I've been a very bad blogger lately. I already broke my resolution in trying to blog at least 3x a week. Apparently laziness + busy schedule = zero posts. boo. I'll try a little harder this week.

Tatou Supper Club - One of the owners of the club was hosting a private party for his friends to celebrate Chinese New Year at Tatou. Back in the hey day, it was known as Club Soho. It was one of my old stomping grounds when I barely turned 21. My girlfriends and I practically owned that club. Now, it has been revamped to Tatou Supper Club, and my how much has changed. I realized how old we are when D and I hit the dance floor. Everyone looked like they were barely 21. sigh.

Appetizer buffet

Exerpt taken from Citysearch:

"Hell's Kitchen" winner Michael Wray has added a Latin tinge to the restaurant's corporate Wokcano menu, including favorites like sliced filet mignon, pan-seared striped bass, and a honey-walnut dish that the staff lovingly refers to as "shrimp crack." The restaurant also holds jaw-dropping athletic dance battles. The main dance floor features looming palm trees and a giant Doric column. As dancers bounce to Top 40 and salsa, ubiquitous plasma screens display music videos, and scantily-clad women perform on elevated stages.

Yoshi's first day of class - We have been unofficially training Yoshi at home but felt that we needed more outside. We signed up at our local Petsmart. The first day of class was jam packed w/ 4 small puppies and two giant dogs, a greyhound and german shephard who kept barking at each other. The instructor, Marysia had to pull boxes on display to create stalls for them.

Class instruction was more for the humans, the correct language and tone to usage, the introduction of a clicker, and how to massage your dog to calm them down. Eventually it got so boring that the greyhound keeled over and started snoring. Dahahahaha! He's behind the shopping cart if u wanna see.

Marysia introduced herself and the clicker to each dog by giving them a handful of treats every time they touched the clicker w/ their nose.

Yoshi giving Marysia the utmost attention. Maybe she'll give him those treats in her hand as he sits quietly.

At the ended of the class she handed out homework. WTF? We have homework? Dammit. This dog better be worth it cuz the last time I had HW was in college.

Vday Weekend - D and I don't really celebrate Valentine's since it we have always kept it low key. This wkend I decided to make him something nice. Instead of going to our usual brunch haunt, I decided to make him a quiche. It turned out really delicious full of flavor. I just followed the Ham and Cheese Quiche recipe. I substituted 4 eggs and a pre-made pie crust and added caramelized onions, zucchini and extra cheese.

D loved and requests that I make it at least once a month. The next one, I think I'll add gruyere, spinach, and bacon. Yum.

Where's Yoshi?

Can you spot him in the picture?

The weekend update

Lots to talk about so let's get to it.

Friday
Immediately after work, I hightailed out to Torrance to pick up Denis. We grabbed a quick dinner at El Pollo Inka which was quite disappointing. Mario's is so much better.

We had to get down to Borders in Torrance early for the Lisa Loeb signing of The Purple Tape. In case you youngsters don't know who she is, she's the one who sings Stay from the Reality Bites soundtrack. I totally love that movie and her CD. She was re-releasing the Purple tape on CD since it was originally on a cassette tape. Ancient I know. Lisa came onstage and performed Snow Day, Do You Sleep, Hurricane, and Stay. I assumed that she didn't have any Q&As due to her still being quite sick. Poor thing.
It was a great Friday night to see her perform and meet her. Of course I got her autograph. She complimented on my Pink Head Tarina necklace. EEEEEE!

Saturday

More unpacking most of the day. My lil cousin Munchi was in town for CNY and of course she paid me a visit. We went out to dinner at CPK cuz we were craving salad. After dinner she wanted to do a sleepover w/ the puppies.

Sunday

Munchi and I dropped of Mr. Cee at 8am in Chinatown for the Annual Firecracker Run. That gave Munchi and I some time to catchup. Since D's was only a 10k, we decided to head out to Echo Park for the morning, grab a couple of cupcakes at Delilah Bakery. Her storefront is very cute and inside was charming. It had the 1950s decor and home made feel. The red velvet was moist and delish topped w/ the semi sweet cream cheese frosting. It was a perfect balance of sweet and cocoa. So good.
We needed to counter the sugar in our system and headed over to Masa Bakery and Cafe. I've heard great things about the brioche and have been wanting to taste. Their brunch menu isn't the typical pancakes and eggs but great plethora of crepes. Yum. Sorry no pictures since Mr. Cee took my camera.
After our tummies we full, it was time to pick up Mr. Cee. Munchi and I bumped into several friends who were also running the race.

I also saw JP who is on the Firecracker committee cheering on the munchikins running the Kiddie Race. So. Darn.Cute. Maybe next year I'll rejoin the committee. It's been while since I've done any charity work.

Since the weather was perfect, we decided to take Yoshi and Teddy to the Dog Park. This was Y's first time. At first he was scared and wouldn't leave our side. Eventually he started chasing other doggies and making friends. Too cute.

We'll definitely try taking them both out there more. Sad that the weekend has already ended.

Happy Chinese New Year!

This is one of my favorite holidays when I was a kid. Relatives and family friends would hand out these pretty red envelopes after you have wished them:

Kung Hay Fat Choy!

Xin nian kuai le!

It's a fun and boisterous celebration filled with lots of candy, food, and family. Once my brother and I have opened all our red envelopes, my mom would take us to the bank to deposit. But I always kept a little to buy something fun. Like a new Hello Kitty erasure that rings when you shake it.

Now that I'm married, the tables have turned. I now give out red envelopes to unmarried children and adults. I'm a little sad that I will no longer get them b/c they always remind me of my childhood. And who would be sad w/ money? At the same time I'm super excited that I get to give out cute envelopes by well wishers. This is my second year of handing them out and so far all my younger cousins have visited or called me. Makes me so happy to have a large family.

I wish you all a prosperous and wonderful new year.

Red Hot

After seeing Wan's new do, I knew I should visit Rochelle. The only problem, slightly on the far side. After talking to Wan, I was convinced that it's definitely worth the drive. I've never been to Downtown Glendora; it's such a cute town similar to Monrovia that I wanted to spend more time exploring the shoppes and restaurants. Maybe next time since I had an appt.

Rochelle is one hip lady and one of the sweetest. She immediately knew what to do w/ me. I usually give the stylist free reign (which could be a bad idea) . She listened to what I had to say about the things I do, my hair regimen (just blow drying) and what I wanted. I usually give the stylist free reign which could've been a bad idea but I trusted her. Right away she started snipping and chatting making me feel at ease. All a sudden she got a bright idea to color my front bangs red.

Uhhhh...really? Ya she sure did.

I've had different color highlights before but never my bangs.

Alright. Ya only live once. At first I was shocked and scared. Worried what people might think. After looking at the mirror again, I liked it. I love the cut, it's super easy to care for. I felt so mod and punkish.

Thanks Wan, I'm definitely going back to Rochelle and can't wait to see what she's going to do next.

Rock the vote

It's Super Tuesday. Remember to get out there and vote.

jovovich-hawk for target

Oh Joy! just announced the next Go Designer, Jovovich-Hawk. Yay!!!!

I just love their collection of feminine classic pieces similar to Anthropology. I've been eying their stuff since they were featured on Domino but can't bring myself to spend $$$. Thanks to Tar-jay, now I can. I can't wait till March 2nd.

Back to the Holidays

[getting into my time machine]

beep, bloop, blip, beep, beep...

1. Xmas week was spent w/ the inlaws in Norcal living in gluttony. All we did was sleep, eat, watch tv and repeat. One great thing about visiting them is going up to Napa. We hit up Lavender Hill spa for our couples massage, at brunch at The Girl and the Fig, and dined at The Culinary Institute of Arts (CIA) otherwise known as the Wine Spectator Greystone Restaurant which is cooked by culinary students. The food was soo good that Mr. Cee and I were pratically licking our plates. We would definitely go back there and take some cooking classes. I decided against it this time b/c the only class they had was making Mexican chocolate. I need something more challenging.

Although the prices are a bit steep, it was definitely a worthy experience and fun to watch the chefs do work in the open kitchen. If you're ever in Napa, I recommend dining here or taking a class.

2. After Xmas, we met up w/ some of Mr. Cee's Norcal friends for dinner. What do a bunch of Asians do on a cold winter's eve? Hot pot of course! We went to Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot, an oxymoron IMO but neverthess, you do walk out a little fatter from eating all that laaaamb.

Hot pot is essentially Chinese fondue w/ a pot of broth. It's similar to shabu shabu with a plethora of meats, meatballs, and veggies that will warm up your body on a cold winter's night. You can choose from plain broth to so spicy it could make your head itch. Gotta love these imports from Hong Kong.

3. Couple of my friends threw an NYE at Flight Bistro & Social Lounge in Huntington Beach w/ a couple hundred of our closest friends. Newly opened, my gf Peipei knew the owner so we ended of having the place to ourselves w/ dinner and drinks. We had a blast and it was so good to see so many friends all at once.





I was pleasantly surprised how delish the food was despite it being a fixed dinner and served to the mass. The steak was cooked perfectly and accompanied by a Cabernet sauce. The molten chocolate cake w/ caramelized bananas was a great way to end the 4 course meal.


Our first kiss at midnight.

Cheers!

A new Year = A new Me

2007 has came and gone just like that. I got to ring in the new year with some close friends in Huntington Beach. More on that later.

I started with 2008 with a bad start. I ended up catching a severe flu, close to pneumonia if I didn't see the dr. It was awful. I have never been this sick where I bed stricken w/ the fever for 3 days and coughing out a lung. Not only was I sick, we had to pack and move by the 18th which I was really excited say for the packing. I don't know how I made it through w/o Mr. Cee; he did majority of the packing and moving. He's definitely a keeper. I digress.

Since I had such a bad start, I thought I would officially start the new me on Chinese New Year revamping the blog. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and great new year.

kisses!

Merry Christmas!

Teddy & Yoshi

Gma update

Dear All,

Thank you for your well wishes, hugs, and prayers. My Gma had her hip surgery and it was successful. She is slowly healing at the hospital.

Luv,
Cee




I went to visit her last night and she was her healthy self. She spoke in a low voice which isn't like her at all. It was actually pleasant. (she usually talks really loud that you can hear her from the other side of the building) Even DK notice the slight change. She just started therapy and is starting to take couple steps a day. Yay! Before you know it, she'll be walking down the aisle next year for my Cousin's wedding in Maui.

Happy Halloweenie

**Warning: Sad post ahead**

I wish everyone a wonderful day and ghastly fun tonight. I love dressing up for this time of year. And no, I don't mean the slut costumes either. It's fun dressing up. But this year I didn't. Last night I received a phone call from my mom. My grandmother has fallen and wasn't able to get up. It took her 3 hrs to crawl to the phone to call someone. I immediately rushed to my parents house to find my brother, aunt and uncle already there. She refused to go to the hospital despite unable to move her right leg.

I knew something was wrong so we dragged her to the hospital. There I stayed w/ her from checking in to x-rays. Since I was the only one who could translate the best, I stayed w/ her till they checked her into a room. She had fractured her pelvis in three areas and will require surgery. I didn't get home till 1 am completely exhausted.

Today I spent the day w/ her making sure she was alright. Tomorrow she is to see the cardiologist to approve that she is okay for sugery. My grandma doesn't want it. She's scared that she may not wake up. I don't know what to do or say. Not only that, who's going to take care of her after she is released from the hospital?

D and I talked about how our parents aren't 'invincible' as they used to be. They're getting much older and it scares us. How are we going to take care of them? Who's going to take care of them? Esp since D's dad is in his 70s. We're both worried for the future. How did our parents do it? I don't like all these grown up questions.

New Addition

No I'm not pregnant. Please get out of my ovaries. TYVM.

Teddy has a new brother! Meet Yoshi.


Sorry if I've been MIA. DK and I have been busy with this lil guy. Trying to keep him separated from Teddy since he hasn't had all his shots yet. They both are super excited to see each other w/ their tales wagging violently. I can't wait till this wkend for Yoshi to get his shot so that they can have their first play date.







Yes, Yoshi, as in the lil green dragon-like that eats eggs and hops. See for yourself...

Photos courtesy of Dapotato

Meet Emily and Morris

Saturday DK and I went to the Pet Adoption & Environmental Fair at Hermon Dog Park in Los Angeles. We were there with a purpose, pick up the kittens my brother adopted since he had to work that day. Of course I was happy to fulfill the task. Plus we wanted to see if we might have found a lil brother for Teddy.

There were so many cute lil furry animals there. I wanted to bring them all home but of course where would they sleep? There were mostly dogs at this even and I got to pet a horse. We picked up Emily and Morris, brother and sister, named by their foster mom. D and I adored them that we wanted to keep them. I wonder if Teddy will like them as much as we do.



So much for hoping, Teddy went ballistic when he saw them. I picked up Emily hoping that Teddy will calm down and see how sweet she was. She did the opposite, hissed and tried to claw Teddy. That's when Teddy barked up a storm and wouldn't stop till I threw him in the bedroom and hide the kittens. So sad. I guess they are going home w/ my bro.

D and I decided that we would visit them once a week to see how they're doing. You can you not love these faces?