fudge brownie mix

I made the brownie mix according to the recipe on the box, added 1 c. of mini chips and poured it into the crust.  There's too much mix for just the crust so I poured the rest into a baking dish.  Once the brownie was done baking, which took longer with it in the crust, I took it out and immediately covered it in marshmallows.  They all melted together and made a sticky shell on top and it was AMAZINGLY delicious.  I don't usually make things like this but man did I feel like one happy child eating it.  It was messy to cut but so good the next few days with coffee at night.