Blue Nile Ethiopian

Hello everyone!

Hope everyone is staying warm!  we just had the 'historic' Juno, and lo and behold... it's snowing again...  so! care for a little virtual trip to someplace a bit warmer?  how about Ethiopia with its spiced teas, coffee ceremonies, frankincense, and abundance of everything warm and spicy?  =)

We visited Blue Nile for a date night (day) after one of our friends recommended the place to us, and we had a great time!  Yelp guided us on what to order because I've only had Ethiopian food once before, and David wasn't a pro either, and we were very happy with our choices!  =)

The only thing I wasn't completely over the moon about was this spiced tea...  I mean...  It was good, but it wasn't that different than other teas I've tried.

If the tea was a bit underwhelming, the main course was...  incredible!

We ordered a vegetarian combination and a beef dish, and everything was so. delicious.

In Ethiopian cuisine, you eat everything with  you hands, wrapping the food in enjera (the spongy pancake looking thing).  It may take a little bit of getting used to, but it's really not too weird once you do it a couple of times.  Besides, once you start eating, you'll forget all about the new way of eating because it's the only way you can get the deliciousness in front of you into your belly!

yum!  yup, we did a good job  ;)  haha  

Coffee is not really my cup of tea... (not having much luck here with my 'teas') I've tried so hard for so many years to like it, but the closest I get to it is a mocha.. and maybe a hazelnut latte.  But when I saw that they had an 'Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony', I had to order it and see what it was like!

The whole experience was pretty cool.  They brought the roasted beans, shook it around in front of us and had us smell the aroma,

then, they brought some frankincense, popcorn, and the coffee to be brewed in a little pot at our table

Unfortunately, even after the Ethiopian ceremony, I was not a huge fan of the coffee.  David, however, who likes coffee like a normal 20 something, really liked it! 

We were a little confused by the popcorn... but the waiter assured us that popcorn is a normal part of Ethiopian coffee/snack time!

We really enjoyed our visit to Blue Nile; the wait staff was wonderful, the food was fantastic, and the family-run atmosphere was really charming  =)  We would highly recommend a trip over if you are in Houston and in the mood for some Ethiopian food!

Happy Friday everyone, and hope you have a wonderful wekeend!

Thanks for stopping by!

--Janny

Snowpocalypse 2015

Hello everyone!

We survived the Snowpocalypse of 2015! The blizzard Juno started Monday night, and raged through all of Tuesday here in Boston, and that's why school is cancelled AGAIN today!  2 days in a row! wowzers.  I have to say though, I miss going to school..  a bit of cabin fever talking I think?

To combat the cabin fever a bit, Shawn and I went for a little stroll in the blizzard.  

It was pretty dangerous going down since the whole staircase was covered with snow, but we made it down in one piece and started our exploring!

This was still during the early part of the day, so the snow was only(?!) up to our knees, but I've heard that Boston got more than 2 feet of snow yesterday!

We're so thankful for the workers who worked tirelessly all day to clear up the roads.

My first blizzard!!

my poor car starting to get buried...

There was a little mountain in our driveway, so I decided to go for a 'hike', but...

that didn't end so well... my poor leg.. if only I had thigh high snow boots  haha

photo cred : Shawn

We were only outside for 10 minutes or so, and we were quite frozen, so I hope everyone stayed warm and safe!

Thanks for stopping by!

--Janny

Houston for a few days

Hello everyone!

Snowmageddon is here in Boston!  BU has cancelled school for this evening and all of tomorrow, and everyone is prepping for 2-3 feet of snow and hurricane speed winds.  I have never experienced a blizzard before, so while I know that it's extremely dangerous, I'm also rather giddy to see a completely white world tomorrow when I wake up!  

outside my window a few days ago  =)

Being stuck at home for a full day and a half also gives me time to catch up on my blog!  I know it's been awhile, but since I got to Boston, I've been so swamped with school and my new job as an orchestra manager that it's been difficult to even find time to eat sometimes.  Needless to say, this snow day could not have come at a better time.  I'm looking forward to baking cookies, maybe drinking some hot chocolate, catching up on some homework, practicing, and just enjoying this God-send day off.

Now, to catch up on a few events before my life became incredibly hectic...
I spent a few days in Houston before school started, and though I couldn't see everyone I wanted to see due to lack of time, I still got to pack in a few adventures  =)

The first one, of course, (I mean, it's David and I haha) was going dancing!  We used to love going to Second Saturday Dances put on by USA Dance, and my visit coincided with the Second Saturday Dance for January, so we got to go!

It was before school started in Houston, so we didn't see all of the Rice dancers, but we did see a few of our old Rice friends + an adopted U of H dancer   haha.  They had a little 'photo booth' there, so obviously, we had to take the awkward dance family photo  ;)

Then, our old apartment reunited!!!!  

If you've been following my blog for awhile, you would be familiar with seeing Amulet around here since we were roommates for 2 years!  

it was really great to catch up, have some lunch, and some coffee to warm up in the frigid(?) Houston weather (little did I know what I would be facing in Boston)

Later, for tradition's sake, the double daters got together for some game night!  We used to do this so much, and Chris (Amulet's bf) has quite an extensive collection of board games, so we had to get together again while I was visiting  =)

We played a Polish game (I forget what it's called since it was in Polish) that was a cross between the game 'Dixit' and 'Clue' that got us all warmed up for a night of non-stop laughter.

we were joined by our favorite four-legged friend, Houdini!!  such a charmer this one  =)

After two rounds of the first game, we proceeded to build our castles with the game 'Castles of Mad King Ludwig' which was so much fun!  Chris built the fattest castle, Amulet had the most well-balanced castle, I had the sleepiest one, and David had the creepiest, strangest castle full of dungeons and other questionable underground rooms  haha

It was so good to be back hanging out and catching up with our favorite double date couple, and I hope that we get to do it more as we visit each other in our respective cities  =)

If you are in the New England area chillin with the blizzard Juno, I hope that you will stay warm and safe, and if you are enjoying the balmy weather in the 50's (like in Houston), then... well...  harumph.  haha  =)  

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great week!

--Janny