Noé Samuel

This morning, at 4:41 AM in Bayreuth, Germany, Noé Samuel finally made his appearance to the world. Fashionably late and ready to eat. He was the reason for the first of two baby showers I attended last month. My first virtual shower ever.

Welcome Noé! Can't wait to watch you grow via your momma's blog. Hopefully I can meet you IRL soon! Congratulations Martha and Henri!!

Hello Kitties

Micio & Mia



This is what they do ALL the time. Lay about on the couch and look cute. And then they have the gall to yawn.

Dad's 79th Birthday

(Dad holding up his match stick candle.)

We missed Dad's birthday last week, lost amidst the car drama surrounding my mom (maybe for another post...) and of course, by association, me and Sergio. Jenny was all wrapped up in finals and papers.

So, to make up for it, we took him out to dinner and got him an ice cream cake.

Jenny Lau, B.A., M.A., M.A.

Jenny's graduation from Chapman University was today! She worked very hard these past two years. We're very proud of her! This is her second M.A. I swear...if that girl could stay in school for the rest of her life, I think she would. She is prolonging it by getting accepted in the PhD program at Claremont University.

See photos here. I didn't get any of the actual ceremony. We were too far away to get any good photos. We'll just have to order the professional photo taken on stage by the Commencement photographer.

The Commencement Speaker was Ray Anderson. His speech focused very much on being environmentally responsible. (His stats include being featured in DiCaprio's The 11th Hour!) Of course, it had the classic inspirational graduation speech themes, i.e. go forth and make a difference in the world -- or more specifically in his speech: please save the world for the future because my generation made a mess of it.

We had dinner at Jalapenos, a close-by Mexican restaurant that Jenny likes. The fish tacos were not bad. The shrimp burrito was just ok. When we sat down and looked up at the TV, the Lakers had just edged out past the Nuggets by 2 points. Looked like it was a great game. End score: 103-97 Lakers.

It was a fun time!

Carla Sosenko

My friend Carla is braver than I am.

Miles Jackson

Jennie's baby shower was one of two I attended on the same day. Miles Jackson was born just 15 days later!

Glad you're finally here Miles! Your adorable smile is a welcome addition to the world. Congrats to Jennie and Page!!

Snippets from my garden

Our Loquat tree is heavy with delicious fruit right now.

Just a tad past blossoming and fading perfectly.

TGHH: Almaden

We are in escrow. I don't want jinx it. So I'm not going to blog about it -- yet. I'm not normally very superstitious, but after the ride we've been on --- I don't want to chance it. We are trying not to be too excited but we are doing cartwheels inside. happy feet!

Funny Pizza

I made a funny sort of pizza last weekend.

Fresh and Easy has a great whole-wheat, pre-made pizza dough in their refrigerated section. It's perfect for those tail end of provisions moments where you just grab what you have left and throw it on.

I simmered some sauce using canned, no salt peeled tomatoes, dried herbs: basil, parsley. A bit of Agave nectar. I might have tipped in a splash of Marsala wine.

I cut up the last of the mushrooms and the last stalks of green onion. I even hid in a few mint leaves for fun. I then cracked a couple eggs on top. The fridge was seriously barren...was that a tumbleweed rolling around in there?

The egg turned out odd because it was overcooked. It certainly looked cool. The sauce was very nice and mushrooms too. I even liked the mint, which Sergio thought was strange. He liked it overall, sans egg and mint. Next time, tumbleweed pizza!

Green Island Restaurant

Green Island Restaurant
9556 Las Tunas Drive
Temple City, CA

My mom's godson partnered with a bunch of people and opened up a restaurant in Temple City. If you're up for a drive, I do recommend it! It's large and clean and the food is pretty good. I liked that everything on the menu has photos. Actually, the menu is quite pared down and very manageable - if a bit unfocused. They've done some some interesting selections though. Something newish to the Chinese food scene is a Japanese teppan style Rib Eye Fried Rice. It's a beef fried rice where cooking is finished off at the table by a server. The result is perfectly cooked beef. The fat from the beef perfectly mixes into the rice. mmm...... Not your usual humble bowl of beef fried rice. It certainly elevates the dish to more of starring role than just the starchy base you sop up the sauce with. Do not miss the handmade potstickers! Sooo good. We ordered a whole fish dish that I can't remember the name of. I would pass on this one. And my sister wasn't impressed with one of their cold desserts, again the name escapes me. I think it was a mango one. Seriously, I was too full to really remember much except that the food that was good, was REALLY good.




Black Tea with Milk - Classic HK Cafe drink. They bring two kinds of milk: Regular or Condensed. Which did I opt for? Condensed baby! If you're gonna drink it, drink it right!



Order tea and it comes in this lovely glass mug with lots of tea leaves!



Everything was very yummy with a Hong Kong cafe flair. A bit more upscale, but definitely casual and relaxed. A row of banquette tabels lining one side of the airy dining room each had its own flat panel playing pop Chinese TV shows. The opposing side was lined with large round tables with glass beaded privacy curtains. This is where we sat. It gave us sense of privay while still allowing for plenty of circulation and air flow -- much needed in many Chinese restaurants! They were also very pretty.

One of the best parts of the decor was the glass walled kitchen. You can see the entire kitchen and staff doing their thing. Everthing was gleaming clean and it was fun to see them work. I've read reviews on Yelp! that say the service starts to suck when it gets busy. I advise you go when it's not so you really get to enjoy the atmosphere and the food.

Americana's Farmer's Market

(Same developer as The Grove, same synchronized to music shooting water fountain.)

A few weekends ago, Sergio and I stumbled upon the new Saturday Farmer's Market at the Americana while waiting for my car to get serviced at the Glendale Toyota dealership. I had seen the signs but forgot it was that weekend. It was certainly the fanciest one we had ever been to, with a definite Disneyland vibe. Everything was so perfect and the booths all had matching signage. It was a bit odd, I guess. It felt like I was on movie set. Still, the fruit and veggies were real, and so were the nice people hawking their wares. It was a gorgeous morning and early enough for it not to be too crowded yet. Though, this will soon change as more people know about the market. We purchased a dozen fresh eggs and I admit, they taste markedly better than regular store-bought. We got slices of quiche from a French baker for Sunday morning. They were giving away canvas grocery bags and coupon booklets to promote the Americana restaurants and stores. We took advantage a restaurant coupon since there wasn't many cooked food stalls to choose from. It was a nearly perfect Saturday morning.



I insisted stopping by Anthropologie for some creative inspiration. I used to really dislike entering this store because everything seems so overpriced to me. BUT, I absolutely love their beautiful merchandise displays. I like to take time to browse through every tiny detail in their "home" areas. If you like interesting girly pretty websites, you have to check theirs out. I don't think I've ever purchased a stitch of clothing from this store. But I do own a few settings of flatware from them that I've been slowly accumulating to make a full service for six and then hopefully eight. This is the very first time I've ever seen something in a magazine (via someone's blog) and felt like I had to have it! So, I'm breaking up the purchasing since I think they cost too much -- mostly because we have perfectly good utensils. The last time I got a set was several months ago. Sergio thinks we have six already. I think we have five. I'll probably wait until my birthday to get more. Maybe I'll have all eight by end of summer!

Mom Day 2009

I made brunch for my mom and family for Mother's Day this year. It is so much more relaxing and economical than going out sometimes.

On the Menu:

• Multi-grain pancakes (boxed)
  
• Maple - vanilla bean Syrup
• Hash browns
• Turkey Bacon
• Pork & Apple Sausage
• Hard boiled egg
• Mimosas

Sergio helped clean and set up the table. It turned out really nice!

Jenny gave mom a potted orchid plant. I framed a caricature of me and my mom that we got done at my company's holiday party last December. It's of me trying to pull her away from one of her beloved casino slot machines! :)

Jenny's Bridal Shower Invitations

My lil' sis will be a June bride this year. As such, I, the Maid of Honor, and her other Bridesmaids, Fabi and Steph, have been diligently organizing her bridal shower to take place at month end. We split the duties - Food/Bev: Steph; Games: Fabi; Invites/Guestlist/Favors: Elsie. We decided on a French theme, an homage to Jenny's Francophile status. The colors dictated by the invites I purchased in moment of excitement and happiness -- a long time ago when she first told me about her engagement.

I added an Eiffel Tower stamp to the front and to the back of the envelope. (sorry for bad quality of photos. it was getting late and I was very tired.) Sergio advised placement of the stamp in the same area for both -- I think it looks nice.

I considered trying to print directly onto the square invite using my inkjet printer for the inside text. But thought it would be a sure thing if I used clear labels. For the most part, it was pretty easy, only a little tedious. It did take several attempts to space the text correctly so they would not print directly on top of the card's pre-printed dotted lines on the inside.

I used French Script font for some of the accent type --it's a standard found in MS apps -- so cute and just what I needed! Enclosed is a note describing a group gift we're giving guests the option of participating in. I printed the text on clear labels, stuck 'em to two-sided scrapbooking paper and used the Eiffel Tower on the other side to help tie back to the non-matching card.

I used giant circle shapes for the address labels (love Paper Source!). They left just enough room for postage. I'm going to need stamps plural because USPS thinks square is an odd shape and so, requires additional postage. Keep this in mind folks for your own invitation projects. Pictured is the one I'm handing to Jenny as a keepsake -- so there's no address. I also used round dots on the back. Slightly different blue but I think the echoing circle still works.

My hand cramped a little gripping the stamp, dabbing the inkpad and pressing firmly enough to leave a good impression! It did look neat all spread out on my desk.

TGHH: We dream about Kenneth

I become slightly obsessed with Kenneth and convince Sergio to do before & after mock-ups.

There isn't much coming on the market with our criteria. It's been six months since we started! The listing agent for Kenneth says we are the only offer at the bank. We just have to wait for all the paperwork for the short sale to happen. Our agent tries to keep our spirits up. We'll find what we want...

TGHH: Isabel

Isabel has some great curb appeal. AND it's sort of right where we want to be location-wise. It backs right up to Mount Washington, has a nice view (you can see the observatory on a clear day), an amazing 3 car garage, new front deck, low-water landscaping, great french doors!

Unfortunately, we are losing enthusiasm and neglect to take photos.

We put in an offer. There is another buyer and we are competing. They increase, we increase. The seller responds back with a higher number. We take another look before deciding...

Upon closer inspection, it appears that the house has receive an insta-flip makeover. Designer color paint to cover up crooked walls, newish laminate floors to distract from the slight slope in most rooms....newish IKEA kitchen cabinets that don't hide the fact that there isn't a distinct spot for the refrigerator and most of the electrical is plugged into cheap extension cords running around the room from who knows what single outlet.

We chat with our agent out on the sidewalk. I'm honestly not that into the house anymore. Sergio isn't either. But this is the closest we've been to making it happen since Berenice -- months ago. We decide to not meet the offer. At least it was over quick this time. Still no word on Kenneth or El Paso.

The listing agent for Isabel still has the site up for now so you can see photos here: Isabel

THE CRITERIA
The criteria hasn't changed too much. We cross Altadena off the list. It's just too far for us. Some parts of Altadena are gorgeous but we aren't ready for that kind of suburbia. And though Kenneth is in El Sereno, that's off too. It took us 15 minutes to get to a freeway entrance from there. It may not sound like much.... but in rush hour, that would jump to tack on at least 30 minutes to my commute, even more depending on the day! YUCK.

So unless it's Kenneth, El Sereno is out.

Target areas: Glassell Park, foothills of Mount Washington, Highland Park, foothills of Montecito Heights, hills of El Sereno, Altadena

Needs:

1. We can comfortably afford it without having to survive on ramen alone
2. We need to feel safe in the neighborhood (how did this not make our list the first time?)
3. Two bedrooms
4. At least one full bathroom -- read: has a tub
5. Off-street parking for two one cars
6. 900+ sq. feet home SEE BELOW
7. In one of our target areas

Wants:

1. Two bathrooms (this would make getting a roommate easier, if needed) SEE BELOW
   
2. Garage
3. 900+ sq. feet home
4. View SEE BELOW
5. Walking distance to "stuff we like" SEE BELOW
6. Outdoor entertaining space
7. More square footage
   

Pie-in-the-sky want:

1. Two bathrooms
2. Walking distance to "stuff we like"
3. View
   
4. Move-in ready

TGHH: Kenneth

Kenneth



A marathon session. We see 14 houses in one day. But it was all worth it to see Kenneth. Walking in I felt my heart open up. Light and bright, great view, fireplace, amazing back yard space... I think it hit nearly all of our criteria, plus more. 2 bd/1 ba, huge garage. New A/C, mostly all copper plumbing. I fall harder for this place than for Berenice. The tankless water heater really put it over the top for me.




Though it isn't Chadwick, the view is still great.

View from front of the house:
View from the back of the house:

The three lots immediately behind the house are not developed so there's a lot of privacy.

Ugh. It's a short sale. Ugh. We are STILL waiting on El Paso.

We put in an offer anyway.

Parked Cars in Italy

Thankfully, we had a scheduled trip to Italy after the Berenice let-down. While there, I took a series of parked car photos.

I was fascinated by the random word decals sported by some of the older hatchbacks, and a scooter. I wonder WWMCS (What would my car say)?

Hobby, People, Scorpion Bay


Fire, Dance, Young


I also liked the looks of these cars.



Scorpion Bay is the one parked on the right.


Andre the giant in Italy!