Trinkets from Greece Before the Goodbye

Lookie, Helen bought me some gems from Greece!

She’ll be leaving for Boston in a few short days and I am going to miss her dearly.  I try not to be too sentimental anymore when people come and go because it’s a pretty regular occurrence now, but saying goodbye is still never easy.  Sometimes it feels like college was just a moment ago, but times have changed – we have changed – and life has thrown us some hardships, along with, plenty of joys along the way…

There will be many more (hardships and joys that is) in the coming years.  Lately, especially this past week, it feels like life is filled with ALL bad and none of the good.  It made me re-evaluate life in a way I haven’t done in a very very long time.  Seasons change, people pass on, people stumble, fall, and try to get back up – life keeps moving.  Round and round it goes.  We yearn for a time to breathe, a place to stop, a moment to stand still.  Life keeps moving.  It doesn’t stop for you, for me…

So in these times, when things don’t make sense, when the reality I knew ceases to be… I cling to the one truth I know, the one God who loves.  “Come to me all ye who are weary and burdened, and I will give you Strength”, says He.

Another quote I hold dear: “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen; not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” – C.S. Lewis

Hope.  Grace.  That is what I Need.

OyakoDon Cravings

I’ve been really into OyakoDon these days, so I looked up how to make it and turns out it’s not hard at all – in fact, I had all the ingredients right in my cupboard – even better!  OyakoDon is basically a Japanese chicken and egg on rice dish.

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

• Dashi - 1/4 Cup – (I mixed 1/2 Tbsp Dashi with 1/4 cup water)
• Mirin - 3 TBSP
• Soy Sauce - 2 TBSP
• Sugar - 3 TBSP
• Yellow Onion - 1/2
• Chicken Breast/Thighs - 6 oz.
• Eggs – 4
• Green Onion or Chives (optional)

Soy Sauce, Mirin, and Dashi

Prep:

1. Slice the onion
2. Cut chicken into chunks (I like to season it with salt and rub in some soy sauce to give it more flavor)
3. Lightly whisk the eggs (not too much)

Sliced chives & onions

Let’s Get Cooking!!

1. Put the wet ingredients into a pan together (Mirin, Soy Sauce, Dashi), also add the sugar.
2. Add sliced onions.  Cover it for 2-3 min and let simmer.
3. Add chicken in with the onions.  Cover again for about a 1-2 min.
4. Turn over the chicken and put cover back on.
5. Once chicken is mostly cooked, pour in 2/3 of the eggs.  Cover for 15 seconds.
6. Pour in rest of the eggs and if you want, you can add some sliced green onions or scallions in.
7. Done!  Put on top of a steaming hot bowl of rice.

Ready to Eat!!  Put on top of rice – you can also top it with some chopped Nori (dried seaweed).

Here’s the video I followed – I changed the ingredient amounts because the first time I made this, it wasn’t sweet enough.  I added more sugar and mirin to enhance the taste.  I also preseasoned the chicken.

Our Engagement Shoot

Both Sam and I were super nervous going into the Engagement Shoot.  We didn’t even figure out what to wear until the morning of!!  I was in such a rush and quickly grabbed two sets of clothes.  One was just a plain white top and jeans and another was just a beachy, casual dress.  I went to John Q in the morning to get my hair curled, and then Hana helped me with my make-up.  We planned to shoot at 2 locations – Mission San Juan Capistrano and the cute area around Beachcomber Cafe (a hut looking restaurant that sits on the sand).

We got to Mission San Juan Capistrano at 3pm, only to discover that you can only do wedding photography in there with advanced reservations and some sort of license by the director!  Aiiish… the architecture and stones in the mission are beautiful and I was able to peer in and see the beautiful, rustic looking wall.

See how beauty?

So we ended up not being able to shoot there, BUT as luck would have it – the area surrounding the mission was just as beautiful!!  It had that old Spanish feel to it and we even found a hidden railroad track and some cute, boutique shops in Old Town San Juan Capistrano.  :)

Then we headed off to BeachComber, which Sam and I had scoped out the day before.  It’s a unique location and hidden – you feel like you walk into another world when you walk down those steps or go through the tunnel underneath PCH just to get there.

Hana was a thrill to work with, and it didn’t feel awkward at all doing “make you gag” poses with her shooting away!  We are not camera people, but Sam and I definitely got settled and comfortable after just a few shots.  Hana and I even got to try a Date Shake from the Shake Shack in the middle of our shoot – it’s a definite must try if you’re ever driving along PCH… yum yum yum!

Date Shake!!  It’s their most popular shake

Doesn’t this have a 1950s feel to it?

A Korean Market Food Run

I never crave meat, but this week all I could think about was meat meat meat.  Not just any kind of meat either – not hot dogs, not burgers, not steaks, no no no – I was really dying for some Korean BBQ, specifically galbi!!  The thought of sweet, tender, juicy marinated short ribs had me salivating like one of Pavlov’s dogs.  So for dinner, Sam and I decided to satisfy our carnivorous side without making a huge dent in our wallets by heading over to none other than our neighborhood Korean market!  One of the best things about Socal is its variety of good korean food at your fingertips.

As we browsed the aisles, I picked up a packet of beef tongue and said, “what do you think?  yum!” – His response?   “okaay, but you’re eating that ALL by yourself”.  Sadness.  I reluctantly put the tender, juicy tongue back in its place.  The same goes for soondae!  Sam also doesn’t eat green onions (and that’s in practically every single Korean dish!).  Sometimes when I cook, I sneak in finely chopped onions on purpose and he eats them right up, muahahaha… they’re good for your health!

Anyway, we eventually left the market with some good food under our belt!

Here we have kimchi, sliced radishes, seasoned tofu, and salted squid.

The salted squid is all me – nice and slimy, sluuurp.

Kalbi on the bone – on sale for $2.99/lb!

Kalbi off the bone – $3.49/lb.

It’s so fun and satisfying to eat all all this Korean food from a lap tray, sitting in front of the TV!  Simple pleasures, yes indeedy.

A ShanTer Weekend!

It’s been awhile since I’ve had a weekend like this past one!  Shannon and Terry came down to Socal and spent the weekend at my place – I was more than happy to have them!  We had a lot of fun vegging out, watching movies, and chatting till dawn.  It felt like college again… a much needed break away from the school that has been consuming my life.

They got here Friday night and first on the agenda was dinner at Thai Spice – I knoow right?  Of all the things Terry could’ve chosen, he was craving Socal’s Thai Spice – I’m never going to understand that one!  Then we came back, played with the doggies, and popped in Gattaca (Shannon & Vince had never seen it and actually suggested it – yaaay!  I was more than happy to accommodate).  For those who don’t know, Gattaca is one of my favorite movies.  After the movie, true to our college days… we went on a midnight hunt for ghetto Mexican food!

Self-timer on a trashcan ledge is the way to go for these all-inclusive group pics ;)

Then Saturday morning we woke up at 11am (I haven’t slept in like that in a loooong time) and headed out for some 5-star omelets at Old Vine Cafe (I blogged about it here)!  We happened to come when there was a bridal shower going on, so the place was packed out.  We waited for a good 30 minutes before getting seated… luckily The CAMP is filled with cute seating areas and shade.  We entertained ourselves by getting in touch with our Asian heritage…

The highlight of this place is seriously their variety of homemade spreads.

We come home and veg out.  Sam and I really enjoy hanging out with Shan and Tere – the level of comfort we have with them is sky high.  It helps that I’m close to Shan and Sam’s close to Terry – since we were all good friends before any of us started dating, it just feels like 4 good, single friends hanging out.

We come back from brunch and Terry proceeds to play Gran Turismo on the PS3, Shan plays some ball tossing game on the iPhone, Sam knocks out on the couch, and I go online.  That’s the level of comfort I’m talking about!  No need to entertain or make sure everyone’s ok – everyone’s just doing their own thing in comfortable silence – like family!

What a lazy Saturday afternoon it was.  After a little dilly dallying, we popped in Reign Over Me (my other favorite movie) and I sobbed like a baby again.  Can you believe prior to this weekend, Shannon had only seen 1 of 5 in my top movies list?!  After the movie, we end our day at Shin Sen Gumi for some of Socal’s best ramen~

And that’s the gist of our weekend!  I wish all my friends would move back to Socal already – I really miss them!

So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) – It Begins!

I might be a borderline loser for saying this, but one of the things I look MOST forward to over summer is the TV Show So You Think You Can Dance!  Over the years it has developed quite a fanbase, and for the first time ever they’re also premiering a season in the Fall of this year!!  I personally think SYTYCD BLOWS American Idol out of the water.

I love the judges on So You Think You Can Dance way more too (with the exception of Simon Cowell – for some reason I adore that “jerk”).  The judges actually give constructive criticism in an honest, direct, but compassionate way (ok mostly Nigel).  You can tell he really cares about the dancers and want them to do well as they continue to develop their passion for dance.

During the auditions, my early favorites were Natalie Reed (Katee’s ex-roommate), Alex Chow, Brandon, and Caitlin Kinney (one of the 2 sisters that auditioned separately).  Some of them weren’t so HOT during Vegas week though – Natalie got booted.  Brandon almost got booted.  Caitlyn had to dance for her life.

They’re now down to the TOP 32.  12 people still need to get booted.  The TOP 20 get announced TONIGHT.  I’m so nervous!!  Caitlin is my early favorite – even though she failed to impress during Vegas week, I was really moved by her initial solo audition – she has this humility and grace about her.  I hope she makes it in!!

Here’s Caitlin’s Audition:

Her dancing style isn’t unique, just simple and graceful… gorgeous lines and beautiful face.

My FAVORITE all-time SYTYCDancer?? TRAVIS hands down.  He was runner up to Benji.  :(

Check out this SYTYCD Blog & Fansite: http://www.SYTYCDism.com

What’s New with You?

So what’s new in my life you ask?  And even if you didn’t ask, I’m going to share anyway… neener!  :p

• I started my 2nd trimester for Pepperdine’s MBA program – Econ and Accounting. I have to say, I HATE accounting and wonder how people do an entire Master’s on the subject.  My Professor is also a lil’ bit crazy – he assigns tons of HW and this is supposed to be the Fully Employed Program.  I have classmates that stay up till dawn trying to finish his work.  It’s a good thing I’m unemployed at the moment because I’m not math or numbers minded AT ALL.  Accounting makes me feel stupid and incompetent.
• Sam and I found a new church (and we’re staying put!) – conVerge Family Church in Garden Grove.  We really like it and for the 1st time in a long time I feel like I can call it home.  This church thing has been a long long journey, and I have felt alone and confused and lost about church for a long long time.  Maybe one day I’ll blog about that journey…
• There’s a new puppy in the house!! Sam and I always discussed how it’d be nice to one day get a companion for Sophie (Huskies are pack animals and most recommend that they get raised with another dog), but I never thought the day would come so soon!  Sam loves malti-poos because he owns one so the other day he saw an ad for a malti-poos on Craigslist!  We inquired about her and the rest is history.
• Engagement Session with our favorite Hana Chung Photography - it’s taking place in about 2 weeks!  I’m really excited for that because 1) She takes amaaazing photos and I just keep seeing her get better and better 2) Because we’re not the most “natural” people in front of the camera… it will be good to have her guide us since we already feel so comfortable with her.

Now that the wordiness is over, it’s picture time!  Here are some snapshots of whats been going on with me:

Our last stint with the Chu’s before they left to Boston – Brunch at Mimi’s the morning of their departure :(

Celebrated my Melon’s graduation from USC!!  So proud of her!

Totally spontaneous dinner with Mr. Choi!  So thankful that he always calls us up whenever he’s in town… that’s a true friend right there.

Went to Sam’s baby sister’s graduation.  Danielle just graduated from HS – seems like that was us a forever ago!

[INSERT PIC OF ME AND CAROL HERE - Carol came to town for Memorial Day Weekend so I got to see her after 7 long months!  I didn't have my camera on me so I didn't get a pic of the two of us together... boo!]

Ate some really good food at Greenhouse Cafe (in Fullerton) with Bev.  Pictured here: Tomato Bisque Soup (one of the best I’ve had) with a Brie & Roast Beef Sandwich on Squaw Bread.  Mmmmm… Catching up with a close girlfriend over really good food & coffee is one of the best things in the world.

Wine and Cheese Shindig at Hanah’s with conVerge – there was lots of wine, various cheeses & gourmet meats, fresh fruit, pizza, sliced baguettes, and even Chinese dessert from Phoenix Cafe!

With the hostess herself!!  :)

And finally… here are my two babiiies!  Coco is actually older than Sophie.  Coco is 11 months and Sophie is 7 months.

Whew that was a long post!

Am I My Mom?!

I came across this picture of my mom, and my first reaction was SURPRISE because even I noticed how much of a resemblance I have to my mom (my mom’s the one on the left)!

Sometimes these revelations hit at the weirdest, most random times.  I suppose it’s appropriate in light of Mother’s Day coming up this Sunday.  There have been many moments in life when I’ve wanted to be nothing like my mom.  She is a good woman, but she is not a perfect mom by any means.  I know her intentions are with us in mind – wanting to provide, especially having to be the sole breadwinner.  She always gave us her money and resources freely – abundantly – but we were always lacking in the time department.  There were many times growing up when I was bitter at her for missing performances and important milestones in my life – even as I plan for my wedding, she is completely hands off.  But as I’ve grown older I’ve come to see her as more than my mom – she is like any other human being with real hurts and plenty of past baggage.  It’s just who she is… should I expect or demand more?  I don’t know… but she is still my mom and I love her.

If someone were to ask me if I’d want to be just like my mom, my answer would still be no.  My priorities and values look very different from hers, but that doesn’t mean I can’t love her for who she is, just as she is.  <3

The Best Bread

The bread at 85C Bakery in Irvine is so addicting because it is incredibly soft – like melt in your mouth soft!  They bake the bread fresh daily… several times a day.  It’s a rarity to come and have the bread NOT be warm.  I’ve tried just about every type of bread here – the taro breads, red bean filled breads, onion breads, custard filled breads… but am still convinced that their best bread is the paprika topped hot dog bread!!! Don’t get me wrong, all the breads here are delish, but the paprika hotdog bread tops my list – I always end up purchasing more than one (one for the drive home, and one for later).

Next time you come, you’ve got to pick up this little piece of deliciousness:

An Eater’s Delight: Dumpling and Noodle House

What kind of cuisine comes to mind when you read “Dumpling and Noodle House“?  Prior to its opening I thought, “OH GREAT!  Just what we need… another fast food Chinese restaurant”.  It’s replacing another noodle house called “Ezo Noodle” so I wasn’t exactly thrilled.

Well, first impressions aren’t always right, and in this case I am SO GLAD I was wrong about my assumptions!  They just opened in mid-April and this is what I discovered:

1. It’s NOT a Chinese Restaurant – hallelujah happy happy dance.  :D
2. It doesn’t taste like fast food!
3. It’s DELICIOUS – I came here two nights in a row.

Dumpling and Noodle House is actually Korean fare!  Their original location is called Mandoo Rang – located in Buena Park.  It gets hella good reviews on yelp – averaging 4 stars.  Like the name suggests, there are mostly dumplings and noodles on the menu – jjajangmyun (noodles in black bean paste), ramen, udon, and nangmyun (cold buckwheat noodles).  They do, however, offer other selections like chicken katsu, pork katsu, and spicy stirfried rice cakes (dukbokgi) for those who aren’t in the mood for noodles.

Steamed Dumplings

Jjajangmyun

Chik Nangymyun – A N. Korean dish of arrowroot noodles in a cold, icy broth

Pronounced La-Bok-gi in korean, but look for “Volcano with Ramen” on the menu.  It’s a spicy stirfried ricecake and ramen dish.  Try it if you can handle the heat!

So far I’ve liked everything I tried here!  So glad there’s a new korean place that is FAST and CHEAP literally down the street from me.  Everything is less than $10 and the portions are huge – what a steal for dinner!