TURMERIC GINGER CHICKEN SOUP

Fall/Winter 2017: the worst cold season ever.
If you are like me, you caught that cold that has been "going around" for months. Maybe you even caught it twice, like me - once in LA, and once in Portland. Both sucked, but there was one difference: getting a cold in Portland, with its cooler (and damper/icier) weather conditions, makes eating recovery soup much more appealing than trying to scarf soup in LA's mid-to-upper-80s "winter" temps. 

Turmeric, ginger, and a kick of spice are the perfect combination to help kick that cold and get your immunity back up. So grab your bowl and cuddle up on the couch while you binge on Friends (or is that just me?)...

What you need:
2 shredded chicken breasts or 10oz chicken tenderloins (optional if you're vegetarian)
1 diced yellow onion
3 celery stalks, sliced
3 large carrots, sliced on the diagonal
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp ginger, minced
32oz organic, low-sodium chicken broth (or veggie broth)
1 bay leaf
A few handfuls of kale
1 can chickpeas, drained, rinsed well & de-shelled (or udon noodles)
Salt
Pepper
Cayenne
Coriander
Sliced lemon for seasoning and garnish

Directions
Heat a large pot with a generous amount of olive oil until slightly smoking.

Add in onion and garlic, and season with a dash of salt. Sauté until onions are translucent.

Add in carrots and celery with an additional dash of salt, turmeric, ginger, coriander, and cayenne pepper. Mix well, and then sauté again for about a minute or until aromatic.

Pour in chicken broth while stirring up all the bits and pieces at the bottom of the pot. Bring to a simmer.

Add in cooked, shredded chicken, kale, and chickpeas. 

Remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 10 min.

Serve with a slice of lemon and grilled bread, if desired.

Enjoy! 

Happy New Year, friends! I am glad you are here! Cheers to an even better 2018!

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OUR BATHROOM : THE PLAN

So we bought a house! 
In Portland, Oregon!
(oh yeah.. and we moved there.)

Danny and I made a giant leap this year and pulled the plug on moving to Portland, something we have been discussing for years. So what a better push than buying a house. We got serious about looking in August and by September 13 we put our first offer in on a 1920's bungalow located in NE Portland - sight unseen.

(Also, this is my excuse for taking six months to post about our honeymoon.)

Before we even stepped foot inside, we knew this house wasn't our style as-is. It's on the darker side, was possibly "updated" in the 80's or 90's, some walls are blue, some are purple, yada yada. But one thing we didn't know until we got there was really how much potential this home has. And THAT was exciting! We quickly started bouncing ideas off each other and for me, this really is a dream to finally be like Joanna Gaines and fix this house up! Minus the shiplap. 

So, of course, the first thing I focused on was wanting to gut the kitchen... and I wanted it done before we moved in... and I wanted it done now. But as life has it, we ended up having to move quicker than anticipated because we have to work, right? So, we accepted having to live in the house in it's current state for a while.

Now, people told me to "live in the house first" before you start any work, to really get "feel" for the home. And you know what? They were right. Because now we realize the bathroom is the first to go! So here we are.

This bathroom... wait, let me rephrase that:  This toilet, is a nightmare. I am usually all for old things, but this pull-chain toilet has got to go - and fast! I can no longer pee in fear! I am creeped out by the older linoleum floors and counter tops, the un-centered mirror makes me cringe, the brown-blue combo is dated, and I swear the "lovely" oak vanity was made for really short folk because I am 5'4 and this thing hits the top of my legs. 

Soooo here's the plan!!

We really want a minimal, clean, and somewhat modern bathroom, but since the house is old, we we want to restore its charm and vintage look while introducing a somewhat modern, updated style. Let's call it "vintage-modern".  

Aside from painting the walls white, we want to remove the stained glass window (and re-purpose it elsewhere) and install a casement window. We'll likely use the large round mirror we purchased from Ikea earlier this year and flank it with vintage-inspired brass sconces with matching brass fixtures (though we may stick with stainless to not be too trendy). We'd like to re-tile the shower with a matte subway tile, replace the floors with a white, hexagon tile and a light grey grout, and replace the ancient toilet with a Toto brand, because, as my Dad told me about his Toto toilet: "That mother-effer will flush anything." Lastly - and my FAVORITE part - we'll be re-purposing one of our many mid century credenzas (I don't have a problem... you have a problem) that I insisted we schlep up to Portland, transforming it into a vanity (this will be a HUGE money-saver), and placing a rectangular vessel sink on top!

If all goes as plan, I may never leave the bathroom!

Inspiration photos 1 / 2 / 3 / 4

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OUR HONEYMOON // AMSTERDAM

And last, but not least, our final leg of our honeymoon! It only happened about six months ago (I have a year, right?)!
Time to jog my memory...

After our magical time in Copenhagen, we skipped over to The Netherlands to check out Amsterdam and its surroundings for the last three nights of our honeymoon. 

Once we landed, we hopped on a train over to Zaandam, a small city about 45 min outside Amsterdam's city center where some of the original Dutch windmills still stand. We stayed at this crazy, wacky, cartoon-looking hotel, Inntel Hotel, that was surprisingly really awesome (totally recommend it) and was definitely a nice change up from Airbnb.

Since it was a Sunday, the city itself was pretty quiet and mostly shut down for the day, but we managed to make a right turn and found a cute, lively, cobblestone street to grab some dinner on. Once we sat and glanced at the menu at Wonders, we were instantly excited by the fact that we were no longer in Kron-land, and the Euro was here! We went crazy and ordered a ton of food (seriously... like 2 racks of ribs) and drinks, and sat back and enjoyed the evening's passing. We even got to watch some Euro-kids playing soccer in the streets.  

The next morning, we headed to go see the windmills of Zaanse Schans. We rented bikes and rode around this magical Dutch place filled with small, fairy-tale cottages, still rivers, and even SWANS and BABY SWANS!

It was so cool to explore this area by bike since it was incredibly hot out and helped save on time. Even though I didn't get photos of it all, Zaandam is filled with a bunch of cute cafes and little shops that we could've easily spent the day going to. 
Pro tip: bring cash with you here! We did not, and almost none of the places took credit cards. 

Sticky from humidity and sun-beatten from our ride, we headed into bustling Amsterdam and checked into our Airbnb in De Pijp. This place was listed as a private room but it was really a one-bedroom that sat on the corner, so we had fun views of all the people zooming through with sounds of bike bells. It was already so overly charming I wanted to die.

We took it easy for the rest of the day and just walked around checking out the sites and planning on our next full day.

Our last day! We woke up early, picked up some coffee and sandwiches, rented some more bikes (because that's what you do in Europe) and headed over to the Van Gogh museum.

This museum was one of the best I had ever been to. Impeccably curated, you can easily make your way through its 4 stories without being overwhelmed and without taking up your entire day. We absolutely loved it and recommend it to anyone visiting Amsterdam.
Pro tip: visit in the morning to avoid large crowds.

Super energized by the city, we got back on our bikes and rode around, checking out all the charming architecture and beautiful parks (and people). We fell in love with Amsterdam.

So as luck would have it, our flat was right next to The Avocado Show. It got me at the name. We had to go. Besides the interior just being the cutest, it offered an awesome avocado-everything menu that you could never imagine. Danny ordered the burger that came with "avocado buns", which, when you hear that, you think green bread, right? Wrong, it was actually an avocado sliced through the middle, its two halves acting as buns. It was not a use-your-hands kind of burger! I also got an avocado Daiquiri. Everything was so delicious!

Full of healthy fat, we headed to the Anne Frank Museum. I did not take any photos out of respect of the establishment, but it was truly a surreal experience and still blows my mind.
Pro tip: make reservations online ahead of time!

As the temps started to cool, we picked up some beer and rented a paddle boat and romantically bobbed around the canals.

Since it was the last night of our honeymoon, we finally splurged on fancy dinner at Cafe Caron. Of course, I ordered the lamb-shank.

And it wouldn't be a trip to Amsterdam without exploring the Red Light District to check out the ladies and some "coffee" shops... which is about the time we found churros....

Our "Hanimoon" was the most wonderful and insightful ten days - and of course, it went by too fast. We hope to re-visit some of these places again together and travel further into each of them. Thank you, Europe.  

Love,
Dandi

Where we stayed...

Inntel Hotel Amsterdam Zaandam
Our Airbnb

Where we ate & drank...

Wonders
Cannibal Royale
The Avocado Show
Cafe Caron
 

Where we went...

Zaanse Schans
The Van Gogh Musuem
Anne Frank House


 

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