Happy End of June!

happy end of June! We're officially kickin into the second half of 2013. Let's end the first half of 2013 with this amazing bear. You will definitely laugh. Any great plans?

xo,
Rima

Chimmy's Corner

Chimichanga is acting up lately. One day he'll eat like a maniac, another day he will fast. And then fart. Stinky.

Anyways, there are 2 animal related videos I want to share because it is good.

An update with my upcoming Bali trip, my friend, Helga, and I already got 50 dog bowls and 50 collars to donate to BAWA Bali. Super excited. We will eventually buy the dog foods locally once we're in Bali. We are still in need of used towels and blankets, so for anyone who are interested in helping, please let me know :)

doggy kisses,
Rima & Chimmy

Love is Love

source

Love doesn't care what gender you are, what race you are, what sexuality you are, color of your eyes, what car you drive, what financial state you're in, what your nail polish color is... (you get the point)...

Love is just LOVE.

source

I have several people close to me in my life that are gay and lesbians. They are human. They have feelings. They have the right to live and to be treated equal. They are sharing the same air that you breathe. They can be your doctor in the clinic. They can be your nurse in the hospital. They can be your bus driver. They can be your daily Starbucks guy. They can be your father, mother, sister, brother, cousin, uncle, aunty, grandma, grandpa, son or daughter.

They.are.human.beings.that.have.rights.

Today was a good day for Love.

moonbeams,
Rima

Happy World Vitiligo Day!

I suffer from vitiligo. Ya know, those painless, itch-less white patches on your skin. I've had it since 5th grade.

Apparently today, June 25, is World Vitiligo Day. As a Vit girl, I'm showing the world what I have.

A lot of people are not aware of this skin condition. I even had medical doctors and nurses asked me if I had a burn. Yes, these are medically trained people. In the beginning I was like, "WTH" but then I thought it's my time to educate them. I'll be like, "Ya know that Michael Jackson skin disease..."

Mine is mostly on my chest, front & back of neck, my arms and on my face. I do cover-up with Dermablend. I've been using them for over 10 years. Seriously, if you need a cover-up, let's say for Tattoo, use Dermablend.

I'm not ashamed to be born with this. It's part of me. On instagram, I've seen a lot of beautiful people with vitiligo. Yes, maybe like 10 years ago, I was pretty ashamed and inferior of it. I fear that no one will love me for the way I look. Thank God I grew out of that fear and I have a Pillow to cuddle with (ok on weekends).

One day I will walk out of my house without cover up. Esp on a lazy day. hohoho.

Happy Vitiligo Day!

moonbeams,
Rima

Another order :)

Super stoked. I did a Madeleine order over the weekend! It was tiring but it was all worth it! I love baking!

I tweeted this yesterday: 

Currently: full time #nurse, part time #baker. Time to reverse this status... and add part time traveler. — Rima Nat Sag (@natziepatzie) June 23, 2013

This needs to happen soon. Planning starts after vacation :)

xo,
Rima

Super Moon 2013

I'm a moon freak. I thank Sailor Moon for that. I even have a Crescent Moon tattoo.

Seriously, it's not a banana.

Anyways, I almost forgot that this weekend was Super Moon weekend, so little ol Rima got all giddy when she saw how bright the moon was on Saturday night.

It was bright yo. So in celebration of Super Moon (I'm making an excuse), the Pillow and I had wings. 

It's never a bad idea to celebrate an occasion with wings. Who doesn't love sticky, garlicky, saucy fingers lips to smooch on. And I found a new favorite drink, Red Stag & Coke. It's like Cherry Coke, with booze. Can't say no to that!!!

Then again, I craved for the moon. So today, I drove around town to witness Super Moon rising up in her glory. So went to my old college, Chaffey College, since it's up in the foothills of Cucamonga Peak.  Pillow had to head back to OC, so I took my furry boyfriend along with me. He was excited. He kept on farting.

Here I give you a mini-tour of Chaffey College.

Chaffey College is full of bunnies. So as I was leaving, a little bunny decided to pop up and show who's boss.

We had a very long staring contest. Chimmy won.

Then I drove around again waiting for Le Lune to show up, I ended up at Victoria Gardens. There... the Super Moon finally show its beautiful face.

Even Chimmy was happy. He, of course, expresses it by farting. It was a long ass drive home.

I was really happy watching it rise. Woo.

Happy Super Moon!

Moonbeams & Bunny Kisses (ZOMG WHAT A COINCIDENCE!),

Rima

I am Somebody

I Am Somebody 

I Am Somebody 

I May Be Poor 

But I Am Somebody

I May Be Young 

But I Am Somebody

I May Be On Welfare 

But I Am Somebody

I May Be Small 

But I Am Somebody

I May Make A Mistake 

But I Am Somebody

My Clothes Are Different  

My Face Is Different 

My Hair Is Different  

But I Am Somebody 

I Am Black Brown White

I Speak A Different Language 

But I Must Be Respected

Protected 

Never Rejected

I Am God's Child

I Am Somebody

God created us equal. No matter what race, sexuality, gender, social & financial status you have, He don't care. He created you for a reason. You have a purpose in life. He loves you no matter what.

Stop complaining and make a difference. (this goes to me as well)

moonbeams,
Rima

Chocolate and Beer

Chocolate and Beer. I love both.

Chocolate Beer? I love that too.

I'm not a big fan of dark beer. Guinness? Blech. Good for baking. When my demanding Doctor at work, Dr. Sweet Tooth, asked me when will I bake again, I told him I'll make something with Chocolate Stout. Homeboy was happy.

So little ol' alcoholic me skipped her way into Total Wine & More. If you don't know what Total Wine is, it's like BevMo, but better (in my opinion). Their selections of imported beer, amazeballs. I believe if you're a Winer, you would love it too.

It's like Toys R Us... for adults. I was originally there for a co-worker who wanted me to pick up some Limited Edition Beer and I knew that I was gonna pick up some Chocolate Stout. So I came up with those two up there... Samuel Smith's Organic Chocolate Stout and St. Peter's Cream Stout. Just reading the packaging I was drooling already. And of course I stacked up on some Lambics (I'm a huge Lambic Frambroise beer fan!)

After wasting 1 hour browsing, I bumped in to this bottle of awesomeness...

Oh my oh my oh my. I had my first taste of Absinthe at the Edison in Los Angeles. It was delicious. Even the servers were dressed as Green Fairies. This little bottle cost $9.99 (!!!), 55% Alcohol content, 110 Proof. I was like, "OH HAY". But, I did not buy. I will buy it one day. I want to learn how to drink it properly (you know, sugar cubez and all) [a lil 411: Absinthe was given to soldiers as a malaria treatment in the 1840s. As a nurse, I sorta approve. jk]

Anyways, after a long ass day at work, I still had the energy courage to bake. So I made Chocolate Stout Cupcakes with the recipe from Smitten Kitchen. The difference was the beer of choice (I used St. Peter's Creamy Stout) and the baking time (18 - 19 minutes per muffin pan). 

Gosh, the smell was great. Beer and butter? Yum. The beer alone was delicious. Like I said, I'm not a big fan of dark beer, but this one was yummy. You taste the hint of chocolate and espresso. Hmmm... The bitterness was actually tolerable. 

Of course, I ended up baking buzzed.

Instead of using the ganache recipe, I used the Raspberry frosting that I learned from a recent baking class I took at Sur La Table. Being a rebel, I didn't follow as directed and the frosting came out soupy. Yet it tasted sooo good. Of course I didn't want it to go to waste.

Being a nurse, I inject people. Being a baker, I injected the frosting in to the cupcakes. Similar yet different. Fun, though.

See how soupy the frosting is? I ate it though. Screw my diet.

So next project would probably be Chocolate Stout Brownies. Dr. Sweet Tooth will probably be all giddy. 

xo,
Rima

Jumping Pillow

Have you ever seen a Pillow jumping?

Pillow = Robert

He just loves to jump.

xo,
Rima

She loves Paris, He loves Barcelona (part 8)

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Mini Series: 1, 2, 3

Today I share you my trip to the Versailles Palace (amazing) and a glimpse of Montmarte, including the infamous Moulin Rouge, Cafe des 2 Moulins (made famous by my favorite movie, Amelie) and the amazing Sacre Cœur. Enjoy :)

But let me start with this. Yes, Parisian McDonald's have Macarons. FREAKIN MACARONS. And they were GOOD.

The Palace is amazing. Too bad we didn't go to the other parts of the Palace. Maybe next time.

Of course I went nerdy when I walked in to the Cafe. I was star-strucked just sitting inside, eating my salad. The Pillow was like, "what's the fuss about?" until he walked in to the bathroom and saw the homage the cafe made for the movie. Then I was like, "durrrr... don't mess with mah movie"...

Sacre Cœer was a walking distance. It's such a artsy and beautiful part of Paris. Walking up hill to it was a pain in the ass. But once you're up there, you get an amazing view of Paris...

A bientôt, 

Rima