Welcome to our new home! I am writing this from my adorable new-used writing desk in our dining room that is actually going to be used to eat in, rather than ride bikes in, set in our cozy little apartment. For all of this, I am very happy. It's a smaller place than our last and we've still got a lot of unpacking and organizing to do, yet already I can feel the "qi" washing over me as we exhibit better Feng Shui. Our new place will be less cluttered and more inviting than Melrose Street. Most of the walls are a pale steel gray vs. the stark white that surrounded us in every room of the old place. This provides a warmer feel. I don't think I realized just how much I didn't like
that apartment until now.We have the best of both worlds with the neighborhood. We are still close in proximity to our neighborhood friends and the fun stuff we could walk to. But the new neighborhood is slightly cuter and so far seems more friendly. It's almost got a Portland, OR feel to it. And, of course, there's my favorite part: a Corgi lives right across the street. I think I scared my new neighbor a bit when I overenthusiastically expressed my joy at the realization that Noodle the Corgi lived that close by, but all seems well now since they've invited us for a barbecue once we get settled. If I can't have my own dog, I'll adopt the ones in the neighborhood for now.
I am giddy with excitement as I anticipate future dinner parties, game nights and conversations that will be had at our new-used dining table. (I've been spending a lot of time on craigslist these days in the furniture section. I'm trying to both be green and save money. I'm trying to be in the moment and enjoy the process of setting up our new place, but I am eager to get back to our regularly scheduled programming. Neither Todd nor I have ridden our bikes in quite a while. The routine I get back to, however, will be a bit different than my old. The injury I've been dealing with has slowed me down quite a bit, but forced me to get yoga in my life and in general I'm re-thinking how to spend my time. My change of scenery is going to bring about some positive changes, of this I am sure.
Over all the move went smoothly and I am thankful for many factors: going from one first floor to another first floor; the rain holding off on the big move day, and mostly, the friends and family who eagerly jumped in to help us. Gary, Juan and our parents all lent a helping hand. The Superstar Moving Help awa
rd goes to Nate Gallagher, our neighbor, friend and former co-worker of Todd's. Without his packing and moving skills and his many days of help, I'm not sure where we'd be right now. I only hope we can return the favor as he and Sarah Joy prepare for their upcoming wedding. They are prepping the grounds and doing much of the cooking themselves. I have offered to make some food for them as they have a few other vegetarians attending, and this rice dish is one of the things I plan to make. (Photo added later when I lived up to my word and made this salad from said kitchen!)Brown Rice Salad
3 cups cooked brown rice
1 cup chopped green onions
1 cup chopped bell pepper diced (I used a mix of yellow and red)
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
1 carrot, grated
1 green apple, cored and diced
1 cup finely shredded red cabbage
1/2 cup golden raisins
Dressing:
1/2 cup of mayo (can use vegan)
3 tblspns rice vinegar
2 tspns Dijon mustard
2 tspns curry powder
1. Once rice is cooled, mix all salad ingredients, then toss with dressing!
