Bohemian Rhapsody

Happy Friday!  What are your plans this weekend?  We're having a combined birthday party for my hubby and one of our close friends.  It's a BBQ + swim party.  The kids will be causing a raucous while the adults eat, drink, and be merry.  It will be fantastic!

I've been seeing a lot of these really cute cold shoulder dresses lately on fashion boards.  And I recently went out on a whim and bought a pair of gladiator sandals.  I haven't had the chance to wear them out yet, but since I got the dress, I just might be brave enough to step out of the house with them!  Honestly, when I put this look together, I felt like I was trying to look like some kind of Greek deity going to a toga party.  Hermes has got nothing on my shoes!  Ha!  ;)

My sandals steal the spotlight with their bright gold tones, so I paired the look with some neutral and beige accessories to tone everything else down.  

Hat: H&M (beige in this style is sold out, here's a black one and here's a similar one)

Dress: Amazon

Shoes: Aldo Umarelle

Bag: Celine Nano (purchased at Bergdorf Goodman in NY, here's a really cute messenger bag from Zara)

Necklace: J Crew (old, here's a similar one)

Glasses: Tory Burch (old, these aviator ones here are super adorable)

Enjoy your weekend!

xoxo,

Lin

Pork Dumplings

Happy Tuesday!

So I made these a couple of weeks ago for the first time.  I can't believe it took me this long to make dumplings.  When I was young, my sister and I would always help my mom fold these on weekends.  She would make a couple of hundred at a time; whatever we didn't eat that evening, she'd freeze for future use.

It's actually quite simple to make.  You can find dumpling skin at any Chinese market.  They are the circular ones, not the square ones, which are wonton skins.  And honestly, you can fill them with anything you want.  I chose to use ground pork and chopped napa cabbage for this one, but it's also common to use ground beef with chives, or ground chicken, or shrimp, even fish!  I used ground turkey the first time I made them, and they were delicious as well.  Be creative and use your imagination!  The recipe below makes about 120 dumplings.

Ingredients:
2 lbs ground pork
1 medium-sized napa cabbage
4 stalks green onions
1 3/4 tbsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup wine
1/4 cup sesame oil
about 4 packs of dumpling skin (with 30 in each pack)

Instructions:
1) finely chop napa and green onions
2) combine napa mixture with ground pork
3) add salt, wine, and sugar, then mix
4) prepare a bowl with some water
5) put about a tsp of pork and napa mixture in the center of 1 dumpling skin
6) dip finger in water and trace outer rim of dumpling skin
7) fold in half, encasing the pork mixture, then fold the sides by pushing up the corners.

8) Place folded dumplings in rows on cookie sheet sprinkled with loose flour.

To cook these, you either boil them, or pan fry them.  When ready, dip them this mixture: soy sauce, sesame oil, and vinegar.  It's delicious!  I chose to pan fry this time, here's the end result!

Here's the instruction to make pan-fried dumplings look as good as mine:

1) pour about 1 tbsp of oil in a frying pan, heat
2) line dumplings around pan
3) pour 3 tbsp of water in pan, lower heat to medium
4) cover and let simmer for about 10 minutes
5) open lid, so water can evaporate, and let cook for about 2-3 minutes.
6) this part is tricky, if you want your friend dumplings to look like my picture above, you just cover the pan with a plate, flip the pan and plate over, and voila!  Your dumplings should look like the ones pictured above!

I'm going to try making ones with beef and chives next.  Happy cooking!

xoxo,
Lin

Casual Friday

TGIF!!!!

I've recently found a liking for very simple and neutral pieces.  Having 3 little ones to care for really doesn't give me any reasons to dress up.  So some basic pieces are my BFFs this summer.

Over here where I live, it's been scorching hot all summer.  Recently it's gotten a little cooler, so I dared to put on my cropped jeans.  Otherwise, I've been living in shorts for the last 3 months.

And it's not just me. All over Pinterest, neutral pieces dominate the fashion boards.  Distressed jeans seem to be in this season.  The trick is to accessorize strategically to make the outfit.  Accessorize with simple jewelry and add a touch of color with your handbag. Therefore, without further ado, here's the look.

Top: Banana Republic V Back Tee

Bottom: Hudson Ginny Cropped Jeans 

Necklaces: Madewell (similar here) and bar necklace from Amazon

Bag: Chloe Drew

Shoes: Skechers Sweet Pea 

Thanks for reading!

xoxo,

Lin

Hong Kong Style Egg Tarts

Happy Thursday!

So we celebrated my hubby's birthday yesterday.  Given that I have a little more time on my hands these days, I decided that I would surprise him with his favorite dessert on his birthday.  Him and his egg tarts. What can I say?  He loves them so much that every time we have Dim Sum, he'll get two orders of the delicious egg yumminess.  What better way to celebrate his special day with some home made ones?

It's really quite simple to make them, actually.  I got my recipe from All Recipes.  I followed the direction to a T, but I think you're better off using 1 1/3 cups of butter, and 8 eggs.  The recipe calls for 1 cup of butter and 9 eggs.  I found that 9 eggs made the egg flavor a little too strong. Also, you'd definitely have to bake for at least 25-30 minutes instead of the 15 the recipe calls for.  I found myself adding more and more time to the timer since the tart crusts just weren't hardening.

Well, without further ado, here's the website where I got my recipe from.  And here are photos of the ingredients and the finished products.  Happy baking!

xoxo,
Lin

Designer Crossbodies To Die For

What can I say.  I love me some handbags.  You can say I'm addicted to them.  Honestly, truth be told, if I ever win the lottery, the first thing I would do with all that money is go on a handbag shopping spree.  Move over, kids!  Mommy has priorities!  Ha!

My love for handbags started at a very young age.  I still remember the first purse I owned.  It wasn't a luxury brand, not even anything fancy.  It was just a simple denim Esprit purse.  But I was so happy when I got it.  I'd carry it everywhere!  Something about carrying a cute purse just makes me happy.  Hey, don't judge.  Everyone has their weaknesses, and handbags are mine.  :)

So with the cross body bags being all the rage right now, I thought that I might provide you with a visual of what is trending now.

Celine Nano

Boy Chanel

Chloe Drew (saddle bags are so trending right now!)

Fendi Peekaboo

3.1 Phillip Lim Pashli Mini

Gucci Soho Crossbody

Mansur Gavriel Mini Bucket Bag

Louis Vuitton Monceau

Valentino Rockstud

Givenchy Antigona Mini

Yves Saint Laurent Crossbody

I'm already guilty of owning 4 out of the 11 bags here...I tell you, it's an addiction.  But they're so cute!  How can anyone resist?!?!

xoxo,
Lin

Oxtail Soup

I know...it really is too hot right now to think about any type of soup.  We're sweating like pigs during the day, who wants to sweat more in the evening when it's finally cool?  But this soup is like a meal in itself.  It's so easy to make, everything is in one pot, so there isn't even that many dishes to wash after the meal.  What my mom used to do was pour these over rice, but I chose to pour them over noodles for my kids.  Of course, if you're watching your carbs, you can eat this by itself and still feel very satisfied.  You got your protein and your veggies, it's a healthy, easy, and hearty meal.

I got my oxtail from a local Chinese market.  I was craving this soup after visiting a family member and her MIL made some for them.  It's been years since I've had my own mother's oxtail soup.  So I just decided to make my own.  Here's the recipe!

Ingredients:
1 oxtail, cut into 1 in pieces (the butcher will do this)
5 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 in pieces
1/2 of a large cabbage or 1 small cabbage, chopped
3 large tomatoes, cut into 1 in pieces (I use beefsteak tomatoes, and I usually use more because I love them, but it's up to you)
1 onion
chicken stock (not broth - stock is more flavorful since it's made of chicken bones)
ginger (this is important - you need it to slightly mask the meaty scent of the oxtail so it doesn't over power the entire soup)
salt

Directions:
1) Boil oxtail in regular water in large pot to clean the oxtail.  You'll see all the impurities rise to the top.  Pour water out, repeat one more time.

2) Once the oxtail is clean, you can fill the pot with all the ingredients above except for the cabbage.  If you want a more flavorful soup, you can use only chicken stock for the broth.  I find that with the oxtail and the vegetables, the broth will be flavored as is, so I chose to use regular water.  It's really personal preference.

3) Flavor with salt.

4) Boil for at least 2 hours in medium heat.  You want the water to be bubbly lightly the whole time.  That's when you know everything is simmering and your broth is being flavored.  In the last 30 minutes, add all the cabbage.  If you want an even more hearty soup, you can add some potatoes as well.

Voila!  This lasts in my family for about 2 days.  I'll use it as a main meal the first day, then the second day just as a soup additional to the mail meal.  I hope you enjoy it as much as my family did!  Next week I'll post the recipe for my San Bei Ji (Three Cups Chicken)!

xoxo,
Lin