Thanksgiving

Our first turkey. Michael did an incredible job.

The carving station, and in the background our first Christmas tree together. A skinny prelit 9 foot wonder decked out in red, silver and white ornaments.

The sides.

After the meal we (my family and I) all sat and watched the movie Up. But Michael cleaned up instead. By the time the movie was over he had cleaned up as if Thanksgiving had never happened. So wonderful. :-)

countdown to thanksgiving

Michael and I are hosting Thanksgiving this year for my family. People seem to go crazy about the idea of hosting and doing all the cooking, but honestly this seems not to be a terribly big deal right now. Admittedly, we are only cooking for six, but we are still doing a 14 lb bird, 7 sides, and dessert - so it's not like we're skimping. The menu for tomorrow is:

Garlic and Herb Roasted Turkey
Cognac Sweet Potatoes
Garlic Parmesan Mashed Potatoes and Parsnips
Braised Brussel Sprouts
Sweet Corn and Herbs
Orange-Ginger Mint Cranberry Sauce
Turkey Sausage and Apple Stuffing
Bacon Macaroni and Cheese
Fresh Pear Pie

I just finished my pear pie, now on to boiling the potatoes. Unfortunately, we still have to make another trip to Wal-Mart, ugggh.

dinner and dessert

I got home from work late tonight and look what Michael had waiting for me...lamb chops with green beans and rice. Yummy. He's so sweet.

So as I said a couple entries ago, I had to make two cakes this weekend, my famous Chocolate Guinness Cake ala Nigella Lawson (but I modified her recipe to suit my taste) with delicious whipped almond cream frosting and a German Chocolate Cake. I made the cakes so that Michael's boss' wife could taste them and choose which to order for her dad's birthday. She chose the Chocolate Guinness.

It is Michael's favorite. He loves my whipped frosting. The perfect balance of sweetness and lightness. :-)

The German Chocolate Cake was surprisingly tasty though. The topping and filling is a toasted coconut and pecan mixture and the frosting is similar to a chocolate ganache. Michael was surprised that it wasn't sickeningly sweet, and oh so moist. It is definitely a recipe to add to my recipe book. Thank you, David Liebovitz.

So Wednesday I will be making another Chocolate Guiness Cake, and I think I will test a new recipe this week...either carrot cake or an apple galette. I'm leaning towards the latter.

happy halloween

i'm baaack!

So it's been a long time since I've posted anything...mainly because I lost interest in keeping up with this blog. What's the point, right? Well, I decided it doesn't really matter if there is a point. As of lately, I've been starting to feel a little blah, like I have no purpose. So I have had to invent small purposes. Work is often all consuming. No one said being an attorney, and although I love my job, I don't really want to be defined by it. I want to be known for more than that. So I've given myself other things to do and accomplish outside of daily work tasks.

1. Complete a marathon: This has been a bit troublesome. First, because I hate running. Second, because I got injured recently. But I'm determined to check this off my list if it kills me. I will probably push my marathon date to April, but either way it's happening. No matter what. Call me crazy, but hey I am, right? I'm a lawyer, and you have to be a little crazy to want to be a lawyer. :-) So I'm running with a purpose...the purpose is to accomplish something I thought was impossible - something I didn't even like. And along the way hope to discover something myself I didn't know. Although I can't say I love to run, I can say it does provide me a lot of opportunity to think and dream. There is something really solitary about running that is nice. But for right now what I'm discovering is that that I'm very susceptible to shin splits.
   
2. Compile a set of tried and true recipes: I love to bake. And I think I'm pretty good at it. I mean Michael has pretty discriminating tastes, but when I put one of my cakes in front of him he's like a fat kid....it's funny...the whole thing is gone. Before I just baked when I was bored or when I had an occasion to make something. Now I bake with a purpose. I bake to compile a set of recipes in my book. A book of my baking standards that I can come to whenever I need to make something. A book of things that people request and long for and lick their lips thinking about. Basics like chocolate cake, apple pie, red velvet cake, etc. I hand write my recipes in my book, and I imagine some day my kids or grandkids will look at my book and it will bring back tasty memories. Tonight I'm testing a german chocolate cake recipe because Michael's boss' wife made a request for a cake for her father's birthday on Thursday.
   
3. Read for fun: I love to read. Sometimes I forget how much I love to read. When I was a kid I used to read three or four books a week. Remember, that Sequoyah Book List - well, I had to read all those books. And I had to be the first to read them all. Well, now I read depositions and briefs. I read things that are arguably thought provoking, but they are not always enjoyable. So I decided to read with a purpose. I joined a book club - Books & Brunch and am picking up my first book tonight - The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. And my new list of books to complete is the New York Times Best Book of the Year Lists. There's about 10 books named a year, so not that many really. I'm starting with 1997 and working my way up. I'm thinking of starting with Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer or maybe American Pastoral by Philip Roth. Nonfiction or fiction, that is the question.
   

Now I just have to wait for Michael to come home so we can pick up everything so I can get started on my next cake. Interestingly, I don't really have a sweet tooth. I don't even crave any of the sweets I make. It's enough that other people do. And I suppose it's a good thing I don't, because otherwise I might be 300 lbs already.

teal + gray

We have been painting our new house and I have to say that I selected some bold colors. This is highly uncharacteristic of me. That is especially so I find with Asians in general. Walk into your typical Asian home and you will find neutrals everywhere, multiple shades of white and off whites on the wall with white crown molding. Very blah if you ask me. I need to feel inspired at home. So with that mindset I have been on a journey of color. We have a red/gray office now with a high gloss white conference style table and black and white chairs. A master bedroom with three pale pale gray walls and an accent wall behind the bed that is deep bold purple. The room is currently accented by whites and silvers. I will add touches of black, gray and pops of yellow. And now we're working on the teal/gray guest room and my yellow studio/craft room. Above are some of my inspirations for the guest room so you get the idea. We just painted the walls, and I am adjusting to the drastic color change. We painted the top half of the wall gray and the bottom half teal and there will be a white stripe across the center dividing the two colors. Can't wait to get furniture in the room and start decorating it up. I will post pics of the other rooms we've done in our home soon. :-)

playing for change

song in my head

fast forward

June has been a crazy month. Went to Houston for a wedding. Closed on a new house. Went to Jackson Hole for a wedding. Still slowly packing/unpacking, purchasing, painting and rearranging. And heading off to Vietnam in a few days. Jackson Hole was amazing! Best wedding ever. So beautiful and so much fun. And met some really awesome people. I'm hoping Paul has some great pics to share. I will have to scan in our crazy polaroids from the the reception. They were too funny.

One thing that is not going so well is my marathon training, with all the stuff going on. But I managed to run this morning so maybe things are going to start looking up.

What's funny is it is exactly one year since we moved into our apartment, now we're moving to a new house. It's crazy to think about how much has happened this year. The trips, the dinner parties, and all the lazy Sunday afternoons. It has definitely been an interesting year.

embarrassing addiction

summer time

Summer time has come a lot faster than I expected. It's already June. We're going to Dallas, Houston then Jackson, Wyoming this month. We're closing on our new house and moving in this month. Next month we're going to Vietnam and picking up our new dog. And then August is our 1 year anniversary and hopefully we'll be done with our house so that we can have a housewarming/anniversary party.

my baby

Also this month, Pebbles is turning 7. I can't believe it, my baby is getting so old. I can still remember when I brought her home from the shelter. She was just 7 weeks old and 3 lbs. I could hold her with one hand. Fortunately she still acts as spunky as ever. :-)

Because Pebbles is getting older and we're buying a new house, it's time for a new dog. We are adopting a dog through an affenpinscher rescue. His name is Max, he is two years old, and he is the one the middle with the super cheesy smile. We went to Kansas City over memorial day weekend so Pebbles and Max could meet. They had a super fun time.

Little Max.

After Pebbles, we really fell in love with affenpinschers. They are really smart and super inquisitive. They have a real mind of their own. They are monkey dogs. They can walk on their back legs like little monkeys. And they have little gorilla faces. Affens are also super friendly. Nothing phases affens. They come up to anything and everything - big dog or small dog - all ready to play. I can't wait to take our new dog home. :-)

must have: living room rug

After careful consideration I have decided on a rug for our new living room.  What do you think? We wanted something that would really pop in the room, and I really think this may be the one. With this graphic print and color we can easily design the room around it.  We're planning on a deep velvety soft mocha brown sofa from cB2, and I'm in still in search of two white chairs.  I found some amazing ones from Horchow, but they were way out of our price range.   

quick recap: homemade dinners

lemon pasta with chicken (dinner with Steven/Mindy's family)

stuffed pork chops with lemon pasta (dinner with Jed/Christine)
obviously made the same week...had left over supplies so we made the same pasta.

Our homemade version of a Qdoba classic

One of my absolute favorites. Grilled flank steak with a diced garlic wine sauce. That stuff on the steak...it's garlic. :-) (Dinner with the Muckalas)

A lazy Saturday lunch at home....marsala wine, garlic and caper chicken with pan fried sticky rice and arugula salad. We had to use up the chicken and arugula.

back to basics: cubed flank steak stir fry with broccoli and rice. yum!

point of no return

We finished up negotiations on repairs with the seller on our house, and unless the appraisal doesn't go well there is no turning back at this point. We are pretty much locked in. It's scaring me a little bit. Buying a house is so official. And while I know that I love it, I will definitely miss our high rise apartment overlooking the city. It's just so wonderful to wake up to so much natural light. I will definitely miss the gym and indoor pool downstairs. Training for my marathon is going to be rough when I have to drive to a gym to do my cross training.

Confusion

Recently, on the Today Show they put a dollar figure to how much a stay at home mom should make a year should you put a dollar value to her work. Now shows do this all the time, and frankly I'm confused. I'm confused as to what it is that is so amazing and hard about the work of a stay at home mom. Now I mean no offense to my stay at home mom friends, many of which are honestly up to their eyeballs in work that I could not imagine doing - like my friend who is the mother of 4 month old triplets. But for others it is just that I have a hard time understanding. You see I come from a different place, a place with a different set of expectations and examples. My mom worked. And because of what I know about her, about how hard she worked, about how tired I am when I get home and I don't have three kids to deal with....

Growing up my mom did everything. She worked a full time job. Cooked from scratch dinners at night four out of five nights a week. Washed the dishes and never left a single dish in the sink before she went to bed. On Fridays we went out to eat as a family to give her a break. On Saturdays she woke up at 6am. Cleaned the bathrooms. Cleaned the kitchen. Did laundry for 5 people. Cooked a bigger meal than usual, one that would take hours to prepare. Changed the sheets. Mopped the floors. Vacuumed. Even went to church and went grocery shopping. On Sundays she would make us breakfast and relax the rest of the day watching movies or taking us shopping and then make a big Sunday dinner.

So you see, you can't fault me for not understanding the plight of a stay at a home mom. My mom did all the things a stay at home mom did and more often then not she did it better. She didn't complain. She didn't talk about how hard it was to be a mom or how exhausted she was with everything she had to do. She simply did it. So when I hear stay at home moms complain about how busy they are or how tired they are, when they don't cook or wash the dishes the every night I'm confused. I'm confused not only because I had to work all day - sometimes until 8 or 9pm and still wash the dishes and do my laundry - but really confused because I saw my mom do all that and more with three kids and a husband. :-)

must see: Star Trek

still running

It's been exactly one week since I began my marathon training, and while I'm still a pathetic runner (It takes me 12-13 minutes to run one mile) at least I'm still running. I run three days a week, cross train (right now that's swimming) two days and rest two days. My first run of the week is a leisurely run for a prescribed amount of time. My second run of the week is my speed run where I attempt, emphasis on attempt, to run at my desired marathon pace. It's amazing how hard it is to speed up your time by even 30 seconds. My third run of the week is my distance run.

Tomorrow I cross train. I'm thinking I may swim.

shopping for home office furniture

Pottery barn cubby - I would use it to organize my craft accessories - papers, ribbons, glues and fabrics, instead of shoes and hats.

WestElm - tapered frame desk - perfection is all I can say. No matter what I am getting this desk. I love the legs and its very basic yet modern shape. I can imagine my macbook or a sewing machine on this desk.

WestElm bookshelf

lisa's shower last sunday

Her basket of goodies. Under the blankets are packages of bottles and a cute baby outfit.

Vanilla whipped topping

layering the strawberries on my double layer lemon cake

lemon cake with a coconut bird's nest on top


chocolate stout cupcakes
Izze's for baby Isabella

T minus 250 days: disney world here i come!

In order to get revved up for my commitment to this whole marathon process, I needed to bite the bullet and sign up for a marathon. Since I don't exercise, don't run, and am basically a couch potato, I obviously needed very strong motivation. What better motivation then a race through Disney World's Magic Kingdom at Disney World??!!

I've been to Disney World 3 times, Disney Land once, and I must say I love all things Disney.
I signed up for the Walt Disney World Marathon in January. I'm on my way to Disney World, baby. January 10, 2010. 26.2 miles and then all the rides I want. :-) Wooohooo!

I ran 1 mile this morning and wasn't phased at all. Can't wait to run another one.

day 1: yes I can!

My plan this morning was to wake up at 5:30 and hit the ground running. Well, it was more like 6:00 and I didn't get down to the gym downstairs until 6:15. But once I got down there it wasn't that bad. For my first day I decided to take it slow - 30 minutes on the treadmill. I did a walk/run - 5 min. walk/10 min. run/5 w/10 r.

Hopefully, tomorrow I can wake up again. :-) Today I will find a marathon to sign up for so I can't back out of this challenge...White Rock in Dallas or ING in Miami?

Yes You Can!

I have decided to set a new goal for myself and in order to ensure that I accomplish the goal I decided I needed to hold myself accountable for it by making it public on my blog. So what is this new goal you ask...I am going to run a marathon...an actual 26.2 mile marathon. This goal is a little crazy, especially for me. I don't run. Throughout most of my elementary and high school days I was the girl who finished last or next to last in those mandatory one mile runs. Why is this? Because I have always been a fat kid at heart. I like to eat, watch tv or read a book, and sleep. Now I bake and do crafts. None of those activities involve any exercise and there has been a reason for that. But now, I'm 28...almost 30. When I was 26 I was finishing up my JD. When I was 27 I was planning my wedding. Now I'm 28 and what am doing...nothing. I'm working. I'm about to buy a house. But what am I doing? Not enough is the answer. I figure I need to have a goal each year and this is my new goal. I will run a marathon before my 29th birthday. Right now my target date is December. This sounds impossible, but I was told by my marathoner/triathlete/iron man friend that it's doable. She said you can train in five months if you want to, but I'm going to be more realistic.

Tomorrow is definitely the beginning of a new day. :-)

birdie diaper cake

Ever since I first saw a diaper cake online, I have been in love with them. I make a diaper cake for just about every shower that I throw. They make cute and practical centerpieces. Sunday's shower for my cousin Lisa is no different. I'm excited about my momma bird/baby bird theme, especially after my invites turned out so cute. I was fortunate that I was easily able to continue the theme into the cake.

Step 1: Get some diapers and receiving blankets. I found some cute pink birdie blankets by Dwell for Target.

Step 2: Make topper. Usually I use a stuffed toy for the topper, but I couldn't find a stuffed birdie that the was the same shape as the birds I used in the invite. So I drew birds on pink and yellow card stock and cut them out, just as I did for the invites only bigger. And then I took the hanger that the receiving blankets were wrapped around and taped the birds on either side of the hanger.

Step 3: Roll the diapers and layer them into a 3 tier cake wrapping the receiving blankets around each layer.

Step 4: Stack the tiers on top of each other. Stick the topper in the cake. Add a couple toys for good measure.

I hope Lisa likes her cake. :-)

25 Things

1. Pebbles (my dog) is my favorite everything...she can always make me smile.
2. I love horror movies and romantic comedies.
3. I'm a hypochondriac. I spend a lot of time self diagnosing myself online.
4. I'm fascinated by all medical mystery/documentary shows on discovery health. Especially if it concerns medical abnormalities.
5. My dream job would allow me to be more creative - like a graphic designer/event planner and part time fashionista.
6. Like most Asians, I used to to want to be a doctor, until I went to college and realized I was far better at research and writing then math and molecular structures.
7. I'm addicted to office supplies...highlighters, pens, and sticky tabs oh my! This addiction was realized in law school.
8. My other addiction - spicy food - when I was little I would eat it until my lips would throb so much that I would take an ice cube to cool them down.
9. I am incredibly unimpressed by brand name things - cars, purses, clothes, etc. I would rather spend the money on a fabulous trip with someone I love because I value life experiences over material things. That doesn't mean I don't love shopping...b/c I LOVE shopping.
10. I am a news junkie - I listen to NPR all day - when I'm driving, in my office, weekend mornings while I'm making pancakes or working on a project.
11. I hate Valentine's Day.
12. I read the NY Times every day.
13. I am easily startled and can get so engrossed in what I am reading that when someone comes into my office and says something I jump in my seat.
14. I am very stubborn, I must win every argument...I guess that's why I became a lawyer.
15. I prefer cultural/educational vacations. I'd rather spend an entire day in a museum than on a beach.
16. If I take on a new hobby - right now it's baking - I get obsessed with mastering it.
17. I am a dreamer, I guess that's the Pisces in me.
18. I didn't start doing my own laundry until I got married.
19. I'm 28, but get carded all the time. Recently, at a legal conferences I was carded at the bar even though I was wearing my name tag which clearly indicated that I am a lawyer.
20. I don't really like coffee, but drink it every morning at work just because.
21. I am jealous of those who don't have to go work...but I didn't get a JD so I could spend my days shopping and watching tv.
22. I want to be as good of a parent as my parents were to me.
23. Even though I love romantic comedies and cheesy asian soaps...I am not particularly romantic. I don't believe in love at first sight or soulmates. I believe that our physical attraction to certain people is all biological and based in science. I believe that our emotional attraction to a person is a choice.
24. I am not easily convinced...of anything.
25. I love politics and political discussions. Laws make the world go round, and I am annoyed by people who don't vote or who vote but don't understand the issues before doing so. I hate talking to someone who has obviously resigned themselves to apathy and ignorance.

baby bird cake

My cousin's shower is Sunday, so I am finalizing my plans. I'm making a cake, and I'm thinking of doing something similar to the one pictured only with yellow frosting and pink birds. Does anyone else have any good ideas?

song in my head: I Don't Know by Lisa Hannigan

I Don't Know from ATO Records on Vimeo.

eenie, meenie, miney, mo...

Now that we may have a house, it's time to start thinking about how to furnish it. First things first, a new living room set. Our current sofa is apartment sized. I love it, but it's definitely small. Here are some of the new ones I'm considering. Which one do you prefer?

Westwood sofa from Room and Board

Piazza Sofa from cB2

Petrie Sofa from Crate and Barrel

Miramar Sofa from Crate and Barrel

Clark sectional from Room and Board

hopefully...our new home

So our offer was accepted and in June, if all things go well we will close on our first house. The inspection is next week. I'm not too concerned about the inspection. But I'm the type of person that worries about everything so nothing is ever 100% until we've signed all the papers. For now Below is a glimpse of the house. It's 4bed/3bath. It has an awesome glass mud room in the back overlooking the backyard. The garage is unfortunately detached, because the neighborhood is historic, but we'll live. It has ridiculously tall ceilings - 16-18ft at least. I feel like a midget in the house, but it's awesome. Below are some of the pictures from the listing website. For a better view of the house, feel free to check out this link from the original listing:

http://homesite.obeo.com/viewer/unbranded.aspx?tourid=520789

my favorite room - the kitchen.

More of the kitchen. I love the contemporary feel, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and hardwood floors. Plus it's bigger than our kitchen now. :-)

Master bathroom. Shower, jacuzzi tub, huge closet, and an awesome japanese style toilet that is unfortunately not pictured.

Master bedroom.

Living room. Not our furniture of course, but hopefully they will let us keep the mirror above the fireplace in the corner. The fireplace is one solid piece of black granite. Beautiful.

Another bathroom.

Another bedroom. This one is going to be my office. :-)

what's for dinner?

tom kha gai - sweet and spicy thai coconut chicken soup
better than at any restaurant in town :-)

barbeque pork shoulder with mac n' cheese and corn

shrimp and asparagas pasta

pork wonton soup

We haven't been remembering to take pictures of our meals much lately, so this is we have for the past two weeks. Definitely the most delicious was the tom kha gai. I could eat that soup for days because it only gets better. And if you're looking for a recipe you won't find one here, Michael doesn't do recipes. :-)