Category Archives: Familia

Celebrating Valentine’s Day

Posted on by
1

This Valentine’s Day, I wanted to do something special for my daughter, husband, and parents.

I bought flowers for Mom.
I got these beautiful flowers from my husband.
I found these cute food-related Valentine’s Day cards and had my daughter draw on them and give them to family members and her teachers.
I bought these cute cards for Maxine’s classmates. I had to nix the strawberry-scented erasers because they were a little small for the kids.
My daughter’s new favorite show is Octonauts, so I bought her a set of figurines and a dish set.
Chocolates were a must for my parents and my husband.
The way to my heart, and my family’s heart, is through seafood. 😆
I bought 10 lbs of crawfish from the Louisiana Crawfish Company. They came alive and kicking! I gave them a good wash and then cooked them. It was an amazing meal and a great ending to the night.

Year of the rabbit

Posted on by
Reply

Happy Lunar New Year to those who celebrate!

Last week, I had some yummy dumplings and treats from Bund Dumpling House in Astoria with my family.

Pork soup dumplings
Roast pork buns
Matcha sesame balls stuffed with red bean paste

This past Saturday, we enjoyed the Lunar New Year celebration at the Queens Botanical Garden. It was super crowded, but it was fun to see my daughter, Maxine, enjoy the grounds and the dragon dance.

Miffy!

Taking a look back at 2022

Posted on by
Reply

As the clock turns 12, I wanted to celebrate and look back at 2022.

I started the new year with a challenge, the January Pantry Challenge. The idea was to cook things I already had at home to save money. I ate a lot of soup and finally ate stuff in my freezer. Some of my favs were the shrimp stir fry, red beans, sausage and rice, and dumplings.
In February, I did some fun activities with my parents. We took part in a virtual chocolate tasting and a chocolate-making class.
In March, I did a bit of a staycation and enjoyed the TWA hotel at JFK. It was a lot of fun. It had a fantastic 60s vibe with great food and ambiance. One of the best features is that they remade one of the planes into a cocktail bar/lounge.
For Easter this year, I decorated eggs and did a few egg hunts with Maxine and my family. It was fun to make the eggs with mom, and even better to see Maxine’s face while she was looking for eggs.
I don’t see my friends as often as I would like these days, but it’s always a blast when we do get to see each other. In May, we had brunch at Lucky Chengs and enjoyed a fun drag show.
In June, I was a panelist for a new membership event at the New York Junior League. I have been volunteering for the league for about eight years now and I was honored to be asked to speak.
Dad turned 80 in July! I wanted to throw him a huge party, but that is not my dad’s style. We had an amazing dinner at a Greek restaurant in Astoria instead.
We rented out a beautiful house in the Poconos in August and had a kickass family trip. The place was amazing; it had an indoor pool, a game room, and a movie theater. We also did some hiking and saw some beautiful waterfalls, and did some canoeing as well.
September was all about soaking up the last bit of beautiful weather and enjoying the parks and water sprinklers.
I turned 41 this year and spent my birthday with my family in Atlantic City. We stayed at Caesar’s Palace. I haven’t been to AC in years! I gambled with my parents, and Andrew won big at the roulette table. I ate excellent food and enjoyed the beach, as the weather was nice. Andrew and I even got to have a little date night on my birthday and explored AC at night.
I kicked off the holiday season by attending the New York Junior League’s Golden Tree event. It’s a holiday market where a percentage of the proceeds go to the league. The event also had a great auction where you could bid on various items, including holiday wreaths. I participated in the auction for the first time and won these two beauties.
Maxine turned two in December! Last year, we kept it simple and celebrated at a buffet so this year, I wanted to go all out. I rented a small venue and we had a bouncy house, face painter and balloon artist. Of course it had to be CoComelon themed.

2022, thanks for the memories!

Advent Calendar Season

Posted on by
Reply

For the past few years, I have been building up my holiday traditions, and one of my favorites is having an advent calendar.

This year I got a chocolate one for my parents, my husband, and me.

Since Maxine is all about CoComelon these days, I decided to get her a themed CoComelon calendar. She loves it so far!

Pro Tip: My daughter grabs everything now a days. I numbered each one on the corner to keep the order just in case.

I couldn’t forget about my two fur babies, BB and PJ. They are sharing a Fancy Feast calendar.

The attention to detail is just superb.
Look how beautiful this is!

Who else is using an advent calendar this season? There are so many to choose from these days. Please feel to share your calendar!

Eat Something New In Queens Challenge

Posted on by
Reply

In March, I took part in the ‘Eat Something New in Queens’ Challenge. The purpose was to step out of your comfort zone, try new restaurants and food, and support local restaurants around Queens. Although I took a little staycation during the challenge, I still tried to participate. All the food I tried was excellent!

Here are the restaurants I tried.

Nneji is a West African spot in Astoria. It’s more a pickup type of place but has fantastic food. Don’t feel shy and ask the owner for recommendations on what to eat.

Harissa Chicken with Jollof Rice
Spicy Goat Stew with Okra and Tomato – was definitely spicy!

Coco Malaysian Cuisine in Elmhurst.

Golden Fried Chicken
Coco House Special Fried Rice
Chow Kueh Teow Noodles
Fried Squid with Fresh Mango

I’m half Filipino, so Filipino food is life, but I did find a new dish I had never had before at Kabayan Authentic Filipino Cuisine in Woodside.

Binagoongan Rice (Fried rice with shrimp paste, mango, and scallions)

My family stayed at the TWA Hotel in JFK, in Jamaica, during the challenge (more on the hotel in another post), but we still tried some great food.

Yardie Bistro was in the food court area of the hotel.

Brown Stew Chicken
Jerk Chicken
Beef Patty

Splurged a little at the Paris Cafe by Jean-Georges. It was well worth it!

Crispy Salmon Sushi
Burrata and Cranberry
Cream of Tomato Soup
Black Truffle Pizza with Egg

I had a blast trying all the food. The challenge has an awesome Facebook group page that offers food ideas and recommendations year round. If you love food and live in Queens, or don’t mind traveling to the borough, join the group!