Oh Etsy

I ordered something from Etsy, and it took forever to get here, but look at the cool reason why!




All the way from England!


And out came this lovely bracelet with the letter Captain Wentworth writes to Anne Eliot in Jane Austen's Persuasion.

It's the little things...

There's a Chinese restaurant a mile from my house.
La Bella China.

I often drove by laughing because it looked a little trashy, but secretly hoping it would be awesome, because having a good Chinese restaurant close by is like winning a prize for a contest you didn't know you entered. If you didn't win, it's ok, because you didn't even know you were in the contest...but if you do win, it's friggin sweet and loads of unadulterated bliss follow...partially because of the sheer surprise of the situation.

Last week I decided to try La Bella China. When I try new Chinese places I have a little test that I always use, which is a little pricy, but is generally a good gauge for me. I order my favorite things and see how they stand up: chicken lo mein, beef and broccoli, egg rolls, and egg drop soup. If those are generally pretty decent, I'll be back!

So I ordered, waited 5 minutes, and received this spread:

Sorry it's a little dark- I had the shades drawn for a movie with the Chinese :)

Overall, I'd give this place a 4.5 out of 5! So good!

The Detailed Review:
The lo mein used udon noodles, which are better than the really skinny chow mein noodles that some places use, but second to my favorite which are the medium width ones (that I can't think of the name of). But it had great flavor and good veggies in it. The broccoli beef was a little soupier than I prefer, but again, awesome flavor, and they gave white rice to go with it so the soupiness made more sense. I like that they used the egg yokes in the soup (places often leave out more of the yokes, making the soup appear more whiteish-clear in color, and I think it tastes very bland), but I'm not a fan of corn in my egg drop. The egg rolls used rice paper, so they were smooth in texture instead of rough (which I like a little more), but they had a good flavor and came with homemade sweet and sour sauce :) And it all came very nicely packaged with no spill possibilities - extra awesome. The menu also had a variety of Mandarin and Cantonese dishes, which is exciting. So much more to try!

So next time you're near 12th and Drexel, check out La Bella China! Or come over and we'll order some, because they deliver! Oh happy day :)

It has begun

Monsoon season is finally here.

I woke up last night to flashes of light in my room. Now this is usually due to airplanes, but then I heard something. Thunder.

YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!

Open the blinds. "Oh my gosh, dog, it's raining." We both stood in the window and watched it rain, lightening, and thunder with a fury that no one has seen in 81 days.

That's right! 81 DAYS SINCE IT'S RAINED.

The last day it rained was Saturday, April 9th. It was a very cold day - only 45 degrees outside.
And while yesterday was in no way cold, it was so beautiful to just sit there and listen to the rain and thunder, and watch the lightening through the curtains.

Did you wake up at 4:30 AM and hear the storms?
If not, here's a video I shot in the dark. You can hear the rain as constant fuzz in the background, sometimes hearing the gusts, and then comes the lightening and thunder.

I also tried to take some photos but my camera wasn't really cooperating...

Post lightening

And here's my room being lit up by the lightening

And then from our walk this morning to survey...

Meet Darcy

You may have met her under a different name (Genevieve, Emma, Emmylou, Indiana)...yes, I'm indecisive with names.

I prayed - A LOT - about getting a dog. And God has answered my prayers and unexpectedly given me a lovely creature to live life with :)

It is the dog Susan Park's work found. She's chill (except when you first come to the door because she's only 6 months old), sleeps a lot, and doesn't like to run or walk too much :) Heck yes! Were working on training her right now, which is not my forte, but she's doing alright with it.

As far as the name, there were several constraints. I really wanted to settle on something either Jane Austen, winter, or astronomy related, but it needed to be something pronounceable in both English and Spanish. And after calling her the prior names for a while, I settled on Darcy because of how her appearance reminds me of the outfits he wears. Also, I have a boy's name, so she might as well too :)

very typical of her

She loves her toys

the UK, I mean Great Britain, errr...England!

Another video by the same guy - and yes, he still talks fast. But I found this FASCINATING. And, it's a hint/teaser to the other new addition to my house...

On coffee

Careful - he talks kinda fast

New additions to the house

New additions to the house this summer...

So the mail/bills/papers can be "out" and visible, but not everywhere

In the bathroom I used growing up, we had a medicine cabinet behind you, in addition to the mirror above the sink. It was very convenient for see what the back of your hair looked like, so I put a hinge on this mirror so it can help me with such items.

Some herbs! Mint, Cinnamon basil, and Lemon thyme (with the little statue my great-aunt Joan gave me-cute!)

And Rosemary - in it's own pot so it doesn't take over

And one more new addition coming soon...