My Awesome Husband and His Awesome Birthday

Caleb's birthday is today!

My best friend of 4 years and my husband of 1, this man has had a huge impact on how I have grown, changed, and deepened in my adult life.  Fun fact: there were many times during our dating when I thought we could never be together forever because we are so different.  Most of our core values are the same, we both enjoy the outdoors, and we're both devout Christians, but beyond that, we're on opposite sides of the spectrum in many ways.  For example:

Caleb: "You don't know who Guns n' Roses is?"
Me: "Uh... should I?"
Caleb: "Oh my gosh, I give up."

Me: "Wait, how can you not appreciate The Avett Brothers?!"
Caleb: "Because their music is terrible."
Me: "You suck."

Good times.

Recommended with Twelve Angry Men

 Instead of a recipe, I have a movie recommendation for you.  Twelve Angry Men (1975).

A couple years ago, my parents forced my sister and I to watch this movie and To Kill a Mockingbird for education and character building purposes.  I really appreciate that they did that.  Both of those movies have stuck with me, but Twelve Angry Men did the most.  A few weeks ago, Caleb and I watched it together for his first time.

Yes, the movie is black and white.  Most of the story takes place in just one room.  No special effects.  What matters in this movie is the dialogue.  The audience is given a look into the hours 12 jurors spend debating over race, socioeconomic status, respect, perceptions, and truth.  It's a powerful movie.  When watching it for the second time, new things jumped out at me about how we interpret and express emotions and facts.  It was all very good to think over after watching Dear White People.  Our thoughts and words have so much power, and Twelve Angry Men sheds light on all of that.  If I have kids, I will undoubtedly force them to watch this when they're old enough.  I can't force you, of course, but I would say that this movie is required watching.

Twelve Angry Men is currently available on Netflix and YouTube and at many local libraries.

When you watch it, I'd love to hear what you think!

Holiday Shopping Inspiration: Gifts That Give Back

With Black Friday just around the corner and holiday shopping gearing up around the hemisphere, I wanted to share some causes I care about and great ways to support them while getting presents for family and friends!  

Internet friends IRL

I've been getting easily bored with the internet lately.  When Caleb and I get home, we'll make and eat dinner, throw the rope toy for Mako, then either watch tv or do our own stuff.  Caleb's been playing Destiny on the PS4 lately, and I'll usually head to my smart phone or laptop first, but there just doesn't seem to be much to keep my attention there.  It's not very fulfilling stuff, anyway, you know what I mean?  Writing and reading are good things, and hanging out in the blogosphere is something I enjoy, but once I've gone through everything new, I'm left feeling listless, and I close the computer.

Thankfully there is life to be had outside the internet!  Belly dancing classes, nail painting, chai recipe perfecting, puppy training, and now, meeting internet strangers in real life!

If you haven't struck up a conversation with a complete stranger recently, I highly recommend it.

Recommended with Crock Pot Chicken Tikka Masala

 I've got another winner to share with you all.
Crock pot Chicken Tikka Masala from the kitchn!

image by Emma Christensen via the kitchn

3 Reasons Why I Believe in Counseling (and why I think everyone should go)

I've been to counseling during two different points in my life when I was dealing with things that had gotten far out of my control.  The first time was in college when I had an uncontrollable sexual addiction.  The second time was this year when I felt like my marriage was a wreck.  Both times I met with female counselors who cared about me, who cared about my problems, and who were able to help.  Here's why.

image by colinlogan

A Proclamation a Poor Puppy!

Lindsay Eryn is now on Facebook!!  I bit the bullet and created a fan page for the Lindsay Eryn blog, so now you can connect and see all new posts in your newsfeed as their published!

And finally, my goofy dog can't catch!  Scroll down to watch the video laugh at him with me.  Poor lamb.

Recommended with Zuppa Toscana

Happy Soup Season, y'all!

I've had a love-hate relationship with soup for years.  There were some that I liked, some that I loved, and some that made me think I hated soups altogether.  I've been talking with Caleb to try and find soups that we both like.  We all know that when you make soup, there's going to be a lot of it, and it would take a long time to eat an entire pot on my own.  Roaming through Pinterest last week landed me on Annie's recipe for Zuppa Toscana of Olive Garden fame, and even though it was a soup we hadn't discussed, I decided to try it.  It has meat in it (which Caleb would approve of), it has kale in it (which I've been wanting to experiment with), and it looks creamy and hearty and just perfect for fall.

Guys.  Using this recipe was an excellent decision, my soup was better than what you'll get at Olive Garden, and I highly recommend it.  See my notes after the jump.

Free Haircuts in Atlanta!

I got a free haircut last Monday, and if you're in the Atlanta area, you can too!

Van Michael is a posh salon in Buckhead, and they offer stylist classes and continuing education courses.  The stylists taking these courses always need people to practice on and be tested on, and that's where I came in last week.  I connected with a girl named Victoria on the internet last week who told me she needed to complete a long layers cut to finish her course.  I've had that cut for years, and November is haircut month, so we quickly made an appointment, and I was in her chair the same day.

Recommended with Miso Ramen

Guys.  I made Japanese miso ramen two weeks ago, last night, and I'm making it again on Sunday because it is awesome.  I'm so glad I decided to make not just the ramen soup but also the shoyu eggs and chashu (pork belly) to go on top.  It brought the ramen from amazing to killer amazing.  So really, I have three recipes to share with you today.  Even if you don't have the pork belly, though, this stuff is so darn good, and there are plenty other creative toppings you can use!  Mung bean sprouts, seaweed, chili oil, carrots, etc.  I'd love to know what new things you come up with if you try it.

Sponsor Post: Paula Dorf 2+1 for Brows

Today we have our first little adventure in makeup together!  I had an opportunity to try out this brow kit from Paula Dorf, and I wanted to go for it.  Of course you might have already known this, but I've been learning more about makeup since August, and I found that lots of girls will fill in their brows if they have sparse spots (like me).  I wasn't sure if I wanted to make eyebrow coloring a part of my daily routine, but I did want to see what the difference would be for me, and Paula Dorf was kind enough to oblige.

I received my brow kit just yesterday and was able to try it out this morning.  Now I've only ever used one other brow product, ELF's brow kit with the floppy brush. That kit and my natural brows are all I have to compare to.  Without further ado, here we go!

5 Songs That Make Me Happy No Matter What

With the fall weather bringing in the bitter wind, it's much nicer staying indoors these days.  We just moved into an apartment with many large windows which let in the sun, and I love them.  When green and the warm sunshine take their winter break, it's easy for me to get into a funk.  I have a few ideas for staying positive and facing forward this season, and I think great music will be a big help.  I wanted to share some of my favorite fun songs, and I'd love to hear your recommendations, too!

5 Songs that make me happy no matter what: