What's up?

Am having so much activities (read: fun) that I could barely catch my breath. After a whirlwind 2 weeks back home to see our families, with birthday and Christmas celebrations snuck in between, we are finally back in FC!

Well, I wish we could say we are back to our quiet lives but looking at what we have done the past month, I don't think so...

Those old bones still rock!

The Leows made full use of their freedom (little L was in HK) and organised an epic clubbing night last month! I never imagine Panda and I going to a night club with transgender dancers but I must say the 'girls' at AsiaSF impressed me with their antics!

I especially loved our waitress - I shall call her Big Mama - who got Panda so red in the face with her teasing and flirting. When I told her hey that's my husband you are touching, Big Mama stage whispered in a manly voice: "Don't worry, I won't get pregnant!"

The most spontaneous award has to go to April, who led the pack on the 'blow jobs' - place your hands on their chest and get the shot glass out from their thighs or cleavage. I sent my sister a photo on that and she went "Eeeeeeeeee!" But actually, it was quite hilarious.

Big thanks to the Leows for that fun night out, which by the way, ended off at a KTV where everyone was almost ready to collapse from exhaustion. Old age.

Dainty, dainty! Tea and pastries!

The next day, Jo and I ditched our party clothes, left the boys at home, and headed down to Satori Tea Company to meet the ladies. It's such an exquisite place that I wished I had donned something prettier, lady-er. They had a whole wall lined with tea choices and a small cabinet filled with mismatched teapots and cups. I felt the urge to put on my best behaviour in such a quiet, feminine setting. But it was so hard because HY was about to leave US for good and I just couldn't stop talking. And it didn't help that the place was quite small! Luckily there weren't many customers.

The ambience was great but the menu was a tad too pricy for its quantity - at least for my current state of housewife-ness. Or maybe it was because I woke up late and I was looking for something to fill my poor starving stomach. The sandwiches did give me enough energy to move my toes home...

Did someone say shop and ski?

I was desperate for some action during the Thanksgiving weekend, so Panda and I had a grand plan - shop till we drop for the Black Friday sale, then head right up to Squaw Valley.

Based on our experience, parking would be a nightmare as it gets late into the night, so we got to Livermore REALLY early. And we weren't the first... at 4pm, queues were starting to form. Temperature was freezing and it got colder as the sun sets... but it didn't dampen people's shopping mood. Check out my frozen smile Kate Spade and Swarovski's line, even before they open!

We were quite glad that despite our tired bodies and the lack of sleep, we managed to get our butts to Squaw Valley. The drive was pretty pleasant and since it was the beginning of ski season, there weren't much snow on the ground though it was cold.

We rested for the night and woke up early to check out the place. I had mistakenly thought that ski lessons would be available in the afternoon (no one told me otherwise when I checked at the counter... boo!), so we took the aerial tram to High Camp in the morning. I had a blast ice-skating on the upper mountain. It was only when we got down and I wanted to pay for the ski lessons that we found out they were long over and the slopes were closing at 3pm! That left me with just an hour to try the easy slope.... it was quite depressing but I still went for it! :(

We stayed at Red Wolf Lodge, literally a stone's throw from the main village. Compared to where we've stayed at Northstar, the lodge was much simpler and smaller but the kitchenette was enough to prepare small meals. By now I'm quite good at packing ingredients that can be cooked in different ways - pasta, potatoes, carrots, some kind of meat, broccoli/lettuce, onion and garlic. Salt and pepper are normally provided but bring butter and sugar along. Condiments like ketchup, and herbs like dill or parsley, are good too!

What's for Christmas?

We got back to FC before Christmas eve and the gang had a superb dinner on Christmas day, thanks to Mr and Mrs Tan! Jo and Vic had to be the most hospitable couple I've ever seen - they spent so much effort preparing the sumptuous meal for us! I especially loved the devil eggs and chocolate dipped strawberries, and will try to attempt it one day! There was also an after-dinner song and dance session and we each took turns to jiggle our cellulite for disco music. We witnessed some really uproarious smooth moves but we are keeping those photos for personal consumption!

Next up...

It has been such an exciting year, thanks to our friends, and we are going to end it on high! Where will the gang be heading next? Well, I'm not telling yet, but stay tuned... for another episode of FC adventures is about to be unveiled!

Farewell... for now

Boohohoho! Today we bid farewell to Yvonne and family who are heading back home after their study stint. We seldom drive down to Monterey where they stayed, but when we do, we always try to meet up for brunch or a walk along the beautiful Monterey Bay.

I still remember how they took pity on us when we first arrived. It was winter, the day was short, and we were a little worried about driving two hours back to FC after dinner at Monterey. So Yvonne and family kindly offered to let us stay with them so that we could make the trip back in the morning.

The breakfast with old town coffee and homemade bread next day was so good that Panda kept asking me: "When can we go back to Yvonne's place to have the bread again??"

Well I'm really glad that we managed to have a proper dinner together before they go (The Boiling Crab, again! But it's really, really good.) Even happier to have a dim sum brunch together and to join them for their last shopping trip at Livermore (Shopaholics united)! I was quite entertained by the kiddos' commentaries about their Disneyland rides. They'd ask: "Did you ride (name of ride)?" and if you say yes, their eyes would brighten up. Hahahaha.

Well, farewell for now my friend! We will miss having you guys on the same side of the globe! No more brunches for me when Panda's not around... sob sob sob. See you back home!!

We were the last table to leave! Hahaha! Good things take time to enjoy!
 



Partners in crime at Kate Spade, Livermore

 

P/S: Was educated today on the Premium Outlets VIP Shopping Club. You sign up for free online, then get a voucher to exchange for a coupon book that gets you additional discounts (on top of other discounts). Woah!

Photo of the day: big guy, small guy

Little Zane decided that he wants to hide his face in Panda's bum.

 

We shopped at Gilroy today with the Low family (Thanks for driving us!) Found great presents for our family friends who will be hosting us at the upcoming Canadian trips.

 

We also snatched up some fabulous buys. My best purchase has got to be the flowy Kenneth Cole Tanya dress. It's such a comfy fit that I bought two colours of the same design (lime and black). Then I instigated Wendy to buy one too. We must share good stuff, right?

 

The highlight of the day has got to be little Zane. We highly suspect there might be some super chemical in his baby food. His energy bar was fully charged the entire day.

 

He also made Panda very happy, because "Uncle" (and all parts related, bum included) is apparently his best friend today. It's such an amusement to watch the both of them. The big guy and the tiny guy.

 

We managed to complete our shopping and dinner just in time for little Zane to go home to sleep. All four adults were also ready to hit the sack. We were exhausted from a day of shopping but satisfied with a stomach full of yummy crabs!

The Boiling Crab, San Jose, at 9.45pm.
The best time to go is really after 9pm, cos the queues will be gone!

Test(bread) for Nordic Ware Reversible Grill Griddle

Target is totally disrupting our budget life because I always find something interesting to buy. The latest item is a cast aluminium reversible grill griddle from Nordic Ware. You can grill stuff on one side to achieve those pretty brown sear lines on your meat and vegetables; on the other side, you can pretend to be a chef at those (Name)'s Place/Café and cook up fried bacon and eggs and pancakes for brunch.

 

The instruction said two burners for maximum cooking capacity, so I lay it across my stove like this. It's too short if I did it width wise.

 

 

 

I did a bacon and egg sandwich for Panda in the morning, then a simple grilled egg mayo sandwich for lunch. I was quite pleased with the results from my test(bread).

 

  

To up the level for dinner, I tried to do pan sear salmon and teppanyaki pork slices at the same time since there was enough space on the grill griddle. The dishes were yummy but I ended up with oil splatters all over the stove! While I could use a cover for my frying pan, it's completely open for the grill griddle unless we buy a teppanyaki cover.

It's still fun to use the grill griddle for cooking, but I'd say the following tips could help:
- Control the heat/fire. Aluminium heats up rather quickly and you don't want to burn your food.
- I think butter splatters less than oil so use the former if you can!
- Wash both sides thoroughly after using. I saw butter marks in the shape of the burner on the OTHER side after I finished cooking. Not pretty.

I'm not sure how much this costs back home but Target is selling it at $29.90. It's a value buy, considering its dual functionality.

What are your summer essentials?

Now that the weather is getting hotter, it's time to take special care of my skin and hair. Though we come from a tropical country, we need to get used to the heat again given that we've spent the last 7 months in US' cooling spring/winter season. And it's always such a dilemma. We want to soak up the sun and enjoy the long days, but the rays are so damaging!

I must say that my skin and hair survive so much better in cold weather than hot ones! So, my summer essentials are:

1. Neutrogena's Ultimate Sport Spray Sunscreen which I bought from Costco together with its Sport Face Oil Free Lotion. Both resist sweat, are oil free and provide broad spectrum UVA/UVB protection. Best of all, I can just conveniently spray it on.

2. Umberto Dry Shampoo. This is the only dry shampoo I found at Target and online reviews seem to be quite positive! I like how clean it makes my hair feel after sweating on a warm summer day.

3. Schwarzkopf got2b Beach Trippin' Salt Infusion Waving Spray. It works best when you have wet hair and you don't plan to blow dry it. That is, if you like the dry + messy beach look.

I've been wearing visors, caps and hats too just so that I can protect my face from the sun. Back home these are accessories... but here, they are definitely necessities!

Cheap cheap

I really love shopping in US, even if it's the simplest stuff. Today I walked into the nearby Staples to buy a notebook. Martha Stewart's office collection was having a clearance sale and I got my notebook, a file and a stack of cutely-shaped post-its all for $4. Saved more than $15!

Whole Foods and other grocers were also selling lovely flowers for less than $20 for Valentine's Day. No jacked up prices. No wonder guys can afford to be romantic here! Even grandpas were buying pretty bouquets for their loved one!

Costco sells stuff at really cheap prices (thanks to Victor and Jo for bringing me in!) I bought a 6-piece 400 thread count Egyptian cotton for less than $40. Back at home I spent $300 for similar quality. Say what?!



Preparing for first ski trip

Dad and Mom arrived late last evening (yay!). We are heading up to Lake Tahoe early tomorrow for an epic ski trip!!! Think snow, cold wind, cosy fireplace and so on!

Check out the Timberland shoes we bought today. Mom has a similar pair. Next to learning how to attach snow chains to my tires, the most important thing is not to slip on wet, icy ground. That's where the sturdy waterproof ankle boots come in handy.

And they only cost US$40. Timberland! :)

To the mall we go again...

We confess. We have been shopping way too much for our own good ever since we set foot on this country. I have lost track of the number of times we've hit the Premium outlets in Gilroy and Livermore... adding Napa Valley as the latest on the list.

I have to say though that Great Mall is the fairest of them all. Other than the fact that it's nearest to our home, the mall is fully indoors compared to the rest which consists of rows and blocks of boutiques in open air. Which, of course, makes it the perfect place to go in this cold rainy December weather.

Today, our loot was a pair of Oakley radar shades (for me) and more Bath & Body Works stuff. Small victories, compared to what we would have bought a month ago.

When we first arrived in US, we were shocked at how cheap the prices of popular US brands are compared to back home. At the outlets, there are always additional discounts on top of the already marked down prices. Coach, Kate Spade, A&F, Aeropostale, Nine West, Gap, Timberland... Safe to say that we would never buy them anywhere outside US again!

However, we have also quickly learnt to pace ourselves and not be lured by the big discount signs outside the shops. Every week the brands promise bigger discounts or more attractive package deals; we realised after a while that these endless chase of 'value-for-money' products does little but burn a bigger and bigger hole in our pockets.

Our current strategy is to focus on the thing we need, be each other's shopping critic (e.g. you really don't need that... nah that doesn't look nice anyway...), and get out of the mall as fast as our little legs can carry us once we've got what we wanted. Don't look left, don't look right. Just link our arms and head for the car and go, go, go!



Success: Made my intended Oakley purchase without buying anything extra.



Failed: We didn't need B&BW stuff... but we got some cos they were going as low as US$3!



This is certainly not part of our shopping list! :D

***

On a separate note, sharing photos of our simple, yummy lunch at Liang's Kitchen at Milpitas and our coffee break at Peet's at Burlingame:

Taiwanese cafe recommended by Panda's colleague.



Demonstrating the art of tea pouring.



Hakka 板条 and traditional 卤肉饭



盐酥鸡



Peet's Coffee: Some folks claim that this is the place where real coffee is sold (jab at Starbucks)!



Verdict: It's cheaper than Starbucks but I still prefer the latter.



Check out the cool silver fire hydrants at Burlingame.