Chorizo, Spinach & White Bean Soup

Have you ever had a bowl of soup that changed your life? I think this one did.  So the original recipe is here, but when the hubs and I made it – as good as it was – we made some changes.

It’s a hearty, filling soup that is so flavorful… I couldn’t stop thinking about it. {To be honest, as I’m typing this up, I’m starting to drool a little at the memory. } Its salty without being overpowering and the white beans give it an almost creamy texture without falling back on actual cream.

The original recipe called for links of sausage, but it made more sense to me to use bulk chorizo.  And as someone who adores garlic and smoked paprika, I bumped up the amount on those two.

This soup is so delicious, I will make it in the middle of a Phoenix summer {120degree weather won’t stop me from getting some of this deliciousness}

{{Ingredients}}

Olive Oil

1 lb bulk Chorizo

1 Onion {finely diced}

6 cloves Garlic {minced}

1 tsp ground Thyme

1 tsp Smoked Paprika

2 {15oz} cans Cannellini Beans, divided rinsed and drained

2 cups Broth {your choice}

Salt & Pepper

10 cups Spinach

{{Method}}

 } Clean your spinach, removing stems. Set aside to drain.

} Buzz half of your cannellini beans in a food processor or blender.

} In a large skillet, cook Sausage in 1 Tbsp oil. Turn occasionally, until meat is browned and cooked through. Transfer to plate.

} Heat 1 Tbsp Oil in same skillet at medium {If you don’t have a big enough skillet, use a stock pot}. Add onion, garlic, thyme, and paprika to the pot, stirring to keep from burning.

} When onion is soft, add all beans and broth. Cook  8-10 minutes. {I know this isn't going to look like enough broth. Trust me, It'll work out in the end}

} Add your chorizo, then your spinach by handfuls and cook until wilted {this shouldn’t take too long, you can put a llid on the pot if you're in a bit of a hurry}

} Ladle into bowls and devour.

Spicy - Organizing spices

Minced Garlic, Parsley, Chipotle Peppers, and Paprika make up part of the front row

I've been reorganizing the pantry. It's an odd processes, but it's made me feel better about the whole kitchen.

I had hoped it would be ready to share today, but alas - it's not. Instead, I'm here to talk to you about spices! Or, more specifically, the organization thereof.

Up top, you can see the method I went for. Since I have the space, and love the colorful look, I went with half pint mason jars.

Tip: We buy almost all of our spices in bulk and if you haven't, consider it, the savings are phenomenal!

What I love about this method of storage is that you have the ability to use the natural beauty of the spices to add some extra color to your shelves. And, because I'm able to place them on a shelf that is jus below eyelevel, it's super easy to read the labels on the tops.

I do it this way because I have the space and because I buy in bulk... but there are other options if you don't have the space, and if you keep you spices in the bottles/tins they come in from the store.

1. This magnetic spice rack from Practically Functional
2. This awesome use of an IKEA drawer organizer from It's The Life
3. This awesome use of the side of your cabinets from Confessions of a Serial Do-it-yourselfer

Happiness in Haircolors

Over the years, Allison and I have gone through several different hair colors.

First, let's talk about where we started.

Weren't we adorable? (Allie's dressed for normal Oregon Coast weather and... whoever dressed me as an angel/fairy/princess had no idea what I'd grow up to be.)

Allison has always had a beautiful mix of color that was mostly blonde and I've always had dark brown hair.

But because we live in a world where hair colors are changeable, these are not the only colors we've had!

Allie - 

As I started this blog post, I realized that I've only ever been around Allie as a blonde. We were in (different physical) places every time she decided to move away from her (admittedly beautiful) natural color.

While Allie is a gorgeous blonde, she'd done a brilliant flaming red in homage to her grandmother who's natural hair color was as vibrant as they come!

However, her part as Jo March in the EOU production of Little women forced her to dye her hair brown to match. 

She played with brown a few times after, with a pixie and some fun highlights too!

Amy - 

So for the most part, I've spent the vast majority of my life in some variation of brown, from copper to black brown, to what I'm at now (basically the picture that has the least of my face in it)

But I had the crazy notion to go red in 2012... and I LOVED it. (You can see in the bottom small picture that the color lasted well enough for me to get a rather unfortunate amount of grow out)

I don't really know why I dyed it back? But I did go back to a dark brown (Actually, I think the picture in the bottom left corner of the browns - purple shirt - was post red).

And then I decided I wanted to go Silver! And I did... for all of 3 days. And Blonde isn't the best look on me, so I tried again, and it just wasn't going to work, so I had to live with the blonde, blown out hair.

The second to last picture is me CRAZY happy because I got do do a dark wash on my hair the next day. The result was not the best thing ever, but it was better than nothing.

Fresh and Shiny New Start

This morning, I'm sitting down to write this with a big cup of Red Velvet tea and staying indoors. Earl and I went to our favorite cocktail parlor in Phoenix for a NYE party and at about 10pm, it started to snow.... in Phoenix! It didn't stick. In fact, it melted almost before it touched the ground, but it was really cool.

2015 is here and I'm excited to be back at work on this blog and to get things rolling again. For the time being, posts will go up on Thursdays and other days of the week will slowly be added on.

Happy New Year!

On Hiatus

One of the things this blog is about is living life to its fullest. And often, that very thing gets in the way of writing the blog. It’s a cyclical beast.

Because of this, we’ve been on hiatus, and we’ll likely prolong it for a little while further.

Hopefully we’ll be back up and running after the first of the year.

Enjoy your holiday season!

Absens Makes the Heart Grow.... {Amy}

I tried to think up a clever title for this and totally failed.

So, we've been gone a bunch. With the exception of wedding posts, we've been awol a lot. But that should be changing here soon. No more head in the clouds, back to serious business!

Allie's been busy with work and all the extra hours her job demands, I've been recovering from the wedding and working on publishing books. But we're both going to work toward getting more focused and hopefully over the next several weeks that means we'll hit our stride, figure out a schedule and be on top of all the things.

Amy's Wedding: Magpie DIY: Ceremony Backdrop

So, when we talked about a backdrop idea for the wedding, we knew we had a brick wall... but we wanted to add just a little bit more, and so we decided to make a backdrop.

We made the trek to my  favorite art store and bought a 15ft length of primed, un-framed canvas, six bottles of spray paint and took them over to Earl's mom;s house and promptly draped the canvas over the back of his 1961 Cadillac.

 And then we got busy.

Mostly, we covered the expanse in black and dark grey spray paint and then we did some splattering with the red, black, chrome, white... and so on.
Then we used some stencils to inscribe the first line of the chorus by a band we love (The Queers), it was a sentiment we both felt was correct for the occasion - Fuck the world I'm hanging out with you tonight.

And, I think it worked out perfectly!

Don't you?

Amy's Wedding: Record Guest Book

When Earl and I talked about what we wanted to do for a guest book, we knew we didn't want to do a weird little book that would wind up in a box somewhere for years to come. We wanted something we could hang on our wall or use on a daily basis. And after searching through offbeat wedding sites and copious other forums, we decided that it made sense to use records.

Once we had that decided, we went in search of the right records. We knew we'd need more than one... and as luck would have it, a record with a HUGE amount of meaning to us was a set of two!

 

A Search for Former Clarity by Against Me! was one of the albums we listened to a lot when we first got together. (song name) was what played immediately after the ceremony. And we always love things that allow us to incorporate the number 13 (Earl's mom's lucky number.)

 

 Also,  please appreciate Jenna's AMAZING Dress (and those heels!) She looked fabulous!

And now we get to the not-Galaxie Images (I apologize)....

We took the records to a Michael's when they were having a HUGE framing sale and walked out with this...

 And now it's on our wall in the worst possible place for lighting......

Anyway, it's huge and I love it and I totally recommend doing the alternative guest book.

A Letter to My Girls: Natalie

Dear Natalie,

How is it possible to know someone for such a short time and to feel as though you’ve known them for lifetimes? If I hadn’t believed in kindred spirits before I met you, I definitely would have come around to the notion quickly. Someday when we’ve both gone silver and have a passel of grandkids between us, we’ll run away together to a cottage on Prince Edward Island. We’ll drink tea and read all the books we never got a chance to get around to. And we’ll remind ourselves time and time again of the fun we had when we were younger (and then go out and have more).

You are the kindest, most loving person I have ever met. Your optimism and ecstatic joy for the world and everything beautiful is a constant inspiration to me to be a better person. You make me want to write clockwork fairytales and brew large pots of tea, just so that you can come over and I can entertain you. (Seriously, lets find a way to make that happen).

There was no other option for my maid of honor. You’re my right hand gal, and I can’t imagine walking through this crazy world without you.

 - Amy

A Letter to My Girls: Allison

Dear Allison,

I practically lived at your house throughout our senior year of high school. Your mom probably never wants to see me again. But in all the time I’ve known you, I’ve come to think of you as a sister. Even though we graduated and traveled in different directions (me a little farther), we’ve always been able to star a conversation as through we’ve never spent any time apart. It’s one of the things I love most about our friendship.

You are one of the most creative people I have ever met, and I love the way you make beautiful things a part of your life. My admiration of that has lead to trying to better myself and I will be forever thankful for that. Someday, I’m sure we’ll figure out which of us is the magpie and which is the fox, but for now, I’m pretty sure we’re both happy bouncing back and forth.

I wake up every day to the picture from our final choir concert together. We’re a mess but we’re together. That’s what counts.

There was no way I was going to get married without you there. When I asked you to be my bridesmaid, I was prepared to come up and kidnap you if necessary (okay, not really.)

My life is a song where you are the delightful harmony.

 - Amy

A Letter to My Girls: Katie

Dear Katie, 

We met in middle school, that time of turmoil, tie-dye and tribulation. Let’s face it, lots of that was not pretty, but we made it through! And we’re still friends. WE survived MHS Choir and general shenanigans, and over the years, we’ve managed to stick together. I’m willing to guess it’s because of our mutual weirdness that the distance hasn’t been a burden that’s pulled us apart.

You’re the first to make me laugh, the one who makes me smile even when the situation might make otherwise have me in tears, and always the best bet for an amazing story. I’ve had hard times in the past and I can’t imagine getting through them without you. You are so amazing, and I’m lucky to have had you as my friend for so long.

Some days I smile just because your name is there in my chat window – even if we don’t have the time to talk. It’s that presence you have that is why everyone I’ve ever met who knows you loves you.

Asking you to be a bridesmaid was a no-brainer. I couldn’t imagine the wedding without you, and I’m so happy you were here for everything we had in store.

A world where you are not my friend, is a world in which the skies would be forever gray.

- Amy

A Letter to My Girls: Allie

Dear Allie,

In the past few years we haven't had the opportunity to spend as much time together as I'd like. First we moved apart. It was really strange going from 5-ish years of living within the same apartment complex - even in the same apartment for a year - to living what feels like half a state away. 

Then there was school and books. When you started working toward your degree, it was almost like you'd moved again, even though the campus was closer to me than your house was. About the same time, I started working on my novels in earnest and it was like time had decided to join distance on the list of things that were working against us.

You were my first friend in Arizona - a fact I still find ironic since we're both from Oregon to begin with. And you'll always be at the top of my list for tea parties and nights out. Hopefully we'll get to do more of both very soon.

When it came to picking the women who would stand up with me at the wedding, your name was a must on that list.

Thank you for being my friend, Allie. My life is richer for knowing you.

 - Amy

Amy Wedding: Thank You!

Earl and I wanted to put out an informal thank you to everyone who came to the wedding, those who couldn't, everyone who's been so lovely about it afterwards, and those who've followed along in this nearing two week long post series.

It's been an amazing journey that started over five years ago, and we could not be happier.

Amy's Wedding: Us in our Finery

So, one thing I knew right off the bat was that I wasn't going to be wearing white. I've always hated that convention, personally. I think it stems from my irritation with people telling me what to do when they have no business doing it.
I knew I was going to wear something I was comfortable in, and something, that with alterations, I could conceivably wear again. And I am most comfortable in black. So I went in search of a black wedding dress that didn't make me feel like I was chasing the rabbit down the goth hole.

I feel like I accomplished that.
I'm not going to tell you where it came from though, because the dress pictured is not actually the dress I purchased, and while I'm happy with how it worked out, I am not going to send business their way because of the fact they handled sending me said wrong dress rather poorly.

Earl wavered between what he and the guy's ended up with and the Reservoir Dogs look.  In the end, I think he really just didn't want to have to keep track of a suit jacket.

And he really loves any opportunity to pick me up.

(This is one of my favorite shots from the night!)

Images by Galaxie Andrews

Crown: Xappaland  (It also comes in gold)
Earrings: Bodyartforms
Necklace: The Jovilynne collection
Bracelet: From my lovely sister
Dress: Etsy
Shoes: Modcloth

Hat, Shirt, & Trousers: Khols
Vest & Bow tie: Men's Warehouse
Shoes: Converse