Simple Holiday Decorations

As the holidays are approaching, I'm getting a bit excited of all the decorations that could be done around the house. I just think that with small additions here and there, it can really change the atmosphere of a space. With these decorations, I just put to use all the things I already had on hand. The glass jars were from my brother's wedding and all the ornaments and pine cones were just things in our Christmas decorations. Just thought the top of the piano was a bit bare next to the x-mas tree, so this was my solution.

I know that the green lights are a bit distracting but I put this together the other night and really liked the look when the lights were low. I'm still considering adding candles to this instead of the lights. To get the different heights, I just used textbooks (nerdy, I know) I had on hand and then draped an unused tree skirt over it.

I'm all for re-purposing what you already have to decorate. Love to see what you guys put together for the holidays.

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Thanksgiving Outfit

What I'm wearing:
+ One shoulder dress. I picked up this dress from Kohl's not long ago and just thought it was too cute to pass up.
+ Guess peep toe pumps
+ Grey belt, thrifted.

Sorry that I've been so bad at updating my blog. After Thanksgiving, I just got into a lazy slump. But I'm back and ready to get Christmas rolling. By the way, hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I spent mine with the bf's family on Thursday and then with my own family on Friday. 


I tried to match with the bf but he didn't really have anything in his closet that was blue/teal so tan was the best thing we could come up with. Call us cheesy but we do sometimes plan our outfits. Haha.

Some Holiday crafts to come! 

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Lunch Date

My bf and I spend the better part of this morning doing some early X-mas shopping at the mall and decided to head over to Downtown Sacramento to get hot dogs at Capitol Dawg. We've never been to this place before but he saw a Groupon ad for it and bought it as a surprise for me. I squealed when I found out.

I know, it's silly that credits to a hot dog place would be a gift but I love hot dogs. I know about all the not-so-great things that goes into them but I can not help myself. They are delicious and just makes me want to chow down. It's one of those foods that are simple and in my eyes, you can never go wrong.

Because it was our first time to Capitol Dawg, we were really taken aback at the variety on the menu. Never knew there was so much stuff that can be put on a hot dog. We ended up getting 2 hot dogs, garlic fries, and shared a drink....and boy was all of it yummy.

(Sorry for the quality of the pics, they were all taken on my phone with the Vignette app.)

For Him: Italian Sausage with a whole bunch of pickled peppers.

For Her: Prop. 51 Dawg,  Chicago style with grilled onions.

I couldn't leave without snapping a pic of the restaurant mascot.
The writing says "Only wieners eat hamburgers."
Too silly to pass up.

Hope your week is going well so far!

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Family Dinner

What I'm wearing:

+ F21 short trench coat

+ Purple long sleeve blouse.....I got this blouse at a thrift store awhile back and just love the old school feel to it. 

+ Seven For All Man Kind jeans

+ Guess peep toe platform pumps......I have a few pairs of Guess shoes and I notice they all are very comfy given that they're 4" heels. Gotta love it.

+ Vieta satchel

+ Locket necklace.....I think I got this at Deseret Industries for a few bucks. The locket actually opens but I've yet to put pictures in there.

+ F21 gold teardrop earrings......can't see it in these pictures but I wore them. 

Over the weekend, my family decided to celebrate all the November birthdays in one dinner. My two brothers and niece were the guests of honors. We gathered at a chinese restaurant to celebrate with family and friends. The food was great and there was so much of it. 

And some of you might notice, the background to my pics are that of an asian grocery store. My nephew snapped some shots before we headed a few doors down to the restaurant. I'm pretty sure I got more than a few odd looks from certain shoppers for standing around and posing. It's all good.

My niece Megan. I can't believe she's already 12. 

Hope you all had a great weekend!

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Recipe - Avocado Eggrolls with Teriyaki Cilantro Sauce

This is my 2nd attempt at making avocado eggrolls and I'm pleased to report that it turned out better this time. In the first attempt, I followed a recipe from AnneorShine which turned out great as well but since I've never eaten any avocado eggrolls prior to my first attempt, I wasn't sure what they were suppose to taste like. Silly...I know.

But recently, I was at BJ's Brewery and ordered these little suckers and fell in love. What I loved was actually the sauce because it tasted like an altered teriyaki sauce to me. Therefore, in my 2nd attempt, I used a teriyaki sauce as the base and I think it turned out really well.

Avocado Eggrolls with Teriyaki Cilantro Sauce

(Makes about 25 large eggrolls)

6 ripe avocados

1 bunch of cilantro (half in eggrolls, half for sauce)

4-5 green onion stems (using mainly green portion)

1 small yellow onion (or any type you have on hand)

3 tbsp sun dried tomatoes in oil, chopped fine

Cream cheese

1 packet of eggroll/spring roll wrappers

Salt and pepper to taste

1 egg (beaten, used as wrapper sealant)

Sauce

1/2 cup teriyaki sauce (I used House of Tsang - Korean Teriyaki Stir-Fry Sauce)

2 tbsp tamarind paste (I think limes would work too if you don't have tamarind on hand)

4 tbsp of sugar

[1/2 bunch of cilantro, listed above]

1. Cut avocados in half and remove center pit. Score each half into 8 piece chunks and using a spoon, run it around the outer edge of the avocado skin to remove chunks into a large bowl.

2. Chop: onion, green onion, cilantro and sun dried tomatoes. Add to avocados. Salt and pepper to taste.

3. Lightly toss to mix ingredients but remember to not "mash" avocados up too much.

4. With one wrapper on a flat surface, turn one of the corners towards you. Place a large spoonful of avocado mixture near the corner edge. Take some cream cheese and spread it in a line near avocados. Begin wrapping. (This will be easier to explain through photos)

After folding the left side in, I like to roll it forward half way before folding in the right side. I do this because it gives the eggroll more even coverage in terms of the amount of wrapper around it.

Using the beaten egg, spread it on the last corner of the eggroll. Finish rolling.

5. Fry the eggrolls by whichever method you like. Because you're not worried about the insides cooking, pan frying or deep frying would both work fine for this recipe. Fry them until golden brown on the outside and you're good to go.

To make the sauce:

1. Combine the teriyaki sauce, tamarind, and sugar in a bowl. Microwave for 20-30 seconds to warm up mixture. Depending how you like your sauce to taste, tweak the measurements to your liking. When satisfied with the taste, add the chopped cilantro to the sauce and Enjoy!

My nephews and nieces were loving these eggrolls with the sauce, so mission accomplished because they're the real judges around my parts.

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