Over the weekend

I wanted to share a few things from this weekend that made me especially happy!

We visited Atlanta China Town's Lunar New Year festival, and I painted my nails to match.  There were many folk dances we got to watch, and there was also this funny but endearing performance by old Chinese ladies.

I spent time Saturday night working on adding a drop-down menu to my blog (which you can see now!), and I'm really proud of it!  This is the tutorial I used, but I had to figure out a few things on my own with the CSS.

Caleb and I hit up Scott's Antique Market in Jonesboro to check out their custom furniture.  We're collecting ideas for a new desk and coffee table we now have money to afford!

I noticed some really cool street art near one of my favorite restaurants and got to take a picture of it later, which you now see here!

As part of our Valentine's Day celebration, we finished reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy together out loud, which I highly recommend for best friends.

I bought plane tickets to Norway!  Norwegian Air had some killer deals, and Caleb and I were able to snag 2 tickets from JFK to Oslo for around $605!  I'm super excited to get to see my parents this December!  Aaaah!!!

How was your weekend?  Did you do anything special to celebrate friendship or love?  I'd love to hear!

Recommended with Galentine's and Valentine's Day Weekend

This weekend, do something special for yourself, reach out to those you love, and eat something sweet and terrible for you, if you can.  Whether you're celebrating Galentine's, Valentine's, or just making it to another weekend, I hope you have a great time and that you feel important and loved, because you are!

Image by Christie Graham Photography via Verily Magazine

Links I'm loving this week...

This first link is the most important.  Make sure you prioritize what you love!

Watch strangers kiss while blindfolded!  I'm such a sucker for things like this, and moments end up being so incredibly tender.  (Think what you will, but it's a secret dream of mine to kiss a stranger.)

The most lovable basket of puppies you'll see all day.

What a pretty new idea for making valentines.

I love the soft, romantic look of this low chignon!

Check out these courting tips for men from the Victorian era.  "A man should never make a declaration [of love] in a jesting manner. It is most unfair to a lady. He has no right to trifle with her feelings for mere sport, nor has he a right to hide his own meaning under the guise of a jest." (1881)  Sounds like the 1800's wasn't such a bad time to be courting!

I just found out about The Bouqs, a company that will ship some of the loveliest bouquets.  They're so so pretty!

Actually Life Changing Products from last year

I came across a few new things last year that actually changed my life, and even though I'm not being paid for it, I wanted to tell you about them so they can change your life, too!

Saddleback leather

I've used cross-body purses for years, and for years they've been made of fake leather and they fall apart after months.  For my birthday last year, Caleb gave me a large cross-body purse made of real leather, and I'm still so excited to have it!

We read about Saddleback leather on Reddit's Buy it for Life forum.  Turns out the company has a very loyal following, and now I'm part of the fandom, too.  Their 100-year warranty is wonderful, reading through the funny blurbs in their FAQ section makes me laugh, and watching their video on how to knock off a saddleback bag just seals the deal of me being a lifelong groupie.

Squarecash

My coworkers told me about this super handy app when we were eating out together.  Instead of splitting the tab at the restaurant and giving the waiter three different credit cards to charge, we're able to put all the tab on one card and then pay each other back through the Squarecash app!

It sends money from debit card accounts to debit card accounts for free, and you can use a credit card, too, but you'll incur a 3% fee for using a credit card.  Debit's worked just fine for me, and it's been a real sanity saver for those group meals!

Garlic rocker

I'd seen this version of a garlic press online, and when I saw one at TJ Maxx, I decided to try it.  It's possibly the best impulse buy I've ever made.  The garlic rocker is faster than a garlic press, it's easier to get the garlic out of the tool, and it's easier to clean!  I feel like buying them for everyone in my life, because they've made mincing garlic so much easier in our home! 

Seche Vite top coat

This top coat is magic.  I've never seen a top coat dry so fast, and with how often I paint my nails, it's become a permanent fixture in my polish collection.  You can buy it at any drug store or beauty supply store, or online!

TMI BONUS LIFE-CHANGING PRODUCT MENTIONED BELOW!

Stop here if you don't want to read about feminine hygiene!  :)

Menstrual cup

After reading some raving reviews about menstrual cups from girls online, I did my own research and decided to buy myself a Lunette cup.  It took a while to get used to and to figure out how to use it properly, but I'm so glad I stuck with it.  I've already saved lots of money by not having to buy tampons and pads for a year, and I've saved time by not having to run to the store to buy those things and by not having to change the bathroom trash as often.  If you're interested in hearing more or if you have any questions, please let me know in the comments or in an email.  I'd love to share more, and I think everyone with a period should give a menstrual cup a try, but I'm just not sure how much people want to know.

Recommended with Shrimp and Grits

Last night was my second time making Epicurious' recipe for shrimp and grits, and man, is this stuff delicious.  There are a lot of variations used for shrimp and grits.  My mom used goat cheese, which added a tasty tartness to the dish.  Epicurious includes some peppers and canned tomatoes, which reminds me of Charleston's heavy use of tomatoes in their seafood dishes.  It also lets me feel just a little bit healthier eating this super comforting comfort foot.

When I make this recipe, I omit the bell pepper, Tabasco, and the garnishes, and I'll either include just a few chopped jalapeños or exclude them all together and let Caleb add in pickled jalapeños at the table.  Other areas for wiggle room are the kind of cheese you use or probably even the vegetables included in the shrimp side of the dish, but I would definitely recommend keeping the tomatoes involved, maybe just adjust how much or how little you include.  When I tasted the shrimp part of the dish last night, it tasted way too tomato-y to be a comfort food, but once paired with the smooth, creamy, and cheesy grits, everything mellowed out and the flavors complemented each other very well.

I'd also recommend getting the freshest shrimp you can.  I used some pre-cooked shrimp last night because I hate peeling and deveining, but the texture of the shrimp had clearly suffered from all the heating, freezing, and reheating it had gone through.

I hope you get the chance to try this recipe out, because the finished product is wonderful.  I'd recommend doing a proper mise en place and chop, grate, and prepare everything needed before getting started on the cooking, because the cooking ends up going pretty quickly.  You could have this meal all ready in roughly 20 minutes, and most of it will require your full attention during the process so grits don't get stuck to the pan and so butter doesn't burn.

Good luck and let me know how it goes!

Recommended with Borscht

I had the privilege of visiting Russia in the spring of 2005 for a missions trip.  I spent time at two orphanages and helped share the gospel and new hats and shoes with the kids.  While I was there, I tried hot tea for the first time.  Oh the memories!  They served it with sweetened condensed milk, so of course I loved it.  I also got to try borscht, a soup made with beets.  I really liked it, and when I was wanting to expand my cooking options this winter, I decided to try making a batch.

I blended together this recipe from Natasha's Kitchen and this recipe from All Recipes.  I'll often go off book when testing our a recipe, and thankfully, that worked out just find with this dish.  I ended up using three beets, some potatoes, cabbage (of course), carrots, oinion, and celery for my vegetables.  I didn't have any caraway seed, so I used fennel instead, which was fine.  I also did not use any ketchup, toamatos,  tomato paste, beans, or honey, and I used apple cider vinegar for my acid.

I loved my borscht!  The broth's flavor turned out just how I wanted it to!  The flavor of the beets came through really nicely, and I also liked how hearty the soup felt with all those vegetables in every bite.  I topped it with sour cream, but without it, the soup is very, very low fat.

I took some of my borscht to work, and I have a Russian friend there I asked to taste it.  He said that he'd recommend shredding the cabbage thinner, but other than that, he said it was good!  He also said that there' no such thing as traditional borscht, because every home makes it differently.  Let that be an encouragement if you're thinking about trying this recipe!  Feel free to adjust ingredients like I did or even bring in new ideas!  My mom made a version once that had very few vegetables and included mushrooms.  Let me know if you try it!

And now, recommended with borscht...

I love all of these tips from Design*Sponge for a happy home, but #4 (treat yourself like a guest) might be my favorites.

This dog is a prefect representation of how I am in my relationship with Caleb.  Haha!

And wow!  These dogs are so well behaved!

I had to recently take apart our bed and move our mattress to the floor.  Our box springs had become very squeaky, and I wasn't getting any sleep.  Now that we sleep with our mattress on the floor, I've been tempted to go all out Japanese design in our bedroom!

The most beautiful bra

Any Jessica Jones or Doctor Who fans out there?  This made me laugh.

Now that I'm older, out in the world, and no longer in college, I spend a lot of time with people who are different than me.  We make different decisions, and I know that I sometimes stand out because of how I live my life.  That's why I want everyone to read this post from Yes and Yes.

What Do You Wish You Could Make in the Kitchen?

Caleb and I cook a homemade fresh-from-scratch dinner almost every night.  We really enjoy cooking, but more importantly, we really enjoy eating good food.  Our mutual cooking journey has brought some really excellent meals to the table like sushi, chili burgers with homemade guacamole, chicken marsala, Indian chicken tikka masala, Japanese miso ramen, Korean bulgogi, and a Caribbean feast (see below!).  It's been a blast, and we've eaten so, so well.

I'm very lucky Caleb and I both like exploring food and building up our culinary repertoire so much.  We've cooked around the world a bit, and I've actually considered creating a serious challenge of cooking a dish from every country.  (How fun would that be?)  We're always looking to branch out more and find some delicious new thing to prepare.

To round our menu rotation more, Caleb's been working on his BBQ game, and has had some really great success baking BBQ in the oven, but he hopes to one day have a Big Green Egg grill so that he can get really serious.  That's his ultimate cooking goal these days.

I wish that I could whip up a mean, solid cheesecake.  I haven't tried it yet, but I've been collecting recipes, and I did get my parents' spring form pans so I'll have what I need when I'm ready to start testing.  I also wish I could make pho.  I tried last winter but ended up using too little water in my broth so the flavor was extremely salty and spiced.  The soup tasted so disgusting, we couldn't eat it!

I'd love to hear what your cooking goals are!  What do you wish you could make?  What are you working on now in the kitchen?  Please share in the comments!

Recommended with Art Angels by Grimes

My friend Brit recently recommended I check out the album Art Angels by Grimes because he heard I liked K-pop.  He gave me the caveat that "she makes some weird stuff, though.  Some really weird stuff."  The music wasn't as weird as I expected to be, but a lot of it is unusual.  I think that's one of the reasons I ended up enjoying the album so much, though.

Art Angels introduces you to a lot of different sounds. "Scream" is feminine, ferocious and dangerous.  "Flesh Without Blood" reminds me of Russian techno, actually.  "In the Belly of the Beat" is the one I'd recommend to everyone, because I think has a beauty that's easiest to appreciate.  Those three are my favorite songs from the album, but I've been listening to the whole album on repeat for half a week now.  You can listen to everything here on Spotify.  I'd love to hear your thoughts!

And while you're listening, check these out!

I'm definitely a dog person, but wow is this cat lovely.

Okay, not just on principle I need to give you a dog picture, too.  :)

I love wrapping up in cozy warm outer layers.  This sweater looks so comfy and chic!

Since I have a new terrarium (and since it needs new plants (RIP other plants)), I've started a terrarium board on Pinterest for pictures of and inspiration for the lush and fern-filled variety.  I'm a total beginner, and if you know of any other resources I should be checking out, please send them my way!

In case you didn't know, this is how you're supposed to tuck in your sheets.

One day I'm going to take on this challenge.

I have a feeling this phone could change lives.  I'm 100% serious.