Taking a look back at 2022

Posted on January 1, 2023 by mlenoach

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 December 2, 2022 by mlenoach

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.

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

Global Running Day 🏃‍♀️💨

Posted on June 1, 2022 by mlenoach

I’ll be walking! The most important thing is to move.

A Place At The Table- Celebrating AAPI Heritage Month

Posted on May 29, 2022 by mlenoach

As I mentioned in my last post, I was brainstorming ways to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. I came across an Instagram post about “A Place at the Table.” Which is a curated box filled with treats from experienced home bakers and professional chefs honoring their Asian heritage. Of course, I had to support it!

As an additional bonus, a portion of the sales is donated to Heart of Dinner, a nonprofit combating food insecurity and isolation within NYC’s elderly Asian American community.

Check out the beautiful packaging.

Check out the desserts.

Of course my favorite was the Filipino focused one, which was a Mango, Coconut and Sago piece (I may or may not be biased 😉).

Here are the home bakers and chefs who participated (from top to bottom and left to right): Ying Ting Hu, Guadalupe Lucero, Andrew Cheng, Kimberly Camara, Ruth Li, Shirley Yu, Christine Yen, Joy Chu, Ayaka Ando, and Kelly Miao.

Glad I was able to participate in and support this initiative. The box was a bit pricey ($75, $82 with tax), but it was well worth it! I would love to see more collaborations like this in the future.

AAPI Month

Posted on May 28, 2022 by mlenoach

As May comes to an end, I want to take the opportunity to celebrate my Asian heritage.

First and foremost …

Happy Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month!

Proud half Filipina here!

I was brainstorming ways I want to celebrate, and one of the things is acknowledging all of the Asian representation I have seen lately. Which is amazing!!!

Earlier this month, I was excited to see that comedian, Jo Koy, has a movie coming out called Easter Sunday that focuses on a Filipino family. The movie comes out in August, and it looks hysterical.

Seconds into the trailer shows a spoon and fork decoration piece that is pretty standard for a Filipino household and is hilarious. The trailer also hints at many stereotypical Filipino bits, but I’m all for it. Representation does matter, and it was great seeing pieces of my world and what I have experienced on TV.

Speaking of movies, I was also happy to hear that one of my good friends, Louanna Factora, was in charge of hair and make-up for a new movie filmed in New York called Asian Persuasion with Dante Basco.

Dante Basco also has a film called The Fabulous Filipino Brothers which premiered this month on Hulu 🙌.

I also recently watched Turning Red, which focuses on an Asian girl going through puberty which gave me all the feels! It was very relatable, especially about pleasing her mom, her embarrassing moments, and her ride-or-die friends who centered her. I laughed, and I cried 😃.

It’s heartwarming to see Asians, specifically Filipinos, in the spotlight. I feel like that rarely happens. I want to see more of it!

Earth Day

Posted on April 22, 2022 by mlenoach

Women’s Day

Posted on March 8, 2022 by mlenoach

Maxine’s Zhua Zhou First Birthday Ceremony

Posted on March 3, 2022 by mlenoach

My daughter Maxine celebrated her first birthday on December 19. She is growing up so fast. I really can’t believe it! My cousin’s girlfriend told me about a fun Chinese ceremony when a baby turns one. It’s called the zhua zhou ceremony, where symbolic objects are laid out in front of a baby to grab. Whatever the baby reaches for and plays with can indicate future employment prospects or interests.

We are a little late, but I thought it would be fun to do! I researched and found more information and potential objects to use via Gathered Gifts’ blog story.

Here is a list of some objects and meanings.

I substituted the following:

Abacus to Cash; Paint Brush to Hair Brush; Calculator to Whiteout; Chicken leg to Bamboo; Lego to Puzzle Piece; Microphone to Fan; Stethoscope to Thermometer; Sword to Shield

Moment of truth. Maxine’s top three…

1. Shallot = Intelligence

2. Measuring tape = Designer/Architect

3. Shield = Law enforcement

Rounding out top 5…

4. Cell phone = Tech Entrepreneur

5. Celery = Industrious

Not bad! LOL. I can’t wait till she is older to see what she likes and is passionate about.

My Dear Friend- Notes to Seniors who need them

Posted on February 5, 2022 by mlenoach

Last year, my Dad fractured his hip, and for five months, he stayed in a hospital, a long-term care facility, and then a rehab facility. This was all through COVID restrictions, and I couldn’t visit him. It was tough, and I know it took a toll on my Dad. I wish that there were more opportunities to connect.

GlamourGals is a nonprofit that provides programming for elderly residents. They currently help reach out to isolated seniors through their #mydearfriend program, where individuals can write notes to senior citizens in need of some care and comfort in various facilities. This is my second batch of letters within the year, and I enjoy it. These cards are geared towards Valentine’s Day and Galentine’s Day, but you can make cards year-round.

If you want to do some good on your own or with friends, consider making cards or having a card-making party! Here is where you can find out more information.

January Pantry Challenge

Posted on January 31, 2022 by mlenoach

This month, I took part in The Sweet Frugal Life’s January Pantry Challenge, where I took an inventory of what I had in the pantry, fridge, and freezer to make dishes. I wasn’t super strict with it and only made a handful of meals, but I still consider it a success!

The main takeaway from my experience; I have a lot of soup in my pantry!

Here are some of my dishes.