Thanksgiving 2018

I was really hoping to make some headway in my writing, but alas, I got sick with the cold post travel. So no WWPR this week, but here's a quick slideshow of my Thanksgiving trip where I was healthy, happy, and eating delicious food all week long! It's the one time out of the year that my family and I get together, so it's always a blast and goes by much too quickly.

Hello, December :)

I'm baaaaaaaack from California!

The first thing I notice when I land in Washington? It's so cold. Like bbbbbbrrrrrrrrr I can't feel my feet cold. Winter is definitely knocking.

So, I had hoped to inundate you with a million bajillion photos of my awesome family and my time spent with them, but I regretfully have none to show :( I know. I'm losing my blogging touch. I really, really, need to take more photos of my trips back home. The thing is, when I'm back home, I like to disappear into the moment. I unplug from the computer, I hang out with my family (even if we aren't even doing anything), and all my worries and stresses float away.

But my blog holds so many memories. I love flipping through the archives and reliving the moments so I'm disappointed to know that this awesome week won't be recorded (well, with pictures anyway). I guess the next best thing I can do is write a list of what happened on my trip.

<3 delicious home cooked meals (especially my mom's spicy crab dish)

<3 wedding dress shopping in San Jose (I didn't find 'the one' but it was a cool experience)

<3 quality time with the family through food excursions and fun activities

<3 wine tasting in Napa

<3 shopping with my sisters (aka the only time I really like to shop)

<3 watching the last HUNGER GAMES (my heart still aches)

<3 feeling my niece kick in my sister's stomach

<3 helping my cousin with his reading skills

<3 finally having time to read (I read two craft books and finally finished Attachments by Rainbow Rowell. Now onto Six of Crows)

I'm heading back down to California later this month, so maybe this time I can make up for my lack of photos :)

How was your Thanksgiving? Comment below!

Thankful.

I am so giddy with excitement! In less than 24 hours I'll be on my way to the airport en route to California!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because it's the one time out of the year that the whole family is all together. It's crazy, it's loud, it's fun, it's perfect, it's love. I love my big ol' family!

In the meantime, Michael and I have hosted pre-Thanksgiving dinners (for the first time in the new house) for his family.



(PC: Cristine)

Can you believe I made that delicious looking entrée? Two years ago I couldn't even make rice -_-. It's been fun hosting our own Thanksgiving that it just might become a tradition for us.

As this year comes to a close, I grow more and more thankful of all the blessings I have. It's been a tumultuous year filled with ups and downs, but 2015 has been memorable and filled with so much love, my heart is more than full.

I wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with love, family, and friendship!


Thanksgiving Week: Crabsgiving (Part 4)

My favorite food ever is my mom's crab dish. There's no place else I could ever get it besides her kitchen. It's spicy, flavorful, and has so much more depth compared to the standard crab with butter served at most restaurants. She makes two kinds, one with Dungeness crab, and the other will blue crab. The blue crab is so much messier, but sweeter, and the Dungeness has a very unique sauce that can never be replicated. I am drooling and pining for it as I write this because I know I probably won't get to eat this amazing piece of edible art until next year.

Preparing the blue crab. It turns red once it's cooked!

My mom preparing the dungeness!

This year, will always be known as Crabsgiving because I ate so much crab that Michael was surprised I could even eat that much! But when it comes to mom's home-cooked meal, I really just can't help myself.

The day before Crabsgiving, I fell incredibly ill (so excuse my peakish face in the photos below). My throat was so sore, I could hardly eat that I teared up at the prospect of not being able to have my mom's Thanksgiving meal. Luckily, after some asian remedies and a dose of nyquil, I woke up the next morning incedibly better!

A bit messy, but it taste so much better than it looks!

After a great deal of yummy food, my family and I played games, caught the football game, and just hung out. Our holidays are normally low key, just the way I like it. As long as I'm with my family, I am happy.

Jenga

My mom and I

The sleepers. Cousin Ryan and sister Amy

Cousin Landen.

My sister Oanh opened up a bottle of Fantasia, a dessert wine she's kept since my 21st Napa Birthday wine trip!

To check out my other Thanksgiving posts from this year, click the links below:

 

Thanksgiving Week: Napa Wine Country (Part 1)

Thanksgiving Week: Family Portraits (Part 2)

Thanksgiving Week: SF and ICHI Sushi (Part 3) 



Thanksgiving Week: SF and ICHI Sushi (Part 3)

Last year Michael and I went to SF and stumbled upon an amazing Sushi restaurant called ICHI. It was so amazing and memorable that we decided to venture out there again for it (it may just become a tradition of ours!).

Our reservation was in the evening, but we decided to head into the city early before the traffic hit. We caught lunch at Samovar and then walked around the city.

When it started to get dark, we headed into Press Club for drinks. It's a pretty neat wine bar, a bit on the posh side with the leather seats and underground vibe, but the wine list was great. I ended up doing a flight of bubbles!

Then the time finally came! We headed to ICHI. This year we went to their new location. It was more hip and trendy compared to their previous hidden gem location, which made us slightly apprehensive. Once we got the food, however, our fears quickly fell away. ICHI did not lose their inventive touch. Their balance of flavors really brought out the fish, but also made it a unique and surprising dining experience.

Golden Eye Snapper, one of my faves.

With an attentive staff, and high quality fresh food, the drive was so worth it. I think my face shows it all.

Sushi heaven face.

ICHI continues to be the best place I've ever had sushi. If you are ever fortunate to be in SF, make a trip there. You won't regret it.

Thanksgiving Week: Family Portraits (Part 2)

Nowadays, you can take digital pictures instantly and document your entire life with a click of a button. In the early nineties, my family used those plastic disposable cameras where you go into a drug store and get the photos printed. Remember those? Well I do. My mom took as many pictures of my sisters and I when she could. We have albums full of them. Because they are tangible copies and not digital, they have a certain timeless quality in them that make them special compared to the abundance of digital photos stored on my hard drive or backed up in a cloud. They are instaneous, unfiltered, and literally a snapsot of life.

One of those tangible portraits I loved were our old one hour photo studio family portraits that you can see in this post from last year. Since then, I think it's become a thing to take a family portrait when we are all together. During Thanksgiving we set out to do it again.

The matriarch, sisters, husbands and signifanct other, aunt, uncle, and cousins.



We have a silly side too!

I still find it hard to believe my mom had five daughters! The thought of parenting and being responsible for even one human life freaks me out. I still have a hard time being responsible for my cat! But I am so glad my mom did. Having four older sisters is amazing. They are my very best friends and know me better than I know myself. We are all so different and unique, but the same at heart, and it's all because of my mother.

Thanksgiving Week: Napa Wine Country (Part 1)

Thanksgiving has become my favorite holiday. Moving away from home, you really start to treasure every little minute with family (and not to mention, every morsel of a home cooked meal by mom). I like to keep my memories alive by putting them to words, so like last year I am going to do a Thanksgiving series of posts this week. To check out last year's click on the links below:

Back to Sac (Part 1: The Drive)

Back to Sac (Part 2: Thanksgiving)

Back to Sac (Part 3: A week of thanks)

Back to Sac (Part 4: Onto SF)

November 19, 2014. I couldn't wait to fly back home. I could hardly focus at work and I was just a bundle of nerves! I made sure Michael and I left early to the airport in case rush hour traffic got us. We ended up eating dinner at the airport since our flight was delayed and got to Sacramento around 11p.m.; the same time my sister from New York flew in. We were then picked up by my oldest sister Emily and her husband. I remember thinking in the car, Finally! Home at last!

After waking my mother from her slumber and giving her many hugs, we all got some shut-eye.

The next morning my family and I headed to Napa! Napa is a special place. It was where I celebrated my 21st Birthday. I hadn't been there since and Michael hadn't ever visited, so it was a must!

My sisters and I.

We started at V. Sattui Winery. A favorite of ours where you can picnic outside for lunch. 

The wine tasters.

Our next stop was Mondavi. The place was sprawling and beautiful. It was so fun to walk around the grounds and enjoy the sun.

Me goofing about the naked sculpture.

Tasting outdoors.

California girl. Love me some sun!

vines

 
By that point, we had quite a bit to drink, so it was just one more stop before heading home: Silver Oak Cellars. This was one Michael was looking forward to so he isn't pictured below (he was inside tasting :)).

Normally we would make 4-5 stops in Napa, but with a late start and many glasses. We were wiped. After taking a few more fun sisterly photos, we headed back to Sacramento.