Life is Beautiful

Motherhood, Sewing, Family

my stud’s birthday

~ Etc.

p.s: i had so much fun reading all your thoughts on my last post!
you ladies are so fun, come out and say hello more often. 🙂
my stud got a year older on his birthday. (really?)
he told me a week before, “hun, please don’t go overboard
for my b-day like you usually do, you always stress out so much
and it stresses me out watching you. so take it easy and simple ok?”
so he didn’t want to celebrate at all or do anything special.
oh he wanted to renovate our house like he does every night.
but i don’t feel like i ever go overboard for special ocassions!
rememeber when he had a personal sushi chef come to my house
to feed 20+ people for my b-day party this past year?
anyway so i tried to keep things simple for his b-day.
i made his favorite food for his pre b-day dinner:

samgyumsal-korean pork.

japchae-korean glass noodles
then we were so excited to go to tucano’s(uh we LOVE meat & their chewy cheese ball breads!)but they were closed due to construction so we went to red lobster with our family.


jay’s beloved cousin jasmine and bobby
brothers
then they got out the lobster for us to touch.
but no way was i going to touch that thing!
i was scared that the lobster would break open the rubberbands with its
giant claws and bite adi. then i would’ve grabbed it and threw it against the wall. i think…
uncle mike eyeing adi, “hey! don’t touch my drink! i don’t like to share
with a precious tiny 2 yr. old who can’t drink more than 0.002 oz.!” 😛

actually i lied, my kids can down the drinks pretty fast. you gotta
literally take the straw away from them or they’ll keep
drinking and drinking. do babies never get brain freezes?
did you know that my husband never gets a brain freeze?
he says it’s because his brain is so big.
but i say it’s because he has none.
haha jk jk the birthday boy.

then we had friends over for some cake, donuts & hot chocolate.

these apples were HUGE!
apples w/ peanut butter caramel dip


with topping choices of nutella, powder sugar, krispy kreme glaze, and apple cinammon glaze.
it was a big hit.

adi discreetly poking the cake and eating the whip cream
while making sure i’m not looking.
raspberry cheesecake ice-cream cake. got this idea from my cute friend but i didn’t have the recipe so i made it up. it took a little bit of time since the brownies, the ice-cream, and the whip cream were homemade but if it wasn’t, then it would’ve been super easy and fast.


this is adi helping me to cut the cake. this is how she helps me everytime
she helps me cook. like when i need to crack an egg open, she’ll squeeze
my wrist tight when i’m about to crack it. so cute.

him being his OCD-clean self, his favorite b-day present was me unpacking
a room full of boxes and putting it away. he raved about how it was the
best present he’s ever gotten over and over. maybe it’s a hint that i should clean more?
nah.

he also loved the cake and made me make the cheesecake ice-cream the day after,
after he finished the rest of the cake himself. he also asked me to make the cake
every year for his b-day. haha i’m glad you liked the cake hun.

I LOVE YOU.
so much.
you make me completely happy.

say WHAT?

~ Etc.

okay i’m in such shock right now.
tell me if you think this coat is cute.


it’s a phlox & coral coat from anthropologie.

i told my husband a few weeks ago how i couldn’t stop thinking about the cutest coat i’ve ever seen in my life. i told him, “but it’s $300.” he told me i could get it. but then i thought, ‘oh man, think of how many things i could buy with $300! should i buy that coat or buy lots of things instead?’ and me being such a frugal shopper, a $300 worth of clothes would get me about 4 pairs of jeans, 20 tops, and 5 pairs of shoes. i’m not exaggerating, i really would buy that much for that much.
so i showed him this coat just now and to my shock and dismay, his exact words were “that? i think that’s UGLY!” after saying “NO WAY! are you serious? are you really being serious right now? are you telling me you don’t like it just because you don’t want me to spend the money?”i asked him how he would rate the coat from a scale from 1-10.

he said 3.

THREE, tres, 3!
can you believe it?

why don’t guys like clothes us girls like? or is it just me?
my husband doesn’t like floral prints or vintage(he asks me everytime, “oh i didn’t know you raided your grandma’s closet recently!), dressy tops, and he absolutely HATES my oxford shoes i’ve recently purchased and told me to please only wear them when i go out on girls’ night out. hahaha. his favorite outfit on me is shorts, t-shirt,slippers, and hardly no makeup with no foundation or powder. i did read somewhere that guys don’t like distracting prints, they prefer solid colors that are tight that shows off the body’s shapes and curves.
so my question is: is it just me or do your husbands/boyfriends/guyfriends hate some of the clothes you wear? if they do, what is it? and if any of you men are reading this, do you think this coat is cute or just a 3?

i made it to the top 15 dress design contest!

~ Etc.

my dress made it to the top 15 for the dress design contest!!!

i can’t believe my dress that i made from an old vintage skirt
even made it to the top 15 because the 14 other designs are
great! but of course i’m so happy and grateful!!!
if you’d like, you can vote for my dress #9 by voting here.
voting ends monday, nov.15th.
thank you for all your support, you guys are awesome!

i ♥ kimchi

~ Etc.

i may be very americanized, but i do LOVE korean food with a passion! have you ever had korean b.b.q? bibimbap? then you know what i’m talking about!

so i’ve been craving kimchi lately so yesterday adi and i made some. i think i was about 8 yrs. old when i first made kimchi with my mom so adi’s way ahead of me by 5+ yrs. i think she’ll be a better cook than i am when she grows up!

this was my 3rd time making kimchi on my own and they say 3rd time’s the charm and i gotta say, they(whoever you are) are right. i could eat a bowlful of it just plain! haha is that gross?

so here is how you make kimchi. don’t be scared, it isn’t that bad!

you need:

•2 medium size napa cabbages and 1 Korean radish
•salt, sweet rice flour, sugar, water
•4- 6 cups of hot pepper flakes
•fish sauce, white onion, fresh garlic, ginger
•green onions, fresh oysters (both optional)

1. soak the napa cabbage in salt water overnight.
2. chop the radish in thin slices.
4. mix 1/2 c. sweet rice flour with 3 c. water. bring to boil. it should thicken like this.
then add 1/4 c. sugar and mix. let it cool.
5. mix 1 c. of fish sauce into the rice flour mixture.

6. blend together 1 onion, 1 c. garlic, 1- 1 1/2 T. ginger.

7. into the big bowl, pour the blended garlic/onion/ginger, 4-6 c. hot pepper flakes(depending on how spicy you want it), thinly sliced radish, and optional: 6 green onions and 2 c. frozen oysters).
*i put green onions in but not the oysters.

8. mix it all together. it should appear very red like this.

9. with gloves on, add the mixture on top of the cabbage, and in between every leaf.
you’ve now made kimchi!

to make another kind of kimchi called ggakduki/radish kimchi,

cut the radishes in cubes and soak in salt water for about 2 hrs.
then you mix it with the red paste mixture and you’re done!


let it sit in room temperature in closed container for about 2 days

and store it in the refrigerator.
happy friday everyone!

i could kiss them all day

~ Etc.

I love putting ana to sleep. (daddy puts adi to sleep while i put ana to sleep.)
she is the easiest baby to put to sleep. all i have to do is cradle her like a little baby and rock her on my rocking chair while she drinks her milk and i sing to her. a few mins. later i’ll look down and she’s already asleep. my sweet little ana.
and every night, even though there’s dirty dishes, messes, chores, errands i have to get to,
i can’t help but sit there and rock her while i literally kiss every part of her face. i hold her for over an hour many times, she is so beautiful and perfect that i just can’t seem to stop starring at her and put her down. i so sound like a creep don’t i? to make it worse, i also like to kiss her on the lips and linger there while feeling her gentle breathe on my face. hahaha told you it was gonna get creepier.

as i look at her, i wonder what she’ll be like when she’s older.
what she’ll look like when she’s my age, if she’ll make right choices, if she’ll be obedient to God’s commandments, what kind of mistakes/trials she’ll have to face, what she’ll be when she grows up, who she’s going to marry, whether she’ll marry the right person, okay never mind, i’m not ready to think about that yet.

tonight, as i watched her sleep peacefully, in her warm fleece pajamas, her stomach full from dinner and roasted marshmallows, in our nice house with a heater on right next to her, sleeping without any worry or fear, feeling protected and safe, happy and content, i thought about the others who aren’t as fortunate. a couple months ago i read this book called first they killed my father(can you think of a more depressing title? i think not!) and it truly was the saddest book i’ve ever read. i’ve never bawled so much reading a book. i literally got down on my knees and wailed out loud like a baby for a straight hour. at least a few times.

it’s a story about a little girl, 5 yrs. old in Cambodia when the whole Khmer Rouge began from 1975-1979. Pol Pot won as the leader of the country and he thought everyone that’s been educated, works for the government were corrupt so began the genocide. so basically he was the Hitler in Cambodia. he wanted everyone to become farmers so the country could sustain themselves instead of borrowing food/money from China. within 4 years of the Khmer Rouge, the population of Cambodia shrunk 1/4. isn’t that RIDICULOUS!!! Ahhh it makes me so mad!
so it’s a sad story of a little girl who was wealthy before but went into hiding and eventually sent to work camps and her struggle as more than 1/2 of her family were killed, and her constant pains of hunger and fear for her life.

so as i thought of that book and many babies/kids out in the world today who are not fed, clothed, sheltered, abused, neglected, my heart broke. oh how i wish i could help them. how i wish i could hold every single one of them and kiss them and feed, clothe, and shelter them and let them know they’re special and loved.

so i made a goal. one day, i’ll help them. wouldn’t it be awesome to run an orphanage where every single baby got enough attention and love? i know kids in orphanages hardly get love and attention and they crave it and need it. didn’t many babies die during world war 2 even though they were fed, clothed, and got their basic needs met, because they never got the human touch? if human beings literally die from lack of love, lack of touch, what happens to those that survive? can we really judge those people that are violent and do bad things?

i would love to open up an orphanage where not only do kids get their basic needs met, they’ll have one on one time everyday with a friend/mentor/role model to play/laugh/cuddle with. basically a parent until they get adopted into a loving family.

maybe that is my mission in life.

i feel so lucky and grateful that i grew up in a wonderful family, with parents whom i knew loved me so much, always got attention and love, always felt safe and protected within my home, was taught the Gospel and where i gained an immovable testimony, where i laughed much, where i knew i was special, where i learned to be confident and happy. thank you mom and dad. i love you forever and more.

i’m thankful for my husband for being the most wonderful partner i could ask for, who provides everything that i need and want(most of the time :P), for spoiling me with love, for protecting me and making me feel so safe.

and it’s all because of my heavenly father. oh how i love thee.