Much Needed Update

Ok, I admit, I am a horrible blogger.  I have an excuse this time:  I have tendinitis and it's terribly painful.  I am pretty much typing this one-handed.  So, this update will be mostly photos.  What's happened in the past couple months?

Mr. H and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary!  Whoa.  I have been Mrs. H for over a year now.  I'll be the first to admit that it's been a very rough year.  We are trying to stay positive though.  I do love my husband very much.  :)

Dr. Teeth has the best tots.

Too much food!

Bear Crepe!

Ocean Beach.

Macarons from Chantal Guillon.

My new wedding band.  :)

Shortly after celebrating our anniversary, I turned 24.  Fuck!  Right?  When did I even turn 23?  Besides having my dream of being a mother by 24 completely crushed, I had a decent birthday.  My mom bought me a sweet Kitchen Aid mixer, which I've been pining after for a long time now.

September babies!

I am soooo looking forward to the upcoming holidays.  I love Halloween.  I found tons of cute decorations at the Dollar Tree and Target.  And look what else I found:

Adorable skeleton pajamas for Ziggy!  I know some people think putting clothes on dogs is wrong or cruel, but Ziggy barely has any fur and he gets cold in the fall/winter time.  He loves wearing sweaters, I promise.

Hope you are all enjoying the beginning of the fall holidays!  I'll try and update more once my wrist is healed. This post took way too long with only one able hand.  Until next time. ;)

Days Go By

The months are flying by way too quickly lately.  I haven't updated this blog since the end of June, and now it is mid-August.  What happened to my "at least once a week"?  Well, at least I'm posting something now!  Right?  Haha.  I'd say, "I'm going to post more often, really," but I know it most likely will not happen.  So, a quick update!

In just 18 days, Mr. H and I will be celebrating our first year wedding anniversary!  I cannot believe how fast this year has gone by.  It's sad that we spent most of our first year as husband and wife living nearly separate lives due to his work schedule, but I know things will get better, and I'm very much looking forward to our mini getaway coming up.  We are leaving for a four day stay in the bay area on September 1st.  Our actual anniversary is on the 3rd, and we will be staying at Parc 55.  We haven't decided on a place to have dinner yet, but we are thinking of either La Folie or Fleur de Lys.  We are both quite fond of getting fancy and dressed up, and what better reason than celebrating  365 days as Mr. and Mrs. H?  It has been quite the year, and I'm looking forward to this anniversary along with 50 more to come.

I bleached and dyed the tips of my hair teal last week, with Sarah's help.  It came out pretty nice, but it definitely needs some touching up.  I'm thinking about adding some purple to the teal when I redo it, hopefully sometime next week.  Sarah has her tips dyed pink, so our hair looks pretty bad ass together.

That's all for now.  Time to work.  More later, I (kind of) promise.  ;)

Where Does The Time Go?

Ok, I totally suck at blogging.  I really thought I was going to be good about keeping up with this blog, but I'm not.  The year is already more than halfway through and I have only managed to check one thing off from my kitchen bucket list.

Mr. H and I have been working on planning our anniversary trip for this September.  I can't believe it has already almost been a year!  Time flies.  We were hoping to take a trip down to San Diego, but since our anniversary falls on labor day weekend, everything is super expensive.  Now we're planning on just heading to the bay area for a couple days, which will still be nice.

Anyway, I wanted to share this awesome website I found (if you are into reading).  It's called Thrift Books, and they sell used books for super cheap.  Plus, there's no shipping cost if you live in the states.  I purchased Aldous Huxley's The Perennial Philosophy for $5.44 and William S. Burrough's Junky for only $3.95.  They have used textbooks as well.  Definitely the cheapest books I've been able to find and they have a huge selection, so check them out if you're a bookworm like me.

Until next time, blogworld.
 

Recent Purchases

I know I never even finished posting the photos from Mr. H's birthday vacation, but I just got my shipment from Charlotte Russe yesterday and wanted to share my new purchases.  I am very happy with them.  I had a 10% off coupon and free shipping, so my total was just a tad over $100.

Pink and Gray Striped Tank Dress. 

$13.50

Floral Tank Dress.

$17.09

White and Coral Striped Skirt w/ Bow Belt and Buttons

$24.29

Above pictured skirt, worn with white H&M tank

and flat brown boots (not very visible).

Black Matte Leatherette Round-Toe Pump

$11.25

Teal Round-Toe Sueded Wedge

$31.95

I have totally fallen in love with Charlotte Russe.  I used to not be crazy about the store, but they have a much better variety online and so many shoes that I must add to my collection!  All shoes are still buy one, get one for $12.50, so I may just be ordering some more soon.  The only thing I have trouble with is the sizes for skirts and dresses.  The mediums are a little loose on my waist, but I highly doubt I would fit a small.  Shoes, however, are true to size and for the most part, comfortable.

I know I have not been very good about keeping up with my blog lately, and I know I say that all the time!  Haha.  Life has been crazy.  Mr. H is going to be supervisor soon at his job, we just bought a Mercedes, and our wedding anniversary is around the corner.  We have yet to decide where to go to celebrate (even though the year has not been the best).  It will be more of a "we made it through this crazy year" celebration!  Haha.  I will try and update again soon.

Hope you all enjoy your weekend!

[Recipe] Almond Coconut Cookies

Hello~  I have not been posting much lately.  I have truly been in a slump, especially when it comes to baking and cooking.  With Mr. H always gone, I don't really have anyone to cook/book for anymore, and I absolutely hate eating alone.  Before when I was baking a lot, I would send the treats off to work with him for his coworkers to enjoy, but lately I have been doing absolutely nothing.  I didn't even notice until this weekend.  My cousin baked my Nutella Cookies and it totally inspired me to get back to work in my kitchen!  I made these Almond Coconut (like Almond Joys) cookies yesterday morning with only ingredients I already had because I was too lazy to go to the store (it was very hot out).  Also, I may or may not be currently consumed by Diablo 3.  ;)  Oh, and also, before we get into the recipe, I finally got glasses (hence the photo to the right).  My poor eyes have been suffering and struggling to see for the last 4-5 years, but now the world is in HD and it is amazing!  I'm having issues with prescription contacts though, which is weird because I'm completely fine wearing circle lenses.  Anyone else have that problem?

Let's make some cookies!  These come out fairly small, light, and fluffy.  Almost similar to the texture of a scone or shortbread, but much more soft.

What You Need:

•  2 c. flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3/4 c. unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 tsp. almond extract
• 2 tsp. imitation coconut extract
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 egg white
• 1 c. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used Nestle Semi-Sweet Mini Morsel)

 

Separated egg yolk and white.

Let's Bake:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F).
• Line baking sheet(s) with parchment paper.
• In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together your flour, baking soda, and salt.
• In a large mixing bowl, with a hand mixer, cream together your sugar and melted butter.
• Add in egg yolk and white.  Mix well.
• Add in all three extracts.  Mix well.
• Slowly incorporate your dry ingredients into the large mixing bowl.  Do not dump the entire contents into the large bowl.  It will be very messy.  Use a spatula and stir in 1/4 - 1/2 cup at a time.  Use your hand mixer at the end to make sure the ingredients are well combined, but do not over mix.
• Use the spatula to stir in chocolate chips.
• Scoop your dough onto the parchment paper in rounded tablespoons.  They do not spread out too much, so you only need to leave about a half inch space in between.
• Bake for 11-12 minutes.
• Enjoy! 

 

Click here to print this recipe.

Mr. H's Birthday Weekend [Part 1]

I have been quite absent lately, I know.  Forgive me for not posting in so long.  But now I have some photos to share with you guys from Mr. H's birthday weekend, which we spent in Santa Cruz and Monterey.

I got to leave work early on Friday because we celebrated a late Administrative Professional's (Secretary's) Day.  We all went out for a nice fancy lunch at Il Forno and I got a little smashed too early in the day (oops!).  I ended up going home and taking a nap with my husband who was already sleeping, since day time is his night time.  It was nice to be able to sleep next to him for a change.  We woke up and caught happy hour at Elephant Bar.  I was still feeling really sick from all the booze earlier, so I didn't drink anything there.  After that we went to Glass Turtle (a bar) to meet up with some friends.  I decided to be bold and take a shot because I wanted to celebrate with Mr. H.  It was a bad idea.  I barely made it to the bathroom before getting sick again. Once all the old liquor was out of my system, I did ok and was able to stomach a couple shots and dance a little bit.  We left the Turtle, went to the casino, and stayed there until around 3:00 a.m.  On the way home we decided we'd wake up early in the morning and head out to Santa Cruz, and then go to Monterey on Sunday.  We always enjoy our spontaneous trips together, so we said "fuck it, let's go."

The only photo I have from Friday. :(

We got up after about 4-5 hours of sleep, did a horrible job of packing, and then headed out for the day.  We were both starving, so we stopped in South Sac for some lunch.

Mr. H glued to his phone, as usual.

Lunch at Huong Lan.

Next stop, Santa Cruz!  :)  Mr. H's cousin had rented a home right next to the beach, so we stopped by there to hang out with them and be beach bums for a while.  The weather was wonderful and we daydreamed about owning our own summer beach house when we are older.  We ate sandwiches and chocolates, collected seashells, soaked in the sun, and enjoyed feeling much younger than we actually are.  Mr. H and his cousin even built a sweet sandcastle.  It was a damn near perfect day.

Don't judge me!  I was not bikini-ready this weekend! :(

My husband does not like smiling.  Hahaha.

After hours on the beach, and after almost everyone else had left, we headed back to the house to say goodbye.  We made the 20 minute drive to Watsonville, where one of our friends live and where we would stay for the night.  Once we got there and got situated, we headed back to Santa Cruz to check out the Boardwalk while we waited for another friend to get off work.  Almost everything was closed or about to close, so we found a pizza place/bar and stayed there for dinner.  It was a good choice because the pizza was delicious and Facebook offered a 10% discount if you check-in!  Sweeeet! 

Santa Cruz Boardwalk.

Crazy drunk husband.

I'll do Part 2 later this week.  Uploading all these photos from my phones is somewhat of a hassle.  Haha.  I can only do so many before I get burnt out.  I also need to catch up on all my blog-reading, which I'm sure is going to take a decent chunk of time since I haven't been on here for almost two weeks.  

It is getting warmer and warmer each day here in Sacramento, and I can feel summer is fast approaching.  Summer is ridiculous here where I live and I am not ready for it yet.  Spring is almost non-existent, so I have to enjoy it while it lasts.

Update Through Photos

Hello blog world~

I have been so busy lately dealing with a lot of

bullshit, so I don't have much to share.  I know

I have been slacking when it comes to blogging,

so here are some photos from my recent

day-to-day shenanigans.

Random OOTD photo.

Knee High Boots w/ Buckles - Shiekh

Black Tights - Probably Target?

Navy Skirt w/ Pink Trim - H&M

Black Tank Top - H&M

Black 3/4 Sleeve Cardigan - Target

Went to the park last Saturday with Sara, her baby girl

Eden, and Ziggy.  We enjoyed the sun and wonderful

company, got bothered by a crazy lady, and then 

left and got some coffee.

Hung out with my cousin.  He is in the process

of getting his own blog going.  There are no posts yet,

but you can check it out here.  He's a wonderful

cook and we always enjoy spending time in the kitchen together.

But we did this instead this time.  Hahaha.

Mr. H and I attended mass on Easter Sunday to

make my grandma happy.  I normally attend mass with

my family on Christmas and Easter, as a gift to my

grandmother.  I was very happy that Mr. H went with me

this time.  I had someone to irritate besides my mom when

boredom and anger takes over.  ;)

Took silly pictures with Ziggy.

Got my new shoes that I ordered from

Charlotte Russe in the mail!  I was in desperate need

of new heels.  I am head over heels in love with the coral

wedges.  I really like the nude ones also.  They are my first

pair of nude pumps.

<3

Mr. H had Wednesday off, so we went to

McCormick & Schmick's for the first time to try their

supposed "award winning happy hour."  Very disappointing.

And yes, I know the photo editing is silly.  Hahaha.

We left after one drink and headed to our favorite 

happy hour spot, Elephant Bar.  E-Bar never disappoints.

What I wore for Mr. H's day off:

Coral Wedges - Charlotte Russe

Skinny Jeans - Guess

Black Tank - Target

B&W Striped Wife Beater - PINK by Victoria's Secret

Leather Jacket - Urban Outfitters

That's all for this post!  Sorry that I never have

nice quality photos to share with you guys.  The only camera

that I use is my phone and honestly, I probably wouldn't

know how to use a nice camera if I had one.  ;)

For my next post, I will be sharing photos

of my dog's birthday.  Hahahaha.  Yes, as lame

as it is, I am having a BBQ for Ziggy's 3rd birthday.

I have done it for the past 3 years and don't plan

on stopping.  It's kind of just an excuse to hang out, eat, and drink

with friends.  But of course it's also because Ziggy is a good 

dog and deserves a birthday party.  Totally weird, I know.

Hope you all enjoy your weekend! <3

[Recipe] Nutella Cookies

I have a new recipe to share with you guys.  This one is pretty bad if you are a healthy eater or are trying to diet, but they are soooo delicious!  Pretty much anything with Nutella is delicious though, right?

What You Need:

• 1 c. sugar
• 2 1/2 c. flour
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1 c. Nutella
• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 1 tbs. pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 4 oz. cream cheese
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 c. white chocolate chips

Let's Bake:

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line your baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a medium sized bowl, mix (with a mixer) sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
• Add in Nutella and cream cheese.  Mix well.
• Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  After your eggs, add the vanilla.  Set this bowl aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together your flour, baking soda, and salt.
• Slowly add your Nutella mix into your flour bowl.  Mix until the bowls are well combined.
• With a spatula, stir in the white chocolate chips.
• Use a spoon to scoop rounded balls of dough onto the parchment paper.  They don't have to be perfectly round.
• Bake for 11-12 minutes, allow to cool completely, and enjoy!

Click here to print this recipe.

Update Through Photos

I don't have anything new to share today, so here's what's been going on in my life via my iPhone photos:

So I'll start off with my completion of my first item from my 

2012 Kitchen Bucket List.  Woohoo!  I made Snickerdoodles the

weekend of March 17th for the first time, and they came out pretty good.

They were fun to make because you have to roll them around in

cinnamon and sugar.  Not to mention, they're very easy!  

Later that evening, I celebrated St. Patty's day

with Sara (her blog here), my mom, my mom's husband, and

my mom's good friend.  We went to watch my

mom's friend's band perform at a bar and got way too trashed.

I had a pretty awesome time but suffered from a sever hangover

the following Sunday.

My first true love. ;)

Mr. H had the following Wednesday off, so we went on a date to the movies.

We watched The Lorax, which we didn't enjoy all that much.

We did enjoy each other's company after the movies though.  ;)

What I wore.

Ok, ready for drunk photos?  Haha.  One of my other

closest friends, M, came up to visit from LA last Friday.

He stayed at my home so we were able to spend the whole

weekend together.  Friday night was party time.  I made dinner for him

and two other friends, we ate, and then we got the shots started!

We hit up the gayborhood downtown and spent the whole night

drinking, catching up, and dancing.  

Open mouth syndrome.

Always take the best pictures with her.  Hahaha.

M is the one photo-bombing us.  Haha.

Saturday I had a bit of a hangover, again.  M and I went 

to my favorite Korean spot to get some

good soup and fried chicken.

Dumpling soup (sujeibi), side dishes (banchan), and
fried chicken way in the back.

Last night was Mr. H's day off again and we went to 

the same restaurant that M and I went to have dinner.  We

ate short ribs and spicy noodles and stuffed ourselves until

we were uncomfortable.  I love that my husband is a good eater.

Oh, and I also bought these four new polishes yesterday

on my lunch break.  Rite Aid had another sale going

on for "buy one, get one half off"on all their Sally Hansen's

Xtreme Wear (which are my favorite right now).

Spring colors!

And last but not least, a photo from this morning of my 

silly Ziggy.  He was distracting me from getting

ready because he wanted me to play with him.

Mr. H's birthday is coming up at the end of April and we just booked a two night stay at Mont Bleu Resort in S. Lake Tahoe.  We are both so excited to go away with each other for a couple days and celebrate Mr. H turning 29!  One more year and he will be 30!  I still remember celebrating his 22nd birthday with him (way back when).  This will be my first time going to Tahoe since I've been 21, with one exception for my Aunti's wedding, but we were only there for a couple hours.  We have two whole days together!  Last night we pined over how we wished it was tomorrow.

So that's what's been happening on the other side of this computer!  What about you guys?  Anything exciting happening on your end?