Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Anyone else secretly (or not so secretly) glad that 2020 is almost finally over? It's getting colder here in Texas and it's really cold. I'm not too much of a fan of winter or cold winter at all. It messes with my eczema and it hurts, literally. The pandemic is starting to weigh on my subconscious and it’s making me easily irritated.
Cold winters + being stuck in Texas is not making me a happy person. I’m in desperate need of change and several vacations.
READ
I finished reading YOU and Crenshaw. I also read a bunch of picture books with/to Tums since she's becoming more aware/curious about reading and books. Audiobooks have been a really nice thing now that I'm a busy mama, except when I get too sucked in and I get mad if ANYONE in the house makes ANY kind of noise lol.
I'm trying to work my way through my NetGalley TBR as well as my Dec TBR, so, this is gonna be... interesting.
WATCHED
| You on Netflix
Started watching YOU on Netflix since my cousin wouldn't stop bugging me to. The show is a bit different than the book and I'm mad the Peach they casted is super cute cause I hated her in the book!
| Emily in Paris on Netflix
This is one a lot of people are talking about and I love all things Parisian! Plus a good friend I just reconnected with was also binge watching it. So far it's cute, in a she's so fuckin American kind of way. Emily gets on my nerves and so does Sylvie. The office guys are probably the best thing about the show oh and Mindy. I freakin love Mindy.
| Love Life on HBO Max
Kindaaaa the reason that really pushed me to get HBO Max (and FRIENDS, come on!). I'm like 2 or 3 episodes in and it's so... weird. It's basically like every episode is a "chapter" of a relationship. The concept is interesting, but where the heck do all these people find these huge lofts in NYC? Seriously?
| Great Greek Myths: The Illid on Amazon Prime
I love Greek Mythology and I was totally sucked into the first season of this series so of course I had to start the second season... esp since it dealt a bit with Troy. I'm always disappointed to realize that Athena or Aphrodite were behind some of the things I hated. And it had very little to actually do with Paris himself. However, I am still going to blame him cause wtf Paris? Seriously?
DID
| Digital Coloring Books
I discovered DIGITAL COLORING BOOKS. And I've been having way too much fun with them. They're not AS fun as physical books but playing with texture and easy shading is fun. It has its pros and cons; but I love seeing what other people come up with. I'm convinced everyone on this app knows how to draw and it makes me want to learn even more.
| Procreate
I recently got an iPad to learn how to draw. I know, so extreme right? I ended up getting the iPad Air which in my opinion is super big for my small hands. I wish there was something between an Air and a Mini.
| Christmas Shopping
I FINISHED MY CHRISTMAS SHOPPING. EARLY. For the first time ever. Super exciting. Now I just have to ship it. But at least it's all done!
We also got our Christmas tree and I opted for your basic green instead of my usual white. But I did get a mini pink tree for the bedroom! It's super cute.
I also got everyone (including the cat) an advent calendar this year. I got myself a popcorn one I saw that Paige had last year, Tums a Disney book collection on from Aldi -- I saw it on Amazon for $30 but it was at Aldi for $10 so, Bubba got a Funko DBZ one and Sophie got the kitty one from Trader Joe's.
| Other
I also got my Amazon Vine back; I got to review 2 sets of Animal Crossing Amiibo cards so I finally got most of my dream villagers!
Bubba made me a lot of Mickey strawberry pancakes and omg I could really go for one right now!
| Shopping
Sometimes I really hate posting unedited photos, but I uploaded these at like 3AM for future me lol. So, thanks past me.
VIP MAC members got SUPER early access to their holiday collection this year which was nice! Wish they'd do this every year. I picked up a few things but they didn't have their usual pigment set for the holidays and the mini lippies weren't really shades I'd wear. I did get an eyeshadow since it's been awhile since they've released a red one! And I also got a lip stick in my usual dark purple type of shade. It's not as dark as I had hoped it would be though and the formula isn't matte so I can't really build it up like I'd like.
Anthropologie joined the Afterpay fam and so I made a small haul with them. Even with Afterpay some of their shit is STILL expensive! I got a set of cute soap bars. I'm a fan of fancy soap bars. I'm just sad that there are 2 I want that aren't part of this collection but I thought this was a better deal. PLUS they're made in France! And I got this lip balm from Winky Lux that has been on my wish list FOREVER for no reason at all other than it's glittery. The shade changes color as you wear it. I didn't really believe that until I swatched it on my hand and an hour later it was this bright pink color.
I'm a sucker for any lip balm honestly. And if you've been here awhile you know I haul lip balm during the holidays like crazy. I'm esp a sucker for cotton candy and sugar cookie lip balms. Softlips has discontinued my favorite sugar cookie one by them years ago. It was my Winter go to for sooo long. I'm still bummed about it and no other can compare but yet I still search! There's a few new interesting flavors that came out this year, so I'm pretty excited about that!
Made my holiday scents order with Zeep Bath. I love their wax melts! Plus they last for such a long time and the throw is perfect.
| Thanksgiving
This was the first Thanksgiving Bubba didn't go to his parents house for; we stayed home and made Thanksgiving ourselves. I've attempted this a few times when I live on my own and everything came out just okay.
Bubba really out did himself with the turkey for sure. It was perfect. He did roasted veggies from a Hello Fresh recipe we had earlier that week that I loved. He also made mashed potatoes, stuffing and a mac and cheese bake.
I got to use my early Christmas gift: a Kitchenaid (YAY) to make "Texas Roadhouse" like bread. It was so fun! I had meant to make the candied yams but Bubba ended up using his cast iron for that instead.
November is always such a weird month for me. And being somewhere where it's COLD doesn't really help the seasonal depression or whatever weird struggle it is I have with November. I just know it didn't really impact me when I was in Florida like it does when I'm in Cali or Texas.
Speaking of, it's getting freakin cold here in Texas and I'm already over it. At least I won't be tempted to "brave the cold" to go to holiday events and get up irritated cause I get cold super easy. Aiming to spend the holidays in Florida next year!
How did your November go?
Seriously, WHERE IS THE YEAR GOING?! While I'm glad 2020 is almost over I'm also worried that 2021 won't be any better and I had very sentimental plans for my birthday that I would literally be crushed if they didn't happen. Then again I was really sad about the other 5 trips this year we had to cancel.
It's also moving month and I didn't do crap to prepare like I normally do; September didn't slip passed me but for some reason I wasn't as responsible as I usually am and I honestly need to snap out of that because I don't have space or time to let things slip passed me. Postpartum Depression is weird and I wish it would just leave me alone already! I feel like I'm fighting a fog constantly.
This post contains affiliate links; making a purchase helps support this blog!
Read
This month I didn't read much. I had started Shadow of The Fox by Julie Kagawa since I heard so many awesome things about it and I loved her Iron Fey series back in the day but I just could not follow this one and it was making my head spin! And I was listening to it which makes it even worse.
I switched over to Wicked Saints and it's interesting so far but I haven't finished it yet.
I've got a ton of books bookmarked on my Scribd account and samples of books I want to read from Amazon; I may start doing book reviews of those. Someone I follow did a thing like that and it was pretty cool.
I started Alice The Absent: A Splintered prequel story by A.G. Howard. I need to finish that series too. But Morpheus gets on my nerves.
I did read a sampler of Lore by Alexandra Bracken thanks to Hyperion and NetGalley.
Yes, I did give in and start up my NetGalley crap again. Don't judge. Idk what I'm doing either.
Anyone else feel like January is like... the trial version of the New Year Resolutions? We get so hyped up on our goals and super inspired... yet next thing we know it's mid January and we feel like epic failures for not "staying on track".
I know I struggled A LOT with this, especially since I'm so fixated on doing the things I didn't get to do in 2019 because of all the postpartum depression and general depression that happened and robbed me of my time. But I'm trying really hard to remind myself that any step forward is still a step forward. No matter how many things I do or don't tick off my "to-do" list for that day/week/month.
I have to remind myself that this is a progress, not a destination.
I know I struggled A LOT with this, especially since I'm so fixated on doing the things I didn't get to do in 2019 because of all the postpartum depression and general depression that happened and robbed me of my time. But I'm trying really hard to remind myself that any step forward is still a step forward. No matter how many things I do or don't tick off my "to-do" list for that day/week/month.
I have to remind myself that this is a progress, not a destination.
Happy year of The Pig!
This year we went and joined the Lunar New Year celebration like we did last year.
Granted it had been a few months since we were last at Olive Garden but I figure: I've never actually expressed my love for Olive Garden on this blog before!
I guess long background short is I use to take myself in lunch dates here when I lived in Cali and wanted time to be alone. It's always been my comfort place and my comfort food. So OG holds a bit of meaning for me.
Two years ago I married my best friend in a different world.
I can't believe it's been two whole years since then! Time truly does fly when you're having fun, I guess. Because it definitely doesn't feel like two years. It feels like we just got married. But thinking of the span of time from this day to today and everything that has happened between is crazy.
I'm thankful for this moment. For this day. For the friends that were once family and though they're not anymore I still keep these memories close to me. I'm thankful for the man by my side who did everything in his power to be there for me --- a random girl he met on a video game states away and how he never left my side.
I definitely didn't know what I was getting into when I decided to say yes to Sir Penny'puss.
Earlier in March we took a trip to Dallas cause I wanted to check out the Easter collection at LUSH and we were planning on heading to the Dallas Farmers Market but ended up going to another mall instead. Whomp. Some day I'll make it to that Farmers Market!
Tbh I wish I could spend more time in Dallas, there's so much to see and do and discover there!
We did head to my favorite mall and I saw that Sugarfina had successfully finished moving into their bigger store. So I made a small haul purchase.
But we're not here to talk about that, we're here to talk about the Bunny Bark!
I'm not Chinese, even though most people who see/meet me think I am. Especially when my hair is long and dyed. Sorry to disappoint, I'm full Filipino!
But my mom has always had a habit of giving us red envelops for Chinese New Year growing up and I even have my own money tree from when I was a kid that she made for me and my brother.
I've never actually celebrated Chinese New Year or saw any real life celebrations because I was in Florida for 5 years and pffft they have ZERO diversity or any notion to welcome other cultures. Surprisingly not even the China Pavilion in EPCOT celebrated! Though I saw this year DisneyLAND did throw a celebration party and it looked epic.
I was scrolling through IG (as I do, a lot --- #shamelessplug follow our IG @pxa.hxj) and I saw an Asian Market plaza we recently discovered was doing weekend celebrations and Sunday was the last day.
So, we went!
I love Boba/Bubble Tea.
It took me a few years to figure out which ones were "safe" and a few more years for me to be brave enough to venture into new flavors and combinations.
And through out the almost 2 years Bubba and I have been together we've tried a number of new places in our area, I think this is the 6th one. And now I haven't written about all of them --- though I probably should.
Unfortunately I don't have a photo of the menu but I came across this place while looking for Boba in a lightbulb, like the kinds you see all over Instagram from LA. And it turns out this place has a selection of Snow Ice and Eggette Sundae's as well! I've never tried an Eggette but have always wanted to and I've tried Snow Ice about 3 times when I lived in NorCal but I don't really remember much of it. Just that it was soft and refreshing.
I saw this place had a special Boba flavor and special heart shaped as well as pink colored Boba and Jellies for Valentine's Day. The special flavor was a type of Rose and last time I tried that it turned out to taste more like perfume so I skipped it; instead I opted for the Strawberry Mango Lime Refresher with the heart shaped Jelly.
Bubba got his usual go to --- Coconut Smoothie which is always so freakin refreshing no matter where we get it from. I just wish there was a jelly or something that would go well with it.
It's hard to see, but there really were heart shaped Jellies in my drink! They didn't have any particular flavor and after the drink was almost finished they were harder to suck up through the straw. I ended up having to rip open the top part and scoop them out.
This place also had a number of snacks that I'm really looking forward to trying! I got the Coconut Shrimp this time and it was amaaaazing! I don't remember how much these were but they were much less than what you'd pay at a steakhouse, that's for sure! And they were just as, if not better.
Looking forward to the next time we get to pop by here to try more of their snacks and drinks!
There's also a cute Ramen shop it's attached to though I don't remember the name now, but I'm also looking forward to trying that place out as well!
Royal Tea4654 S Cooper St
It took me a few years to figure out which ones were "safe" and a few more years for me to be brave enough to venture into new flavors and combinations.
And through out the almost 2 years Bubba and I have been together we've tried a number of new places in our area, I think this is the 6th one. And now I haven't written about all of them --- though I probably should.
Unfortunately I don't have a photo of the menu but I came across this place while looking for Boba in a lightbulb, like the kinds you see all over Instagram from LA. And it turns out this place has a selection of Snow Ice and Eggette Sundae's as well! I've never tried an Eggette but have always wanted to and I've tried Snow Ice about 3 times when I lived in NorCal but I don't really remember much of it. Just that it was soft and refreshing.
I saw this place had a special Boba flavor and special heart shaped as well as pink colored Boba and Jellies for Valentine's Day. The special flavor was a type of Rose and last time I tried that it turned out to taste more like perfume so I skipped it; instead I opted for the Strawberry Mango Lime Refresher with the heart shaped Jelly.
Bubba got his usual go to --- Coconut Smoothie which is always so freakin refreshing no matter where we get it from. I just wish there was a jelly or something that would go well with it.
It's hard to see, but there really were heart shaped Jellies in my drink! They didn't have any particular flavor and after the drink was almost finished they were harder to suck up through the straw. I ended up having to rip open the top part and scoop them out.
This place also had a number of snacks that I'm really looking forward to trying! I got the Coconut Shrimp this time and it was amaaaazing! I don't remember how much these were but they were much less than what you'd pay at a steakhouse, that's for sure! And they were just as, if not better.
Looking forward to the next time we get to pop by here to try more of their snacks and drinks!
There's also a cute Ramen shop it's attached to though I don't remember the name now, but I'm also looking forward to trying that place out as well!
Royal Tea4654 S Cooper St
Ste 340
Arlington, TX 76017
Instagram; @royaltea_usa
I literally thought these were jelly beans when I picked them up... even though they're MUCH bigger than your average jelly bean and they're heart shaped.
The thing that got me was that they're made with REAL Cherry Juice! Also I'm a sucker for basically anything cherry flavored.
There's a ton of different flavors listed on the back and it's sort of hard to tell which is which because at least 3 of them look exactly the same!
I know for a fact I've had Cherry Vanilla, Cherry Cola, Chocolate Cherry, and Wild Cherry. It does have the tart flavor of what real cherry juice would taste like and some of them have distinct tastes but the 3 plain reds that look alike sort of start to blend in together. Chocolate Cherry is not good at all. I don't know how to explain it besides not good lol. Cherry Cola is probably my favorite one of the ones I've tried so far. Hunting down the other flavors is kind of hard because they start to all blend in together after awhile.
This was a fun thing to try and it does taste good but I'm not like in love with it or anything which I thought I would be!
Also, I sort of wish I had painted my nails prior to taking these photos lol, oh well!
What's your favorite Valentine's Day candy?
I thought writing this entry would be easy... but as I was (endlessly) scrolling through my photos of food of 2017 I realized... this isn't going to be as easy as I thought.
In my mind 2017 was divided between the last bit of my life in Florida and the beginning bit of my life in Texas; through Ubereats I discovered a lot of food I fell in love with before I left Florida and through DoorDash and adventures with Bubba there's a lot of food I discovered in Texas. But I tried to narrow it down to the foods I would go back to. So while this isn't a complete list of foods I found to be my favs this is a list of foods I loved enough to buy more than twice.
Let's start with what I discovered in Florida:
On a trip to Kohls I couldn't decide what to eat and saw a Sushi place listed somewhere in the plaza we were in and suddenly, I wanted Sushi.
So we set out to find this Sushi Nikko place!
We started with the "Summer Meets Winter" roll which had a lot of really good stuff in it and was topped off with Coconut shavings. Here's the actual description:
Crab Meat, Eel inside, Mango, Avocado, Coconut Sprinkle on Top
And it was goooood! I don't know what that sauce on it was but it was a nice balance for all the different flavors going on in the roll.
I had debated between getting Udon on a Bento Box and ended up getting the Teriyaki Beef Bento Box in the end and I absolutely regret nothing!
The Gyoza's were PERFECT! I'm so sad I only got two and the Ginger Dressing on the salad was so satisfying! It's crazy --- I typically don't like Ginger, at all. But I love love love Ginger Dressing at Sushi places! Everything about this plate was just amazing. I loved it all!
I'm glad my boyfriend enjoyed it as well since Sushi isn't his first choice when it comes to finding a place to eat lol. I hope to go back and try the Udon next!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Social Icons