welcome.2013.
Posted: January 11, 2013 Filed under: DIY, Fashion.Fridays., Food., MANICure.Mondays., Music., People., Places., Shopping, Things., Wednesday.WishList | Tags: 2012, 2013, happy new year, new year, reflections, year-at-a-glance 1 Comment »Welcome
If you don’t already know, this month marks my blog’s 1st anniversary! 
YAY! Today, I’d like to share how it all began.
It was a year ago when I decided to start a blog in the hopes of encouraging creativity in my life.
Before getting married, I’ve always either worked full-time, or was in school full-time, or both. The first few months of being a housewife were great! I got to learn how to cook, bake, and manage the home altogether. However, I’m a quick study, the downside being, I get bored easily.
It eventually came to a point when I started feeling bothered when people asked what I did at home. (Like it’s a crime for a woman not to have a job and stay at home now?) They all most likely meant well, but all the questioning just made me feel so little, and it started making me question my sense of purpose.
This miserable introspection was the beginning of a beautiful journey. The life that would have just passed me by, has now been carefully chronicled on this blog. This entire year of blogging, helped me realize that what I did at home indeed had purpose and it brought me joy.
It is my hope to share this sense of purpose and joy to everyone!
Here are my 2012 favorites:
2012 Year-At-A-Glance
We brew joy here @joybrewed ;)
love.one.another.
Posted: December 15, 2012 Filed under: People., Things. | Tags: apples, christmas, connecticut tragedy, decorating, hurricane sandy, love, ornaments 3 Comments »Christmas is fun for most people!
We get to decorate our homes with festive ornaments and buy new things.
Each corner screaming: “It’s Christmas! Let’s celebrate!”.
What is there to celebrate?
For some people who have recently lost loved ones, or don’t have homes to decorate because of a storm/hurricane, or poverty, Christmas doesn’t really mean much.
As we pray for and think about those who have been affected by the tragedy in Connecticut, let’s share some love all around the work place, our schools, our church, our communities.
It’s what Christmas is all about after all. The greatest love of all, when the Father sent his only beloved son to be born human, die on the cross, so that we may experience life everlasting. There I’ve said it.
Have a great weekend and spread the love everyone!
birthday.getaway.weekend.
Posted: December 1, 2012 Filed under: Food., People., Shopping, Things. | Tags: birthday getaway, birthday weekend, Cheesecake Factory, Five Guys, Forever 21, holidays, Jollibee, Ross, shopping 5 Comments »My Birthday is the day before Memorial day/Veteran’s Day, so I always get a long weekend or a holiday the day after!
Here’s what went down on the birthday getaway in Washington:
We did a pitstop in Burlington on the way to Everett and did quite a bit of shopping at Ross! We wanted something quick and good for dinner. It was a toss between McDonald’s and Five Guys. Five Guys won. Love their free roasted peanuts while-you-wait on the queue gimmick.
It wasn’t until we got to the hotel in Everett that Kyla and I realized how “unfortunate” our Ross shopping bags looked, framed in the beautiful luggage trolley. To top it all off, Jason and Aji took the trolley with the nice bags on and left Kyla and I with “Ross trolley”. We were laughing out loud for a long time that the concierge had to ask what it was all about. Of course we divulged the reason for all the laughter.
Our first night at the hotel was restful. Dexter marathon with J and K before bed. I woke up to balloons and presents on my birthday courtesy of Kyla! The little bugger woke up early to blow up all the balloons in the bathroom, just in case I woke up before she was done. THANK YOU! All of it made my day!
My birthday was spent driving to Renton to have lunch at Jollibee {it’s a Filipino fast food restaurant we’ve been wanting to visit for some time now} and then it was shopping day again at South Center Mall. Ky and I found those ridiculously long and curly scarves at Forever 21 and decided it was photo time! We didn’t buy them, we’ve got nothing against them, I’m sure they look really pretty on really tall women with long necks!
Dinner was at the Cheesecake Factory. My parents and a good friend Beegee, met up with us at Bellevue to dine. It was a 2-hour wait unfortunately, for a party of 7 that night. Boo. The food is always worth the wait there though, so we all sucked it up and I had a happy birthday!
One last thing, our free breakfast at the Holiday Inn Everett Washington was the bomb! Bacon, hash browns, eggs, toast and all-you-can-drink Starbucks coffee!
Have a great weekend!
october.fest.
Posted: October 26, 2012 Filed under: Food., People., Things. | Tags: autumn, garlic mashed potatoes, gluten-free, gluten-free flour, gluten-free ginger snaps, gluten-free smores, grilled salmon, october fest, pumpkin pie, thankful tree, thanksgiving 2 Comments »Time Flies.
I swear it was just the beginning of October, with the sunny skies and the uncharacteristic BC warm weather still here.
Well, those days are gone.
Incessant rain and gloom, falling leaves are here. Autumn is definitely here.
Here are some photos to remember our very own “October fest”.
October Re-cap { Photos from L-R }
1. Thanksgiving Dinner @ home. It was a blast!
2 & 3. Photographed some of Kyla’s gluten-free stuff for future grocery shopping reference. {For when we invite them over for dessert} I’m usually lost in the
gluten-free aisle when I go grocery shopping. I never know which one is a good brand and they are all very expensive that it sucks if you pick out the wrong,
crappy brand. Hence, I consulted the pro.
4. One Sunday morning before going to church. Isn’t it an amazing display of God’s creation?
5. Thanksgiving Dinner @ mom’s. It was intended as a Thanksgiving Lunch, but all that food fed us all until Dinner. We played some instruments and sang
some funny songs: i.e. Crash Test Dummies’ MMMMMmmmmmm song, Hanson’s MMMmmmbop song.
6. Liempo {broiled crispy pork}, Thanksgiving Lunch & Dinner @ mom’s.
7. Turkey {old-fashioned, stuffed and baked}, Thanksgiving Lunch & Dinner @ mom’s.
8. Kyla’s mixed vegetables. There were beets. Nuf said.
9. Dad’s grilled salmon, Thanksgiving Lunch & Dinner @ mom’s.
10. My creamy garlic mashed potatoes, Thanksgiving Lunch & Dinner @ mom’s.
11. Our decorative gourds on the kitchen island.
12. Our “Thankful Tree”. You may have seen this tree before, click here to jog your memory. I know, It’s a recycled craft, I’m working lots and my travel time
eats up my blogging and crafting time so I apologize.
13. Dad’s birthday dinner @ Dhoom Restaurant.
14. Jason wanted to be in the photo for my sister Belle, who wasn’t here, so there you go.
15. Still @ Dhoom { I know, minus the “H” it’s a very creepy name for a restaurant…lol }. It ended up being a double lamb curry, triple butter chicken
night with some rice and naan! If you love Indian food, this place is highly recommended!
16. Some gluten-free ginger snaps Kyla helped me buy, to make a gluten-free crust for my pumpkin pie for Penny’s pie party {click here}!
Well folks, it’s time to embrace the cold days.
Time to really take out the big bins of winter clothing and stuff them back into the closets. No more denial.
Have a great weekend everyone!
1st.birthday.party.weekend.
Posted: October 20, 2012 Filed under: Food., People., Things. | Tags: babies, birthdays, dessert buffet, food, one year old babies, parties 3 Comments »This past weekend was a pretty hectic one for us. We went to 2 one-year-old birthday parties!
The first one was my niece extraordinaire, Lexi’s birthday party. Her theme was a “Hoot” and the party was indeed a hoot!
Here are the photos:
L-R (Clockwise):
1. Candy buffet table, red velvet cake
2. Birthday girl Lexi and her Mom Ley
3. My mom and Lexi
4. Some macarons for dessert, made by my cousin Odette
5. The gorgeous owl cake topper was made by the birthday girl’s momma and the cake by her friend.
Some family photo booth fun:
L-R (Clockwise):
1. Jason (being a monkey) and Kyla
2. Aji & Joy
3. Aji, Joy, Kyla, Jason, Dad and Mom
4. Aji & Joy
The second one was our good friends’ first baby girl, “the champion”, Penny Joy’s party.
We literally ran from church to get lunch, then off to the party. Talk about a hectic day!
The theme was Penny Pie, hence, all the homemade pies brought by the guests.
L-R (Clockwise):
1. Pie Buffet Table
2. Penny playing with grandma Michelle’s gift, a picnic basket.
3. The Penny Pie Shack, for photo booth fun
4. My gluten-free pumpkin pie
5. Kyla’s gluten-free key lime pie
There was also a place for photo booth fun, but the birthday girl was a bit too tired by the time everyone was ready for photos.
The pie spread on the photo is also just the dessert table.
What a weekend! Makes me feel so old being tired going to 2 birthday parties in a row.
Have you been to any one-year-old birthday parties lately?
Have a great weekend everyone!
happy.thanksgiving.oh.canada!
Posted: October 7, 2012 Filed under: Food., People., Things. | Tags: baked chicken, glazed ham, gobble gobble, grateful, harvest vegetables, pumpkin cheesecake pie, pumpkin pie, thanksgiving, turkey dinner 4 Comments »To my fellow Canadians, Happy Thanksgiving!
To our American neighbours, it’s your excuse to eat turkey once again, this year and be thankful for a lot of things of course!
Today, Aji and I didn’t have anything planned but rest and relaxation. Unfortunately, I wake up really early on weekends following a week of early shift work.
So around 1:00pm I was actually done house chores, with Aji’s help.
I cooked brunch for Aji and I.
I cleaned our place (Aji did most of it).
I was able to play and practice bass.
I was able to make a little thanksgiving craft.
I thought: “Why don’t we have our family over for dinner? Who cares if we’re spending Sunday and Monday with them too for Thanksgiving Lunches?”
Who would’ve thought I’d get bored with the little, precious, spare “alone” time I had?
To be honest, we could’ve just stayed home and watched television all day. I just thought when there’s so much to be thankful for, it’s a bit selfish not to celebrate and share the gratefulness with your loved ones.
I didn’t want to waste the opportunity to celebrate our gratefulness to God with family.
Since we’re for sure having a more traditional Thanksgiving lunch tomorrow, I’ve decided to bake chicken with stuffing, instead of turkey. I also cooked glazed ham, fried rice, green beans, baked mushrooms and zucchini. My sous chef Aji was very helpful, I couldn’t have done all of this without him!
Kyla brought a pumpkin cheesecake pie for dessert, which was amazing!
I’m glad we had an awesome spontaneous family dinner together! Thanks for coming on short notice Mom, Dad, Ky, Jase and Beegee!
I am thankful for family; those with us and those who are far away from us. I am grateful for God’s kindness and compassion and His faithfulness and provision to us.
Happy Thanksgiving Weekend!
i.miss.my.grandma.
Posted: August 11, 2012 Filed under: People. | Tags: grand daughter, grandma, grandmother, grandparent, kindess, love, patience 2 Comments »The other day, on the way to work, on the bus, I saw a little girl hanging on so tightly to her grandma’s arm. She kept asking her at each stop if she should get ready to get off the bus. Her grandma would laugh and tell her not yet.
In retrospect, it reminded me of how annoyingly persistent I was when I asked my grandma about my “questions in life”, but it also reminded me of how patiently she would treat each question valid and gave me non-dismissive answers each time.
Seeing these two on the bus was so sweet, it made me miss my two grandmothers!
Lola Lu and Lola Derie, wish you were still here. I remember your patience, kindness and love often. I love you!
Just having a nostalgic day. I guess this was a great reminder to remember and appreciate loved ones while you still can!
Have a nice Saturday everyone!
long.weekend.festivities.
Posted: August 9, 2012 Filed under: Food., People. | Tags: bacon, barbecue, bbq, blueberry melon smoothie, chicken tornado, chicken wrapped with bacon, hamburgers, long weekend, patio, porch, terrace, veranda 4 Comments »Saturday night spur-of-the-moment mini barbecues are the best!
We realized the following:
- we really had nothing planned (as we were too lazy to head out downtown and watch the fireworks),
- we had no good t.v. shows to watch aside from the televised olympic games,
- it was nice and hot out,
- we had meat in the freezer and
- we have a perfectly good patio and grill to have a barbecue night.
In B.C. (the land of rain and gloom), we take every opportunity to have a barbecue when it’s nice out. We don’t get a lot of those.
Aji being the man of the household, taking care of the grilling,
…while I take care of the sampling and eating.
My kind of bbq:
Drink: blueberry and melon smoothie
Food: plain burger with french bread
‘
Of course Aji got to eat too! He was stuffed, he had two massive (non-plain) burgers.
But that’s not all we had, you see those things on the grill below? They are simply the best!
Chicken breast + Bacon = Chicken tornado
YUM!
We didn’t plan on having people over, but mom came by after work. Later that night dad too, after his fishing trip with my brother. Then another friend also came over. We all had dessert and some had leftover bbq. All this while watching Michael Phelps make history once again, was a night to remember. Well done fishyMichael!
All in all, it was a pretty awesome spontaneous saturday summer bbq! That’s how we like it!
Sunday was a day of going to church service and a day of rest.
We had planned a bbq at White pine beach on Monday with our good friends Matt, Kat and their baby Penny, but the weather quickly took a turn for the worse, so we decided to just have a patio bbq again at our place!;-)
We know how to make the best of the weather we have!
We got some meats from Superstore, which is a 2 minute walk from where we live, and we got the grill ready.
Here goes the chicken tornado again and the hamburgers!
Our guests brought homemade chicken skewers and beef ribs marinated in homemade sauce.
This is the summer spread minus the meats, they were still on the grill. By the time they were ready to be photographed, we were all just ready to eat as well!!
Penny was entertaining us while Aji was grilling.
The Johnson Family + Aji
(L-R Kat, Matt, Penny, Aji)
Penny was eating frozen cantaloupe, if you were wondering why her cute little face was pouting!
Monday night spur-of-the-moment mini barbecues with friends, now that’s how you end a long weekend with a bang!
Hope you had a great long weekend!
last.family.wedding.
Posted: July 29, 2012 Filed under: People., Things. | Tags: chinese banquet, church wedding, family, marriage, shiang garden, wedding, wedding ceremony, wedding decor, wedding reception, white rose balls Leave a comment »Last weekend, we went to Christian (my cousin) and Suzy’s wedding.
After the ceremony and the reception, we realized that it might be the last “family wedding” in a long time (when I say family, I mean, including first cousins).
While weddings can be stressful for the people getting married and their immediate families, I think they’re a welcome reunion for the rest of the extended family. At least that’s how I feel.
Anyways I’ll let the photos speak for themselves here.
Here are some snippets on their special day:
How do you like the white rose balls?
I heard about 3 people touch them and ask if they were real. They weren’t, but these are getting really popular at weddings. Very pretty in pictures, plus you don’t have to worry about getting fresh flowers that might wilt fast in the summertime. Not to mention they can get really pricey.
During the wedding ceremony, I briefly “stole” my cousin Ley’s baby girl, Lexi. Well, if you call 2 hours brief, then yes, that’s how long Lexi stayed on my lap without making a fuss. She’s baby extraordinaire!
Lexi’s chubby legs and her beautiful shoes:
Lexi and Auntie Joy:
Lexi trying to read the wedding program, I told you she’s baby extraordinaire!
Below are the mothers of the bride and groom:
The bride with her dad.
The wedding kiss.
It’s not the very best photo, but you get the drift.
The wedding reception at Shiang Garden Restaurant.
They did a 12-course Chinese Banquet Style dinner. To those of you who are unfamiliar with that, it’s exactly as the name describes. It’s basically a 12-course dinner, but they serve each course, one at a time.
The head table:
My mom, Lexi, and my cousin Ley:
Lexi being playful. (with Ley)
Aji and I:
Uncle Ed and Auntie Flora:
Mom and I:
Mom and Dad:
The Lucas family: Len, Ley and Lexi
I’m sure not everyone will agree with me here, because for most people, weddings can be awkward and can be dreaded family gatherings.
I have my reasons.
Our extended family is close-knit by most people’s standards. We used to go out with our cousins and do things friends would do together like dining out, snowboarding, rollerblading, hiking, and just hanging out.
Growing up and being married is great and all, but our busy married lives kept us from visiting with each other often. In fact, the past few years, we’re lucky if we even saw each other once a year. So you see why I welcome weddings and having a great big reason to celebrate together as a family?
Anyways, that’s just me. Hope you’re not feeling stuck in one of those family weddings/gatherings during the weekend!
On a bright note, they say smartphones are a great companion during unwanted, uncomfortable moments.
Have a great Sunday everyone!
happy.canada.day.long.weekend.
Posted: July 2, 2012 Filed under: Food., People., Things. | Tags: almonds, appetizers, bread toaster, chips, desk area, filipino barbecue, food, home design, kitchenaid mixer, lemon pie, living area, meat on skewersa, office area, peanuts, spaghetti bolognese, work station 7 Comments »Happy Canada Day Everyone!
Our home is finally officially “open for business” after 2 weeks of unpacking and drilling into walls and what not!
We celebrated and concluded the Canada day long weekend festivities with a family barbecue.
Our newly painted living room wall. We used the colour “Caribe” by Behr.
We had some almonds and peanuts and chips for appies.
I just had to sneak this photo in. I’m loving this red part of my kitchen!
Our new work station/ office area.
Dad, slaving away and cooking the barbecue for all of us!
Kyla chameleon. She totally disappears against our wall!
Pork and chicken barbecue marinated by mom.
Angel hair pasta with bolognese sauce.
Kyla’s lemon pie.
Kyla preparing the booklets for our “ethnic whispers” (originally called “Chinese whispers”) game.
Hanging out after dinner, having coffee and tea.
Playing Ethnic whispers.
We had so much food! I think if we summed up all the meat that we prepared and ate today, it would be around 4 kg of meat plus the pasta, fish, (which I didn’t get a photo of) rice, dessert and coffee.
This concludes our Canada Day celebration.
Hope you all had a great one despite the all-changing weather!
Have an awesome week! (Hopefully warmer.)
