broken & perfected

Today, we officially closed and received the keys to our new home! Honestly, we are beyond shocked how fast and smooth this entire process was. We’ve been house hunting since I found out I was pregnant, which was in the beginning of April and were about to give up because this market is crazy. We were getting rejected left and right and getting outbid by 50-100k. Just insane. This home was the…

So this new chapter I’ve been navigating has had it’s ups and downs. I will be 18 weeks pregnant tomorrow and I feel like I’m just starting to feel like myself again. Up until now, I’ve been so fatigued and been having pretty much all-day sickness and I lost 10 pounds (this was also the case with my sister). Not being in control of my body, what I can and cannot eat has been such a humbling experience.

I did start to feel flutters (baby moving) a week or 2 ago. At first, I wasn’t sure if it was my stomach acting up but been feeling this more consistently. I’ve also been feeling some numbing and tingling in my left hand shortly after 15 weeks. I’m starting to feel like it’s carpal tunnel or this baby is taking sucking up my calcium and now my bones and joints are feeling more weak lol.

Another life update is that we’ll be homeowners soon! It’s really been a crazy couple of months but we found a home right behind one of our friend’s home HA! The market right now is INSANE with people bidding 50-100k over asking price. So we’re so thankful we found this home within our budget. It’s probably not the best time to be buying right now but rentals are also scarce and expensive. And with this baby on the way, we felt like this was the best decision for our growing family. I’m excited to be near my favorite stores Target (LOL) and Costco. Also we’ll be closer to our church and the hubby will be closer to his store.

Left: egg shell, sea mist; right: cream, chun

Paul’s white Paul’s white under, shino top

Ingredients: 8 dried anchovies, head and gut removeddried kelp (5 x 5in piece)6 cups water2 ounces beef/pork/pork belly1/2 cup fermented kimchi chopped1/2 onion diced1 teaspoon sesame oil1 garlic clove minced1-3 teaspoon red pepper flakes (depending on how spicy you want it)8 clams (or your choice of seafood)1 package soft/silken tofu1 roll of kalguksu1 scallion chopped1 teaspoon soy sauceSalt…

To make coffee macaron shells, follow the basic macaron recipe and make the following adjustments at step 3: Measure the egg whites in grams.Granulated sugar = (egg whites in grams) x 0.85Almond flour = (egg whites in grams) x 1.3Powdered sugar = (egg whites in grams) x 1.25Finely ground coffee = (egg whites in grams) x 0.5 You want the coffee grounds to be fine. You can use a burr coffee…

This is an adaptation of Recipes by Carina’s Buttercream Icing recipe. Ingredients: 250g / 1 cup / 16 tablespoons / 2 sticks unsalted butter110g / 0.5 cup powdered sugar (depending how sweet you want the buttercream. I used 0.5 cup opposed to Carina’s 3 cups)15ml / 0.5 tablespoon milk or whipping cream (if you use less sugar, you’ll need less milk/cream) Materials: Stand or hand mixerPiping…

The recipe is an adaptation of Indulge with Mimi’s recipe. Check out her recipe for more in-depth instructions. Ingredients: 100g aged egg whites (about 3 eggs)85g granulated sugar130g almond flour (I like this Costco brand one)130g powdered sugarOptional: food coloring (I recommend gel) and flavoring Materials: Mixing bowlsDigital scaleFine sieve or sifter (this one is very handy)Rubber…

When the music fades All is stripped away And I simply come Longing just to bring Something that’s of worth That will bless your heart I’ll bring you more than a song For a song in itself Is not what you have required You search much deeper within Through the way things appear You’re looking into my heart I’m coming back to the heart of worship And it’s all about you, It’s all about you, Jesus I…

Recently, wildfires broke out in California and destroyed many homes…