Tag Archives: 2016

Birthday Celebration

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For baby R’s 1st birthday party, Momma and Papa bear threw an epic birthday bash!

Check out all of the fabulous little Pinterest and Etsy details! So many details! Everywhere you looked! Eek! Even fun colorful camping themed food! Too cute!

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There were tons of babies just bobbling all around running or scooting from room to room. We all had so much fun celebrating this little baby bear and her special day!

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Thank you for inviting us! Wishing you a very happy birthday sweet baby R!!

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Friends giving 2016

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This year as I sat down amongst eleven dear friends at our Friendsgiving table and I couldn’t help but think about the saying, “If you have more than you need, build a longer table, not a higher fence.” It’s so simplistic, yet holds such truth and so much beauty, especially during this holiday season.

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When we all sat down together to dig into our delicious spread, we all went around the table and shared what we were thankful for. It was one of the best memories that will stay with us when we think back on this very dinner. Listening to each person express how truly thankful they were for friends like us, like those around the table, made anything else going on just melt away.

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The American Thanksgiving of course is not celebrated here in Korea, but that doesn’t stop us from pillaging our local vegetable market for local goods to make it happen. Over the years we’ve learned the hard way that a big ol’ bird simply doesn’t fit in our tiny “easy bake oven”, so we improvised and purchase an already made Turkey (a deep-fried one at that!) plus we sous-vide extra turkey breast and baked a ham in our crockpot. To make all the sides work, we borrowed another small oven, giving us a total of three ovens to work with. Talk about handling the heat in the kitchen… whew! SO.MUCH.FOOD. In the end everything worked out perfectly! We were pleased with all of the meats being moist and flavorful, and it was by far quicker to purchase and sous vide! (Check out that carrot cake too! A friend of our’s had it made with little bumblebee on it! Swoon!!)

Speaking of turkey…. THIS little turkey had a teeny bit of her first Thanksgiving turkey too!

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As always….we are very thankful for all of you too… for those that have stuck by us, reading, commenting, viewing our photos and virtually traveled all around the world with us. Thank you friends! Happy Thanksgiving from Korea!!

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Korean Cooking Lesson

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Over the weekend I was invited to partake in a Korean cooking lesson where we made marinated Samgyeopsal 양념 삼겹살, Glass Noodles 잡 채 and Kimchi, all from scratch! We were taught by a true professional, teacher Min’s mother! (You guys, this woman was so patient and sweet with all of us and didn’t speak a lick of English).

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It was such a wonderful morning unplugging with some new friends and just getting to ignore all of the outside political BS that continues to plague everywhere we look and listen.

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The lesson included note pages with a list of ingredients (in Korean and English language) for each of the dishes we prepared, hands on time, lots of questions and chatting time, as well as sitting down and enjoying the delicious dishes we prepared. Oh and I almost forgot… the leftovers! We each took home three HUGE containers of food to share with our families! SCORE! Mr. B was pretty pleased to reap the benefits from the cooking lesson.

Here are just a few more favorite snapshots from the class. Hope you enjoy!

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If you are interested in taking a cooking lesson, or learning to speak the Korean language please check out and contact Dongducheon (DDC) Workshops.

Facebook Link: HERE
Phone: 010-3351-1403
Teachers: Dawn Adams and Min Kim

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Our Late Octoberfest Celebration

Over the weekend we celebrated Octoberfest with some friends…yes, yes.. a tab bit late…but eh whatever. We raise our “steins” to our favorite German flavors like sausage, pretzels, warm German potato salad, German Beer Cheese, rotkohl, apfelkuchen and yes, beer. Prost!

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Every Day

I watch her all day and I have the same thoughts over and over… PLEASE God let me always remember this moment, this little grin, this teeny face, this sweet snuggle, this precious giggle, this monster coo… I know I have to savor each of these moments endlessly, we’ve already hit the 6 months mark and she’s growing so very quickly into a little lady, these photos only prove my point more so.

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Special visit

The past few days have been a busy blur of copious amounts of good food and buzzing all around Korea like we were tourist again. This time the only difference was, we had bumblebee and Kelsey along for the ride!

Yes, Kelsey, this young woman has more depth, kindness, loyalty, boldness, grace, honesty and wisdom than I ever knew could exist in a person! Oh! And she’s family to boot!! Cousin Kelsey, you my dear are nothing short of amazing and we are SO happy you chose to come visit us again before starting your new exciting adventure on the East coast! We cannot wait to watch you go on to do big things!

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Newest Supper Club Member

Perhaps the youngest as well….

While she isn’t eating foie gras just yet, she has been mashing her way through all sorts of veggies and fruits these past few weeks like a champ! Next stop…sushi and kimchi!

(Kidding… Kidding…we’ve got at least a few more weeks before that 😉

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Belated Birthday Post

I read in an article recently that every woman’s love language is cheese, carbs and chocolate. While I only partially agree with that statement, I am absolutely 100% convinced this is why the invention of Spanx skyrocketed!

We celebrated my birthday the other week and boy did we indulge in what they claim is every woman’s love language! There was A LOT of cheese, carbs and yes even, gasp, chocolate!

I woke up Monday morning, after an entire weekend of celebration, was eating breakfast and realized after all the celebrating we did, we didn’t light any candles and I didn’t make my birthday wish. I texted Mr. B and he replied, “QUICK! It’s still your birthday in the states light a candle and make your wish!”.

It’s true! Can you believe I almost forgot to blow out candles and make a wish on my birthday?

I stood in our kitchen hummed happy birthday tune to myself and made my wish JUST in time. Whew! Talk about a close call… Ha-ha! Not to mention, it gave me an excuse to eat a bite of the banana cake I baked for my birthday. Cake at breakfast is always a win in my book!

To me it wasn’t just about making a birthday wish on my birthday, it was about taking that moment to appreciate my life, all the blessings, the wonderfulness and everything that made this past year so special.

The days leading up to my birthday, I couldn’t help but reflect back on the past year of changes in my/our lives. Changes for better, changes for worse. From family to friends, loss, fears and sadness to happiness, excitement and new beginnings. Remembering that life is very sacred, this world we live in is so fragile and the kindness that used to bloom from everywhere is becoming more and more scarce the older I get.

Mr. B and bumblebee spoiled me with so much love, wonderful gifts, quality time together and delicious treats (traditional birthday breakfast complete with morning mimosa, sushi bento box lunch, home cooked duck breast, my favorite carrot cake from My happy place)! Dear friends made it even more special by throwing a little themed party of around the world. So. Much. Fun!

How do you celebrate birthdays?  Do you have birthday traditions, or do you strive for something unique each year?

Backpackbees

First Father’s Day

I think by now you realize that our family love language is cooking and baking homemade meals to share and enjoy with one another, our friends and family. Im also certain, just as you suspected, Father’s day wasn’t any exception to that statement either. Yes, Bumblebee and I decided to show our love and admiration for Mr. B and his first Father’s day through his stomach. We whipped up some extra special homemade Belgium waffles, a side of fresh fruit and a good ol’ cuppa joe.

I have to say… nothing makes me smitten more with this man than seeing how much he loves our daughter! I love watching the two of them together. It’s the one of the sweetest thing ever, haha when she isn’t HANGRY, to see a new dad with his daughter. My love cannot possibly get any deeper than that.

Here is wishing a happy Father’s Day to all the dad’s out there! Our dad’s are an ocean away, so we could only call to tell them just how much we love and miss them over the phone. Boy do we miss them!

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