Our first Baby Tiger!! :)

Oh My Goodness!!

I am so behind on this thing called my blog!! Lol.. so much has happened that I just haven't had the time to update until now!! Ever since we got engaged two years ago, it's been a nonstop adventure!! Starting with our wedding, to our honeymoon in Switzerland and Italy last September, to our second trip to Europe (Paris and London) this April, to our recent anniversary trip to Half Moon Bay.. plus all of the beautiful weddings and fun foody finds in between.. but all of these posts will have to wait because.. we are having a BABY!!! Or should I say a little cub...? keke..

We don't know if the baby is a boy or girl yet and can't wait to find out! I think our doctor may have some idea but they don't want to tell us until they are 100% sure. I've always wanted a girl first but it seems like Daniel wants a boy first haha so I suppose either way, we win. Daniel and I have been so excited and concerned through this entire process. It's really been a crazy ride and makes you put your life in perspective. We feel so blessed to have each other and this baby.. we talk a lot about the future and I love that we're always moving forward with our love. Team Tiger is well underway!

The pregnancy journey hasn't necessarily been smooth sailing though.. I had a lot of nausea and vomiting in my first trimester and even some bleeding episodes that sent us rushing to the hospital. All great things do not come easily though.. the baby is perfectly healthy and adorable in my belly, thank god. Everytime I see an ultrasound of the baby I am so amazed. The baby is very energetic in there and I just can't believe that there is life forming inside me. It is quite the fascinating thing.

I am signed up on this website called babycenter.com that helps me keep track of my pregnancy and this week, the baby is the size of an avocado! Very cool.. I believe the baby can also hear now so I've been trying to sing to the baby a lot. Hopefully it's enjoying the singing and not covering his or her ears in anguish. In Korea, there's a lot of superstition on how to act and what to do while you're pregnant. There's so much to learn and research! My mom has been telling me to read good books so I started reading the bible for the baby yesterday. Lol this may seem funny but I do like how I feel a sense of calm wash over me when I read the bible.  Daniel and I were both raised Christian so we intend to have church and God be a big part of our children's lives as well.

Also, I THINK, I had my "tae mong".. which is a dream you have while you're pregnant that's supposed to kind of hint you on the sex of the baby. This is a very Korean thing.. but I'm sure other asian cultures have it too. I've had a lot of dreams lately about giant fish. LOL. The one that was the most vivid was about a shark. There was a ton of sharks in a cage-like place.. and one of them got free somehow and started coming towards me.. I was petrified of course, but then it just kind of swam around me and I guided it back into the caged area... The other dream was one where I was surfing or gliding through the water (even though I have absolute no experience in surfing) and the water was crystal clear.. and I noticed a giant light grey whale looking at me from inside the water while I was moving on the water. It was a peaceful feeling though and not like, "oh my gosh that whale is going to swallow me." So.. I'm not really sure what to think. When my mom was pregnant with me, she said her "tae mong" or dream of me was of her finding a beautiful pearl in the sea... and when she was pregnant with my brother she had a dream about a big tiger that kept following her.. See, those are very obvious dreams of what the sex of the baby could be... but I'm not to sure what a giant fish is LOL.. boy or girl?

Daniel and I have always been on the same page about a lot of things as far as values and how to raise our kids.. and I think a lot of that has to do with us growing up very similarly. We both want to be able to give our kids what our parents were able to give us, if not more. We were lucky to both grow up in very loving and happy families where our parents sacrificed everything for us and always put us first. We are very blessed to have grown up in families where both our parents instilled good core values in us and gave us the security that all children need. I only hope that I can be half as good of a parent my parents were to me.

Now that we're going to be a mommy and daddy I also notice that we just don't pay attention to a lot of things anymore unless they are very profound. We are so happy so we try not to let any negative energy in or let our minds think of petty things. Sometimes negative energy or drama will try to enter your life and you just have to ignore it and find what's best for you. Many things are changing but I feel like they are good changes. Baby comes first! :) I also realized that when God thinks you are ready, inside and out, he will bless you. Our goal has always been to start a family together and continue our love and legacy. We are thrilled that our dreams are coming true and we are starting this next chapter in our life together!! Baby Tiger Tsai is due May 4, 2014!! Stay Tuned! :)

Things I Like to Wear..

It's blog time!!! Wow, can't believe this post was saved in my drafts for almost a year now!! haha just shows how crazy things have been! 

Since I am totally behind on the honeymoon/ wedding shoot postings.. here's a couple photos on dresses I have recently purchased.. a lot of dresses because of the weddings I've been attending. Here's one of my favs!! I finally found the  perfect gown in my favorite color!! Kind of a gold, beige.. with studs!! hehe gotta have that bling bling!

We also went to our favorite park back in November to enjoy the beautiful fall weather that we were blessed with. I wore just a favorite pair of my jeans with a cotton peasant shirt I got on our honeymoon in Italy. These days its been raining nonstop!!

Here's a more recent one: Also got this over-piece in Italy~ the dress under it however I bought here in the states! Looks almost like they were made for each other! It's perfect for cool springy weather!

Til next time~ Ciao! :)

My My My!!!

My my my!! It's been quite a while since my last blog entry!! I need to be better about these things! It is, after all, the closest thing to a diary I have (haha). The last couple of months just FLEW by!! Where has all the days gone? We are finally planning our second trip as a married couple and I am so stoked (first time using this word)!! Anyway, I've been packing and going crazy with work but I still somehow manage to find time to cook! Here's a frenchy one I tried a couple weeks ago! (Since we are going to France and England!! woot!) Also, I realized I haven't done a step by step of any of my recipes yet, so here's a step by step photo diary of what happens in Chef Tiny's kitchen!! :)

Tonight at Chef Tiny's: recreated Julia Child's White wine and Mushroom Sauce!! using Scallop juice.. what you see below is mushrooms, scallops, and green onions playing in a pool of white wine!

 I literally took out the juice and mixed in flour (and not just regular flour~ whole wheat! kaka)

 Yes, believe it or not, that is egg yolk and whipped cream.. -.-"

 mix it allll up... and you get~ a nice pastel yellow!! :)

 okay~ I know this looks a little nasty but trust me, it gets better..

 simmaaaaaa

 final product of sauce:

 all the while THIS was baking in the oven!??!?

 and THIS!!! :)

 Let's see.. how should the placement of these go.. (using the nice China my parents got us for Christmas!)

 How does it look? Good??

 This is the best part: The eating part!! NOM NOM NOM

Bon Appetit!! :)

Tigers Like Chicken?? :)

 I decided to cook my Lemon Pepper Chicken Breast last week!! Sweet potato and broccoli is the perfect combination when it comes to chicken breast!

Very juicy and succulent.. It turned out great! 

 This one was a hit or miss for me. I used a new batter that had a little bit of buffalo spice to it. It's super easy though because you just toss the batter in a bag and shake the chicken inside it and BOOM! there it is! :) Stick it in the oven for 30 min and bon appetit!

 

Once again, very juicy! Works great with rice!

Topping it off with dessert: sparkling cranberry soda float!

And now we're full.. :)

Inside Tiny's Kitchen!!

Despite all of the post wedding/ honeymoon/ holiday craziness, I've still managed to keep up one of my favorite things to do: COOKING!! I've been cooking pretty consistently and last week I think I cooked four or five times. The first two nights I tried out the new herbs and spices I received from my close friend, Kristin for Christmas! They were delicious!! Here they are:

This is the new Salmon Rub Kristin got me - I put a little corn over it after. I baked the salmon in the oven after putting the rub over it and it turned out super moist and delicious! The ingredients are in caption below:

"Northwest Salmon Rub: Gourmet-style rub that's perfect for Salmon. An influence of Seattle and Asian style flavors, along with smoked salt, make this a great seasoning. Contains: pepper, smoked sea salt, orange zest, star anise, coriander, cumin, fennel, dill, celery seed, turbinado."

 Made a little side of Southwest corn chowder to go with the fish:

 On Day 2, I decided to try the other blend I received! I bought a little bit of shrimp and chicken to try the zesty garlic blend on! I simply put the ingredients on the shrimp/ chicken and then cooked it in a skillet!! The ingredients are listed in the caption below:

"Garlic Fix: Bold all-purpose blend that's great with chicken, burgers, pizza, eggs, soups, or sauteed with shrimp for killer scampi! Contains: garlic, chives, shallots, kosher salt, and black pepper."

 A little bit of lettuce and green onions tossed in korean peppers and sesame oil to use for wrapping! Giving it an asian twist! :)

 Also made a little bit of killer "Dwaen Jang Jigae" (a type of Korean soup) and rice to go with the chicken and shrimp to give it a little bit of spice!

 I think everything turned out better than I thought! I love trying new recipes but the only con is that you never know how everything's going to turn out! That's why I'm glad I have my personal taster ready haha! And as long as the Tiger is happy, I know I've succeeded! ;)

Happy New Year!!! HELLO 2013!! :)

A lot of great things happened to us in 2012 including our unforgettable wedding, romantic honeymooning in Europe, and the festive holiday family get-togethers we've been throwing! We also finally got all of our edited wedding photos back and they came out wonderfully! We're so excited about the new year and what new adventures 2013 may bring us!! Daniel and I have a lot of new year resolutions this year and one of them is to write more in our blog! We've been so busy with life, that we've been neglecting our beloved blog! I'm making it a resolution this year to write more of our memories down!!

Let's start with a TINY bit of fashion~ hehe it seems to be wedding season galore as of late!! We went to at least 5 weddings in 2012 which finally gave me a reason to wear some of my favorite gowns!! Here's one that I wore to my cousin's wedding in December! A little wintery gown :)

 I really like the color of this dress.. it's more of a turquoise sea green in person..

 I love gowns like this that just kinda drape the body~ elegant and chic.

 Not too revealing but still flattering...and the bow gives it kind of a girly feel!

The best thing about this dress is that I bought it on sale for $50!! what a steal! ;)

 I braided my hair into an up-do to try and get an even more greek goddess-like feel as a whole hehe.

 Ending with a close-up makeup shot! :)