Golden Gate, Hiking, & Clean Slate

The first day of the New Year was spent in SF walking along the Golden Gate Bridge. There was a slight chill, but it was full of sunshine. Sunshine is something that I have come to miss living in Seattle. Anytime there's sunshine, I try and take full advantage of it.

Up and moving straight out of college is no easy feat. Starting over, entering the workforce, finding friends, falling in love all over again, it sounds easy, but it's so hard. Building up a support system locally is something that takes incredible effort and is something I have struggled with since my move.



During my time in California, I went back and forth. On the one side I wanted this sunshine, the ability to hang out with my family whenever I wanted, to drive down the street and meet up with friends I've known so long. There's a warm comfort in it that I really love. I'm a creature of habit, so little things like that are a highlight in my days.

 

 

But on the otherside, I am above all, a hopeless romantic. Being a hopeless romantic is what got me in Seattle in the first place. It sounds so silly, but I had a strong feeling to chase the possibility of love. Now I know what you're thinking, Michelle you're so young. You should be chasing dreams, not chasing boys! And of course you're right! Boys weren't even a priority for me. I had some really bad relationships that was enough to stop me from dating indefinitely. But at the point when I decided to move, I was still a new grad, looking for a job, and looking for something new. So the job, Seattle, the boyfriend, they were knocks on my door of something new, so I ran with it. And whether I'm in Washington or California, I'm still chasing my dreams.

I write this for anyone who's ever had an impulse to start fresh, but has lacked the courage to do so. It's hard, and you really get out what you put into it. You have to push yourself like crazy and step out of your comfort zone. But if you never try, you'll never know what your life could have been like.

After a relaxing time with my family, I'm starting to come to terms with the idea that California is no longer my home, not right now anyway. But the good thing about California and my family? They will always be there no matter what.

 

Now, I'm back in Seattle. The New Year and the idea of a clean state feels good. Cheers to 2015!

Thanksgiving Week: Crabsgiving (Part 4)

My favorite food ever is my mom's crab dish. There's no place else I could ever get it besides her kitchen. It's spicy, flavorful, and has so much more depth compared to the standard crab with butter served at most restaurants. She makes two kinds, one with Dungeness crab, and the other will blue crab. The blue crab is so much messier, but sweeter, and the Dungeness has a very unique sauce that can never be replicated. I am drooling and pining for it as I write this because I know I probably won't get to eat this amazing piece of edible art until next year.

Preparing the blue crab. It turns red once it's cooked!

My mom preparing the dungeness!

This year, will always be known as Crabsgiving because I ate so much crab that Michael was surprised I could even eat that much! But when it comes to mom's home-cooked meal, I really just can't help myself.

The day before Crabsgiving, I fell incredibly ill (so excuse my peakish face in the photos below). My throat was so sore, I could hardly eat that I teared up at the prospect of not being able to have my mom's Thanksgiving meal. Luckily, after some asian remedies and a dose of nyquil, I woke up the next morning incedibly better!

A bit messy, but it taste so much better than it looks!

After a great deal of yummy food, my family and I played games, caught the football game, and just hung out. Our holidays are normally low key, just the way I like it. As long as I'm with my family, I am happy.

Jenga

My mom and I

The sleepers. Cousin Ryan and sister Amy

Cousin Landen.

My sister Oanh opened up a bottle of Fantasia, a dessert wine she's kept since my 21st Napa Birthday wine trip!

To check out my other Thanksgiving posts from this year, click the links below:

 

Thanksgiving Week: Napa Wine Country (Part 1)

Thanksgiving Week: Family Portraits (Part 2)

Thanksgiving Week: SF and ICHI Sushi (Part 3) 



Thanksgiving Week: SF and ICHI Sushi (Part 3)

Last year Michael and I went to SF and stumbled upon an amazing Sushi restaurant called ICHI. It was so amazing and memorable that we decided to venture out there again for it (it may just become a tradition of ours!).

Our reservation was in the evening, but we decided to head into the city early before the traffic hit. We caught lunch at Samovar and then walked around the city.

When it started to get dark, we headed into Press Club for drinks. It's a pretty neat wine bar, a bit on the posh side with the leather seats and underground vibe, but the wine list was great. I ended up doing a flight of bubbles!

Then the time finally came! We headed to ICHI. This year we went to their new location. It was more hip and trendy compared to their previous hidden gem location, which made us slightly apprehensive. Once we got the food, however, our fears quickly fell away. ICHI did not lose their inventive touch. Their balance of flavors really brought out the fish, but also made it a unique and surprising dining experience.

Golden Eye Snapper, one of my faves.

With an attentive staff, and high quality fresh food, the drive was so worth it. I think my face shows it all.

Sushi heaven face.

ICHI continues to be the best place I've ever had sushi. If you are ever fortunate to be in SF, make a trip there. You won't regret it.

Thanksgiving Week: Family Portraits (Part 2)

Nowadays, you can take digital pictures instantly and document your entire life with a click of a button. In the early nineties, my family used those plastic disposable cameras where you go into a drug store and get the photos printed. Remember those? Well I do. My mom took as many pictures of my sisters and I when she could. We have albums full of them. Because they are tangible copies and not digital, they have a certain timeless quality in them that make them special compared to the abundance of digital photos stored on my hard drive or backed up in a cloud. They are instaneous, unfiltered, and literally a snapsot of life.

One of those tangible portraits I loved were our old one hour photo studio family portraits that you can see in this post from last year. Since then, I think it's become a thing to take a family portrait when we are all together. During Thanksgiving we set out to do it again.

The matriarch, sisters, husbands and signifanct other, aunt, uncle, and cousins.



We have a silly side too!

I still find it hard to believe my mom had five daughters! The thought of parenting and being responsible for even one human life freaks me out. I still have a hard time being responsible for my cat! But I am so glad my mom did. Having four older sisters is amazing. They are my very best friends and know me better than I know myself. We are all so different and unique, but the same at heart, and it's all because of my mother.

Thanksgiving in California!

November has been extremely busy! I haven't been posting much on my blog about my recent endeavors,  but it involved wine, food, and an early thanksgiving with Michael's family. All fun stuff that I wish I had chronicled on my blog! Maybe once I get new phone with a better camera quality I'll be back to my usually blogging self. But don't count on that beginning next week because I am leaving to warm California tonight to spend the holiday with my family!

So I am taking this post to write how much I appreciate YOU. Tis the season for 'thanks,' so thank you so much for reading my blog. It's been great finding friends in the blogging community and getting to know you and your blogs too.

I will resume my posts when I return in December! Til then, may there be an abundant amount of pumpkin pies in your future!

Changing California

This past weekend, Michael and I took a four day trip to visit my family in California. The trip went way too quickly for me. I'm already missing my family, the heat, and the familiarity of it all. The last time I went home was in December for my mother's Birthday, so I was over due for some family time.

Normally, I'm pretty good at taking photos so that I can put them up on my blog, but during this trip I was really in the moment and enjoying my time there that I completely forgot, and now I regret it since I don't see my family much. Luckily, Michael took a few photos for me, so the photocred in this post goes to him (including the blurry ones :P).

We flew in on Wednesday night and had some cheese and wine after quickly catching up with the fam. On Thursday I grabbed coffee with a friend to catch up then went to Davis so Michael and I could grab lunch with my little and grand little from my college fraternity. It was strange, but neat to be in Davis a year after graduating. It was kind of surreal. I showed Michael my favorite cafe, Mishka's, and then grabbed some gelato before driving home. After we relaxed a bit before having a home cooked meal at my mom's with the whole family. Oh boy do I miss my mom's food!

On Friday morning Michael and I shipped my last remaining boxes to Seattle then grabbed coffee and took a morning walk before meeting up with my best friend for lunch at in-n-out. The last time I saw her was last summer before my move! Can you believe it? Nonetheless, we can always pick up where we left off!

After, we met up with my sisters, brother-in-laws, and cousins for some food fun in South Sacramento then went to the movies in Folsom.

Michael snapped this photo because during the trip I was really obsessed with Hay Day,
a game my mother introduced me to.

Saturday was a pretty packed day. Michael and I went to Temple Coffee, one of my fave coffee shops, where I spent a lot of time writing M1. After we went to Scandia with the fam for some mini golf, batting cages, and air hockey! Then it was off to the Cafeteria for dinner and drinks and dancing at the Park Ultra Lounge!

Tran Sisters minus one! We didn't intentionally coordinate our clothing :P

The Husbands and Boyfriend!



Group photo at The Park (sorry for the blurriness!)

This was Michael's first time experiencing the night life in Sac, and I think we showed him a grand time!

Sunday was family day as well as Easter (although we do not celebrate it), so we did brunch in Old Sac and a barbeque in the evening.

Ma mere et moi!

 It was rough to leave home again after such a short trip. Poor Michael had to hold me as I cried the night before my flight (I'm a tad emotional). So many changes have happened in the last two years with my family that it makes it extremely difficult to be away from them. This trip was the last time I would see the house I've lived in for the past seven years. It's not a spectacular house by any means, but it was a place filled with so many memories that it's strange to think I would never get the chance to step inside it again.

 

The next time I'll be heading back will be for Thanksgiving in November, so it'll be interesting to see what else will change!