Happy Cinco!

Cinco de Mayo is not a holiday to go uncelebrated in our household. We're trying to stick to our food budget, so we had a DIY cinco this year (which I think might actually be better than going out). Saturday night, we whipped up some Petron margs, Mexican rice, and, in my opinion, the best carne asada ever. And really, one day just isn't enough. So we continued our celebration on Sunday with this 7-layer taco bean dip for dins.

I was so happy with all of the recipes we used (linked above), and so was my tummy. Cheers!

good morning.

After seeing these on tumblr, I wanted to make my own. I picked up these mugs and a glass paint marker (also for use on glazed ceramics) from Joann's. The whole craft took less than 5 minutes (plus setting time). I'm thinking that these will be the perfect mugs to sip coffee out of on a Sunday morning in bed.

our Easter celebration.

We spent this past Easter with my family: brunch at church followed by a late lunch BBQ at home. It's a little bittersweet thinking about how different next year's Easter will be, but right now, I'm still soaking in how incredibly blessed we are with healthy bodies, a loving family, and undeserved grace for every moment of every day.

Shanghai, here we come!

The last couple months have been, for lack of a better word, crazy. Busyness is consistently the story of everyone's life these days, but lately my schedule has been a taken to a whole new level of exhausting. Commuting combined with spending every waking hour studying Chinese combined with personal statement writing combined with regular life... whew. The great thing is (and I'm so, so thankful for this) that it is paying off!

I applied, was admitted, and just a week ago, accepted admission to this graduate program. The summer semester takes place in Irvine, which is just perfect. I'm looking forward to leisurely sipping homemade lattes on my patio at sunrise, whipping up breakfast fruit bowls in my sunny kitchen, reading poolside, the 10 minute commute, and making happy hour at this rooftop bar. After which, we move to China!

In August, we'll be moving to Shanghai, where the rest of the program will take place. I'll be taking classes, teaching English, writing my thesis, and immersing myself in Chinese language and culture. Husband will most likely continue working in finance, ideally just transferring over to the Merrill Lynch office in Shanghai.God has brought us this far, and we trust that He has a plan for all aspects of this move. We plan on bringing our fur baby, although the quarantine period is a little scary. The details are still being worked out, but the process has officially begun!

I've had a great time living and working in LA, and Irvine has been the setting for all of our newlywed memories, which I will always treasure. Leaving behind family and friends for almost a year will be so hard, especially as our flight date approaches, but I can honestly say that I'm ready for a change in scenery. LA has worn me down with its traffic, its parking, the time consumed just trying to get from one place to another. I'm ready to be present. To just stop shuffling around so much. We can't wait to explore a new city, learn a new language, try different food, while we're young and while we can. And after this, who knows where we'll be (I'm secretly crossing my fingers for Palo Alto). I'm hoping that this is just the first in a lifelong series of cities that we can call home.

hipcooks west.

Husband surprised me a few months ago with a gift certificate to Hipcooks. I had been wanting to take a cooking class here for a while (no. 16 on my 101 in 1,001 days list) because of their class options (Persian Immersion, La Belle Epoque...). We decided on the Dim Sum and then Some class to get a head start on some Chinese cooking, and we definitely made the best choice. We had the best time learning to use different asian sauces and wrappers and making SO MUCH FOOD.  In between "courses," we ate our cooking at a big family-style table with the appropriate tea accompaniment. I was a teensy bit worried that I would get hungry since the class was so long, but there was plenty of food to go around. My fave: the sweet wontons... I'm already scheming about when I can make them again.

Our menu:

4 types of Chinese tea

steamed shrimp wontons

chicken cabbage dumplings

scallion pancakes with shiitake mushrooms

chinese-style green beans

seared sesame beef in rice paper

lotus flower pork puff pastry

seared scallop chow mein

sweet wontons with orange, walnut, and dates

Five tracks: live forever.

[photo: "the california trip," 1968 by Dennis Stock found here]

This blog is undergoing a little evolution, starting with a new look! It doesn't know exactly what it wants to be yet, but I'm OK with that. I'm trying something new, starting with a mini mixtape: five tracks that move me at the moment.

Listen: spotify

1. Live Forever - Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors

2. Back Down South - Kings of Leon

3. Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley (one of my life faves)

4. Holocene - Bon Iver

5. Higher Love - James Vincent McMorrow

p.s. isn't this photo amazing? i'm so fascinated with the Sixties.

the cheese shop.

about a month ago, a glorious place called the cheese shop opened at the oc mart mix. since we discovered it, husband and i have been obsessed. if they didn't close at 6p, we would probably be making nightly trips over there. i am by no means a cheese connoisseur, so having someone there to make recommendations and let us sample to our heart's desire was invaluable. and in addition to their great selection of cheeses, they stock all sorts of accompaniments like marinated figs and marcona almonds. the first time we went, we sampled a mustard cheddar (red dragon) and a brie-like cheese (d'affanois). we were hooked. we came back to try a 3-cheese plate (with the softest ciabatta ever made), but we still came home with red dragon & d'affanois. i'm excited to make these trips a regular saturday afternoon activity, and expand our repertoire of pairings (more on that later).