Monday, August 29, 2011

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I'm making a few gardening plans including adding a compost bin/ two mini rose trees/ more cement bunnies/ and a few birdhouses, like this one:


Sunday, August 28, 2011

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We spent the weekend catching up on some sleep and checking out what our neighborhood flea market had to offer. Unfortunately it was too hot and I didn't want my dogs to burn their paws in this temperature, so we went home five minutes after we got there. I bought this cute bird house for $5, and it's now sitting in my backyard. I read somewhere that birds usually would not be caught dead in a birdhouse, but I still like them hanging around for decorative purpose!

Wednesday, August 24, 2011


I love this outfit, may I say that leathery bag, colorful vintage shoes, and a dress with beautiful fabric is all I need.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

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The second part of our trip took place a few hours north of San Francisco. We stayed at a little cabin in the woods, had picnic on the beach, and visited some fairytale houses in a little beach town.

Monday, August 22, 2011

I'm back from my trip! I had so much fun with my husband. We walked around the city looking at random shops, ate at random places and took lots of pictures. It recharged me like nothing else! Cute shops and restaurants kept popping up while we walked, and when I saw people sat in the park reading a book or writing letters in a little outdoor cafe, it got me dreaming about moving here with my husband for some real San Francisco life! More pictures on my flickr:)
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Friday, August 19, 2011

Away in San Francisco for some much needed vacation time. Hopefully I will be all refreshed and inspired when I come back!

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

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Today was one of those days when I've had just about up to my neck with dish washing and floor swiping. It's the package deal that comes with owing a house, there is the endless cleaning and organizing to the point that if I have to empty another load of dishwasher I could just throw up. I had to go to my old neighborhood today, which has become such a big deal now a days because of the distance, but it was really nice. I had a moment of realization that I had been missing everything about it, my gym that I used to go to that I could regularly chat up to a few regulars while I blow dry my hair, the coffee shop that I go to in the morning and the barista who knows me by my name, the sunlight that shone through the window at the end of my 6am yoga class, the trees on a particular street, buildings that I'm familiar with, the warm sun on my back, the fact that I know every single short cut to get home during rush hour... I guess you can say I feel a little home sick.

I made a point to sign up for a yoga house near my new place, and went back to my favorite yarn shop for some fresh inspiration. I guess when I needed a little pick me up, I should just get a little pick me up!
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I took Kelly to the vet yesterday because she occasionally hops on three legs and is not as active as she used to be. As it turned out, she has a mild degree of medial patella luxation, which is a common disease effecting small Maltese breed dogs. The vet said surgery is not recommended yet, but if she could lose a pound or two it would help very much to reduce the stress on her knee. My poor baby, but she loves to eat! We are going to try short and more frequent walks around the neighborhood and smaller portion of food. Hope this works!
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I had my first try at Korean rice cake today. It tasted pretty good, but I'm not Korean and I just made it based on what they looked like when I ate out at Korean places, so try at your own risk:) You will need rice cake, chili paste, napa cabbage, long green onion, shredded carrot, and fish cake. All ingredients can be purchased at Korean supermarket, especially the chili paste, I think it's pretty hard to find elsewhere. Boil the rice cake in boiling water, add in 2 tbls chili paste or to taste, vegetables and fish cake. Add 2 tsp soy sauce and 1 tsp sugar or to taste. The liquid will thicken with cooking, when the rice cake becomes gooey and soft, it is done. Serve while hot!

Tuesday, August 16, 2011


me: So, how was your sleep last night?
Jeff: Warm, soft, furry, and smelly like a butt. Now I see why! LOL. =)

Monday, August 15, 2011

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Apparently, my vow to be a vegan did not quite pan out as I had hoped. There were just too many dinners and parties that made a vegan meal difficult. I'm considering some easier options like maybe being vegetarian or pescetarian?

Saturday, August 13, 2011

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I wanted soba for lunch but was too lazy to drive out to a restaurant, so I made it myself. Prepackaged soba noodle should be boiled in boiling water for about 6-8 minutes, and rinse repeatedly in cold water to wash off the salty taste and starch. I like to stuff it in the freezer for two minutes so it is refreshingly cold when I eat it:) Soup base? Again came from a bottle in Japanese supermarket. Look for soba noodle soup base, I know you can make the stuff at home but why bother if you just want something quick and easy?

Friday, August 12, 2011

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Can't believe that it's Friday already! Happy weekend!
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I can't help posting pictures of jewelry and clothes sometimes, after all, I'm a girl! I found the bracelet and anklet for five bucks, it was quite a deal:)

Thursday, August 11, 2011

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Come to think of it, I don't think I've said a word about my wedding. It was such a huge event evolving so many people and so much effort, I don't even know where to begin talking about it or who to thank first! Everyone in my family helped out during the planning, began with my father, who gladly took on a active wedding planning role when I bluntly told him I just wanted to hit the city hall with my husband. Being a business man, he ran my wedding like a boss and had family "conferences" with my uncles and aunts and assigned them with different chores, I almost fell on the floor laughing when he seriously told me that he had all my uncles report back to him periodically on their progress.
Then there were my parent in laws who ventured to China on their own after a lot of flight delays and troubles and made it to my hometown in order to attend our wedding. My wedding planner who took care the bulk of work and stayed pretty much til early in the morning in the banquet hall the night before the event to make sure all the fine details were in place. It was a really successful event with over 300 guests and less than three months of planning time, it never could have happened without help from everyone. I had never been a bridezilla in my life, but in the end my family was right, it was really nice to have a good ceremony and build memories of a life time.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

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Vegetables from our garden.

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Lunch at Newport Beach.

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And meet Charles,

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He is a funny dog!

New Year Preparation

I always like to do a bit of preparation at the end of each year to welcome the new year, although this year things were very challenging, I...