Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Post Thankgiving Non Leftover Lunch

   Sorry for not posting during thanksgiving break! I never really got around to taking outfit pictures, but more photos will be up very soon! These are some shots of my lunch from Saturday at the restaurant in LA called Lemonade. It was a nice break from all the leftover turkey sandwiches and ham I've eaten. I've been wanting to try Lemonade for awhile because it is formatted sort of like a school cafeteria but on the gourmet side. I ended up trying the herb chicken sandwich with an arugula salad. Not bad, but not a big fan. Also, I definitely had a hard time deciding what flavor lemonade I should get, they all sounded so interesting! Some flavors were: blueberry mint(my dad got this one, I didn't like it that much), cucumber mint (one i will have to try in the future), and the one I picked was watermelon rosemary. This flavor had a hint of sweetness from the watermelon and a peculiar (in a good way) refreshing quality from the rosemary. Even my brother enjoyed it and he hates vegetables and lives off of junk food. I also had some other vegetable sides that were very fresh and delicious but not pictured. And of course, with my sweet tooth I could not pass up their jumbo macarons. Those things were huge, like larger than my abnormally big hands for my 5'2" frame. I got the pistachio flavor and it was perfectly sweet and chewy, just as macarons should be. I totally forgot to photograph it until I was at my last bite! That just goes to show how good it was I guess. The decor and theme of the whole place was light and cute and I'm already planning my order for next time: Mac n cheese with jalepeno bacon that I tried from my brother and it was out of this world, the salted caramel macaron, and the cucumber mint lemonade. I wish all cafeterias were like this!



Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Floral Punch










Just when I was starting to lose my appetite for floral print, I find this brilliant piece. The color blocked shoulders and the fact that the print does not scream spring time make it extremely wearable for fall. Paired with gray skinny cargos, gold accessories, and basically the only boots I have. For a little more low key look ditch the curls and go for a high bun instead, but with today being the last day of school before Thanksgiving, I felt like celebrating. That's it for today, but I might be posting some pictures from a trip to San Francisco during the summer. So stayed tuned for those! Happy Holidays Everyone!

Top: Urban Outfitters ~ Skinny Cargos: American Eagle ~ Necklace: Urban Outfitters ~ Bracelet: Lucky Brand ~ Boots: Report
Photos taken by my Mom..thank you!

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Barney Goes to the Park






No the title is not an allusion to How I Met Your Mother, even though it is a great show. Yes, it is in connection between my pants and my favorite friendly purple dinosaur as a child. I have so many baby pictures with my stuffed Barney. So I know burgundy is really trendy for fall or "oxblood" as the fashion elite are referring to it. However, wearing maroon/burgundy/wine colors have really been a staple for me in fall seasons past (As you can tell from my previous two outfit posts I already have so much of it), so I am deeming magenta, fuschia, and mauve my it colors of autumn this year. Plus the term oxblood really just makes me shudder. I've always been scared to wear pinks and purples, even though purple happens to be one of my favorite colors. My wardrobe is like a haven for the neutral gal, well stocked with navy, cream, gray, and black. This year it is time to think out of the box (throwback one of my favorite childhood tv shows) and experiment with all these beautiful new hues. Brands could never really do pink and purple right until now, and I am very pleased with the broad array of shades I have to choose from. I hope y'all like these colors too because there shall be lots of shopping done to feed my mauv-gent-ia cravings. 

PS: Guess we know who will never be writing a dictionary or creating words because my little color mash-up above is pretty lame. But I hope everyone is enjoying November! I can't wait for my sister to come home, maybe she will even make a cameo on the blog. Sister outfit posts? I think yes! :)



Crocheted Tank: Urban Outfitters ~ Black Tank (underneath): Aerie ~ Pants: Urban Outfitters ~ Metallic Flats: H&M                 Photography & Editing by Nicole Duong


Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Trailblazer









I am finally experiencing the Back to School Blues. The bug must've flown in on all this wind we've been having, but not to worry, Thanksgiving is just a little over a week away. I cannot wait to try a ton of fall inspired recipes from the food blog, Smitten Kitchen. I can't decide on whether to attempt the pumpkin or carrot cake pancakes. The orangeness of both seem so festive! Guess I'll just keep drooling over the scrumptious pictures on her site as I procrastinate starting my English outline and essay. That's what a block schedule is for right? To make it academically acceptable for scholars like myself to procrastinate because I do not have English tomorrow! Another thing I've been able to get away with is wearing this brilliant jacket with only a sheer tank top underneath. While this amazing mauve-y gray jacket is quite versatile and can go with many pieces in my wardrobe, I just couldn't resist wearing it out with this papery thin, brown/maroon cami. The thick structured element to the jacket contrasted very nicely with the breeziness of the tank pulling together a casual, cool outfit without the fuss. I can't wait to use this jacket with sweaters and scarves, so this weather better shape up and give me a proper autumn chill because I'm ready for it. Fuzzy socks and all.

Jacket: American Apparel ~ Tank Top: Aerie ~ Pants: Nordstrom Rack ~ Boots: Report
Photography and Editing by Nicole Duong


Friday, November 9, 2012

Garnet Galavant






Welcome to fall in California, where the standard recipe for a high school girl's "cold weather"outfit is a sweater paired with black leggings and boots. Of course, I had to put my own spin on it with a gold sequined sweater for texture and some maroon leggings that I got for $5 last year because I didn't want to dish out a ton of cash on actual pants. They also work quite well under jeans on days that are actually cold; a tip from my mother who lived in Switzerland who always felt too warm in those overheated buildings, but still needed some insulation while walking from place to place in the snow. This go-to California outfit was not so great while traipsing about the neighborhood shopping plaza in gusty winds today. However, I cannot complain about the temperature since it is never any lower than 50 degrees, and earlier this week just happened to almost hit 90. One thing I will complain about is the serious lack of colorful, fallen leaves. What you see in these pictures is about what we get for the whole season, and they score disappointingly low on the crunch-when-stepped-on scale. Also, you can get especially jealous if your sister goes to school on the east coast and loves to brag about how it actually changes seasons there. Speaking of the east coast my thoughts go out to all those affected by Sandy, and I pray you are all well! I hope you enjoyed this little dose of Californian style, and please ignore my lack of makeup (it was just one of those days). More outfit posts coming soon, so make sure to check back and tell your friends!

Sweater: Urban Outfitters ~ Leggings: Forever 21 ~ Boots: Report
Photography and Editing done by Nicole Duong
Much thanks my dear!

Friday, November 2, 2012

November Spice

       It is finally starting to feel like fall here in California. I know because when I wore sandals to school the other day my toes almost fell off! Fall is swiftly surpassing summer as my favorite season. Most likely because all of my peers have been driving me crazy in their skimpy Brandy Melville summer ensembles, but my staunch abhorrence of the brand would be enough to fill an entirely different post.

       On a better note, fall has always given off such a cool homey vibe, and what better way to achieve this than to bake cookies and drink tea with your mother? I obviously can't wait for Christmas either seeing as I used Christmas tree cookie cutters (along with crescent moons), but hey they're better than plain ole circles! I did however use some autumnal flavors with their being Nutmeg Maple Butter Cookies (recipe courtesy of the blog Smitten Kitchen - I'm a huge fan). The recipe renders a lot of cookies, but my family, being Filipino, can never eat in moderation, so naturally we polished them off pretty quickly. You also have the option of freezing them to save for later, but I would probably forget. I hope you all have had a wonderful start to November, and outfit posts should be up in a week or two!













Recipe:
http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2011/12/nutmeg-maple-butter-cookies/