Le Pudding a la mode

We had a nice visit with my sister last weekend. We had our usual spree of eating at our favorite restaurants, went to an opera, and watched a couple of episodes of Breaking Bad on Apple TV. 

Nice spread of Japanese bar-food at Shoya Izakaya.

It's no secret that eating is a big part of what we do when we get together: we both are self-proclaimed foodies. So when I prepare something to eat at home, I want to come up with something extra interesting.

Hotel New Grand in Yokohama, Japan.
Le Pudding a la mode was created here.

The dish I assembled for our little brunch at home is called Le Pudding a la mode. It is said that a chef of this hotel in Yokohama had created it decades ago, and now it has become a ubiquitous dessert all over Japan. 

Le Pudding a la mode, minus a scoop of ice cream. Still pretty good!

French caramel sauce from Ladurée. Thanks sis!

I drizzled this caramel sauce all over it. Divine!

When people say "pudding" in Japan, they mean a flan-like custard dessert. The idea of this Le pudding a la mode is to decorate this flan with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and seasonal fruits. I didn't have ice cream, but I drizzled the most delicious caramel sauce instead to enhance the fresh fruits. 

Mexican flan in a convenient cup

The brunch brought us certain nostalgia, and it was just what we foodies wanted to indulge ourselves in.

We should call this fish-shaped dessert Le Taiyaki a la mode!! 
(Dessert we had at Shoya Izakaya)

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Chanel Spring Collection 2013

This palette by Chanel from the 2013 spring collection is called Raffinement, #39. It's my first Chanel eyeshadow palette. As expected from Chanel's makeup, the quality is wonderful; they feel velvety and buttery on my skin. I like using the darkest brown on the closest to the lashes, and blend it with the champagne color on the upper right. I use just a touch of coppery light brown for the crease. These browns compliment my skin tone.

Chanel's Raffinement #39

Swatches

I find that the darkest brown in this palette has a little bit of fallout. But it's a chic color and very blendable. It's the only matte color in this palette. Other colors have a slight satin finish.

A coral lip is a safe bet for these colors, but I love choosing a pink. The soft browns and pink make me think of azaleas that are in abundance right now.

Kurume azalea in backyard

Rhododendron in our front yard 

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Pegboard Organizer for Office

My collection of jewelry making tools has grown a bit. It started out with a couple of pliers, then I added a hole puncher, a wire cutter... so on and so forth. For awhile it was just fine to keep them in a mug cup, but I've come to need some organization. 

My tools...

So we added another thing to our to-do list for the ongoing office makeover. For those of you who might not remember what our office looked like before, here is a link.

Before the pegboards...

Lime colored acrylic pegboards

Check back soon to see the finished look!

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Tear Eye Liner

I got this little bottle of liquid eyeliner for highlighting the bottom lids. It's a Korean brand and you can get it online. It comes with a brush-pen, so it's easy to apply on the small area. Sometimes I swipe just a tiny bit of this from the inner corner to about 1/3 way on my bottom lid just underneath the eyelash. It draws light to the eyes and makes them twinkle. Just a little goes a long way.

Tear Eye Liner

Comes with a thin brush

I like to apply it very thin.

There's tiny iridescent sparkles in it.

What can I say? This girl loves twinkles and sparkles!



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Beef Short Ribs and Buttered Rice

Here's a Crock-pot meal I made yesterday. All I did was throw in frozen short ribs I had in my fridge forever and some cut vegetables. Set it in the morning, and it will be ready for dinner. Coke is the secret ingredient for this recipe.

Melts in your mouth.

Beef Short Ribs and Buttered Rice

2 lb. beef short ribs
1 small onion, sliced
1 cup cut carrots
1 cup cut turnip
1 cup cut parsnip
2 cup mushroom, cut in half
1 cup water
1/2 cup milk
1 package onion soup powder
1/2 cup Coke
3 Tbsp cooking wine
2 tsp worcestershire sauce
2 tsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 sprig rosemary


In a Crock-pot, throw in beef, sliced onion, water, coke, wine, a package of onion soup powder, worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, pepper and herbs. Turn to low and cook for 8 hours, or high for 4 hours. Add cut vegetables and cook for another hour. Combine flour and milk, add to the Crock-pot. For the final touch, drop in butter.

In a Crock-pot: milk and butter add depth of flavor

Seems like a lot of ingredients, but really just add whatever the veges and herbs you have. Short ribs have a lot of flavors already, so you can't really mess it up. 

For buttered rice, cook rice according to the package instructions, and at the last minute add butter on top to melt with the steam. Fluff it with a fork. Salt and pepper lightly to taste. 

Butter gives sheen to the sauce.

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Blocked Tear Duct?

Our dog has been having an issue with his eye. There is swelling on the corner of his left eye, and I could see eye discharge building up. I took him to the vet who prescribed him antibiotic which didn't seem to help much. So I did some research. (I'm good at research.) I still don't know what he has, but I thought eye wash couldn't hurt. I read the review on this product and how it helped their dogs, so I decided to give it a try. 

Swelling on the corner of his eye

It's Cloud Nine herbal eye wash from HALO. I've been hearing good things about this company. It comes with two solutions, one for opening the tear duct, the other is for cleansing it. I have to keep them fresh in the fridge, which I like because I know they have no preservatives. Three drops in each eye twice a day for three days, then use the other solution the same way. After a couple of cycles, his eye started to clear and the swelling has gone down a bit. 

You make the solution by diluting it in a bigger bottle.

He doesn't seem to mind the eye wash, either. I also apply a warm towel compress on his eye. I bet his eyes feel better after the spa-treatment! I think I'm going to continue this a little longer to see how he does.

"Who said I'm high-maintenance?"

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Florida Skies Will Set You Free

We went to Ft. Lauderdale to attend our friend's wedding. A magical weekend that was filled with love. I don't know what it is about the skies in Florida that gives me a sense of being reborn. You have to see it for yourself to believe how big and liberating they are. For a tiny moment, your problems seem insignificant when you're looking at the skies. 

Boats are harbored in front against the backdrop of Atlantic Ocean

Ft. Lauderdale beach

It's always sunny in Florida....

"Come on board my humble sleeping quarters..."

Why not bring a beach bar to the airport?

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Keeping a Balance

This caught my eye when I was surfing the web this morning. Somehow it spoke to me. My life seems to be all about finding the right balance. When I feel a little out of balance, I shall start moving.

Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.

-- Albert Einstein

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MAC Patina

I admit, over the past few years, I have acquired too many eyeshadows. When I go to Sephora or Ulta, my hubby teases me that I'm like a kid in a candy store. True, those eyeshadows come in all kinds of shades and they sparkle, and I just want to try everything! Out of all these shadows, I became quite fond of a few. MAC's Patina is one of them.

MAC Patina

Patina is a no-brainer, fool-proof eyeshadow. This beautiful shadow changes colors in different lights. Sometimes it looks more taupe, other times the gold comes through more. Keep layering this just a little at a time on all over the lid, and you really get the depth of color. It's no-brainer because I don't have to mess with complicated steps or think about color combinations, and it's fool-proof because you just need to sweep it across the lid without any skills. 

I use Cork for the crease and Vanilla/Brule for the highlight. 

Swatch for Patina. I can't tell you why my finger is so red...

When I don't know what colors to wear today, when I don't want to think about color theory, when in doubt, I go to MAC's Patina.

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Dogwood 2013

Our dogwood didn't have very many flowers this year. We don't know exactly why. The weather has been very unusual this year: winter was mild, and spring isn't. This spring has been a roller coaster ride of warm temperatures and near freezing temperatures. Our dogwood might have gotten confused. Still I can't help noticing our good neighbor's dogwood. My hubby calls our neighbor's yard Augusta National golf course. It's that beautiful. Not fair to compare our dogwood to it.

A few flowers here and there. 

This is our dogwood. Where are the flowers??

Our neighbor's dogwood and azalea bushes...envy of our street.

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