Sunday, May 24, 2009

M.I.A. from the Blogging World

So I have been missing in action from the my blogging world lately. Here’s what been going on in the last few months:


Fruit Tart recipe from Williams Sonoma website:


On the way to "hakamairi" (paying respects to the cemetery where our family is buried), we decided to stop off at El Tepeyac, this hole in the wall mexican place in Boyle Heights. My grandfather, when he was alive, used to live in Boyle Heights and we used to go to El Tepeyac all the time. It is pretty well known in the eating community. They are known for their huge burritos. We ordered the Manuel's Special which feeds 2-4 according to them. But really fed 5 people plus two servings more leftover. Due to my delicate condition (just had food poisoning days before), I really didn't eat much, but had to have a least a few bites to wet my palate.

I went to Nanbankan in west la, a robata style place that serves skewered charcoal bbq food. We have a bunch of little dishes: pork wrapped shiso, gobo root wrapped pork, quail egg, ika somen, chicken, beef, eggplant, and squid. I liked the food, but not sure how into the robata food I am.






I was introduced to this great Japanese restaurant in Japanese town called T.O.T. There is really only one thing I’ve had here that I really liked and haven’t seen anywhere else. It is called a tuna tuna bowl. It has rice, salad, seared ahi tuna, and spicy tuna on top with a teriyaki and wasabi sauce. So delicious!


Cuttlebug is my new friend....not my best friend because that title is still reserved for my Cricut. I just got this machine which is a manual die cutting and embossing machine. I mainly got it for its embossing capabilities. It is pretty easy to use and it adds great texture to paper. I haven't had a chance to actually make a project yet....so more pictures to come later!

I haven’t been blogging the restaurants lately. Partly because I have been lazy…partly because I have been trying to be good about eating out due to my increased blood pressure. I went with my cousin Jen to a great thai place in the valley called Thai Ni. They have these really good thai bbq chicken and ribs. I would drive out to the valley for those ribs!





At the end of April, I was in my friend Jennifer’s wedding in Atlanta. She married a wonderful guy, Anthony, and their wedding was so much fun. I traveled with my friend Marsha and her husband. We spent some time touring the city: going to the coke museum, eating at the Varsity drive in, and of course partying it up at the rehearsal dinner and wedding day. Jennifer looked so beautiful and classic in her wedding gown. It was such an honor to be in her wedding. The newlyweds invited everyone up for an after party in their suite where we kept the party going till 2am.









In April my sister came home for her birthday so my mom made a nice turkey dinner and invited my cousin’s family over along with the rest of my family. Masaki so generously bought a cake from Vanilla Bakeshop. It was a lemon berry cake and it was so beautiful. It was like 6 inches tall!




My dear friend Joni invited me to her family Easter brunch. It was so much fun, having breakfast, decorating eggs, playing egg hunt with her nephews and son, and playing egg toss.







Sunday, March 22, 2009

A Sunday Brunch with Friends Hosted by Martha and Martho Stewart









Today was a lovely sunday brunch with friends. I love any excuse to entertain! On the menu was bread pudding, a sausage, egg, and mushroom casserole, lox and bagels, strawberries, cheesecake and mimosas. Ok, I know I am bragging that my boyfriend is so great....but he is! He not only squeezed 25 oranges for fresh juice, he made an beautiful assortment of cheesecakes from scratch! And they looked store bought. He made a raw, unbaked one with a kiwi, strawberry and raspberry garnish with apricot glaze. Then he made baked ones... in 6 different flavors!....Toffee, Mocha, Chocolate, Strawberry, Blood Orange, and Meyer Lemon. They were so good. I was quite impressed. My friend Joni, jokingly called him Martho Stewart. I think I met my match in the kitchen...although Kirk will tell you he is a better cook and baker!

Friday, March 20, 2009

Ann's Baby Shower - It's A Boy!

As a congrats to my friend and co-worker, Ann, I decided to throw her a baby shower at work. I tried to decorate the room in the blue and brown theme. I thought it came out cute and made the room look like a nice place and not a classroom. I made pulled pork sandwiches, shrimp salad, blue and white jello, onion dip and chips, mac and cheese, and apple and toffee dip. We had an excuse to get a Costco cake which I love. For favors, I made an assortment of chocolate lollipops.










Sunday, March 15, 2009

Road Trip to Malibu

Kirk and I took a nice and relaxing drive up to Malibu in his convertible with the top down. It was so relaxing. We stopped off at starbucks for some coffee then stopped on the side of the road to take some quick photos. Don't gag on the kissing photo please.... :)



Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Chibi Turns 4 Years Old


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The hello kitty blanket I made for him

Congratulations! Its a Boy!

Chibi turned 4 years old today. I can believe how much time has passed since we first saw him a a 4 week old baby. He had a blast today. Angie took the day off and took him to the park to sit on the grass. Then he got to go on a walk at UCLA. And finally, he got his own Sprinkles dog cupcake to enjoy. Happy Birthday Chibi Baby!

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Bride to Be Jennifer's Shower

I am again a bridesmaid in another one of my dear friend's wedding. To show her how much I care about her, I threw her the best bridal shower I could throw along with her sister. I tried to think of every detail possible and made as many things by hand and from scratch as I could. It was nice, because her sister was generous enough to pay for the venue (Cerritos Liberty Park) and for the all the lunch food from Daphne's. It was a travel themed shower so I made passport booklets, travel kits for favors, boarding pass invitations, and postcard thank yous. It was so much fun and my friend Jennifer could not be more happy or more grateful. She has been super wonderful and generous during this whole wedding experience, not letting me pay for anything and being so anti-bridezilla....I am super grateful for that!

Me, Jennifer, and Marsha


Carnation Present
One style of centerpiece
Second style of centerpiece

Mum cake

Travel Kit Favors

My signature personalized water bottles

Red velvet cupcakes

Mini Cherry Cheesecakes

Apples and Toffee Dip

Red and Orange Jello