Cookin'

Since being married I have come to love cooking and trying out new types of food. One style of cooking I have ALWAYS wanted to try was Indian. I've just always found most recipes daunting...huge lists of ingredients, hours of simmering sauces, and complicated ways of cooking meat. I finally tried my hand at making Chicken Tikka Masala. It was fantastic. It did require a lot of ingredients, time, and dishes; but it was SO worth it! Now I am just looking for an excuse to make it again.

Most recently I tried making Saag Paneer. I had more confidence after trying the Tikka Masala, but still the process of making my own paneer (a simple indian cheese) was intimidating. I was shocked when I had finished. Not only was the paneer fairly simple to make, I actually had a lot of fun doing it! I decided to document the process:

Separating the curds from the whey

Finished cheese!

Choppin' the cheese

The Saag simmering

On a boat in Annapolis

My family owns a sailboat in Annapolis and I have to say that some of the best 4th of July fireworks I have seen have been from that boat. There is just something about seeing the explosions reflected in the water that makes them look that much cooler.

We started out the trip at around 2pm by motoring out to where the fireworks would be set off. We got out the raft and took turns being dragged behind the boat...very fun. We ate dinner, read a book, played Who Wants to be a Millionaire on Keith's phone, and really just relaxed...cause that's what you do on a sailboat.

By 9:10pm the fireworks started, and I don't know if it was just me, but the show seemed to last much longer than in years past. I'm not complaining. It was great!

What made the whole trip even better is that I didn't get even a slight sunburn. I've gotta say; that's quite an accomplishment for me. Thank you spray-on sunblock! I'll never go back to lotion again.

Brett about to jump onto the raft from the sailboat.

Enjoying the view.

Tots is a creep.

Boats gathering for the show.

See what I mean about the reflection???

West Virginia, Mountain Mama

For our First year Anniversary (May 8th), Brett and I decided we wanted to celebrate by going out to the country and spending a relaxing weekend away. So we decided West Virginia was the way to go! We stayed at the Hillbrook Inn in Charlestown and really enjoyed it. With a King sized bed, large jetted tub, delicious breakfasts in the mornings, unbelievable views, and free sparkling cider; you really can't go wrong. It was absolutely in the middle of nowhere and surrounded by trees and streams...and deer and bunnies and geese. We went out to Harpers Ferry and wandered around for a bit then went to Shepherdstown. While in Shepherdstown one of the more exciting things we did was go to a flea market. Neither one of us had ever been to one before, so it was an exciting outing for us (we ended up bringing home a few fun finds). Recently we have also gone on a reading binge (we do that every so often) and read quite a bit in front of our little fire place. This time it was with Agatha Christie. Nothing like reading a good murder mystery in middle-of-nowhere West Virginia!

View of the Inn from our cottage.

Our little cottage.

Our room.

Brett looking sophisticated by the fireplace.

Harpers Ferry.

As a combined Mother's Day (no, I'm not a mother or soon-to-be mother yet, but still we celebrated) Brett made me breakfast in bed and had some flowers delivered.

Brett's delicious pancakes. Tasted even better eating them in bed.

The lovely bouquet brought to my door.

Happy Easter!!

I love everything about Easter. The festivities, the season, the food, and the purpose behind all of it--to celebrate our salvation though our Savior.

This year (Brett and I's first Easter as a married couple) we decided to start our celebrations with some Easter egg dying with Andrew and Emma. Here are some of our lovely creations:

Brett and Andrew set everything up for us.

pickle egg.

maleesha (I know it looks like it just says male, but it is in fact maleesha)

concentration.

Brett...what an artiste!

some of our finished products.

some of our favorites.

A two car household

We bought another car!!!! We have survived our first year of marriage owning only one. Seeing as we don't live near a metro station, I think that's quite an accomplishment. We have recently come to the point though, that I think our parents might start charging us every time we want to borrow one of their cars...soooo we finally broke down and bought a second one.

It was quite a process. Brett especially started to point out every car we saw on the road, and ask me if I liked it. Then there was all the online research and reviews, and test driving, and my total lack of decisiveness. Till finally we decided to get one pretty much just like the one we have. I know it may seem silly, but we figured that we have been totally happy with the one we have, it's been a dang good car to us, so why not invest in a slightly newer one? Makes perfect sense. So far we love it.

Yeah for being a two car household!

Domination!!!!

Growing up my family and I always enjoyed a good board game or card game. I think Brett's family was the same. Family home evenings and such were always followed with a good game of scrabble, monopoly, or Murder in the Dark.

Nowadays...it's Dominion. It has become almost ritual for Andrew and Emma (Brett's brother and his wife) to come on Friday and stay through Sunday and play round after round of Dominion with us. I'll never forget over Christmas when Brett and his brothers stayed up till 4am two nights in a row playing this game.

Are we obsessed? absolutely. If you play, will you become obsessed? most assuredly.

What's even greater about this game is that I CAN WIN! Brett is a fierce competitor in the board/card game world, he can crush anyone in a game of boggle or King's Corner, but I am the Dominator. I think the scores speak for themselves (we began recording our wins):

Brett: 47, 85

Mesia: 87, 80, 49, 71, 83, 89, 50, 96, 95, 49, 51

Emma: 82, 31, 58, 56, 51, 52

Andrew: 55, 48

A Valentines Trip...

Ah Valentine's Day...the holiday of love. Men by nature, I have discovered, are not romantic beings. Therefore the day of love can be a challenge. What is a good, romantic gift from a man to his wife?

I think this year my own husband outdid himself. He surprised me with a trip out west to San Fransisco to spend a few days with my dear-old-dad and his wife. We went through the Oakland Temple, drove across the Golden Gate Bridge, Walked along the pier, ate more delicious food than was good for us (etc, etc, etc).

One of our favorite activities was the pasta night in which my dad taught Brett how to make homemade pasta. Not only was it fun for me to watch (and snap shots of), but it was even better to eat. My dad is famous for his gourmet abilities and he did not let us down.

We also went on an outing to Muir Beach. I enjoyed visiting the city of San Fransisco, but I think I prefer the hiking and exploring we did at the beach. It was freezing (whatever happened to CA being warm all year round????), but absolutely beautiful.

I've gotta say...my husband knew what he was doing. Best Valentines Day ever!