I want some of that Chocolate!

I've been watching this new network on cable, The Cooking Channel. At first I thought, is this just another Food Network? Well, it turns out it's the original Food Network without all the annoying competitions and reality shows. Pure cooking shows back to back. I used to watch so many of these shows (Jamie at Home, Nigella Express, Two Fat Ladies) and was very sad when they got replaced with all the reality schtuff.

One of the new shows I like is Foodography hosted by Mo Rocca. The first episode was about everyone's favorite food, CHOCOLATE. This very eccentric pair of chocolate makers were featured, Mast Brothers Chocolate. I love how they've stylized themselves and their products. So as a good consumer, I looked for a retailer of their beautifully packaged chocolates and was utterly disappointed to find out that they are only sold in NY!


Hint! Hint! What is a girl to do when I'm thousands of miles away? Is there someone I might know that can get me some? Mmmm...

Found this link to the world's top 20 most beautiful chocolates from the Cool List. Salivating now!

The Beauty that's around

Another rewarding year from my flower garden. Although there are a couple of roses I should replace in the front. Meaning, another trip to Reagan's Nursery!! I should also replant the flowers in the flower box in the back. In the meantime, I get to enjoy some robust big blooms of hydrangea.


A few blogs ago, I mentioned baking cupcakes every weekend. Yeah right! I did keep it up for 2 weeks. My Red Velvet and Coconut cupcakes are both from the Cupcakes book by Martha Stewart.


How can I forget the most beautiful thing I have? Looking like a glam diva.

She also likes to sleep holding onto Daddy's arm just like Mommy.


Katrina and Paul's wedding photos have been blogged by her talented photographer, Erica Berger. Amazingly beautiful photos. Makes me want to take some pictures!!! MUST lose weigh!

Gold Rush

This past weekend we took Ella on her first road trip to an old gold rush town, Columbia. Grandpa, Ethan, and his parents came along with us. We all got into Grandpa's new ride and headed off Saturday morning, which happened to be Grandpa's 70th!! Happy Birthday :)

Since we couldn't check in at the Motel at Columbia until mid-afternoon, we headed towards Calervas Big Trees State Park first. After about 3 hours, we finally arrived at the park and it was well worth it!

This tree below began as a seedling in 600 AD and was cut down in the 1860s. Uncle Dominic pointed out that a new tree is now growing between the stump and the fallen trunk.


There were many other magnificent giants in this forest. This is my favorite by far, The Mother and Son. The 2 trees are connected at the bottom, but has 2 separate soaring trunks.


Here's the view from the bottom between the 2 trunks. Simply breathtaking!


We took a 1 hour+ hike through the forest and saw many more great sights. The best part is being in such a beautiful place with fragrant pine trees infusing the air. I loved it! Unfortunately, Grandpa's back starting hurting the night before and couldn't walk around as much as he would have liked to and missed some of the incredible sights...

These bright red plants were sprouting up from the drab forest floor all over.



Always love a good patch of moss and lichen.


The carvings left by tourists on this cut tree resemble codes from a Sci-fi. Could be encrytions from an ancient civilization or aliens...


On Sunday, we headed into Columbia town and found a very pleasant surprise. It was the last day of the 16th annual Diggins. The locals dressed up as Gold Rush settlers (all volunteers) from 1852 for 4 days and reenact daily lives of the first Gold Rush tent town settlers. We had a BALL! We had to buy everything with "eagles," or coins from back in the day since paper money didn't exist. We were greeted by Marvin, an old chatty carpenter, who told many stories with many tangents... We talked to many of the tent town settlers and they would give us a very realistic glimpse of what it was like in 1852, and it really felt like we traveled back in time.


The little boy here was stringing beans to dry for the winter while the girls were churning butter.


Another lady was weaving lace by hand. It took her 3 days to finish about 6 inches!


This was her tent, which can easily make a magazine page.


This fella here was teaching us all about panning for gold. It was tough work for sure!


We spent the morning at the Diggins and went into town after a little rest and snacks. Ethan did a little gold panning himself and found 5 little bits of gold along with some gems, which made his day, and it only cost his parents $12. Good bargain!

I was shopping for a bonnet for Ella and found a super cute one at our favorite store in town, The Farmer's Friend, which sold gardening and gardening related products. I was very disappointed because the baby bonnet I loved was too small for Ella's big head. Now I have to find a pattern online. Stayed tuned for that project! I did walk away with some beautiful wrapping paper, so it was all good.

Finally around 2pm we sat down for some real food for the first time in the day. Ella couldn't stop high fiving everyone.


I would say her first road trip was fun for her, since she was all worn out on the ride home.

Great Shopping Day

Yesterday Emily and I went to the TJ Maxx HomeGoods store and it turned out to be THE BEST shopping trip there ever!! I love this store. Have to really thank Mani for introducing it to me.

We spotted this origami ceramic stool and fell in love with it immediately. The price tag was definitely very agreeable as well. Didn't quite have a spot for it except for in front of the window. Just hoping little Jolly Jowls can't move it.



The selection for ornate white teapots was really quite good yesterday. It was a tough one, but I decided on this because of the artichoke knob on top. It's not very practical though, a little hard to hold.



This BIG bell is perfect to summon everyone for dinner! Since Nimone and her family were coming over for dinner, it was a no brainer. We had to try it out for dinner call, and it worked great! I LUV it!



I saw this vintage floral print vinyl tablecloth last time I was there, but was too lazy to get in line for this 1 item, so I had to pick it up this time. It's perfect for those backyard brunches, lunches, and just snacks on a nice warm sunny day. I can't wait to use it this summer.



This dress was in the pajama section. Made by Munki Munki. I love the cute fabric used and the simplicity of the dress. I think this can be a summer dress, seems a little too pretty and cute to just wear it to sleep...



Last but not least. Super cute Thank You cards.

Big girl

She's looking different everyday, but still looks just like ME! Here are a few recent pictures since she's turned 1.

Poor baby's been sick for the past couple of weeks. First it was a cold and now she's feverish from teething. We've noticed that she likes to sleep with her butt in the air whenever she's not feeling well.


Here's the dazed morning look.


She loves having hair clips in her hair now. She stays still for me to put them on and always flashes a satisfactory smile when she hears the click.


Playing peek-a-boo with Daddy.

Ella's 1st birthday

Happy Birthday Miss. Ella P.
Ella's already 1, which means I better hurry up and lose weight!!

She's coming into her own more and more everyday. We had a birthday lunch with Great-Grandma, the Grandparents, Aunties, Uncles, cousins, and Godparents. Too bad Stella couldn't join us. Maybe next time!

We had the Pope room at Buca De Beppo. Angie, the amazing cake maker, made Ella's Ni Hao Kai Lan themed cake. I was blown away when I picked up the cake. Almost everyone asked if we can eat the cake. Haha


Ella wore the new dress Mommy made, copying something I saw at Target. This fabric was the one that Emily found at Discount Fabrics on Irving last month, and I happen to have a lot of ribbons and trims. It's always a good idea to keep ribbons from packaging and gifts. As Martha would say, "It's a GOOD thing."


With a little sequin flower hair clip and the cute little old lady orthodic shoes, Ella's ready for her 1st birthday!

She's beginning to understand the concept of looking good. Not a happy camper when the sparkly hair clip went onto Kevy's head.

Maybe we can try Grandauntie Lu's haircut. I think she'll look really cute in this style.

While Tim and I were both busy doing I don't know what, thank God Auntie Alvina was busy with her camera that day. She really got quite a few very good pictures for us. Thank you!

On Ella's actual birthday, Kei Yei (Johnson) and family, came over to help celebrate.

I decided that I should practice making cupcakes, cause it's an essential part of being a Mom. Here's my pathetic first attempt at cupcake decorating. Alvina and Felicia lent a hand there as well. We had some interesting looking sheeps... I'm not giving up yet. There shall be cupcakes every week now!

Katrina and Paul's wedding

Ella attending her first wedding this Sat and she had a blast. Katrina had an exquisite wedding down and she was just stunning! We are so so very happy for Paul and Katrina. It was such a simple yet lovely wedding. Oh, I just LOVE going to weddings, it always makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, especially when the couple are such CUTE people.


They couldn't have chosen a more beautiful setting for this intimate gathering. It was at Hakone Gardens. A magnificient little gem tucked away in the hills of Saratoga surrounded by giant Redwoods. This was the perfect time of year for a wedding too. All the blooms just filled the space with dashes of color. Tim and I were both extremely envious of all the very mature plants and the garden design. Hmm, an inspiration for the next Urban Gnome project?

Ella was very well behaved during the ceremony and was amongst the cheeriest and loudest when we welcomed the new Mr. and Mrs. LeGris into the reception area.


However, she was a little ill-mannered at the table...


Sadly, we didn't get a piece of this beautifully made red velvet cake, one of my favorite flavors.

Time to head home after a whole evening of festivities!