Life is Beautiful

Motherhood, Sewing, Family

8 Reaons Why I’m the Luckiest Wife

~ Etc.

I just wanted to express my gratitude for my husband. I realized I haven’t done it on a blog for awhile. I think the more time your marriage goes by, you get used to things and start to take things for granted. And when you’re newly weds, you do it more frequently but it’s easy to let it fade away and focus on what they don’t do instead of the many wonderful things they do do.

So here are just 8 out of like 800,000,000 reasons why I know I’m so lucky to have Jay as my husband.

 1. He vacuums. Like all the time. I think this year I’ve vacuumed 2 times to be exact.

 2. He does the laundry. Like all the time. I usually fold them and put them away(Jay helps most of the time with that too). I think this year I’ve put the clothes in the laundry 2 times. to be exact. Okay, don’t go thinking I’m a horrible wife, the reason why I hardly vacumn or put the clothes in the laundry is because I gotta vacumn with Ana in one arm or she freaks out and carrying the clothes basket down the stairs to the basement with Ana in one arm-or her freaking out is just too much.

 3. He pays all the bills and files for return taxes. I offered to pay the bills and he let me for one month but he just took it over without any discussion. He kind of likes to be in control. 🙂 Which I don’t mind at all haha.

 4. He SOOOOOOO wears the pants. But it’s because I trust his judgement and his decisions and he’s so wise.  Also, because I let him be.  But we all know I’m the neck that controls his head. 😉

5. He is a handyman. He just fixed our washer tonight! He took it apart and found some clumped up socks in one of the pipe things (I so know the mechanic terms of the washer can u tell?) and it would’ve cost us $250 to have someone come fix it. But this is nothing compared to what he can really do. Have I mentioned he built 3 houses with his dad all from scratch? Everything from plumbing, electricals, the works. Not to mention he renovated our house without ever hiring anybody and saving us a PLETHORA of $$$?

6. He feeds Ana at every dinner so that I could eat. Adi eats kind of, sort of well by herself, but Jay even makes sure she’s eating well and has enough food on her plate. Ah, this one is making me tear up. I just realized I’ve been taking this for granted.

 7. He is hilarious. And makes me laugh ALL.THE.TIME. Even though he makes trouble to me and teases me constantly and I feel like I’m in 2nd grade where a boy that likes you makes trouble to you all the time, I know he only does that to people he likes and since he does it to me ALL.THE.TIME, I guess that’s a good sign.

 8. He is SO HANDSOME. And SO funny. Some girl even told his co-worker not long ago about Jay that “he was the best looking dad she’s ever seen in her life.” Yes honey, DAD is the keyword dear. It means he’s married, taken, not available! Shesh. ^ ^ And I know I’ve mentioned funny on the previous entry but it’s not easy to find a guy that is good looking AND funny. My theory I tell my friends is that most good looking guys aren’t very funny, it’s the not so good looking, maybe sometimes chubby guys that are funny. The average-Joe knows he’s not the best looking and can’t rely on his looks to get a girl so in order to attract girls, he needs to make it up in another department so he uses his humor to get girls. On the other hand, the good looking guys know they’re good looking and they don’t have to work to get girls, girls just flock to them just by them sitting pretty. Am I right or am I right? 😉 But seriously, isn’t that true? And of course there are exceptions in all cases, like my husband. I guess I got the best of both worlds, whoop whoop!

Roasted Chicken with Bell Peppers

~ Etc.


I’m craving this as I speak. It was fresh and healthy and it makes a perfect summer recipe. You know those foods that you eat and you feel so good, light, and healthy afterwards? Well this was it and it tastes fabulous! And it was my first time cooking with shallots, am I the only one that didn’t know what it was? Jay had to google it on his phone while we were grocery shopping to find out what it was. 🙂 Turns out, it’s by the onions/potatoes section and it looks like skinny garlic cloves that taste like onions. It even comes in white shallots and yellow shallots just like onions.

Roasted Chicken with Bell Peppers

Ingredients
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
3/4 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

Cooking spray
2 cups thinly sliced red bell pepper
1 cup thinly sliced yellow bell pepper
1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots (about 1 large)
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 450°.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Combine 1/2 teaspoon salt, fennel seeds, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, garlic powder, and oregano. Brush chicken with 1 1/2 teaspoons oil; sprinkle spice rub over chicken. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons oil to pan. Add chicken; cook 3 minutes or until browned. Turn chicken over; cook 1 minute. Arrange chicken in an 11 x 7–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 450° for 10 minutes or until done.

3. Heat remaining olive oil over medium-high heat. Add bell peppers, shallots, and rosemary; sauté 3 minutes. Stir in broth, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high. Stir in vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Serve bell pepper mixture over chicken. YUMMY!

Giveaway Winner and More!

~ Etc.

Thanks to everyone that voted, it meant so much to me! Before going on much futher,

The winner of the WaterFall Ruffle Top is……..DRUM ROLL PLEASE>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


Sandy a la Mode who said… “i voted!! hope you win!! and *crossing fingers* that i win! =) have a lovely weekend!”
Sandy, please email me your size, the color you want and your shipping address.
Unfortunately, the top 10 winners got announced this morning and we didn’t make it. The highest votes was over 7000 votes! I think we got about 150 votes if we were lucky! Haha. But it’s okay, those people had to have cheated and created many false email accounts and if winning is more important than their integrity then they do deserve it. I had an epiphany of why we never win stuff like this and it’s because we’re honest and we don’t cheat! And that to me, is winning because honesty and integrity is truly priceless and to me, that is winning. 🙂

But to thank everyone for voting, for one week and one week only, you can get this WaterFall Ruffle Top for only $12! That’s 50% off the original price! To get this great deal, click here. It also comes in navy and black.


Fashon Friday
I won’t have time to take pics today so I got these 3 outfits from my picture files. Sorry for the ghetto-ness but hey it’s better than no fashion friday right?

Cardigan: Victoria’s Secret $11.99
Shirt: GAP $9.99
Belt: F21 $4.80
Jeans: PacSun $24.99
Boots: Target $29.99
Necklace: F21 $4.50

Dress: Old Navy $5, altered
Cardigan: Express $9.99
Necklace: Torrid $6
Belt: Banana Republic $5
Dress: H&M $29.99, Jacket: GAP $29.99, Tights: Target $5, Shoes: Forever Young $10 Necklace: F21 $7
We’re going to a wedding of our good friend’s today and I’m very excited. I love weddings! I hope you have a lovely weekend!

Things I want to do this Summer

~ Etc.

These are the pictures I took for this post when I was feeling down but it’s just in a Polaroid style. Yes, I’m still obsessed.









Just a few days ago UT finally decided it’s time for Spring. My kids and I were enjoying the weather and being outside most of the days but then what happens today? It was cold, windy, raining and even hailing at one point. That’s exactly UT weather for ya. Spring is my favorite season and it’s too bad that here it lasts for about 2 weeks and it goes straight to Summer. But hey it’s better than snow and I’m not complaining.
These are the things I want to do this Summer:
-CAMPING! I can’t remember the last time I went (7 yrs. ago?) and I miss it. My family loves camping so growing up we visited many great national parks such as: Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Arches, Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore, one in Canada which was beautiful but can’t remember the name, and many of them were while camping. We probably went many times mostly because my dad is one of the most frugal person you will ever meet(I’m sure my dad can beat your dad in this one, bring it 😉 and camping is the cheapest way to spend a family vacation. Yep, I’m positive that’s why we went so much haha. But I sure do have many good memories and what is there not to love about camping? You feel closer to nature and it’s so down to earth and it helps you to forget about the materialistic things and focus on the most important things in life such as family and the beauty of nature.
-Baltimore. I was planning on going in May but there were some changes made so I might go in the Fall to visit two of my favorite people.

-Korea! I desperately want to take wedding photos there (it’s a whole day process where you go to a studio and pick out several wedding dresses you want to wear, they do your hair and make up, and take beautiful pictures all in one place!) Genius right? But then again maybe we should go next year since I don’t want to take it when I have my braces on. 🙁 ugh, I don’t care if I’m 40 when I take it, we’re getting our wedding pictures done there!

-DISNEYLAND!!! Nothing will get me more excited than to see Adalie light up as she goes to “Mickey’s house” as she calls it and meet all the princesses and more. It makes me smile just trying to imagine her cute face.

-Going on a trip with just me and Jay. I don’t care where, I don’t care if it’s the next city over, I just want all the attention from Jay for one day. Is it too much to ask?

Now how are we going to do all this with a two yr. old and a one yr. old? Sadly, I don’t have a clue. Nonetheless I can’t wait for summer for all the sun, swimming, slippers, popsicles, and cool summer nights.

And Jay and I watched Dear John the other day and I fell in L.O.V.E with…….no, not Channing Tatum but the main girl’s HAIR. I’m smitten.




Isn’t it beautiful? I think blonde hairs are so beautiful, I say this all the time but they look good in every single color! I love when blonde girls wear a black dress with a black headband. It looks so elegant and the black headband stands out so much compared to me=Asian wearing black headband which just gets blended in with my black hair. Anywho back on my tangent, this in a darker color version is going to be my new hairstyle. I just gotta wait about 3 yrs. for it to get that long. ^ ^

Samosa Cookies and a Million Dollars Winner Recipe

~ Etc.

I’ll be making one of these this weekend and I’m so excited! 

Homemade Samoas Cookies

1 cup butter, soft
1/2 cup sugar 2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
up to 2 tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 350F. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt at a low speed, followed by the vanilla and milk, adding in the milk as needed to make the dough come together without being sticky (it’s possible you might not need to add milk at all). The dough should come together into a soft, not-too-sticky ball. Add in a bit of extra flour if your dough is very sticky. Roll the dough (working in two or three batches) out between pieces of wax paper to about 1/4-inch thickness (or slightly less) and use a 1 1/2-inch cookie cutter to make rounds. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and use a knife, or the end of a wide straw, to cut a smaller center hole. Repeat with remaining dough. Alternatively, use scant tablespoons of dough and press into an even layer in a mini donut pan to form the rounds. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, until bottoms are lightly browned and cookies are set. If using a mini donut pan, bake for only about 10 minutes, until edges are light gold. Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Topping 3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened) 12-oz good-quality chewy caramels 1/4 tsp salt 3 tbsp milk 8 oz. dark or semisweet chocolate (chocolate chips are ok) Preheat oven to 300. Spread coconut evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet (preferably one with sides) and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside. Unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula.Using the spatula or a small offset spatula, spread topping on cooled cookies, using about 2-3 tsp per cookie. Reheat caramel for a few seconds in the microwave if it gets too firm to work with. While topping sets up, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. Dip the base of each cookie into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment paper. Transfer all remaining chocolate (or melt a bit of additional chocolate, if necessary) into a piping bag or a ziplock bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle finished cookies with chocolate. Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container. Makes about 3 1/2-4 dozen cookies.


Mini Ice Cream Cookie Cups
I wish I thought of this and won a million dollars! This was the Million Dollar Winner for the Pillsbury recipe contest. INGREDIENTS

1 package (16 oz) Pillsbury Ready to Bake!
refrigerated sugar cookies (24 cookies)
4 teaspoons sugar
1/3 C. Chopped Walnuts, finely chopped
1/2 C. Hershey’s® semi-sweet chocolate baking chips
1/4 C. Smucker’s® Seedless Red Raspberry Jam
1 1/2 C. vanilla bean ice cream, softened
24 fresh raspberries

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 24 mini muffin cups with Crisco® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray. Place 1 cookie dough round in each muffin cup. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. 2. Place 2 teaspoons of the sugar in small bowl. Dip end of wooden spoon handle in sugar; carefully press into center of each cookie to make 1-inch-wide indentation. Cool completely in pan, about 20 minutes. 3. Meanwhile, in small bowl, mix walnuts and remaining 2 teaspoons sugar; set aside. In small microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips uncovered on High 30 to 60 seconds, stirring after 30 seconds, until smooth. 4. Run knife around edges of cups to loosen; gently remove from pan. Dip rim of each cup into melted chocolate, then into walnut mixture. Place walnut side up on cookie sheet with sides. 5. In another small microwavable bowl, microwave jam uncovered on High about 15 seconds until melted. Spoon 1/2 teaspoon jam into each cup. Freeze cups about 5 minutes or until chocolate is set. 6. Spoon ice cream into cups, using small cookie scoop or measuring tablespoon. Top each cup with fresh raspberry; serve immediately.