Friday, July 3, 2009

Soupy soup

Last night, I made Minestrone soup from the Easy Everyday Vegetarian cookbook. Here are all the ingredients:It was definitely healthy and delicious. I had one and a half servings and still had enough to save for tomorrow's lunch.

Once I ate/stored my half of the soup, I added meat chunks to the rest of the soup for my husband, the meat-eater.
And here is our yummy summer dessert - also prepared by yours truly:This cooking thing is kind of fun. :)

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Welcome to this world, Paisley Skylark!

A and G had their new baby girl, Paisley. I left work early today so I could pay them a visit and meet the new baby.She was born on July 1st, around 5:30pm. She is around 8 lbs. She looks like her mommy, and nothing like her big sister B.
Sooo cute! I got to hold her. She was so precious.

Yummy

After eating junk all week and spending money on mediocre restaurant food, I decided I am going to make a more conscious effort to cook every night. So last night, I made the first recipe from the book "Easy Everyday Vegetarian" - Easy Pizzettes (130 calories a serving). Delicious! I made the same thing for the husband, but put pepperoni on his. Then I craved something sweet, and realized that I have no dessert cookbooks. Since I got a 30% off coupon at Borders, I decided to meet up with my sisters and find a book on fruit desserts. My sister M is a natural when it comes to culinary things, so she helped me choose the right cookbook. The one that appealed to me was this Williams-Sonoma gem. Can't wait to try it out.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Family Summer Vacation 2009 - Longville, Minnesota

On Saturday morning we loaded the car, waved good-bye to the house and the puppy (who was watched by my friend S), and started our 8-hour drive to the most northern parts of Minnesota.
Longville - to be exact. "Camp o' My Dreams" to be even more specific. Below is the cabin that we shared with my mother-in-law, father-in-law, sister-in-law, her husband and two kids.
The cabin and the lake were charming. The weather was gorgeous.
Here are a few landscape shots. As you can tell, I loved that dock. :)
I also loved the smell of the pine in the air, as well as the clear lake and water lilies.
Here are more views of the location.


Nephew caught a big fish...
I jogged to the nearby town (population 180)...
And I took bike rides and played with the niece...
Picture of myself and husband, who refuses to take normal pictures...
And here is my husband's "work of art", as he would describe his photography skills.
It was nice, and relaxing, and gorgeous. But it's also nice to be back home.

Friday, June 26, 2009

2009 Des Moines Arts Festival

I volunteered again at our city's arts festival. It attracts great artists from all around the country. This year, the art has been exceptionally impressive.Above is the view of the festival location.
I helped set up the booths for the artists. It wasn't open to the public till 4pm, so I got to see all the art without having to deal with crowds.
I also always meet very interesting people at these events. It's definitely worth doing every year.
There was so much different media of art there, from textile, woodworking, mixed media, oils, photography, sculpture, jewelery, etc. My heart aches to own a neat piece of art - and there were so many amazing pieces I wanted. Alas, I can't afford it. So I only admire it from the distance. :(
If you haven't been, I would recommend you go check it out. Next year, it is taking place on June 25-27. I plan on being there again. I have a blast every time.

Now I got to go prepare for the trip to Minnesota this weekend. I won't have internet access, so I won't blog until we get back on Tuesday. But I shall come back with lots of pictures and things to blog about. Yay!

Massage, sushi, and great company

I had a full body massage after work yesterday at the East Village Spa, courtesy of my friend BL.
It was heavenly. I may have to go back for some pedicures. Afterwards, I met up S and N at the Samurai Sushi place. (I know...more fish.) I almost chocked on one of them when the rice paper got stuck in my throat (from now on, I am eating sushimi only). Regardless, it was delicious. Here they are... S and N, respectively. I love these gals!
Afterwards, we went shopping at Old Navy for some cheap shorts (for my weekend trip to Minnesota), and then went to Culvers for dessert. Yum!
It was a gorgeous night. So glad we got to do this.
We are definitely doing it again soon.

PS - RIP Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

The Butt Dance

Watched "So You Think You Can Dance" tonight, and voted for the first time for Evan and Randi. Loved the choreography!