#01 - Notes to Self

-- Part 1 of a series I want to call "Notes to Self." I have a running memo on my phone where I jot down reflections (some longer than others) as they come to me. --

November 2015

Another note to self: 

There are moments when I start to reminisce. 
I reminisce about my younger years when I didn't have a care in the world. I would dance the night away in my favorite cocktail dress and my four inch heels, wake up the next morning and be perfectly fine. It's different now. It's different now because I wake up in the morning and a lot of things hurt. My eyes, my back, my legs... my brain hurts. What's funny is that I am painfully (no pun intended) aware that it is only going to get more intense as the years and decades go on. 

But the thing is, there's a comforting sense in knowing what is up ahead. 

That every year, though my body deteriorates, with each year that I add to my age, I enjoy being with myself even more. The isolation doesn't seem so bad - loneliness is becoming lost, and a new friendship is forming with "I."

I am broken but I am my own being. And that is beauty. 

Beauty isn't that at one point I wore heels and ran circles around the dance floor. 
Beauty is that I can now run circles around the dance floor in (lower) heels without any care in the world about what the hell other people think of me. 

Beauty isn't that I used to be able to rock a Marc Jacobs cocktail dress... if I skipped lunch and dinner. 
Beauty is that I can wear ripped jeans and a white t-shirt and be more comfortable in my own skin though the shirt is stretched out and the jeans are maybe a tad bit too long. 

A cliche, but so true - beauty fades. 
But beauty grows in the unseen areas of life. In the wrinkles and the joint pains, there is a sparkle of joy, a sense of comfort. Someone once said that beauty is pain, but I don't think they knew how true that really is.

Broken beauty. Here's to you. Cheers.

It's been a while (what's new)

I'm quite possibly the worst blogger ever to walk the face of the earth. But my friends, sometimes life just puts blogging on the backburner.

First off, I started a new job outside of Seoul. While going ANYWHERE in Seoul takes minimum 40 minutes to an hour, I realized that the commute takes quite a lot out of me. From home to my office, it takes a good 90 minutes one way. I was tired, and starting to burn out. But now, six months in (halfway through my contract!) I feel much better, and most days I feel like I have a solid handle on my life.

So with my new job, and also some family issues and other things added onto that... I've realized that I've put writing in a very small and dusty corner of my mind... which to be honest, is a bit unfortunate. I've missed it, and I've missed reading too. Hopefully as the summer starts off and I *might* get some downtime... this blog will find some new life again.

And in the meantime, to give you some eyecandy... some deliciousness from my kitchen. I discovered a lot while I was away... vegan baking, layer cakes, the joy of frozen fruit, and making my own ricotta cheese...

Cuz... you didn't think I starved while I was away, did you? 

[food + recipe] vegan baking + Wang Thai

By now you should know that I love baking... it's a great way to de-stress, and also, sugar is just really good. Need I say more?

One of my friends, Mipa, had her birthday this past week. Mipa is the owner of Plant, a vegan eatery in Itaewon (check out her blog here). She makes uh-mazing vegan cakes and desserts and food (I mean, you can check out my frequent visits on my instagram... or posts here, here and here), but... well, you can't make your own birthday cake. So I decided to go into my first attempt at vegan cake-making. The only other vegan things I've made were either salads (um... yeah, that was hard), and a batch of vegan cookies (surprisingly not bad). A cake though... for a legit vegan baker... was another story.

But, call me determined (or stubborn, if you wanna call it what it is), I was gonna do it. So I went online to find a recipe that I liked. Now, I'm not a vegan, but I eat vegan about 80% of the time, and vegetarian 95% of the time, so I had most of the ingredients on hand already for this amazing cake - Vegan carrot cake with cream "cheese" frosting. However, warning to those of you in Korea: many of these ingredients aren't always available here, so make sure you head to iherb or a foreign market to get the items at a reasonable price.)

The cake turned out surprisingly well, and the frosting really covered up any mistakes I had! I finished it off by taking the top I cut from the cake, crumbling it by baking it on high heat in the oven. Thankfully, she liked the cake! I'm so glad that I was able to do something for this good friend of mine. Birthdays are absolutely one of my favorite things to bake for.

(Above: pic credit to Alien's Day Out's instagram) 

Oh, and to add - we had dinner at Wang Thai  in Itaewon. Seriously, I have heard nothing but good things about this restaurant and I wasn't disappointed. I ordered the Pad See Ew and the portion was so generous, noodles cooked to perfection, and the vegetables were still crunchy. I hate it when veggies have been cooked to the death, but this place made it so well!

They were absolutely the nicest staff I've come across in Seoul. They saw that we were celebrating a cake and they brought out the cake with plates and utensils right after they'd cleared our table from our amazing meal. They even brought us some coconut tapioca drinks for dessert, and packed up extra cake for us when they saw that we had some left over. LOVE this place, and will be heading back soon to try their other entrees.

To head to Wang Thai, go to Itaewon Station (line 6), Exit 1. Walk straight, passing the Hamilton hotel, until you reach the Young Hwa building. Wang Thai is on the 3rd floor. If you see Korea Exchange Bank, you've gone too far! Reservations at 02-749-2746 or find them at this address: Seoul-si Yongsan-gu Itaewo-ro 151.

[life + food] Early morning baking

The best time to bake (in my opinion) is in the wee hours of the morning. The sun isn't out yet and there's nothing like smelling caramelizing sugar whilst the sun comes up. Or maybe there's one thing better... sleeping in. Unfortunately, that's never an option with us insomniacs, so let's stick to the baking.

I love the simple recipes, that all go in one bowl and 60 minutes later - presto - deliciousness. Like my banana bread with chocolate chips and walnuts:

Or my no-oil, no-butter banana oatmeal muffins:

My skillet cookie (recipe found in this post here):

If I'm feeling up for it, I like whipping up some macarons...

Or a fancy shmancy breakfast (why is Iggy Azalea stuck in my head?) of poached eggs on turkey and swiss and toasted english muffins:

And of course, the best cooking/baking is shared with friends. I love lazy Saturday brunches with girlfriends.

I made the meringues in the bottom right corner, my friend Liz whipped up the lasagna and the polenta/mac and cheese bites, and my other friend Marisa made the salad with apples and gorgonzola cheese. Yum... anyone else gettig hungry?



....
Now you know where I am if I'm not out at restaurants/cafes.
And you now know why I exercise.

Ok. xoxo.

[food] JR's Southern BBQ

Seoul is beautiful in the fall. The leaves are falling, the city is bustling, and the cute boots are out - what more could you ask for?

Well, to be quite honest - the North Carolina state fair was happening this week and my facebook feed was full of food from the fair: funnel cake, fried turkey legs, fried oreos, fried pickles, fried... well, you get the picture. But it did make me homesick... if there's something I love as much as Seoul in the fall, it's North Carolina in the fall.

So I did what any southern gal would do... I went looking for barbecue. I would've gone looking for fried stuff but I'm running a half marathon (gasp - more on that later) in a couple weeks and I'm trying to stay away from putting complete junk in my body...

Anyway, to Itaewon I went! I'd always passed by JR's Southern BBQ on my jaunts but had never gone, and because I had some friends with me who were also feeling a bit homesick, we made it a point to stop by and enjoy some of their delicious food!

The indoor atmosphere feels like being back home. Southern charm and quirks. There was a foosball table, a pool table, a lively bar and even some seats next to the open windows, so that you felt like you were sitting outside on a patio. It was decorated for Halloween which was a sweet touch, considering I won't really be getting trick-or-treaters on my doorstep this year.

Good to know things are going to be ok. We got our food - delicious!

The pulled pork sandwich (12,000won) which came with fries and slaw and a side of broccoli (2,000). The broccoli was kind of a ridiculous side, to be honest with you - they gave me a tiny chunk of broccoli, but the food was good so it was sort of an afterthought.

Here's the brisket, which comes with fries and your choice of two sides...(16,000) their other sides include macaroni and cheese, coleslaw, mashed potatoes, corn, corn bread, and potato salad. But really, is getting anything other than slaw and mac and cheese acceptable?

The portion size is quite nice, and their menu varies from sandwiches (pulled pork, pulled beef, grilled chicken, burgers...) to delicious barbecue (brisket, ribs, meat platters, smoked chicken). To head to JR's, go to Itaewon Station (line 6), exit 4. Come straight out the exit and walk about 200 meters, JR's will be on the top floor on your left.

[food] Dean and Deluca - DIY Salads

One of my favorite places to go when I'm looking for a quick bite to eat is Dean & Deluca, located in the food court of Shinsegae Department Store at the Express Bus Terminal... now, this location isn't necessarily the best for all you foodies out there. Fast food is the food of choice as people are looking for something quick to grab on the go - and usually grabbing on the go means taste quality is sacrificed. But thankfully, Dean and Deluca doesn't do that.

I've always loved shopping there, and the options are kind of endless, but in the end I always go for their build-your-own-salads. It's relatively affordable, and when you're looking to read a book and have a nutritious mean, there's no beating it. It's a little chaotic because yes, it is located in a corner of the food court, but if you're eating by yourself and have a little white noise - perfection.

On this particular day, I had a couple hours to spare after running some errands, so I grabbed myself a bar seat and got this beauty:

For 11,000won (about 10 dollars), you can choose your type of lettuce and 5 toppings. Additional or premium toppings can cost you anywhere from 800 to 1,500 won. Top with your choice of dressing and there ya go.

I got a mixed salad with olives, kidney beans, sweet potato, yellow tomato green beans, and an extra topping of feta cheese. Topped with some balsamic dressing - delicious.

Their drinks are also great - from coffee to italian sodas, they're made on the spot and the service is quick and efficient for such a chaotic atmosphere.

I'll definitely need to head back soon and try their smoothies, pastries, spreads, sandwiches,... (I could go on, feel free to stop me whenever...)

To head to Dean & Deluca, go to Express Bus Terminal (lines 3, 7 and 9) and head to Shinsegae Department Store, food court (B1).

[life] It's sweater-weather

And in the blink of an eye, it's autumn.

Gone are the shorts, gone are the tank tops... oh wait, I never wore those things.

Sigh.

The consequences of working in an office.

But that's all right, fall weather is more suited to me anyway. I've wasted no time. Over the weekend I dug out my boots and sweaters, and even had some retail therapy and bought myself a new jacket. Fall, I'm ready for you - winter... let's hold off for a couple more weeks. I still need some gloves.