Changes Big and Small

I haven't talked about deeper things in a while, so I want to bring you up to date on our lives.

Small changes:

Starting with the small things, I did get a smartphone, I've made my first curry, and Caleb is the official leader in our Bible study.  The group is made of young professionals and adults our parents age.  Caleb is the young professional leader, and he's been doing a great job.  Also, I've brought in another plant that sits on our kitchen table, and I have a philodendron along with my spider plant in my office.

See more after the jump...

Recommended with Crockpot Butter Chicken Curry

Another one from Damn Delicious, butter chicken curry from a crock pot!
We have a new favorite in our house!  My first time cooking curry, my first time carting the crockpot to work so I could have the food cooking for only 5 hours, and Caleb's first time trying the dish.  Guys, the hard work and bravery were worth it.  We give this one 5 our of 5 stars.

It took a while to gather all of the different ingredients, we haven't had any need for masala before, but I'm glad I made the effort.  This hearty, filling dish made for a meal almost by itself.  I'm used to scooping up curry with naan (we used flat bread when we tried it at home), but Caleb had no problem just digging in with a spoon.

Creamy, healthy, and delicious, I can't wait to try this again!  I want to experiment with the spice proportions, and I want to see if I prefer the curry thick or thin.  I added in more flour after cooking the curry so that it would be thick this time.  Also, I am very tempted to try making naan at home, but I haven't done bread before, so I'm a bit nervous.

Let me know if you try this recipe!  Eventually I want to test out this other recipe for butter chicken, too.  I'm waiting because I know it will take a lot more time (no crockpot for this recipe), and saffron is expensive, but I'll let you know when I get around to it!

via Damn Delicious

Recommended with Crockpot Butter Chicken Curry... 

Recommended, Introducing Recommended Recipes (Red Bell Pepper Alfredo)

I really like the idea of giving recommendations, not just for links to look at, but for real life things to try.  Caleb and I have started a challenge to see who can come up with the best dishes, so we have a lot of recipes flying around these days.  I want to share our favorites with you!

I recently tried this roasted red bell pepper alfredo from Damn Delicious, and it was a hit with Caleb.  I think I had too little pasta to go with the sauce, but having extra sauce was nice for dipping bread in.  This is a hearty recipe that I would recommend for a cool day.  The sauce, though it includes goat cheese, was mild, not sour like I expected.  The flavor of the red bell peppers cut through, but it's a gentle flavor, I think.  If you try it, let me know how it turns out!

via Damn Delicious

Recommended with Red Bell Pepper Alfredo...

The Hunger Games

I know I'm behind the times, but I just finished reading The Hunger Games series, and I want to talk about it.

Guys.  Woah.

But let me go back to the beginning.

Using a Nail Pen (and other nail art adventures)

It started right before Korea.  I saw that sea foam color everyone was wearing in the spring of 2011, and then I saw a deep, dark teal that I wanted, and then I had to have a bright, happy yellow.  Then, I moved to Korea where nail polishes are a dime a dozen and where every girl has her nails done 24/7.  Inspiration overload, I'm telling you.  I bought so many colors, made so many nail art friends, and here I am today.

My nail art tool du jour is this nail pen.  I bought it from CVS, and it's been clutch in two of my favorite designs I've done.  You have to be careful when you use it, because drawing on polish that isn't dry will cause the pen to sink in and drag grooves into the polish.  When drawing, I'll lightly dot along where I want the line, then go back and fill it in more.  It takes some time, but I got better with practice, and I got to make pretty patterns like these!

I've probably watched 7 Bollywood movies in the last month and a half.  Inspired by henna, I made these!
:  Wear red by Pure ICE  :

How We Threw a Japanese Dinner Party (with tips!)

We had some of our old friends over for dinner last month.  We don't get to see them very often since moving to the city, and we were excited to spend time with them.  I was also excited to have the chance to wow them with a fancy made-from--scratch meal.  Having recently taken a sushi class, Japanese was the most impressive thing Caleb and I could feasibly pull together, so that was our choice.  Pride cometh before the fall, my friends.  This Japanese dinner party became much more of an ordeal than I'd originally expected, and it had me mega stressed, especially when I couldn't find the resources I was hoping for.  What's amazing, though, is that not only did we totally pull it off, but all of the worry and frantic rushing was kept behind the curtains while our guests were only aware of a kick ass dinner!  Mission accomplished!

Now I admit that this exposition is long winded, but you know how I need to be thorough.  Also, I wish that I'd had something like this when I was looking for tips.  By the way, if you have any questions or more ideas, please share in the comments! 

Here's what we did!