Lemon Lavender Sugar Cookies

Posted on by tainambrown

Before driving across the country from Atlanta to Los Angeles last summer, Melo and I took a visit to the Dekalb Farmer’s Market to stock up on spices and herbs that would otherwise be too expensive to purchase in California due to the sunshine tax. One of the herbs we purchased was lavender.

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Shortly after arriving in Los Angeles I experimented with the lavender: putting it in french toast, tea, and cookies. Oh. My. The cookies. Definitely the best lavender experiment to date. Continue reading Lemon Lavender Sugar Cookies

Remembering King, Jr.

Posted on by tainambrown

For my birthday in 2014, I was still living in Atlanta. Melo flew in and we visited the newly opened National Center for Civil and Human Rights. We were excited to see how the center had decided to curate the era of the civil rights struggle as well as human rights issues from around the world. One of my human rights law professors at Agnes had also helped train the staff at the museum.

We got there late in the afternoon not realizing that the center closed at 5pm instead of 6pm, so we only had about an hour and a half to take a look around. Continue reading Remembering King, Jr.

Flashback Friday: Beer Belly

Posted on by tainambrown

One of the graduate students in Melo’s program first mentioned Beer Belly to her last summer. When my mom and her husband came for a visit in October and she mentioned it to us after having seen it on an episode of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, we decided we needed to try it out sometime in the near future. Continue reading Flashback Friday: Beer Belly

Seattle Japanese Garden

Posted on by tainambrown

While we were in Seattle last November, I had some time to chill by myself. Melo was at the ABRCMS conference all day, so I planned an outing to explore what Seattle had to offer me. I had brunch, afternoon coffee, and even dinner by myself (more on those later). But the highlight was definitely getting to spend some time at the Seattle Japanese Garden that’s part of the Washington Park Arboretum.

The garden as an idea was sparked in 1909. There was a Japanese pavilion at the Alaska Yukon Exhibition that year and it generated interest in the public for such a space. However, due to the ensuing World Wars and the racism and xenophobia that they provoked, the idea for the garden wasn’t actualized until 50 years later in 1959.

Admission is $6, however, there is a $2 discount for students, young children, seniors, and the disabled. There are also tours at 12:30pm during the week and at 2pm on the weekends. They also have events such as garden parties, moon viewing festivals, and a maple viewing festival in the fall.

 

Pho Sho

Posted on by tainambrown

Every so often, when the weather is perfectly chilly in the apartment, Melo gets a little sick. And every time that happens, the only cure and comfort is pho.

Garnish plates Continue reading Pho Sho