Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Coral and Lavender

Girliest of girly outfits for work today. How did all this start you ask? Why in an effort to satisfy a whim to wear purple of course. Afterall, I have to do my nickname (Grimace) justice of course. Bringing the retired McD's character back into fashion might not be so easy though. Here's my attempt at channeling a "girly-work-appropriate-Grimace" look...



 There is also a long strap so you can sling this over your shoulder... should you so desire :)

I love these shoes. My love was so strong, these shoes were resoled TWICE already.

Dress: H & M
Cardigan: F21
Shoes: Seychelles
Purse: Boutique in Hong Kong
Necklace: Audrey K
Earrings: F21

Monday, January 30, 2012

Thrifted Leaves


     Beeyootiful Leaves. I like leaves. The name of this blog should probably have clued you into that little fact. The fact that I almost always wear a ring with leaves on it is further proof. Need more? Okay, how about a thrifted tray and garden accents? Still not enough? Geez. I'm out.




     Anyways, back to the thrifted finds! Found these leaf-themed items at Goodwill the other day. Upon seeing them, I knew I could use them to store jewelry and display commonly used trinkets. I know the big silver leaf is a tray of some sort. But, the colorful smaller-metal leaves, I'm not so sure. They are pretty heavy for being so small and seem like heavy duty accents for outdoor use. Then again, they are also perfect for displaying bangles, bracelets and small earrings. Just sayin'.

Silver Tray: Goodwill $2
Color Leaves: Goodwill $3

Friday, January 27, 2012

Patterns and Pinkberry


     After a delicious dinner, I realized something was missing. Dessert! A Pinkberry run was definitely in order and in my haste to satisfy my sweet-tooth I threw this little outfit on. Looking back at the photos, I'm liking it more and more. I might have to repeat it... soon... like today... we'll see.



When I looked down at these two patterns I was wearing I was a bit skeptical. Fair-isle large knit scarf and a tight knit tribal pattern together? But, I reasoned that since everything else I had on was so plain I'll just let the two duke it out. My focus wasn't exactly on the outfit. Pinkberry-goodness is hard to ignore.




Did I have TWO?!? No. I wish. The other one was my dad's. Obviously he couldn't wait until I finished with the photo since there's a large chunk missing in the center of his. :) 

Scarf: Gift
Sweater: Forever 21
T-shirt: Target
Jeans: BDG via UrbanOutfitters
Shoes: Pointed Toe Flats from a trip to Hong Kong
Necklace: Forever 21 Gold Crane
Pinkberry: c/o Dad 

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Hot Diggity Hot Pot Rice!




Do people still say, "diggity"? I mean, it's fun but I can't stop giggling after. Just me? Oh...
Hot Pot Rice. A super tastey dish that is perfect for warming up bodies in this cold weather.
Did I mention that the juices from the meats are soaked into the rice and the rice at the bottom is toasted so there's a bit of warm crispiness to the dish too! Mmm Mmmm Good! So much flavor...

This dish should make about 4-5 servings.

Ingredients:
White Rice (1 &1/2 cups uncooked; should yield approximately 4-5 bowls of rice)
Pork Belly
Preserved Duck
Chinese Sausage (found at most asian markets)
Green Onions (Garnish and sauce only)
Soy Sauce
Chinese Greens (Any leafy green will do since you will only steam them seperately)
*Clay Pot* Best to use a clay pot so that it cooks in the same container that the rice is served out of :)

1. Fill clay pot with cooked rice and leave about an inch and a half of space at the top of pot to place meats on top.

2. Drizzle soy sauce onto the rice in clay pot. There's no need to mix it up. Don't soak the rice in soy sauce, you are just simply flavoring the rice as if you were adding a pinch of salt to season a dish. The juices from the meat will also season the rice so soy sause is just to add a kick to the rice.

3. Place various preserved meats and sausage directly on top of rice. You can group them by meats or mix it up on top. Just be sure not to mix the rice and meat up together.

4. Cover and heat on low-med heat for about 20-30 minutes.

5. While the rice is cooking, steam your veggies so they will be ready when the rice is.

6. After you set your veggies up to steam, take a minute to pour about four tablespoons of soy sauce into a small bowl, add a few cut green onions to the top and set aside. This is for dipping your meats!

7. Uncover rice and add a few cut green onions to the top just before serving. Use a wooden spoon to scoop/scrape the rice off the bottom of the clay pot where all that flavorful-crispy rice is! Serve with steamed vegetables.

8. ENJOY!!! :)

*This dish is so full of flavor and meats that veggies help break up the saltiness and are a healthy extra!*

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Jade Crackers, Peanuts and Teapots

Oy. Don't these look real? A tad shinier than usual but geez the workmanship is great on these.
My mom finds the coolest stuff for her shop. :)



This set would be great if you wanted a drop of tea.
The cups are about the size of a pencil top!

Oh! How did this get in here.....

This is Dexter. He's not made of jade but he is a fixture in the shop. His sign reads, "Hello. My name is Dexter. Please feed me. Thank you! :)"

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Cupcake TIME!! :)

Oh yeah by the way, in the midst of all this Lunar New Year chaos I found time to bake a batch of Vanilla cupcakes with cinnamon sugar topping hidden beneath a lovely chocolate ganache and raspberry topper. Did I mention I like to bake? No. Oh well, here's a little "taste" of my hobby.

 I was so tempted to just bite off the tops of these cracked cinnamon sugar cupcakes. I decided that I should do myself a favor and just help myself to the lopsided one... or two... nomnomnom!

 Nomnomnom... oh this doesn't look too lopsided to you? It did to me. That's what matters.

 Yes. I decided to cover up that sweet crispiness with shiny, sweet ganache. *Note to self: ganache is very messy and therefore be prepared to eat an excessive amount of chocolate.*

 Can something be both cute and delicious? No. Okay... this cupcake is NOT that.

 Played around with some sliced almonds to make a flower only to realize I have too many broken "petals" to make a dozen flowers. Ooops.

Hello Lovelies... Hope my coworkers like ganache. :)

Monday, January 23, 2012

HAPPY (LUNAR) NEW YEAR!!!

Hey all. It's the New Year again. Chinatown was a disaster zone this weekend. There were so many people it felt like I was visiting a bustling city in China. The lines were out the door at bakeries, restaurants and shops! Everyone was buying all sorts of red and gold decorations, bbq pork, roast duck, dumplings, flowers and oranges. There were probably also other things too but I felt like people were vying for those six items the most since the lines to buy those things were the LONGEST. Luckily I was just a bystander. My gran was cooking for twenty ten. We ate some traditional Vietnamese fare and single people received lucky red envelopes filled with lucky money. Yay! I also got one of those scratcher tickets from my gran and was informed that if I was to win big, I needed to share. Of course I'd share the wealth! My family, friends and wishlists would feel the love.. most definitely.

 Festive decorations in my Mom's shop :)

 Another paper lantern made from the lucky red envelopes handed out on New Year's!

 Mmmm... Vegetarian fare from my Saturday dinner with my family. There were NO leftovers. :(

 Alright this is the first of three gratuitous foodie pics. "Squid" mushrooms with spicy salt...

 General Tao's spicy orange "chicken" mushrooms...

 Stir fried greenbeans with preserved vegetables...
Nothing masquerading as anything else. Just beans being beans.

 This spread was c/o of my Gran's cooking. This is also only half the stuff. Nuff said.

New Year LOOT!!! Woohoo! Lucky Money, Lucky Candy and a scratcher. Let's try my luck this year!

Friday, January 20, 2012

Basically Basics

      Have you ever woken up startled and immediately sensed in your bones that you were impossibly late? Today was that day for me. My fault for sure. I did press the snooze button twice and actually turned off my alarm while telling myself just... two... more... minutes...zzzzz. Yup. After remembering that it was Thursday (a.k.a. the only day I can wear jeans to work) I shimmied into my skinnies and grabbed this striped tube top before remembering I was going to work and made a quick grab for my black blazer. I knew in my head that all these basics HAD to go together. Hopefully...
     My purse was a whole other story so it's just not going to show up in pictures. Let's just say that my purse with a vintage map pattern is totally me and totally NOT this outfit's complement. Eh. You win some you lose some right?
     A pair of navy suede heels and some trusty necklaces completed my outfit. I should probably note that I didn't even have time to put on my jewelry until AFTER I arrived at work. I just grabbed it off my jewelry stands and shoved it into my purse. As I was putting on my necklaces in the bathroom at work, I reached in my purse for chapstick to find... black feather earrings! I forgot I had these in this purse from the weekend of going out. Jackpot. Here is my "OH CRAP I AM SO LATE" outfit.






Blazer: Ross
Tube Top: H & M
Jeans: BDG
Shoes: Payless
Earrings: Charlotte Russe
Necklaces: RoseBowl Flea Market, F21
Ring: Mom's shop :)

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Psssstt... New In!


Hi there. How awesome are these boots? Would they be awesome times ten if I said they were on uber sale? Thought so. I LOVE all the details. The silver and white pieces of leather... the smooth shiny black leather... the fact that I can walk without teetering in them... I can WALK in them. Next up... Running boots. Good idea huh?

Boots: Zara

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Purple Me Happy


     Purple. A color that I clearly have no problem wearing. Want embarrassing proof that I definitely wear the color borderline too often? My nickname among friends is Grimace. Yeah, like that big, blob of a character from McDonalds. Obviously, I had no say in it. Now it's just stuck to me like superglue. Stuck like the gum at the bottom of your shoe that just spreads everywhere after trying to scrape it off. Class all the way.


I LOVE the beautiful vibrant color on this pleated skirt!


A DIY I found on Kinsey's blog. Isn't the nest the cutest?!




Trench: Ross
Shirt: Floral Tank Forever 21
Skirt: Covent Garden
Tights: Forever 21
Shoes: Forever 21
Belt: Anthropologie
Necklaces: RoseBowl Flea Market and DIY
Bangle: Gift from Aunt in Hong Kong
Rings: Francesca's (Multi-color), Mom's shop (leaves)
Nails: Essie's Merino Cool, Forever 21 silver glitter polish

Taco Azteca a.k.a. Tastiest Tacos Ever!


My stomach rumbles just looking at this picture! Add a cup of horchata and I'm in heaven. The spicyness of the sauce combined with the seasoned pork and crisp veggies... Yum! Please excuse me while I go find a towel to wipe all this drool.

Friday, January 13, 2012

From Hearts to Flowers...

I wanted to play out the theme of hearts within my outfit as much as possible. I settled for two things. There aren't that many heart shaped or themed items in my closet. Must fix that soon...



When I saw the collar I knew the shirt was already coming home with me.
The hearts just made me hug it tighter while in line to pay. Love is odd at times.
Note: There are teeny tiny rhinestones on the flower of the necklace. I heart that too.

These shoes are so lovely they warrant a second picture... so here you go!


Cardigan: Forever 21
Blouse: Nordstrom Rack
Jeans: BDG via UrbanOutfitters
Shoes: Forever 21
Earrings: From a trip to Korea
Necklaces: RoseBowl Flea Market and Francesca's
Rings: Mom's shop :)