Leather Flowers

   

(Zenana Outfitters Pleather Jacket, Swoon Dress, Kohl's Pumps) 

Running errands, but we stopped by the park for some quick photos. The kids playing in the park were probably confused by my presence. I mean, what kind of crazy chick swings with heels on? Apparently that's what I do now.

Anyways, I had bought both the dress and the jacket at the same time with the intention of wearing them for this specific outfit, but ended up using the jacket a lot more. I'm not normally a fan of prints and floral patterns (this is probably the only thing in my closet that has floral anything), but I find that the would-be-girlishness of the dress is toned down dramatically with the addition of the jacket and works quite well. What I also like about this particular dress is the fit. I have a bit of a manly figure with no waist to speak of and legs like tree trunks (the result of hours and hours of tennis, badminton, and eating tons of meat). However, the dress enhances my waistline by tapering in the center, and its (slightly too short) length and flared shape gives the impression of longer, slimmer legs.

And yes, I have been messing around with ways to present my photos (whee weird filters).

Cinnamon-Apple Grilled Cheese

A grilled cheese sandwich soaked in butter and oozing melted cheese has always been a comfort-food classic. This recipe takes that same sandwich and adds a little sweetness and tang to it with some spiced apples. Perfect for those dreary days stuck studying in your apartment, and when you're trying to get rid of some old bread and/or apples.

Ingredients:

2 medium apples

1 tsp cinammon

1 tsp brown sugar

pinch of salt

1/4 cup water

slice of bread

1 pat of butter

2-3 slices of your favorite grilled cheese sandwich cheese (I personally like gruyere, cheddar, and harvati).

 1. Chop up apples and throw them in a pan with the cinnamon, brown sugar, salt, and water. Mix on medium-low heat for 30 seconds. 

 2. Cover and let the apples cook for about 10 minutes while you go do something else, like surf the internet or watch TV. When they're soft and golden, uncover and let the remaining liquid cook off.

 3. On a separate pan, heat the pan on medium-high heat until hot. Butter the bottom of the pan (the butter should melt upon contact and start to bubble and brown a little).

 4. Fry a slice of bread until golden brown, about 30 seconds. Butter the uncooked side while the bottom is cooking, then flip it over and fry another 30 seconds. While it's frying, do step 5.

 5. Place the cheese slices on your bread. Place some of the apple mixture on half the bread and cut the middle of the bread with a spatula to make a folding point. Turn to low heat.

6. Fold the sandwich over and allow the cheese to melt. Eat it, then make another one because a half sandwich is hardly enough for anyone and because you'll have some apple mixture left.

It's almost Italy in Japan

(Target Tank, Charlotte Russe Heels, Skirt found somewhere in Florence, Fedora found somewhere in Rome)

When I was little, I used to come to this Japanese Cultural Arts Center all the time for piano lessons. The rocks and waterfalls seemed a lot bigger back then. We wanted ramen, but detoured and ended up here for the first time in probably over a decade.

Anyways, moving on from the nostalgia ramble and onto the outfit. I bought the skirt off a cart somewhere in Florence. The lady running the cart let me try it on, and the first thing I did was pull it up to my waist. She laughed at me, said something in Italian, and proceeded to help me pull the skirt down to my hips where it apparently belonged. As you can see, it's back up to my waist now (I'm not a very good listener). Keeps it from dragging on the floor, and makes my legs go for daaays.

The heels? Bought them from Charlotte Russe last year. I wanted them so badly, but I didn't feel like I needed them. I went back to the store about 4 or 5 times (I was living right next to a mall at the time, bad idea) and tried them on every time, then finally gave in and bought them. They're my favorite heels now.



Entered into Style Elixer's Style Sessions.

Napoleon, not Neapolitan

So, as I had mentioned before, I'm not really a huge fan of sweets. I like them, but I don't normally go out of my way to acquire them. However, this all becomes a lie when it comes to the napoleon at Aux Delices in Pasadena, a tiny cafe that's barely noticeable on Colorado Blvd. If I could only eat one dessert for the rest of my life, this would be it. As one who appreciates fine napoleons, I've tasted them from all sorts of places, from chinese bakeries to the Laduree and Pierre Herme located in Paris (both of which are more notable for their macarons). However the one in Pasadena is, without compare, the best I've ever had. The pastry layers are beyond flaky, and the filling is the perfect combination of cream and custard without being too sweet. HEAVENLY.

Also whenever I talked about how much I loved napoleons, many of my friends would often go "oh, I've had that flavor of ice cream before too!". No guys, that's Neapolitan.

Photo by Yeang Shin.

The Sun Shines Through the Color Black

(Forever 21 Top, Cotton On Tank Top, American Eagle Jeans, Target Sunglasses, no memory of where I got the Ankle Boots)

So this is probably one of my most standard, commonly worn outfits. It's relatively simple, comfortable, and practical. Most of my wardrobe is black (it's slimming, easy to match, and I can spill whatever sauce on myself and it most likely won't be noticeable), but this particular top is one of my current favorites. Also, I buy my jeans one size larger and slightly long to make my legs appear slimmer. The long jeans bunch up at the bottom and the bunched area hides the large difference in size between my large calves and small ankles, creating a straighter line. Also, loose jeans allow me the flexibility to prance around when I get excited.

Anyways, took these pictures after running some errands at the local mall. Always interesting to wonder what people are thinking while they walk by staring as you take pictures. Also the smallness of my eyes is like nature's version of sunglasses.

Vegas is for Eating

So most people assume that when you go to Vegas, you do the following things: Night clubbing, day clubbing, and drinking your brains out while probably wearing small little hoochie dresses. This time however, we decided to take the trip up to visit a friend and spend a whole weekend eating instead. Worth it.

Friday night: Before the drive, we decided to grab a quick snack at Lawry's The Prime Rib. Ordered mine a medium rare on the rare side. Their spinning salad was great, and their prime rib was great. Most people in the restaurant left with to-go boxes, but not us. We're champions.

Saturday morning breakfast: A Pink's chili-hot-dog burrito. I've never had one before this, but I'll guide you through my steps of discovery.

Step 1: Acquire burrito

Step 2: Open burrito

Step 3: Burrito explodes in hands while I eat it because that's what happens to every burrito I touch. True story (It was still really tasty though).

After that we took our traditional trip to Bouchon to buy macarons. I tried the salted caramel, chocolate, and coffee ones. My friends also tried a raspberry. Their cookies are very pleasantly chewy, but the filling was a bit thin.

As no dessert is complete with coffee, I also ordered an espresso which came in a paper cup WITH A PAPER HANDLE. If you can't tell, I was very excited. Made my day.

Saturday night dinner: Steak frites at Mon Ami Gabi. Their steaks are pounded super thin, so you can't really get quite as rare a steak as you might with a thicker cut, but they're so soft it hardly matters. 

Also, their fries are just as thin and just as delicious. They're more like closet potato chips.

Ok, so we can't go to Vegas without a LITTLE drinking, so we stopped at the Chandelier Bar in the Cosmo to try their funky drinks. Their expensive, funky drinks. We got a few different ones, but my favorite by far was the Dante's Inferno, a concoction of pineapple and cilantro with a wonderful ancho-chile salted rim.

Sunday morning breakfast: Adobada fries at Tacos El Gordo. No better way to energize yourself for a day of outlet shopping than with a mass of cheese, fries, pork (the color reminiscent of that of the chinese 'Cha Siu'), and a generous slathering of guacamole and sour cream. Be warned, some of the other customers who are also trying to obtain some delicious Mexican food goodness are terrible drivers, and you may be stuck in that parking lot for a while surrounded by the sound of angry drivers honking at one another. 

After shopping, we had an early dinner at Bouchon's at The Venetian. 

Their bread was amazing. I'm rarely impressed by restaurant bread because oftentimes the crust is hard or chewy, but theirs was crisp and pleasant.

An appetizer of salmon rilettes (my parents love this).

And a main course of glorified liver and (fried) onions on a bed of mashed cauliflower. It was delicious.

 Vegas is actually an incredible place if you want to try some neat restaurants, especially on the Strip. There are so many choices, many within walking distance of one another. Some of them can get very expensive, but there are plenty of eats that aren't. If you have time in between parties, it's definitely worthwhile to check out some of their culinary options.

Photographs and title inspiration by Jimmy W., my food co-adventurer.  

Black Bold Blue

 

(Charlotte Russe Top, Target Tank Top, 2b Envelope Skort, Candie's Peep-Toe Platform, H&M Bracelets)

Couple stories behind some of the pieces here:

The Envelope Skort - I saw a girl wearing the envelope skort at the Chandelier Bar in Vegas last weekend, and I told one of my friends how I really liked it. The next day I saw the skort while we were outlet shopping. I feel like if I hadn't just been talking about it I wouldn't have picked it up, but since it was fresh in my mind I threw it triumphantly into my bundle of purchases.

The Blue Top - It's so friggin' blue. How could you turn down something THAT blue?

Also I've decided that I enjoy socks with heels now. I thought it would be weird at first, but then realized that I can get all the figure-flattering benefits of heels with the soft, warm-toed goodness of socks. Win-win.

Fall Colors and Wild Animals

 

  (Cotton On Sweater, Forever 21 High-Waisted Shorts, Guess Boots, Rubbish Beret)

I know it's winter right now, but the seasons don't really behave correctly here. It feels more like fall today. We were cleaning up the yard, so the falling leaves made it even more autumn-y. The color of the sweater is a very neutral shade of green, which gives it that fall feel while making it easy to match with other items. I also love the fit of this sweater because it hides any and all food babies. It's a little long though so sometimes it looks like I'm running around without any shorts on (freedom, baby!).

Anyways, partway through the shoot my dog decided she wanted to photobomb my pictures and make derp faces. She reminds me of me: she spends most of her time making ugly faces and only loves people when they feed her. 

Monochrome Moment

(2b Long Sleeve Shoulder Shirt, Leggings from Target, Charlotte Russe Sunglasses, Guess Handbag, Candie's Peep-Toe Platform, Fedora found from a cart somewhere in Rome)

(Forever 21 Jacket, Cathy Jean Combat Boots)

So if you couldn't tell, I'm a huge fan of all clothes black and white, especially with a little red lipstick. I usually lean towards the black because white makes me really nervous in terms of keeping clean. I picked up the jacket from Forever 21 on a whim at the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica today, and not even 4 hours later got a chili sauce stain at the bottom. Darn you, delicious spicy pork belly and my inability to use forks.

We also took a detour to Venice Beach and came across the canal which made for some fun pictures. I got to utilize my new jacket right away in this terribly cold LA winter of about 64 F.

Photos by my good friend and fashion partner-in-crime, Andres.

Dine LA: Gordon Ramsay at the London

(Chicken fried sweetbreads and polenta)

(Short rib)

(Sticky toffee pudding with brown butter ice cream)

Decided to go out for Dine LA a little while ago, and was not disappointed. The sweetbreads had a wonderful texture to them, and worked well with the polenta. The short rib was a little greasy, but the side of beets and tomato helped with that.

While I'm not big on sweets, the dessert was one of the best I've ever had. My favorite aspect was the brown butter ice cream. Butter is such a great thing. I am not a healthy person.