SPRUNG

Happy Spring! I love this time of the year because everything is blossoming, the weather is getting warmer, and its the last uni quarter standing between me and summer. As much as I enjoyed the chill factor of last quarter I am very happy to be in spring and to have had a chance to recharge my batteries over spring break a few weeks ago.

In honor of the break I took some time to visit a friend and road trip up to San Francisco to spend a few days of pigging out, shopping, and good ol' bonding time. Here are some highlights:

 can never resist a sweeping mural (remember this wall)

 Some of the best soul food in the heart of the Tenderloin District at Brenda's. Not to mention hands-down the most delicious crawfish beignet I've ever had.

 beautiful weather & a beautiful friend at the Union Square hearts

 seeking food coma rest and refuge at SFMOMA

"oh you blend in with the wall!"

Ending off the trip with pear ginger agave sorbet & mexican chocolate ice cream in a black sesame waffle cone from Tara's and gorgeous creation on the drive home

Despite grim weather reports we were blessed with clear skies and ample sunshine, which almost tricked us into forgoing coats...until we remembered: this is NorCal. Thankfully I have been practicing the art of "layering" which helped to keep the chill at bay only to have gusting winds blow right through me. Thank goodness I gained a solid 10 pounds in those few short days...not. More pictures of my adventures in SF on my Instagram.

The trip was a success and one that I would gladly do again but the perfect end to my spring break was Good Friday and Easter celebrations. Renewing my spirit always satisfies more than anything no matter how much I eat. With that in mind I am sprung for this season and pumped for what lies ahead.

Have a blessed week!
lots of lovee

pear mascarpone muffin talk

Let's talk about muffins. If you follow me on Instagram you previewed my obsession one early morning. I love them. I honestly am not sure how anyone can not love muffins because essentially they are heartier healthier cupcakes, and if you can't appreciate and fall in complete love with the subtle art of baking bread in cup shapes then perhaps you are missing out. i digress. My point is that muffins have the potential to take such a variety of flavors, components, and sizes that my adoration has been solidified. Needless to say, when I came into mascarpone and beautiful pears my heart knew the direction that this combination would take: MUFFINS.

After much scouring I found a recipe for ricotta and pear muffins which sounded amazing, but ricotta is no mascarpone. For those who aren't aware mascarpone is like Italian style cream cheese with a slight sweetness and saltiness flavor. Whereas ricotta is a different variant of cheese that also has a slight sweetness but is used more for lasagna or mixed with other creamier cheeses like mozzarella. After slight tweaking of the recipe, I present :

Pear and Mascarpone Muffins
Ingredients
- 3/4 c. Mascarpone
- 2 large pears
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 c. butter (melted)
- 2/3 c. sugar
- 2 c. all purpose flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- brown sugar for sprinkling atop

Procedure
1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Cream together mascarpone and eggs.
3. Peel and cut pears into small cubes. Then add to mascarpone-egg mixture.
4. Add melted butter to pears-mascarpone and combine well. Then add white sugar and mix well.
5. In a separate bowl sift together dry ingredients (flour+baking powder+baking soda+salt)
6. Combine dry ingredients and pear-mascarpone until all dry pockets are gone
 **be sure not to over mix or muffins will turn out hard and not as fluffy**
7. Dole out batter into muffin pan & sprinkle brown sugar atop to create crust.
8. Bake for 15-20 min. or until toothpick comes out clean.
9. Then take out of oven and rest for a few minutes before devouring them with jam :) enjoy!

I am going to try to do a short DIY gift post for those of you that have not had time to go shopping..like myself. Have a beautiful Saturday!

lots of lovee

rainy thursdays

A little over two weeks ago I was in a car accident. It was a dark, rainy Thursday evening and I was driving home from school. The story is long and painful to retell so I will just say that there are hardly ever a time when sitting in a car is completely relaxing for me now. Whether it was the other guy's fault or my own, it takes 2 to tango. After the accident I thought a lot about the choices I made before it happened. Why did I drive on that street home that day? What if I had gone home right after I had ended work and not lingered? Would I have okay if I had stayed at school longer like I had originally planned? ...and then God said to me " what if you had died? what if the other man had died?"

A small accident but I am rethinking the aspects of my life that I am truly grateful for. My pastor preached recently about verbally giving thanks & not just thinking praises in our minds. Salvation is bright and shiny to me once again. The urgency of life's timeframe has never been more evident. I know I didn't post a typical thanksgiving foodfestblackfridayshopping post, but the thing I am most thankful for is God's never ending grace and mercy. I am alive to eat too much, laugh with friends, and see my family all together.

To Him be the glory, Amen.
lots of lovee

livin' the dream

This is my friend Michelle. 

She is doing what I have dreamed about doing: studying abroad

It's only been 4 months since she left for Shanghai but she has already established herself as a karaoke master and a part of China's workforce. 

Recent skype chats despite the time difference has revealed how much I miss this girl. 

Looking forward to your return! I have ramen and ridiculous stories waiting for you. 

lots of lovee

great excuse

Halloween is such a great excuse for 1. eating lots of candy 2. dressing in costume for $2 burritos at Chipotle and 3. putting off studying during midterms

lots of lovee

Layover in Osaka

Next up on the journey to Fukuoka included a short layover in Osaka. We arrived in the early morning and our overnight bus wasn't leaving until much later that night, so we decided to do the usual Osaka bits: mess around, shop, eat okonomiyaki & takoyaki, shop more, etc.

The highlight of the layover and possibly the whole trip was the final hours before we left spent unwinding at Spa World Onsen. If it's not apparent from my facial expression, we love onsen and this was the most amazing onsen experience I have ever had. This 8 story building/hotel is complete with an outdoor swimming area, water slides, separate mens/women's floors, an arcade area, and a floor just for eating. Are you in awe yet? Good.

After 5 blissful hours in the onsen we caught our overnight bus and headed over to Fukuoka. Moral of the story: if you're gonna have a time gap somewhere, have it in Osaka.

Have an excellent week!

lots of lovee

ain't no mountain high enough

Tell me you're not singing/humming/dancing to that song after reading the title of this post. Okay maybe just me. Marvin Gaye might have been talking about the obstacles of love but I'm talking about the physical obstacles that we faced hiking the Japanese Alps.

Due to rainy weather my sister and I along with a friend were limited to only hiking 2 of the 12 peaks in Toyama, but make no mistake that we were dying by the end. The endless elevation of stairs and steep hills was only abated by the breath taking natural scenes that we were allowed.

The top of the first peak, which featured a graffiti decorated rest area, rusty abandoned play area, fields of tall grass, and a gusty wind to cool us off.

The second peak was smaller but the greater elevation that we gained provided an amazing view of the entirety of Toyama prefecture as well as the outline of the next prefecture over.

On the return hike we were hit by unexpected downpour and took brief shelter until the rain let up. Definitely one of the most memorable events from this trip and after anticipating it for so long I can say I was not disappointed at all. This hike was the beginning of my sister's vacation time and the start of my second week there. What a way to begin vacation... sore and exhausted, but in full awe of God's creation!

Next up on the recap lineup: Nara!

lots of lovee

{photo diary} Party of One

Phase two (and the bulk) of my trip to Japan took place in my sister's city, Kanazawa-shi. For the first week that I was there I was able to explore ktown freely on my own during the day while my sister was at work. Honestly I expected the capital of Ishikawa prefecture to be a little larger than it is, but I came to love how convenient the city is laid out. Sights, shopping, and eating were all within a 15-20 minute walk from my sister's apartment situated close to the awesome Omi-cho fish market and M'za shopping center.

During my partyofone days in ktown I visited the famous sights including Kanazawa's Castle and adjacent Kenroukuen Garden, which was snug in the center of town; Oyama Jinja shrine, famous for the stain glass windows atop the shrine's highest tower; and Myoruji Temple, a temple famous for it's hidden staircases and trap doors. My favorite of them all was definitely Myoruji Temple, also known as Ninja-dera(Temple), with all of it's secret passageways and perfectly translated tour, it was an excellent 45 minutes well spent.

One of the mornings my sister guided me to Higashichaya on the outskirts of town. Kanazawa is known for producing 99% of the gold to Japan, so naturally everything in that district was covered in gold, gold leafed, or had flakes of gold in it ... even the bread. It's also famous for their self produced soy sauce, and one of the things that they have incorporated it into is ice cream !! Naturally we had to have one at 10 am.

The last highlight of my partyofone adventures in Ktown was their street festival for the Obon holiday. The event included group dancing competitions, singing, fencing demonstrations, taiko music, and food vendors lining the 6 city blocks through downtown that hosted the festival. Thanks ktown for an awesome time and some killer food!

 Have a wonderful Labor day! Mine is spent relaxing, eating, family time, and more eating. CHEERS!

lots of lovee

{photo diary} Thailand: peace

beautiful sunset outside of the main city

celebrated a team member's birthday :)

dinner at one of the student's house's

some of the classes we taught!

Last day of English Corner 

Evangelistic Goodbye "Sanook Sanook" Party !!

After I left last year my heart was full of sadness and discontent because I regretted not going after those opportunities to share God's love. Going into the second week of the mission's trip I was anxious but I was also filled with such peace. I felt God letting me know that whether these students make decisions now or not I was a part of their spiritual journey. This peace and relief truly allowed me to enjoy the last week with the students :)

I leave for Japan in 5 days so look out for some last minute food posting !

lots of lovee

{photo diary} Thailand weekender

weekend trip to an Akha village

quickly turned from sunshine to storming downpour

the whole group with some Akha girls in traditional wear

playing around after Sunday school

cute kids from the village

one of the Akha women in traditional garb

In between our two weeks of teaching at MoPoSo we were given the chance to visit a local Akha village up in the mountains. It was such a blessing to meet the people there and their hospitality and generosity was amazing despite their limited resources. We attended their church and worshipping with other believers was so refreshing in a country that is almost entirely Buddhist. A small bonus was the incredible food and hilarious children that we played with all weekend.

Still more to come...

lots of lovee

p.s. leaving for Japan in exactly one week? MADNESS.

LOVE update

If you follow my Twitter then you saw this picture that I took a while ago of my new JewelMint L.O.V.E. separate rings. Since I received them they have been in regular rotation with the rest of my ring collection, and although they would seem inconvenient with their protruding appearance they are quite simple yet eye-catching.

While we are on the subject of love I am pleased to announce... that I am t-minus 7 days until my trip back to Thailand! (i bet you thought i was going to say something else. hah!) Currently my feelings leading up to this trip have been a broad spectrum of excited, nervous, frantic, and tired. Nevertheless God has been/ is so good!

Now I would love to go relax and hangout with friends! Until next time!

lots of lovee

p.s. thank you to those who participated in the giveaway! Winners will be notified and sent prizes soon :)

here's to summer

Have you ever had a headache and wondered what the reason was, just to discover that your hair is weighing your head down? Me too! Yes, a lack of sleep the past few days and this SoCal heat could have something to do with it, but the moment after my hair was cut yesterday afternoon - bliss. This is step two to getting ready for summer! Step one: wishing this uni semester was over already ...check.

How are you preparing for summer?

lots of lovee

show some clavicle

Some people think that legs are attractive. Others think hands are attractive. I personally think the clavicle is attractive. What the hey is a clavicle?  The clavicle, otherwise known as the collarbone, is that bone that juts out a little near your shoulders and neck. Of all of my features I think my clavicle is what I am most proud of. It has the least injuries or blemishes near my arms.

This one shoulder ark & co. dress shows my clavicle. I like it a lot. It cost me $3 at one of my favorite thift stores. People kept telling me I look like a Greek goddess..debatable. My love for the brilliant beaded shoulder detail on this dress... is non-debatable. Mother's Day yesterday was the perfect excuse to throw it on :)

The weather forecast of this week is looking lovely. Have an excellent week!

lots of lovee

{recipe attack} sweet potato cake

Say hello to my little DINO friend! He would like to share his enthusiasm about a recent cake recipe that came his way. While preparing to celebrate a birthday he decided to make a cake for that person. 

Knowing she loves sweet potatoes (고구마/ サツマイモ), he searched far and wide to find a recipe and finally came across this recipe! After converting the measurements from metric, a few adjustments, mashing, and 2 hours later...the birthday cake was finished!

adapted recipe from GreenCilantro:

ingredients...
-2 small sweet potatoes*
-2 eggs
-2 1/2 tbsp. brown sugar
-2/3 c. milk (I used 1/3 2%milk + 1/3 soymilk) 
-1/4 c. flour

directions..
1. Cook sweet potatoes to soften and remove skin while hot.
      -->2 options: steam/roast them & remove skin after perfectly soft OR peel & cube the potatoes then simmer in water until soft then drain
2. Preheat oven to 330 degrees F while sweet potatoes cook.

easiest way to roast/steam them: in foil sitting in your preheating oven. may take half an hour cut in half

3. Mash the hot sweet potatoes. When desired smooth/chunky consistency is reached, add milk and mix well.
4. Then add sugar and eggs to the mashed potatoes&milk. Once incorporated, sieve in flour to the batter.
5. Coat springform pan in butter and flour well.
6. Pour batter into pan and bake for 35-40 min. (depending on thickness of cake) ** Once done remove from oven and let chill in refrigerator or enjoy warm with fresh fruit or whipped cream on top!

 *not the orange type often confused with yams. Can be found at Japanese, Korean, or Chinese markets
** depending on intensity of your oven check on cake every 10 min. after 20 min. has passed with clean knife test.

Let me know if you try this out yourself and make any improvements to it :) Have an awesome Friday everyone!

lots of lovee