Day 31

I missed too much to play catch up...sorry.  And my days and weeks only look busier from here on out, but I promise to post as much as possible.

Today is another picture and recipe combo!  And technically these are both him.  I don't mean to toot my own horn, but tonights dinner was totally awesome.  So toot toot!  I bring you:

Him:

We both agreed that this was the best chili we had ever had!  Seriously.

And Him Again:

It was a rainy afternoon today in Manila.

Perfect weather for chili!  So let's get you that recipe!

(adapted from Vegan Planet)

West Coast Chili

Ingredients:

1 TBS. olive oil

1 medium-size purple onion, chopped

1 medium red bell-pepper, seeded and chopped

1 medium yellow bell-pepper, seeded and chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

8 ripe plum tomatoes, diced

1/4 cup tomato paste

2 heaping TBS. chili powder

1 tsp. oregano

1/2 cup red cooking wine

1 1/2 cups water

25 oz. can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

Salt and pepper to taste

Avocado, peeled, pitted and diced

Jalapenos 

Directions:

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add the onions, bell peppers, and garlic.  Sautee until softened.  Then add the tomatoes, tomato paste, chili powder, oregano, red wine, water, beans, and salt and pepper.  Simmer for about 30 minutes.  I recommend making your chili ahead of time and allowing it to sit so the flavors really meld together.  At least for several hours or overnight.

Serve hot, topped with diced avocado and jalapenos.

Serves 4 to 6 

Home Tour : The Guest Room

Welcome to the guest room.  Just sitting off of the blue living room wall, the guest room has been dubbed the "Bird Room" and you'll quickly see why.

Taken from my friend Skyler, I loved the idea that the wreath isn't just for the front door.  It's like the first punch of welcomeness into a room.

It's total girl in here too, with some fun pops of hot pink.  So sorry in advance to my Dad and any other guys who might stay here in the future.  I promise it's cozy though!

Got some of my favorite things hanging including this house.  Which is one of my most cherished finds, because if you can see from the bottom right, it's also a music box.  And it plays My Favorite Things.  I have a little ways to go in filling it though.

This room also has tons of great storage, so it also dubs as my art supply room.  But don't worry I left you space in one of the closets to hang your clothes! =)

And under the windows were these two great built in bookcases, that once had doors, that I chose to remove to expose them and open up the wall.  No curtains yet...I have the material, just need to get some made, so it's too bright to take a shot of the window, but let me show you the view:

YEAH!  It's beautiful.

A place to sit and read, and unpack your bags.

It's time for this room to get some use!  When are you coming to visit?

Seriously.  You're welcome any time!

Day 18

I'm sure my neighbors think I'm crazy.  The evening came with the usual of my squealing with excitement as I looked out my window in amazement at the sky before me.  Throwing down whatever it is I'm involved in, and praying I find my camera before the moment passes.  Next I have my camera in hand, and I am literally hanging out my window trying to get the shot.  I often wonder if they ever see me, peering through their blinds thinking I'm a strange white girl, but I forget about it because that sunset was amazing.  And this happens over and over again.

She:

 
And Him:

Night traffic.  So many cars on the road tonight.  So many cars on the road every night.

What's Cookin--Home Tour Part 3

And now I take you onward to the Kitchen!

It's probably the place I spend most of my time.  Everything I do rides on the comfort of my surroundings, and this is a whole new kitchen to me.  New place.  New stuff.  New climate to deal with.  All new.  But I finally feel like I can work and move in this space and create some yummy things to take care of my family and friends.

I love my double counter!  It's great for serving and hosting.  There's just one thing missing.  Some bar stools, but I gotta save up for those.  Maybe soon....

Even this space is filled with fun little knick-knacks and things I collected along the way in our travels.

The spot I come to first thing every morning!  COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE!

This kitchen provides the perfect amount of counter space and storage space.  There's even a place for all of my cookbooks!

My favorite little arrangement.

I love this space above my sink.  It serves as the best place to add a little slice of Americana.

When we lived in Hutchinson, we lived in the home of a woman who works on our team while she was in the Philippines.  She had a little blue bird in her kitchen, and a white hen dish and I just fell in love with them.  I had to find some of my own.

This is referred to as the Ref here.  It takes some getting used to to call it that.  And if you're wondering what that box on the counter is, it's called an automatic voltage regulator.  It's saves my appliances from frying or dying.  It also takes some getting used to.  I don't ever have to do anything to it...just look at it.

First I'll show you what's behind door number one.

This is a great little space to have.  Though the green and yellow handles are a little unsightly.  But again...so much storage space!
And now behind door number two and three!

So much storage my cabinets look bare.  That, and we ate all of our snacks from the States already.  Send care-package soon Ma and Pa!  I here a Trader Joe's trip in your future! =)
Now on to some other fun cabinets and a look inside them:

I actually have Pyrex dishes from both my Mom and Jordan's Mom!  

We do eat other things besides desserts...but they are my favorite!

And there you have it.  The kitchen!

I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful space to cook in.

Day 17

So excited for my purchase tonight.  We've turned our back on a certain coffee company in lieu of there being so many Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf shops available, my favorite chain.  And it was there that I think I discovered my all time favorite drink too.  Matcha Green Tea infused with vanilla Soy Latte.  It's heaven in a cup!  But we can't go out every night, and they don't sell there Matcha Green Tea in store--go figure--so I've been on the hunt for a way to create it at home.  This just might be my answer!

She:

And Him:

This is a view of the city outside of our apartment.  Pretty incredible.  We have views at every angle and neither one of us tire from capturing every sunrise, sunset and cloud in between.

Hope you're having a wonderful Tuesday!

Nikki

Day 16

Date night out with my husband.  For Christmas I made up a whole box of date night ideas complete with decorative cards for each one.  So tonight we headed to the coffee shop for 20 questions, but we only made it through 5.  There's actually a list of 50 questions to go through, so I think we'll have a few more of these nights.  I'm not complaining!

She:

And Him:

Our friends and teammates Marc and Jessica introduced us to an area we have grown to love.  It's quiet filled with lots of shops, places to grab coffee, and fun scenery.  It's like an oasis in the middle of the city.  Here's a scene from our date night.

**Here's a link to those questions.  Take your spouse out and get to know each other all over again!  You'll be glad you did!**

Day 15

I was never really a fan of school.  I mean I liked going, but all of the studying and pressure of having to know everything we covered was the part I loathed.  And here I am again.  Everyday...studying, studying, studying.  Learning a new language is tough stuff.  Have I said that already?  And here I am with the flash cards I made for myself to try to get everything in my head that we covered last week.  YES!  Just last week.  3 days!  Yikes.

She:

And Him:

This is a picture Jordan took outside of our church this morning of a parade that was going by.  Today the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of  Santo Nino, held every third Sunday of January.  Hundreds of people, along with drums, flags, and these small idols gathered in the streets to commemorate the Philippines oldest religious image Santo Nino (the Holy Child).

This is why we're here.  Why we spend hours working on the language.  To communicate who Christ really is.  To see them have a real relationship with Him!       

Day 14

I was sick all day yesterday an never left my room.  Thus the late images.  I know...always an excuse.

She:

And Him:

Jordan set out some of his snowy covered comics to remember it really is winter.  Though I've been reading from a lot of people this hasn't been much of a winter back in the States.  Regardless...we don't really miss it.  Don't let the comics fool ya!

Day 13

Had so much fun with our friends and teammates tonight, Trevor and Christi!  Though we may have left many friends back in the States, we've gained new ones coming here.  People we would have never met otherwise.  And I'm glad to call them my friends.  Many laughs and good conversation tonight.  Just what I needed. She:

And Him:

A whole shelf dedicated all to me in Jordan's office.  He keeps everything, which normally drives me crazy, but this is one of those time I appreciate it and can get behind it! 

Happy Friday!

Nikki

Day 12

Today was a good day.  I got to be in the kitchen for a bit and made a killer vegan caesar salad that must be made again soon.  It all got eaten at our meeting, which always makes me happy.  We had a good meeting sharing all of the things we're involved in with Dr. Jon Konnerup (the Mission Director of the BBFI).  Spent the rest of the afternoon chatting with two of our teammates, who always make me happy and feel complete.  They're also coming to my house tomorrow night, which again...makes me happy.  Got home and then sat and chatted with Jordan in his office, which makes me more than happy.  And then did a bit of cleaning.  Which I take great pride in, and actually weirdly enough, enjoy.  To top it all off-the day ended with this sunset.

She:




and Him:

Jordan's picture comes from his commute to another one of our BBCA locations where he is teaching the Four Gospels.  He gets so happy when he talks about his students and his classes!

God is good, and we are fitting right in.  It feels good to be a part of something so big.  Something so much bigger than us!

Nikki

Day 11

We started tutoring this week on our Tagalog.  It's both frustrating and exciting all at the same time.  I'm determined to learn this language.  It takes me a while to remember everything, but I'm practicing to get it all right!  And of course my husband doesn't even have to look at his notes, and he can say it all back.  He's a genius.

She:

And him:

A view of our place from the outside.  We're somewhere in there.  Do you see my waving?











Just kidding I'm not.  How long did you spend looking for me though?

I know...I'm a nerd.

Nikki

Day 10

I have pictures, I just slipped in posting them.  Sorry.

Here we go.  I know pumpkin is normally reserved as a Fall flavor, but this soup is so good I could eat it every day!  It's simple and easy to make, but the flavor is just dy-no-mite!  Do yourself a favor and head over to Food Coma to snag the recipe and make this soup!  I give you Curried Pumpkin Soup!

She:

And Jordan's picture comes from his fist day of teaching.  General Missions to about 35 first year students.  I love seeing how excited he gets to develop material, and a class schedule for teaching.  He's really passionate about it and I love that about him!

And him:

I'll see yeah next time!

Nikki