honestly can't stop playing this on repeat

and she's only 16...whaat?

petals

i'm missing the flowers that must be blooming like crazy right now in peter's garden. i took this the last time i was home, but it's sad to think that they will probably be gone the next time i'm back. even the damaged ones are just as beautiful.

matcha and red bean nian gao

a few weeks ago - lanna made this matcha nian gao recipe and it was sooo good. all i did was add in the sweetened red bean paste - i tried to swirl it around, but it basically just plopped to the bottom. so the 2nd time i cut it into flat, thin layers and spread it across the top of the batter to let it sink in slowly.

ingredients: (makes 2 loaf pans)
1 lb glutinous rice flour
2 Tbs matcha powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 cups milk
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
sweetened red bean paste (to your liking)

directions:
1. whisk together all the dry ingredients
2. mix in the wet ingredients until well combined
3. drop in the red bean paste
4. bake in 2 well greased loaf pans at 350F for 1 hour.

note: the edges are the BEST part

happy valentine's day-after

found this on my laptop: playing around with the flashlight app on the rooftop balcony of our hotel the night after our wedding ♥

exploring antwerp

 

 
the day before we went to bruges, we took an hour train ride from brussels to visit the little city of antwerp - a city filled with art + culture + design, even the train station was so incredibly beautiful. it's also where most of the world's diamonds are traded (i had no idea) and it produces the most amazing fashion designers (the antwerp 6). we stopped by the museum aan de stroom where we got a panoramic view of the city from the top of the building, and we also saw the madame grés exhibit at the fashion museum. too bad we didn't have more time for shopping!

waffles, fries, and mussels in brussels

aren't those the things you're supposed to eat while in belgium? we ate our fair share of fries from friterie tabora, mussels at chez leon (avoid the tourist traps!!!), and waffles at maison dandoy (and basically at every train station cart we could find). but i would go back just for those liege waffles.

bensimon in belgium

i was so happy to find these shoes on our trip to belgium. i had been wanting a new pair after leaving my worn out ones in seattle - but i hadn't expected to walk into an actual bensimon store while we were in antwerp! i wouldn't say they kept my feet warm while we were walking around in the snow (at some point i really thought i had frostbite, but apparently you can't get frostbite if your skin is not exposed??) but these were way more comfortable than my rainboots. you can even throw them right into the wash so i'm going to try to spruce up my old pair. oh, and these are really cute too.