The Ektorp Couch from IKEA

My husband and I just got home from a wedding out of state with his side of the family and it was a blast. We definitely don't take this luxury of seeing family often for granted anymore! And nothing beats that feeling of coming home after a great trip and crashing on your own couch. 

The first place my husband and I went furniture shopping at when we moved back from Palau was IKEA. We had never been to IKEA. Talk about sensory overload! That place is humongous! 

We wanted to get a feel for what our style was and what our budget could get us. The first thing that caught our eyes that day was our couch. The Ektorp Couch.

We immediately fell in love with it and brought it home to our apartment just a few weeks later. We’ve had it for over two months now, and I thought I’d share what we love about it so much.

This is the color Lofallet beige and we have the single seat, the sofa, and the ottoman to match. 

What do I love about it?  

Comfortable Factor.

This couch is really comfortable. I love to put my feet up and snuggle in a warm blanket and this couch is perfect for that.

Easy to Put Together. 

My husband and his friend had it put up in less than 30 minutes. Its always nice when things aren't complicated. The pieces are also light weight which is nice because whenever I want to rearrange the living room, I can do it all by myself! 

Affordable. 

Who doesn’t love being able to buy nice things that won’t break the bank? All three pieces in my living room cost less than $1,000. Holla. 

Changeable Covers. 

This is probably one of the coolest things about this couch. You can buy a different colored slipcover at any time. That way, you can change the feel and mood of your room without actually buying a whole new couch!

If Joanna Gaines uses it, it must be good. 
Okay, when I saw my ektorp couch on HGTV's Fixer Upper while sitting on my actual couch, I freaked out. I was so excited and very happy to see that my favorite designer also loves and uses this great, affordable couch in her own designs. PS. All the pictures that are not my actual home are from HGTV's Fixer Upper. Yes. They really are. :)

What I’m not too crazy about

Wrinkles

So the only thing that I can think about that could be a negative for the couch is one aspect of the slipcover. You have to iron it. Thats really the only thing. If you run an iron on it before you put it on, it looks amazing. Honestly, I haven’t ironed mine, and it doesn't bother me. 

Overall, this couch has won my heart and I wouldn't take it back. :) That’s what home is all about. Hope that you LOVE your couch and who you share it with. :) 

Xo, 

Rachel 

Post Palau, Almost 3 Months

Whoa.
Almost 3 whole months post-Palau. You guys are probably sick of seeing these posts. For those strong enough to bear with me, I appreciated it. It's a process.

It has been bitter and sweet. There have been nights of tears and reminiscing, and days when we are so happy we are just a road trip away from family and Chipotle (& Target).

I'm still working on making our house feel like "home" but it's taking me a long time because I'm focused on SCHOOL! The first few weeks of school are busy! I definitely also came down with the nastiest sinus/allergy thing and it was not fun, but I'm hanging in there. So I'm trying to stay patient about the house, knowing that I'll have more time to give it some love and attention AFTER I get in to the swing of things at school. (I HOPE!)

Back to the re-entry processing. It almost feels like an out-of-this-world experience. You travel so far, do things you've never done, give your heart in ways you didn't know you could, and make relationships with people that will forever tug on your heartstrings. And then you leave. It feels SO FAR AWAY. And it kinda is... If you're lucky, you might live close to people that you served with, and even if you don't live close, life has its sweet moments that will bring you back together again. But never the whole group. Never the way that it was. THAT is really hard.

Palau is literally in the back of my mind every single day. I don't know if there will ever be a day when it isn't. It's weird to always have this place on your mind...

As far as being a teacher back in the states... I don't think I was very well prepared for that. I came from a very simple, but wonderful classroom. I made the best of what I had and rocked it. I LOVED my classroom (and students of course). Now in my classroom there is too MUCH stuff! I'm overwhelmed with materials and programs and half a dozen curriculums that need to be integrated. It's been a bit much for me. Pray folks.

Our new church has given Joey and I the opportunity to share our stories about Palau in October. By then we will have been back for 4 months. This will be the first time that I would have shared about Palau in a way like this and I honestly don't know what I'll say. I know it's still a ways out, but please keep us in prayer as we share our love story about Palau in October. And if you want to come, please let me know and I'll gladly tell you the day and time!

So that's my supposed to be two-month blog, but I waited too long and now it's a three-month re-entry post.

Night for now.
Rachel

Mock Tuna Salad

I originally wrote this post a couple of weeks ago but never got around to posting it because being a teacher is an all-consuming task of life. However, I love writing and blogging so I need to fight for my blog time! Here it is.

One of the things that keeps me sane and stress-free during the school year is knowing what I'm going to eat for lunch the night before. Packing lunches the night before sometimes just doesn't happen, but when it does, hallelujah songs go out in the morning. So, I wanted to share with you one of my favorite quick & easy go-to lunches. I am so excited about this recipe because it makes for a GREAT lunch (for both students & teachers alike) and of course because it's vegan. But don’t be scared or run away, because its SUPER good, I promise! :)

The other great thing about this recipe is that you can customize it any way you like, and if the vegan components truly freak you out, you don't have to use them! 

MOCK TUNA SALAD

 Recipe from "From Plant to Plate" by Tami Bivens

INGREDIENTS
1 (15 ounce) can of chickpeas, drained 
1/4 cup Vegenaise (I dare you!) 
1/3 cup celery, finely chopped 
2 tablespoons sweet onion, finely chopped 
1/2 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes 
1 green onion, chopped 
1 teaspoon soy sauce 

INSTRUCTIONS

Start off by rinsing the chickpeas and putting them in a bowl. Mash them with a fork until they are nice and chunky. Mashing chickpeas is actually kinda tough so if you have a food processor, now is the time to use it. 

Next, combine the rest of the ingredients.

Serve this on your favorite choice of bread and dress is up with some tomatoes, avocado, and lettuce if you want. It's that easy and SO good. 

TIPS

You can eyeball the vegenaise (or mayonnaise) just like you do when you make tuna salad. I like my salads CREAMY!

The recipe calls for onions, celery, and soy sauce, and I actually haven't the celery or soy sauce! I didn’t have celery when I made this the first time so I chopped up some cucumber really tiny, and even chopped up some carrots for color. Feel free to change-up the add-ins and make if your own. I honestly didn't even miss the soy sauce at all. 

Don't forget to add salt and pepper to taste.

The recipe makes about 4 sandwiches if you like to lay it on heavy like me. 

This spread is healthy, guilt-free, one of my favorite, quick & easy lunch options. 

Happy eating! 

If you loved this recipe as much as I did you might want to buy the book! 

Xo, 

Rachel