Uncategorized – Page 35 – The Adventures of a Calamari Queen

Thanksgiving 2014!

Hello family and friends! I hope you all had a great thanksgiving (if you celebrate this Holiday) and stuffed your belly with yummy food! We hosted this year (2nd in a row now) and I think we will be hosting for the coming years too. I really don’t mind because everyone (my husband’s side of the family) shares responsibility in the food department. We enjoyed thanksgiving dinner and watched the Seahawks beat the 49ers (it was a boring game because I think the 49ers forgot how to play football!). Around 11pm when I was already in bed, the Hubs wanted to go check out target because he wanted to get something related to his computer! So off we go to 2 Targets and I’m glad he got what he wanted. We also checked out Walmart for candles (my new obsession lately) and there were a lot of people but nothing like what I normally see on T.V. I don’t think I will do it again. I prefer shopping online because the deals seem to be the same and it is more convenient.

My Thanksgiving table 2014; just bought flowers because I wanted just a simple table. — My Thanksgiving table 2014; just bought flowers because I wanted a simple table.

I made lechon belly(roast pork belly) because we wanted my DIL to taste it

someone's enjoying his dinner! — someone’s enjoying his dinner!(pic from the iPad so it’s blurry)

watching football and Riley is so over the game!

The next day (Friday) it’s a family tradition for all of us to walk around downtown Seattle and window shop. The weather was so nasty that we only stayed for 4 hours. It was still a nice time with my In laws though.

sorry for the ugly background!the Hubs just asked me to turn around.. — sorry for the ugly background!the Hubs just asked me to turn around…can barely see macys;).

Did you get me something mom?-Riey — Did you get me something mom?-Riley

Eques!

Hi Friends! Last Sunday (my birthday) we decided to have brunch after church at Eques (it’s located inside the Hyatt Bellevue). We’ve passed the place many times, we always said that we should try it because the place was known for their breakfast buffet. After checking out their buffet selection, we were not impressed (not that it was bad, just not a wide selection) we decided to just order ala carte and forget the buffet. I had the crab cake eggs benedict (I really enjoyed it) while Zach had the smoked salmon eggs benedict (he said it was great!) We shared their banana split pancakes with hazelnut chocolate ,we really liked it too.Though it was pricey for a what we got, we would still come back. Great service and ambiance too (they had a TV in one area where the Seahawks game was on! Too bad they lost!).

I also would like to thank my Hubs and my family (including my In laws) for all their birthday gifts! To my friends who also took time to text,message,greeted me on my birthday! I appreciate you all! Thanks again to my family for their thoughtful gifts.

Raybans from my Sis and BIL! The camera is not giving the shades justice!LOL..this is one lovely shades! I cannot wait to use this one!

Gift cards from our favorite stores/restaurants!

Bday gifts to myself! My obsession lately:CANDLES!!!!

On my bday weekend,Bath and Body works had a sale $3 for their lotion so I went a little crazy because I had a coupon that makes it $2 each! half of these will be for my sisters! (original price:$262,I paid $42)

More BBW (this store is a trap! Their coupons are just so good!) I bought these Kate Moss lipsticks because Kris Aquino "recommends" this on her morning show. How she liked drugstore makeups too. SO of course I have to check it out myself. I listen to Kris Aquino's makeup opinions you all *sarcasm!). — More BBW (this store is a trap! Their coupons are just so good!) I bought these Kate Moss lipsticks because Kris Aquino “recommends” this on her morning show. She mentioned how she’s impressed with drugstore makeup too (not just the high ends ). SO of course I have to check it out myself. I listen to Kris Aquino’s makeup opinions you all *sarcasm!).

John Howie Steakhouse

Hi all! I hope you had a great weekend! Yesterday (Sunday) was my birthday so it was a busy and fun weekend for us. The hubs and I have 10 days between our birthday so this year we decided to just celebrate together because with Thanksgiving next week it’s just going to be busy. We had our birthday dinner at John Howie steakhouse with my In Laws. John Howie is our favorite steakhouse here in Seattle. We’ve been here many times and we are ALWAYS impressed with the food and the service. It was so nice of them to give us a birthday cake/dessert of our choice, but we decided to just take them home because my In laws ordered our birthday cake for us (delicious white chocolate cake!). We watched the movie Jiro Dreams of Sushi while enjoying our cake. Thank You to our family and friends who sent their birthday wishes to us! Thank You Jesus for blessing us with another year!

Charcuterie Plate (selection of house cured meats,Saskatoon berry reduction,pickled shallots,Guinness mustard,cornichons)

our server making *Tableside Wagyu Beef tenderloin tartare

Roasted Beet Salad (organic greens,shaved purple onions,salt brined pistachio nuts,champagne chèvre vinaigrette,Humboldt Fog)

MIL kathy had Roasted Jidori Chicken(super moist and flavorful)

Maine Lobster Mashed Potatoes (we also shared brussels sprouts and mac n cheese)

Thanks to my MIL and DIL for giving us our birthday cake! It was so good and pricey!hehe — Thanks to my MIL and DIL for giving us our birthday cake! It was so good!

enjoying our cake and coffee while watching the movie

Lechon Belly!

A couple of weeks ago, our friends Faye and her husband Roger invited us to their home for dinner. They made oven roasted pork belly (lechon belly) and it was so good! We will probably make this at home because sometimes the lechon we get at the Asian market is really dry and not as good. It was such a great night with them. We were so full from eating filipino food that playing Xbox/Kinect tennis was a good idea afterwards! Thanks Faye and Roger for inviting us to your home.

Biko/sticky rice that my hubs really enjoyed

LOL! intense concentration needed to win the game!

Weekend Fun!

Hello November! I can’t believe the Holiday season is here. I’ve been to the mall these last couple of days and it’s starting to look so festive with decorations all over the place. Halloween was just last Friday and although we personally didn’t do any partying or dressing up I always have Riley (our dog) wear a costume. This year he was a Cow. I got the costume at Walmart because it’s cheap and it’s not worth the money after he’ll have it for 2 minutes (then he’ll destroy the whole thing).

Saturday night we had Sushi at our favorite local restaurant, Aji Sushi. We love it because the sushi selection is decent and it’s like 4 minutes drive from our house.

We also went to Hobby Lobby , Walmart, Bath and Body works, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Church this weekend. Our Sunday afternoon was spent napping and cuddling with our fatty Riley! He is loving our fireplace so much. I have to turn it on in the morning and late evenings. He is so spoiled! We also finished a TV series on netflix called “The 100”. We are thinking of watching Gotham next.

my new obsession lately! Candles and walmart have decent collection. This one smells so good. — my new obsession lately! Walmart has a decent candle collection. This one smells so good.

Carlos’n Charlie Cancun

For our last night in Cancun, my sis and I decided we wanted to go out and have a nice dinner. We went to Plaza Caracol (the Coco Bongo area), it’s where the touristy restaurants and shops are located. Carlos n Charlie seemed to be a fun restaurant so we decided to have dinner there. We had no expectations at all so it was like “whatever” this looks decent. Personally, I did not like it at all! 5 minutes after we got our seats, the waiters are too much! Their “in your face” kind of serving is too much for me. Someone will offer tequila jello/shots and she is so persistent. I hated that I caved in to her pressure.Lol! The place was super loud, so we had a hard time talking to each other. So if you want a quiet conversation during dinner, do not go to this one. The food was decent, our server recommended some food (she always recommend the most expensive dish too) and I caved in. Her choices was decent, but it wasn’t the best I had. After dinner we just walked around, window shopping and checked their night life (but we didn’t go to any shows).

staff and customers singing and dancing!

OOTN:not sure what she's wearing,tory burch flats — OOTN:not sure what she’s wearing,tory burch flats

Cancun Vacation Part 2!

Here’s the part 2 of my Cancun trip with my little sister. We spent a day at the Mayan Ruins (Chichen Itza) on a group tour. Honestly, I didn’t really join the group listening to our tour guide because it was so hot that day and I started having a headache and I just had to stay in the shade of a tree for most of the time. I still have to google and read about the history of the Mayan Ruins/Chichen Itza because all I know is that it’s part of the 7 wonders of the world. The whole place was pretty amazing and I’m so glad we did the tour. It was such a LONG day(13 hours total to do the tour) but worth it in my opinion. It’s not everyday we get the chance to see one of the 7 wonders of the world. Sis and I also checked out downtown Cancun (reminded us of the Philippines), swam at IkKil Cenote park, had dinner at Carlos and Charlie (so pricey!!) and the Mextreme restaurant (because we wanted some authentic mexican food,it didn’t disappoint!), we played tourists at the Coco Bongo Area, and the rest of the time we spent soaking in the sun and enjoying the beach. Their beach was really amazing, the water had a beautiful array of blue shades. We are so grateful that we got to do this, we know that not all are given the chance to experience Cancun. Thank you, Lord! Warning Ahead: Picture Overload! Enjoy:)

listening to some instructions from our tour guide

playa del carmen,another tourist trap place in mexico!

This is a tequila shop, reminds us of a Breaking Bad scene!

in fairness to her,she listened to our tour guide!lol

pic from www.worldfortravel.com/ Ik Kil Cenote

sorry for the blurry pic,we just use an iPhone here — sorry for the blurry pic,we just used an iPhone here

Our server Guilberto, this is how they carry their drinks!How cool is that?! — Our server Guilberto, this is how they carried our drinks!How cool is that?!

I collect starbucks mugs (places I've visited) so this was a must thing to do! — I collect starbucks mugs (places I’ve visited) so this was a must thing to do!

perfect drinks for the hot cancun weather

Cancun Vacation Part1!

I know it’s been a while since my last post! It’s just been a little busy here so my little blog was “sacrificed”. But the major reason is that I just got back from Cancun with my younger sister,Rosell, last Sunday morning so I’m still (sort of) in vacation mode. I really had no plans to join her on her Mexico vacation but when she asked if I wanted to join her (she already paid for the hotel) and I mentioned it to Zach, he happily said YES! I was expecting a different answer especially since we plan to go somewhere next month, but he thought it was a great opportunity to spend some time with my sister and a free trip to Cancun (why not!),although it’s not totally free because my plane tickets were not cheap:(… But anyways, this is my first time to visit Cancun (I’ve been to Cozumel and Playa del Carmen) I really liked it, they make it easy for the tourists. I observed that they really clean their roads, maintain the tropical ambiance (Hotel Zone). You can tell that Tourism is their main livelihood. I can totally see myself visiting Cancun again, but I’ll have to bring my husband this time. Thanks to my sis for the Cancun treat!

We have to be in the airport 4am (flight is 6am).

No Seattle to Cancun direct flight,so I have to stop at Dallas!

Thanks dick for the treat!#masarapanglibre

It was gloomy on the first day! What a view!

we totally got spoiled during our stay..room service galore!

gloomy first day! but Thank God the rest of the week was sunny and hot:)

I will make a part 2 of our trip because (still so many pictures to share) and we visited the Mayan Ruins,swam in Ik Kil (Cenote), dinner at the Coco Bongo area! I took so many pictures and wish I can upload everything here! Hope you enjoyed the part 1 of our vacation pictures!

Weekend Fun!

Our weekend was wet and quiet! Fall is here and it’s been a rainy weekend here in the PNW! We didn’t do a lot because Riley is still healing from his surgery so we didn’t want to leave him alone for a long time so we mostly stayed here at home. We did watch the movie “The Maze Runner” because Hubs read the book series so he wanted to see if they did them justice. He said the movie wasn’t so bad compared to the book! I enjoyed it too despite me not reading the books. After the movie, we ate at the Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant because it was close to the theater and we’ve been wanting to try it. The place is like a sports bar, lots of big TVs all over the place and college football playing everywhere while we dined. The wings were good too, meaty and flavorful. I really liked my order. I had the chicken wings with parmesan garlic sauce. The Hubs had the traditional chicken wings (buffalo hot sauce) and he said it was just OK. We also shared their fried cheese curds (my first time to have it) and it was the BOMB! I will probably go back just for that alone!

This is Zachs drink! — This is Zach’s drink (twisted margarita)!

After church this morning, we had lunch at Genki Sushi at Factoria Mall because the weather is cold and wet and I “needed” some Ramen in my system!

I got a free candle coupon from Bath and Body works and I picked this one! Smells delicious! The hubs doesn't care for this one. — I got a free candle coupon from Bath and Body works and I picked this one! Smells delicious! The hubs doesn’t care for it though.

I baked pineapple cake this evening! don't be too impressed this is just from a cake mix! — I baked pineapple cake this evening! Don’t be too impressed this is just from a cake mix!

YAY for boots season! I got this from amazon and it's so comfy! Original price:100$,I got it on sale for $20! So comfy yet cheap! My kind of deal:) — YAY for boots season! I got this from amazon and it’s so comfy! Original price: $100, I got it on sale for $20! So comfy yet cheap! My kind of deal:)

Hope you had a great weekend family and friends! I’m off to spend some time with my Hubs and my lovey Riley!

Washington State Fair 2014!

We went to the Washington State Fair this weekend (it’s their last weekend) and it was a fun afternoon! The Hubs didn’t really want to go but I convinced him, after all we only go to this event once a year. The junk food is always a must when we go! I always get the oily curly fries and corn on the cob, even if I’m full, I gotta have it, because it’s been a tradition! We had fun watching the “Wool Riders Only”, where kids 4-7 years old ride sheep. We also toured the barns to see the cows, goats, pigs, etc. Despite the crazy hot afternoon and long lines we survived! Till next time WSF!

my hubs,mom in law, dad in law! — my hubs,mom in law, dad in law checking the goats!

Elephant ears, a must junk food for my Hubs! — Elephant ears, a must have junk food for my Hubs!

smoke ribs galore! — smoked ribs galore!

my attempt to get a pic of mt. rainier inside the car (total fail!)