happy belated halloween!

i had an amazing halloween weekend. and surprisingly, for the first time, i spent it like a true "adult", partying it up at a club. i was pretty bummed that i missed my family's halloween party, and no trick or treating candy to take my mind off of it, seeing tiesto at ruby skye was a pretty awesome alternative. and guess what i dressed as?? a LOOFAH! 

hope everyone had an amazing and safe halloween!!

with love,

t

diy: honeycomb mirror

guess what i made the other day? this beautiful honeycomb mirror!!
i first saw it on loving. living. small. and thought it would be the greatest addition to the place.
the best thing was, this was AMAZINGLY easy to make!
i cut out most of the the steps making it even easier!!
all i did was decide a pattern (this was the hardest step), and directly stuck the mirrors to the wood.
easy smeasy lemon squeezy!

 (pallet cut in half) +

                                    + some creativity = this awesome honeycomb mirror!

thanks to j for getting the pallet for me!

with love,
t

japanese cheesecake cupcakes

you know that feeling you get after eating a slice of cheesecake?
like you need to workout for a week straight to get that heaviness out of your belly?!
well, move aside, regular cheesecake, this japanese cheesecake is soo light and fluffy, there's no need to hit the gym. AND instead of slices, they're cupcakes instead! so have another, heck, have three (that's how many i had...probably).

japanese cheesecake
adapted from pepsakoy + mowielicious
(the measurements were mostly in grams or milliliters, so i just converted and rounded it off)

8oz cream cheese
6 tbsp unsalted butter
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup cake flour
1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp lemon zest
6 egg yolk
6 egg white
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 1/2cup granulated sugar


preheat oven at 350 degree Fahrenheit.
mix the cream cheese, butter, milk and vanilla in a bowl over a hot water bath and stir until everything is smooth and creamy. remove the bowl and let it cool.

add the sifted flour to the mixture, and then the lemon juice and zest. next mix in the egg yolk, stir until smooth.

in a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff. use a handmixer to make things easier! slowly add the sugar until stiff peaks form. if this is taking too long, place the bowl on top of a pot of boiling water (double boiler) to quicken things up.

add the egg whites into the cheese mixture, gently fold everything together.

fill cupcake trays 3/4 of the way. and place the tray into a larger baking tray, and fill baking tray with water until it water rises halfway up the cupcake tray. bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes (on the bottom shelf) remove and let the cupcakes cool!

i used regular cheesecake frosting and pieces of strawberries to top.
happy eatings!

with love,
t

jambalaya

pack your bags, we're going down south today!
i LOVE anything spicy, and this wonderful louisiana dish is perfect!

while i followed globetrotter diaries recipe quite closely, i also didn't have all the ingredients for the Lee Bros. shrimp boil, so i made it without celery seeds, and substituted plain black pepper for the peppercorns.

jambalaya

1 pound headless medium shrimp, with shells and deveined
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 tbsp Lee Bros. shrimp boil
12 ounces andouille sausage
6 chicken thighs
1 large yellow onion, chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 28 oz can whole tomatoes, drained and juice reserved
2 cups of long grain rice (or any kind, i used what i had at home)
vegetable oil
salt and ground black pepper

Lee Bros. shrimp boil:
1 tbsp peppercorns (i used ground pepper instead)
1 tbsp celery seeds (i didn't use this)
6 bay leaves, shredded
1/2 cup salt
3 tbsp ground cayenne pepper

i mixed the ground pepper, bay leaves, salt and cayenne pepper in a bowl.


in a pot, simmer chicken broth, 1 tbsp of Lee Bros. shrimp boil, and shrimp shells. simmer for 30 minutes.
in another large pot, heat about 1 tbsp of oil, cook the andouille sausage (cut into pieces) until brown, remove then onto a plate. then add the chicken thighs with an abundant amount of salt and pepper, add more oil if needed. cook the chicken until brown on both sides. remove and set aside.
add the garlic, onions and 1/4 of the reserved tomato juice. saute while scraping the bottom to get all the goodies from the pot.
then add the tomatoes, smashing the tomatoes. simmer for about 10 minutes until the consistency is kind of soupy.

strain the chicken broth, adding tomato juice to make 3 cups.
add the broth to the large pot, then add the rice (i did this before adding the chicken thighs and andouille sausage in order for the rice to sit on the bottom of the pot)
add the chicken thighs and sausages.
cover the pot and cook for about 30 minutes or until the rice is tender.
when the rice is done, turn off the heat, mix up the rice and fold in the shrimp, cover it back up and let the shrimp cook for about 10 minutes.

and then you're done!! just like that, you'll have an amazing southern, spicy dish!

happy eats!
with love,
t

strawberry-banana pancake

did you know that i LOVE pancakes?!
i think this is my favorite! i got some strawberries at the farmer's market down the street and i always have some bananas lying around at home.

strawberry banana pancakes
adapted from here

1 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups milk
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 ripe banana (mashed)
1 1/2 cups strawberries (sliced)

1. mix the flour, milk, sugar, vanilla extract, egg, and banana in a large bowl until fairly smooth.
2. fold in the strawberries
3. on a lightly greased griddle, pour in about 1/4 cup of the batch
4. cook on medium heat until you can see bubbles forming on the edges of the pancake. then flip and cook until golden.
5. repeat until you finish the batch
6. enjoy with plenty of extra strawberries and maple syrup!!

happy eats!
with love,
t

slater 50/50

i was suggested this amazing burger joint. and once i tried it out for myself, i couldn't stop raving about it!
this one is located in huntington beach, ca.
it was soo good and ginormous, i couldn't finish my half.

 this is the 50/50 burger. with an avocado spread and a fried egg...look at all that meat!

 the inside. insane in the membrane..too crazy

if you're ever in southern california, go check it out! there's two: one in huntington beach and another in anahiem. happy eatings!

with love,

t

my sister's in BRAZIL!

my little sister is now all grown up and studying in brazil for a whole year!!

follow her adventures on her new blog: here.

i miss you!!

with love,
t

a weekend in..ZION NATIONAL PARK

every summer since i was 13 years old, my dad packed (or should i say stuffed) our van with sleeping bags, tents, cookwares, and anything else you could possibly need for a camping trip.
he decided he wanted to make a tradition to go to as many national parks as we can.
and the great thing was, it wasn't just my family, but ALL my cousins as well.
we traveled up california, across nevada, and even all the way to wyoming..with up to 5 cars caravanning.
it was amazing. and yet, as we grew older, it became harder for everyone to get a week, let alone a weekend off.
this year, however, i was able to get as many of my cousins to zion national park.
this is probably one of my favorite parks so far. everything was breathtaking, you just have to stop and appreciate it. and here's the proof:

 a mama deer we saw at our campsite! she had two little fawns with her too.

 at the river cooling off. it was over 100 degrees!

 the view half way through the hike to angel's landing

my sister, v 

railings so we don't fall to our deaths 

 

 

we made it to the top! 

our dad, the ONLY adult to make it to the top! 

the breathtaking view from the top 

the parentals hiking through the narrows 

chest deep in freezing cold water 

if you ever have the chance, stop by zion. it'll make your trip totally worth it.

with love,

t