Saturday evening

"I think I'll try that recipe after all," I told Josh. He was sitting at the computer, working on homework. It was past seven o'clock on a Saturday and I was being typically indecisive. "Okay, Faith, whatever you want to do." I pulled back my hair and headed to the kitchen to look over the instructions again. Avocado, lime, cilantro... "Heck yes," I thought, "this is happening." After a little while, the kitchen was quiet, the pork tenderloin was roasting in the oven, and I was contentedly slicing up an avocado at the counter. The cabinets began to glow red and redder, and I felt a pleasant warmth on my back.

I've mentioned the view from our dining room window before, but I'm still not over it. Every evening, a different set of colors, a different type of glow. It is a calming, faithful signal that the day is drawing to a close.

By the time we sat down to dinner, the reddish haze was gone. It was time to flip on the lights and drop the blinds. I compensated by lighting some candles. The meal was delicious, a nice combination of cool and spicy, and we agreed that I need to make it again.

(Click here for the recipe!  I would recommend omitting the salt from the spice rub. The pork turned out a little too salty for our taste.)

Have you tried any new recipes lately? Do share!

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I snapped these photos of our living room last weekend, before our friends came over. We receive so much natural light, even on overcast days. I've decided that one can never have too many windows.

The sun is shining bright this Saturday, warming the wood floors and doing good for our souls.  We are staying home. Fresh coffee, music, laundry, and maybe some homemade dinner... weekends are well worth the wait.

Morning, v.3

For some reason, I am aching to return to this place today. Maybe in a few years we'll find ourselves moving to the West Coast? ;) For now, though, I am wildly happy with our new dwelling place in Chicago. (Our kitchen has skylights and appliances from this century!) We spent the weekend unpacking and cleaning, inviting friends over to cheer the once-stale rooms with their company. Though we aren't settled in yet, this place is beginning to feel like home!

Today

Today, I am thankful for friends. Friends who showed up on a cold Saturday morning to load our boxes into a van. Friends who carried furniture up three flights of icy stairs, cracking jokes along the way. Friends who oooohed and ahhhhed over our new place, making us all the more excited to live there.

Until March 1, our new place is only inhabited by the aforementioned boxes and dismantled furniture, and we are camping out inside our now-empty first home together. If camping involves a mattress on the floor, take-out, and watching Doctor Who together (it does), then I'm perfectly content.

Change is comin'

If you stepped into our apartment right now, you would probably feel a little dizzied by the bare walls, dismantled furniture, and boxes, boxes, everywhere. In eight days, our first home together will be left behind for a new one. Isn't that exciting?

Christmas Morning, v.2

Unwrapped presents, a cozy apartment, a glittering surprise from Josh, and a snowy street. Christmas was very merry, indeed.

Christmas Morning, v.1

We stayed in Chicago for the holidays this year. Although I missed spending time with family, I must say... Christmas at home with "just the two of us" was pretty wonderful.

I went a little overboard with Josh's stocking stuffers. The handle on the stocking even broke under the weight!

Midway through the morning, we noticed that it was snowing outside! Chicago's first real snowfall of the season came on Christmas Day. It made our morning together all the more cozy. 

Would you believe me if I told you that "White Christmas" by Andrea Bocelli was playing the moment we looked out the window?

Wordless

Morning, v.2

Saturday mornings are my favorite because I don't have to be anywhere. I can simply sit and sip my cup of coffee, enjoying for the first time in six days just being in my home. Today, this sipping and sitting involved listening to Christmas music! I would normally be appalled at myself, but somehow, it just seems right. Especially since the weather outside my window is cold and gray.

When do you usually break out the Christmas music?

Our view

We can see the tippity top of the Sears Tower from our back stairwell.

See it now? 

(Oh, it's called the Willis Tower now?  That can't be right...)

Morning, v.1

Saturday morning solace. Today, I can sip my coffee, listen to folk music, and just breathe.

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Some things are too perfect not to photograph, like fading bouquets from Trader Joe's. The cashier asked Josh if he was in trouble. Hehe.

It's home

Good morning, friends.  Did any of you want to stay in bed when the alarm went off?  You better believe it.  Josh and I hardly ever get up at the first alarm.  We wake up just enough to silence the vibrating cell phones and we hold each other for awhile.  Marriage is nice.

I haven't done much to decorate our bedroom yet.  There's something about the simplicity that I like, that I haven't wanted to change, despite having had 10 months of marriage to do so.  The linens are white and clean.  The space is unpretentious.  The empty, white walls allow the morning light to soften the room all the better.

One of these days I'll spruce it up, probably after obsessively perusing Pinterest for inspiration.  But for now, I like it the way it is.  It's home.

In the kitchen

Our kitchen is small, but oh-so-large in character.  Where else can you find mint green, enamel cabinets with glass handles?  I'm trying to spend more time in here, slowly but surely expanding my horizons by experimenting with these new, not-too-hard recipes:

1. scrambled eggs with fresh ricotta and chives
2. crock pot sante fe chicken
3. turkey stuffed bell peppers
4. easy parmesan chicken
5. baked shells with sausage, spinach, and ricotta cheese
   

(That is an old ice box... for real!)  Have you had any Pinterest success stories recently?

Home

Our apartment building is very old.

Every so often, I step onto our back stairwell to admire the exposed brick and the chipping paint, all aged to perfection by years of harsh, Chicagoan weather.

We won't live here forever, but I'll always remember this place fondly, our first little home in Chicagoland as husband and wife.

Good morning

We overslept today.  I stumbled to the bathroom to mend my matted, pillow-dried hair.  He went straight to the kitchen to brew fresh coffee.  He's my hero.

Here is what I'm listening to this morning:

Aren't they magical?

Now, I know.

 

I recently started carrying around Josh's iTouch.  Now, I know why everybody loves Instagram.  How fun to have a new avenue for simple, creative photography!

Do you use Instagram?

I like these.

hot chocolate during 40° weather

patterned accent pillows from World Market

the textures of our eighty-year-old apartment building

What do you like today, friends?

everyday scenes of...

a bouquet: lovely and fading

a cold remedy: black tea with lemon and cayenne pepper

a newfound love: golden cherry tomatoes

a new read: inspired by all the buzz in the blogosphere

Home Sweet Home

We have been married nearly two months, and our little apartment has come a long way!

Our innovative "dresser."

Our retro-looking bathroom.

A sunny view.

Our living room/dining room/office.  Still a few pictures resting in the corner, waiting for a home!

A souvenir from our honeymoon in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

We are very blessed.