Alleyway Gems

Erin took me around HK one day to show me all the cool spots that have popped up since I've been gone. We stopped by this cute bar tucked in an alleyway called Brick House that reminded me of NYC. I had a great time discovering new places and finally having some down time to just hang out! 
Then we trekked across Central through Soho and all the way to Sheung Wan area where we checked out the gentrified areas with modern live/work lofts and trendy coffee shops. 
Can you count how many residential buildings are in this photo?
Down comes beautiful old buildings, up goes another luxury building :(
whoopdee-doo!
photos by: courtney

Welcome to 2014!


So many wonderful things have happened to our family in the past month! I had such an amazing end to 2013. My schedule was so jam packed with activities I didn't even have time to breathe! I got to go home for 2 weeks and reunite with my family and friends. It was short with every minute well spent. With my jet-lag, it was very difficult to find the energy to stay awake but I wanted to make the most of it, so I would drink lots of coffee, power through the day with the family, then take a 10 minute nap after dinner and meet up with my friends at night. 
There was so much laughter and happiness shared, many fruitful conversations, and always over great food! I often get a little homesick after I leave, but this time was special, and it's taking me awhile to adjust back to LA life. So.. without further delay, I'll let my sisters announce the great news :D 
- Court
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I couldn't agree more with what Court said, it was indeed an amazing and special holiday.  I originally expected it to be like all our other great Christmases  – the same fun parties, delicious family dinners, opening presents, but this year’s was definitely unique.  While the parties and celebrations remained the same, the dynamics have completely changed.  On Christmas day, we had the entire family in our living room opening presents - from our 90 year-old grandparents to Trish and Ed's new babies.  If you can't picture it, check out our little montage below for a glimpse into our day.  I think the highlight was watching Maddie spend at least half an hour opening and playing with each gift.  It was a nice change to have little ones around the tree.    

I was spoiled and received one too many great gifts, but nothing prepared me for the biggest of all – a proposal from my now fiance (still getting used to saying that word) Tim, my best friend of 14 years who has been there for me through most everything… even after I broke his heart in high school.  It was a "Yes" of course.

 I am so grateful to have had such a lovely holiday surrounded by loved ones.  Hope ya'll had a good one too, and wishing you a fantastic 2014.

 Lastly... WELCOME Avery and WELCOME Tim!
-Erin

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It's been a busy December at the Tsui household. We welcomed our newest member, Avery, to the family on December 4. She's proving to be quite the feisty one, which I should have seen coming considering how active she was in the womb! We also celebrated Ed's birthday with over 20 of our friends at our annual white elephant gift exchange/Christmas dinner (a rather competitive/intense affair), followed by a busy Christmas/new year season with family and friends. Last week, Ed and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary - he treated me to a relaxing spa treatment at Bliss and a decadent 8-course dinner at Gaddi's, probably one of the nicest restaurants I've been to in Hong Kong! What a huge blessing this season has been - thankful for what God has been doing in our lives, and wonderful family and friends. Looking forward to what 2014 holds!
Sister ♥
Maddie eating/attacking her own apple for the first time
The "Better than Sex" cake from Ms. B's Cakery (top left) for Ed's birthday - delicious chocolate truffle cake but not sure if it really lives up to its name. Maybe "Better-than-other-chocolate cakes" cake? Haha
1st course at Gaddi's: Sea bass tartar with cauliflower and caviar
4th course at Gaddi's: Poached egg with black truffle toast
-Trish

3 girls 3 things


This reminds me of one of my assignments from an art class back in junior year of college - our professor wanted us to "fill a space". This would have been a really cool idea to do! I ended up felling my belly button with a bunch of random things and documenting it on a huge grid - maybe I'll post it sometime if I manage to find some pictures of it! My favorites from this artist are probably the origami fan ones (I love the third one for its colors and the water and rope one for its creativity) and the paper clip one (how did she climb in there?) The one with the rats and the caterpillar one kind of gives me the chills...! 
- Trish

Secret Stash
My parents always told me that one of the most important things to think about before you renovate your apartment is where you'd like your safe to be and whether it needs to be part of the reno.  The best safes in the house are apparently things that don't look like safes, and placed in spots that don't seem safe!  This guy shares a really creative idea, but if you really think about it, I would say best for hiding only kids Halloween candies as he suggested, nothing much more than that since it can't be locked and a housekeeper would probably find that within the first month on the job =p. 
- Erin

My friend showed this to me about 2 years ago but I recently thought about them again. If you're down for a good laugh, you need to watch this! These two guys are hilarious! If you've got the time, you should also check out their other videos! Another favorite of mine is the Finger War. 
- Court

Wearing Black

When brainstorming ideas for our next photoshoot, I was really inspired by a collection of black and white photos I've found from different artists. This is the first time Feng and I collaborated on a photo project! It was a lot of fun from start to finish - pulling inspirational images together, finding location, the right lighting and time, and then finally seeing the photos come to life. 

Click here to see the full series!

Chocolate Almond Toffee Crunch

Feng and I spent Thanksgiving at his family's house. One of his Aunt is known for making the most delicious desserts, one of which is a batch of Chocolate Almond covered Cookies. She made so many that we got to take home a whole Ziploc bag full of them! My friend stopped by and accidentally finished them all in one sitting! So I decided to make more for Feng and my colleagues to enjoy. So here is my take of the cookies that she made, it’s not exactly the same but these are good too. :)

What you need:
1 box of graham crackers
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup chopped almonds, toasted

What to do:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 2 rimmed cookie sheet with non-stick spray, or line with parchment paper (one for almonds and one for the cookies)
 
Cutting the crackers:  If you're a perfectionist like me, you like your crackers to be the same size... So to cut the graham cracker without breaking it into weird sizes, get a paper towel damp through (but not soaking), wrap it around the graham cracker, and microwave for 15 seconds. This will soften the cracker enough to cut it. Using a serrated knife, cut the cracker into the dotted lines provided. Don’t worry, the graham crackers will re-harden.

Toasting the Almonds: Line a cookie sheet with non-stick parchment paper. Take the chopped almonds and crush them in a bowl a little bit more. Spread the almonds on the sheet and bake them for 7-10 minutes. Let them cool.

Line the crackers on the cookie sheet side by side.
Melt butter and brown sugar in a medium pan on medium-high heat. Stirring often, heat the mixture for about 3-5 minutes until it turns into a nice caramel looking sauce.
Pour the sauce over the crackers until they are completely covered.
Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle chocolate chips over the toffee covered crackers. The chocolate will begin to melt. Spread chocolate over the toffee mixture (with a spatula) and top with nuts.
Allow the crackers to completely cool before breaking toffee up in pieces. 
Hope you like them!