Animated Short

Perfectly encapsulates how I feel today.
Zapping from Aritz Aizpurua on Vimeo.

authenticity

After eating at an asian buffet this weekend it got me thinking about a question that I get asked a lot, "where can I get the most authentic Vietnamese food?" It wasn't until I was scanning the buffet line that I realized for the first time a big difference between Vietnamese cuisine and other asian cuisines -- authenticity. You will never find a restaurant that doesn't serve authentically Vietnamese food. All Vietnamese food you find in the U.S. can be found in Vietnam. And the most popular, pho, is also the most popular in Vietnam. The difference between Vietnamese restaurants is simply that some are bad and some are good. And bad to me is it is bland and/or caters to a non-Vietnamese palate.

The same cannot be said of chinese, thai or even japanese food. The most popular chinese food dishes are sweet and sour chicken and general tso's chicken. Yet neither of those dishes come from China. The most well known thai dish is pad thai, but that too was invented here. And my favorite sushi rolls most likely cannot be found in Japan either.

But Vietnamese food is just that Vietnamese food. I have never walked into a Vietnamese restaurant and thought to myself, "this isn't really Vietnamese." What I might think is, "my mom can make this better." But that's the thing, my mom makes it and so does every other Vietnamese mom here and in Vietnam. The quality of ingredients may differ, but the ingredients are essentially the same.

5 nights, 5 dinners for two, $40 a week!

Monday:
rocket salad with homemade sesame citrus vinaigrette
chinese five spice kumquat pork

...and because Michael likes to name his food - barney the baby octopus

Tuesday: baby octopus in kim chee soup

Wednesday: garlic and greek herb roasted chicken with baby bok choy and red rice

Thursday: pesto stuffed chicken parmagiana with tomato basil garlic linguine piccolo

Friday: Chao ga with goi (traditional Vietnamese chicken and rice soup with cabbage slaw)

every meal was made from scratch

beach vacation

I've never been a fan of beach vacations, probably because I have always been super self conscious and a trip where you have to wear a bathing suit everyday was always my worst nightmare. Also I have always thought that a beach is a beach is a beach...they're all the same. I've been to beaches in Florida, California, Vietnam...all beautiful but all the same. Yet tonight after watching Bridget's Sexiest Beaches I have discovered a beach that I have to go to...the beaches in Croatia. They look absolutely beautiful.

Now you may be thinking where is Croatia, because that was what I was thinking at first. But then I discovered it's just across the way from Venice. Now when Michael and I went to Venice we sailed on over to Greece. But now I can't believe I went to Greece...its so over done in retrospect. As was Italy I suppose. Maybe we should have gone somewhere that sounded a little more exotic or different.

Whatever the case I have my heart set on Croatia. I'm penciling it in and setting up my travel fund for Croatia 2010 - I'm thinking first week of September (still hot but a little less crowded) or end of May/early June. Why not this year you ask...well we have a couple of weddings to travel to this year and we may have to go to Vietnam so this year is definitely out of the question.

stress

Its been one of those weeks where work keeps piling on and the day seems never ending. I haven't posted in a while simply because I was exhausted from work. It's the sort of mental exhaustion that drains you far worse than physical labor does. I used to wait tables in college and work double shifts. I was so tired, my feet hurt, my back ached, and I smelled like a restaurant. I would come home and collapse. Somehow I almost miss that feeling. Now I sit in a comfortable chair in a beautiful office with windows as large as those in my apartment, yet I feel more exhausted now then I ever did then. There is something so much more straining to sit and read and analyze and make decisions. Knowing that every decision you make and every line that you write means something and affects something and could potentially hurt someone. There are some days when I wish I could just do something frivolous or be like those women who stay at home with their kids and their biggest decision is where to spend the day or what to make for dinner.

But then I think about the state of economy and realize that I have it pretty good. I have a good job. I have roof over my head. I have a loving husband. And once I get home from work my biggest challenges are cleaning up after Michael makes me dinner, watch tv, and internally debating whether I should do more work.

true romance

I love the dreamy and flowy nature of these untraditional wedding dresses. If only I had found this designer when I was doing my wedding planning. I loved my dresses, but there is something so simple and absolutely romantic about these dresses. I also love the fact that they are not necessarily wedding dresses - hold a bouquet and its a wedding, but without one it could be anything. I love the unexpected.

Must See: The Edge of Love

dream spaces

I love the idea of making each room a different a color.

Cutest Short Film Ever

Signs
Uploaded by Xeryoxys

pure envy

I envy color. I love interesting and bold uses of color in a home. We're shopping for a house right now, so I'm doing a little dreaming. Dreaming of spaces that evoke an emotion or reaction. I hate drab spaces. I hate walking into cookie cutter houses. The pictures above are from a house here in OKC. It's the house of Beth Jansen, an amazing baby photographer. Looking at her pictures makes me want to have a baby...well for like one second...that feeling fades very quickly :-)

To the view the rest of her home go to http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/chicago/house-tours/house-tour-beths-photogenic-home-075841 for an awesome house tour.

J'adore...vintage jewelry

jewelry and pictures by luxedeluxe
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=62605

my kind of math

Fancy That

Ever since my wedding I have been fascinated by head gear - hats, headbands, feathers, fascinators. Everything. In fact since winter rolled around I have purchased multiple hats- even one with a beautiful feather. What I have wanted for a long time now though is a feather head band. Like the one pictured above. I'm not sure that I could pull it off. It's probably too fanciful for me, but oh how I do adore it so. And now I'm wishing I had bought one for Tau Kappa Omega's Founders' Day on Saturday. It would be a perfect addition to my green dress. I suppose I could make one. How hard could it be?

Sunny Santa Monica

I'm off to Santa Monica on Wednesday morning. I haven't been to southern Cali in a while, and I'm looking forward to catching up with some old acquaintances. I'm staying at The Loews, which I love. We stayed at The Loews on South Beach in Miami at the end of our honeymoon and we absolutely adored it. The rooms are spacious, the service is wonderful, the pool is amazing, and the beach is just right there. The Loews in Santa Monica is also on the beach, in fact I think it is near Santa Monica Pier, but I'm not sure. I haven't had much time to research it. Work is crazy and life is pretty hectic right now what with house hunting and other family matters I'm trying to sort out. Guess I should start packing.

London

Our trip last week was not just to Paris, we went to London as well. We had 4 1/2 days in Paris and 1 day in London. The trip was fairly short but when you add in the travel days it felt pretty long. London was fairly exhausting. We left our hotel at 5:30am to get to the train station because we had to check in 45 min in advance. Checking in at the train station was like going to the airport. You have to get your tickets and go through customs and get your passport stamped. Which is definitely cool. I love all the stamps in my passport -- Ho Chi Minh City, Tokyo, Rome, Patras (Greece), Athens, Madrid, Paris and London. And that's just since January of '08. :-)

London was not what I hoped. In fact I didn't enjoy it as much as Paris. I found London loud and bustling and way too busy. Even in winter it was ridiculously full of tourists, which I hated. And everything was so expensive. The city was just that, a city. It was NYC with an accent and for twice the price. While Paris is filled with croissants and Vietnamese food, London is full of fried fish (fish and chips) and Indian curries. Maybe since I was wanting a romantic getaway, London just threw me for a loop since it was anything but romantic. Admittedly it was fun riding on the train to London - especially riding through the chunnel. Plus the train station was Harry Potter's train station which was also pretty cool, since I love Harry Potter. I also liked the British Museum - rosetta stone and mummies. The next time I go to England I think I will stick to the country side. I'm envisioning a tour of English castles. It will be like a Jane Austen novel come to life.