We celebrated Dan’s birthday with a quiet dinner at home and birthday cake, as we’d already had our fancypants dinner last weekend. For dinner, I made Dan’s favorite — unagi (eel) donburi — and for dessert, I baked and frosted a German chocolate cake (also his favorite!). It was my first time making the coconut pecan frosting from scratch, but it was surprisingly easy and turned out delicious!
The German chocolate birthday cake I made for Dan!
30! A milestone.
Putting the cake decorating skills I learned this year to use!
Homemade coconut pecan frosting on top and in between the layers.
The handsome hubby turns 30!
Dan was psyched by the Android series 3 collectible dolls I got him for his birthday!
Dan’s favorites from the collection. 30 years old but still a kid at heart! 😉
Happy 30th birthday to my better half! Thank you for being such a wonderful husband to me, and a loving father to Mio. I’ll be joining the thirties club soon enough, in a couple weeks!
December marks a milestone for both Dan and I, as we’re both turning 30 later this month! (Dan on December 13, myself on December 25 — we are only a couple weeks apart in age.) The thirties sound a little daunting but mostly exciting — we can’t wait to see where it’ll take us in both our family life and professional careers — our twenties were memorable, but we have a feeling our thirties will be just as, if not more, wonderful. As I wrote before, I’m dedicating my 30th to charity: water and so we have no plans to have any big birthday party for ourselves, but Dan still wanted to take me out to a nice dinner to celebrate what is a big milestone for both of us!
Dates are hard to come by when you’re parents, so we were really grateful that my parents volunteered to watch Mio while we got to get a little dressed up to enjoy the evening as a couple. Based on several friends recommending 2941 Restaurant in Falls Church to us, we decided to go there for our celebratory dinner.
The handsome hubby, who will turn 30 this week!
Loved the decor inside the restaurant!
It’s nice to carry a simple clutch instead of a huge diaper bag for once!
Getting started with some small plates and appetizers.
Spiced duck samosa with honey and harissa
American wagyu steak tartare with parmesan cheese and peanut vinaigrette and crostini.
Crispy pork belly with black garlic aioli and celery-pear salad.
All of the appetizers were delicious. The steak tartare was some of the best I’d ever tasted, the duck samosas had just the right amount of kick to it, but the crispy pork belly was definitely our favorite! It was so rich and flavorful, and practically melted in my mouth!
Dan had venison loin with smoked heirloom potato, Savoy cabbage, and juniper jus.
Ready to eat!
Ever the seafood lover.
And of course, there’s always room for dessert with us! 😉
We shared a chocolate Napoleon with huckleberry compote, Manjari panna cotta, and coffee gelato.
Happy early 30th to us! Here’s to another great decade together.
Koi in the pond outside 2941.
By the koi pond. Part of me wishes we had gone when there was still daylight so we could see the beautiful landscaping around the restaurant, but I guess we’ll just have to go back another time! 😉
It was the perfect romantic evening, and the dining experience at 2941 was both delectable and unforgettable! Thank you to everyone who recommended it to us. 🙂 It was a lovely way to celebrate this special occasion, and we’re feeling great about turning 30 in the coming weeks! 😀
Last Saturday was our friends’ daughter Aubrianna’s first birthday party! The three of us were happy to go celebrate the special occasion with them, and they hosted a lovely party for sweet Aubri. Here are some photos from the party!
Mio reaching for a balloon at Aubrianna’s birthday party.
The spread at the party was amazing — so much good food! We all stuffed ourselves.
Yewon made mussels with garlic — heaven for a seafood lover like me!
Mussels with marinara sauce, cheese, and hot sauce.
Chinese chicken!
California rolls made by Shin Nan.
Everyone was impressed (or rather, aghast?) at how much Mio was constantly eating… lol.
In the Korean tradition of Doljanchi, there were items placed in front of Aubrianna for her to choose something that represents her future calling. (Very similar to the Japanese tradition of Erabitori, which we prepared for Mio’s first birthday.) Everyone watched with anticipation to see what little Aubri would choose!
Aubri was intimidated by everyone watching her, and burst into tears.
After getting comforted by Mommy, she chose… the PlayDoh!
…and then the toothbrush! Future dentist, perhaps?
Celebrating with one of the prettiest birthday cakes I’ve ever seen! Yewon’s friend is a professional cake decorator and made this gorgeous cake for Aubri.
The adorable birthday girl and her lovely mama!
Daddy’s girl sitting in Dan’s lap.
Mio had a great time playing with the other kids at the party, and especially enjoyed indulging in all the delicious food offerings! Happy first birthday Aubri!
For my 30th birthday, I wanted to do something special and memorable. That’s why this year, I’m giving up my birthday to charity: water. Instead of getting me a birthday present, taking me to dinner, or writing on my Facebook wall, please donate $30 (or any amount you are comfortable with — every cent counts!) for my 30th birthday, and help me bring clean water to people in need. It breaks my heart to know that millions of children my daughter’s age do not have access to clean, safe water, and because of that, will not live to see their fifth birthdays.
What’s really cool is that 100% of the money we raise will directly fund water project costs in the field, and charity: water will prove every single dollar. When the project we help fund is complete, they’ll send us a digital completion report with GPS coordinates and photos of the community we helped. Here’s an example.
I can’t think of a better way to celebrate my birthday than by giving the gift of clean water to people in need. Please join me to make this birthday count, and make my only birthday/Christmas wish come true!
Last Saturday, a bunch of my high school girlfriends and I took a Thai cooking class at Sur La Table in Arlington to celebrate our dear friend Xiaolu’s birthday! This was my first time taking a cooking class (aside from my cake decorating class earlier this year), so it was a new and fun experience for me! I love learning how to cook new dishes, and Thai is one of my favorites, so it was really exciting, and the fact that I could learn with all these girls that I love made it all the more enjoyable and memorable! 😀
The ingredients for Thai coconut curry
Chopping up the ingredients for cucumber salad
The birthday girl sharing a laugh while cooking… 🙂
Thai coconut curry!
Taste-tesing.
Listening to the chef.
Cucumber salad! This was so delicious!
Taking a break to eat our first course of the curry and cucumber salad. It was delicious!
The bestest and I, reunited!
The chef teaching us how to cut mango for mango with sticky rice.
Cooking pad thai in the wok.
…while the other girls look on.
Xiaolu and Mimi, all smiles!
Angel and Mimi hard at work.
The completed pad thai!
Mango with sticky rice! Yum!!!
Surprising Xiaolu with her birthday cake.
Taking a group picture in the cooking mirror!
Together with our chef, who was a great teacher!
Happy birthday, Xiaolu! Thank you for letting us celebrate with you ♥
