*1175 - the dream wedding

Teeny wedding with only the people who truly matter, in a beautiful little quiet home near the Pacific coast.  From-scratch food made with love, DIY decorations from the painted flower vases, to the bouquets, to the favors, to the song sheets hand-drawn by Mummy.  It was quite the family orchestration, with friends rushing to the rescue as well.

First, a few pretty pictures by 39 East Photography:

Little cottage where the Chan's + D stayed; also the site of the wedding dinner.


Where the groom's family stayed, and where the ceremony was held--a quick 30 second trot from the cottage along a gravelly road.  Magical little home with surprises in every nook and cranny.


Getting ready for the big moment ... I was so busy that this "getting ready" phase felt like it lasted all of 15 minutes, including a hop in the shower, slapping on of make up, and frenzied painting of nails (bright coral).


Hand-made bouquets made from the flowers we bought at a flower market in SF.


Flower girls and maid of honour walking down the little aisle!


Taking communion together ...


Husband & wife :)


See??  It's hard to describe in words how beautiful it was!  I want a wedding like that myself :)  Simple, elegant, cosy, magical, a day to remember.

Foodie pictures to follow ... of course I wouldn't leave those out!!

*1174 - making bagels

My first time making bagels from scratch!  I'd always been intimidated because making bagels involves more steps than making regular bread.  It turns out that it's actually not too difficult making a nice, dense, chewy (I prefer this to a cakey texture) bagel that's customized to exactly how you want it to taste.
Step 1: Combine ingredients and knead.  I decided to add raisins, cranberries, cinnamon, and cocoa powder.  Let rise.

Step 2: Punch down, shape into bagels, and let rise again--just a little.

Step 3: Broil for a few minutes to get a crisper, chewier, shinier crust.
Step 4: Boil for a few minutes.  This quickly cooks and sets the crust so that when you stick them in the oven, the insides can't rise past the crust, and that gives them their signature dense texture.  Boil longer for a chewier, thicker texture.

Step 5: Finally, bake until very slightly browned.  And there you go, your from-scratch bagels.

*1173 - mum's day

Missing Mummy (and the rest of the Chan's but it's Mothers' Day) and wishing I could be home. It doesn't get easier, the longer I am away; in fact, I think it gets harder. A three-week trip home is in the works (just have to bring it to Mr Big Boss for approval now) and I can't wait. I am blessed to even be able to take three weeks off, but of course I wish it could be more!

*1172 - ink calendar

How brilliant is this?  An Ink Calendar by Oscar Diaz - a calendar using the capillary action of the ink on the paper.

*1171 - stubbornly

A solid few months of being sleep-deprived and overworked, and I still do not have the ability to sleep early (it's a Friday, 1.30 am, and I'm not doing anything interesting, but still refuse to go to bed for no explainable reason) nor do I have the ability to rise late.

I always get unnecessarily anxious and twitchy whenever D's not around, and he's gone for the weekend + the past few days.  Poo.

*1170 - too cute

Poka likes laptops.

 

Poka likes yoga.

Poka likes laps and naps.

 

Poka likes freshly laundered clothes.

 

*1169 - bottomless brunch

Ironside: Bottomless brunch buffet for $17, bottomless mimosas for an additional $10.  (We opted out this time as it was too soon after our previous mid-afternoon hangover.)

D on the left, EV on the right.







From their website:

• Buttermilk pancakes with banana-rum syrup: I need to make this syrup some day. Mmm.  As you can see, Drew had 4 and I had 2.
• Scrambled eggs with cheese: How do they make such giant vats of uniformly textured scramble??
• Steel-cut oatmeal with vanilla brown sugar: No, thanks.
• Bacon: Yes, please.
• House made spicy sausage: Felt a little too herbed for brunch.
• Biscuits and gravy: Gross, but yum!
• Cheddar grits: I'm a grits-convert now, so of course I had to get this ...
• Chipotle-garlic breakfast potatoes: Spicier and again more herbed than expected.
• Fried sweet plantains with house salsa: Not actually a big fried plantain fan.
• Mixed green salad: Good way to pretend that your brunch buffet is good for you--also their vinaigrette was so good I had to ask about it, but alas, secret house recipe.
• Greens and beans: Forgettable.
• Ceviche: Not fresh enough, I also really dislike raw onions.
• Wheat toast with agave butter: Who fills up with toast in a buffet?? Not me.
• Bread pudding: Again, gross, but yum!

I think the food was good enough but since they don't have a changing menu, I don't think I'll be back.  At least, not for a very long while.  As a rule, I'm not an ideal customer as I don't return to restaurants unless they are (1) phenomeoeomemonoennal or (2) within 30 seconds of where I live.  We have had tons of sub-par to okay Thai food (with the exception of the crab fried rice that I still crave and love) and tons of cheap Indian food because those restaurants are located in our building/right across the road.

*1168 - settled

Today, I am settled back in SF after a couple of months of traveling to Arkansas once every few weeks.  Traveling for work has its perks and I'm very happy to have had that opportunity but I cannot deny that I AM POOPED and I'm somewhat glad that the traveling stint is over ... at least for a while!

Still, it is nice to have a neatly made bed everyday, no dishes to do, fluffy white towels aplenty, dinners delivered to your doorstep ...

Speaking of which, the boy just walked in the door with 1.5 pounds of food for our dinner, so what am I complaining about? ;)