The House Poet

This past Wednesday, I luckily was able to go to San Francisco with my sister; it was the first time I'd been in a long time! :) Fiona and I took the BART train and caught a MUNI bus. It was a lovely sunny day, which was such a treat as you can see in the pictures! We got off at Octavia Street because I wanted to look at a Victorian hotel that is so beautiful inside and out. :) This is the Queen Anne Hotel, which supposedly has a haunted room! :D One of my dreams is to stay there someday~ I really want to show this to Andrew too! On my 18th birthday, my friends and I walked inside and sat down in the lovely common room. I then proceeded to open all my gifts there; it was so fun! Japantown! Yay! :) This is Benkyo-do, the oldest business in Japantown. They make mochi, some of which is really good, and sell Japanese snacks. They also have a food counter where burgers and hot dogs are super cheap; it's very old-fashioned and charming! All the older folks like to congregate there ...

My sister and I braved the outside and went shopping today, and for being Black Friday it wasn't so bad. We didn't go to many places, but still had fun. The weather is pretty miserable; it started raining really hard not too long ago and it's very cold. I am sure my love in the hot and humid Philippines would like this weather! ;) We went to Target, which was crowded but not terribly so. I bought a black cloche hat that actually fits, red long fingerless gloves, a light blue soft sweater on sale, and some essentials. Then, we walked up to Ming Quong, since the weather was sunny and nice, and I bought a new ring and a gift for Andrew, since our 10 month anniversary is next Friday, which is the day he comes back home! Yay! :D We then found ourselves at Saroor, a very good Indian restaurant I hadn't been too for a long time. Since I can't drink Chai Tea unless the milk is soy or lactose-free, I ordered a mango lassi drink ($2.50) instead, which was DELICIOUS! The flavo...

Ever since my parents divorced when I was eight, Thanksgiving changed for me. I still wish I could be with my whole family for Thanksgiving, but maybe that will happen someday in the future. Until then, I usually spend it with my dad, sister, grandma, aunt, and my four cousins. I really missed Andrew yesterday and wished he could have been a part of it, but he is having fun in the Philippines. :) For lunch, my dad made homemade tacos, which were tasty and not spicy, which was good for me! It was a nice treat since it has been forever since he made them for me last. :) Tacos are kind of a funny thing to eat on Thanksgiving, but thats okay. :D Preparing for Thanksgiving dinner on the other hand.....was certainly interesting. The oven caught on fire right before I was going to make biscuits, so I decided against it. Luckily, the fire wasn't a serious one, and it died out rather quickly. I did end up making mashed potatoes and box stuffing, so I am glad I was able to contribute some di...

Yep, I am on a blogging roll today! I want to write up the posts as soon as I can this week so I don't get bogged down and behind like I do when at school, haha. Also, it's fun, and I want to make sure Andrew can see what I am up to! :) My sister and I went to Tulio's, which is an Italian restaurant I used to go to as a kid when I was done with ballet class, which was across the street. So, it's been around for a long time! We were seated promptly and given a basket of baguette and foccacia bread, both of which were good and just how I remembered them. Also, a bowl of herbs, olive oil, and balsami vinegar accompanied the bread. Dipping the bread in the mixture was very tasty, especially with parmesan sprinkled in it! This was the house salad that came with my pasta entree. I wasn't a fan of everything in this salad; I think the beats are an odd addition.....but that's just me. I asked for vinaigrette as my dressing and they served that in a quaint silver bowl. T...

I am indeed back home for break! The train ride was very nice; the train was really crowded since it's a holiday week, so I took a seat across from a nice older lady. She and I talked the whole hour-long way, and it seemed so quick! :) My sister picked me up from the train station when I arrived around 10 am and we went to visit my mom, stepdad, and halfbrother. My stepdad ended up giving me his classical guitar, which he never uses, but it sounds great! I can't wait to play it for Andrew! Afterwards, Fiona and I stopped at Lunardis to grab some groceries and got some yummy, though not too healthy food! I love how there is such a thing as lactose-free ice cream. ;) I also picked up a bottle of Naked's Mighty Mango juice!! On campus last week, some people set up a Naked juice table in the student center/dining hall and had a Wheel of Fortune sort of game set up. I spun it and won a Naked t-shirt, which I wore and found to be super comfy! I also tried a sample of the mango ju...

This is it, my dear readers, the last post before I go home for Thanksgiving Break! I leave tomorrow morning and I am sooooo ready for this break; I only had one class today and I could barely focus on it. I think I need some time to relax and indulge in fun things like going to SF and cooking, which are things I can't do here. I plan to cook and eat a lot this week, so stay tuned for a ton of posts! :) A couple weeks ago, Andrew decided that we should try one of the places on my "lets try" list, which was Qiang's Bakery, a local Chinese bakery that has very high ratings on Yelp.com. We were both so excited to finally try this place! I don't know much about Chinese pastries and such, and was excited to learn and taste some! First up, a sesame ball, only $0.50 each! And these aren't small either, they are about the size of a golf ball. Isn't it cute and perfectly round? I love the golden color! We each took a bite of our own.........THEY WERE SO GOOD! I co...

Everyone here on campus is counting down the days until they can go home for Thanksgiving Break! I luckily leave on Tuesday morning, yay! I think I really need a break from this place, and my love is gone so there isn't much reason for me to stay. I need to have fun too, lol! :) Speaking of fun, two Thursdays ago Andrew took me out to lunch! It such a wonderful treat! I am a spoiled boo~! We went to a local Italian deli that has been around for a long time that serves cheap sandwiches. The above sandwich is what I ordered, prosciutto with cheese, mayo, and lettuce. Very rich and salty! I think this sandwich was only $4.25! :D Andrew's sandwich was delicious and cheaper than mine at $3.25!! His had salami, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, and mustard. I really loved his sandwich! This is probably what I will order next time we go there, which I hope we do! The salami was thick and tasty, with the mustard adding a lot of depth to the already salty flavor of the salami. It all worked. ...

My friend Jen has been having intense pho cravings this past week, so my friend Mary took Jen and me to try Mama Pho yesterday, since I was raving about it all week to them. Yay! Also, I am glad I was with with them because Andrew left for the Philippines yesterday and I miss him so much. It's good that I am spending time with my friends so I have fun and so I won't get too lonely. :) The place was still spotless and warm on this rainy and freezing cold Friday. Andrew and his family were at Mama Pho earlier, and I can't wait to hear about what they ordered! I ordered a small beef steak pho and a grilled pork sandwich. Oh my goodness, the sandwich was melting in my mouth, it was so utterly rich in distinct flavors....and the bread was warm and tasty! Just perfection! My little pho, which was tasty, filling, and warm! :) Mary ordered the Korean beef short rib plate, and she let me try a piece. It was very simple yet tasty and filling! A bit greasy, but delicious nonetheless. ...

Last Sunday morning, Andrew and I went to try a Vietnamese place that we couldn't ever find before. However, last Friday night we passed it in the car and realized it wasn't very far from his house or UOP! So, we decided to go on Sunday, since it was open. The place is small, but meticulously clean. It's run by an old couple who don't speak too much English but are nice anyway. The fact that our chopsticks and spoons were given to us in a popcorn bag is just too funny and awesome! :D Ahhhhhhh, finally, a delicious banh mi! This one has tasty grilled pork in it and the bread is warm and fluffy! I truly adore this sandwich!!! None of the ingredients are overpowering, and I always take out the too-spicy jalapeno slice. The Vietnamese mayo adds such a creamy and savory aspect to the sandwich~! So good for $2.50! Since I love cha gio (imperial/egg rolls, 4 for $3.95) we ordered those as well so I could try them. They were okay, very fresh and steaming hot! I was disappointed...