2014 where did you go?

This year started rather tumultuously, I thought.  Year of the horse seems so auspicious, but kicked me in the butt quite a few times.  It's not over yet, arguably the most important part is yet to come... Fingers crossed.

We moved into our new house!  Actually this happened in August 2013, closed on the 29th.  But it didn't really feel like home until this year, when what seemed a vast amount of empty space began to fill in with clutters of daily life.  I find myself scrambling for storage space in this 4000 sq ft house for two.

I turned 32!  S and I celebrated at The Optimist, one of my favorite restaurants in Atlanta.  I told S I didn't want anything for my birthday, but on the day of we went to the mall and walked away with the most lovely Burberry toggle coat with fur trimmed hat.  I felt very very spoiled. And very very lucky.

Snow day 2014.  A different fur collar with a different coat. 

Backyard view of my neighbor's house.  Doesn't it look so idyllic in the snow?

Snow Apocalypse in Atlanta!  (Almost) trapped at work.  After a three hour car ride home, only to be picked up by monster truck to return to work the next day.  Staying at Econolodge and Hampton Inn with Hadrami.  Oh winter, please be more kind this year. 

San Francisco Reunion!!  Where I was introduced to Japanese Ramen, how fast babies grow, and still dreaming of the insanely yummy shaved ice (which is really not ice at all but some sweet creamy light fluffy cream).

S and I bought not one but two cars within a span of 3 months.  Will never forget how happy (and proud?) my dad was when I returned his camry.  There was the first toyota camry, then the green Mitsubishi sport, then black Avalon, finally this camry is the only one I was responsible enough to return (even fixed the scratch).  I think it means I can take care of myself now, or something like that.

My sweet mom turned 60.  Yet she is not one day over 40, or 35, to me...  Still not a single strand of grey hair.  Still takes care of me when I am sick.  Still the person I want to talk to the most when sad/happy/sleepy.  Love my mommy.

Cutie

L'Atalier de Joel Robuchon

View from Cosmopolitan

Weekend trip to Vegas, Steve's favorite place in the world. Ok maybe not... but pretty close.

 NOLA/Biloxi trip in May, right before our lives changed forever.  S asked me on the trip - "you're eating a lot. are you pregnant?" Me - "No!"

There it is, the elusive two lines.  The funny thing is, once it's positive, there is no doubt in the world it's positive (although I have heard of tests where the second line is only slightly dark).  I think at one point I had about five of them all lined up.  S wanted to be sure.  It's the most thrilling/magical moment of our married life.  S: "what do we do now?" Me: "I don't know. I think it just grows." :)

 20 weeks and growing.  Still the most thrilling/magical, but also the most scary/nerve-wrecking/out-of-my-control experience.

Baby Do and I getting inspired by Oprah.

October in Chicago

"the Wild Bean"

Brothers!

The best turkey sandwich at The Publican Chicago.  I have been ordering sandwiches everywhere in Atlanta since I got back, but they all fall short. It's in the bread (fried I think), the melted fontina, and whatever else (I think an onion vinegar of some sort) is happening.  And the kale salad with bits of feta cheese, very envious of that salad. 

October in Chicago is breathtakingly beautiful.  When the weather isn't cold enough to take your breath away, the beautiful waterfront will.

Two hour wait to get into Wasabi for the famous torched pork belly Ramen Noodle.  Amazing. 

Margie's Ice Cream.  I wasn't sure what the big deal was, whether it was worth the waiting and the line and putting up with the chaos that is this (well-known) establishment.  I mean, ice cream is ice cream right?  This is a banana split with chocolate, coconut, and mint chocolate ice cream with hot fudge sundae in its own boat.  I have been craving it since.  Go figure. 

Our trip to Chicago trip is splendid.  Despite sprained ankles and sciatic leg, we hobbled our way from one restaurant to the next.  Not pictured is the Chicago pizza, legendarily good; the smell of caramel and cheddar cheese popcorn; and S trying to find me water along the Chicago River bank despite his swollen ankle.  Yep, still my favorite travel partner.

Happy Halloween.  My favorite holiday came and went, along with my favorite month.  S and I have been married for two years on 10.29.2014, and we celebrated with a steak at Ruth Chris.  No special gifts, we're old married couples now.

I will be working this Thanksgiving, but still, the spirit of the holidays is not wasted on me.  I love any holiday that involves cooking and eating.

Looking forward to our little Christmas tree, filling it with gifts, and for once spending Xmas day with family and seeing these gifts being opened.  Looking forward to baby Do growing bigger and bigger, and me heavier and heavier.  I'm getting fat and there is nothing I can or want to do about it.  Sometimes in life, all is well and I am thankful.

Fall

In the blink of an eye, October is almost over.  I remind myself that Halloween is yet to come to ease the passing of my favorite month, this year at least.  The two pumpkins on my front porch may not get carved, as I am trying to take it easy.  We will also not watch a scary movie this year, since our movie choice last year is haunting me still.

Oprah - The Life You Want

One evening in early April, my friend texted me - Oprah is coming to Atlanta!  Minutes later we both bought tickets to see her.  Months pass by, before we know it it's September and we are standing in line in Hotlanta at the Phillips Arena, in our heels, waiting to see the O!

Truth be told, I haven't given a lot of thought to this event.  I had no idea what to expect.  My friend reminded me to bring a pen and notebook, so I did.  I wasn't even in the mood to be inspired.  I simply wanted to see Oprah in person.  All those years after school I have watched her on TV, felt so inspired, connected, changed.

The first thing that jilted something in me was when Oprah said this - we only have a finite amount of time and finite amount of energy on this Earth.  Too often we invade other people's energy field, where we have NO POWER!  Instead we should cultivate our own energy field, where we can actually make a difference.

Ok, those are not her words exactly, but it struck such a cord with me.  Haven't I been meddling in a co-worker's energy field more than I care to admit, trying to re-vamp it (him)??  Haven't it been driving me crazy at work on a weekly basis that this person just isn't getting any better??!

Enough.  I have no power there.

Then she said live your life with intentions.  Sounds vague, no?  It actually makes a lot of sense.  She says you're either walking towards love or walking towards fear.  FEAR.   Live consciously, make conscientious choices, ask yourself - what is your intention in doing this??  Sometimes I do things mindlessly.  Too often out of fear.

Years ago I picked up a saying on her show and it have stayed with me all through the years (and quoted by me countless times to friends) -when in doubt, do nothing.

Elizabeth Gilbert was there too!!  She is such a powerful speaker (I have since watched her TED talks).  I soaked up all her words, and didn't even take that many notes.  I jotted down only this "All change involve motion, and all motion brings uncertainty."

Fall is coming.

I saw this sentiment across my favorite blogs, and jolted me with an excitement and happiness.  Even now, just the word FALL, makes me smile.  Gold and red leaves, cool sweater weather, unearthing all my boots,  and getting ready for my favorite holiday, Halloween!  October has always been my favorite month of the year.  Now that I have my own house, my own golden leaves, and my very own witch sign outside the door, makes the holiday season that much more special.

Mom is here for another two weeks.  She has made our life so much easier, made me so much fatter, and spoiled Steve rotten by folding all his laundry and doing all the dishes.  Steve doesn't know yet, as I do, we will miss her terribly.  As much as I'm looking forward to life of two again, I know I'll feel an empty void for days.  I'm dreading dropping her off at the airport already.

Eating chocolate until my teeth hurt, that's exactly what I did for the past 10 minutes.  Occasionally I would drink a sip of water to wash the caramel off my teeth.  Then on to the next one.  So far my favorite are kisses and Rojo.

pedicure, hair, and flowers.

All the madness of 2014 is finally simmering down, just a little.  Getting over my second cold in two months, getting in a summery mood with a pedicure (I think I finally found a place I like almost as much as The Venetian in Birmingham), getting excited about NOLA trip next next weekend, and finally getting 6 full days of rest (actually recovering from my cold).

Purple with a Purpose.   I have been known to pick the color because of the name!  "Significant Other" and "you're such a Kabuki queen" come to mind.

Maybe wearing this lucky cat sweater will turn my luck around?  It's 30% off right now but still more than I want to pay… Ask me again at 50% off.

NICE hair, right?  Looks simple enough.  But one expensive curling iron and many a burnt fingers later -  a mess of curls in turning in every direction.  Very tempting to chop it all off.

Obsessing a little with potted plants.  Now that my own little pot of impatiens have survived ONE week, I'm eager to invest in more.

This lonely little pot of flowers is very loved.  Watered everyday, except when it rains.  It came in a plastic pot and S and I transplanted it together.  It's a labor of love.

Yesterday we bought patio furniture.  It seems really silly to me that we would buy furniture for the OUTSIDE of the house when the inside isn't entirely furnished yet.  But I have a weakness for Ikea meatballs and weakness for saying yes to my husband.  Besides things from Ikea doesn't seem as big of a commitment, like they can always be downgraded into the basement (indeed, our basement is full of Ikea downgrades).

After a morning of googling houzz and some of my favorite bloggers, I'm putting my foot down - the next project around this house will be change the lights.  There is not a single light fixture that I love around here, and I truly believe a good light transforms a space and changes the mood (of the house and the people living in it).

You know what I love even more than the antique light, the black door, and the little wooden horse?  The bight lime green ultra modern picture on the right wall.  So bold, so unexpected, so perfect.  http://brillanteinteriors.blogspot.com

I have blogged about this before and I will blog about it again, because it is amazing!  I'm sitting across the hallway from my formal dining room RIGHT THIS MOMENT and imagining this balloon light above the table.  AMAZING.  http://apparatusstudio.com/products/cloud-2/

More subtle, more like something I would have.  See what I mean about a light fixture transforming a space?  Instant class.

http://www.designmom.com/2013/11/living-with-kids-trina-mcneilly/

Quote(s) of the Day

2014.  You have not been so good.  You  know what you have done thus far, and I'm willing to overlook it if you promise to get a grip on it, and lighten up!!  I have always loved looking back through this blog (more like a journal at times) and spot rough patches, but try as I might cannot seem to remember the details of the badness.  I think of it as a symbolic reminder that this too, shall pass (and forgotten).  So without going into any details, suffice to say you have been stingy with luck where luck is needed, reopened some old scars that were just beginning to heal, and even as the long harsh winter is ending, you have made it difficult to see the hope of Spring

Some inspiration from some of my favorite blogs.  LaLaLovely.com.  I want to frame this and hang it in my bathroom.  I feel a tiny light hitting a dark corner of my mind every time I read this quote.  

Lil Blue Boo. You're so right.  Life can be such a B****.  

http://www.lilblueboo.com 

Light note, Heavy note

Let's start on a light note.

I, for one, have always wanted a TV in the bedroom.  This is mostly because I have never had one.  TV was always a guilty pleasure growing up.  I sneak in Oprah after school hours before my parents got home, when I should be doing homework.  In college my roommate had a TV that I was not allowed to turn on, and thus too prideful to watch.  Then when I had my own apartment during residency, paying double for cable was not an option.

Fast forward to my current house, a home of endless comfort and love.  It has a HUGE bedroom complete with a sunroom and eight large winders.  What it really needs is a TV.  I promise to be cognizant of Oprah's wisdom, that the bedroom should be a sanctuary, a peaceful place to begin and end the day.

On a heavier note.

I can't talk about it in concrete words, suffice to say it is a dark shadow in my life.  Friends or Foe, sometimes is a very very thin line.  I am lucky to have people in my life around whom I let my guard down, but it seems I shouldn't.  I am a wiser/stronger person today.  But oh how horrible, and I wouldn't wish upon anyone.  When I have a daughter one day, I will warn her about this.  In the meantime, remember I am strong.

Blueberry Cake Day

I haven't baked something to be proud of in a long time.  There have been many disasters in between.  Many of them involving meringue.  This Blueberry "Plain" Cake is anything but plain (thus why I added the quotation marks).  It should be called Special Blueberry Cake.  Because it is, not only tastes special, but makes the person who bakes it FEEL special.  There is a reason why Dorie Greenspan has such a solid fan following (myself included).  It's because of SIMPLE cakes like these that have an unbelievable depth of flavor.  It brings joy to my day.  Bubbling with blueberries (I used more than 2 cups, and could have used more), this cake was gorgeous before it even came out of the oven.  My house is now filled with caramel sweetness, and my heart is filled again with baking confidence!  On to my next cake!

http://www.culinate.com/books/collections/all_books/Baking/Blueberry-Brown+Sugar+Plain+Cake

I used a 9 inch round pan and baked for 30 min.

Girls weekend

Packing for San Francisco!

Ji and I are visiting my soul sister, the gentle friend that I have known and loved for the past eight years.  I think being an only child enforced the importance of friendships, and never have I gone through a stage in my life without a "best friend" by my side.  Some of them I no longer keep in touch with, but I still think of how they have made growing up better, easier.   Thuy and I have been apart for a little over one year, and often I wish she lived two streets over instead of across the country.  But such is life, and I am grateful for my friend.

It's my birthday...

… I do what I want!

I blurted that out around 9AM and it became the theme of my 32nd birthday.  Steve rolled his eyes and chuckled in disbelief, "it's going to be a long day".  For reasons not completely understood, it was one of my favorite birthdays I can remember.  May have something to do with not working, not studying, not on call, but may also have something to do with the first birthday I spent with my husband (2011 we met shortly after my birthday, 2012 I was on call and we celebrated one day early, 2013 I was working and we went to the melting pot, barely able to stay awake on the drive home).  Also, I loved all my Facebook posts from friends I haven't heard from in so long.

Dinner at the Optimist (http://theoptimistrestaurant.com) was amazing.  It is now my official favorite restaurant in Atlanta, and not only for sentimental reasons.  It is actually bright enough inside to take pictures without flash and STILL be able to see faces.  There is a bustling energy inside, great open space, high industrial ceilings.  The food was not too pretty, not too new, not too heavy, not too boring.

An update on my No Spending January thus far.

Things I passed up on - 

1. Vanessa Bruno silk dress that is DIVINE (in color, cut, fabric, and what I imagine it will look like on me) and 70% off!  This was a hard one to pass, and even made it to my shopping cart at one point.  However the price (still about $500 and the few occasions that I might wear it) made me click delete.  I have a feeling I will be thinking about this one.

2. Those knives, always those knives.

When I was too weak to say no - 

1. Isabel Marant dogtooth print pants.  Don't ask, I'm still not sure about this one.  I am in need to more interesting pants and these I can even wear to work.  Plus they're at a great price.  Plus they can be returned if anything less than perfect.

Did I mention Net-A Porter emailed me an extra 20% off coupon?  I have a feeling if my resolution has any chance of real success, there are websites that must be blocked and emails that must be unsubscribed.  Sigh...

New Years Resolutions

Six days into the new year - 2014 - I'm not doing so well.  Inspired by Hollywood Housewife, No (frivolous/unnecessary/indulgent) Spending January officially busted after 4 days.  Maybe it wasn't such a wise choice to start on a double birthday month - mine and my mother in law.  Still… I'm not deterred.  In fact, I will put both birthday presents under the "must have" bucket and get back on the wagon (this and this).

Some things are black and white.  A new purse? Another pair of shoes? Another coat (not even thinking about it)?  Definitely red zone.  Groceries, light bulbs, gas, definitely green zone.  Here are a few things in the grey zone.  I stare at them in the store, biting my nails, walk away then come back (and if I'm good, walk away again).  It's really quite pathetic.

1. Shun knife.  After my last one broke (lesson learned, no more chopping chicken bones with my favorite knife), I definitely don't want to replace it with anything else.  I'm not in a bind for knifes per say…

2. Decoration/furniture for the house.  Maybe we should have a budget.  This house really is a bottomless pit of spending.  Items we (or just me) are desperately searching for is a desk chair, some paintings for the wall, bedroom set, couch for Steve's man cave, a desk for him, a chair/bench for the downstairs office…  Like I said, bottomless pit (but a lovely one, really).

3. An SUV??????  Where does this fall when we are trying to save money??

On a more positive (and less materialistic) note, things I really wish for in the new year.

1. Health.  It's not a secret we are getting old, and by we, I mean myself and my parents.  The other day Steve and I watched About Time and it has me WEEPING.  I am sentimental to a fault, and this movie touched on a sour sour note.  If you have ever lost someone and wish just for one more minute (hour, day) with them, don't watch this movie in public.  Anyways health is what I wish for for all my loved ones, first and foremost.

2. Gratitude.  If I had more of this, then maybe my resolution to buy less things would be easier to follow.  I need this in bold letters, written everywhere!  I am thankful.

As I am feeling ever so optimistic in the beginning of this new year, it is only fitting to end this post with one of my favorite quotes.

Let us be merry while we may and have joy on our minds, for sorrow can catch us whenever it pleases. 
- Sir Gawin and the Green Knight

Happy Holidays!

Meet our first Christmas tree, a 30 dollar 6 feet tree that, once all set up, is somehow shorter than me.  Steve found it on Black Friday sale at Target.  Although we say (daily) that it will be returned, we still dolled it up with lights, an owl, a red star, and ornaments old and new (mostly new).  The challenge was finding the tree skirt since my husband refuses to pay more for the skirt than the tree…  As always, his perseverance paid off, when he finally came across "santa the tree skirt" at Home Depot.  Super cute!!

I have loved plugging in this tree every morning, especially on rainy and dreary ones like today.  The glow and warmth from a Christmas tree is what people call "holiday magic".  It's why this is the happiest season of the year.  Maybe one day (soon) we will get a bigger tree, but for now, I'm loving it.  

Our house is our home, our happy place. 

2013, year of the honeymoon cruise.

Steve hearts golf

My cuddly owl!

I'm always saving buttermilk recipes.  Inevitably when I buy buttermilk for one recipe, there is half gallon left fermenting in my fridge until past expiration date.  Not until now have I found a recipe that is worth making (after all, it's hard to get inspired to make cornbread or entire apple cake).

Buttermilk braised chicken!!  It's a recipe I will go to whenever there is leftover buttermilk in my fridge.

Now… on to that apple cake.

I am getting attached to my long hair.  It's somewhere between long and super long, and I shy at the thought of cutting it.  I envy pictures of shoulder length bobs, slightly curled, slightly wavy.  The weight of my own hair is nothing short of comforting, if not always bouncy and smooth.  I am attached.

About work.

I am grateful for it.  I count down days until I'm back at it, with mixed feelings of dread and eagerness.  I expect the intensity of both to fade over the years.  Walking into work, there is a pep in my step.  Leaving work, there is (slightly more) pep in my step.  I don't hate it.  I am grateful for it.

On the days I'm not working, I plan meal recipes, catch up on my favorite blogs, look for books to read, and plan vacations.  Oh, and shop.  Working days make the nonworking days more meaningful.  That, I am grateful.