downtown portland

voodoo doughnut and stumptown coffee.
we spent the day running around downtown portland. i love the hipster feel of it. if only it wasn't so cold and rainy!

raw

a few random pictures from cooking and the farmer's market. reminds me of spring and how i desperately want this cold weather to go away..

PWILD

before college started, i had the opportunity to go on this amazing pre-orientation program called PWILD (project wild) with some other pre-freshmen kids. we spent two weeks backpacking in pisgah national forest. we slept in a tarp. we didn't shower the entire time. we ate dried and powdered foods. we wore the same clothes everyday. "the world was our bathroom". people who know me know that this is something i would never in a million years think to do but i'm so glad i did it. made amazing friendships. experienced amazing views. hiked up to the blue ridge parkway. did a cartwheel on the blue ridge parkway. ate lunch on a rock in a waterfall pool. rock climbed. ate lots and lots pb & j and cheese and texas pete guiltlessly. spent 36 hours by myself in the wild. took showers in waterfalls. jambo circles. this list could go on forever.

PASSION PIT

passion pit concert. unc. october 29th 2010.

do you ever feel

do you ever feel like a plastic bag

drifting through the wind
wanting to start again
do you ever feel, feel so paper thin
like a house of cards
one blow from caving in
do you ever feel already buried deep
six feet under scream
but no one seems to hear a thing
firework katy perry

eye candy

made her think, october anniversary, jeffrey campbell, elizabeth and james

121810

new record. aside from the occasional trip to the kitchen to restock on food, i have officially been in bed for a solid 40 plus hours. sleeping, eating and watching the second season of greek.
i have absolutely no motivation to get up and do something with my life. i don't even care that my brain is slowly deteriorating or that my body is turning into pure fat given the current rate of my food intake and sedentariness.
problem.

PUMPKINNNNNNNNNN

...reason why i love october...

things to bake/make

with pumpkin

caramel pumpkin gingersnap cheesecake (the pioneer woman)

pumpkin rolls with cream cheese

pumpkin bread pudding (smitten kitchen)

pumpkin pancakes

gingerbread crepes with pumpkin filling

classic pumpkin pie

pumpkin swirl brownies (smitten kitchen)

pumpkin apple streusel muffins (all recipes)

vegetarian four cheese lasagna (it has pumpkin in it, don't worry) (all recipes)

pumpkin chocolate cheesecake bars (better homes and gardens)

double decker pumpkin bread (better homes and gardens)

pear and pumpkin soup

pumpkin tiramisu (better homes and gardens)

Pumpkin Ravioli with Gorgonzola Sauce (cooking light)
Pumpkin French Toast Stuffed with Blackberry-Caramel Mascarpone (bobby flay)

basically...anything + pumpkin

japan 2010

the wedding cake project

my sister and i were given the amazing opportunity to make our friend's wedding cake. so here it is! finally done!! i spent a good amount of my summer baking tester cakes and playing around with different potential recipes and reading "how to make a wedding cake" articles online. so finally making the actual cake was really exciting, fun, and stressful all at the same time. i'm so glad something disastrous didn't happen. but it was completely worth the two and a half consecutive days spent in the kitchen.

congratulations ben and connie!

(: 

the bakery: part two

learning how to make bo luo nai su bread (my absolute favorite taiwanese bread)!!!
they didn't turn out perfectly but they still tasted unbelievably yummmyyyyyy

the bakery: part one

my cousin's friend owns a bakery in taiwan and my mom and sister and I had the privilege of being able to observe the bakers/ learn how to make a couple things one day. this is the guy who makes all of the cakes. he led us through the process of making this cake from beginning to end. i'm pretty sure the entire decorating process took less than ten minutes and it still turned out as pretty as this. it was impressive to say the least.