Year of the Horse Tet Celebrations

This Tet New Year's celebration was made even more special because my baby sister was in town. That meant we spent even more time eating, gambling away lucky money and, well...more eating. There's a Tet superstition that your year will be determined by the first person who steps foot into your home and we're happy to report our new home was blessed by family, so we know it will be a great year. Our Dad was born in the Year of the Horse, so of course he took most of money, including an epic final 3-card hand - should be a lucky year for him! If you're interested in what the Year of the Horse will bring you can read a little about it here. Happy New Year Everyone!

All Dressed Up for the Holidays

Even though the holidays are over, it's still winter here, and taking down the decorations and holiday lights means it will be dark. Our holiday decorations really makes hauling up inside for a few weeks worth it. So before I put all the glittery stars, Christmas trees, angels, and sparkly garlands away, I snapped a couple of shots of our "All Dressed Up for Holidays" home, which typically means dressing up items we have out all year round and a whole lot of candles. So. Many. Candles. We go to bed light headed from blowing them all out each night.

Happy Year of the Snake

This last weekend was Lunar New Year. We are officially now in the Year of the Snake. To be honest, I don't think I know anyone who is born in this year and don't know too much about the implications of the year of the snake, so I had to look it up.

Basically, the year of the snake is a year not to make hasty decisions, for the snake is methodical, steady and calculating. It is a year for discipline and not losing sight of your focus. When a snake strikes it is deliberate and with purpose. So, what are your intentions and things you will be focusing on this year?

We celebrated the New Year all weekend long with a small family gathering on New Year's Day, ate lots of ceremonial foods and pressed our luck for the New Year, which left us broke and realizing we'll have to work hard for everything this year, but I think it will all pay off in the end! Happy New Year Everyone!

Family Birthday: Shigezo Izakaya

We waited until the holidays to celebrated mom's birthday when everyone would be home, which provided a terrific reason to book the tatami room at Shigezo Izakaya and gorge ourselves on Japanese pub grub. This restaurant is quickly turning into one of our favorite places in the Portland and is the perfect place for a birthday celebration! 

The tatami room all dressed up and ready for the party.

Sashimi Mackerel was almost too gorgeous to eat.

Seared Mackerel Sushi was a huge hit, so good.

Asian fried chicken is quickly becoming my favorite style of fried chicken, flavorful and only dark meat! YES!

A twist on the concept of Miso Cod with a Bechamel Sauce.

Happy Birthday ME!

Post Holiday Post

Happy Holidays! Hope everyone had a great Christmas and Happy New Year! Our holiday was terrific. We didn't cook or host at all, which was pretty fantastic. Christmas Eve is when our family celebrates with a leisurely day of snacking, a yummy Vietnamese dinner and exchanging gifts. We decided to pull names this year so even gift shopping was mellow and easy. Christmas Day the Le-Byrnes clan made an excellent brunch of eggs goldenrod and in between Christmas and New Year's we had a festive cocktail party. This year we also had a much appreciated extended holiday break which made Christmas super relaxing and festive for us. 

Thanksgiving Long Weekend

I think I love Thanksgiving because we get a long 4-day weekend. In previous years I'm always disappointed that the weekend flew by so quickly and I realize that's because I always lose 2 precious days: one to making the whole Thanksgiving meal and one to cleaning up after. So by Saturday I feel as if it's just another weekend. At least we had a kitchen full of delicious food and plenty to be thankful for.

This year Friday was rainy and we didn't set foot outside once, which was really nice. We casually cleaned up, lit lots of candles and watched more movies than we have in awhile. Due to a kitchen faucet that trickled out enough water to wash one chopstick at a time, we were glad to have a leisurely day to clean because we needed it.

Leftovers day 1 snack: cheddar cheese, stuffing, turkey and gravy

Leftovers day 2 snack: cream cheese, cranberry sauce, turkey and gravy

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and even better 4-days off!