Milk & Honey

Film Friday: November.

2012-02-24T11:16:00.000-08:00

{when they said this camera had a wide angle, they meant wide.

i recall taking the last photo without the pavement cracks.}

Film Friday: Beach.

2012-02-17T10:53:00.000-08:00

Back in August, after our week of VBS, our church (mainly the youth) celebrated and relaxed by going to the beach. You can kind of tell by the last picture how deep the hole started to get (half his body is in). I don't have a picture of the finished hole but it was about 6 ft deep and 5 ft(?) wide. It was really big. Good thing this happened before the new law of not digging holes deeper than 18" became effective.

Film Friday: CA Adventures

2012-02-11T22:35:00.000-08:00

I finally got my first roll of film developed so here is the first of my Film Friday posts (even though this is not posted on a Friday). I learned that when they said this camera was meant for outdoors/sunlight they literally meant it. Note to self: too many shadows or indoor photos create lots of grain.

i know Pooh! ;)

These photos are from July when I went to Disneyland/CA Adventures with my brother for his birthday. I think the last time I went to Disneyland with my brother was with my parents when we were younger. Now we've grown up so we can go by ourselves haha. We're lucky because we had cousins visiting from Singapore and they didn't use up their 3-day passes so they let us have them! It was a good day.

The other film photos didn't turn out because there wasn't enough sunlight. Lesson learned. I wish I knew earlier so the rest of the roll wouldn't have to suffer but not many did so that's okay.

Merely Sweets.

2012-02-04T18:03:00.000-08:00

Merely Sweets

Brea, CA

Shake Shack.

2012-02-04T00:08:00.000-08:00

After exploring the Museum of Natural History and briskly walking through Central Park to keep ourselves warm, we made it to Shake Shack. The line was long and indoor seating was limited so we ended up eating outside in the freezing cold!

If you're interested, you can read my review on Yelp.

Shroom Burger

Shake Shack
New York, NY

Little Bits: January.

2012-01-31T15:36:00.000-08:00

subway. chinese new year. hotel adventures.
graffiti wall. favorite fruit of the month. new years.
airplane cabin. monica's apartment. nyc street.

dinner break from last minute vacation shopping. in the sky. rockefeller center.

mika's goodbye breakfast. birthday girls. museum of natural history.

cheers to the new year. day trip to san diego. pocket napkin.

As a way to encourage me to continue taking pictures, I'm going to participate in Fat Mum Slim's February Photo Challenge. I most likely won't post daily (maybe once in a while via Instagram), but I'll gather the photos at the end of the month and share.

Yoga Mat Bag.

2012-01-30T22:52:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week my grandma made me a bag for my yoga mat. She has lots of material so I chose one and without following any tutorials or instructions, she was able to make one!

I love my grandma!

Wickedly Lucky.

2012-01-28T10:41:00.000-08:00

(the orchestra right in front/below us)

prior to leaving for new york, a few people highly recommended watching Wicked. knowing that tickets are pricey, watching this musical phenomenon was something i really wanted to do but figured it wouldn't happen. we heard of discount tickets from the tkts booth and the Wicked lotto and took our chances with the lotto. good thing we did because we had a lucky winner amongst our group - well two, actually(!): my brother and my mom! it's kinda crazy that out of +200 people, maybe even 300, they picked 13 names and 2 were ours! each winner gets two tickets so we got a total of four (!) and instead of paying +$100 for a ticket, tickets were $26.25 each for front row seats! so that itself was extremely exciting.

of coarse i won't spoil the show by saying much about it but i'll say this: besides listening to a couple of songs before, i came in knowing almost nothing about it except that it's before the time of The Wizard of Oz. i'm glad i didn't know anything because that made the show more enjoyable to me. plus, being seated in the front row was amazing -- we saw the details on their costumes, facial expressions and we could even see them spit while they sang! haha.

to say the least, i looovved it! Wicked has been on repeat every day (no joke) since we got back and is constantly playing in my head. as much as i'd like to see it again, i don't think it'll ever be as good as the first time i saw it. i mean, what can beat winning discount tickets, watching it on Broadway, and sitting in the front row? (some people say the front row isn't that good but i think that only applies to movie theatres. being seated in the front row was amazing!)

- - - - - - - -

in case you get the opportunity and you're curious on how you can get a chance to win, i'll share how we went about entering for the nighttime showing:

Liberty & Ellis.

2012-01-26T16:26:00.000-08:00

{more photos}

we took the ferry to the statue of liberty and ellis island. i wanted to go up the statue (which would've been really cool!) but sadly, is was closed.

at ellis island, in one of the rooms on the second floor, they have a recording of a case hearing on whether they'll admit two sisters into the states. they also have an electronic questionnaire that you can take to see if the current you would be let in back in the day. turns out i wouldn't be let in.

i thought it was really cool that they provided those two things (among others) for vistors to explore. both locations are so historical. i'm glad i got the opportunity to walk through history, listen to the audio tour, and read informational facts.

also, being at ellis island reminded me of a this scene from the movie hitch.

Little Bits: New York City.

2012-01-24T20:46:00.000-08:00

city street.

grand central terminal.

washington square park.

Friends: monica's apartment.

of coarse, being the Friends fan that i am, this was on the top of my list.

{more photos/past posts}

Free People.

2012-01-23T00:50:00.000-08:00

It's been a week since I've been home and I'm just now looking through the catalogs that I received while I was away. I gotta say that I'm really liking Free People's January issue, Coast to Coast, featuring location sites in Los Angeles and New York City. I mean, how appropriate does it pertain to the recent adventures of my life? Vacationing in NY and coming home to LA.

I thought that was pretty interesting.

...and of coarse I'm wishing my wardrobe closet was full of their clothes.

1 // 2 // 3 // 4

Brooklyn Bridge & Pizza.

2012-01-22T20:55:00.000-08:00

{olive and mushroom pizza}

in search of navigating our way to Grimaldi's for pizza, we must've looked really lost because a kind man approached us asking if we needed help. he turned out to be an NYPD officer and we met his bomb-sniffer dog. turns out the pizzeria is on the other side of the brooklyn bridge and he highly recommended walking across the bridge and eating there. so we did. it was a lovely walk with lots of photo opps.

{he also recommended some places in chinatown; what a nice guy.}

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

2012-01-22T18:32:00.000-08:00

"... for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

Central Park.

2012-01-20T19:40:00.000-08:00

{more photos}

our hotel is right in times square which is so convenient that we haven't had the need to ride the subway yet. we made our way through 6th ave, rockefeller plaza, admired churches and eventually made it to central park. lots of pictures were taken throughout our walk.

though this is my second time here, i'm still taking pictures like if it's my first.

p.s. as a glimpse, i've decided to share about my trip. be warned: a lot of new york posts will soon spam this blog.
though i can share every detail, i won't. but just know that this trip is on the top of my favorites. i'm also kinda sorta writing as if i was still there. i wish i was.

Lately: New York.

2012-01-18T19:57:00.000-08:00

This past week, as other college students were starting school, I started my week long getaway.

I took over 1,000 photos (!) so I have a lot of reviewing to do and more to share so more pictures are soon to come.

As I'm editing I thought I'd share that I'm also listening to the Wicked soundtrack. I guess you can say I'm still on a New York high.

For now, here are some snapshots from my week in NY.

You can also see more as I add them to Flickr.

San Diego.

2012-01-07T01:01:00.000-08:00

Thursday after work, I spent the day with friends in San Diego to help my friend move in. We arrived just in time to watch the sunset.

{Since the sunset is naturally a pretty picture I didn't feel the need to edit these}

Thai Curry Fried Quinoa.

2011-12-29T19:41:00.000-08:00

Thai Curry* Fried Quinoa

Adapted from Peas and Thank You

*It was a little too sweet for our liking so we added about 3 tablespoons of curry to balance out the taste.

Christmas Get-Together #1.

2011-12-24T10:46:00.000-08:00

I can't believe Christmas time is already here.

December is flying by. To kick off the weekend, I went to the Ho Residence and had a little gathering.

apple enchilada recipe here.

Apple Enchiladas.

2011-12-23T15:11:00.000-08:00

Now that winter break has arrived I have more time to spend in the kitchen. My first item of the season were these apple enchiladas. They're so easy to make and yummy, too! They're filled with apple pie filling but instead of a pie crust they're wrapped in tortillas.

Here's how I made mine:

(adapted from All Recipes)

I was on a time crunch so I stuck with canned filling. You can definitely use your own homemade filling, too - which helps control the sweetness.

Spoon your filling into the center of a tortilla. Fold the sides and roll it.

Place in a lightly greased 8x11 pan.

Bring margarine, water, white sugar and brown sugar to a boil.
(I suggest using slightly less of each sugar than what the recipe says.)
Reduce heat and let it simmer and stir for a couple minutes.
Pour sauce in pan over all tortillas. Sprinkle with cinnamon.
I had extra filling so I placed it on top.

Place in oven at 350 for 20 minutes.
You can go longer if you want it crispier.
I prefer it to be soft, like a crepe.

Best served warm with ice cream!

Here's a video:

California Adventures.

2011-12-22T00:25:00.000-08:00

I spent Tuesday evening at California Adventures with the Uenos - thanks, Kristin.

I brought my camera along which helped me practice get used to it because I had never taken night photos with it before. I was even a bit of a daredevil and brought it out during Tower of Terror and

California Screamin', too! It was risky but I'm glad I did because I liked the video footage I got from both rides.
I also took random video clips throughout the night. A video ~~will be coming soon~~ is at the end of this post!

Here is a video of snippets from our night:

Sewing Machine.

2011-12-03T17:16:00.001-08:00

I had a photoshoot today... with my grandmother's sewing machine.

Reminiscing.

2011-11-29T21:26:00.001-08:00

It's pretty rare that I meet someone who did color guard in high school. Today I met someone and it turns out we both did color guard in high school - she even knows of my team! It still makes me happy that people actually remember "Valencia High School from Placentia" and even compliment us especially since that was a few years ago and we're in college now. Though, I am disappointed in myself that I failed to mention that I was a part of an independent team.

I mean, Fantasia was such a rewarding experience; meeting new people and teammates that I call family, spinning with people who are truly dedicated and have the same passion as I do, learning from incredible instructors who taught me more about color guard and just being able to perform with a team whose name alone goes way down in winter guard history (to name a few).

As a keep's sake, I screen-captured last year's Fantasia 2011 roster from the RCC website (haha) - mainly because pretty soon that list is going to go away and be replaced by Fantasia 2012.

Acorns.

2011-11-24T22:36:00.001-08:00

Every Thanksgiving we celebrate with my mom's side of the family and go to my aunt's house. Knowing that there will be lots of food, I figured I'd bring something small. After seeing these cute edible acorns floating around Pinterest, I just had to make them myself.

They're so simple and easy to make, too! All you need are Nutter Butter Bites, Kisses, mini chocolate chips, and peanut butter to hold it all together. (I chose peanut butter instead of melted chocolate or chocolate frosting because then the chocolate-peanut butter ratio would've been too much.)

The only Nutter Butter Bites we could find around here are the ones that come in individual packets along with other Nabisco products. Since it only came with 4 bags of Nutter Butters I decided not to make them anymore but after going to Julia's house and seeing that she had some Nutter Butter Bites she let me take a couple of bags. I decided to buy the mixed set of Nabisco packages and so I went ahead and made these acorns.

Thanks, Julia, for having Nutter Butter Bites. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have ended up making these =).

It's a good thing I was able to make these, too. The cuteness of their size and the flavor combination of chocolate and peanut butter created a dessert that was definitely a crowd pleaser.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Psalm 100

A Psalm for Giving Thanks

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!

Serve the LORD with gladness!

Come into his presence with singing!

Know that the LORD, he is God!

It is he who made us, and we are his;

we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,

and his courts with praise!

Give thanks to him; bless his name!

For the LORD is good;

his steadfast love endures forever,

and his faithfulness to all generations.

Navy Blue and Polka Dots.

2011-11-23T00:29:00.001-08:00

My grandma loves to sew and is always saying that she can make me tops like some of the one I have. In the summer I went through some of my grandma's fabric and picked a few that I liked. I recently came across this dress and remembered that there was a pattern I found that's just like it: navy blue with white polka dots. She was able to make a dress just like it!

Cutie Pies.

2011-11-22T11:37:00.000-08:00

For the first time I made a pie - mini apple pies, to be exact. This is also my first time baking something out of the realm of cakes, cookies and brownies =O.

Since this was my first time, I honestly felt kind of lost. There are so many different types of apples to choose from and I know some work better than others for baking and I just didn't know which ones to use. After browsing several sites I eventually decided to use Granny Smith.

Also, I had found several different pie crust recipes and couldn't decide which one to pick but we just so happened to have Pillsbury Pie Crusts in the fridge so I used that instead of making my own crust.

Due to the lack of time, I didn't get the chance to make different kinds of pies as I had liked to, so I'll definitely be making a variation of these mini-pies some time in the future.

(Also, during the process I took some video clips.
Everything is edited, but I just haven't found the right song yet.
Once I do I'll post it, too.)

Candy Corn Cupcakes.

2011-10-30T03:38:00.000-07:00

Fridays aren't the day for me to have "me" time because I work from 8am-5pm. Though this past Friday was an exception. I had to do a classroom observation for one of my classes and because my class and work schedule occur during normal school hours taking a Friday off was my only option. The observation only lasted a few hours so I had free time! Since I finally had the time, I decided to bake something and since it's Halloween I figured I'd bake something festive - candy corn cupcakes.

I'd say the thing I bake the most are rainbow cupcakes (perhaps another post in the future?) and my version of candy corn cupcakes are a twist of that.

Most of the time when I bake I set it for a certain amount of time, check to see if it's ready, and have to keep it in a little longer. Not this time! I put these in for 21 minutes and that was the perfect amount of time - no need to add extra minutes (yay!). After they came out of the oven I was so eager to eat one because they looked so good. So I did - yum!

One of the things I like about making colorful cakes is seeing what it look like inside after the first bite is taken. I think it's fun to see the different shape each layer of color turns out to be since each layer rises uniquely in each cupcake. Plus, colors make everything better.

I'd say my favorite thing about baking is being able to share what I make with others. Baking is fun for me and I consider it a hobby and an interest of mine but the thing about baking goods like cupcakes and cookies is that they yield too much for a household of five to consume - or should consume.

I brought these cupcakes for our middle school fellowship that night. They liked them too - one of the girls ate four of them! I thought that was funny. One boy put me in the 'awesome' category - apparently I was already in there but after tasting my cupcake he felt like he should tell me. They said that I should open up a cupcake shop and they'd go there three times a day. Even though that's totally unrealistic I still appreciate the compliment(s).

Truth is, I didn't use a special or "secret" recipe. I used white cake mix from a box. Nothing special. This also goes back to my previous statement that I think is applicable: colors make everything better! But I guess the special recipe I say (to my brother) is that they're made with love <3.

Happy (and safe) Halloween!

Camp Ronald McDonald.

2011-10-25T23:56:00.000-07:00

As a continuation of my non-school-related weekend...

On Sunday I was a volunteer/vendor at the Camp Ronald McDonald Halloween Carnival! (This organization is to help children who have diseases and provide a place of fun for them. This particular event was geared more towards rich families who paid lots of money that will go towards sponsoring those children.)

I'm not really into Halloween (dressing up, trick-or-treating, etc.) and I haven't really felt the "Halloween spirit" around me but I sure did today. Pumpkins everywhere, big and small, children and adults in costumes, people passing out candy, orange and black decorations galore...

When my friend first asked me to go, all I was basically told was I would help kids make soap, see celebrities and eat free food. That was all pretty exciting to me - I didn't really know who was going to be there but helping kids and getting free food? I'm there.

I don't think I've ever been surrounded by so many celebrities in my life. I only knew of a handful of the stars that were there but it was still really exciting. I got to take pictures with Rico Rodriguez and Nolan Gould from Modern Family, Josie Loren for Make it or Break it, Gilles Marini who was on last week's episode of Modern Family, and my personal favorite, Booboo Stewart who was in Eclipse and will appear in Breaking Dawn.

It was really cool talking to them all, even if it was just a couple of sentences. Everyone was so nice and down to earth. We were right near the story-telling area so it was also fun listening to young celebrities reading children's books.

There were so many deliciously looking foods to choose from: chicken pot pie, macaroni and cheese, taco bar, cakes, cookies, fruit and fodue, McDonalds, smoothies, asian noodles, and more.

I had noodles, macaroni and cheese, strawberries, snickerdoodle and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, McDonalds Smoothie and McFlurry, and a crusted desert.

Thanks for taking me, Asburys!

Now that the weekend is over and I spent my whole weekend volunteering, I feel like I need to rest before I get back into school-mode. This was definitely a fun, busy, long, and memorable weekend.

Tijuana Mission Trip.

2011-10-25T23:29:00.000-07:00

I feel like school has been so demanding this semester that I haven't really had time to hang out or just do non-school related things. Well this weekend definitely made up for those lost times.

My church typically goes to Tijuana 3-4 times a year to feed the poor, provide medical and optometry service. This past Saturday I made my first trip in almost 3 years to this one-day missions trip and I'm really glad I did. I was able to visually see how different this culture is and it definitely reminded me to be thankful for even the smallest, simplest possessions I have that I often take for granted.

In Tijuana, we brought them lunch (hot dog, chips, capri sun/water), canned foods for future use, had a couple of doctors for medical care, and a craft for the children. We made about 200 lunches which still weren't enough and since I don't eat hot dogs I gave my bag to away and others did the same.

It was a long day but I spend it with good people, serving the Lord, and sharing God's love.

If anyone is reading this, please pray for these people who not as fortunate as us.

Mini Carrot Bundt Cake.

2011-10-16T21:31:00.000-07:00

While I was studying, my mom baked a carrot cake. This time she made them into mini bunt cakes - inspired by our recent encounter of Nothing Bundt Cakes.

I used to not like carrot cake and have always heard that my mom's carrot cake recipe is the best but for some reason I've never eaten it. Thinking back I really don't know why. I just didn't eat it. But tonight I tried it and it really is delicious.

I ought to get her recipe and learn how to bake this carrot cake. Though she doesn't follow recipes - she just adds items without keeping track of her measurements so this will take time to obtain...

Midterm Project.

2011-10-14T23:51:00.000-07:00

I worked hard on this so I felt I should share...

This may actually be a midterm I actually liked. I got to incorporate watercolors into an assignment that is basically just talking about my experience in the class and what I'm learning in my Multicultural Pluralism in Education class.

The hardest part was planning and arranging everything. After that, it felt like coloring for fun instead of me doing an assignment.

The end result:

(I didn't mean for my hair to look so big, haha.)

Colossians 3:23

2011-10-13T23:55:00.001-07:00

I came across this verse recently and it's been a wonderful reminder to me in my daily life.

So I wrote it down and this is now up on my wall.

Surprise.

2011-10-08T23:30:00.000-07:00

My brother and I are HUGE Friends fans. We quote it and reference it in our daily lives. Tonight I got this text from my brother which references this Friend's scene:

When he came home he had a white paper bag in his hand and told me to guess what it was. My first guess was macarons and it was correct!

I've been craving macarons for the longest time because of all the pictures I've seen of them but I've never had one until this past week and it was just a frozen one from Trader Joe's. It was still good, but it wasn't even fresh. Anyway, this was my first 'real' macaron and it was delicious.

Yum. I officially love macarons and they just might be my new favorite. I love how colorful they are and how gently they need to be held. They're all good flavors but I prefer non-berry flavors because those are too sweet for me.

I've been pretty stressed the past couple of weeks with projects and exams... I like how my brother knows me so well and knows just how to make me happy.

Note: Our friend bought them for us, my brother just brought them home. Thanks, JT!

♫ Psalm 19

2011-10-03T23:25:00.000-07:00

♫ May the words of my mouth

And the meditations of my heart

Be pleasing to you, pleasing to You

May the words of my mouth

And the meditations of my heart

Be pleasing to You my God

You’re my Rock and my Redeemer

You’re the reason that I sing

I desire to be a blessing

In Your eyes

Every hour, every moment

Lord I want to be Your servant

I desire to be a blessing

In Your eyes, in Your eyes ♫

Yesterday during our response song we sang this and it has been stuck with me ever since. It was the first time I've heard it and it has resonated with me do deeply and has been constantly been repeating in my head. It's a song that expresses how I feel and how I want to live in a way that I haven't felt before with other songs.

I haven't found a good cover/version of this song that I liked yet otherwise I would've posted the audio. I liked the way it was played at service yesterday the best.

Owlways Love.

2011-10-03T22:50:00.000-07:00

Owlways Love. Why? Because

1) "we love because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19)

2) In Colossians 3:12-14, Paul wrote that as God's people, we should have Christ-like qualities and of these, the most important one is love.

3) I like owls.

Mom's Vegetarian Nachos w/ Tofu.

2011-10-02T21:41:00.000-07:00

Nachos: Tortilla chips, cheese, refried beans, garlic tofu, jalepenos

Truth.

2011-08-28T02:30:00.000-07:00

I love food. I like to eat. And I can eat a lot.

But one of the things I've been struggling with is gluttony for the past few years. I had no self-control when it came to food and during family meals especially, I would give myself a second or third serving. I usually didn't stop eating until my stomach had expanded so much it hurt. I couldn't help it. Even if I was full I'd still eat more. I can eat a lot and I do. I try not to but I still over-eat. It made my body feel so gross. Thankfully I didn't get to a point where I was considered over-weight. I was still considered normal, but I didn't feel normal. I know several other people eat until their full and what I'm talking about is typical for many Americans but I'm not okay with it. I don't like feeling too full to function and I don't like the way my body feels after eating fatty foods.

{By looking at me you'd never guess that I was I like that. The common response when people knew of how much I ate was "where do you put it?"}

I'd try eating a meal before going to a party or a gathering because I thought that would keep me from over-eating but I still ended up eating their food, too. So at the end of the night I end up eating twice as much as I wanted to/should've. I really felt like I had no self control.

Read more »

Crepes.

2011-07-05T10:40:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I made crepes for the first time for two different occasions! My friends came over on Saturday to celebrate my birthday and I made crepes for dessert. I also made crepes the next day because we had my family over since some of my relatives were in town and we celebrated Independence Day (even though they're from Canada), my birthday, and showed them our new kitchen.

This was my first time making crepes and I didn't know how easy or hard it was going to be, so in addition to making crepes on Saturday and Sunday I also made crepes on Friday as my test batch using a recipe from Design Sponge.

For me, each time I made a batch I found myself adding more flour to get the consistency a little thicker because it was a little too watery. I also added a quick pour of vanilla extract for extra flavoring. At first swirling the batter around the pan was tricky because the pan would be too hot, or there was too much or too little batter so there was definitely some practice and technique into making these crepes but since I made so many I eventually got the hang of it all.

I served my crepes with the options of nutella, strawberries, mangos, bananas, whipped cream, powdered sugar, and ice cream.Yum. These were good and everyone liked it!

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies.

2011-05-18T23:31:00.000-07:00

Finals are done and so is my second year of college! It was kind of an impromptu decision to bake when I did though I had been wanting to bake for so long I just didn't know when. While our kitchen was renovating I had been looking up recipes of things to make once our kitchen was done. One of the recipes I found was chocolate chip cookies from Two Peas and Their Pod. I was really intrigued by this recipe because they're supposed to be soft - my favorite, thanks to the secret ingredient, PUDDING!

(Random fact: I don't like/eat hard cookies. Soft cookies all the way!)

This was also a way for me and my mom to get familiar with how our new oven works - we're still not used to it! There are too many options.

The recipe yields 3 dozen, but I ended up with 64 cookies! Maybe my cookies weren't as big? Oh well, more cookies. I'm not complaining! As much as I like homemade soft chocolate chip cookies, 64 cookies is too much for my household. To prevent me from eating almost all of them I decided to share them and bring some to my work!

If you like soft cookies like I do, I recommend this recipe! Plus, even after a few days these cookies were still soft.

8 Rules to a Better Life.

2010-10-10T17:32:00.000-07:00

I bought a new watercolor set a few days ago and stayed up super late working on this.

Yes, there are a few smudges but that's okay.

I found this list somewhere on the internet but lost the source.
If you see it, please let me know so I can credit them.