Chinese/Mexican food?

 After an interesting work week, and seeing that I was still on call, we kept our weekend activities pretty close to home this past weekend.  Our primary task was to start transferring all kinds of tools, equipment, and various odds and ends from our existing shed to our newly installed shed.  The transfer and organization would require some peg board accessory shopping as well as some shelving construction.

We began Saturday with a short run with Jackson before the temps starting climbing too high, then made our way to the Habitat for Humanity's Restore to donate the sink, faucet, and sink cabinet that we had installed in the master bath as a temporary fix when we first moved in. I didn't think about it at the time of the drop off, but typing up this post makes me realize just how far we have come with various house projects and improvements.  When we interviewed for our first appearance in the Arizona Republic the reported chuckled at how Jonathan had managed to make me see the true value in the bones of the house vs. its original appearance.  I agreed and didn't think much of the comment, but looking at our smooth "oyster", "mango madness", "Honeydew" and turquoise walls I realize we're a considerable amount of sweat, tears and long days away from our smurf-blood-blue foreclosure.

We made some pretty good organizational progress on the new shed, but it is a bit scary how quickly it has filled up.  We have a ways to go, but are certainly on the right path. The heat got the best of us on Saturday which served for little motivation to continue to the organizational project on Sunday. 

Sunday we made a trip back to HD for a few random supplies and to investigate the materials needed for the redo of the shed that is attached to the house.  Since we were out and about and hungry we took the opportunity to try out a restaurant that we saw reviewed in one of our PBS favorites, check please Arizona.  We got to Chino Bandito just in time since we managed to order ahead of a large crowed that followed.  A little back story on Chino Bandito.  Its a restaurant that features a "flavor infusion" between Chinese and Mexican.  Admittedly the first time I heard about it, I wasn't too gung ho to give it a try, but being hungry and having no real culinary reservations, we made the trip.  Turns out the food was quite tasty. Nothing designer, but flavorful, different and entertaining.  I ordered the combo with ginger chicken, plain rice, re-fried beans and carnita meat.  The ginger chicken was pretty tasty, a little salty, but not too heavy like some of the breaded options.  The re-friend beans were good and the carnita meat was a little different, but also flavorful and a good choice.  Jonathan really mixed it up with one of their famed favorites, Cuban style black beans which had hints of spice as well as sweetness, as well as pork fried rice, jade chicken and carnita meat in a quesadilla.  Satisfied with the unique flavors of Chino Bandito, we headed home for an afternoon to just chill out.

 

Seeing that I've been wanting a purse for quite some time but have yet to find the one that I'm really excited about, I opted to sew myself a little bag.  Sydney was keen to assist as always with any project that involves string.  Per usual the bag is not perfect, but who needs matching seams, not this lady!  Having come up with the purse on the fly I'm quite happy with its look and functionality.  And yes, it does have a small extra pocket on the inside!