girl.time.

Two Mondays ago, I was off work, and a friend of mine, Amy, came over to visit me and our new home. She brought her baby Jacob and all of his cuteness too! (I was preoccupied with the cutie pie so I wasn’t able to take photos)

It was a quick visit but it was fun just being with a girl friend and talking about “girly” things. It’s a nice break from the work, home, work, home routine.

Amy wanted to go to TNT Supermarket, an Asian grocery store, and I tagged along. I got some veggies and I also bought black bean sauce which I’ve planned to use for ground beef for the longest time, but just never got around to doing. Good thing Amy was there to boost my confidence about black bean sauce and how easy it is to use for Asian/Chinese cooking.

Last week, I was off work again on Monday, and I had two beautiful ladies (Rho and Linds) over for lunch. They intended to camp by the Vedder River Campsite over the weekend until Monday, but the weather didn’t permit that. I was fortunate enough to catch these busy girls with a free Monday, so it was the perfect day to get together.

Rho and Linds brought me goodies (even though they really didn’t have to, it was just a lunch).

Anyways, I got me some new dish cloths/towels, a cute “pig” chip clip and  a pretty plant:

(thanks so much ladies, for your thoughtfulness!)

The table setting with some vanilla scented candles:

This was before I served the food:

Too bad I don’t have a photo of our actual lunch.

The appies were a tad too healthy for me, (well, minus the potato chips of course!) but I knew my guests would appreciate some almonds and table grapes.

We had steamed rice and ground beef with green beans and eggplant on black bean sauce for lunch. I know it’s a mouthful, but it really was a simple dish to put together.

I have to say it was my first time to cook with black bean sauce (thanks Amy!) and it was a hit! Rho and Linds loved it. (Hopefully they weren’t just being nice and polite guests) I didn’t hear the word “interesting”, which my husband would always use when he is trying to be polite about the food, so that’s a good sign right?

I apologize profusely for not taking photos of the main course. You’re not missing anything though, it just looked dark with all that black bean sauce and ground beef. I have to say, it’s one of those dishes that you have to taste, to give it justice. (Lame excuse, I know. Maybe I’ll write a recipe post and take photos next time!)

Anyways, just thought I’d share two of my consecutive Mondays spent well with great girl friends!

If you’ve been very busy lately, with work, or anything else that is taking up too much of your time, then take the time to wind down with your friends! It’s good for your sanity

Have a great rest of the week!