P is for POTATOES

Have you ever had purple potatoes?  They really freaked Zach out, and if I am being honest, they freaked me out a bit, too.  ;)  It reminded me of the colored ketchup they used to have, or may have still; you just expect it to taste differently, and when it doesn't, it throws you off.  You would think you would be happy something tasted the way it was supposed to taste--like a potato that happens to be purple--but it's just...weird to eat a purple potato.

I did try to be the adult and insist to Zach, "There's nothing weird about a purple potato; they taste just like the red skinned and golden skinned potatoes."

But then I kept imagining purple mashed potatoes, and...ewww.

Anyway, it was fun to have multi-colored potatoes since they were so pretty together.  I really wish I had taken a picture of a cut purple potato because they are truly purple.  Really purple.  Weirdly purple?  *tehe*

Potatoes have a bad rap for offering far too many bad carbohydrates.  But I don't think potatoes are so bad when you eat them in moderation; we just happen to LOVE our potatoes here in a America.  You know, we have French fries (or freedom fries, if you are silly), baked potatoes, twice-baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, smashed potatoes, potato skins, scalloped potatoes, potatoes au gratin, hash browns, fried potatoes, etc.  In China, fast food items are served with corn, which isn't much better (FYI, it's a grain, not a vegetable), but we would probably consider this option to be better.  BUT potatoes are chock full of vitamin C (we must need LOTS of vitamin C since it's in everything healthy *lol*), potassium, and vitamin B6.  This last vitamin is essential in glucose and lipid (good fats and fat-soluble vitamins) metabolism, and it is needed for the skin and nerves and affects sleep patterns.

I really love roasted potatoes with some olive oil and herbs.  Basically, I scrub the potatoes before drizzling and tossing them in some olive oil (1-2 tablespoons) and sprinkle with my preferred spices (I looooove rosemary, which is what I used here), and bake at 325-350 for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of the potatoes or potato slices.  You can peel the potatoes and slice them if you choose; I kept the skins on since most of the vitamins and minerals are in them, and I only halved a few of them because they were larger than the rest.  (These were bite-sized potatoes.)

I highly recommend making your potatoes with rosemary, but I think I am going to start mixing things up next time.  :)

Living at The Owlery

Today I am linking up with Kelly's Corner's Tour of Living Rooms.  I apologize for the poor quality of the photos; they were taken on my iPhone.  ;0)  We are still working on decorating our house, and it is a little cluttered and messy right now, but that is how we live at The Owlery...

a view of our living room from the front door 

one view from the kitchen

My husband always neatly stacks everything up on the coffee table, which drives me crazy because the scrapbook I made him and our wedding photo album can't be seen or be artistically arranged on the table.

I always pile up current bills and letters and books I'm reading underneath, which drives him crazy because he hates clutter.  *lol*  We are a perfect pair.

This is our TV that we got for Valentine's Day for last year.  Our entertainment center used to be an aquarium stand that we repurposed to hold all of our devices.  I think I would like to paint it red or olive green one day...

One of Zach's former bosses built the speakers on each side of the entertainment stand.  Someday, I will figure out what to hang over the TV.  I just feel like anything large and square/rectangular will compete with the TV as well as the picture over the fireplace.

I love that we have a fireplace!  I feel like it is so romantic.  :)  During off months, I would like to buy a set of candles in different sizes to place inside, but right now the natural log suffices.  Our fireplace tool kit doesn't match our screen exactly, but I like that we aren't too matchy-matchy. 

Zach's parents got us the "guest book" frame to use at our reception, which we held three months after our wedding.  Somehow, his dad broke the glass to it, and we still haven't gotten it replaced over two years later.  *lol*  The red glass candleholders were a Christmas gift from my cousin Erin, the smaller frame reads "One of the most beautiful blessings God gave me was you" and was a gift from my mama while I was in the hospital this last time, the HOPE candle holder was won by my mama at BINGO, the mantel clock was a wedding present (I can't remember who I got us it now--sorry!), and the dancing bride and groom came from my mama's house (It was a piece of decor in our home while I was growing up.).  Zach just recently bought the helicopter to terrify our kitties.  ;)

You will notice there are lots of LEGO in our house as I give you the tour.  My husband has been building since he was four when he received his first set; it was the only time my in-law's had seen him sit still up to that point, so they kept buying him bricks!  He now has a whole LEGO room to himself (one of his dreams growing up).  The Star Wars Death Star on his desk is always a big draw.  It's one of the larger sets that has ever been made.

Also, we got this desk at Office Depot for around $60 because it was on sale and we had a coupon.  WOO!

Finally, we are a Mac family.  :)

This is our balcony.  I use those birds there (purchased at Target on clearance) to measure the snow during the summer.  During the winter, these trees are absolutely bare, but during the summer, it becomes a jungle.  We have a few dead plants out there (the soil was infested with gnats, and our techniques to kill them killed the plants) as well as a cute red tiled table we got at World Market.  We are in the process of finding some chairs to match that will fit.  (The balcony is small.)  Zach's mom got me a hummingbird feeder for my birthday, but we still haven't seen any hummingbirds.  :(

Zach's sister Erin painted us this gorgeous scene for Christmas this past year.  I love it!

This is where our kitties live--the Kitty City!  This is Hobie; his little sister Dinah is somewhere causing trouble...

That flooring and rug you see in the upper left is the kitchen/dining area. 

When we graduated with our Masters degrees, Zach's parents got us a couch as a graduation gift.  I love our cinnamon settee!  However, I am not as found of the pillows, so I made an envelope case out of beige toile to cover one.  We always fight over the pillows in that Zach likes to have them on when we are both hanging on the couch, and I always like to remove the one from my side.  The white throw is actually a prayer shawl that was made by a local church to honor our wedding, and Zach stole the Christmas throw beneath it from his parents.

Our friend Michelle got us the King and Queen Chess hangings, and we bought the shelf lamp from Target.  There's a candy dish, white chess piece, and London phone booth bank on its shelves.  You can see into the kitchen/dining area through the window opening.

Finally, this is our extensive music collection.  One day we will have an nice and HUGE cabinet in which to store our music.  (You may have noticed more CDs stacked on the glass desk.)  This is another shelf lamp with a picture of Hobie in a frame Zach got me for my 25th birthday (its twin is on the desk), a cloisonné box Zach got in China, an Asian tea set from Zach's sister Erin (for our wedding), and some music DVDs.  The shadow box above our musical collection is most important.  Zach made this and used it in his proposal, which you can read about here.  His butt actually broke the glass in it as well!  I had it leaning against the couch across from these CD shelves so he would know where to hang it, and he came to sort CDs and sat down on it.  And, no, he didn't cut his butt!

I hope you enjoyed seeing where we live in The Owlery!  I assume you will see where we eat and cook next. :)