Pandas are one of my favorite animals. Even if I wasn’t Chinese, who could resist such cuties?!?! Adorable like a puppy, less scary than a bear, and not as weird-looking as a sloth (although Kristen Bell would disagree). So it’s no surprise that some of the best panda pictures out there are on Pinterest!

I laughed SO HARD when I saw this.

My favorite animated movie besides Monsters Inc.

If your favorite animal says a lot about you, then it appears that I am cute, clumsy, mischievous and very furry.

Happy Tuesday!

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Okay, I promise you that I’m not bored. If anything, I had no idea I would be so busy during the typical slow months for a photographer! I’m always very grateful for any business that comes my way, but as it turns out, a lot of the shoots I’ve done lately either a) cannot be promoted for privacy reasons, or b) cannot be promoted until a later time for privacy reasons. I always do my best to respect my clients’ wishes, so for now, I hope you enjoy these personal posts about my life!

So, back to the subject. We all know that I grew up in Hong Kong, which means street food galore! I’ve heard that DFW is starting to accumulate some food trucks, but even those don’t really compare to what I grew up with.

1. Cute Little Eggs
That’s what the Chinese name directly translates to, but it’s only because they look like little eggs. It’s basically a sweet crepe/pancake batter cooked into these egg-shaped molds until nice and sweet and crispy/chewy. Then they stuff them into a thin, brown paper bag and hand them off to you piping hot. A delicious afternoon treat while shopping (no mess).

2. Sponge Cake

After school, we would often go to the local bakery and pick out a goodie. These were ALWAYS my choice – who doesn’t freaking love sponge cake?! And they were always baked in some sort of cup, so I could literally hold it in my hand while I picked at the brown flaky top. Now that I think about it, Hong Kong has excellent bakeries and baked goods. Kinda random.

3. Red Bean Ice Drink

This may not count as street food per se because they’re not traditionally served by a street vendor, but it’s definitely a delicious afternoon treat that you can get almost any restaurant. Red beans on the bottom, some sort of sweet milk & shaved ice on top. Sometimes with an ice cream scoop, so I guess it’s kinda like a float? The red beans balance out the sweetness of the milk, and it’s fantastic on a hot day when you’re taking a break from shopping (in case you hadn’t noticed, shopping is the thing to do in HK).

4. Roasted Chestnuts (on an open fire)

 Pretty much, except that they do it in a large wok. Over an open fire. So they are also called Stir Fry Chestnuts. Piping hot, they are poured into the same thin, brown paper bag that you get the Mini Eggs in, and after they’ve cooled, you peel them and eat the deliciously sweet chestnut. I like that it’s not super popular here, makes it feel kinda exotic. They are especially popular around Christmas.

5. Dragon Beard Candy

Funny name, but delicious. The “beard” resembles cotton candy but is a little more chewy. Typically wrapped around a filling of peanuts and coconut flakes. These are a little harder to find, but there was always a man making them in the mall where I took figure skating lessons. If you can, watch them make it. It’s fascinating.

There are many, many more street food offerings in Hong Kong, but these are the ones that I remember most fondly.

Happy Friday!

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… why I love Aaron Brown.

1. He LOVES pearl snap shirts. It could be a potato sack, but if it has pearl snaps on it, he’ll wear it.

2. He always picks out the girliest outfits for our daughter.

3. He gets really attached to TV shows. I’m not allowed to watch the last episode of Friends because he always gets so angry that it’s over.

4. He knows how to shoot guns. Really well. Probably better than the average guy.

5. I always ask him if it’s weird that his daughter looks completely Asian. And he always says no.

6. He can’t grow a beard or a mustache. His 5 o’ clock shadow usually starts showing up after a week and a half.

7. We’re learning to dream big together.

8. If he’s trying to find something on TV to fall asleep to, it’s almost always a really old Western.

9. He set his alarm for 6:00 am this morning so that he could text his mom before she went into surgery today (everything went well).

10. Lemon desserts are his favorite (and it’s on the menu tonight).

11. He has plenty of man crushes. And he’s not ashamed of them. Can somebody tell me how I can contact Jeremy Renner from The Hurt Locker?

12. Mexican food is his comfort. Thank God cheese quesadillas are quick and easy.

13. When we started dating, he abhored the fact that I wore jeans from Old Navy and Target. So he bought me a pair from the Buckle because he thought they made my butt look better.

14. He and my cat have seriously bonded. He’s really not my cat anymore.

15. He’s an avocado connoisseur.

16. He absolutely hates promoting himself. He would rather his character and his work speak for themselves.

17. He has an incredible prophetic gift & anointing. The stuff he sees and hears in the prophetic realm is crazay.

18. He’s a country boy who wants plenty of land for our kids to run around on.

19. There are always 2 things from his childhood that stand out to me the most: the fact that he made his own tomahawk when he was practically a toddler, and the fact that he burned the backyard down. Twice.

20. He also grew up with 3 younger sisters. That definitely helped him snag a wife.

21. Whenever his snoring keeps me up, he kindly goes into the other room so that I can get some sleep.

22. He was an avid reader as a child. His goal is to collect as many childhood books as he can for our children to read.

23. He cut his hair just for me.

24. He’s always happy to step in whenever I need a break from mommy duties.

25. He’s never too proud to admit when he’s in the wrong.

26. He never expects freebies or good deals from people just because they’re friends. He’s happy to pay what they’re worth.

27. Can I say that he has a really nice tushie again this year? His biceps aren’t bad either.

28. He loves going to the movies. I don’t, so whenever we do go, I have very strict rules: not on the weekend, we have to get there at least 15 minutes early to get a good seat and watch the previews, and I almost always need popcorn. And he happily obliges.

29. He told me on Valentine’s Day that he can’t wait to take Anna Lynn out on a Valentine’s Day lunch date when she’s older. I asked him what if we had another girl. He said he’d take one out to breakfast and the other one out to lunch. I asked what if we end up having 3 girls. He said, “Maybe I’ll just take them all out to lunch then.” Talk about porn for women.

30. I never knew how much he loved hats until he became self-employed. That also explains why he requested several hats for his birthday present.

Happy birthday, babe! I love you!

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