Koko Likes

Memorial Day Weekend

by Koko on May 24, 2013 · 0 comments

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. I’ll be organizing the home, planting our garden and continuing to settle in.

Let’s not forget what this weekend means and celebrate and remember those soldiers who have fallen so that we can enjoy the life we live today.

This amazing American flag painted on wood is from Pottery Barn and is awaiting its new spot in our home.

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Greek Shrimp and Orzo Salad

by Koko on May 23, 2013 · 0 comments

in Cooking, Grains, Main Course, Pasta, Recipe, Shrimp

This is one of my “Oh my gosh it’s 5PM and I don’t know what to make for dinner” meals. It’s simple, easy and from start to finish takes about 20 minutes. I usually keep some shrimp in the freezer for moments like this, but if you have the chance to grab them fresh, even better. My mom cooks with shells on, I’m a shells off gal (Q prefers the mess-free kind of shrimp), but either one works. The nice part about this recipe is that it is a one pot wonder. You cook the orzo, then add the shrimp to the same pot, easy peezy!

This recipe makes enough for about 6 portions, so Q and I have it for dinner, and then usually lunch for the next two days. The only thing I do is add the avocado each day, so for dinner I add it directly to our plates and do the same for lunch, otherwise it tends to get a little mushy and brown. Feel free to add/remove anything you like to the mix! I’m an artichoke gal, so I load them up. I think olives would work, or eating it alongside some hummus and pita!

Enjoy!

Greek Shrimp and Orzo Salad

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:

8 ounces dried orzo pasta (about half a box, eyeballing works)
1 1/4 pounds raw medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1 cup quartered grape tomatoes
1 cup peeled and roughly chopped cucumber
1 cup quartered artichoke hearts
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/8 cup chopped fresh dill (a few pinches work for us)
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Directions:

Fill a large pot with water and a pinch or two of salt and bring to a boil.
Cook the orzo according to package directions until al dente, about 8 minutes.
At 8 minutes, add the shrimp to the boiling water to allow it to cook with the pasta for about 2 minutes or until all the shrimp are curled and pink.
When the shrimp and orzo are cooked, drain thoroughly and return to the cooking pot.
Drizzle the pasta and shrimp with the lemon juice and olive oil and toss to coat.
Add the onion, tomatoes, cucumber, artichoke hearts, parsley and dill to the pot and stir to combine.
Season with the salt and pepper. Add the feta.
Serve either warm or cold (if cold, pop it into the fridge for a few hours).

Adapted from Chefmom

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Honeymoon?

by Koko on May 22, 2013 · 3 comments

in Wedding

So we decided not to do an official honeymoon. And we are really happy with our decision. As lovely and amazing as a week long vacation to St. Lucia sounds, there were a few things that affected our decision to not plan a big one week trip.

1. We don’t know when we would be able to take one! With Q’s new job and my master’s, we don’t know when we both would be able to take the time off. Q’s job has set vacation times, so if I didn’t have those times free as well, we would be stuck!

2. We would rather use the money from a honeymoon for smaller trips around our new hometown! There is Savannah and Dahlonega and North Carolina to explore. We want to visit friends in DC and NY throughout the year without worrying about the fact that I am not currently working.

3. We want to make our home really special and nice. Q and I love a beautiful home and want to make ours perfect. Does that mean spending a little bit more on coffee tables and bookshelves? Sure, and without a honeymoon on the horizon, we feel comfortable spending a little extra for some fabulous pieces. (PS we got our new bookshelves from Ikea )

4. So many people tell us that a honeymoon is something fun to look forward to. And I am happy to say we have SO much to look forward to besides a big trip! We have new jobs, a new home, and possibly a new puppy sometime soon!

5. We just spent the past 3 weeks together! We spent a week in a hotel, a week on a ferry and a week driving cross country. And that was the most uninterrupted time we have had together in a long time! We loved spending every minute together and I think to us that will always be our honeymoon.

What are your thoughts on a few mini-honeymoon trips rather than one big one?

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Settling

by Koko on May 21, 2013 · 4 comments

in Georgia, Home

We are falling more and more in love with our house everyday. We are lucky that we are located on a corner of a rounded street, so we have lots of room on either side of us. Also the view from our backyard is into a ravine, not other houses, which I love!

We headed to Ikea over the weekend to pick up outdoor furniture since we want to start enjoying this view as soon as possible! The Ikea furniture is similar to this Pottery Barn stuff and a quarter of the price ($99 per piece vs. $219). We figured it is outdoor furniture so we feel totally OK going the Ikea route on it. We also grabbed these two amazing American flag outdoor pillows from Pottery Barn which I think will make the seating area more “us” and less Ikea. (And this is only the corner of the pieces we got, but my carpenter (Q) has to work everyday, so the rest will be built this weekend.)

We have been trying to get back to our normal food routine and plan meals. It feels really nice to have our own fridge and stove again. I have been pulling ideas from Bon Appetit’s Food Lover’s Cleanse as a way to get Q and I back to healthy, homecooked food after 3 weeks on the road. As always, I interpret the recipes my own way and substitute as needed. I like using recipes as a starting point for where our meals eventually end up and have been enjoying this “cleanse” very much.

I’ve started work in the garden and boy is that back breaking work! I’ll do a whole post on the before and after once I’ve finished, but I’ve really been loving transforming the front of our house each morning with new mulch, flowers and plants.

We aren’t in Alaska anymore… I didn’t know how excited I could possibly be about wearing sandals every day again! (Hot pink sandals are Jessica Simpson, similar here)

Morning sunlight into our guest room where Q and I have been sleeping until our master furniture arrives from Alaska.

A little bit of home in our new Georgia life. This was an engagement present and I love how personal and special it is. Unpacking results in LOTS of boxes and trash. We’ve been storing it all in our dining room until the rest of our furniture arrives!

Make shift morning coffee holder.

I’m going to do something with all these glass containers, but I don’t know what yet! I was thinking grains or different flours. Open to all ideas…

Temporary baking storage. My mom (a fabulous baker and chef) unloaded all of her extras on us during this move. I think I have more cake and bread pans than anyone I know. I’m waiting to see what other furniture we get before figuring out some storage ideas for these bad boys. In the meantime, I know exactly what to make my neighbors as a welcome to the neighborhood gift!