Xmas!

I had a really nice heartwarming xmas this year. Nope, I didn't go back to Singapore, stayed here in California and spent Xmas with Deron and his family. It's just nice, with the giant xmas tree they have, and the chrissy food, and the company. His family is soooo warm, and they actually asked him for hints about what I wanted for Xmas, and I got two presents from his parents, one of which was signed off by "Santa". How sweet. :)

Deron got me a Wii playstation. Apparently I've been talking about it and how awesome it is, although I really had no idea I was doing that. But it's nice, since now we spend hours playing super mario bros on the couch. :)
Wii cheer squad. Possibly the lamest game ever.

And! He got me a present that I WAS hinting about, and it was a surprise present after the Wii (I apparently looked quite disappointed when I got the Wii, so he gave me the surprise gift earlier than he planned. Hehe.)

It's this brass and crystal necklace I fell in love with on the Nordstrom catalog, and was too cheap to buy. Plus, I think it's more meaningful to wear something given, not bought.

Tadaaa! Love!

And apparently all Deron said to his family was that Keira would like anything that 1) smells good 2) sparkles 3) or a mercedes keychain (cuz I broke mine a while ago, can't believe he remembered that). And they got me all that!

Santa gave me a mercedes keychain and a sparkly mercedes top to boot!

Yay! I love love it.

And his brother Nick gave me the prettiest scarve from Nordstrom.

And his other brother Jeff and his wife Annie gave me a philosophy bath set that smells gooood!

And his parents gave me a reed diffuser set...sweet tea flavored! I love love reed diffusers. :P For some reason, a lot of people spell my name wrongly. But I forgive them this time! :P

And Cindy (his sister) and Steve sent us a card, with pictures of adorable Oscar!! And a candy cane he made which was hiliarious. Have to post up pics soon.

And Lisa (Deron's bff) gave me the ring both of us were oogling in Nordstrom one day! Will post pics soon too! :)

Our bag of presents for his family. Joint effort in the wrapping! :)


This is her adorable daughter Adeline, the happiest toddler ever! :P

Found the best mani/pedicurist in town! She's Japanese (of course), learnt nail art in Japan for 2 years, and she's tres good. But a little takai.

Gel-based nails with 3-D flower design. Love! :)

In Hawaii (Oahu) now for the next 7 days or so! Happy! :) Will update soon. :)

I'm in a very happy place right now, despite my sucky work. ^__^ Not even because of my upcoming trip to Hawaii, it's just the little things in life that make me happy. When you offered to pay the electricity bill cuz I was too cheap to turn on the heater. When you offered to go to the store to get the full version of the game when I feel bummed that my trial for my new game expired. I'm just happy.

Who knows how long this will last?

I hope it'll last forever. :)

New post! Portland and blahh

I realize I haven't been blogging for months. Shame on me! :P It's just hard to find a time when I'm not feeling overly happy or overly depressed, cuz that's when I wanna blog the most. :P A lot of stuff has happened in the last 3 months, and now I'm just trying to find inner peace with my lab work in the midst of holiday festivities.

Went to Portland! We stayed with Deron's sister's family, and it was cold damp but very cosy! The food culture there is awesome. :)

Went to this best restaurant 2009 in Portland called "Beaker and Flask". Portland has a yearly issue of best restaurants, and people talked so much abt food and produce, it feels like Singapore. :)

The chanterella mushroom and bone marrow had such a delicate flavor, as the soft oily texture of the charred bone marrow complemented the rustic mushrooms to perfection, with a hint of lemon rind. Yum!

The risotto was great, with creme fraiche, and the roasted tomato was the best tomato every! It was sweet, and toasty on the outside, soft on the inside. Mannnn.

Even the deviled eggs were awesome.

The decor of the place, with barrels as seats. :)

The pork belly, with swiss chard (so fresh! in a cream sauce) and toasted kabocha pumpkin on top. Heavenly! I always enjoy a well cooked pork belly, the meat was tender and the fat was melt in yr mouth without being too oily.


My fav part of the trip, Deron's nephew Oscar! He wanted to be a xmas tree for halloween. Teehee! :)

Went to a farmer's market, where they sell the freshest produce ever. I bought the cherry tomatoes for 2 bucks, and Oscar and I finished it in 5 min. Sweetest tomatoes ever!

Had the home-made chicken and potato curry. It was very flavorful, and not too oily. Very homestyle. :)

They had a live band playing too. So cool. :)

Went to Deron's broter in law's cheese shop. Such a cool logo for the shop!



Went on a hike to a waterfall in the middle of a forest. It was breathtaking, the air was moist and crisp, and it was soo peaceful.

Walking...
Chui Kueh taking a break. :P

walking...


There! :P

Went to another waterfall too. Deron looking very "rustic" in his plaid shirt. :P


Went to this purely local produce restaurant called Ned Rudd, where EVERYTHING is cooked in this giant charcoal oven. So cool.

Had the best pork pie EVER. The crust was sticky and flaky, and the pork was soooo tender and bursting with flavors!

Roasted turnips and carrots. Yum!

Went to this other breakfast place that was great too, but a little lazy now... heh!


Like Oscar. He wanted me to take a pic of him while he pretended to yawn. Hee!