Binh There Done That

DIY Mod Podge Black Glitter Flats

2012-08-24T17:35:00.000-04:00

I’ve a few small crafty projects line up but still collecting materials for them. However, I’ve been eager to start on an easy project that involved Mod Podge. I’ve seen Mod Podge being used everywhere; from coastal, shoes, tray, etc. When I saw LA in the Bay’s DIY Glitter Heels, it was my motivation. So I decided to Mod Podge an old pair of flat with black glitter, it was super easy. My feet have high arches, so it’s hard for me to find a perfect flats. I love these Soft Spot, but I’ve putted some wear and tear to it. I won’t re-invent the wheels with the steps; so if you want to start your own project, check out her blog.

I picked up these material from ACMoore, I love a bargain so I went ahead and search for a coupon online. Found 40% off coupon, I’m a happy camper.

Outdoor Mod Podge
Black glitter
Flats
Bowl - I just used a foam bowl that way I can just trash it afterward.
Form brush

I bought the Crystal Clear Spray for another project, I was going to give it a try as a top coat, but end up didn't used it.

I was home doing this by myself so I couldn't take the step by step photos as my hands were sticky, but I promise it was super easy. The reason I choose Outdoor Mod because I want it to protect from the rain. However, next time I probably won't use Outdoor Mod Podge for the top layer; it felt every thick even thought I only did one layer. I'll probably try the regular Mod or the Mod Glitter.

Bonus: I was taking these photos for the blogpost, and Leilani came to posted for my camera as well.

Have you done any project with Mod Podge? How do you like it? Please share your projects!

Stir-Fried Mussels with Basil

2012-08-14T19:12:00.000-04:00

I’ve spent hours on cooking some of the special dishes before, when it’s necessary. But after a long day at work (9 ½ hrs), I’m always trying to find a way to whip up a quick delicious dinner. Having said that, today I’m sharing with you a dish that takes no more than 15 minutes. It could be good appetizer for 4 or could be a meal for 2 pairing with some steam rice and veggies. Bonus: basil is from our little garden in the back yard. I love cooking with freshly picked.

Ingredient

1 1/2 lbs kiwi mussels
1 white onion (peeled and slices)
4 cloves garlic (minced)
Bunch of fresh basil
1 tablespoon tum yum paste
1 ½ tablespoon water
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon olive oil

Prepare

Rinse mussels and dry.
Peel, rinse and slice the white onion into not too thin slices.
Minced the garlic
Remove the basil leaves from stems and rinse.
In a small bowl, mix 1 tablespoon Tum Yum paste, 1 ½ tablespoon water, ¼ teaspoon black peppercorn, ¼ teaspoon sugar, and ½ teaspoon fish sauce.

Cook

Heat up a wok or fry pan, add 1 teaspoon olive oil and minced garlic. Cook until garlic turn light golden.
Add mussels, onion and seasonings mixture. I place the mussels face down so it could absorb the seasonings.
Cook 5 min on medium heat, add basil, stir and turn off the heat.

Do you like mussels? What is your go to lazy day recipe?

HomeGoods and Ross Haul

2012-08-08T12:26:00.000-04:00

Last Friday I had a day off, and after a lunch date to catch up with an old co-worker. I wander around HomeGoods and Ross, and found couple things for the house. I’ve been looking for a small size vintage mirror for our small entry wall and I finally found it, well I found two that I love.

Mirror from HomeGoods, I love it but the size is a little small.
I might keep it for somewhere else but not for the entry wall.

I needed new set of measurement spoons,
and I love that it's ceramic and colors.

Ultra Soft Memory Foam Bath Mat Set from HomeGoods.
I have the gel mat in the chicken,
but wanted something soft for the bathroom as well.
Can't afford the price for a gel mat, so I was happy to find these.

White Umbrella Stand from Ross,
but I'm using it as a vase in my dining room

Mirror form Ross.
Really happy to find this;
prefect size for the entry wall, I like the antique look and color.
It even match with the mirror cabinet below it. Plus I got a 15% off bargain.

This is just a sneak peek, I'll take photos of the entry way once I'm done with it.

Have you score anything from Home Goods, Ross, TJ Max etc.. lately? Do you bargain for some discount if the product has minor scratch?

Thit Vit Kho Sa (Vietnamese Braised Duck with Lemongrass)

2012-07-31T21:05:00.000-04:00

Do you remember a while back I wrote about replicated this recipe from my mom? Turn out that it’s also the hubby’s favorite dish, once a while he asks me if I could make the duck dish that my mom made for us. Well I’ve talked to her, and I wasn’t far off; but now I've perfected it and ready to share. I hope you’ll like it. I usually serve it with rice and cucumber or mustard green pickles, but really any kind of veggie is good.

Ingredients

1 whole duck 5-6 lbs
1 stalk lemongrass (minced). Here is instruction how to use Lemongrass
4 cloves garlic (minced)
1 chile pepper
1 tablespoon Phu Quoc brand fish sauce or 3 crabs brand fish sauce
1 tablespoon Golden Mountain Seasoning Sauce
½ tablespoon Black Sweet Soy Sauce by Dragonfly
2 teaspoons light brown sugar
1 teaspoon Mushroom Seasoning
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce
½ teaspoon sea salt
2 inch ginger (thinly slices)

Removed the fat and skin but do leave some skin on the back where it has less fat; chop into small pieces, rinse and dry.

In a 5 quart pot, add duck and the all ingredients, mix up well. If u have marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Bring it to boil on med-high heat with lid cover, it will release water. Once it is boiled, turn down to medium-low and cook for 1 hour, stir occasionally and keep a close eye on it for not to burn.

Do you like duck? how do you cook it?

Update on Mini Raised Bed Vegetable Garden

2012-07-27T21:19:00.000-04:00

My long over due update on our mini raised bed vegetable garden. I’ve been meaning to keep track of the progress, but instead got too excited and busy cooking every night with fresh veggies. I got to say, we are doing pretty good as the first time gardeners, only if I can keep the squirrels away. I was so mad they ate all my eggplants in 1 day, and my red ripe tomatoes that I was going to harvest the next day.

before

after

Tomatoes


Luffa

Malabar Spinach

sweet potato leaves

eggplant's flower


eggplant

link up:

Fresh Pomegranate Ginger Ale

2012-07-25T22:16:00.000-04:00

Have you been fried from the heat these days? I’ve been neglecting this blog due to preoccupied with “Gossip Girl” on Netflix. If you’re still surviving from the heat, do try out this fresh pomegranate ginger ale; guarantee it’ll keep you cool and refresh. I’m inspired by Fresh pomegranate ginger ale that I had at Big Bowl a month ago. I love just to eat fresh pomegranate, but I thought I would try to make my own ginger ale since I'm a fan. Perfect time for this weather, I found a pomegranate in the fridge that hubby got it while we were doing grocery last week. I have been making this every night.

Fresh Pomegranate Ginger Ale

1/3 teaspoon fresh grate ginger
1 ½ cup Perrier sparkling mineral water
2 teaspoons light brown sugar
1 ½ tablespoon fresh pomegranate juice
Ice cubes
1 lime wedge

Use a grater to grate fresh ginger root.

I used fresh pomegranate to get the juice, put the seeds in a cup and use a spoon to crush it to release the juice.

In a glass, add 1 ½ cup Perrier sparkling mineral water, 2 teaspoons light brown sugar, and 1/3 teaspoon fresh grate ginger . Stir it so the sugar can dissolve faster.

Add 1 ½ tablespoon fresh pomegranate juice and ice cubes.

Garnish with a lemon wedge. When ready to serve it squeeze the lime into your drink.

What are you doing, eating, and drinking to keep it cool in these hot days?

Link up:
The Brambleberry Cottage

I'm an Organizing Junkie

Kho Qua Xao Trung (Stir-fried Bitter Melon with Eggs)

2012-07-19T21:08:00.001-04:00

I’m glad that we have decided to start a mini garden this year, and I would say it’s doing very well. I love picking fresh vegetables from the garden to cook every night. One of my many favorite vegetables is bitter melon (Kho Qua/Muop Dang); I know not everyone like bitter melon, but I just love it and luckily the hubby love it too. Check out my previous recipe Vietnamese Stuffed Bitter Melon Soup. However, today I’m going to share with you a tremendous simple recipe using bitter melons from our garden and eggs.

Kho Qua/Muop Dang Xao Trung (Stir-fried Bitter Melon with Eggs)

Ingredients

2 bitter melon
4 brown eggs
2 stalks scallion (chopped)
3 cloves garlic (minced)
Cilantro (chopped)
½ mushroom seasoning
1 ½ teaspoon fish sauce
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ teaspoon sea salt

Rinse bitter melons, trim both ends, and cut in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to scoop and remove the seeds and white pith in the center. Cut the melon diagonally into thin slices, I angle the melon to archive longer slices.

In a bowl, crack 4 eggs, add chopped scallion, ½ mushroom seasoning, 1 teaspoon fish sauce, ¼ teaspoon black pepper. If you don’t have a balloon whip, use chopsticks or a spoon to whisk the eggs.

Heat up a large frying pan or wok, add 1 tablespoon olive oil; add minced garlic and cook until garlic turn light gold. Add bitter melon, pinch of sea salt (about ¼ teaspoon). Stir it for about 30 second to a minute, push the melon to a side of the pan.

Add whisked eggs onto the empty side of the pan and scramble it for about a minute. Stir eggs and melon together, add ½ teaspoon of fish sauce and keep stir. Taste and turn off stove.
Transfer onto a plate and top with chopped cilantro, dried onion and black pepper. Serve with rice.

Corner Curio Cabinet

2012-07-18T20:26:00.000-04:00

I have so much to share, but have been super busy lately. Hang in there, I’ll have update on our little garden and few recipes with vegetables from the garden.

Do remember my mood board for the dining room? Well I purchased the 3 pieces reflection and loving it, but it felt crowded to have it in the dining room. Therefore, I’ve placed it in my family room under the TV (this was my back up plan before I’ve decided to purchased it). Since then I’ve been searching for a perfect White Corner Curio Cabinet; there are a lot of options for the dark colors but not white. I tried the cheaper method with Craigslist, hope to find one that I really like and paint it, but no luck. However, I finally found this one “Philip Reinisch Panorama Corner Curio Cabinet” and in love with it, but the price tag isn’t so loving. It’s currently 31% off, but still with a big price tag. Do you think it’ll ever be 90%, 80% or even 70% off? I guess I’m pushing it, but a girl can dream right. Do you have any other suggestion for me?

Costa Rica: Tabacon Hot Springs (Part 4)

2012-07-12T14:48:00.000-04:00

* I wrote this post with the intention to post 2 weeks ago, but then I accidentally broke my external hard drive that contain my photos and documents for the last 10 years. Luckily Costa Rica photos are still in my computer. A Lesson to be learned, make multiple back up and keep it up to date.
A week later the Mother Nature storms incident happened, so it got delayed until this week.

Are you tired of my posts on Costa Rica? Well I hope not because I’ve more to share. If you’re in the Arenal area of Costa Rica, you must visit the Tabacon Hot Springs. It’s pricy but just something you have to experience, we went to Baldi Hot Spring and took a tour around, just to see if we want to go there. Then I decided to go Tabacon and it was a wise decision, because Tabacon is more intimacy while Baldi is more like a theme park. Tabacon is like a Zen garden with mini waterfalls and pools with hot water, great landscapes with tropical flowers and plants. We had a very relax time that I didn’t want to leave. We did the night pass because it was cheaper and came back the next morning to take some pictures before we leave the area (it was a raining morning so there pictures don’t do it justice). Click on the photos for larger view

Tabacon at Night

Tabacon during the daytime

Now that you've view my photos. Do you know any reliable Data Recovery company? I need to recover my hard drive, my brother-in-law even hooked it up onto his Linux box and it still can't read. :(

Bo Cuon La Lot (Grilled Beef Wrapped with Betel Leaf)

2012-07-09T22:48:00.000-04:00

Sorry I’ve been mia due to the power outage of the scary storms on June 29th, we finally got our power back on July 4th. Although we were out of power, luckily the sister in law got power; therefore we took the opportunity to spent the time with family.

Today I would like to share with you an easy dish that is good for appetizer, snack or pair it with rice noodle for main dish. For more information on Betel Leaf (La Lot), and not to confuse with betel from wiki (because that is "La Trau" a different kind). If for some reason you can't fine Betel leaves you can substitute with Grape leaves and it'll be as yummy.

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef
¼ lb ground pork
2 stalks scallion (chopped)
3 cloves garlic (minced)
2 tablespoons finely minced lemongrass (about 1 small-small stalk)
1 teaspoon Madras curry powder
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 ½ teaspoons oyster sauce
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon 5 spice powder
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 ½ teaspoon sugar
.4 oz betel leaves (3-4 dozen betel leaves)

In a bowl, add ground beef, ground pork and all the ingredients together. Use your hand to mix well.

Use your figures or scissor to pluck the betel leaves from stems. Make sure to keep the little stem attached to the leaf. You’ll need it to seal it up later. Rinse and pat to dry.

How to make the rolls, place the betel leaf face down. Add 1 tablespoon of meat(more or less depend on the size of the leaf), spread it out evenly. Roll the meat into the leaf halfway, fold in both sides; continue to roll up, use the end stem to seal it up.

Preheat the grill on high-heat and leave it for 5 minutes to warm up the grill.

Turn down to low-heat and place the rolls on the grill. Grill for about 7-10 minutes flip it frequently to avoid burning. Cooked rolls will feel firm, look a bit shrunken, and a little charred.

Also, check out my other grilled recipes: Grilled Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs with Lemongrass
, Grilled Pork Ribs With Lemongrass, Grilled Shrimp and Vegetable Kabobs, Grilled Quails with Lemongrass, Grilled Porterhouse Steak, Grilled Vegetables

Link up:
Kate @ centsationalgirl

Deadly Storms in DC MD VA

2012-07-03T12:00:00.000-04:00

Who affected by the big storm swept through last Friday night? We certainly did in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area, on our 4th days without electricity. We slept at home for the first two nights, but second night was hard to get through. Thanks God the sister in law’s house got power, so we have been staying at their place for the past few days. We have been through earthquake, hurricane Isabel, and snow blizzard; but this was just crazy, scary sounds of the storms. Fallen trees everywhere, power lines are on the ground, and heat index is a killer. We are safe and sound, hope you all in the area stay cool and safe.

I just want to stop by and post a quick update. I look forward to get the power back soon, so we could resume back to the normal life.

Here are some news that I found:

Oc Xao He (Stir Fried Conch With Chive Buds)

2012-06-27T22:15:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite Chinese dishes is “Stir Fried Conch With Yellow Chive”, but I’m having a hard time finding yellow chive in the market. In this recipe, I’ve substituted with chive buds and still loving it. Chive buds have a great texture of sweet, crunchy and a hint of garlicky.

Ingredients

1 lb conch meat
1 lb chive buds
1 large white onion
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons Phu Quoc brand fish sauce or 3 crabs brand fish sauce
½-teaspoon oyster
½ teaspoon Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce
¼ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon curry powder (optional)

Prepare:

Peel and mince the garlic
Peel, rinse and slice the onion.
Trim out the old part at the end (break a small piece at the end and you if can’t break it, it’s old), cut chive buds into 2 inches. Rinse and pat to dry.

Defrost the conch, use a knife and scrub out the slimy black part on the top and around of the conch.
Parboil, bring 2 cup water to boil, add vinegar and pinch of salt, cook for 1-2 minutes until it boils again. Rinse and slice them thinly.

Cook:

Heat up a wok on medium-low heat and add ½ tablespoon of olive oil. Add ½ part of minced garlic and stir well until garlic turn golden. Add conch and the seasoning ( ½ teaspoon sugar, 2 teaspoons fish sauce, ½ teaspoon sriracha, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and ½ teaspoon curry powder (optional)), stir-fry for 2-4 minutes (make sure the conch isn't chewy). Add onion, quick stir for about 30 seconds. Transfer into a plate and set aside.
Return to the wok on high heat and add ½ tablespoon of olive oil. Add the rest of the minced garlic and stir well until garlic turn golden. Add in the chive buds, ¼-teaspoon sea salt, ½-teaspoon oyster sauce and continue to stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the conch back in, quick stir for about 30 seconds, transfer into a plate top with cilantro, bit of black pepper and serve with rice.

Surf and Turf: New York Steak and Snow Crab Legs

2012-06-22T21:43:00.002-04:00

The weather has been super hot and humid this week, and I’ve been really lazy to cook dinner ever since we got back from our vacation. Therefore, here is our quick and lazy but yummy dinner from last night. I marinated the steak and pan fried, steam the snow crab legs, and use ready to eat mix salad.

Grocery list

1 lb New York steak boneless
1lb Snow crab legs
1 bag Fresh Express 50/50 mix (Spring mix and baby spinach)
Asian sesame ginger dressing by Open Nature

Steak Marinade

1 lb New York Steak boneless
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 Phu Quoc brand fish sauce or 3 crabs brand fish sauce
1 1/2 tsp Golden Mountain Seasoning Sauce
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce

Rinse and pat the steak dry.

In a small bowl mix all the ingredients together, pour it over the steak about 15-30 minutes before cook.

On medium high heat, heat up the frying pan, add 2 tablespoon of oil or butter. Place your steaks in the pan, cook about 3-5 minutes each side. Exact cooking time depends on the thickness of the steak and your personal preference

In a stock pot add 1 cup of water and Snow crab legs, bring it to boil for about 5 minutes.

On dinner plates add: salad, steak, crab legs, and rice. Drizzle salad dressing over the salad.

Have you ever tried Asian sesame ginger dressing by Open Nature? It's really good!

Costa Rica: Part 3

2012-06-21T20:57:00.003-04:00

We took so many great photos from our trip in Costa Rica, and I’ve having a hard time selecting the photos to share because I want to post them all.

We went on this excursion call “Unique Cano Negro”; here is the description from the brochure:

“The wildlife reserve Cano Negro is one of the most important reserves for incredible birth watching and observation of wildlife in Costa Rica. Cano Negro is also the home of numerous animals and tropical plants. After having a short welcoming snack & drink, we will slowly and silently cruise to this exceptional river in our comfortable boat where you can enjoy the beautiful flora and fauna. Upon return you will be served a typical, delicious lunch in the restaurant “El Caiman” which is nicely placed on the riverbank of “Rio Frio”.

We really enjoyed this excursion; here are some photos of the things we saw through Nikon 5100 with 55-300 mm lens. Please click on the photos for the larger view.

During our stay at Hotel Linda Vista Del Norte, these pretties visited us very morning outside our window. I kind of missed them and the amazing volcano view.

Link up:

Liz @ the Brambleberry Cottage

DIY Garden Arch

2012-06-20T21:06:00.000-04:00

Remember our mini garden from this post Our Outdoor and Indoor Gardens? Vietnamese Coriander (Rau Ram), Mint, and Cilantro aren’t doing so well. But everything else seem to be doing great, and outgrown the little space we have. I’ve already harvest Malabar Spinach two times, I'll have an update photos post on the garden later.

I've always wanted an arch and have some kind of flower plants grow over it. Before we went on vacation, my fantastic hubby did a DIY archway, it's currently a home for the Luffa plant.

See that fence on the right, he's going to put it on the top of the arch. Leilani really wants to help.

new home for the Luffa plant

Kate @ centsationalgirl

Dragon Fruit Dessert

2012-06-19T18:00:00.003-04:00

I’m going to take a break of posting all the photos from Costa Rica and share with you this super easy and awesome Dragon Fruit dessert. I went to the grocery over the weekend and saw fresh Dragon Fruit and couldn’t pass it up. I know people would just eat it like a fruit, but here is now I eat dragon fruit, it enhances the flavor while looks pretty.

1 dragon fruit (1 ½ lb)
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp honey
Crushed ice
Fresh Pineapple cubes for décor

Cut the dragon fruit in half.

Use a sharp pointed knife; make several horizontal cuts and several vertical cuts to achieve a checkerboard pattern. Do not cut through the peel.

When you are done cutting the checkerboard pattern, the fruit can easily be pulled, piece by piece from the peel. Run the spoon around edge of the dragon fruit to scoop out from the peel into a bowl.

Add 2 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon honey, crushed ice; mix it real well and serve. Top it with few cubes of fresh pineapple and basil from our garden.

Costa Rica: Part 2

2012-06-18T21:14:00.000-04:00

I’m not so much of an adventure person when it involved with heights, but I’ve read a lot that one thing must do in Costa Rica is zip lining. I know my partner would enjoy it, so I bit my tongue and initiated that we do zip lining. I was about to pee in my pants half way through the first long line. Shortly, I found out a trick to recoup myself; don’t ever look down directly, instead look from side to side. Plus the amazing view of the lake and mountain took my fear away. Awesome, friendly and helpful staff at Sky Adventures provided us such a magnificent experience. We did the combo which included: sky tram, Sky trek (zip lining) and sky walk (hiking through the rainforest). Half way through the hike it began to thunderstorm and rain, I must say it was the most adventuress trip ever in my life.

In Sky Tram, ready to go up for zip lining

This is when I almost pee in my pants

Hiking in Arenal Rainforest

Amazing lake view

There were total 5 hanging bridges in Arenal Rainforest

Back to the nature, monkey.

It was raining, so I used my point and shot for this one.
Last photo from hiking since it rains and thunderstorm.

La Fortuna

Really late Lunch at La Choza de Laurel (after zip lining and hiking)

My yummy rice and shrimps

Costa Rica: Part 1

2012-06-15T21:35:00.000-04:00

Hello again, I hope you haven’t forgotten me. I took a long break from blogging and do have a good reason for it. We were on vacation in Costa Rica for 6 days well more like 4 days since we spent 2 days traveling. We just got home at 3 am on Thursday morning. I’ll be sharing a lot of photos from our vacation in the mean time, while I play catch-up. Also, our internet is acting, we are in the transition of switching provider.

It was one of the most troublesome trip ever, where everything possibility went wrong. We found out hubby’s passport has expired when we checking in last Thursday at the airport, so our trip got delayed a day. We spent a whole day running around and a lot of phone calls with the airline, travel agent, and passport rush service. Thank you to http://jetsetvacations.com/ for straightens out with the airline for us to be able to flight out the next day. Strike all the hassles; we were determent to have a great vacation. These photos are our "staycation" since we were still in Washington DC getting his passport done.

Friday was deja vu, we went back to the airport to fly out. Landed in San Jose, CR around 4:30pm local time, and picked up our car rental. We still have to drive about 3 hours to get to our first hotel Linda Vista in La Fortuna area. It's the rainy season in Costa Rica, the road was so curvy and foggy made it so hard to drive at night; kudos to hubby for getting us to the hotel safely. It was quite a challenging ride, our hotel located on the top of the mountain, so we had to drive up on an unpaved road without light for about 15km. It was the longest 15km ever because we only did 5-10miles per hour, we got settled into the hotel around 9:30pm; it was dark we can barely see anything. However, we woke up to the sounds of birds singing with an amazing view, too bad it was cloudy most of the time.

Lake view from Linda Vista Hotel

Volcano View from Linda Vista Hotel

humidity messed up my hair

Lake view in the evening

Volcano view in the evening

Stay tuned for my series of posts on Costa Rica, some of the excursions we enjoyed are: Zip lining, hiking in rainforest, Tabacon Hot Springs, Cano Negro (National Wildlife Refuge), and Calypso cruises.

Tom Rim (Caramel Garlic Shrimps)

2012-06-06T14:30:00.000-04:00

Life has been on the go for me in the last couple of months, and sometime I just need to slow down catch a breath and enjoy life. Therefore, I’m going to take some time off from blogging to relax and spend quality time with the hubby.

However, I want to leave you with this super easy and quick recipe, you’ll have it done in less than 10 minutes.

14 USA Wild Caught Jumbo Gulf Shrimp (Texas Shrimps)
4-cloves garlic (minced)
2-teaspoons olive oil
¼- teaspoon sea salt
2-teaspoons sugar
1-teaspoon Black Sweet Soy Sauce
½-teaspoons Phu Quoc brand fish sauce or 3 crabs brand fish sauce (I ran out 3 crabs at home)
Black pepper
Cilantro (for décor)

Rinse the shrimps and pat them dry. You can peel off the shells if you like, I left them on.

Heat up a frying pan on high-heat and add 2 teaspoons olive oil.

Once frying pan gets hot, add minced garlic, shrimps and ¼-teaspoon sea salt. Sauté about 1-2 minutes, flip the shrimps so it could be cook evenly.

Lower the heat to med-low; add 2-teaspoons sugar, 1-teaspoon Black Sweet Soy Sauce, ½-teaspoons fish sauce, and pinch of black pepper. Constantly stir the shrimps around so it won’t be burn, cook another 2-3 minutes so the sugar could caramel into the shrimp.

Serve with rice and a side of veggies.

Until we meet again, have yourself a wonderful day and weekend.

Featured and Target Haul

2012-06-05T20:04:00.000-04:00

Our first DIY project “refinish a dining table” is featured on Erin’s blog “how to nest for less” last night. I’m honored, excited, thrilled and greatly appreciated! So please head on over to Erin’s blog and check it out, there are also other awesome featured projects as well.

Here goes my Target Haul
Summer is here and we'll be definitely doing a little travel, I’m restocking some travel size items. Also, I needed a cosmetic bag that fit everything, because every time I travel I packed 2-3 different bags for makeup and bathroom products. When I saw this “weekender cosmetic bag” at Target and couldn’t pass up, it’s big with 3 different compartments. I’ll be able to fit everything in here, and did I mention I love the colors.

Pretty weekender cosmetic bag
Wet shoes for him (I’ve decided to invest in wet shoes for both of us, we’ve rent them before when we go on vacations but it’s good to have our own.)
Wet shoes for me
Pretty patterns tissues
baby wipes (I've heard people used this to remove make up, so I'm giving it a try)
Travel size Listerine
Travel Aquafresh toothpaste (my favorite brand)
Travel size Frizz-Ease mousse

What are some of the items you're restocking for this summer?

PS: I'll be sharing a super easy recipe tomorrow.

Weekend Recap: Birthday

2012-06-04T21:35:00.000-04:00

Did you all have a great weekend? Our turned out to be really busy but awesome. We hosted my nephew’s (Tommy) first birthday on Saturday, and attended Mr.K nephew’s (Tony) 10th birthday gather on Sunday.

For my nephew’s birthday, I was involuntary (but happy to be) in charge of decoration and cake. I have been super busy and ashamed to admit that I did not prepare everything in advance except for the birthday invite, everything else I’ve put together the night before and the day off. Nevertheless, in our defense, cleaning up the house took up a lot of our time. Hubby and I dived ourselves into cleaning and preparing our house for a week, and on Saturday we woke up around 7:30am to work on it some more. We were like proud parents, hopefully one day it will be us hosting our own kid’s first birthday.

Most important, it turned out nice and everyone loved. Tommy loved the monkey we got him for his 1-month celebration, and it was my inspiration. Therefore, his first birthday theme is base on the monkey; I’ve used red, green, yellow and blue colors.

I’ve made these tissues pom pom, it was super easy and great for the decoration. In addition, I made the watermelon carriage. I saw it on pinterest, it was supper easy and fun to do. I'll do different posts for these DIYs.

Without further ado, here are the pictures from Tommy birthday party. Sad thing is we were too busy as photographers and entertained the guests that we didn’t even got a picture with the birthday boy.

Tommy’s parents had caters all the food, with exception of the soup and beef stew made by his dad. There was so much food that we had to send each guest home with a bag of food.

A roasted pig is a must for first birthday

A Happy Family

Link Parties:

Feature Friday: A Wonderful Person in My Life

2012-06-01T17:46:00.000-04:00

It has been a rough week and I have no recipe, travel, or inspiration post to share. So I’m going to share with you something more meaningful to me. I am greatly thankful for a great family, awesome friends, and fantastic in-law. However, today I’m thankful to have Mr.K “hubby”; I couldn’t have carry on life without him. I know I don’t give him enough credit on a regular basic, so I like to take this opportunity to express how grateful I’m to have him as a life partner.

We are getting ready to host our nephew Tommy’s first birthday this weekend. Our house is a hot mess; he has initiated to clean up the house in the last few days. On a regular day, not only has he helped with chores at home such as doing dishes, laundry, mopping, and my handy man; but also he does it without a word of complaint. He is extremely easy-going and genuine kind of person, with great heart and tranquil personality. On top of that, he keeps up with my insanity; and always tells me to just “be happy, smile, breath, and everything will be alright”. So thank you for standing by my side, to support, to comfort, and to help me fall back on.

I rewarded him with full meal last night.

Stir Fried Conch with Chives

Kimchi Seawee Tofu Soup

Ten Commandments of Marriage in English and Vietnamese

2012-05-31T15:48:00.007-04:00

Don't we all need some humor in our life once in awhile. My best friend had forwarded this to me, so I don't know where it came from. It's for entertainment purposes only.

Our wedding photo by photographer Thai Nguyen

Commandment 1

Marriages are made in heaven. But so again are thunder and lightning.

Hôn nhân - quà tặng từ Trời
Phong ba, bão tố hỡi ơi, nối liền!

Commandment 2

If you want your wife to listen and pay strict attention to every word you say, talk in your sleep.

Còn ai nếu muốn vợ hiền
Nghe chồng giảng thuyết lời khuyên ngọt ngào
Thì đây kinh nghiệm gửi trao
"Nói trong giấc ngủ"... biết sao bây giờ?

Commandment 3

Marriage is grand -- and divorce is at least 100 grand!

Hôn nhân - nếu đáng ngàn tờ
Bạn ơi! ly dị sơ sơ triệu lần!!

Commandment 4

Married life is very frustrating. In the first year of marriage, the man speaks and the woman listens. In the second year, the woman speaks and the man listens. In the third year, they both speak and the neighbors listen.

Vợ chồng khó hiểu vô ngần
Năm đầu chồng nói vợ vâng dạ liền
Năm sau vợ nổi cơn điên
Lão chồng im miệng với niềm xót xa
Rồi từ năm đó trôi qua
Hai bên đấu khẩu tội nhà kế bên!!

Commandment 5

When a man opens the door of his car for his wife, you can be sure of one thing: Either the car is new or the wife is.

Hôm nào mưa thuận gió hiền
Thấy chồng mở cửa vợ êm ấm ngồi
Cá vui được một thua mười
Hoặc xe, hoặc vợ ... chẳng thời mới mua!

Commandment 6

Marriage is when a man and woman become as one. The trouble starts when they try to decide which one.

Phu thê - lời dạy ngàn xưa
Chàng nàng ngôi một cho vừa yêu thương
Một ngôi nhưng cóc ai nhường!
Thế là nội chiến tang thương khắp miền

Commandment 7

Before marriage, a man will lie awake all night thinking about something you say. After marriage, he will fall asleep before you finish.

Nhớ khi ván chửa đóng thuyền
Em than anh nghĩ trắng đêm muốn khùng
Bây giờ nên nghĩa vợ chồng
Bà chưa nói hết thì ông ngủ rồi!!

Commandment 8

Every man wants a wife who is beautiful, understanding, economical, and a good cook. But the law allows only one wife.

Đương nhiên sống ở trên đời
Ai không ước vợ là người cảm thông
Ước cô má thắm môi hồng
Eo thon ngực bự cho ông phê hoài!
Ước có cơm nước mỗi ngày
Chăm làm, cần kiệm chóng xây nhà lầu
Ước rồi chỉ chuốc thương đau
"Đa thê" lệ đó bỏ lâu lắm rồi!!
Luật giờ một vợ mà thôi
Ôi sao chua xót một đời đắng cay.

Commandment 9

Marriage and love are purely matter of chemistry. That is why wife treats husband like toxic waste.

Ái tình rượu ngọt nồng say
Hôn nhân - hòa hợp của hai mái đầu
Thế mà vợ có hiểu đâu!
Xem chồng như độc chất màu WC !

Commandment 10

A man is incomplete until he is married. After that, he is finished.

Cuối cùng, sự thật bẽ bàng
Trai chưa lấy vợ chưa mang khí hùng
Lấy rồi thôi thế là xong
Coi như toi mạng ... khổ không hởi Trời ? ...

Which commandment(s) apply to you?

Random Ramblings

2012-05-30T21:22:00.000-04:00

Today is one of those days that I needed to vent, so please bear with me. As I've mentioned before, my tummy has not been feeling great; so I went to this Gastro doctor for the first time last week to have it check out. While I was there I had blood drawn, I’m afraid of needles so I never look. Usually it only hurts a little, but this time it hurts like a crazy and I screamed. I went home thinking it will get better, but a day later I noticed I have a big bruise and my arm hurts more. Due to the holiday weekend I could not contact the doctor office, and my bruise keep spread bigger. I finally got a hold of the doctor on Tuesday, and he pretty much said it’s normal that blood leaked and nothing he can do about it. I told him it never happened to me before, but he didn’t sounds too helpful and it seem like it was my fault not to pressed down my arm for 5 minutes like he instructed. So now, after a week I still have bruise the size of my hand and my bicep hurts that I couldn’t move. Here are few pictures to proof that I wasn’t over exaggerated.

2 days after blood drawn

a week later

On a lighter note, I was at my parents’ house over the weekend and found a few origami items that I did a while back. Yes, I still have stuff at my parents house after I have moved out for a 1 ½ year now. Well I didn’t really officially moved out, my parents are still boxing things up for me and each time I go visit them I would bring a box home. I made these cranes, stars and snowflakes; I’ll try to incorporate these into my decoration.

Any bad incidents that ever happened to you with doctors?

Travel Souvenirs

2012-05-29T22:06:00.000-04:00

I love to travel and explore new places; and at the end of each trip, I like to bring home something to remind me of the place. Today I’m going to show you some of the souvenirs that I’ve been collected over the years of travel. I prefer unique souvenirs if I’ve a choice and try to stay away from commercial ones. Sometime free stuff could be great souvenirs too, I often picked up seashells and sand.

Pineapple Wood Serving Platter Set from Hawaii

Pretty hammock from Cancun

Personalized Mamajuana from Dominican Republic.
We afraid to drink from it, but it's a weird unique souvenir

Seashells picture frame from Jamaica

Post card from Venice, I like the idea of send yourself a
postcard and see if it arrives before or after you get home.

Venetian Mask from Venice that I plan to frame it,
it’ll be a beautiful piece of art for any room.

And a cute jewelry storage.

A cute jewelry storage

What are some of your favorite travel souvenirs?

Link up with Kate @ http://www.centsationalgirl.com/

Binh There Done That

DIY Mod Podge Black Glitter Flats

Stir-Fried Mussels with Basil

Ingredient

Prepare

Cook

HomeGoods and Ross Haul

Thit Vit Kho Sa (Vietnamese Braised Duck with Lemongrass)

Ingredients

Update on Mini Raised Bed Vegetable Garden

Fresh Pomegranate Ginger Ale

Fresh Pomegranate Ginger Ale

Kho Qua Xao Trung (Stir-fried Bitter Melon with Eggs)

Kho Qua/Muop Dang Xao Trung (Stir-fried Bitter Melon with Eggs)

Ingredients

Corner Curio Cabinet

Costa Rica: Tabacon Hot Springs (Part 4)

Tabacon at Night

Tabacon during the daytime

Bo Cuon La Lot (Grilled Beef Wrapped with Betel Leaf)

Ingredients

Deadly Storms in DC MD VA

Oc Xao He (Stir Fried Conch With Chive Buds)

Ingredients

Prepare:

Cook:

Surf and Turf: New York Steak and Snow Crab Legs

Grocery list

Steak Marinade

Costa Rica: Part 3

DIY Garden Arch

Dragon Fruit Dessert

Costa Rica: Part 2

Costa Rica: Part 1

Tom Rim (Caramel Garlic Shrimps)

Featured and Target Haul

Weekend Recap: Birthday

Feature Friday: A Wonderful Person in My Life

Ten Commandments of Marriage in English and Vietnamese

Commandment 1

Commandment 2

Commandment 3

Commandment 4

Commandment 5

Commandment 6

Commandment 7

Commandment 8

Commandment 9

Commandment 10

Random Ramblings

Travel Souvenirs

Pineapple Wood Serving Platter Set from Hawaii

Pretty hammock from Cancun

Personalized Mamajuana from Dominican Republic. We afraid to drink from it, but it's a weird unique souvenir

Seashells picture frame from Jamaica

Post card from Venice, I like the idea of send yourself a postcard and see if it arrives before or after you get home.

Venetian Mask from Venice that I plan to frame it, it’ll be a beautiful piece of art for any room.

And a cute jewelry storage.

A cute jewelry storage

Personalized Mamajuana from Dominican Republic.
We afraid to drink from it, but it's a weird unique souvenir

Post card from Venice, I like the idea of send yourself a
postcard and see if it arrives before or after you get home.

Venetian Mask from Venice that I plan to frame it,
it’ll be a beautiful piece of art for any room.