happy saturday. and if you’re in cali…happy SUNNY day. FINALLY 
well, when i start complaining about LA weather…it’s a sure sign that i’ve been here too long.
this is going to be another short post cus i have to run again. i’m going to a movie with my momma and then tonight i’m going clubbing in k-town with my sis. i wish i could bring all of you to the korean club with me…it’s an experience…hilarious but fun. i was gonna hate on koreatown just now, but secretly i love it…so i will move on…
here’s my breakfast:
bean sprout soup which i ate with brown rice and kimchi…aka spicy fermented cabbage. sounds yummy…doesn’t it? fermented is such a gross word…i’ll stick to pickled cabbage. if you like pickles and spicy foods…you should like kimchi.
have you guys tried it? are you a fan?
i’ve heard people say it’s an acquired taste…but i think it’s more of a you either like it or you don’t kinda taste.
oh…and regarding the title of this post.
koreans say “kimchiiiiiiiiiiiiiii” when we take pics instead of “cheeeeeese.”
funny, right?
look at me! i’m on a roll…two days in a row.
w00t w00t 
anyway….it’s a littttle late but i have to share my christmas eve dinner with you cus it was sooo yummy!
i love how tom’s family has so many christmas traditions- my family does something different every year- sometimes we don’t even celebrate 
on christmas eve we first visit his dad’s side and eat yummy polish food.
there was kielbasa (which i passed on), golumpkis (stuffed cabbage) and pierogies (dumplings with potatoes and cheese, or cabbage). feels weird to say- but i love cabbage!
i also had my fill of cookies throughout the holiday. i discovered a new love for italian cookies.
after dinner we visit more family and eat more goodness and it starts all over again on christmas morning.
guess which stocking is mine!?
and here’s me and my love at his aunt’s house on christmas day <3
he looks grumpy because i took him away from his DS to take pictures with me!
and our late night christmas night when everything else was closed meal: greasy chinese food! almost worth the heartburn but definitely not the extra pounds eek!
okay well that was fun! i’ll be back again soon. i would ask what you did for x-mas but that’s old news. and either way i HAVE been following along on your bloggies- im sorry i haven’t been commenting at all…but i have been reading- i swear!
hola chicas!
i miss you guys! i’m still in LA and i just haven’t had time to sit still and and devote some time to writing a “real” post, and now that so much time has passed and the pictures keep piling up, it seems pretty overwhelming. what do i write about?!
anyway…being home has been so much fun. the weather has been puuuurfect until today….today it’s rain rain rain. but rain in socal means free subs at subway and free toppings at red mango! 
i’m still majorly obsessed with yogurtland <- click for froyo porn…but i also finally tried out red mangooooo and i’m soo in love. compared to yogurtland (and pinkberry) their frozen yogurt is creamier and maybe even more tart and they also always have fresh fresh fruit…
plain froyo with berries and kiwi:
froyo parfait with berries, banana, and yummy pumpkin seed flax granola
mmmm!
and since it’s kinda related (red and dessert!) i have to share the cute lil’ red velvet cupcake i had the other week.
actually…i have one more dessert to share…i think annie would appreciate this one…
bouchon macaron!!
macaron guts!
yum yum yum!
don’t worry i’ve been eating more than dessert but that’ll have to come some other time. i have to get dressed for apron making and hot toddy sippin’!
hi friends!
happy 2010! 2009 was good to me, but i’m so excited for a new year!
i’m spending the first few weeks of it in CA…i should be arriving at LAX in less than an hour! (woohoo for free wifi on virgin!)
see you again soon!
it’s tommy’s birthday! he’s 27 today! (yup i got me a younger man )
at midnight i made him a fr-r-r-ozen hot chocolate complete with sprinkles and candles
he has to work late today (still not home!) so i think we’re saving the cake for this weekend when we celebrate with his family. til then, check out the cake i baked him last year cus i’m pretty proud of it
hi blogfriends! i’m back in massachusetts! after a few weeks in the california sun, i’m not exactly loving the cold weather but i must admit the snowfall we had this weekend really put me in the holiday spirit!
on sunday, tom and i went over to natick common to participate in the “holiday on the common” festivities.
there was fresh dusting of snow on the ground and the sun was out…it was a nice day to be out
first, we enjoyed the christmas music by the carolers in front of the first congregational church across from the common.
or maybe i snapped a pic while i while browsing the church bake sale benefiting the metro west interfaith hospitality network which helps homeless families with children.
sugary treats for a good cause? yes please! i bought frosted brownie bites and tom got chocolate chip cookies.
yum!
then we crossed over to the common and crashed the kid’s activity table and made an ornament for the town christmas tree
look mom! (please ignore the fact that my eyebrows are not drawn in!)
there was also free coffee and hot cocoa courtesy of the charles river rotary, a toy drive and santa and his friends to take pics with.
busy packing the essentials…
like barney butter <3
last week, my sis and i followed my mom hiking on the claremont wilderness trail. the trail is 4.5 miles with a 1200 ft elevation gain. we went up burbank canyon which is a bit steeper and went down the cobal trail. we chose the steeper trail to go up not for the challenge but because it would have been more difficult to go down. it was a hot day and the trail was no joke…my legs were sore for days afterward…i’m amazed that my mom does this twice a week!
here are some pics:
not a cloud in sight!
i skipped breakfast (smart!) and this was the only fuel i had…the world’s tiniest pear!
sporting my ahjumma (old lady) visor
mom & sis trying to hide from the camera
almost halfway done!
finally down hill!
acorn trees and glorious shade!
later in the day, i met up with my friend who i hadn’t seen in years (!!!) and ate one of the best meals i had on this trip home: homemade indian food by my her gramma and a cute lil’ cupcake for dessert…i love her family!
i’m sure you already know that it’s persimmon season! my house (and most korean homes) are filled with them this time of year.
we eat two kinds…i’m sure they have “official” names…but i’m calling them the asian kind (left) and the american kind (right).
the american version is more squat in shape and eaten firm. my mom peels and eats these all day long like apples.
my favorite is the asian kind which is left out to ripen and eaten when the insides are soft and mushy.
i usually just pop a ripe one into a bowl and dig in with a spoon but the other day, i learned that this “mush” makes a delicious jam for my morning toast
so sweet and yummy…like honey! they are also good frozen- they turn kind of slushy and are a fun healthy dessert
happy cyber monday and last day of november. i figure i should get my thanksgiving recap up before december…so here it goes
my parents decided to host a thanksgiving lunch at the very last minute (only a couple days before!) so my sister and i suddenly had a lot of cooking to do! it wasn’t too bad except for one little detail…my mom’s oven is broken! thank god for the little toaster/convection oven that could!
that’s the stuffing in there…it toasted and roasted and baked it’s little heart out.
we also took advantage of the stove top to make orange glazed carrots, green beans (unpictured),
and mac & cheese (later topped with tomato slices and fresh bread crumbs) in my mom’s newest obsession- her le creuset pot that i’m convinced she loves more than me.
there was no way we were fitting a turkey in the toaster oven so we brought out the grill and had a random selection of proteins! we had grilled shrimp, mackeral, korean bbq short ribs, and a rotisserie chicken. the things wrapped in foil are korean sweet potatoes which we had for dessert
here’s part of the table…
i thought i took more pictures- but i guess i didn’t seeing that they’re not in my camera i was too busy cooking and playing playing with these little kiddos! (don’t i look frazzled?!)
how cute are my baby cousins!? okay…they’re not babies anymore but they were so small when i left for college and now the older one is in high school- how did that happen?!
after our lunchie…we had caramel pears and ice cream for dessert…peanut butter ice cream- it was so good! then the kidlets went home and my dad’s side of the family went to visit my grandfather before it got dark.
my grandfather is buried in the hollywood hills and the view from his gravesite is so beautiful. most people think of beaches when they hear california but the mountains here are pretty impressive too.
here’s me and my gramma…she is my favorite! everyone says i look just like her!
i have to take pics of her house next time- it’s crazy- she loves thrifting and has the coolest stuff all around and my personal favorite would be the closet full of vintage clothes and accessories that she lets us pick from.
and me and my dad…who i’m hoping will buy me a ticket back for x-mas! *fingers crossed*
oops…he’s not looking at the camera…here’s another one…
better!
(BTW- can you see the diff between my gramma’s pics and my dad’s pics- i uploaded them to diff servers- the wordpress ones are so dull!)
after paying our respects, my parents dropped my me n’ jo (my sis) off at another uncles house for more thanksgiving food! my dad can’t go inside their house cus it’s on the second floor and they couldn’t make it to our house so we brought over some leftovers!
this is my fobby side of the family so there was a lot of korean food! i was too full for most of it though so i just sat in the living room and sipped wine while everyone else feasted
korean food: kimchi “pancakes”, bean sprouts, bbq short ribs, fried squid, kimchi, and spicy squid and hot peppers!
american food: stuffing, mac and cheese, glazed carrots, green beans, corn pudding, brussels sprouts
“my” food:
after dinner the kids played poker until it was time to go home.
guess who won all the “chips” haha
i had to fly home under sad circumstances but i am so thankful i got to stay for thanksgiving and see all my family….hopefully i’ll see them soon for christmas too
