No-sew felt circle garland

I'm a big fan of garlands, particularly of the felt circle variety. I made one for a friend's baby shower and another for Serene's first birthday bash. Part of the one I used at Serene's party now adorns our living room. I remember seeing sewn felt circle garlands elsewhere a long time ago. I didn't want to sew since the garlands had to be pretty long, so I made no-sew versions instead. It's a great way to use up felt scraps. The result is just as pretty as a sewn garland, but is much simpler to accomplish!
You'll need felt in as many colors as you'd like, scissors, twine (or string), and a bit of tape.
First, cut circles out of your felt. I folded each big sheet of felt into multiple layers and cut circles out freehand. Don't worry if the circles are not completely circular.

Next, fold each felt circle in half and cut two slits in the center perpendicular to the fold.
When you unfold the felt circle, you should have two little slits that are wide enough for your twine to pass through.
Now take one end of your twine and wrap a piece of tape tightly around it. This gives your twine more rigidity, which allows you to thread your felt circles more easily.
Thread your twine through each felt circle, going under one slit and over the other.
Keep threading until you're satisfied with the length of your garland. You can move each felt circle equal distance from one another, or you can clump some together and distance others so that it's more random (like I did, as seen in the first picture of this post).
That's it! You now have a sweet and simple garland to spruce up any space. I'm thinking it would be just as lovely with different shapes: hearts: triangles, diamonds, etc. Now I'm itching to make one to decorate the kids' room for when our littler love arrives and shall eventually share a room with his big sister.

Soy braised pork with tofu and boiled eggs

I mentioned experimenting with homestyle Chinese cooking here, and this soy braised pork with tofu and boiled eggs was a winner in our home. It's best if eaten over steamy white rice, and goes well when accompanied by sides of sautéed veggies or a clear, homemade broth. It reminded me of my childhood - can't get better than that!
Soy Braised Pork with Tofu and Boiled Eggs
Ingredients: 
1 lb pork belly or pork tenderloin, sliced
6 boiled eggs
1 1/2 cups fried tofu
1 garlic clove, minced
1 shallot, minced
Up to a thumb's worth of fresh ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks
1 onion, diced in half
3 tbsp soy sauce (I used reduced sodium)
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 cup water (start by adding 1/4 cup first, then more)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil for frying
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:
1. In a large heavy-bottomed pot, heat extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic, shallot, and ginger. Stir to cook until fragrant and translucent, about 2 minutes.
2. Add pork and onion halves and cook for about 5 minutes. Add soy sauce, fish sauce, and brown sugar. Reduce heat to low, cover the pot, and braise for 2-3 minutes. Add 1/4 cup water and continue to braise on low, covered, for 10-15 minutes, continuing to add water in 1/4 cup increments.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Add eggs and tofu and continue to braise for another 15-20 minutes, or until pork is tender and soft and the tofu absorbs some of the sauce.
4. Serve over rice and enjoy!

Fingerpainting foray

I've been looking for more activities to do with Serene now that she's a little older (almost 16 months) and learning so much so quickly. She loves interacting with other kiddos and does often since we're blessed with a dear church family. I'm looking forward to perhaps taking her to Mommy & Me classes at the community center when she's old enough. I've also heard about storytime at the local library too, but they happen to fall in the middle of her morning nap. Maybe we'll go when she transitions from two to one nap a day (although I am happy if that day takes longer to arrive!). When we're home, she's all about her stuffies, bouncy balls, accessorizing herself, and shuttling down the hallway in a box, pushcart, or her parents. She recently developed a love for snuggling up against me being read "bok" (book) after "bok" all afternoon. Reading was my favorite childhood pastime, so I'm hoping her fervor for books grows. Needless to say, reading together has now become our favorite pastime.

I've been keen on introducing activities to foster her creativity though. She will color for a spell, but she doesn't rub the paper hard enough with her crayons, so coloring does not impress her very much (yet?). I remembered last week that she got some finger paints and a paint pad for her birthday, so it was time to foray into fingerpainting. She was eager to dip her fingers into the colorful goop, but was a smidgen apprehensive about smearing it all over paper. She was much more interested in playing with the bowls of finger paints. She eventually got the idea though and created a cheery, colorful, if smudgy piece of artwork.

Salmon poke bowl

Hearsay is that one shouldn't eat sushi while pregnant. Well, I'm doing it anyway. I lasted for about 3 months without sushi when I was pregnant with Serene, then ended up eating it, and continued to do so a few times after that. I can't stomach any seafood during the first trimester, but during the second and third trimesters, sushi's a go for me! Of course, I try to be careful and only order from reputable restaurants or buy fresh sashimi to prepare at home. Like poke. Ever since we had legit poke in Santa Cruz last summer, I've been on a poke kick. Casual poke restaurants have been popping up in our parts since then too. But of course, it is more economical to buy fresh sashimi and prepare poke at home. Toss in rice and some sides, and you've got a tasty meal. I shared a poke recipe on this space before, which uses mainly Hawaiian salt. This poke recipe features soy sauce and is therefore sweeter. I've been preferring this one lately, as I made it with tilapia sashimi here, and then went on to make it with salmon (perhaps my favorite sashimi, along with white tuna). You can definitely switch it up with different kinds of fish though!
Salmon Poke Bowl (adapted from here)
Ingredients: 
3/4 lb sashimi grade salmon, cubed
2 tbsp soy sauce (I used reduced sodium)
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp sesame oil
1/4 cup chopped green onion
Furikake seasoning to taste (the one with sesame seeds and seaweed)
Japanese red pepper to taste (optional)
Japanese white rice, cooked
Persian or English cucumber, diced
Avocado, sliced
Roasted seaweed for topping
Chopped green onions for topping

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, combine sashimi cubes, soy sauce, lemon juice, sesame oil, and green onion. Add Furikake seasoning and red pepper to taste (I love Furikake seasoning so I sprinkled it generously and added just a dash of red pepper since I'm not a big fan of spicy food). Mix well. Refrigerate at least two hours before serving.
2. Serve on a bed of warm Japanese white rice with avocado slices and cucumber on the side. Top with roasted seaweed and additional green onions. Enjoy with a side of edamame!

Parenting and picnicking

Some parenting days are better than others. We had a rough weekend; I wanted to lie down, shut my eyes, and hide from the world for a bit. There were frustrated tears, rebellious tantrums, and just plain exhaustion all around. Serene's naps were way off or didn't happen the whole weekend since we were on the go from Friday until Sunday. We continue to learn that our little love goes nutty when she doesn't get her rest, especially for three days straight. Which causes me to go nutty, and my desire to wield control rears its ugly head. When things don't fare as expected, I end up questioning if we've been making the "right" parenting decisions, and pretty much take my stress and irritation out on Alex. We've been learning to seek unity in when and how to discipline our child(ren) in love, mainly through tons of moments when we are not on the same page at times. This parenting gig is tough in the magnitude of responsibility we've been afforded to disciple our kiddo(s). I must remember I am but a vessel and God is a far better parent than I can ever be. Thankful for wisdom from God's Word, our community who Titus 2's us, forgiveness and reconciliation in Christ, my extremely patient husband, and my ever patient God. And for His mercies anew every morning, for yesterday was a beautiful new day. We spent family day at the park picnicking, getting up close and personal with the ducks, and playing on the playground. And thankfully, getting back into the swing of a normal week for us, which entails napping for Serene Joy.

Our day on a plate

Breakfast: unsalted almond butter on whole-wheat toast, chia seed pudding topped with fresh blueberries, banana.

Chia seed pudding is a newfound favorite. So good, and so good for you, since it's a source of fiber, protein, and omega 3. I just mixed 1/4 cup chia seeds, 1 cup unsweetened soy milk, and some clover honey (to taste) together, soaked it overnight so the seeds can plump up, and topped it with blueberries for breakfast in the morning. I heard you can substitute for coconut/almond milk and agave nectar as well. Serene loves chia seed pudding too; it tastes like tapioca pudding, but is way healthier. We had it with toast spread with almond butter and banana - I had more toast than banana, and Serene had more banana than toast.


Lunch: baby spinach and tri-colored quinoa salad with Persian cucumbers, grape tomatoes, Clementine oranges, avocado, and blueberries for mama. A deconstructed salad of quinoa, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, Clementine oranges, blueberries, avocado, corn on the cob, crunchy broccoli florets, and a pita wedge for baby.

I'm so happy to have finally checked out a local farmers market that sells fresh produce for so cheap, thanks to a friend's recommendation. I was elated in there; I think I bought a gigantic box of different fruits, veggies, and herbs for only $9.00. Therefore, we made use of some of the tastiness for lunch, with quinoa for protein. I like my salads dressing-free, and Serene is not a fan of raw leafy greens (yet?), so I made her a deconstructed salad of sorts comprising of everything in my salad except for spinach, and added a pita wedge, crunchy broccoli florets, and corn on the cob. She loves corn on the cob, and would happily eat through a few cobbettes for a meal. She ate everything else, except for the cucumbers and most of the quinoa. This was her first time sampling the seed, so I'm not surprised. Here's to hoping she'll develop a liking, or tolerance, for quinoa in the future.


Afternoon snack: baby carrots dipped in hummus, yellow cherries, grapes.

I don't like condiments in general, and will often use hummus, pesto, or avocado as substitutes. Like baby carrots dipped in tasty hummus. Serene can't have them yet, but she had cherries and grapes with me. Yellow cherries are my favorite fruit, and I was so happy to find them at the farmers market, even though it isn't exactly cherry season. Serene loves fruit in general, especially yellow cherries. She is fond of grapes too, just as Alex is.


Dinner: soy braised pork with tofu and boiled eggs over Japanese white rice, garlic sautéed bok choy, chicken soup with carrots and potatoes.

As I get older, I miss my mom's cooking more and more. We always had humble, comforting dishes over white rice as I was growing up, and I've been itching to learn how to whip up more Chinese home cooking. I think my mom makes the best Chinese food in the world, but she's so pro that she never measures her ingredients. I've been asking other family members and friends for basic recipes, and I was so excited to try a couple of them out. A Chinese meal at home almost always requires a clear soup, a protein dish, and a veggie dish. My dearest friend gave me some tips on making chicken soup with carrots and potatoes; it turned out being super easy, refreshingly tasty, and reminiscent of my childhood. The veggie dish was bok choy sautéed in a bit of extra virgin olive oil, garlic, shallot, and ginger. My sweet cousin shared a basic template for soy braised pork, so I played around with what I had in the kitchen, and adapted it into a yummy soy braised pork with tofu and boiled eggs. We all loved it, and I think I'll be making it more often (and will be sharing the recipe on this space soon).

See other foods we eat on a typical day here.

Family day at the zoo

A sweet friend gifted us with tickets to a local zoo for Christmas, which made for a lovely family day this week. We had only taken Serene to the LA Zoo last summer, so this zoo was a nice change of scenery. Since it was a Monday, there was hardly a soul there, which meant we got to stroll around leisurely without worrying about crowds. Serene has taken a keen interest in animals, puppies in particular, lately. Probably because she has a few animal stuffies she's rather fond of, and because we've been reading her bedtime stories featuring animals. Therefore, she was fascinated by all the creatures we saw at the zoo. She called them all "pah-pee" (puppy) though, so we have to work on that. The best part of the afternoon was boarding a little train for a tour around the zoo. It was a charming experience; Alex loved it so much that he declared his day was complete when we hopped off. Family days are so special. I'm so thankful Alex carves out a day of the week for us to enjoy one another's company and create memories together. We are so blessed to be able to do so.

15 month musings

Serene Joy turned 15 months at the beginning of the month. Alex and I have been remarking that she gets more fun as she gets older, and I feel as if she's picking up new tricks and quirks at warp speed. While this is not a letter to Serene, I wanted to quickly attempt to encompass what she is like at this age lest I forget.

The numbers:

At 15 months, Serene Joy weighs 20 lbs and is 30 inches long. She sleeps from 8:00pm-8:00am or 8:30pm-8:30am daily. She takes 2 naps a day most of the time, usually around 10:30am or 11am for an hour and a half, and then around 3:30pm or 4:00pm for an hour to an hour and a half, totaling 2 1/2 - 3 hours of naps a day. When we're out and about most of the day (like Sundays for church), she'll take just one nap. She dresses in 3-6 months, 6-12 months, and 12 month clothing. She wears size 3 shoes and size 3 diapers. In addition to the 2 bottom front teeth she acquired right before she turned 12 months, she has 2 top front teeth growing in, so she'll have a total of 4 teeth soon.
The personality:

Serene is generally jolly, good-natured, and full of life to this day. She babbles all day long, saying 13 distinct words now: "aye" (hi), "mama" (mama), "dah-dee" (daddy), "pah-pee" (puppy), "bah-bee" (baby), "bah-bo" (Bible), "mu-mu" (referring to her Mulan stuffie), "yesh" (yes), "ba" (bye), "sheuh" (shoes), "pea" (please), "boh" (ball), and "boe" (book). She also says "nana" seemingly nonstop when she desires something, whether it's her blanket, food, drink, a book, etc. "Nana" is synonymous with whining. She shakes and nods her head to communicate as well. She does not sit still, ever. She loves going out for walks or adventures. She is more likely to be compliant when getting dressed when she knows we're about to head out. She sticks out her arms and legs so that we can wash them and dress her more efficiently. She fetches her shoes when asked, and helps us put them on by sticking out her foot, one after the other. She never seems to tire from walking, roaming around, and touching everything, which is when she's most fascinated with the world. Therefore, she is quite a social babe, especially around other babies/kiddos. She takes a while to warm up to big crowds of adults. She is affectionate, prone to hugging others by embracing them, leaning her head on them, and smiling sweetly, whether she knows them or not. She hugs others per request, but kisses only her mama and daddy. She claps when others clap or when we say "Yay!" She also claps and grooves along to songs.


The preferences:

Eating is Serene's favorite pastime. She has a huge appetite and could probably compete as a speed eater. She is always down for food. She eats whatever we eat, and now knows to say "pea" (please) when asking for something tasty, which decreases her whining for (our) food. She's currently interested in and learning how to use utensils, but hasn't really succeeded yet. She drinks soy milk or water as beverages. She fancies accessorizing herself - putting on hats, scarves, and especially purses (or any bag with handles). She loves to flip through books or play, especially with others. She giggles infectiously throughout games of chase. Climbing on Daddy for horsey rides around the house is a favorite. She is getting better by the day at sorting shapes, stacking rings, scribbling with crayons, and stacking blocks on top of one another. Out of all her toys, she loves bouncy balls and her stuffies most. No toy can comfort her like her purple blanket, though. She lugs it around the house all day and can't sleep without it. She is our sweet, smiley, and silly little love.

Our day on a plate

I was making our breakfast yesterday, and thought it might be fun to document the food we eat on a typical day. Perhaps I'll do this periodically. Either that, or I'm running out of post ideas.

Breakfast: avocado on whole-wheat toast, eggs scrambled in a bit of extra virgin olive oil with baby spinach. Water for mama and unsweetened soy milk for baby (tried-and-true beverages during all our meals).

Avocado toast is my favorite go-to breakfast. It's fast, easy, and so insanely tasty. I'm pretty biased as an avocado aficionado. I love them in almost everything. I will always ask Alex if I can add avocado to my order at a restaurant. Serene loves avocado too, which we call avo around here. She could eat avo toast and eggs with spinach every day. Thankful for that, because this is an easy, nutritious breakfast that we eat often.

Lunch: mini hand rolls, sides of edamame and Clementine oranges. Mama's rolls are stuffed with Japanese white rice, tilapia poke, avocado, and baby spinach. Baby's rolls are stuffed with any combination of Japanese white rice, avocado, egg, corn, and spinach.

I usually look for a quick and easy-to-prep lunch most days, like steamed chicken and veggie dumplings from Trader Joe's, or cheese and veggie quesadillas, or more often, leftovers from dinner the night before. On this day, I found frozen tilapia sashimi in the freezer that I forgot we had. It was a jackpot moment because I had been craving sushi (my favorite food). I knew we had leftover rice in the fridge, avocado, and snack-sized roasted seaweed, among other things with which we could make impromptu hand rolls. I cut up the tilapia sashimi and dressed it to make poke (I will probably share the recipe soon). I prepped the other ingredients, which just meant cutting up avocado, putting spinach in a bowl, heating up the edamame, corn, and rice, and frying an egg. We typically eat brown rice around here, but when I'm pregnant, I want white rice all the way. Serene loves bits and pieces of everything in a roll. Mama gets her poke, and baby gets food in a fun roll. We're both happy, and Alex was thrilled for our budget's sake when he found out my sushi craving had been satisfied for free when I had been asking him to take us to my favorite local all-you-can-eat sushi joint.

Mid-afternoon snack: multigrain and seed crackers spread with Brie cheese, semi-defrosted frozen wild blueberries.

Serene always wants a snack after she wakes up from her afternoon nap. Dinner is still at least an hour and half away, and she gets hangry (hungry + angry) waiting - very much like her mama. She loves crackers, especially since she's currently teething (her top two front teeth are emerging!). Usually she'll have a graham cracker and some fruit, but we had some cheese left over from our quiet New Year's Eve celebration, so we're all too happy to down some fancy cheese and crackers. Blueberries, or berries in general, are some of Serene's favorite fruit. I just bought frozen blueberries at the grocery store this week since fresh blueberries aren't in season, and are therefore pretty expensive.

Dinner: whole-wheat spaghetti in marinara sauce topped with baked garlic and herb-stuffed turkey meatballs, garlic roasted broccoli topped with parmesan.

Dinner is always special, because Alex is home to eat dinner with us. We're a pasta-loving family, and spaghetti and meatballs is a favorite, specifically when the meatballs are homemade. I use dear Ruby's recipe as a template, and we are all fans. Alex, as an unabashed meat lover, loves these meatballs because he says they taste like they're bad for you. I love them because they're not bad for you at all since they're made of lean ground turkey, some fresh Parmesan, and tons of herbs. I'll usually make a big batch of whatever we're having for dinner so that we have leftovers for the following day, which is partly how we survive around here with a fifteen-month-old and another babe on the way.

See other foods we eat on a typical day here.