haute from the oven

tax refund = purchases

2011-05-06T13:54:00.007-04:00

Etsy is SO counterproductive when you're trying to save. Damn you!!!

Also, my new ridiculously overpriced Marc Jacobs sunnies came today. Yay, now I can be one of those creepers whose eyes you can't see as I stare at you.

Hello, baby.

bacon + salad = failed attempt at healthy eating

2011-05-04T17:53:00.000-04:00

My twin sister Krissie and I have decided to turn a new leaf (pun intended) and go on a salad diet. It sounds extreme, but it's really not since we're limiting it to weekday dinners. It's an initiative to incorporate more vegetables into our meals and eat less processed foods. Of course, we have to find some sort of loop hole... which is to find something ridiculously fatty to add to the salad to make it bearable. Last night's lipid choice came in the form of bacon and lots of it.

Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing
Adapted from Alton Brown - we cut the bacon down a bit and decided to saute the mushrooms

Ingredients

8 ounces baby spinach
2 large eggs
5 pieces thick-sliced bacon, chopped
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 large white mushrooms, sliced
1/2 small red onion, very thinly sliced

Directions
Wash the spinach, drain and pat dry thoroughly. Place into a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Hard or soft boil your eggs. I like to hard boil my eggs. I've found the best practice for hard boiled eggs is to add eggs to a pot of water, which should cover the eggs by at least 1 inch. Bring to a rolling boil and immediately turn off the heat. Leave the eggs in the water for 10-12 minutes. Remove and run under cold water. Peel off the shell. Slice each egg into 6 wedges and set aside.

While the eggs are cooking, fry the bacon and remove to a paper towel to drain, reserving 3 tablespoons of the rendered fat for the salad dressing and 2 tablespoons to saute your mushrooms . Crumble the bacon and set aside.

Transfer the 3 tablespoons of fat to a small saucepan set over low heat and whisk in the red wine vinegar, sugar and Dijon mustard. Season with a small pinch each of kosher salt and black pepper.

Remove the remaining fat from the frying pan until you have approximately 2 tablespoons of fat to saute your mushrooms. Add the mushrooms and saute until golden brown.

Add the mushrooms and the sliced onion to the spinach and toss. Add the dressing and bacon and toss to combine. Divide the spinach between 4 plates or bowls and evenly divide the egg among them. Season with pepper, as desired. Serve immediately.

___________________________

If you're a fan of bacon, you will obviously be a fan of this salad. It's crisp, tangy, salty, porky. It may have just been the salad of my dreams. This isn't helping my overall lose weight diet, but I'm taking baby steps toward healthy eating. I can't just go cold turkey on all unhealthy fats. Please.

do you fricassee?

2011-01-04T15:38:00.000-05:00

Crusty Marrow and Porcini Fricassee

will you marrow me

2011-01-02T22:11:00.000-05:00

Bone Marrow cherry pop!!

shovels and chocolate chip pancakes

2010-12-28T23:19:00.001-05:00

Hope all the the Northeasterners are still enjoying the snow. And for everyone else, consider yourselves lucky. I missed a trip to Disney for this. Though, the pancakes did brighten my mood.

Also, I've been pretty low key about my other blogs recently because I'm embarking on one of the biggest adventures of my 24 years of existence. One of my best friends and I have started a joint cooking blog dedicated to one of the culinary greats, Daniel Boulud. I know this place doesn't bring in a tremendous amount of traffic, but if you happen to see this, please check out the new blog at read . cook . digest. We would love questions, comments, or any love you're willing to offer.

pumpkin cupcakes

2010-10-28T00:50:00.002-04:00

panthera pardus

2010-10-16T10:13:00.001-04:00

I am loving the trends for fall this year... I'm not loving the rain so much. I've always had a soft spot for leopard prints, undoubtedly because I grew up in a town with a lot of very young mothers who were still rocking big hair, leopard print everything, and bubble gum pink lipstick.

There is a time and a place for everything and somehow, leopard print at work, or should I say MY work seems like the wrong place and time. I've managed to sport my ysl inspired gray leopard print scarf, mostly because it's dark gray and old dudes need glasses to see it. Haha. What I'd love to wear are the more common and more noticeable leopard prints:

What I'd like to wear and what I could probably get away with, respectively

fellow foodies

2010-10-03T18:11:00.001-04:00

Sometimes, I feel like I've uncovered buried treasure on the internet. I've never been the type that finds the funny youtube videos or the latest juice on gossip websites. I'm a bit of a lagger. When I do find something great, I pat myself on the back. :pat pat:

Today I've decided to come out of my hole to tell you about Fritos and Foie Gras. Why I love Sarah? She's a foodie, she's candid, and she's really funny. She's speaks to my inner fat kid. Seriously, God bless you.

As a small p.s. I passed one exam and failed the other. FML, right? Well, with 3 out of 4 done, I'm feeling pretty good. Potential sabbatical at work, but that's kind of up in air at this point. I'm getting pretty blah about everything and feel like it's time for a career change. Once the test is over, I'll probably give this professional relationship the snip snip. I'll save that rant for the next post.

sup four eyes

2010-08-31T00:27:00.001-04:00

the good life

2010-08-29T22:35:00.002-04:00

Friday ended a pretty sucky week. Wednesday I took my potentially last CPA exam. I'm not too hopeful saying that, but it could be. I'll let you know in September if that's true.

Anthony and Forge hailed to Beantown from Long Island and Ray Ray flew north from Bethesda. It was quite possibly the best weekend I've had all year because 1) Ray, Anthony, and Forge were here and 2) No all day trips to Starbucks to study. Woot freaking hoot. I love it.

And now, I leave you with some faces of the weekend:

twinnie looking quizzical

Anthony taking in our balcony view

Forge hanging on the couch -- Ray said you were built like a truck

Ray Ray at Flour Bakery

my life changing sticky bun at Flour Bakery... man was Bobby Flay right on this one

Twinnie waiting for breakfast at In a Pickle

BF with his super straight teeth

Ray showing how he really feels

To many more posts like these. Cheers!

proper footgear

2010-08-22T00:42:00.002-04:00

Jeffrey Campbell makes my feetsies look fab. Thanks man.

a kitchen clam bake

2010-08-21T20:47:00.001-04:00

And a long time coming...

could go for something sweet...

2010-08-15T16:14:00.000-04:00

these two weeks will consist of the following

2010-08-12T23:23:00.002-04:00

STEP 1. Study until you can study no more:

EUW

STEP 2. Take Jersey Shore breaks with your girls:

I have no shame.

food festivals and ink

2010-08-09T19:16:00.000-04:00

One thing about this stupid trip is the fact that I missed the first ever Boston Food Truck Festival. My feeling of sorrow waned slightly when I saw this on the Grub Street Boston website:

It's like Apple products. I guess version 2.0 will be a bigger, better, badder (in the best way possible).

One more thing because I'd like to buy myself another 30 seconds of not studying. I want this tattoo.

Now that I've seen it, I look at it everyday. Ah, I want it.

Ok, I'm done farting around. Back to the books and then Bachelor Pad. Can't get enough of trashy television.

man, just be yourself

2010-08-08T23:22:00.001-04:00

Just watched Mitch Hedberg videos for the past half hour with A. I like youtube dates when we're so many miles apart. Being down South was not a good idea. I don't know why work thinks this is fun.

do re mi fa so la ti do

2010-08-08T01:41:00.001-04:00

Sometimes I wake up thinking I'll have an ounce of vocal talent... and then I get to the shower and start singing. Fail.

Kina Grannis is the man.

don't try this at home kids

2010-08-06T23:44:00.000-04:00

P.S. Don't order a huge thing of supremo nachos if you know you're going to the gym tomorrow morning at 8 a.m.

study hall

2010-08-06T17:16:00.000-04:00

I'm currently sitting in my special Starbucks. This place is full of freaks and weirdos and at this point, I'm pretty sure I'm one of them. I come in at least once a week now and a few months ago I was here everyday. You read that correctly. I said EVERY FREAKING DAY. I would come home from work and sit here until close, trying to digest every piece of CPA knowledge I could. Clearly, since I'm now taking these next 2 tests for the second and third time, it's not working.

The people who work here know me [sadly] because I order one of two things -- hazelnut iced coffee or green tea lemonade. I'm pretty sure they see me as someone who pays for one drink and night and sucks up about 5 hours of their daily electricy. I know, what an accomplishment.

I decided to post because I'm falling asleep. I'm sitting in one of those comfy green chairs because both of the larger tales are taken. One is occupied by the guy with the customized fake leg (Red Sox logos all over it) and the other by the old woman with the crew cut. I see both of them every week, so I feel like it's a bit of a power struggle trying to score a seat at one of those tables since one of us always gets shafted... usually me.

These green chairs are dangerous. They're too comfortable albeit germy. I'm convinced no one ever cleans these chairs because I'm here late enough and sometimes early enough to see the absence of care. God only knows what kind of nasties have sunk into the cloth. I'm afraid I'm going to pass out in one of them, which will either lead to another CPA fail or contracting some kind of skin disease.

Dave is here. He's sitting next to me today. He amazes me. He's an older gentleman, blind, but works his laptop better than I work mine. I don't know if that's because mine is a piece of crap or that Dave just rocks. Either way, he's impressive. I mean comparing him to other folks his age, most are computer illiterate and they actually have their eye sight! He's currently hogging the power outlet and not that him being blind makes it weird, but I sometimes feel bad being like dude, quit hoarding all of the electricity.

Another fun tidbit -- I'd say every trip to Starbucks results in some man hitting on me. I swear it's a curse being Asian. Old dudes are way bolder and just come up to me as if they're offering a FOB a green card. It's like I'm no mail order bride and no, I'm not Chinese. I think the best Asian incident was when I told someone I was from America, not the Philippines. The response was, oh are you from Hawaii? Uhh... what? Other good ones are when guys bow at me. Not like crazy, exaggerated bows, but bows nonetheless. More than a nod, less than a right angle. I smell an Asian respect thing. Dude, do you want me to whip our my samurai sword and cut you in half. Stop that.

Ok my power is getting low. Time to pester my neighbor.

memory lane

2010-08-05T23:45:00.003-04:00

Just going through some pics from my DC trip this past April. Can't wait for the Myles reunion at the end of the month.

my beautiful city

2010-08-02T20:42:00.007-04:00

Dorado Tacos

2010-08-01T22:44:00.002-04:00

Finally made it to Dorado Tacos & Cemitas. For anyone who doesn't know me, I've been on a fish taco mission since my senior year of college. I ate the most delicious, albeit non-authentic fish tacos in Martha's Vineyard during senior week in 2008. I don't know if it was the combination of dehydration and an all day bike ride that my weak body wasn't ready for, but that end of the day Corona and fish taco dinner was hands down one of the best meals of my life. Ever since, I order fish tacos anywhere (and I mean ANYWHERE) I see them. Today, I was in fish taco heaven.

Now I have to figure out how not to blow up like a house since I study at the PC bang not 5 minutes away from this place. Ah!

i love these goons

2010-07-31T23:03:00.001-04:00

little beau peep

2010-07-30T00:24:00.004-04:00

Boyfriend blazer and femme bow peep toes. Man, I love getting dressed everyday.

hello gawgeous

2010-07-29T20:20:00.004-04:00

Happy Birthday to me?

shine on

2010-07-26T00:19:00.002-04:00

Awkward, but today's outfit was fun. The sandals, rolled jeggings, and oversized sequin sweater were a nice combo in my book. Days like these make me feel a little better about life. It's still a bumpy road, but I'm trying to keep my emotions under control.

P.S. I just saw Inception. I heard it was good, but not that good. My mind was blown. I love movies that leave me feeling that way the whole car ride home. Joseph Gordon Levitt ridiculously good looks was a nice perk too. If you can, definitely try to see it at an IMAX. Those butt kickers get me every time.

plain and simple

2010-07-25T11:31:00.001-04:00

Some days, I remember why I really love him.

like the wind

2010-07-21T21:40:00.001-04:00

It's been a very long time since I've been so open about my personal life. I'm good at bottling things up and even better at my catharsis when I can't take it anymore. I've clearly hit my cracking point and so this post ensues.

I'm not happy. That's the easy diagnosis. My confidence is either sky high or rockbottom and all along the highs and lows, I feel gripped and even paralyzed by fear. I never thought I'd see the day after being so brave as a child and strongwilled and opinionated as a teen, but that's exactly where I am right now. I am just 2 months shy of my 24th birthday, and I've never felt more scared in my life. I'm calling it my near quarter life crisis because that's an easy blanket to throw on top of the problem.

I don't know when I started feeling like I was living my life in autopilot, but baby, I am so there right now. It's hard to put your hands back on the wheel and direct your life in the right direction when you've been letting the car do the driving all along. It's even harder to muster the enthusiasm to make changes knowing any road I travel down will be heading toward the unknown at 100 mph. I should be excited about the unknown because I'm only 23. The unknown should represent the rest of my life and not knowing what wonderful events will take place. The thing is I can't think rationally like that. I tell myself to think that way and really believe it, but part of me won't let myself do that.

Career wise, I'm extremely successful. I'm have a great paying job, but it is at the expense of so many other things. I work around the clock and don't have time to work on relationships. I'm a very lucky person for having the friends I do, or I think I would lose them. Since I spend so much time working, I've gotten pretty good at it. This results in tasks that require more time and energy, something I am no longer so willing to give away... particularly when I don't feel like I have a choice.

As far as my boyfriend goes, we are in two different places. I feel like I'm trapped in a bubble floating away, forced to watch as he gets smaller and smaller on the ground. The worst part is, I question if he'd still be there waiting to catch me if I popped the bubble and let myself fall. Losing him terrifies me.

I know I need to make a change. I had my wake up call this past December when a coworker and friend suddenly passed away. He was 27. It put a lot of things into perspective for me. I doubt I’ll do anything stupid, but it reminded me of being in kindergarten and thinking about the things we want to be when we grow up. I don’t think auditor crossed my mind until junior year of college. I see some of the senior managers killing themselves to be on the partner track and I just know that’s not for me.

I've taken a lot of things for granted and I think the realization of how long that list is is overwhelming. I'm only human and I can only make so many changes at a time without being completely irrational. I just wish there were some magic button that could prioritize the decisions... or even better, a happy button that just makes everything right.

my pitiful life

2010-07-19T23:48:00.013-04:00

Pictorial documentation aside, I've been a rollercoaster of emotions. I dyed my hair black to reflect the way I feel -- deep and depressing.
On a very high note, I learned that I was one of three people my level to achieve the highest rating in the northeast (which will hopefully have a nice pay off). On a low note, I feel like I want to quit. Everything I cherish feels like it's falling apart, but I'll save that very painful headache for another post.

clams with linguine

2010-07-02T17:17:00.003-04:00

brunch with the twinnie and remnants of the pride festivities

2010-06-14T01:40:00.005-04:00

Twinnie and I went to brunch earlier today at Aquitaine. All sorts of combinations of eggs, bacon, maple syrup. You really can't go wrong there. It's days like these that remind me of why I love Boston so much. I'm with my best friend, eating my way through Boston, and really taking in all the culture it has to offer. Awww.

my past week in food

2010-06-11T00:35:00.000-04:00

It's late and I should actually be heading to bed. Tomorrow my Company is having its nation wide impact volunteer day. I will be spending the better part of tomorrow painting classrooms and then drinking my face off. I'm just a girl who can't turn down free drinks.

I've been pretty busy, so no time for outfit posts, though I did feel pretty fierce 3 out of the 5 work days. C'est la vie.

I leave you with twinnie and my baking escapades this past week -- fruit tarts, homemade cookies (which turned into ice cream sandwiches), and macarons (my first time -- pop!).

Yum. Life is good... at least until I get the my test results probably sometime midweek. Eeesh.

oink

2010-06-03T23:10:00.000-04:00

I'm currently struggling with what I like to call the annual battle of the bulge. I went to the gym today for 2 hours and then immediately though of the choinkwich from the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck. Yes, you read that correctly, the choinkwich.

cold chocolate bacon explosion

Needless to say, this is why it is an annual battle. =D

kick in the pants

2010-05-27T20:54:00.002-04:00

I've finally committed to buying myself a nifty fifty. I don't know why it's taken so long, considering it's been on my Santa Claus list since sophomore year (5+ years ago -- eeeesh). It should be here in Wednesday, exactly 4 days after I take the REG section of the CPA. I cannot wait to play.

YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAAAAAAAY!!!!

talon ring

2010-05-23T18:07:00.001-04:00

This is my favorite ring and I really love Made Her Think. I just wish it didn't turn my skin green. Seriously, vending machine jewelry does that and it's only $0.25. I painted the inside of my ring with clear nail polish, so that solved that problem... but please, I beg of you Made Her Think, upgrade your materials just a little!!!!

run, neon tiger, there's a lot on your mind

2010-05-19T19:39:00.001-04:00

furry little critters

2010-05-18T22:36:00.005-04:00

Becs from Style with Benefits pointed out this fabulous footsie gear new to Oak NYC. I picture myself wearing these, whilst sipping a cafe au lait and bad mouthing others with Kelly Cutrone. Clearly, that's these shoes' calling.

I'm really loving this metallic strip movement Jeffrey Campbell is running with. KEEP THEM COMING!!!

summer work gear

2010-05-17T21:08:00.000-04:00

oversized and overflowing

made her think

2010-05-15T22:26:00.001-04:00

earring perfection, I tell you!

yoshimoto-san

2010-05-14T00:41:00.002-04:00

By some miracle, the Elizabeth and James Yoshimoto crepe-jersey and leather jacket was on sale, 40% off. ARE YOU JOKING?! Sadly, Saks only had a size 8 so I felt like I was swimming in it a bit. I'm struggling. To buy or not to buy online? It's still freakishly expensive, but holy cow, 40%!!!! That's unheard of.

Please excuse now the seemingly needless vanity shoot. I just had to take pictures of the jacket on me. Hahaha. If I can't have it, I'll have the pictures forever!!!

Seriously, the pointy shoulder pad gods have heard my plea. Now all I need is for this beauty to knock another 50% off. I will do a rain dance, or whatever kind of dance to please the Saks gods.

Whatever, I made myself feel better and I bought the jeans and the top (my first Rag and Bone purchase ever -- I felt so proud).

this little piggy...

2010-05-12T22:16:00.002-04:00

Twinnie made pork tenderloin and potato salad for dinner

clinics

2010-05-09T11:41:00.001-04:00

Whether you love em or hate em, you've got to admit they do make a statement. Ah love. Maybe they were a little much to just go to Starbucks for the day to study, but I'm sure my baristas appreciated them. Hehe.

wasssson

2010-02-04T10:53:00.002-05:00

Some people think Erin Wasson is totally overrated. I'd like to disagree.

I CANNOT WAIT UNTIL THIS IS AVAILABLE.

ruffles

2010-01-29T13:55:00.003-05:00

My adoration of ruffles is showing. Ruffly blouses, cardigans, accessories are in heavy rotation and are making quite an impression on my "corporate" looks. Obviously nothing too crazy, since I don't think my fellow accountants or clients can handle the volume I'd like to achieve. =)

Dropping by to say hello. I'm still alive, yes. I know I'm a terrible blogger, but I'm still recovering from busy season aka 15 hour work days 7 day a week and I just started studying. I feel swamped again, needless to say.

I do have another blog which gets a little more attention at ktfrek.wordpress.com. I will be updating here though, but probably not as often as my wordpress.

Off to study beauties. I hope you all are doing well in the new year!

heavy metal

2009-12-13T22:57:00.001-05:00

Holy fucking shit. Falconiere's epaulets is an absolute dream. Christmas gift perhaps?

cause we need a little christmas

2009-12-09T09:04:00.002-05:00

Breakfast [easy over egg on buttered toast, red grapes, and a glass of cold OJ]
at home this morning since it's a crazy snow storm out. Refer to pic below.
_________________________________

I love my fake Christmas tree. Now all I need to do is go to the store to pick up some pine tree spray. =) It's not Christmas unless you can smell the forest.

So ok, to go through some of my pics...
1. My balcony this morning at 8:00 a.m. It has thus gotten even worse and significantly more icy. I'm not sure if I want to hit the road at all today.
2. Pic from my Boston office bathroom from this past Friday's holiday party. I liked my scarf and my partners thought my suit looked very "smart". Ha sweet. Do I get a raise now?
3. My Christmas tree and the easy bake cookies my twinnie picked up at the supermarket.
4. A Charlie Brown Christmas dvd. I might have to watch that sometime tonight with a cup of peppermint hot chocolate close by.
5. Early Christmas presents from one of my besties in DC. Thanks Ray Wu! When I attempt foie gras, you better make a trip to Beantown! Otherwise I will see you in New York over break.

I have to get my work started, but I don't know how well that's going to go considering I have the Top Chef Las Vegas marathon on as my distractor. Ah. Wish me luck beauties.

chilly weather

2009-12-06T17:18:00.009-05:00

Snow snow snow. It snowed last night in beantown and Krissie and I whipped out our Christmas decorations in preparation of the upcoming holidays. Of course, it's all still sitting on our floor right now since we can't multi task and watch Tabitha's Salon Takeover at the same time. Hehe.

Cold weather also sparks my taste for a nice cup of chili. I have a pot of chili simmering on the stove right now. You can join my meaty efforts following the same directions below.

Ingredients

2 medium yellow onions, chopped
2 red bell peppers, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
1 lb lean stew meat, small cubes
1 14 1/2 ounce can diced tomatoes (I like picking up ones with green chilis or jalepeno chilis included)
1 can of Guinness
1 cup very strong coffee
2 6 ounce cans tomato paste
1 can beef broth
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoon oregano
3 New Mexico green chili peppers (seeds included)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 15 ounce cans kidney beans (undrained)
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon of good dijon mustard

Directions
1. Heat oil.
2. Cook onions, garlic and meat until brown.

3. Add tomatoes, beer, coffee, tomato paste, ketchup, dijon, Worcestershire sauce and beef broth.
4. Add spices, kidney beans, bell peppers, and chili peppers.

5. Reduce heat and simmer for 2-3 hours.

6. Serve with sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese.
7. Store the leftovers in a sealed container and refrigerate. I promise, chili tastes much better a few days later.

Now excuse me while I go watch me pot of chili and enjoy my cup of LA Burdicks dark drinking chocolate spiked with peppermint schnapps. Honestly, what's more jolly than that?

Oh and for those of you wondering what I bought from net-a-porter....

hellooooo wanger.

i buy myself presents

2009-11-11T23:58:00.002-05:00

This makes me so happy to come home to after a 13 hour day.

countdown to cozy time

2009-11-10T23:50:00.003-05:00

[ 525 america sweater generic vneck shirt club monaco skirt tahari shoes ]

Seriously, audit hell. You know it's bad when you go to work and you don't get home until the following day. I'm seriously counting down the days until Thanksgiving so I finally have time to breathe.

wassup stud?

2009-11-08T16:52:00.004-05:00

[colin stuart booties]

Ah welcome fall foliage.
_______________________

Oh autumn. I love it. When the seasons change, I throw my shorts into storage and run to the nearest Starbucks for a caramel apple spice. Mmmmmm. Amazing.

Work has been pretty rough. Sometimes I feel like I wake up, go to work, and drown for 11 hours only to go home, go to sleep, and do it again in the morning. These 7 day work weeks are really starting to burn me out.

Yesterday to ease some of the stress, I decided to take the really gross looking bananas that have been sitting on my kitchen counter and turn them into muffins.

Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 ripe bananas, peeled and coarsely mashed
1 cup of chopped walnuts

Directions
Line 18 muffin cups with paper liners. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl to blend. Beat the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl to blend. Stir in the banana. Add the dry ingredient mix and the walnuts and stir just until blended.

Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. Bake the muffins on the middle rack until the tops are golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out with no crumbs attached, about 25 minutes. Transfer the muffins to a rack and cool slightly.

Seriously, make these muffins. You will love me.

ready for the fame

2009-11-05T18:50:00.003-05:00

Wish I had taken more pictures, but alas, my camera went pretty much unused the whole night. If you couldn't tell, I was Lady Gaga for Halloween. Clearly, this was one of the more overplayed costumes of 2009. Whatever, it was still a lot of fun and surprisingly no other Gaga I saw had the hair bow. Eat that!

I'm currently at work and I have about 3 more hours to go. Euw. I miss all of your blogs. =( Peace out homies.

jeepers creepers

2009-10-29T00:31:00.004-04:00

Busy season has begun and I now work from 8:30 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. everyday from Monday to Saturday. Welcome to the show... Death of an Auditor. Ugh.

On a brigher note, I'm getting pretty excited for Halloween. It's definitely my favorite holiday. I get so much joy out of dressing up. This year is going to be awesome.

Halloween '07 - Wario
My favorite costume to date.

I think it must have been the stick on mustache... or the maternity overalls that I dyed purple. Woot woot.

The next post will either be a current Halloween outfit post or something related to a butternut squash dish. Haha, it's a toss up.

It's late, I'm sweaty from the gym, and I want to sleep. Until next time beauties.

hood and seek

2009-10-20T22:54:00.005-04:00

[source oak nyc]

This complex geometrics jacket deserves the 512 pixel width. Didn't feel like squishing this beautiful baby. I just love the hood/cowl neck. So gorgeous.

Literally doing anything to keep my mind of my bf woes. =( Ugh, keep me distracted.

the pumpkin king

2009-10-18T20:41:00.007-04:00

Ok, it's October 18th and weather.com called today's flurry a Noreaster. What the hell? My sis and I had an R&R Sunday, got manis/pedis and hit the mall. By the time we left, it was snowing extra large cotton balls. Eeesh.

You know, it's funny. I actually feel like that's just been my world recently. Everything's been turned upside down. I'm in a complicated situation with my relationship. I just want things to be cool so we can be happy and cute again. I'm in love with my boyfriend, but our fights get out of hand and have a real lasting impression on him. I know I'm a hard person to deal with and I know I always realize things too late. I act on impulse and I have to learn to just put the brakes on. I just want my boyfriend. =( You know, it's just tough when the one person you want to be there for you is the one person you're at odds with. Ugh. Cheese ball.

Ok enough of depressing boyfriend drama and onto cupcakes...

Pumpkin Cupcakes With Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Original Recipe by David Leite, adapted by the amazing Deb Perelman of The Smitten Kitchen

Yields 18 cupcakes

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for greasing pans
1 cup firmly packed dark-brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk mixed with 1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups canned solid-pack pumpkin

Frosting
Two (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup

Make the cupcakes:
1. Preheat the oven to 350° (175°C). Line a cupcake pan with 18 liners.

2. In a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars on medium speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and pepper into a medium bowl.

3. Add the eggs 1 at a time to the mixer, scraping down the sides after each addition. Alternate adding the flour and milk mixtures, beginning and ending with the flour. Beat in the pumpkin until smooth. Scoop the batter among the cupcake liners — you’re looking to get them 3/4 full. Rap the filled pans once on the counter to release any air bubbles. Bake the cakes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes. Cool the cupcakes on racks completely.

Hehe, excuse the random holes in the middle. I did my procedural
piercing to test whether they were cooked all the way through.

Make the frosting:
In a stand mixer beat all the ingredients on medium until fluffy. To assemble the cake, frost the top of one cake, place the other cake on top. Frost the sides and top, swirling decoratively. Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes to set up frosting.

These cupcakes were ridiculous. They were moist, super delicious, and so season appropriate. I actually added 2 Tbsp. of the packed pumpkin to my frosting to give it a bit more pumpkin flavor and the lovely orange color. And as you can probably tell, I had a very fun time decorating them. I don't even like those damn pumpkin candies, but they were just too cute to boot! If you like pumpkin pie and feel like mixing it up a bit, definitely give these bad boys a try.

turn a new leaf

2009-10-17T15:50:00.005-04:00

So I'm back... like literally back. I just took part 1 of 4 of my exam. 1.5 months all for 2.5 hours and 90 questions. If I don't pass, I swear I will crawl into a hole and never come out. Until I found out my fate, which will probably be in December -- I'll be posting more often.

I'm in the mood for some seasonal booties. I'm reviving the Donna Karen's along with some others.

Tomorrow is a baking day, so expect to see a recipe post soon.

hello gorgeous

2009-10-14T21:50:00.003-04:00

You definitely need something bright and shiny and new to get you through the 11 hour work days. Coming home and studying until 2 doesn't help either. FML.

These shoes of course, will never be mine unless by the grace of God, they are delivered in a size 8 by net-a-porter just because I'm their number one fan... aka NEVER.

ANIMAL!

2009-10-11T15:02:00.007-04:00

I was tagged by my favorite Ivy Wang of POSITIVE TENSION.

What is your current obsession?
The classic Chanel lambskin. I'm determined to have one by the time I'm thirty.

What is your horoscope and do you relate?
I'm a Virgo. I think I relate well enough. The one trait that sticks out to me the most is being an anal retentive perfectionist. Maybe there's some subconscious hold my astrological has on me, but when it comes to baking/cooking I am a perfectionist to the utmost. I'm by far my own worst critic regardless of the happy, well fed faces of those around me.

What are you wearing today?
Refer to outfit above sans the leggings. It got a little chilly, so I threw on a pair of black skinny jeans.

What’s for dinner?
Medium Buffalo and honey hot wings from Wings Express on Moody St. What up Patriots!

What’s your favorite decade, fashion wise?
I'm so in love with historic fashion. My hands down favorite period was the turn of Victorian to Edwardian. Long elegant lines, tall dramatic collars, and sports coats to straight corsets and huge in your face bonnets!? Come on, that is so for me. Dressing up for the everyday seemed fun and exciting.

What are your must haves for summer?
Uniform for the summer is an oversized flowy blouse or tunic w/ brightly colored shorts. Typically, I try to keep the accessorizing to a minimum so I don't drown in my own sweat. This past summer, I loved my mid calf fringe sandals.

What would you love to be able to afford?
I have yet to take the Loubie plunge. If I had a G to just throw around, I'd probably try to get my hands on a pair of Pigalle Loubies or the YSL Imperiale Pumps. They are soooooo delicious. My god, my feet would just melt.

What is your favorite piece of clothing from your own wardrobe?
White blazer from Express. It is in heavy rotation year round.

What is your dream job?
Definitely not what I'm doing now. I'm trying to save up and pursue a career in food. One of my best friends and I are planning on going to culinary school within the next 5 years. We'll see what happens from there.

What’s your favorite magazine?
Vogue, WWD, and Gourmet, which is no longer in existence. Damn you recession!!!

What do you consider a fashion faux pas?
I find Uggs particularly offensive when they're out for display... i.e. worn with up your ass denim skirts, popped collar polos, and a pearl necklace (oh hi Long Island). As a multiple Noreaster survivor, I have nothing against Uggs tastefully hidden under a pair of jeans when it's 10 degrees out.

Describe your personal style?
Mostly basic, sometimes tailored, with a spotting of gaudiness. If I see something I like, I wear it. I wear what makes me happy, regardless of what other people think.

Which Beatle is your favorite?
Paul McCartney.

What are you proud of?
I'm proud of the person I am today. I feel like I'm in a job I dislike, but I'm slowly taking steps to mold my life the way I'd like it to be. I feel very much in control of my own destiny and I really have no idea where these balls have sprouted from, but I like it!

I'm tagging anyone who feels like giving this a go. =)

cape town

2009-10-04T11:39:00.006-04:00

It's another complete shit day out, which works out for me since I really should be studying.

Today's outfit was another boring all black number with a pop of color. I do like my cape action. Flair for drama, you know? My style -- in moderation.

I feel like making banana or zucchini bread. Hmmmm. Maybe a post shall come later. If it doesn't then whoopee, I'm being responsible. If it does, then ehhh, whoops.

it's raining it's pouring, black outfits are so boring

2009-10-03T13:36:00.002-04:00

[free people romper frye boots gap blazer]

Good thing it's so disgusting out. I'm locking myself in a PC cafe all weekend to study for the CPA. Yawn. So boring.

tartan

2009-10-02T11:14:00.003-04:00

[brooks brothers blazer hudson jeans uo scarf vince tee michael kors shoes]

goo goo for gaga

2009-10-01T22:38:00.002-04:00

that is just bloggerific

2009-09-29T23:15:00.003-04:00

PERIOD.

I am positively inspired.

http://www.theuniformproject.com/

Take a look. Sheena Matheiken was the mastermind behind the project. She and her team are creative, amazing, and their cause (Akanksha Foundation) is worth donating a buck or two (or more!).

how now brown cow?

2009-09-28T22:16:00.004-04:00

My peanut butter frosting called for creamy peanut butter. I had to make due with half crunchy, half creamy. Lack of post frosting pictures is due to peanut cloggage at the tip of my 5M Wilton piping tip. Sweet.

P.S. 1 tone brown food is not at all photogenic.

beanie and brogues

2009-09-26T13:49:00.002-04:00

Spending the day inside unfortunately. It's so gorgeous out too. What a bummer. I went out with the twinnie to grab a fuji apple chicken salad from Panera. Yum. Now it's time to study until the end of time. Peace.

wonderland

2009-09-25T23:54:00.002-04:00

Oh I'm sorry. The memo saying you can't wear white after labor day did not apply for me this year. Channeling my inner Alice in Wonderland.

retail therapy

2009-09-24T21:13:00.005-04:00

Nothing like soothing the saddened soul by adding to the ever expansive wishlists. Le sigh. I can't believe it happened again. =(

I rocked a Wang side braid the day before I hacked it all off. Ah change.

O Ya

2009-09-18T19:58:00.010-04:00

Last night was the freakin kaboom of all kabooms. I took my sister to a chef's tasting menu dinner at O Ya, a Japanese restaurant hidden on the ever so small East Street in Boston's Leather District. O Ya is owned by husband and wife Tim and Nancy Cushman. Tim, the executive chef, was an apprentice under the celebrated Chef Nobu Matsuhisa. It showed. A new addition to the kicthen that unfortunately was not there last night is Tiffani Faison, O Ya's new sous chef. You would probably recognize the name from Bravo's hit TV show, Top Chef.

The restaurant is cozy and personable. The dark wood and the high ceilings make for a somewhat ominous environment, but once your perky waitress steps in, you know it's all fine and dandy. The restaurant seats only 37 and brings in a mixed crowd, all looking for a memorable experience and a delicious meal. My sister and I were lucky enough to nab seats at the sushi bar, enabling us to see each dish prepared start to finish. The sushi chefs are true masters. Between tasty bites, you can entertain yourself by watching the show right in front of you.

We started off our celebration right with glasses of poochi poochi sparkling sake. I've never had sparkling sake before. It was creamy, unfiltered richness. I'd never had sake like this before. My palate was intrigued.

The meal only got better. From this point on, I will only provide pictures of the food we ate. There are really no combination of words sufficient enough to capture the tastes. Even the most jaded of palates would have to agree. The menu is exciting. Tim Cushman is an artist. He knows when to kick it up a notch and when to administer self control and keep food simple and subtle. I leave you with the meal.

umamoto oyster, watermelon pearls, cucumber mignonette

salmon tataki, torched tomato, smoked salt, onion aioli

hamachi, spicy banana pepper mousse / homemade la ratte potato chip and summer truffle

wild santa barbara spot prawn, garlic butter, white soy, preserved yuzu

wild bluefin tuna tataki, smoky picked onion, and truffle oil / wild bluefin chutoro, republic of georgia herb sauce

fried kumamoto oyster, yuzu kosho aioli, squid ink bubbles

shima aji, santa barbara sea urchin, ceviche vinaigrette

Kyoto style enoki mushrooms, garlic, and soy

scottish salmon, spicy sesame ponzu, yuzu kosho, scallion oil

hamachi, viet mignonette, thai basil, shallot

chilled maine lobster salad, avocado, creamy yuzu dressing, peppercress, and cucumber gelee

seared petit strip loin with potato confit, sea salt, and white truffle oil

grilled sashimi of chanterelle & shiitake rosemary garlic oil, sesame froth, and homemade soy / foie gras, balsamic choclate kabayaki, raisin cocoa pulp, w/ a sip of aged sake

raw chocolate gelato

The real piece de resistance is was the chutoro. Oh my word, it was amazing. Each plate was a more perfect bite than the last. Plus, my twinnie said it was the best present she's ever gotten. =) That made my day.

Now it's time to get ready for rage fest. Yes, yes, and yes.

at the old ball game!

2009-09-17T00:29:00.008-04:00

My pre-game outfit... that is until the bf presented me with the sweatshirt seen below!

Please note man rocking the eye patch. I did a double take when I saw this picture.

I was able to take off a little early from work today to go to the Sox-Angels game at Fenway. Despite this being my now 6th year of living in Boston, I've never been to a Red Sox game. This is due primarily to the fact that my family and friends from NY would sacrifice my traitorous body to the Yankee baseball gods. Well, tonight I popped that cherry. Boy took me to Fenway for my very first Red Sox game. It was thrilling, it was drunken madness everywhere, it was calories to the max, it was FABULOUS.

Plus the Sox won, which I suppose is a good thing. Bad in certain Yankee baseball aspects, but I suppose since I was wearing the Sox sweatshirt (bought as a present by the boy) I should be pleased by the win. Let me just say for the record that I felt like a fraud.

However, I thought it was a very thoughtful present and certainly a whole new experience. I had a lot of fun and food and beer. Burp.

Night all! Can't wait for everyone from home to start ripping me a new ass hole.

bored

2009-09-15T20:03:00.003-04:00

[mike & chris jacket a wang top dvf skirt steve madden shoes]

I'm desperate for a season change. Time to mix up the wardrobe.

Major birthday festivities start tomorrow!!!!! Yeah. 5 days of fabulous.

silver and gold

2009-09-14T23:28:00.006-04:00

Smythe . Antik Batik . Antik Batik
Dacute . 3.1 Phillip Lim . Dries Van Noten

New blazers and vests for the fall. They make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

gouache

2009-09-13T12:31:00.003-04:00

The most impressive and interesting gouache I've seen to date -- Kazuki Takamatsu:

Really, just wow.

Anyone who can hand paint a gouache to look like an image straight out of Adobe Illustrator deserves a round of applause.

rainy day review

2009-09-13T00:25:00.007-04:00

[525 america sweater steve madden flats helmut lang tailored skinnies witchery tank rick owens beanie]

I spent the day eating celery sticks and hummus and hard boiled egg whites so I could have one of these babies for dessert. Red velvet = fat ass central. Have to watch the calories on dessert days.

I've been meaning to praise these wonderful products I've recently gotten my hands on. I'm supposed to be studying for the CPA, but I figured this would be a good procrastination tool. I'm a freaking procrastinating master. Ace Ventura and Iron Chef America have taken up quite a bit of time as well. Ha. Good job.

Getting on with it...

Kat Von D lipstick in Stiletto / Nuskin Glacial Marine Mud

Lipstick - I love how bold this red is. It is really the most intriguing shade of red I've come across. To be honest, it's more of an orange-red, which is hot for a night out on the town. Plus it photographs freakishly bold in flash photographs vs. no flash, which comes out a bit more orange than red.

However, I am in the market for a more vampy red. I'm picturing Joan Collins, Dynasty days. What an amazing and iconic look for her. I'll take suggestions if anyone's found a red like this that they love.

Mask - This mask is so amazing. I was tempted to not post the picture, but I think it really adds to my review, no? I don't think I was born with the best skin, despite being Asian. Hey, some of us are unlucky! Since using the mark, I've seen a noticeable difference in the texture of my skin. It's so much smoother. I haven't been faithful with the 2-3 times a week suggested frequency, but I can say when I have been pretty strict with it, the results are really amazing for me. I've been lathering it on in preparation for smooth bday skin. I hope it looks like velvet. Mmmm yes.

Clean Clear Cleaning and Disinfecting Contact Lens Solution

Solution and Cleaning System - I've been prone to eye infections using Opti Free. I have nothing against it really. My boyfriend uses it and swears by it, and for a while I thought it was ok... until I got the mother of all nasty eye infections. Gross. I recently went to get my optical check up and my doctor suggested this new solution. It comes with that little case seen above in the picture. The lenses go in little cages. Hydrogen peroxide solution goes in and the catalyst at the bottom of the little jar converts the hydrogen peroxide to water. AMAZING!!!! No rub, no extra cleaning, and best of all no infections. It's awesome. Plus, I sometimes find myself staring at all the bubble action that goes on. I'm a child. I'm so easily entertained it's sometimes ridiculous.

Alright. I've said my piece. Time for bed. I kindly (and somewhat stupidly) volunteered to hand out water to Jimmy Fund Walk participants at 8:00 A.M. It's not the volunteering part that sucks, it's the ass crack of dawn part that sucks. Ugh, beastly. Night beauties.

scales

2009-09-11T21:13:00.007-04:00

I love a good pair of flats. I tend to gravitate toward 5" heels, but I can appreciate flats when they're fabulous and snakeskin patterned. Mmmm.

P.S. I'm practically skipping with glee. I just made a reservation at one of Boston's hottest sushi restaurants, O Ya. Twinnie and I have a date on the 17th as a premature celebratory B-day dinner at the chef's counter. Feed me Tim Cushman, FEED ME!!!!

red hot

2009-09-09T21:50:00.006-04:00

Red Velvet Cupcakes
Recipe from Linda

For the cupcakes:
15 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
13 ounces granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
3 eggs
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons red food coloring
1 1/4 teaspoons vinegar (white or apple cider can both work)
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 cup water

For the cream cheese frosting:
1 1/2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature
1 pound butter, room temperature
2 pounds powdered sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
** I added 1 teaspoon of Chambord just so the berries had something to relate to aside from the unnatural red color of the cupcake

For the cupcakes:
Preheat oven 350 degrees F.

Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder into a bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix oil, sugar, and buttermilk until combined. Add eggs, food coloring, vinegar, vanilla and water and mix well. Add the dry ingredients a little bit at a time and mix on low, scraping down sides occasionally, and mix until just combined. Be sure not to over mix, or the batter will come out tough.

Line a 16-cup cupcake pan with paper liners, scoop the batter into the liners and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 to 30 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean. Let cool.

For the cream cheese frosting:
Whip the butter and cream cheese together in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until creamed. Gradually add powdered sugar to the mixture and scrape down the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla and mix until combined.

The frosting can be used right away, or stored in the refrigerator up to a week.

Frost cooled cupcakes with the cream cheese frosting.

personal pan pizzas

2009-09-02T22:29:00.004-04:00

. vine ripe tomatoes, chicken, caramelized vidalia onions, goat cheese, and mesculin pizza .

Mmmmm, my sis and I think of the most genius meals on the fly. Delicious.

wishing for the cold

2009-08-31T19:42:00.007-04:00

[[ Alice & Olivia ]]

I love this. As hard as I try, my favorite "color" will always be black. I'm practically counting down the days for cold weather.

You become a social pariah when you wear head to toe black when it's 90 degrees and humidity levels are about teetering in the thousand percentages.

I'm also pretty giddy about these shoes. I'm an extremely materialistic person. So sue me. It pisses me off that there are haters. I can buy what I want, what's the big deal? Really?! I feel like my entire life is spent working. Why can't I buy things with my hard earned money. Bitches. Please.

Oh Dooooonnnnna, oooooh Donnnaaa.
I love you Donna Karen.

She makes looking "rugged" so damn good. I'm all over these. If they're not completely sold out in a month, these bad asses are mine.

Another wonderful thing for the cold season:

Mmmmm, it's so delicious. I can practically feel the silky fur on my skin. Ahhhhhh.

the killing -- a lobster story

2009-08-29T11:05:00.006-04:00

The boy was working in Maine for the past 2 weeks. As an arrival present, he brought home live lobsters. He ~~told me~~ warned me about this on Wednesday. I think I was more excited about it when he first told me than when the little critters were sitting in a bag on my kitchen table. Eeeeeh! I have to kill those?

I've always considered lobster meat to be one of my all time favorites, but I've never had to see the poor things alive and moving. First, I didn't want to look at them until it was they're time to go into the pot. Then boy wanted to know if we should wash them. I didn't know. He took one of them out of the bag and threw it under some cold water. Holy crap, its tail started aggressively freaking out. Holy crap, no. I can't do it. We nixed the cleaning idea after we read that cleaning wasn't necessary. Thank God.

I freaked out through the entire process. Seriously, if the boy wasn't around to help me, I think I would have ended up crying in the corner of my bedroom. I didn't like that they didn't die instantly. It made me feel inhumane. I still feel kind of guilty about it the morning after. However, making lobster in your own home is an awesome little luxury. I think everyone should try it once. Hopefully you won't be as scarred as I was.

Ingredients

1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp unsalted butter (You can add the salt yourself)
1 1/2 pounds small potatoes (I used Yukon gold and quartered them)
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
3 (1 1/2 pound) lobsters
2 cups dry white wine (I used Yellowtail Chardonnay ... and I drank some right out of the bottle while I cooked. All class, I know. I needed it though to calm my nerves!!!)

Directions
In a heavy-bottomed stockpot, melt the butter in the olive oil over medium heat. Saute the onions for 10-15 minutes, until the onions start to brown.

At this point, layer the ingredients on top of the onions in the stockpot. First add the potatoes, salt, and pepper. Prepare yourself, because it's now time to add your lobsters. Brace yourself, you have to pour in the white wine and they will start freaking out when the steam hits. Ughhh guilt. Put your lid on the pot and cook over medium-high heat for about 15 minutes. Lower the heat to medium and cook another 10-15 minutes until the lobster is cooked. Remove the lobsters. You can serve them whole like I did and you and your guests can pull their lobsters apart yourselves. Remove the potatoes and ladle the delicious broth into bowls. I wish I had some really crusty sourdough bread for that broth. Mmmm, it was so complex and delicious.

Enjoy and try not to think about them when they were alive. I know I had to turn them so they didn't look at my while I was enjoying their claws.

dessert

2009-08-26T22:36:00.006-04:00

Tonight's dessert -- homemade mini tarts with cherry preserves, lemon mousse, and fresh berries. Thanks again, Irina! Check out the recipe and her fabulous blog at Pastry Pal.

I subbed cherry preserves for the raspberry jam. Delicious.

I've decided I need another tattoo. I need to feel that needle on my skin. If I could have it my way, I would get a half sleeve on my left arm. That is of course, if I could guarantee that the skin on my arms stays elastic and young. Doubt that, so negative. What I'm considering instead is getting more piercings or getting something completely bad ass on the inside of my bottom lip. So trashy, good God, I love it.

Tattoo can go right here.

Maybe one of those will be another ridiculous birthday present. Hmmmm... decisions, decisions. 23 in 3 and a half weeks.

ruffles

2009-08-25T23:43:00.002-04:00

[j.crew blouse steve madden shoes dvf skirt]

I am so ready for it to be Fall again. No, I take that back. I just wish there were no full time jobs during the summer. I dislike dressing professionally in oppressive heat. Today was the exception it would seem. I loved today's outfit! It was flowy and ruffly and fabulous. J.Crew really has had a wonderful blouse collection recently. They come in brilliant colors and have dramatic voluminous collars. I get the goosebumps just thinking about all that texture. Love it.

memory lane

2009-08-24T22:57:00.004-04:00

Wishing I were in Hawaii eating cool refreshing shave ice.

Also having a really dark tan wouldn't be so bad right about now either.

Well, I hope someone else out there is really living up the summer. God only knows I didn't this year.

not exactly weather savvy

2009-08-24T01:49:00.003-04:00

Yeah, I do not dress for the weather.

i've got me some brogues

2009-08-21T16:20:00.005-04:00

Church's brogues now in my possession... check.
Happy early birthday to me, biatch.

genius

2009-08-20T16:53:00.005-04:00

Antik Batik embellished jacket, I love you.

wontons

2009-08-18T19:26:00.004-04:00

My sis and I bought wonton wrappers the other day at the supermarket on a whim. Enter Des' fabulous wonton recipe (from Life's Ambrosia) and you have tonight's dinner.

The End

vacay teaser and pretty much everything i ate and could photograph in vegas

2009-08-17T21:43:00.007-04:00

As told through pictures (and maybe 100 words or less):

Viva Las Vegas!

Not the most representative picture I could find, but it was either blurry or hot mess. Or in the following case, both.

twinnie and mommy

The Bellagio water show

The gorgeous Bellagio lobby ceiling

And now for my favorite part... all of the food:

I didn't eat all of these... sadly.

twinnie took the more conscientious approach when posing with her In-N-Out meal

lobster bisque amuse bouche @ Wolfgang Puck's Spago

Caprese salad with local heirloom tomatoes and microgreens @ Wolfgang Puck's Spago

fresh berry granola parfait for breakfast

quiche lorraine a la Jean Pierre patisserie

lychee martini for the waiting game @ shibuya - MGM Grand

That's all for now folks. I wish I'd taken many many more photos. My next test is coming up on Monday so from this point on, I'm going to try to study ridiculously hard. Will post more photos from the trip later.

tailor made

2009-08-07T18:22:00.004-04:00

[ express blazer zara wedges ag jeans banana republic top ]

What a white blazer will do for a summer look. White is so refreshing and clean. Ahhhh, how I love casual Fridays at work.

summer days

2009-08-06T19:21:00.005-04:00

[ twinnie love ]

Oh and p.s. I want these.

[ Giuseppe Zanotti . Pedro Garcia . Balmain ]

like a fat panda

2009-08-06T00:27:00.006-04:00

Ivy Wang has fueled the flames of my inner K-pop teeny bopper. After seeing a few of the music videos she posted on her LJ, I've officially been a freakazoid watching Korean music videos on youtube all day, every day.

There's this one particular artist, Younha, that I think is pretty cute. She started sporting a new more "masculine" look. I have no idea what her old look was, but I can only guess she had longer hair and wore skirts... lots of them.

I wouldn't call it masculine, so much as just less girly than the normal Korean female pop star fare. Either way, this picture got my black and white hunt on.

Amazing I know. My inner rich kid is still doing somersaults over that Chris Benz sergeant jacket how many months later? Drool. Black and white is my go to color palette. It's so easy and pleasing to look at, no?

I know this post is a complete waste of time, I just needed to put these amazing pieces somewhere.

Off to bed now to dream of winning the lottery and affording my $50K wishlist on net-a-porter. Ah the good life in sleep. Night beauties.

paradise

2009-08-03T23:43:00.003-04:00

What I wouldn't give to rewind a whole year and be back on the sandy beaches of Waimanalo.

Sigh. Life is so different now. I must pass these mother fcking tests.

strawberry

2009-08-02T11:29:00.004-04:00

This morning, I had the biggest yen for strawberry syrup. I took some ciabatta bread from last night, soaked it in eggs and milk and made french toast.

2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmet
2 slices of ciabatta bread (you can use more, I wasted my egg bath)
butter

1 cup fresh strawberries
1 1/2 Tbsp of sugar
1 Tbsp corn syrup
1/4 cup of water

Clean and prep your strawberries. Then add the sugar, corn syrup, strawberries, and water to a sauce pan. Set on medium-high heat and leave for 10 minutes. At this point mash your strawberries and let syrup thicken.

During your waiting time, whisk your eggs and milk together in a large shallow bowl. I like to use a pie dish. Add your vanilla, cinammon, nutmeg, sugar, and salt. Put your slices of bread in your egg mix and let the bread soak.

In a pan, melt some butter on medium to high heat. Cook your bread on either side for 3-4 minutes until each side is golden brown.

At this point, you can strain your syrup. I liked to have the mashed up fruit in mine because it makes me feel like it's healthier. Whatever floats your boat.

there's no place like home

2009-08-01T21:00:00.003-04:00

[ free people romper jeffrey campbell gladiators UO bag ]

Today was more gorgeous than any other day all summer. I think after all of the apocalyptic raining, Boston deserved some nice weather.

___________________________

[[ LOUBOUTIN ]]

I am drooling over all of this red. Ever since I was little, I've had an eye for red things. At age 3, I insisted on wearing only red underwear accessorized with shiny red jewelry and red patent leather shoes. I was a doll. I think it stems from my sick obsession with The Wizard of Oz and Judy Garland. That beesch is fabulous.

She is beyond amazing.

I'm definitely going to be one of those brides rocking a red pair of Louboutin d'orsays. Oh hell yeah.

Off to finish Get Shorty. Peace.

rain rain go away

2009-07-31T13:30:00.008-04:00

[ j.crew sweater & top lands' end topsiders reuhl no. 925 shorts ]

God it is just raining and miserable out right now. I wish I could show you how black the sky is in Boston. It's like MA just stuck itself inside the stratosphere's anus. Lovely weather for a picnic! Or better yet, my day off. =P

Whatever. I'm studying for my test, which I've been ridiculously behind on since my client just filed their 10Q. It's been a very busy 2 weeks. Later than normal nights have not been 1) fun, 2) conducive for good solid studying, and 3) diet friendly. Eating dinner at like 10 is not good for the system. I'm pretty convinced. Last night was pretty cute though. Allen "made" dinner last night. He cooked up some sweet and hot sausages and we made sausage and peppers as if we were at Fenway (Booo!!! GO YANKEES! -- Ortiz juiced up is the funniest news I heard all day yesterday).

In any case, my studying habits are hopefully getting back on the fast track toward a 75+ on my next test! We'll see about that. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. And I'm going to need to since I can't just sit and study for 6 hours straight. I need to have my blog time, check out what's new on all my favorite shopping sites, watch some youtube videos. You know, the normal procrastination tricks of the trade you pick up at college that you can never seem to shake during crunch time. Best video handsdown:

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

This kid is so freaking adorable. Plus I love that she's like WTF mom and dad, get my fish's name right.

Ugh time to be responsible... or make peach strawberry sorbet. Can't decide which. PEACE!

boots boots boots

2009-07-28T21:52:00.002-04:00

[ dolce vita boots j.crew shorts joie top mbmj bag ]

I really don't understand reality dating shows. I'm currently watching Daisy of Love and she is the worst individual to have a reality show. She's so bad at acting. Honestly, she can't even play herself. Are you joking?! It also doesn't help that she can't open her mouth when she speaks. So lame.

what up tuna?

2009-07-26T17:06:00.008-04:00

Today was a fishy day, as in a craving for fish day. And... considering today's temperature felt exactly the way I picture being in hell's anus, tacos it was! It's quick and not too much time near the oven's heat.

Tuna & Taco stuff

1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
12 ounces ahi (or albacore) tuna, cut into 1-inch-thick steaks
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
8 hard taco shells (available in most grocery stores)
2 limes, halved

In a small bowl, combine cumin, cayenne, salt, pepper, and coriander. Rub spice mixture generously on both sides of the tuna.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F for the taco shells.

Heat a nonstick pan on the stove over high heat. When pan is smoking hot, add olive oil, wait 10 seconds, then add tuna. Sear for 1 minute per side, or until fish is cooked on the outside, but rare on the inside. Beware! Your spice mixture on a very hot pan will smell very similar to mase. I would know. I was practically choking. Once you begin to breathe normally, transfer to a plate.

Separate taco shells and place them in the oven for 4 minutes (timing is everything here, since they go from perfectly done to burned after about 1 additional minute).

Avocado Salsa

3 ripe avocados, pit and skin discarded, diced into 1/4-inch cubes
2 medium tomatoes, diced into 1/4-inch cubes
1 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
1/2 red onion, diced
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Add all ingredients to a medium-size bowl. Toss gently. DO NOT MASH AVOCADO. The chunkier, the better!

Assemble and voila!

nature's candy

2009-07-26T12:48:00.001-04:00

whole foods

2009-07-25T13:06:00.004-04:00

Last night, I was too tired to actually make a home cooked meal. I wanted to "cook" without having to whip something together from scratch. That's when the revelation hit. It's sort of out of the way going home, but I suddenly had a desperate urge to drop a shitload of money at Whole Foods, my favorite grocery establishment of all time (Thanks Allen Wong!!!!). I typically do this once a month and go buck wild. Last night, no exception.

For dinza, I bought one of those premade pesto pizzas with fresh tomatoes. I only got to snap the pizza before it got cooked. Allen and I pretty much devoured it all the minute we took it out of the oven. I'm kind of pissed for not remembering to snap a shot of it's gooey cheesy goodness. I definitely suggest this as a quick dinner option.

Also, m parents are at the apartment this weekend, so I bought my mommy a dozen orange/yellow/pink roses. They were so gorgeous and fragrant. Currently, they're stuffed in my refridgerator. I also bought the rents those adorable individual desserts.

I'm not being pressured to leave and go to IKEA to pick up a TV stand. Peace out!

useful

2009-07-23T21:54:00.002-04:00

For the first time ever, I feel completely happy with those reserved sale websites. Gilt, Ruelala, etc. I just scored a Robert Rodriguez dress that I was eyeing a few months ago. It was completely out of my price range at $530. Eeeeeh.

You are all mine, you little beesch.

goodbye little guy

2009-07-22T23:55:00.002-04:00

R.I.P. Chimi

rainy day

2009-07-21T21:55:00.011-04:00

Let's contemplate boat shoes lifting your rainy day spirits, eh?

sunshine and citrus

2009-07-20T22:22:00.009-04:00

Happy Birthday guy!

Celebrated the boy's bday hard this weekend. Busy bees! I felt like I had no time to recover from all of the festivities and it was back to work.

I desperately need to study, which sounds like the lamest thing to say. I will leave you will a food post (finally). My bestie Ray will be happy my blog posts aren't getting too boring.

Spicy Orange Steak Tips

4 lbs steak tips
the juice and zest of 2 navel oranges
1/2 cup of soy sauce or tamari
2 Tbsp honey
1/2 cup of rice vinegar
1 Tbsp minced ginger
10 cloves minced garlic
2 tsp coriander
2 1/2 Tbsp Sriracha sauce

Soak wooden skewers in water ahead of time. Cut up the steak tips into 1 inch cubes, removing as much silver skin as possible. Mix all of the ingredients together in a large ziploc container. Throw the meat into the marinade and let sit at least 4 hours. Before grilling, put 4-5 pieces of steak on each skewer. Grill to the temperature of your liking. Eat, enjoy, repeat.