A tea-riffic bridal shower

Dear friend Irene's bridal shower up in NorCal over the weekend was a bona fide blast. We tried to adhere to her preferences for pastel colors and hearts as we planned her garden tea party-themed shower. Her fiancé's backyard was a wonderland that boasted amazing levels for partitioned scrapbooking, food, photobooth, and lounging/games areas. I am intensely partial to event planning, particularly envisioning the prettifying of spaces with themed decor (my husband does not love it as much; the poor guy nearly cries every time he has to stuff the car with knick-knacks and decorative things to prep for an event): we used vintage hankie bunting from our wedding to line the weathered fence, staircase, and deck; pastel and lace tablecloths to spruce up the furniture; vintage milk glass vases bursting with fresh flora to accentuate tables; delicate doilies and tissue paper hearts to embellish windowpanes; and an amalgamation of vintage tablecloths, lace, and fabric to construct a makeshift photobooth. The photobooth was my favorite feature, as sweet guests made use of time-honored props to immortalize fun memories with the bride-to-be. Cheers to teamwork with the bridal party; we love our lovely friend and cannot wait for her to tie the knot in less than three weeks!

Friday fancies: froyo

Happy weekend, friendly folks! So happy it is Friday. It's been a rough week. Nothing major, but we underwent some off and humbling moments. Realizing more and more that no matter how old we are, parents will always be, well, our parents. Thankful to have truth spoken to my heart in that regard. We are currently up in NorCal for a couple of days, as I am prepping for a dear friend's bridal shower. My sweet husband is accompanying me so I do not brave the six hour drive alone with a car full of decor. It will be his first time there, so we are hoping to score a few hours to unveil to him the beauty of idiosyncratic San Francisco. I love the city and used to venture up north twice a year during the undergrad season of life, but it has been a while. I am looking forward to a mini breather, and I am even more thrilled that my lovely friend is getting married soon. Next week will be nuts, for it shall be Vacation Bible School at our church, so there will be a throng of kiddos to share the good news with in the midst of songs, games, and summer camp festivities, in addition to work. It's moments like these when I ask the Mister, "Can we just go to Yogurtland?" Froyo never fails to pick me up when I am feeling overwhelmed. In fact, back when the Mister and I were just hanging out as friends, he would bust out philosophical and theological jargon that went way over my head. To which I would always reply with a grin, "Can we just go to Yogurtland?" 

Truffle mac n' cheese

Is it strange to prefer side dishes over the main entree? For the most part, I find sides tastier and more versatile because they're habitually veggies or starches. Especially when mac n' cheese is in the picture. I confess that the steamy, savory, cheesy pasta is my weakness, despite my inclination towards a relatively healthy diet. The Mister prefers the packaged version from a box over authentic mac n' cheesiness, but when I get a chance, I am prone to baking a colossal casserole dish of mac n' cheese because it is always a guaranteed crowd pleaser. I started making mac n' cheese from a recipe I unearthed in a newspaper clipping long ago, and have adapted it over the years, particularly to include garlic, shallots, and truffle oil in a three-cheese sauce, which I believe gives the classic American dish an aromatic spin that makes eating it all the more enjoyable. I think shell pasta captures the cheese sauce's tastiness better, but my momma gave us a few bags of small elbow macaroni recently, so I've been using that pasta instead. The recipe's secondary cheeses can be substituted; I recommend sharp ones like Gruyere or Pecorino Romano. Though mac n' cheese is customarily eaten as a side dish, I devour it as a main entree, as you can tell from the disproportionate portion sizes in the photo above. We had mac n' cheese with chicken breasts that I marinated really quickly before throwing it to grill on the skillet, which complements the creamy, comforting, cheesy creation just fine.


Truffle Mac n' Cheese

2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp garlic, minced
1/4 cup shallot, minced
5 1/2 cups fat-free milk, heated until hot
1/2 cup flour
2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 cup white truffle oil
4 1/2 cups grated sharp Cheddar cheese
1 cup grated Colby/Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 pound elbow macaroni or shells
1/3 cup whole wheat crackers, crushed (I used Trader Joe's Reduced Guilt Wheat Crisps)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Boil macaroni or shells until al dente and drain, rinsing with cold water. Melt butter and extra virgin olive oil in a pan over medium heat. When butter and olive oil bubble, add garlic and shallot, cooking for about 2 minutes. Stir in truffle oil and continue to cook for about 3 minutes.
2. Add flour into mixture and whisk constantly to cook, about 2 minutes. Slowly pour hot milk into flour-butter mixture while whisking. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and thickens.
3. Remove pan from the heat. Stir in sea salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, 3 cups Cheddar, 1 cup Colby/Monterey Jack, and 1 cup Parmesan until melted. Set cheese sauce aside.
4. Stir pasta into the reserved cheese sauce. Pour the mixture into a casserole dish. Sprinkle remaining 1 1/2 cups Cheddar and crushed wheat cracker crumbs on top. Bake until browned on top, about 30 minutes.

Date day discoveries

Dates with my love make my heart happy. We have been pretty consistent in allocating time weekly to connect with one another whilst putting on hold ministry, work, class, the daily grind, and busyness of everyday life. The Mister oft remarks on how unabashedly giddy I am when we're on a date, which is pure truth. Even before we got married, he was adamant about weekly date nights; for his intentionality I am grateful. He also recently read this book, and has been purposefully planning impending date nights and mini getaways in order to foster our marriage. Last week's date was peachy keen because my love picked me up from work and off we went to patronize this summertide's dineLA at a refined French café downtown (if you're in the area, you must try dineLA before it ends this Friday!). Though noted for its visually appealing selection of creatively prepared dishes, fine dining is not my love's favorite because it usually means he gets three teeny slices of flank steak on his finely garnished plate. Good thing the al fresco ambience that afternoon, adjacent to the grandest, most colossal library we have ever laid our eyes upon, assuaged our appetites. I pass by it nearly every day but failed to notice it until then. As a bona fide book aficionado, the Mister was nearly skipping with joy as we ambled through six levels of the historic 1920s repository for literary masterpieces, or, as he calls it, his new fortress of solitude. Unprecedented date day discoveries are gratifying, indeed.

Unwinding over the weekend

Weekends are generally a whirlwind for us, but this weekend past was more low-key. It was an unforeseen treat to have a Saturday to run much-needed errands since we hustle and bustle on Sundays, especially when the Mister is preaching. His sermon yesterday was a tremendous encouragement on knowing God even amidst evil in the world like last week's Aurora, Colorado shooting (listen here if you are inclined). I am constantly awed at how the Lord uses my love to expound on His word; it's intriguing to hear the husband mumble New Testament Greek to himself as he prepares diligently throughout the week to preach on Sundays, that's for sure. Due to the scorching heat of late and to unwind after gathering with our church family, we basked in the air conditioning that permeates our humble home and watched Les Misérables' 25th Anniversary again via projector (which we use instead of a television as one of the benefits of being a teacher). We just can't get enough, particularly when Jean Valjean says that "to love another person is to see the face of God." Les Mis is most definitely our most favored musical, so we are eagerly awaiting the December release of the movie version with Anne Hathaway (who is also one of my favorite actresses!), which we hope shall be as brilliant as the live renditions we've seen.

Friday Fancies: words that build up

(picture taken at Bath Street Inn during a trip here)

Chronicling immortalized memories is the primary purpose of this little web nook. Despite what the majority of these jolly posts portray, life and this newfangled season called marriage is not always characterized by uninterrupted bliss. A little over four months in and we've experienced much elation, but as expected, we have our share of conflicts. I have been learning of late that I need to prayerfully work on encouraging my husband and affirming his leadership. Before we got married, I read in several books and heard from dear married friends that it is not our first instinct as wives to encourage our husbands. That flabbergasted me because it seemed like a no-brainer pre-marriage. But I saw that their wisdom rang true. I have been oft tempted to speak before I think, and what comes out of my mouth is, at times, sharp, harsh, and critical, rather than gentle, kind, and building up. I read a post this week that really spoke to my heart and encouraged me to focus on my love's manifold strengths. Instead of asking him why he shrunk my shorts in the dryer, I ought to express my gratitude to him for loving me through doing my laundry and serving me in that way. That is just one instance out of many, of course.

Though my pride, selfishness, and impatience hurts my love, I am so thankful that we have reconciliation in our Lord and Savior. We get to share in the sweetness of forgiveness towards one another because we know God has already forgiven us through Christ. I really am so blessed that God gifted me with such a wonderful man who loves Him above all else. Life is so much sweeter with my love because we are covenanted together in the solid foundation that is the glorious gospel, which shows us how we ought to live that brings us deep-seated joy and God the ultimate glory. Happy weekend, dear friends. Do feel free to share the lessons you've been learning lately.

Even in gloomy weather

We were subjected to a few peculiar days awash in somber skies last week, but that didn't deter us from frolicking on the bay with dear friends. A couple of them went kayaking, while I was too chicken to venture into the open waters, since I don't know how to swim and nearly drowned the last time I tried. The rest of us stayed safe on dry land and observed tweens splash around and parents coax their apprehensive toddlers into the sea. Such leisurely summer excursions are far and fewer in between as years go by, which thereby make these forays much more appreciated, wouldn't you agree?