365great Day 129: seaweed

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365great challenge day 129: seaweedI love seaweeds of many types prepared in many forms. There’s the crispy, crunchy, slightly sweet taste of seaweed salad as shown or the dry, flaky, airy crunch of dried seaweed snacks. There’s seaweed that is long like strands of spaghetti and seaweed that is flat like paper. Sometimes it’s green, or red, or brown, or black(ish). I enjoy it as a snack on its own or as a topping for a soup. It’s pretty versatile as a food and I’m a huge fan. It probably has something to do with my Asian upbringing, since I grew up viewing seaweed as just another snack, much like carrots or cucumber. I’m especially a sucker for the kind of seaweed salad that is offered at Japanese restaurants. You can’t tell in this picture, but this plate is actually shaped like a fish! I was amused by that. A food that can be eaten in so many forms is less likely to bore me and that definitely is great.

House hunting

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Yesterday marks the first official day of house hunting! Panda and I went to one resale not too far from our current location and then up to a cluster of new developments a bit further away. I think it was the first time he saw a basement, because when we went down he was kind of creeped out (even though it was a nice finished basement!). Californians just don’t get that extra space. The rest of the house kind of reminded me of the UK – tight hallways, small rooms, and steep stairs. The interior was nicely upgraded, but the entire place was hardwood and we prefer carpet in the bedrooms. I did like the giant porch in the backyard, complete with plants to offer shade on a hot day. The neighborhood was nice and quiet and this house was located on a roundabout so it wouldn’t receive high traffic. Still, we were nowhere near as enthusiastic as the other couple viewing the house when we were! Oh, the other down side – there was only one bathroom upstairs for the three rooms and the one downstairs was a half bath. Granted, we don’t need any more than that, but it might be harder to resell. In fact, that interested couple was discussing how they could add another one somewhere.

ranch style condos for sale panoramic

Our favorite building!

Far more interesting to us was the next stop, where there were three builders each building different condos on a shared plot of land. Is that normal? I’ve never seen builders intertwined like that, with everyone in that community sharing the same amenities – a pool, clubhouse, tot lot, etc. Our favorite was the more luxurious ranch-style condos, which are quite unique. The building pictured contains 6 units, each one only one floor. The upper level condos included the extra space over the garages, making them much more spacious. We of course fell in love with the most expensive layout, which would be in our price range if I get a job soon, otherwise it’d be a stretch. We spent a good hour or two exploring these models and chatting with the sales rep about our options.

After all that, we walked down the block to the other two builders’ sales offices and explored their models as well. One had a very strange “2 by 2” plan where they actually stacked two 2-story condos on top of each other, so the upper set would have quite a lot of stairs to climb! That’s also something I’ve never encountered before. I did like being up so high, but dang those stairs would probably get old fast. Dumbwaiter, anyone? Finally, with the third builder we did a quick look-around at their 3-story models. The ground floor had a living room and the 2-car garage (all the others had 1-car garages), the middle floor had the kitchen and other living room, and the top floor had the bedrooms. Very interesting setup that reminded me of some condos I’d seen back in LA.

All in all I found that we prefer a more upscale, luxurious feel to the home, which generally means less cramped. All of these were 3 or 4-bedrooms, which is really more than we need. Ideally we can find a 2-bedroom with nice amenities in the community and a spacious layout. I loved that all of the homes had a ton of windows – sometimes even in closets and garages. That’s totally my style! We got a good idea of what we like and it turns out it’s on the higher end of our price range, so I better get that job soon! We’re off to hunt some more today and check out a few open houses Panda found.

Have you purchased a home before? How long did it take you? Did you use a realtor? Any advice would be helpful! 🙂

365great Day 128: fortune cookies

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365great challenge day 128: fortune cookiesHowever they were invented, fortune cookies are quite amazing. Have you ever watched them being made? It’s a skill that is fascinating. Only during a few key seconds can you form them into their unique shape. Even more interesting beyond that is the idea of a slip of paper inside with a little nugget of wisdom or vague statement printed on it. Who doesn’t enjoy a bonus in their treat? It’s really a simple, but brilliant concept and it’s no wonder it has lasted so long. Truly good fortune cookies are tasty treats in their own right, but turning them into a treasure is even more satisfying. I always enjoy eating a fortune cookie at the conclusion of a meal; it wraps things up so nicely and warms my heart every time. For such a simple pleasure, that’s pretty great.

Random observation: bridges

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What’s black and white with yellow stripes?

No, not a bridge, but a road with a bridge! So I’ve been doing a lot of flying lately – from LAX to IAD, then from IAD to MCO and back – and quite a bit of driving (or being driven) too – from VA to PA and back – and it started to become really obvious to me that when I saw a patch of lighter pavement, it was a small bridge or overpass. Have you ever noticed that too?

black road with white bridge aheadMy theory is that the bridges are made with a different paving material (concrete vs. asphalt) for two possible reasons: 1. to ensure that they are sturdy enough to hold under the weight of all the passing traffic and 2. to use the lightest/least possible material. Asphalt can be poured onto the base layer of concrete for roads directly on the ground, but when it comes to bridges, adding that extra weight isn’t necessarily worth the benefits of easier maintenance. So while you’ll find black asphalt roads most everywhere, once you approach a bridge, don’t be surprised if it’s white(ish). Then again, maybe you’re not a nerd like me, noticing and trying to understand this difference. Just thought I’d share one of the many random things I notice and think about as I go about my daily life.

365great Day 127: white Pomeranians

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365great challenge day 127: white pomeraniansWhile I love animals of all types, I never really considered having dogs as a pet. I’m much more of a cat person. Dogs are the ‘fun to play with, cute to watch, but too needy to bring home’ kind of animal to me. The same loyalty and attention that most people love is what makes me feel overwhelmed and suffocated. I certainly didn’t want to have to walk it and pick up after it all the time. But beyond that, a very basic reason I never begged for one as a kid was the smell. I didn’t really meet a dog that didn’t smell strongly to me until 2010. Perhaps I’m just more sensitive to that sort of thing, but when I finally found a breed that was super cute AND relatively scentless, I was enthralled. Enter the white Pomeranian – sometimes they can be yappers, but the ones I’ve met were pretty good about just panting rather than barking. Their fur is so fluffy, they’ve got adorable little button noses, and they don’t make me gag, even a little. Amazing! They’re the first breed of dog I’ve actually wanted to own! To me, that makes them great.

Conscious Box July review

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With this third Conscious Box, I got all the boxes for my first 3-month subscription prize. Now I’ve redeemed the second Conscious Box giveaway I won for another 3-month stint! I’m really glad I won two giveaways because I feel like I’m just getting warmed up with these and I’m not ready for them to end.

Conscious Box is just under $20 per box (or as discounted as just over $203 for an entire year, with options in between) and comes with many samples from about a dozen brands. Choose from their Classic, Vegan, or Gluten-free box. Boxes are sent monthly with no option to skip. They offer a referral link program.

conscious box july inner box with card

This month’s theme is a pretty blue starry look and is based around the idea of “nature’s fireworks.” This is the first time I received an info sheet and I’m pretty sure they just started doing this, which is great. Sometimes with all those samples you don’t quite know what to do so a little bit of info is helpful!

collage of conscious box july info sheet front and back

As always, the contents of the box are wide-ranging and mostly sample sizes. Click on the picture to get a larger view and zoom if you want to see the details. If you want to watch the unboxing, I show you each product one by one as I take it out.

conscious box july contents including clif bar, adonia self-tanner, bambooee towel, totlogic lotion, kidslac probiotics, eco-gecko spoon, kios stomach relief, ecover dishwasher tablets, mdm hydration factor, last round hangover support, good nature tea, epic dental mints, clean ethics bottle bright cleaner, similasan eye drops, ancient minerals lotion

When I first saw the drink, I thought it was a DreamWater, but it’s actually a hangover cure. I’ll be passing that on to someone else since I don’t drink. My favorite item is the Bambooee towel, which I have been meaning to try. The Clif bar is going to Panda since he likes peanuts and whatnot and I don’t. I’ve never tried self-tanner so that will be interesting. I think the Kidslac probiotics will be good for both Panda and I – it’s not just for kids, right? Same deal with the TotLogic lotion; I don’t see why adults can’t use it too. I’ve gotten Ecover samples before and really should try them out – I’ve only used the dishwasher a few times in my life so it’s a hard habit to get into. The Bottle Bright tablet will be great for those hard-to-clean water bottles! I’m really curious about the Ancient Minerals lotion with melatonin… could it really help me sleep better?!

I knew a few of the brands presented this time but haven’t actually tried them so I’m looking forward to that, plus I’m learning so much about all these other products I had no idea existed! Did you get a Conscious Box too? What do you think of everything in it?

365great Day 126: blossoming tea

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365great challenge day 126: blossoming teaThese amazing balls of tea leaves, flowers, and other plant parts are truly fun to watch. Hand-created with care, they’re designed to unfurl as you steep them in hot water. There are endless designs giving you both varying visual styles and a multitude of tea flavors. What’s better than being able to enjoy your drink for its taste, smell, AND look? That’s pretty awesome. Blossoming teas come in a ton of shapes once unfurled, like this one with a flower “bridge” strung together. It’s a beautiful surprise each time and the different flowers/tea leaves used with each ball is what determines the flavor you get. Drop one in a glass teapot and you’ll be fascinated to find what it becomes. Nourishing and entertaining, now that’s great!

Treatsie July review

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Yay, my Treatsie July box arrived yesterday! I didn’t get around to checking the mailbox until mid-afternoon on the sweltering day. By the time I opened the package, the cooling pack was soft, but it must have done its job because my treats came in pristine condition!

Treatsie is $15 per box and comes with artisan candy from 3 brands. That usually means 5 or 6 different flavors of treats. Boxes are sent monthly with no option to skip. They offer a referral link program.

treatsie july box contents with brooklyn hard candy jar, mehlenbacher's taffy sticks, and avenue sweets caramels and nougats

I promptly kicked Panda out of the room where I needed to do filming and made a video of the unboxing. I remember reading that Treatsie (very smartly) does not generally send chocolates in the hottest months since they’re almost guaranteed to melt. However, soft candies like taffy and caramels and hard candies work quite well! They definitely had an excellent, tasty selection.

Also, they just revamped their site and are now offering all these products for sale once you’ve tried them and fallen in love. Excellent move! I mean, while I enjoy trying out new things, I also want to be able to get more of the stuff I liked most! Plus, there are accounts you can manage online now, so if you need to update your address or anything it’s easy as pie. Loving all the upgrades they’re making!

treatsie july box with avenuesweets caramels and nougats

AvenueSweets Almond Nougats, Sea Salt Caramels, & Butter Rum Caramels: These pieces are huge, just the way I like it! Each flavor was vivid and depending on your preferences, you’d probably love each of them for a different reason. My personal favorite was the sea salt flavor – it’s truly divine and I think I might have to order a pound of them. It was rich and creamy and the sea salt was nice and distributed so you never got overwhelmed with a sudden chunk of saltiness. The almond nougat comes in next with its firmer texture and nice chewy consistency. And really the only reason the butter rum was my least favorite is because I don’t drink and I don’t like anything with alcohol. I took a nibble of this and definitely tasted some alcoholic flavoring, which does not appeal to my taste buds at all. However, if you enjoy drinking like so many do, you’d probably love this candy.

treatsie july box with mehlenbacher's taffy sticks

Mehlenbacher’s Taffy in Watermelon & Vanilla Bean: I was surprised at the softness of these taffy sticks – for some reason, I expected them to be firmer. Maybe because of the stick shape? Well anyway, that doesn’t matter because they are fabulous! The vanilla bean is wonderfully fragrant and the watermelon is super sweet – they’re sure to satisfy your sweet tooth! The consistency of the taffy is fantastic and it does a nice stretching when you bite and pull. I did find getting it out of the wrapper a bit of a challenge, so I think I’m going to put them in the fridge for a bit to see if that helps. If had to choose between them, I’d have to say the vanilla bean wins out by the slimmest margin. (Hey Treatsie, if you’re listening – I’d love to see you sell mixed packs so I don’t have to choose! :-D)

treatsie july box with brooklyn hard candy jar

BrooklynHardCandy in Key Lime: Ok first of all, I adore this little jar. I’m not sure how I could reuse it but I totally will. I’m also very happy with the amount of candy in it! I’ve already gone through like 6 pieces and barely made a dent. This will last me! The candy is perfect to suck on and the flavor is sweet and refreshing. I like that it’s not too overwhelming and you can bring this along on trips when you need a sugar boost. Unlike many other candies, you don’t really have to worry about leaving these in the heat – they may stick together a bit, but it’s pretty easy to break them apart. Great for summer road trips!

I’m pacing myself so I don’t inhale the entire box in one day, but it’s hard! Between everything my absolute fav (and this is a tough one) would have to be the sea salt caramel. It’s so rich and wonderful! A veeery close second is the vanilla bean taffy. Yum!

Did you get a Treasie box too? What was your favorite item?

[This post contains affiliate links. Signing up through them helps support my subscription and I’d be ever so grateful. 🙂 All opinions are my own and I received no compensation for this review. I just purchased this box and wanted to share what I got!]

365great Day 125: Couple

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365great challenge day 125: coupleCouple is an app I discovered over a year ago, when they first started off as Pair. It was billed as an app for couples, so the name change made sense. Basically, it’s like having your own personal social media thread, just the two of you. You can share pictures, videos, draw sketches, send messages, and even do long-distance “thumb-kissing” within the app. Everything is private so it’s a great place for couples to bond and share more deeply whenever you’re apart. After all, I certainly don’t want the whole world seeing what I wrote on an open social media forum and the limited capabilities of text messaging doesn’t always cut it. I especially like the sketching feature, which has allowed us to draw out pictures and diagrams to better explain what we’re trying to communicate. For a long-distance relationship, this has been an amazing app. Here I’ve shown you part of our timeline, where I sent over a picture of the pandas that Panda got me and he sketched out a cool robot (I think it’s from the movie where cars turn into robots). I never knew he could draw like that until we got this app. The things you learn! Between the deeper connection and all the fun features, Couple is truly a great app.

7 Ways Shingles is like Menstruating

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I couldn’t help myself; I hope you don’t find this to be TMI or inappropriate, but I’ve been marveling at how having shingles is quite like getting your period. My fiance is recovering from it now and if it weren’t for the ugliness of the outbreak, I’d wish every man had to go through it just to understand what women put up with.

shingles in its early stage when it seemed like a heat rash

At first we thought it was a heat rash. I’ll spare you a look at how it looks now.

1. Shingles makes your back and belly hurt

Ah yes, that all-too-familiar feeling of a sore back, sore belly, and sometimes even sore other parts. Every month I get the pleasure of that achiness in my core muscle region and now he’s feeling it too. His back, his front, his sides… sore, sore, sore! In addition to the aches and pains in the muscles is the ache in the belly. Occasionally I’ve gotten it so bad that I can barely stand. His seem to keep him from standing too tall.

2. Shingles makes you feel weak

Shingles usually hits because your immune system was already weakened by stressors to your body, so you’re bound to feel weaker as your body fights it off and tries to recover from the stress that caused it in the first place. Similarly, I feel more tired and even lightheaded during my cycle. Perhaps I haven’t been eating enough, but lately I’ve had quite the case of vertigo.

3. Shingles makes you sleep and shower more carefully

Not only are the blistering rashes painful, as they heal, some of the fluid in the blisters is likely to ooze out (yeah, gross). You want to be careful showering so you don’t burst them all and get bad scarring plus more pain and you want to be careful sleeping since pressure on the blisters will cause them to leak more. Similarly, I’ve got to be more cautious with how I sleep and shower so I don’t make a mess too.

4. Shingles can give you a headache and make you feel sick

As if pain and achiness weren’t enough, you’re more vulnerable to getting headaches and flu-like symptoms. Of course this varies by person, but who wants to get sick sick on top of this illness? While my period usually comes and goes without incident, I’ve definitely had to deal with illness through some of them and it’s pretty miserable.

5. Shingles makes you grumpy

Ok, this might just be a byproduct of all the discomfort and pain, but I’ve definitely heard a lot more complaining, moaning, and groaning from him. Kind of reminds me of my moody self. 😉

6. Shingles can be eased with pills

You can take medicine to help you get over shingles, and of course you can also take medicine to ease the pain. Similarly, there are pills designed just for women’s periods and you can take pain medication depending on your need.

7. Nobody wants to know you have shingles

Or it will gross them out. Though, now that I think of it, maybe it’s more accurate that nobody wants to share that they have shingles. Like I said at the beginning, this might be TMI (too much information). People often skirt around things like menstrual cycles and other bodily functions. Shingles is kind of one of those things that people would probably just rather pretend you don’t have. However, I think it’s important for people who haven’t had chickenpox and weren’t vaccinated to know, though it only seems to matter with close contact. After all, you don’t want to catch it too! That’s not the same reason that people don’t want to know you’re on your period, but nevertheless they would rather not know.

So what do you think? Do symptoms of shingles remind of your own monthly challenges? Have you ever had shingles or known someone who has?

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