Summery Dinner at the Bar

Tonight was our first dinner that we cooked in our new house! It was a summery one, with bbq balsamic chicken, collard greens and raspberries (and Stone IPA). We also tried out our new bar stools for the first time - today after work we picked them up downtown from some people who we connected with on Craigslist. Instead of a dining table, we are using the bar in the new place and also our outdoor table that we've put on the deck. If we ever need an indoor dining table, we'll just pull it out of the garage :-)


More posts of the new digs coming soon!

Mud Run, Indy Jam, Salmon Burgers and Remembering NZ

We've been pretty bad about posting to our blog since we found out that we need to find a new apartment by August 3rd. It seems that most of our spare time has been spent looking at places to live. Yesterday, however, we had a fun day! We woke up early to drive up to Camp Pendleton for the Mud Run 10k race - a race through pits of mud, over walls and across a lake that left us very dirty :-) Then it was back home for a necessary shower and quick trip to the farmer's market (I just can't live without my berries and greens) before our afternoon spent at the FM94.9 Independence Jam, an outdoor music festival featuring The Whigs, The Ting Tings, Cold War Kids, MGMT, Flogging Molly and most importantly The Hold Steady, one of my personal favorite bands! We met up with our friend Austin and his friend Greg and enjoyed a few beers on the lawn during the MGMT and Cold War Kids sets, before staking out a spot in front of the stage for the Hold Steady. I love seeing the Hold Steady with Austin - he is a big fan too and deliberated over the perfect spot to stand, noting such subtleties as the slope of the ground to ensure that we had the best view possible. It was a great day and fun to take our minds of the apartment search for a while.

We've also been cooking some yummy dinners as usual, but haven't been taking the time to photograph and post them. Here is a recent salmon burger, baby bok choy, sauteed baby heirloom tomatoes and avocado example:

In the midst of the apartment search, and when things get crazy in general, I have been finding that my mind goes back to Mutton Cove in Abel Tasman National Park and a sense of calm washes over me. Here's a video of that magical place:

Getting back into our routines

Our trip was fantastic but I am happy to be home. Happy to be back with Streak, who made it through our absence without incident:


Dana has been spending her evenings just watching Streak sleep - it was the longest they've been apart since she was in college (Dana, not Streak).


We've been able to stock up on veggies at the farmers market:


And we've been able to start to cook our old favorites like shrimp with red cabbage and sweet potatoes:


Or tofu with baby broccoli and lentils:


Now that we're back our habits have changed slightly. Less TV, and I'm planning on taking up some new outdoor hobbies. Next weekend I'm going to build a 'Square Foot Garden', I already have the supplies:


I'll be sure to detail the build process here :).