Let there be...a gorgeous light fixture!

It's up! Went up with hardly any hiccups.

It looks amazing and fits the spot perfectly! Everytime I come down the stairs, I can't help but stand and stare at it.

There is still a lot to do here: crown molding, floor boards, wood floors, new banister, some window covering, a mirror collage on the wall, and framed photos on the wall.

All You Need Is Love

I am no longer an Undergraduate. I know I posted that I walked through the Commencement Ceremony. But I had my final class, and passed it just last week.

The day was surreal. I've been going for my degree for five years...and it's finally over. However, one thing kept popping up in my head...
My grandpa would've is proud of me.

Unique Me!

After a great weekend with the girls for Bumblebee SIL, I wanted to make sure to squeeze in a bit of time at Unique OC. It is put on by the same people who put on the Unique LA show. I was super excited as well because Manila Machine was going to be there, that's the first Filipino Food Truck.

It was really quiet when we got there, I hope it got busier later in the day...

Finally, the moment we had been waiting for...Manila Machine! 

We ordered the Chicken Adobo Slider. It was amazing! The chicken was tender and full of flavor along with the caramelized onions. The bun was toasted and sweet. I recommend this very much!

Mr. Bumblebee got the pork belly with pineapple and rice. The pork belly was quality meat. The pineapple gave it the perfect amount of sweetness with the rice.

Lastly, we couldn't leave a Filipino Food Truck without trying their Lumpia. 

They were sooo  yummy. Crunchy, thin, fried goodness with pork and carrots on the inside. I have to admit though, I think mine are better. But it's always easier to enjoy something you spend all afternoon making in the kitchen.

For dessert, the Unique OC didn't fail there. It's not quite a food truck, they are still working on their food truck, but Sweet Lucie's Ice Cream and Treats has an adorable ice cream stand.

The stand is owned by an adorable married couple who decided to make organic ice cream for their new baby daughter. They ended up making a small business. By the taste of their food and their sweet attitude and nature, I'm sure this stand will do extremely well!
We tried a lot of their flavors and they were all amazing! I settled on the Mint Strawberry Lemonade Sorbet since it started to get hot, I'm still craving it...

We had a good time there and  I hope it comes back again! In the meantime, I'm counting down the days till Unique LA. Make sure you check it out!

New Baby!

My old point and shoot finally ate the dust and with a busy 6 months ahead of us (seriously, we are busy almost every single weekend from now until the end of January!), Mr. Bumblebee ran out to get my a new one.

Canon PowerShot SD1400 IS (in pink of course) is perfect for me. I'm very satisfied with the quality of the photos and the ease in learning the camera.

Two thumbs way up!

Um...you are a girl!

Mr. Bumblebee and I have never been to a fair and living in OC, minutes away from the OC Fair, we decided it was time to change that. We headed out with a few things on our to-do list.

1. See some adorable farm animals.

2. Try something deep-fried.

3. Win an insanely huge stuffed animal.

Animals - Check!

Deep-fried butter - Check!

Heart attack - Check! Check!

Win huge stuffed animal - Check!

We were aware that the pups' reaction to the large stuffed animal was going to be comical...however I did not predict this:

That Was A Top Night...

Bumblebee SIL just recently had her bachelorette party. It wasn't in Hollywood or Santa Monica but rather the OC so I was so surprised to see this run by while we were walking to our car...

I'm so lucky to have a great sister-in-law like Bumblebee SIL. I am so happy for her and future Bumblebee BIL and I'm looking forward to seeing them join in marriage as I stand by her side as a bridesmaid.

Congrats Bumblebee SIL! We Love You!

Let there be light!

We are finally getting ready to install our newest home purchase. I'm super excited.

We have a staircase with an old dated chandelier. I got a catalog in the mail from West Elm and fell in love with this little number:

Stayed tuned for photos of the finished product :)

Street Food

Mr. Bumblebee and I have succumb to the new fad of "food trucks". Luckily they are becoming quite popular in the OC although we don't have a huge selection like LA has. Recently we've tried Dos Chinos, a Latin Asian Cuisine.

There was a line even before the food truck got there. As soon as they got there and started up their ovens, the smells were yummy! This isn't fast food folks. It's made fresh to order so there is a small wait.

The Gardena Short Rib Taco ($2) Short rib marinated in Jose Cuervo traditional tequila korean bbq sauce topped with cabbage, onions, and tamarind sour cream.

Super fresh and very flavorful. The meat is tender and juicy. The sour cream was so different and accompanied the meat perfectly.
Mr. Bumblebee got the Garden Grove Burrito ($5). Basically the same but burrito style with rice. He demolished the entire thing.

To finish off the night, as soon as we finished our taco/burritos, Tropical Shave Ice showed up! I was pretty excited!

Since I was already pretty full from Dos Chinos I kept it simple and got a regular banana ($3) with a snowcap. Yummy!

Mr. Bumblebee got cherry and lemon-lime.

The ice is so fluffy and light. They don't skimp on the flavors either. There are plently of add ins that we passed on this time around, but I can't wait till I can get another one!

Thanks again Dos Chinos and Tropical Shave Ice! Till next time....

Mmmm....Donuts....

These are my new favorite thing:

Mini donuts! They are about the size of a quarter and super easy to make. You can get the pan here.

I made these for Bumblebee MIL's birthday and got rave reviews. My husband and a few friends said they taste like real donuts just mini.

Baked Donuts

1 1/4 cups cake flour; sifted

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 1/4 baking powder

1/8 ground nutmeg

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 egg lightly beaten

1 1/2 tablespoon butter; melted

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (I put my electric oven slightly lower).

Spray pan with non-stick cooking spray.

In a mixing bowl (I used my kitchen aid bowl) sift together cake flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt.

Add buttermilk, egg, and butter and stir till just combined.

Fill each donut cup approximately half full (I did even a little less, I found using a piping bag filled with the dough works better to get evenly sized donuts).

Bake 4-6 minutes or until the tops of the donuts spring back when touched. (It was exactly 4 minutes for me)

Let the donuts cool in the pan for 4-5 minutes before removing.

Vanilla Glaze:

1 cup of confectioners' sugar

1 tablespoon of milk

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl until completely smooth. (This didn't work out for me and I added about 2 more tablespoons, maybe more, of milk) I just figure this is a jumping off point till you get to the consistency you prefer. You can also add food coloring at this point)

To glaze a donut, simply hold upside down and dip the donut in the glaze, immediately decorate with sprinkles, coconut, candies as you wish.

Any questions? Let me know and I'll do my best to help you out.

Holy House Batman!

Well, operation BUMBLEBEE HOME is underway. Moving in has been a slow process because we are doing a lot of projects. So far: scarped off the acoustic ceiling, painted every ceiling in the house (which is a huge pain in the arse!), and lots of other smaller projects. This was by far the scariest for me though. We bought ourselves a new t.v. and we wanted all the wires to be behind the t.v. unseen. To makes things difficult (that is how the Bumblebee's roll), we wanted them all to plug into cable boxes/PlayStations clear across on the other side of the room. While we are at it, add a doggie door.
Before:

During:

This may not seem like a big deal to some people but I'm a first time homeowner...I came downstairs to find that Bumblebee FIL and Mr. Bumblebee had made several large holes in my house. If things don't work out...I have to fix it.

But the boys pulled through. T.V. is up. The cords need to be put behind the new floorboards, but we have yet to pick them out yet.

So in this little picture here is the to-do list:

1. Paint shutters white.

2. New mantle for fire place

3. New floorboards

4. Crown molding

5. Wood floors

6. Tile fireplace

7. Replace sliding door with french doors

We got a few things to get done....oye.

2 Months

Today it will be two months since my grandpa passed away. A couple of weeks ago I got a call from my cousin who informed me she wanted to take a trip to the mountains.

Background: Cousin and I spent almost all of our summers while growing up together at my grandparents house which was in Tehachapi. There are some memories there that we cherish to our cores.

Since both of our husbands have only been up there once, I jumped at the opportunity and started planning. While looking online for some info, I found the house that my grandfather built himself was up for sale. It was a sign. I scheduled an appointment to look at it and off we went.

When we were kids, we would go to "The Shack" to get lunch with Grandpa and it was always a huge treat. Afterwards we would take our leftovers to a lake and feed the ducks. So when we got into town, that was the first thing we did...go feed the ducks. Luckily my mom reminded me to pack some bread...

Is my cousin not the cutest pregnant lady ever?! She is so graceful, she makes it look easy!

Mr. Bumblebee set up the tripod and we took a group photo.
I really love that I am so close with my cousin, and recently, I have no idea what I would do without her.
This is a picture of the house. I won't post a photo of the whole house for privacy sake but it is beautiful. If it wasn't for our recent home purchase, I would have bought this place up. So many memories in there. It was so much fun to walk down the halls we used to run though with our husbands and explain to them our memories. I hope they will cherish these memories half as much as I know my cousin and I do.
We had some great talks out there and made even more memories. I won't lie, I got choked up a few times, but we are so lucky to have all these precious experiences and this visit made me realize how much my grandpa is still with me, everyday.

Just a snack....

Bumblebee SIL had her first bridal shower and I was asked to bring a dessert. Last time I made some cupcakes on a stick, SIL liked them so I thought I'd do them again for her shower. These are her wedding colors.
Everyone seemed to love them and Mr. Bumblebee was grateful for the leftovers.

The cakepops were much easier than the cupcakes on a stick and I think just as cute. What will my next project be?!

Uninvited House Guests

Apparently, we had some squatters living in our house...


First encounter: I was in the backyard cleaning the patio when I felt something crawl over my feet. After I had a Ohmygooditseffinggodzillalizard moment, I made Mr. Bumlebee catch him and release him. Here's the beast:

Ugly sucker ain't he? Don't worry, I threw away the tupperware....

But that wasn't the end of our squatter problem. The very next 'effin' day I pick up a box in the guest room to meet this big #^$&^$ lizard!!

Not even lying...this guy was probably two feet long. When I screamed he ran and his tail was so long, for a second I thought it was a snake. Once again...Mr. Bumblebee ran to the rescue. We still have no idea this guy got into the house without us noticing. I still get the creeps when I think about it...

Don't worry, I'm a friend to all creatures so these lizards were just relocated to a close park after I charged them rent and pain and suffering...