Mo' Mochi

While in Little Tokyo, my teacher friend and I stopped by Fugetso-Do Sweet Shop. It's one of the oldest sweet shops in Los Angeles. At first glance, the shop is filled with pre-packaged goodies. A few steps away from the doorway, there is a delicious array of mochi waiting in the glass case.  The mochi is made in house. I bought two pieces to take home to share with the hubster. The mochi was amazing. It was so soft and flavorful without being overly sweet. I'm looking forward to another trip to Fugetso-Do.

FOBtastic!

I'm not big on huge birthday parties. My birthday usually passes by rather quietly. Last year, my hubster and I came up with a brilliant FOB themed birthday party idea. Life overwhelmed us in October, so we celebrated my belated birthday this past weekend. We ate at our favorite Chinese restaurants and gave out red envelopes stuffed with my favorite Asian goodies as party favors. We even encouraged our friends to show up in their best FOB attire. 


The best part of the evening was just being with my friends. I adore them. They are all so funny and sweet. I love how we can always pick up right where we left off even though we haven't seen each other in months.

All in the Family

My hubster's parents surprised us this weekend with a spur of the moment visit. As usual, with their visit came a day trip to LA. We had a delicious lunch of salt and pepper fish, steamed chicken with soy sauce, and sauteed pea sprouts. Spent numerous hours at a Chinese jewelery store and other Asian grocery stores. I learned how expensive legit Ginseng is (upwards of $500) and how long it takes to grind it. Our day ended with a yummy dinner of two different kinds of soup. I got the same soup as my hubster's dad, a heavenly beef satay curry soup.

Most importantly, this trip helped me to feel even more part of the family. Integrating into another family hasn't been easy for me. Everything used to feel so different: the social cues, the language, and the food. Now, we can joke with ease. My ama (that's mom in Chinese) even got me a jade bracelet and Chinese zodiac pendant that matches hers. Cheesy, I know. A bit sentimental, no? My hubster's dad also got the same bracelet. As we moved onto the next store, my aba (that's dad in Chinese) said, "Now, they'll all know that we're part of the same family."

Way Back When: Getty Trip

My hubster and I have tons of photos. Like with any collection, they get stored somewhere, and I forget that I have them. As I was flipping for photos for my photo collage in my craft room, I found these awesome photos from the Getty taken with our Pentax point-and-shoots. I love the one of our legs. It says a lot about us.

Happy Birthday Carlos!

We made our way down to LA to celebrate Carlos' birthday and had a grand time. To celebrate, he planned for us to go to Nethercutt Museum and to eat at Pizzeria Mozza. At Nethercutt, we got see vintage cars, nickelodeons, and orchestrions. There will be a separate post for Mozza because it was so delicious!

We just had so much fun being with him and his family. Carlos kept saying thank you to both of us for making the time to see him. The thankfulness goes both ways. We're so thankful to have such a good friend. I'm happy he's one of my hubster's best friends. Hopefully, we'll be able to make more trips to LA to see him.

We Heart St. Monica

This past weekend, we went to LA for Nicole's birthday, so we decided to make it a mini trip to visit Jove in Santa Monica. (Funny enough, one of the things I missed during our road trip was the Spanish influence in the naming of cities, streets, etc. Those Native American words get tricky!) We strolled along the boardwalk and promenade.

The next day, we had a wonderfully delightfully delicious lunch at Taco Por Favor. The tacos (both hard and soft) are delicious in their own little ways. The soft tacos are made with fresh tortillas and the perfect amount of cilantro. The hard tacos have a delicate crispy flaky shell and stacked with guacamole and sour cream. The horchata should be ordered the largest size possible. The prices are unbeatable.

Catch Up: The Huntington

For spring break, we decided to make a trip to LA. While planning, I stumbled across the Huntington Library. It's a botanical garden, library, and art museum all rolled into one. We definitely recommend it. It's just a lot of walking, especially if you want to see all the different gardens.

We heart succulents.

Yep, that's my hand. We do take a lot pictures of the same things.

I love these flowers because they remind me of guavas.

It's the giant cricket that my hubster chased down.

It's a mini bonsai forest.

Yes, you have to wear those Huntington "H" stickers.

These are the light bulbs that Edison used.