an unplanned day off

Our front door lock broke and jammed this morning. We had to take a day off trying to fix it until we finally realized that a call to the locksmith was the best solution. The young locksmith came, spent almost two hours fiddling with the lock, broke it, got the door open, and installed a new lock for us. The entire time his two phones didn't stop ringing every 5 minutes. There must be so many people with broken locks out there today.

But out of all the trouble came something good (as it usually does). I get to stay home for a change! I love being home. All afternoon, I've been sitting on the deck enjoying the gorgeous early summer weather. The pond is splashing. The birds are chirping. Children are running happily on the playground. A cute couple are picnicking behind our house. Nice to camp out on the deck with my laptop working away. The best place to work away, I say. Life is good! :)

favorite links

As my list of inspirations quickly grows, I realize it's time to start a separate page for them all. So here it is ... my go-to and frequently-updated list for when I'm in a need of a muse or two. Enjoy!

photographers

Amy Neunsinger
Barb Uil
Callie Shell
Helen Norman
John Kernick
Lara Ferroni
Philippe Cheng
Tara Whitney
Tosca Radigonda
Victoria Pearson

blogs

Orangette by Molly Wizenberg (writer)

baby dylan is here

Remember that baby shower for my friend I was telling you about? She just had her baby earlier today. Baby Dylan was born at 19.5 inches and 6 lbs 10 ounces. His mom had to drive herself to the hospital at 3:00 am because her hospital was away at a job training. But all went well. Mom and baby are happy and healthy. This makes June 16 a very special day indeed! :)

gilmore girls: how it all began

I'm on a roll with the Gilmore Girls today! :)

Even though the show was off the air (except for reruns on ABC Family) for a few years now, I still feel like it's a big part of my life. I have the entire series on DVD and DVR and watch every single rerun episode on TV. If the Hollywood folks are as smart as they claim to be, they will work hard with Amy Sherman Palladino and the cast of Gilmore Girls to make at least a Gilmore Girls movie to tie up all loose-ends. But really, I just want to grow old with the Gilmore Girls and never see this show ends. {sigh}

backstage with the gilmore girls

If you follow this blog from way back, you may remember how much I love the Gilmore Girls! The show is no longer on the air (except for rerun episodes), but I just found a series of interesting interviews of the cast on YouTube and have to blog them here. If you're a fan like me, enjoy! :)

baby shower to love

A sneak peek of my friend's baby shower a few weeks ago. She's expecting her first baby and is so excited. As one of the shower organizers, I volunteered to be the photographer. That's the best job in the world!

More pictures coming soon!

beach book #1: the time traveler's wife

So glad I picked The Time Traveler's Wife to be my first beach book this summer! I've been reading it ever since I had packed it for the Virginia Beach trip a few weeks ago. I'm totally intrigued by the two main characters and their unique love story and so I wasn't surprised to hear that Hollywood is making the movie now starring Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana. This is one good read!

orangette

It's been a while since I last found a blog I love. So when I stumbled upon Orangette today, I knew it had to be a special day. I first listened to Molly Wizenberg on NPR when she was being interviewed for her new book A Homemade Life which coincidentally is now on my Amazon list and I can't wait for it to arrive in the mail soon! As to her blog, it will enchant you! That much I'm sure of. So ... happy reading!

sunset on the beach with david cook & company

Once again, I had a chance to be in Virginia Beach this year for the Patriotic Festival. Last year, the star of the show was Sugarland with Jennifer Nettles as its lovely bundle of energy and talent. This year we had David Cook. The crowd went crazy every time the announcers mentioned his name. The audience was 98% female!

Speaking of female, the single "girl power" for the evening was the talented Felicia Barton. She wasn't listed on the program, but was the unofficial energetic opening act for the concert. The crowd warmed up to Felicia's smiling face and powerhouse voice instantly.


By the time Matt Nathanson came on board, everyone was ready to rock. And rock the beach, Matt did! Not only that, he was surprisingly funny and charming. He repeated his name at least a half dozen times and so even if one came to the concert not knowing who Matt Nathanson was, one surely left remembering his name without a doubt. :)

As to David Cook, all night long I was waiting for him to do my favorite Billie Jean song (proudly showing my age here) ... but he didn't. Neither did he sing The Time of My Life, Permament or Come Back to Me either. There's no doubt whatsoever from the very first note that a David Cook concert was a pure rock concert. David plays the music he loves, not what we hear on the radio a dozen times a day. Since I have yet to buy any of the songs on his new CD, I didn't know a single tune that night while everyone else around me was humming along with every word. Starting with the opening act, the sound system was already terrible. We could barely hear David's voice or make out the lyrics he was singing. (Last year, they managed to fix the same problem for Sugarland after a few songs, but not so this time.) To make things a tad bit more interesting, the drummer in David's band seemed to beat the living daylights out of his drum set while violently whipping his long hair up and down all night long. At one point, I thought he was going to pass out of exhaustion or deliriousness. Thank goodness, he didn't.

As for the former American Idol champion who's been rocking his way into America's heart, bad sound system or not, he looked and sounded like a soulful, younger Brad Pitt on that stage and could do no wrong in the eyes of the female-dominated audience. Safe to say ... Virginia Beach adores David Cook!

If this little post still doesn't satisfy you (because you are such a huge fan of David Cook or at least secretly possess a healthy curiosity about all things cool), check out Marc Payne's blog. Marc is one of the two official photographers of the Patriotic Festival 2009 and he's sharing lots of details and pictures on this fun event on his blog and flickr site.

how to display your favorite photos

I have thousands of photos at home and many of which I'd love to hang on the wall. But somehow, it's difficult to come up with a system that actually looks good in real life. But this top/bottom line-up idea is brilliant. I think the credit goes to Martha Stewart, but I found the photo on Erin Vey's blog. By the way, if you have a dog, then you've probably heard of Erin. She's one of the most talented dog photographers I know! You'll love her work and her blog is a delight!

why american idol gets top ratings ... still

MTV Shows

bo luc lac (vietnamese shaken beef)

This awesome recipe of one of my all-time favorite dishes is from my friend Chrystine who is an amazing chef! You'll love it!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ingredients:

- around 3 lbs of flank steak (serves 3) (*note* flank steak is very easy to use for shaking beef since it won't get chewy even when you overcook it)
- watercress (washed and rinsed)
- yellow onion (sliced)
- tomatoes (sliced)
- lime, salt, black pepper, cooking oil and some water (for salad dressing)
- a couple of slices of butter (salted real butter, not margarine) (optional)

Marinade:

- 3 tablespoons of soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons of sugar
- 3 tablespoons of cooking oil
- 4-5 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
- plenty of black pepper

Preparation:

Wash and pat dry the flank steak then cut against the grain and then cubed into bitesize (can be varied on the size of the bite ;-D) . Mix the cut-up steak cubes in a bowl with the marinading ingredients then let it sit for a couple of hours for best result but if you don't have time to prepare in advance then it should be good marinaded for 45 minutes.

Cooking Instructions:

Use a regular pan (not the non-sticking kind) since you want the beef to *burn (brown) a little for the color and the aroma. Rinse the pan under running faucet then put the pan on high heat and wait til the water evaporates (this is just to indicate that the pan is hot enough to brown the beef). Put one batch (about a single serving size) of beef into the pan and stir with a wooden spatula and let it brown on both sides. When it's nice and brown and you can smell the aroma, throw in a slice of butter or two and pour onto your bed of watercress (prepared in advance, with slices of tomatoes and onions).

Dressing:

You can either make the dressing for the watercress salad (a combination of lime juice, water, salt, black pepper and cooking oil, shaken up well) or just leave it plain and use a soy sauce as dipping sauce or salt, pepper and lime juice as a dipping sauce.

PS - I personally love it with the watercress salad! ~ Sarah

ragout recipe

Can't remember where I got this wonderful recipe so my sincere apologies to the talented chef. If you happen to stumble upon this blog, please send me a note and I'll credit it appropriately. Thank you!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ragout

In Vietnam, this recipe also is made with pork ribs and beef tongue. Traditionally, the chicken version is made with whole chicken -- bones, skin and all -- for added flavor and richness.

Ingredients:

--2 teaspoons minced garlic
-- 1/2 teaspoon salt
--2 tablespoons fish sauce
--2 tablespoons soy sauce
--1 tablespoon sugar
--1 1/2 pounds skinless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into bite-sized chunks
--2 tablespoons vegetable oil
--3 tablespoons butter
--2 shallots, sliced
--2 tablespoons tomato paste
--2 Roma tomatoes, cut into wedges
--3 cups chicken stock
--1 cup dry white wine or vermouth
--3 bay leaves
--2 carrots, cut into 1-inch rounds (about 1 1/2 cups)
--3 red potatoes, cut into wedges (about 2 cups)
-- 1/2 yellow onion, cut into wedges
--1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen peas or lima beans
--Salt to taste
--Cilantro for garnish

Instructions:

Combine the garlic, salt, fish sauce, soy sauce and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add the chicken and let marinate for 30 minutes. Heat the oil in a large skillet over moderate heat. Add the chicken and sear until the sides are nicely browned. Remove from heat and set aside. Heat the butter in a large saucepan over moderate heat. Add the shallots and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomato paste and the chicken and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, chicken stock, wine and bay leaves; simmer for 5 minutes. Add the carrots, potatoes and onion; simmer for 10 minutes. Add the peas, then simmer until meat and vegetables are done, about 5 minutes longer. Season with salt; garnish with cilantro leaves.

Serve with steamed rice or warm baguette. Serves 6.

Per Serving: 360 calories, 28 g protein, 27 g carbohydrate, 15 g fat (5 g saturated), 110 mg cholesterol, 164 mg sodium, 4 g fiber.

my favorite green beans recipe

GREEN BEANS GENOVESE RECIPE

1-1/2 lbs. green beans, trimmed
½ tsp. garlic, finely minced
1 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. virgin olive oil
1/3 cup Italian parsley, minced
Black pepper

Easy Steps:

1. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the green beans for 3 minutes or until they are tender-crisp. Do NOT overcook!
2. Drain the beans and plunge them into a bowl of ice water. Drain thoroughly and pat dry.
3. Saute the garlic in the butter and oil over moderately low heat until the garlic is golden. Add the beans and heat through.
4. Add parsley and pepper.

Selection/Storage:

Choose brightly colored beans that have an unblemished surface. Fresher beans are generally fuzzier. Green beans should bend with a snap and have a spurt of juice at the seam. Store unwashed beans in an airtight bag in the refrigerator for up to four days.

Preparation:

The secret to good green beans is to blanch them in plenty of boiling water, rinse with cold water, and then dry thoroughly. Reheat with seasonings.

disappointed cat

See more funny videos and Cute Animals Videos at Today's Big Thing.

life beautiful in wordle

Life Beautiful blog as seen by Wordle ... today. :)

adam's mad world

Haven't been posting and writing much because time has been monopolized by all the things I'm trying to do. Switching career at mid-life is not an easy task and doing it while holding down a 9-5 job, going to school at nights and studying on the weekends ... makes it even harder to find time for other fun things. {sigh}

Speaking of fun things, I'm in my friend's American Idol pool again this season! And Adam Lambert's Mad World last night blew me away! Not only was he singing one of my most favorite songs of all time, he did it so heartwrenchingly good, I have goosebumps watching! Who still wonders about who's the best in AI this season now? Really!

Btw, personal thanks to the person who uploaded this video on YouTube and to my cousin who IMed me today and told me all about "Adam's Mad World." Somehow, AI ran overtime last night and Adam's performance was cut off my DVR so I didn't get to see it on the tube, just on YouTube. But his performance is no less mesmerizing because of it!

Watchmen's Dr. Manhattan

Saw "Watchmen" this weekend. What an incredible, visually stunning ride! And isn't it interesting how they do it all behind the scene? :)

Slumdog Sweeping Oscar Night

It's a Slumdog year alright! Congratulations to the entire Slumdog team. My favorite movie of the year is bringing home a bunch of Oscars. Much deserved.

Saw this movie with my siblings last Christmas. And we all thought it was soooo good. Considering how diverse our movie preferences are, this is an amazing consensus!



Btw, the image above is from Vanity Fair.

New Soul

Something to LOVE! Happy Valentine's Day!