Full

So about a month ago I went home for the weekend to help my mom with a dinner they've been doing at church called By Reservation Only.  Before I left for home, I went out to lunch with Mike to try Vietnamese for the first time at Pho Hoa, which is randomly tucked in a couple blocks from my place.  This is what I had!

The big bowl is a steak bowl, which was really awesome.  They had herbs and sprouts to add, and some sauces and sriracha for a little kick.  I really liked it, and it's pretty healthy.  Then above it are some spring rolls we shared, and a peanut dipping sauce.  I found out i definitely like vietnamese food.  yay!

Then I went home and spent a couple days working in the kitchen at church with my mom and some other church ladies.  They started doing these dinner in conjunction with the community theater's performances so that people have a place to go for a nice dinner before going to the play.  This was the third one, and mom was in charge of the food, so she figured out the menu and everything that went along with getting things ready.  For the appetizer we made a roasted red pepper dip, and had an assortment of crackers and pita chips.  Then they had a spinach salad with strawberries, croutons, and raspberry vinaigrette.  For dinner they chose between lasagna and green beans or golden mushroom chicken with garlic smashed potatoes and green beans.  I tried both and they were both delicious.  Then for dessert they chose from raspberry sorbet, blueberry bread pudding, and a toffee brownie sundae.  Everything was really good, and I actually really enjoyed helping out in the kitchen to get everything put together and get it plated up and ready for the servers.  It was also really cool to see our fellowship hall transformed into a beautiful space to serve church and community members. 

Here's mom and I in the kitchen!

Catching Up

Hey guys!  I've totally been taking pictures to put on here, but then haven't put them up, so you'll just get a bunch of posts in a row. woo!

A month ago I went out of town for the weekend.  I went to Columbia for a night and Mike and I went to see Matt Nathanson at the Blue Note.  It was awesome!  I had never been to the Blue Note before, which is terrible since I grew up so close to Columbia.  It is a really cool venue.  I like that it's not very big, so you can never be too far from the stage.  We got there about ten minutes before the show and were still able to walk in and find a good spot pretty close to the stage.  A couple of Mike's law school friends were there, and they were really fun, and super into dancing, which I always like.  Matt Nathanson is really good live.  You can tell he is loving it while he's up there, and he tells a lot of jokes and has funny little dance moves.  Best of all, he sounds great. 

Here is a not so great picture of him playing:

I stayed at Mike's that night, and after some awesome mongolian for lunch, I got on the road up to Kirksville for the rest of the weekend.  The night I got there was girl's/ guy's night, so I ended up helping set up for the girl's luau night.  I hung things from the ceiling, while Jessica made a photo booth area with blue streamers on the wall, a sheet on the floor, and some shells.  We had food and played bunco, but the best part were the pics.  Jessica had a whole box of props: grass skirts, leis, hats, shell necklaces, Hawaiian shirts, etc.  She took a ton of pics, which I can't wait to see.  The rest of the weekend, I spent a bunch of time at the house, and got to know some of the freshman a bit.  Sara and I went to brunch at Rosie's, and Heather and I went to feed the ducks at Thousand Hills.  Overall, it was a pretty awesome weekend, and it was definitely good to see everyone!