i love carnitas!

John and I went to Red Iguana again yesterday... there were so many things on the menu I didn't really know what to get, so I decided to get their Carnitas again. It was so good!


It was only around 4pm when we were there, but it was already getting a bit dark in the restaurant.


John got their Mole Negro with chicken. The sauce was really really dark!


Hmm... yummy chips and salsa, and horchata!


It was getting dark at the restaurant until the manager pulled up the blinds... we could finally see things.
I know there are other yummy things on the menu, but I just couldn't say no to their carnitas... maybe I'll try something different next time... just maybe.

breakfast at Golden Isle

Every Saturday and Sunday Chinese breakfast items are served at Golden Isle restaurant here in town. Usually they serve fresh soy milk, Chinese fried bread, buns, and noodles, etc..

We usually don't have Saturdays off these days, but since we took the day off, we went there for some late breakfast.


Fresh soy milk is the best! Make sure you only get a small order of the soy milk here... the large one is LARGE.

\
Delicious Chinese fried bread stick... yummy!


Green oinion pancake... very chewy and tasty.


Little steamed meat buns. Dough-ier than we expected.


Golden Isle
671 West 5300 South
Murray, Utah 84123

(801) 288-2266

bubbly

I first saw Colbie Caillat on Last Call with Carson Daly a while ago... I believe that was her TV debut, performing "Bubbly."

Back then you don't hear her much on the radio or anywhere else, but now the song is a total hit! I love it.


You can see her MV from Universal Music Group on YouTube.


Bubbly - Colbie Caillat

(Speak)
Will you count me in?

(Sing)
I've been awake for a while now
You've got me feeling like a child now
`Cause every time I see your bubbly face
I get the tinglies in a silly place

It starts at my toes and I crinkle my nose
Where ever it goes I always know
That you make me smile
please stay for a while now
Just take your time where ever you go

The rain is falling on my window pane
But we are hiding in a safer place
Under covers staying dry and warm
You give me feelings that I adore

They start at my toes make me crinkle my nose
Where ever it goes I always know
That you make me smile
Please stay for awhile now
Just take your time where ever you go

But what am I gonna say
When you make me feel this way
I just...mmmmmm

It starts at my toes makes me crinkle my nose
Where ever it goes I always know
That you make me smile
Please stay for awhile now
Just take your time
Where ever you go

Da da da da da da da da da da da da da dum
Bom bo da da da da da da da da da bom
Mmm mmm

I've been a sleep for a while now
You tuck me in just like a child now
'Cause every time you hold me in your arms
I'm comfortable enough to feel your warmth

It starts in my soul and I lose all control
When you kiss my nose the feeling shows
'Cause you make me smile
Baby just take your time now
holding me tight

Where ever, where ever, where ever you go
where ever, where ever, where ever you go

Oh wherever you go I always know
'Cause you make me smile baby just for a while

(lyrics from metrolyrics)

big naicha

Naicha weighs about 140 lbs., which is about average for her height.

But she just looks REALLY BIG sometimes.


John says, "Naicha is a big rug."

mini pine cones

I was away from my laptop for a little bit and came back to these tiny little pine cones. Apparently John and the dogs found them in the yard for me. They are so small and cute!


John said he saw them in the yard, and thought I could make some earrings with these. Maybe.

With the many pine trees we have in the backyard, I will have plenty of pine cones to work with.

hot doughnuts

It's a bit cold this morning, and I was hungry... then I thought of the yummy hot doughnuts we had for breakfast at Lola in Seattle.

The doughnuts were actually doughnut holes, or a version of Dutch doughnuts, made to order, with vanilla mascarpone. They were so good!


Maybe I'll convince John to find a recipe and make me some this weekend.

"bless your heart"

One of the nice things I often hear people say these days is, "Bless your heart!"

For some reason I had never heard this particular expression until fairly recently. Usually people say "Bless your heart!" when they see beautiful latte art in their cups, tasted John's coffee and espresso, or simply because they are enjoying the moment. I guess "Bless your heart!" is more than often used as a "Thank you!" in these cases. It makes me feel appreciated and happy.

I thought it was interesting, because people say, "Bless your heart!" not "Bless your soul!" or anything else.

Anyhow, I'm glad I make people happy with my coffee and tea, and with the medical researches showing the goodness of coffee and tea, I think drinking coffee and tea can bless everyone's heart... literally! :)

nuki got his hair cut

Nuki got his hair cut today. He got his belly shaved a bit, hair all washed, dried, and brushed. He's all clean and pretty, and you can see his toes instead of just a bunch of fuzzy hair on his feet.


And of course it rained right after it was done. Every time!

giorgio

We met Girogio after we opened up the caffe. He used to live in Salt Lake City a while back, but had been working in Dublin for the past couple years.

He came back in town a couple months ago so we've been able to chill with him for some when he came to visit. He always says, "caffe d'bolla is the best coffee shop in town," and he'd also tell me that I'm the coolest and best barista *blush*... even though John insisted that when Girogio says, "you," he meant both of us. I guess we'll really have to ask Giorgio to be more specific sometimes. hehe.

Anyhow, he's leaving for Europe again within a day or two, but then he'll be back in January! Yay!


Boooo my chubby arm in this pic. It's the funky camera angle.

korean chocolate-y "pocky"

When Joanne got to the radio station to help me with the program on Wednesday, she also brought me a box of Korean "Pocky" for me.


I call it "Pocky" because I can't read Korean, so I don't know exactly what it says on the box, but these wonderful chocolate-y goodness do look like "Pocky"s.

And the best part is, the cookie sticks themselves are made of Cacao, and then covered in chocolate. They are just chocolate-y to the core!

WuBai & China Blue

I think Ryan at KRCL was a bit surprised to hear WuBai & China Blue last night, and it was a good sort of surprise, I believe, because he "wow"ed a few times. :)


A lot of people I know here thought Asian music is all about pop... WuBai & China Blue can prove that's not the case. They are AWESOME!

start planning for Kansai trip

I've started planning on our trip to Japan this year. We're still going to stay at a hotel in Osaka, visit fun spots in the city, and venture out to Nara, Kyoto, Kobe, and new this year, Takarazuka.


I think it'll be a super fun trip!

Guang Liang: Tong Hua (PinYin version)

This song is from Guang Liang, and "Tong Hua" means fairy tales. The MV is sort of a sad story, but it's beautiful, and people love it. Many of my friends who don't speak Manradin want to learn about the song as well... so here it is: Tong Hua in Pinyin (without tones), so you can sing along. Just don't cry too much when you watch the MV. :(



Tong Hua

wang le you duo jiu
zai mei ting dao ni
dui wo shuo ni zui ai de gu shi

wo xiang le hen jiu
wo kai shi huang le
shi bu shi wo you zuo cuo le she me

*
ni ku zhe dui wo shuo
tong hua li dou shi pian ren de
wo bu ke neng shi ni de wang zi
ye xu ni bu hui dong
cong ni shuo ai wo yi hou
wo de tian kong xing xing dou liang le

**
wo yuan (yao/hui) bian cheng tong hua li
ni ai de na ge tian shi
zhang kai shuang shou bian cheng chi bang shou hu ni
ni yao xiang xin
xiang xin wo men hui xiang tong hua gu shi li
xing fu he kuai le shi jie ju

repeat *
repeat ** x3 (yuan/yao/hui)

yiqi xie wo men de jie ju

princess cake

My friend Joanne brought me a slice of Princess Cake from IKEA. I had never had it before, because every time I go to IKEA I only remembers to eat the Apple Cake.

The Princess Cake, or "prinsesstårta" to be exact, has layers of cake and raspberry jam, and topped with a layer of whipped cream. It's then covered by a light green Marzipan. It's beautiful, light, and delicious.


Apparently some people make these princess cakes PINK... That's awesome. After all, it probably is even more "princess" that way.


photo from Kirsten's Danish Bakery

"open center" rosetta

I've been experimenting with slightly thinner steamed milk to create finer lines when free pouring latte art. I love seeing the rosetta with "hallow centers" in each little leaves.


I'm still working on making it more balanced.

strawberry cup

This is my favorite cup to use at the caffe these days. It's a 1990 Roy Kirkham English "Fruit Garden" collection bone china. There are many strawberries and strawberry leaves and flowers on the cup, its handle, and even on the inner side.

John said, "It looks very English." And I said, "Exactly."




It also reminds me how much I really want to have my own little fruit garden!

jeep jeep

I was driving and saw this Jeep in front of me at a red light... and there's Eugene the Jeep on the spare tire cover! It's so cute!


And now I'm having this image of Eugene the Jeep "jeep jeep"ing in my head that won't go away.