First visit to our friend's new house

Sweet potatoe soup with salsa and yogurt

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.

black eyed pea salad with buttermilk dressing

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.

super delicious jalapeno cornbread

brain flowers- one of my favorite flowers