chi town

After 2 days in the 'burbs, John and I said goodbye to his family and headed into the city.  We didn't have much time to explore and our only agenda was to eat the best food possible.  There were specifically four places we wanted to try and all the places had giant "CLOSED" signs on the door. We totally forgot it was Memorial Day weekend!

With some recommendations from friends and the older sis, we found some good places to eat.


We stuffed our face at The Purple Pig and then 2 hours later we ended up eating a "snack" at Quartino.

The last time I was in Chicago was when my friend Han and I flew out to visit our friend Ellen.  She showed us around and we visited all the tourist spots and even got screamed at by security for trespassing to see the Michael Jordan statue after hours. Good times.

That was over 10 years ago so Millennium Park didn't even exist back then!  We didn't have much time in Chicago, but I knew I had to see "The Bean" in person! It wasn't a far walk from our hotel so before our flight out, we hustled over, got a few pictures and we were off to head back to Cali.

My Johnny HATES taking pictures.  He is the king of photobombing but he does not like the pictures where he has to smile and be normal. You'll usually hear me yell "be normal" before we take pictures and it usually takes a few shots because he doesn't listen (like here)! But that day, the stars aligned and he was being just a good sport!  He let me set up the gorillapod and waited patiently as I prepared the perfect angle. 

Thanks for being a good sport, bubz.  Now only if you could be normal all the time :) ... <3

Our trip was too short and we didn't get to see and eat everything we wanted in the 1.5 days we were there! I guess that means we gotta go back! ;)

korea - day 1

Our first full day in Korea started early! With this amazing jet-lag nonsense, I was up at 6 am and hung out with my sis until my cousin woke up. We had to wait for her as she was our designated tour guide for the day.

It's been a while since I took the bus in Korea, so I was not confident in taking it alone! Thankfully, my amazing cousin spent the day taking us around. We headed out to Shinsadong for some shopping, eating, and people watching.

Kind of embarrassed  to post this picture - I wrote the top line, lil sis wrote the next line, cousin wrote the last line.  My writing looks like a kindergarteners.

   

 

 

 

Matching bracelets from street vendor!





 Before and after.  Can you tell we loved it?!



 There was a whole lot of eating. I'm for sure going to be rolling back home at the end of this trip.   We finished the night having some good ol' bbq with the rest of the family.

I am exhausted but I'm having so much fun exploring Korea and playing with my cousins and my aunt and uncle.  Love it here!

breakfast with a ketchup lover

This past weekend, I heard crazy ruckus in the kitchen. Pots and pans banging, some sizzling, the fridge open and shutting. Next thing I know, John brings me this cute lil tray into the room.
      

He brings in his plate and it looks like this...



His breakfast: ketchup with a side of toast, soy bacon, and eggs!  This man is obsessed with ketchup!

John says: "If eating ketchup is wrong... I don't want to be right!" Linda says: "EWWW. I hate when he says that. I hate that much ketchup."

non stop eating

I went a lil crazy stuffing my face with delish food this past weekend.  Probably shouldn't have eaten so much... oh wellz.  Healthy eating starts TOMORROW!

Mint, coffee, and salted caramel

Cali burger

No Korean meal is complete without kimchi and garlic. 

Saturday afternoon started at our lil brunch spot, The Pan, where I got the "Lumberjack", as usual.  2 eggs, 2 bacon, 2 sausages, potatoes, and my fave - banana pancakes!  Then, off to meet my sis and bro in law for some ice cream at Sweet Rose (same owners as this amazing place).  After that, we sent straight to their house to eat some yummy kimbap my mom made, followed by pizza and salad (not pictured).

Sunday, the Lord's day was spent with our amazing church family.  I was super hungry, I scarfed down a chili dog.  When we decided to go to Umami, I told everyone that I couldn't finish the burger and I would "only take a few bites and save the rest for John".  Yeah. That didn't happen. Enjoyed the entire Cali burger.  Took an hour break then went to my mom's and scarfed down some grilled up meat.

I'm still full from the weekend. I have major problems. Portion control starts tomorrow! Yeah, right.  I can do it!

pieology

Pieology's "kustom" pizza. So derrrricious. I couldn't wait 'til I got home. Please don't judge me.

brunch in bed

Brunch at a cute restaurant is nice but brunch in bed is even nicer! Who doesn't love loungin' around in PJ's?! And as an added bonus - I can drench my food in Tabasco sauce and not worry about strangers judging me.

 I love love love love love lazy Saturdays! Gotta get through this week, Open House, craziness of life, and then, IT'S SATURDAY AGAIN! Praise the Lord!

restin' and relaxin'

We originally planned to take a mini vacation last weekend to celebrate our wedding anniversary, but due to some unforeseen drama, there was a slight change of plans. We spent the majority of the weekend at my mom's house but we did have a few hours away to spend some much needed alone time!

Saturday afternoon, we went out to J-town to exchange my anniversary gift that my hubz bought me. He's not really great with surprising me, but he managed to secretly go to the jewelry store where we got our wedding bands to get another band for me. So I could stack my bling! They didn't have the exact ring that I got for my wedding band so he got a loaner ring to surprise me with, but we got to go back on Saturday and I picked out something shiny and new! Another super-thin band, this time in rose gold.

Then we were off to Spitz, a few blocks down. John tried this place before, but it was my first time!

I loved loved loved the fries! The wrap was also yumz, but sweet potato fries are my favorite and this place made them just right!

We had to kill some time before we headed out to meet some friends so we found a nice little cafe to hide out in.

They had some crazy fancy coffee and it for sure wasn't a Starbucks! I asked for the sweetest drink they had, it was not sweet at all! ... I drink my coffee wayyyyy too sweet. I pretty much get a cup of sugar water with a side of coffee. John, on the other hand, is a crazy coffee drinker. His drink of choice? Coffee with shots of espresso in it! Who does that?! At his coffee place, he had some Colombian coffee, brewed with a crazy siphon. Fancy Shmancy!

Finally, it was time to meet our friends for a surprise engagement party!

We got home, slept in, then off to a brunch date!

Yelp is my best friend. I found Starling Diner, with great reviews on the food and service. It was in this random residential area, and pretty crowded with the lunch crowd. We waited, and seriously, the food was worth the wait!

Too early for mimosas and screwdrivers?

We ate super fast, like crazy Koreans do, then we were off to the Long Beach flea market! The last time we were there, I practically furnished our entire house, but no such luck this time. We didn't leave with a single thing. But we still had fun oohhing and ahhhing at the random stuff.

We finished the night at the BFF's for a dumpling party!

This weekend wasn't what we originally planned, but I still had tons of fun! It was a tough week for us both, but we praise God for giving us times to just rest and enjoy each others company.

derishious dinner

Johnny and I have been trying to eat healthier and we often ask ourselves, "What would Ben do?" I try not to buy cookies and chips so they aren't even in the house at all, because honestly, if they're in the house, I'll eat it. In one sitting. So now I try to make sure we have lots of fruits and vegetables (Mostly for John, since veggies really aren't my thing). But I do love my fruits!

This week, I finished 2 entire boxes of strawberries and a box of raspberries by myself. When we bought them over the weekend at the farmers market, I shared with John and let him have one. But the rest, I ate.

Yesterday, for a healthy, light dinner I planned to make my healthier version of double stuffed baked potatoes. But after the bff explained the low nutritional value of just potatoes, I took her suggestion and made the baked chicken breast recipe from her meal plan from last week along with the potatoes. I guess it's not super healthy but healthier than we normally eat.

But today, I was craving some meat! I rarely, rarely, rarely crave beef or even pork nowadays. I'd choose chicken over beef any day! Not today! For some reason I wanted some Korean BBQ. Not that sweet marinated kind but just the plain brisket beef and the thick sliced pork. More specifically, the meat with loads of hot sauce and wrapped in rice paper called dukbosam.

John and I ate like crazy people and now I'm so full I'm uncomfortable. Does anyone else know that feeling? That's totally a first world problem so no complaining here!

I have to let my stomach settle so I can drink my "fish tea." Yes. "Fish tea." I'll explain what it is another time. Writing about it makes me want to throw up. Blehk.

hubby buddies

Ruby and I have been friends for years and recently our husbands have been getting closer over the last few months. They are wannabe best friends!

John has been learning how to eat healthier from Ben and now I see them geek out about the same things! It is too cute!

They are cliff bar buddies! The Bratchers' healthy eating lifestyle is totally out of our league, but John has been making sure he is carrying around some sort of nutrition bar like Ben does. We have a saying in our house, "What would Ben do?" or "WWBD" for short. Whenever we have to make a food decision we joke, "What would Ben do?"

All joking aside, I love seeing that our husbands are friends. I can see that John is encouraged by Ben and is learning a lot from him.

I know this post seems so random, but I'm just excited to see their friendship grow and MORE EXCITED about us becoming part of their church family (God-willing, we'll find out for sure this Sunday). God has graciously placed godly friends in our lives to help, encourage, rebuke, and pray for us as we transition to a new church.

the ipad restaurant

Since I'm summer-breaking, all I'm doing is lounging, watching movies, and eating. John and I were at our usual hang out spot, the outdoor Del Amo mall, and we decided to try a new restaurant. This restaurant, called Stacked, is unique in that each table is equipped with an ipad for easy ordering! Who needs humans anymore?!

I'm not very tech savy, but I'm all about not talking to humans. Anti-social much? Even at the super market, I much prefer using the self check out even when I have a huge cart full of stuff!

This place is perfect for anti-social people like me! I wonder if they'll get rid of servers all together and instead have your food come flying out of a shoot or something. That'd be interesting.

John ordering his personalized burger.

I'm not even kidding when I say that this is the best hotdog I have ever had in my life. Maybe it's because I don't eat hotdogs often?... I went with the spicy Lousianna chicken andouille sausage. Drooool. So good.

Ordering dessert! Snickerdoodle cookie with coffee ice cream.

We also ordered a side of sweet potatoes. That was a ding, dong, dang (Man, I'm going to have to make a dictionary for all the weird words I use). What I'm trying to say is that the fries were no bueno! Major sucky! John said his burger was just okay. As you know, the hot dog was bomb.com. And the ice cream sandwich was no Diddy Riese, but it was still yummy!

If anyone is in the Torrance (South Bay) area and want to check out Stacked, call me! I mos def want to go back for that hotdog!

cafeteria food

School cafeteria has really been jazzed up since I was in elementary school! Some of my coworkers would NEVER eat the cafeteria food, and I don't love to have it everyday, but there are some days where I really have NOTHING to take for lunch. On those days, I'll go over to the cafeteria and have what my kiddos are having! I get to choose from two "main dishes" and then I get to choose the fruits and veggies from the "salad bar"! It's so cute to see the kids grabbing their own fruits and veggies from the salad bar with the huge tongs!

Today's lunch - Soft taco! The mysterious red meat kind of freaks me out, but I made sure to put pile on the lettuce to hide it!

Also from the salad bar, pico de gallo! Yum! Yum!

Of course, I have to have something spicy! Some fiery jalepenos! Along with a tiny banana!

Yes, that's a spinach salad! Many of my kids didn't grab this off the salad bar, but I'm sure if it was smothered in ranch, they'd love it! Thank goodness it wasn't! Just a simple light dressing, with pears and cranberries!

All washed down with a baggie of milk! Yes, a baggie! Milk "bags" are more affordable and have less waste than a milk "carton", so they say. My kiddos are so good at piercing the baggie with their straws! I'll sometimes do it for them, and I'll pierce through the bag AND the styrofoam plate! What a mess!

School lunch ain't so bad!