and remember

the truth that once was spoken
to love another person is to see the face of God

- les miserables

photo boredom

somebody must be bored to death cause i just got 1400 hits in one day on my flickr pics…

oldie chats

even though i had some food at home, i was tired and sickly so i went to get some tom yum soup at zense, my favorite local thai eatery. it’s typically empty (which makes me sad, but they have always been empty since i’ve gone the past 3 1/2 years and they are still there!) and the owners are usually occupying the corner booth chatting and snacking.

today, an old lady was sitting there and struck up a conversation with me. she was really sweet and we just talked about food and she was really happy when i told her zense was my favorite in the area. she told me about her recent trip to hong kong and how she loves dim sum. she was cuteness.

at the stars (19.52)

on tuesday, g and i (on his week break from traveling!) put a blanket out on the balcony and laid side-by-side with the pups gazing at the stars.

i purposely wrote that to try to sound romantic. har har har! leave it to me to ruin a perfectly romantic post. but anyways, it was really relaxing the nights have been so beautiful here. although a little windy, for some reason our balcony never gets the brunt of it.

19.52: star gazing on the balcony together

disney inspired

getting pumped up for the go adventures in disneyworld and universal studios in LESS THAN A MONTH by watching nick pitera:

into the country (18.52)

last saturday we decided to embark on a journey to FORT WORTH. i know – so very far. jana had mentioned the previous weekend that there was this amazing bbq place called cooper’s so we decided to tack on rahr & sons and make it a whole day trip.  we all (steph, jessi, jana, joon) met at our place at around 12pm then split into two cars to drive to the brewery.

it was a really pretty day – slightly windy but the sun was in full force. the line into the brewery wasn’t as bad as last time but it was also not a special celebration anniversary this time around. it was awesome cause we filled our pint glasses right when we got in vs. having to wait 15-20 minutes like before. went outside and sat on the benches – which is where i got my glorified sunburn from sitting with my back to the sun. awesome.

after drinking for about 1 1/2 hours – we decided it was time for some much needed MEAT. steph left back to dallas to get ready for savor while the rest of us piled into jana’s car in anticipation of this so-called awesome bbq. and awesome it was. when you first walk in to cooper’s you are immediately greeted by a pit of meat and get to select what you want. i’m not sure what all we ordered, but it was something like brisket, prime rib, half chicken, pork loin, sausage… probably a rib – who knows, but it was all so very GOOD.

here’s jana who looks very excited about the pounds of meat in her hand… as she should be.

GLORIFIED MEAT. notice the juicy juicy prime rib on top YUM.

nom nom nom. everything was so good and tender. awesome bbq! will definitely go back.

here’s a random bread face(s) picture for you.

we were so stuffed and craving ice cream so we decided to 1) walk off our food while 2) searching for ice cream. good combo, right? the stockyards were just across the street so we hopped across the road (not literally), stared at horses and longhorns for awhile and enter the famous ft worth stockyards. yah – not as impressive as i thought it would be, but oh well. there was this nice grassy field upon entering so we decided to be hippies and quickly spread out across the lawn.

yum – nice grass. jana and i searched on our phones for the closest ice cream and nowhere within the stockyards could we find any. fail. walked up the street, realized there was really NOTHING here and left where we drove back home to get marble slab ice cream. along macarthur there was an accident and g insisted we walk up the street so he could take a photo (he is collecting photos of accidents he sees). awkward much? and i got ice cream in my hair.

18.52: visited the ft worth stockyards, ate at cooper’s, took g’s cousin to go shopping for her birthday

crispy

i’m becoming a lazy blogger.

i was burnt to a crisp this weekend (more on the weekend later)… first time i’ve ever burnt so bad. why did i not put sunscreen on :[ was only out there for 1 1/2 hours!

not sure if you can even tell from the pic, but it hurts. i couldn't sleep well last night and i had to wear a strapless bra today because the straps HURT!! lesson learned. THANKS SUN! :]

and now i can look forward to either massive peeling or a really dark awkward tan. HELLO SUMMER.

st. pattys (17.52)

oh, hello green weekend. dallas always celebrates with a st. patty’s day parade on greenville. we attended last year and had lots of fun. that was also the first year we ever made random friends and went to chill at their apartment on the same day. interesting experience. i also saw the cutest corgi ever last year and guess what… SAW THEM AGAIN THIS YEAR!! i didn’t take pics but sooo uber cute.

this year, it was much the same. saw a lot of the same people, except we actually made it in time for the parade. unfortunately, it got kind of boring and the kids riding the floats are vicious in throwing the beads into (at) the crowd. poor riddhi got smacked in the face i think. VICIOUS KIDS. last year, we also trekked down greenville from caruth to lovers and then trekked all the way back. this year… we did the same trek – except LONGER to mockingbird and then another mile or so in to one of my co-worker’s (chris) house parties. probably around a 4 mile walk – but it makes for great people watching as everyone is kind of trashed that day. we were smarter though and took a cab back to the car instead of walking back.

while at chris’s house party (i rule at cornhole, btw) – there’s a park next to his place and for some reason, a lot of dallas police patrol cars in the area. we’re chatting while munching away on the delicious food when we notice a helicopter flying really close to the ground. and it just decided to land right in the middle of the park field next to us. it did it twice while we were there… makes me curious to know what was happening in the park…

17.52: walking (and making other friends do so too) 4+ miles on greenville, stopping in and eating society bakery, hanging out with a new friend (yay bliss!)

roast of the chicken

my first weekday experiment with thomas keller and ad hoc. decided to make whole roasted chicken on a bed of root vegetables for jessi (and g got the leftovers). thanks for joining and being a guinea pig, jess!

bed of veggies including: red potatoes, carrots, rutabagas, turnips, brussel sprouts, leeks and onions + garlic and thyme (i self added the brussels because i’m obsessed)

seasoned the cavity of the chicken with thyme, garlic, salt and pepper – really massaged it into the meat. let it sit for a little while mixing the veggies with canola oil, salt and pepper

before and after the roast

it was definitely a success. i LOVED this dish. it was so comforting and delicious and EASY. will teach anyone if they are willing. :]

here’s jessi having the after-meal sweats… jk, she just hates pictures

kitchen floor

i fell asleep on the kitchen floor from 7:45 to 8 am this morning with nikon laying on my back.