My Christmas.

Here are a few photos of how I spent my Christmas. Pretty picturesque, huh?

Photographic Evidence.

Here is the photo that my friend took of the creeper that I described in the post titled Imagine. Don't forget to ZIG ZAG!

Birchbox FAIL!!!!

I cancelled my Birchbox subscription yesterday, prior to having received my 2nd birchbox. Why? Because I lost my patience. Waiting 10+days after having received a notification that your package has shipped from the East Coast is ridiculous. Also...receiving your monthly birchbox, after the 2nd half of the month (actually, when the month is nearly over) is also pretty stupid, if you ask me.

So, when my birchbox FINALLLLLLLLLLLLLY arrived today, I was secretly hoping it wasn't going to be a lot of good stuff, because then I would have to re-subscribe and just learn to be patient. Well the items in there were disappointing, not to mention the BROKEN GLASS!!!! WTF?

I've put myself on the waiting list to sign up for THIS from MyGlam. This month was the first month they launched it, and it already looks WAY better than birchbox. Unfortunately they are sold out...I think until february, so there is a waiting list. I will do a full review when I receive my first bag. :)

Favorite Christmas Ornaments.

Just sharing some of my favorite Christmas ornaments from our tree. I did not photograph the "personal" ornaments that are also in my favorites. So here goes!

Vintage crotchet'd Peace Dove.

(thrift store find!)

9 Year Anni. gift from Husb.

( years is Potter or Leather)

Hand painted ornament from best friend.

2 years ago.

New this year! I bought this for myself

from Sur La Table. I have a thing for

pomegranates, in case you didn't know.

vintage. Love.

Fred Meyers carried these 2 years ago,

no longer. :(

Vintage. Mercury Glass.

The overall tree.

Imagine.

Imagine having a pleasant Sunday brunch with your best girl friend. Let's say her name is "C." We're having a beautiful meal on a cold December morning at Brasserie Montmarte. Across the street from the restaurant, there is a tall building, with shops on the first floor and apartments on the upper floors. My brunch date, looking out into the street, exclaims "Oh! There's a little face in that window!" Her voice is surprised, and she points upward. I turn to look and sure enough, several floors up in the building across the streets is a red curtained window, open at the bottom, with a face peering out into the street. We let out a nervous laughter and remark on the creepiness of the face and the staring. We discuss whether or not we would be creepy spies if our apartment were located in such a busy place. Discussion continues and we decide it would be far less creepy just not to have a curtain and stand at the window, staring, like you mean it. The face goes away, the curtain completely drawn.

Throughout the meal C continues to notice when the curtain opens up and the creepy little face appears again. Sometimes it is the entire face, and sometimes it is just half the face. We make fun, and I beg my companion to photograph the face, to which she gleefully complies. (It took many attempts to not get a blurry photo from all the immature laughter). Our imaginations run wild:  Perhaps they are waiting for someone? I suggest: Perhaps he is a sniper and is sitting in that dark apartment room with a sniper rifle! C seems distracted at this point of the story, and is rummaging in her purse....I continue and say "When we leave here, we are going to have to run. We will have to zig zag so he can't get us...." I notice she is distracted, so, with some urgency I say "C, did you hear what I just said?! Are you even listening to me? What is the game plan?" She stops rummaging long enough to look up and say, (to my total delight) in a serious nonchalant tone "Zig Zag."

We make friends with our too formal, frigid, and slightly nervous waitress, by asking her if she has noticed the face. Her professional waitress facade comes tumbling down and now she's just a girl, in her 20's with a clear and just-pleasant face. She is both intrigued and creeped out by the face story. We show her our photograph, and after she sees the photograph, the face appears again, so now she sees him first hand. She runs and tells her other waitress friends, and now all of these girls, dressed in black, walk up to the front of restaurant to peer out and up, looking for the face. When he appears (which is right away) they all step back. Caught. Staring. One waitress visibly jumps and grabs her chest, exclaiming "Oh!" C and I laugh at them. Silly girls. 

We end our meal, I pick up the check, and leave a good tip. C goes downstairs to use the restroom before we head out. When she comes back, we put our heavy winter coats on and sling our purses over our shoulders, ready to leave. We say goodbye to everyone, now that we are friends sharing a creepy secret. When we step out into the street., C & I break out into a run and zig zag up to the end of the block, hoping not to get sniped! 

"Fun"

Something I do to get myself into the cleaning mood...I start off in 1 room and "touch" 15 things. This means, putting away, straightening, picking up 15 items. Then (even if the room is not finished being clean) I move onto the next room, before I lose interest. Then I rotate back. Anything helps! What are your cleaning tricks?

Thug Life.

Check it.

Pie Baker.

2011. Apple Cranberry Pie.

2008. Happy Pilgrim/Sad Indian (Native American).

2007 Gobble Gobble!

2009's pie was the Mayflower...but I was apparently too busy to photograph it, since I hosted Thanksgiving that year! I can't remember last year's pie at all. Christmas pies have their own pictures on them too.

I also made my own home-made cranberry sauce yesterday.

So easy and DELICIOUS!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Birchbox Review.

This is my first birchbox. My initial thoughts: I ordered the box on my birthday (9th), received an email saying it had shipped on the 12th, and received it today...the 22nd. The company is based on the East Coast, but I still feel that it took a ridiculously long time to receive the box. So already not that thrilled. Furthermore, before receiving the box this afternoon, I received an email from birchbox, telling me everything that was in the box. I am thinking they sent this email to me, assuming I had already received the box. This definitely ruined the surprise aspect. So another point off.

My November Birchbox came with 4 deluxe samples

& 1 hair tie as a "treat." (not pictured)

Reviews: (left to right) First one is Supersmile complete Oral Care, a green apple flavored/scented professional whitening toothpaste. I brushed my teeth as instructed, and found the actual toothpaste to be runny (not foamy) and the flavor to be disgusting. The green apple SCENT is strong, but the flavor is not good at all. It did nothing for the breath, but even after just 1 brushing, I did feel that my teeth looked whiter. At $21 for the full sized tube, this is a maybe for me. If, after I continue to use the mini tube and it works wonders, I might contemplate paying the $21 (which is still cheaper than Crest White Strips, plus we all gotta brush, right?)

Next is supposed to be a magical hair serum. Kerastase elixur ultime (from Paris). For the full size it is $54. Already a no-go just bc of the price. It comes in pump form, and smells slightly musky, warm, vanilla-y, but not over powering. I am finicky about strong smelling things, and I liked this. The pump gives you less than a dime sized amount, and I used 3 pumps on my hair...which left it smelling good, but still frizzy. Did not do any magic wonders, which at $54 for the full size bottle, I would hope it would do more!

Be fine food skin care night cream. Has cocoa, millet & rice bran. I have not actually tried this on my face. The price for the full sized tube is in the $30 range, I think. (I threw the card away already, that has all the prices on it). I did try it out on my hand and the texture is runny but not watery, soft, substantial feeling but not thick. It is also allergen free, fragrance & paraben free.If it's really awesome I would purchase this for my mother who has sensitive skin and loves herself a good night cream. $30 is definitely do-able.

Last is the Anastasia Beverly Hills lash lifting mascara. It's supposed to volumize and hold curl. I found the formula to be really dry, and couldn't tell if it was just bc the formula is supposed to be dry or bc it had dried out since it was in a small sample tube. The wand is like any typical mascara wand, and it did a decent job volumizing, but in no way does it compare to Covergirl Lash Blast. for $22, I will take a pass.

Final thoughts: Overall, I do not feel ripped off for having spent $10 for these deluxe samples. I think, if you are a product junkie...birchbox is both a useful tool and dangerous gateway drug. You are supposed to receive 4-5 samples, and my first month I only received 4...and really only sort of liked 2 of the 4 samples. The amount of time it took to receive the package was the biggest turn off, for me (I am notoriously impatient!). I will give it one more chance (December) and see if it will impress me before cancelling it forever. I could always get my samples from Sephora, where I shop at, anyway....and they have much faster shipping.

Anyhoo....even with this mediocre-feeling review, here is the LINK if you are interested in trying out birchbox as well! 

the post office.

I went out to run my errands a little later than usual. When I got to the post office, my shoulders sunk with regret, as I saw the long line. If only I began my day earlier....

Since my place was at the very back of the line, I decided to grab a couple hard-to-get medium sized flat rate boxes (they usually only have the an over abundance of the medium sized boxes that are shirt-box shaped, instead of the more cube shaped). An old man of about 65 took my place in line as I stood browsing the boxes. When I turned back to take my place behind him, he stepped back gesturing for me to go in front of him. I told him I was fine. We went at it back and forth a bit and finally he said "Please," and as I took my spot in front of him, both of us still at the back of the line, he yells "CIVILITY LIVES!" I thanked him, and smiled at the floor.

He wore a black leather motorcycle jacket, had gray hair and gray scruff on his face. I know this, because I was forced to look at him, because he kept talking to me after his declaration about civility. He said "...and happy holidays. Happy thanksgiving, and whatnot....and God bless you.....and god bless every citizen on this earth." I said "Thank you," again, and nodded in agreement to his last statement. I do agree with that. Every. Single. Person. deserves to be blessed. Then he went on about "..and God Bless America."  which lead to talking about the innocent children and parents of Iraq or Afghanistan...the sadness of wars...something about the US dollar....which soon lead to amazing women leaders of the world in the past 50 years. He rattled off several important women leaders, and mentioned Aung San Suu Kyi. (He was certainly up to date on his world news). He was also, very, clearly (?) nuts. Right? right?! I stopped staring at my phone, my hands, the floor, the boxes I was holding, long enough to look into his eyes, just to reassure myself he was, indeed, crazy. To my confusion and relief his eyes were gray, bright, and clear. He was not crazy. If anything, he was just lonely.

The people standing in line ahead of us, by this point, had all taken turns turning around to stare and chuckle at the crazy man. I could not bring myself to make eye contact with them, becauseI didn't want them to give me the "knowing" look and feel sorry for me. I was amused and (I will admit) a little embarrassed, but mostly enjoying the things this man had to say. I didn't want these people to think I was on their side, because I wasn't. I wasn't on anyone's side.

When we finally reached the front of the line, he turned to me again and said "Thank you for listening to what I had to say." Then it was my turn to buy stamps. Holiday stamps, to put on cards to send to the people I love, the people I have in my life that keep me from being the crazy person, lonely in the post office line.

After my purchase, I stuffed my stamps and wallet back into my purse, rummaging around for my keys as I turned away to leave in a hurry. The gray eyed man yelled at me one last time, "Go safely!"

I said a clear "Thank you, you too." and walked out. When I got out to the street, the cold air rushing past me made me suck in my breath. As I stepped off the curb and into the street, I surprised myself when I realized I was holding back tears. How often do you meet someone....in a public place, that is so honest, genuine, and refreshing? Someone just short of grabbing my shoulders and shaking me to WAKE UP! Appreciate. I thought I did. but you can always appreciate. more.

More.

Throw Pillow Fetish.

*excuse the dark photo, it was taken with my cell phone

several months ago. But those are what my old

throw pillow covers look like. Pear Green with

brown fern print embroidered on.

The throw pillows I sewed up today.

I went with the orange thread and bright orange "invisible" zipper.

Why not? I love going with the unexpected.

Burnt orange rope trim. I couldn't decide if I wanted to 

bring out the light duck-egg blue/green strip or the 

orange/brown color, but I went with the warmer tone

(I never fail to go for the warmer tone!)

there's nothing wrong with my old pillow covers, other than I've had them for a while and was getting sick of looking at them. Plus, the actual pillows are these really nice down pillows, and I figured I could just MAKE my own pillow covers! My original intention was to get RED fabric or pumpkin orange. Something to warm up the sofa/curtain colors that I have going on. But I found that really awesome plaid fabric for $5 (total) and the only other fabric I really (REALLY!) loved was this floral upholstery fabric that was $25/yard. The trim was actually pretty costly and the total for both covers ended up being just under $25 (now you can imagine how much the trim cost). I think overall it wasn't so bad in price, considering pillow covers at Pottery Barn are $29 Each (no pillow included). I will still be on the lookout for some more Christmas-y throw pillows (might even just purchase some at Target, take out the stuffing, add my own zippers). All in all, I would definitely pay $25 again for 2 pillow covers and an afternoon sewing project! 

To all the single ladies.

Life is too short to wait around to get married and THEN get the good kitchen shit. Fuck that! Start collecting your amazing kitchen supplies: pots, pans, serving ware, knives NOW. Then if you DO get married, you can register for more amazing stuff to add to your collection. Being single is no excuse to punish yourself with shitty kitchen supplies from Goodwill. This is one area in which I totally condone being a snob. Be a GIANT snob!

Fall Leaf Wreath

This was the inspiration for my wreath, 

by my hero: Martha Stewart.

Here is the link to how to make the above

wreath. Make sure you watch the video!

My version of the wreath.

Supplies you will need for the paper leaves,

*as noted in the Martha Stewart tutorial.

TIPS: Paste over scrap paper or newspaper, change

the sheet out after it gets too sticky.

Have a damp wash cloth near so you can wipe

the sticky glue off to avoid frustrations.

*this part is really tedious and I am unsure

if I would ever do this particular project again!

Items you need to bundle leaves in preparation

for the wreath. In Martha Stewart's version

her real-leaf to paper-leaf ratio is a lot less.

I used more real leaves than paper leaves

for a more full wreath effect.

The wreath in progress....I ran out of both real and

fake leaves the first night.

Finishing touch! I used used floral wire on the back

of the bow to affix it to the wreath.

The paper leaves are really quite delicate, and

I am unsure the wreath would survive a windstorm

(I would bring it inside). But since 

I have a covered porch, I decided I wanted to

display it outside. 

Happy November!

I'm 29.

(I don't know this guy).

29 Things About J.Han:

1. My birthday falls on the day of Justice & Earthly Temptations.

2. For my birthday dinner, out of alllllll the wonderful restaurants there are, where I live, 

I picked McDonald's drive-thru!

3. One of my favorite sayings "Our fleeting youth." (and it's so true)

4. I'm going to buy myself birthday flowers today.

"Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself."

5. I currently have a (4yr old) "puppy" warming my lap.

6. Last night I dreamt I was so angry, I spit in someone's face. Whoops.

7. ^I said Whoops, but it was really cathartic.

8. Last year, I bought my own bday present. Leopard print mary-jane platform heels.

9. I almost always have my toe-nails painted. 90% of the time.

10. They are currently painted gray.

11. I have begun planning my 30th birthday party already.

12. I think persimmons and pomegranates are beautiful.

13. I finished a tedious Martha Stewart project yesterday and will be posting about it later today.

14. The crazies tend to be attracted to me. So if you like me...check yo'self, you might be nuts.

15. My favorite adjective is the F-word. It is also a verb and a noun.

16. When walking my dog, I fear I may become a victim of a drive-by shooting.

17. ^In my neighborhood, this is not an irrational fear.

18. I don't really get obsessions or addictions.

19. Other than caffeine and Pepsi Max.

20. I have yet to read an amazing book this year.

21. Speaking of reading, I scored in the 98th percentile in Reading Comprehension

on my ACT's over 10 years ago. Basically it means I understand what I read....

22. We have been watching Jeopardy every night and playing Sequence. NERDFEST!

23. I cut my own hair. 

24. It's currently a shoulder-length bob.

25. Even though I complain a lot, I adore my husband. ADORE.

26. I really dislike the show Cash Cab and I think it's totally elitist.

27. My favorite city is New York. 

28. The book & movie "Into the Wild" made me jealous and angry.

29. I am as equally excited about it being my birthday today, as I am

that the T.V. show Modern Family is on tonight. It's that good!

Neato.

I recently signed up for birchbox....which should actually be named pandora'sbox, since this could lead to a very dangerous addiction. I have yet to receive my first box, but will let you know how I feel about it after I do.

Also, speaking of deals: you all know about this black friday site, right? I already found discounted movie tickets that I plan on purchasing (abe and I have yet to pay full price for a movie this year!).

Lastly, this is for my Longview readers. Check out the altrusa holiday gifts. I blogged about this blanket last year...and I still think it's kind of awesome! I've had cotton blankets like that in the past...and they are totally not practical, but it's still a really cool blanket!

Fall Minestrone.

4 Slices of pancetta or bacon

2 Tablespoon Oil

1 onion, chopped

1 large carrot diced

2 ribs celery, diced

2-3 Garlic Cloves, minced

1 med. Zucchini, diced

1 med sized potato, chopped

1 28oz can diced tomatoes

1 32oz Chicken Broth

2 Cup Water (or just more chicken broth)

1 Teaspoon Dried Oregano

Salt & Pepper to taste

1 15oz Can Cannellini beans OR Great Northern beans (drained)

4-6 Cups Kale, chopped

2 Cups Cabbage

1 Acorn Squash (peeled & chopped) *in order to peel easily…stab with fork and microwave for few minutes until soft enough to peel and chop.

  

Cook pancetta or bacon in large soup kettle. Once cooked (but not crispy) take out bacon and chop into small pieces, place back in kettle, add oil. Add onion, carrots, celery, zucchini, and potato. Cook until veggies are soft. Add garlic, cook until fragrant (but do not burn!). Add canned tomatoes, broth, water, oregano. Bring to boil & simmer for 30-45 minutes on stove, letting all the flavors mix, adding salt as you go. Stir occasionally.

30 minutes before serving add beans, kale, cabbage, and partially cooked squash.

 Before serving/taste and add more salt if needed! Serve with Parmesan cheese on top.

*We had our soup with cheese bread! Just get sourdough artisan bread, slice, spread butter (in our case "I can't believe it's not butter") sprinkle with garlic powder, parm. cheese and then put grated sharp cheddar on top...broil in oven, watch carefully! It's ready when the cheese is bubbling and slightly browned. YUM.

Recipe: Asian Style Cole-Slaw

I first tasted this delicious cole-slaw at my friend's son's 1st bday party. I thought it was so delicious, that I had to ask her for the recipe! I tweaked it a bit (including the title...since it was originally titled "Chinese Cabbage" but had no actual Chinese Cabbage in it! haha). So below is my version:

Asian Style Coleslaw

1/4 c chopped green onion

16 oz. Fresh Express Coleslaw mix

1/2 c. slivered almonds

1/2 c. sesame seeds

1 pkg. chicken flavor Top Ramen

Dressing:

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

1/2 c. olive oil

4 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1 Tablespoon chicken buillion

1/2 c. sugar

Flavor packet from noodles

Brown almonds and sesame seeds in 350 oven 15 minutes, watching and stirring.

Crush noodles.

Put cabbage in bowl and add noodles. Then add almonds and seeds.

Mix together dressing ingredients, pour on top of cabbage and stir.

*ADVICE: Pour in 1/2 of the salad dressing and mix with coleslaw and let it sit for about 10 minutes, then mix again and taste. Then add more dressing if needed! I ended up using BROWN sugar and dumping half the dressing bc I thought it tasted fine without adding anymore!

Don't mix all the ingredients together until 30 minutes (or less) before you want to serve for maximum crunch. Although, I am eating leftovers from last night and although the crunch is lost...still tasty!

Past Halloween Costumes.

Preschool: Fancy Cat?

I had told everyone I was going to dress up as

Snow White (which was my favorite movie at the time)

but my mother had trouble doing snow white make up.

Or just didn't care what I wanted!

-Longview, WA-

I wore that same "Black Widow" Costume 2 years in a row

(I had to justify paying $30 for the hat alone, on a college student

budget!) This was just after a trip back from Europe.

2004, Seattle, WA

PIMP. L.A., CA 2005

Better shot of my "outfit."

This was taken in Hollywood.

Las Vegas 2006.

Retro Girl? (make shift costume!)

2007 Longview.

Old School Tennis Player.

2008, Longview.

The Unabomber.

2010. Longview

Sexy Librarian.

*Childhood photos are missing because my baby albums are with my parents....in Sacramento. I did dress up every year as a child too. Korean Ghost, Angel, Witch...

THIS YEAR...is a surprise. ;)

yesterday.

I spent how many hours decorating cookies?

today.

today, I saw a man with a cat on a leash, walk out of a pot-dispensary near our neighborhood.

today, the neighbors informed me that there was another shooting last night (2 in 1 week!)

today, as I was outside, washing the car, on this beautiful, sunny, glorious fall day, 3 thuggish teens walked by and my ferocious 7lb dog barked at them. Those boys told me they liked our pumpkins and smiled as they walked on.

I have to go wash the car as fast as possible, in case there are stray bullets.

Sinus Headache? Tip:

I woke up with the gnarliest sinus headache this morning. The sudden drop in temp. combined with dry air always causes sinus headaches for me. I took Sudafed first thing this morning, and later ibuprofin (out of desperation) when my headache would not cease. I just had lunch....leftover pineapple-chicken curry (with extra spice) and feel INSTANTLY better. I had forgotten that eating spicy foods cause sinus headaches (caused by dryness) gets the juices flowing and relieves the headache instantly! <3

Here are some other benefits of eating spicy foods.

I am rarely without a bottle of Sriracha OR jar of jalepenos at the dinner table. :)

weekend Project.

I purchased a vintage card table that looked VERY similar to

the one shown above, for $8. Except MINE had a big

slash in the vinyl.

So I cut the vinyl off (which was kind of gross anyway).

And painted the board that was underneath. 

It was a long project, mostly bc of the mishap I had to start.

(I didn't like the original design that I started painting).

"Finished" product up close. The colors are actually gray & Purple.

This photo washes out both those colors.

There were a few mishaps with the tape not sticking down...

as you can see, where the paint seeped under.

So today I will be touching up with gray paint and calling it good!

We already have a dining room table....but there have been so many times where I needed a light weight folding table. I'm very happy to be the owner of a (new?) folding table. :)

Confession:

I'm not even going to pretend I liked this guy in the past, because I always found him to be a bit obnoxious. BUT I decided that I can handle this sort of thing for the holidays (aren't the holidays obnoxious?). I could always use another Christmas CD. ;) I feel so dirty admitting this.

What I made today.

When I first awoke this morning, I thought that I would take it easy today.

I ended up cooking for 6 hours today. Ha. HA.

Home-made Pita Bread. 

Let dough rise.

Bake 2 at a time (total of 8).

Korean steamed pork buns. 

Which entails chopping various veggies into teeny-tiny pieces,

cooking the meet/veggies. Squeezing out alll the liquid from the

meat/veggie mixture. Letting the dough rise twice.

Rolling the dough out into 16 equal pieces, stuffing them.

Steaming in 3 separate batches (since I do not

have giant steamer). 

tzatziki sauce.

No, I don't plan to eat all that today! Tomorrow will be an easy day when I cook up chicken pitas. Yum. :)