When we were in Italy, we stayed in a cute hotel in Florence where they served breakfast every morning. One of our favorite things to eat there was the soft-boiled egg that they would make for us and serve on a little egg holder. When we got back, Jes talked about it a few times and my mom remembered. So for Christmas, she bought Jes a pair of egg cups from Crate and Barrel. Thanks, Mommy! Last weekend I made a soft-boiled egg and overcooked it. Aw shucks.
On Tuesday, we had an impromptu lunch with the family including my parents, Jes’ parents, the Suminos, Jason and Jia, and Marie’s parents! Good thing we planned on having dim sum because they can accommodate a table for 13.
It was so much fun to see the boys again and Brandon sang “Joy to the World” for me.
I promised that they’d get a surprise if they ate all their food and were so excited to open their Christmas gifts. Cole even gave his Uncle Jesse a big thank-you hug.
After lunch, we took Jason and Jia to the airport and then spent the afternoon just kickin’ it in the Magical House. Later that evening, we met up with the Sokol-Juns who were sans children. We shared a big meal of Japanese BBQ with at a taste of almost every part of the cow. It’s a place called Tsuruhashi and it’s hidden away in Fountain Valley. Good times…
On Wednesday morning, we headed out for our drive back to SF. It started out pretty rainy and hit a little bit of traffic in Commerce but once we were out of the Grapevine, the rain stopped and the sun came out. I think we saw 4 rainbows on our way home! Too bad I was driving while it all happened so I have no photos to show for them.
Dog did a good job just hanging out in the backseat again but seemed relieved to be back in his bed again.
Here are photos from our Christmas Vacation in Southern California.
On Sunday, I picked up Holly and we spent the afternoon at Huntington Beach for a long walk and some catching up. Afterward, we headed to Irvine to visit Patty and Johnny’s new house where a bunch of old friends from Whitney were gathered with all their little children for the evening. It was a brief but very cool reunion.
For dinner, we drove back to Cerritos for a dinner gathering. We shared pitchers of Hite, chicken wings, and bulgogi pizza. It was so fun to have everyone together in one place. Times like this make me miss our Christmas parties in Irvine.
On Monday, I drove to El Segundo with Joy to pick up Brother for lunch at Simmzy’s. We spent a couple hours in Manhattan Beach where the sun was shining and it was pleasantly warm outside. We took Koa along for the ride and after sniffing and peeing along the beach, we had to tie him up outside of the restaurant. To minimize the barking that usually occurs when strangers try to pet him, I posted a sign on him.
I spent the rest of the afternoon in Cerritos at my parents’ house until it was time for dinner. We met up again that night and had some tasty Korean BBQ at Shik Do Rak.
Friday was the perfect day for a happy hour since we had so much to celebrate: the end of a tough week, Michelle’s last day of her 3-month internship with us, and Ranee’s arrival back in SF for the holiday. We went to Conga Louge for some $5 Mai Tais and appetizers. We love this tiki bar even though they have become a lot stricter about how many people you can have in your party. Luckily we had just enough to max out the 12-person limit and then snuck in a couple extra by the end of the evening.
It was great to be able to celebrate Michelle’s achievements and to give her a proper send off into the real world. It was also nice to be able to hang out with our old friend Ranee.
We also got to meet Teresa’s baby brother Patrick who had also just arrived from Chicago for the holidays. We love bringing family to our happy hours.
Afterward, most of us made it down the street to Ici for some tasty ice cream. I got to taste their Salted Coconut Pecan and Candied Cacao Nib flavors this time. They were delicious and it felt so good to be outside in the rain. Once that was done, we headed over to Gordo for a little bite to eat. I shared a chicken burrito with Michelle and it was just the right amount to get me sobered up for the drive home.
Ryan and Michelle held their 4th Annual Pie Party on Sunday afternoon and it was at Ryan’s work office down the street this year. I made two pies: a skillet apple pie and a pumpkin pie with walnut brown sugar topping. I think I finally figured out how to make a decent crust and my apples came from the Farmer’s Market this year. The pumpkin pie was just for fun since I wanted to redeem myself for the not-so-good one that I made on Thanksgiving Day.
This year, there were way more sweet pies than savory pies. There was a mac and cheese pie that everyone thought tasted delicious but didn’t vote for it because we all either thought it was cheating or we were just pulling for a sweet pie to win this year. Mine were the apple pie in the two-handled pan and the pumpkin just to the right of it.
In the end, Vyl won. AGAIN. For the third year in a row. Oh well…she certainly does make good pies. This year, she won with a chocolate bourbon pecan pie that really was tasty. The prize was a lighter in the shape of a small fish. It was pretty funny. There were 4 apple pies this year (including mine) and I came in 4th place overall with the most votes out of the apples. I guess I’m improving. At least that’s what I’m telling myself. One day I will win with an apple pie…one day.
This year, our turkey was smaller and Jes made butternut squash soup from scratch.
He started in the morning and it took pretty much the whole afternoon to get it just right. It turned out really well and we had lots left over for the next couple days.
The Masayas joined us for our Orphan Thanksgiving and I had a brief iChat with the family in LA. Brother bought Joy a new macbook that has the camera built in so we can actually video chat now.
I also made my first attempt at pumpkin pie, which tasted right but the texture was all wrong. Jes thinks I just need to try a different recipe. I’m gonna try again this weekend.
When we were in Italy, we stayed in a cute hotel in Florence where they served breakfast every morning. One of our favorite things to eat there was the soft-boiled egg that they would make for us and serve on a little egg holder. When we got back, Jes talked about it a few times and my mom remembered. So for Christmas, she bought Jes a pair of egg cups from Crate and Barrel. Thanks, Mommy! Last weekend I made a soft-boiled egg and overcooked it. Aw shucks.
Maybe I need this iPad app.
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