Mango Pies, I mean Tarts

A few days ago, I finally got my copy of "The Adobo Road", a newly published cookbook by Filipino American foodblogger Marvin Gapultos (of Burnt Lumpia fame). I was so excited leafing through the pages and thought I would try out a few of his recipes for Mother's Day. My brother and sister thought we should do a potluck for our mom so she wouldn't have to cook. I had my eyes set on a main dish and a dessert involving mangoes...

This case of sweet Manila Mangoes (ironically grown in Mexico, although they did come over FROM the Philippines many years ago due to the Manila Acapulco Galleon Trade. This box was about $10 at Seafood City and well worth it...

I wanted to try a new dessert recipe, but...

Mother's Day Lunch: K-Pasta 3x

When we like something, we go back...

I'm pretty sure that K-Pasta is on our short list for our "rotation"...

Breaking tradition this year, after having gone to Que Huong two years in a row for Mother's Day, I wanted something different and closer to home...

Mother's Day 2013

This will be a quick post for now...

That's right! Word!

This morning, TC and Bert surprised me with a few gifts (even after I told them NOT to get me anything)...

Groovy Records

Our next stop was a record store we both haven't been to...

But before we get to that, a few more scenes from movies involving record stores!

Even though I really hated "500 Days of Summer", the flick did have a record store scene...

in which they bag on Ringo Starr! Poor Ringo doesn't get any respect...

Iona using her staple gun at Trax in "Pretty in Pink":

And a more "recent" movie (if you call 1995 recent), "Empire Records"...

which I didn't really like, but it did feature a very young Liv Tyler (she has her father's lips), along with Renee Zellweger, and the song "Free" by the Martinis (featuring ex Pixies guitarist Joey Santiago). I thought the premise was okay (small independent music store tries to fight off its impending conversion to a chain music store) but the acting really sucked!

The mid-90's were a dismal time in music, in my opinion.  Says the chick who's stuck in the 80's (and 70's and mid to late 60's!)!

We were both curious about this store which was a few steps away from The Flame (just around the corner from Park and University)...

Return to the Spruce St.Suspension Bridge

After our lunch at Project Pie, I thought it would be fun to take the three girls here since we were in the area:

Looks like someone graffitied this since the last time we visited back in the Fall...such a shame that people feel the need to vandalize public property...

Next stop - The San Diego Record Show

Oh fk yeah man, I FOUND IT!!!!

My favorite clip from "High Fidelity" starring Jack Black as Barry, a snarky record store clerk at Championship Vinyl...

"Buh-bye...."

DAMN, I WISH I HAD THAT JOB!!! Ha ha ha, but of course, If I actually said everything that I was really thinking in my real job, I'd be fired. Seems like many of the genteel niceties and social mores are thrown out the door when you are a record store employee...It's like a free pass to be an asshole!

After our sugary breakfast of champions at the Donut Bar, we headed out to the outer edge of Hillcrest for a once a year extravaganza of vinyl...

Le Cochon Dingue

A view of the glorious Chateau Frontenanc on the edge of old Quebec was quite majestic...

The relatively short ferry ride from the picturesque town of Levis across the river took only ten minutes...

Random stuff from the past few months

Another compendium of odds and ends from the past couple of months...

It took me about a year to finish the first damn book. I think I'm doing better with the second one, "Clash of Kings". Just a few more chapter to go then I can start on the third book and be caught up with the seasons for HBO's "Game of Thrones"!

I must confess, I "cheated" and read ahead on certain chapters in Book 3. Let's put it this way...for Season 3 and Book 3, Ygritte is TOTALLY wrong when she says, "You know nothing Jon Snow...."!

Record Store Day Crawl - Return to Donut Bar

Record Store Day was two weekends ago and it's high time I finally posted on my adventure that day....


(Record Store Day 2013 image courtesy of www.recordstoreday.com)

The Record Store Day Crawl (both records AND food) was shared with fellow music lover (she's hard core!) and fashion blogger, Cy of any2ndnow.

I couldn't help but think of a couple of movies that had scenes set in a record store. The first one was from the John Hughe's classic "Pretty in Pink" (released in 1986 and the first "date" movie for me and Bert while we were wee young 'uns back in high school). The movie featured a pre-"Designing Women" Annie Potts as Iona, the fashionably chameleonesque owner of TRAX, a new wave record store, frequented by Andy (Molly Ringwald) and Duckie (her best guy friend who "likes her" but whom I felt was obviously gay but still in the closet).

One of the funniest scenes involving a record store:

Even though I am not a fan of  Otis Redding's, "Try a Little Tenderness", the Duckman did killeth the song whilst prancing about in his super cool creeper shoes and thrift store garb!

Non-music lovers right about now have probably clicked the "read more" button because the post title refers to "donuts" and were either not interested in hearing about records (SACRILEGE!), Jack Black, Duckie's sartorial choices and my nostalgic interest in vinyl, or were very impatient to read about some damn donuts.  Ha ha. But moving right along...

The Hot Seat...literally!

TC is so used to my wierd requests...Sometime last week while on the freeway, I spotted this truck with  a rather curious image from afar...

Me to TC: "Hurry, get the camera from my bag and take a picture of THAT please!!!!"...

((Sigh))...."Okay....mom", fumble, grumble, snap snap....

I mean, this had to be seen to be believed...

The merry merry month of May

April came and went by so quickly...I was surprised to find that there is a song about May 1st:

Wow, so THAT'S what Barry Gibb looks like without his beard and leonine hair! It was wierd seeing the Bee Gees wearing tweed instead of white leisure suits unbuttoned all the way down to their belly button and adorned by gold medallions....

There was another song about the fifth month as well...