: Dinner :: Recipe Coconut Curry Shrimp :

Hey Lovelies!  

Sorry I've been away from here, didn't have much to post about and I am preparing a book post that hopefully I will have up next week. 

But for now I will share a little recipe that we love around these parts. 

Last night I posted this photo on instagram.  When I went back to it there were multiple comments asking how to make it, so here you go! 

Coconut Curry Shrimp  

{a la Mr. L}

Quinoa {1 cup makes ample servings for 4 adults}

2 cups frozen small/medium shrimp

1 can coconut milk {we use Trader Joes lite coconut milk} 

1 cup thinly sliced peppers {yellow/red/orange} 

1 medium white onion 

Currey mix 

Butter/Pam/Olive Oil to coat the pan

1. Place 1 Tbsp of butter/pam/evoo in a large skillet, add curry spices {we have a pre-mixed spice selection from our local ethnic spice isle} 

2. Heat up the mixture of butter & spices, be careful not to burn it.  Apparently {via the chef} this is a very important part..."it wakes the spices up" :: Okay then! 

3. Add onion & peppers and cook till translucent on medium heat

4. Rinse in cold water the shrimp to defrost them and remove the tails. 

5. Once onions & peppers are cooked hike the heat up to 7 {between medium & high} and add the shrimp.  Let it heat away for 2 minutes, don't do more or your shrimp will be rubbery and that's never good! 

6. Add a full can of coconut milk and let simmer on low for 5 minutes until incorporated. 

7. Pour over your scoop of quinoa and voila you have dinner in aprox. 15 minutes.  I make my quinoa ahead on Sunday so we have it for the week, if you do this in advance it will save you from having to wait for the quinoa to cook as the curried shrimp is quicker than the quinoa!

Enjoy! 

* * * 

There you go Lovelies!  Hope you have a great weekend!  We are looking forward to a few fun events and spending time with friends, if you want to see what I'm up to you can find me on instagram...Lord only knows, I'm just a little in love with it!  But as for Sunday it will be social media free so I can spend time with my little family. 

{XoXo}

: Hospitality :

I have friends who are amazing at hospitality; who invite people over and say come as you are and accept us as we are.  I don't feel overwhelmed by these types this is their gift, they are people filled with the gift of hospitality. 

I love that gift, I try and hone my gift of hospitality...but to be truthful sometimes I'm too uptight to let my guard down and invite people in. 

This is where Edie comes in, she has this hospitality thing down pat.  Well not really; she just lets her guard down and welcomes people in. 

"Hospitality isn’t about inviting people into our perfect homes, it’s about inviting them into our imperfect hearts."

She continues to say: 

"It’s about learning to live from that vulnerable place where we open ourselves to love.

And ultimately, it’s about Him—The perfect Host who provides for everything we sinners need, right down to the best wine for the wedding feast.

This ebook is for anyone who has felt his own poverty and known the redemption of being loved anyway.

This is hospitality, on purpose."

I encourage you to purchase her ebook, if it's anything close to her blog on 31 days of hospitality it's bound to be amazing! I just wish I could actually hold it in my hands.  Books like that I don't just want them on my kindle I want them on my nightstand too! 

Hope this encourages you {and me} to open yourself up, be vulnerable and have someone in.  You never know how it will bless you! 

Have a great evening lovelies! 

{XoXo} 

   

: Comparison :

 We have all  read this quote "Comparison is the thief of Joy" ~Theodore Roosevelt

As well as this quote "Jealousy comes from counting others' blessings instead of your own" ~unkown

Theodore wasn't the first one to say don't compare, Jesus asked us to look to Him first.  To call on the Holy Spirit for guidance, not Facebook, not Instagram {no matter how much I love it!}, not Twitter & not blogs. 

Go to Him.  

Be found in Him. 

We live in a world filled with social media, filled with conversations without an actual voice, just words, essentially without any commitment, we can do it all...make dinner, text with a friend, do homework with my child, listen to the Mr. and his day.  

I love social media just as the next person, but when I saw this sign on Sunday posted by Aedriel {Hello Lovely!  Find her blog here or on IG under Aedriel} morning it challenged me to be more in tune with my family and to put the social media down for the day. 

And let me tell you it was hard! I found myself going to it time and time again and had to say "no Shawna, you can't".  Then I found myself accomplishing A LOT! Since we were out all day Saturday it most definitely could be defined as our day of rest/fun.  

So on Sunday while I found myself with SO much time {I allowed myself to respond to texts & log in on MFP} I was able to vacuum the whole house, practice reading with Jacob for an hour, clean all the washrooms {3}, load & empty the dishwasher, do 5 loads of laundry and put 4 of them away {the last one is still in the dryer}, make dinner, dust the main floor, bake cookies, prepare lunches for Monday, watch a show with Paul {we are so sucked into Downton it's not even funny!} read a magazine, clean out the pantry & fridge, play trains with the boys...and menial other tasks between all that!  And this was all after going to church in the morning, stopping into the grocery store for a few necessities and making brunch for my little family.

Lovelies, that is ALOT of stuff to accomplish and all because I put my phone down, well probably not but I can say I spent much more quality time actually living.  I was more aware {every time I reached for my little black device} how much time I've wasted by staring at that little screen.

I try to not compare when I see a photo posted on FB or IG and think "Gee I wish I was invited" or "hmmm, wish I could do that" instead of living my life to the fullest, watering the grass that is on my side of the fence and taking time to sprinkle a little love on my neighbors grass while I'm at it...

How different would the world be if we stopped comparing and rushing on about how great someone did something or looked but actually blessed them with affirmation that comes from Christ. 

I know that FB & IG & Twitter can be an encouragement, I too have been encouraged by what people have posted and sometimes it is a fantastic tool...that is as long as our hearts are turned towards Christ and we are lifting Him up by our actions {even the actions of posting a photo}.  I'm not saying you have to be a holy roller about posting a simple photo on IG but I'm talking about not posting it to make others feel jealous or envious.

“Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.” Galations 5:26

It's interesting to me that a book {zee Bible} written thousands of years before any of this technology can still speak directly to the heart of the matter & the mess that the world has created out of all of these outlets. 

 “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” Romans 12:2

This post really went on much further than I thought it would.  It all came from just taking one day to remove myself from the distractions of this world to realize how much I miss out on because I'm allowing the distractions to come in.

Happy Monday Lovelies!  I encourage you to choose a day that you will renew your mind and spirit by putting down the social media that crams our minds, it's amazing how refreshing it feels!  

Much Much Love! 

{XoXo}