Tuesday night Brent and I were in for a treat as we were invited to our friend's new house for dinner!  Brent was fortunate enough to work with Ted and Nicole on finding their first house and I was glad to finally get a chance to see it, since I had heard so much about it.  I loved it so much and fell in love with a couple of things they can boast of.  I love the fact that some kitchens these days are placing the stove where the bar normally is (I should have taken a picture) so you can face your guests while slaving over the hot stove.  I think it adds so much to the dinner/entertaining experience.

The layout is just so cute and they have a nice backyard.  Brent and I are urban and I personally don't want a yard to care for. However, I totally get the appeal when I see how beautiful theirs is with nice big trees.  For me though it's kind of like the thought of owning a pool and I'd rather just visit someone else's instead of taking care of it myself.  Anyways, it's a great place!
So back to the kitchen... Nicole did a great job using her appliances to their full potential and made us a delicious sweet potato soup.  It was topped off with some awesome super spicy salsa and a dash of yogurt. Something I had never had before was the black eyed pea salad she made.

The peas were perfect with the buttermilk dressing and celery. It was truly inspiring and was altogether a delicious and healthy meal. It all reminded me I just really need to start cooking at home more.