.my love and i.

so, i will totally devote an entire post to the meal, but the man-friend and i went out to the most delicious, vegan, 6 course, aphrodisiac dinner at the garden grille on valentine's day . . . mmmmm!!! best part? mushroom "calamari" with chili oil. afterwards, we took some awkward photos to try to commemorate the fact that we actually got dressed up and spent some time together.

I think there is an elephant stalking us . . .

the best shot we could get. we need our own personal photographer!

valentine shoes fancies

we have hardly had much time together lately since he's been studying for his exams. BUUUT, as of last friday, he is officially ABD for his PhD! this means he wont be spending every waking hour of his life cramming information in to his brain - only 40 hours a week. this also means that he and i will get to (hopefully) spend some more time together. we are looking forward to a trip to NYC pretty soon and, even sooner, breakfast together tomorrow morning! i love him.

speaking of spening all his time studying, this is what you get:

an 80 pound alaskan malamute who squeezes himself underneath your desk because he loves you and wants you to play with him instead of study.

sad face. luckily, now that the man-friend is done with his exams, he and the H-bomb will get to go hiking more often! maybe they'll let me tag along when i'm not at work? (i feel like i am aaallllways at work!).

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this weekend was nuts. a friend visited from out of town, REI president's day sale, valentine's day, several birthday parties, celebrating the ABD status of a certain man-friend, lots and lots of working, sleeping and eating . . . needless to stay tomorrow's day off will be sublime. on the agenda: sleeping in, breakfast with the man, bottling up some kombucha with juice, cleaning the house, organizing my life, roller derby practice. oh and did i mention lots of relaxing? yes. that's definitely on the agenda.

.friday fancies.

pretty proud of my outfit today. got this new skirt on clearance for $5 yesterday. yessss.... i only buy things resale or on clearance. i just can't afford to be buying things shiny and brand new and full-price. but anyway, i knew it was a good choice when i was fixin' the hair and the man-friend walks in and says "hey cute girl!" so full of win.

hudson, however, is NOT impressed:
we got him that stuffed duck for christmas and he's already broken the squeaker. now he uses the duck as a pillow. so cute! i LOVE that he doesn't rip the stuffing out of his toys. he is actually really gentle with them. carries them around and grooms them. sort of like they are his babies. he's so special. we love him!

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in other news, i am being punished for making the most kick-ass dinner last night! the man-friend is SO FULL that he is making me WAIT for our friday breakfast outing until he is hungry. it's been . . . 13 hours since we ate dinner? and he's still not hungry?

it WAS a good dinner. i bought some rustic, sourdough olive bread from the local bakery. i sliced it open and topped it with grilled tempeh, swiss cheese (from non-hormone treated cows) and popped it in the oven to get all melty and toasty (both of those adjectives are REAL WORDS dispite what the man-friend might say) . . . when it was finished we topped it with fermented, raw cabbage (kimchi, or saur kraut) - at least an inch thick- and some organic thousand island dressing. put the top on that sandwich and you've got a vegetarian reuben to DIE FOR. pair that with a side salad of baby spinach, pecans and bleu cheese . . . you've got a delicious, nutritious meal . . . and apparently a meal that will cause some people to not be hungry 13 hours later.

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as long as we are talking about fermented foods, here is a great article about the benefits and history of fermented foods. in short, fermented vegetables (in the meal above this includes the tempeh, the kimchi, the cheese, the sourdough bread and possibly the relish in the dressing) are beneficial because of the awesome healthy yeasts, bacterias, flora and fauna that they can add to the delicate ecosystems in our digestive tracts. this helps the food we eat to be more easily digested and it helps our immune systems to ward off any unwelcome visitors.

as i continue to educate myself on the topic i will be able to provide better information. for now, read the article i linked to above and read up on the topic for yourself. i'd love to hear what you have to say!

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so, i hear the man-friend coming up the stairs . . . maybe that means he is FINALLY hungry and we can go to our favorite breakfast restaurant. check it out: julian's.

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oh, one last thing, for those of you who LOVE the fleet foxes, check this out.