Cook Korean! by Robin Ha

Lately our household has been into Korean food. One of my coworkers in Korean and is always giving me tips and recipes. I spotted Cook Korean on someone else's blog or instagram. I'd love to learn to make more Korean food. I've made Kimchi and we have bi bim bop a couple of times a month. We do love Korean food.

I loved how Ha created a character and uses graphics to show you how to make each dish. The colorful pages really draw you in. I wish more cookbooks were drawn this way. I made it more fun learning to cook.

I didn't have time to make anything before I had to take this one back which was a shame. But I saved some recipes and plan to make more Korean food in 2018. Others who shared their thoughts on Cook Korean!: The He Said, She Said Experience, Blogging For Books, and Cooks Without Borders.
This is my seventh read for the Foodies Read Challenge.

2018 Goals

• Hike part of the Pacific Crest Trail. Ever since reading Wild, I've wanted to hike a portion of this trail. I'm not going to do the whole thing, just a couple of miles, preferably a day hike. 

• Learn to knit and crochet. I taught myself how to loom knit this year but I'd like to at least attempt to learn how to knit and crochet.

• Learn to use the sewing machine I bought. I should take it out of the box!

• Get rid of 1000 items out of our house. We have so much clutter and I need to work on disposing more of it. 

• Watch 12 pre-2017 movies. I had this one on my list before and I'm bringing it back. I see a lot of new movies but rarely watch older ones. 

• Get 90,000 steps at least one week a month. I've done it before. I'd like to do it more often.

• Finish cleaning out the garage and move my car inside. I didn't get this one done in 2017. 

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and me that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

The Queen of the Tearling

I've heard of The Queen of The Tearling but I never picked it up. I saw it on some list and thought it looked interesting. 

Always Put In A Recipe and Other Tips for Living

A chance to learn from Iowa's Best Known Homemaker intrigued me. 

What did you get this week? Are you frantically trying to finish challenges like me or resting up before the new year? Either way, share your loot below.

Pretty Good Number One by Matthew Amster-Burton

I must have checked out Pretty Good Number One 4 or 5 times from the library. The story sounded interesting to me. A Seattle family goes to live in Tokyo for a month, mostly to eat. Matthew and his daughter, Iris, are Japanese food fanatics. From yakitori to  Chankonabe to okomiyaki., they went to Japan to try it all. Seattle has decent Japanese community and several Japanese restaurants. Sushi is the most common, but Ramen and, of course Teriyaki, are easy to find. I knew one yakitori joint that diversified their menu and therefore limiting the yakitori available. Pretty Good Number One just pushed Tokyo to the top of my travel wish list.
Amster-Burton's style is conversational. I felt like he was talking to me. And because he lives in Seattle, he made comparisons to things I know. I enjoyed his stories. I learned a lot about Japanese food which surprised me since I already know a lot. Now, back to looking up fares to Tokyo.
Others who shared their thoughts on Pretty Good Number One: Readers Lane, La Fuji Mama, and The adventures of Furochan.
This was my sixth read for the Foodies Read.

2017 Goals Update

Prepare to do something physically challenging in 2018. I found hiking and made it work for me. I'm trying to find more time to hike. I'm going to hike part of the Pacific Crest Trail so look for updates on how that's going in 2018.

Be able to park my car in the garage by December 31, 2017.  Didn't happen. It's on my goal list for 2018. But I feel like I changed my relationship with stuff. I read How to Manage Your Home without Losing Your Sanity by Dana White this year. She doesn't have a lot of complicated steps. Just do you need it and where are you going to keep it. She also advocates looking for ways to not bring things into your home. Decluttering does not have to be hard.

Add yoga back into my life at least once a week. I need more hours in the day to go to a yoga class. I have added a yoga app to my phone so hopefully I can squeeze some in. 

One hour a day without technology (no phone, no computer, no tv). I loved this goal. I enjoy the time I spend outside with Houdini. Not on my phone, just looking at nature. So calming.

Add more art into my life. I liked this goal too. I found that art is everywhere. Sometimes you just have a little harder.

Get back to meal planning. I love my instant pot. I cook at home a lot more. 


December: Make 4 meatless meals. Fail. So hard to for me to skip the meat. 

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and me that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

Junk

Since trying to reduce my consumption or just be more thoughtful about it, I enjoy reading about why we have so much.

Let's Pretend We Never Met

While searching for another book, I stumbled on this one. Looked cute.

What did you get this week? Claire's got the linky this week.

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and me that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

Skating With The Statue of Liberty

After a friend recommended All of A Kind Family, I went down a rabbit hole of similar books. Like this one.

Bird of Paradise

This one looked interesting.

What did you get this week?  Share your loot below.

November Goal Update

Prepare to do something physically challenging in 2018. Still feeling lazy and incredibly busy. 

Be able to park my car in the garage by December 31, 2017. Feeling like this might not happen this year. I need to get rid of stuff in the house before I can finish the garage.

Add yoga back into my life at least once a week. I tried to take a class but with life so busy I could't find one at a convenient time. 

One hour a day without technology (no phone, no computer, no tv). Still doing good on this one. 

Add more art into my life. Art is everywhere. I love looking for it.

Get back to meal planning. I love my instant pot. I cook at home a lot more. 

November: Get 2 massages. Fail.

December: Make 4 meatless meals.

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and me that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

Bookmarked

I snagged this one off the shelf at the library. 

Lilac Girls

Reloot. I really do want to read this one.

Pretend We Are Lovely

Honestly the cover and the title caught my eye.

What did you get this week? Claire's got the linky this week.

November Book Tally

Rebel Rising by Beth Revis
The Gender Game by Bella Forrest
Deadpool: The World's Greatest by Gerry Duggan
How To Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind by Dana K White
Sara Moulton's Home Cooking 101 by Sara Moulton
Rettie and the Ragamuffin Parade by Trinka Hakes Noble
All of A Kind Family by Sydney Taylor
The Encyclopedia of Early Earth by Isabel Greenberg

I made more of an effort to read. I'm going to try to get to a 100 so I see a lot of short books in December.

Book Stats:

Foodies Read: 1 (Sara Moulton Home Cooking) YTD: 6

What's In A Name: 1 (Rebel Rising) YTD: 2

Read Harder: 0 (None This month) YTD: 5

Total: 79