How depressing that the mini-vacay break is over.  I hope you all had a very lovely and relaxing weekend!  My ever-so-talented hubby whipped up this beautiful table just in time for us to use for Thanksgiving dinner: 

We thrifted those turquoise chairs a few weeks back for $5 a piece!  The yellow Herman Miller is an old fave:)  The wood for the table top was actually being used by the original owners for attic storage.  They're super old boards that cost 79 cents back in the 60s or so... we know this because of the antiqued 79 cent stamp on the side of the boards!  

Last night we ended the weekend by taking Rufus for a walk around Lake Murray and using some leftovers to whip up some delish black bean/sweet potato soup via the new Ready Made:

(1) T Olive Oil

(2) Sweet potatoes (or just dump in a bunch of your leftover roasted root veggies!)

(1) Onion peeled and chopped

(1) Red pepper, seeds removed and chopped

(1) Jalapeno, chopped

(1) Garlic clove, minced

(1) T chili powder

(1) T cumin

(1) T cayenne pepper

(3)  C vegetable broth

(1) 15 oz can of black beans

(1) 15 oz can of diced tomatoes

(1) C frozen corn

(1/4) C fresh cilantro

(1/4) C freshly squeezed lime juice

Shredded cheese to serve

** Note I made a ton of substitutions based on what I already had -- be creative:)

Heat oil in a large pan at high heat.  Add sweet potatoes, onion, red pepper, jalapeno and garlic, stirring to coat.  Saute until onion and peppers are soft.  Don't add the sweet potatoes if they're already cooked like mine were!

Add chili powerder, cumin and cayenne pepper and stir well.  Reduce heat to medim, cover pot and allow sweet potatoes to soften (unless already cooked!) 

Add vegetable broth, black beans and tomatoes.  Bring stew to a boil, stirring well and scraping the bottom of the pot to incorporate all spices.  Add frozen corn, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for an additional 15 minutes.

Before serving, stir in cilantro and lime juice.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve with cheese and extra cilantro!