Weekend: South Indian Dinner Party + Domesticity + Pizza & Movie Date Night

Happy Monday! I hope all my mommas (of babies and animals!) had a happy Mother’s Day weekend!

These lazies didn’t get me anything but we did have a really nice weekend! 😉

On Friday night I got dressed for a dinner party at a friend’s house with a big group of yogis.

It was a homemade South Indian style dinner. Our hosts spent all day prepping for the party. We left our shoes at the door and then cozied up on the floor at one long table with lots of pillows to sit on.

The food spread was fantastic and included dishes like eggplant curry, cucumber raita, cabbage thoran, a carrot salad, various chutneys, a green soup, bhindi okra curry, parrota flat breads, rice and more.

Here’s a close up of the okra curry.

And a fried okra appetizer that we had that was awesome. The okra were sliced very thin, fried and then sprinkled with lime juice and sea salt.

My plate. I loved the relaxed style of the dinner. All of the dishes were mismatched along with a mix of various cloth napkins.

We ended the night by passing around trays of sweets. I couldn’t get enough of these dark chocolate coconut oil truffles.

On Saturday morning I got up and headed to the farmers market. I got a half-gallon of these lovely local strawberries along with eggs, meats and veggies from my favorite farmers.

I also bought a selection of herbs and spent Saturday afternoon planting an herb garden on the back porch. I planted oregano, cilantro, thyme, parsley, basil and mint. I feel hopeful about all of my herbs minus the cilantro and parsley. For whatever reason I always struggle with keeping them alive. I would love any herb gardening tips that you may have. I am trying a sunnier spot this year and I’m trying to switch to a morning watering schedule instead of evenings. I read that some herbs don’t like going to bed with wet soil (high maintenance!). I’m also keeping my fingers crossed that Zoey doesn’t decide to eat or dig into my plants.

I may try for a few other things like tomatoes, peppers, etc. in a small container garden. I have a great sunny spot for it. Stay tuned!

I got a massage on Saturday night and then stopped by a friend’s house to celebrate her birthday.

It was a great night for taking the party outside so we gathered around a fire pit for conversation and wine.

I headed home around 10 p.m. and made myself egg and avocado toast topped with smoked salmon and sauerkraut. Sounds weird, tasted delicious! (As did the dulce de leche cake I brought home with me!)

We slept in until 9 on Sunday and then I made us brunch. I made breakfast tacos in lacinto kale leaves. I scrambled together eggs, mushrooms, spinach and peppers and then topped it off with salsa. Sweet potato bowls and mixed berries and mint on the side.

After breakfast we took the girls for a long walk. I love going for walks, especially with company!

(Snapchat: JenDeCurtins)

Then I got the extra intense cleaning bug and started pulling everything out of the cabinets in the kitchen. We vacuumed and wiped everything down and then I reorganized all of our pantry items. I also cleaned the bathrooms, mopped the floors, cleaned windows and doors, wiped down baseboards, etc. Felt so good!

I ran to the studio to teach my 4 p.m. class and then ran back home. It was a great way to get an easy run and some exercise in!

My fiance had to work again on Saturday night so we had another Sunday date night. We went to dinner at Wolfgang Puck Kitchen + Bar. We shared this spinach and kale salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, farro, goat cheese and green goddess dressing.

And then split this mushroom and truffle cream pizza. It came topped with a sunny side up egg.

This was my first pizza post-Whole30 (I don’t think I’ve gone so long without eating pizza in my entire life!) and I savored every amazing bite. YUM!

We ended the evening at the movies where we saw Captain America: Civil War. My fiance loves the Avengers so I’ve watched all of the movies with him. I really like them too! (And always a sucker for anything Robert Downey Jr.)

Off to tackle the week! Hope y’all had a great weekend too!

How did you celebrate Mother’s Day? 

Any container gardening tips? 

Any good eats to share from the weekend? Indian food + cake + pizza was a winning combo for me! 🙂