The Redd Party

Starting Over: A Recipe for Blogging Success

2015-08-31T17:00:00.000-06:00

As some of you know, we recently had a baby. Have you seen her? She's so dang cute!

Our Lucy girl

However, she threw our "normal" routine out the window for the last several months. But it was time to start getting back to a routine and getting to something like a "normal", like losing the pregnancy weight. I started WeightWatchers, I'm paying attention to what I'm eating, and I get out and move more--and I'm back down to my pre-pregnancy weight. Woot!

I've also wanted to start blogging regularly again, so I jumped at the opportunity that Alt Summit and Blogalicious offered to collaborate with another blogger. I was paired with Maria, a fashion/tech/music blogger over at Aesthetic Elevation and we immediately hit it off--she is one cool lady boss!

As we chatted, we discovered we were both in the same place--starting over on our blogs and wanting to build up our readership--so we decided to write a "recipe" for each other, a recipe to jump-start our writing, gain readers, and have a meaningful blog.

I thought I'd apply the same recipe for success that I've had losing weight to blogging, so here are my tips for Maria (and for me):

Be consistent. Like with a diet where you have to be consistently making good choices about what you eat and consistently getting out and moving your body, blogging success comes when you consistently write and consistently post. People can't read what you're not writing.
Be predictable. I eat a piece of toast, an egg, some fruit, and soy milk pretty much every morning now, because it's good, fills my belly, and I don't have to think about it. People like predictability and in order to keep readers coming back, you need to let them know that you're going to post about tech and fashion on Monday, what people were wearing on Wednesday, and a round-up post on Friday. Even if it is only once a week, they'll know what to expect.
Get moving. I've found that my writing is much more interesting and enriched when we're out and about living life, experiencing new things, and meeting people.
Get social. I have the hardest time getting to the gym by myself. However, when I know I'm meeting my friend for Zumba, you better believe I'm there and I'm on time. Same thing with blogging, I've found when I support others and what they're doing on their blogs, they support me and motivate me to be creative. Hence, this post and Maria!
Remember, slow and steady wins the race. It's taken me a while to drop the weight, but I knew if I did some crazy fad diet, I'd gain the weight back. Same thing with blogging, starting over and gaining a following may be slow and steady, but you'll have loyal readers.

So we're back! I'll be posting about our family, cooking, travel, and entertaining at www.reddparty.com. Sign up in the right sidebar to receive posts in your email.

At Muir Woods National Monument in California

And Maria will be posting about tech and music in the fashion world at http://aestheticelevation.com/. Go visit her and say hi!

This post is brought to you by the awesome project CoLAB and the folks at at Latina Bloggers Connect, Alt Summit, and Blogalicious.

An important announcement that everyone must've missed!

2014-11-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

A while back, Lee and I posted this video.

We were trying to be a little sneaky, a little clever about it all.

Apparently all of you are extremely polite and didn't want to assume anything, because when we posted a picture my sister snapped (@reddparty Instagram) from last weekend, there were all sorts of people that were surprised by the caption about this being a baby shower for us.

(Gorgeous, isn't it?)

"Favorites"-themed Baby Girl Shower

So, yes, we're expecting a baby girl around December 4, 2014.

We are excited. And freaking out since our due date is right around the corner, but so excited!

Um...sorry for not telling you sooner!

Iceland Must-Do: Golden Circle Tour

2014-08-18T09:00:00.000-06:00

We were in Iceland a year ago, so this week I wanted to reminisce and share a few more posts about what we did while we were there.

One of the must-dos when in Iceland is the Golden Circle tour.

Flo knew some people who lived in Iceland for about a year and a half, and they gave her a recommendation for a company that could take us on a Golden Circle tour: Gateway to Iceland. Our tour guide for the day and the president of GTI is Gummi.

Our tour group and Gummi. Gummi is in the center in blue.

The tour consists of three major stops: Thingvellir, Gulfoss, and the geothermal fields of Haukadalur.

At Thingvellir, we got to see the Viking Parliament. The Parliament is a great wall where the Viking leaders would stand and speak. The reflection of the sound off of the wall allowed for those gathered to hear what was being said. Lee is standing just below the spot where you would stand to speak.

We also got to see Silfra, the place where two continental plates--North American and Eurasian tectonic plates--meet and are drifting apart about 2 cm a year. The water was beautiful and clear.

Silfra at Thingvellir National Park

We then headed to Gulfoss, an amazing and popular two-tiered waterfall in the Golden Circle. It was windy and loud and breath-taking.

Gulfoss in Iceland. Notice the tiny people on the left ledge.

One of the best parts of this leg of the trip was Lee coming upon a group of Japanese tourists. They were all bundled up with jackets, hats, and gloves to keep warm due to the wind and mist, while Lee was dressed like he usually is: short-sleeved shirt, no jacket, no hat.

An older tourist mimed a question to Lee, rubbing her arms and pointing and asking him why he wasn't wearing a jacket and if he was cold. Lee mimed back to her that he wasn't cold and grabbed his belly. All of the tourists laughed and laughed.

Lee is always hot

Our last major stop was the geothermal field Haukudalur, where you could see geothermal pools and geysers. In fact the word "geyser" is derived from the Icelandic word "geysa", which means to gush.

Strokkur geyser exploding

Selfie with one of the clear blue geothermal pools

Because the Golden Circle tour is a must-do in Iceland, we saw a ton of Asian tourists. I'll be honest, I LOVED seeing them all, taking pictures and being goofy. I love being Asian!

Crazy Asian tourists at Strokkur Geyser

We loved the tour, not only because we got to see Thingvellir, Gulfoss and Strokkur, but because of all the little stops and bits of information that you don't get along the way if you're doing it on your own.

Like stopping by Alafoss, where you could buy some famous Icelandic yarn or see the studio where the band Sigur Ros records.

Alafoss yarn

Sigur Ros' recording studio - We even got to go inside!

Or getting Gummi's tip about this sign. He suggested that if we were ever driving around and we saw this symbol, we should stop and explore.

Point of interest in Iceland

He showed us one such spot, which turned out to be a hidden waterfall called Faxi.

Faxi Waterfall

Another of the other lesser known spots we saw was the lake called Laugarvatn. There was a geothermal pool off it where the resort Fontana was situated. We may have to go there for a soak next time we go to Iceland.

The cool thing about Fontana was that they bake their bread via the geothermal energy. The rye bread dough is placed in a container and buried in the ground near the head of the geothermal spring. They unearth it an hour later and voila--you have delicious rye bread. Wow!

The bubbles indicate boiling water

Here is a list of pros and cons for doing the Golden Circle tour with GTI.

Pros:

Loved having a personal tour guide who is native and knows the history of Iceland.
Got some good suggestions on how to navigate in Iceland after the tour.
We saw some obscure stuff that we wouldn't have seen without a guide.
It was fun to meet and interact with fellow travelers. We were lucky to have a pretty good group too.
They picked you up and dropped you off for the tour.

Cons:

At some of the stops we were at, we were at the mercy of how long others wanted to look around and/or shop.
There are stretches of just driving with not much to see, but you would have that even if you were doing the tour on your own.

Overall, we had such a fun day on that tour--we saw and learned a lot. It was nice to have Gummi as a tour guide, with all the history and stories he shared with us. We recommend it!

What's Making Us Happy This Week

2014-08-10T23:25:00.002-06:00

Ogden Temple at night

This week has been a busy one, getting back into the groove of things after being gone for Youth Conference for a few days. It was good, but we're definitely glad it's done and over!

What's making Lee happy:

Some awesome poster holders--a little Willy Wonka-esque.
We went to the Ben Folds concert last night with some great friends. It was a wonderful time. Also, Ben Folds and the Utah Symphony are so talented--he created this there on stage and this was the final product (there is some language, so beware!).

What's making Winter happy:

We went again to the Ogden Temple Open House with some friends from our neighborhood. I'm so grateful for friends and temples.
This sculpture of Christopher Reeves is crazy life-like.
This could be life changing.
I'm totally in love with this song and Cat Power's voice.
A friend of ours encouraged Lee to do this when she found out we were expecting. Ha ha!

Chinaman biking

2014-08-07T21:49:00.002-06:00

Earlier this year, I did a little bit of biking in preparation for the Little Red Bike Ride up in Lewiston. My group had a great time training and riding, especially on the day of the bike ride.

Happy biking girls after Little Red Bike Ride

One day for training, I decided to ride up from our apartment in Bountiful to the University of Utah. The trip is about 8 miles up hill, but thankfully there are bike lanes most of the way.

As I sped along the bike lane, I noticed something a little odd painted on the road.

I started noticing different lane markings after listening to the episode Icon for Access on one of my favorite podcasts, 99% Invisible. Give it a listen!

99% Invisible podcast

You wouldn't think it, but there is so much design that goes into these symbols. They need to be simple, universal, and be able to convey a message.

I am used to seeing this type of pavement symbol in the bike lane: a nondescript dude on a bike. (This one actually looks a little weird because the head looks a little like one of those alien skulls from Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull.)

A typical bike lane pavement marking: bike dude

But then on another section of bike lane, I saw this marking: a nondescript dude on a bike, but he's wearing a helmet!

Bike lane dude with helmet

Kudos Salt Lake City for encouraging bikers to wear helmets! I've crashed enough times on a bike and thankfully been wearing a helmet, that I think that we all should be wearing helmets while biking, even though it makes my head look like an orange on a toothpick (name the movie!).

But on my way home, I noticed something odd about the bike lane dude:

North Salt Lake's bike lane dude

Bike lane dude looks like he's wearing one of those Chinese rice paddy hats!

From www.33avenue.com

First of all, as an Asian person, I feel extremely welcome biking in North Salt Lake. I've got my own bike lane!

Second of all, despite feeling welcome in NSL, I don't think one of those straw hats will protect your noggin in a crash.

Just saying, keep wearing your helmet.

Ready to go on another ride

Happy biking, friends!

A funny thing happened on the way to the temple...

2014-08-04T22:06:00.002-06:00

Lee and I were in charge of our church's youth conference this last weekend. Our group headed to Bear Lake in Idaho and it was just lovely.

Bear Lake, Idaho

We did a service project, played in the lake, went to the Minnetonka Caves, floated the Snake River, and had some great firesides. It was packed and fun.

Putting together chemotherapy kits

Minnetonka Caves

Getting ready to shove off on the Snake River

Fireside time

The last thing we planned was to attend the Ogden Temple Open House on Saturday around noon, so we packed up camp and started up Logan Canyon.

Unfortunately, we got to the top of the hill and were turned around by a couple of state troopers. A terrible accident had happened down the road and would be closed for a couple of hours. So we reversed course--we were now behind about a half an hour.

We made a decision to go to Ogden via Evanston. We were making pretty good time, well that is, until the tire on the scout trailer hauling on the gear blows out about halfway there. Really?!? Hiccup #2 has put us behind another half an hour.

That is one shredded tire!

The awesome family hauling the trailer volunteered to repair the tire in Evanston, so the rest of the group could try to make it to the open house.

So our last route option was through Ogden Canyon. We were doing pretty good, until we hit hiccup #3, road construction, where a mile-stretch of the road was narrowed to one lane. We sat waiting for about 15 to 20 minutes for our turn--we had time to hand out treats to all the kids and have a quick dance party while we were parked. It was kind of getting humorous now!

Lee handed out Rice Krispie treats to everyone

As you can imagine, we were late. Like really late.

We had prayed before we left. We prayed when the tire blew. And we prayed as we were coming down Ogden Canyon that we would be let into the open house.

Our goal is finally in sight--the Ogden Temple

Thankfully, our prayers were answered and we were greeted by a super nice volunteer who let us in, saying our reservation was "close enough" even though we were over an hour and a half late! Wahoo!

It was a relief to finally be there and also to be in such a reverent and beautiful place. The newly renovated Ogden Temple was breath-taking. I loved the art, the intricate chandeliers, and the etched glass dome in the Celestial Room. It was a wonderful ending youth conference experience for our small group of tired, bedraggled youth!

After the Ogden Temple House

We believe that these temples are the house of God and that they are sacred once they are dedicated. We make covenants with God within these temples and are so grateful for this relationship we have with God.

As Lee and I reflected on what had happened en route to the temple, we were reminded of how much Satan wants to keep us away from God. I'm grateful we persisted and didn't get discouraged despite all the roadblocks that were in our way.

The Ogden Temple will have its open house till September 6, 2014--you can reserve a time or go stand-by. As we found out, they won't turn anyone away!

Can you pick up what we're putting down?

2014-06-17T10:28:00.001-06:00

We made a super fun video.

The question is: can you pick up what we're putting down?

Hee he!

Project Life 2014: Week 14

2014-04-13T21:47:00.002-06:00

It's been a goofy, good, and gracious week.

Sunday, April 6: Birthday celebration! Hanging out with the family for General Conference and birthday time.

Light the candles!

Monday, April 7: Waiting for the bus on a bright sunny day. These are my favorite red shoes.

Red shoes are the best

Tuesday, April 8: Oh man, I love how sunny it's been lately. You can't even know how much it makes a difference.

Shine

Wednesday, April 9: Driving to work together. I love this time together every morning. It's filled with funny talk, the billygoat game, and selfies.

Cheese!

Thursday, April 10: Someone was nice enough to warn me and my fellow bus riders about a damp seat. People are so nice!

Don't sit here!

Friday, April 11: The tulips are appearing! Happy!

It's spring!

Saturday, April 12: I spent some time in the afternoon just hanging out in the garden. Double happy!

Happiness = tulips

We hope you have a great upcoming week, friends!

Grow Easter Grass in One Week

2014-04-10T21:02:00.000-06:00

Okay, Easter is just around the corner, but there's still time.

Time to grow some wheat grass.

It looks so cute decorating your Easter baskets and takes about a week to grow. A week!

Easter cuteness!

This is what you need to grow wheat grass on paper towels:

1 c of hard red wheat (don't use dry pack wheat--it won't sprout)
Paper towels
Paper plates
Spray bottle
Cute Easter tins or baskets

1. Pour the wheat kernels into a Mason jar and fill with water; soak for 24 hours. They will start to sprout a little.

Soaking wheat kernels

2. Depending on what you want to decorate, cut a couple of shapes to fit your baskets or tins. I found some round Easter tins at the dollar store, so I cut out a few circles out of paper towels and laid them out on a paper plate. You'll need a couple of pieces for the bottom and a couple pieces on top.

Paper plate + paper towels

3. Spritz the bottom paper towels with water. Spread some seeds on the paper towels, then place a second layer of paper towels on top and spritz well. For the next 48 hours, spritz the paper towels several times a day, trying not to let the paper towels go dry.

Spread the wheat

4. Transfer the plate to a sunny spot, keeping the paper towel on top still and spritzing a couple times a day. You will begin to see some sprouts!

5. Once you see green, then you can remove the top paper towel. Keep growing and spritzing till you get the length you want. The roots will have intertwined themselves into the bottom paper towel and you should be able to move easily.

6. Place the grass in your Easter tin and decorate with Easter eggs and cute fuzzy chicks.

Easter reveal

You will die from cuteness overload. And you can trim the wheat grass later and blend it in a smoothie. It's a two-fer!

Happy Easter!

Project Life 2014: Week 13

2014-04-06T12:00:00.000-06:00

It has been a pretty florid, fun, and favorable week.

Sunday, March 30: Our first tulip! Thank goodness that tulips are pretty hardy even in crazy spring snowstorms! This tulip perked right up after the snow melted.

Spring in Utah

Monday, March 31: Selfie! Just hanging out before calling it a day.

Selfie!

Tuesday, April 1: I checked my weather app this morning and it said it was going to 82 degrees and sunny! I was so excited that I wore a skirt with no leggings. As I gathered to leave, I realized it was NOT going to be 82 and sunny that day. It was not till later when I realized the weather app was set to show me the weather for Orlando, Florida.

Orlando!?!

My iPad played an April Fool's joke on me. Ha ha! Oh well!

Fooled me, iPad!

Wednesday, April 2: Oh the sky was gorgeous today!

Pretty Utah clouds

Thursday, April 3: I took another Illustrator class and we were asked to make a fake website. Of course, I made a fake website about goats. Maybe I should make a real website about goats because we love goats...

Ha ha! Goats!

Friday, April 4: We were fascinated by this car and we were trying to figure out how this damage occurred. Lee thinks the corner of a semi backed into the car. I think a huge bolder smashed into the side of it. What do you think happened?

Smashed!

Saturday, April 5: This weekend is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints General Conference. I love General Conference! And because we're usually hanging out at home watching each session, there is a lot of cooking during conference weekend. I made a roasted cauliflower soup with smoked bacon. Yum!

Cauliflower soup! Yum!

Anyway, we hope you have a fine upcoming week!

Project Life 2014: Week 12

2014-03-30T14:59:00.003-06:00

It's been an eager, enjoyable, and encouraging week.

Sunday, March 23: Lee and I got a coconut from a restaurant earlier in the week. A coconut! All we had to do was poke a straw through and start sipping. Coconut water isn't my beverage of choice, but it was refreshing.

Coconut!

Monday, March 24: Signs of spring! Wahoo! Well, maybe the algae is getting a little out of hand.

City Creek

Tuesday, March 25: Another sign of spring. I love daffodils! They are so cheery, even in rainy spring weather.

Daffodils!

Wednesday, March 26: Lee was making his second batch of drinking vinegars. Apparently, I shouldn't have disturbed him. Just kidding. He doesn't smile until I am done taking the picture, the punk!

Why are you bothering me?

Thursday, March 27: I'm taking a beginning Illustrator class and we were checking out all the vectors that were created on this picture of Elmo. Elmo looks like he is covered in blue bugs--disturbing!

Friday, March 28: We went to the St. Vincent concert at The Depot and it was AWESOME! Annie Clark kicks butt and it was such a fun show. I also have a new hero--Toko Yasuda. She is St. Vincent's backup singer, keyboardist, and bassist and she kicks butt too!

So close to St. Vincent!

Saturday, March 29: I took a Growing Medicinal and Gourmet Mushrooms class taught by the Biocentric Bros through Lifelong Learning. We got to take home a inoculated wood block and learned how to start a straw bucket. I'm so excited to give it a try.

Getting instructions on how to start growing my own mushrooms at home

Anyway, we hope you have an extraordinary upcoming week!

Project Life 2014: Week 11

2014-03-23T16:47:00.000-06:00

It has been a dandy, daring, and diligent week for us. How was yours?

Sunday, March 16: We're taking the Financial Peace University classes (Dave Ramsey) again with my brother, and this week, we were talking about leaving a good legacy and we went over insurance and how we should have a will. Lee decided to quickly draw up a will during class. On the back of his hand. According to his hand will, I get everything.

Handmade will

Monday, March 17: Happy St. Patty's Day! We celebrated it by going to the opera about a Chinese woman with a heart of ice, who finally understands love in the end. Totally a great way to celebrate St. Patty's. The Utah Opera did an AMAZING job! I absolutely loved Liu and Turandot--they are some seriously talented women. By the way, you should listen to this version of Nessun Dorma for fun.

During intermission at Turandot at the Utah Opera

Tuesday, March 18: I just had to take this picture to show how light it's been lately when I walk out of work. The Walker Center light wasn't even on yet! I love Spring.

I heart sunny days!

Wednesday, March 19: I saw this sunset on my way back to my car; you can't help but feel lucky to catch this kind of light. Plus, I can't believe how awesome my cell phone camera is! Gorgeous!

Sunset in Bountiful

Thursday, March 20: Because we've cut out a lot of TV lately, we have gotten into the habit of sitting and talking on our bed when we get home. I love the time with Lee. (We had finished eating dinner and a popsicle for dessert, that's why Lee has a stick in his mouth.)

Chatting and hanging out

Friday, March 21: Our dear friend, Gem, once again pulled off an amazing play at the the Jr. high school she teaches at. They did Aladdin this year and it was a crazy fun play. Our favorite character, hands down, was the flying rug. The kid who played it was hilarious and we had to get our picture taken with him.

With the flying rug kid at Alladin

Saturday, March 22: I somehow convinced a bunch of people to sign up with me to do a bike ride in June called the Little Red Riding Hood--it's all an all-women ride, and I've done the 50-mile version before, but now I'm training for 70 miles. I figured I should start training or all of my friends will ditch me.

After riding back from the University of Utah

Anyway, we hope you have a dazzling upcoming week!

What's making us happy this week

2014-03-21T16:59:00.002-06:00

It's been a really great week and we have been busy, so we don't have an extensive list of what is making us happy.

We did want to share this totally awesome TedTalk by Chris Hadfield, the Canadian astronaut, who showed up on my radar a while back, tweeting with William Shatner and making awesome videos where he'd answer questions from space about being in space.

Then he played this crazy duet with the Barenaked Ladies...

This guy is so cool.

I might have to get his new book, An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth: What Going to Space Taught Me About Ingenuity, Determination, and Being Prepared for Anything. It sounds like my kind of book.

Anyway, enjoy and have a great Friday!

Browned Butter Banana Bread with Crystallized Ginger and Chocolate

2014-03-19T18:43:00.000-06:00

Growing up, the only form of bread my Chinese family made on a regular basis was banana bread.

Fancy banana bread with ginger and chocolate

When our mom passed away, we all found ourselves in the kitchen making food for each other while our dad was working crazy shifts either driving a bus or running community education classes in the evening. We all picked up cooking pretty quickly, but baking was a challenge.

I remember trying to make French bread with my sisters and it just didn't work out. What do you expect from a bunch of kids who all could make rice like a champ (in a rice cooker, of course)?!? Our bread never did rise--we were good at killing yeast.

Me and my crazy siblings

But banana bread--we could make that. It was pretty simple. We always had a couple of bananas that were a little too ripe. Plus, it didn't involve yeast.

There's no way we could mess it up.

We made a basic banana bread. It was good and sweet. I can't remember where we got the recipe, but I think we used our mom's stained copy of the Better Homes and Garden cookbook.

I discovered this recipe a few years ago from Molly Wizenberg and fell in love with it, because it reminded me of the banana bread we made when we were kids. Even better though is that it has a little bit of an Asian flavor with the addition of crystallized ginger.

Go Asians!

Crystallized ginger = fancy and unexpected

Oh, and did I mention it has chocolate in it?

Go Oompa Loompas!

Let's add some dark chocolate chips, m'kay?

And when you brown the butter, it adds a deeper flavor and a little nuttiness without adding nuts. It seems like the ginger is brighter against the browned butter.

Beautiful, beautiful crust

I've got to be honest though, it takes a long time to bake. I put a loaf into the oven once thinking I had plenty of time and realized I had to pick up Lee at work about when I was supposed to take it out--oops! He had to wait a little bit. That's poor party planning on my part.

Besides stranding your husband at work, you get this dark amber crust and your home smells like you've been baking all day. Lee forgave me for when he walked in the door.

I heart ginger + chocolate

So, got any bananas lying around?

Browned Butter Banana Bread with Crystallized Ginger and Chocolate
Adapted from Molly Wizenberg's A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table

Ingredients
6 tbsp unsalted butter, browned
2 c flour
3/4 c sugar
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 c finely chopped crystallized ginger
2 large eggs
1 1/2 c mashed banana
1/4 c sour cream (full fat)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a standard-sized loaf pan with cooking spray.

Brown butter and set aside to cool. Here's a great resource on how to brown butter.

In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Add the chocolate chips and ginger and whisk together. Set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl, beat the eggs lightly using a fork. Add the mashed banana, sour cream, browned butter, and vanilla, and stir well with that same fork.

Pour the banana mixture into the dry ingredients and combine ingredients using a rubber spatula, making sure not to over-mix. The mixture will be lumpy, but all ingredients should be wet. Scrap the batter into the greased loaf pan and smooth the top.

Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, until a inserted toothpick comes out clean. I would recommend not disturbing it for at least 60 minutes because it may sink in the middle. There is a lot of moisture in this loaf, so make sure to let it cook completely or it will come out doughy in the middle.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool in a pan for 5 to 10 minutes, then remove the loaf from the pan and cool completely.

It's hecka good, promise.

Project Life 2014: Week 11

2014-03-16T21:55:00.000-06:00

This week has been a dandy, difficult, and diligent week. Weird combination, but it's true!

Sunday, March 9: We had a couple bunches of our tulips eaten, but our Anti-Deer Mix (a combination of paprika, chili powder, and cayenne pepper) sprinkled on them deterred the deer from eating more. Wahoo!

Our tulips are still here!

Monday, March 10: We were watching some soccer, and Lee looks annoyed that I'm taking his picture. He's not annoyed. He doesn't smile in pictures--it's something he brought back from Russia.

Lee doesn't like getting his picture taken sometimes

Tuesday, March 11: My good friend, the Tall One, and I had a little bit of a "fist fight" at the church with these handy word vector bubbles.

Zap!

Wednesday, March 12: Lee had spring break this week, and one of the things he did was try his hand at making a couple of batches of drinking vinegars. Aren't these SO beautiful? We'll let you know how it turns out in about a week.

Pretty colors!

Thursday, March 13: We had our friends/relatives over for dinner this evening. They had invited us to their home a few weeks ago, and when we were over at their home, Lee got a little freaked out by this old child's shoe that was displayed in their home. It was hilarious when they brought it with them to dinner and placed it somewhere for Lee to discover. Lee freaked out again.

Lee is grossed out!

Friday, March 14: We went to a life celebration of my coworker's husband who passed away this last week. This man loved peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, so there were ingredients to make sandwiches to honor and remember him. It was beautiful and touching celebration.

In remembrance...

Saturday, March 15: My good, good friend, the Hot Scot, and I went out for a session of hot yoga and brunch afterward at the Roots Cafe in Millcreek. We ate in the yurt! And the food was delicious! It was such a wonderful morning!

Happiness is a good friend

We hope you have a delightful upcoming week!

Project Life 2014: Week 10

2014-03-09T12:00:00.000-06:00

What a crammed, crazy, and cool week it's been.

Sunday, March 2: Our friend introduced us to a GPS-based game called Ingress on Sunday, where you capture "portals" that are tagged at actual locations. There was a "portal" located at this monument near our church, so we drove by and "hacked" it to collect stuff. We were so naive when we started...

Ingress shows us around the town

Monday, March 3: Lee and I decided to go out and capture some more Ingress "portals" in downtown Salt Lake City, hoping to level up. We ended up at the Capitol Building and we had SO much fun! Plus, we found all these monuments we'd never seen before. We were officially addicted.

There are a ton of Ingress portals at the Capitol Building

Tuesday, March 4: Lee picked me up after class and we headed to a relatively new restaurant for dinner, Spitz SLC. They serve some pretty awesome doner kebabs and sweet potato fries. This was also the place we decided that maybe we should uninstall Ingress because we were addicted. So we have uninstalled the game. For now anyway. More to come...

Spitz SLC--love the funky decor

Wednesday, March 5: I was waiting for the bus and spied this bit of gorilla art and typography plastered to a pillar. Strive on with diligence, people!

Strive on with diligence

Thursday, March 6: When I first moved up to Salt Lake, I lived a block and a half from this church and attended this church too for several years. I was sad to see it was being torn down, but they are building an American Cancer Society Hope Lodge in its place, where traveling cancer patients can stay when getting treatment. There's a time and season for everything.

Only the door remains to the old church on 1st South and 4th East

Friday, March 7: There must be destruction in the air, because another building was being torn down in downtown Salt Lake. It looked like a perfectly good building to me!

Another building going down

Saturday, March 8: Warning: the following picture is not for the faint of heart.

After work, Lee was thinking ahead for Sunday and got ready to shave. Of course, he came in with his shorts hiked up to his armpits and posed like an old timey boxer to get a laugh. Yes, I laughed. A whole lot! He is such a crack up!

My old timey boxer husband of mine

Well, we sure hope you have a calm upcoming week!

Let's celebrate International Women's Day more

2014-03-08T12:00:00.000-07:00

Happy International Women's Day!

Vosmova Marta (translation: the 8th of March) is the best celebration in Russia in my humble opinion. I always tell people that the 8th of March is like Mother's Day, but for all women and girls.

Flowers are the best!

This is the one day where all the men lavish extra love, attention, flowers, chocolates, gifts on all the women in their lives, young and old. The couple times I've either been in Russia or Belarus for Women's Day, I loved seeing all the women and young girls walking home, carrying flowers they'd received that day.

I think we need to embrace International Women's Day and celebrate it in the United States, not because of the gifts and flowers (though those would be nice too), but because it's a day to celebrate and thank all the women in your life.

I loved this video that Dove made for International Women's Day. These are my people!

And to my mom, my mom-in-law, my sisters, my sisters-in-law, my grandmas, and my best girlfriends: Thank you for being so amazing--you rock my socks! You make me a better person.

Happy Women's Day!

What's making us happy this week

2014-03-07T09:00:00.000-07:00

It's been warm in our neck of the woods this week, making for rainstorms and thunder and lightning in February and tulips in March! Big fan.

Stormy backdrop to the Walker

What's making Lee happy:

Real Salt Lake's new kit came out. The new kits are fun because they're new kits.
Winter and I are thinking about making up our own micro currency for our home.
Ha ha ha ha! They're just cute.
If anyone has $17,000 to spare and wants to get this watch for my birthday...
With the support of my wife, I was able to overcome this weakness. I am still unsure of myself.

What's making Winter happy:

I wish I could move my eyebrows like this guy.
People are so talented when wielding a small pair of scissors.
Discovered Zen Pencils this week and fell in love with this quote/cartoon from a commencement speech that cartoonist Bill Watterson gave a few years back.
I got a little teary eyed watching this. Wow!
My trivia tidbit got shared on one of our favorite podcasts, Good Job, Brain! Wahoo! And they just celebrated their 100th episode.

Anyway, we hope you have a nice weekend.

Balsamic Strawberry Sundae with Salted Caramel Croutons

2014-03-03T09:21:00.000-07:00

I gotta be honest with you.

You know that ever popular Pinterest Fails tumblr site? Well, that's me pretty much all the time.

I get SO excited to try a new recipe or craft that I see on blogs I follow, but when I actually go to make it, it's a disaster. A disaster.

Balsamic strawberry sundae with salted caramel croutons

When I discovered this recipe for Caramel Brioche Croutons on the Shutterbean blog, I wanted to try it. It looked good. Like messy good, not Pinterest-perfect good. You should pop over to Tracy's blog and look at that first picture--good and messy.

So I planned to go shopping for brioche Saturday morning, but alas, sometimes you can't find brioche at your local grocery store. Surprise surprise.

But, I discovered that King's Hawaiian Bread is a perfect substitute. Necessity is the mother of all invention!

King's Hawaiian bread = nice substitute for brioche

Cut the rolls and toast the pieces a little.

These are so tempting!

Then you make your caramel. You need to be vigilant--do not let the caramel boil too long! Watch it go from pale creamy color to a light brown color. Once it turns a slight tan color, remove from heat and start dipping STAT. The caramel will cool quickly and it will be harder to dip.

P.S. You will make a mess.

Gently toss those croutons

Because I wanted more salt with the sweet, I sprinkled some kosher salt on the parchment paper before I started putting the croutons down.

Then you let them cool--see how pretty that sugar looks.

And when you pop one (or twelve) into your mouth, you will think that you have died and gone to heaven. Crunchy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside. It's hecka good.

Blobs of caramel everywhere!

Now if you want to turn up the fancy, you need to pair these croutons with vanilla ice cream and strawberries that have been tossed in balsamic vinegar.

Easy and pretty dessert

You add a sprig of mint for color and voila! You have a beautiful, delicious dessert that makes you feel fancy, not like you failed at Pinterest.

Fancy, yes. Pinterest-fail, no.

Now go to it and feel like Martha Stewart with this fancy dessert.

Eat me!

Balsamic Strawberry Sundae with Salted Caramel Croutons
Recipe adapted from Shutterbean
Serves 4 to 6

For croutons:
6 tbsp unsalted butter
1 c sugar
1/4 c water
2 tbsp cream
4 King's Hawaiian rolls
Kosher salt

For the sundaes:
1 c thinly sliced strawberries
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Vanilla ice cream
Mint for garnish

Set oven to low broil. Cut the rolls into 3/4 inch cubes (you'll get about 8 cubes from each roll) and spread them out on a baking sheet. Toast on middle rack for 1 minute, then flip and toast on another side for 1 more minute. Remove pan and set aside bread cubes in a bowl.

Line the baking sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle a couple of pinches of kosher salt on the parchment paper. In a medium saucepan, combine butter, sugar, water, and cream. Put on medium heat and stir till butter is melted and sugar is dissolved.

Allow the mixture to boil, without stirring, until the mixture turns a light amber color. While waiting for caramelization, set up the baking sheet and bread cubes near the saucepan and get two forks. Remove from heat and immediately start dipping the bread cubes in the caramel using the forks. Place each crouton on the parchment paper, making sure they are not touching and let cool.

About 15 to 30 minutes before you're ready to serve the sundaes, toss the strawberries with the balsamic vinegar. Place a few caramel croutons in dishes or cups and scoop some ice cream on top. Garnish with more croutons and strawberries.

Enjoy and feel fancy!

Project Life 2014: Week 9

2014-03-02T22:44:00.003-07:00

This week has been a bodacious, boisterous, and beautiful week.

Sunday, February 23: We had a long week, and the perfect cure for a long week is a Sunday nap. And playing your ukelele.

Lee is pooped!

Monday, February 24: I am over the moon about the weather lately. It's been rainy and warm and the air has been clear--I love it. While I was waiting for Lee, I watched this sunset happen and it made me so happy.

Spring sunset in Utah

Tuesday, February 25: Lee buzzes his head pretty often because he gets too hot. We haven't watched Breaking Bad, but I felt like he was channeling Walter White with his freshly shorn head and glasses.

Walter White look-alike

Wednesday, February 26: My tulips from the Lifelong Learning Bulb Forcing class are doing well! A couple of my other bulbs didn't work out, but this set did, so I'm excited to see them bloom soon.

Grow, little bulbs, grow!

Thursday, February 27: My sister is obsessed with cats and every year, I look forward to the birthday card she will send me. She embellished this one and I love it!

Cat crazy!

Friday, February 28: We went to a baby shower for Lee's cousin and spouses were invited to come. All the guys were required to drink a baby bottle full of apple juice without using his hands, and Lee won. He got smart and propped the bottle up on the refrigerator and chugged!

Lee's victory face!

Saturday, March 1: We headed to the State Capitol for my Digital Photography II class field trip to the Utah State Capitol Building. While everyone started taking pictures of inside of the building, I went out straightway because of these clouds. It was a magnificent day to take pictures!

Utah State Capitol view

We hope you had a beauteous week, and we hope even more that you have a balanced upcoming week!

Project Life 2014: Week 8

2014-02-23T17:16:00.002-07:00

What an awesome, agreeable, and adventurous week for us! It was my birthday week and it's always pretty amazing.

Sunday, February 16: We're at church hanging out with our Sunday School class. Yes, that is tubing for oxygen next to Lee. Yes, it is a little random.

Lee looks dapper on Sundays

Monday, February 17: Happy President's Day! Yay for days off! I enjoyed a lovely day at home doing some spring cleaning and having my favorite salad from Plates and Palates: the Strawberry Cashew Salad. By the way, P&P were voted as the best restaurant in Northern Utah area in the Salt Lake Magazine!

The best salad in the world: Strawberry Cashew Salad

Tuesday, February 18: I was walking down from work to the first class of Digital Photography II and spied this on the sidewalk. Made me smile that someone was wishing me a Happy Tuesday!

Happy Tuesday!

Wednesday, February 19: Happy Birthday to me! And to my coworker with whom I share a birthday. We had plenty of treats, including this lovely little cake from Glaus Bakery that my friend brought for us. How nice! I had such a great birthday.

Happy Birthday to me!

Thursday, February 20: We have had some amazingly clear and clean skies lately because of random rain storms. The Oquirrh Mountains just pop on days like this.

I heart clean air!

Friday, February 21: We went to a pharmacy fundraiser and Lee was hobnobbing with the big wigs in the department. I love how sociable he is!

Lee is wearing his Harry Potter/Kurt Cobain sweater

Saturday, February 22: For our Digital Photography class, we had a field trip at the Rio Grande Train Depot and the Downtown Salt Lake Winter Market was going on. I had to take a picture of this banjo player who was supporting the Sugar House Libations booth. He busted out his banjo while he was waiting for his ride.

Sugar House Libations banjo guy

We hope you have a particularly admirable upcoming week!

Project Life 2014: Week 7

2014-02-16T22:39:00.000-07:00

What a zany, zealous, and zonked-out week. We got up early a lot this week, so it's nice to have a long weekend. We hope you're enjoying it too!

Sunday, February 9: As we headed out of Las Vegas, we did a quick stop at the Bellagio Atrium and it was so beautifully decorated for the Chinese New Year. It was so bright and colorful--it was nice to get some sun!

The courtyard at the Bellagio

Monday, February 10: It was such a warm afternoon and the clouds were lovely, even the Walker Center sign was red to warn of an upcoming storm.

Downtown Salt Lake City

Tuesday, February 11: Okay, so I may be a little obsessed with the Walker Center sign. But the colors were lovely again and it was blinking a sign of a nice night.

Walker Center sign

Wednesday, February 12: Lee hung up our Umbra coat racks. We have a coat rack, people! We finally have a respectable entry way. Wahoo! The January Cure has been great for us and our little apartment.

January Cure landing strip coat rack

Thursday, February 13: Lightning and thunder! In February! So weird, but I loved it.

February rain clouds

Friday, February 14: Our Valentine's Day was full of practical and grown-up events, including a trip to the DMV to renew my driver's license and a funeral viewing. It's a good thing that Valentine's is not a huge holiday for us.

Hanging out at the DMV

Saturday, February 15: Cheesecake sampler at Plates and Palates with some friends. We got to visit Lee AND have dessert--it's a win-win!

Mmmm...cheesecake at Plates and Palates

We hope you have a zippy upcoming week, friends!

Project Life 2014: Week 6

2014-02-09T22:47:00.002-07:00

What a wonderful, wacky, whirlwind of a week we've had!

Sunday, February 2: I was about to body slam Lee, so I think he was trying to protect himself. Smart!

Defenses up!

Monday, February 3: We had both just gotten home and were glad to see each other. Selfie!

Monday selfie

Tuesday, February 4: During the January Cure, we finally hung up these pictures. It was originally a beautiful letterpress card with a picture of an eye, a heart, and a ewe. This is up our "nerdy" alley, so we had to get it.

Eye Heart Ewe

Wednesday, February 5: The clear skies lately have made for some gorgeous light on the snow-covered mountains in the mornings.

Perfectly pink mountains

Thursday, February 6: Even though the Walker Center kept blinking red, warning of an upcoming storm, I didn't think much about it with these lovely skies.

Winter warning sign

Friday, February 7: In honor of the Sochi Winter Olympics today, Lee made us some borscht and I got to have it for lunch. Yum!

Borscht!

Saturday, February 8: We headed down to Las Vegas for the weekend to enjoy some warm weather and sun and also to attend the Good Job, Brain meet-up. Yup, we were geeking out. It sure was fun meeting Karen, Dana, Chris, and Collin!

Good Job, Brain meet-up selfie

Anyway, we hope you have a worthwhile upcoming week!

Easy Chocolate Caramel Pretzels

2014-02-05T12:00:00.000-07:00

We were introduced to this yummy, easy treat from our friend this last weekend during our Chinese New Year party. They are SO good and we couldn't stop eating them!

Ooey gooey!

It only has 2 ingredients: Snyder's Butter Snap pretzels and Rolos.

Two ingredients!

Two ingredient party treat

You line your pretzels up, unwrap your Rolos, and stack them on your pretzels. Then put them in the oven at 350 degrees for about 2 minutes, so that the Rolos are just melting.

Take them out and place your top pretzel and sandwich the Rolo. Let them cool and voila! All done!

Easy steps for an easy treat!

Ah! The salty and sweet combination gets me every time!

Caramel + Chocolate + Pretzel = Love

You have got to try this is a cheap party trick--it will be a hit!

Underdog Dogs: Mini Pretzel Dogs

2014-02-03T20:01:00.000-07:00

I love underdogs.

Underdog Dogs: Mini Pretzel Dogs

I especially love cheering for the underdog. I am a sucker for sports movies, because it's usually an underdog overcoming great adversities to win the game in the end. It makes me feel like if this kid who lost his left leg in a freak tractor accident can go on to get a prosthetic leg and jump the highest at the pole vaulting world championship, then I can sure get up every morning and face the world.

It reminds me that even though life isn't fair, sometimes the nice guy comes out on top.

Rolling it up

And I'm really looking forward to cheering for the underdog when the Sochi Olympics start this Friday. Can we say Jamaican bobsled team, people?!

I especially love this recipe, because it reminds me of the underdog.

They're unassuming, because they're mini.

Putting them together

But they pack a real punch.

They will surprise you too--they will disappear quickly and everyone loves them.

You will be the hero of your next party, I promise.

Golden, delicious Underdog Dogs!

Underdog Dogs: Mini Pretzel Dogs
Adapted from Joy the Baker recipe

Ingredients:
1 package of 8 hotdogs
1 1/2 c warm water
1 tbsp sugar
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
22 ounces flour
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter, melted and cooled

14 c water
1 c baking soda

1 egg, beaten
Salt and pepper to taste
Grated cheese

Directions:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, add water and stir in sugar to dissolve. Sprinkle the yeast in the water and mix for a few seconds with a spoon. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Yeast will get foamy. If not, your yeast is probably dead; you'll need to start over.

Add flour, salt, and butter to your yeast mixture. Mix on low till all the ingredients are incorporated. Increase to medium speed and knead for about 4 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl and oil it. Replace dough in the bowl and cover for about an hour or till dough has doubled in size.

After about an hour, preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Spray your baking sheet generously with cooking spray. Oiled parchment paper works too, but I found that I sometimes had bits of paper stuck to my pretzel dogs if I didn't oil it up well enough.

To a large stockpot, add the baking soda to the water. Put this mixture on to boil as you start working on the dough.

Remove dough and on a lightly oiled surface, roll out the dough till about 1/4 inch thick. Cut into strips. Halve the hotdogs. With each dough strip, wrap a half hot dog, sealing the ends by pinching the dough.

When the water/baking soda mixture is boiling, add 4 pretzel dogs to the pot for 30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon onto a plate, then transfer to the baking sheet.

Brush each pretzel dog with egg and sprinkle with freshly ground pepper, coarse salt, and/or grated cheese. Bake in the oven for 13-15 minutes till golden brown.

The Underdog Dogs are best served the day of baking. If you are packing it for lunch the next day, microwave your pretzel dog for about 30 seconds and you're all set!

Enjoy!