i feel like i post more here when mad men is back on the air

Working at such a conservative and often backwards company does make me feel like I can get away with wearing women’s outfits from Mad Men. I do like dress+sweater sets!

as the year comes to an end

I realize I did not accomplish much this year really.

BUT if you were to give the bucket list of a girl from the 1600s, I probably would have completed every Must Do Before I Die item and even some fanciful wishes!

journal by Abigail Adamsen, somewhere near Chesapeake Bay, VA circa 1680

Before I leave God’s plain and into God’s arms in Heaven, may he grant me these thine earthly pleasures, wants, and curiosities that dwell in my thoughts as follows: 

1. To speak aloud even if I am not spoken to

2. Taste an orange

3. Meet an Oriental person

4. Shoot Pa’s shotgun

5. See what’s on the other end of this land

6. Eat a warm meal without having to wait 2 hours for the kettle to boil

7. Send a letter to cousin sarah and hear back from her instantly instead of 6 months

8. Actually can I just fly cousin Sarah on a bird to get here.  I miss her so.

9. Get stupidly drunk and dance all night (not at Church social)

10. Someday touch a man down there (what is down there?)

Truly yours,

A.A.

It’s been a year already…

…since we finished our drive home to California last Nov 9, 2010. Say what?! Where did the last 369 days go, seriously?

Happy Birthday Lisa! I like that moment during mini-golf today when you said “this is so much fuuun!” haha. Please gush like that more often. :)

Stability. Good for tables.  And in life, it’s not too bad either. Things right now are very much the calm before the storm.  Mike and I know that after we get married there will be the barrage of family pressures and inquiries regarding kids-when? house purchase-soon? raising them here-Boston? Mm we’ll get to that phase later.

Right  now is cola and football (ooh QB rush for the touchdown), pinot and blogging, with homemade tacos, all on the same couch. One day there will be a wiggling toddler making their way to said couch ready for a tackle of his/her own. And I will so incredibly love this day that will hopefully be there for us in the future.  But right now I’m happy to be focused on the two of us and our togetherness.

Hrmm… pinot seems to be directing post down the sappy route super quick. I’m just gonna click the Enter key now. 

random nonsense

I used to have more cohesive stories to tell in these posts but most of my thoughts these days are scattered bullet points. Sorry!

Two great dinner places to add to the restaurant arsenal:
1) The Filling Station in Orange (American cuisine but the good quality, purely homecooked kind, and livable prices too.  I like ‘em)
2) Cham Soot Gol in Buena Park for all you can eat Korean BBQ (and they’ll throw in an egg pot) and all you can eat ice cream. :D

Reading Game of Thrones and making nerdy jokes left and right these days.  Is it weird that I like reading the campy dialogue more than the war scene descriptions?
 

I’d like to make this Plum galette today if time allows. Damn you Cooking Channel HD for making these recipes look so irresistible using your HD technology… 

Finished watching Community Seasons 1 and 2.  Howwwwww great was the Paintball Episode (Part I) towards the end of Season 2?  Uhhmazing.

puppy dog days of summer

I’ve always played Scout and my brother as Jem, spooking ourselves with the houses next door and the dim corners of shaded yards. But never have I been the Boo Radley. Until last night that is.  It began with a knocking on my front door.  I opened it to find the next door family’s father smiling at me asking for a cup of ice.  No worries, I said and fetched him a frozen cluster of ice cubes.  He had hurt his ankle, but he didn’t say why. I shrugged it off and closed the door.

Sitting back on the couch to resume my netflix I heard another knock on the door. I stood up to open it and found no one there.  I closed the door and waited.  A little boy’s laughter and stomping up the steps followed by a few quick raps on the screen door.  I didn’t open this time.  I heard him scamper away giggling.

I know this game.  No one ding dong ditches me and gets away with it! Waiting by the door again I heard his footsteps and flung open the door right as he had his hand poised to knock.  His eyes and mouth were giant O’s of shock. As he started to run I reared right behind him waving my hands above my head unleashing an insane and maniacal yell of laughter, louder than the ringing of church bells.  There was such a terrified look on his face when he turned back to see me still right behind him, with my claws in the air, though i never actually left the porch.  He bolted straight home across the grass and I went back inside.  

Mike was playing minecraft in the other room and looked at me bewildered. “Kids next door” I said.  I turned my netflix back on again with the volume up.  As expected, he came back again but with another friend as back-up.  I heard them padding softly up the steps, and knocking again though more fearfully this time then running back towards the house.  This went on about eight more times, with a few instances where I heard maybe 3 or 4 friends in on the adventure.  Eventually they gave up.

I imagine the other friends saying “she didn’t come out ever, you must have imagined the whole thing,” and him saying “No I’m not lying, she came at me! It was scary! It really happened!”

he he heh!

Pffffffft this site is too girly-girl for me… I thought anyways.  Wait planning a wedding is a girly thing anyway. And this is kinda useful.  Ahh trendwhoring I am!

YES!! Thank goodness, fiiiiiiiiinally they came out

After five experimental failures, the 6th batch finally came out with perfect circular shapes and little macaron feet, hooray!!  When I opened the oven door just a few minutes ago, I was terrified to look at what monstrosity would come out next.  Thankfully these little beauties with their manicured toes were there to greet me. 

:D

Source Recipe from Flour bakery owner Joanne Chang: http://www.finecooking.com/videos/how-to-make-classic-french-macarons.aspx  

Thank you Sabel for the Kitchen scale! The precise measurement of the dry ingredients really was the difference between this batch and #5. That and keeping the beater on medium speed for the whole 12 minutes it takes to beat the egg whites to perfect stiff peakness.

This is the second time in my life I had to learn and perform a Thriller routine for some kind of organizational event. First time was a student council parade in undergrad. Second time, office party.

In case you thought the people at my work were all deadbeats well… this should prove you right. mua ha ha ha hahahah haa.

I should be writing web content for Shannon instead

but I procrastinate!

Recap of new and fun things from this past summer:

• Frisbee Golf at El Dorado (I didn’t know real courses existed!)
• Conan taping - seeing his Michele Bachmann impression up close was more terrifying than I could ever imagine
• Weezer show for old time’s sake, Rivers never ages!
• 80s cover band at the Gaslamp was rad! Would definitely love to go again!! (can’t believe that place has no cover)!
• gelato affogato (thanks tina -never had it before) OMIGOD how have i NOT had this before? This rocks so much harder than a root beer or coke float
• got tipsy at a work bbq party thing one saturday afternoon then proceed to go to next party drunk.  good times.  Best part about second party was the jam session. People there really knew how to Slappe’ deh bass. 
• Chef Ludo Lefebvre yelling at Sabel in the kitchen then learned it was just a gag.  Sabel that squid dish was ze bomb! Can you cook it for Thanksgiving please? Can’t wait to visit you at Ink next :D
• Looking at Ericle’s fantastic Save the date designs for the first time and realizing OMG THIS IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING. Cool and kind of scary but also awesome feeling! ^^

Still to come:
-girls night at Em’s :)
-International food festival in Orange circle (heyy i don’t have to drive there!) 
-Angels game + post-game Neyo show on the field (grab someboday sexy tell em HEY!) 

the raspberries

atop my tart froyo
from the yogurtland on Northwood and Irvine Blvd
were so luscious, juicy, and sweet
my tongue could not keep up
with the rapture unfolding unto every taste bud.

Yay it made the trip worth it.  I stopped into two plaza shopping centers, puzzled and confused, before I finally found the Yogurtland. (Those irvine strip malls all look the same… especially in the dark)