Red Velvet Delight

This weekend past was comprised of quite the girly activities: sewing, sleepovers, girlfriend gab-fests 'til five in the morning... and baking!



On Saturday morning, I attempted to bake red velvet cake balls, coated in chocolate. Although I had originally intended on making the red velvet cake and the cream cheese frosting from scratch, I decided that with weekend plans, I wouldn't have the time and instead opted for the box of cake mix and a 16 oz can of Betty Crocker cream cheese frosting. Golly, am I glad I made that decision! Even with cake mix and ready-made frosting, the project consumed almost eight hours of my weekend!

The baked cake is first cooled, then crumbled into a large bowl, where it will soon befriend sweet dollops of cream cheese frosting.


Then, mix thoroughly with your hands (beware, this step gets very messy!)


and form little happy spheres!


Coat the cake balls with melted milk chocolate


then, with white chocolate, drizzle to perfection!


Yumm.


The goodies were packaged in little paper bags for delivery to recipients dear to my heart.


P.S. You can also make these in white chocolate, but a second coat may be required to mask the red of the cake. I only made one of these.


Final count: 118 scrumptiously rich cake bites! Be sure to enjoy with a glass of milk!


For this and many other delectable recipes, visit Bakerella!

A Partridge in a Pear Tree

Christmas is long gone, but there are still goodies to be had! After a week of midterms, I indulged in some one-on-one time with the trusty sewing machine, crafting a tote for my new Dell Mini 9, a teeny techno-gadget that packs a powerful punch.

How small is "small"? Here, it's pictured next to my 14.1" Vaio.


That being said, the previously crafted laptop sleeve would not suffice. Crafting always starts with a visit to Joann Fabrics, this time, to select a soft navy corduroy to accompany the country hearts print I had in my secret stash.



Layers of felt in assorted greens were assembled to form a tree, home to a little birdie.


With a velcro-button closure and a layer of batting sewn in, this fun tote will accompany me wherever I go, with the little netbook resting snugly within!


'Til next time, toodles!

More stimulating talk radio

During my drive up and down the state earlier this month, I tuned in to AM 640, the southern California station that features the revered Dr. Laura Schlessinger. This woman is pretty amazingly level-headed, but boy, is she stubborn and blunt without reservations! I find her show mostly enlightening, sometimes obnoxious, and at other times highly entertaining. Try listening to her sometime!

I decided to keep my car radio tuned to KFI, and now listen to it whenever I'm in the car, with hopes to become more knowledgeable about current events. I've found over the past two weeks, however, that there are really only two things that they talk about on this "more stimulating talk radio" station -- Octomom and the California budget crisis. Needless to say, I now probably know everything there is to know about Nadya Suleman, who I feel (and the world concurs) is one of the most irresponsible mothers ever, birthing her fourteen children as a means to fulfill her "lifelong dream" of being a mother, even though she hasn't had an income for the last decade. Selfish, selfish, selfish. I can't imagine how she believes she will provide for her octuplets in addition to her six children at home, three of whom have special needs already. Normally developing babies cost enough, but factor in the cost of care for special needs babies -- and a handful of the new eight will have special needs, coming from so high a multiple birth -- the world is in its right mind to be concerned for these poor children! The cost of hospital care alone for the preemies amounts to almost $2 million. She says she'll give them herself, hugs, and love. Wow. Case in point:

When asked by Ann Curry how she expects to provide for her fourteen babies without a job, because the rest of the world is viewing her choices as selfish, Nadya Suleman replied, "I'm providing myself to my children. I'm loving them unconditionally, accepting them unconditionally. Everything I do, I'll stop my life for them and be present with them. And hold them. And be with them. And how many parents do that? I'm sure there are many that do, but many don't. And that's unfortunate. That is selfish."

Give me a break. She says that she has a Bachelor's in Child Development (which makes this entire predicament a billion times more unbelievable) and that she will be going back to school to get her Master's degree, and to become a counselor. Oh em gee, the irony of it all is killing me. To top things off, her mother's home, where Nadya and her six children live, has been seized by the bank because grandma is over $23,000 past due on her mortgage.

This past Tuesday, the income-less (and soon to be homeless) mother of fourteen was spotted at the Brea mall, buying M.A.C. makeup. M.A.C.! I don't know how much M.A.C. makeup costs, but I assume it's expensive. Someone please please please take this woman's poor children away from her. I know there are a lot of issues with foster care, but it has to be better than being raised by this deranged woman and her idiocy, right??

Now it's time for me to study some neurogenic disoders so that I can get a job and help pay for Octomom's next cosmetic surgery procedure with my tax money. Yay! By the way, the Governator we elected has reneged on his adamant stance in refusing to raise taxes, which is why most Californians elected him in the first place, no? Apparently, over the past five years, they've done nothing to reduce spending, and now are putting the weight on the shoulders of California's working class to support the debt, as well as to support programs for illegal immigrants and Octomom (who, interestingly enough, don't pay any taxes). Fair? I think not.

God help California. The rest of the world, too.

Bah Humbug!

If you know me, then you probably know that I feel Valentine's Day is beyond overrated. To me, it just seems too commercialized a day to hold any true meaning. Its origins are quasi-romantic -- a celebration of a priest named Valentine, who performed marriage ceremonies for soldiers when the emperor had forbidden it -- but in modern times, it's a day for jewelry, floral, and chocolate retailers to inflate their prices eight-fold, simply because every man in America is expected to buy these items on February 14th.

This year, Matty took the ridiculous sum of money it would've cost him to send me flowers and instead donated it to AutismSpeaks, an organization that not only conducts research on the autism spectrum, but also works to raise awareness and help struggling families who have children with autism. One of the things that compelled me to choose this organization was their "First 100 Days" program, a guide for parents of newly diagnosed children with autism. Personally, I feel that educating the family members of a special-needs child is one of the most critical aspects of the child's development, and so this organization really resonated with me.

In lieu of having a vase of lilies and roses on my windowsill, I searched Flickr, came across this picture of an origami bouquet, and saved it as my desktop. They're just as pretty to look at, and don't give off that funky smell that my favorite stargazer lilies develop after a day! =) Now it's time for me to hit the books.

Happy Valentine's Day!
P.S. Sorry if I've offended you with this entry. I really am happy for those who find joy in celebrating Valentine's Day; it's just not for me. To each their own, right?

Wine & Roses

The trip to the northernmost part of the state was polished off perfectly with an intimate dinner date with my love. Plans were made to enjoy a meal at the breathtakingly picturesque Wine & Roses, but, upon calling to make reservations, we were dismayed to find that the restaurant was closed for renovation. As it turns out, this serendipitous turn of events led them to set up four tables in the bar area, where Matty and I ended up being the only guests for the majority of the evening. The result was an incidentally intimate dinner lit by candlelight and a roaring fireplace, garnished with soft jazz music in the ambiance.

Our waiter was impeccably attentive, recommending light sparkling wines to accompany our dinner selections, yet left us to ourselves for most of the evening, appearing almost as if on cue as we finished each delicate course. It really felt as if Matty had rented the venue out for just the two of us! 'Twas definitely the perfect way to say goodbye until our next highly anticipated visit. ♥

My favorite UOPeople

This weekend past was a very fulfilling journey north to the good 'ole alma mater to see these fabulous chums:


the most wonderful roommate who I haven't seen since May,


an adorable duckling I'd take under my sister wing any day,


a dear friend who has since become a great photographer,


the best friend who has once again changed his fashionable 'do,


and of course, the world's best boyfriend. Ever.

Happy Birthday, Janick!
Let's start from the beginning. After a 7-hour trek on the Interstate 5 through the varying thunderstorms up and down California, I arrived safely and gratefully at the grandiose new residence of Matthew, Kelsey, and Janick. Hooray! Friday night was a celebration of Janick's entrance into his 23rd year of life, kicked off with a fantastic dinner a la CocoRo Bistro, one of my favorites from the college years, followed by a festive gathering of every Hawaii native present in Stockton at the moment -- plus myself, Lauren, and Marissa, of course.

It couldn't have been a better night, comprised of music, cranberry cocktails, Rock Band, and girlfriend gabfests of unimaginable proportions, lasting until 5:30 in the morning. If there's anything I miss about Stockton, it's the late talks with these lovely ladies in an upstairs bedroom while a party is raging beneath us.

Saturday Playday
Despite the late bedtime on Friday night, I awoke bright and early on Saturday because I wouldn't for the world miss a charming breakfast with my loveliest JoAn. On the terrace, we enjoyed the most delicious gourmet bagels from Noah's, one of Stockton's few charms, accompanied by a gloriously warm Starbucks latte, perfect companions on a chilly winter's morning! The chit-chat was very much needed after months of separation, and I can't wait to see my wonderful roommate again in March!

My next stop was Brookside Hall, to visit another old friend, Randall, who imparted with me his wisdom regarding photographic artistry. We toured the new University Center and the rest of campus, camera in hand. With my SLR out of batteries, I borrowed his magnificent D90 for several shots of campus. Sadly, they weren't up to par with his standards, because he subsequently deleted them when sorting through our photos for the day! (Insert sad emoticon here.) The photo here is my favorite of our little hangout session. Maybe one day I'll start shooting photos that are, to Mr. Randall, equally worthy of occupying hard disk space!

Dinner was enjoyed that evening at Fuzio, a newly established Asian Fusion joint reminiscent of Straits on the ever-so-chic Santana Row. If you're to go, I highly recommend the crispy calamari linguine dish. Its citrus zest definitely adds a taste to pasta that is pleasantly unfamiliar!



After the meal, Janick and I headed for the washroom, only to find that ladies and gents shared a bathroom! Talk about taking "fusion" to a whole new level. It was a strange (and not exactly welcome) feeling, tinkling next to a boy. Don't know if I'd do it again! Basking in an evening in, curled up in a blanket with my future-emergency-contact-person and a copy of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, another day seeped away, and Sunday came sooner than anticipated.

A Sunday brunch was enjoyed in the form of a long-awaited playdate with the best friend. We dined in the yummy sourdough goodness of Boudin, and walked our satiated selves over to R.E.I., where we situated ourselves comfortably in a mesh tent and conversed as passersby pointed, laughed, and cast confused looks in our direction. Oh, how I miss you being at home, Ken!

As nightfall came, a most delightful time was spent with my dearest Matty. 'Twas an evening so perfect that it could have only been the result of the kindest serendipity, sparkling wine, & velvet roses.

// read here. //

The latest of life's simple joys

for me, is walking across an empty campus at dawn. As the sun breaches the horizon, I relish my ten minutes of peace and quiet in the morning before diving headfirst into a hectic thirteen-hour, non-stop day. For an ephemeral part of the day, it's just me, God, and his smokey lavender canvas, hanging above me. Those ten minutes make all the difference.

Keeping the early morning beauty of God's skies to myself is just too selfish an act, so this morning I slipped my camera into the pocket of my sweatshirt and let it come along for the ride. Sorry I didn't use the SLR!