Pizza Pizza!

This weekend, I decided to make a pizza from scratch (with help of course) and let me tell you...I was surprised by how delicious it turned out and how easy it was to make!  Everyone should make their own pizzas so that they can eat it guilt free!  I had four delicious slices measuring at approximately 150 calories each!  I can't wait to make it again!

Prepping the crust - this was my responsibility

Sauce is ready to go - yummy!

Sauce and cheese on a stuffed crust!

Into the oven it goes!

Masterpiece completed!

An East Coast Getaway

I spent a few days in New York and Philly this past weekend and had the most amazing time.  I really love my good friend D and am so grateful to be able to see her a couple times a year even though we live so far apart.  We stayed at the amazing W in Times Square in New York - what a great hotel!  The best part about it was that the weekend was entirely free thanks to Starwood free nights - woohoo!  What else did we do?

Brunch at Ze

Hang out at Central Park

A taste of street food @ Halal

Best ramen ever @ Ippudo

Ferry ride to Camden for the Jack Johnson concert!

@ the Jack Johnson concert

...which was AMAZING!  I couldn't have asked for a better evening.  A cool summer breeze on a warm summer night, fireworks in the background, a beautiful sunset, wonderful company, and listening to Jack Johnson live.  Moments like these make me happy to be alive.

Exquisite. Stunning. Beautiful.

Even these three words do not do one of my dearest friends justice in describing her as a bride and of her wedding day.  This past weekend, Q&A finally tied the knot!  From the bride's dresses to the venue to the recitation of a heartfelt poem written by the groom to the day-of video montage, words alone cannot describe how amazing and touching everything about their special day was.  I find myself searching for words to describe how grand the day was, and because I'm at a loss [for words], I'll let the pictures do the talking.

First Look

@ Vibiana (day shot)

Reading a poem

 

 @ Vibiana (night shot)

Saying their thank you's at the end of the night!

I had the amazing honor of singing during the Processional and for the couple's first dance.  Thank you Can, for capturing this video for me!

Click here for the rest of the photos!

A Sticky Situation

I have never been a sweets person, but my Dad is a different story. He's what we call in Cantonese "wai sick", meaning, he likes to eat even when he is not hungry and is frequently rummaging through the fridge to see what he can get his hands on. His favorite foods have always been foods that are sweet, especially ice cream and sweet breads. Lately, he's had to keep an eye on his sugar level, so he has had to cut a lot of food out of his diet - sad! I try to empathize with him by telling him about the strict healthy diet that I've put myself on, but I know that empathy cannot replace the taste of sweetness. Since there are not a lot of sugar-free sweets out there, I decided to try and satisfy my Dad's sweet tooth cravings by attempting to bake sugar free muffins. Seriously, I am no baker. Seriously.

Blueberry mix

Lesson learned: Too dense of a mix creates a holey muffin

Into the oven the Blueberry muffins go!

Um, here they are! 

Lesson learned: Not enough baking powder equals flat muffins.

Banana nut & Walnut mix

Oops, not enough mix for 12 muffins!

Puffy banana nut muffins!

Ready for delivery!

Clumsy me managed to burn myself in the process.  See the pink on my ring finger where I am pointing to?  What?  You don't see anything?  Okay, maybe I am being a bit of a weenie, but really, it's there and it hurts! :)

So the million dollar question...just how did my muffins turn out?  Taste wise, they are edible and enjoyable a 5/10, but definitely not oh-my-gosh I am a superhero-baker delicious.  Quality wise, they stick to the baking cups so when I am trying to eat one, I only get to eat half of it because the rest won't come off the wrapper!  Must. Google. Solution. so that it doesn't happen again.

I was going to give my Dad the entire batch, but now, I think I am only going to give him a few muffins and tell him "Here is a taste of what is to come.", literally.

(Day after: So apparently once the muffins have completely cooled down, they won't stick to the wrapper anymore. Heehee.)

Sleeping On the Job

I have too much going on lately and am exhausted.  Here's a real life scenario that happened at work yesterday between my client counterpart and I:

Me: Do you know whether we've covered the drop-ship process in our deliverables?
Client: Um, let me check our flows...
(A minute passes and I am getting really sleepy.)
Client: Good night Sherly
(Grogg-ily awaking)
Me: Oh!  I heard you...you said...

Client: Riiiight

Apparently, I literally fell asleep while I was waiting for him to answer me in the span of two short minutes!