good news

i got a job!!!!!

i start monday.

wedding pics

we got our wedding photos yesterday!  here's one...

by leigh miller

chi town's k-town

the excitement for today was accompanying will to the barber shop. he had been to 3 different barbers here, with no luck. today, in sheer desperation he googled "korean barber" and found someone. the guy was in chicago's k-town, and so i couldn't resist the opportunity to go with him on this little field trip.

all i can say is, if LA's k-town is like korea in the 70s, then chicago's k-town must be like korea in the 50s. a few weeks ago we went karaoke-ing for a friend's birthday, and the noraebang was so ghe-tto. the machine was super slow and kept doing weird things. that thing must've been one of those machines from the first batch of karaoke machines ever made or something. hehe.

but still, it was fun to go over there and get a taste of something familiar. and will got a great haircut.

cold again

just about a week ago, the weather got warm, the temperature inched up to the low 50s, and all of the snow from last month melted away. i was starting to wear normal shoes and coats, and had stopped wearing gloves and earmuffs. and then over the weekend, it snowed again. back to the snow gear. will was pretty discouraged, and so was the janitor in our building. right when we were getting used to the warmth, the snow just made its way back.

fern

about a week ago, i got this fern for our place. i told the lady at the store that i'm not very good with plants. she told me not to worry, that plants actually tell us when they aren't doing too well, and that they begin to droop if they need help.

yesterday i came home in the afternoon and the fern was seriously drooping. i rushed to give it water. a few hours later, it was perky. i think the leaves lifted up about 2-3 inches. amazing!

hillary

image from nytimes

hillary's in s. korea right now. i love this photo of hillary at ewha women's university in seoul today. ewha is my mom's alma mater. see full article here.

why

dude.  why does illinois have so many issues?

baking

i tried larissa's pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe and granola recipe over the last few weeks.  both were good, especially the granola one.  i don't think i can go back to buying granola after this.  it is so much fresher when you bake it yourself!  will and i could really tell the difference.

i'm already getting ideas for ways to mix up the recipe.  next time i'm going to use vanilla instead of almond extract, raisins instead of currants, honey powder instead of brown sugar, and whole wheat oats instead of regular oats.  also, i did use agave nectar instead of maple syrup last time, and it worked out great.  

although there were some "start-up" costs to the recipe (flax seeds wheat germ, extract) i think making it myself is going to save money in the long run.

i like larissa's recipes because they are pretty simple and doable without any crazy ingredients.  thanks larissa!

also, another health note:  in addition to drinking 8 cups of water every day, i'm trying to intake 5 servings of fresh fruit and vegetables every day too.  right now i think i'm averaging 5-6 cups and 3-4 servings.

following blogs

i use bloglines.  should i switch to google reader?  what do you use?  has anyone tried both and like one better?

benefits of marriage

when i run out of socks, i borrow his.  i especially like the black ones.

v-day dinner

will made filet mignon medium rare, mashed potatoes and asparagus.  i bought a bottle of 2007 De Loach Pinot Noir, $12.99.  everything was delishhh.

feast

will was in LA for about 24 hours yesterday. his mom packed a big ol' box of korean goodies for him to bring back. will let me do the honors and open it. in the box were 6 tupperwares of banchan, beans, 3 spices, honey, 2 tubs of kimchi, korean bakery bread, marinated and frozen kalbi, frozen oxtail, korean snacks, seaweed, peanuts, walnuts, a radish, rice cake and kimbap (pictured above).

after gleefully opening the contents of the package, i pigged out on the kimbap at 1am last night. it was soooo good.

me & the bean

will is gone, so this week i'm exploring the city with my camera. i went to the bean for the first time today. it was pretty mesmerizing.





here's a shot of me at the bean. it's like one giant curvy mirror. so i used the reflection to take some self portraits. this one's for you, mom. i know you want to see pictures of me. ;)

it was in the 50s today. it was a gorgeous day. people were lightly dressed. i saw some pedestrians in t-shirts and one lady was walking the street with flip flops!

edit

i decided to post my photos here, instead of on tumblr. i couldn't figure how to make the photos larger on tumblr, and i wanted 'em just a bit bigger. wish me luck in my new hobby!

learning

today was my second photography class. this stuff is not easy. i took over 200 photos in the last few days and i like maybe a handful of them. but i am having a blast! it's a great way to explore a new city, and chicago has so many great photo ops. you can check out some of my attempts here if you're curious.

also. it hit 56 degrees today! it was such a gorgeous day. everyone was outside, including me. and i wore my regular shell and shoes, not the down jacket and boots! when i woke up this morning, all of the snow had melted off the balcony. the snow at grant park was gone today, and there was grass! i can't believe that grass stayed green under all that ice. at one point, we checked the weather and it was warmer here than LA by a few degrees. :)

happy friday

will's oot again.  meanwhile, these lovelies are keeping me company...

third time's a charm

i finally got a library card today!  it was my third attempt.  seriously.  because i don't have ID with my current address on it.  and then i brought mail from the current address with will's last name on it.  but i didn't change my last name, so of course that was a problem.

anyways, i cannot live without the public library.  so now i can live.  

oh, and the library near me happens to be the largest public library in circulation in the country. 

purple haze

sometime last week we went out for dessert at may street market in west town.  i definitely want to go back there for a meal.  they have a "bistro room" and a "market room", the market room being more affordable and originally created for the neighborhood.

anyways, we had this cheese called purple haze which i found out is actually made in california. it's goat cheese with lavender and fennel in it.  it is really good.  you can get it at whole foods too.  they served it with toasted almonds and honey.  we wrapped the leftovers, took it home, and i tried it with honey and crackers.  SO good!  i've never been much of a cheese person, but i am really getting into it here.  and i don't like goat meat.  but this cheese is good.

first night apart

last night was my and will's first night apart since being married.  he went out of town for an interview.  i had a hard time saying goodbye.  it made me realize how close we have gotten, just in this last month.  he'll be away a few more times this month.  i miss you honey!

the photo above is one i took of him in kauai at sunset.  will at kee beach pointing at something.

OMG

i just checked the weather.  it's supposed to hit 49 degrees on saturday.  49!

that is a miracle considering it's 1 degrees right now.

:)

live strong

we don't have many friends here, but whenever i post, i keep referring to them as "friends". our closest friends here are will's best man and his wife. i will call them "R" and "E" from now on.

anyways, E told me about lance armstrong's health website last week. it's called livestrong. E goes on there daily and takes one thing from it. it can be a bit overwhelming, but i've been making an effort to go on a few times a week.

for example, i always knew that olive oil is the healthiest oil to cook with. but i learned today that it's really good for you, and great for your skin! but there was one thing i didn't get. they say:

Ingesting about 3 tsp of olive oil each day will help to keep your skin strong and supple, but it can also be used topically to prevent and reduce wrinkles as well as combat acne.

does that mean to cook with olive oil and ingest it, or straight up ingest it? maybe i can dip bread into it.

will and i are generally pretty healthy. we eat lots of produce, cook a lot and don't like processed foods. but i've been inspired to continue to be healthy, both through this website, and also fellow blogger friend larissa, who blogs about health frequently. she resolved to drink 8 cups of water each day in the new year. i've been trying to do that.

and i also want to try her homemade granola recipe soon. it's one of our staples and it would be great if i could make it at home regularly. we'll see how i do.

coffee + spice

after my photography class on saturday, i hopped on the bus and went over to the coffee & tea exchange in lakeview.  they sell coffee, tea and spices by the lb or oz.  

the coffee beans are kept in barrels, like so...

the coffee averages $8/lb.  and the spices you can buy by ounce, averaging about $1/oz, which is amazing considering prices of spices at the supermarket.

i picked up some spices and fair trade organic coffee from mexico.  will and i used our coffee grinder for the first time that day. 

being in lakeview brought back some good memories.  will and i came to chicago over memorial day weekend in 2007 to visit friends, and they lived in lakeview at the time.  i remember walking down broadway and even going into the coffee exchange with will back then.  sometimes i still can't believe i'm actually living here!

although it's been cold and lonely at times, overall i am loving life here!  it's a special time for me and will, making a home and family together in a new city, building new relationships and figuring out life together.

cabin fever: part 3

happiness is...

wearing a pea coat instead of the down jacket that makes me feel like a snowman.  and wearing normal boots instead of snow boots.

i did this the other night and i was psyched.

it's also wearing tights and a skirt.

i also did this, but it wasn't fun.  i was freezing my butt off.  literally.