San Diego, December 2009 Day 1-3

San Diego is filled with countless amazing restaurants. We were visiting for 6 days and stayed at the Hilton Gaslamp Quarter, which was very convenient to shopping and dining. We stayed within a 10-mile radius, and there was plenty to do already! Next time we will visit further North of La Jolla!

Day 1: 12/24
arrived at SD at 7:30, had a late dinner at Lou and Mickey's.
Read on yelp that they have the best bone in ribeye in SD.

Lou and Mickey's

224 Fifth Avenue
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 237-4900

Coconut Kiss: Coconut Rum, Kahlua, and Pineapple Juice. $11.50 (never would have though about kahlua and pineapple juice combo. pretty tasty!)

  Roasted beet salad with goat cheese  $11.95  (this was so good. I love the earthiness and the sweetness of the beets. Joe, however, is not a fan of beets.)

cowboy steak (bone in ribeye)  $39.95  (super fatty and delicious. But I've had better, especially with the price you pay)

Mac and cheese as a side dish. $6.50  (this was really delicious. Cheesy with a sauce that's almost like a bechamel. Slightly garlicky. Very tasty)











Conclusion: Great place to hang out, but overpriced because it is situated in the Gaslamp Quarter. Great service, and they don't charge extra fees to do split plating. Didn't think the steak was as great as all the hypes, but definitely tasty. They have lots of other meat selections as well as a duo plate like surf and turf.



Day 2: Christmas
Lunch at Seaworld: 

Smokehouse cafe in Seaworld - sample platter. $14  (Brisket, chicken, ribs, baby back ribs, bun, fries, and corn. Almost everything was juicy and good. It costs a lot but is the only thing we bought at the park all day.)











Dinner: Candelas on the Bay on the Coronado island.
Candelas on the Bay
1201 First street #115, Coronado CA 92118 (at Coronado Ferry Landing
619.435.4900

Freshly baked bread, choose from plain, jalapeno, or cheese. spread it with compound butter mixed with garlic, anchovy, lime, chili, and 10 other ingredients that I forgot.

Strawberry Basil martini
NON-Alcoholic mojito

Calameras Candelas: Stuffed calamaris with tomatoes, rice, onion, morta chili. Served with a chili pepper, tomato, bleu cheese sauce, topped with spinach.  $11.50   (Comes with 5 pieces. The server split it for Joe and me. Tender calamaris! The sauce was very good and different. I wish it was a little bit spicier. )

Pasta Uxmal - Linguini with lobster and portobello mushrooms in guajillo sauce. $16.50

Pechuga de Pato Lucrecia - Baked duck breast over potatoes, veggies, with a passion fruit sauce $24.00

Dulce de Leche with strawberry. (we butchered this in 5 minutes. It was THAT good! )

Conclusion: Great service- our waiter Rodrigo was very attentive and informative. Even gave us great advice on where to visit. Beautiful view of the SD downtown, especially at night, with all the lights. It's a very trendy restaurant but very romantic as well. Delicious food, the portion was just right. wished we had try some of the Mexican appetizers. Lots of reviewers complained about $$$, but I think they were comparing it with a regular tacos joint or something... Candelas is categorized as "Latin Fusion" cuisine and is pretty upscale, but I don't consider them to be over priced at all.

 There is one other location in Gaslamp Quarter as well.

Day 3: 12/26 (Balboa Park and SD Zoo)

Breakfast at Hash House a go go | Twisted Farm Food

Hash House a go go

3628 Fifth Ave, San Diego, CA 92103

(619) 298-4646

Lemonade with watermelon juice and kiwi syrup.$5

(so pretty to look at, no? Yummy too. Too bad we had to stir it up so it didn't look this pretty when we were drinking it)

Corn beef hash with crispy potatoes, homemade biscuit, and 2 eggs over easy. (Don't remember how much this was. around $12?)

this comes in a heavy cast iron skillet, can easily feed 2 people with this. They also have a homemade berry with apricot jam on the table, and I couldn't stop smothering the biscuit with it. We later on took the leftover and ate it for lunch at the zoo.

The tractor combo: buttermilk flapjack the size of the moon, with bacon or sausage, and eggs. (also around 12 bucks? for $1 more, you can substitute for other flavor flapjack)

Just to show you the size of the flapjack. Joe ALMOST finished it.

Conclusion: Yes yes! worth the wait and every penny spent. Great service, awesome food, GIANT portions. Would love to try different flavors of the flapjack next time. They also had some specialty espresso drinks like "toasted marshmallow latte" and some other fancy drink combos that I forgot. Those are quite pricey at $6.00+ each.

Dinner: Sloppy Joey/Nicky Rottens.

Sloppy Joey

548 5th Avenue
San Diego, CA 92101

Nicky Rottens

560 5th Avenue
San Diego, CA 92101

These two places are connected in Gaslamp quarter, and you can order from either menu at either location.

Jeryl ordered the Sloppy Joe Pizza $12.95

Thought it was pretty unique so I took a picture o it. Jeryl said it's very good.

Veal cutlet sandwich with homemade marinara sauce $9.95

Conclusions: Good selections of food since you can pick from both menus. (Pizzas, burgers, pasta sandwiches...etc.) Joe got a burger from Nicky Rottens, they're all $9.95 each. As a burger aficionado, Joe approves of Nicky Rottens! Anyway, it's a great place to get a quick bite and hang out. Food is about average, if not, somewhat above average, but you can't beat the price. Both restaurants were packed! We ate at the bar because we weren't sure how long we had to wait, but the bar was very spacious and comfortable.

Bar hopping at

Mister Tiki Mai Tai Lounge

560 5th Avenue
San Diego, CA 92101

Voodoo Lounger (Left) $9

skyy passion fruit vodka, peach schnapps, mango puree, pineapple, lime juices, & splash of cranberry

and Strawberry Mai Tai (Right) $9

bacardi superior & appleton special rums, strawberry nectar

Conclusion: This place was really empty compared to all the other restaurants and bars in Gaslamp. It was definitely a great place to get some drinks. The food menu looked expensive - they serve sushi rolls and fusion entrees. They advertise for their "pokes" but I actually didn't see any on their menu, kind of weird. Average price for a small sushi roll is $11+. Yummy drinks though! You can get some of the mai tais by the pitcher, and the people next to us ordered a drink for 2 - it came in a big bowl with the middle lit on fire!


Anyway, after mai tais, we then proceed to the Yard house for beer (they have an amazing selections of beer on tap), then some hookah at Fumari ($19 per hookah. We got 2.). I forgot that the legal age for smoking is 18+, but some of the kids in there looked like they are 15!!

Plenty more of food pictures for day 4-6 to come!

Okinawa food fair

helloooooo dessert!

On sale now at Mitsuwa until Sunday are these delicious and scrumptious cream puffs with pudding, aka "flan". $2.50 each and so worth it.

Also they are selling a roll cake with flan inside, made by a bakery from the famous Iron Chef Sakai. It's around $11.

Get them while they last =)

I'm anxiously waiting for the return of my gal pals from out of state so we can all finally go shopping together (and have new additions to my shoe collection. 2 pairs of sandals broke booo.)


My two year verizon contract is up in a couple of weeks. I'm really eye-ing the new blackberry tour. But the big question is- Do I really want to get a bb and become chained to it 24/7? I need the qwerty keyboard for sure, and I woud like to have email access. The phone I have right now is great for texting, but the browser sucks because it's not a smartphone/blackberry. I like the touch screen feature but can live without it. Anyway, big dilemma. Plus getting a blackberry means that the cost of my calling plan will go up too. Is it worth it?



I can't believe it's already near the end of July. Where did my summer go? Been really busy dealing with remodeling, but did that seriously take up all of my free time? One month left, Joe and I still need to finish the house and move, and there are endless yardwork to tend to. I have a few rehearsals lined up on my calendar, as well as planning for our formal engagement. I gotta find time to go to the beach, have great summer bbq, camp outs, and of course, VEGAS! The big challenge is to fit all of these into one month! Stay tuned...

Wow it's been a while since I update this. It's been quite busy with work and our remodeling project. Speaking of which, I am excited to say that we will now have a designated room for shoes!!! Okay well, it's not quite a shoe closet (like what Carrie wanted in Sex and the City), but a laundry room per say. But I've "negotiated" my way so that it will be half and half. I think there will be enough room for both Joe's and my shoes in there!

The wedding planning is going alright. Not much going on right now, but should go into full speed after the remodeling is finished in a month or so. We also started "www.Joemily.com". It's just a blog right now, but we will launch our formal website once we send out the Save-The-Dates.

Ok, that's it for now. -E

I finally ordered a new toy!!
Was planning on going with Panasonic Lumix, but changed my mind and going back to the trusty Canon. Will receive it in a week, yay!

Meanwhile, I just got another fun gadget, thanks to the fiance ! (Plain ol' black colored one in HD, since I already have another non-HD mino with design.)

You know what really irritates me?

meeting complete strangers for the first time, and once they find out that I am engaged, they have to crack some jokes/comments about how getting married is a mistake. I understand they are only trying to be funny, but I think it is extremely rude. What ever happened to a simple "congratulation!"

I can't believe it's already May!!!!!!
Anyway, I am quite excited about the upcoming Summer weekend plans. A few highlights-

The Great American Food and Music Fest
Wedding photo session at the Hakone Garden
Wicked at the Orpheum
weddings to attend
and of course, all the stuff that has to do with the remodeling

Life has been pretty exhausting lately but it is slowly winding down.

Free furniture

The following pieces of furniture are used but in good condition, we have to get rid of them because we simply will not have any room for these in the future. Please pardon the messiness and the quality of the pictures (I broke my camera, so I'm using the cell phone's cam.) WE ARE THROWING AWAY LEFTOVERS ON THIS POST SOMETIMES DURING THE WEEK OF THE 11TH.

Send me an email if you want any of these or want more info such as dimensions. You would have to pick up the furniture yourself if you want any. (in South San Jose)

Check back for more free furniture updates!


1 white bookshelves with adjustable shelves.


1 large leather seat
It's a deep burgundy color, almost dark brown. it's NOT a recliner.
48 width x 38 depth x 36 height



1 3-drawer dresser
1 2-drawer storage/nightstand??



NOT SHOWN:
-1 extra long twin bed. bed + mattress.
-one recliner with ottoman. in light yellow faux leather. (this is a MAYBE)

remodeling frenzy has began!

goodbye pink wall paper and counter tiles!

It's so sad that everything's been taken apart. I think I will miss those ugly floral accents.

I was feeling nostalgic last night, I went through my parents remodeling pictures and I realized that I had forgotten what their house used to look like...

Anyway, here are some "before" pictures and day 1.

there really is no free lunch. Everything costs money.

nevertheless, i am really excited!

work has been so stressful. I am really looking forward to summer...mmm mango mojitos on a white sandy beach. Happy thoughts.

In the mean time, I have discovered the wonderful world of paper craft and scrapbooking. I have decided to do all invitations and save-the-dates myself so I've been buying paper samples and doing researches on embossing. I found a great scrapbook store at the corner of Stevens Creek and De Anza Blvd, in the same shopping plaza as Diddams- it's called Memories live on. Kind of a cheesy name eh? But they have amazing selections! I also came across this great website (www.createforless.com) for super savings on crafty supplies. Hopefully my DIY project will not end up being a hot mess, so stay tuned.

I am having a blast scanning Joe's baby pictures!

It's been a crazy week.. making countless phone calls and also making new plans for the future. I also realized just how lucky I really am and how easy I had it.

lots to be updated soon.

January 31st. 4:15pm

I was driving home from my friend Colleen's house when Joe called.

"Hey can you swing by my house real quick? I need a hand fixing the faucet."

You see, Joe and this broken faucet in his bathroom has been bugging me for almost two years now, especially with the brand new replacement sitting sadly in the corner collecting dust for more than a year. Hmmm, my 100th time of saying "when are you going to fix your faucet?" must have finally gotten to him. I was actually rushing home to clean because lots of relatives were coming over after dinner, but man, this was worth turning my car around. I was so excited that I accidentally hung up on him..

I arrived at Joe's house 10 minutes later. He had rubber gloves on and had clean out all the cleaning supplies from underneath the sink.

"Can you please climb underneath the sink to look at the pipe? I can't reach in there" He asked, and proceeded to put this LED headlamp on my head. (LED LAMP....HE'S SUCH A GEEK.)

I was anxious to get to work so I climbed in and wasn't really sure what I was suppose to be looking at. It was also very dirty so I came out and said "If I'm going to do this, I need to change out of my nice sweater. It's so dirty in there."

Joe started laughing, "I don't think you need to."
"huh? why not?" My mind was stuck on why Joe wouldn't let me go change and was a little bit distraught about my soon-to-be ruined sweater. I was so confused that I didn't even notice the little gray box in his hands.

"well, I don't want to get it dirty. It's cashmere!!" But Joe continued to chuckle.

I still didn't register what Joe was trying to do for the next 15-seconds until I heard something like "I'm down on both knees" and "will you marry me? and then something blinded me.
(I later found out that he had asked me to climb underneath the sink because he needed to go get the ring. Joe said that he didn't expect me to show up so soon, he kind of panicked and had to improvise.)

Anyway, of course I said yes! I did make a few comments about proposing to me in the bathroom, and about how he's not allow to be this sneaky ever again, and I certainly was not happy when I found out that he didn't even fix the faucet! Hahaha but the latter was quickly taken care of the next day because of my little ultimatum - "I'm not marrying you until you actually fix the faucet!"

I am so excited!!! I've been sharing the wonderful news with family and friends. In fact, I talked so much that I'm starting to lose my voice. I am very lucky and am extremely thankful for having Joe in my life. I can't wait to start our lives together!

New read

Just purchased these with my Thankyou points. Can't wait!!

Winter 08

Happy New Year!

December was quite eventful, both work and fun-wise. However, there was just something missing this year...even with all the holiday decorations and the cold weather, I just didn't feel the holiday spirit at all. Maybe it's all part of growing up, we get so caught up at work and personal stuff that we lost that passion and spirit for things we used to love. But all in all, I was with great company, had lots of amazing and delicious food, and of course, shopped a lot. Al contraire to the title of this blog, I did not buy any shoes.

I spent NYE in a quaint and cozy cabin by Lake Tahoe. We walked to the lake and watched the sunset, and it was beautiful.

Here are highlights of my winter holiday.


Joe's holiday party at the California Academy of Sciences. One night in the museum, plus open bar and all you can eat oysters and gourmet food. What's not to love??



babe likes to slouch.




in union square, SF.





Erica and I made [soggy] pesto pizzas on christmas. Yumm.




I made popovers.




Fondue dinner with the WOM crew.




Tea party.




the spread. [tea sandwiches, fruit tarts, cheese and meat plate, mimosas...etc.]




With my lovers.



Fruit Tarts



playing at WET


Annual holiday dinner at the Engs




Welcome to Serendipity 3





Sunset by the lake with my <3s.




Group picture



A silly one. I had the camera on timer and couldn't jump on Joe's back in time.





Attempting to make snow angels. The snow was too icey. We looked dead.



with babe.




A jumping group shot. Of course it took several shots to get this.




this was taken around noon. Kind of ominous looking, no?




Playing flip cup with bud light.




Guess who won this round? She was very proud.



Joe rocking out on rock band.




This is our last photo of the year 2008.