On Melrose and Knick Knacks

(H&M Beanie, Target Vest, Macy's Skirt, Forever 21 Shirt, Bag from a random stand in the night markets of Taiwan).

Decided to go 'splore the Melrose Trading Post, a flea market in the lot of Fairfax High School. We kind of dilly-dallied, so we didn't actually end up getting there until about an hour or two before it closed. There was a $3 entrance fee, but the actual market was quite a decent size. I found some incredible clocks made from old books that I REALLY WANTED, but really didn't need. Sigh. Maybe next time.

Anyways, I had been talking to my cousin about how I owned too many hats, so it seemed appropriate that I actually wear one of them out for once. Since the bright orange of this particular fox-beanie was kind of hard to match with other colors, I decided to go with my faithful black-and-white concept, as usual.

Technique, at Le Cordon Bleu

Eating someone's homework! Seriously though. Technique is the restaurant at the Le Cordon Bleu cooking school, so the waiters and chefs are all students. An interesting experience, if you happen to be in the area.

We happen to come the day before their spring break, so the menu was pretty limited by this time. The appetizers were incredibly interesting. The first appetizer we tried consisted of some sort of chicken sausage with a chicken skin 'bacon' and frozen grapes (the cold was quite a surprise), and the second was a plate with two different types of pate. The pate tasted fine, but the idea of eating it out of a flower pot was rather unappealing to me. As for the main courses, everything was kind of... boring. Good, but boring. I got a cheeseburger with fries, which was delicious but not particularly exciting.

Service was terrible, but I guess they ARE still in the learning process. After we ate our appetizers, they gave our main courses to another table who came in after we did but happen to order the same thing. We were completely forgotten. We had to ask about our food, and the waitress got extremely confused. It took maybe about half an hour after our appetizers to get our main course. Blah.

Wrapped in Gold

(Express Shirt, H&M Shorts, Target Tights, H&M Bracelets, Charlotte Russe Bracelet)

Not much going on, just messing around with the lighting. Pretty simple outfit. I have three shirts similar to this one, all in different colors. I don't wear jewelry that often, but I do like wearing a lot of things on one wrist (sometimes I'll throw in a watch to add some extra bulk). Asymmetry aw yis.  

Williams Sonoma Belgian Waffle Mix

Waffles are one of my favorite foods (especially with fried chicken), but sometimes it's stupidly hard to find good, airy waffles. At least there's always the option of making your own.

I was wandering around in a Williams Sonoma store and grabbing random things to read to pass the time. As soon as I grabbed the waffle mix, a lady turned to me and said that that was, without doubt, the BEST waffle mix she had ever tried. Well, I couldn't let someone share with me that kind of information without giving it a try, so I made my brother buy some for me (thanks, Andrew <3). 

Now, onto the review. The first thing I noticed is that if you follow the directions on the can exactly, the mix comes out rather absurdly watery. Also, while it suggests that you leave for 15 minutes (it's a yeast based recipe), I decided to get distracted and let it rise for 2 hours instead. I came back and it was nice and fluffy, but still way too watery. The first waffle I tried to make fell apart because of this. When we added in more mix, the resulting waffle was gorgeous, airy, and extremely buttery. It was fantastic.

Great mix, meh instructions. Follow your instinct, and your stomach.

The Colors Don't Touch Me

(Tally Weijl Blazer, Charlotte Russe Tank, 2b Bebe Shorts)

Re-installed bangs! I've had bangs most of my life, so without them my face felt kind of... naked. Also layered my hair, and now my head feels a couple hundred pounds lighter. Brushing is no longer a thing.

Had afternoon tea at the Huntington Library, then explored the gardens for the next couple hours. I'm not usually one for the wild outdoors, but I love botanical gardens. Tame, man-made, outdoor excellence.

As for the outfit, pretty standard for me. Black and white and loose. I've got four blazers and this is my favorite.

Huntington Library Tea Room

Huntington Library has a nice Tea Room in their Rose Garden. It's the only afternoon tea place I've ever been to that's been buffet style. While this probably makes things a lot more efficient for them and lets you eat as much as you want (yay eating!), it does take away from the "feel" and atmosphere of the afternoon tea. They don't have very many different teas, mostly fruit teas and their most popular rose tea, so we usually just go for the rose.

Overall, a more casual tea place, but still lovely.

In Men's Clothing: Argyle Sweaters

(Ann Taylor Loft Vest, Kohl's Sweater, F21 Shorts, Target Tights)

I buy a lot of clothes from the men's sections of stores. Like, a lot. My brother and I actually loan each other clothes occasionally because I enjoy business casual men's wear so much (vests, sweaters, etc). Just because it's men's wear, however, doesn't mean it has to look manly. This is probably one of my more feminine looks involving men's clothing, as I've contrasted the potential manliness of the sweater with tights, heels, and makeup. I stole this particular sweater from my cousin during a white elephant event (and he in return got a flowery yellow blouse and purple leggings, sorry!), and have worn it several times since. Since I don't want to distract from its argyle pattern (I love argyle, it's so... geometric), I usually match it up with plain bottoms. Sometimes I wear it with a collared shirt, sometimes I don't.

Also I'm really excited in the second to last picture because I found a slug.