Polenta....

How I love Polenta! 

For those who don't know what polenta is. It has the consistency of grainy mashed potatoes. 

It is creamy, soft, and rich delicious goodness.

It melts in your mouth, and is very basic. It takes on the taste of what you pair it with, therefore it is versatile and goes with almost any type of food.

So, did you see the picture just above? I tried making polenta tonight. It looked nothing like the picture shown above. I didn't take a picture because it was such an epic failure, but it looked something like the picture shown below. Which one would you like to eat??? Yeah, I'd like to eat the top one as well.

 

So, anyone have a yummy polenta recipe that is edible? If so, I'd like it. 

Pretty please? 

Also maybe what to cook with it?

Eat Pray Love...

I went and saw the movie Eat Pray Love for the second time this weekend, oh how I love that movie! I started reading the book as well and I'm loving it! If you haven't seen the movie, it follows this sequence: Liz Gilbert 'Eats' her way through Italy, 'Prays' in India, and finds 'Love' in Indonesia. I definitely identify with her segment of Italy when she goes to her Italian language class. Here's a little excerpt:

"The interesting thing about my Italian class is that nobody really needs to be there. There are twelve of us studying together, of all ages, from all over the world, and everybody has come to Rome for the same reason- to study Italian because they feel like it. Not one of us can identify a single practical reason for being here."

I love this quote because it is SO true. While I was in Siena, I attended language, culture, and cooking classes at the Societa Dante Alighieri. One of the hardest and best experiences of my life. There were 4 other people in my class- all from different walks of life, but with the same idea. We wanted to learn Italian- eat, breathe, and live Italian, and it was SO worth it. 

As part of our learning, every morning we had to introduce ourselves and try to explain why we were here. The only person who had a purpose besides pleasure or school, was Sua Lucia- she was a nun from Korea who was here to 'studia la lingua del Papa' - to study the language of the Pope. She was my favorite classmate. Quiet, timid, kind, unassuming, and good. There aren't enough adjectives to describe Sua Lucia.

This was my class (l-r): Tomas from Germany, Sua Lucia (Sister Lucy) from Korea, Pasqualena from Australia, me from America, Laura our teacher, and Jake from Australia

Anyways, you'll probably be hearing more of this book as I read. I know my poor husband has heard so many excerpt he can't keep them straight. Oh how I love anything Italian!

On another good note, I discovered a website tonight that I'm in LOVE with! I discovered it from another blog I read by Kelle Hampton. Enjoy her blog here. Getting back to what I was originally talking about- there is a website called www.shabbyapple.com - they make dresses that are modest- all have sleeves and length goes to the knee. They are of the belief that dresses should not require a cami underneath or a cardigan. How refreshing! You wouldn't believe how hard of a thing this is to find- a modest dress that is chic at the same time! I need to do some online shopping! BTW, they were going to have a sale in SLC this past weekend but the rain cancelled it. Let's hope they have another sale/garden party! So go and check it out!

Overcoming fear...

Yesterday I began a process of overcoming one of my fears.

I have always been afraid and extremely intimidated by GUNS-

well anything that can be deadly actually..

So, yesterday we went shooting with friends!

(This is where I would insert a picture had I remembered my camera)

I was able to shoot the gun my husband owns- I believe it's a Springfield XD subcompact-it's black and has 2 safety's. I like that there are 2, that way you know it can't go off on accident- you have to be gripping the gun for one safety, and pulling the trigger for the other safety.

I was really surprised when I first shot it! It had a powerful recoil. Apparently not as bad as some guns, but it was still surprising. It surprised me so much that I yelled a swear word! Josh was beside himself laughing and I had to agree. Not many people have that reaction when they shoot a gun.

Once the first initial shock was over of how powerful this gun was, I buckled down and prepared for some target shooting. Surprisingly, I was pretty acurate. I was able to hit the bullseye and around it the majority of the time.

I'm excited to go shooting again. I know there's going to be a next time. I'm not afraid like I was. I guess it was fear of the unknown, and definitely becoming familiar with such a deadly weapon. I'm not saying that I'm going to go out and be the next Rambo, but I think if I was being threatened I could defend myself.