couples crush.

Confession: I have a few famous couple crushes. Yes. Couples that I am crushing on, literally. I'm mildy obsessed with discovering vintage photos like this one of Ruby Dee and Ossie. Don't they look gorgeous together? Ruby Dee looks like she is literally basking in Ossie's love glow in this photo!

Lasana and I have a real respect for couples that endured the trials of life and love together. It's especially inspiring to learn stories about couples who contributed something to society together in the form of civil service, political greatness, philanthropy, high art, and culture. 

That is the real meaning of power couple!

1

2  

3

                                        4   

                                      5

1 Martin Luther and Coretta Scott King

2 Geoffrey Holder and Carmen de Lavallade

3 Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln

4 Camille and Bill Cosby

5 Barack and Michelle Obama

(photos via pinterest)

dinner in a bowl.

a light (yet filling) and delicious, Asian-inspired meal with sesame-crusted salmon, teriyaki broccoli, and brown rice in a bowl. organic ingredients prepared and cooked with simplicity. served up with pretty chopsticks. serves 3.

ingredients & prep

for the rice

- 1 cup brown rice - Lundberg Family Farms is organic and g-free

- 2 cups of water

- 1 tbsp of oil - olive or coconut work well

before any other step, bring the rice water and oil to a boil in a medium pot. cover with a tight lid and let the rice simmer on low for 40 minutes. 

for the salmon

- 3 fresh or frozen pink salmon filet with skin

- 1/4 cup sesame seeds (white or black)

thaw thoroughly and place in a glass baking dish or large bowl.

for the marinade

- 1/2 cup soy sauce or tamari

- 1/3 cup chicken or vegetable broth

- 1 tablespoon brown sugar

- 2 cloves fresh garlic

- 1 small knob of fresh ginger, powdered is fine too (about 1 teaspoon)

- a pinch of cayenne pepper

whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.

for the broccoli

- small head of broccoli

- 1 tbsp of coconut oil

- 1 large carrot

- (optional: 1 handful of spinach or other leafy green)

cooking directions

1. using a sharp knife, cut broccoli tree into smaller trees removing the tough trunk. wash, peel and cut carrot into thin matchsticks and toss with broccoli.

2. while the rice is cooking, pour the marinade mixture over the salmon filets and allow to marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes. 

3. heat a medium skillet over medium heat and add coconut oil to saute the veggies. add them one at a time in increments of 5 minutes: first broccoli, then carrots, and finally spinach - that way everything cooks well. stir vegetables every now and reduce to low heat. turn off once broccoli is tender and cover with a lid.

 4. heat another medium skillet over medium heat and add coconut oil for the salmon. pour sesame seeds on a plate or in a bowl and dredge the flesh side of the marinated fish. press gently to make sure the seeds stick. place salmon in the heated skillet skin side up and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side.

5. when rice is finished cooking remove from heat and let it set for 10 minutes. fluff with a fork and then serve rice, veggies and fish in a bowl.

(optional: garnish with dried seaweed, more sesame seeds or lemon twist)

enjoy with chopsticks :)

our space

is still here.

though it hasn't been visited in a while.

it's not empty, but what was added here was in the past. 

most everything that we think about is the same. in the past. 

and then how the past will affect our future. 

but then we get away from the present.

now i've found my way here, quietly.

and found our space waiting for me.

to enter it. here.

xo

your jessica

#1 Love Bytes

...and sometimes it hurts.

i just started reading tiny beautiful things. it's a collection of originally published letters by cheryl strayed, the infamous "sugar" of "dear sugar", the advice column that reads more like literary art.

in a response that she writes to a frightened man who after divorcing one wife of 20+ years finds another that he does indeed loves but can't tell her so, sugar gives a strikingly true definition of love the way we typically experience it:

it is not so incomprehensible as you pretend, sweet pea. love is the feeling we have for those we care deeply about and hold in high regard. it can be light as the hug we give a friend or heavy as the sacrifices we make for our children. it can be romantic, platonic, familial, fleeting, everlasting, conditional, unconditional, imbued with sorry, stoked by sex, sullied by abuse, amplified by kindness, twisted by betrayal, deepened by time, darkened by difficulty, leavened by generosity, nourished by humor, and loaded with promises and commitments that we may or may not want to keep. the best thing you can do with your life is tackle the motherfucking shit out of love.

sugar was hoping to undo these preconceived notions that the reader had about love meaning one thing. that is the love he felt for this new woman didn't have to be the same love that he felt for his ex-wife nor did it have to require the same actions, behaviors. it's something brand new. I am admittedly a person that believes the word "love" should not be used too casually. it's a word that should be assigned to something or someone special. and not that you can't love many things, but not everything can have the same appointment as "love" because then it loses its specialness. after reading sugar, i think she is right. sometimes its possible to become overwhelmed with feeling that is more than like and it doesn't mean that the feeling will stay, but while it's here we should embrace it and love it without feeling the need to act on it all the time or maybe there are times that we should! not just superficial things but our challenges and sorrows and solitude should be embraced with love.

so here's a new post series that im calling love bytes. it's for all my loves from fleeting to everlasting, both unconditional to conditional. i'll # them as I go and write to you in this space when i feel love. look for #2 very soon to get the idea <3

xo

oh btw-- the image is of Princess Elizabeth of the kingdom of Toro (Uganda.) She is stunning and has quite a list of inspiring accomplishments (princess, lawyer, politician, diplomat, model, actress) which is why her picture is on my first love byte post. i love her.

image credit: afrikanwomen

when friday arrives

i'm usually wondering where it's been! as the week inched along, i was starting to wonder whether it was ever going to come. well, it came. it turns out that it will be the last time anticipating friday from the desk at a job i took here in portland just over one year ago.

but it's still friday nonetheless and for me that could mean one or a combination of the following:

going on a date with Lasana when he's in town
doing laundry and other chores because i hate using my weekend time doing it
romancing myself at home with a candlelit bubble bath and a spotify playlist
an evening yin yoga class at my favorite yoga studio in portland
salad rolls from our neighborhood thai place
seeing a movie at this old school theatre i love
reading a really good book (we're about to start Sacred Woman by Queen Afua)

when friday arrives, i feel so in control of the day. i finally get to call the people back i ignored during the busy work week or spend real time tidying my tiny apartment or forget about EVERYTHING on my work calendar and leaving the whole week on the yoga mat. i know the next day means relaxation (and often times solitude) which i've embraced over the past year being here in raining portland, or.


one thing has never changed since December 2012.

when friday arrives im in love.

xo
jessica