HELLO HELLO!

Greetings from Boise, Idaho…

Never in a million years would I have thought I’d be saying that! lol.

Also never in a million years would I have thought we’d be in a worldwide lockdown fighting corona virus. WTH right?

So here’s a little life update… 

Our plans this year have been completely uprooted, including our life in Los Angeles. Craig and I were going to get married back in May, buy a house …

and then BAMN- CORONA VIRUS! With the snap of a finger, everything flew out the window. (Can someone please reverse the snap???)

Since our lease in LA was ending, we made a quick decision to spend some quality time with family during lockdown. 2 days later, we moved our stuff into storage, packed a few bags, and left for Boise to hang out with his parents during quarantine. We plan on moving back to LA to look for houses once it’s safe to travel again. 

Fast forwarddddd… 

We’ve been in Boise for 4 months now (whoa- felt weird to say that… 4 months?? We’ve been in quarantine for 4 months?? WOW)

Anyway, I’ve been loving every moment here.

I honestly feel like there’s no other time in our lives where we get to work and focus solely on ourselves. Whether that’s reading, writing, working out, cooking, meditating, dancing, or whatever it is when we used to say “I don’t have time for that”. Welp, NOW WE DO. 

When I look back at my food blogging journey, it’s been a pretty wild ride, with lots of failures and successes, going non-stop for the past 6 years. 

Now that work has slowed down and I’ve had time to reflect, I am feeling so grateful about all this down time to focus on building my brand. I’m also most excited to come out of this quarantine a better chef than I ever was!

What kind of food am I cooking?

As you can imagine… there’s not very many Asian restaurants in Boise. I can no longer order pho or pad see ew on speed dial. So in order for me to satisfy my Asian cravings… I have to learn how to make it my damn myself!

In the process of satisfying my own tastebuds, I’ve exposed my in-laws to all my favorite Asian dishes and flavors like fish sauce, oyster sauce and gochujang. When I first arrived, they’ve never even tried Pho (Vietnamese chicken noodle soup!)- now it’s one of my Father-in-law’s favorite dishes. It’s been so fun for me to share my culture (I’m Chinese/Vietnamese) and vice-versa. Joyce (my Mother-in-law) has also been teaching me family recipes that’s been passed down for generations (like her caramel pecan cinnamon rolls) and I can’t wait to share them with you all!

So what have you all been up to during quarantine?? Let’s catch up in the comments!

I know I’ll be cooking away, working out (well actually, now that the wedding isn’t till next year… maybe not? lol sorry Craig =p), I’ll be mostly eating dessert AKA creating quality content for you guys! hah

So come on this new adventure with me in the kitchen, and allow me to re-introduce myself… 

Future Mrs. Cynthia Cole: photographer, professional eater, recipe creator.