friday photo: forts!

Homemade forts and tents are such a great idea! I'm reminded of childhood tents made out of bedsheets and chairs. What a wonderful activity to do as the weather gets warmer. I'm loving this right now. And what a cute concept for an engagement shoot.

image via simply bloom photography

wonder foodie: cooking with grandma

During the past few weeks I've been making many calls to my grandmother to enlist her help in making some of the dishes of my childhood. It's great to have her instruction on how to properly steam yook beng (meat cake) or how much water is needed make lan fan jook (a thick rice porridge).

It's the feeling of passing on a legacy, and being reminded of all the great dishes you ate and loved while growing up.

My favorite feature on Chow is the Cooking with Grandma segments. Each one highlights a grandmother cooking with her grandchild -- and even though the measurements are not exact, the love and history in the recipes are overflowing. Love it! This most recent feature is one of my favorites - Cooking gnocchi in a tomato-porcini sauce with Grandma Paola! Mmmm, I think I'll try this one soon.

friday photo: horsin' around

Today's photo was taken by my photography professor from college. When I was her student, she showcased these beautiful photographs of horses and I recently rediscovered them in her online portfolio. I love horses, they are elegant and beautiful creatures with a quiet yet fierce kind of spirit. I think I'd like to be a horse for a day, just to see how it'd be to run in the fields carefree.

Check out the series that she has posted, they are breathtakingly beautiful - in the meadow, of their backs, and in their stalls.

photos by mimi plumb

missing in paradise

I've been missing here on the blog for the past few weeks since I was preparing to leave work for a while - mostly in part to a fabulously relaxing vacation in Hawaii that we had! It ended with a surprising Tsunami warning, so we were rudely awakened on Saturday at the crack of dawn by an ear-piercing siren that continued for a good minute and a half. Safety first, even in paradise!

Luckily, no one was hurt and the vacation itself was absolutely lovely. Lots of sunning, swimming, and eating delicious tropical delights. A girl really couldn't ask for much more. Shave ice, homemade mochi, banana mac nut pancakes, and some Fighting Eel shopping. Aloha!

image taken at lani kai beach, on the island of oahu