happy thanksgiving

On Thanksgiving Day we acknowledge our dependence. ~William Jennings Bryan

happy thanksgiving everybody. we all have so much to be thankful for.
 
i had a quiet thanksgiving this year but it was nice. here are some pictures to share my story of today.

i woke up at 5 this morning to brine our turkey breast and couldn't go back to sleep. after lying in bed for a few hours i got up and ready to do some christmas shopping at old navy. it was chilly this morning. when i walked out of the house, the grass was all frosty.  

when i got back home from shopping, i watched some t.v. while wrapping of the gifts i got and sipped on my pumkin spice latte.  

 i was hoping that the turkey would be ready by the time d got home but it wasn't. it took about another hour and 30 minutes for it to finally finish. however, it turned great when it was finally done. brining it made it nice and juicy! we'll be brining our turkeys from now on.

 even the dogs got a little taste of it. we're thankful for them so it was only right that we shared =)

cheesecakes

it's weird that i used to hate all things cheese. i remember when i was younger, i would tell people that i was allergic to it because i hated it so much. but now, i love all things with cheese. philly cheesesteaks. cheese pizzas. chili cheese fries. cheese with beef jerky. and of course, cheesecakes. and i absolutely looooooooove cheesecakes.

strawberry mini cheesecake cupcakes

yesterday i made some for the very first time. my cousins were visiting from the bay area so i thought it was the perfect time to test it out since i would have people to help me finish it. but an emergency came up and they had to head back home right after our dinner at the boiling crab so they didn't get to try my cheesecake =( but d sure loves them. he actually woke up before me this morning and when i walked out to him in the living room watching football, he said "i ate five cheesecakes already." that funny guy.

cooling down

christmas cards

since i got the day off of work in celebration of veterans day, i decided to do some crafts! with my new christmas tree stamp that i got yesterday, i made these cards. love the little gems on top of the tree.

next project-- this weekend i want to work on making a banner with a quote or my name to hang up in my office at work.

oh.....

i really really want these pants.....

 super cute from anthropology. i love that store.

recycling christmas cards

what do you guys do with all of the christmas cards that you receive from others each year? do you save them all? maybe throw them away? for the longest time, i found myself saving every single card or note i receive from people. then every few years i would go through my box of "all things to save" and find myself throwing away those very same cards that i decided to keep when i received them years earlier. this year, when i was going through that box of mine, i found some cards and thought, "man these are cute. why not cut part of it out and make "new" christmas cards". and that's exactly what i did! i got out my exacto knife and paper cutter and started cutting away. hopefully i didn't hurt any friends feelings who gave me cards in the past... i love getting cards and really do appreciate it!     

when the weather gets cooler

fall is definitely here. i know it when it starts to get rough waking up for work in the morning because its much darker outside and the colder weather keeps me snuggled in the blanket. i know it when there starts to be condensation build up on my car windows in the morning. i also know it when i just want to snuggle on the sofa with hot chocolate,my dogs and d, and the tv on a rainy weekend morning. i love fall because it's not too cold yet nor is it too hot. i love seeing the color changes in the trees and the holiday decor items that are put out in the stores. but i have to say, one of the most comforting thing about fall is bringing out the wonderfully smelling candles out once again. for me, it's the best change. i hardly ever light up candles in the warmer months because of the heat. but once fall rolls around, candles are lit at least a two or three times a week. and i love it. the flickering light, the smell , and the warmth it gives when you're around it. it makes me feel good. i love it.

fried rice

fried rice. it is definitely a dish that i typically avoid ordering at almost all restaurants. why? because i'm never pleased. of course i may enjoy a friend's or family member's homemade fried rice; however, when going out to eat, i am very picky about this dish. nonetheless, i will have to tell you all that there have been only two places that i have been to in my lifetime where i can say that i absolutely love their fried rice.

place one: a small chinese grocery store which included a take-out restaurant called wings market. i grew up loving their fried rice and chow mein. i don't know how and where the heck all the flavors come from but i truly don't think i will ever have fried rice that will be comparable to the ones at wings. it was a family owned business across the street from my high school. although the owner included a stingy chinese man who will question you for asking for additional forks and napkins, the bad customer service could not stop me from ordering their food. and actually, i always thought it was pretty funny when he'd raise his voice and blurt out "whaaaaa??? why you a need fow (four) folks (forks) for?? you got a medium." or "whaaa? two folks (forks)?? why so many??" but the business have been gone for some time now because of the family relocating. i wish they would come back. but i know they wont.

place two: osha thai in sf. but not any of their fried rice. it's their crab fried rice that is just sooo awesome (pictured above). but they have a lot of other awesome items on their menu as well. their calamari and pumpkin curry are also delicious. i'm glad this place is still open and i doubt it will ever go out of business.

 

i am back.

i have been away for too long from this blog. i originally created this blog to document my life through pictures and some words to share with my family and friends. also, i wanted this area to be a creative outlet for me to share my thoughts and art, which includes photography and papercrafting. lately, i've been getting in touch with my creative self once again and it makes me happy. i have a new love now since i last blogged. that new love is my nikon d5000. i wish i could take it out and play with it more but i haven't had much time. but i do love it. yes i do. but that's all for now. i will be back soon friends.

disneyland

for my 26th birthday, d and i went to disneyland with pat, van, linda, and liem. the first and last time i was there was in 2002 for my high school senior trip. i have to say, i enjoyed it a lot more this time around. yes, i've always thought disneyland was cool, but now that i'm older, i think i've learned to appreciate the details and hard work that was put into everything to appreciate it more. i can't wait to visit disneyworld!

cream cheese...

since d started his job, he discovered something new from his coworkers. every saturday the cafeteria is closed at work so they can't buy breakfast from there. so instead, their department takes turns bringing breakfast every saturday. and every saturday, they always have bagels with cream cheese as well as avocados and cucumbers. but they don't just have regular cream cheese or the typical flavors that are more common..........it's always salmon flavored philadelphia cream cheese. he told me about it the first day he had it and i was thinking, that sounds goods. that's because i like smoked salmon and cream cheese combinations. so the next time we went to the store, that's exactly what i bought. and I LOVE IT!!!!!!

beautiful may day

it's the first day of may. my favorite month of the year. why? because it's spring, which is one of my two favorite seasons. i love it because it usually isn't raining in may and it usually isn't dying hot yet! but most importantly, i love may because it's my birthday month!! but speaking of the beautiful may weather....today was definately one of those days! sunny with a nice cool breeze all day and night. it was so nice i went outside to see what pictures i could take and found some small itty bitty flowers growing from the bushes in the backyard. so beautiful.

hanging out

i can't believe it's already april. 2010 has zipped by so quickly. i'm really looking forward to going to socal next month as well as enjoying summer nights and weekends. lately, d and i have been enjoying hanging out with the kids at home playing boardgames. an oldie but goodie that we've been enjoying is monopoly. classic.

snicker doodle cupcakes

since so many people have asked me about these cupcakes i made for hellen's nye party this year, i decided to post it up on my blog to share with everyone. they're from the Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book. i absolutely love the book. i made 3 different cupcakes from the book already and i enjoy them all. i also love the cream cheese frosting recipe from the book. if you love cupcakes like me, i recommend you to get the book. well here's the recipe...enjoy.

snicker doodle cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon, plus 1/2 teaspoon for dusting

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 3/4 cups sugar, plus 2 tablespoons for dusting

4 large eggs, room temperature

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups milk

Directions:

1. preheat oven to 350 degree F. line standard muffin tins with paper liners. sift together both flours, baking powder, salt, and 1 tablespoon cinnamon.

2. with an electric mixer on medium high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. beat in vanilla. reduce speed to low. add flour mixture in three batched, alternating with two additions of milk, and beating until combined after each.

3. divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. bake in oven for about 20 minutes. cupcakes can be stored up to 2 days at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.

note: i did a little research about the cake flour as i never used it before and couldn't find it when i went shoppig. i found that you could subsitute it with all purpose flour. the substitution calls for every 1 cup cake flour = 1 cup minus 2 tablespoons of cake flour. that's exactly what i did when i baked these and i think they turned out fine.

happy anniversary continued

happy anniversary mr. blog!

Happy Anniversary to me and Mr. Blog. It's been a whole year. wow. well, thanks to everybody that has been keeping up with me and my blog. Next year, year more will come. I'm glad I got to spend my anniversary day with d, my fur babies, and a friend who got me started on this blog a year ago. oh yea, and my fur baby neice zoey. here are some pictures from tonight's unexpected celebration. ........... in the next post