November 2014 – 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

Sip Wine Bar and Restaurant

Hi all! Couple of weeks ago Hubs and I participated in the Seattle Restaurant week(it was a 2 week event) and we didn’t want to go to Seattle because of the traffic so we decided (lucky for us) to just go to one of our local restaurants that was participating, Sip restaurant. This is so convenient for us because it’s like 4 minutes from our house. We love our neighborhood! Anyways, this is our second time to do Seattle restaurant week at Sip (our first was 2 or 3 years ago). We like the ambiance there, so cozy and beautiful (we were seated near the fireplace and it was great!). The food was decent, I had the beef bourguignon and my Hubs had the duck confit. The Hubs dinner was just Ok for him but he totally enjoyed our appetizer that was the Sweet roll sliders. Dessert was nothing memorable, but all in all we liked the experience and will most likely be back again.

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.