all by myself

My husband went away for a a few days and I was obviously left home alone.

It was interesting living alone for a while.

When I was living with my brother, him and my sister in law will often go on business trips and holidays, so it was not uncommon for me to be left alone, but with their helper, I wasn't really by myself except on Sundays when the helper took her day off.

So in this true living alone experience, what did I discover?

Some of these I already knew, but knowing and experiencing are quite often, not the same.

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1. You end up with a refrigerator filled with too-little-for-one-meal portions of random food.
2. Having the tv on during mealtime doesn't feel intrusive.
3. Yoga practice at home seems more enticing than in the studio.
4. Watching American Ninja Warrior is not as much fun.
5. Dishes don't wash themselves (gasp).

zzzzebra

One of the first things we got when we got married was a cast iron grill pan, and while I love the char it puts on everything, it was just such a hassle to clean it after use.  It had not been touched since last year.  Sorry.

A month ago, I asked my husband if we could get an enamel coated cast iron grill pan--it will allow us to pimp our bread, meat, pepper, tomato--everything, without the hassle of getting our sink messed up. 

The rest is history.

suddenly, it's magic!

I like the stripes so much that for a moment I forgot just how much I hate, hate, hate, hate while bread!

(i keep saying) yes to my dress

I love the show Say Yes to the Dress.

I enjoyed watching it even before I was engaged, and continue to watch it now whenever I chance by it.

I sometimes catch myself smiling from ear to ear when I see the dress for the bride-to-be.

Sometimes when I watch it, I think about my wedding gown and how much I love it.  In fact, there are times when I watch our Same Day Edit / On the Day photo slideshow just to look at the dress I said yes to.

lace (applique) on tulle on lace on tulle

There are so many things I love about my wedding dress.

First is the colour.  I feel it looks old school without being costume-y.

I always wanted a dress that was cream-to-champagne, but I wouldn't have guessed that it would be champagne lace over ivory tulle over white lace over the lightest beige--almost gold base.

As a bonus the dress looks different depending on the lighting.  Some people asked me if I changed dresses during the reception because 'it looked like another dress'.

stickers?

I love the texture of the lace appliqué, there are even photos where it looked like 'floating lace'.

I had 'sleeves' for church and off it went just before cocktails.

party dress

I think what I love the most about my dress is that despite all the layers, the various colours, it is still a simple dress.

And I love that.

Simple.

Surprise!

One week.

I was just sitting across my brother and sister in law.  

We were talking about the joy that is my nephew coming in June.

Over fried chicken, that my brother liked.

Over strawberry iced tea, that my sister in law tried.

In our home.

Sunday lunch.

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And without warning, without as much as a hunch, my sister in law, a week later, gave birth.

---

The day everyone was cheering Pac Man, celebrating the unanimous victory, my husband and I were standing outside a controlled room where a little boy lies with his mom by his side holding him.  

From outside, I could only see his body and a side of his head.

His head.  Covered by a white and yellow striped bonnet to keep warm.

His face was turned away from me, but somehow I knew he had the face of a child determined to get stronger so he can come home with his family.

---

His hands.

His feet.

His left cheek.

I could see his chest go up and down, as he took each breath.  A constant reminder of the miracle of new life.

---

I looked at my sister in law who is supposedly exhausted from delivery just half a day ago.

I saw happiness.    

So much, that my own heart fluttered.  And for a second, I was floored with gratefulness.  

We are blessed.

There was no way that her journey to childbirth could be smoother.  Perfection.  A path paved by God.  

I said a short prayer of thankfulness.

Smiled to myself.

And sent my love to the little guy I'd soon meet.  

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Holding my husband's hand, I countinued to watched.  Looked.  Enjoyed.  Shared.  That.  Moment. 

salsa (in no) time

eat fresh

I love love love our food processor.

We really made the right decision getting the 2L capacity food processor versus a cute chopper.

I can pop anything in (in a logical sequence) and go go go without having to take things out to make room.

I've always made salsa--by hand. And while we have a hand slicer and I don't mind chopping so much, I appreciate getting the job done turning knobs!

Now where are those corn chips?

so(ap) happy

served

I think the key to furnishing a new home is restraint.

Trust me, it is not the easiest thing, especially for someone like me who wants to complete things as soon as possible.

The thought of being stuck with something I don't particularly love was enough to get me through critical shopping moments, where I make the call to turn away or head to the counter--the altar of stores.

Getting a soap dish had been on top of my list even before I moved in to our home but for some reason, I could never find the one I would be willing to spend year and years with.  This is after all something you'd use at least twice a day, everyday.

My Mom will be surprised to find out that we had been living for a few months without one. 

Not anymore.

who are you calling 'chicken'?

basics

my favourite

So this is my chicken balls post.  

I made some refinements in my balls making processes based on lessons learnt making beef balls and falafel.  

What I can truly say though is that it is a lot of fun!  I feel like a child given a box set of play-doh.  And as I never truly owned a set, you can imagine my excitement.

processed food?

Yin and Yang.  The vegetables and the seasoned minced chicken.

Did I mention that I love how after vegetables come out of the food processor, it smells amazing?

hunger games

I arranged the balls on baking sheets in rows.

When my husband saw me halfway through he said two things.

First was that he didn't realise I could make so many balls.  Second was that maybe I was trying to trick him, that these were in fact all veggie.

domino effect?

I did a trial batch.  I placed some chicken balls into a glass baking dish and popped it into the oven.

When I took out the meatballs, this.  

Polka dots.

New Year food?

i'd like to swim in spaghetti

Finished product.

I have a feeling my husband will dip these in tomato catsup.  Unless of course, I throw them into a bowl of spaghetti.

what matters is who you are inside

While I still have what could be two batches of chicken balls, I can't help but think about my next ball recipe.

Happy Saturday :)