the happily ever after

Amazing Eats: Raku Japanese Charcoal Grill

2011-02-21T10:22:00.000-08:00

I love/hate Vegas. I love the lights and lack the timekeeping but I hate that I feel my age every time I come. Since I no longer hang with the mini-skirt-clubbing-until-4 A.M. crowd, I indulge in food. We just took a trip to Vegas to celebrate G6's birthday and the boys introduced me to Raku, otherwise known as the best food I've ever eaten. If you're ever in the mood for anything other than the buffet, give this place a try.

Raku is a small restaurant located in a strip mall near Chinatown and the boys discovered it via yelp. Everything is tasty, everything is amazing. They serve all small dishes and all orders for skewers are a single skewer so we took the opportunity to eat A LOT.

Yellowtail. I almost cried when I ate the salmon version of this. It was THAT good.

House cold tofu. You can get this fried as well. Which we did. Obvs.

Wilkinson Ginger Ale. Canada Dry claims that their Ginger Ale is made out of real ginger. This ginger ales tastes like someone too a piece of ginger and juiced it into this bottle. I literally choked multiple times just from the fragrance of the soda. AND it has the ginger bite. I drank the whole bottle but I probably won't drink it again.

I don't have more pictures of the food because I was too busy stuffing my face after awhile. We also had chicken, duck, kobe beef, etc. etc. etc.

Besides the food there is the bathroom decor.
Bathroom #1 has a fishtank.

And the fancy toilet that will clean and dry your bum

The 2nd bathroom has a faux tree.

And faux grass.

Not to mention a CD of nature sounds and birds playing. It's a good thing the bathroom is immaculate otherwise it would have been creepy and gross.

I cannot wait to come back again.

Louie Likes It: Bowhaus NYC

2011-02-17T22:48:00.000-08:00

We're anticipating a few days of rain here in LA so it was perfect that Louie received his new trench coat in the mail this week.

Thanks to Gilt, Louie scored a fabulous trench coat from BowhausNYC.

The coat is super well made and much better than other coats out on the market for dogs. I didn't snap any photos of the inside but it is lined with an adorable pattern. Did you see the adorable button and buckle detail?!!? I die!!

cocktail + ring = instant fun

2011-02-16T13:57:00.000-08:00

Currently have my mind on cocktail rings. I feel so fancy with them on, even if I'm just trying and refilling copiers daily. Best part? They don't have to break the bank. Whenever I bring home a giant piece of jewelry, I wear it around the house. That way, I'm used to wearing it and it won't be so awkward when I leave the house. It also gives me a chance to figure out if I love it enough to keep it. I've been known to pick up jewelry from a store and wear it the whole time while I'm in there just to see what it feels like. Lindsay Lohan has taught us that this may not be a great idea.

A quick window shopping trip around the web yielded these beauties:

From top left:

1. Black Eyed Tease Black and Gold Ring

2. Betsey Johnson 3 stone cocktail ring

3. Noir Jewelry Classic CZ ring

4. Marc by Marc Jacobs classic facet ring

5. Kendra Scott Bryce ring

6. Kate Spade Date Night Stripe ring

Though if you were trying to break the bank, I'd go for this one:

Tiffany Sparklers yellow citrine cocktail ring

Do you love it??!?!

happy day!!

2011-02-14T11:27:00.000-08:00

Whatever you feel about valentine's day, it's always good to be reminded to sprinkle a little extra love on those around you.

K and I are part of a couple's group with three other couples at our church and this past weekend, the men of the group cooked us a huge dinner. We had oxtail potpie from Mr. Waddles, a yummy salad from Mr. Simpo, dessert from Mr. Shhh, and K whipped up "Fish Two Ways." (It's important that you refer to this dish properly.) All went really well and was super tasty, with no significant casualties except for Simpo who had cooked himself into a physical state of exhaustion after having previously cooked for his wife the day before. The ladies really appreciated a meal.

I snapped this photo of the men at work.

K is so excited because the ginger he cut out for his fish were shaped like hearts. I heart him.

"Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality." Romans 12:9-11

the thirty - the details

2011-02-11T14:47:00.000-08:00

My milestone birthday has come and gone and if we're friends in real life or on Facebook, you already know the details but I thought the world needed to know what a truly epic celebration it was.

I've been thinking about thirty ever since I turned 29 and researched a million options. It was like planning another wedding. Initially, it was going to be circus party because I was inspired by this party. Actually, I was more inspired by the outfits, namely this one:

(Photo from The Winding Road)

How perfect is this?! The circus theme was brewing for much of 2010 so much so that MOH's mom bought me a perfect circus jacket she spotted at a flea market. The perfect outfit hung in mind for months with no where to go. I even thought about hosting it at Cirque School LA but just couldn't swing the budget for it.

And then it Boots Saga 2010/11 happened. Most people don't believe me (or think I'm ridiculous) but the whole idea for the party happened because of these boots. I wanted these boots and wanted to have an occasion to wear them. Just to make sure that occasion would occur, I planned the whole party around them. I spotted these boots first at Anthropologie. On sale!

Boots Saga 2010/11 was a tragic story of love, loss, love, and loss again - but finally love. Long story short, I ordered them in September 2010 and didn't get them until January 2011. Now I realize I'm not really a cow girl. I don't even really love the outdoors but I love these boots, I love glitter, and I love plaid. So this is what had been swirling in my head for months:

(I too wish there was a better photo. :)) So there it was. The Birthday Outfit. Now all I needed was the party. And what a party it was...

Invitation designed by MOH. Wish you could've seen it in person.

Somewhere along the way, mustaches became a huge obsession. (Subsequent detail photos by Ruby Chu Creative.)

The confetti were punched out of glitter cardstock, one by one with a 1" punch out, by the best husband in the world. It was completely necessary to keep the party from going too Dude Ranch.

Mason jars were purchased at Target and other random glass bottles were borrowed from a friend.

Poms on a stick added a nice touch of pink. It's just like making a regular pom but gluing a stick in between.

Mustaches were purchased from Oriental Trading and in order to create the backing, I traced each mustache out from sheets of sticky glittery foam and mounted them on to long lollipop sticks from Michaels.

The whole combination of everything in theory was strange to everyone but myself. It was perfect in my head.

These gift boxes were a labor of love by MOH. I gave her the box and twine and she figured the rest out. It helped that I had 2395802 mustaches leftover because I ordered 108 mustaches when I thought I was ordering 36.

Inside each box was a few of my favorite things:

Mini nutella packets from Amazon

Haribo Gold Bears from Candy Warehouse

Rock candy sticks from Candy Warehouse

Chocolate kettle corn from Popcornopolis packaged in popcorn bag from The Sugar Diva. (Had to get my circus in somewhere.)

In addition to the confetti, the cake was K's masterpiece. A couple weeks before the party, whilst I was losing my mind, I commissioned K to get the cake. I knew exactly what I wanted but couldn't find an exact picture so had to send him to the bakery with inspiration pictures with very specific rules:

- The mustache must be big, but not too big.

- The mustache must be smooth, but no fondant.

- The cake must be round.

- The cake must have texture.

I may or may not have lost my cool on my than one occasion when repeating these parameters over the phone. :)

Cake Sensations did a FABULOUS job. I literally squealed with I saw the cake.

It truly was one of the best birthdays ever and I'm forever grateful to everyone who came clad in plaid.

xoxo

the bounty hunter

don't stop make it pop: the counter mj experience

2011-02-04T11:33:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy season. I didn't even realize Jam could even have a busy season. I've been so exhausted from work lately that it's hard to keep my eyes open by the time I get home each night. I haven't been feeling very social but we're blessed to have regular meet ups with friends each week and I make it a point to keep that commitment to these fun folks. This week, we dined at the counter and had wii fest 2011.

at the counter, you can pretty much have whatever you want. just check the box.

My masterpiece: 1/3 pound burger in a bowl on organic greens. Topped with: avocado, sauteed mushrooms, and fried onions.

I would've eaten more of it if I didn't already have chili cheese fries, parmesan fries, and sweet potato fries before the burger got to the table.

Here are some of the fun folks:

Inept service notwithstanding, it was a great meal. No host or hostess was harmed in the process. Promise.

For our post-dinner activity, K borrowed a few games from the mouse one of them being THE MJ EXPERIENCE!!!!! (All exclamation marks necessary.) I've been wanting to play this game for a long, long time and it was everything I thought it'd be - and more. Check out the fun folks in the mj experience.

For the record, I am the best Michael in the group. (I refuse to compete with JoJo who had previous experience via Just Dance.)

Love you fun folks and your dance faces!

lodi dodi we likes to party

2011-02-03T12:44:00.000-08:00

Happy lunar new year to you!!! It's the year of the rabbit ... and that's about all I know about that. You know a cultural holiday has reached its peak when Cityville has incorporated into a game and demands that you put up 3 lanterns in celebration.

I come from a small family and Chinese new year always meant a family meal and red envelopes. I've married into a big clan of people and they like to party like it's the year of the rabbit so the celebrations are a bit more elaborate. This year, there was a buffet, karaoke, and party games!

You choose an envelope and write your name on it. At the end of the night the envelopes were opened and inside could be any amount of money ranging from $5 to $100. Guess who got all of the high amounts? THE MUNCHKINS.

K and I haven't attended a new year celebration of the clan because it always fell on fellowship night but it all worked out this year and we went. Our first appearance at the celebration as a married couple means you have to dole out the red envelopes. To whom? TO THE MUNCHKINS. K enjoyed it very much.

What do you get for Chinese new year when you're married? NOTHING. Except usually from your parents. But this year a branch of the clan decided to make turnip cakes! From scratch!

Homemade amazingness. It's almost as good as a red envelope in your pocket. ;)

Happy new year!!

Just take a look

2011-01-31T22:04:00.000-08:00

I actually decided that I love to read by default. I couldn't quite wrap my head math so I assumed I love to read. I can't ever be sure if I love to read because I declared it from the onset or if I actually developed a love for it. Either way, I was one of those kids under my blanket with a flash light reading Little Women. It was the biggest book I had checked out to date because I picked up the hard-cover version that had giant text. You need giant text if you're going to be reading under your blanket past your bedtime. My near-sighted eyes would tell you the same.

Now that my big milestone birthday is over and I can't stop filing new inspiration/ideas away, here is some nifty decor for your fellow bibliophile.

Will poms ever get old? Maybe. But maybe just one more:

From Green Wedding Shoes (It's a whole shoot styled around paper and vintage books!)

If you're going to do the poms, you have to do the garland:

From VintageMarketPlace on Etsy

I'm not quite good enough with my exacto knife to pull this off, but if you can, I highly suggest it:

A library themed wedding shoot, by Jessica Claire

Where would this go for a party? Just about anywhere it wants to go:

From Living with Lindsay, along with instructions!

I'm calling these next babies "book globes." Looks like each scallop was glued on by hand? Results were well worth it:

by Cathy of California

Happy crafting!

the awesome, wonderful, very good, lots of fun, and happy times saturday

2011-01-31T09:58:00.000-08:00

It was one of those Saturdays that I wished to have on repeat over and over. I attribute it to the sparkly shoes I decided to throw on. They make my usual uniform much more fun.

K thinks it's ghastly that I'd wear these shoes anywhere before 9 P.M. much less to lunch on a Saturday. I wear them anyway. He recently picked up a coupon from OpenTable for Paradise Cove in Malibu so it was the perfect day to make the drive out. The food has seriously suffered a bit over the years but you really can't beat the beachy experience on a perfect 75-degree day. In January. It's good to remember why we pay through the nose to live out here. Plus EZEase and KPop came with us so the company made it worth it.

We chatted about all things wedding over lunch and since I have a tendency to overwhelm people with information when I'm excited, there were lots of google images and Shut It Down moments tossed about. I live for days like these.

We hit up Carmela Ice Cream after lunch.

Sea Salt Caramel and Dark Chocolate Cacao Nib. You can literally taste the difference in the natural ingredients that they use - so real that it can be slightly overwhelming if you're used to the processed stuff. I'm totally sold on them because of the natural flavors but mostly because their new store front is adorable.

The boys even indulged us in some wedding sourcing at the Goodwill and Michaels. Oh happy day!

"Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23

the thirty - the people

2011-01-30T17:28:00.000-08:00

thank you to everyone who put up with my party for my birthday. :)

my current mind waster

2011-01-28T11:08:00.000-08:00

I learned that I am horrible as a city planner.

edible love

2011-01-27T10:08:00.001-08:00

My very first big deal cooking experience was cooking for my dad. I was probably in high school and my mom was out of town. I decided I was going to make ribs because it was fancy enough to show love but easy enough to pop in the oven. I had no idea how to do so and no easy access to the internet so I called my mom and based on her telephone directions, I forged ahead. When she said put salt and pepper on the meat, I took that to mean encrust the meat with seasoning. I couldn't understand why I couldn't SEE the seasoning on the meat as I was putting it on. I didn't give up - I just kept on bathing it. So when the meat was thoroughly covered in a thick layer of seasoning, I put it in the oven. When it was done, we almost had ourselves a nice rack of cured meat. My dad didn't give up - he ate it. I love him.

Nowadays, I've got more meals under my belt and more people that I feed. Energy recently got back from a long trip through the Biblelands and I invited him over to show K and me some photos. I was craving some Mexican food and told Energy I may run out and grab some burritos when I get this text: "aww you're not cooking? BOO that's one of the highlights of my visit."'

Words. It's one of my love languages. So I set out to cook. Since I was still craving Mexican and can't cook Mexican, I made guacamole. I love making guac because I don't eat spicy - at all - and when I make it, it's not spicy! WHEE! Everyone else in the world apparently likes it at least mildly spicy. Since I do my grocery shopping after work, I need other quick things. Here's what we ate:

Everything taste fine and so for my lovely college students just starting out in the kitchen, here's what went down:

Guacamole

- chop up half of a white onion (I highly rec a mini food processor for this)

- chop 2 cloves of garlic

- chop up 1 or 2 tomatoes depending on how much you like tomatoes

- scoop out 3 ripe avocados

- mix in everything with a spoon

- squeeze some lime juice into it (or lemon. that's all I had)

- add salt

EAT!

Chicken

- chicken thighs

- salt/pepper

- korean bbq sauce

- In the oven at 350 for about 40 minutes. This depends on how big your chicken is.

- EAT!

Potatoes Au Gratin

- I used this recipe.

- Didn't have whatever cheese they were asking for so I bought the shredded cheese in a bag at the store. Got mozzarella, asiago, parmesan, and some mild cheddar.

- grease baking dish

- slice potatoes

- line dish with potatoes, add salt/pepper, mix of cheese.

- repeat layers until done.

- pour in cream. not a ton. just enough.

- oven at 400 for 45 minutes or so.

- let cool about 5 minutes before serving. K would say more like 10 because he ate it and it was too hot for him.

EAT!

Just to have something green on the plate, I added arugula and a bottle of dressing.

I was short on time so I popped the chicken in at 350 and then started preparing the potatoes. By the time I was done, the chicken had been in there for about 20 minutes and then I invited the potatoes to join the chicken in the oven. I turned up the heat to between 375/400 and let them party. Turned out fine.

Everyone was full and happy. :)

nye 2011: san francisco

2011-01-22T13:27:00.000-08:00

Usually I have more time than I know what to do with at work but recently, I've been working on a new project that includes taking work home on the weekends. I don't even know who I am anymore. The only consolation is that my boss is dropping hints that a position may open up in the company that he thinks I'd be perfect for: office manager. I'm not even kidding. Apparently, I really am Pam. It's just the rumbles of some office rumors right now but I'd be grateful for the additional responsibilities and ker-ching. Keep the hope alive for me, will you?

I can't wait to share with you the details of my recent birthday party, but for now, we'll have to go back to San Francisco, circa New Year's Eve, 2010. We went up to see Phoenix and Ghost Writer. Phoenix is one of my BFFs and moved up there awhile ago but I've yet to see her place so it was time to make the trip. Ghost Writer has the best family hook ups which landed them into a perfect apartment with high ceilings, original wood everything, right in the heart of the city. I kind of died and fell in love with it.

Other than to visit friends, eating was my 2nd objective. Not to necessarily eat at fancy places but to eat, sleep, and veg out to my heart's content. This is my idea of a perfect vacation.

First night: tapas at Bocadillos.

Everything was tasty. I even ate some spicy stuff.

After dinner, Cafe Grecco and Stella Pastry & Cafe.

Latte from Cafe Grecco (very good!) and cake from Stella. Also had a bite on a cannoli and other sweet things.

When on vacation, I eat everything. No matter whose plate it's on. It's all FAIR GAME PEOPLE.

Day 2's mission was to eat everything in the Ferry Building. Mission Accomplished.

Hog Island Oysters: BEST GRILLED CHEESE EVER. Who would've guessed?! The oysters were bomb diggity as well. But the CHEESE. So good, I don't even have a photo for you.

Treats for me and my FRIEND, wasaii.

This place looking harmless until your friend offers you a slice of head cheese. HEAD. CHEESE.

The taste I can bear, but texture got me.

Blech.

These Pepples donuts were slightly better:

I tried the sea salt and caramel but let's be real: A vegan donut isn't the same as a real donut. A for effort!

Last stop: Gott's Roadside.

Because I seriously have no dietary boundaries while on vacation.

We ate so much other great stuff that I didn't include but it was a wonderful trip.

New Year's Eve was spent at Spire, which K's cousin happens to be a part of, and it was straight- up, ghetto fun. I have no pictures of that night but that's probably for the best. I did wear a sparkly skirt:

GAH. SO MUCH FUN.

The minute we got to the airport, I missed my friends already.

xoxo.

happy birthday, miss A!

2011-01-08T22:34:00.000-08:00

There are only a few people in my reality circle that truly understand the art of hosting a party. Chlorine is one of them. I'd like to think of us as two peas in the proverbial party-styling pod. She appreciates details, snail mail, and Emily Post so when it came time to host Miss A's 1st birthday, I knew Chlorine would not disappoint.

When you get an invitation like this in the mail, you know the party is going to be full of fun: (photo by Chlorine)

The invitation was inspired by Mila's Daydreams and was themed Miss A's favorite things (a la Oprah's show). I loved how the invitation and theme was so personal to Miss A even though she's only been around for a year.

And onto the details. Chlorine took the blogosphere's loviest things and kicked it up a notch. Or ten. Love tissue paper poms poms? Forget them. Try one with tulle:

Love honeycomb garlands? Forget them. Try it with tulle. Each sewed and gathered by Chlorine herself, who did not know how to sew prior to this party.

The tulle adds such a dreamy quality to everything with or without my instagr.amification. The food table with the requisite 36" balloons. And don't forget the PINK twinkle lights.

Striped straw and IZZE. My husband K put the straws in the cups. When he started, I said, "Oh, she'll want them .." He interrupts: "All to one side. I know." :) It's contagious.

I was SO VERY PLEASED to see the ruffle cake in person. It's really awesome to see ideas come to life. Cake was done by Cake Sensations.

The dessert table had pink treats. My favorite detail was the cotton candy inside of large plastic ornaments. The pink cotton candy gave the ball a pearlescent glow.

My favorite detail of all - the family. Chlorine also made tulle party flair for everyone to wear: bouts, rings, hair pins. Loverly.

Thanks for the fabulous eye candy Chlorine! You are one lucky girl, Miss A.

i heart ny

2010-12-10T23:37:00.000-08:00

I'm hanging out with Way in the hospital today. Boo to tumors and surgeries. Boo to hours of waiting. Yay for free hospital wifi!! Nothing like internet surfing to pass the time. Especially when you're trying to get your mind off the situation at hand. This is better than wringing my hands helplessly in a corner - yes?

Way was born in NYC and I came across some great photos on 20x200 of ... NYC. (The connections strain when I've been under florescent lighting for more than 1 hour.) 20x200 is a good source for art for people who don't know much about art. (me) I'd like to see some of these hanging in the shoebox. I'm cursing myself for not picking up the One Kings Lane deal on this awhile back.

Balloons by Youngna Park

Central Park South by Joseph O. Holmes

Winter Flags by Youngna Park

West 43rd Street by Joseph O. Holmes

Untitled (Mott Street) by Allison Gruppo

All of the prints are available in a variety of sizes. Perfect to look at no matter what nitch of a florescent washed room you may find yourself.

After leaving Way to her procedure, I went to see brand new Baby Conehead. Fresh out of the oven. Welcome to the world!!

Sometimes a full day spent in hospitals isn't so bad. :)

i heart ban.do

2010-12-09T10:51:00.000-08:00

There are days when I don't want to brush my hair, much less whip it back and forth. These are the days when you'll see me with my hair tied back and a headband popped on my head. The more the fabulous the headband, the less you'll notice my knots and tangles.

ban.do creates some of the most fabulous headpieces for brides and fabulous girls to wear. I hit up their sale on a recent Saturday and was delighted to take a peek in their work space. I'd love to come to work here!!

Oh where, oh where do they get their fabulous ideas?! Here of course!

To me, presentation is everything. People will shell out more for cash for things not crammed into racks and shelves. The girls at ban.do clearly understand this:

Poms make the world go round.

Here is where they shoot some of their fun photos. Everyone should one in their bedroom - every outfit would look 10x better just standing in front of it.

I made out with a few things for me and for gifts. Photos below are from the ban.do website.

Giant bow for someone who is not turning 30 and shoe clips for me.

Sported this to the Details, Details Holiday Dinner and got good feedback from the other ladies. However, my real question is - WHERE CAN I GET HER TOP?!

Luscious and simple headband perfect for the non-hair-combing days:

I see some beautiful, sparkly days ahead in the wardrobe forecast. :) Be sure to click over for more eye candy!

P.S. - In my wedding do-over, there is definitely a giant ban.do flower headband.

vibiana wedding

2010-12-06T09:22:00.000-08:00

We ended Thanksgiving weekend with the wedding Mr. and Mrs. Hipster. Mrs. Hipster is known to be a fabulous fashionista and the invitation had let us know to dress to impress so I was definitely excited.

The event was held at the Vibiana in Downtown and since I've never been, the event addict in me was excited to scope out the venue.

It was a beautiful clear day in DTLA but the LA crowd was not loving the 60 degree weather.

The Vibiana was an old church converted to event space so you get beautiful vaulted ceilings with cathedral architecture. Even without the pews, the altar in the front reminds you that it was once a church. The vaulted ceilings also make for crazy acoustics and the DJ had to place extra speaker in the back of the room because there was so much of an echo. Carpeting or draping the space may help a bit but then you'd lose the beautiful dark hardwood floors.

The ceremony took place outside in the courtyard secluded by tall shrubbery. The whole thing felt very New York rooftop since you could look up and see tall buildings surrounding you.

The couple kept a white theme with black accents. The bridesmaids were asked to wear a white dress of their choosing (sadly, did not get good photo). Fab-u-lous. Very Carrie Bradshaw. Simple arrangements in white containers made the space itself the focus on the night.

What's that brown bottle doing there you ask? It's maple syrup for the chicken and waffles we were noshing on later that evening! I can definitely say I've never had chicken and waffles in my wedding best. While inside an old church building. :) But I'd expect nothing less from Mrs. and Mrs. Hipster.

We had a great time - thank you E & D!!! Congratulations!!! xoxo

it is SO EASY!

2010-11-29T09:51:00.000-08:00

I had these amazing cookies and truffles that DanNielle made over the weekend. While my BFFs and I were busy stuffing our faces with them, DanNielle was writing down the recipe for the cookies. Multiple copies. From memory. While knitting a scarf and hat. All at the same time. Her motto of the evening was, "It's SO EASY!" (I didn't have the heart to tell her that my easy = opening a package and putting food to mouth. and does not require oven. :))

DanNielle is just that kind of chick. A lovelier version of Martha Stewart without a record, who is convincing enough to lead you to believe that YOU TOO can make cookies, truffles, and knit hats all in one hour.

Oh she also makes halloween costumes. Exhibit A:

I met DanNielle through MacAttack. They spied each other across the way as GI Joes and have been in love and cahoots for years. She moved out here from Oprahland and was recently laid off from her job which is bad for her but good for you and me because this means she's had more time to knit knit knit! I showed her a scarf I was coveting and BAM, she whipped one out and gifted it to me. Here I am sporting the scarf. I'm still working on perfecting the art of tying a scarf into a bow.

While the scarf is not for mass production or sale, her etsy store features gifts for baby like this bib:

She can pretty much whip up any and everything so if you're in the market for some knitted/crocheted goods, cookie recipes, or halloween costumes, give D a holla.

Happy Thoughts

2010-11-23T21:47:00.000-08:00

Sometimes there are perks to being Jam of the school. Like a free sign up to The Sketchbook Project.

It's an awesomely cool project wherein artists (insert air quotes for self here) send in a provided sketchbook on a topic to be included in a traveling exhibit, ultimately to be archived at the Brooklyn Art Library. This year there are over 28,000 people participating and I'm one of them! I just got my sketchbook this week, along with my Brooklyn Art Library card:

A quick scan of some of the past sketchbooks and examples uploaded to the site let me know that I may have gotten in a wee bit over my head but now the book is due in early January and I have to turn in something. Apparently the blank canvas has already been done. Of the list of possible topics, I chose "Happy Thoughts." It doesn't seem like it'd be a hard topic until I tried to think about what I'd actually sketch.

In the cliche irony of life, it just so happens that I'm in a funk and am currently the complete opposite of happy thoughts. At least I've started by forming a list of my usual happy thoughts:

1. Romans 8:38-39

2. french fries

3. being k's wife

4. louie

5. sequins and glitter

6. girl talk

7. love actually

8. hot fudge sundaes

So internet ... what are you happy thoughts? What would you sketch?

mic check one two. one two.

2010-11-12T11:42:00.001-08:00

My bff phoenix is planning a big 3-0 bash for her fiance, who also happens to be my ghost writer. Not for this blog - just for my raps.

I'll give you a minute to reread that.

Anyway, I don't know about Ghost Writer, but K prefers his parties to be low key and easy. If we weren't married, he'd probably never have a birthday party. I feel this is one of the top reasons why God brought us together. :)

Ghost Writer is a huge fan of the SF Giants and so phoenix is going to whip that up into a neat little party. For a man party, decorations are secondary but food is king so I thought it'd be good to serve baseball food in cool packaging. I googled up some pictures and here's what I found:

A popcorn bar? YES PLEASE.

I recently tried Hurricane Popcorn straight from a Costco in Hawaii and had never realized the magic of adding stuff to popcorn and shaking it up in a bag. I think it'd be super fun to have toppings for guests to throw into plastic bags and shake to their heart's desire. Wan created a popcorn bar with gourmet popcorn for her bean's party and I hear it was a fabulous hit!

Hot dogs with all the toppings that the man could ever dream of. OF COURSE.

All of the usual suspects plus some fancy friends like guacamole, hummus, sun-dried tomatoes, pineapple. *swoon* The SF Weekly blog has some good ideas here.

Squeeze in some Martha Stewart touches with a birthday banner and personalized packaging and this should be a great party :)

And now your turn: How do the men in your life like to celebrate their birthdays?

That's All She Wrote

2010-11-10T22:24:00.000-08:00

"You've got that typical pretty Asian handwriting," mused a fellow Asian sister at work. I didn't even realize handwriting could be stereotyped nowadays. I had no idea what she was talking about as I whipped my Keroppi topped lead pencil into a frenzy. Internet, do you know what she's talking about?

I actually remember lots of girls in middle school priding themselves on their penmanship, yours truly included. I read somewhere that culturally, the ability to make good rice is the mark of a good Chinese daughter. (In the Joy Luck Club maybe? The source of all my Chinese knowledge, of course. ;)) Apparently, in the early 90s, the mark of a good Asian girl was her penmanship. There was a girl in my middle school whose penmanship was so perfect that it looked like the words were typed on to the page. She was always humble about it, to the point of self-deprecation, but I like to imagine the hours she slaved over her desk crossing her Ts.

I've grown to care less about my penmanship but who doesn't appreciate a pretty, handwritten anything? As the Chinese daughters before me benefitted from the advent of rice cookers, I benefit now from calligraphers. I love the mini works of art they whip up on envelopes and this year decided to commission a return address stamp in preparation for the Christmas card sending season. We got our stamp from Primele!

I chose Primele because her style is totally casual and adoringly chic. It's beautiful calligraphy that doesn't feel too stuffy. This would have been a good place to show you my stamp but then I'd risk all sorts of crazies showing up at le shoebox and up to no good. I'm totally happy with the product and hope it adds that a bit more oomph in our Christmas cards this year ... if we ever manage to get a snapshot for the cards. Sigh.

I have to mention a couple other calligraphers that I totally drool over:

Betsy Dunlap and Paperfinger. Totally modern, unique calligraphy. Perfect for this little Asian girl, all grown up. :)

It's the most wonderful time of the year

2010-11-09T14:26:00.000-08:00

I love fall. Even in this crazy 95 degree so. cal weather, fall is fabulous. Fall brings Thanksgiving and Christmas. And after fall is winter. And winter is my birthday. For the 6th time in January, I'll be turning 25. For months (literally) I've been pondering about how to mark this bittersweet occasion. "30 is the new 20," they say - so I presume that the celebration will include colorful libations, stilettos in my hand, and a tiara on my head. ;)

Or not.

Whatever it ends up being, I'm excited - mostly for the celebration. I stumbled across You + Me*, a lifestyling duo and a line in their bio totally caught my eye:

"Throwing the perfect dinner party, proposing to the one you love, planning a birthday surprise, making a vacation feel special, giving a gift that feels personalized instead of generic—all of these experiences require just the right combination of pretty things, thoughtful gestures, and personal touches. With YOU + ME, you’ll get the formula right every time."

It's SO true. There is a world of pretty out there but none of it works unless if it's just the right mix of pretty and you. From the look of their blog, it seems like the girls of You + Me* have really good eyes and a great sense of style. If I were a Real Housewife, I'd commission them immediately. :) But since I'm Jam, I'll have to turn to you internet...

What did you do (or what will you do) for your milestone birthday(s)?

EZEase and KPop: Engagement Lunch

2010-10-29T22:22:00.001-07:00

EZEase is K's BFF and he recently proposed to the girl of his dreams, KPop.

He asked me to set up a lunch at their neighborhood park to set the site for his proposal and post-proposal celebratory lunch. It was a fabulous way to share in such a special day and - of course - to set a pretty table.

Inspired by Jordan of Oh Happy Day and the Queen of outdoor parties (just check out this one), I wanted a casual but a table worthy of the special occasion. I didn't actually get any pictures of the table completely finished or every detail, but you get the idea:

Everything was thrown together with a mix of stuff I had from home and some new purchases to tie everything together. The "tablecloth" is a painter's drop cloth from OSH and the runner is a roll of kraft paper overlayed with ribbons from Michael's.

The letters are from JoAnns (we were obviously anticipating a positive result from the proposal) and they're attached to a pretty butcher board that K and I received for our wedding topped with a spread from - where else? - Costco! The vases were a set of glasses I found at the Goodwill for $1/glass and flowers were also from Costco.

The plates were the jumping off point for the whole table. I saw a set of them at HomeGoods and literally squealed! Place cards were made with cardstock and a pretty label from Paper Source.

I covered some books in kraft paper just to personalize the table. Ribbon from Joann's.

Do you love it? I think they did. Their fabulous wedding set for next year is already well in the works and I'm super excited to see how that turns out.

Thank you to Woo-Z for the photos and KPop's BFFs for helping out!!

Workin' on my fitness

2010-08-05T12:20:00.000-07:00

I gained the freshmen 15 and now I'm well on my way to my married 15. I also apparently no longer have the self-discipline will power to run for miles because there's no white dress to fit into. I'm not jabba the hut, but everyone has to take care of their bodies, right?

I've been debating joining a class/gym/whatever. I used to belong to 24 Hour Fitness but have since stopped renewing my membership, again due to the lack of a white dress. I hate, hate, hate (read: hate) paying for this stuff when I can run on the street and have gym equipment in apartment complex. Of course, this leaves me doing nothing at all. I also figured that the money I'm not spending on gym/classes, I'm spending on clothes to camouflage my growing body. (Strange fact: I can fit into all of my clothes and am the same "size", it's just that I'm spread out differently in them now. Does anyone know what I'm talking about?)

Do you have classes or places you recommend? I don't think I want to join a gym again so probably something where I can just go to take a class. I'm more into cardio but will need toning too. Anything in the Pasadena area would be great.

Like Butta

2010-07-01T15:05:00.000-07:00

So the highlighter hell has been banished and now we're soaking in a new yellow courtesy of mr. and mrs. a-z. I don't love it but anything is better than highlighter hell.

Contrary to Behr's name for it (Bicycle Yellow), it doesn't evoke thoughts of biking through a field of poppies on a warm sunny day... at least that's what i think of when i hear the name. It's more of a margarine yellow - but more muted.

like the yellow of Office Depot's "self stick notes" - but not Post its. Two different yellows.

Or the yellow of my yummy shoes. Yum. (Just got them in yesterday. Tis on sale at JCrew!)

Whatever it is, we're living with it for now. I think I'm realizing that I don't like the contrast between the yellow and my blue gray walls in the dining nook. I don't know. HELP ME DAVID BROMSTAD!!!

In other house decorating news, I stopped by a couple Goodwills and scored some frames. We emptied them out, painted them black, and hopefully they'll make an appearance on the picture wall before we leave for the weekend. Though I'm not holding my breath, especially because I still have three frames on the wall empty except for the mats and it's only been about a year since they went up. :)

Have a happy weekend!

Le shoebox decorating continues.

2010-06-25T09:21:00.000-07:00

Here are some snapshots of the highlighter yellow. I promise it's much more jarring and bring in real life. It's like this paint color is mocking me even when I try to take a picture of it. Weezermonkey was right. Curse you, conceited yellow!

This is the yellow that mr. & mrs. a-z left for us. It's the Behr bicycle yellow.

I hope it works. K got some primer from his coworker so we're ready to rock. And if it doesn't rock, we're pretty much stuck with it.

As we're revamping the kitchen, we're adding a couple more things as well. K just picked up this Toy Story 3 poster from work.

It's a big poster intended for the theaters that'll fit perfectly in a frame we already own and since I loved the movie SO much, it's going up on the wall. We get several movie posters from time to time, but this is the only one I've loved enough to put up. (Really, if you haven't watched it - go do so immediately.)

K and I are in less agreement over this Savannah Story Bust:

I saw it on the anthropologie website and took K in see it in person. He asked me to explain it's appeal. I rambled on about how I love text/books and thought it'd be a cool visual pop off the wall, but after the highlighter yellow disaster, I don't blame him for thinking I'm crazy. I don't blame any of you for thinking the same. :) I'll wait for my rhino to go on sale and let y'all know how it goes.

highlighter yellow

2010-06-21T14:33:00.001-07:00

is the current color of my kitchen walls.

I have failed, internet. Terribly. Our kitchen walls were painted in flat paint when we first moved in (I don't know why) and since then, steam, splatters, and general kitcheneering has left the walls less than stellar. Since we recently found out that K gets a discount at Sherwin Williams (the mouse has hook ups all over the land), we hit up the local store to get some paint. I had originally settled on a color called "Butter Up", bright but pretty in a good yellow sort of way. I then saw the paint chip for "Confident Yellow" and decided that would be a better choice. Brighter. Poppier. And who doesn't love a confident yellow?! I was worried it'd be too bright but since the kitchen has only about 2 mm of wall space, I thought it would be ok. So wrong, internet. So very wrong.

I hung out with MOH for a dinner and movie on Saturday night and when I came home, K had painted most of the walls in Confident Yellow in all its brilliance. My reaction: muffled scream in my head. It is the kind of yellow that sears your eyeballs, even in the dark. You walk into the kitchen, you see it, you want to turn the other way. So very, very bad. Knowing that he had already put on 3 coats, I tried to remain optimistic and withhold judgment until I could see it during the day in natural sunlight. Some hours later after the sun came up, I walked into the kitchen and the white cabinets literally glowed with Confident Yellow. Glowed. Just like a highlighter on a white page.

We both agreed, this just cannot be. I cannot cook in Highlighter Hell. Lucky for us, a friend has extra primer and my new neighbors/BFFs mr. and mrs. a-z has some yellow left over from their bathroom that may work, so hopefully my poor judgement will be rectified soon.

David Bromstad is somewhere judging me right now.

The Best Fish Tacos in Ensenada

2010-06-11T09:14:00.000-07:00

... because they said so.

The Best Fish Tacos in Ensenada, located in Glendale and Silverlake (I hit the Glendale outpost) has the simplest menu I have ever seen outside of a food truck.

Difficult to see here, but your choices are: fish, shrimp, drinks. That's it!

Basically they give you fried shrimp or tacos in a tortilla and you can add your own shredded cabbage, a variety of salsa, and sour cream out of a pump.

If the variety of salsa is what is being sold here, they really should take care to make sure that the salsas are looking good and fresh. We went for lunch at noon with just a few others there and the salsa bowls were either practically empty or half way there. Even with the 5 options of salsas, I wasn't impressed with the selection - again, if the salsa is the selling point here. I love everything fried so the fish and shrimp itself were fine to me. They also had a selection of horchata and some sort of jimaca (sp?) drink but I didn't try those. Sodas come in a can in a fridge next to the counter.

I'll probably never make it to Ensenada to try the legitimate fish tacos but I hope I find better options than this one.

Have a happy day!

Tik Tok

2010-06-03T14:44:00.000-07:00

It was one of those weekends that made me glad to be back at work. I love three-day weekends and get all Ke$ha as I head out the door but then tend to overdo it and then long for routine and a regular sleeping schedule.

This past Memorial Day weekend was super special because dear friends Dancing Queen and got married! They were married at Irvine Presbyterian Church followed by a celebration at Celebrations by Turnip Rose (hee), not to be confused with the Grand Newport Plaza. I've never attended/worked a wedding there so I was doubly excited. Sadly, when I get excited, I take no photos. Holding a camera to my face makes me feel like I have to stop for a moment and separate from what's happening to snap a photo, so I tend not to. Plus the fact that there are 6917427 cameras going at the same time helps me to know that someone, somewhere, has the moment documented. You'll just have to believe me when I say it was fun and there was an ice cream sundae bar. love love love.

At one point I thought to myself, this place looks like a club only to hear the Waddles tell me that they had indeed been clubbing there once! Good eye, jane.

Photo from website.

My mac desktop has made me the go to person for wedding slideshows. Thanks iMovie! Here's what I whipped up for this one. It literally is drag, drop, and play with some cheesetastic goodness in between. Yum.:

Congrats you two!!

After a night of fun that lasted longer than it should have, we decided to hit up Disneyland the next day. I took the occasion to sport my new hat but ended up a little more Indiana Jones than I had anticipated.

We had a super fun time because Wasaii is the BEST tourist ever. He brings his own chair, snacks, EVERY thing. It was really, really fun. Please note said chair and across the body bag filled with snack and temporary tattoos. :)

And the best part? WE SPOTTED LOTSA LOTSO BEARS!!! They smelled like strawberries. Literally. Really, they do. Go smell one.

I sadly did not see the real one.

I LOVE YOU LOTSO!!!!

Phone Photo Dump 5.25.10

2010-05-25T09:52:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it's fun looking through the pictures it phone. It documents life better than I remember it. Note to self: take more pictures on phone.

The Mouse commissioned a few food trucks at K's work one day to make up for the temporary closing of the on-site commissary. I made my way there for lunch to try Buttermilk. French toast and taro pancake. Yum and fun!

Like weezermonkey, I don't avidly follow food trucks or go out of my way to get to them. I also won't wait hours to try one. I think this makes them more yum and fun.

Also tried the Calbi truck that day. Pretty tasty. The veggies inside the burrito gave it a surprising fresh bite.

Had the pleasure of working a wedding at the Bel Air Bay Club for the first time. It was a super beautiful day but only if you were indoors and protected from the hurricane winds. Sadly, the ceremony was outdoors.

Part of the job: trial for petals to the bed for the newly weds at the Shangri-La.

Energy purchased a set of Bang along with all of its expansion packs called Bang! The Bullet! The cards are packed in a bullet case and it comes with a sheriff's badge!!! A Sheriff's Badge!!! (First photo come from Amazon)

I proceeded to wear it throughout 2 games even when I wasn't the Sheriff. Such a Renegade.

This next picture was taken immediately after the group of people in this picture broke my heart by deleting the picture of Sleeping Beauty's castle lit up for Christmas from my phone's wallpaper. They tried to make up for it with this group picture to replace it. I think not.

Ceiling at Newport Seafood Restaurant in Temple City. No pictures of the lobsters.

Insert your own caption here!

Have a great day!

Arclight, Pasadena

2010-05-16T19:05:00.000-07:00

I take the movie-going experience very seriously. I sink myself right into the movie and suspend all logical reasoning. I'm the girl crying, laughing too loudly, yelling (at the actors, of course, because they can hear me. Obvs.) and shrieking in fear. Even if the movie is bad, I become so irate that the movie lingers with me anyway. Watching a movie is a commitment I'm not always willing to make and for this reason, we don't go out to the movies often. I have to really, REALLY want to see a movie to actually go to a theater to watch it.

Recently, by Energy's crazy hype, I was convinced that I wanted to see Iron Man 2 and managed to convince 10 other people to go with me. It was Saturday of its opening weekend and I had no desire to wait in line for 2 hours to watch this movie so we (I) decided to give the new Arclight in Pasadena a try because of the fabulous assigned seating concept. We had been to the Arclight in Hollywood and really loved it so I was excited.

The new Arclight was converted from an old Pacific Theater at Paseo Colorado and because it had a new bar, I was convinced that the sound and picture quality would be have been upped as well. (I'm not sure of the exact correlation between a bar and the AV quality of a theater.) My hopes were further hyped by the chicken apple sausage on the menu (But WHY for the love of all things tasty, would you run OUT of them on a 9 P.M. Saturday Night show?!) and of course, the caramel corn. But my drool could not deceive my eyes.

From Manako's flickr.

The chairs were definitely changed to label them for the fabulous assigned seating, but in terms of size and feel, I'm pretty sure they were the same ones that the Pacific Theaters were using. The sound and picture quality were ... the same. When I've watched a movie at the Arclight in Hollywood, I felt completely engulfed by the screen in a good way. I suspect that a part of this has to do with the stadium seating set up in so many theaters. We were pretty high up and at times I felt like I was looking down at Iron Man. When you're looking down at Iron Man, the magic is pretty much gone from the experience. Not that the movie was magical to begin with but that's a whole other blog post for a another time. *shakes fist*

A ticket to a movie at the Arclight is about $15 and given that adults pay about $10+ for a movie at other theaters, I'll be back. I will gladly pay the extra money to avoid waiting in line to grab a seat since movies at the theater are not a regular habit at the shoebox. And to eat more caramel corn. You got me good, Arclight.

Happy Birthday, K!

2010-05-10T12:36:00.000-07:00

We celebrated my husband's birthday last week and concluded with a round a golf and lunch on Saturday. Thank you to everyone who celebrated with him! He has declared that he will not write thank you notes so this will have to do. Don't judge me - judge him. :)

While he was golfing in the morning, Way and I put up some decorations in the shoe box. The wonderful thing about living in a shoe box is that party decorating is a snap. I never hesitate to rearrange furniture and it doesn't take a lot to fill up the room.

Since the Laker game was on that evening, the colors for the party were pre-determined. I snapped this picture a full day later while K was catching up on his Chinese dramas. He has hinted that I should leave the decorations up until the Lakers win the championship this year.

Since we were having lunch at a restaurant, when guests came over, I just had to serve snacks for the game. K loves (L-O-V-E-S) Chinese snacks and so I served the in pretty little packages.

Fruit flavored beef jerky:

Farmer Brand Peanuts:

Watermelon seeds:

There were also calbee chips in purple paper bags wrapped with yellow ribbons but I forgot to snap a picture.

The most time consuming part of decorating were these banners, but they still went pretty quick. I divided a 12x12 sheet of scrapbook paper into fours, stacked them together, quickly scribbled the outline of the letter and cut it as a whole stack of 4. I used scotch tape to attach it to some kitchen twine and voila!

Woo-Z and Tracy brought K a cupcake from crumbs that we enjoyed later on. (Thank you!)

Totally a casual and fabulous way to celebrate K's birthday. Happy birthday love!

Cupcake Table

2010-05-06T09:17:00.000-07:00

Helping MOH with her wedding was pretty much akin to planning my own wedding. For the past year or more, we were exchanging emails daily - more like hourly - sending inspiration pictures and brainstorming. I loved it because MOH and I really get each other's sense of style and aesthetic so our conversations would usually devolve into a flurry of "That is UH-MAY-ZING" or "I DIE - in the best Rachel Zoe way."

One of my proudest moments of creation was the cupcake table. Channeling my inner Amy Atlas, I was trying to describe what I thought would be a great set up. ("The key is to create levels. LEVELS!") I initially wanted an entire backdrop of ribbon but considering that Papa MOH was building the backdrop, we had to downscale. This is what we came up with:

And this is what turned out:

I think it's a great way to incorporate some sort of backdrop without creating a whole wall. Super awesome because we got to use the feather centerpieces from MOH's bridal shower.

The coordinator missed the cupcakes on top of the backdrop but it's still cute right?

The box in the back and the cake box was constructed by Papa Cheng using leftover door trip and molding from a recent home renovation project.

The fabric was purchased at Michael Levine and staple gunned to the box.

The letters and heart are from Michaels and are attached via a small nail from behind.

The cake stands were purchased from HomeGoods.

The cake topper was a Juicy Couture key fob that we got for MOH to celebrate her engagement. She removed the key rings from fob and the baker put a little plate of support to keep the ring on top of the cake.

The cupcakes were delish and from a bakery in Long Beach whose name I can't remember. (ETA: Cupcakes by For the Love of Sugar. MOH purchased the cupcake liners and they gladly obliged.)

Photos courtesy of one of the groomsmen. :) I can't wait to show you more when she gets the pro pics!

I Die

2010-05-03T13:19:00.000-07:00

Recently had the privilege to take a teenager to go prom dress shopping. How is it that I suddenly jumped from young adult to full-fledge adult who doesn't quite understand current teenage trends? I was all Carrie Bradshaw overpowered by beautiful things and she was more Jenny Humphrey more enamored with adulthood than anything else on the racks.

Her choice:

My choice:

Her choice:

She was a super good sport and tried on many more things that she wouldn't be caught dead in at prom so it was really fun. I know that are her age I wouldn't have listened to some YOUNG adult tell me what looked amazing - no matter how awesome she was. I'd rather her feel comfortable as we know how teenagers have a tendency to be awkward x 2343918. :) We did manage to choose a dress out of the millions she tried on so hooray for us!

A tip to any other prom dress hunters: We found a lot of great things at the Macy's in Pasadena and noticed that they had a better selection than the Macy's in Glendale.

And because I love blogs where I see what people wear and real life:

Thunder One Piece from Dace

Necklaces from Forever 21 and Nordstroms

Juicy Couture flats

Happy shopping!

Friday Free-for-All

2010-04-30T12:33:00.000-07:00

When I was younger I thought "free-for-all" was one word and it sounded like freefrall. It totally made sense. "That party was awesome! The kids went nuts on the pinata and it was a complete FREEFRALL!" Right? No? Ok.

The older, wiser me keeps Friday lunches as my person free-for-all. (And if it's personal, is it really a free for all?) I usually pack my lunches from dinner the night before or will have a salad and soup at Panera but on Fridays, I indulge myself with lovely meals that are starchy, fried, and will send you into food coma for the rest of the day. Ah, Fridays.

Today I hit up Vicious Dogs for a bacon wrapped dog, coke, and fries.

I added bbq sauce and some onions. Nothing spectacular but it'll definitely cure you if you're in the mood for low key food to enjoy. There's a lot of choices on the menu but I'm not super adventurous and I don't eat spicy foods so bacon wrapped dog it is! The owner, Willy, is super nice and contributes to the comfortable, local feel. The place recently merged with a cupcake place down the street and they've set up a counter inside Vicious Dogs where you can buy a monster cupcake for $25. It's a giant cupcake.

My only complaint about this place is that there is a mirror filling much of the wall in front of the counter where there is most of the seating. I don't like glancing up from my fries and catching my own image. I don't think you'd like it either:

Hope your Fridays are going well!!

ETA: Um ... I just googled freefrall and I'm confused. It's not a word, right?

Zac Posen for Target

2010-04-29T09:30:00.000-07:00

I completely forgot that Zac Posen's collection for Target was hitting the stores until I wandered in for some snacks the other day. Since the collection dropped on April 25th and I made it in a full 3 days after that, much of the stuff was gone but I managed to snatch up this brocade skirt.

I debated for a good 15 minutes about it. I don't usually wear short skirts and because I'm not sure I wanted to spend $50 on it. But the fabric was so pretty and the pleating is absolutely darling. I totally envision it with a looser t-shirt tucked in also with some sandals that I've got coming from Gilt. Or possibly a camisole with a longer cardigan. Anything to keep it casual to balance out the gold brocade fabric. I agree with the reviewer on the Target site about the zipper being a bit difficult but nothing to the point where I wouldn't buy it.

There were only two left and one was in my size so that was my ultimately deciding factor. I figure I can return it if I decide I really didn't want it. In case you're curious, the other was a size 1 or 3 so if your waist is the size of my thigh - go nuts! :)

I was hoping to see the dress version of the skirt in person but of course, it wasn't in stock. Nicky Hilton seemed to like it!

I also happened upon a couple of the Eugenia Kim fedoras that weren't there when her collection dropped. Big disappointment. I genuinely wanted to love and buy one because the colors/design are adorable but the quality is horrible. I'd rather pay an extra $15 for the ones at Urban Outfitters. *sad face*

My Crowning Glory

2010-04-22T09:35:00.000-07:00

My hair and I have never had a good relationship. In elementary school, my mom kept my hair short as most little girls in Hong Kong wore their hair that way. Here in the states, though, were long pony tales whipping around the playground. Of course I wanted one. I grew my hair out long enough to have some semblance of a ponytail but the shorts strands at the nape of my neck would refuse to be gathered in the elastic so I did what any rational kid would do: I cut it off. Words cannot convey how ridiculous I looked but it was nothing compared to how frustrated I was at not having a pony tail.

Over the years, I've learned a lot about my hair. Like it's thick on the sides, but thin on top. (True story! I can already envision the bald spot I'll be sporting.) It doesn't hold any type of curl or blow out for longer than 30 seconds, but curls do end up looking like a blow out by the end of the day. And it is physically impossible for me to maintain those gorgeous side-swept bangs. Or any bangs for that matter. All of this is not for lack of trying and I'm just at the beginning of being OK with it all. That hair is such an emotional matter is something I won't even have to explain to most of you.

For MOH's wedding this weekend (eeek!!!!) I had to dig around for some hair inspiration for myself. So far I like these:

As long as the curls hold for the pre-ceremony photos, I'm golden!

I'm not even sure I have enough hair for this but I'll let the professional figure it out.

I could rock this but it's a bit too stark for the feel of the wedding.

One trick I've come to love for short hair is hair accessories! It adds a lot without doing a lot for my stick-straight strands. I have MOH's permission to wear a bow and I'm borrowing similar to it (in black) from a friend so it's likely I'll try it with the hairstyle in the first picture.

From (ban.do)

I've possibly decided to grow my hair out again. In the meantime, do you have any short hair tips for everyday and special occasions?

Mirror, Mirror

2010-04-21T09:51:00.001-07:00

In le shoebox, there is not much room for mirrors. There is one full-length mirror and its mounted on the inside of a closet door. It - for better or worse - is a Skinny Mirror. Every morning when I get dressed and check myself in the Skinny Mirror, I am all Heidi Klum 6 weeks after giving birth on the VS runway thanks to Skinny Mirror. The illusion is mostly maintained throughout the day because full-length mirrors don't exist in The School. I'm grateful for this until I'm smacked in the face by some unforgiving plate glass windows. I wish all mirrors were skinny mirrors or for that matter, all eyes were skinny eyes.

What makes a mirror a skinny mirror? There should be a specialty in interior design specifically for this area.

If I ever have more room for full-length mirrors in the home, I hope it's one of these:

Won't function well for getting dressed purposes but is definitely beautiful. (from this is glamorous)

Big. Bold. Borderline scary. (from The Old French Mirror Co.)

Piece de resistance in any dressing room. Drool. The stuff from this site is so decadent and expensive, it should be illegal. (from brocade home)

Here's to all skinny mirrors who never fail to give some love. Cheers!

2010-04-20T15:34:00.000-07:00

A 15% coupon to Sephora makes me want to give my face some new products. I have other things in rotation but here's what I keep restocking.

MAC Powerpoint Eye Pencil in Engraved. Can't leave home without it - and waterproof to boot! It has a great creamy texture that glides on easy but unfortunately, the pencil doesn't last as long as I'd like it to. Sadly the 15% coupon won't apply to this.

Nars Multiple Duo in Orgasm/South Beach. Wakes me up instantly!

Laura Mercier Foundation Powder. Meh. Could be better. I've never found a compact I really like.

Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer in Bisque. Love it! Easy to put on and a perfect alternative to regular foundation if you prefer a lighter coverage.

DiorShow Mascara. Luscious ... but all mascaras are pretty much the same in my book.

Do you have any other suggestions?

Jwight

2010-04-16T10:31:00.000-07:00

Every Pam has her Dwight so of course Jam would have her Jwight. Except Jwight makes Jam clench her right fist prepared for a quick jab rather than giddy with humor.

Jwight likes Jam to make appointments for him on his Outlook calendar even if the person requesting the appointment is on the phone with him whilst he is sitting in front of his own computer. He will take the time to write emails and provide Jam's contact information over the phone to people who'd like to meet with him but will not make his own appointments. Even Jichael makes his own appointments.

Jwight is the only person at The School who asks Jam to file things. Everyone else manages their own files. Even Jichael.

Jwight does not start any request with "Hello" or "Good morning/afternoon." His opening line is, "I need..."

Be good to the Pams in your life. :)

Vogue, Vogue, Vogue

2010-04-15T11:21:00.000-07:00

I stumbled on Brau Haus via yelp when I grew frustrated at weed whacking my face. I have been going faithfully for over the last 6 months or so and have really liked the results. Every time I go I feel like a new person!

It's an amazing concept: a salon focused on brows! (By amazing I mean novel to those of us who are are drawn to these things like moth to a flame.) They offer makeup and other bodyscaping services too, but I've only had my brows done there. About an hour ticked by during my first time there while Christina forming my brows, working like Michelangelo on David. My follow up appointments with Raquel have taken about half that time.

As with everything, it helps be clear about what you want and don't want. It seems that both ladies that worked on me prefer a more defined and thicker brow but I prefer the opposite and neither have had issues giving me what I want.

At the end of the appointment, Raquel always always makes sure dab a little something to reduce the redness and retouches my makeup so that I'm ready to roll right when I leave the chair. This is a great medium between the detailed attention and pampering you would get at a Burke Williams and the quick wax job at your local nail salon.

Tangent: The other day while browsing at Paseo Colorado, I saw a threading kiosk. A girl was laid back in a chair with the lady worked on her. Would you get your brows done out in the open as the mall passed you by?

Ode to the Bacon Cheddar Bagel

2010-04-08T13:34:00.001-07:00

Bagel bagel bagel! I love Peter Sagal.

Not that he has anything to do, with the bacon cheddar bagel.

Bagels are chock full of calories we know, so it couldn't hurt add something more to the dough.

Lovebirds Cafe meets my needs with a full strip of bacon where there were sesame seeds!

Nevermind that my vanilla latte was bad; while chewing on bacon and cheddar I could never be sad.

Forget the scale and the measuring tape. Today, my friends, I'm filling out my growing shape.

Dear Almond Cakes (not you Almond Cookie),

2010-04-04T20:40:00.000-07:00

Hello, lovely, crumbly, tasty, dry bite of goodness. Indeed, you are so dry that I cannot even eat you without chasing it with some milk lest I choke. I just polished off an entire box of you and I can't say I feel worse for the wear. So light and crumbly. How can something with lard in it be so crumbly?

Thanks for brightening my day.

xoxo,

**************************

Has anyone tried to make these things? They seem like they can only be replicated by elves! Much like macarons but at least I know winnie has already successfully replicated those - and she's no elf. :)

For the love of texts

2010-03-25T12:44:00.001-07:00

I am over again. These is about a week left in the month and I have *again* run out of texts. I've made a concerted effort to NOT text as much and I am STILL over my limit of 200 texts per month. *bangs head on phone. repeatedly.* I feel like I'm trying best already, but maybe you can help.

I don't respond to texts with one-word answers. I don't answer texts that don't require an immediate response. I don't text fun tidbits about my day. I DO text when I'm trying to get a message out to multiple people and I know said people won't see their emails. (I supposed I could call them. But texting is so much easier!) I DO text when I know the other person is unable to answer the phone and I want to get a message out to them. (Though it's not like they would die if they didn't get it.) I DO text my favorite cousin from time to time because he's at that age where that's the only way he communicates. (Though he's probably reading this from my facebook as well.)

I'm onto apps such as WhatsApp and Hello! that allows me to text others, but only when they have the same program. My friend, Real Housewife, told me about a $5 app I can buy that'll allow me to have unlimited texts. I'll have to ask her about that again.

What rubs me is being charged for incoming texts. How do I control what someone else wants to do?! Upgrading to unlimited texts is not an option as I would rather use that money for french fries and cokes. What's a girl to do? It's perhaps a good lesson on self-discipline. Whatever it is, for now, please email/facebook/whatsapp/hello!/call me. :)

Zero before Thirty

2010-03-24T14:22:00.000-07:00

I've dreaded birthdays since I past 25. Now that I'm in my 29th year of life, I couldn't help but start thinking about the big three-o milestone. (I've got about 10 months before it comes up and I'm already thinking about this. Obsessed, I tell you.)How does one go about celebrating a day that currently makes you want to crawl into a hole and die? Do I throw myself a fabulous birthday party? Lock myself in le shoebox and watch Beaches? Milestones in general sends shivers down me timbers. The pressure to try to mark a milestone with something major is too much!

I admire people who can make lists of things they want to do and actually do it, or at least try. Recently, in fellowship, Energy asked us to make a list of things we wanted to do if we knew we had many years to live (I forget the exact number) I didn't and won't set a timeline but this is my partial list of things I'd like to do:

- Write a book. I love books. I love reading them, buying them, storing them, and just plain looking at them. It'd be a short book, but a good one, filled with observations about teenage angst and social decorum. Ha! I hope to have a room like this one day:

- Start an event design company named "best.day.ever." Great name, right? I work as an event assistant for an event planning company on some weekends right now and I really, really love it. But what I love more than executing the whole thing is designing and brainstorming the whole look of it. The more weddings I work, I more I really see that the sky is the limit! And well, your wallet. :) This picture from Brides.com served as the inspiration for MOH's shower.

- Have a kid. I'm so removed from this one that I can't think of a visual to insert here.

- Go to Japan, Paris, and Italy. All magical places. Paris deserves a lifetime of visits. Us in Paris. I love Paris, I love us.

- Go on a cruise. I don't even believe that I've never been on one! I'd go with Mickey, Goofy, and the gang, fo 'sho.

So maybe not before 30, but maybe someday. But even if it doesn't happen, I'm going to cut myself some slack and relax. Things are pretty good the way they are now.

shower #1

2010-03-22T18:28:00.001-07:00

As a sign of my age, I have the privilege of attending 3423098 showers a year. This bridal shower was special. It was for MOH and the first I've had the honor of co-hosting (or hosting at all!) with the other ladies in the wedding party.

MOH's family is THE Super DIY family and they were busy cleaning house and cooking food while on break from building benches and sewing runners for her upcoming nuptials. This left us with only decor and all the fun stuff!

My favorite table set up:

A feather centerpiece makes everything that much more awesome.

Frames capturing quotes from MOH's favorite shows:

The linens created the jumping off point for everything else!

MOH has a slight obsession with the zebra print.

All photos taken by Ruby Chu Creative (thank you!!!)

A Modern Warfare Home

2010-03-20T09:16:00.000-07:00

TARGET DOWN! TARGET NEUTRALIZED! TARGET DOWN.

DOMINATION.

CAPTURE THE OBJECTIVES. SECURE CHARLIE. CHARLIE SECURE.

I stepped late into a war in le shoebox late last night. K got his hands on a PS3 on loan from Freshman and purchased a copy of Modern Warfare 2 with financial support from Energy and Freshman. They wanted him to have the joy of playing it that badly. We don't really pride ourselves on being the first to get anything, so I understand we may be behind the times on this. So I come to you with some questions about Modern Warfare etiquette in the home.

How long can I expect each round of play to last?

If I have to watch How I Met Your Mother at 8 on Monday, how early do I need to notify my husband so that I'll be sure to have the TV in time for the show?

Is anyone else freaked out by the voices of people that come through the TV? Not the voices from the game, but voices from the people that K is playing with at the end of each round (war? battle? *shrug*) Energy also told us that we need a bluetooth headset which I hope will eliminate his voice on our TV.

Any other advice would be greatly appreciated.

ENEMY AIR PACKAGE INCOMING.

2010-03-17T20:40:00.000-07:00

I started this blog while we were in Paris for our honeymoon to keep a daily journal of the trip. We just celebrated our 2-year wedding anniversary (eeeeek!) and I thought it was time again to give this blog a try. Let's just pretend I never stopped, OK?

Wednesdays are Dog the Bounty Hunter days. I don't know why I'm drawn to the show like a moth to a flame. Could be his hair. Could be his wife Beth. I don't know, and frankly, I don't care. I just love it.

Too awesome.

I already have a list of questions prepared in case I ever meet Dog.

1) Is your hair real?

2) Do paint ball guns and mace really help you catch the criminals?

3) Why do you have to wear a badge?

4) How long did you have to lay in the sun to get your color?

I know you love that my first post back is an intriguing topic such as this. I gotta start somewhere. Holla back.

BAKE IT DOWN 2009

2009-08-29T00:23:00.001-07:00

I work with the college fellowship at my church and I create events that will offer the college kids a time to hang out every now again. (You know, to keep them off drugs and such. ;)) I've been doing this since I graduated from college in 2002. It's hard coming up with new ideas. BAKE IT DOWN 2009 was one of those ideas and it was a raging success!

It began with dinner. Feeding college-aged boys means that you're feeding twice as many people. Pasta was the only way to go. Special thanks for Yeeeee for helping me out greatly. We would not have eaten without her.

Our dinner menu:
Cubed, Hacked Caprese Salad
Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina
Mixed Greens Salad
Mashed Potatoes
Crostini

The result:
- Hacked Caprese Salad was good to me (I even made my own pesto), but I don't think it worked for my audience. Next time I'll kick up the seasoning a bit though.
- Chicken and Pastina was GREAT. Much love to Giada.
- Mashed Potatoes and Mixed Greens are in my usual repertoire so it was fine.
- Crostini: easy and tasty! Great when topped with caprese salad.

I knew in advance that it'd be harder to rally excitement if people had to think of their recipes and bring their own ingredients, so I chose the three recipes and brought all the ingredients. I made sure to choose things that would be easy because you never know where people with their baking skills. We are lucky enough to have a rec room downstairs with a full kitchen so along with the convection oven and the shoebox's oven, we had access to three ovens.

I printed out multiple copies of each recipe, folded them up into a bowl, and asked people to pick. (Random organization of teams were a good call, until a couple of boys migrated towards the cookies because they thought it'd be the "hardest to mess up." Apparently, it's not. ;))

Yeeeee got a KitchenAid mixer for her 16th birthday and brought it along to help. Love!

The recipes:
Classic Brownie (Team members: Tweedle Mo, Tweedle D, Geek Squad)

William Sonoma Chocolate Chip Cookie (Team members: Yeeeee, Timmy Bruin, KuKu, KaiYay)

Flower Cupcakes (Team members: Yippee, Eleven, The Man)

Floaters: Me, Energy, Mr. Single, K

The result:
- The Classic Brownie is SO VERY FABULOUS. Please go make your own batch now. And then send me a batch.
- The Chocolate Chip Cookie was overwhelmed by our creativity and gluttony. We defeated by doubling the dose of chocolate chips AND adding the walnuts. This is what happens when boys make cookies.
- Flower cupcakes with cream cheese frosting are also drool-worthy. Sweet with a touch of tart. (Though not everyone liked the tart - I thought they were grrrrrreat.)

During the downtime, we kept occupied with Bang and other activities. Mostly, the team baking made great conversation and everyone seemed to have fun. Overall, it was GREAT and when you have 14 people helping with clean up, it goes down pretty quickly. Officially check this one off as a SUCCESS. Thanks to everyone who came!

Take a look, it's in a book!

2009-07-09T11:56:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling much better than I was yesterday. Thanks y'all. :) Ephesians 5:18-21 has been an encouragement to me.

I've been spending time by the pool and trying to read. There are three books I'm currently reading. I don't know why I don't just sit down and finish one of them.

I love books. Not necessarily to read them but I just love the touch of them. A library and windows like this would be divine. :)

Any other suggestions for books I should crack open?

It IS that bad.

2009-07-06T13:20:00.000-07:00

Warning: illogical vent drafted in a low moment of the day ahead

I don't really want to blog about this but I can't seem to get around it. Unemployment sucks.

I'm driving myself crazy trying to figure out ways to save money. Luxuries have been put on hold until the next paycheck comes but some days I see my way of living is actually changing. I'm putting a lot of pressure on myself because - well - I brought this upon us. This makes me sad but I also know I'm learning a lot. Mainly, I'm learning to be satisfied.

I heard about The Dung Sisters on the radio today. They're a group of women who banded together during their unemployment to support one another. It helped a lot to hear them saying things I'm feeling. When I need a chuckle, I turn to Loldogs.

I don't want to say much more other than it is tough and I'm struggling. Thanks for reading.

Splish Splash

2009-07-01T12:26:00.000-07:00

For those of you who've had the privilege of meeting Louie, you know that he is one stinky mutha. It doesn't matter how often we wash him, brush his teeth, get his teeth cleaned, feed him greenies, etc. - his breath is HAWT.

We take Louie to Bathe R Doggie for all of our washing needs. They have full-service grooming as well as tubs for self-service. Since we're currently pinching pennies, K has taken the responsiblity of washing Louie. You would think that I could wash Louie at home in our bathtub but we've tried and its a hot mess.

I took Louie for a scrub down today he acted like a total baby. He clung to me as I watered him down and didn't want to let go.

Excuse the giant sized picture. I want you to get the full affect of his fear :) I think I'll leave the bathing to K from now on.

I am loved.

2009-06-28T21:41:00.001-07:00

I recently wrapped up a school year's worth of service in my church's youth group. I have been serving in the college group since I graduated from college but spent a year with the youth to provide some stability and programming. Now that they have Captain at the helm, I'm moving back to be with the college kids. They've been providing me with a send-off undeserved by the short amount of time that I've put in with them.

This post is a big hug and thanks to everyone for every ounce of love y'all have been pouring into me. It's more than I ever deserved and I am so touched and grateful for all of this love. 'Tis the grace of God, indeed.

Elephant put together this book for me on Blurb. It's a book full of pictures and notes from the kids. So perfectly put together and perfect for me.

Nods made me this adorable photo cube with a sweet note and a photo of us. Thanks Nods!! I can't wait to hear about what happens on your trip!

A group of gals made me this heart to remind me that they puffy heart me foreva. ;)

Captain and his wife topped it off with a fabulous book and gift card to nordies. Wheeee!!!

A bazillion for the cards, notes, and skits!

We love because He first loved us. (1 John 4:19)

Project Revisited

2009-06-25T09:19:00.001-07:00

I loved Project Runway. I love Tim Gunn. I don't know why they stopped doing the show. I have no clue why they replaced it with The Fashion Show. I've only seen it once or twice and I don't understand the difference. America gets to vote? Please explain. Do you watch/love it?

Project Runway made me want to learn how to sew. I have visions of myself whipping up clothes for myself and Louie. How amazing would that be?! You may remember me ranting on about the same vision over a year ago. But yesterday brought this dream a step closer to reality. Mama MOH gave me a sewing machine!!! She bought it awhile ago at Target but later realized that it was nearly identical to the machine she already owned. Since Target does not take returns after 90 days, she decided to give it to me!! YAY!!!!

This has given my summer renewed purpose. I spotted these sewing patterns and am super duper excited.

They even have patterns called Sewing Patterns for Dummies. I can manage that, right?

If you have any tips for a newby on a sewing machine or instructional books to recommend, holla at me. Big ups to Mama MOH!

Name this dress!

2009-06-15T09:44:00.000-07:00

Check out the dress of the girl on the right of the bride. That patchwork one. When I first saw this dress in person, I DIED.

I have not stopped thinking about it. Do you know who designed it? I think it was D&G but I'm not sure. I've been googling for ages and nada. Not that I could ever afford it but I just want to know. Of course it helped that the girl wearing the dress is absolutely gorgeous. (All of the Turkish people are this wedding were gorgeous. Must be something in the water over there.)

And the bride's dress is pretty awesome too. The entire day, beautiful Turkish people floated in fanciful dresses. Really awesome.

All pictures taken by Sweet Monday Photography.

Published!

2009-06-02T18:10:00.000-07:00

I got three copies of the knot southern california magazine in the mail with the best.wedding.ever inside.

Ours! ;)

All credit goes to Jasmine Star, lifestyle photographer of fabulous people. Words cannot tell how much I love her. All of the other people who made the day beautiful are listed in the links under "the 3.15.08 all-star team."

One more morsel of wedding bliss. Yummy.

PSA #4

2009-05-28T17:18:00.000-07:00

LAUSD has cancelled summer school for all elementary and middle schools. High schools will still offer summer school for credit recovery only.

*happy dance*

I wasn't planning on working anyway but I've been working the last few weeks to prepare permission slips, schedules, etc.. There is an insane amount of paperwork so this is a nice relief. It'll be tough for people who were counting on the extra dough, but at least our paychecks are split equally over 12 months nowadays.

Now ... what to do with 6 weeks off? :)

Actually, I'm still on the hunt for my next gig. It's only been a year. Job searching sucks.

*sad dance*

The Commutative Property

2009-05-25T20:46:00.000-07:00

In 2004, I vowed to never shop at A&F. My friend was involved in a lawsuit against them and at that time, it was the first time I had known anyone to be so personally affected by discrimination. It was the right thing to do. Prior to this, my closet was full of A&F gear.

When Hollister opened a couple years later, it took awhile for me to get the memo: it's the same company.

Gilly Hicks gave itself away with its patio furniture and half-naked kids in front of the store.

At the Americana, I stumbled into RUEHL. As soon as I walked in, I was confused. It was dark and the store was separated into small rooms. I looked at the clothes and was tempted. I had a feeling that was confirmed when a kid said to me, "Have you visited Gilly Hicks?" I said no, turned around, and followed the light at the end of the hallway.

Nice try, Mr. Jeffries.

On another note, Austin is now involved in an awesome project. Check him out at The Recess Ends.

Nothing to wear

2009-05-24T18:29:00.000-07:00

I was determined to buy something today. There's currently nothing to wear in my closet. Literally. It's a good thing tomorrow is Memorial Day because I'd have to show up to work in my birthday suit. I'm not exaggerating. at all.

Over lunch, Yippee Ki Yay had told me about their visit to the new Promenade so I had to see for myself. For some reason, the set up reminds me of the Century City mall. It's nothing spectacular but I did enjoy lounging on the furniture. None of the new stores interested me and so I bought nothing.

I soothed myself with a treat from ce fiore. Sad.

I scoped out the Nordstrom's sale and found a lovely clutch that sadly, even after 40% off, was still too expensive. Went back to visited it three times. I inspected it, petted it, and had to let it go. Very sad.

Determined to not be naked tomorrow, I hit up the Americana. I hadn't been there since it first opened. When I got there, I remember why I avoided it. Crowds GALORE. Glad I braved it because I was able to restock my uniform for the summer. Had to buy a pretty frivolous treat

to keep from like a complete frump.

Wildflower Necklace from Anthropologie

I'm not sure how I'll wear this. I just liked it a lot. 'Twas the perfect cherry on top of the day.

Have a good day! hope you have the day off tomorrow!

What's up, Doc?

2009-05-19T21:53:00.001-07:00

**MARLEY AND ME SPOILER BELOW**

We've decided to get some pet insurance for the Louiemeister. He is getting older (turned 7 in March!) and we figured we'd lock in an insurance rate now in case anything happens farther down the line. Truth be told, ever since I watched Marley and Me, I've not stopped thinking about the day when Louie will stop living. Let's not talk about that now. (BTW, That was my "spoiler." Better safe than sorry.)

Decided to purchase through VPI and they require an all-over check up. Thanks to yelp, we found Animal Medical Hospital. Previously, Louie had been going to TLC, but they want to perform too many procedures on minor things. At AMH, everyone is really friendly and laid back. Perhaps a bit too much. The vet gave Louie a once over and took some blood to test. No temperature taken, no stethoscope used = not a real medical check up, IMO. I also didn't like that they took Louie to another room to take his blood. As we were leaving, the receptionist commented on what great condition Louie was in even though he is a senior. A SENIOR?! My baby? I don't think so. (Denial is my BFF.)

Blood test results came back today I'm happy to report Louie is in perfect health, with the exception of a bit too much plaque on his molars. He's due for his teeth cleaning.

If anyone had recommendations for a vet that will treat my dog like a person, let me know! :)

Concentration, Concentration is the Game

2009-05-18T10:55:00.001-07:00

One of the joys of working with fellowships at church is that I get to participate in a myriad of group games. Teens and Tweens don't love group games. To get them as excited (read: crazy) as myself, I like to make things competitive. It's more fun when at least one person is yelling like a madwoman. :)

So last Friday was Animal Concentration. There's a big circle of people. Before the game starts, each person is assigned an animal. Everyone begins clapping out a rhythm: knee slap, knee slap, clap, snap. On the snap, one person says the name of his own animal, on the next snap, the same person says the name of another person's animal. This second person repeats this process. The whole time, everyone in the circle is keeping the rhythm. If you mess up the rhythm or miss the snap, you're out. Sounds simple, but is apparently super difficult for people because of the rhythm. (We never actually got people to say the animal on the snap.)

The game was fun. Per the usual, I was 110% into the game. People were trying to get me out and did not succeed. I was wearing pants and when I changed into my pajamas, I saw this:

I gave myself bruises, on both legs, while keeping rhythm for Animal Concentration.

The best part: this is the second or third time this has happened.

You have my permission to LOL at my expense. Have a good day. :)

I guess we can't.

2009-05-14T14:10:00.000-07:00

BAH.

As you may have heard, UTLA was planning a 1-day work stoppage tomorrow. I was all ramped up, ready to rally. Images of fist pumps and chants of "Si se puede" marched through my brain. This Cal bear loves herself any bit of people mobilization.

To try to lessen the disruption to the school day, our local district had decided to make tomorrow a minimum day. Parents were told school would let out at 12:50.

But on Tuesday, a judge issued a temporary restraining order on the job action. BOO YOU, JUDGE.

Ramon Cortinez issued a memo decreeing Friday a regular work day and told all schools that they would not approve any minimum days. BOO YOU, MR. CORTINEZ.

On Wednesday, UTLA decided to obey the judge's order and instead, we will be picketing for one-hour before school and heading to a rally at the LAUSD Beaudry building downtown after school. (That's a heads up for your downtown folks.) It's just not the same. BOO YOU, UTLA. Ok, not really since if we did go through with the work stoppage, there was the possibility of a $1000 (very likely) fine or revocation of credential (not so likely, but still scary).

So a heads up to all LAUSD parents/students: tomorrow is business as usual.

BOO.

Monday Night Dinners

2009-05-12T12:38:00.000-07:00

At le shoebox, we try to hold Monday Night Dinners (MND). It's an open invitation to people to come, eat a home-cooked meal and hang out. We do it as a constant reminder to ourselves that what we have is a gift from God and we want to use it to bless others.

It started as a routine between Ruby and me, but has been known to include a few others in the process. I've come to really enjoy MND.

The rules for MND are as follows:

1) Dinner is served between 6:30 and 7. Specific time depends on people who are coming.

2) People who make it a more frequent habit to come have been bringing contributions. You can bring anything you want. Fruit is a popular first-time contribution. We love fruit at le shoebox. If you become a veteran like Ruby, you may consider contributing a main dish. You're welcomed to bring it cooked or I will help you cook it if you bring the ingredients. This doesn't apply when you're coming directly from work. We understand.

3) Magician's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed comes on at 9 P.M. Don't touch the remote. ;)

This past Monday, Eleven outdid himself and brought us fried catfish and some fabulous chicken. So scrumptious!! Ruby brought watermelon and Carry On brought us a bag of candy ... wrappers. She claims she was bringing us candy but ate it in the process. At least she saved the wrappers? *shrug* There were two boxes of M&Ms in there as well, but now I'm scared to eat them.

I decided to make pot roast. Apparently I like pretending that le shoebox is actually le sauna. Freakin' A.

I'm also in a new phase where I put way too much salt in everything. I just grab a handful and throw it in. Sigh.

We've found that 4 guests is optimal. So if you're in the hood on a Monday, feel free to drop by! Will have to remember to snap some pictures next week.

Happy Mother's Day!!

2009-05-10T16:19:00.001-07:00

Neither of my mothers read this, but HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all the mommies out there.

At church, Mama Shhhh and Auntie D shared about their journey on the road of motherhood. I love hearing about other people's child-rearing experiences, mainly because I can't fathom how I'll actually deal with my own flesh and blood. My interaction with children has been limited to running them like an army. :)

Every year, it's tough to buy mother's day presents. For my own mother, Mother's Day is usually celebrated with a card. This year, I decided to get one of those Hallmark recordable cards. I thought it'd be awesome considering she lives halfway around the globe. I'm going to try to get Louie to bark for it.

"Going to try" indicates that I have yet to record the card or send it. Will call her and tell her it's on the way. "Will call" also shows I haven't called. Me = worst daughter ever.

Mumsy (Kev's mom) is easier to shop for but never wants for anything. So we got her a pot of strawberry plants.

photo from Smith & Hawken

I chose it mainly because I loved the pot. I'm not even sure if the strawberries will materialize. Unlike the photo, there are no tiny strawberries hanging off our plant yet. 'Twas also wonderful because they had one in the store already planted with the strawberry plants. Perfect for me. Me = laziest daughter ever.

le shoebox update

2009-05-09T11:26:00.000-07:00

At le shoebox, we finally got some shutters in the bedroom and dining nook. This prevents us from waking up with the sun at 7 A.M. on a Saturday. This makes me very happy. Over Spring Break, I added a photo wall into the mix.

I followed Winnie's directions and used this article as inspiration. I think I need a few more frames. I like displays to be big. Would also like to add a big letter and maybe removing some of the frames for some small canvases (or something with more texture) to mix it up a bit.

I like these letters from anthropologie but for nearly $100, I think I'll wait.

I'm in the process of filling out the frames, obviously. I just chose my favorite wedding picture and am looking for other pictures/prints to fill up the rest. But as lazy as I've been, that may not happen for awhile.

It's a beautiful morning

2009-05-08T08:45:00.000-07:00

I ordered my usual large ice-blended vanilla coffee at Coffee Bean today. I dish out the cash and the barista offers to jumbo size my order. Why, of course! He proceeds to hand me a cup that is the size of my head and won't even fit in the cup holder of the car. So fabulous. Love him to pieces.

I also got to wear jeans to work today. AND it's a minimum day. 12:50 dismissal, y'all. Holllaaaa!

gettin' my betty crocker on

2009-05-06T17:09:00.001-07:00

I made chicken marsala last night. From scratch. Got the recipe from smitten kitchen and it tasted awesome. K loved it. *high five self* Oh, but please don't tell K that there was nearly an entire stick of butter in it. He'd die. Thanks.

So tonight I'm trying shepherd's pie. (Recipe from Food Network) Why, oh why, would I make shepherd's pie when it's 90 degrees out? *bangs head against wall* We'll see how it goes. I am - at the moment - sweltering in the heat from nature and from the oven. FAIL.

*eats dinner*

Verdict: Shepherd's pie is fine. Nothing stellar. Kinda bland, not sure what I did wrong. Maybe shepherd's pie is supposed to taste that way? I'm not sure. It is comforting in the stomach though ... even in 90 degree weather. :)

Oh baby, yooooooou

2009-05-05T18:18:00.001-07:00

The brain power behind Heineken's recent commercials could be my BFF. This latest one is DA BOMB. I sing along everytime.

I received my renewal notice for Broadway LA's 2010 season. In the spirit of going green, they sent out renewal emails instead of brochures. Kudos!

I'm undecided about renewing for next season. The only show I really want to see is The Color Purple and the bank account has not been as robust as in seasons past.

We'll see.

One more day

2009-05-04T19:46:00.000-07:00

I woke this morning and my brain begged me to take the day off. I have been standing on tippy toes on the brink of illness and mornings are tough.

But, sadly, I knew this would not be possible.

I had a conference with The Boss regarding my attendance recently. This was supposed to be kick in the pants. I'm "allowed" 10 days each school year, and have missed 9 days. Technically, I've missed 8 full days but The Boss likes to tallies the minutes and hours that when someone is late or leaves early until it adds up to something substantial enough to actually affect pay. My coworker once got docked for leaving 7 minutes early because his plumbing had busted and his house was flooding. True story.

I've never missed this many days in one school year. Usually I'm out about 3 days but as you know, this year has been tough. I have almost 2 months' worth of sick time saved up, but while I have them, the expectation is that no one is out more than 10 days in a school year. There are things like verbal warnings, conferences, written memos that go in your file when you've been naughty. But as many of you know from reading this LA Times article, none of this really matters.

But I guess it does because while I wanted to give the day the fist bump a la Ross, I rolled out of bed for another day. me = dork.

Happy Birthday, K!

2009-05-03T18:56:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is K's birthday but we celebrated over the weekend with a BBQ at le shoebox. The great thing about le shoebox is that there is a pool and BBQ area. Otherwise, the party would have consisted of K, Louie, myself, and half of another person.

A family portrait. (Photo by Cheesda)

I was extremely grateful that it did not rain and that it was actually warm for a part of the day. No one dived into the pool except for E-Money. Even then 'twas the jacuzzi, but a good time was had by all.

E-Money splish splashing. (Photo taken by Woo-Z. I think.)

Extra thumbs up goes to MOH, Jack in the Box, and Papa Shhhh for helping out!

K isn't much of a birthday celebrator, so we'll probably go out to dinner at his favorite restaurant tomorrow and call it a year. :)

Test. Teach. Repeat.

2009-05-01T14:51:00.000-07:00

Found this conversation in the NY Times to be interesting. It's 5 perspectives/solutions to testing in schools.

As state testing comes upon us at this time of year, it's all I can think about. It's all we talk about. It wears me out. It really is as bad as they say it is.

*shakes fish at No Child Left Behind*

The Pres wants to institute merit pay. Will need to research this. I'm all for accountability as someone acknowledges that there is a limit to what teachers are able to accomplish with any one student. I'm no Jaime Escalante, but I work hard and I don't always get the desired results. Please don't dock my pay. Teaching kids isn't the same as churning out car sales.

On a brighter note, we're having a bbq/pool party for K's birthday today. Just yesterday, weather.com said there was a 60% chance of rain. Today it's O%. God is awesome.

It's nice to be a kindergartener.

2009-05-01T14:43:00.001-07:00

- Numbers, as you know it, end at 100.
- $1 is a lot of money.
- You work all day for a sticker and that's enough to keep you satisfied.
- Juice and cookies are the cat's meow.
- You can confidently say to anyone, "I did a good job today." A hug/high five/pat on the back is sure to follow.

Spent some time with some little ones today and had fun. Don't think I traumatized them too much either. :)

Fast Rent

2009-03-03T21:43:00.000-08:00

At the end of the 30-Hour famine, I broke my fast with this:

Alberto's super fries and costco pizza. So very tasty.

I hadn't skipped more than one meal prior to the famine so it was definitely challenging for me. The first 6 hours were the toughest, especially considering that I couldn't squeeze a full meal in before the start of the famine in at 12 noon. I discovered that minute maid home-squeezed lemonade is incredibly filling. We spent Saturday washing cars and handing out sodas with a church in Hawthorne. I learned that it's hard to give away free sodas and waters. How is it that even after several hours of physical activity and 20+ hours of fasting, the kiddos wanted to play games when we got back to church?! I wanted to die, but participated anyway. :) (love you all!)

Right after I stuffed my face with fries and pizza, I ran off to the Pantages for Rent.

'Twas a special treat because Rent wasn't a part of the package of season tickets but GreenPeace was able to grab some tickets when they extended the show. GreenPeace and I can recite Rent in its entirety. I'm Mark, she's Roger.

If you're able, GO SEE RENT! Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp are beyond fantastic. It's as though 13 years hadn't passed at all since Rent opened on Broadway. As always, I snapped pictures of my playbill and the stage before the show started with my iPhone.

The couple next to me were so indignant that I did so because of the bright neon sign on the stage that said "No Cameras. No Cell Phones." The man said, "Oh, but I guess a camera and phone combo is OK."

Ah, shut your face. But of course I just pretended no to hear him.

PSA

2009-02-24T09:44:00.000-08:00

I have two tickets to Rent at the Pantages Theater for this Saturday night. Orchestra section, $85/ticket + ticketmaster charges. Let me know if you want them.

Still alive

2009-02-23T21:09:00.000-08:00

I'm still here. Still alive.

My job has shifted a little bit so instead of teaching small groups throughout the day, I teach 14 4th graders for half of the day. I'm basically their reading teacher. The has dragged me back into the fun of lesson plans, homework, and grades all over again. Whee?

Anyway, just a couple of pictures to fill the space.

the office in le shoebox. Apparently, I subconsciously love red.

This is how I've felt on most nights after work.

I'm participating in World Vision's 30-Hour Famine this weekend. I will be fasting from 12 noon on Friday until 6 P.M. on Saturday. (I will be drinking water and juice.) I'm doing it to raise money to provide food for children in other countries. Every $30 I raise will feed a child for month. If you'd like to support me, give a holla!

Throw Pillows

2009-02-10T10:37:00.000-08:00

We're having a first official small gathering at le shoebox pretty soon so we've been spending a little more time on decor. We bought these throw pillows from Target. Why are throw pillows so expensive? Winnie was smart and enlisted the help of her MIL for her cute throw pillows. I'd probably do the same if I wasn't so impatient.

That's Louie sleeping in his usual spot next to the couch. That's a doggy car seat he is sleeping in. I swear we going to get him a decent bed soon. But he looks so comfortable in the car seat.

winner, winner chicken dinner

2009-02-04T20:33:00.000-08:00

K had a work dinner at the Arroyo Chop House tonight so I took the opportunity to try something out. I made chicken gizzard for dinner. Don't knock it 'til you try it. But just don't google "chicken gizzard" before you try it.

I love chicken gizzard yakitori, but K is not a fan so it was a the perfect time to give it I try.

Less than $3 at 99 Ranch. Can't beat it.

I had to use the internet to help me with this meal. I had no idea how to deal with this stuff. Everyone agrees, you have to wash the gizzards well.

I tried it 2 ways: deep fried and broiled with some of my super sweet sauce. Baked it at 350 for 25 minutes, and broiled for 5.

Glazed in sweet goodness.

Pair it with some type of choy and rice and voila. Dinner!

Verdict: I did good. Tasted fine. =)

Deep frying it, surprisingly, was a PITA. According to this recipe, I had to "parboil" it first.

Heat was a bit too high ...

Had to boil for 15 minutes!!

Finally done and chillin' in the colander.

Toss the cooled gizzards in flour and seasonings, deep fried at medium heat for 10 minutes. 10 minutes!!

Verdict: 10 minutes was too long. Fried a bit too hard, even for my taste and I love me some fried goodness. I'd definitely make it again though. Good for a snack.

Welcome, KFC!!!

2009-01-31T12:22:00.000-08:00

Mr. and Mrs. Brabus welcomed KFC into the world!!

This picture made my entire day and weekend. He's a super handsome newborn.

(I too am hoping that there was never any chicken in the bucket. =)) Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. B!!! Can't wait to meet him in person.

Rally, rally!

2009-01-29T22:48:00.000-08:00

An incredibly exciting day for me today:

- I rode the metro rail. I've never ridden on the subway or train in LA. Nor had I been inside Union Station until today.

- I participated in the UTLA rally in downtown! Lots of shouting, fist pumping, and of course, rallying.

Just a couple of points of clarification, as I've heard some strange things in the media:

- we're currently in contract negotiations. Those negotiations are in the fact finding stage, which is the step before a strike vote. We are also negotiating our health care, but that's still in the mediation stage. The last strike lasted for 9 days. When teachers strike, schools find subs. Subs are members of the union. (Corrected: Sorry for my mistake. I got subs mixed up with paraprofessionals in my head.)

- we are currently boycotting Tuesday after-school meetings and District periodic assessments In LAUSD, students are tested every 6 weeks for English Language Arts and once a quarter for Math. Teachers are still assessing their students. They are either using the District assessment and not inputting them into the District system or testing students with other assessments. The Ed Code only mandates that you test students, but it doesn't dictate which assessments you have to give or that you have to input the information in the District system.

I'm not a fan of striking but when dealing with a monster like LAUSD, I'd rather have another monster like UTLA on my side.

And now I can't get the chants from today's rally out of my head. Poop.

Le Shoebox Update

2009-01-25T18:35:00.000-08:00

Happy lunar new year!

Much has been happening at le shoebox! Over the weekend, we finally got our dining chairs (tivoli chairs from C&B) to go around the table (round dining table with cut out legs from west elm) that we picked up from craigslist.

K is going to move the lamp over and lower so that it hangs in the center of the table. We're missing any type of window covering for the window by the dining nook because we're saving money for some shutters. In the mean time, maybe we'll put up a sheet or something.

We did manage to get some curtains for the living room. We found them at the Restoration Hardware outlet in Camarillo. I tried ironing them, but obviously, I failed.

They are borderline Britney Spear's Circus to me, but I love them a lot!

We also dined on the table for the first time today. We invited Carry On, Askance, and Chewy to eat with us so I was relieved to find that the five of us fit pretty comfortably around the dining table.

Le shoebox is feeling much more comfortable nowadays. Come drop by for a visit!

Chinese New Year 2009

2009-01-25T17:44:00.000-08:00

Happy Chinese New Year's Eve!

I really love Chinese New Year. It makes me feel a bit more connected to the Chinese culture, but it also reminds me that I don't know quite enough about it. Since we always rely on our parents to put on the celebrations, I worry that when it comes time to pass on these traditions, I'll drop the ball. This became especially apparent when I heard Grace Young's story on NPR about Chinese New Year. I hadn't heard of most of the things that she talked about. Apparently, Mumsy knew about them because she did prepare some of the dishes. Yay for Mumsy!

The dinner was fabulous. The best thing about going to eat with Mumsy and Popsicle at their house is that we eat the entire night. Before dinner there are snacks galore, then soup, then dinner, then fruit, then ice cream ... then whatever else you want to eat.

Louie joined us for dinner this year!

That is the face of a dog who will eventually eat way too many peaches for his own good. He will throw up. In my bed. At 1 A.M. Yea, he did. He ate peaches. Then threw up. On the bed. At 1 A.M. Sigh.

Creature Comforts

2009-01-22T09:25:00.000-08:00

Since moving to le shoebox, my distance to work has doubled. Actually, due to strange LA traffic, it takes about the same amount of time to get to work even though the distance has doubled, but it'll take twice that time to get home from work. (About an hour)

In comparison to other commutes, I know it's really not that bad but I've never really had a long commute before so this has required some adjustments on my part. I've set up house in the car. Included are fuzzy slippers, a blanket, and a bag of snacks and bottle of water. This week's snack is Trader Joe's baked version of Cheetos.

K thinks I'm disgusting for living this way. What? Do Uggs not go with gray slacks? =)

I also make up for the longer drive by stopping somewhere for breakfast nearly every morning. As a creature of habit, I was eating Noah's Bagels' three cheese bagels with an orange juice for about two weeks, rotated to Starbucks, and now I'm stuck at Peet's Coffee. Chocolate croissants are my BFFs, as are chocolate chunk walnut scones. This habit gets expensive and unhealthy so I need a new routine. Cereal is too hard to eat in the car and I don't like microwaving those breakfast sandwiches. Starving is not an option. What do you eat?

Obama/Inauguration Day

2009-01-20T10:32:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Inauguration Day at work today. This inauguration is so special for our students particularly because a lot of them are African American. After today, I finally feel truthful in saying, "You can do anything." The reality of racism and social injustice will still reign after today but for today, we celebrated their right to optimism and hope.

We encouraged everyone to wear patriotic colors or Obama gear today.

A co-worker with the voice of an angel sang "Lift Every Voice and Sing" to start off the morning.

Most of the kids were able to watch the inauguration on TVs or computers but I had to listen to it in the car because I took K's keys with me this morning and had to drive home to return them so he could get to work. Fail.

Nevertheless, I really, really enjoyed his speech and Joseph Lowery and the benediction at the end made me chuckle: "...black won't have to go back, brown may be down, and yellow may be mellow." (or something to that effect)

I, of course, sported my obama gear today:

I had wanted to purchase a shirt directly from the website but didn't have time so I stopped by Urban Outfitters and paid way too much for this one. You can't see them in this picture but I am sporting the Obama barrettes.

Go USA!

25th Birthday - 3rd Anniversary

2009-01-18T22:56:00.000-08:00

I kept the birthday celebrations very low key this year:

- dinner at Phoenix Inn with BFFs - 1.

- a usual treat at 21 choices: vanilla, strawberries, and nutella galore!!

- celebrated Chinese New Year Festival at church. (Shout out to Gun Boy and Gun Girl for uh-may-zing lavender milk tea again!)

- attended K's bball game. (attended = sat on the sidelines and paid zero attention to game.)

- dinner at the Olive Garden. Yes, I said the Olive Garden. Don't ask, because I have no explanation.

The birthday gifts were by no means low key. On top of thoughtful cards, I got things to use, read, and eat. What more can a girl ask for?

Well, a Canon 30D, of course!! Thanks to K and BFFs, I am now in the DSLR club.

I haven't been able to stop playing with it since I got it and while my eyes are becoming crossed while trying to figure out shutter speeds and f-stops, I'm looking forward to pretty, pretty snapshots.

K and Louie are naturally my very first models.

Whee!!

Thanks to Dr. King, I'll have another day tomorrow to relish in the glory of this birthday. *contented sigh*

This just in...

2009-01-15T12:43:00.001-08:00

While supervising the kids at lunch, a first grade girl says to me, "You look like you're going to have a baby."

Granted I'm wearing a more voluminous top today but it is by no means from the maternity section.

I have no words.

Dining Table

2009-01-14T09:34:00.000-08:00

Lots of people have wanted to know when they can come over and see our place. I've been telling everyone and their mamas that we'll properly invite people over when we get a dining table.

Well, we finally got a dining room table.

Bought it on craigslist for $85 and while it's obviously not brand new, it's in good enough condition. Especially for $85!

I'm thinking of sanding it down and painting it in Benjamin Moore's Twilight. I hear it's a lot of work though. Any one with any experience?

K and I have had a heck of a time furnishing the place because of a lot of reasons, but the one thing I really needed was a table. Before the table we were eating on some ottomans and Louie loved this arrangement since he could easily get to the food. But no more! We don't even have chairs around the table right at this minute, but it's going to be nice just to put food somewhere other than the kitchen counter.

Now people can come over and stand around the table to eat! Welcome one and all!

And so it begins

2009-01-12T10:47:00.000-08:00

I used to be in the habit of celebrating my birthday for the entire month. I'd treat myself to food, clothes, massages, etc. all under the pretense that it was my birthday month. If I could, I would have worn a button that said "Birthday Girl" all month. 'Twas pretty glorious.

Now, as my actual birthday is coming up, I'm just sad. Sad, sad, sad. Much sadder than I really should be. For the past few years I haven't felt like really celebrating but I've managed to at least get a dinner in with the BFFs because after all, it is my birthday and I love me some celebrating. I'm going through a post-quarter-life-and-30-is-around-the-corner crisis. Yes, I'm being dramatic and ridiculous.

On Friday, during my lesson to the kids at church, I mentioned that my birthday was coming up and later on, one of those girls came up to me and told me that I share a birthday with another girl in the group.

Girl: How old are you going to be?

Me: 28

Girl: Wow! You're twice as told as Joyce is going to be!

Me: *blank stare*

I told K that I've decided to start lying about my age this year. So if anyone asks you, I'll be 25. Forever. =)

So this is what a 25 year-old does for her birthday:

We went shopping. Bought some trouser jeans because I was trying to embrace being a grown up, and then caved and bought some skinny jeans because I gotta wear them while I still can.

Also bought this bag because Kate is having a great sale right now.

We had dinner on Saturday night with the K's side of the family because my sister-in-law has a birthday pretty close to mine.

We dined at NBC in Monterey Park. It's newly renovated on the outside but everything is exactly the same on the inside. There was a gigantor Chinese wedding happening there that night. I love gigantor Chinese weddings, in the same way that I love watching trashy reality shows. Fun and festive, but not for me.

I am still looking forward to dinner with the BFFs - 1 on Saturday. Should be a good time. Since I'm 25 and all.

Retreat

2009-01-07T19:47:00.000-08:00

From Vegas to Retreat!

After getting off the plane on New Year's Day, I had a few hours before I had to get on a bus to Pinecrest Christian Conference Center.

Every so often, we take the youth group up to the mountains and give them time to learn about God, in the same way that people in the bible retreated up to the mountains to be with God. This year was a big retreat with 6 of our sister churches, so we had about 300 kids going. I was only responsible for about 45 of them so it wasn't as daunting. But clearly, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar have nothing on me.

Prior to the retreat, we had a Thanksgiving food drive and since the kids met the goal, we had to wear costumes on the first day of retreat. Here I am giving last minute instructions before getting on the bus:

Believe it or not, the kids actually obeyed instructions from a milk carton.

Everything went swell and no one was hurt. My kids are angels. Perfect angels who:

- play basketball at 6 A.M. to the chagrin of people still sleeping in or near the gym

- go sledding down mountains with no sled

- try to break through the frozen ice on the lake

- may have broken windows in a snowball fight (I am still praying this wasn't one of my kids.)

- stuff wet clothes back into luggage bags primed for mildew

- hang wet clothes directly on top of the radiator (to his credit, he was only following my instructions to "hang your clothes so they can dry.")

- tear icicles off the roof of the chapel and sucks on them

Perfect angels. =) Actually, being with 300 other teens and preteens made me appreciate how superbly sweet my kids are. It's really amazing to be a part of their growing up experience. Even if they are sucking on dirty icicles.

Love you, kiddos!

New Year!

2009-01-05T12:18:00.001-08:00

'Twas a crazy week. On Tuesday, I embarked on a 6-hour trip to Vegas. I had to go to be a date to Marathon since everyone else going was paired up. She's the best date ever.

Traffic was ridic beyond belief but the time went by faster because I was busy grilling Greenpeace's new man, 10-mile Winner.

We had dinner at David Burke at the Palazzo and it was literally one of the best meals I've ever had. You must, must eat the rib eye if you ever go. I'm drooling just thinking about it.

The restaurant is filled with pictures/statues of various versions of Humpty Dumpty and walls of sea salt. Butter is served on sea salt. The bread comes in All-Clad measuring cups.

The balloons anticipated the countdown festivities. I abhor balloons.

The best part of the meal is that the table is served raspberry cotton candy with the check. The large, large check.

Since our dinner reservation at 5:30, we had plenty of time to nap and rest before heading out onto the strip for the countdown.

I had never been to Vegas for New Year's Eve, so I was expecting something akin to the countdown in Times Square. However, it was not crowded and the fireworks were more like fourth of july on your front lawn and less like Disneyland. It's a good thing I had fabulous company.

On New Year's Day I made it back home in time to get on the bus to take my church youth group on a 4-day retreat in Lake Arrowhead. I'm still recovering and hope that I'll make it to work in one piece tomorrow.

Just lovely

2008-12-19T13:16:00.000-08:00

I just saw these on A Little Sussy and had to share. Photographers Rene & Radka are fashion photographers who are pretty amazing, but this particular shoot with kids made my day. The colors are gorgeous and the expressions of the the kids are perfect.

This one is my absolute favorite. "The winds are really picking up out here in the city, Suzie!"

Just gorgeous.

"Get your own damn coffee."

"Gasp! Is that his evil twin brother possessed by the devil, who kidnapped his wife, and came back from the dead?!"

"This is how I roll."

Today is my last day of work for two weeks!! Truly one of the happiest Fridays in my life.

El Capitan

2008-12-18T18:50:00.000-08:00

We got to see Bolt at the El Capitan. It was my first time experiencing the theater and it definitely made me feel like a kid again.

While waiting for the show to begin, Rob Richards plays the pipe organ. Apparently he makes a boatload of money for doing this. Must be nice.

Every movie begins with a live show. Confession: I let out an audible squeal every time I see any Disney character shake their groove thing. It's an uncontrollable instinctive response. This happens in every live-show context. Disneyland parades, broadway shows, whatever. They shake, I squeal.

What didn't make me feel like a kid were the other kids in the audience. I did not realize that children like to talk through entire movies. The entire movie. There was not a single moment of silence for the full 90 minutes. Since I was on their turf, I kept the dirty looks to myself. Watching the show for free also helped calm my nerves.

I really, really liked this movie. But that's because I'm a huge ball of cheese.

Happy Birthday, MOH!!!

2008-12-16T21:16:00.000-08:00

To my dear MOH,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! Have a great day!!

xoxo,

We celebrated MOH with a dinner at Pastis. I loved the ambiance and French owner at Pastis, but the food wasn't as good as I wanted it to be. However, the french fries were oh so good.

We then hit up the Pantages to see Wicked. All of the girl except Cheesy had seen it, but it's worth seeing a second time.

I hadn't seen it since the first time it came to LA, before this way-too-long run. I noticed a bit more ad-lib action. Eden Espinosa was impressive but Megan Hilty wasn't as good as I wanted her to be. Mainly because I'm in love with Kristin Chenoweth.

Dinner and a show. We all agreed that this was one of the most "grown-up" birthday celebrations any of us had ever had. So bittersweet. Adieu, sweet youth. Bonjour, life crisis.

Le Cordon Bleu

2008-12-16T20:23:00.000-08:00

*Exhale* Finally with reliable internet and enough time to post! Everything has been great in le shoebox. We're all moved in and have been living here since Thanksgiving. We're still missing a lot of furniture but the couch, tv, and mattress on the floor has been serving us just fine. Will post pictures once everything is set up. Give me about a year or so.

A long, long while ago, Gun Boy invited us to visit him at Le Cordon Bleu, where he is in the hospitality program. His class was having a dinner to celebrate the end of their first cooking class and everyone invited their friends and family to taste their handiwork.

Gun Boy's crowd made up about half of the entire party there.

There was so much food that I was forced to have seconds. And then thirds.

Gun Boy's instructor had the best French accent. Made my meal 10x better.

and pots galore!

Thanks, GB! Can't wait to see your blog when it goes live.

The First Supper

2008-11-26T11:02:00.001-08:00

We had our first meal in le shoebox last night. There was no furniture, no plates, no real utensils. Just surrounded by faithful friends who are always available to help. Whisperer, Greenpeace, and Marathon were kind enough to help us get started on the transition process.

We dined on take out from Islands and toasted with our paper cups and beer bottles. For the first time, I was overwhelmed with the joy and pride of being in our very first home. It was one of the best dinners I've ever had.

The movers are coming for our stuff today. As I type the contractor is still putting in the flooring. He still has to paint the kitchen and put a second coat of paint in the closet. Our cabinet doors are still somewhere drying. For the past 5 days.

It's going to be an interesting night.

Torta

2008-11-20T08:48:00.000-08:00

Besides HK-style cafes, K likes to try new places to eat. Not hip, new, raved-about places but smaller places yet to be discovered. I, on the other hand, am not a fan of this. I rely on previous experiences, recommendations of friends, and yelp. However, since we've been dating/married, I've been more willing to go along on K's food adventures. In general, this has worked out favorably.

We visited Cook's Tortas last night and was very pleased. They have a range of tortas ranging from smoked salmon to carne asada. You would think with a menu like that, it wouldn't be authentic, but it is.

We picked it up to go since there was a basketball game on TV last night.

I also tried their pineapple celery aqua fresca and it had a unique taste. Kinda strange, but good. Hard to explain.

Hooray for another new place under my belt.

Mishap. Again.

2008-11-19T10:26:00.000-08:00

Awhile ago, my father bought my mom a beautiful Tod's bag. She loved it but left it here when she went back to Hong Kong. I wanted to keep it from feeling neglected so I used it. One day, I tossed a bottle of water in the bag and the water slowly leaked out into the bag. The beautiful leather bag.

It left such a dark stain that there was really no solution. So MOH and I dashed off and went to buy a replica. My income had no business buying that bag but I felt so guilty. I stashed the stained one in my room and years later, she discovered it and teased me for buying a replica. I should've just bought a new and different bag, she teased. Yea, mom. OK.

That experience left a deep scar on the bag, my bank account, and me. I never put water bottles in my leather bags again. Until this past Sunday.

I thought the bottle was empty when I tossed it in but alas, it was not. Nor was it closed tightly.

This was the result.

At least this time it was my own bag and this bag has had a good run for about 2 years. It's my go-to Fall bag. It has beautiful gold metal accents and (formerly) gorgeous, rich leather. RIP beautiful bag. We were so good together.

It also got on my wallet, but it covered it well enough that you can hardly tell there was a water stain. And also because I just can't afford to replace it right now.

The bag, the wallet, my bank account and I are devastated.

Duped

2008-11-17T13:24:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, we spent much of the day indoors packing away. The air was so awful that we didn't let Louie or ourselves out for most of the day. We now live in a fort of boxes.

For dinner, K wanted to dine at a - shocker - Hong Kong style cafe and he decided to try Harbor Kitchen. Harbor Kitchen recently replaced Regent Cafe on the corner on Garfield and Valley in Alhambra. Regent Cafe was one of our go-to places, but according to the manager, had to close because of rising rent and operations costs.

As it turns out, Harbor Kitchen is not a HK cafe! Evidence: there is no chicken steak or pork chop rice on the menu. Rice does not come with your dish. Spaghetti is not an option. Soups are not automatically served upon ordering. It's deceptive because the menus look exactly the same like those at cafes as well as the sponsored place mats.

You'll notice that the advertisements in the menus, prevalent in all cafes with updated menus, are similar to those at the Cheesecake Factory.

And it's very uncomfortable drinking cold water out of a stainless steel cup.

Harbor Kitchen is a happy medium between cafes and traditional Chinese restaurants because it serves the traditional food but in smaller portions and with the coveted iced lemon tea. (The iced lemon tea isn't listed on the menu but they'll gladly make you one if you ask for it.) We ordered the broccoli beef and the clams with green onions and scallions.

The broccoli beef was too salty for my taste and the clams was decent. Didn't taste like anything spectacular but coupled with the above-par quality of service, it was good enough for two people exhausted from packing and smoke.

So far

2008-11-12T21:29:00.000-08:00

BathKitchen Man is wrapping up today. K dropped me last night and snapped photos of the progress.

I love this tile combination. It reminds me of the NY subway. Except much, much cleaner. (I also love the Top Chef tile mosaic banner in this season's kitchen!) The spout (where the water comes out?) will be installed today.

This is the Hutton Single Washstand from Restoration Hardware. We saved a lot of money by purchasing the base from RH and then buying the marble from elsewhere. I'm sure it's not Italian Carrera marble like you get from RH, but the savings was worth it.

PaintFloors Man will come on Friday and start sanding down the kitchen cabinets to paint them white. I wanted to replace the cabinet doors but the cabinets are some weird size and would require custom doors. Custom doors = $$$. A fresh coat of paint will do. Keeping the appliances from the previous owner will also save some dough.

After the cabinets is the flooring and that's it. It's coming along, folks! From the way things are going, it looks like we'll be moving in during the week of Thanksgiving. Great, great fun that should be.

Must Love Dogs

2008-11-10T13:21:00.000-08:00

Y'all know that I love Louie.

(Yes, I specifically selected the worst pictures of Louie from throughout the years. =))

I'm a bit worried about transitioning Louie to le shoebox. It has no yard and much less space, not to mention neighbors with whom we'll be sharing walls. Louie is a really mellow fellow and doesn't even like to exercise more than once a day. He barks only when someone is at the door, but in a condo, there is much motion and noise with people throughout the building. I plan on taking a day or two off from work when we move to help him get settled.

K's biggest worry are the new floors. Does anyone else have dogs + wood floors? Do the dogs scuff and scratch the floors? K's actually contemplating some dog shoes for Louie. We're also getting a shag rug and when we brought a sample home, Louie didn't display any desire to rip and destroy it. I wonder if he's just waiting until we bring the entire rug home to ruin it.

Since we're getting all new furniture, it's only fitting that Louie does also. Not that he actually sleeps in his own bed, but on the rare occasion that he chooses to, we need a dog bed. I've been seeing these fatboy dog beds on undrgrnd. Seems a bit steep for a dog bed, even at a discount.

The outdoor beds from Jax and Bones are perfect. I love the fabric choices. Still steep.

girl and a dog creates matching pillows and dog beds. You can use your own fabric or pick one of their choices. Looks good in theory!

Louie would never go for a dog crate/den sort of arrangement, but these looked pretty cool ... or kind of sad? I'm not sure. (From DenHaus)

And probably the mother of them all, this $1000 dog bed from Muleh.

I also think Louie would love a replica of himself to play with. This etsy artist takes a picture of your dog and makes it into a "stuffed portrait." It looks nothing like the actual picture, IMO, but I love it.

Lights

2008-11-09T20:36:00.000-08:00

Everything I know about lighting, I learned from Candice Olson. (I hope tater doesn't kill me.) In all of her designs, she uses "layers of light" that adds this amazing look and depth to her rooms. It probably also helps that her show is shot with this pretty, soft lens that makes everything look beautiful.

I don't care for some of her furniture choices, but the lighting is always awesome in her spaces.

In my current house, I have lamps that we've collected throughout the years. I am the proud owner of an imitation mickey and minnie mouse lamp and this bear lamp I received when I was in the 5th grade:

Love the dust? It's a crazy mess in the house right now. There are no two lamps that are the same in our current place so part of furnishing the new house has been picking out all new lamps. I had no idea the variety of lamps that are available out there. Don't go lamp unprepared. You'll be blinded. So far, we've purchased these lights:

Glam Sconce from cb2

Landon Single Tube Sconce from Pottery Barn

Grace Accent Lamp from Restoration Hardware

Saplings Sunflower Lampshade from MissPrint

When we went shopping for floor lamps, we were unprepared for how expensive, IMO, they would be. It turned out that recessed lighting ended up being a better investment given the price of a good floor lamp. We got 8 cans of 4" lights in the living area and it makes all the difference in the world in a small space. We also did this in the kitchen and bathroom also, and its beautiful! I will have to remember to snap pictures that next time I drop by le shoebox.