fall is in the air at last!

it's amazing how waking up to a crisp 55 degree morning puts me in such a better mood than walking outside and instantly starting to sweat.

fall makes me want to buy mums and pumpkins and drink hot tea!

and today i found yet another awesome thing about autumn...sukkot!

as in the jewish feast of tabernacles.
this is when jews live in tents (sukkah) for a week each year at the beginning of fall to remember the 40 years they were lost in the wilderness, and thank God for all his provision.

for lunch today one of my friends who is a rabbi invited me to dine with her in their family sukkah...and it was a super fun experience.


it got me to thinking though...why don't christians celebrate more jewish holidays?
so many of them have such special and messianic meaning behind them to a christian...especially passover. seriously.

in fact, when jesus had the last supper with his disciples and said 'do this in rememberance of me', i think he was especially referring to the passover seder, and the symbolism behind it.
he was saying, now when you come together to remember how God spared you from death by providing the sacrificial lamb, realize that the lamb was only a foreshadowing of my sacrifice for you.

i don't really think he was talking about taking shots of grape juice with crackers...don't get me wrong...i think doing communion is good...but maybe we miss part of the deep impact of it when we don't really think about the original context.

anyways...rabbit trail. just my two cents.

but seriously, maybe i can start a trend of my own.
weather this nice makes me want to build a sukkah in the backyard for sure...
or maybe i'll just go camping. :)



it's actually starting to feel a little bit like fall in texas!
you have no idea how happy that makes me.

a few days of rain brought in this nice little cool front, and all my plants are surely happy.
like me.

in fact...it looks like my sweet potato vine is sneaking across the deck now...hoping that i won't notice.

but it doesn't have to worry. i kinda of like it when beautiful things grow a little out of control. i think i'll allow it until he starts sitting in our patio furniture and not sharing with us.


there he goes! (yup. it's a boy.)

it's hard to believe that the mass of vines trying to take over our yard was just a couple little scrawny plants a few months ago.

i hate it that they're just annual and i can't keep them around all year...but i guess if they were allowed to grow like that all year then they'd just take over the world!

i've spent almost the entire day outside. there aren't many days in texas that you can do that without wanting to die. i welcome this weather to stick around.


ok, so it's safe to say i've been in my fair share of weddings.

i'm up again to be a bridesmaid this fall...
for my mother.

that's one i never saw coming.

so she's letting us pick our own bridesmaids dresses, but they have to be in a specific matching color...

and she's already changed that color. twice.

fortunately, since i have a billion dresses, i've been able to exactly match her color with existing bridesmaids dresses from my closet. twice.

yes, you never know when those dresses might come in handy again i suppose.

maybe it's high time i make a lil' trip to a consignment shop...
or open a consignment shop!


sad but true.


i tend to get on music kicks.
i'll listen to something i like over and over again for awhile until i get it out of my system. it might make some people crazy though! haha.

but lately i've been on a keane kick. a few weeks ago it was brandi carlile, but this week it's keane. they kind of remind me of a mix between U2 and coldplay. so  i'll just leave you with that today because my brain is feeling a little frazzled to process a full length blog!


ok so right now in texas it is hot.
like melt your face off hot.

it's funny, but since my husband and i have been together, indian food as really become a daily part of my life...to the point where at some times i even find certain things to be comfort foods.

one of these things is mishti doi.
my husband's family is from west bengal...a place in india known for it's sweets.

the first time i ever had this dish, we were visiting my husband's aunt and uncle in new delhi.
there was some kind of power outage in the city...so for one day we didn't have power or water, and the temp outside was about 110.

then shomik's aunt comes out to save the day with this dessert she had made earlier.
it was soooo yummy, and a seriously satisfying relief from the heat.

that was a recipe i had to have for future reference...and fortunately for me, it was super easy!
of course there's a more authentic and complicated way of going about it, but for me, easy works just fine. :)

mishti doi (sweet yogurt)

1 32oz plain yogurt
1 can of sweetened condensed milk

mix the two ingredients together in a bowl, and then put them in a microwave safe container.
cook in the microwave for 2-5 minutes...until it starts to develop a custard like consistency.
then chill in the fridge and serve cold!
yum!!


in the winter i love to bake...
but in the summer, this is my kind of cooking!

ps- happy independence day to india!


so i just started an additional blog.

yeah, like i keep up with this one so well that i need another one too, right? :)

but anyways, i'm pretty excited about it because this new blog is mostly for international friends and students that i work with.
it's called 'life in america', and i'm wanting to make it a survival guide of sorts on how to manage living in the US.

and i'm hoping not to be the only author of this blog. if friends want to contribute in their areas of expertise, i think this might be even more beneficial than if it's just my knowledge. :P

so here it is! the official launch!

http://xainternationals.blogspot.com/


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