life.

In the midst of deep sorrow, I see your light is breaking through. -Kari Jobe, I am Not alone

In the midst of chaos on the East coast, devastation on the other side of the world, sickness, death, and a lot of darkness in recent days...i'm reminded that we served a God of light, of love, of redemption, and mercy....and we serve a God who is the savior of all sin and darkness. His light is breaking through the rubble...and life is beautiful because of Him.

Personally, I'm deeply saddened by all this mess in the world...but the paradox is there is so much goodness around us still. So much to be thankful for. I'm holding on to these moments and thanking the Lord for his work in all of creation. Life is not perfect, this world is clearly so full of sin...but the good news is that we serve the maker of all eternity. For that I am thankful and for that I find peace.

devastation in Nepal.

7.8 magnitude earthquake hit not far outside the capital, Kathmandu. With the death toll 2,500 and rising

Many of my friend from APU have close ties to the country of Nepal after countless trips there on missions teams and other project work. Hearing the news yesterday was truly devastating and its hard to know what to do in these situations...thousands of miles away in the safety of our homes in CA. Its a paradox i'll never understand.

Prayers for this country, these people, and the road ahead. May the deep wounds of this nation be healed with the power and strength of our the Lord Jesus Christ.

JAPAN IS SO COOL. *episode 2*

-MUJI...aka Japanese retail store (where everything is simple and perfect) just styled a Narita airport terminal. Turns our there are two Muji's in LA! I visited the Santa Monica one recently and felt like I was transported back to Japan for a second as I looked at those perfectly lined shelves with tiny dishware and household items. Check out Hypebeast's article on Narita's airport HERE.

-I'm a sucker for TED talks. Most of the time i'm searching youtube for any new/interesting talks and this one was just posted recently about the architecture of a Tokyo kindergarten. How cool would it be to send your kids here!? The school fits 500 kids and most of them track over 4000 meters a day just by the structure of the place. Pretty brilliant to see the power architecture can have in changing the future generations. Takaharu Tezuka, the architect -website HERE

JAPAN IS SO COOL.

GRACIAS MADRE

 Stac is due with her second bebe this June...so we celebrated with a lunch at GRACIAS MADRE, a vegan Mexican restaurant in West Hollywood. I was making jokes before going like, "should I bring some cheese in my purse to sprinkle on the food" or..."where are we gunna eat after to really fill our stomachs.." haha but after I ordered those sweet potato flautas I quickly shut my mouth and realized the delicious possibilities vegan mexican food has to offer! From then on all I kept saying is, "man I have to come back here...for these flautas.." *seriously, so good*

On top of that, GRACIAS MADRES has the most amazing decor and the coolest vibe. Not surprising to see some famous people hanging out...a few tables over from us Spiderman (the OG, Tobey Macguire) was chillen with his family.

It was really a perfect brunch with all the sistas and I can't wait to meet Mad baby #2!

Stac lookin so good with that baby belly and little noodle with her crooked bangs

If Anthropology had a restaurant...

The cutest party favors made by Good Morning Cactus!

amazing..right!?

If lemon drops were made into liquid form it would taste like this.

Karin's trendy drink that tasted exactly like I imagine old grandpa sweater to taste like. haha

Stac's horchata!

Vegan scone with coconut cream and jam...so good!

Komae and Mad sisters.

POTATOES!

my flautas that i'm still dreaming about

fav pic of my sis and I. What a romantic couple shot!

ITS SO BEAUTIFUL...RIGHT?!? And Stac looks so good pregnant..right!??

*after writing this post I realized how perfect the restaurant name was...GRACIAS MADRE for a baby shower?! haha...THANK YOU MOTHER!

NOM NOMZZ.

fact: We're spoiled with good food in Torrance.

 

Miso Chicken ramen from Marukai. I'm not even sure what the name of the place was, but its right inside the big Marukai. The broth looks oily in the pic but it actually didn't taste that way. Us Komaes are corn people so that was an added bonus, and the noodles were firmer than those at Hakata which was good! *am I a food critic now or something? lol*

KANSHAAAAA. Russ has been talking nonstop about Kansha Creamery ever since he went a few weeks ago and I finally got to try it. *Go on a Tuesday, discount prices!* The scoop on the right is Yellow Brick Road which has like cornbread pieces and some amazing brittle?? Yellow Brick Road...to heaven. SO GOOD.