Weekly Wanderings {week 1}

{I love reading the weekly roundups of other food bloggers – what they’re doing, reading, eating, etc. – so I decided to start one of my own. Welcome to the first installment of my Weekly Wanderings – let me know what you think!}

Son was feeling a little bit under the weather at the beginning of the year, and as is usual for us, if he’s got a cold then I’m guaranteed to get it a few days later, and about ten times worse. So I started the week off sneezing, sniffling, and sleeping as much as I possibly could. Not exactly the way I wanted to start off the year, but hey, sleep is always a good thing.

Luckily for me, I’ve got an amazing man in my life (I may have mentioned him here a few times before 😉 ) who drove all the way out to our favorite Thai restaurant to get me their Ba Mee Nam with Wonton (aka wonton soup). So perfect for when you’re feeling under the weather.

Pretty much the first half of the week was fueled by Thai food, menthol cough drops (which really do help with bad sinus pressure!), and those wonderful Puffs Plus Lotion tissues (a total nose-saver). And naps. Lots of naps.

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This blueberry muffin recipe is my favorite, and even moreso when my mom sends a fresh batch over when I’m sick.

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For a while, we’ve had a cheap, crappy little toaster oven, that barely fit four slices of bread, burns anything you try to toast, and gets stuck every time you try to open or close it. I’ve been wanting to get rid of it for ages. So imagine how excited I was when Son surprised me with a new toaster oven on Christmas!

So of course, I’m taking as many opportunities to toast (and roast! and broil! and it even came with a pizza pan!) things as possible. Our daily sandwiches – honey wheat bread, garlic cashew spread, walnut pesto, ham, turkey, and bread and butter pickles – suddenly taste like they’re from a five-star restaurant. Good stuff.

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Currently reading: Mastering the Art of French Eating, by Ann Mah

I wish I had read this book before I went to Paris last year! We were so overwhelmed when we went there (plus we only had a couple of days in Paris, so we had barely enough time to catch our breath and eat a few amazing meals before we were off again).

Speaking of Paris, Son and I went to Europe last year! And yes, I’ve been totally remiss in my blogging duties and have hardly shared a single thing about it yet. (Though if you follow me on Instagram, I posted a ton of photos while we were there last year.) But don’t despair! That will definitely be changing soon. There’s so much I want to tell you.

And yes, those are penguins on my pajama pants. 😀

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It’s been a week of extremes – started off quiet and sleeping as much as possible, and ended with me being uncharacteristically social and pigging out for two days.

A colleague was in town on Friday, so we met up with him and his wife in the Sawtelle area of West LA.

When in Sawtelle… Tsujita LA is a must. They now serve their fantastic ramen and tsukemen all day (instead of just at lunch). Both are delicious – Son and I will often get one of each to share.

(This time Son wanted to try the salmon don with his ramen, which was also delicious.)

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The next morning, we found out some of my relatives were in town, so we stopped by my dad’s for a short visit… which turned into a much longer visit when we found out that my aunt, who is an amazing cook, was planning on making dinner. What kind of amazing woman drives all the way down to LA from the Bay Area, and then cooks an amazing dinner of pasta carbonara and crab cakes? My aunt, that’s who.

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We finished off the week with a little peace and quiet (and yelling at the Seahawks/Packers game – what a comeback!)

Have a wonderful week!