y u n a i s h *

About a month ago, I wrote a post on a weekend trip Hyeon and I took to Chattanooga, Tennessee.  When I first wrote the piece, I figured that I should divide my post into two parts – because there were too many things to discuss.  So I titled the first post as “A True Southern Getaway: Part Une.”  Yet, I never really wrote the second part.. until today.

After checking into our gorgeous room at the Mayor’s Mansion Inn, Hyeon and I headed out to Rock City Gardens.  For those of you who are not familiar with Rock City, it is a 60 – 90 minute walking trail on Lookout Moutain in Georgia.  But it’s not just a walking trail; it’s almost like a rock formation exhibition!  I don’t consider myself as an outdoorsy type, but I really had a great time here – as evidenced by 100+ pictures in my camera.

After that, we debated where we should go for dinner.  Ultimately, we asked our innkeeper for recommendations and chose to dine at Back Inn Café.  The service was wonderful, the food was delicious, and the atmosphere was stunning.  However, Hyeon and I encountered a questionable situation.  I ordered Shrimp Flatbread with Bacon, Tomatoes, Basil Pesto, and Mozzarella as the appetizer and I got this:

I don’t know, but isn’t that more like a pizza?  My understanding of flatbread was that it had to be.. well, flat.  (You can tell that Hyeon and I had a great laugh about the situation.)  Flatbread, pizza, or whatever it may be, it was still delicious.

Today marks the Day 10 of Hyeon’s 30 Day Vegetarian Challenge.  So far, he has been very dedicated to the plan – eating fresh vegetables and fruits daily and absolutely no meat!  Two days ago, Hyeon said something that I never thought I would hear from him: “Yuna, can we have Greek salad for dinner tonight?  I’m really craving it.”  Okay, come again?  Let me remind you, my Greek salad is a simple lettuce salad with Greek-inspired toppings (Think tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, feta cheese, and chickpeas).  But it isn’t dripping with dressing or olive oil – in fact, I don’t use any dressing/oil in any of my salads.  With that said, Hyeon craving the salad means that he’s craving vegetables.  Oh.  My.  God.  I think I just died and went to heaven!  Anyways, that moment was a milestone for me – so surreal that it was almost magical.

Although this wasn’t part of our deal, I’ve been cooking a lot more vegan dishes for Hyeon than I originally planned.  By a lot, I mean everyday.  The picture above was our delicious dinner, Baked BBQ Tofu from the wonderful cookbook, Veganomicon.  I’ve tried numerous recipes from Veganomicon- Spicy Tempeh Nori Rolls, Silken Mayo Dressing, and Penne Vodka to name a few - and this cookbook never fails to surprise and satisfy our taste palettes.  Each time we try a recipe, we are constantly amazed at how amazing it tastes; in my opinion, these dishes taste infinitely better (and healthier) than dishes that use dairy, eggs, or meat.  Every night, before I go to sleep, I skim through the cookbook, anxiously looking for a recipe to cook the next day.  Sound a bit obsessive?  I know, but I just can’t help it.  I love seeing Hyeon developing so much respect for vegetarian diet and the health benefits that comes with it.

From now on, I will try to take pictures of all the food he eats and post them on Flickr.  I’ve been meaning to, except Hyeon gets really excited and starts digging into his food as soon as it’s served.  In fact, I had to take the above picture with Hyeon, breathing down my neck and constantly reminding me that he’s starving.  So if I don’t, please understand ;)

Truth be told, I have always been very health-conscious.  I was a vegetarian throughout high school, I am a big supporter of the sustainable living movement, I stay away from processed food at all cost, I refuse to shop anywhere else than Whole Foods Market, and I try to buy produce that is organic, local, and seasonal.  So imagine my shock when I first met Hyeon, whose daily diet composed of cheeseburger, pizza, hot dogs, and some more cheeseburger.  Oh yeah, and throw in some milk chocolates and numerous cans of soda in there too.  If this doesn’t sound severe, then how about this?  Hyeon used to take out the lettuce and tomatoes that were in his cheeseburgers.  But occasionally, he would actually eat them and think, “Wow, that was a really healthy meal!”  In summation, yeah, it was bad.  Really bad.

Well, after being together for nearly three years, I am happy to say that Hyeon is a changed man: He consumes the recommended amount of fresh vegetables and fruits daily and he considers cheeseburger as an indulgent meal that should not be eaten every day.  Yes, I am extremely proud of him, but changing one’s eating habit did not happen overnight nor was it an easy task.  I had to first educate him on what constitutes a healthy eating (and why it’s not okay to eat cheeseburger three times a day).  After we passed that point, I had to learn and create numerous recipes that had to pass two tests: Hyeon’s taste palate and my health-consciousness.  One way or another, we successfully reached our goal.

I don’t know about you, but I think life without goals is extremely boring and tedious.  So what did I do?  I made a new goal – the one that is improved and harder to achieve.  That’s right, ladies and gentlemen: Hyeon’s going on a 30 day vegetarian challenge!  Originally, I wanted to do a vegan diet challenge, but Hyeon felt he wasn’t ready for that one.  Nonetheless, starting today, he will not consume any red meat, poultry, and seafood for the entire month of June.  So technically, it should be called “Hyeon’s 30 Day Lacto-ovo vegetarian challenge” but that name just doesn’t seem to have a catchy ring to it – in fact, it sounds more like a organic chemistry textbook to me.  So I decided to simply call it, “Hyeon’s 30 Day vegetarian challenge.”

So far, Hyeon’s been very faithful to his plan and is very excited about it.  He ate Penne Vodka from Veganomicon for lunch today and he was pleasantly surprised with how delicious vegan dishes can be.  Then we went to Whole Foods Market and bought twice as much groceries as we usually do.  But because we didn’t buy any of his New York strip and boneless rib-eye steaks, the price for the entire grocery was much lower than the usual.  So pleasant surprises all day long!

I’ll keep you posted.  But in the meantime, wish Hyeon luck and send positive energies!

Since Hyeon and I are taking classes during the summer – which starts in three days – we originally decided to not go anywhere.  But shortly, we changed our minds.  After living in Atlanta for three years, we realized that there isn’t much to do in Atlanta other than shopping, eating, and.. more shopping.  We’ve also visited every possible tourist attractions in Atlanta and nearby Atlanta.  So what do you do when Atlanta gets boring?  Get the hell out!

We considered Savannah, Jekyll Island, Charleston, and Asheville.  But I refused to be in a car for more than two hours, which resulted in having to think of other options.  Then Chattanooga came to our minds.  We have a couple of friends who went to high school in Chattanooga and have always wanted to visit the city.  When I realized that it would take only about two hours to get there by car, I was game.

To emphasize the quick-getaway aspect of our trip, we decided to stay at a bed-and-breakfast (B&B) inn.  This was our first time staying at a B&B, so we were somewhat nervous and excited.  I mean, the only time I heard about B&B was through the movie, Borat, and anyone who has seen the movie knows that they didn’t depict a positive aspect of the B&B.  But just to be safe, we looked through dozens of tour guide books and websites for the perfect and memorable place – and the hard work paid off; we stayed at a place called Mayor’s Mansion Inn, a breathtakingly gorgeous establishment near the Downtown Chattanooga.

Originally, we were scheduled to stay in a different room, but Melanie, our innkeeper for the night, upgraded us to a bigger and better room because the room wasn’t occupied!  Melanie also gave us a tour of the mansion, made us reservation at restaurants, and did everything to make us feel comfortable.  Oh, did I mention how we got chocolate chip cookies upon our arrival?  Now, if these aren’t considered as southern hospitality, I don’t know what is.  From the delicious 3-course homemade breakfast to incredible service, this B&B is a must-try for anyone who wants to experience true southern hospitality.

Mayor’s Mansion Inn set the bar really high for B&B – now Hyeon and I are under the impression that every B&B is like this!  We are dying to try more B&Bs and see what we’ve been missing ;)

I am finally done with Spring 2009 semester!  Well, to be really precise, I’ve been done for 4 days now.  Okay, I know I promised that I will update the blog on May 6th (the day of my last final), but I was busy celebrating!  We even have evidence: Check Hyeon having fun with the champagne, haha.  That’s a good enough excuse, right? ;)  Quite honestly, the last thing I wanted to do after a grueling final was to sit down in front of a computer.  So I avoided doing it until today.  In any case, I apologize for not keeping my word.  But better late than never: Here we are, 4 days later!

So what have Hyeon and I been up to since May 6th?  To be brutally honest, nothing much.  Hyeon has been playing MLB® 09 The Show™ diligently and I’ve been uploading pictures to Flickr, cooking endlessly, and other things I wasn’t able to do during the exam period.  We also talked about taking a vacation to numerous locations like Las Vegas, Jekyll Island, and Savannah, but we ultimately decided to visit Chattanooga, Tennessee – mainly because I refused to be in a car for more than 3 hours.  We are leaving on Wednesday, May 13th.  If you know a must-visit place in Chattanooga, feel free to let me know!

Sadly, this freedom won’t last forever: My life, as we know it, will completely disappear starting May 19th, when summer school starts.  I am taking organic chemistry this summer.  Everyone is advising me against it – telling me that it’s the hardest pre-med requirement and that I will literally have no life during the summer.  Nonetheless, I’m still doing it because I have Hyeon!  Hyeon took organic chemistry last semester and did extremely well – which means I have a private tutor who is available 24/7!  Ah, just a small benefit of having a boyfriend who is chemistry-savvy :P