Last week, I tried a “Roman” Burger from Acme Burgerhaus in San Francisco. The flavors were unlike anything I’ve ever had in a burger. It was so good, I tried my hand at replicating the burger and I think they came out great! The trick really is to use fresh ground beef, instead of frozen or pre-packaged ground beef. The fresher the better.

The Roman Burger (Recipe for 2)
Half pound of freshly ground beef
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 minced garlic cloves
2 tbsp of chopped sun dried tomatoes
2 tbsp chopped onion
1 tbsp of oregano
Dash of salt and freshly ground black pepper

Mix everything together and then form into patties. Cook on a grill (I used a cast iron grill on the stove top) for about 3 minutes on each side, top with cheddar cheese, arugula, and some grilled red onions, maybe a little mayo or ketchup and you’re all set!

Trust me, this burger is DELICIOUS. Not sure if I’ll ever go back to cooking regular burgers after having made this one. Enjoy!

Turns out, we couldn’t have picked a better time to visit. The colors! Reds and golds and greens. I was blown away by how beautiful the natural surroundings of Korea were, and I was like a kid in a candy shop oohing and ahhing and snapping photos left and right.

Yes, a mosquito stung me in the eye, yes we caught the swine flu, and yes my cousin forced me to eat raw crab meat, but my overwhelming memories of this trip remain firmly rooted in the intense beauty of this country. This is only my 2nd time visiting and it definitely won’t be my last.

Enjoy!

More photos to come!

Not sure why we named such a girly looking tree Mr. Smith, but I think it works. Our last tree was named Annabelle. I hope all my lovely blog readers have a beautiful holiday season full of snug blankets and mittens, hot chocolate, presents wrapped under the Christmas tree and as many tacos as your belly can hold.

I’ll be out of the office until January 2nd, so stay happy and warm my friends and I’ll see you next year!

But sometimes, sometimes I end up getting it right. The mess is still there, but at least the end results are pretty!

So I’ll share with you all a quick and easy Christmas ornament project I undertook on a whim. I bought some clear glass ornaments (50% off right now at Michaels), some dried stardust gypsophila and baby’s breath (fake) flowers, and a bit of string to tie it all together. Take one ball, stuff it full of the flowers, and voila, perfectly wintery homemade ornaments. Simple and beautiful.

Happy Holidays!

I’m thankful for my family, even with all our little dysfunctialities. I’m Thankful to my lovely friends, who brighten up my days in so many ways. I’m thankful for the two most beautiful doggies in the world. And I’m thankful for my amazing Boyfriend, who makes me better, makes my life better by being in it. While I was being crushed under the weight of having to create a Thanksgiving feast and basically freaking out because OH MY GOD, where is the rice pilaf?! He was there to ground me, look me in the eyes and convince me that the world wasn’t going to end.

But mostly this past Thanksgiving I mused on how grateful I am to all my past and current clients who let me into their lives and allow me to be a part of such an important day. A day full of love, laughter, joy, and CAKE! What could be better? I’m doing what I love and I can’t believe how lucky I am. I am surprised and humbled by how Bay Area brides have welcomed me with open arms into this new unfamiliar (and colder) part of California. Who have given me helpful tips on where I can go to find Korean BBQ and shown me new and beautiful places around the Bay as we shoot engagement sessions together.

I have only 1 more wedding left for 2009 (looking at you Min!) and then I’m launching full speed ahead into 2010. I’m so incredibly excited for the coming year, and I have lots of ideas brewing in my head to benefit me and my clients. I can’t wait.

And one more thing I was especially grateful for this past Thanksgiving. A warm happy kitchen full of family and friends with Me and the Boyfriend excitedly dropping little pillows of dough into piping hot oil and watching them magically turn into crispy, sugary beignets. What fun, what deliciousness. Thank you Paula Dean.

Some of my favorite photos from the trip came from the Instax. The thing I always loved about Polaroids and what I love about these cute little mini instax photos is the singularity of each photo. Makes them seem all the more precious.

Full blog post on my trip coming soon!

Korea is truly a stunningly beautiful country and I can’t wait to do a full photo blog post when I get back to California, but for now, here’s a little taste of the colors of Korea. Colors like I’ve never seen before.

I’m headed to South Korea for a week of exploring, adventuring, EATING and getting in touch with my Korean roots. From what people are telling me, South Korea is a beautiful place to visit during the fall, so stay tuned for some special travel photography.

Seoul is definitely a wired city, but I’m going to make an effort to disconnect for the week so if you email me, expect a few days delay in getting a response back.

See you on the other side. =)

Cupcakes!

I went to the 2nd Annual Cupcake Camp in San Francisco today and got to taste all sorts of cupcake goodies. The best one I tried was the hostess cupcake. So decadent, so good!

There was one summer a few years back where I declared that I would become a cupcake making master. Alas, I kinda failed miserably and gave up after a not-so-fun battle with buttercream. But I’m more than happy to eat the labors of better bakers than myself.

I love finding cupcakes at weddings too. There’s nothing better after a full day of shooting than a hug from the bride and groom and a red velvet cupcake to take home.

And one of those friends, turns 23 today!

I usually can’t remember the beginning of the friendships I’ve made over the years. Can’t remember the precise moment we met and started developing that relationship. But with Val, I remember and I remember it CLEARLY. Probably because there I was, a scared little freshmen when all of a sudden this strange and excited girl jumps right in front of me and exclaims something along the lines of, “I KNOW YOU!!” And proceeds to talk about how I was Hannah, the Asian cheerleader from Orange Grove Middle School. Oh yeah, she freaked me out at first.

But Val has this magic quality about her that oozes warmth and friendliness. She may be super hyper at times, but she makes you feel at home. There are times when we go out and meet new people and I’m so glad to have Val by my side because I swear, the girl can make friends and carry a conversation with perfect strangers with perfect ease.

Last week while I was in LA, we treated Val out to an early birthday dinner and while on the way home I mentioned how much I love her chocolate chip-less chocolate chip cookies and what does she do? She proceeds to go home, grab all her baking equipment and ingredients, brings it all over to my house and bakes me the most delicious cookies right then and there. That’s the kind of wonderfully giving person she is and I love her for it.

This isn’t a recent photo, but I love it anyway because I think it perfectly captures Val’s open and warm personality.

Happy Birthday Val! Let’s keep on growing old together.