Radiant As The Sun

Lullaby Avenue.

noreply@blogger.com (Yadhira Tapia) — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 01:49:00 +0000

New layout!

noreply@blogger.com (Yadhira Tapia) — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 23:19:00 +0000

I went ahead and had the holiday season make an appearance to the blog.

I'm definitely feeling the holiday cheer. I had a great Thanksgiving with my parents and Friday I saw my sister. I hope you all had an amazing time as well. Very excited to go Downtown and see the lights and tree and just enjoy this time of year.

Here are a few photos from Thanksgiving :)

What I'm thankful for.

noreply@blogger.com (Yadhira Tapia) — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 18:08:00 +0000

Thanksgiving is tomorow! It's that time of the year that many Americans pretend to be "thankful" for things by committing one of the deadly sins; gluttony. And then just a few hours after saying they're thankful for the things they already have they get on extremely ridiculous lines to buy more shit. I guess to add to their thankful list for the following year. Oops. This post wasn't supposed to start so dark. So... lemme tell you that tomorrow when I sit with my parents and disabled veterans who mostly do not have family there with them... I will be thankful for a lot of different things.

Ever since my father's surgery, the first thing I say I'm thankful for is the fact that I am blessed to say that my father is with us. That my Marine, my stubborn hardheaded loving father was so strong and stubborn that he overcame a surgery that was never done before. That he survived more than 13 years of pain and suffering and now while he's still in pain and he is always battling against the odds and now he's in a wheelchair... he's with us. I never grew up like my friends for a number of reasons. First, my parents are both Puerto Rican. And I don't mean Nuyoricans like so many of my friends parents. I mean, fresh off the island with thick accents and their culture running through their veins Puerto Rican. So my sister and I were raised very differently. We were also the few who had both parents still together. Imagine growing up where children looked at you weird because you didn't have a stepparent or stepsiblings. To top it all off? My father is a Marine. He's always had such a strong strict personality that often clashed with my sister and I because we didn't come out like my mom, we were like spitting images of my dad. It wasn't always fun and games, but growing up never is. Then my dad got sick. He got a tumor that kept rapidly growing and making him weaker and in so much pain that sometimes we really thought he would leave us. For 13 years we dealt with that. While people around me worried about things like boys and fashion, I worried about my dad's health and helping my mother in any way possible.

Now, though things aren't perfectly clear when it comes to my dad's health, at least we can breathe a sigh of relief. I still worry and I still help my parents in any and every way possible. But with all the holidays we spent in the VA hospital, the holidays have drastically changed for me. I don't care for gifts at all. When I see the faces of the Veterans who have no family visiting them light up because my mom and I bring a little cheer into the day... that's all I need. When my father is laughing and telling old stories of his life and he holds my mom's hand like they were still young and he just saw her for the first time... that's all I need. And when I bring Toshiya to my parents house and my dad gets so happy to see his Gao. Those are gifts to me. Gifts that will forever stay with me.

I'm thankful for my family. No matter what, they will always come first to me. My mother, for being the amazing woman that she is. My father, who drives me so crazy but when he's not driving me crazy I pray for him to get well enough to drive me crazy. My sister, who is so unlike me yet so like me it's scary. My brother in law, for loving my sister and being strong enough to make her fall in love and happy despite her being a tad crazy like the ladies in our family. And Toshiya... for being fat, healthy, loving and by my side for 11 years so far.

I am thankful for the roof over my head, the food in my fridge, running water, clean water. I think people tend to forget that these little things that we are so used to in our every day life are the things others wish they could have or can't even imagine people having.

I am thankful for the friends I have. I know I'm not easy to be friends with, I love solitude and most of the time I'd rather stay home with a book than go dancing. But thank you to the ones who understand this and still want to be my friend.

I am thankful for books. Oh, books. No matter what I was going through in my life I had books to take me away for a little while. For those who don't read books, I often question their sanity and how they can deal with life without the beauty of a good book. But then I remember they question my sanity all the time, with good reason.

And to my readers, thank you for reading my often silly posts.

I do hope you all have a wonderful, safe and thankful holiday. And if you're one of the crazies getting on those ridiculous lines... be careful. No TV is worth being harmed or harming someone else.

I do have conflicted feelings about this holiday.

Movies based on books that I'm anticipating!

noreply@blogger.com (Yadhira Tapia) — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 16:59:00 +0000

In no particular order!

I can't wait for this movie.
Fell in love with the books & the trailer looks awesome :D

Currently reading this book and loving it.

And this man can do no wrong. He's just too gorgeous.

As much as I loved the Twilight series. I loved The Host even more.

This one I will see because I read the book.

But I'm not sold on it.

Nuff said.

Scarfs, books and music.

noreply@blogger.com (Yadhira Tapia) — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 00:46:00 +0000

I got this awesome scarf after I saw Breaking Dawn Part Two on Friday. It's warm, cute and I'm kinda smitten with it. I've fallen in love with clothes again. It's the little things that make me so happy. I also got new boots today. Watched BD2 again and still teared up a little at the end. Maybe I've become overly emotional but I just feel so much more for characters and I've been invested with these characters for so long... even if I laughed or cringed at some scenes from previous films in the series. This is my very favorite one. I already want to see it again, lol.

There are so many movies based on books coming out. I've read them all except Warm Bodies so that's the book I'll be reading next. Oh books, I love thee. I wish I didn't get so caught up in books that I actually mourn the ending of some of them and I'm unable to detach myself from their world and enter a new one.

What books have you been reading? What music? I've been listening nonstop to Mumford & Sons again and Lana Del Rey, Marina & The Diamonds. Love love love. I love falling in love with music and really connecting with not just the music but the lyrics.

Oh, these are the boots I got :]

I'm gunna go cuddle on my sofa with this good book and good music.

Night!

I put up my Christmas tree today.

noreply@blogger.com (Yadhira Tapia) — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 03:53:00 +0000

Just a few random photos from today :)

noreply@blogger.com (Yadhira Tapia) — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 23:41:00 +0000

My curls were sexy today.

Went to Ihop with Mami after running errands.

Blurry pic, but my baby deserved kisses.

Found this for my baby cousin Angelica who's expecting a baby boy. LOVE it!!!

Currently.

noreply@blogger.com (Yadhira Tapia) — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 22:00:00 +0000

Loving: Spotify! I've become addicted again. There's just something so fun about being able to find new music and just add it to your playlists and there's also that neat feature where you can see what your friends are listening to. Lately I've been listening to a lot of Dominican dembow and rap and 70's rock. Crazy combo right? This is why I always hate when people ask me what I like to listen to. I listen to everything. I really don't discriminate. I even like some country music. Don't hate me :P I'm a true music lover.

Reading: I have been so bad with reading. My book club has so many books that I haven't read yet. I just recently finished reading Alice in Zombieland, which I loved! If you love YA and zombies, I highly recommend this book. What I'm trying to do now is finish Shadowfever now that Iced has been released. I devoured the first 4 books of the Fever series in just a few days and then I just could not finish Shadowfever. Not because it wasn't good, it was TOO good for me. I was so emotional and this was before she said she would continue on with Dani... so I just couldn't finish it. But since Dani's first book is already out, I'm trying to convince myself that no matter how heartbreaking it may seem... it will go on.

Watching: The. Walking. Dead. I haven't done Dead Sunday in a few weeks. First it was because of Hurricane Sandy and then I just couldn't deal with the craziness going on. For a show to make me cry the way it did. ALL OF THE FEELS! I gave up on American Horror Story, it really is a let down because the first season was so amazing and this one feels like this is what happened when the writers got together:

1. Each wrote an idea for the season.
2. They folded the papers.
3. Put it in a bowl.
4. Took out random papers and just wrote them down as they were going to appear on the show.

I call bullshit. I know the first season played with our minds, but there was a sense of purpose of it all. This season is too random and aside from Evan Peters and his gorgeous face... I wasn't feeling it.

BUT SVU has been awesome so far, Arrow is another amazing show and Elementary is <3.

Anticipating: The holidays! I always want to make things special and memorable and because of this I always end up stressing myself out. My goal this holiday season is to not be stressed. Take things in stride and plan ahead of time so I'm not running around like a chicken with its head cut off. So far, I've been pretty good with this goal :]

What are your currents? :)

Let's try this again.

noreply@blogger.com (Yadhira Tapia) — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 22:00:00 +0000

I could have sworn I knew the answer to that. You would assume that I, of all people, should know the answer. I started blogging back in 1999 *gasps* and I used to write the most intricate long personal posts I could imagine. A while ago I took a trip down memory lane and had the nerve to read through my old Livejournal posts. Lemme tell you... not only was I so young but I had so many ideas, I could tell I had so many thoughts going on and didn't know how to write them all down without them overlapping. I was so eager to reach other into the world of the internet and really connect with people. And I did. I met the most wonderful people, some that I'm still in touch with today.

But down the line, things changed. I went to college, made friends with different people and really down the line lost myself. The girl who used to not only keep an online journal, but several paper journals lost the ability to truly express herself. That is the biggest loss for someone who used to thrive on her own words for comfort and evaluation of whatever I may have been going through.

Since revamping the blog, I've struggled once more to really find my voice on the blog world. I don't have children so I can't gush about my children and the amazing progress of being a parent, I don't have a special craft that I can use and sell. So what do I have I keep asking myself. Then I realized...

I don't need to "give" anything except my upmost honesty. This isn't a show to be putting on for anyone. This should be a way for me to document my life and not try to impress people because I'm so caught up in the whole "omg, I LOVE that blog!" thing. Yes, I completely adore a lot of the blogs I follow. But I am not like them. This is for me and only me. If I have readers, great. If I don't? Great. Because this is an outlet for me. I am newly dedicated to my blog. so stick around if you'd like. I have some nutella on the side there so you can enjoy while you read ;)

Mangú & Lasagna.

noreply@blogger.com (Yadhira Tapia) — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 17:48:00 +0000

Mangú, fried salami, fried cheese and eggs.

Lasagna

This past weekend my mom came to hang out and I figured it would be perfect to blow her mind with my ever evolving cooking skills, lol. It was very international in my apartment. I made an Italian favorite and a Dominican traditional breakfast. And let me tell you, I even blew my own mind lol. Especially with the lasagna. My mom is known for her lasagna, everyone always wants her to make her famous lasagna so when I can get my mom to actually be impressed... yep, that's awesome.

I've become pretty bored with the same o' meals so I'm trying new meals almost every week. It's fun when I can add something new to my recipe book.

If you're interested in trying to make some mangú try this great recipe!

Music Monday.

noreply@blogger.com (Yadhira Tapia) — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 17:30:00 +0000

I have a little confession. I got a free download from Starbucks for Glad Rag Doll by Diana Krall and I HAD to listen to her newest album. I'm absolutely enthralled by it. Not usually the kind of music I would gush about, but there's something about her beautiful voice accompanied with the beautiful music. I think it's also gotten me into the Fall/Winter mood.

Here is a youtube video of her performing my favorite song of the album.

We couldn't say goodbye.

What artists or songs remind you of the Fall/Winter seasons? I make playlists for the different seasons.

Mossy Bank aka Horror Wednesday.

noreply@blogger.com (Yadhira Tapia) — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 03:05:00 +0000

Watching Adam stabbed is funny.
Lesbo friend is no friend, she's like "oh, your girl is in the looney bin? Let me tap that.
o_O what the fuck does being a school teacher have to do with being face to face with that?
Scary how people were actually subjected to a lot of these cruelties because they were different.
Sweets lead to sin. "I said take a taste." That was sexual.
Chronic masturbation is a problem...? LOL
Ok, that heart eating boy...
Quinto totally shat bricks with the possession.
Pound me into shape.
"Whores get nothing." I can't.
Yep.
That smelly clam between your legs. They are just killing me with these lines tonight.
Murderous Judy is funny.
Uh oh. The crazies are out.
And now there's a new body possessed.
Of course she would resemble Sister Mary.
40 lashes cause of dumb lesbo bitch .______.

A little better than last week. I'm still not convinced I like this season.

Dead Sunday.

noreply@blogger.com (Yadhira Tapia) — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 02:03:00 +0000

Oh, people.

Love how they left the rest of his leg there with the prisoners, like "yeah. here. You can have that shit. And we take your medical supplies. Fuck you."

Daryl, why are you such a sexy motherfucker?

I feel sorry for these prisoners. Not knowing what in the world is happening outside.

Am I the only one who finds it hot how T-Dog and Daryl won't hesitate to protect Rick?

How do they plan to close that wound?

Glenn + Maggie <3 <3 <3

You're more than a shitty wife, Lori.

Watching Maggie tell one legged Hershel that he didn't have to fight was sad.

LOL. You go Carl! Tell your dumbass mom that she can back off.

Rick. Kill that crazy fucker!

I swear Rick keeps giving me lady boners.

Carol grew cojones :O

Love that Carl was ready to blow Hershel's brains out.

Yay! Lori finally did something right and saved Hershel!

These prisoners need to realize this is The Walking Dead and not Zombieland. We ain't here to make friends, bitches!

Rick could have just kicked Lori in her big pregnant zombie tummy and it probably would have hurt less than those words.

Baby shower cakes!

noreply@blogger.com (Yadhira Tapia) — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 19:18:00 +0000

So my baby cousin Angelica is having a baby boy and her mom, my cousin, asked me if I wanted to help plan the baby shower. This is my first time helping anything like this, so I'm a little excited. In college I planned parties in order to raise funds for charities and things like food drives and coat drives. But this is totally different. Today we spoke about cakes, and I sent her a few (ok, A LOT) of photos of the different cakes I really liked. All the cakes are from my favorite bakery Valencia.

Horror Wednesday.

noreply@blogger.com (Yadhira Tapia) — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 03:04:00 +0000

Yes, Adam. That was such a sexy opening. Except for the whole missing arm thing.
Evan and his hot self <3 <3 <3
Everyone's just getting it on. I forgot how sexual AHS is, lol.
Kit likes that chocolate loving ;) Interracial couples are hotttttttt. Especially in 1964.
Why why why why why would there be aliens involved in this.
"She's not harmless. She drowned her sister's baby and sliced it's ears off." whoa.
Shelly loves to fuck. What's the problem?
"Hiding something???"
Lana Banana.
Bloody Face turns into Rubberman.
EVAN PETERS NAKED YES. PLEASE MORE.
I'm glad this is reinforcing my fear of nuns and priests.
Yay for hot lesbians.
Horny Jessica Lange as a nun... why does that scare me more than anything.
Have I mentioned I'm scared of the ideas of aliens? For a bitch who reads a lot of paranormal shit, I don't find that shit cool.
He lost his arm. And instead of calling the cops you say you need to go to the hotel. Ok... that's reasonable.
Shelly sure loves to be on her knees.
Of course I'd love to be trapped in an asylum for the sake of journalism ._.
I'm really not feeling the alien shit.
Welp. She's gunna cure the lesbian, how? With dick?
And I'm a perv who will see the first few minutes again just for Adam. HOTNESS.

I dunno how I feel about this season. The first season had me hooked from the beginning. It was creepy and just pulled me in. This... I have no idea... I might have to sleep on it.

Dead Sunday.

noreply@blogger.com (Yadhira Tapia) — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 02:09:00 +0000

Carl's hair is cute in a funny way.
That was hard. Dog food eating, that's when you know shit is bad. No, actually. If they ate one of the crew that would be a big sign.
I like the new opening! Especially the arrows for Daryl <3
Rick got a Ricktator boner when he saw the prison.
Lori's fake bouncing ball is hilarious to watch.
Plus she's still a ho.
I think Carol might just have aimed for Rick for real.
I need a farmer in my zombiesquad.
I just imagined Rick staking Shane’s baby and laughing like a maniac.
Lori, I’m convinced you’re worthless and stupid.
Now that’s how you kill them zombies. OFF with their heads!
Maggie + Glenn forever! Lol.
Rick is a dead man walking in a different sense.
That place must stink so fucking bad.
This is the part of any scary video game that always bothers me. When everything is all silent and dark and shit comes out of nowhere.
Hershel! No! Who will deliver zombie Shane baby now?!
What if you sever the leg and stop the infection? Is that even possible?

Well that was an awesome season premiere if you ask me. My adrenaline was up (maybe from all The Walking Dead episodes I've been watching this weekend), Carl is a bit young to be wanting to fuck Beth, but... we'll see where this is going. He's like what... 13? She looks 18ish? If he hits that, he's definitely Shane's son. LOL. Lori having zombie baby rip her open was a welcomed image, really. I'm sick and need help.

Stoked about this season!

Why yes, I am looking at outfits for Christmas/New Years.

noreply@blogger.com (Yadhira Tapia) — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 02:16:00 +0000

I like these for Christmas.

And these for New Years.

Dead Sundays are... back!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Yadhira Tapia) — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 15:47:00 +0000

If you guys remember that before I revamped the blog and started fresh that I had one of my very favorite spots called Dead Sunday where I would watch one of my "dead" shows (True Blood & The Walking Dead) and comment throughout the episode. So... it's very spoilerific but hilarious (or so I was told... though I'm sure I've been lied to before, lol)! This week I'm excited because not only will I have Dead Sunday back up with the new season of The Walking Dead but Horror Wednesday will be back as well with American Horror Story: Asylum! Yes, the nerd in me is super excited!

Oh... and there's a little show that just premiered this past Wednesday that perhaps a few of you have watched... my good friend Aileen and I were gushing like virgin schoolgirls about how we prefer the scarred sexy Oliver rather than cleancut playboy Ollie. Arrow definitely has our seal of approval!

I ain't arguing with those abs... UNF.

Pieces.

noreply@blogger.com (Yadhira Tapia) — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 19:44:00 +0000

Toshiya thought he heard rain.

Trying to organize my bags and jewelry.

Have much more not pictured.

Finally got that pineapple natural soap I fell in love with a few months ago.

It smells so good!

My Fall fridge~

Finally got my tubtrug! :D

Mine is the green one.

Ma's is blue.

Wanna get an orange one too :)

Happy that Toshiya hasn't destroyed anything on the table.

New bags.

What was in my bag yesterday.

Toshiya loves bags.

Currently.

noreply@blogger.com (Yadhira Tapia) — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 18:56:00 +0000

Loving: The blogs I follow! I know it sounds a bit silly, but when you're following someone's blog for a few years, you get a bit attached to them. I've been following james since she was pregnant with gemma bird, so when she gave birth to her fourth baby sailor rhodes I couldn't help but feel giddy with excitement! The baby fever has hit me hard the past few years so I take delight in other people's baby stories until I have my own.

I'm also loving the Fall. I think I've mentioned this in the past two "currently" posts. But I just love it! The leaves, the weather, the clothes!

Reading:

Watching:

SVU.

Elementary.

Wishing: I can make my mom's birthday memorable. We've stopped wishing things would be easier years ago, we know things will never be easy in our family. But we still keep our heads up and we're happy despite all of the bad things. I have less than two weeks to plan something, I hope to make up for last year. And lucky for us... her birthday lands on the premiere of The Walking Dead (again!) so I'm super excited.

Anticipating:

The Walking Dead.

American Horror Story.

Fall is really here :)

noreply@blogger.com (Yadhira Tapia) — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 04:26:00 +0000

October is here! And that means many decorations and candy and just Fall in general. I'm so happy!

Things have been pretty quiet on the blog recently. Mainly because I've been trying to catch up with books and I've got a few things going on that need my attention. Yesterday I went shopping because when I went through my closet to get rid (and donate) a lot of my clothes I realized I really don't have anything I feel comfortable in anymore. So I picked up a few things. I got some cute and colorful jeans and some tops plus a lot of accessories.

A big reason as to why I try not to window shop a lot is because I end up wanting a lot, lol. So when I picked up a few things at Fashion to Figure, I told myself that I wouldn't go to Torrid and of course I didn't listen... and I did some damage. But at least I know I'll enjoy the shit out of my clothes!

What are your favorite things about Fall?

Mine would be the hot beverages, sweaters and of course the holidays coming up :)

Sunday Date with Mami.

noreply@blogger.com (Yadhira Tapia) — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 18:15:00 +0000

Sundays Mami and I try and do something together. This Sunday she wanted to finally go to Ground Zero. She hadn't been there since before the towers went down. It was emotional, and it bothered me how it's become pretty much a tourist trap. They have vendors around selling 9/11 memorabilia that made me twitch and I couldn't get away fast enough. Afterwards we started walking towards South Street Seaport because Mami had heard there was a Hispanic heritage month celebration and where there is salsa, my mother must go. We stopped at Chipotle for some lunch and Lot Less because we're women and we can't help but window shop, lol.

The celebration wasn't exactly what I imagined it to be. It was mostly dance groups dancing salsa or bachata and then they had one singer (from Hunts Point) and finally the salsa started. I felt bad for Mami because we only really heard a few songs because the MTA sucks on Sundays and we had to head back into the Bronx. But I did get a freebie from Bath & Both Works when I checked in on foursquare and it was a beautiful day out. Since Fall is officially here I have to figure out other things to do on Sundays with Mami.

Some items I'm loving from Torrid.

noreply@blogger.com (Yadhira Tapia) — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 04:22:00 +0000

Link Love.

noreply@blogger.com (Yadhira Tapia) — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 21:29:00 +0000

Saw these outfits posted on Facebook and I just can't wait for full-on hoodie weather!

Here are some books to watch out for in the Fall, including J.K. Rowling's first adult book.

Need a laugh? Click here.

Homemade peanut butter, sounds like a good idea!

Sometimes we just can't get our schedules right, these apps might help!

Love this post, this one and adore this one!

My favorite tumblr at the moment.

Oh, and this lil' blog is pretty bad ass if you ask me.

Mami always knows best.

noreply@blogger.com (Yadhira Tapia) — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 15:31:00 +0000

When I started living alone I wanted to be different. Mami always had stainless steel pots and pans and I wanted to be cute and get nonstick red ones. Let me tell you, I made a mistake. Mami advised me to get what she had because they were so good and she never had a problem with them, but of course... you know, when you're finally on your own you want to set yourself aside from your family and so I said "nah, I want my cute red nonstick ones!". And so that's what I did.

At first I had a few issues trying to get adjusted to cooking traditional Puerto Rican food on them because it would either burn or just not cook as well as it did with my mom's cookware. But I adapted and off I went, being cute with my red nonstick pans. I started having issues cleaning them because well, you can't scrub as hard because you don't want to ruin them so I would soak for a good amount of time before actually cleaning... that's fine. But then the big problem began. The "nonstick" started to come off. I wasn't even aware until one day I was boiling water and noticed little black specks in the water. "Hm..." I thought, "I obviously didn't add any pepper to this water, so whatever may this be?!" so I dumped the water and boiled more water. I made some macaroni and cheese. And when I was mixing the cheese and macaroni again I found black specks, and that's when I realized (I'm a bit slow) holy shit! This shit is like melting into my food! I could have been poisoned by this shit!

I stopped using a lot of them for certain things and overused my one rice pot for pretty much all my food. I didn't have a problem with any meat because I bake all of my meat, but everything else... smh. One day my mom was over and I showed her why I wasn't using my cute red nonsticks she got frustrated and said "Enough! I'm ordering you real pots and pans!" And so she did. She ordered me a 100pc Kitchen Set.

Super Chef® 1-qt., 2-qt. and 3-qt. covered saucepans, 5-1/2-qt. covered Dutch oven, 2-qt. steamer insert, and 8" and 10" open fry pans. Capsule-style aluminum sandwich bottoms and stay-cool handle.
12-pc. bakeware set of high-quality steel with nonstick finish. Includes 2 each: 9" pie pan, 8" round cake pan, loaf pan and cookie sheets (15.15" x 11.62"), plus one 6-cup muffin pan, 12" pizza pan, biscuit pan and a roasting/cake pan.
14-pc. kitchen basics set includes 5-pc. tool set with rack, 20-oz. and 40-oz. canisters with locking lids, 5-1/2", 8" and 9-1/2" mixing bowls, an 8-1/2" colander, and salt and pepper shakers. Stainless steel.
41-pc. food storage set includes 20 storage containers with lids in 5-oz. to 70-oz. sizes, plus a cutting board. BPA-free plastic is microwave safe.
2-pc. high-dome roaster can be used as a covered roaster, or use either part as an open roaster; both have handles. Heavy-duty polished stainless steel. Includes wire rack.
Chef’s Mark® 20-pc. cutlery set includes chef’s, carving, bread, boning, utility, paring, vegetable, fruit and cheese knives, carving fork, 8 steak knives, shears and wood storage block. Stainless steel blades never need sharpening. Full-tang, triple-riveted construction.

Today I received part of the package. I've learned my lesson. Always listen to your mama, there's a reason behind everything they say and do! lol.

Now... where in the world am I going to store all of this?!