Me and Internet

Andrew and I decided early on to not get cable. Mostly because we don't really watch TV and we have netflix, hulu, etc.

So, I spend a lot of my day on wikipedia and google. I didn't actually notice this habit until recently but then I realized, it's kind of random. And then I wondered, "Has wikipedia become my animal planet?" Here's just a few things from the last few days:

1. Bonobos
2. Zamboni
3. Steam heater
4. Chamomile
5. Beavers (they're actually kind of helpful to many fish populations)
6. Grizzly bear attacks
7. Salt deposits on terra cotta pots
8. French revolution
9. Mochi
10. Peanuts
11. Electric eels
12. Sawfish
13. Invasive species
14. Introduced species
15. Papua New Guinea
16. Lymph nodes
17. Anneliese Michel (creepy!)
18. The Congo

These are just a few of the things I've read about. I'll leave you with a few things I learned.
Zamboni is someone's last name! He actually was in the refrigerator business and opened up an ice rink. He tried to figure out a way to keep the ice smooth without it being so time consuming and eventually came up with the Zamboni.
Electric eels aren't eels. They're actually in a class of fish called knife fish. One eel can produce up to 600 volts of electricity! The electricity is used to stun their prey, but also used to locate because they have poor eyesight.
Bears are killed after attacks on humans because they're afraid they'll get a taste for human and then actively try to kill them for food. Scary.
You can get salt deposits on terra cotta pots if you have too much excess in your fertilizer. It's actually harmful to plants but can be removed by scrubbing with something like a brillo pad and using vinegar. Okay, that's all I want to share for today.

Madeleine

My dog is a log. She's a log of fur and cuddliness. The vet says she needs to not be a log. That she must have a waist. But for now, she is a log and I love her and shower her with... an appropriate amount of food.

New Year

I've never really been the type of person to make resolutions when the new year rolled around. (Why does "rolled" look incorrect? Is there another way to spell that?) Probably because I'm not very good at committing to things and I am a creature of habit. I decided to make one this year and see how it pans out. I find that it's easiest to stick to something that makes you happy. So the resolution I came up with is to read more books that will feed my soul.

True, I've read many classics during undergrad, but not by choice and they don't count because I was half asleep for most of my four years in college. So here I go... and hopefully this is one resolution that I can keep!

Flower Girl and Ring Bearer

Photos by Youkeun Oh Photography

FYI, we never asked him to pose like that. He's just a natural!

One of the most fun things for me when planning the wedding was planning ensemble for the ring bearer and flower girl. 

I knew from the beginning that I wanted my niece to wear a super poofy tulle tutu type dress. I found several I liked on Etsy, and my sister and I settled on this number.  It has a gray hand crocheted (is there any other type of crochet?) bodice and a tulle skirt complete with a yellow crocheted flower at the waistline. 

I asked our florist to make her a posy of feverfew and craspedia tied with a fun ribbon. Because she is such a tiny thing, I knew something like a pomander bouquet would be much to heavy for her. I was so pleased with how her posy came out. I wanted to die at how cute it was!!!

Her shoes were silver sparkly Toms and she completed her look with a yellow hairband.

Do you see that the florist tied the posy with a ribbon of daisies? So cute. I die.

As for the ring bearer, being that the wedding was going to be in the middle of summer, I wanted my nephew to be comfortable. I found these grey seersucker shorts from JCrew, and they were perfection. Complete with a white button up shirt, and a yellow tie from Etsy, he looked a little preppy but had some personality! I'm sure the bleached faux hawk also had a little to do with that. I gave him a choice of shoes--white or gray low top Converse sneakers or Sperry Topsiders sans socks. (or ankle socks) I'm not sure what brand his shoes ended up being, but I loved the look.

As for his pillow, I kind of pulled it all together with scraps, buttons, and trimmings, I had here and there leftover from previous projects.  I loved how rustic it turned out :)

This photo, obviously, is not by our photographer, but by my cell phone. On my bed. hahaha

Everything about the flower girl and ring bearer came together so beautifully! It probably doesn't hurt that they are also the two cutest kids in the world! :D

Watermelon Caprese Salad and Sisters

Doesn't this picture look like some scary bloody horror show?

Growing up, I loved to copy my sister. Everything she did always seemed so perfect. I wanted to be just like her. I copied the way she colored, her handwriting, everything! I would even take her art projects, that she spent DAYS on, to school to show all my friends. And broke them. Haha... Funny now, but not so much back then.

Anyway, somehow everything I did never looked as perfect as the way she did it.

I suppose this salad is no exception. She made us these yummy appetizers when we were visiting her in Napa. They were cubed watermelon, mozzarella, and basil stuck on a toothpick and drizzled with balsamic reduction. Perfectly bite-sized.

I was craving it a few weeks ago and decided to make it. As you can see by my picture my watermelon is all chopped in different sizes. And we had no toothpicks. Oh, and on my first attempt I reduced my balsamic vinegar until it was the consistency of...  well... cement. On my second attempt, I was scared to make the same mistake twice so I didn't even bother to let it reduce.

Aside from the look, it tasted so good!

Ingredients

Watermelon, cubed

Fresh Mozzarella

Basil, julienned

Balsamic Reduction (Or in my case, cement)

Pepper

To make the reduction, just heat up some good balsamic vinegar in a sauce pan. Wait until it starts to boil, reduce the heat and let it simmer until you get the consistency you want. Place the watermelon on a plate and top with all the other ingredients. Hope yours doesn't look like mine!

p.s. I've long since accepted the fact that my style just isn't impeccable. It's crazy and messy and that's just me! 

두부 조림

Moving on to another side dish...

I don't even know what 두부 조림 means. Google Translate says "Boiled Tofu." But it's not really boiled. So I tried just 조림 and they said it means, "afforrestation." I'm PRETTY sure that's not what I did to the tofu. To me it means cooking it in some sauce until the liquid starts to disappear. So whatever the word is for that is what it is. Anyone want to define it for me?

This side dish is a nice go-to dish because it's so quick to make. Basically, buy some firm tofu, cut it into thin squares and fry it in some oil. When it's almost all cooked, top it with the Korean staple of soy sauce, sesame oil, minced garlic, red pepper flakes, and sliced green onions. Go easy on the soy sauce because it can be really salty. Cook for a few more minutes and then eat it. That's it!

(I use about 2 parts soy sauce to 1 part sesame oil. Everything else you add to your preference.)

Optional: My sister dips her tofu in egg before she fries it and it's super good that way too. :)

Oh and I almost forgot! Don't forget to wash your tofu before you cook it. I dunno why, my mom says to. That's why.

계란 말이... egg roll?

Since we got married, I've been attempting to make more Korean food. Why? I don't know. 

Anyway, 계란 말이 (gaeran mari) isn't really an egg roll. It IS egg, and it is rolled... but it's not an egg roll. Capisce?

I guess it's more like an omelette. I made it in a kind of non-traditional way because... well because I felt like it. It tasted like 계란찜 (gaeran jjim) which I love, so I was happy. :D Anywho, Korean food is a little tricky because if you ask any Korean ajumma how to make a dish, they don't give you measurements. And like a true Korean ajumma, which I am now because I'm married, I won't either!

If you want to make it the "traditional" way, eliminate the milk/water and the sesame oil

Ingredients:

Eggs

Milk/Water

Onions/Green Onions, diced really small

Carrots, diced really small

Salt

Sesame Oil

Pepper

Heat up a pan with some oil on low heat. Beat everything together. Pour into the frying pan. As it cooks, start to roll the egg at one end. Let it cook, then roll it again. Keep repeating until the whole thing is rolled up. One thing my mom taught me, is to put a sheet of 김 (laver) at the beginning before you roll it. It's good that way, but also good without. When it's all cooked through, slice it and serve!

As you can see, I served it with some sriracha. Btw, I went to a Thai restaurant once and the server got mad that I called it sriracha. Apparently Si Racha is a region in Thailand and the rooster sauce that we all love is just chili sauce. I don't care what it's called. I love me some SRIRACHA.