Exploring: Curtis Arboretum

Just a few miles away from our apartment is the Curtis Arboretum.  We have been trying to explore public places in our new area so with this weekend's beautiful weather we decided to visit. Now I wasn't sure why it is called an arboretum and not a park so i looked it up (yay Wiki) and all arboretum means is a collection of trees. So yes, there were many trees on the grounds but i would probably just call this place a local park. The property used to belong to the weathly Philadelphia Curtis family and they built on the grounds a hall for musical performances as well as a little church. Today you can rent the hall for a small wedding or similar event. Here are some phone pictures from our walk as well as a little video.

While we were at the arboretum's pond we met this gentleman. This particular video is from a different day but was filmed at the same spot as we were. Bear with the shakiness at the beginning, it gets better.

This video is an example of why I always talk with strangers while out in public. You never know who you might meet or what the do for fun. We got his business card so we could look us his YouTube channel. This is also why Luke never talks with strangers.

I hope that you had a restful weekend and are ready for whatever this week may hold for you. Much love,

Naomi

A day at the shore

We now live close to the ocean!!! How great is that? Clearly my geography is less than stellar because our new proximity to the beach came as a surprise. When I found out that we could depart from our little nest at 9am and be snoozing in the sand by 11am a day trip was immediately planned.

Luke researched the best beaches as I packed our cooler for a lunch picnic. The next morning we departed for the Jersey Shore. After my watching a certain reality show about the shore, and Luke spending a summer living in the less-than-lovely Myrtle Beach, we wanted a calmer beach experience. Luke settled on Ocean City. It was close, had a large boardwalk and many beaches but due to the island's dry beverage restrictions  the crowd looked much more Snoopy than Snooki. Our beach day was just the relaxation that we needed before beginning school, work, and multiple trips to PennDot.

A welcome

My view for a few hours

This place was packed on a Thursday

The crowds thinned as we walked further south

Kites and kids

The houses were amazing! Anyone want to do a beach rental with us next summer?

After dinner walk before heading home

Driving across the George Washington bridge means we are arriving home in Philly

One Ingredient, Two Meals: Trader Joe's Roasted Red Pepper & Artichoke Tapenade

If you are anything like me, you buy a specialty sauce for a specific recipe and then the jar sits in the fridge until the next time you feel like making that same recipe. Since moving and setting up our kitchen again, I have been trying hard to be creative and use what we have in the fridge to create meals. On a recent trip to Trader Joe's I picked up this tapenade to eat on crackers.

It was so good that I knew I wanted to buy another to make meals with. Here are two recipes that I used the spread in and loved.

First up was a recipe from the Trader Joe's website called Some Enchanted Pizza. It is really quick and was a fast lunch for us. To make, heat the oven to 400 degrees, get two Trader Joe's Garlic Naan from the freezer, put on a pizza pan, and bake in the oven for about 5 minutes. After pulling them out, slather with the roasted red pepper tapenade, top with some chevre, and put back into the oven for 5 more minutes. Here is what mine looked like at this point:

Now you could stop here and have a great little meal like the Trader Joe's recipe but I love arugula and had some to use up so I added a handful of arugula on top of the pizza and it back in the oven for a few minutes to wilt slightly. We love these now for a quick lunch. 

For the second meal using the tapenade, I made a warm spinach salad with poached egg and bacon. I am slightly obsessed with warm spinach salads and this one is even Paleo for those of you eating that way if you use the right bacon. In this recipe the tapenade was substituted to make the dressing for the salad.

To make just follow THIS recipe from the lovely Ms. Martha but omit the 1/2 cup of vinegar. Instead of adding  the vinegar to the pan with the cooked shallots and bacon fat, substitute 1/3 cup of the red pepper tapenade and the juice of half a lemon. This recipe serves 4 so I  cut it in half for the Mr and I. It was such a good way to use up our Costco spinach box.  Give these recipes a try or at the very least eat the tapenade on some pita chips or crackers.

So...

Yikes, big blog break there. Sorry.

In other news, we moved!

From

via etsy

to

via etsy

in a big yellow truck.

Here, in a neighborhood just north of Philadelphia, we now live. Luke will be studying at Westminster Theological Seminary come fall. I will be working. Sitting in front of this keyboard, my fingers strain to transcribe the narrative of the last few months for you. To share all the iphone pictures. To fill you into our plans, hopes, and fears. Realistically though, it is not going to happen. It has been too much of a whirlwind, my memory is jumbled, and if I got started on my feelings this post would never end.

Moving forward, I am excited to share a bit of this life with you through glimpses into our meals, home, and explorations. Thanks for reading.

Naomi

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Be Kind

via Pinterest

Kindness. It's so simple. You probably learned about it very early in life and were taught to practice it often in your early school years. Somewhere along the path of life this life lesson was pushed deeper into the brain's storage unit as we learned about algebra, logic, and British literature. Free hours after school involved a part-time job, instant messaging, and desperately trying to be cool. Well kindness is not just for kindergartners. As a grown-up (mostly), being shown and showing kindness can be even more powerful.

This past Thursday, my husband and I were having an awful day. All morning we were fighting with each other. What about? To be honest I don't even remember the specifics . By mid-afternoon we were just plain tired and crabby. We decided to eat lunch at the Byerly's food court and then figure out what to do next. As we paid for our meals, the cashier struck up a conversation and commented that seeing us together made her day. She explained that she had been married for thirty years and her husband was always so busy working that they never ran errands or got to eat a lazy lunch together. Her husband died a few years ago and she encouraged us to cherish any time that we got to spend together. She said that seeing the love we had for each other made her heart happy (such a cute way to say it) and she felt encouraged for the next generation of marriages that we would focus less on money and more on quality time spent together.

Wow! Talk about feeling like a fraud. Here we were, crabby, and going out to get lunch in a tired act of defeat. To hear those kind words and encouragement changed both our moods and the course of our day. Over lunch we actually enjoyed each others company and talked about how blessed we were to be able to spend time together in the middle of a busy week.  Because of those kind words, we rented a Redbox dvd as we left Byery's and had a movie evening in bed. The course of the day changed because of a strangers kindness. It was the reality check we needed to focus on what was important. 

Today, be kind. Be loving. Encourage those you come in contact with, especially in the daily mundane places like a grocery store.

curried shrimp over Israeli couscous with mango salsa

This winter has felt a little dull here in Minnesota. Yes, I really am grateful for the warmer than usual weather we have had but lately it has just felt wet and gray. Things just need a little zip or something.

When I am restless with the season I find it reflected in my cooking. On the hottest day of this summer, I made a roast in the oven for the first time. Around the end of August when I was looking forward to fall, I began baking everything with pumpkin added in. Today I must have been craving a tropical spring break because all I wanted to eat was mango salsa so i knew I had to figure out a meal to satisfy my cravings. However seasonally askew the ingredients for this meal were, let me tell you that the results were spot-on. Even my husband, who is wary of anything even remotely Indian flavored, declared this dish to be one of his favorite meals that I have ever cooked. The reason that I think this dish "works", is that the Israeli couscous is creamy and mellow, the shrimp hot and slightly curried, and the salsa served on top is cold, crunch, and tangy. If this meal were viewed as a relationship, it would be a case of opposites attracting. So here you go friends and make this meal if you wish. It sure is cheaper than a flight to the tropics this time of year.

Curried Shrimp over Israeli Couscous with Mango Salsa

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 lb medium to large shrimp

2 cups uncooked Israeli couscous

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

one handful of fresh spinach

1/2 lemon, juiced

1 lime, juiced

1 1/2 tsp curry powder

2 Tbs olive oil

2 mangoes, cut and cubed

1/4 cup finely diced red onion

1/2 red pepper, chopped

1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro

1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced

salt

red pepper flakes

Directions:

Salsa- Combine the cubed mango pieces in a bowl with the diced onions, chopped cilantro, red pepper and jalapeno. Cover the ingredients with the juice of a lime. Salt and red pepper the salsa to taste.

Israeli Couscous- This stuff is so fun. The little balls are chewy and it doesn't clump like traditional couscous does. I get it at Cub or Byerlys in the Jewish foods section, Trader Joes might have it but I am not sure. Bring the chicken broth to a boil in a pot. Add the couscous to the broth, cover and simmer on low for 8-10 minutes. During the last 2 minutes of cooking time, I add a handful of roughly torn or quickly chopped baby spinach leaves to the pot to increase the nutrition content of the meal a tad. This is also when I add the lemon juice.

Shrimp- Dry your shrimp with a paper towel. Put the shrimp into a bowl and cover with the olive oil and curry powder. Add a sprinkling of red pepper flakes if you want a little spice and then mix gently with a spoon or your hands. Heat a large frying pan to medium-high heat and cook the shrimp for 2-3 minutes per side depending on their size.

To plate this meal I spooned the couscous onto a dinner plate, followed by the shrimp, and finally topped with the mango salsa. Making the salsa is the most time intensive part of this meal due to the chopping but it really only takes 10 minutes or less to make. If the salsa is made in advance you can get dinner on the table in 15 minutes. Thanks to Luke's approval this will be on frequent rotation in our little household. 

Wedding Inspiration

I have spent a considerable amount of time looking at beautiful wedding images lately. No, we are not looking into getting married again or a vow renewal ceremony. I need to wait until we are married at least two years before doing that :) Let me just say though that I am really glad there was no Pinterest before we got hitched. I can't image how overwhelming it would have been to try to sort through all the amazing wedding ideas on that site. The reason for my renewed interest in weddings is that I am helping a beautiful bride-to-be style her wedding. She picked a fun vintage theme and here are some of the pictures we have come up with for inspiration:

Here I arranged some of the stuff we have so far to have an idea of how it is looking.

I am not gonna lie, I love it so far! Working on a wedding that is not our own is so much more fun than designing ours was. It must be when it is your own wedding, you are dealing with all the others stresses that engagement brings and you are too close to the subject. Whatever the reason may be, I am really excited to show you how this all turns out in less than a month. Happy Monday friends!

Being Known

Being known and loved is one of the best feelings that we as humans can experience in this life. I listened to a sermon once about how the desire to be known, or understood, affects all our relationships. It is such a powerful force because we were created to be fully know by one person, God, and while knowing us completely He loves us deeply . How amazing is that?

I think that is why feeling known, or understood, by those we have relationships with is so powerful. We were created with this desire and relationships here are just a shadow of what is to come. That thought really struck me after Christmas this year. Why? Well... I really loved the gifts I received for Christmas. They made me so happy! As materialistic as that sounded to me at first, the gifts' impact came from the loved ones who gave them. They were so thoughtful in picking out presents and their gifts reflected my needs, desires, and interests. My gifts allowed me to create a cleaner home with fewer chemicals (Norwex products), provided fun date nights for my husband and I, cultivated my love of cooking and reading, and provided a whole lot of good visual design. Wow! I really felt that my loved ones understood me and loved me. That is the reason we give gifts. So here is a big virtual thank you to all of you, I am so blessed by the people in my life. One goal of mine this year is to better show love to the people in my life. What inspires you in gift giving? Sorry this Christmas inspired post is so late.

Just a little visual of some of the awesome gifts I received. Thanks!