Good food good peeps

For the past few days we've been eating it up with some wonderful people.  Because we are moving to a different state in exactly 19 days we've been spending quality time with the people we love.  Of course spending quality time includes eating.  It wouldn't be quality without some good food to accompany the good people.

On Saturday evening we had dinner with one of my husband's friend/basketball colleague and his family.  They are from Nicaragua and they cooked us some good food.  They grilled this steak thingy and made Spanish rice.  It was so freaking yummy.  For dessert, was the most awesome tasting tres leche cake.  Needless to say, hubby and I overdid it but it was so worth it.  It was also fun to sit around and laugh.  We have a big language barrier as we hardly speak Spanish and they barely speak English but it was all good.  My husband knows a lot more Spanish than I do so he acted as translator for me the majority of the time.

Sunday after church we went to dinner with an "us" couple.  "Us" couples are what we call other couples in interracial relationships that are similar to ours (bfwm).  They attend our church and are A LOT younger than us (a whole decade younger).  Regardless they were very mature and very sweet.  This was our first time ever hanging out with an "us" couple and it was so refreshing.  At dinner we talked about some of the similar challenges we face.  We also talked about a lot of the good things about being interracial.  We chatted about everything.  This couple is actually new to us and this was our first time doing something with them.  I wish we had known them longer.

Last night our lovely neighbors had us over for dinner and stuffed us.  Saying that her husband is an awesome cook is an understatement.  Let's just say that so far he's the only one that makes me go back for seconds of beans.  I hate most beans but last night at the rate I was going you wouldn't believe that.  We had rice with pinto beans, sausage, and steak.  Everything was delicious.  I wasn't even embarrassed to ask to take leftovers home. LOL.  And today, while at work, all I could think of was my leftovers.  I asked him how to make the beans and it was like a 4-5 hour adventure that he described.  I was thinking, no one wonder they are best I've ever tasted.  

Anyway it was great to dine with friends.  We don't have any family here but we've met some great folks that are like family.  We feel very blessed to have them in our lives.

Mrs. K

We've met some good people here...

As hubby and I are  preparing to pack up and move to another state, I've been thinking more about the relationships we've built while in our current one.  We have met some great couples here (some with kids and others without).  It would be awesome if I could transplant them to North Carolina but I know that's not possible.  My plan is to keep in touch as best I can (although I'm horrible at it) and to visit often (either them visiting us or the reverse).

We hung out with one of these couples this past weekend.  They live in Biloxi, MS and has 3 adorable kiddos.  Since hubby and I don't have any kids yet, it's a lot easier for us to just pack up and go somewhere for the weekend.  We decided to drive about 3 hours to make waffles for this lovely family (and of course just to hang out too).  My hubby is on this whole making waffles thing for all our friends.  I love it because I think it's so sweet.  He gets all excited about it and prepares ahead of time.

Anyway, we drove down (or up...I'm bad with directions) to Biloxi on Friday night after work.  We were greeted with happy faces and tasty BBQ as soon as we arrived.  D is a stay at home mom that is really a supermom.  Her house is very nicely (and uniquely) decorated, clean, and she makes yummy food.  On Saturday morning we went to watch their 10 year old son play baseball.  He's a superstar at baseball with a Justin Bieber haircut.  Their 2 adorable daughters also went to the game.  After the game we all had my husband's Liege Belgian waffles.  They were a hit and I'm drooling now as I'm typing because I want one.

M: future pro-baseball player

H & A: 2 cutie patuties

Us at the baseball game.  Excuse the wild looking hair.  I call it my "lion hair"

Later that evening, they got a baby sitter so the adults could have some fun.  We went to downtown Ocean Springs  and visited tons of  little shops.  I bought a cute shirt/dress.  We also hung out at the beach for a little while.  We visited the Beau Rivage (hotel/casino) and watched old folks choke on their cigarettes while pulling the handle on slot machines.  Really, that place was a smoker's paradise and I had to dart out of there before my asthma got the best of me.  Anyway, we ate biegnet's before dinner and they were soooo good.  Yum! I've got a sweet tooth, can you tell?

Later that evening we ate at a restaurant called the Blue Fly Inn.  It was not aesthetically pretty but it was on the bay and had a very calming feel.  It also had a family atmosphere and the seafood was good.  I had the Blackened Snapper and hubby had the Stuffed Flounder.  I was so full that hubby ordered dessert and I didn't even touch a piece (highly unusual for me).  Unfortunately hubby had to work the next day so we drove home that night.  Overall it was a great trip.

At the Blue Fly Inn.  See...not too fancy but the food was terrific.

We had such a good time.  It was great hanging out with a couple who were cool, funny, and share similar values as us.   I know people say that it gets more difficult to make friends the older one gets but that is not the case for me.  I've formed some very meaningful relationships over the past few years.  I also look forward to even forming more in North Carolina.

Oh BTW, we found a house to rent in NC and sealed the deal.  Yay! 

Mrs. K

Quick Weekend Rundown

We had a very pleasant weekend.  For me the weekend started Friday evening and it started off great.   I was glad to hear that one of my blog friends is preggers. Congrats to TOI formerly known as MsBabyPlan.  Hooray!

On Friday night hubby and I had Italian at one of our favorite restaurants then saw the movie Sucker Punch.  Overall it was a great night with tons of silliness (like we usually do).  The movie was pretty good--had an interesting concept.  I did a lot of "girl power" cheering while hubby stared at me.

We had breakfast with a couple friend on Saturday morning.  We invited them over to our house.  Hubby made Belgian waffles (Liege type--see below) from scratch.  Yes, he used flour, yeast and a ton of other stuff that I don't normally cook with.  I usually cook waffles or pancakes out of the box (Just Add Water). Ha!  He also made eggs and sausage.  I'm not a fan of breakfast meat but the eggs were so delicious and the waffles were to die for.  I think he makes the best eggs out of anyone I know.

Picture credit

After breakfast we went to a park with our couple friend and took our dogs.  It was great just enjoying nature on a beautiful sunny day.  After lunch we went to a birthday party for a 1 year old.  She is the daughter of one's of my husband's coworkers.  She was so adorable.  In my usual style, I had a "open mouth insert foot moment" after I asked my husband's coworker if the interesting man that I was talking was her grandfather.  She nicely said that it was her father and that "he didn't age too well."  Errr...needless to say I felt horrible and my husband could not stop laughing at my blunder.

Saturday evening we had dinner with another couple (friend and fellow blogger), D.  We brought over pizza from Sal and Mookies and watched the VCU vs. Butler basketball game.  They have an adorable almost 2 year old son (if you check out her blog there's the cutest video of him saying "praise the Lord.")  I must admit that I wasn't interested in the game at all but enjoyed the time chatting it up and playing with their son.

Today I went to church (the early service) and did a bunch of stuff after.  I went shopping for household items then came home and did some Spring cleaning.  I did a little packing in preparation for our BIG move in less than 3 months.  I got rid of a bunch of clothes that I plan to donate.  I have to go through shoes next weekend.  I rearranged the attic and got rid of a bunch of stuff that I don't want to take with us to NC. 

I should be embarrassed to say this but I had tons of wedding stuff from 3 years ago (left over favors, programs, disposable cameras, bubbles, gifts, etc) that were just thrown in the attic.  I finally went through the stuff today.  I was hoping to find money but I had no such luck.  There were tons of wedding gifts that has never been used and some have duplicates.  Now the attic is organized which should make it easier on us when it's time to move.

I also co-sewed a patch on my neighbor's nursing uniform.  This was an interesting little adventure--the patch is on fine but the bobbing thread was doing something funky so the underside looks a little very erratic.  That's alright, we got the job done.  Finally, I spoke with an old friend today and it was so refreshing.

Ok, maybe this was not such a quick rundown.  How was your weekend?

Mrs. K

Do you know what a Bean Fruit is?

If the answer is no, that is expected.  Don't feel bad.  I did not know what Bean Fruit was until a few months ago because it didn't exist before then.  Ok, I will end the suspense. 

Bean Fruit is the name of my neighbors coffee company.  There's a whole interesting history behind the name which you can check out on their website.  Besides finding out what Bean Fruit is, I've also been recently highly educated by my neighbors about coffee (well at least based on my standards).

www.beanfruit.com

For the past few months while outside or inside my home, I could smell the lovely aroma of several types of coffee beans being roasted including some from Ethiopia, Costa Rica and Brazil.  Now I must admit that the hubby and I are not coffee drinkers but this stuff smells so good it makes me want to eat even the freshly ground coffee.  Bean Fruit's coffee (roasted and ground) smells very differently from the average stuff that is carried in stores.  No offense but the ones already packaged in containers smell like cigarette smoke.

I've had friends attend a cupping (similar to wine tasting but for coffee) of Bean Fruit's coffee and they love it.  I've even brought some to work for the coffee addicts to try and they have said things like "this is quality stuff."  Which is exactly what Bean Fruit's goal is.

A friend enjoying a cupping session

Anyway, based on some complicated math and chemistry equations (I may be exaggerating a tad) the owner has managed to roast the perfect coffee.  Our friends and a few locals have had access to this quality coffee but now you all have access to it also.  Drop by, check it out for yourself and tell them I sent you :).

Now we may not drink coffee but the hubby and I plan to purchase a few bags for some of our coffee-addicted family members as holiday gifts.  Shhh! Don't tell our family, you'll ruin the surprise.

In addition to clicking on the link above, you can also check out the website of the Bean Fruit Coffee Company by clicking on their icon located in the sidebar on the right on my homepage.  When you do try it I would love to know what you think about it.

Did I mention that a portion of what they make goes towards both a local charity and also an international one from the area that the beans were grown.  How awesome is that!

*By the way, I do not get any rewards, etc for writing this post.  My neighbors are just great people who are doing awesome things and I think they deserve to be recognized.* 

Me pretending to know what I'm doing--using a French press to brew coffee

Mrs. K