Christmas 2010

From drunken nights to 5am sunrise walks, garage karaoke to all-day foodie day, 

15 passenger van to caravan trips, singing for the cashier at the market to holiday videos promised to never be shown again. 

We've all gone through it.

 I wish everyone was able to make it this year.

Thank you!

Little Tokyo and Arts District Day

Amado and I spent our whole Sunday in LA with Makoy.

First on our agenda was for some ramen at Daikokuya.

The last time we tried to go was after the reading of Greg's play but the wait time was too long 

so we opted for something else.

For Sunday, we decided to get there a bit early.

There were atleast 20 people waiting even before the place opened.

TOMS

I've always wanted a pair of TOMS. They're very comfortable and feels so light.
Amado and I went to Whole Foods last week to buy some ingredients for making Food for the Gods and saw that they carry TOMS so we decided to try some on.
They notified us that a few artists were coming on the weekend to customize the shoes when you purchase them on the same day.

We went back this morning and got ours done.
One of the many perks of being with Amado is that we wear the same size. We literally share everything, well except for bags.

Barefoot Contessa, I Love You!

Ok, maybe I really do need a stand mixer.

My friends Makoy and EJ came over today to hang out.

After a quick breakfast (spam, eggs and rice), we went to the market to pick up some sweets.

I decided to make chocolate chip cookies instead of just buying the pre-made ones.

I've always loved the show Barefoot Contessa on Food Network.

Ina Garten prepares very simple dishes but makes it look so elegant.

I tried to make her Chocolate White Chocolate Chip Cookies.

But for those of you that knows me well, I don't mess with anything thats not really chocolate so

I changed it to chocolate chips instead.

The Seeds Part 1

A couple of weeks ago, I had the chance to take some photos of my cousin and her family.

They wanted some photos done for their Christmas cards.

I've never really done family portraits before so I was excited to jump in.

I have to say that parents have their work cut out for them in these kinds of sessions.

I'm leaving out some of the photos that they're using for their Christmas cards.

**I hope I'm not ruining the surprise by accidentally using them in this post!**

Heres my cousin Anna and her husband Ron trying to entertain their daughter AJ (Anissa).

There was  a lot of ooooh!, aaaaaah!, boo! and jumping that day.

But it was definitely worth it since I think we got some great shots out of them.

Food for the Gods

Someone "suggested" I try to tackle making Food for the Gods, also known as Ambrosia.

By suggested, I mean sent me an email with the recipe and said make it. Amado, *cough*..

For some reason this pastry has a holiday feel to it but don't make the mistake of

comparing it to fruit cake.

VERY VERY VERY DIFFERENT!!!

If made correctly, the pastry should be chewy and moist, not heavy like a cake.

The sweetness should just be enough and not over power the dates.

It was easier to make than I thought.

And its making me want a stand mixer even more. 

Ahem Santa.. 

Well maybe get me a Canon 5D Mark II first then a KitchenAid in Imperial Black please.

Gotta jazz it up a bit so I picked up a container from the store and brought it over

to our friends house when we had brunch.

I love how my friends will eat anything I make even if it screws up their diet.

Can you say sabotage?!

Finally!!!

Working on our Christmas cards.

Odd how the double-sided tape costs more than the photos and the cards.

And Amado's been dropping hints that he wanted me to make this for dinner.

Lollipop Chicken Wings

Mashed Cauliflower and Potatoes