thanksgiving 2013

my efforts to sleep are proving to be futile as im up an hour after since my last post. i got to scrolling through my photos & noticed most of my home cooking photos are absent. i had hoped to catch up my blog with my cooking adventures but alas those photos are long gone. i made the terrible mistake of switching out of an iphone after the hubs accidentally placed my phone in the washer. thought it might be time to switch to a phone with a bigger screen for my korean dramas. lesson learned to never switch out of the intuitive smartness & simplicity of an iphone for customizable features (i hardly used them). i came across several problems with my samsung S4 after having had it only for only 4 months. i switched back. 

while aimlessly scrolling through my photos i came across thanksgiving pictures. my contribution this year was a cambodian noodle dish i learned from a friends sister. i had it at their family party & couldn't enough of it. it was my second time making it & it proved to be a success based on opinions at our thanksgiving gathering. 

i started by soaking peppers in water to soften them for the dressing. it looks like it may cause high levels of spiciness but on the contrary it only adds flavor. those who weren't fond of spicy foods couldn't detect it, so it was safe for all to eat.

 i transported the different elements of my crispy noodle cambodian salad separately so that it remained crunchy until it was ready for serving. 

arrived & everyone had a huge feast! so very thankful to be able to eat an abundance good food with good people! we feasted on the traditional turkey, honeybaked ham, cranberry sauce, pancit, lumpia, & crabs to name a few of the deliciousness that lay before my eyes. a filipino/american menu is always a winner in my book during the holidays! 

2014 cooking goals

as the hubby & i lay in bed at 4:46(am), attempting to fight off another day of jet lag we got to thinking about what we'll eat tomorrow. we agreed a trip to the grocery store is definitely a must since we haven't been home in almost a month..which got me thinking about cooking goals for 2014. id like to perfect & knock off a few recipes from my list. some are:

1) a delicious crisp pavlova 

2) tender irish corn beef & cabbage 

3) an aesthetically pleasing charcuterie that is full of taste & different textures

4) momofuku inspired compost cookie

5) learning 5-10 different tapas

6) spicy thai pork laab

7) pot roast 

8) chicken piccata sauce (many tries later & i still can't strike the right balance)

9) turkey chili 

10) bbq rib eye 

new life

has it really been 4 months since i last updated? so this happened during my brief hiatus & it's been amazing!

 it still seems surreal that i'm his wife & i have a husband. i feel incredibly blessed & overwhelmingly happy everyday. 

Eggplant Omelette

tortang talong (eggplant omelette) is one of my favorite filipino dishes. it's easy to make & comforting to eat. with lots of ketchup of course!  it transports me back to lunches sitting around the table with my tita's & cousins.

devirginized

i finally received the two monthly paper kits that ive been highly anticipating. i never knew such monthly subscriptions existed until recently. in fact theirs many different kinds being offered from various companies. from scrapbooking,  card making, project life,  & rubber stamp monthly mail outs! i chose studio calico's project life kit & simon says kelly purkey exclusive monthly kit. i am absolutely enamored by the exclusive karl barteski stamps in studio calico's project life kit & the letter press cards & gold accents from kelly purkey's kit.

ive decided to hold off on becoming a faithful monthly subscriber. so for now ill keep checking out their monthly kits & if im interested hopefully it's not sold out.

slowly but surely

it's been a little over 2 months since i joined the gym. ive been going 2 times religiously every week to meet with my personal trainer. sometimes i even go 3 times a week.

their was one week where i felt unmotivated & bloated while at the same time suffering my monthly migraines. it threw off my drive & i let it be my excuse to slack off for a week. i went to the gym once that week & didn't do much else fitness wise. i just didn't want to. i didn't want to make that 10 minute drive to the gym. i didnt want to think about what to eat throughout the week. in fact i ate a lot of bad foods during that time.

i was able to refocus after meeting with my trainer. i felt motivated & was ready to put in the work i had been giving prior to my week funk. farmers market visits resumed & cooking my own foods & eating as healthy as possible resumed.

their are many benefits to working out both physically & mentally. no new information that we all haven't heard before. during my moments of feeling unmotivated i hope to remind myself of the reasons why i must continue. i have to keep going because it lifts my mood. because im a set of reps away closer to my goal. because it's a good use of time. because it will help me become stronger & more discipline.  because it reminds me that i'm not a quitter. because i want a strong core. because i want to take pride in my body & health habits. because i want toned arms. because i want to move forward, not backward.

Babybug

i screamed like crazy when my bestie shared the news of her pregnancy last year. i screamed even more when we found out it was going to be a baby girl! it's hard to hold back when i come across cute baby clothes & cute little girly things. ive accumulated a bag full of stuff for my babybug. girls are just so fun! 

bestie's shower was several weeks ago. i made a diaper cake & ordered a personalized owl cake to match the theme of her shower. i thought the diaper cake would be easy to make but i was in for a challenge! i guess i was to eager to make it that i overlooked the fact that blogs & youtube tutorials failed to give step by step instructions of how to make the diaper cake parts. rather it showed assembly of how to put everything together. after a few days of work i finally finished her baby carriage diaper cake!