Cooking for my Family!

Hi Friends! Happy Monday:)

We had a nice Monday here at home. My In laws visited and took the kids to the park so I had a little nap while they were outside!HA. Not a lot going on aside from doing housework, homeschooling with Mia and hanging out with Hubs. My little introvert self is pretty content:)

We had Chicken Parmesan for dinner and I’m surprised it turned out so good. I really don’t like to cook chicken breast because I tend to dry/overcook them so I’m glad it was moist tonight. Hubby approved!

What I’ve cooked lately (June), we also had couple of take outs and pizza nights.

Grilled Salmon and salad
steak with macaroni,corn

I made InstantPot Pork carnitas and we really like this one.

Pork Carnitas Burrito bowl
Pork carnitas and kimchi fried rice,egg
Chicken adobo that the kids like

I have this Curtis Stone cookbook, I made 2 of his recipes! I like this because he’s so direct in the instructions and simple to follow!

Bowtie pasta with corn, thyme, and parmesan
Grilled Moroccan ground beef skewers

This Oxtail soup was inspired by our trip in Hawaii last February! We dined at Liliha Cafe and this was one of their popular dishes. I can’t wait to go back to Hawaii:)

Oxtail soup

Chicken Teriyaki!

Meals this week include Hamburger, Steak! It will be sunny this week so simple and quick bbq dishes will be great:)

Happy Cooking friends! Take Care!

Deception Pass

Happy Sunday Friends! Just having a relaxing afternoon here and enjoying some kdrama (Love with Flaws) it’s an old one. My little family had a day trip yesterday and we visited Deception Pass State Park. It’s my first time seeing the park but I know that it’s a very popular destination here in Washington state. It’s 1 hour and 50 mins drive from our place (plus traffic so basically 4 hours of driving!). It’s a lot of driving (I think!) but Hubs and I really wanted to see and expose the kids to our beautiful state so why not!

We really enjoyed it and plan to come back. We promised the kids that they can go swimming next time. They also have campgrounds around the area. Lots of family having picnics and bbq. The water is very clear but still so cold (they have a “warmer lake – cranberry” that people were swimming/kayaking in!

The view was amazing! Hubs got a little freaked out carrying Matthew!HA

On the way there, we stopped by at Chic-fil-a! The closest one to our house is temporarily closed for renovations so it’s been a while since we got CFA, my must is their frosted coffee. It’s my favorite!

Lots of greenery on our way home!

We got home around 5pm, and we were all tired and hungry. We decided to order from our local Korean restaurant. We enjoyed beef bulgogi and seafood pancake (Haemul Pajeon).

Have a great rest of your weekend friends! Thank you God for a fun and safe weekend road trip:)

Take Care!

Father’s day weekend!

Hi Friends! We had a great Father’s day weekend at home, celebrating Hubs and DIL yesterday. Hubs baked a carrot cake, DIL grilled pork belly bbq and steaks. Dinner was extra special because we ordered Snake River Farm steaks and they are some of the best steaks we’ve had. This is our second time to order from them and they didn’t disappoint. They are very pricey steaks but for Fathers day it was worth it! Everything was delicious and everybody enjoyed our meal:)

Some of the appetizers I prepared: prosciutto with melon, beets with arugula and goat cheese, pulled pork bruschetta, and salmon dip (hubs made).

My In laws bought crab cakes and shrimp (paired with cocktail sauce).

Vietnamese Lemongrass Grilled Pork! Delicious and so flavorful. I really love lemongrass and pork combination:) I marinated the pork belly for 24 hours!

The Snake River Farm steaks that Hubby Sous vide then Charcoal grilled! The most tender and flavorful steaks

We also had scalloped potatoes and bourbon glazed carrots!

After dinner, kids gave Papa and Daddy their cards. Lots of family time after, enjoying carrot cake (Hubs did a great job! the cake was so moist). Happy Father’s day to my Hubs. Thank You for leading our family well!

Last Day of Preschool!

Hi Friends! Hope you’re having a great Saturday. We just got back from grocery shopping at Trader Joe’s to get some things for tomorrow’s dinner (we are having my In laws over to celebrate Fathers day with us). Yesterday, Matthew had his last day of school (PreK) but he still have 2 more years of PreK!HA. Thanks to God that it was a great year for him, he had fun and it was a wonderful time for him. He has made so much progress. Mia is homeschooled so we really don’t have an “official” date of last day of Kindergarten, etc. To celebrate yesterdays event,we had lunch at Five Guys:)

Earlier this week, our local Costco finally opened a sushi section. This is the only sushi section outside Japan. They are made in the store. I know in some parts of Costco Hawaii they do sell sushi too but they are not made in-house. Hubs and I were excited to check out their selections. We got the California rolls with real crab and assorted nigiri. We really liked it for the price we paid. We are looking forward to trying their sashimi (it was sold out) when we got there.

I’m trying to remove plastic dishes from my kitchen so I got these pyrex containers from Costco too. It was on sale ($20) and I’m glad I got a box,they are popular in my area.

It’s been a rainy week here, Mia and I got to check our strawberry plants and we noticed that our strawberries were eaten by some bugs. I don’t expect to be harvesting sweet juicy strawberries soon!HA

Have a great weekend friends! Happy Father’s day to all the Dads celebrating. We appreciate you all and see the handwork you do for your families:)

Lego Expo, Picnic at the park!

Hi Friends! How are you doing? We’ve been enjoying summer weather here already so my little family has been having picnics at the park, biking, and walks around the neighborhood. We saw a deer yesterday during our evening walk. I got more flowers to put in our front so I’ve been planting them this week! I’ve cut more roses and have them in the kitchen.

This past weekend, our neighborhood was hosting a Lego Expo and we checked it out because Mia is into legos. She uses our dining table to build more legos and I’ve had enough of legos today so I sent them to our bonus room this afternoon. I want my dining table back!HA

Ice cream after the Lego exhibit!
We had burgers and hotdogs on memorial day!

Matthew is almost done with school (next week is his last week). Typical day at our house. Mia having her online school and I’m having tea/reading.

Have a great Wednesday night friends! Stay safe:)

Beach Park Day!

Hello Friends! Happy weekend:) We spent our day at the beach park today. This is new to us so the kids were excited to visit. The water was still cold so we didn’t spend time in the water. We did check out the dock area and the playground! It was a nice, small beach park. We plan to come back again this coming summer months!

Mia wanted Chic fil a after, Hubs didn’t want to because we visited Chic fil a 2 days ago, but I didn’t mind!HA. She said “I just love chic fil a so much!” Daddy gave in:)

This morning I cut two more double delight roses!

We had a little picnic this week at our local park! Feels like summer time:)

We had a playdate with our little friend from Mia’s old preschool! Kids had a blast and I had a nice time with my mommy friend.

This week a little bunny has been visiting our yard! The kids gets so excited every time.

Mia had her last week of Co-op school. We had burgers from five guys to celebrate the day:)

Have a wonderful Saturday evening friends. It’s memorial day weekend here in the US. It’s a holiday to remember the men and women and their families who made the ultimate sacrifice for our Country’s freedom. We are grateful for their sacrifices!

Take care friends:)

Weekend Fun!

Hi Friends! Hope you are having a restful weekend:) We spent ours mostly at home. It’s been a sunny weekend so the kids got to use their kiddie pool! Hubs and I joined the fun too. I finally got to cut and enjoy my double delight roses (it’s such a joy!HA). We took the kids to the park and got some boba tea and treats after. My In-laws visited us this weekend too and got to hangout with the kids.

Pretty double delight roses that I put in the patio table to enjoy while the kids are in the kiddie pool.

I borrowed this Marie Kondo book from the library and I enjoyed reading it. It inspired me to continue decluttering and have things at home that bring me joy! I’m still doing my “less spend year and haven’t bought any new clothes, shoes, candles, etc”. My goal is to be intentional with what I bring inside my home/life. I continue to declutter (it’s a process for me and I’m taking my time so it’s not too overwhelming for me). SO far, so good!

It was a nice day at the park, not too hot and the wind breeze was great!

DIL watching the kids and bought us Jack in the box treats! Thanks Papa:)

After church we stopped by at Costco to get some groceries. Inflation is real folks! We got produce and convenient food that we will enjoy these summer months (chips, frozen meals).

Another picture of my roses just because it’s so pretty, smells so good too!

Have a nice Sunday evening friends. Hubs and I are watching Kdrama on Netflix (The Queenmaker), we are enjoying it so far.

Take care!

Getting ready for summer!

Hi friends! Happy Thursday:) Hubs and I had cleaned our patio this past weekend so we can enjoy our yard more this coming summer! It feels like summer here in the PNW lately and I’m here for it:) We pressure washed, weeded (there’s more to do though) and got flowers from Home depot to add color to the patio. Hubs put the kiddie pool out for the kids and they’ve been using it everyday!

This past weekend we celebrated Mother’s day and Birthday celebrations for my In laws! We had Korean and Thai food. My family (Hubs) prepared breakfast for me, I requested filipino corned beef breakfast (it hit the spot!) HA! Thanks to my sister who sent me my favorite filipino canned goods! We enjoyed family walks and tiramisu cake too! It was a wonderful Mother’s day weekend:)

Have a great Thursday night friends! Talk later:)

Weekend Fun!

Hello friends! The kids got invited to a birthday party this afternoon (Mia’s friends from gymnastics) and we had a blast! It was a wonderful party with lots of fun activities and yummy food:) The rest of our weekend was quiet, we stayed home aside from doing the grocery shopping to get ingredients for our cheese fondue (we had gruyere cheese that we wanted to use last night). My Dad in Law (Papa) also visited and played with the kids:)

Mia and I enjoyed doing beads this weekend too. We listened to an audiobook (Little House on the Prairie). Thank You Jesus for a nice weekend with my family and friends!

Have a restful Sunday night friends! Take care!

Spring has sprung!

We’ve been having a great spring here and we are taking advantage of it and getting outside! I started to clean our yard/weeded my vegetable box and planted 1 tomato plant!HA. The kids and I visited the nursery already last week because Mia wanted to have her own little plant box. She’s been diligent in watering her plants too. Washington State’s national flower is the Rhododendron and they are all over my community. I can’t help but take pictures because of the pretty colors!

We visited our local lake this past weekend. The water is still very cold though. Come summer time this place is packed!

Have a great Wednesday night friends! Hubs and I are relaxing and watching a Korean show. It will be an early night for the kids because they didn’t nap and they had fun running around playing at the park earlier with my Dad In law!

Take Care!