Hello, Hotel

Again, a delay in posts. I haven't had much of an opportunity to take any pictures lately, nor update my wardrobe. Sad life. Anyways, these were taken also in Chicago some many months ago, I just hadn't gotten around to writing about them. We took them in the lobby of the hotel (the people working there were probably confused by what we were doing), and the colors of the hotel were really fun to shoot with. However, my wind-ravaged hair kind of had a mind of its own. Darn you, hair.

As for the outfit, one-shoulder tops are some of my favorite things. Something about the lack of symmetry makes the outfit so much more interesting. Darker colors, like navy, are also something I tend to use if wearing color at all.

***Photo Credit: Jimmy Wu***

A Breeze in Chicago

Went up to Chicago a couple months ago with a friend (again, sorry for the huge delay). There wasn't really a purpose to this trip except to eat pizza and hot dogs (more on that later), and the rest of it was just sort of exploring and taking photos. It was relatively warm, but I still took the trip as an excuse to wear the winter clothing that I would normally never touch in LA. 

As usual, tackling everything in black and white with a splash of color. I actually really like the way the blue from the purse and beige from the scarf work together. Not normally a common color combination for me, but one that I think I might utilize more in the near future.

Also, leg warmers combined with combat boots have the effect of making my legs look thinner... something I would be happier to use if it didn't involve me roasting to death in LA.

***Photo Credit: Jimmy Wu***

Cloudy Days

(Calvin Klein Blazer, H&M Shorts and Tights, Pussycat Top, Michael Kors Bag)

First things first, sorry about the lack of posts for the last couple months! Life has been a little crazy recently, and will probably stay a little crazy for the next couple months as well. Anyways, moving on.

So we were up in Santa Barbara for some wine tasting a couple months ago (yes, it took a while to get these up, shhh), and ended up tasting very little wine and mostly wandering around. We came across some train tracks that we thought would be fun for photos (and so did the people in the background). 

Boots and blazers are pretty standard for me, but what I don't normally wear would be this top. My mom bought it for me when we were in London several years ago, and I never really knew what to do with it. Finally decided to put it to use, then immediately got a black smudge on it. This is why I can't wear white things.

***Photo Credit: Jimmy Wu***

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.