A new kind of "date" night

Our kitchen is small...and really by small, I mean that it may perhaps be one of the smallest kitchens I have ever seen. It is also completely closed off from the rest of our apartment, which makes communicating with each other while cooking dinner pretty much impossible. So usually, while I am cooking dinner, Ilker is studying, and we stay separate until dinner is ready and it is time to eat.

On Sunday night, Ilker surprised me. When I went in to start dinner, he came into the kitchen with me, and said "I know it will be tight, but tonight let's cook together" So, even though we were crammed in there, we cooked dinner together (good thing we like each other!) It was so nice. We started with the recipe I had concocted in my head, and then together, we tweaked it along the way. Saturday morning Ilker went to the Farmer's Market, so we started adding all kinds of fresh veggies to the dinner...and it was AMAZING! I mean, it was one of the best dinners I have had in a long time! We are in the process of naming our culinary invention...once properly named, I will post the recipe. I took some pics of our evening to share.

Ilker putting the finishing spices on the top



Our beautiful entree, before baking



Going into the oven...



While the chicken was cooking in the oven, we decided to also fix some green beans. (and I actually DID have a second helping!) They were also awesome! And I thought they looked pretty as well!



And finally...our finished entree



This was a fun twist on staying home, and dining in. What was really so much fun was that we mixed our culinary tastes. My American tendencies, with his Turkish tendencies, and created a whole new hybrid of the two... perhaps a sign of things to come ;) We will definitely be doing this again, and I will make sure to update with our next creation. Hopefully, it two will be a success!!

xoxo

i heart my "new" luck

I am a HUGE believer in signs. Not just the signs that you see on the side of the road...but life signs. Signs that seem to come from some higher being, telling you that you are making the right OR wrong decision. Sometimes, I feel about like Salma Hayek and her obsession with signs in Fool Rush In (especially that scene at the airport where Alex sees the little girl, and he KNOWS he has to go to Mexico to find her....)

Anyway, I digress. So I am a big believer in signs. And lately, if I ever doubted the recent decisions I have made in my life, the signs are telling me YOU DID THE RIGHT THING!! My notoriously bad luck seems to have turned around (knock on wood) and things are all working out for me (and Ilker, but mostly it is with things on my side of the relationship)

Today I finished my second day working at David's Bridal, and man did I forget how hard it was to work in retail. But...this means that within the 7 weeks that I have lived here...I have gotten engaged, booked an awesome reception venue, bought my wedding dress, GOTTEN A JOB, dealt with transferring my car to NY without too many added expenses, decided on Save the Date invited and wedding favors...and made great strides in other wedding planning. Oh yes, and have gotten closer to picking out my veil.

So yes people, I am once again employed, and I think I might actually like it. It's going to be hard...but I tell you what-lugging wedding dresses all day long will definitely get me closer to getting my arms in more "wedding dress" shape. Which is an added bonus :)

Here's hoping the good signs keep coming :)

i heart our new bedding

It was fate...after weeks and weeks of searching for "perfect" bedding. Bedding that we agreed on, that would coordinate with the rest of our house, and that wasn't too girly; and finally WE FOUND IT! It was like it was made for us...it's blue (Ilker's fave color) and brown, gorgeous, and the name is Peacock Alley!

So without further delay...the before pictures of our "bedroom"




And...the after





Im so excited with how it turned out! Our apartment is starting to feel like a home, and starting to reflect our personalities. And speaking of our home....here are some pictures of the other two members of our family...couldn't resist.