hi there

i'm still here. thought it was about time i'd drop you a line.
i don't know what happened really. time, i guess. too many commitments.
i am trying to focus on things i enjoy - new hobbies, like vegan cooking. above are two vegan dishes i made recently. recipes here & here.
anyways, i'm done with work for the summer. so glad about that.
i have some trips lined up - portland & nyc & camping of course.
so many good times with luis lately, it's hard to keep count :)
trying to enjoy the little moments along with the big ones.

mansions & one pot wonders

so i finished converting my thesis into a journal article. it took me two full days & by the end of it i was so done with my thesis. miguel was great though - keeping me sane & cooking me food. i took two hours off of writing & took him on a surprise day trip to the leland stanford mansion. it has great architecture & thought it would be a great way to celebrate the end of miguel's first semester of architecture. it was just the two of us on the tour so it was nice (like a private tour!), but i was too shy to take photos inside the mansion & the sun was too bright to get a good photo of the whole house. so you get what you get i guess! it was quite beautiful & we enjoyed all of the greenery outside as well.

 we made one of the one pot wonder dishes i told you about in the last post! we made the spinach & artichoke one. it's crazy how easy it is & it turned out pretty good. needed a little salt in my opinion & we added some parmesan cheese & red pepper flakes (well, miguel did).

sorry about the unedited iphone photos! i'm just a bit lazy today, writing from a hotel room on a road trip with my family : )

tonight

i roasted artichokes tonight using this recipe. the artichokes i used were humongous. & i loved the color of them after i cut their tops off. so beautiful.

i also made this cold brew coffee tonight for tomorrow morning breakfast.

we ate the artichokes & watched the grey's anatomy  finale. goodbye cristina.

love day

happy valentine's day! hope you have a day of love :)

the boyfriend & i are cooking this & this together for dinner. date night in tonight!

warmth

it has been so cold lately! like a lot colder than usual. also, it hasn't been easy dealing with the cold (i don't know how those of you who deal with this kind of cold every year do it!? i'm a born & raised california girl!) i needed to buy a new coat this year & was going a few days without one - not a good idea (maybe that is why i have this cold i can't get rid of).

i came back from visiting miguel yesterday & while i was there, he turned on the heater for the first time (trying to conserve as much as possible!) & it didn't work! so, the landlady gave us a portable heater until the heater could be fixed. & boy did that tiny little heater work well! it warmed the place up in no time & we were so grateful for the warmth. we stayed indoors most of the time, but we ended up going out for some nice hot ramen at our favorite spot. it was definitely worth getting bundled up for.

i love this time of year because getting cozy & cuddly is just second nature.

to help stay warm, i made some apple cider today. the recipe is really easy & has great flavor! i also made some low-carb cookies for my dad who is on a special diet for his diabetes. he also just had foot surgery, so i've been trying to do a few extra things for him since he's been bummed he can't get around on his own.

i'll leave you with a few notes/links:

• i would love to get this glass cabinet to store my vintage camera collection.
• i've been needing a business card holder to store my cards in & i think this one would be perfect.
• if you have to buy a christmas gift for one who loves to cook in your life, this would be the gift to give.
• i love peonies, but they are always too expensive & only in season for a few months (miguel is always calling florists for peonies for me ;)). these flowers are a cheaper alternative!
• migue is always talking about how he will make furniture for our home, so i think this would be a good place to start. 

that's all for now! i'll be drinking my apple cider & watching the day the earth stood still with my dad. stay warm!

thanksgiving

my thanksgiving was quite good. i had three thanksgiving meals total: one at home with my parents & uncle who lives with us, one at my aunt & uncles house with many of my cousins & their kids, & one with my cousin wendy's family. it was quite a busy few days!

i made my very first pumpkin pie. everyone liked it but me, haha. my uncle & aunt fixed us a fabulous feast. the turkey was huge! i was glad i was able to spend some quality time with my "nephews" : )

it was really nice to see wendy! she & her boyfriend got a cute little place & she's having fun decorating it.

i got to go to my favorite local restaurant while visiting wendy. the dishes are so delicious & go with the amazing decor. very blogger worthy, but the lighting wasn't the greatest for photos :( anyways, the tomato soup is one of the best i've had.

the next pair of photos are a little embarrassing being bathroom selfies, but i wanted to show you two things. i wore my hair in two braids one day. when i was younger, i would wear my hair in braids almost every day. also, i just bought an amazing herringbone coat from my black friday shopping, only $35.

before leaving to go home, wendy took me to her local coffee shop hangout.

i was so excited to get my first latte art! the latte was amazing. i'm definitely going back there next time i visit!

overall, i was so thankful to spend thanksgiving with basically all of my family on both sides of my family. i'm blessed to live close enough to both.

notes

1. items from my last ikea run (all for about $20!)

2. decorations at the mexican restaurant miguel & i tried out (disappointing food)

a few little notes:

i've been busy planning my sister's 22nd birthday : ) i just got off the phone booking facials & massages for her & a few friends at the spa. i found a great place for lunch where they have three different vegetarian taco options. and i'm searching the web for a reasonably priced nikon dslr for her to take with her to thailand as a birthday gift. i hope everything turns out great! i'm excited  : )

i bought two of west elm's favorite throws today as they are having free shipping today! for both, it was only about $20! i was a happy lady.

i discovered a new photo app today called studio! it's like "over" & tons of fun. plus it's free!

i found the best homemade mushroom soup recipe. i made it & my tummy was so happy. it is such an instant comfort food!

this post seems a bit skimpy, but that's ok. i just had to share those things with you : )

currently

currently:

1. i love the lady bird johnson centennial stamps i picked up at the post office the other day. there are only five, but it was just the amount i needed. lady bird johnson was an advocate for beautifying america's cities & highways, so the stamps portray beautiful flowers & trees in cities.

2. i'm eyeing these clutches/pouches.

3. i want to make this.

4. & this.

5. the restaurant i celebrated a friend's birthday at was designed quite nicely.

6. i wrote to an instagramer for the first time & i received a cute little package from here. it's neat to be branching out from blogging to find friends & pen buddies.

7. i've been enjoying the chia seed "pudding" i've been making lately. chia seeds are a great source of omega 3s & only one once contains 11 grams of dietary fiber!

this is how i make my "pudding":

1 cup almond milk (i use almond breeze vanilla)
3 tablespoons of organic chia seeds
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

add all ingredients to a mason jar, screw on the lid, & shake to mix. place in the refrigerator for about 5 minutes. take out the jar & give the ingredients a good stir. place the jar back into the refrigerator for at least an hour to set. the chia seeds will get a bit gooey & it reminds me of tapioca pudding! anyways, experiment with the measurements to get the sweetness you prefer. you can also use agave as a sweetener! enjoy!

8. i've never seen annie hall before & i want to see it.

that's it for now...i'm sleepy.

terrariums, lemon bars, & celebrating

i made another terrarium! i had a few succulents left over & my mom picked up this glass vase(?) for me when she was out thrifting, so i decided to put them all together. i really love terrariums & succulents for that matter.

last saturday, my sister raquel & i went over to my cousin brisa's cute little home (i love that her & her boyfriend joseph have moved to my city!) & made lemon bars! she has a wonderful lemon tree in her backyard, so there was an endless supply of lemons. i think i would love to have my own lemon tree when i get my own place.

 i took a trip on the train to stay with miguel for a couple of days & tried to get some reading in on my trip. i've been reading (trying) lunch in paris: a love story with recipes by elizabeth bard. it's hard for me to get into it. i think it is mostly due to the fact that the main character has been annoying me because she is quite naive & seems a little haughty. anyways, the book also includes about three recipes at the end of each chapter, which is pretty awesome. the author even had a blog with recipes inspired by the book. the book does however let me reminisce about the trip i took with nicola to paris. oh how i miss europe!

miguel knows how much i love european things & took me to a eauropean inspired deli down the street from where he works. (he works in the cutest downtown area with little shops, bookstores, & coffee shops!) he had been wanting to take me there for so long & it did not disappoint!

 i went to visit miguel to celebrate our 17 months together ;) we love a reason to celebrate & still have fun celebrating each month we are together. we decided that instead of going out for dinner & spend money, we would stay in & cook together & save some extra money for austin next week(!!!). we decided to make lasagna with cheese & veggie meat. when we started putting together the sauce (we made our own sauce from scratch), we realized that we couldn't find a large enough casserole dish for the lasagna. so, miguel went out to pick one up & came home with not only an amazing glass casserole dish with a lid, but flowers, macaroons, & eclairs! i was quite surprised & happy : )

 i took this photo on the morning i went back home. there is a train station just around the corner from where miguel works, so we try to plan efficient trips so he can pick me up & drop me off according to his work schedule. anyways, he made us smoothies that morning for breakfast & put them in the starbucks cups he saves. haha. oh miguel.

i took my flowers home on the train & i felt happy to have them in my bag.

miguel & i leave for austin on wednesday! i am so beyond excited for this trip. i'm excited to be traveling traveling with miguel & i am excited to see all of my blogger family pals & to meet the new ones! see you all soon!

a few little notes

me & miguel on the fourth 

photo credit: lizzie

+ miguel & i went camping in june & we had so much fun! we did forget to pack a pot to heat water for tea & oatmeal in the morning, thus cutting our trip a tad short, but it was all part of the experience & we are both waiting for the weather to cool down so we can go again! 

+ i want to try making this. i can't eat raw egg anything (i even have to have my fried eggs over hard - otherwise, my poor tummy!), so this recipe will be perfect - especially in summer! & it's healthier, which is a big plus!

+ i kind of went crazy at the jcrew factory sale...i mean 50% off the whole store & 60% off clearance?? yes please. got my first pair of jcrew ballet flats. retro jade suede. so excited. photos probably in the future! (p.s. the sale is until tomorrow so you still have time to see what there is!)

+ since it's been SO HOT lately, i really want to try this cute scarf updo from delightfully tacky: 

Head Scarf Updo Tutorial from Elizabeth on Vimeo.

+ back in june, the blogger family had a "favorite things" swap organized by maggie. i got an amazing package from shelby! thanks, shelby ;)

+ the county fair is going to be starting up again soon & i'll be working again (as i have for the past 10 summers?!) in the building where they display all of the arts & crafts, baked & preserved foods, etc. that people enter. this year i will be entering two cookie recipes (as part of my 25 before 26) & miguel will be entering his beef jerky! i'm super excited. i'm going to take the train to stay with him on monday (for our monthiversary hehe) & he's planning to start the jerky that day. he always impresses me - making his own jerky : )

+ i've been looking for a striped tee. not exactly just any striped tee, but more along the lines of THE striped tee. a comfy one that isn't fussy (meaning not see through or too clingy). what t-shirt brands do you like the most? i need help!

that's all for now! stay cool! (& for those in the cool now, stay warm! ;))