Checkin' in

I've been super busy since I came back from home. As most of you know already, I am finally engaged. Yay, whoohoo, congrats, yippideedoo, yippideeda! Ok ok, enough already. These past few weeks, my mind has been working really hard coming up with designs for the save-the-date card, invitation, program, thank you card, wedding favor, and the wedding website. I am also searching for wedding gowns, bridesmaid dresses, and secure wedding websites where my guests can RSVP. Yes, we are going green so everything will be via the web...at least for the technologically advanced minds. On the weekends, HappyOblivion and I are looking for homes with our realtors and whenever we have time, we would visit different locations for the ceremony and reception. Then this week, I am busy making Jung for Chinese New Year's. I am very excited about everything but also very tired. At times, I just want to sit and do absolutely nothing. Regardless, I want to thank all my family and friends for offering to help. I am so grateful :)

On another note, I am happy to know that Kate Voegele is releasing a new album in Spring of this year. Yippeee! I heard her sing in the show, One Tree Hill, and just fell in love with her voice and her songs. I can't wait.

Home Sweet Home

Why do I enjoy going home so much? Not only do I miss my friends and family, but there is one thing that nothing can ever replace...

At around 7PM, I wait impatiently upstairs for my mom to say, "Time to eat!" I walk back and forth between my room and the computer room, waiting ... When I hear her, my eyes widen and my tummy begins to talk. My mom would always say those words as she is bringing the first entree out from the kitchen. By the time she sets one dish on the dinner table, I am already in my seat, waiting to smell every dish as they come. Again, I am first to get the rice. As I open the rice cooker, I let the steam fog my glasses and warm my face. Ah, the smell of freshly cooked rice, very comforting. I fill my bowl with rice and return to my seat. As I pick up my chopsticks, I think to myself, "I am ready."

Mame's home cooking never disappoints. The word "delicious" doesn't do justice to her food. Every bite brings me back to the same spot, a very good spot - the feeling of home. This is the meaning of comfort food and it doesn't get better than that. Below is beef with cabbage stir fry. So simple and so wonderful. Nothing can replace this, and that is why I love going home.

I updated my turtle blog with more pictures of my turtles that I took from this past trip back home.

No Work

All week long, I was jealous that HappyOblivion had Friday off. Come Thursday night, my boss phoned me about the possibility of work being cancelled for Friday due to the high winds. I was like, "REALLY! There is a storm coming?" He said, "It is all over the news! There is a tropical depression and wind speeds could reach up to 30mph, with gusts 50-60 mph." I shouldn't get too excited because it had to be approved by the governor. Thirty minutes later, my other boss called and said, "No work tomorrow!" YES YES YES! All State employees, excepting the "essential" ones, were granted administrative leave for Friday, January 16th. I definitely am not an "essential" employee, so free day! I practically wasted my day cleaning house, washing plants, blogging, and shopping at the Rack. HappyOblivion bought more socks and I, after 2 weeks of searching for the perfect wallet, bought one yesterday!  I bought a Harajuku wallet. Unlike the other Harajuku designs which are a little too colorful and immature, this one is black and white with rough sketches of a girl. It was the last one and I knew it had to be the one. 

Baby Monkeys

Back in San Jose, one of the things I did most was chillin' with my best buds, my niece Ellyse and nephew Elliot. My niece is now 4 years old and my nephew is only 2. They both talk so much! Ellyse was always talking about her day, what she did, and what she wanted to do the rest of the day. She also asked me a bunch of questions about what I did, what I liked, and why I am in Hawaii. Elliot was curious about the new necklace my mom gave me. The necklace has a circular pendant and Elliot seemed to like it very much because everytime he saw me, he would ask for me to carry him, and then he would grab my pendant and say, "Yoon Goo Look", meaning "circular object". He was always asking questions and repeating them, making sure we were not lying to him. They are both so adorable.

I took so many pictures of them I had to pick the best ones and also merge them so I wouldn't be blogging about 20 photos in one post. The photo below was taken at their house during Ellyse's 4 year old birthday party. Before dinner, they were playing with the piano and dancing to the Christmas music. Gong Gong (my dad) and Elliot were the DJ's.

Cake time for Miss Ellyse the Princess. She requested a princess cake from my sister and she got one. Popo (my mom) and I went all over to search for princess items to decorate the cake. We ended up getting a Cinderella candle, carriage icing, and a princess tea set which she loved. My sister did a great job on the cake. It was light and not too sweet, perfect for those with 7 cavities and still craving for more sweets (that's me). You can see that Ellyse wore a Belle princess dress to celebrate her special day. She was so happy. Read more about the cake on my sister's blog.

The day before I left home, everyone came over for dinner. I commend my mom for cooking such a great dinner even with a little fever and cold. Lucky my sister came over to help. After dinner, I put Elliot right next to Gong Gong on the sofa in front of the TV. He didn't move for half an hour. He was watching Dirty Jobs the whole time. Everyone came over to poke him, pat him on the head, and talk to him. But, he did not blink, move, or talk. He was watching Mike Rowe doing some dirty manly jobs the whole time. He is so cute!

There you have it, my niece and nephew taking over the world, and our hearts. They put smiles on everyone :)

Farmer's Market

On the last day of our trip in Los Angeles, we visited Farmer's Market at 3rd and Fairfax. I loved the atmosphere and the feel of the place, very country-like. It was crowded, smelled great, food everywhere, shops with weird stuff, and people doing random things. While I struggled to squeeze my way in, I came across HappyOblivion's shop, "Bryan's BBQ", ha! (No, he doesn't have a shop.)

We stopped by a general store that sold gourmet ingredients. By the front door were 6 tubs of olives, all different variety. I saw Evian water for $6 because the bottle was specially design by Christian Lacroix. The most amazing was the coloful pasta stacked neatly on the shelf. I thought, "Maybe the colors make the pasta taste better!"

A little after noon, I was craving for sweet sweet crepes. I dunno why. So we stopped for a quick bite at The French Crepe Company. I ordered the La Chapon, which was made with cream of chestnut spread and whipped cream. My sister ordered the Crêpe Suzette, which was made with grand marnier, butter, and sugar. My parents ordered the Venezia panini sandwich made with goat cheese, sun-ripened tomato, black olive spread, and basil. They were all so delicious. I LOVED the chestnut crepe, so rich and creamy. Sorry, I ate it so fast I forgot to take a picture of the cream.

While everyone were finishing their food, I wandered around the market, looking for fruit stands. I love taking shots of fruit stands because they are so colorful, and colors make me happy :)

I wish we had more time to walk around Farmer's Market. Next time...

Hong Kong Style Breakfast

My family and I took a trip to Los Angeles for 4 days. The purpose of this trip was to visit HappyOblivion's parents, but...outlet hopping was also on our to-do list :) I have never been to an outlet in LA. If I have, I certainly don't remember because either I didn't buy much and/or I didn't have any money. Now that I have a job, I saved up some to blow away.

We went to the outlet just before Palm Springs, 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica, and Citadel Outlets in LA. We all expected expensive things in Santa Monica. However, we ended up buying the most there :) Speaking of purchases, my sisters bought me a Furla bag. I don't have any brand name bags for obvious reasons (in case you don't know, I am pake and I don't earn much). But a Furla bag for $60, originally $300. I have to say this, again, for the 500th time, "Wa, go Furla doy hou pang ah!" (English - The Furla bag is really cheap!) On the drive back from LA, my sister and I kept on repeating that phrase. So silly. Anywho, we really enjoyed shopping in Santa Monica. The beach was nice and the atmosphere was romantic. There were people singing on the streets, doing tricks, and dancing. One of the stores had cigar boxes for sale. I love cigar boxes because they are sort of antique and romantic.

I was excited about shopping because things were cheap. However, I was more interested in the food. When I was in Hong Kong, I ate so much good food. I don't quite remember what I ate but everything was delicious. In LA, we each had a Hong Kong style breakfast almost everyday. The breakfast came with macaroni and chicken, sausages, toast, and 2 eggs. The best part was the milk-tea-coffee drink. Milk tea is pretty common. But milk-tea-coffee is usually available in Hong Kong style restaurants, which are not so common.

Stay tuned for our trip to the famous Farmer's Market at 3rd and Fairfax.

Christmas Celebration

The day after I returned home, we had a gigantic dinner to celebrate Christmas and my two sisters' birthdays. There were lots of food! We had honey-roasted ham, yam, cranberry-orange sauce, vegetables, fish, and turkey. Although the turkey was a little undercooked in the middle, the seasoning was yummy! I also really enjoyed the fish, which was coated in batter and panko crumbs, then lightly pan-fried.

After dinner, my niece and nephew helped make madeleines for our LA trip the next day. They did a little "real" mixing before it became a game of who-can-throw-more-flour-on-the-carpet.

This year's birthday cake was beautiful. No, my sister didn't bake a cake for herself, which she shouldn't. She went and bought a cake that she loved and shared with everyone. It was a chocolate cake with winter theme decorations.

Mmm...I still like her cakes more :)

Leaving on a jet plane

I figured I won't have much time to catchup on blogging once I return to Honolulu, so I decided to begin now since I have some time. HappyOblivion and I left Honolulu for home on the same day but different flights. He flew Delta to LA, and I flew Hawaiian to San Jose. We showed up at the airport 2 hours before his flight at 1:36PM. After checking in our baggage and going through the security gate, we met up in the Hawaiian Airlines Premier Club Lounge. We sat there until 1 and then I walked him to his gate. At 1:15, we heard a final call for HappyOblivion to board. We ran and ran and ran. It was AWESOME! After he boarded and on the way to my gate, which was a completely separate wing of the airport, I saw his name everywhere on the monitors. HappyOblivion was famous!

While his flight left early, mine was delayed half an hour. Grrr!

I just updated my Artsy Blog, so please check it out!