Happy Christmas!

Cheers to another Christmas! 

Christmas 2014

This was Michael and I's second Christmas together. Can you believe that? Time sure flies! Just last year I was posting about Christmas 2013 here!

Christmas 2013

Not too much has changed from these two photos besides our longer hair. Again, we spent Christmas with Michael's family and celebrated his brother-in-law's birthday. As usual it was a grand time filled with warmth, love, wine, good company, and such great food!

But before heading over to his parent's house, Michael and I had a little Christmas celebration of our own. Christmas morning I woke up super early! We had forgotten to turn off all of our weekly alarms so I was bright-eyed by six-thirty. It was agonizing waiting for Michael to wake up (as you can tell I'm very impatient when it comes gifts!). You see, last year we went shopping and picked out what we wanted for Christmas from each other, but this year I had no clue what I would be getting (though I had a few guesses). Michael wouldn't even put my gift under the tree and kept it hidden all week so I that I would be unable to shake it and use my deductive reasoning skills.

When 7:40 came around, I could wait no longer! I kissed Michael good-morning and jumped out of bed shouting Happy Christmas!

When the sleepy Michael appeared, he handed me this little box. And we all know what a little box means, right?

A very beautiful necklace!

I love it! Not to mention, I got a gift certificate for a massage! A Happy Christmas indeed!

Unlike Michael, I am terrible at surprises or secrets. I wear all my emotions on my face, making me very easy to read. So Michael guessed what I had got him two weeks prior to Christmas. Nonetheless, I appreciated his feigned enthusiasm!

After gifts I got to work on making brunch: mimosas, bacon, and baguette french toast with strawberries, bananas, and pomegranates. Yum!

Blaire also had a good Christmas. Thanks to some doggy friends of his, he got some neat toys too!

I hope you all had a Happy Christmas with your family and friends! How did you spend your Christmas this year? Comment below or answer in a post on your blog :)

Red Cow

So this weekend, Michael and I were pretty glutinous. We had our date night on Friday at Nishino, one of our facorite spots in Seattle, Saturday commenced with me finishing The Borgias (such an awesome show. Why Showtime would cancel season 4 is beyond me!), and then we went to Bottlehouse, another favorite of ours for wine and cheese. At about 8:30 p.m. we left Bottlehouse and couldn't figure out where to go for dinner. We had no reservations so going anywhere would be tough. Then across the street we spotted the Red Cow (mind you a restaurant, and not actually a red cow).

For awhile, Michael had his eye on the Red Cow. It was on his list of places to eat, we just hadn't gotten around to it. That night seemed like the perfect time to cross it off the list. Since we were in the Madison Park area (very residential), we thought we could just go in and get seated at the bar. Alas, lady luck was on our side!

I think I should mention that the Red Cow is an Ethan Stowell restaurant. Stowell owns many restaurants in Seattle. Staple and Fancy which I've written about in this post, is a favorite, while his other Rione XIII that I wrote about last week in this post was not. So I was a little hesitant going to Red Cow. If the meal turned out well, than Stowell, in my mind, would be redeemed.

So, how did it go?

Well, the service was exceptional. Hallelujah! Always a good sign, right? Also, the place smelled amazing and the decor had a good ambience to it. It was also very small and intimate, which I prefer to big noisy restaurants. Michael also noted that they had a good wine list, so at that point we knew this would be a good time. Since the place is on the pricer side of things, we decided that this eould be our Christmas dinner.

We started with kusshi oysters (our favorite kind of oysters).

And for my entree I got the moulles frites and Michael did the steak-frites!

Michael got a 10 oz Wagyu. From this picture, I'm sure you can see he was in steak heaven. He deemed it the 'best steak he's had in Seattle.' The fries were also good and crispy! My mussels were very tender in a white wine thyme sauce, cooked perfectly.

And then for dessert! We had a dessert crepe and it did not disappoint!

All in all. An excellent and memorable meal! Red Cow is a place I would happily recommend and it is now my favorite Stowell restaurant out of the three I've tried so far.

On a side note, due to the west coast storm the past couple of days, I counted four days where I was unable to see the sun nor the sky. It's like living in a dark grey world! Luckily we now have a break from the rain, but I did put my new raincoat to good use!

"Recoverable"

I was a december evening,
dark and cold
with my sunlight fading.

with a haunted heart
i crawled into my mind
& built up a world,
where i could shine

and i felt oh, so, untouchable
and no one could take it away;
and i felt all so knowable
spread my wings and fly away.

With an april morning
damp but warm
with the dew drops sparkling
a moment reborn.

i was changing
my mind rearranging,
all the good & the bad
either way
nothing ever lasts

but i felt oh, so, unbreakable
though it all seemed like child's play;
still i felt oh, so, capable
to wake up and get on my way.

Rione XIII

Normally I rave about trying new places in Seattle, but that's not the case for this post. For our Friday night date night, Michael and I decided to try out someplace new. Rione XIII is a place we've walked past numerous times before, but have never gone to so we decided to go. Friday was our first and probably our last time dining there.

Though we had a reservation, we had to wait 15-20 minutes to be seated. We brushed it off as no big deal since they were probably short staffed. Since Michael and I have worked in restaurants before, we tend to be laid back about mishaps since the restaurant biz can be chaotic. To remedy the situation they started us off with an appetizer on the house. That would have smoothed things over, except we were completely ignored for another 10 or so minutes. Okay. So not that bad, maybe they're just really busy. So finally we order our drinks, appz, and entrees. And they come in fine, except they're laden with salt (besides the salad) which doesn't really want me to come back for more.

All the while, our server is completely aloof that I had to flag him down for drinks and the bill (and no, he didn't look very busy). He just seemed to walk past our table without ever looking unless my hand was raised. You betcha I was disappointed! I expected better service and better food. Though it wasn't terrible, I would recommend so many other cool places before recommending this one.

The only upside to it all? My handsome date.

Book Review: Beautiful Oblivion by Jamie McGuire

I rated it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

 

 

Overview: Fiercely independent Camille "Cami" Camlin gladly moved on from her childhood before it was over. She has held down a job since before she could drive, and moved into her own apartment after her freshman year of college. Now tending bar at The Red Door, Cami doesn’t have time for much else besides work and classes, until a trip to see her boyfriend is cancelled, leaving her with a first weekend off in almost a year.

Trenton Maddox was the king of Eastern State University, dating co-eds before he even graduated high school. His friends wanted to be him, and women wanted to tame him, but after a tragic accident turned his world upside down, Trenton leaves campus to come to grips with the crushing guilt.

Eighteen months later, Trenton is living at home with his widower father, and works full-time at a local tattoo parlor to help with the bills. Just when he thinks his life is returning to normal, he notices Cami sitting alone at a table at The Red.

As the baby sister of four rowdy brothers, Cami believes she’ll have no problem keeping her new friendship with Trenton Maddox strictly platonic. But when a Maddox boy falls in love, he loves forever—even if she is the only reason their already broken family could fall apart.

 

Review: I bought this book because I really enjoyed Beautiful Disaster. I was surprised learning that there was going to be a series concerning the Maddox brothers so I started reading hoping McGuire wouldn't disappoint.

 

I thought the pacing was good and the fleshing out of the two main characters great, but it didn't pull me in as much as Beautiful Disaster. This is probably due to the fact that I didn't really empathize with Cami. Don't get me wrong. I respected her and her independence but she just didn't grip me tight enough to care about her or her growing relationship with Trenton. Also, don't get me started on the resolution and the twist. I thought it was pretty lame considering the heightened tension. I literally shut off my kindle, turned to my boyfriend, and said, "Are you kidding me?"

 

It is, however, a typical chick-lit new adult book about a budding romance, so if you're in the mood for that, go ahead and pick it up. But if you have to choose between this and Beautiful Disaster, I would go for the latter. I proably won't continue this series, but if it ends up getting better with the next book, please let me know and perhaps I'll give it another shot.

My First Real Tree

Growing up, we never had a real Christmas tree. We had a six-foot faux tree that I loved taking out and setting up every year with my mom or my sisters. This year, however, I wanted a real tree! Just because I never had one before. So once we returned to Seattle, Michael and I set out to the tree farm in Redmond to pick one out.

The day was super cold! Below freezing with still a dusting of snow from the previous day, but I was persistent and we bundled up.

We walked around the farm for a good twenty minutes while drinking cider. I was really picky. I wanted the perfect tree for my first, and then I finally found it! So perfectly triangular, bright color, and a great smell!

I was completely surprised at how hard it was to saw down the tree. I hardly made a dent so Michael ended up doing it all.

After tying the tree down, we headed to Target to get some lights and ornaments. Then, voila! A very merry apartment!

 

 

What kind of tree do you prefer? Comment below :)

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)