When the Lights Go Down in the City

I love storms and I love the rain, but I love them a little less when the power goes out. We've been without electricity for more than a day now so it's pretty cold and dark at the house. Boyfriend and I are little refugees at Nae's house now. We're enjoying her free heat, internet, and electricity.

Last night Dad managed to barbecue some chicken and throw together a salad, but I think tonight we'll be bringing something home for dinner as, luckily, there wasn't a whole lot left in the refrigerator when the power went out, and what is there, I'm not really trusting after 24 hours of sitting without cold.

It's pretty wild around here with mini mudslides and trees down across the road and there was even a tornado warning for the area yesterday but we're safe and enjoying the adventure of riding out the storms. I hope that if you're somewhere that is being hit by these storms that you are safe, too.

One Week He's in Polka Dots, the Next Week He's in Stripes

I think I mentioned in my Christmas post that Boyfriend had gotten me a clutch made by Jenny/Stylez at ReJENerate and it finally arrived:

I absolutely love it! It is so cute and I love the sailor theme and I love that Jen only uses vintage, recycled materials to make all of her bags and clutches. This little guy is very well constructed and I love how the inside has the same pattern but in a different color!

I think it's pretty neat that she also hand sews the "ReJENerate" label in to all of her stuff (you can kind of see it on the red under the clasp there). Boyfriend did very well with this gift!

It was such a great coincidence that the day the clutch came, I had been to Old Navy and gotten new jeans, a new undershirt, and a dark blue shirt with stripes that matched the bag! I wore the new outfit and took the clutch out with me that night to my Dad's birthday dinner and then on to a bar with Nae and Boyfriend to see a band we used to follow in high school play.

Anyway, I love my new clutch! Jen's got some really great designs and she can do custom stuff, too, so check out her site at the link above if you're looking for a new bag/clutch/bridesmaid's gift.

Put Down Your Sword and Crown. Come Lay With Me On the Ground

I liked the second episode of Big Love so much better! The last scene had me tearing up as much as Nicki was almost and a big part of that was because I thought the song that they had playing in the background was so lovely. Here is the music video for it, I haven't watched it yet, just been listening to the song in the background as I type:

I hope you like it as much as I do and Yay! for Big Love being back on track.

Sometimes No One Wants What We Got...

So it rained on Sunday and we didn't do the second day of the garage sale. Consequently, I now owe Boyfriend $8 for our little bake sale adventure. In other words, I have to pay Boyfriend for the 3 hours worth of baking I did Friday night and for the pleasure of getting up at 6:30 in the morning on a Saturday...good times!

Saturday night I had my Godsister and a friend from the Cookie Company and their boyfriends over for dinner and a soak in the jacuzzi.

Yesterday, Nae took me and Mom to get our nails done and our eyebrows waxed (and boy did I need that mani/pedi after a year of not having them done because of the absurd prices in Australia) in the morning. We then came home and picked up Boyfriend and Dad and went to see "It's Complicated." A bit of advice on this movie- don't go with your parents, there are some awkward parts! Nae, Boyfriend, and I also felt we were about 30 years too young to appreciate this movie. We got a few little laughs here and there but all the older people around us were having trouble breathing from laughing so hard! We were also really annoyed because it seems like older people like to talk during movies ("Oh, wow! Look at that garden!" "I think this part is going to be funny!") and there was one lady in front of us who every time she laughed, she also clapped very, very loudly and so you couldn't hear the rest of the joke on screen. I'd recommend waiting to see this one until it comes out on DVD.

After the movie, we headed out to do family dinner at Ristorante Avanti. It's this tiny little Italian restaurant and all of our food was delicious, especially the Chocolate Pots de Creme we had for dessert! It was really pricey, but a nice treat to have every once in a while, plus it was really nice to have all 5 of us together for a meal without it being a holiday or birthday.

Anyway, all-in-all not a bad weekend. A bit bummed about not making any money on my bake sale, but it was fun hanging out with Nae and all her roommates for the morning.

It's storming here today and we have had really high winds and some heavy rain blasting the house. We've got a fire going so it's nice and cozy sitting upstairs with all the windows that look out at the trees and the ocean; it's a great view of what's going on out there! I love being in this house when it rains.

Our time here is growing shorter and shorter and I don't think either Boyfriend or I feel ready to leave just yet. I think the more time we spend up here, the more we realize that this area would be a great place for us to live. We'll just have to see how it all works out in the long run, but for now he'll for sure be flying back on February 5th and I'll be following him on the 7th.

Everybody's Working for the Weekend

I'm getting up at 6:30 for the next two mornings to help my sister Nae with her garage sale. I made a ton of cupcakes and picked up soda and bottled water to sell, as well. I'll probably be too tired and busy to blog over the next few days so I'll see you back here on Monday. Have a great weekend!

Let's Go Surfin Now, Everybody's Learnin How

Boyfriend and I drove up to a famous surf spot today called Mavericks. The waves were supposed to be 15-20 feet with an occasional 25 footer in some sets. When we got there it was pretty windy and choppy. The waves were pretty big (12-15 ft), but not as big as they had predicted. There were still a handful of guys out there, though, getting towed in to the waves. A new swell is supposed to hit again on Monday so if it's not storming, we are going to drive the hour back up to see it. It is pretty amazing to see waves so powerful so close to shore and it is mind boggling to see guys out there riding them! They looked like little ants riding these mountains of water, even when watching them through our binoculars. Anyway, the video above is from a really big day there if you are interested and here is the wiki page about it. The history of the spot is pretty interesting (at least to me).

After we had stood up on the hill watching the surfers for an hour and a half, we went in to Half Moon Bay Harbor and had lunch out on the patio at the Half Moon Bay Brewing Company. It was a really nice day. We finished it by driving the coast home and coming in to Santa Cruz where the swell was even better (cleaner, but smaller than at Mavs) and there were tons of guys out even as the sun was setting and it was getting really dark out on the water. It looked like a lot of fun out there, but still not fun enough to get me out there with all those sharks!

Soup, Soup, a Tasty Soup, Soup!

This picture has nothing to do with this post. Mom's friend brought it over as a thank-you for their girls' weekend in San Francisco and I thought it was pretty and it's been making the whole kitchen smell like Hawaii!

It's raining here today and after checking what was available in the fridge last night I decided to try and make wonton soup. Luckily, it was really easy, especially because Trader Joe's has awesome potstickers that I used in place of homemade wontons. It was warm and hearty and filling, and with only 1 tablespoon of oil and all other ingredients being low cal and low fat, it tasted like we were being bad and having takeout Chinese without the guilt!

Here's what you will need (any of my substitutions will be in parenthesis):

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon minced garlic (used about 2 tablespoons of the crushed stuff in the jar)
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger (used about 1 tablespoon and it could've used more, keep in mind 1/2 of this they are saying is for the wontons, but if you are using the TJ's and follow this you'd only use 1 tblsp, but I'm saying go ahead and add 2 tablespoons to the broth)
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions, plus 3 tablespoons finely chopped
• 10 cups canned low sodium chicken broth (I used half free range organic and half Swanson's in a can)
• 1/2 pound ground pork (the next few things are for the wontons, which I substituted by using Trader Joe's chicken potstickers...I think they do a pork one and they for sure do a veggie one, too)
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• About 30 wonton wrappers, thawed if frozen
• 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced bok choy
• 1/2 cup sliced shiitake mushroom caps (I used the stems, too)
• 1/4 cup sliced bamboo shoots (oops, I forgot these)
• (I think some celery and carrots would be good in this, too, felt like it could've used a few more veggies)

Directions:

In a large saucepan or soup pot heat the oil over medium high heat until hot. Add 1 tablespoon of the garlic and 1 tablespoon of the ginger and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.

Add the 1/4 cup of sliced scallions and the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low so that the broth just simmers. Allow broth to simmer for at least 20 to 30 minutes while the wontons are being assembled.

Add the sliced bok choy, mushrooms, and bamboo shoots to the broth and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.

(Skip next two paragraphs if using pre-made wontons)

In a small mixing bowl combine the remaining teaspoon of minced garlic, remaining tablespoon of chopped ginger, 3 tablespoons of finely chopped scallions, the pork, egg yolk, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil and crushed red pepper. Mix until thoroughly combined.

Working on a flat work surface, lay out a few of the wontons. (Keep remaining wonton wrappers covered with plastic wrap.) Fill a small bowl partially with cool water and set aside. Using a teaspoon measure, place a heaping teaspoonful of the meat filling in the center of each wonton. Using your fingers, lightly wet the edges of the wonton. Bring 2 opposite corners of the wonton together to form a triangle and enclose the filling, pressing edges firmly around the mound of filling to eliminate any air pockets and seal. Moisten opposite corners of the long side. Curl moistened corners toward each other, overlapping one on top of the other, and press the edges together to seal. You should now have a rounded stuffed wonton with a triangle poking up at the top. Assemble the remaining wontons in the same manner. When the wontons are all assembled, set aside.

Using your hands or a slotted spoon, gently add the prepared wontons to the simmering broth. Increase the heat slightly so that the broth returns to a gentle simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally (very gently), until the wontons float and the pork filling is cooked through, about 5 minutes.

Serve immediately.