Wedding Wall

Last month I hit a wall when it came to all things wedding related.  I just didn't care about any details or decisions.  I would glaze over wedding blog posts in my reader. I just stopped being excited and wanted to fast forward through the next handful of months (raise your hand if it ever crossed your mind that there are times when the honeymoon seems more tempting than the wedding).  It was like I had no creative bone in my body.  I felt a bit silly and guilty being in this funk, but it was a much needed break.  But...wall no more! 

Recently I've started inching back into the thick of things and now I'm more excited than ever.  In the last wk or so I've found the cutest cocktail napkins, the perfect water dispenser, and the most affordable letterpress company to name a few.  We also decided on our "videographer."  (More on that later!)  It feels good to be back and excited again to say the least.  I hope to knock off the majority of my purchases and DIY projects in the next couple months so I don't stress out too much come September.  

In other news we're headed to Big Bear Lake pretty soon to go camping with our friends.  Should be a great weekend of Jerry fishing and me stuffing my face with Funyuns, nutella, and bacon.  In no particular order.

Have a nice weekend everyone!

From JPN to JPJ

There are a lot of decisions to be made about the big W (wedding) but sometimes one forgets that there are matters regarding the big M (marriage) to be dealt with too.  Because W decisions are made for that one day while M decisions should last a lifetime...

Such as: "Toilet seat up or down?"

Just kidding.  A more serious decision I'm talking about is the name change.  Questions come to mind:

Should only one person change their name?
Should both people hyphenate?
Should only one person hyphenate?
Should both people take on a whole new name?
Why should anyone change their name?
Etc, etc.

This is not an easy decision by many brides.  Or grooms if you want to be PC.  There are those who are really proud of their last name and the heritage that stems from it.  Some brides/grooms keep their surname b/c of professional reasons.  And some just don't like the sound of their first name combined with their proposed new last name.  The reasons run the gamut and are all very real and valid!

But for every reason there is to not take on a new last name, there's another reason to do it.  Here's mine:

1.  I'm tired of people mispronouncing my last name or asking me for the nth time how do I pronounce it.  Been going on all on my life, and I don't see the trend changing either.  Jer's last name is so easy to pronounce!
2.  I'm not particularly attached to my last name.  In fact, my last name was supposed to be Ly/Lee/Le or something like that, except my dad took his mom's last name so if you were to get all technical with lineage I've been carrying around the "incorrect" last name all my life.
3. I want us and our future kids to have the same last name as a family.
4. I don't like how it looks hyphenated.
5. This is vain, but my first name sounds good with Jer's last name! :P

So, it was a relatively easy decision on my part.  No real moral or personal struggles.  It's what you make of it- it made sense for me on my end.  Good thing, b/c I already have enough on my plate! 

PS.  Thank goodness his last name isn't a jumble of letters like that volcano in Iceland.

PPS.  If it was...I think I would still change it.  Reason #3 outweighs all the other reasons for me personally!

Westwood Eats

Every so often, I get together with some gal pals and we sound off about wedding stuff.  We're all getting married within a couple months of each other so there are definitely moments when we are all going through the same thing together and it just feels cathartic to use each other as sounding boards.  This time though I brought BM J with me so we all tried to keep the wedding whining down a notch or two.

The restaurant of choice for our outing was Soleil Restaurant back by my old stomping grounds of Westwood.  I can't believe I lived down the street from this place for 2 years and I never went.  Hmm, maybe b/c when I was in college French food wasn't really my thing...

But I'm developing a taste for it now!

Every Wednesday, there's an AYCE special of mussels and fries for $14.95.  Just remember to make a reservation 24 hours in advance and you're good to go!

For AYCE, these mussels were not as puny as I thought they might be.  Some were quite plump!  Between the 4 of us, we probably got around 8 bowls?  Jerry and I prepare mussels at home quite often so I wasn't really looking to create any eating record of the sort.  I just wanted to eat enough to feel satisfied.  We also got  bread to dip in the broth.  My only complaint was that the bread was a bit hard and cold.  Dipping it helped but otherwise they were lackluster when eaten plain.

We polished off 4 or 5 baskets of these.  Shoestring fries make it so much easier to eat more of!  I liked how these were barely salted.  The aoili was creamy and good, so it was most likely bad for us and our arteries. :P

I don't know why the waiter couldn't hold the camera straight...

As we left the restaurant we saw a sign across the street for Persian ice cream.  Though we were full, it's never too hard to make more room for ice cream!  I've have Persian ice cream before but I had never frequented that particular store despite my previous proximity. 

There were so many flavors!  The lady was generous and let us try a bunch.  Except after a while they all started tasting the same...

We got 4 scoops total- it was a bit hard to narrow it down!  I think J and C up above shared the ginger and watermelon?

While BM J and i shared pistachio saffron and passion fruit.

Persian ice cream is nice b/c it's not overly sweet nor saccharine.  The flavors aren't typical American flavors so it was nice to try something new.  But like BM J said...it's not exactly something you would crave either.  Just a nice light dessert after a semi heavy meal.  I'll be back whenever I happen to be walking down Westwood!

Ngu Binh Restaurant

Every since we started dating, Jerry jokes about how he's "never eaten so many spring rolls in my [his] whole life!"  I'd say that's true.  It's one of the easier meals to put together if you have basic ingredients in your pantry, and it's very versatile b/c there's no limits to what you can roll up (though I prefer my childhood standby of pork belly, shrimp & chinese sausage).  Though easily made at home, we like to order it as an appetizer at restaurants as well.   And I can't count how many times I've been to Phong Dinh.  That place is really delish!

But it was time for him to try something new.

Enter, Ngu Binh.  Though our usual standby restaurant in OC is Brodard for their yummy rolls (love the crunchy center and the mystery dipping sauce!) I have really been wanting to introduce Jerry to other types of Vietnamese cuisine that went beyond pho, banh mi, and rolls. 

These places are always in strip malls.  Next door was a foot massage place and above looks like a photo place.  There were a few parties ahead of us, so about a 15 min wait.  This is at 2pm on a Saturday so I wonder how busy it was at noon!  Take-out seems to also be popular here.

The menu is limited and mostly consists of combos and various sizes.  It's nice b/c you're able to try a variety of things!

First up we had #8 banh bot loc. Translucent and shrimpy. Jerry did not like it all that much though, maybe b/c of the texture.  Oh well, more for me!

Next was some banh beo.  This was #11 on the menu.  Topped with shrimp bits, scallions, fried shallots and what seemed to me to be a pork rind.  I think he liked this better.  It was a bit hard to eat though but I like it served in its own little bowl.  On the menu you can order it w/o the dish.  I think it's #12 on the menu.

It was a bit greasy too...but that's how you get it to not stick to the dish.  I've made these before (sans the pork rind) and wouldn't mind attempting it again!

Finally, something Jerry was more familiar with.  It was either a choice between the bun bo hue or the mi quang, but I though Jerry might want something a bit similar to what he's used to.  The #1 (#2 is the smaller bowl) bun bo hue was good but didn't blow me away. I would like to come back and try mi quang next time! 

All this Vietnamese food talk is making me crave some canh chua.  I really should get my mom to teach me.  That and banh xeo are the few things that I never order in a restaurant simply b/c my mom's version is so tasty!

California Adventure

The 3rd part of our day included Disney's California Adventure!  I had never been before so I was excited to explore the park.

My favorite kiddie ride was the Toy Story one.  It's replaced Buzz Lightyear Astroblasters as my fave game!  Unfortunately, the line was an hour long and we couldn't Fast Pass so I didn't get to go on it again, boo.  We also tried to Fast Pass the Soarin' California one but it was so popular they shut down the Fast Pass as well!  Monsters Inc was pretty much a snooze.  

We did a few more things including Mulholland Madness, California Screamin', Soarin' Over California (40 min wait...just okay) and Maliboomer.  The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror was my favorite though!  Since the middle kid couldn't do much, his dad took him on the Jellyfish ride above.  It's like a tot version of Maliboomer I guess!

Seriously, why don't people use a recycling bin?!  It's not that far away..

The park is still a work in progress so I could see myself going back someday.  Not anytime soon though!

And that concludes our jam-packed Disney adventure! 

Club 33

My Club 33 experience was really fun and lived up to the hype in my book.  I would jump at the opportunity to go again, but for my first time, I went as if it was my last!  Here goes:

When you get to the park you have to go to Guest Relations to pick up your tickets.  Our hook-up was really generous- we got park hopper tix for free!  The paper on the bottom right corner listed the dress code, rules, etc.  We already knew ahead of time that the dress code for lunch was more lax than for dinner so we were able to stick to jeans, shorts, and skorts.  As you'll notice later, Jerry and I changed our tops when we got inside.  Just because. :)

I took A LOT of pictures just of the door!  The entrance is located in New Orleans Square, next to the Blue Bayou restaurant.  It's pretty unobtrusive.  You lift up the little door on the left side and there's an intercom!  State your name, and the number in your party...

And you'll be let into the lobby.  It has a very old and grandeur type feeling.  There's also an elevator that fits about 2-3 people.  Jerry said it was broken the first time they went (yep, with the exception of the baby, everyone else in our party has gone before!) so I'm glad it worked this time!  There's a place for strollers.  Because Disneyland = Strollerland.

Yes, like everyone else I took pictures of the restroom.  And yes, the toilet is throne shaped.  And the mini powder/vanity room was sooooooooo shabby chic cute.  (Jerry said that the men's room wasn't as decked out.)   He took a wad of napkins from the men's room that said Club 33 on it.  We are really classy people.

Ok, onto the dining room.  I believe there's 2 rooms, and we were seated in the larger, more formal one.  The menu is limited to a handful of entrees.  There's also a kids menu as well!  We got a choice of sparkling champagne or cider.  There's a full bar too but we didn't partake in it as the majority of us can't/don't drink.  

In addition to the selected entree, there's an appetizer/dessert buffet.  From the top right, counter clockwise- a selection of shrimp, lobster tail, and perfectly de-clawed crab claws (a perfect circle cut around the shell- those must be some industrial grade seafood scissors!).  Lemons, cocktail sauce and Tabasco sauce.  The seafood was SO delicious!  We also had fruits, a selection of cheese and caprese.  Not picture were a selection of salads, pastas and prosciutto. I really enjoyed the pasta (picture below)- it had lots of artichokes and grilled veggies.  On the other side of the wall was the soup of the day and some bread and crackers with diff kinds of olive oil.  The SOTD was a potato leek soup and it was SO FREAKING GOOD.  Finally there was a super rich and decadent dessert buffet. 

Most of us chose the monkfish with lobster bisque for our entrees.  The Israeli couscous was super yummy and I kept sopping up the bisque with more bread! Jer's sis got the beef which was really nice and tender.  Jerry sort of regretted not getting the beef but I reminded him that 3 days before we devoured prime rib so it was a good idea to try something new.  The deconstructed s'mores above were good the first couple bites...but after that it was way too rich for me.  

Here's some more close ups.  That chocolate torte looking thing in the top left corner was pretty darn good.  It was rich, but had some bitter tones so that helped tone it down.  I have a lot of pictures of the soup b/c it came in the most adorable cup!  Good thing it wasn't bigger...talk about portion control.  I still had thirds though.  And by the way, the service is impeccable!  The only thing that I didn't like was that they would fold our dirty napkins every time we left the table for another round at the buffet.  They stopped doing that about 2/3 through the meal, but at the beginning I felt a little bad that they had to keep touching my dirty napkin!  I'm all for great service...but I really don't want anyone to touch my stuff.  I know their hands are clean...but still.

Since it was Jerry's bday wknd, we had to let the staff know.  He got a bday button and a candle.  We sang (quietly).  The rest of the day, he got a great kick out of Disneyland staff wishing him happy birthday.

While we were eating, Mickey and Pluto paid us a visit!  Baby K was not scared at all and loved playing with their noses! 

So by now we were stuffed.  But we didn't want to leave yet so we just walked around and took even more pictures.

There's a souvenir case where you can buy Club 33 goods.  Jer's family picked up some items such as a latte mug and the ears above (it's the same pair of ears modeled by all of us).  Jerry and I took some more napkins and stir sticks adorned with the Club 33 logo, since the cheapest thing there was an $18 shot glass.  There's keychains, polo shirts, pens, etc. I would have taken the pen that comes with the bill as others on the internet have written about doing, but as it turned out, our meal was comped!  Thanks hook-up!

 

Overall I really enjoyed being able to partake in such an experience.  The food is not the best food ever (except for that soup!!), but it's pretty darn excellent for a theme park.  If I ever get a chance to go back I'd definitely go to the balcony (pictured above).  In all my excitement I completely forgot to check it out!  This also goes against my documentation tendencies, but I really think they should ban cameras in order to preserve the mystique.  Just a thought!

And so concludes my Club 33 experience.  I highly recommend it! :)

Disneyland

Even though I grew up relatively close by, I rarely went to Disneyland as a kid.  My first time wasn't until I was 10!  Otherwise I've gone here and there since: 8th grade graduation trip, HS Chemistry trip (that was a lot of chips and candy sold), Grad Nite (that was a lot of chocolate bunnies that us seniors had to sell!), twice in college when we had family visit, and twice now with Jer's family.  I notice that for each subsequent time I go, I'm less eager to hit all the rides and try to jam pack my day.  Instead it feels nice to just take it easy and ride whatever is along the path.  For this particular visit, I think we spent the majority of time in Tomorrowland and only made quick detours to Adventureland and Frontierland.  (And New Orleans Square...but that's another post. :P )

Even though rain was in the forecast it ended up being a pretty nice day for walking around.  The lighting conditions were great, I only had to adjust the ISO whenever we were inside waiting for a ride.  Otherwise I mostly shot around ISO 500.

Okay, has anyone gone to Disneyland recently and notice that the park guide/map is made much cheaply now?  It's quite thin and flimsy!  Doesn't have the heft or weight that old park guides use to have.  (And I just realized that's a map of California Adventure, not D-land.  Oh well, too lazy to change the collage now!)

Thanks to the Fast Pass system, we were able to go on quite a few rides w/o waiting in line that long.  We hit up Buzz Lightyear twice, and Autopia and Space Mountain before lunch.  After lunch we went on Big Thunder Railroad and Indiana Jones.  That may not sound like a lot, but when you're with kids, you can't just run from one line to another.  Someone always has to use the restroom (and never at the same time- I'd have to go, and when I would be walking back to the group meeting place, a kid would have to go haha), babies need to get changed and fed, and we even had a nosebleed right before we turned in our Fast Passes for Indiana Jones.  (Luckily, there was a worker at that part of the line and she told us to come come back to the front, whew.)

While the rides were fun, the real highlight of our morning was the Jedi Training Academy that takes place about every hour and a half throughout the whole day.  Basically, 20 kids get picked to go up and learn how to wield a lightsaber and then they get to fake-fight Darth Vader.  Not all the kids get picked though, so Jer's sister created these signs (which got confiscated after both boys were picked- no signs allowed haha) and the boys jumped up and down with them in order to increase their chances of being picked.  Oh, and we also staked out seats in the front too- that definitely helped!  It was really fun to watch all the kids participate.  Younger kid C was pretty slow on the uptake (as you can see from the pics), but it was still cute regardless!  And no, they didn't get to keep the lightsabers, but they did get certificates at the end.  And I have to say that the Asian Jedi Master was HILARIOUS with his comments and quips. 

And here's a new thing I learned at Disneyland:

This particular restroom isn't on the map or park guide.  Pretty neat huh!  It's not really a secret, as the sign blatantly says "restroom" but it is sort of hidden and you have to look for it.  I honestly don't remember where it is, but I'm sure its location can be googled.  I like this one b/c it's much cleaner and quite spacious since it's a family restroom.  Also, no lines! Of course I wouldn't go out of my way to use this particular facility, but if it's on the way to another ride, why not? :)

And then it was time for lunch...to be continued!

It's Monday and I Can't Wait for it to be Thursday Already

I managed to drag myself out of bed this morning despite a 12+ hr day at Disneyland and California Adventure.  Even though I had 8 solid hours of sleep, my body is still pretty sore and tired.  It was all worth it though- what a fantastic weekend!  Club 33 lived up to its hype, I got to explore California Adventure for the first time, and we managed to Fastpass a bunch of rides in between.  We took hundreds of pictures, which I'm actually looking forward to post processing b/c then I can relive the memories all over again. :)

Right now I'm enjoying the last few quiet moments in the office before it gets busy and noisy again.  Nothing like an almond scone and some green tea to really hit the spot this morning!  Hopefully I'll be busy and not bored this week so the time can go by faster- it's a 4 day work-week for me, since I'm taking off Friday to go to Legoland! :)

As for tonight's meal,  I'm looking forward to detoxing with a homemade dinner to offset all the eating out we've been doing since Friday night.  I love trying new restaurants, but nothing beats homemade.  We'll get to eat at home for another 2 nights and then it's AYCE mussels and fries for me and Red Robin burgers and fries for Jerry.

How was your weekend and what are you planning on doing to recover from it?

When I Have Kids...Food Edition

This is inspired by the show "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution", conversations I have been having with my friends and colleagues, and various blogs such as this one. 

1.  I want the whole family to eat dinner together at the table every night, as reasonably possible.  No TV, no cell phones, no gaming devices (not going to buy them one to begin with anyway...but that's for another edition), etc.  Just us and conversation.  I know it'll be harder once they get to HS, but I want to instill that as long as I can.  I think it'd be a nice change to maybe have dinner in front of a movie once a month as a treat!

2. I want to teach our kids how to cook.  I think it's important that they know where food comes from and how a meal is put together.  It's sad that some kids don't know what a tomato looks like!  It's even more sad when someone my age proudly proclaims: "I can't even boil water!"  Seriously?  That's not something to be proud about...

3. I want to pack their lunches every day, but once a week they can eat a school lunch as a treat.  Jer's sister does this and I think it's a great idea.  I don't think I'd go as far as creating the beautiful bentos that are invading the blogs nowadays, though.  But I'll do what I can!   

4. I want to introduce them to diff foods that aren't just Chinese or Vietnamese.  I grew pretty sheltered food-wise and it's no wonder I'm still kinda picky to this day.  I'll chow down on offals any day, but I can't eat cheese for the life of me, b/c my mom didn't buy or feed it to me.  She did feed me pizza...which is why I can eat cheese when it's on a pizza!  Also, I think food is a good starting point in introducing kids to different cultures.

5.  I want to get them used to drinking juice from concentrate.  I didn't realize how bad regular juice was!  It's loaded with tons of sugar, even though it's considered a fruit "serving."  I used to drink tons of juice straight from the carton before I met Jerry.  He got me started on watering down my juice and then eventually we switched to making our own from concentrate.  I can't believe I never had concentrate until a couple years ago!  It's great being able to control how diluted you want your juice to be.  Now when I accidentally sip unwatered juice, I'm surprised at the taste and how strong it is.  When you get used to watered down juice, it doesn't seem like you're drinking a cheapened version of juice.  You're just drinking...juice.  As for milk, I think when they are younger and more active, it's okay to give them regular milk.  But as they get older I want them to get used to low-fat milk. 

6. I want to teach them different types of food moderation and portion control.  I want them to know that it's okay to eat a Hot Pocket once in a great while but that it's not good to crave it all the time.  I want them to eat 3 square regular meals instead of overeating at some meals, and not eating at others.  I want them to enjoy candy, cookies, cakes, and other confections just as much as the next kid, though!  Within moderation :)  I'm not a believer of being cold turkey and flat out refusing to let kids eat junk food.  I ate my share of cheetos when I was younger!   

7. I want them to learn that it's not good to waste food, that they should take only what they can eat.  When I was a kid I was a very slow eater but I wasn't allowed to leave the table until I finished every bite on my plate.  And I was never allowed to throw food away.  I probably eventually learned that the less I took, the less I had to eat, and therefore I could finish faster and get back to playing, haha.  Back in the dorms, I cringed at the sight of so many students grabbing platefuls of food only to take 3 bites and pronounce: "I'm full."  I'm not raising our kids to be perfect and prim angels, but I do want them to grow up with some sense of responsibility.  I have definitely thrown away food on occasions but I have always tried to not make a habit out of it.

There's more...but that's it for now.  It's going to be tough, that's for sure!

I don't intend to raise perfect kids who crave Brussels sprouts and tofu.  (That would be weird...)  I just want to raise some healthy ones that will probably eat some Cheetos given to them by their dad behind my back (Jerry has already called dibs on being the fun parent while I get to be the enforcer haha) but who will also eat a variety of everything else!

Prime Rib, Round 2

We're having prime rib for dinner tonight!  It's been dry aging in the fridge and waiting to be cooked, I'm excited.  They are also delicious as leftovers (since I won't have time to cook this wknd, they'll make great lunches and wraps for the work week).  Prime rib is definitely a splurge for the wallet and for the stomach, but when spread out over a week or two it's not as bad.  We got a good deal and bought 2 of them and ate one of them last December.  They were so cheap (spent around $35 for $100 worth)!  Here are some pictures from the last time that we made it.  Are you hungry yet? :)

Seasoned it with some simple S&P

I think we used kosher salt

Beautiful color!

Sear it on all sides

Jerry really likes his kitchen toys

Hours later

Foil tent

Eagerly waiting for it to hit the right temp

Perfectly pink!

Greens for "balance." Hehe.