vegan cabbage and Swiss chard soup

I've been obsessed with soup this winter. I make a big pot of homemade soup at least twice a week. soup is so very easy to make and if you use the right ingredients its also super healthy for you and an easy way to get a ton of veggies.

ingredients:
onion, few stalks of celery with leaves on, half a head of cabbage, carrots ( I used two very large ones), a bunch of swiss chard stems removed, 5-6 cups of veg broth or water (or a combo of both).

spices:
thyme, grated fresh ginger, a half a bay leaf, pepper, and a splash or two of tamari. I don't measure out my spices but if I had to guess I'd say a couple teaspoons of thyme and fresh ginger.

wash and prep your veggies

heat up some olive oil in a soup pot and add your chopped onions. cook your onions on low medium heat for about 5 minutes until there soft and almost translucent. add your celery, cabbage, and carrots and let them cook a few minutes in the olive oil. add your thyme, bay leaf and pepper turn up the heat and begin to add your broth. once you get a boil you can turn down the heat to a simmer. add the ginger, and tamari. cover soup with a lid and let it simmer until veggies are tender. if you like them with a bite your cook time will be shorter, or if your hungry and can't wait haha. i usually let it simmer for about 30-45 minutes. with about 5 minutes left of cook time add the swiss chard. and there you go an easy healthy soup recipe.

a moving date

last week was a long week. it was a roller coaster of emotions. happy and then all out sobbing. it was a long week but its over and now it's a new week. it's Monday, and next Monday at this time we should be back home. we have a move in day for this Saturday, yes this Saturday. it's weird because I'm not excited, maybe because I don't really think its happening, maybe because its been a long three months, and maybe because the process of moving is down right stressful haha. so here's to Monday, and if all else fails today at least there's a new bachelor on tonight :).

it's COLD

im not a big fan of winter and cold weather. when it gets cold out like really cold out I don't want to go anywhere or do anything except stay warm and cozy inside. so for those days we color a lot, paint, read, play in the bath tub, and watch movie. these cold days are perfect for flannels, leggings, and some cozy socks....hot chocolate anyone?

uncertainty

well we did a walk through on the progress of the house today. the floors are in, electric was all rewired and the heating was all done too. things are looking good but we are still In this back and forth thing with our landlord. I wanted more answers today and didn't get them, uncertainty kills me just kills me. I'm trying real hard to be patient and believe things will work out in the end. if its meant to be it will be right? ha I don't know. the picture here is what is left of a boardwalk. a boardwalk we use to run on, take evening walks with the babies on , and this is what is left. it's pretty unbelievable still to see all of this destruction, even though we lived through this hurricane and first hand watched as our home was destroyed but man it's still unbelievable to see the power this storm had on our beaches.

Is it worth it...

my sweet little beach bungalow is it worth it to come back? are your beautiful water views and close proximity to the beach worth it?

we rent our home but have truly fell in love with it as our own, which probably isn't a good thing at all because well its not ours. my mind is spinning tonight as we are very close to going back now and we think about these "new terms" such as a higher rent, no washer and dryer (we will have to purchase one because there is no way I can live without a washer and dryer), a damaged yard, just to name a few of the main concerns. and I know there are a lot of ups, hello the house inside will be brand new, hardwood floors though out, new appliances. but the big white elephant in the room, what if it happens again. it's never happened before, and our little house has been there next to the water for almost 100 years and has never flooded, but what if it happens again. I don't know, I just don't know. i want to go back so badly, but I also want to make sure we make the right decision for our family.
we are going to do a walk through tomorrow and I guess see how we feel and see if we can negotiate at all, so we'll see.

a first hair cut

we took Aiden to get his first haircut, and I really almost cried. I loved his baby curls he had going for him and I knew once he got a hair cut they would be gone and he wouldn't look like a baby anymore. and I know he's not a baby but a toddler I still didn't want to let it go.

his hair was beginning to get in his face and bother him so we figured it was time. I wanted to do it my self but I was nervous I would completely mess it up so I thought it would be best to go and get it cut. I did a little research and found a fun looking hair cutting place for kids and I figured it would distract him from the actual hair cutting part. I knew he would give us a hard time since the kid won't let us cut his nails, you would swear he was in pain with all the yelling he does.
so we went he cried and fussed and pulled out those cute but completely fake tears to make sure we knew he was not happy. but when all was said and done and we were all eating some ice cream to celebrate he sure did look adorable and yes like a little man now. seriously how is it possible for time to go so fast. I know people always say that but wow seriously it's going fast.

where we stand

I haven't posted in awhile and I guess it's just been because of the holiday craziness and then just feeling unmotivated lately, I apologize. we are still in our temporary housing, and almost three months post hurricane sandy. we did a walk through of the house recently and these are some of the pictures I took from that visit. we also drove around the area, this was my first time driving around the area since sandy. and wow, the devastation that we saw took my breath away. we saw homes that were just ruble, garbage piles, and army men standing guard. it's still hard to wrap my head around it all. it's different seeing pictures on tv and then seeing it in person. hurricanes happen all the time, but here in NJ we don't see storms like this.
we got a call from our landlord last night saying if things go as planned this weekend we may be able to go home by next weekend.....I'm not sure if I should get excited yet or wait and see how the weekend goes. I so badly want to go home and move on from this but I don't really know what that looks like.

Christmas in pictures