Projects lately

Zac officially started medical school yesterday. He has already started studying and isolating himself in the bedroom while I amuse myself with cooking, crafting, and working on all my different projects which have been keeping me pretty busy these days.

Current Projects and Progress

Bedskirt
Before moving to Texas Zac and I bought a bed in Utah. We got it on the fourth of July and got a super good deal so we ended up with a king sized bed for the price of a queen. Absolutely the best purchase we have made in our almost two years of being married! Especially with how big I am getting and hot it is, we love having all the space.

 Prepping fabric for the sewing machine

I started making a bedskirt and have it on there already. I just have some minor alterations to make since somehow my measurements didn't come out like I planned, but over all it is doing a really good job of covering all the suitcases we have under our bed!

Chinese Bao Buns 
We got a sweet bamboo steamer at my favorite Asain market near by and having it has completely converted me to the art of steaming! Super healthy option to frying and everything cooks so much faster. Love it. I wanted to make Chinese Bao sandwiches but have not been able to find the buns. So I tried this recipe and LOVE it. The buns taste just like the one's I remember from a chinese style restaurant. I didn't read the recipe through and added the baking powder too early but they turned out SO good that I don't think I will omit that mistake. I am planning on making these at the family reunion and filling them with braised pork belly, scallions and crushed peanuts. Cannot wait!!

Inspiration

My bao buns freshly steamed. They were perfect and smelled amazing.

Boa Recipe I used
 *I added baking powder with rest of the flour/warm water/sugar/salt after step one.

Anniversary Gifts
Zac and I will be married for two years come August 19th!! Unfortunately we will not be together since I will be in South Padre Island. Major bummer. But he will be in school and busy so we figured it wasn't that big of a deal. Traditionally the second year is supposed to be cotton gifts so I made him a pair of pajamas. I am also working on some other cheesy crafty things. We love that kind of stuff :)

 Done!

Monogrammed!

Not being in school or working is definitely an adjustment. But I am loving the time I have to work on all these fun projects!

Meal Plans for South Padre Island

In a week from today I will be heading with my parents to Houston to meet up with the rest of my mom's side of the family for a reunion at South Padre Island. So excited! Unfortunately, school starts for Zac on Monday and his first exam is just a week later so he won't be able to make it.

I think I take after my mom when I say that planning consumes me whenever I am given an assignment of any sort (and Zac will definitely attest to that). Usually, I only get assigned to make one meal for our family reunions or I am usually just helping here and there with meal prep but since we are staying at a house for a whole week I got assigned to an entire day's worth of meals. An entire day. When I told Zac about this his first reaction was that it made him feel somewhat okay with missing out on all the fun since he wouldn't have to do a whole day's worth of meal prep for 21 people.

Anyways for the past week I have been creating, recreating, researching, and finalizing the menu and game plan for the day and I think I have finally got THE menu down. My only fear is that the grocery store options at South Padre are even more sparse than what my research has revealed to me and that I will end up changing everything when we get there. That would probably kill me. So, just to be safe I am already beginning to set aside ingredients from my own pantry to bring and hoping the fresh food selection will work itself out when I get there.

The Menu

Saturday Dinner
Vietnamese style Pork Chops, Lime and Cumin Dusted Tilapia, Eggplant--Grilled
Thai Salad
Steamed Rice
Fresh Fruit bar

Sunday Breakfast
Cinnamon swirl waffles
Mini Veggie Quiches with a Hash brown crust
Bacon and Sausage
Fresh Fruit
Horchata

Sunday Lunch (Dim Sum Style--and ode to my grandparents)
Potsickers
Sticky Black Bean and Hoisin Chicken Wings or Short Ribs (still deciding on this one)
Stir Fry with Shrimp and Veggies
Char Siu Sweet Pork Steamed Buns
Steamed White Rice
Sauteed Spinach & Bok Choy topped with crispy shi-take mushrooms
Fresh Fruit

When I shared the menu with my husband he thought I was crazy and that I was probably going to give myslef and baby Z a heart attack, but I have already planned it all out so most of the prep is done a day before the meals and at least half of Sunday meal's can just take care of themselves in the oven. Most of the dishes on the menu are made with stand by recipes I've collected/created over the years so hopefully the SPI grocery stores cooperate with me! I'll take lots of pictures and keep track of all the substitutions/changes I will probably have to make so I can share how it all turned out when we get back.

My mom sent me a link to the kitchen we will be using to help with the planning so I am pretty excited it is already appliance equipped :)

Happy last few weeks of Summer!

Growing belly and loving Coppell

Ever since I hit the half way point which was about three weeks ago, it has felt as if my belly is growing by the minute! Every time I look at pictures from week 14 to week 21 I feel both shocked and very scared for the coming weeks. After having a freak out episode Zac promptly assured me that this was all normal and then we went to Sonic for cheeseburgers...

Week 14

Week 21...yikes!

Anyways, we have been loving Coppell and are slowly exploring and familiarizing ourselves with the area. I have found that it is probably my favorite place we have lived so far due to the following reasons:

-We are literally 2 minutes away from the grocery store!!

-We are just 4 miles away from an asian market called the Super H Mart which has every vegetable, fruit, seafood/shellfish/meat, and exotic ingredient you could imagine...they even have a station where you can bring them your meat form the counter and have them season and cook it however you please. 

-We are within ten minutes away from the mall/fabric store/movie theater/target/walmart/church/restaurants--pretty much everything!

-We have a massive walk in closet 

-Ceiling fans that really help with the heat

-I am surrounded by pregnant women and families with tons of kids which will be great when I need sewing buddies and play dates for baby Z

-Covered parking

Apart from all these positives the only struggle I've had is the kitchen. At first I didn't think I would make it since our new apartment's kitchen is literally the size of my previous bathroom and only equipped with 4 cupboards and two tiny drawers. After some serious downsizing on my utensils and kitchen supplies I ended up only keeping a total of 4 pots/pans out (which is a dramatic shift from usually having about 20 on hand) and only key kitchen supplies. I realized how spoiled we were when we had a walk in pantry, double sink, and quadruple the amount of cupboard and counter space in our last apartment's kitchen. Despite the downsize, I am slowly getting more and more comfortable and used to the minimalism of this new kitchen and to be honest it is actually growing on me. 

What we've been eating lately

I've been obsessing over burgers,

Blue Bell Rockslide Brownie and Banana Pudding,

dumplings, RICE

bok choy,

and 

baby aubergines

topped with pickled red onions.

I also tried a horchata recipe that is amazing. I tweaked it a bit and am mulling over any other changes to make before I write the recipe down.