Brain Stimulation and Documentation of Randomness

18 Weeks and 4 Days

2012-01-23T07:50:00.000-08:00

The new year is in full swing now at the 23rd day in. D and I have so many new things to look forward to and plan this year. Just one week from today, we will know if we have a Mr.or Ms. Pac-Man (boy or girl). We have been referring to the baby as "the Pac-Man" because of my ravenous hunger in the early months. In my head I would imagine the game's sound effect of the Pac-Man chomping away at those computer generated dots (food?) when I would get hungry or eat. We had our third appointment on the 4th of this month. Thankfully everything looked good and we even got to listen to the baby's heartbeat with a fetal doppler. Of course that was the best part of the visit.

My tummy growth is becoming more evident. A couple of weeks ago, I wore a coat that I bought to go on our honeymoon 3 years ago and I couldn't button the last button. Also, my fingers are starting to swell a bit more. This morning I had to remove my wedding rings and put on a temporary ring.

As for my hormones, they made a nasty appearance 2 Fridays ago (the 13th...go figure). I was feeling fine all day, that was until dinner time came along. D took me to Bruxie to eat something different. Normally, I love trying new things, but for some reason I couldn't get into it. Nothing appealed to me, yet I was hungry. It was awful. I ordered the waffle with short ribs and as soon as I got my food, I was so grossed out. I ate the waffle and left the meat. I should note, this is of no fault of the restaurant. It was just me, my hormones and I. D didn't quite know how to take this since I have never ordered food and not ate it. So we left, and I was upset and I was more upset because I felt that D couldn't understand yet he was attempting to give me advice. I started to cry and no matter what I did, I couln't hold back the tears. I felt like I NEEDED my mother because I knew only she could understand what I was feeling. Heck, I didn't even understand! Then it happened. It was like an episode of turrets. As D was trying to give me "advice" I lashed out. I will spare the verbatim, but I will say that it was mean. In fact, I don't remember saying half of what I said. I only know because D has recited and reenacted my performance all weekend. My night ended with me taking an early shower and going to bed hoping I wouldn't wake up hungry in the middle of the night.

The next morning I called my mom and told her about my episode. She laughed and told me it was totally normal. She shared a story of when she was pregnant with me and felt just like I did. It was refreshing and I felt like less of a freak. Sometimes moms just know what to say. Hopefully, one day, I will too.

The First 15 Weeks

2011-12-31T21:01:00.000-08:00

Because of my early pregnancy symptoms, I haven't had the energy to post much. :( Apparently the fatigue, among other symptoms should subside after 3 months...we'll see.

Up until I was 5 weeks I felt pretty normal, except for the super tender boobs and feeling grossed out about random things. Once week 5 came, so did extreme hunger and nausea, both lasting ALL day. All of a sudden poultry, particularly raw poultry, made me want to vomit. Even the idea of it. This isn't a good thing since most of what I cook is poultry. I did however crave red meat. Bad. One day after work I told D that I NEEDED a hamburger. He took me to get a burger and made sure they cooked it well done, since now I can't eat any meat that isn't fully cooked. Man, it was good. Oh and smells! Certain smells made me want to hurl. Like being stuck in a crowded elevator and smelling every one's mixture of perfume, cologne, hair products, etc....oh that was rough. I also started experiencing insomnia.(what??) I have never experienced insomnia and it sucks. I have no problem falling asleep much earlier than I used to, but then the insomnia strikes at late night/early morning hours.

6 weeks brought more of the same. One of my desk drawers at work is stuffed with crackers and snacks. A must to combat this ravenous hunger.

On November 7, 2011, we had our first prenatal appointment. The ultrasound was amazing. We saw our tiny 7week and 4day old baby and heard his, or her, strong heartbeat. This was definitely the best part of our appointment and I can't wait until the next ultrasound. I was also sent to a lab to do the 1st round of routine blood work. That part was no fun. After this appointment, we felt more comfortable to start telling family and close friends.

At week 8 per my mom's suggestion, I bought a couple of maternity pants to start preparing for the upcoming weeks/months. So far I still fit in my regular pants, but I am not sure how much longer I can get away with that....

I didn't get away with that for too long. I was wearing maternity pants at about week 10 or so. Now at week 15 I feel so much better in regards to the nausea and hunger. The ravenous hunger has tapered down and the nausea is gone for the most part. My energy is also returning a bit.

Wow, this is my last post of 2011. Another year has flown by. Here's to blessings for all in 2012!

15 Weeks Ago

2011-12-31T20:47:00.000-08:00

Around October 11, 2011, my mom had a dream. In this dream I told her to come with me to see a woman. Mom had no idea why were were to see this woman but she came with me anyway. When we arrived to where this woman was, I told my mom that the woman wanted her to to put her arms out in front of her. Then, out came these bubbles with big butterflies fluttering inside the bubbles. When the bubbles would touch my mom's arms they would pop the way a regular bubble would, butterfly and all. My mom turned to me and sighed in surprise and said "Is this your way of telling me you are pregnant?" Then my dad woke her up before I could answer her in the dream.

On the morning of Sunday, October 16, 2011, around 7am, I took a pregnancy test. It was positive.

Temples and Butterflies

2011-10-22T13:10:00.000-07:00

D had never been to the Buddhist Temple in Hacienda Heights, so we spontaneously turned into their driveway a couple of weeks ago, on a Saturday, as we were driving by. I haven't been there in ages. The last time I went was with my parents because my dad had a college project!

A few snapshots from our spontaneous trip:

What a view!

Cute little doggie-dragon planter stand

After our visit we headed on over to the L.A. Zoo again just to walk around and I scored this really nice snapshot of a butterfly.

Not bad for using a simple point-and-shoot camera.

I realized that I sometime ago I mentioned that I was going to attempt crock pot ribs, and, that I would post the recipe if it worked out. It did! They were delish. Fallin' off the bone!
Recipe here. I did not use the whole bottle of BBQ sauce as recipe suggests. I used enough to coat the ribs. Then when they were ready I heated a bit more BBQ sauce and poured it over the portions I served on our plates.

I started watching Pan Am. I caught up on the episodes I missed online. Love, love, love, the costumes and makeup. So far, so good. Loving Christina Ricci's dress (below).

Photo from abc

Summer Gone So Fast?

2011-10-09T22:15:00.000-07:00

Fall is here and I feel a bit cheated. I feel that I didn't get enough of Summer. Oh well, not much I can do about that. Instead I am trying to focus on what Fall has to offer and enjoying those things. Like the Pumpkin Spice Latte, for instance. I've already had a few of those. Oh and like Coco's Harvest Pie for Thanksgiving. mmmm.

Other Fall things I am liking right now:

1. These awesome Dia De Los Muertos hair flowers my mom bought me. The lady she bought them from said they were made by artisans in Mexico.

2. My new Sigma F80 brush. Okay, so this isn't really a Fall thing, but I love brushes and I was excited to get this one, since one of my old face brushes literally fell apart. Literally.

3. Pumpkin macarons from Bottega Louie. I've only had one, but darn it was good.

4. Fantasy...Britney Spears Fantasy...Yea I know, first the lollipops and now this. Very strange and out of character for me, this I know, but this perfume smells so good. It is a sweet floral scent. What does this have to do with October? Nothing other than D surprised me with a bottle of this stuff on the first weekend of October and it took me forever to notice. He left the box on my dresser next to my other perfumes to surprise me. Somehow I didn't notice the box until 2 hours after he put it there...and this box is bright. I never said I was Sherlock Holmes.

Yea, it's this bright, and I missed it.

5. Travalo. I picked up one of these at CVS for mom and I. One for my new perfume and one for my mom's favorite Estee Lauder perfume. So far, pretty awesome.

6. The Haunted Mansion decorated for Halloween. I am not sure if we will make it to this, but we are feeling the Disney itch. We haven't gone in years and miss it. Plus there are new things that I haven't seen, like the new Star Tours adventures. I also want to see Captain E.O. again. I saw that a couple of times with mom and dad (sweet memories). Also, Disney around Halloween time = super cute park decor.

In terms of dressing up this year for Halloween, I really have no plans to do so. At least right now I have no desire to, and apparently, neither does D. I don't know why. I think my mind is just on other things this year. Good things, annoying things, all kinds of things. Not a bad thing.

Oh Poo

2011-09-21T21:49:00.000-07:00

This will probably be one of thee strangest entries I post. In order to avoid T.M.I., this will be super short, but in my opinon, totally blogworthy.

My mom gave me the gift of Poo-pourri. While shopping at her favorite bath shop shopping for a gift, the gals in the shop introduced her to a new product they had in the store. All I will say is that IT WORKS!

In the scent "heavenSCENT"

If interested go here if local or here to read further about the product.

Labor Day Weekend 2011

2011-09-08T19:35:00.000-07:00

I am sad now that our Labor Day weekend has come to an end. D and I made it a 4 day weekend, and we crammed quite a bit in those 4 days. We went to the L.A. Zoo on Friday to visit our favorite Mandrill. He was rather unhappy and it could have been partially due to the fact that it was quite hot. So hot, that D and I lasted three hours at the zoo.

After the zoo, we headed on over to the Glendale Galleria. I haven't been there in ages. The last time I went with my mom, they still has a Sesame Street Store. Yup, it's been that long. The first thing we did, was cool off with a McFrappe, which totally hit the spot after being drained of energy at the zoo. Then we walked around and saw some interesting things.

1. I drooled over an ginormous sterling silver octopus bracelet (among other things) at Na Hoku. The first time I had ever been into one of these stores was during our honeymoon in San Francisco.

I remember the piece above from our trip. I believe their Octopus pieces are pretty new, since they are not yet on their site. There were several other seahorse, octopi and mermaid pieces that were droolable.

2. Until Friday, I had never been to a Lego Store. It was pretty cool, even though I am not into Legos, but if I had a kid who was into them, this would be like Lego Disney. While there, I thought of little E.

3. Then we wandered into LoveSac. (hehe)This is actually a furniture store that sells giant bean bags and couches that are reconfigurable, in fact, they work kind of like Legos for adults. Interesting idea. It's nice to be able to have multi-tasking furniture as well as furniture that has washable covers.

4. We walked some more and stumbled onto Xooro! These are like deluxe filled churros, and I am a sucker for filled churros. My mom used to buy them for me at Tianguis, a Mexican market we used to frequent when I was a kid. Being that we already had a McFrappe, we skipped this, but it was HARD. We may have to go back for this one day.

From Glendale, we headed over to downtown for dinner at Botega Louie in Downtown, L.A., and then over to my mom and dad's to drop off some treats from B.L. After that we were pretty much spent for the day and went home.

This weekend I also decided that I need to have this painting by Thierry Poncelet... Maybe, one day?

Doesn't he resemble Mr. Frodo?

(An older pic of Mr. Fro that reminds me of the artwork above. Believe me, he is still just as adorable now that he is 7 years old.)

Fly From Outer Space

2011-09-05T18:34:00.000-07:00

I encountered a fly from outer space while visiting my parents last weekend. Never in all my years of living with mom and dad have I seen a fly that looks like this.

This quick snapshot doesn't do it justice. He looked all hairy and prickly....ewwww *shudders* Looks like he bites, doesn't he? Freaky but fascinating at the same time. This is the only shot I was able to get. When I tried to get a second shot, he must have woke up and saw me with his many eyes and he flew away, buzzing loudly. Mom and and I screamed like little girls.

Love For Louie

2011-08-11T23:27:00.000-07:00

Somewhat spontaneously, D and I had dinner at Bottega Louie last Saturday evening. I say spontaneously because I have been blabbing about wanting to go to this place for a couple of weeks. So, on Saturday morning, the hubster said he was taking me for dinner once he came home from work.

The restaurant is located on the ground floor of the beautiful Brockman Building (1912-according to wikipedia) on 7th and Grand in Downtown L.A.. The architecture is gorgeous as is the interior design of the restaurant/bakery. It has super high ceilings with moldings and it is all painted white. When I was younger, I didn't really appreciate white paint too much, especially when I was in my "all-must-be-black" phase. It just seemed so bland and boring. Like anything, white paint works if properly used and combined in a space. Don't get me wrong, black is still one of my favorite colors. I am talking about designing a space...I'm rambling...on to the food.

What we ordered:

To start, we ordered the Brussels Sprouts and Pistachios. The lightning bolt shaped bread and butter is complementary.

D ordered the Pork Chop

I ordered the Short Ribs Brasato

And for dessert, we shared the Butterscotch Budino, which obviously didn't last long enough to photograph.

On the way out I grabbed a box of 4 macarons for the folks to sample. The flavors I selected were Rose, Earl Grey, Tangerine and the Grand Macaron.

Everything was excellent, including the service. We left the place with full bellies and smiles on our faces. We will definitely be returning. I hear the macarons were tasty too!

Check out the lovely photos on their blog here.

The Rest of July 2011

2011-08-03T21:41:00.000-07:00

Wow, August. I can't believe how July just came and went. D and I didn't get to take the little mini vacation which we originally planned for the summer, particularly July. As I mentioned before, D has been working lots of overtime hours, so, except for seeing our family and some friends here and there, we stayed home during his free time for most of July. We did, however, take a day off from work to see the final installment of Harry Potter. I loved it, but I felt sad at the same time. Sad because I started watching these since the 1st movie came out and I always looked forward to the next one. Now, they are done. I won't spoil the ending, just in case someone hasn't seen it, but I will say that I was pretty happy with the movie. There were some scenes I felt should have been longer, while others should have been shorter or omitted. In comparison to the story told in the book, I think the film was a good "in-a-nutshell" adaptation.

Also in July, we got the chance to sample some new (to us) food trucks. Dos Chinos, Short Stop BBQ, BaconMANia, Longboards Ice Cream, The Lime Truck, Rolling Sushi Van and Panfiniti. I may be missing one or two but these are the trucks that I remember off the top of my head.

As for cooking at home, I'm quite proud of the fact that I was successful in keeping up the crock pot "routine" that I started in the beginning of July throughout the month. I plan to keep going on with this. So far the recipes I've used are pretty "tweakable" and I have adjusted them to our liking by omitting or adding ingredients to achieve the flavors we favor. At some point this month I want to try making some ribs in the crock pot. I will post the recipe if it works out.

This is what our tiny little kitchen is looking like these days.

As for the statue on the counter, that is a Tanuki, or Japanese Raccoon Dog. D's friend G brought him over all the way from Japan! I don't think I have ever seen one of these here in California.

Things that kept me laughing through July...

(K: thank you for this one.)

In July I also celebrated my 31st (yikes) birthday as well as my maternal grandmother's 82nd (yay!). We are about a week apart. As for being 31, I feel ok about it. I have plans for my 30's. Without getting ahead of myself, or opening my mouth too soon, we'll see how those plans develop...

I didn't get the chance to read much in July. Bummer, but I partially blame this..

I think I have spent too many hours rotting my brain playing this, but it's Alice, so I just had to play. D rented it for me via Gamefly. It brings back memories. I remember when the first version of this game came out it was for the computer platform only, which I hated. But again, it was Alice, so I bought it for my G4 MAC at the time. Not that I have oodles of time to spend playing video games, it's nice to be able to play this on D's PS3, here and there of course. I am almost done. Honestly, I wish the game was better. Visually, it looks cool and all, but the controls and the camera majorly suck.The levels, though they are cool to look at, seem to go on forever and I just want the get them over with.

Well folks, summer isn't over yet! Let's see how much more I can get done for the rest of it.

The First Spin

2011-07-22T20:34:00.000-07:00

So I took our new mixer on her first spin last Sunday.

I made graham crackers using the recipe from my Miette book. Actually I made the batter Sunday night and refrigerated it for use on Monday. Making the batter was a breeze, though it was a bit of a tricky, sticky batter and I was super anxious to bake and taste. Because of this, I didn't take extra time to poke the little holes that graham crackers usually have. So, my cookies didn't come out as pretty as the ones from the bakery, but they were oh so good!

The last two left...

He Didn't Have To...

2011-07-14T23:32:00.000-07:00

But he did...

To my husband: Thanks for the lovely gift. I know you have worked lots of overtime so that you can contribute more to our little family of two (us). I truly appreciate your efforts. Love Ya!

Beans, a Book & a Mixer

2011-07-06T18:15:00.000-07:00

As a follow up to my previous post (below this one), I did indeed use my crock pot to make a healthier version of baked beans for the 4th of July, from scratch. It was healthier to make them from scratch to eliminate the extra crap in canned beans. I actually made the beans in the crock pot the day before and left them in the fridge overnight so that the flavors would meld even more. We were happy with the result.

On another note, the cookbook I ordered came in last week and I was extremely pleased with what I received.

(photos from amazon)

I have been missing the goodies from Miette since we left S.F. after our honeymoon in 2008. I was so excited when I heard about this book on Amazon. Now, if I can follow these recipes properly, I may not have to travel hundreds of miles to have a taste...though I still wouldn't mind. This book really is quite lovely and I don't think that the online photos do it justice.

This book has revived the idea of buying a Kitchen Aid stand mixer, which D and I had talked about since we got married. I really, really want one, but it's quite the investment at about 300 smackers. So we discussed it and reviewed the colors available via amazon. We cycled between green apple, tangerine and "Martha Stewart Blue." In the end we decided that if we made the purchase we would go with "Martha Stewart Blue." Why? We figured it was the color that would most easily blend with the things we already have, our current apartment kitchen and possible future apartment kitchens, since buying a home probably won't happen tomorrow or the day after.

Aren't they pretty?...

P.S. For those that may be interested in the baked bean recipe I used, here ya go. I made the first recipe and skipped the salt.

Moni Crocker

2011-07-01T23:43:00.000-07:00

I have decided to start a new "routine" in our humble little home. I am going to try to make a crock pot meal every weekend. So far I love the end result of the meals we've made. D made a killer roast and I made a rotisserie chicken. I would use the crock pot more but I am leery about leaving it on all day while I am away at work, which is why we have decided to aim for the weekends or "days-off" of work. It worked out well last weekend. I tossed in a whole chicken into the crock around 10am. While it cooked, I did several loads of laundry and cleaned up the apartment. I even baked some cornbread and made my side dishes, which were baked brussel sprouts and red rice. The chicken turned out great, falling off the bone and super moist. The challenge will be making crock pot meals that are healthy and not loaded with sodium, which is totally unnecessary. I have seen many recipes that include adding a whole can of cream of mushroom soup. Again, much too salty. I will be skipping recipes like this or at least adjusting them.

We shall see how this weekend goes. I am just happy to have another 3 day weekend. I am busting out the crock pot for the 4th of July for some healthy baked beans to accompany the beef and turkey sliders I plan to make. Happy 4th of July!

Thanks Dracula

2011-06-12T23:42:00.000-07:00

It's no secret. Those of you who know me know that I adore The Three Stooges. Most of my Saturday afternoons as a kid included eating lunch with my parents while watching The Stooges along with The Munsters and WWF back in the 80's when it (WWF) was still cool. My friend P recently informed me that they are making a movie about The Stooges. I really don't know how I feel about this yet.

Lately, a clip from one of their shorts, If a Body Meets a Body, has been amusing me to no end. The minute long clip is toward the end of the YouTube video below. Forward the video to 7:30 and watch up to 8:32.

"Thanks Dracula." Moe's delivery is great! So matter of fact, and I love the expression on the creepy guy's face. Curly's little jump is pretty awesome too.

Blast Off!

2011-06-10T18:35:00.000-07:00

I am preparing for summer before it's arrival. I am so over the June gloom! (I say that EVERY year). So, the first thing I've done to prepare for summer is purchasing these:

These are BPA free "rocket" pop molds by Tovolo. The possibilities are endless. I can't wait to use them. The Tovolo website offers some recpies for freezer pop molds here.

I would love to try their petite pie molds...

Wouldn't this be perfect for the 4th of July?

Jewel of the Desert Closes

2011-06-05T22:56:00.000-07:00

I was saddened last weekend to find out that the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas is now closed. D and I stayed there twice (visit 1, visit 2) and we have great memories at this little "Jewel of the Desert." It was the last of the "Rat Pack" hotels. It is so sad to see a place with so much history go. Is it just me, or does it appear like other countries do more to preserve their historical locations?

Read more about this here.

One thing that cheered us up, besides our three day weekend, was our trip to Philippe's, a restaurant with lots of history. D and I sampled the roast beef french dipped sandwich, potato salad and tomato bisque. YUMMERS. Of course I forgot my camera, but there are cool photos to peruse on Yelp.

Hair Bow... Literally.

2011-05-27T12:05:00.000-07:00

The video below makes me want long hair...just for a day...

Sure beats a traditional bun! Far more creative, I say. This makes me think of Elmyra from Tiny Toon Adventures? Anyone remember that? I always thought the little skull in her bow was amusing.

P.S. I thought I posted this days ago. Silly me...

Prince: Welcome2America

2011-05-22T23:18:00.000-07:00

The husband and I went out on a date! We went to see Prince at the Forum in Inglewood on Saturday (May 14, 2011). It has certainly been a while since we get to play dress-up and go out.We had a good time, though I wish Prince would have played more of his hits from the 80's. We so badly wanted to hear more of those. We both have good memories of the 80's and music really takes you back to those times. Too bad we couldn't see him in concert back then. I, for one, was much too young. I mean, I was like 4 years old when Purple Rain was released. One thing I have always focused on while watching him play is his shoes. I can't help but look at them. Obviously he is always wearing either high heels or platforms but the man does moves in those shoes that would put the average man or woman in the hospital. Maybe I'm just generalizing, but I, for one, could not do what he does in high heels. Ever.

I was a little bummed that the crowd was a little blah in their choice of concert attire. I am not speaking for everyone there, but I expected to see more people dressed up like 80's Prince fans. Or maybe that was just me. I still like to dress up for concerts. I did the big hair (lots of hair spray), heavy purple and black eye makeup complete with huge eyelashes and purple rhinstones glued under one eye, faux snake skin stretch pants (I've been waiting for an occasion to wear these) with black boots and an 80's ish sweater...I should have taken a picture.

Here is the set list (via http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/prince/2011/the-forum-inglewood-ca-2bd3e07a.html )

When Eye Lay My Hands On U
Laydown
Dreamer (With Welcome 2 America interpolation)
She's Always In My Hair
Future Soul Song
Purple Rain
The Glamorous Life (Sheila E. cover) (with Sheila E.)
Somewhere Here On Earth (with I Love U But I Don't … more)
Take Me With U
Raspberry Beret
Cream
Cool / Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough (With Halle Berry Onstage Dancing)
Let's Work
U Got The Look
Nothing Compares 2 U
Controversy (with Housequake interpolation)
When Doves Cry / Nasty Girl / Sign O' The Times / The Most Beautiful Girl In The World / Love / Black Sweat / Darling Nikki / I Would Die 4 U (Sampler set: Note: When Doves … more)
If I Was Your Girlfriend
Insatiable
Scandalous
Adore

Encore:

Kiss

Encore 2:

Play That Funky Music (Wild Cherry cover)
Hollywood Swinging (Kool & The Gang cover) (changed to Inglewood Swinging)

Sheila E....Kicked major butt!

Here are some songs he played at the show as well as some songs I wished he would have played and artists I wish he would have had along with Sheila E.

By the way, I love the Set List website. It never really occurred to me in the past to look up the set lists of past concerts I have attended, since my memory isn't always the greatest. Reading them actually jars my memory and I can remember more of the shows I've seen in the past. I just may have to go back and update the previous concert related posts I have written about on this blog and add the set lists just for my own amusement and future recollection.

Creepy Knitting Sheep?

2011-04-26T22:13:00.000-07:00

Been on the busy side lately and I haven't had a chance to update too much here. For now I will post this question. Do you think this image is creepy?

Personally, I don't think so. In fact, I bought this card because it cracked me up! A little knitting humor. D on the other hand is creeped-out by it.

Winter Boots in the Spring

2011-03-23T18:46:00.000-07:00

Hooray! I finally found the perfect pair of Winter boots....on the last day of Winter. All Winter long I searched and searched for a pair of comfy, everyday boots. Of course I found shoes that fit my taste but not my budget. Now that Spring has arrived, I finally found a pair that fit both. But that's okay, because there are still some cool days ahead. I gotta give D credit for this find. He drove me all over the place, starting with Off Broadway Shoes in Hollywood, where I found nothing in that vast sea of shoes. I did find a cool shoulder bag I could use when we go on our "day trips" and such. Oh and D, yea, he found a pair of boots without even trying.

Next, we went to Puente Hills Mall where I found thee boots, but in the wrong color, at Macy's. The sales girl in the shoe department told me they no longer had the boots in black, only brown. I guessed she noticed me lamenting and heard me whining to D that "THESE WOULD HAVE BEEN PERFECT!," that she came back and asked if I wanted her to try to locate a pair. Of course the only pair was at the Santa Anita Mall. Part of me was tired and just wanted to go home, plus I felt guilty asking D to drive out there when we weren't far from home. But D got on his cell right away to have them hold the shoes and off we went. And what was even sweeter was that they were more than half off! SCORE!

Hush Puppies - Mischief

And to reward D for showing such patience with me, I treated him to a Kogi chicken burrito.

More of Chester Cheetah

2011-03-07T12:14:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my mom enlightened me to the fact that there are Chester Cheetah commercials that I haven't seen!! These should get me through the rest of my day...

Butts and Berries

2011-03-01T23:25:00.000-08:00

This weekend was cold. I am over the cold. In fact, I was never into it. So being that it was a cold weekend, I planned on making soup on Saturday. I made Rabo de Toro. English translation: Oxtail stew. The first time D and I tasted this dish was several years ago at our favorite Spanish restaurant, Viva Madrid. I admit, upon ordering it I wasn't sure if I would like it, but I was willing to try it because I wanted to try something traditional. After all, the point of going to a Spanish restaurant was to eat Spanish food. D and I were stunned on how good, and different, it was. The combination of spices used to flavor the stew was delicious, but not something I was used to. Though, I could definitely taste cloves. I never really thought I could make this at home until we stumbled upon oxtails at Costco. Honestly, I don't even know if they sell oxtails at our local supermarket. I've never checked. Anyhow, here they were, and almost immediately D turns to me and says, "oooh for oxtail stew." I took the hint. I started researching recipes, until I found one that seemed to have the ingredients that would create the flavor profile we were looking for. I found a YouTube video in Spanish (from Spain) demonstrating how this dish is created. Score! Successful new dish attempt this weekend with NO pictures! Hey, we were hungry, especially after waiting about 2 1/2 hrs for the meat to be tender. I served the stew over some basmati rice and added some Brussels sprouts baked and sprinkled with pepper on the side.

That reminds me. K and I made strawberry tamales last Sunday at her place. Yea, I have been away from my dear little blog for a bit. It was a great first attempt being that one, neither one of us has ever made tamales and two, we made our own masa. There are some things that we would change, but that's just us being picky. We figured strawberry tamales was a good intro to homemade tamale making since we would not have to make meat filling this time around. We wanted to get the process down first, which I think we did. And my oh my did it smell wonderful while they were cooking. Just like strawberry cupcakes. We actually doubled the recipe for the filling because we felt it was rather skimpy for our tastes. Especially me, since the whole world knows it's my favorite fruit.

Valentine's Day 2011

2011-02-18T13:15:00.000-08:00

D and I really don't "celebrate" Valentine's Day since we got married. We may share a nice dinner or decadent treat, but buying each other gifts? Nah. Not any more. It was cute when we were bf & gf, but we feel that when you are married, everyday counts. Not one day a year.

This year for Valentine's Day I was sick. Yes. Again. Since I was too sick to cook, D came home from work and brought me chicken tacos with LOTS of HOT salsa. Just what I needed to relieve my clogged nasal passages. As soon as I finished dinner, and my nasal passages were cleared, I quickly moved onto the chocolate-strawberry slice of cake that D brought me for dessert from Frost My Cake. I had to move fast so I could taste it before I got clogged up again. This post is kinda gross, with me talking about clogged nasals, no? Anyway, sick or not, V-day dinner and dessert was yummy and satisfying.

I should mention that while we were eating we decided to watch Merantau (and Indonesian film) via Netflix steaming. Can we say "tear jerker." I am not saying this was a bad movie, in fact I really liked it, but geez. Not a movie to see when you are already congested. I don't want to give anything away in case someone wants to see this. I will say this, I am obsessed with the main character's name, Yuda....ideas...

Later at night, D made me tea (remedy) using the instructions my Dad gave me earlier in the day when he called to see how I was doing. He simply washed and quartered a couple of small lemons, boiled them and served it to me in my Count von Count Mug with honey. And by golly did it work!

So my Count von Count Mug, there is a story behind this and since it is Valentine's Day appropriate I will write about it. Several months before D and I got married, we went to Knott's Berry Farm. Now, I don't know about you all, but everytime I go to Knott's I just have to go into Virginia's Gift Shop outside of the park. So there we were looking around at all the knick knacks and there they were. A Sesame Street mug for the each of us. Count von Count and Super Grover. We bought them and vowed not to use them until after we got married.

And we did. We suceeded in resisting to use them. The photos above really don't do them justice. They are so much cooler to see in person because the images are raised and bubbly (3D). Anyhoot, here it is, my silly little V-Day 2011 post.

On #2

2011-02-15T22:25:00.000-08:00

D and I are now on food truck number 2. Last week we tried the White Rabbit Truck, which serves Filipino Fusion Food. We both had the adobo chicken burrito, lumpia (which we dipped in banana ketchup!), red velvet flan and ube macarons. So the Ube macaroons....they were a special that night and are not on their regular menu. They should be. They were so good....

I've never tried making macarons. Perhaps I should...

The banana ketchup was a first for us. I didn't know what to expect but was happily surprised. It was sweet and spicy (flavorful, not hot). I want more.

Where Do You Wanna Eat?

2011-02-02T22:43:00.000-08:00

Saturday night was one of those nights where D was indecisive as to what he wanted for dinner, and I, wasn't craving anything in particular either. I had been at my parents' house for most of the day helping lug stuff around since they were having the floors redone. I came home a bit on the late side so cooking dinner was out of the question, so, we drove around the neighborhood, basically in one big circle. In the end it was so worth it.

We drove to our local old town. On the way there we passed by a Honda dealer and I saw a lunch truck parked outside with a long line of people. The truck itself didn't look like your typical roach coach truck. As I sniffed the air I said, "Oooohhh loook," as I pointed it out to D. (Did you just picture a dog? It's ok, I'm not offended) But D never being a lunch truck fan, was totally uninterested. He kept driving. We drove around our old town when D exclaimed that nothing sounded good. It was one of those nights. So he said that he would settle for Polly's Pies, which meant driving back in the direction of our apartment. So there we went again, and again, we passed the Honda dealer. Again I sniffed the air and said "I NEED to know what is going on there!!!" D proceeded to make a u-turn all the while telling me that I would regret this when I was throwing up later that night.

Oh man, was he wrong on that one. We had stumbled upon a what I would consider a gourmet lunch truck called Kogi BBQ, which served Korean-Mexican fusion. Or at least that is the best way I can explain it. I ordered the Pacman Burger and D ordered a chicken burrito and short rib taco. We couldn't help ourselves and decided to order desert too. We got the last Sriracha bar, without really knowing what it was. Yet another happy accident. We will be stalking this truck.

Now does this look like your average lunch truck? I think not.

Gelatina

2011-01-19T21:51:00.000-08:00

I took the artistic gelatin class this month an had a super swell time!

Below are the first flowers we learned. I obviously need more practice and experimentation, but in the end, I was happy with my results on the first try.

1st Class:

Sunflower

Daisy

Rose: I think so far this was my favorite flower.

Carnation

2nd Class:

Chrysanthemum: I slightly of blew it on this one. This was my first attempt at making the gelatin myself. Though I was happy how my flower came out, I used a Tupperware bowl that was not suited to use as a mold. Reason being that it had a super fine texture which was visible once I released it from the mold. It kind of gave it a frosted look versus the crystal clear look, which was the initial goal. Now I will be extra careful to make sure that anything I use as a mold is super smooth. I don't know what I was thinking. It was tasty though!

Painting/transferring images to gelatin.

As I mentioned, I obviously need to practice, practice practice. I plan to! I am also looking forward to taking another class...

Shortbread, Skates & Stars

2011-01-18T22:30:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting to bake shortbread cookies for a couple of weeks and I finally got to it. And just for the heck of it, I threw in some Ube ice cream we found at Albertson's made by Magnolia to make little ice cream sandwiches. Yum.

Another "finally" is that we saw Whip It this weekend. I really enjoyed this movie. Me thinks D and I need to make a roller derby date. It's been a while...

D put Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer on our Netflix queue for me which we actually watched on Monday. He's funny like that. They just don't make cartoons like that anymore. So imaginative! I remember when I was in elementary school my mom would sometimes, if the day was nice or the car was in the shop, decide to pick me up from school by walking instead of driving. On our walk home I would get lazy and tell my mom that I wanted her to carry me. How lazy is that?! Anyways, she would motivate me to keep walking by telling me to look at the sparkles in the concrete. She would tell me that Rainbow Brite left star sprinkles and that I should follow them home. And it worked.

Christmas Week 2010

2011-01-17T23:33:00.000-08:00

So, I didn't really get to post much about our Christmas. We did the usual rounds of visiting family and eating way too much. Below is the simplified, day by day, version of our week off. We stayed close to home, no vacation destinations. It was nice and I was grateful to get to spend some extra time with my loved ones and to acknowledge the true meaning of Christmas.

Thursday, Dec. 23: 1st day off of work! WOOOHOOO! Had lunch with mom and grandma at La Canasta in ELA. Years ago when my grandma lived near this establishment, she used to buy tamales and other yummies from there. My grandma is picky when it comes to tamales because she used to make them herself years ago. Needless to say, not everyone makes them to her liking. We ate there and took some to-g0. In the evening, Mom and I made some Christmas treats and poor mom started to catch a cold.

Friday, Dec 24: Baked yummy treats for D, which I shared with my folks on Christmas Day, which were like the equivalent of homemade Twix bars. YUM. Later in the evening we had Christmas Eve dinner with D's mom and company.

Saturday, Dec 25: Christmas Day! Did the usual rounds and ate. Mom & Dad's, Dad's side of the family, D's paternal side of the family...and it rained, hard, on our drive home.

Sunday, Dec 26: D went to a Clipper's game with his pop while I went to K's potluck.

Monday, Dec 27: D and I went to Ikea. We received a very generous (R that was too much!!) gift card for Christmas so we picked up a piece of art work we wanted for our kitchen. We also went to Bestbuy to get our joint-Christmas present. Since D & I got married, we haven't exchanged Christmas gifts. Instead we decided to invest in something we could both use and/or enjoy. This time we invested in a Magellan portable GPS system. We thought this would be perfect for road trips. Perhaps for the next time we go to SF we can put it to good use...Hint, HINT.

Tuesday, Dec 28: See this.

Wednesday, Dec 29: Oh gosh, drawing a blank!

Thursday, Dec 30: Went to hang out with mom and grandma again. I wanted to get a chance to see my grandma at least one more time before I went back to work.

Friday, Dec 31: D and I didn't do a whole lot on New Year's eve. We ran some errands and got a great curtain at Cost Plus World Market for our apartment.

In the evening we watched the Expendables which, I am sorry to say was pretty bad. And I am sorry to say that because, I for one, like Stallone. I mean, come on, he was Rocky. I think is just needed more "story." We had our New Year's eve toast at home, cozy with our jammies on.

Saturday, Jan 1: New years Day. Blegh. I rang in the New Year with a nasty cold that is thankfully gone. I woke up with said cold. What is up with channel 5 making people watch the Rose Parade ALL day. HOW BORING. We finished watching ALL of the Heroes episodes. I'm kinda sad about that, but I was actually OK with how they ended it. Oh and my maternal grandpa would have been 83 this day.

Sunday, Jan 2: Home all day miserable and sick.

Ok so I totally know I am missing things but that was the jist of it. I was supposed to return to work on the 3rd, but ended up staying home a couple of days to recover from my cold. And now that the new year has begun, I have already started looking forward to my week off at the end of the year.

Current Winter Reading: Kitchen Confidential (Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly) by Anthony Bourdain. (D's man crush)

Tokyo Tuesday Surprise

2010-12-31T21:34:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, December 28th, 2010 was a really strange day.

The strangeness began in the morning. I got up before D feeling slightly out-of-it yet pleased that the sun was out. I had the urge to go to Little Tokyo. So my morning went on, I did a few chores in the apartment and I got cleaned up and ready for whatever the day would bring. Then D emerged from the bedroom and says "I feel like going to Little Tokyo." Weird, but it was settled, we were going. Before we left we had and extra container of Yan Yans. D told me to ask the kids playing outside, who live in our complex, if they wanted it. So I walk out dressed, but in my slippers which are black furry Crocs called Gretels, to offer the sweets to the kids. They accepted and I went back into the apartment to put my shoes on so that we could leave for LT. Just as I walked in I heard a thud on the cement outside and a screaming kid. Instead of sharing, the kids (siblings) battled over the Yan Yans. I felt awful so I ran out, in my slippers again to see if everything was OK. It was, and to make it all better, I gave them all some candy. Finally, we left to Little Tokyo.

Did you notice what I forgot? Well, I didn't. I didn't notice that I never put my shoes on. I arrived at LT in my slippers. Yup. There was no going back, we already paid for the parking. I couldn't believe it. I got out of the car, looked down, saw my slippers, and screamed "Oh my God!" It was like one of those nightmares where you end up in school or some strange place barefoot. D laughed...and laughed and hugged me.

So we went on, traipsing around LT and, of course, ended up and Kinokuniya Bookstore to ooh and ahhh at all the goodies. I was admiring a Mark Ryden book for a while, then I put it down to go look for D. When I found him, he said "Hey check this out!" What does he show me, another Mark Ryden book. Again, weird. But it was a weird day, and dang-it I was wearing slippers so I didn't think too much on it.

The last thing we did before leaving LT was indulge in some treats from Mikawaya. D had some Guava and Green Tea gelato while I just had a Raspberry Cream Mochi-lato (Gelato filled Mochi). We sat in the Japanese Village courtyard to finish our treat before we headed home. As we sat there eating our treats a man and his son and daughter (I think) sat across from us in the courtyard. I didn't think anything of it at first glance...until I looked again. I nudged D's arm and said "Hey, that looks like Mark Ryden." He looked up and said, "Are you sure?" I told him that that I wasn't 100% sure, but that it REALLY looked like him. The man's kids got up and went into one of the shops, leaving the man sitting on the bench alone. At the same time we were ready to go too. As we walked by the man D suddenly stops in front of the man and says this: "Pardon me sir, and forgive me for asking, but are you Mark Ryden?" I was stunned. I was even more stunned when the man said "Yes" and smiled and put out his hand so I could shake it. Yep, I shook the hand of a master painter. Yep, I met Mark Ryden...in my slippers....

P.S.: In case you were wondering, these are the slippers.

Felt, Gelatin and Caffeine

2010-12-20T22:30:00.000-08:00

Gosh, I haven't posted anything since just after Thanksgiving! Let's play catch-up again. Between Thanksgiving and now we've celebrated both my parents' birthdays, my mother in-law's birthday, attended various potlucks at the work place, eaten too many sweets while agonizing about wanting to shed some extra pounds, discovered water decaffeinated coffee, watched a lot of Heroes and Anthony Bourdain (D's new man crush) via Netflix, worked on perfecting one felt flower technique and succeeded, obsessed and still obsessing over blooming gelatin art...all this among everyday life with a few things I am sure I forgot to mention.

Allow me to elaborate...

I am surrounded by food! Yummy hard to resist holiday food! It is always a struggle once the holiday season hits every year, and, there is still more to come. I am trying to show some restraint before January comes and I am feeling incredibly guilty for over indulging. In the midst of all this, D and I have also had a hankering for seafood lately. Rare, I know. We decided to try a restaurant near our place called the Seafare Inn. Hooray for good seafood. I love that the place is independently owned and has been there since the 60's. I've read that some of the younger people who have eaten there were a bit turned off by the fact that the clientele is mostly seniors. Well, fortunately that doesn't bother me one bit. Senior hang outs are cool! The food was not anything fancy but it was very good. Fancy doesn't always equate to good or well prepared. So far I've tried the fried shrimp and the grilled cod and was very happy with both dishes. My mom just laughs every time I tell her that D and I have tried a new place.

D and I have been on the prowl for coffee, specifically decaf. It is such a bummer that there is less consideration for the decaf drinker vs the regular coffee drinker. The funny thing is that decaf drinkers drink coffee because they actually like it, not because they are prisoners to a caffeine addiction. I admit it. I used to be the "regular" coffee drinker, but now it just makes me anxious and nervous. I went though a period where I stopped drinking coffee cold turkey, and I actually missed the flavor, not the caffeine. So, I started drinking decaf. The crappy thing is there are less flavor selections. Less consideration for us who can't do high amounts of caffeine. Then, I find out that decaf is bad for you because of the chemical process used to decaffeinate the beans. What's a girl to do? While shopping at Fresh & Easy last week, I decided to look at the coffee, inhale the goodness. I picked up a bag of the Fresh & Easy brand decaf and read that it was naturally water decaffeinated. What?!! In the cart it went. We finally brewed our coffee this weekend and added a little vanilla rum flavored creamer. Mmm mmm good!

Much to D's annoyance, I finally watched Splash to cure my fit of nostalgia. Have I mentioned how much we are loving Netflix? It works out great for us since we both work and don't get to watch the tube during the day. It just isn't worth shelling out the cash for cable at the moment. There are oodles of title selections on Netflix via web streaming, which is how we've been watching most things. Splash was unavailable via streaming so they sent us the 20th anniversary edition disk and fortunately they arrive quick! As I said, I was feeling nostalgic and Splash did the trick. It's nice to remember simpler days. I was sated. And I learned something new. The extra features included a clip that was edited out of the movie of Madison's encounter with the Sea Hag who explains the rules of her leaving the ocean. Neat.

We are also finally on our last season of Heroes. I say "finally" because I was so behind on this show and was anxious to see the rest of the episodes I missed. I heard the show ended without a real ending. That seems to be a trend with the shows I like, hence Carnivale and the Dresden Files. What's up with that?

I perfected one technique (one of many I still have to try) of creating felt flowers. This is in prep for the yarn wreath that I one day hope to complete.

As for that little obsession of mine for blooming gelatin art...I've decided to take the class in January. My mom, so sweetly, gathered the class info for me. Now all I have to do is call the shop. This is the same shop that created the jello treat my mom bought with the encapsulated flower that I was all ga-ga over on Thanksgiving. D has been telling me to sign up since Thanksgiving. He claims he hasn't seen me "light up" about something like that in a long time. Hopefully I can catch onto the techniques.

Now, I must create my meal plans for my week off, with holiday goodies included. I am ELATED to be off work for a week. I NEED the break and can hardly wait!

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-28T22:06:00.000-08:00

Lots went on for us this past week. For one, last weekend was D's birthday. We celebrated on both days. Saturday we went to see the first part of the last Harry Potter films with D's mom and her friend. After the movie, our party of four caravaned to have some yummy and delicious Thai food. Our favorite Thai dish at the moment is the pineapple fried rice from the Golden Triangle.

D and I can polish one of these off easy.

Sunday was a mellow day, and we celebrated at my parents' accompanied by a little red velvet cake from Amy's Pastry.

Then it was time for Thanksgiving meal planning. This year I tried a different stuffing recipe instead of using my grandmother's traditional recipe. Not that I am opposed to her recipe, in fact its delicious, but I felt like mixing it up. I made cornbread stuffing and D was all over it. Apparently he loved it enough to attempt to negotiate which leftovers he would leave me if he could have the rest of the stuffing to himself. This year I also made a pasta salad. I found the perfect pasta at Cost Plus for this. The pasta was in the shape of Turkeys! I also made my traditional creamed corn, which I kicked up a notch this year by adding a dash of Cayenne pepper, and of course, mashed potatoes. I made all four side dishes the day before Thanksgiving. On Thanksgiving day, my mom made the bird and provided the yummy butterflakes from Amy's we buy every year. D and I hauled all the side dishes over from our place to my folks' and had our meal when the bird was done in the afternoon. It was great. Every year we get to do this is a blessing and really is something to be thankful for. On this day, I also became fascinated with something new. My mom brought us each a jello cup for dessert. But this was no ordinary jello, this was Blooming Gelatin Art.

What you see above is completely edible. When I first laid eyes on this gorgeous dessert, I thought there was a plastic flower in the middle. When I commented this to my mom she said, "No, you eat the whole thing!" Let me just say I could not wait to finish my meal so I could sample and dissect this treat. It was true! It was all jello! Then, to push my fascination even further, my mom tells me that there are classes offered to learn how to make these and she handed me the business card....The wheels in my head are spinning out of control...more on this later....

Flake Out!

2010-11-15T13:30:00.000-08:00

I think I found my favorite non-fried, crispy chicken recipe. In attempts to cook as healthy as possible without sacrificing flavor, I've been on a self-imposed mission to find a recipe that makes chicken taste like it's fried when it is actually baked. This has been going on for a while. I have tried breading the chicken in regular bread crumbs and panko bread crumbs as well as various methods of coating the chicken before dredging them in bread crumbs. Out of the two types of bread crumbs I liked the panko better, but now I found something better. An ingredient that has been staring at me in the face for some time and I have chosen to ignore. Kellogg's Corn Flakes! Plain ol' Corn Flakes! I have to say that coating the chicken in the cornflakes gave it a much better crunch than bread crumbs, which is what I was looking for, and it most closely resembled fried chicken.

I used the recipe on the cereal box which is also on the Kellogg's website.

The only changes I made were that instead of using fat-free milk, I used almond milk and I also reduced the amount of butter. It came out excellent! M & D approved!!

Two Years

2010-11-09T22:16:00.000-08:00

November 8, 2010...2 years (wed)...

We celebrated by going to The Cat & the Custard Cup for dinner. It was superb! Not to mention extremely romantic...

Weekend Of Halloween 2010

2010-11-07T21:59:00.000-08:00

WE WON, WE WON!!! That is, we won 3rd place in our complex's Halloween decorating contest. I seriously didn't think we were going to win ANYTHING based on the fact that we didn't overload our place with decor. Apparently the person who judged the decorations liked our neon black light paintings so he gave it to us based on that. Gosh, I didn't even get to make a Halloween yarn wreath like I originally planned this year. I'm still trying to master the art of creating various styles of felt flowers. Hmmm, maybe I will make one for Christmas. All in all, Halloween was good.

Saturday I went to K&M's Halloween Party while D went to a family Halloween function. I went to the party as a so-called pirate and provided the Plum Wine (teehee), bread stick fingers and mummy hot dogs. I didn't really have a costume fund this year and I didn't have any energy left to make one, so, I used articles of clothing and makeup I already had. Doing my makeup was my favorite part of putting this costume together. I think it turned out ok.

Makeup detail.

Sunday D and I went to my folk's place to spend Halloween there. D carved 2 pumpkins (again, I had no energy to contribute). This year it was Ned Flanders and the classic Frankenstein, which were a hit with the neighborhood kids. We gave out candy until about 8:30pm and then rushed inside to catch the encore presentation of AMC's The Walking Dead.

Ahhh and then Monday. D and I took Monday off to rest. We slept in. It was awesome. I felt my energy gradually returning as the morning turned into the afternoon. It was beautiful, just like a Summer day. We finally headed out about 1pm, made a stop for Chicken Salad Sandwiches at Laura's Loaves and then to Ikea to get a MUCH NEEDED piece of furniture for the kitchen. The interiors of our kitchen cabinets are a bit awkward so large pots will not fit. That's where this piece comes in. Not only does it provide a place for my larger kitchen items, but it provides more counter space! And really, who would turn down more counter space?

D put it together as soon as we got home. Out of all the Ikea furniture we have, this was the hardest to put together, but D was rockin'. He had to manually measure the worktop and drill it to the base. They did not provide pilot holes which sucked, but after D's meticulous measuring, it looks great. Now I need to treat the birch work top! Had I known this ahead of time, I would have bought the product I needed at Ikea when we bought this piece. Duh! Oh well, so we had to make a repeat visit. But to make up for the trip, we indulged in $1 ice cream cones! Always a good thing.

Neonween

2010-10-27T22:23:00.000-07:00

Our complex is having a Halloween decorating competition. Have I already mentioned this? Maybe not. Anyways, D got ambitious an thought up a project for us to do to inexpensively decorate our place. Since the prizes are money off the rent, it didn't make sense for us to spend all kinds of money to decorate our place, so we decided to get creative and go homemade, which is cooler in my opinion anyways...hehe. So D's plan was to go Neon. He wanted us to produce 2 paintings, one for each front window, that would glow under a black light. This was experimental. We've seen this method but never attempted anything like this before. It was successful, but not without problems. First of all, since we were cutting costs, D bought cheap "glow in the dark" paint at Jo-Ann's in various colors. They sucked! It was like painting with water. Layer after layer and no color. I was ready to give up. D went back to Jo-Ann's and bought NEON paint instead. This worked so much better. Not great, but better. Enough to finish our pieces and stick them in the windows by the deadline of the 25th of October.

Here is what my painting looks like in the window

A close-up

Here is what D's painting looks like in the window. Since his was the larger piece and the lighting outside was atrocious, I added two detail shots below.

As we look around the complex now, it seems that we got some major competition. A couple of the apartments look really cool, although their stuff is store bought. But whatevs, I am proud of how our Halloween art pieces came out, even if we don't win. This project pushed me to create. In the whirlwind of the daily grind I don't always make time for the projects swimming around in my head, and I really should.

Tipsy At Target

2010-10-15T11:06:00.001-07:00

Last Friday night, D and I had dinner at Azabu. This place was recommended by my hairstylist, C, some time ago and I have been really curious about it. Plus D is still on what seems to be his never ending quest to find GREAT Japanese food. The place is tiny, but really nice. Kind of modern Japanese fusion decor. D ordered a combination plate and I ordered Oyako Don. I also had a glass of wine with my meal. Yea, you read that right. Me. Me-so-picky finally found a wine that I REALLY like. There was a small alcoholic beverage menu on each table. "Plum wine" got my attention. I asked D, "Hmmm, I wonder what that tastes like....it sure sounds good..." So when our waiter came, we ordered our dinner, but before he left, D asked the waiter, "So, this plum wine, what's that like?" He told us that it was very sweet, but very good. "Sweet" is one of my favorite words and I think it was noticeable with the huge smile on my face. Our waiter asked me if I would like to try a little bit. He brought me a shot glass full of wine to taste. It was so unbelievably good that I ordered a glass....and finished that too.

Since I have rattled on about the wine experience, I should move on to our food experience. As mentioned, I had the Oyako Don. I had recently had Oyako Don at a different Japanese restaurant in the area and I have to say this one was much better. D was happy with his combo dish, which by the way, was nicely presented. Even though I think that bento box presentations are super cool, the dish presentation was nice. He had a nice spread of chicken teriyaki (house sauce), tuna roll, rice, salad and veggie and rice tempura. Both of our dishes came with miso soup before the dinner plate came. Both of us were left with a smile from ear to ear.

After dinner we went to Target to run an errand and I was a tad tipsy. Well, just a bit dizzy. I don't drink much so it tends to hit me hard at times. We got out of there pretty quickly so the rest of the evening was spent loafing on the couch watching Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Lovely.

And, since this post is primarily about food and drink, I should mention that I am now better prepared for more efficeient food prep in my kitchen. I am pretty stoked about finally purchasing two good quality kitchen knives. I waited and waited for a deal and man did I get these for a steal!!!

Wüsthof 6" Cooks Knife (4572 / 16cm)

Wüsthof 3 1/2" Paring Knife (4066 / 9cm)

Now my next step is to get blade covers. Since I keep my knives in a small drawer, I don't want any accidents and I want to protect the blades.

In other news we should finally have internet in the apartment by Tuesday! For now, break time over, back to work...

Do You Have Fangs On Your Nails?

2010-10-08T15:47:00.000-07:00

I thought this tutorial was super-Halloweenie-coolness!

Now if I only had the time and patience...this gal does some great tutorials...

Paint Dust

2010-10-07T14:44:00.000-07:00

This weekend was a busy one. The paint in our apartment is finally finished. Again.

So here's what happened. When we originally moved in back in September, we found that the new paint was peeling in certain areas. Apparently, a new product was used and the building owner was assured that this new product would adhere to and the previous oil based paint with no problem. Obviously this was not the case, so the owner and manager were kind enough to work with us to fix the problem. Since we wanted to keep the apartment we were in, we temporarily moved into an empty apartment for a few days and only took essential items with us. Everything else was well covered and moved away from the areas that needed painting. The maintenance crew sanded and painted the problem areas over again.

On the upside, no more peeling paint and we can finally settle in our apartment. On the downside, paint dust. But hey, I have a good vacuum so no prob.

Saturday was a busy day and I wasn't exactly feeling up to par. To cheer me up, D surprised me with copy of "Science Dog."

Gee, who does this look like?....Like Mr. Frodo, of course.

Jem-leficent

2010-10-01T10:49:00.001-07:00

In the midst of all our chaos lately, the hubster thought I needed a treat or two. So I said "Ok, well...then get me a contouring blush from MAC." I haven't bought anything from MAC in eons, so it would be a treat. Yesterday after work he proclaimed it was "treat time!" and drove us to the mall. As I was approaching the MAC store I saw a display for Disney's Venomous Villains and just about ran in the store, leaving D behind. The Villains on display were Maleficent, The Evil Queen, Cruella DeVil, and Dr. Facilier. I went straight to Maleficent. I planned on just looking and admiring, but D insisted I get the limited edition Maleficent eyeshadow along with the contouring blush I actually went in for.

D was talking to the sales guy and he said that it was the first day the limited edition Villain items were on display in the store, and he was sure they would be sold out by the next day. Most were indeed sold out online the next day. I am very happy with both products.

And what have I come to find out? That in Spring 2011 MAC will have a limited edition line featuring Diana Prince, that's right, Wonder Woman! I think while they are at it, they should do She-Ra too!

For some reason, writing about this reminds me of Jem and the Holograms. Probably becasue she wore crazy 80's makeup and hair (LOVE IT). Anyone remember her?

I used to love this show...and yes, I still have a couple of the dolls somewhere in storage.

They just don't make'em like this anymore...Anyone want to be Jem for Halloween??

I've never been a fan of pink, but this is cute.

She's Back

2010-09-28T12:48:00.000-07:00

Still internetless at home, but I need to update, therefore I will be updating between work breaks and lunches, so this may be brief, may have typos and strange sentences. They will be working on the paint in our apartment later this week, which means, we need to re-pack some things in the next couple of days.

Last Saturday D and I went to have lunch. While we waited for our lunch to be served we each grabbed an L.A. Weekly with this cover!

I've been an Elvira fan since I was a kid so I eagerly read the article and was pleased to find out that Elvira is back! She is resurrecting her show "Movie Macabre" and shooting out of her basement. It just so happened that Saturday night at midnight (Sunday morning) was the premier of Elvira's show. We stayed up and watched her intro and the beginning of her movie choice of the night, which was "Night of the Living Dead." We fell asleep after that. Darn that Sandman. Basically, this is what we saw:

Full article here.

I've met Cassandra Peterson a couple of times and I must say she is really cool in person. The first time I met her was at a Fangoria convention, when they were still held in Pasadena, and later, at the Vista Theater to watch a showing of her movie "Elvira's Haunted Hills". Both are fun memories for me. Gosh it seems so long ago now. It's a good thing we have pictures! These were pre-digi-cam days for me.

Move Update

2010-09-22T12:21:00.001-07:00

Lots going on right now in regards to our move. I will update on that when things settle a bit.

We have no Internet right now which sucks and which is why I am writing during my lunch. Hopefully we will have some normalcy soon.

For The Love Of Layering

2010-09-06T22:07:00.000-07:00

I love the layered-look. What I don't love is the bunching of unnecessary fabric. Nor do I like cheap fabric rolling up on me under my blouse. In certain occasions it is necessary for me to wear a tank/camisole under a low-cut blouse (or dress?) to prevent from totally exposing myself in public. No one needs to see this. I have been researching a fashionable solution to this for some time now and stumbled upon a couple of web sites with products to help with this. I finally bought one.

Solution 1: Hapari Tank Shores. I bought one of these, in black, for my mom and myself to try out. We both gave it the thumbs up. Let's just say I liked it enough to inspire me to write this post and share this info. It was awesome to feel free of bunching or rolling fabric.

This image is from the Hapari web site displaying the tank.

Solution 2: Half Tees. Here is another solution I have not yet tried, but eventually hope to get around to. Personally I would like to try the long sleeved version in the Winter.

This image is from the Half Tees web site displaying the half tee.

In other news, I finally finished reading "The Historian" by Elizabeth Kostova. In short, and without giving too much away, this book was a great read if you are interested in vampires, history, and research. It's heavy laden with history and theories about Vlad III and written in scholarly and adventurous tone. I heard that Sony was planning to make a movie based on this book, but it doesn't appear that it will happen soon. Bummer.

Sweatmata

2010-08-25T22:52:00.000-07:00

Last week D and I felt that we needed a good dose of laughs. So, to remedy this, we went to the Improv to watch Sebastian Maniscalco, Italian comedian extraordinaire. D and I first saw his stand up comedy act on Comedy Central and we were cracking up at his set. A couple of weeks ago, we were driving by the Improv and saw the giant poster advertisement of his act. We got our tickets a couple of days later. It was a great show and Mr. Maniscalco even had a little fun with D. He also commented on the "hair" on D's face...hehehe. He was kind enough to meet with the audience after the show to chat and take pictures. I am super shy about these things. D is not. He immediately asked me to dig the camera out of my purse in spite of my telling him, "You know I'm shy!!" In the end, we each took a picture with him and thanked him for a great show. I will not be posting my picture because I can see the gum in my mouth! D's came out just fine. Anyways, he was even kind enough to tell D "Thanks for playing along."

The only thing that sucked about that night was the horrible "pizza" salads we bought from the pizza place next door before the show. BLEGH! We felt so singed...so singed that D insisted on going to Masa over the weekend to make up for the nasty meal with a delicious traditional deep dish pizza.

A couple of days later D and I witnessed a phenomena we named the "Sweatmata" while driving by a church. See image below.

D actually made a u-turn so I could photograph this...or at least attempt it. Though the shot is a bit blurry, he couldn't believe I got it. It was such a Nat Geo experience. D was beside himself.

Oh and as for a reading update, I am still reading The Historian at a turtle's pace since I've had so much to do this Summer, but I am just over 3/4 of the way through.

**Disclaimer: The "sweatmata" portion of this post is not meant to offend anyone or be blasphemous in any way shape or form. It was just a little humor and such an odd thing to see.

Racetrack Galore

2010-08-16T13:19:00.000-07:00

This weekend D and I decided to treat ourselves. Since he spontaneously wanted to go to the Melrose Trading Post I thought, "Hey, lets go to Canter's!" This is one of those places I've seen and passed by over and over again throughout the years and told myself I would eventually stop and try it out. Then last year, we saw a small version of Canter's inside Treasure Island in Las Vegas. It reminded me of an express version. I contemplated eating there but thought, "Why, when I have the real deal back home...nah I'll wait." The day finally came...why did I wait so long?! I had the green chili, mushroom and jack omelet (with egg beaters). For my sides I chose potatoes and a killer piece of french bread. D had the Reuben with corn beef with their famous pickles. My omelet was darn good and D...well D was in heaven with his Reuben. He claims that it's the best Reuben he's ever had. Then came dessert. After we finished our meal we walked over to the bakery and deli. We were overwhelmed with the fine selection of baked goods. We finally decided on a piece of apple strudel and a piece of goodness called "Racetrack". I need to elaborate a bit on the racetrack, or chocolate chip racetrack cake. It's a ring-shaped pastry that is filled with thin layers of pineapple and chocolate. It was amazing. The apple strudel was also quite phenomenal.

Canter's Bakery counter. I want to taste everything...
Photo source: http://www.cantersdeli.com/index.html

As for the Melrose Trading Post, we didn't find anything extraordinary this time. We haven't been there in years! It was nice to walk around. D picked up a couple of records that were 2 for $1. That was the extent of our shopping.

This weekend I also readied myself a bit for winter. I have been wanting a new black coat, so when I bargain hunt with my mom, I've had this in back of my mind. So on Saturday, while I was out n' about with my mom, she said "Hey look at this!". She was holding a wool red coat with big, black patent leather buttons. How could I say no? Red is still one of my favorite colors. Plus the price was right for a Guess coat, so I now have a red coat for winter. Though, I still haven't given up on the black coat.

Starting To Pack

2010-08-10T22:46:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the silence around here lately, but D and I have been busy with things relating to our new place. So far we got a couch and the TV stand we wanted. My parents also handed down an vintage drop-leaf table for our kitchen and its green! Plus it will totally help with the space-saving issue. My mom never threw it out when they got a new table many years ago because she thought it was cute, so it has been stored in their garage for years. Geez, I remember we picked it up at a yard sale when I was just a little kid! I love the "collected over time" look (as David Bromstad has mentioned) so I don't mind mixing in the old with the new. In fact, in many cases I prefer the old.

Furniture hunting has been fun. My mom suggested going to Furniture Warehouse in Santa Fe Springs, since she got some good deals on a few pieces of furniture there. The place ended up being the Disneyland of furniture. D was in awe. It is a warehouse stuffed with furniture and other oddities, so much so that it's like a maze. It has a major tiki/jungle/pirate vibe along with accompanying music to add to the mood. To top it off, celebrities have visited this place and the owner has the pics to prove it. We didn't purchase anything from this place yet, but we may be returning for a piece we saw in the near future...if the budget allows.

We stumbled onto this guy in the shop while listening to "yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me".

Apartment Update

2010-08-06T07:53:00.000-07:00

We finally found an apartment! It was official on Wednesday. I am so glad that we were able to find a place in the area we wanted. Granted, the place is smaller than we'd like, but, we can make it work for the time being. We are really excited to have our own place to decorate...well maybe that's just me since I couldn't do much where we were living before. The place won't be ready for another month or so. That should give us plenty of time to pack and such. More pics and updates later.

The Big Three-Zero

2010-07-25T23:25:00.000-07:00

I decided to document bits and pieces of the last week of my 20's. That's right folks, I am now 30 years young.

Monday: Casserole and Cake! The gals at work decided to have an early birthday breakfast for me which consisted of a yummy homemade cheese and sausage breakfast casserole, fresh fruit and strawberry cake. They also decided to pitch in and buy me a blouse from Anthropologie that I have been drooling over.

I was really surprised and touched by this gesture, and I insisted that they did not have to get me anything. They said they wanted to because they felt that 30 is a milestone birthday. My coworker that made the casserole was cool enough to pass on the recipe, which she snagged from a magazine (sorry, can't remember which one). Here it is:

Cheese and Sausage Breakfast Casserole

8-10 servings

6 English muffins cut into 1- inch squares

1 lb. bulk pork sausage, crumbled and cooked

½ c. grated mozzarella cheese

1 c. grated sharp cheddar cheese

10 large eggs

2 c. whole milk

2 t. dry mustard

1 t. salt

½ t. pepper

½ c. sliced green onions

Grease 9X13 inch glass baking dish. Place bread cubes in prepared dish. Top with sausage and cheese. Beat together eggs and next 4 ingredients. Stir in green onions. Pour egg mixture over bread, sausage, and cheese in dish. (Can be prepared one day ahead. Chill.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake casserole until puffed and center is set, about 47-50 minutes. Cut into squares.

I will definatly try this out, but I think I will doctor it up a bit. Some mushrooms perhaps? Later in the day D surprised me with Snow Leopard OS 10.6 for my MacBook Pro. Nice! Now I am up to date.

Ok, who threw that snowball!

Tuesday: Taco Tuesday that is. D and I decided to have a budget dinner at Matador Cantina. You can't go wrong for $1.25 tacos! After dinner we ran over to Marshall's and I got my first George Nelson Clock for 15 bux! I love it. I want more of them.

This is my clock. More like this here.

This clock inspires me to decorate with clocks. Here is a good example of decorating with clocks.

Photo source

If I went this route, I don't think I would have them all working at the same time. The ticking of all the clocks combined would probably drive me mad.

Wednesday: Regular workday. Chilled with D after work.

Thursday: D and I decided to go for a walk at night when it was nice and cool. We were about 6 houses down when I spotted something on the ground just a few feet away from me. Even though I can't see very well in the dark without my glasses I was pretty sure it was a snake. Plus, we've seen a couple of gopher snakes in the area. My eyes did not deceive me, it was in fact, a snake. But it was no gopher snake...it was a rattle snake! YIKES!!! D and I carry a walking stick so he poked at it lightly to make sure. The snake coiled a bit into an S-shape, which pretty much means its positioning itself to strike, and shook it's rattle at us. EEEEP! Then it turned around and slithered into the bushes. It was awkward to be standing in front of someone's house with the knowledge that there was a rattle snake in their yard so we decided to let the residents know. The problem is that no one answers their doors around here. We finally gave up knocking and continued our walk. Now, we carry a flashlight on night walks.

Info from the Inland Valley Humane Society

Friday: The actual D.O.B. Since D and I had dinner reservations at 5:30 I wanted to keep the daytime activities simple. At first we were going to the beach, but then we decided against it and decided to go to the Santa Ana Zoo. The last time I went to this zoo was for Easter with my parents in early 90's. I felt like revisiting this little zoo with the hubby.

One of the camels visiting the zoo.

Giant Anteater. Isn't he weird. His sniffling and snorting on the ground was very audible and amusing.

us.

After spending a few hours at the zoo, mesmerized by many of the creatures, we went home to freshen up for dinner at Mr. V's. The last time we went to Mr. V's for our wedding lunch.

My selection for the evening was the Flat Iron Steak which was delicious!

D went with the Peppercorn Pork Tenderloin....he ate most of the meal with his eyes closed, apparently savoring every bite.

and for dessert, creme brulee!

*I also have to mention how greatful I am for all the calls, text messages, and Facebook messages wishing me a Happy Birthday. Thank you all, it means lots and lots!

Saturday: D and I went to my folk's place to spend the day with them. In celebration of my birthday, my parents treated us to a meal from Masa's and a Mango Mousse Cake from Kelley's Bakery. We ordered the food as take-out so that we could eat it at home while watching Staying Alive.

The movie is total 80's campy cheese! But really, you haven't seen Travolta until you see him in "Staying Alive."

Even though I insisted that my parents didn't have to get me anything for my birthday, they treated me to a couple of things I needed. My folks are really sweet and I appreciate all that they do for me. (I Love you both!!)

So there here it is, and here I am, 30 years young.

Sudden Swooping

2010-07-09T07:51:00.000-07:00

Saw this as I was walking, half asleep, to work yesterday morning. Hilarious. It made my morning.

The 4th, 2010

2010-07-08T21:43:00.000-07:00

Having three days off for the 4th of July was nice and chill. Saturday I spent the day running around, first for my much needed haircut, gathering all the edibles needed for the 4th, and getting a head start on my crock pot baked beans. Basically I did the same as last year. Mini sliders in the beef and turkey variety, baked beans, corn cobettes, and BBQ pop chips instead of fries. I was aiming on flavorful but healthy. We even splurged on Angus ground beef and butter lettuce. YUM. D was way happy as were my folks.

Holiday inspired eyeshadow that is....

The next day, which by the way was Mr. Frodo's 6th birthday, D and I went to see Eclipse early in the morning so that we could catch the 6 dollar AMC special at 11:35am. We skipped breakfast and our stomachs were starting to feel the burn. Before we entered the theater we shared a Cheese Dog from Wretzels Pretzels, which is a hot dog wrapped in cheese bread, not expecting to be satisfied, but with the intention of getting something in our stomachs to hold us over until after the movie. Boy were we surprised. It was delicious and we were impressed with Wretzels Pretzels. As for the movie, D was totally unimpressed. I agree that the movie was overly "talky", but the flashback scenes in the movie were entertaining, but way too short. If you blink you will miss them. Especially the flashback I have been waiting for with in which Peter Murphy has a cameo as "The Cold One" . I am so glad K informed me what part of the movie he would be in so I wouldn't miss it, because I just might have. I felt a bit jipped.

Check out Peter Murphy singing upside-down like a bat.

Captain Cooke Goat

2010-07-05T22:50:00.000-07:00

Aloha says I... No, we didn't go to Hawaii. We went to Bahooka for lunch two Saturdays ago, which is the closest I am getting to Hawaii anytime soon. For weeks, I was craving the ambiance, salad dressing and sharing a Captain Cooke Goat.

Let me explain thee Captain Cooke Goat. It is a non-alcoholic, pineapple and coconut drink. When ordered for two, it is served with two long straws in a flaming bowl over crushed ice. There are also a few chunks of skewered pineapple and maraschino cherries in the bowl.

For me, the flavor is outta this world. So Summery and tropical. It is the non-alcoholic version of my favorite alcoholic drink, Malibu Rum and Pineapple. mmmmm....

While perusing the menu I noticed a small advertisement on the table announcing that their house salad dressing was now available to buy in a glass bottle. After reading this, I could have done cartwheels. Of course I added a couple of these to my bill. This salad dressing tastes like Thousand Island with a kick, with a little special something added. Believe me when I tell you that it's good, really good.

My mom and dad have been going to Bahooka since they were dating in the 70's. Mom tells me that she remembers one particular visit clearly. She and my dad went while she was VERY pregnant with me and they were seated at a booth. Well, she got stuck between the booth and the table. After carefully and strategically sliding out, they were moved over to another table that actually had the table/chair set up versus the booth. This incident is why she tells me that I have partaken of Bahooka since I was a wee little one. My parents have lots of memories there, and over the years, so do D and I.

P.S. I would have posted this sooner, but I never got around to downloading my pics!

June Gloom, Be Gone!

2010-06-25T21:33:00.000-07:00

June. Another month whizzes by and Summer is here!

Beautiful shot of Laguna Beach from Summer last year.

After much research and bargain hunting, D and I purchased a new TV this month. D is in love, and claims that he cried like a little girl when he saw how awesome his PS3 games look on the screen once he connected the HDMI cable. In fact, he called me while I was visiting at my folk's place just to tell me. Silly husband.

As if that expense wasn't enough to shell out this month, my Sedu hair dryer conked out! I've had it for a few years, but still, that was such a bummer. I am temporarily using our spare Conair hair dryer but I must quickly invest in a salon caliber hair dryer before my hair is toast. Long ago, my very talented hair stylist suggested using a "good" hair dryer, since I dry and style my hair every morning. Making the switch really made a difference, which is why I need to stick to it. If anyone knows of a tree that grows money, please let me know.

We did save some money this month by eating at home more, which was easier to do since D's Spring class is over. My favorite home-cooked meals this month were: 1. Beef and mushroom stew with garlic mashed potatoes and french bread 2. A new recipe for Spanish Rice -- I need to elaborate on this a bit because it's so simple. I wanted my traditional Spanish Rice to have a bit more of a kick, but I have to be careful with adding spices because of D's spice/heat tolerance. I stumbled across this recipe. It was perfect. Instead of tomatoes, I added Fresh and Easy's Restaurant Style salsa (medium heat), which is in the refrigerated section, because of the freshness (obviously) and lower sodium content versus the salsa you get in a jar that will last 10 years. It was a perfect addition.

Father's day weekend was nice. Lots of YUMMY food on Saturday (D's side) and Sunday (my side). In the food mix, we had vittles from El Tepeyac (old Favorite) and Cafe Tropical. Yes! We went back to indulge in the coffee cream puff I was talking about that is the size of my head. We took my mom with us to help us pick stuff out. We ended up with coffee cream puffs, guava empanadas, a ginormous peanut butter cookie, and a slice of killer apple pie that was large enough for two people. Sorry, no pics, but one thing I need to mention about the apple pie is that the apples were diced, so the slice was literally packed with apples. Yum! And I wonder why my pants are on the snug side??? I'm working on it. As I am working on IT, I am working on my 4th of July menu. Go figure.

Oh and that boxed set of True Blood Season 2 I mentioned in an earlier post, we knocked that out quick. It was so nice watching them on the new TV. See, now that excites me. Now we are bummed because we have to wait a whole year to watch season 3, which started this month. We contemplated getting HBO for the duration of season 3 so that we would not have to wait a whole year but HBO just wants too dang much. We would rather save our pennies and wait it out. Meanwhile, I need to get book 8.

Second To The Last

2010-06-15T22:18:00.000-07:00

Last Friday was the second to the last of our "furlough Fridays" so D and I spontaneously decided to go to the L.A. Zoo. We have been wanting to go for some time now, so we said "let's go!". The zoo has changed a bit from the last time we were there. We finally got to see the new gorilla enclosure and saw the beginnings of the new pachyderm enclosure, which looks like it's going to be massive.

PeeeYeeeewww! For some reason the flamingo enclosure was emanating an awful poop stench.

They are beautiful, nonetheless.

Prairie Dog!

How beautiful is this zebra?!

The Mandrills were one of my faves of the day. The alpha male was angry and huffing away as the females steered clear of his path. I wish we got a better shot of this. Here is the alpha male with what appears to be a small female...with her butt smeared with poop. And yes, he sniffed. He was spectacular, comical, and frightening all at the same time. I wouldn't want to be trapped in a cage with this fellow.

Bear...

After our zoo adventure, it was time for some grub so we decided to head on over to Masa of Echo Park for some deep dish pizza...but not before another spontaneous decision to go to Cafe Tropical. D was introduced to this pastry gem by his cousin M, and on Friday I finally sampled their baked goodness. We shared slice of guava cheese pie! O.M.G. It was so good that I HAD to take a whole pie home. It was too good to keep to myself so we stopped by my folks' place and gave them half. I love me some guava. The smell of the fruit is heavenly, but they are so hard for me to eat because of the seeds. I know the seeds are edible but I really don't like to eat them, so I take advantage of guava flavored drinks, foods, etc. I think this all started because when I was a kid, my grandpa gave me a box full of Kerns Guava drinks and I was hooked from then on. Anyway, based on the pastries, we will definitely be revisiting Cafe Tropical. Its really hard not to want to revisit a place that has a coffee cream puff the size of your head.

Was that May?

2010-06-03T12:35:00.000-07:00

The month of May whizzed by me for some reason. D and I are planning on moving so finding the right place has been quite the research project. No luck yet. I have also been researching items I need for the new place, such as a set to good quality knives and a nice stainless steel cookware set.

And in the lovely month of May, D bit me. Like, Hannible-Lecter-bit-me. He actually bit me as he was having a nightmare. I heard him stirring and mumbling in his sleep so little ol' groggy me reached out to tap his shoulder so he would wake up, and then, he bit my arm like an old chicken bone. He was pretty mortified when he woke to my screams and found my arm in his mouth. Mind you, my mother has warned me again and again never to wake someone up from sleepwalking or from a bad nightmare. Well, I learned my lesson. He was actually dreaming that a demonic government offical was hiding in the back seat of his car. (D has very theatric dreams and this is merely my rough translation.) The "government offical" tried to grab D from behind while he was in the driver seat and D bit his hand in retaliation. In reality, he was biting ME. No blood was drawn, but the area was a bit tender the next day.

In the midst of the current chaos...

Reading: finished book 6 of the Sookie Stackhouse novels and moving on to book 7. I also started reading The Historian. In the queue for late spring/summer reading is Poseidon's Steed.

Entertainment: True Blood season 2 has arrived and we have already begun watching them (An early birthday gift from D). Last year, season 1 was summer entertainment in July. This year, I think it will be late spring entertainment in June.

Limping Along

2010-05-10T19:01:00.000-07:00

Ok so I am playing "catch-up" now. So lets see, what has happened lately...

1. I took a nasty fall two weeks ago. I fell down two steps onto a wood floor at the home of our friends, O&G. It happened in a matter of seconds. I was talking to D meanwhile walking down two steps, sideways. I miss-judged my step, miss it, did the "crab-walk" and landed like a mermaid on my right side. I was in denial all the way down thinking "oh my gosh...this isn't happening" and when I hit the floor I instantly sprung up and declared "I'M OK!, I'M OK!". D was skeptic and kept asking me if I was really OK to the point of annoyance. He meant well and I meant to pretend it never happened. Actually, I really didn't feel the consequences of the fall until the next morning. I felt like I was beat up. My entire right side ached and oddly enough, the outer portion of my left ankle ached as well. It ached enough to where I was noticeably limping and D had to wrap it up for me for three nights. I'm all better now.

2. I got a haircut. Think Catherine Zeta-Jones in "Chicago". Yea, it's the typical bob and I haven't had bangs cut straight across my forehead since 8th grade, but I like it. I was itching for something different since I grew out the pixie cut.

"foochi face!"

3. Reading book 5 of the Sookie Stackhouse Novels and I finally received "The Historian" in the mail. Yay!

4. Drooling over this couch (below) by Anthropolgie (among other items from this shop)...uh NOT in the budget, but one can dream, right?

Can you see Mr. Octopus?

5. Mother's day was nice. We ordered Marie Calendars to-go and ate at the folks' place while watching "Youth Without Youth," courtesy of D. I must admit the movie was good, but I was nodding off toward the end because of my full tummy and comfy couch. If I need to stay awake, for anything, a full tummy and comfy couch is not a good combo. We celebrated with D's mom the day before and played The Simpson's version of Sorry and watched episode 1 of the "Dresden Files." It was a good weekend.

I Didn't Know That! (Prairie Dogs)

2010-04-23T20:21:00.000-07:00

It's true, you learn something new everyday. I was watching a bit of Nat Geo last night and they were talking about preserving the Prairie Dogs and their contribution to the ecosystem. What caught my attention, besides their cuteness, was the fact that they have various calls to communicate with one another which are very specific. In fact they have a call specifically to alert their colony of a snake, which I got to watch in action last night (link to this posted below). Once the little critters were safely hidden away a few of the adult prairie dogs approached the snake, surrounded and taunted it. I was horrified because the snake attempted to strike, but those little p-dogs are pretty spry and the snake missed. The whole time I was watching this I thought to myself "Oh my gosh, WHAT are they doing?! Why don't they take cover with the rest of the colony in their burrows?" How these cute, furry rodents could defend themselves from a venomous fanged creature was beyond my comprehension, but I kept watching.

The taunting continued until the snake was aggravated enough and decided to retreat. The snake slithered into a hole in the ground and I couldn't believe what happened next. The prairie dogs buried the snake alive, kicking in the dirt and filling the hole with the snake in it. In fact, they are known for it. Team work, people!

Watch this Nat Geo segment HERE. It's only a few minutes long.

Steampunk Wings and Sunscreen

2010-04-22T21:37:00.000-07:00

Gasp! What's this?

a closer look...

a little closer...

Not something I expected to find in a random unused building in San Pedro's Ports o' Call Village. What a pleasant steampunky surprise!

The wind did a number on my hair that day...

And just how adorable are these buildings?! I wish I knew the history behind them. To my dismay, I didn't find any info about them on site. They may not be as old as they look, but I was still interested in knowing when they were built. By the way, what happened to this place? Ports o' Call Village is not what I remember when I was a kid. Actually, we stopped by on a whim on the way home from a going away party that was held near by and we were very surprised at what we encountered, since neither D or I had been there in quite some time. On the other hand, I was pleased to see the local pelicans!

Writing this post makes me think about the beach, which in turn, makes me think about Summer, which makes me think about sunscreen. For a couple of years, I have been using Neutrogena Healthy Defense Daily Moisturizer SPF 45, which I do like in terms of performance. For me, it's not greasy and did not cause any breakouts or allergic reactions. My ONLY gripe about this product is that it contains parabens and other ingredients that are not so good for you. I recently received an email from Sephora introducing a new product called Supergoop which is paraben free. FINALLY.

I have been using this for about 3 weeks and I am happy with the product. In regards to application and product performance, it's pretty similar to what I was used to with the Neutrogena, only now I have peace of mind that what is absorbing into my skin is much better for my health than what I was using before.

I would also like to try LAVANILA's Healthy Sunscreen SPF 40, which sounds like a wonderful product, but is on the pricey side. In fact there are a few other items by LAVANILA that I would like to try which I have already placed on my Wists list. (If you are reading this hubby, hint, hint) Hopefully I will be able to acquire one of these items soon without breaking the budget!

Graffiti Rant

2010-04-19T22:11:00.000-07:00

I'll make this rant quick. Normally I would say that I detest graffiti. I hate the fact that people work so hard to own or rent property and someone comes along and defaces it. This is especially upsetting when you can see how hard some try to keep their properties looking nice and clean, or when someone has recently painted only to have some a-hole tag all over it. Totally infuriating. To add to my madness, some actually have the nerve to tag their scribbles all over murals...MURALS...artwork that someone labored over.

This one is particularly maddening for the hub. This mural is in L.A. on the 101fwy. Does anyone remember what this looked like before the mess? I do.

At the same time I can't help but wonder why some of these taggers are not using their art in a more positive manner. I know that opportunity in the art world is hard to come by but some of these people have real talent with the spray can. I just wish they were not marking up some poor person's house or business.

This too is off the 101fwy...and I hate to admit that I think it's cute...

In other news, I just finished book 3 of the Sookie Stackhouse novels...D says I am not allowed to buy anymore books until next month *frowns*...I guess I will have to wait until May to get the next installment of this series. I did however purchase a new book online for he and I to read called The Historian, recommended by my friend, Kat. You cant beat it for $0.01 + $3.99 shipping. I got the hardcover for a whopping 4 bux! Also, my dad has a book he wants me to read called The Passion Test. He actually checked it out from the library and passed it on to me to read, so I gotta get that done before its due. So, I do have some books to keep me busy till May.

Easter Weekend 2010

2010-04-08T21:15:00.000-07:00

My 5 day weekend flew by in a flash!

Wednesday is a blur now.

Thursday was D's mom's retirement party, which was sweet. Complete with slide show and fly-by helicopter.

Friday, we sank our teeth into some Chicago deep dish pizza on. D had a hankering for a "good" Chicago deep dish pizza that he could get locally, since we obviously aren't going to Chicago any time soon. So, I came to his rescue with my foodie research and found Masa of Echo Park. We met up at the restaurant with D's friends, O&G&fam, because D wanted to share the experience with them. Arriving there, I also bumped into some old friends, the only set of identical twins I know...I think. Anyways, D and I shared a traditional Chicago Deep Dish Pizza (mushrooms and sausage) and Manchego Salad. I normally don't care for thick crust pizza. Generally, I prefer thin crust, but this...omg...let me collect myself....this was so good! A repeat visit is definitely in order. I mean come on, they make their own sausage!! The Manchego salad was also superb.

Saturday, I prepped for Sunday's Easter Lunch I was planning on cooking up for my hubby and my folks. Mom and I thought it would be nice to make a turkey breast instead of the whole turkey or ham. We just weren't feeling ham last weekend. For the life of me, I could not find a Turkey breast anywhere, so we resorted to purchasing a Honey Baked Ham turkey breast. I cooked up three side dishes and dessert. My favorite dish to cook for this meal wast the dessert, which was Capirotada. It was my first time making it and since there are so many ways to make it, I was determined to make is as close as I could to what my family (on both sides) is used to eating. AND to make things more challenging for myself, I didn't ask anyone for the recipe. Instead, I researched and improvised based on memory. In fact, that reminds me that I have to finish typing up my final recipe for future reference.

The cheese wasn't totally melted yet, but you get the idea. The almonds were toasted and the raisins were plumped in warm water.

It came out surprisingly well for a first try. I will probably end up making another batch tomorrow. We shall see, for it has been requested. Oh and the rest of the meal was pretty yummers too.

Oh and then there is the Easter Sunday Earthquake I did not feel, unlike the one this morning at work! Yea, the Earth has been movin' and a shakin' lately.

In other news, D and I hit Borders last night...hey, we had a coupon. I have been wanting to read Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse Novels for some time now, but I was determined that I wanted the entire boxed set first, because I'm weird like that. Well, I couldn't wait anymore. I caved and bought the first book which I am sure I will finish tomorrow or the day after, depending how much time I have...I need book 2 now...Plus I also found some other steampunky books I want to read soon.

Kermit the Frog Bites Vincent Price

2010-04-06T21:20:00.000-07:00

Can this be any cuter?

3D Rant

2010-03-30T13:53:00.000-07:00

So D tells me that movie prices for 3D Imax films will be going up. What is up with that?? How is this a good thing in a crumbling economy? I hope this backfires on all the greedy movie people. So far we have seen two movies in 3D. Avatar and Alice in Wonderland, both of which I greatly enjoyed.

I never did get a chance to review the re-imagined version of Alice on this here little blog of mine. I will try not to give too much away. In short, I liked the movie. It wasn't without it's flaws, but it was entertaining nonetheless. I thought Mia Wasikowska played an excellent Alice. I felt that there was an unspoken romance between Alice and the Mad Hatter, especially toward the end of the movie, but Burton chose to leave it to the viewer's imagination. That was fine with me, since this alternate story ending was recently executed in Syfy's 2009 version of Alice. Speaking of the Hatter, by what I saw in the previews, I thought the Hatter's character was going to be way over the top, borderline annoying, which bummed me out because Johnny Depp is one of my favorite actors. To my surprise, he was not as over the top as I originally expected and this version showed a glimpse of his life before he went "mad". The Cheshire was as adorable as usual, vaporizing his chunky, furry, little body in and out of different scenes. Not that the voice selection was bad, but just to be picky, I would love to have heard Patrick Bauchau the Cheshire's voice. The Caterpillar was just as cryptic and having Alan Rickman as this voice was a great choice. This version still does not top Disney's 1951 version for me, but I still liked the movie for the entertainment factor. (I have a soft spot for Disney's version, and for the 1999 TV version)

We were looking forward to checking out Clash of the Titans and Tron, but we may have to skip Clash of the Titans on principle. Aside from that, I don't see how they can top the original movie, which is another one of my favorites. For one, I haven't even seen my favorite character in any of the previews. If this is the case, how can you leave out the original Bubo? Hopefully he will show up. Also, the hair. Why is Sam Worthington's hair cut so short. They should have stuck with the Jim Morrison hair that Harry Hamlen had. But hey, that's just me.

Yes, it is he who I named our traveling owl after.

I hate to say it but we may have to cave and see Tron, only because it is one of D's favorites in the same way that Alice is one of mine. Plus, it really does appear that it will be quite fabulous.

You can read about the price increase here.

Eggs and Cheese

2010-03-28T21:31:00.000-07:00

Last Monday was experimental in the kitchen. I finally got the opportunity to experiment with quail eggs. Well, I don't know if making hard-boiled quail eggs is considered an experiment, but since it was my first time working with them, it was an "experiment" for me. The Nijiya Market closest to us finally had them in stock! The eggs are tiny, speckled, and adorable, and are packaged in a clear plastic container.

I followed the cooking directions from a Youtube video, which instructed to boil them for 3 1/2 minutes EXACTLY and it work out well. They were quite tasty. Flavor-wise, they were not too much different than a chicken egg, but had a smoother and creamier texture. These will be perfect for future Bento experiments....

Experiment #2 was making my first pizza that did not include Boboli. I didn't make my own dough from scratch, which I would like to learn to do, but instead, I used the pizza dough from Fresh & Easy. It comes in a lump and needs to sit out in room temperature for 20 minutes before it's used. Forming the 12 inch disk was the trickiest part for me because the dough was springy and seemed to want to shrink back into a ball and I wasn't adventurous enough to spin it around over my head like the pros do. I attempted it, but not wildly. It worked and helped to keep it from shrinking. I finally got it onto the pizza pan and added my toppings. I made my own version of Mexican Pizza. D and I came up with the recipe and it was a success. It went FAST.

Actually, come to think of it, tonight was also semi-experimental. I used a recipe from French's as a guide and tweaked the recipe a bit according to what I had in the fridge.

Ingredients:

2 cups (4 oz.) FRENCH'S® Original or Cheddar French Fried Onions

2 tbsp. all-purpose flour

4 (5 oz.) boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 egg, beaten

Directions:

Place French Fried Onions and flour into plastic bag. Lightly crush with hands or with rolling pin. Transfer to pie plate or waxed paper.

Dip chicken into egg; then coat with onion crumbs, pressing firmly to adhere. Place chicken on baking sheet.

Bake at 400°F for 20 min. or until no longer pink in center.

Instead of the chicken breasts, I used skinless chicken thighs (bone-in). I used Original French's French Fried Onions, but instead of mixing it with flour, I mixed it with Panko Bread Crumbs, half and half portion of each. This was really tasty as well. I served this with a Greek salad and organic wild rice. Tasty dish.

Feathers and Leather

2010-03-16T12:13:00.000-07:00

Feathers...
Two weekends ago I took my mom to Omar's Exotic Birds. Her quest was to find an organic food that her bird would eat, since the bird is refusing to eat her current organic brand. The bird, Kiko...or Kika as my mom playfully calls her since we found out he was actually a she when she laid her first egg, has developed kidney and liver issues, which is bizarre since this is a common occurrence in birds who have a high fat diet. My mom has always fed her the better food options available, accompanied with fresh veggies, which is why I say that for her to have developed these issues is bizarre.

Beware. The bird bites...
An old pic of the crusty one (I call her Crusty) standing in front of a cardboard box. She loves destroying cardboard. Her colors have actually gotten brighter as she has gotten older. Now, there is more yellow on her head and neck and a bit more red and blue under her wings.

If I can give any advice to anyone interested in having a large parrot for a pet, RESEARCH!!! Research the breed you are interested in. My mom chose her Yellow-naped Amazon Parrot based on looks during our pre-Internet days. However, this breed is not for everyone as they are more prone to screaming and selecting a single favorite person in a family, and in turn, not being very nice to everyone else. I have a scar to prove that. Mom on the other hand, loves this bird inspite of her temperment. Mom is Kiko's "favorite person"and is the only one who can handle the taloned beast. Kiko could care less that I helped hand-feed her featherless little body as she huddled near her red light-bulb for warmth in her nesting box many many moons ago when she looked very much like this 4.5 week old chick below.

Photo source: http://www.avesint.com/yna.html

Anywhoo, the visit to Omar's was cool and my mom really liked it and found what she was looking for. The birds really are beautiful. The highlight of this visit for me was the Toucan in the store. It was so amusing watching him (or her?) eat grapes, as he picked up the grape with the tip of his beak and tossed his head back so that the grape would roll into his mouth. However, there was a mischevious Macaw that was pretty funny too. Check out the virtual store tours.

And Leather...
In my most recent hunt, I scored on my third pair of John Fluevogs. (squeeeeeee!!) They are really cute black retroish pointy heels. Yes, you read that right. HEELS. My feet shutter at my mere mentioning of the word, but it's ok. They were too pretty to pass up and it is always good to have a nice pair of black heels for an outing. Especially if they have a vintage flair.

Although they are not stiletto status, heels in general are not something I could walk around in for a long period of time. Plain and simple, heels hurt. But every once in a while, in small doses, is not that bad. Plus, being 5 foot 7 inches tall, I really don't need to. But hey, ya only live once.

Note to self: Get an extra pair of Crocs ballet flats to keep under desk at work in case of a shoe malfunction, i.e: heel snaps off and leaves me lop-sided, enormous blister, feet screaming in pain, etc.

Suited for Summer

2010-03-09T17:00:00.000-08:00

The wind is nippy today. It feels like the chill you feel on your face when you open the freezer door and now, even more so, I am eagarly awaiting the arrival of Spring and Summer. It just seems like there is so much more to do during the warmer months without the risk of icy winds, rain and gloom. Which reminds me, I still have June Gloom to look forward to. *frowns*

I am looking forward to the beach, but me thinks I need some new beach threads. While at the beach I prefer walking along the shore and wetting my toes, watching the sometimes super-assertive sea birds, having lunch under our beach umbrella, etc. Basically I go to be mellow I am not really one go swiming in the ocean, unlike D. So after doing a little research on possible beach attire, I realized that perhaps a play-suit, or sun-suit, would be better suited for me.

Play-Suits by Tara Starlet.... I would be happy with any of them, but for some reason I am leaning toward either of the two on the bottom row. It must be because I already have a few blk/wht polka dot pieces.

I LOVE this set made by Maisy Brown! I would wear the skirt on the way to the beach and then remove the skirt portion when I get there. Sadly, she is not selling anything at this time at her etsy store. Yet another reason why I need to learn to sew well and why I need a sewing machine.

I still have a few months to go before I can enjoy the warmth of the sun that only the summer months can bring, so hopefully between now and then I can get a hold of either one of these, or something similar, for my beach frolicking.

Curiouser and Curiouser

2010-03-01T12:16:00.000-08:00

So few posts last month! Just to clarify, I haven't purposely neglected this blog. I've been really busy doing some extra stuff that eats up into my blogging time. The "extra stuff" I have been working on I consider to be brain food for me. I've actually been doing a bit a freelance design work, and given that I do the M-F, 8-5 thing, my days have been flying by. I've also had to make some time to get out a bit in order to keep my sanity. That is what this post is about. Little outings for my little cravings over the last couple of weeks. In a nutshell of course. Here goes...

D has become quite fond of a little place I found called...get this...Fonda Don Chon. Are you done giggling? D had been saying he wanted to try a new buffet. He loves buffets, but they can certainly be pricey. So I did my foodie research and stumbled upon Fonda Don Chon. We both gave it the thumbs up. You can't beat the price, $6.99 for a Mexican buffet, AND they give you handmade tortillas, AND they serve Orange Bang, which is the cherry on top for me. Over all the food has good flavor but no heat, which was what D liked because it pretty much enabled him to try everything and not suffer later. Me on the other hand, I love hot (spicy hot) food so I added chili to my plates. Not a big deal, but it enables them to accommodate more people since not everyone can take the heat. This little place is near Downtown Covina, so we went for a walk in downtown to work off some of the food.

Last Tuesday, I decided to fly solo on a food adventure after work. I went to the Olive Pit Fresh Mediterranean Grill in Brea and had myself a yummy chicken wrap with hummus. I ordered it to go and inhaled it when I got home. When D got home he saw the menu on the bed and later he said "you went without me?!". Hey, wives have to eat when even when their husbands are busy after work, no? Plus I didn't have time to cook that day, so there. Thumbs up from me! I will be going there again. Needless to say, D hit it the next day.

I was really bummed out to find out that Sweet Divas in Brea is now closed. Or at least it appears so, as their signs are gone and the shades of the adorable old house are drawn. I have some good memories there. I celebrated my 26th birthday there, as well as K's baby shower. Oddly enough, their website is still functioning. I was hoping they moved somewhere else, but as of right now, it doesn't appear so.

This Saturday was the opening reception at Gallery Nucleus for Curiouser and Curiouser: Inspired By Alice in Wonderland. It was a full house at the gallery and some of the guests were dressed in Alice inspired costumes. In addition to the awesome drawn and painted art work, they had actual maquettes from the upcoming movie, courtesy of Gentle Giant Studios. This time, I had MANY "favorites". Here are a few. (All images below are from http://www.gallerynucleus.com )

Alice in the Rain by Lorlay Bove

Alice's Tears by Bill Carman (I love the steampunkish mouse)

I See You, Cheshire by Mall

The Tea Party by Neysa Bove

The Caterpillar (maquette) by Gentle Giant Studios

Sunday, mom and I went on the hunt (outlets) and I totally scored with another pair of John Fluevogs! With buckles no less!

I couldn't believe it! I got such a bargain on these cute pseudo-Victorian boots. It was a victorious hunt!

I know I was all over the map with this post, but I felt the need to catch up on some of my highlights over the last couple of weeks.

Roller Derby Queen!

2010-02-16T13:10:00.000-08:00

On Saturday we went to see an L.A. Derby Dolls match. Yup. I attended my first roller derby game. It was Tough Cookies, which we were rooting for, versus Fight Crew. OMG it was so much fun. The only thing that sucked was that the security, I thought, was a bit over the top. But, I guess since they sell alcohol, and its 21 and over, they try to prevent violent stupidity by making sure there are no weapons in the warehouse. Also, there are NO cameras allowed. And believe me, they mean it. It sucks, but at the same time, I can see how tons of flash in a warehouse could blind the players. Other than that, I give it two thumbs up on the entertainment factor. D's cousin M was our host for the evening. He is Roller Derby fiend who has been attending these matches for years. He explained the rules of the game, which were pretty simple to follow. Especially for me, who is so non-sporty. The Tough Cookies whipped butt! I am looking forward to attending another game in the near future.

Tough Cookies in blue. Fight Crew in red. Photo from http://derbydolls.com/la/

Some of the gals wear the coolest friggin' leggings/tights. At one point in the game I told D that I was tempted to buy some tights on sock dreams. I love this site, and I have been eyeballing a pair of E.G. Smith tights for a while now...among many other items...

E.G. Smith Space Dyed Cotton Tights in Eclipse

E.G. Smith Leg Therapy Solids in Moss...and the shoes are adorable too...

MP Two Color Stripe Tights in Navy

I could go on and on. They are all rather pricey, which is why I haven't dared buy any. I would scream if I tore a pair of these, especially the first time wearing them. But they look so flippin' comfy. Maybe one day.

I heard some time ago that Drew Barrymore was in a movie called Whip It, which carries a roller derby theme. I never got around to watching this, but I am even more intrigued now that I have experienced an actual game.

In other news I finally got to try the lip balm by EOS that I've been wanting to sample for a while now. I admit, I originally wanted to try it because of the odd, egg-like shaped container, but after reading about the product, I really, REALLY wanted to try it. So I bought it yesterday at Henry's.

I used it last night and this morning. The Summer Fruit flavor is yummy and the container sits perfectly on my night stand.

And for your listening pleasure, Roller Derby Queen, by Red Aunts. A classic in my high school years and so appropriate for this post, me thinks!

Terri, I love your FOOD!

Alice & My Adventure With Color

2010-02-08T11:57:00.000-08:00

With Tim Burton's re-imagined Alice In Wonderland movie hitting the silver screen soon, Wonderland themed merchandise is becoming increasinly popular.

For Example:

Urban Decay has released their limited edition Alice In Wonderland Book of Shadows!

This one was a double whamy of want for me. One, because Alice is one of my (if not thee) favorite childhood stories, and two, because Urban Decay is one of my favorite cosmetic lines. Mainly because of their richly pigmented eyeshadows. I believe this box is going for around $50bux! Tempting. I have never bought anything like this, but the packaging looks so beautifly done that I am visually suckered-in to this one.

Paul & Joe will be releasing these as a part of their Spring 2010 collection:

Look at the Cheshire's face. Isn't he cute?!

These little adorable tins contain a lip treatment stick and blotting paper.

And then, there are these, by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab.

Alas, as adorable as these things may be, I doubt I will be purchasing any of these anytime soon, especially with my purse falling apart as I was out shopping with my mom. Yes, that's right, my purse fell apart in public. The strap finally tore and I had to carry my dilapidated vinyl purse tucked under my arm. I have been looking for a new purse for sometime now because I knew that my favorite black, vinyl bag that I've had for years was on its way out. I finally made the decision to invest in a nice quality, BLACK, leather purse to replace the old one. So I have been looking EVERYWHERE for a bag that would fit my needs, since buying a leather bag for me is somewhat of an investment. I was also adamant on finding a BLACK bag, because black goes with everything, right? So I hunted and hunted, online and in shops. I finally found a bag that I wanted by B. Makowsky, and get this, the bag that I fell in love with was Periwinkle Blue (technically the color is called Lake)! I even viewed the black version of this bag online, but I just didn't feel the same way about it. So yesterday mom and I were strolling around at Marshall's and lo and behold, there it was! The Periwinkle bag. It was the only one and it was way cheaper than I had found online! So I grabbed it and a few minutes later while walking around the store, my purse fell apart. I got the hint.

Cheetah print interior. Of course it was another selling point for me.

So far I have used the bag yesterday and today and I am very happy with the functionality and the whimsyness (is that even a word?) of the color, which, by the way, is much nicer in person. It's a very Wonderlandish color, wouldn't you agree?

Craving The Ube

2010-01-26T21:03:00.000-08:00

Words to describe our weekend: Loved ones, albondigas, coyote, Pink's, Ube shake, Zack De La Rocha.

Where do I begin?!

Friday: It was a furlough day so it was a three day weekend. My morning started with my hair cut. I was so excited to have my first appointment at my hairdresser's new shop, Le Cheveux Attic. They did an awesome job of putting it together. I am growing out my "pixie" so it is being re-shaped into a bob. Later in the evening, it was STILL raining so I decided to experiment with the Albondigas recipe I mentioned in the previous post. This is a totally tweakable recipe for meatball soup. The main ingredients in meatballs is 1/2lb of lean ground beef and 1/2lb of chorizo. Instead of using chorizo, I used Soyrizo to cut the fat content a bit. The soup was a hit. I got the recipe here.

Saturday: During the day I went to visit the folks and relaxed for a while. I always look forward to seeing them, and Mr. Frodo, of course. When the night time rolled around, we went to see D's friend's band. The gig was conveniently located across the street from Pink's. I've passed by this place many times over the years and never stopped. Here was my chance! After the show we all went to have a midnight hot dog. Also, while at the show, D was reunited with some old friends that I met for the very first time. They are really cool peeps. It was nice to chat with them and hear stories about D before we met. I can't say I was surprised. There have been many chapters in my hubby's life.
Oh and how can I forget to mention the coyote. As we were leaving house to the show, we saw a coyote in front of the house as we were pulling out of the garage. D gave me the camera so I could get a picture of him as he walked by. Then, the garage door malfunctioned and didn't want to close, and unfortunately Mr. Coyote kept walking and by the time D got the door closed, we lost him in the night. No picture. Oh well. At least we got a good look at him.

Sunday: We saw D's friends again at Chuck E Cheese. After that, we were so close to the Oinkster that we could not resist not stopping. D declared that he must try the Ube shake he heard so much about. It was a full house and there was a long line. I saw a guy in line further up in front of us and I immediately thought to myself "OMG is that Zack De La Rocha?" This was not vocalized so D had no idea I was questioning this in my head. Then D and I started talking about something and I forgot about it. We ordered the Ube shake and we waited to pick up the order. As we were standing there one of the Oinkster employees comes out with a bag and says "Zack, your order is ready." He politely smiled and said "Thank You" and walked out. D and I looked at eachother and said "OMG that WAS Zack!" Apparently D spotted him as well and thought "Hmm, he looks familiar."
Anyway on to the Ube shake review. OMG. SOOOOO good and PURPLE. Well more on the laverder side but still in the purple family. I found out that Ube is purple yam! How weird is that! Weird because I just tried purple sweet potato a few days earlier as I mentioned in my previous post. D has declared this the best shake he's ever had. EVER. I gotta say, it's way up there in the yummo-meter. We actually didn't know what Ube was and we were trying to figure out the taste. We came to the conclusion that it tasted somewhat like toasted coconut, which was unexpected given the fact that it was purple. It is made with Fosselman's Ube ice cream.

Photo fromYelp.com. Our shake did not last long enough to photograph. We will probably be back next weekend.

Purple Sweet Potatoes and a Red Rice Cooker.

2010-01-21T22:07:00.000-08:00

I tried something new today. It was edible, wonderful, and it was PURPLE! It was a Beni Imo Tarte Cake. Translation: Okinawan Purple Sweet potato.

These cakes are from http://www.e-nampo.com/ (not my pic. found online)

My coworker, M, is from Okinawa. She gave me one of these to try this morning. The whole dessert is actually quite soft. The little "bread boat" is soft as well as the purple sweet potato paste. It's a good dessert for those who don't like things that are too sweet. But, is anything ever really too sweet? Come on now! I will take all levels of sweetness! Since these came from Okinawa, I will have to keep an eye out for these here in Southern California.

Since I am talking about food, yet again, it has brought my rice cooker to mind. Some time ago, my other coworker, A, gave me a small rice cooker. It is the perfect size for D and I and it is such a time saver!

Its small, cute, and RED!

Aside from making rice, it also steams vegetables. I haven't used this feature yet, but I have used it many times to make rice. I have even made coconut jasmine rice in this little contraption. I am trying to convince my mom to use hers. She has a larger one that she bought at Costco that she hasn't used. She is so used to making rice in a pan. And let me say, her rice is flawless. However, what is nice about using a rice cooker is that you don't have to watch your rice as much, and when it is done cooking, it goes into a warming mode, keeping your rice warm until you are ready to eat. This helps me finish up my meat dish and whatever else I am making. Last night, I experimented with brown rice. A woman in a supermarket gave my mom the recipe and she made it one night. It was delish. It's brown rice made with beef broth (I use low sodium) and mushrooms! I sauteed the mushrooms and set them aside. At the same time I had the brown rice and broth cooking in the rice cooker. I added the mushrooms to the rice cooker when the broth was almost gone and let it finish cooking with the mushrooms. I let is sit without opening in the warming mode for about 10 minutes. It came out pretty darn good.

Tornado Warning in Southern California?

2010-01-19T20:08:00.000-08:00

Day 3 of rain today and I must say, I've had my fill. I know, I know, we need the rain. However, as I have mentioned before, "Me thinks I am solar powered!". Plus, today we had a tornado warning in southern California. How crazy is that? D and I were home for most of the day yesterday hiding from the rain. We only ran out during a lull to get a quick bite to eat at one of our local faves, Sugar Rush Cafe. I splurged and ate a cheeseburger. It's been a while.

Last night I was perusing youtube. Right now, I can't stop laughing at this video. I've been looking at this for days.

Please watch all 51 seconds of this. It cracks me up every time.

After a while I was looking up Indian music. Then, D joined me and we came across this video:

D is now hooked on Daler Mehndi. Hopefully he will play in California at some point.

In spite of the gloomy rainy week ahead, there are things I am looking forward to this week:

Spending time with Loved ones. (I am blessed to have each and every one of them)
Day off on Friday
Haircut!
Experimenting with a new recipe for Albondigas

New Year & Some New Stuff

2010-01-10T21:24:00.000-08:00

Ringing in the new year with a few new things. I know, a little late on posting this.

I got my yearly planner at Borders. During the after Christmas sale, of course. This year, I decided to go with Retro Mama. Even though I am not exactly a mama yet, there is much wifey related humor in conjunction with cutsie retro images of 50's housewives.

cover

Interior spread

To think that when I was younger I frowned upon the concept of being a housewife. Now it sounds like such a blessing to be able to stay home and raise your own children, which is a much harder thing to do in today's economy.

I have been complaining to a few of my closest peeps (and driven them crazy with it, I'm sure) that I need new clothes. So I caved and got a few things, and it felt good. Plus the fact that I stayed within budget felt even better.

It's still hard for me to pass up animal prints.
Blouse by I.N.C., I call it, Cheetah with the blues. Pic from www.macys.com

Polka dot dress. Perfect fit. I couldn't leave it.
Dress by Merona. Pic from www.target.com

I also scored with a really nice and comfy pair of dark denim, boot-cut, "sweetheart" jeans from Old Navy. Couldn't go wrong for 19 bux. The nice thing is that they have a nice fit along the waist line because they are NOT low rise. Thank goodness! I can't stand pants that I can't comfortably sit in because of the fear of flashing someone. These actually rest just under my belly button, so they are not too high (because I hate that too!) and not too low. Do I sound like an old lady? I hope not. I just never got into this low rise, peek-a-boo-butt-crack thing.

The pair I got are darker (Blue Black) than the example shown above. Love me some dark denim.

And ahhh yes, D and I finally got our mattress. We went out the day after Christmas like vultures, with my hacking cough and all, to look for a good deal. After some searching, we found a nice memory foam mattress (with the box) for a reasonable price, so, we went for it. It was defiantly a need. D may as well have been sleeping in a hammock because that is what his side of the bed looked like.

Now, I am off to prepare for tomorrow. Alas, my weekend is over. Back to work.

Bring on the Bento

2010-01-07T12:09:00.000-08:00

Some time ago, I wrote about my enlightenment about Inari. I actually attempted to make it at home and I must say, they were pretty good. Since I learned about Inari, I have also learned a bit more about bento boxes, or more specifically, Kawaii Bento boxes, mostly made for children. I've had some pretty tasty, and sometimes rather large, bento box dinners at Japanese Restaurants, but the little boxes made for children are so adorable and I like the smaller portions. I also like that the food items can be things we eat everyday. They don't have to be made up of items that are hard to find at your local market. The difference is the presentation.

Check out these examples created by luckysundae:

Three Pigs

Cute Skull Bento

Fluffy Lamb. I love the simplicity of this one.

Strawberry Santas - how ridiculously cute are these?! Perfect for a Christmas potluck snack.

I was re-inspired on our Little Tokyo adventure last month. The Kinokuniya Bookstore had many great books on bento boxes. If we are blessed with a child one day, I think I'm going bento. They are great for getting little bits of all the food groups into their packed lunches. Plus they are flippin' cute, so what kid wouldn't want to eat that? Perhaps for now, I can practice making them and experiment on D.

Also D bought a book for me that I had been talking his ear off about called "Cute Yummy Time" by La Carmina.

Hopefully this arrives soon!

Happy 2010!

2010-01-01T12:19:00.000-08:00

Been a while since I posted anything, right? Well it was mostly due to the fact that I had the nastiest cold last week. Took. me. down. I was out from work for about three and a half days, miserable and restless in bed. I barely crawled out of bed a few times to check my emails. Anyways, that part is over now. Christmas was nice, as was New Years. I will be back later to post more about my past week. Now, I must be off.

Spontaneity Can Be Refreshing...and Filling!

2009-12-07T19:39:00.000-08:00

Wow! I had a really full 3 day weekend that actually felt like a mini vacation. Friday, furlough Friday, I had to get my car serviced, so I had scheduled an 8 am appointment because I wanted to get it over and done with. I dropped off the car and D picked me up from the dealership and took me to have breakfast at The Nickel Diner. Getting there was an endeavor because of the one way streets and because it is near "the rough side" of downtown. If I may go on a tangent for a bit, I can't help but look at all the old buildings in wonder every time we are in the city. The old architecture is so beautiful and the place is filled with so much history. If only the buildings could talk. Although the efforts the city has put into revamping are visible, I hate to say that I still don't feel safe in certain areas of Downtown. I stumbled onto this website some time ago with lovely pictures of "historic" Downtown L.A. and to see some of these buildings still standing is amazing. Too bad more of them couldn't be saved.

Back to the Nickle Diner. The food was wonderful as was the adorable circa 1940s diner itself. I had the Lowrider Burger and a slice of Smores Cake, while D had the Patty Melt and a slice of Red Velvet Cake. D has become the Red Velvet connoisseur, sampling any red velvet that crosses his path. He can't resist. Everything we ate was delectable, although we were so stuffed that we couldn't finish our cakes in the restaurant. Doggie bags to the rescue!

Guy Fieri inspired mannequin head in the diner's front window.

Check out the TV segment on the diner below:

After breakfast, we still had lots of time to kill before my car would be done so we spontaneously decided to venture to Little Tokyo. OMG! The fun we had! It totally felt like we were somewhere else for some reason, maybe because of the spontaneity of the trip itself. Highlights of our visit:

Union Church: Built in 1922, which has now become the Union Center for the Arts. D was particularly fascinated with this location because it was used in John Carpenter's movie, "Prince of Darkness"

Kinokuniya Bookstore: We could have stayed here for hours, actually we WERE there for over an hour. If you love paper, books, and magazines, this is the place for you. D wanted all the Piperoid paper pipe robots as well as some photography books. I on the other had wanted, like, all of the stationary, various papers, envelopes, craft books, and stamps. They even had the Japanese Gothic Lotila magazines that a friend of mine (Kat) introduced me to.

Piperoid

Marukai Market: After prying ourselves away from the bookstore we went downstairs (in Weller Court) to the Marukai Market. They had so many wonderful things there. D stocked up on drinks and I grabbed some candy and origami paper. Yup this market sells origami paper...as well as hair rollers that look like strawberries.

The following day was mellow but D was up for another foodie adventure, so we headed out to the Oinkster in Eagle Rock. OMG. The Oinkster Pastrami! And HOMEMADE ketchup! I, the ketchup vampire was happy! In our defense, and efforts to conceal our curly tails, we shared one meal. Really, we did. However, we returned the next day and treated my folks to some Oinkster vittles. They were quite happy to try something different and also gave it the thumbs up.

Another thing about this long weekend that was unexpected was that D and I saw both Twilight movies. Weird. Didn't see that one coming. Although we are fans of vamp movies, we really didn't care to see these, but my folks, of all people, kept saying how pleasantly surprised they were by New Moon. We got curious and D found the first movie for 5 bux. Can't go wrong with that, so we saw it, twice, and then headed to the movies to see the second movie. We are hooked enough that we want to read the books. How sad is that? I mean, I saw the book sets EVERYWHERE, and at times they were very inexpensive. Hopefully I can get lucky and stumble onto a cheap set. D heard that Peter Murphy will be making a cameo appearance in the third movie, Eclipse, so that is exciting in itself! Can't wait! He is striking to see in person, by the way.

Oh and can I please be allowed to go through Alice Cullen's closet.

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-28T18:07:00.000-08:00

It was nice to have ALL of Thanksgiving week off for a change. Quite honestly, it flew by! In a nutshell, the time off gave me the opportunity to spend more time with my loved ones, which was most important. Also, I actually finished my small scarflett project! A little later than I intended, but done nonetheless. I made some adjustments to the pattern and am quite happy with the end result.

(taken by D the day after turkey day)

I wore it for the first time on Thanksgiving, even though it was around 80 degrees outside while I wrestled with a 13 pound turkey in a warm kitchen! It's been a while, since we've cooked an entire bird. Usually we just cook a turkey breast, but this year, mom wanted a whole bird. D pointed out that it would be a better way of controlling the ingredients that go into the food, such as the salt content. It took about 5 hours when I thought it would take 3.5 to 4, but it was well worth it. To accompany our once feathered friend, I also made mashed potatoes, stuffing (Grandma's recipe), creamed corn, and cranberry sauce. This was my first attempt at making cranberry sauce from scratch and I must say it came out pretty darn good. Enough to get D's approval and request for more, which I may be doing after I finish this post. Also, it has become tradition over the years to accompany all our vittles with Butterflakes from Amy's Pastry. If you've never tried them, you should. They are self explanatory, buttery and flaky. Best served warm! A newer tradition is to indulge in Harvest Pie from Coco's. It really is a must if you like pumpkin pie. FYI: order in advance.

Also this week, I got a lot of use out of the cat shoes my mom found a couple of weeks ago.

Remember how popular these shoes were several years ago? They make me somewhat nostalgic of my younger days. We are so amused at how much these shoes remind us of the family cat, Catrina and her strangely round eyes.

All this talk about food is making me hungry. I think I will have to cut this post short to have some leftovers, and then make more cranberry sauce for the hubster.

Big Boy n' Buns!

2009-11-16T18:34:00.000-08:00

Saturday afternoon, D and I where running errands when I saw a couple of flags in a shopping center that said "O' My Buns!". I was curious, so we pulled into the shopping center. At first we had trouble finding the location. As it turns out O' My Buns is a coffee bun, in this case sold out of the Tutti Frutti Yogurt shop in Rowland Heights, which is why I didn't see the sign right away.

Coffee Buns. Photo from http://omybunstest.com/menu.html

They were offering samples in the shop and lets just say we were sold! These are so delish, even for non coffee drinkers, I would say. They are blogworthy! They were so good that we went back the next day for a second helping. Bad, I know.

Sunday was also a treat. Only this was a treat not only to satisfy my belly, but to satisfy my craving to view and absorb some well-done architecture and design. My mom had heard that they finally reopened Johnie's Broiler in Downey, CA so we went to check it out and have breakfast. I don't think I ever mentioned this on this blog but this location was pretty much a historic landmark in Downey and it was illegally demolished in 2007. It has reopened as a Bobs Big Boy, but they have restored the restaurant to its original beauty. Read more about the history of the place here and here. And yes, they still offer a carhop service during certain hours.

Note: the exterior shots of the restaurant were not the easiest to get because the side walk was partially closed since it appears that they are redoing the concrete.

1st Wedding Anniversary

2009-11-12T22:26:00.000-08:00

Four days and three nights in Vegas = Lovely 1st wedding Anniversary (Nov 8 - 11, 2009)

We stayed at the Sahara again. We couldn't pass up the coupon we received in the mail for 19 bux a night. (with resort fees added, of course). It also included free play money for the casino!

Looking out our room window.

Dan with Captain America...turns out, he is the same guy that works Hollywood Blvd. too.

Bubo at the Mirage's breakfast buffet

Highlights of our trip:

Purple Reign: Fantabulous show! So full of energy, cool costumes, and memories. If Jason Tenner told me he was related to Prince, I would believe him. Their performance was great and we actually took a photo with the performers after the show. D says that we have to see them again the next time we go back to Vegas.

Downtown Vegas: We finally got to see Downtown Vegas! We rode the Duce (bus) and met a really nice newlywed couple from Texas on the bus. We walked around downtown and had lunch at the Golden Nugget buffet. Nice buffet! We were seated by a large window overlooking the newly renovated pool area/shark tank! NICE! We walked over to the to the Four Queens for a game of roulette. What I liked about downtown Vegas was the look and feel of old Vegas with all the little bulby lights and vintage signs in opposed to the very slick and opulent Vegas strip. And of course, we liked that the bets are cheaper! We didn't get to see the light show I heard so much about because when we left they were barely starting to turn on the lights...maybe next time.

The Bettie Page Store: At the Sahara I found out that there are two Bettie Page clothing stores in Vegas. Apparently there is also one in Hollywood and I never got the memo. Anyway, this was exciting news to me so we headed out to the one at the Miracle Mile (connected to Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino.) Miracle Mile is a pretty fancy-schmancy shopping mall. I mean it flippin' rains inside the shopping center every hour, thunder and all. She shop itself was small but they had adorable dresses! The prices were not as bad as I thought they were going to be, in fact, their sales are pretty good. Hey, I'm on a budget, people! I found a dress in the sale rack that I actually liked and it fit! Yea, you know I just had to try it on. D also liked it and could not deny it was a bargain and he didn't want me to leave it behind, so, he bought it for me. "Squeeee!"

Pic of the shop sign

This is the dress D bought me. (Brittany dress photo from www.bettiepageclothing.com) The dress was nicely folded and covered with leopard print tissue paper and placed a bag with the Bettie Page logo and leopard print interior. It was a nice presentation.

Greta! The Giant Schnauzer! She is a model in the catalog they gave me at the shop. Click photo for a better view of Greta.

Couture Lolipops at the Sugar Factory in the Mirage - Now those who know me KNOW that I am not a Britney Spears fan or a fan of that genera in general, but as we were walking in the Mirage we passed by a candy shop called the Sugar Factory and saw this:

Ok, so eye catching element number 1 was the vintage circus theme of the ad, but then, there was the lollipops. Couture Lollipops? We HAD to investigate so we went in the store. Basically the lollipop stick is fashionably covered in rhinestones and the actual pop is changeable. They sell refills....refillable lollipops! They also come with a plastic cover that covers the pop portion so you can save it for later. You can see it in the photo above. Oh and they had many sticks to choose from, not just the Britney versions. I liked the Onyx and the Tiffany sticks (didn't see these online). Weird I know, and,I hate to admit it but the sweet lover in me thinks its kinda cool. No, I didn't buy one...but I am not saying I never will.

Shark Reef Aquarium at the Mandalay Bay: An elegant predator based aquarium. However, a bit small. The first part of of the aquarium looks like a sunken temple with beautiful nautical mosaics on the floors.

Golden Crocodile with sleepy eyes. He barely moved the whole time we were standing there, which apperently is normal for them.

Octopus floor mosaic

The last portion of the aquarium looks like you are in a sunken pirate ship. This is the area where you can see the sharks all around you. It was a little creepy to be surrounded by ocean predators and think "Crap, what if the glass breaks?". On the plus side, there are sea turtles here! Sea turtles so big, I could probably fit in their shells, as D observed.

Vosges: Had to hit it again, only this time I had a cup of the Aztec Elixir Drinking Chocolate. It was delish. It really does have a kick to it.

Vertu: This was craziness! This company makes phones constructed out of precious metals, such as platinum, some of which also have diamonds. One of the phones we saw cost over 61k. No that is not a typo. No wonder I've never heard of this company.

Yet again, I feel that we only scratched the Vegas surface. Though we wandered in parts of the city for 4 days, I know there is still so much to see.

The ride back to L.A. was tiring. The joke in the car was "Chilian Filingos".... I was tired and I was trying to say Chilean Flamingos. I was telling D that next time we go to Vegas we should see the Chilean Flamingos at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino, but I couldn't spit it out.

Till next time, Vegas (@ The Wynn)

And This Year's Pumkin Carvings Were....

2009-11-03T07:57:00.000-08:00

Beetlejuice: Carved by D

Sirius Black: Carved by D

Mr. Burns as Dracula: Carved by yours truly!

Halloween was mellow, but nice this year. No extravagant costumes or make up this year. Just a pair of spider-like eyelashes and a witch hat for me, and D's old "Beefwolf" mask for him. D and I spent it at my folks' place.

In the morning after decorating the porch, mom and I ran a few errands and stopped to have breakfast at yet another "senior hangout" we have seen for years and not had the opportunity to try called Chef's Coffee Shop. It was pretty good. We both had the half order of french toast and scrambled eggs. I became a bit nostalgic as I glanced at the restaurant floor. It reminded me of the type of floor my grandma had in her old house. My mother shared my nostalgia as we looked at the floor. The restaurant has black terrazzo floor tiles with orange flecks, very Halloweenie. Though my grandmother's kitchen had blue and white flecked linoleum, it had the same speckled and seamless feel. Ok so I know I totally went off on a tangent here....back to the pumpkins...

D and I started carving the pumpkins around 2ish. Luckily we finished with time to spare. The kids in the neighborhood got a later start trick 0r treating this year, but we were surprised at how many kids showed up! We actually ran out of candy! A lot of the kids and parents were amused and amazed by our pumpkins. Some even asked "Are they real?". I am glad we have continued this little tradition.

Rambutan

2009-10-28T12:26:00.000-07:00

I was given two Rambutan fruits by a co worker earlier this week. At first glance, they looked like hairy, dark purple, golf balls. Her directions were to cut off the outer skin and eat the meat, but not the pit. What a pleasant surprise! The skin easily came off the meat and the best way I could explain the flavor and texture of this fruit is that it was like eating a giant grape.

Photo from Wikipedia.

I will definitely be keeping an eye out for these. I am hoping that Super H Mart will have these at some point.

Mid Oct 09

2009-10-21T21:49:00.000-07:00

Whoo! Haven't updated in a while. Nothing spectacular going on, which is a bit strange for D and I because we are usually super busy in October. It looks like it's going to be a very frugal Halloween this year. I have to stop myself from moping because in the grand scheme of things, and in terms of what really matters, life is good. I have my loved ones in my life and we are all blessed enough to be clothed, fed, have warm beds to sleep in and have roofs over our heads. My mom decided that in spite of this recession, she still wants to give out candy. We'll see how it goes.

A couple of weekends ago we went to N's 7th birthday party (T & P's son). It was a birthday/costume party combo, so I regurgitated my old nurse costume. I wasn't "Harrietta Potter" after all because I couldn't find a friggin' wand! Can you believe that?! I guess wizard costumes are out of fashion. To be quite honest, we only went to two nearby places to look for said wand. I probably would have found it if I would have persisted and kept looking. Anyway, the party was fun, particularly the breaking of the piñata. P has some pretty good footage of that! I had a front row seat and K was hoping I wouldn't get hit by the piñata stick. Actually, it was more like piñata bat! E was sporting his Max costume that K made for him. He looked so cute, even though he refused to wear the hood and crown.

Here is E sporting his costume. I speedily made this in photoshop for kicks, so excuse my looseness.

After N's party, D and I went to Nucleus Gallery to see the October Shadows show. We were surprised that it was a rather small turn out for an opening. Much smaller than the previous opening we attended at Nucleus. Below are a couple of my favorites.

Victorian Pets by Miles Teves

Halloween Night by Mizna Wada

As for my reading this winter, I started reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman, but slacked off because I started a small knitting project. I haven't knitted in a while but I have been itching to do a new project. Since we are going to Las Vegas in a few weeks, I decided to make a scarflet to match the coat I will be taking. The coat is another story. D talked me into buying myself a coat just after payday. I don't have too many coats and he was urging me to treat myself. Actually he could see that I needed a coat because and he claimed he was tired of seeing me wear the same ones. Hehe! Anyways the coat is very Mod. It's bell shaped and dark gray with a subtle purple plaid pattern with big black buttons. I originally intended on knitting a simple black scarf to go with it, but I decided to try something different. I will post pics when I am done.

Meanwhile, here are some October pics that I DID get to download.

D took this pic of me with Mr. Frodo. I love it.

K and I got this one on a walk during lunch. This little fellow was hiding in the ground cover. We saw him hop in. It's not very noticeable in this photo, but K was holding the leaves over with a stick while I took the picture.

And this one floors me! Another break time walk for K and I. I seen this fellow when I arrived for work that morning. He came down the tree he was probably sleeping in and was frolicking around in the grass. Later that morning, K and I took a break and there he was! Only this time on the other side of the building I work in. He proceeded to climb into a small tree so I carefully went under it with him, camera in hand. At first, he was moving around from branch to branch as I was trying to get the perfect shot. Then finally the arranged himself in the position you see before you and began to survey me to the point where K said "Um, yea I think you better move away from him." He seems ready to pounce, doesn't he?

Who Did It Belong To?

2009-10-11T21:21:00.000-07:00

D offered to take me out to lunch a couple of weeks ago. On the way back to work I saw a sign in front of a small old house that said "Antiques Sale Today", or something along those lines. We had 15 min left for lunch, and we still had to drive back to work, but we couldn't pass it up. So, we stopped and agreed that we'd only stop in for a quick glance. I walked over to a table with nothing but vintage costume jewelry and I spotted an octopus brooch. It was sitting on the table among many other pieces, but that one in particular caught my eye, even though it didn't have all the glitzy stones that a lot of the other pieces did. It instantly reminded me of my favorite Minoan flask. I looked at it, showed it to D, and then put it down because D said there were linens in the next room and I just HAD to go look before we left. While in the linen room I found 3 adorable embroidery stitch patterns. D passed by the linen room and said "We gotta go!". I was ready to walk out when I saw D with the octo brooch in his hand and told me to give him the patterns too. I was having a semi-stressful day at work and he felt I needed a pick-me-up so he treated.

On the car ride back to work I was giddily looking at the brooch. I turned it over and noticed that there was some engraving on it, so I made a mental note to research this later. I found out that it was made by Zolotas and that it is possibly gold plated silver, due to the "950" engraved on the back. Score! I still have not figured out how old it is.

He's a little dirty. Haven't cleaned and polished him up yet.

As for the embroidery patterns, they are by Vogart, a company that is no longer in existence. I was lucky enough to get complete patterns! I don't want to ruin the originals so I will have to carefully photocopy them and trace them onto my fabric of choice using carbon transfer paper or a water soluble fabric marker.

Sorry about the awful indoor light

I know I've said this several times, but I love antiques. Its not just because I feel that there was better craftsmanship in the production of items, or that things of the past are just more aesthetically appealing to me, but it's also about the mystery of who owned the antique. I wonder who owned the brooch? Did they travel to Greece or Paris since those are the only two boutique locations? Was it a gift for someone? What happened to the person who owned it? If they are still living, how did the brooch end up in the antique sale? I always wonder about the stories behind the items. Especially old photographs. How do old photos end up in and antique shop? Is it that the people in those photographs have no living relatives or do the relatives not care? I always wonder.

It's also nice when you know where something came from. Today my mom gave me a set of 4 plates by Canonsburg Pottery Co. that were my grandma's. I believe the pattern is called "Empress Chantilly" (pics later). Recently Grams and Mom have been simplifying and getting rid of things they don't use. For me these little things are treasures. Items like these, that contain our personal history and memories are the pieces that mean the most to me. Better than those hoity-toity, name brand, mass produced, overpriced housewares sold in department stores.

Gotta go and get ready to watch Madmen!

The Beginning Fall 09

2009-09-28T10:23:00.000-07:00

Can you feel it in the air? That there would be Fall! I thought I would kick off our first furlough Friday in Fall with some Pumpkin Pancakes for breakfast. They were super easy to make and they were delish. Last week I read quite a few suggestions about how to make and serve these. I selected the recipe that was most appealing to me and I decided to top them off with a little maple syrup and Pumpkin Butter from Trader Joe's.

(not my pic)

The Pumpkin Butter was a nice touch! It greatly enhanced the pumpkin flavor of the pancakes, though the pancakes were tasty on their own. I need to stock up on more of this stuff. I also made some turkey bacon and eggs over-easy. It's rare that I get to make a full blown breakfast on a weekday because of work, so it's nice to do it when I have the extra time. I had leftover pumpkin puree so I ended up making these on Saturday morning as well and I STILL have leftover pumpkin puree (It was a big can) so I will have to make something else that requires this ingredient. I am thinking of making pumpkin chocolate muffins and perhaps, a homemade version of a pumpkin spice latte, using a recipe I found on The Kitchn. We'll see.

Also on the menu this week, chicken breast sandwiches with chipotle vegenaise spread. I no longer buy jars of mayo for the house. Vegenaise is healthier and to be quite honest, I prefer the taste of Vegenaise over mayo.

Sorry for the awful flash, it was night time. Beneath the lettuce is a slice of Havarti cheese and a chicken breast.

The chipotle spread was a sinch, and can also be done with mayo if one prefers. I just seeded and diced a chipotle pepper, mixed it with about a tablespoon or so of Vegenaise, added a little adobo sauce, and added a dash of cumin. Mix well and spread.

Along with Fall comes Halloween, and we could not resist these plastic place mats from Target.

Just a little something to make our table more festive!

And of course there are the first of Fall bargains. Last week my mom gave me a coupon for JC Penny and I could not let that expire. We're all about coupons right now. So I took a trip over to JC's hoping to find something to appease my picky taste. Luckily found cute sleeveless dress. What sold me on it was the peacock patterned fabric! I would name this pattern "Peacock meets Cheshire Cat." Silly I know, but it's what I immediately thought of when I saw it.

FALL reading progress: Reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman

One Year Approaching

2009-09-24T07:54:00.000-07:00

The reservations are set. We have decided to spend our 1 year wedding anniversary in Vegas. Honestly, I would have loved to do a reenactment of our honeymoon and wander the streets of S.F. with D for a week, but our economic situation does not permit. But we must keep our eyes on the prize, right? D thought it would be fun to meet up with friends in Vegas one day, but then we thought about it and started discussing how boring we must seem to some. We like Vegas, but we are not big drinkers or gamblers. Imagine that! I'm more interested in the history of the city, it's hotels, it's shows, and its FOOD! Last time we were in Vegas I had one "drink" the whole time I was there. We gambled, but not excessively. I'm not interested in getting plastered for no good reason nor loosing my hard earned money. Moderation is key.

Since D's birthday is in the same month, we decided to celebrate both our anniversary and his birthday, so this called for some Purple Reign. Yes, indeed, it does exist. A Prince tribute band. He has been wanting to see this show forever! This should be fun...and interesting.

Purple Reign front man, Jason Tenner

In other news, I have been rummaging through my bookshelf and I decided to read books I bought (or received as a gift) that I never got around to reading. So, I have no excuse to buy any new books...yet...hehe. I am almost done reading The Shining. Yes, shame on me. The Shining is my favorite movie (Kubrick's version) and I never got around to reading it. Jack made the movie for me with his sarcastic demeanor. And those faces! Need I say more? The TV mini series was pretty good too. More true to the book, actually.

A little Shining humor I stumbled upon online

Love & Spice & Everything Nice

2009-09-23T21:53:00.000-07:00

D made a quick stop to the market last Monday and picked up a couple of strawberry baskets for me. After washing a few, I took a chomp out of one of the delicious crimson berries. I'm not sure why, but I was compelled to look down at my bitten berry and this is what I saw!

I don't know about anyone else, but I see a heart. Berries from my luv, with luv. Cheezy, I know :)

On Tuesday of last week, my coworker, A, gave me a couple of bags of frozen New Mexico chili peppers. My excitement was evident when D picked me up after work and I showed him the bags and said "Looky what I got, he-he-heeeeee!" These aren't just any old market bought peppers. They are from El-Rey Farms in Hatch, New Mexico. Every year, A buys a 30lb sack, takes them home, roasts them on the BBQ, then packages and freezes them for use throughout the year. This year, the roasting took her about a day and a half to finish. It really is a lot of chilies. I took a crack at making salsa and it was a success. D could HEAR my success in the kitchen as I tasted it with a piece of bread.

This is what I used for my salsa: (toss all ingredients in blender)

New Mexico Green Chili
dash of cumin
dash of pink Himalayan salt
garlic
cilantro
red onion
water (add little by little)

No exact measurements here. I just added the ingredients to my own taste. Mom and Dad gave it the thumbs up, so I think I will make some more with the second bag.

Recent successful new and husband approved recipes: Arroz con Pollo turned out to be a pretty good one-pot-wonder and the Moroccan Chicken Meatballs were a total keeper and my favorite of the two. Actually they are more like little chicken patties rather than meatballs. I was looking for a recipe for ground chicken that was NOT meatballs, or meatloaf, or any generic ground meat dish. Ground chicken is a little harder to work with. When mixed with the rest of the ingredients it becomes rather sticky which adds difficulty to rolling it into a ball to make a patty. However it was well worth the extra effort. I served it with pita bread and humus. I would have posted pics of these dishes, but the lighting in our kitchen sucks at night. Plus, the food doesn't last long on the plate.

September Art

2009-09-21T15:45:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to catch two art shows (so far) this month.

For the first one this month, K and I took a stroll over to the CSUF Main Gallery for "Redefining the Line: Art Nouveau & The Female Figure"

A little info about the show:
Redefining the Line showcases the graphic design, illustration and installation work of ten international contemporary artists: Pomme Chan, Deanne Cheuk, Naja Conrad-Hansen, Aya Kato, Pandarosa, Marguerite Sauvage, Alberto Seveso, Sonya Suhariyan, Yoshi Tajima and Eveline Tarunadjaja. It investigates the influence of historical Art Nouveau on contemporary art by featuring works by artists who use both traditional and digital media, demonstrating the impact designers and illustrators have made on our visual culture. These artists successfully merge the fine art and commercial art worlds, applying fine art techniques and art historical ideas to commercial avenues geared towards fashion, music and popular culture. Curated by Alexandra Duron and Sarah Strozza.

Being that Art Nouveau is one of my favorite art movements, I was very interested in seeing this compilation of work and examining how these artists have blended the old with the new. I have included a few of my favorites below.

Hero by Aya Kato
This was one of the works in the show, but Aya has many beautiful pieces that can be viewed on her website. Some of her work is wonderfully Beardsleyish. Take a look. Eyecandy, I promise!

Red Mask(gouache) by Sonya Suhariyan
Viewing this one close up allowed me to see all the intricate and painstaking detail.

So do you think Mucha would be proud?

The second show was indulged last Saturday. D and I went to the "Terrible Yellow Eyes" show at one of my faves, Nucleus Gallery.

This exhibit is the selected physical gallery show of the online collection of artwork inspired by the beloved classic "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak.

Before we hit the gallery we stopped to grab some mushroom and Canadian bacon pizza at Genoveses, one of D's old haunts. He was happy to find that the recipe was still pretty much the same as it was when he was a kid. I liked the crust, since I am a picky crust person. I don't like thick crust and usually end up ripping off the back end. They took a while and we didn't get to the gallery till almost 8pm and we missed K & E by like 15 minutes. Grrr!

So back to the art. Here are a few faves. I could have gone on and on.

This one was my favorite! Oh so Steampunkish!
By: Bill Carman.

Look at his paws! Up close, this one had really great detail in the fur and hair.
By: Shannon Bonatakis

This one has a creepy sort of serenity, no? Everything looks so unnaturally still.
By: Ruel Pascual

We stayed for about an hour looking at the art and drooling on the art books for sale. They also had raffle giveaways, but alas, we were not raffle winners. Maybe next time.

Comparing the Loafs

2009-09-14T15:47:00.000-07:00

I’m sleepy, but I have to hit the gym today. To make it easier on myself, today would be a meatloaf Monday, but we had a meatloaf Saturday and a leftover-meatloaf Sunday. To be more accurate, it was turkey meatloaf. I tweaked out a turkey meatloaf recipe from Ina Garten and it’s our favorite, so far. The flavor and texture were perfect. D is wondering if there are meatloaf connoisseurs out there. People who make it a point to try various ‘loafs. I think what made the difference in this recipe is that some of the ingredients are sauted BEFORE combining with the turkey meat, instead of mixing everything straight from the fridge to the glass mixing bowl. Mashed potatoes are probably the best side dish for meatloaf, so, I went with Chipotle mashed potatoes for me, and plain for D. So far this is MY favorite mashed potato recipe, which I found in the Family Circle cookbook I bought last Memorial Day. They taste good with or without the chipotle added.

Next time instead of making one large loaf, I may use my muffin tin instead to make little meatloaf muffins. This probably sounds weird but they are handy if you are watching your portions.

(Ina's Version)

D called me this morning to ask “what’s for dinner.” I am thinking of trying a new recipe today for arroz con pollo. Hopefully it turns out to be another repeat-worthy-one-dish-wonder.

Break over, back to work, hoping the rest of the afternoon flys by.

Dreams and Needles

2009-09-14T12:15:00.000-07:00

I have been having the strangest dreams lately. The subject matter is so random that I can't always pinpoint where my brain conjered up the "story" from. For a while in my adult years, I had dreamless nights, and I felt quite rested in the morning. Actually, I am not sure that they were dreamless, but I never remembered dreaming anything in the morning. Just nice solid sleep. I've never had too much trouble sleeping, but lately I have felt like I haven't had enough of it. I imagine it could be attributed to having these random dreams that make no sense at all. Some I care not to repeat. But I will share this one. This is the one from last night. I will make it brief.

I was in a school (that looked like a mall at night) and somehow I found out that there were vampires in the school and they were befriending, and then feeding on students. I decided to try to warn people because it appeared that no one knew (or noticed) that this was happening. So a couple of the vamps found out that I knew their secret and were chasing me in the mall/school. It was a girl that looked like Buffy and a guy that resembled Weird Al. I ran into a school counselor's office, which had a super bright white clinical style light. Lighting more suitable in either a hospital or laboratory. Everything in the room was white, including the counselor's shirt. The counselor was sitting at his computer typing his little heart out and was ignoring my frantic cries. I noticed at the inside of his desk the had a few metal knitting needles (weird, I prefer wood needles) taped to his desk. One being a set of thin light blue, maybe size 5, needles, and one single large pink needle, maybe a size 19. The two vamps came in right behind me, into the councelor's office. While the conselor continued to click-click away at his keyboard, I grabbed the set of thin blue needles and jabbed it into the chest of "Weird Al". He was stunned, but it didn't work, and the "Buffy" just cackled. So, I gabbed the single, large, pink knitting needle and jabbed it into "Buffy's" chest and it worked! I was victorious and the dream ended. Large, pink, metal knitting needle saves the day.

My wooden weapon of choice.

This is probably what I get for watching the 300 before bed. My brain made up its own movie. I told D about it in the morning and he says this dream sounds so 80's.

Perhaps another factor is our old worn out mattress. I seriously think that D and I need a new mattress. In fact, we are on the look-out for a good deal on one, as if we really have the extra cash, right? But it has become a necessity. I've talked to a few people about this and it has been suggested that we invest in a good mattress, which is a suggestion I agree with. In most instances I prefer quality over quantity, and since we're on a budget, that means research, and that means I am on the hunt.

By the way, in case it's not obvious, I'm a fan of the Serta Sheep, so I have to stop myself from buying a mattress solely based on a cute mascot. I can do this!

Forget a Gazebo...

2009-09-11T13:21:00.000-07:00

I want a Gypsy Caravan. If we ever have a backyard large enough, and the funds, obviously, I want one. Stop laughing, I'm serious, it can be useful. I will show you.

The first two below are open caravans that can serve as a nice gazebo getaway for your back yard. You can have tea and pastries of all sorts there, read, or even nap.

Oh, and click on the pic for a slightly larger image. You will be glad you did ;)

The two images below are of closed caravans. I think these would be perfect for a little getaway from craziness the "main" house or perhaps a little art studio separate from the house. I would like the latter if I had one that was closed.

See what watching Carnivale can do to you.

By the way, Les Verdines, they are brilliant.

Enough of my daydreaming during lunch...

My Food Personality....

2009-09-08T12:35:00.000-07:00

according to Meals Matter...

You value healthy, good tasting foods and prefer streamlined recipes to save time while using fresh ingredients as much as possible. You enjoy the process of making recipes from scratch, but time is often short so you need to be efficient by selecting recipes that you can make quickly. Because you enjoy cooking you tend to cook more complex meals on weekends when you have more time. During the week, simpler recipes with fewer ingredients and fewer steps are the keys to your meal preparation process.

They pretty much hit it right on the button, time is never on my side from Monday-Friday.

Yesterday I took my first crack at making beans a la crock pot. I took suggestions from my mom, K, and some online research.

This was my process:

Cleaned and soaked the beans overnight.

Put them in the crock pot along with uncured hickory smoked (cooked) bacon, low sodium chicken stock, epazote, and water.

Heat on high for 4 hrs.

During last 1/2 hr of cooking, I added some sauteed garlic cloves, a little onion powder, and a pinch of dark brown sugar.

The results were pretty good, but I have never been one for "watery" beans. I like creamy beans. I also thought they needed a little salt. I tend not to add too much salt because D doesn't like overly salted food.

So, I blended a cup or so of the beans, adding a little of the "bean water" to soften it up a bit until it was smooth and added some Himalayan salt and mixed it with the rest of the plumpy beans. I disposed of the rest of the bean water. If D wasn't struggling with acid reflux issues right now, i would have added some jalapenos to the blender..mmm. But no worries, I just add salsa to mine.

Swing

2009-09-07T21:40:00.000-07:00

My complimentary alumni membership to the gym K and I are attending is soon to come to an end later this month, so I have been thinking about what I am going to do for myself after my membership expires. D actually contemplated joining this gym with me but to be honest, it's just to expensive. Even the city recreation classes are on the pricey side and add up in the end. So I thought and I thought and searched the web. I like to dance. I have always wanted to learn how to swing dance well, at least to be able to dance at a ballroom confidently. D and I actually took a ballroom dancing class before we got married and we barely touched on swing dancing, but it was my favorite lesson. I found some really great swing tutorials online on 5min Life Videopedia and MonkeySee. We turned our office into a dance floor and started with the Jitterbug. I must admit, we aren't doing to shabby. In fact, we are doing better that we did in out class and we broke into a mean sweat. Hooray for calories burned! We are planning on keeping this going and seeing how we do. Maybe we can finally go to Memories.

INSPIRATION:

I don't know that D and I will ever be as elastic as these people, but watching this makes he happy. I know this sounds cheesy but it really does.

Bath Time Fro

2009-09-07T20:17:00.000-07:00

On Saturday Mr. Frodo was pampered in a way. While the hubster was out with his cousins, Mom and I went to Bark N' Bake. We bought Fro an oatmeal based conditioner by Earthbath to soothe his itchies and some doggie munchies. The lady who helped us was also kind enough to let us take a couple of free samples of the baked goods for dogs. The day was quite warm and I could tell that Fro was uncomfortable so I decided to pull out his booster bath tub out of my parents' garage and bathe him under the tree in the back yard. And yes, I used his new conditioner.

After this bath he was quite a joyous little fellow, making us laugh as he jumped around like a little gazelle trying to take the towel away from me.

By the way, I had no idea Paul Mitchell was making hair products for dogs. That's right, its called John Paul Pet. I am going to research these more, ingredients and such.