Meatless Monday

Derek and I usually cook and eat a vegetarian meal at least one night per week, but its almost always pasta, potatoes, or pizza. I decided that it was time for us to diversify a little bit and try eating more plants in more exciting ways. I sent Derek several recipe options for him to review on his lunch break and I was very pleasantly surprised when he picked this one.

 

Curried Couscous with Broccoli and Feta

(For full recipe, click here)

That is not my dish. Mine wasn't quite that pretty. 

 

I enjoyed preparing this meal because it was very quick and I got to chop and shred ingredients, which I like to do. It's also one of those meals where proportion doesn't really matter. If you like feta, you can add more feta. If you don't like red onions, use less. After only 15 minutes in the kitchen, I had this.

 

 

I was really pleased with how it turned out. But I don't think it's fair for me to review something that I made since there is an obvious bias. Therefore, it is up to my dining partner to provide the review. He wishes to remain anonymous due to being embarrassed by his own finickiness and shall henceforth be referred to only as The Carnivore.

 

A surefire way to freak our your Carnivore is to whip out a small yellow legal pad while he tells you what he thinks of your cooking. 

The Carnivore's Likes

"It is colorful. It is flavorful. It is multitextured. It is healthy."

 

The Carnivore's Dislikes

"It's mostly just that I don't really like chickpeas. Or ginger. Or onions."

 

The Carnivore Would Recommend This Dish To

"Women. And people who live on the continent of Asia. West, East, Wherever. Including women."

The Carnivore Would Not Recommend This Dish To

"Carnivores: such as dogs, dinosaurs, and Dereks"

Overall, The Carnivore gave this dish 3 out of 5 T-Rexs

But at the end of the meal this is what his plate looked like, so that may be generous. (Just tilt your head to the left and the picture will make more sense)

And then he said, "Good thing I ate a big lunch," did the dishes and served himself an ample piece of meatless, chocolate pie.

Welcome to Our Living Room

I promised an update on our new little home and I've decided to post one room at a time. Partly because my life is a little slow right now and we need to spread out the excitement, and partly because that way I only have to tidy up one room to take pictures.

You know how it is.

We love our living room. It's got a ton of natural light, a big comfy couch, and it's where Maddie usually hangs out. So it's a pretty good place to be. I'm pleased with how it came together given that most of it is stuff we got for free or stuff we got at Big Lots. Side note: Big Lots became my favorite place this past year.

That rug was $18. How do they do it?

As soon as you walk in the front door, you'll see the door table. This is a hand-me-down from Emily's college apartment in Waco and it was also a well loved piece in my apartment in college. Now, it's where we put the mail and display some favorite engagement and wedding pictures.

This picture is a little low quality because I had flash issues. But I think you can tell that it is a very large and very purple couch, which is exactly why we love it. The whole time we lived in San Antonio, we had a daybed instead of a couch in our living room. It was not a good look, not comfortable at all and Derek loathed it. Purchasing a couch would've blown our decorating budget, so we are incredibly grateful for this gift from Derek's parents.

Thanks, guys. We love it!

Our living room has a huge picture window, which I think is a great feature. Maddie likes to sit over the back of the red chair and bark at people so I always leave the curtains parted a little bit.

 

Some wall art that is either carefully hung in a perfect artistic arrangement or hung to hide imperfections in the wall. You decide.

I built that lamp and that entertainment center. One project was more successful than the other, but you'll have to come over to see. 

And this is the little monster that lives between the couch cushions. Come over for a visit, if you dare.

 

Weaksauce

 

The table numbers from our wedding were one of my favorite details and I'm really glad that our photographer got a picture of one. Particularly this one.

My dear sister-in-law Sarah claims that Kerrs have a tendency to remember only the good things that happen to us and almost none of the bad. I think she is right and it is especially true for me. For four years Derek and I dated long distance but sometimes I forget that it ever happened. Being together and married just feels so right that it's hard for me to imagine that we did this differently. (Note: On second reading I remembered that the Birdsongs moved to Florida during our sophomore year of high school. So make that five years. Point proven.)

There was a time when Derek and I would go months without seeing each other. It was awful, but we made it through. We'd talk on the phone every night and send really silly gifts in the mail and drive and drive and drive. To this day, I'm not sure how we managed to do it. God was gracious to us.

Derek has been out of town for work for three days and it has really proven that I have turned into a major weakling since our college days. I let Maddie sleep in bed with me. I cried while watching HPATDH:P1 when Ron Weasley was talking about that little ball of light touching his heart. I totally invited myself over for dinner at my parents house because I was feeling lonely. Pathetic. My former self would be totally ashamed of me.

He gets back tomorrow and I can hardly wait.


Stay tuned for a post about our new house, by special request.