New Restaurant, New Tastes

Trying out new restaurants and different cuisines can both contribute to a more amazing life.

A recent visit, with my daughter, to a relatively new restaurant in western Massachusetts turned out to be a great experience.

Every bite of food in bento boxes of yummies tasted delicious.

The photo shown at the top is of my daughter's bento box. She ordered some kind of basil chicken.

It's an Asian fusion restaurant that focuses on sushi but has lots of other offerings as well.

The waiters and all restaurant personnel we came in contact with made us feel very welcome. 

We left happy with the kindness shown to us as well as the delicious food.

Right inside the entrance one can see gorgeous pink flowers and pink is my favorite color. We were off to a good start!

Chicken Pad Thai my bento box tasted great as did a salad and other tidbits. 

The restaurant we went to is called Yao. Check out their website!

For a once-in-awhile treat, it's nice to have breakfast or lunch in a new place. (Dinners tend to be more expensive.)

It gets one's mind off of any problems or troubles for a short amount of time and brings a little zest to life!

DO YOU LIKE TO TRY DIFFERENT CUISINES?

Snowbaby Bunny and More

 

Snowbabies are porcelain figures that tug at the heart.

They are absolutely adorable, come in a huge variety of figures, and would make a fabulous collection.

Last summer, my daughter and I went to a well-known church thrift sale that always has hundreds of great things to sell.

She spotted a Snowbaby bunny carrying an Easter basket and a tiny bunny in her arms, as well.

Because there is no room (or money or time) to start another collection, I ooed and ahhed over the Snowbaby bunny figure but walked away from it.

After the sale, my daughter handed me a box. Inside sat the Snowbaby bunny! How sweet was that?

According to Department 56, snowbabies are "inspired by antique figurines from Germany and Japan. Each Snowbabies piece is carefully designed to ensure a sentiment of love, friendship and inspiration."

My little bunny Snowbaby joins a whole slew of bunny cousins on top of the buffet in the apartment living room.

The sleepy little fellow below reminds me of how hard it is to get up in the morning when I go to bed too late at night. 

May you enjoy every minute of today.

Looking for the Light

Sliding open the heavy blackout bedroom curtains yesterday morning, hoping for bright rays of sunshine to flood in, turned out to be a heart-sinking experience.

There was no sun.

It was dark gray out there as well as cold and rainy.

Immediately, the realization came that this would be a day to find one's own light.

Flicking on three lights in the darkened living room helped a lot.

So did switching a lovely, white matelasse cover from the bed to the living room couch. 

That really lightened up the room.

There were candles of course as well as turning on the three lights.

When we look for the light, it always dispels the darkness.

For Christians, Christ is the light of the world. He always lights up the paths of our lives. 

We know we never have to face the darkness alone and can look forward to being immersed in His light.

No matter what chaos is going on around us, in the world, when we are immersed in His light, we know that everything is, eventually, going to be okay.

May this day, wherever you are, be filled with light, regardless of the weather!

Have You Heard of the ZZ Plant?

 

 Reading about container gardens, flowers, herbs, plants, and such brings a lot of satisfaction and is even kind of fun.                          

There's no longer a garden around here but reading about the gardens others have is still pleasant.

 While looking through information online about houseplant possibilities the other day, a plant that is called zamioculca pops up on the computer screen.

It's also referred to as the ZZ plant.

It looks very pretty with deep green, shiny leaves. 

Its description notes it is originally from East Africa.

It's known to purify whatever environment it's in. 

It has been known to give a peaceful sleep to a human, if placed in a bedroom, its description reveals.

The info goes on to reveal that it cleans the air of dust.

 When placed near a front door, (now this tidbit really gtse me going), it will absorb the negative energy from any guests entering.  I imagine that is more folklore than fact but it sure sounds interesting.

Shock of all shocks, recently, while looking at a really beautiful plant display in a big box store,  among the smaller plants there happened to be several, you guessed it, zamioculcas. 

They cost $15.99 each. 

Yes, one is home with me and so far, it's been a pleasant new plant companion. 

If someone crabby plans to visit, it will be interesting to see if the plant absorbs the negative energy!

If it does, it might be a good idea to go and buy a few more zz plants!

HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF A ZAMIOCULCA OR ZZ PLANT?

A Winning Culinary Exploration

Being willing to try foods from different cultures can open a whole new world of wonderful eating in our lives.

For instance, have you ever tasted Vietnamese "pho" (pronounced "fah"), a tantalizingly luscious soup?

 It comes with a variety of ingredients and flavors and is truly delectable.

A new restaurant opened recently western Massachusetts. 

We drove to try it out.

The "amazing pho,"  which is also the name of the restaurant, turned out to be one of the most delicious soups of an entire lifetime!

It came accompanied by a small bowl of sprouts, mint leaves, hot pepper slices, etc. 

Every single sip of the pho tickled the tastebuds and made for a totally luscious lunch.

Not only that, the bowls were so large, there was pho for supper that night and for lunch the next day!

 

If you've never tried pho, put it on your culinary bucket list.

You will not be sorry!

WHAT IS ONE THING TO EAT FROM ANOTHER CULTURE THAT YOU ABSOLUTELY LOVE?