mixing things up

a couple weekends ago, tyler and i got the always awesome pleasure of seeing our good friends charlotte and sid (and this time, one of charlotte's best friends/roommates from boston, aviana!) we always love going to westville to see them, or at least i do, because it feels like being a 12 year old adventurer again.

i'm sorry that you're all probably going to hate me for this photo, but it's the only one i have, and i think you're all beautiful!

charlotte's parents, whom i claim as my second parents, still live in the same house they built for themselves way before i came into the picture, but it is the same house that we played, imagined, created, drank (and i spilled) multiple tea glasses, and adventured away for hours from. it feels like home! it smells like home, and the conversation is something unlike you can get anywhere else. all of this may just stem from the fact that i get to see my best friend since the first grade when i go there, but i really just love it.

another aspect of these trips that we always love when visiting the Kirk home is the delicious, like really so delicious food that Patty makes. there is always mama bread (her homemade sourdough bread that i swear is unlike anything else), different dishes with good spices, vegetables from her garden that i envy, good texture, color, and yummy accents of this and that. for instance, the first night we were there, she made all seven of us new york strip steaks. tyler was gleaming and drooling at the thought of that alone, but then she paired it with a fresh salad made with snap peas (if i remember correctly?), tomatoes and onions, then there was bread, and these wonderful vegetarian stuffed pimento peppers from her garden that she made for me. i think saliva is puddling in my mouth just typing this out.

{ and i'm sorry, i tried to write that in a few less disgusting ways, but honestly that's just how good it is... }

however, after staying for a few days, tyler and i realized something we could take home from the stay on the Kirk farm, and that's variety. every dinner there was something different, something fresh, something always different from the night before. each salad was fresh with red wine vinegar, oil, a little sugar and salt to taste. which, if you care to know the order to each to make a perfect dressing, i'll be happy to tell you because let me tell you, it's an art, and it's very essential to a perfect salad.

since we've been home from the farm, we've incorporated fresh vegetable salads into each of our dinners. we don't limit ourselves to our normal dinner routines, and if anything, we have been pushing ourselves to look for new things! to venture out into the unknown of flavors and combinations of foods because what fun is it to eat tacos three times a week? (okay, i honestly have no issue with tacos three times a week, but this is fun too...) not only is there variety in our dishes, but in our spare time, in the time we invest in others, and our morning routines. we are always so grateful for this family. much has been learned, and experienced and loved around them! and lately there's always a big mug of hot tea to be enjoyed by all!

tonight's dinner: quinoa, tilapia, green beans from my garden, cabbage and pepper salad, with fresh tomato