December: Month in Review Part 1

Alright guys! I'm back for a December Month in Review Part 1! Using my day off to get caught up on these posts! Hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day/Single Awareness Day and Happy Hump day!


Dec. 1st: Work

Dec. 2nd-3rd:
Started off the month by heading to the Troubadour in LA to see Sam Smith. His first show sold out but they added a second show and we were able to get tickets. What an amazing singer. He has an amazing way of relaying his emotions through his music as if he's been through everything he's singing about (maybe he has?). Since we were able to use the carpool lane for most of the way, we actually got to LA quite a bit earlier than expected so we decided to grab some grub. We decided on a sushi restaurant off of Santa Monica Blvd. called Ajisai. Really great stuff. Very fresh.

We were going to drive back to San Diego that night but we were both really tired so we stayed at my parent's house. In the morning we had a bunch of boxes from Crate & Barrel to go through. I had entered their Thanksgiving Giveaway because I had felt bad for the person trying to collect information. People are often so concerned about data collection and for goo reason but I had once been that person at the mall calling out to people to try such and such product so I know how it feels to seem invisible and ignored. Anyways, I signed up and the Monday right before Thanksgiving I get the call that I had won! Super crazy and below is a picture of the six boxes of stuff I'd won. It was a set of 12 large plates, small plates, bowls, utensils, a turkey baster, and a roasting pan and rack. It even came with a cooking magazine. I think it could've been a sign that I need to start cooking lol. I still haven't started though haha. I probably should have made that one of my new years resolutions. I thinking cooking itself takes a lot of prep time. First you have to find the recipe. Then you have to go buy all the stuff. Then you have to prep the food. Then you can actually cook. But I digress lol.

After some serious packing up, we were able to widdle down the 6 boxes to just 3 boxes (they sure put a lot of packing into those boxes but nothing was broken so good job!) and we headed to eat lunch with my dad at Din Tai Fung. People often say this place is overrated but I think their ingredients are extremely fresh. You can really taste the difference.

After lunch, I wanted to make a stop at the Santa Anita Mall. Every year I always send in my wish at Macy's. I believe they donate money for each letter that is submitted to Santa. I feel like if they actually read the submissions, that would be such a fun job lol.

After spending some time at the mall, we headed back to San Diego. We decided to try this new soon tofu place. One of the things I miss about LA is the abundance of BCD Tofu houses! Like can you please extend your chain to San Diego. It's definitely not the same but it's a lot better than the other soon tofu places. I was pretty appalled that most of the soon tofu places in San Diego don't have any side dishes or very few. Like wha?! I'm always like "Where's my fish?!" (even though I usually give it to someone else lol)

Dec. 4th-6th: Work

On December 5th we had a Holiday party for work at Tom Ham's Lighthouse. It was so nice out with a small breeze. It was one of those days that really makes you think "Wow, I'm so lucky to be living in California".

Had some post-party drinks and some life conversations with some other PICs. Sometimes I wish we could get time off and just hang out because we all have the same problems and pressures from the higher ups. It was definitely very enlightening to be around such intellectuals. I really just wanted to pick everyone's brains lol.

Dec. 6th:
Decided to check out December nights at Balboa Park. This was my first time at this event and it was very pretty and crowded (which I was told that this day was actually the most empty it's been). There were some food trucks there so we tested a few places out. I saw a sign with Sweet Potato Tots so I had to give it a go! They were pretty darn good. Also tried a bunch of cultural foods that I didn't get a chance to take a picture of because my phone was crapping out.

Dec. 7th-8th:
Celebrated Sophie's birthday in LA with some Korean BBQ. For some odd reason I have no pictures from this day! I gotta hunt down the scrapbook person lol. I only have this picture and Sophie's not even in it!

stole this one from pearl!

Dec. 11th:
We went out to dinner with Tony's parents and tried out this new Japanese/Italian Fusion restaurant called Ristorante Kaz. I ordered the Squid Ink Pasta which was a bit of a surprise. So my coworker recommende Bencotto in Little Italy for their Squid Ink Pasta. Bencotto's Squid Ink Pasta is actually pasta that is made out of squid ink. This squid ink pasta is with the squid ink pasta sauce. Man, this is definitely something you don't have to eat on a first date. I spent most of the night wiping my mouth lol. Definitely something I want to take home to enjoy and slobber all over the place.

Dec. 14th:
Tony's cousin had a super cute jungle themed baby shower. We got to keep these super awesome mason jars. I never usually win any games at these kinds of gatherings but I ended up getting the poopie diaper lol. I like these kinds of games where it requires the least amount of effort on my part hahaha (my laziness talking there).

Dec. 15th:

Had a small gathering at my house and invited some of my favorite people :). Missing a few peeps but it is a true rare event seeing us outside of work. 

Thanks for reading and I'll talk to ya'lls real soon!!