re-instilling family dinners...!

I'm entering another new season of life as I start a new job at the beginning of September... it's exciting and wonderful, but mostly I'm looking forward to getting back into the kitchen... for fun. :) 

I've lucked out again and been blessed with two incredible girls for roommates. We are all three very different, but we groove. :) We gel. ;) To celebrate this, I informed my wonderful roommates that we're going to be having a lot more family dinners going forward. There's no just reason not to.

Last weekend while we were in Dubuque, I tried this San-J Thai Peanut Sauce and LOVED it. We had been wandering around the farmer's market and got some spring rolls... they offered this for dipping - whoa, baby. Delicious. 

So, naturally, I bought a bottle. 

Last night, I bought three chicken breasts, marinated them in 3/4 cup of this great sauce, and sautéd them for dinner. We added steamed broccoli & ginger and basmati rice. (Does anyone know if they sell basmati candles?! What a perfect scent. Yum.) 

The magical sauce.

Maybe someday I'll invest in some lids... then again, maybe not. :)

Napkins I found from my time in France! 

So simple, yet so good!

IOWA table wine. :)

Lorelei Cabins

I'm not sure when it happened, but there was this magical day where my brother and I went from being arch nemesis to best friends... I'm really glad too, he's a lot of fun. 

This summer, he and my sweet, attempted a surprise for me and my sister-in-law by planning a weekend away in a cute little log cabin. The secret got out (I'm a pest when it comes to secrets) and the weekend was phenomenal. 

These darling little wooden cabins are tucked away in the hills of eastern Iowa, just outside Dubuque. Although it was a little more difficult than I'd expected to find the cabin itself, it was well worth the hunt. It was so peaceful and wonderful. Just opening the door, you're greeted by the scent of fresh cedar. The cabin is fully stocked... even with four full length bath robes! 

If you're looking for a peaceful getaway to rest and rejuvenate. I suggest at least looking into these. 

We spent our downtime in the hot tub, (that's right, as if peaceful cabin outside of town wasn't good enough... but wait, there's more!) paddle-boating on the pond, shopped the farmer's market in Dubuque, we visited the casino, had lunch at a local winery, grilled steaks for dinner, and watched a movie. 

Although it didn't seem quite long enough, it was a wonderful weekend and probably should happen more often. :)