2024: Year of Transitions

Posted on December 31, 2024 by kc

On the surface, 2024 may not have seemed like a hard year, but with a 3 year+ on-going renovation, a toddler going through terrible twos, and one painful loss, 2024 was one of our more difficult years to date. But through it all, we still managed to have fun. And seeing the world through the eyes of your child makes everything worth it.

January

We started off the year with a trip to Disneyland (A‘s first time) and are actually planning to make this an annual tradition. We got to do character dining at Plaza Inn, but A wasn’t too into it yet, especially since she didn’t start getting any screen time until a few months after this. Now she loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse/Fun house/Mixed-up Adventures and is obsessed with all things Frozen.

February

Reno progress! Windows and doors were installed!

March

We reluctantly started allowing A screen time in preparation of our planned trip to Japan in May. As much as we hate that we started this, it really has made eating out a lot easier…

April

A finally trying out the scooter she got for Christmas! It really has amazed me how fast she picks things up.

May

CT and I had planned a trip to Japan in 2020 that never happened because of COVID. Now with A in tow, I knew this trip would be very, very, very different than the one we had planned before. I pared down the itinerary to basically one major activity per day and accounted for downtime to nap/jet lag recovery. Considering that we did not really have to deviate from our itinerary much, if at all, I think I did a good job planning an international trip with a 2 yo. We started off with 7 days in Tokyo, 4 days in Osaka, 3 days in Kyoto before heading back to Tokyo DisneySea for our last full day. Here are some of my fave pictures as well as our fave eats!

VideoCapture_20250102-085102 — *believe! sea of dreams show – i cried watching this. SO GOOD!*

InCollage_20241228_180654569 — (1) tokyo aburagumi (abura soba), (2) rokurinsha (tsukemen), (3) hitsumabushi bincho, (4) sushi no midori, (5) butagumi, (6) nabezo (sukiyaki/shabu), (7) royal mouriya (kobe), (8) maguroya kurogin at kuromon (tuna), (9) ajinoya honten (okonomiyaki), (10) gyukatsu motomura, (11) tsujiya (yakitori), (12) katsukura

June

To celebrate CT‘s big birthday, I booked Chef Don for a dinner with CT‘s closest friends.

July

We took a trip with CT‘s family to Vegas. I always love seeing all the kids interact together. Bonus for having family around to watch A so that we could have a date night at a delicious omakase spot.

20240719_112735 — *at the Discovery Children’s Museum in Las Vegas – A going through her left-handed phase*

August

We moved out of our rental and into a hotel for about a month. It has been rough living out of suitcases and limited boxes while everything else is in one of our 2 big storage units.

A‘s daycare is closed for part of a week in August for teacher planning and we have taken short trips during this time. This year, we went to Seattle.

20240822_131810 — *Shila (RIP) at the Woodland Park Zoo*

September

We moved from the hotel to an Airbnb, which we have been staying at since. Through all of the changes this year, we’ve been doing our best to keep our routines. A has transitioned really well, although I do fear that she doesn’t really have a concept of “home”.

20240927_205150 — *A “reading” aka memorizing her favorite books*

We had found out we were pregnant in August and went in for our 9 week appointment at the end of September. Unfortunately, there was no heartbeat. We were beyond devastated since we had been trying to give A a sibling. This was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to go through, both physically and emotionally. Physically, it was like going through labor all over again and the pain definitely exceeded the point in which I had asked for an epidural with A. Emotionally, I carried a lot of guilt for not wanting to start trying for our 2nd child earlier. But I wasn’t ready before. I would think about A and cry over her potentially having to share my love. I know that sounds silly, but I could not imagine giving my baby girl any less love or time. I found myself grieving moments of just the 3 of us together. Then as A started to grow into the smart, curious, funny, sassy person that she is, I became less anxious and realized that she would be fine, and I would be fine, even if we did grow our family.

October

Life events and milestones this month: my big birthday and A riding a bike!

20241004_153036 — *celebrating my birthday at Park Hyatt Aviara Resort*

20241010_181603 — *first business trip since A was born*

November

We take a trip to Hawaii every year and this year we went back to Maui and stayed at the Andaz. We are a Hyatt family and I honestly don’t know which property I love more, Andaz or Grand Hyatt in Kauai. I do know that I will miss the breakfast buffet at the Andaz – the BEST white chocolate pancakes *chef’s kiss*.

20241107_071720 — *view of rainbow from our room*

December

The last month of the year started with a bang. Like literally. I got rear ended.

Aside from that, we decorated our (felt) christmas tree, watched Disney on Ice, and we ended the year with a trip to Washington DC.

And with that, on to the new year! I can’t wait to see what 2025 has in store for us!

This Is How We Do It

Posted on July 23, 2010 by kc

Eating a steak dinner before we go clubbing in Vegas. That’s how we roll.

I eat: Bouchon

Posted on March 19, 2010 by kc

When one of the girls suggested dinner at Bouchon, I immediately jumped on board. I became an avid Thomas Keller fan after my trip to The French Laundry last October, despite the astronomical price tag. Thus, I was eager to try Keller’s more affordable restaurant, Bouchon.

Bouchon, Las Vegas, is located on the 10th floor of the Venetian. Luckily, we were staying on the 12th floor so walking to the restaurant only took a few minutes. So location itself? FIVE STARS! 🙂

We were seated promptly for our 6:15PM reservation. Being so early, the restaurant was practically empty. The menu was printed on a parchment-like paper and wrapped around the dinner napkin. Cute points! I had a hard time deciding what to order. It seemed like the menu listed everything I love: lamb, duck, salmon, mussels, gnocchi. I was only able to cut my list down to lamb or duck so I pressed the waiter for his thoughts. He told me he preferred the duck since he loves him some good seared duck breast. Well sir, it just so happens that I too, am a sucker for a good seared duck breast so duck I shall have! Three of us actually ordered the duck, two ordered the moules frites (mussels and fries) and one ordered the salmon. We also shared the french onion soup, potato puree and macaroni gratin.

We started our meal with the usual bread service and I absolutely loved the butter (as I also did at The French Laundry). The french onion soup, though comforting since it was cold and windy that day, was nothing special; it tasted like any other french onion soup.

The mussels were very plump and juicy. On the menu, the description read: Maine bouchot mussels steamed with white wine, mustard & saffron. Though I’ve never had this combination before, the sauce didn’t taste like what I had imagined after reading the menu. It actually reminded me of the chicken marsala I just made. The frites were a bit… disappointing. You may be right about most things, Anthony Bourdain, but Bouchon’s fries are not the best things I ever ate. Don’t worry though, I’ll still keep you in high regard.

The macaroni gratin fell flat as well. Yes, it was cheesy enough, but the flavors just weren’t there. I don’t know, perhaps use a more sharper cheese? The potato puree (no picture available) on the other hand, was straight up smooth buttery goodness! I would be more than happy to consume 3000 calories worth of that in one sitting.

The waiter was right about the duck being seared beautifully. But that was the only thing good about this dish. The flavors didn’t mesh well, mainly caused by the tart-sweetness of the rhubarb. With all of the other components being mild and savory, I didn’t expect that punch. The sauce eventually grew on me by the end of the meal, but not to the point where I could say that I loved it. Nice try, Chef de Cuisine, Bryan Podgorski. I realize that rhubarb is now in season and I get what you were trying to do, but ultimately the flavor combination was a fail. However, I will commend you for such a perfectly seared duck breast!

We ended the meal by sharing a creme brulee. I’m glad it was delicious, or else I would have had to hurt somebody.

Verdict: 3/5
Bouchon
The Venetian
3355 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV 89109

I eat: Bosa 1

Posted on March 18, 2010 by kc

While in Vegas, our attempt to eat brunch at Hash House failed, and Bosa 1 was the next best thing. Bosa 1, a Vietnamese restaurant located about a 10 minute drive from the strip, was recommended by one of the girls. Apparently, she knew the owner’s sister and we actually got a little discount! 🙂

I love Vietnamese food, especially pho. I basically have it about once a week at my favorite local Vietnamese restaurant. The waiters know my order without me having to say anything; they just ask me, “same?”, and I nod. On rare occasions I like to change it up and spice up my life a little bit, so I order a rice place or another noodle dish.

The restaurant was pretty small, probably seating about 20-30 people. The menu seemed limited compared to other Vietnamese restaurants that I’ve been to. Bosa 1 is known for 2 noodle soups: Bun Bo Hue and Bun Rieu. I’ve had Bun Bo Hue before, and although I love the noodles and spicy soup, I won’t eat the pig leg/feet/knuckles. Thus, I decided to order the Bun Rieu.

The most important thing of any noodle soup dish is the soup itself. The tomato-based broth of the Bun Rieu had great flavor; I also enjoyed the fried tofu and crumbled shrimp paste. I liked this dish so much that I started ordering it at my local restaurant!

I’ve never had these kind of spring rolls before. Inside each was a piece of grilled pork, lettuce/greens and fried pieces of eggroll skin (for crunch). Interesting.

The eggrolls were kind of small, but I guess that was for the best since we were all stuffed from eating everything else! They tasted like I expected them to – I liked the outer crunch.

All in all , a great meal at a reasonable price! The total came out to about $15 each (6 girls).

Verdict: 3.5/5
Bosa 1
3400 S. Jones Blvd #2A
Las Vegas NV 89146

March Madness

Posted on March 2, 2010 by kc

March is definitely going to be a crazy month! This is what I have going on: Mammoth, Vegas, Mammoth .. in that order. Usually, I really look forward to sleeping in on the weekends, but I realized this morning that I won’t be able to sleep in on the weekends for the next three weeks. And by sleeping in, I do not mean getting into bed at 6am and sleeping until 12pm (likely the scenario in Vegas).

I haven’t been to Mammoth yet this season, so I can’t wait! It’s even more enticing since Mammoth has been getting dumped on these past few weeks (or this entire season practically). The weather has been quite cooperative; with all the snowfall we’ve been getting in So Cal, you can even go as far as to consider the conditions at the local mountains (Big Bear and Mt High) as being “great”. The weather man predicts that a snowstorm will hit while we’re in Mammoth this weekend. The last time I was there during a snowstorm, I was able to board all the way down to the gondola from my condo! AWESOME!!

Now, I just hope that the Vons in Mammoth has King’s Hawaiian Bread in stock because I’m dying to make my delicious hawaiian bread pudding.

this girl, kc

is this real life?

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