Fail at to-do lists

About a month back I posted "Things I really want to do these next couple weeks" but I haven't gotten around to any of them (so I'm two weeks behind)!

They are:
-Go to Malbec, La Grande Orange, and Elements Kitchen in Pasadena.
-Go to BLD and JiRaffe on the Westside.
-Go to Bottega Louie in Downtown LA.
-Watch Paranormal Activity.
-Watch most of season 3 of Lost.
-Catch up on Grey's Anatomy.
-Catch up on HIMYM and Big Bang Theory.
-Oh yeah, and get "A"s on all my tests :)

Okay, so I actually have gotten As on all my tests, but that doesn't count because it isn't a fun to-do.

Excellent week for shopping

Despite being pretty loyal to my shopping ban for like 2-3 months, Anthropologie just had to entice me with a 15% off birthday coupon. Madewell also enticed me, but that was just because I love Madewell!

So on the day before Halloween I went to the Anthro store in Pasadena to see what they had. They definitely have a smaller selection than the Glendale Anthro, but I still came away with three great deals. All were on sale, and all were 15% off on top of that. I got an Ella Moss dress (Shareen), a gorgeous Deletta top, and a Bordeaux top. The picture of the Bordeaux top does not do it justice, and I also got it in charcoal, not teal. It's such a simply sophisticated top for school, work, or going out for dinner. Best Anthro trip ever!

Deletta blouse


Bordeaux top

Ella Moss "Shareen" dress (Anthro says "Mena" but that's wrong)

At Madewell, I got two boyfriend V-necks for $15 each (Originally $24 and $29 each!), a great pair of skinny jeans, and stirrup leggings. I bought black tights like an idiot from Urban, and since you can't wear that alone I decided that I needed to find some thick, comfy leggings. The fact that they're stirrup leggings added like a billion+ points to its amazingness factor, so I had to buy them. Also, Madewell's skinny jeans are the ONLY skinny jeans I like. I've tried everything: Hudson, Seven for All Mankind, Rich & Skinny, J Brand, Forever 21, Express, etc. Everyone elses are usually too tight, too low-rise, or just unflattering. Madewell makes even a normal sized girl like me look good (or so I think) in skinny jeans. Oh, and they give college students (with ID) a 15% discount. Woot.

M.I.A.

Wow, I haven't written in here in a long time...

Nothing much has been happening since the last time. I've curbed my shopping! Sadly the influx of birthday gift cards/money caused me to make a little shopping trip today, but I don't think I'm keeping everything. Shopping by myself is the worst for me. I need a second opinion before I really approve of anything, so I just buy stuff to take home and see if my mom think it looks good. Typically she doesn't like it haha.

UCLA football has been disappointing, as has NFL fantasy football.

DineLA week is being extended to Oct. 18-23 now! I can try stuff that I was originally too busy for these past couple weeks. Hopefully the restaurants I'm interested in are joining in the extension.

Classes this quarter are torture. Way too much to study for, and way too many tests and quizzes. Basically if I don't have a test or two during the week, I have a quiz or two. It keeps me on my toes, but come on, I want some relaxation too! Thankfully I've been able to stay in the high "A" range, so I have some leeway to screw up.

Things I really want to do these next couple weeks:
-Go to Malbec, La Grande Orange, and Elements Kitchen in Pasadena.
-Go to BLD and JiRaffe on the Westside.
-Go to Bottega Louie in Downtown LA.
-Watch Paranormal Activity.
-Watch most of season 3 of Lost.
-Catch up on Grey's Anatomy.
-Catch up on HIMYM and Big Bang Theory.
-Oh yeah, and get "A"s on all my tests :)

I am ridiculous...

I really need to go to sleep at a normal hour this week. I swear I'll go to sleep early tonight (Monday)!

I tried to go to sleep at like 2:30 but I got distracted by my old Xanga entries. They were really lame, and boring. Not that I'm not boring and lame now, but I would literally be like, "I woke up, I ate this, I visited this person, I bought this. I'm bored," every entry. One interesting thing I found out was that I killed a squirrel like 3 years ago hahahaha. I wrote that I hit one on the way home from visiting Darryl. It came out of nowhere and I couldn't react fast enough to avoid it/it would have been dangerous to avoid it. Poor squirrel...

I also found a funny list by Maxim about the top 100 things men need to know about women. It's way too long to post here, but try and google it. It's from 2005.

I heart Shopbop!

One of my favorite online stores is having daily giveaways, and I won today! I'm super excited, and I think I'm going to get these three things when I get the gift card:



1. Madewell Rail Straight Jeans: I already have a pair of these from the actual Madewell store and I absolutely love them! They are so flattering and comfortable I could live in them all day. I was actually going to get another pair from Madewell today but I decided not to since I'm on a shopping ban haha. Good thing I waited!

I'm not sure about the earrings yet since I get such bad metal allergies, but I figure they're free...

2. Gorjana Orchid Gem Hoops: I've been looking for a gorgeous pair of simple turquoise earrings.

3. Kenneth Jay Lane Coral Chip Hoops: I've also been looking for a pair of coral hoops, but hoops tend to sit funny on my ears... I must have gotten my ears pierced in the wrong spots haha.

EDIT: So, after researching "gold-plated" jewelry, I decided that it was not worth my money to get those earrings. Apparently gold-plated jewelry has such a thin layer of gold on it that it wears off extremely fast. Like taking a shower once with gold-plated earrings on will probably cause the coating to come off. Also, daily wear and skin cells eat away at the plating. Not worth $50!

I decided to get the jeans and an awesome LeSportsac Large Weekender bag in zebra print haha. I've had my eye on a new travel bag for a while and figured that this was the right time to get one. I've been waiting to retire my old, red Nike duffel bag!

Souplantation's blueberry muffins!

I love Souplantation, and I especially love their blueberry muffins. I have a blueberry pound cake recipe that I've been using for muffins, but it really just doesn't cut it. I was Googling last night and found the (supposedly) exact recipe that Souplantation uses. The author said that you can even buy blueberry extract from Souplantation! Once I get my hands on some blueberry extract I'm gonna see how these come out...

Wild Maine Blueberry Muffins (Makes about 2 dozen muffin)

1/2 pound frozen blueberries, thawed and drained

DRY MIX

2 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole-wheat flour

5 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

WET MIX

1 and 2/3 cups buttermilk

1 cup white sugar

2/3 cup canola oil

1/4 cup cracked eggs

1 teaspoon blueberry extract

Combine the dry-mix ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine. Combine the wet mix ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Beat wet mix to dissolve the sugar (I think the eggs should be mixed with the sugar first so that the eggs get mixed in well.) Add the dry mix to the wet mix and combine thoroughly. Gently fold in blueberries.

Spray muffin pans with nonstick cooking spray or line with paper liners. Scoop batter into muffin pans with a 2-ounce scoop. Bake in a preheated 325-degree oven for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

EDIT*** Apparently whoever originally posted this recipe put the wrong temperature. I think they meant 375, or maybe even 425. I realized that that is way too low of a temperature...

Busy bee

So much stuff has been going on lately! It's mostly fun stuff, though.

4th of July was quite some time ago but it was really good. Lots of good food, family, friends, and beautiful illegal fireworks. All of my favorite foods are served together one day a year (chicken katsu, somen salad, copious amount of desserts, bean dip, korean sushi, etc.), and I am looking forward to next year's 4th of July already!!

Darryl had his last weekend of real freedom for the next five weeks :( But at least we got to spend it finding out the conclusion to Harper's Island haha. I don't think anyone other than us watches that... Mmm and we had Souplantation and Fosselman's ice cream! I'm glad that Darryl and I both love food haha.

A few of us visited Hanna out in the desert! Loma Linda isn't that bad :) It's just super super hot! Be safe in the Galapagos Islands!

I also just got back (like an hour ago) from the AMAZING Incubus concert at the Hollywood Bowl. My camera sucks so I didn't take any pictures, but I recorded part of their encore on my phone. I also randomly had seats right in front of a friend from UCLA, and I saw a bunch of people I knew while in the concert or right outside of it. Brandon Boyd's voice is so amazing live. It might even be better than the CD.... so talented!

I know there is more that I am forgetting to post, but that's my fault for being so sporadic with my posting.

I can't believe Kacey's going to leave for Japan in less than 2 weeks!!! Must go to Porto's once before you leave!

Shopping ban FOR REAL

Okay, all my other shopping bans were simply put in place so that I stayed within a budget of $200 a month for shopping, food, and anything else I spend money on. NOW, this shopping ban is in place because I just dropped quite a bit of money on an iMac and an iPod touch. My last big purchase until I get my M.A. and a full-time job! Sigh, goodbye new clothes and other luxuries.

My bank account is crying as it hemorrhages money.... but I really need a reliable desktop! I would have bought this some day, but I figured it would have been a few years from now, not today. That iPod touch rebate really pulled me in.

Random thoughts

• Happy early birthdays to mis amigas Hanna y Allie! (25th and 30th, respectively.)

• I miss Darryl :( Saw him for one, maybe two hours out of the last 9 days.

• CSULA is shady and horribly run. Why can't the Cal States be run more efficiently and less biased??

• I want some delicious food!!! Cook's Tortas without red fries was not enough to satisfy my cravings. Excited for shabu^2 lunch tomorrow :)

• I haven't cooked very much lately. That needs to change. First on my list: chicken pot pie.

• Tempted to do the 30-day challenge at Bikram Yoga La Cañada starting on July 10. Must clean my body of its toxins!!

• I keep bruising my left leg... random. I only know where some came from, and no, I haven't been drunk lately.

• eBay has been quite good to me lately. I've listed three things in the past month and they've all sold at good prices! Now if only I could find the things I want at cheap prices, too...

• Driving up to NorCal soon. I'm excited! Maybe we can go wine tasting again. If only I could prevent myself from getting tipsy after one tasting...

• I got straight "A"s this past quarter! Now I finally get to have a 4.0 haha.

Done!

I just turned in a paper and took a final exam today. Thankfully that was all I had this quarter, so I am officially done with my first quarter as a post-bac! Due to budget cuts they are NOT accepting any more post-bac students, so I am super happy I applied when I did. I feel like this will also make getting into grad. school a lot less competitive. I'm feeling more hopeful every day that I will get into a good program next year :)

I celebrated being done by watching the Laker game when I got home. Sadly that was not something to celebrate...

I also just watched He's Just Not That Into You, and I must say that it was really annoying. I'm not sure how it got such good ratings on Netflix; I guess it's because it is pretty true to life and people respected that. It seemed to just perpetuate the idea that marriage is bad. Movies always make marriages seem so life-sucking and love-sucking. Most married couples I know (granted they're old people) seem to have really solid relationships, and some have been together since their teens. These real-life couples give me hope :)

In the end, I gave it three stars on Netflix, meaning I "liked" it, but only because I liked 75% of the ending.

On another movie note, I saw The Hangover this past weekend with Darryl after eating at Yard House, and I LOVED it. It was such a ridiculously hilarious movie, everyone should go watch it! *Warning, it is a bit crude.

Helpful Bus

Rarely do I enjoy Spike TV, but I found this skit featuring The Office's Craig Robinson and got a good laugh out of it.

PG Porn: Helpful Bus

Old Town Pasadena Restaurant Week!!

OMG, I can't wait to try one or more of these places.

June 1-8, 2009

http://oldpasadena.org/restaurantweek/

Places I want to try or revisit:
1. Cafe Santorini (delish)
2. redwhite+bluezz (I heard it's a great date place AND they have really good food... also considered a great concept restaurant--jazz bar, grill, fine dining, and wine tasting, I believe.)
3. Scarlet Tea Room and Fine Dining (great for a mother-daughter date)
4. POP Champagne and Dessert Bar (Angus sliders, TRUFFLE mac and cheese, and strawberries and chocolate galore??? Where do I sign up?)
5. Sushi Roku (Darryl and I had a great experience there the last time they had a prix fixe menu. SO MUCH SASHIMI!)

Some of the other places sound good when it's NOT restaurant week. For example, Elements Kitchen's restaurant week menu appears to be lacking... :(

Fail.

I'm up still because I attempted to go to sleep early (10:30 p.m.) and couldn't actually fall asleep. I got out of bed at like midnight and I've been up ever since...

It doesn't help that Windows updated tonight and caused my sound driver to fail. I had to use system restore to get back to a point before stupid Windows updated, but before that, my computer blue-screened about 10 times before I could get system restore to stay open. MICROSOFT FAIL. Time for a Mac?

One positive is that I worked on my paper and I have it at 5 casually written pages. I'll make it more formal tomorrow and add a couple more pages, and then I will be halfway done with my finals! I love papers in lieu of tests, especially when it's for a professor who makes horribly written/unfair tests.

I'm excited for this weekend even though I have to study a few chapters for my other final. I think I'm going to watch The Hangover with Darryl and then eat a delicious dinner, or vice versa (lunch then the Hangover.) I like it when we go on dates haha. Even though it can get expensive, it's slightly more exciting than playing Rock Band and cards at home and harassing my dog :) haha.

I'm also getting He's Just Not That Into You from Netflix tomorrow! I'm excited to watch it with my mom. Hopefully it doesn't make me too cynical about relationships...

MbMJ Faridah bag.

Now selling on eBay. Pictures provided per request by interested buyers ;)

The first two pictures show the spots I discovered while taking pictures. I might want to use another MbMJ dust bag because those spots were not there before I put the bag in the dust bag :(

SO BUYERS BE FOREWARNED, there are tiny white dots (possibly 3) on the bag. All three are on the lower portion of the bag (bottom of the pockets)

Accessories

I'm in love with the necklace that Jessiqa Pace, the notorious billboard model, is wearing in this picture. I have a similar cami (that looks super boring), and that necklace would be a killer addition. Too bad I have no idea where to find one like it! Jewelry is so hard to shop for...

Is it just me or does she look way hotter in the billboard picture? Amazing what proper lighting/black&white can do.

OH, and I almost forgot to mention this. When Darryl and I were at the Petsmart in Pasadena, we saw Steve-O from Jackass with his girlfriend (?) and their cute puppy. I think they were there for an obedience class. He looked nice and happy, but I don't enjoy going up to famous people so I left him alone.

Lodis - Arno Large Lux Ballet Wallet

Saw this on Hautelook.com's sample sale site today and decided to buy it! With shipping and tax it ended up being around $53. Not too bad! The website said it was originally $170, but sometimes SS sites lie...

I loooove lilac, so once I saw this I knew I wanted it. It also appears to have tons of space, so let's hope this one holds up for longer than a few months! Stupid Macy*s Charter Club wallet....

Fun Stuff

I never really post about my weekly activities anymore...

This past weekend was good. I had a LOT of schoolwork to do, but I managed to do most of it on Saturday. I hung out in Fullerton because I went to Darryl's roommate's graduation/brunch on Sunday. Graduation was super boring, as is expected, but The Cannery restaurant in Newport was really nice. Despite the niceness of the restaurant, OMG, the 55 fwy into Newport is FTL. They really need to do something about that. Until they fix that, I don't think I'm ever going back to Newport on a weekend or other peak traveling time.

I also ate at Sonic like twice, watched Star Trek (REALLY GOOD!), played a lot of Skipbo, and ate at Souplantation. I love Souplantation... they need to build one by my house! ASAP!

Hanging out with high school friends was a bust :( I think we just need to set an exact time and date. If something is set in stone, we're bound to go.

My group project/presentation turned out well. My stomach was in pain afterward, though. All of that nervous stomach churning prior to and during the presentation must have done a number on me. I cannot wait until this quarter is OVER! I have a two week break after my last final, and then summer school begins. My classes should be pretty chill, though. After talking to some classmates I realized that I might not actually want to have Summer 2010 off. They said three classes in one quarter is bad enough, but four classes per quarter for two quarters in a row is pure hell. :( Hopefully it all works out so that I can go to JAPAN!

On Friday I believe we will be having a mini shabu^2 meeting at our favorite joint in MPK. Be there or be square, people.

See by Chloe Punch Line Wallet

This picture makes it look kind of awkward, but I think this wallet is cute.

I've been trying to buy cheaper things lately, but they keep confirming my belief that you get what you pay for. My wallet that broke=$30. It's the little details that they really skimp on, and that's what matters (i.e. my zipper.)

This wallet is on sale for $178 (yes.... expensive) but I searched nearly every website I could think of and either the wallet is too boring, or it's too overpriced for what you get. This one is unique and has SO many credit card slots that I will have a spot for every gift card, credit card, ID card, and insurance card I own. The thing with most other wallets I found was that they tried to be minimalistic with only 5 credit card slots and no room for expansion. I carry my life in my wallet so I need one that has space.

I wish there was a coupon code available at shopbop.com, but maybe I can find this one on eBay for cheaper...

What do you guys think? Honest opinions!!

edit: Sadly it does not come in white... that would be cute!! it's hanging out in my shopping cart, but i doubt i'll buy it.

Any suggestions for wallets that have lasted YOU guys a long time? Coach? Dooney&Bourke? Lodis? Hobo International?

In search of a new wallet.

My stupid wallet broke. Well, more like the zipper that keeps my coin holder closed broke. So, either I don't keep coins in there/don't use coins, or I buy a new wallet. I think I might just use a separate coin purse, but that would be kind of annoying to take two things out of my purse when paying for stuff.

Hmmm... we shall see what goods I can find online (for cheap.)

STRESS!

After 8 p.m. tomorrow I will be so happy! I don't think I've ever had two tests in a row before. Not even in 4 years of undergrad. classes! Hopefully my brain doesn't blank during the 2nd one. It's a short answer/fill-in-the-blank test, and those are always killer for me.

I shouldn't even be online, yet I'm blogging and on Facebook creating statuses haha. I need to study 7 lectures and I'm supposed to go to sleep early too since I have a dermatology appointment tomorrow morning! MUST FOCUS!!!

Sadly, even though my two tests will be over on Tuesday, I don't think I'll have time later this school week for anything fun. I have to tutor on Wednesday AND Friday, and I have a paper and a presentation due right after Memorial Day that I want to get done before the weekend. No shabu-diva lunch for me... but the weekend should be open! Beach on Saturday? Yes?

HAHA..

From: mydadisafob.com

It’s that time of year

March 12, 2009

So we’re eating dinner and this is what happens:

Dad: Hey Brian, your acceptance letter from UC Irvine came today!
Me: What really? Let me see!
Dad: HAHA No i’m joking. April Fools!!
Me: …Dad thats not funny. It’s not even April!
Dad: …MARCH MADNESS

YESS!

Ahhh I'm so happy! My mom decided to pay for part of my summer 2009 tuition! WOOT!

AND, I just had an advisement appointment with my professor and I can finish all of my pre-reqs before Summer 2010. Guess what that means.....?

JAPAN TRIP SUMMER 2010! :D :D :D

I'm excited!! This also means MORE trips other than that... but we'll have to see what fun I can find for myself during a whole summer off!

This means I have to take two intense quarters of classes in a row (Winter 2010 and Spring 2010), but I will also be applying to grad. school before those grades come out :D hahaha. Not that I'm planning on failing, but I at least won't mind getting a B.

Reminders for myself:

Finish GSA 7 and GSA 8 by Thursday!!

Stuttering observation on Thursday.

Complete study guides for 170 and 456 before the weekend.

Finish HW #6 for 170.

Rebecca Minkoff SS on Friday morning.

Fullerton/Irvine Friday-Saturday.

170 and 456 tests on Tuesday!!

Perfection.

I've been looking for the perfect cardigan/sweater for the LONGEST time! I bought one 6 months ago from Urban Outfitters but returned it because it wasn't "perfect." Well, my search has finally ended with J.Crew's Soft Tee Cardigan. I discovered it a week ago at the Old Town Pasadena J.Crew for $39.50 (orig. $49.50) and fell in love. I wanted it in every color, but settled for one in heather graphite (gray.)

If you want the perfect soft, comfy, not too hot, not too cold, machine-washable sweater, this is it!

Please ignore her face... Why do models always look so disgusted with the world? They must be mad they can't eat.

Awkward.

Would you consider it a bitchy move to correct a salesperson who said that Miley Cyrus wore a particular dress to try and get a customer to buy it? Well, I did that haha.

There's this blah little $48 dress sold at Nordstrom that looks like a Theory $225 dress that Miley Cyrus wore to a premiere. The vibrancy of the red/orange is waaay different between the two dresses and these photos definitely show it.

The mother was buying it for her daughter, and when the salesperson said Miley Cyrus wore that exact dress with "lots of gold chains and bangles" (a lie) to style it up, the mother was kind of like, "Oh, maybe I don't want to buy it..." I guess I helped that salesperson out? I was just like, "That actually isn't the exact dress she wore." I felt like it was kind of rude of me, but DON'T LIE to get a sale, sales people!



I don't think Miley is wearing a ton of gold chains and bangles... idiot high school girls who work at Nordstrom. I wanted to work there for some shopping money, but if my coworkers are these 'tards, no thank you.

Marc by Marc Jacobs Faridah Hobo - Bright Purple

Anyone interested in buying my USED MbMJ hobo? It's super functional and has perfectly placed pockets. I stopped using it since I now have two other purses and I figured it needed a better owner than me/one who will actually use it. This is also a SOLD OUT color. I think it was in very limited production.

My asking price is $275 (purchased for $448+tax) since it is used. I will accept other offers (I'm not too demanding, I just want some money back for this baby ;)), but if you're interested, please email me at mbmj.faridah@gmail.com.

We will have to also bargain about the logistics/costs for getting the purse to you. I'm a regular seller on eBay so I don't mind shipping, but it would be nice to just deliver it locally.

Weather, you are a harsh mistress..

Who else is seriously annoyed by the hot and cold nature of the weather right now? One day it's 90 during the day and deliciously comfy at night, the next it's overcast and a frigid 60 (or lower) at night when I'm walking around after class.

I'm loving the hot weather (sorry hot weather haters) and am hating the cold weather. I want to be able to wear a tank top, shorts, and flat sandals at night. But, it's so cold people are wearing UGGs and jeans to class!

My perfect outfit would be this one by Vince. LOVE the striped navy sweater and pop of lime. And who doesn't love white shorts during spring in LA? Since it's on sale pretty much everywhere, I'm thinking of investing in Vince's striped cardigan. We'll see how it looks on a short Asian girl...

Sample Sales

Even though I live near LA and have plenty of chances to shop at ridiculously good sample sales, I never seem to make it out to any. I've never made it to a denim sample sale despite denim being my most expensive pieces of clothing (I should really do something about that.) The one sample sale I might make it out to this year is for purses of course....

...But I really want a nice brown purse!! It's so sad that I will never satisfy my purse cravings. Just like I will never satisfy my frozen yogurt cravings, nomnomnom. Maybe buying a nice brown purse and a frozen yogurt machine will make my life complete :) (mostly joking..)

I wanted to photoshop a picture of myself holding a frozen yogurt machine and a brown purse, but I decided that would take too much effort haha. It would be a good distraction from studying, though!

I miss my friends :( We need to eat lunch together SOON! Monday? Tuesday? Wednesday? Let's put it in permanent pen instead of penciling it in :)

Success?

I think I got an A on my test today?

I think I missed maybe 1-2, and I would need to miss 15+ for lower than an A- (there were 75 questions), so I am definitely somewhere in the A range!

I guess I didn't have too much to worry about, but now I have to prep for my test on Thursday! (Thanks for the encouraging comments, too!)

I'm excited for this weekend: DONE with tests for at least a few weeks, Songfest at UCI (only because Darryl's sister is performing), maybe the UCLA spring game, and Darryl's birthday. We're going to eat some all-you-can-eat sushi at this place called Joe's Sushi in La Habra. It better be delicious and fresh! Does anyone know of other AYCE sushi places near the SGV? There are some leads on Yelp but they don't sound too promising...

Competition

Sigh... so, since there are a very limited number of grad student spots for the program I want to get into, it is SO competitive in the classes I'm taking now!! I have to get an A in each class if I want to be considered for a spot (and these are only 2 of 15 classes I have to take.) The scariness of it all is making me more unmotivated to study.... not sure why, but it needs to change NOW!

Being a bitch...

I feel like a lot of people's views have changed about me and my personality. I used to be the shy, quiet girl who never really spoke my mind. I wouldn't say I'm a mean bitch now, but I was submissive, stepped on, and treated badly during the socially formative years of my life, so I feel like it's finally my turn to state my opinion about whomever and whatever I please (with limits, of course.)

Back in middle school, if a girl didn't like someone else, other girls wouldn't think she was a bitch for speaking her mind; they would agree and think she was so cool. I was the victim of a bitch like this, and from middle school to high school, I let shit like that go instead of standing up for myself. I figured, why speak my mind or ask what was wrong and ruffle feathers in the process? I let someone alienate people against me for her own selfish social needs. I wish I spoke up and stood up for myself back then, so now I say whatever I want to if something bothers me.

I really hated middle school (almost typed that out as midtle... I blame my recent lessons on phonemes and allophones.) I put on a happy face, but my quietness was also a cover-up for my unhappiness. I felt like whatever I said would be used against me, and I figured that the less I said, the less someone would have a reason to hate me. I still have a hard time trusting girls (and people in general,) but shit happens.

With that being said.... I love my life right now and wouldn't change it for anything in the world. I have a boyfriend who loves me and cares about me no matter what stupid thing I say, and I'm finally being social again.

Edit: This is in no way an attack on anybody who actually knows about this blog or has spoken to me within the past 5 years. I just feel like my new openness/bitchiness could be taken as being a "disparaging" person (hah, who knows where that's from?? I think only three of us know...) but I think most of my recent bitchiness is warranted. Hotel manager being rude and bitchy to me and my friends? I'll be a bitch to you. Idiot who doesn't have elevator etiquette? I'll be a bitch when you don't hold the door for me and your friends stand in the way of me getting inside. Sarcasm? Not being a bitch, but sorry if it is taken as being bitchy.

I also wanted to get that whole middle school stuff off my chest since I don't think I've ever talked about it with anyone other than Darryl. A couple of you made it known during middle school that it wasn't me you were ignoring--the ignoring of Vivian was kind of a package deal including me, though. We were all young and stupid.

Work it out

Working out on a regular basis is good for so many reasons, but one of the reasons that I hate working out--other than lethargy--is BACNE! UGH! I'm sure it's due to working out/sweating while there's oil and dead skin on my body, but if I showered before I worked out, it would dry out my skin and hair since I shower right after.

Have any of you found some way to prevent this embarrassing condition?

Totally tubular

Recently I acquired $45 worth in gift cards to Bloomingdale's, so I decided to check out what the Century City one had in stock. I prefer the South Coast Plaza Bloomies, but at 2 p.m., traffic would be horrendous going and coming.

I found a ton of stuff I really liked, but I decided that the ivory jacket with HUGE gold buttons was too blingy, and that the James Perse shirt was not worth the money (eBay!!) However, I found a really cute Theory dress (Tubular Tyran in Urchin) on sale for $136 that was "one size fits all." It really means "one size fits most," but after debating whether or not I should buy it, I reasoned with myself that it would be perfect for casual events, weddings, and for when I get fatter, skinnier, or pregnant. It is fuschia (eek,) but I think I pull off bright pink fairly well...

Here it is! I think it looks better on me, but you can be the judge when I put a picture of myself up ...

Inspired

Most girls my age loved Full House, but now that I'm older and the Olsen twins are older, I now love the style choices that the Olsen twins make. I was browsing the Forever 21 site and discovered this simple yet versatile dress. With some simple sandals and a bright cardigan, it could work for the daytime. For a night look, I would wear it with a slouchy 3/4 sleeve blazer (a la MK Olsen) and some hot studded heels. Time for a Forever 21 trip!

Much needed trip!

Rundown of what went on this weekend:

-road trip up the 101!
-Solvang is adorable.
-Andersen's pea soup: should NOT be world famous (and I like pea soup.)
-made my mark on bubble gum alley in SLO.
-little kids hated me at the stone slide in Berkeley haha.
-yummy burger and cupcakes.
-bikram yoga felt good and will change my life (if I find a cheap studio in the SGV.)
-Sushi House!
-it was COLD everywhere in nor cal. very little rain, though.
-Tommy's Joint had realllly yummy corned beef sandwiches.
-J-town was really nice, and we kind of helped a lost child find her mom. more like stayed with her so pedophiles didn't try and kidnap her.
-NEVER STAY AT THE INN AT THE OPERA NEAR THE CIVIC CENTER!!!
-met kacey's awesome friend KHENG!!
-delicious deep dish pizza at Zachary's in Berkeley.
-and to end my list, be very careful these next few days while driving! cops are in FULL FORCE from nor cal to SGV. we saw two on SG blvd. within a mile from each other, just waiting to catch people.
-oh, and guys are douchebags. especially ones who went to schurr high school.

SF!

I'm going to SF/Oakland from Saturday to Tuesday with some of my favorite friends! Even though it's supposed to rain, it should be fun. I'm excited to try Bikram Yoga with one of my girlfriends, but I'm scared I'm going to faint or be grossed out by other peoples' BO.

I need to finish packing since I've been delaying for a few hours :)

Hopefully I actually take pictures!

Fashion blogs.

I usually love fashion blogs for the inspiration, but women (or men) who comment on them tend to be sheep (or insert another good word for worshippers of bloggers.)

Also, bloggers who blog solely about fashion sometimes have their priorities mixed up (fashion/style before anything else, such as bankruptcy or pain.) It's embarrassing to read. Some people have qualms about paying $2 for an iPhone app and then buy $100 rings. Such a bad influence. I think I'm going to stop reading fashion blogs.

When a blogger considers hideous $100 rings affordable and awesome, I don't have respect for them anymore. Also, when that same blogger considers a $550 Tiffany ring something that doesn't break the bank, I realize how so many people go into debt. Another blogger who I actually respect never labels prices as 'affordable' unless it would be universally affordable. I think it's more respectful in this economic climate, especially when your readership is widespread.

/endrant

Turkey Bolognese

Adapted from several different recipes.

#1
1/4 cup Extra virgin olive oil.
4 tbsp. butter (salted or unsalted, depending on your preference.)
2 med. onions finely chopped (I use yellow.)
4 stalks celery finely chopped
3 carrots finely chopped
5 cloves of garlic chopped (I use 8...)

Heat the butter and olive oil together in a dutch oven or large pot and add the rest of the ingredients. Cook on high until the onions are soft and the veggies have sweated a little (10-15 minutes.)

#2: Add 1.25 lbs of ground turkey (I use lean, not extra lean) to the veggie mixture and brown completely.

#3: Once the turkey is browned, add 3/4 cup of milk and simmer until it's evaporated (15 minutes?)

#4: Add 3/4 cup dry white wine and simmer til it's evaporated (15 minutes.)

#5:
28-oz can of crushed tomatoes
3 TBSP of dried parsley flakes or a handful of fresh.
1 small package of basil leaves
4 tsp of salt (or more to taste)
4 tsp of pepper (or more to taste)
2 TBSP of Italian seasoning/herbs de provence (or more)

Add all of these ingredients to the pot and simmer slowly until sauce thickens (30 minutes-2 hours... whatever thickness you prefer.) Taste the sauce and add more of whichever seasoning you think it needs (usually salt or Italian seasoning.)

When you're ready to make pasta (20-30 minutes before sauce is thick) start boiling enough water for 1 lb. of pasta. I prefer Barilla's rotini pasta. Follow the package's directions, but since the bolognese is going to be hot, I usually undercook my pasta a tiny bit since the sauce will continue to cook the pasta for a little while. Once the pasta is drained, throw it into the sauce and take it off of the stove to cool. Yummy.

Boo Selection Sunday

I don't know how many of you follow division 1 college basketball, but Selection Sunday was this afternoon and things do not look very bright in UCLA's future. I know I should have faith in the team to succeed, but fuck! VCU is our first match-up in the East region of the bracket, and they beat a good Duke team a couple years ago by a very small margin. Sure, that was two years ago, but they frighten me. I also picked that VCU over Duke upset because I had no faith in Duke (as I usually don't) and I have a small amount of faith in UCLA. We also have possible match-ups with Texas (beat us this year) or Duke, Villanova, and Florida State, Oklahoma or Pitt. AHHHH!!

On to happier things, I spent the weekend with Darryl and some friends. Played lots of Clue and Five Crowns, watched Role Models, ate delicious home-cooked food, got cheap Golden Spoon "fro-yo," and had a good time.

I also didn't buy anything at Gap. I did try on a really comfy t-shirt and some cute shorts, but I decided that they weren't necessities. Most clothes aren't necessities, of course.

I feel like doing what one of my favorite bloggers does. She takes pictures of her daily outfits and posts them. I'm assuming it's mostly to inspire her readers, but I think it's just a fun view into what other people wear on a daily basis. Most of my daily outfits are not worth looking twice at, but it might be fun. I'm more into simple, comfortable clothes so if I start doing this, I don't expect to inspire any of you heh.

Uninspired..

Being on a shopping ban has left me with zero ideas for fashion blogs. Sigh... I've been good so far, staying away from clothes, but I may go shopping tomorrow since I have a 30% coupon for Gap.

Training for a 5k has been suspended due to heart issues. Normally I run a mile every other day, but when I wasn't feeling well, I took a week and a half break. The day I came back to running, I decided to run 1.5 miles (bad idea.) When I thought I had cooled down enough to start doing sit-ups, lunges, etc., I sat down and suddenly my heart started pounding out of my chest. I checked my pulse with my parents' blood pressure machine and it was at 173. In the past I had watched a show on FSN that said a pulse past 180 is deadly. Of course, I freak out, and now I'm taking it easy, only going a slow .75 miles every other day.

Due to my shopping ban, I stay away from the mall, which means I must stay away from the findings store at my nearby mall. I doubt they have really awesome materials anyway, but my jewelry-making hobby is going to be delayed a bit.

Food/cooking is the one place that I have not slacked off at, but I've stuck with my usual dishes: ground turkey bolognese, chicken/lemon/broccoli stir-fry, and tons of baked goods (blueberry muffins, cookies.)

If I have time tomorrow, I'll post up my turkey bolognese recipe :) It's healthy and delicious!!

Starting to love knock-offs...

Most of the time knock-offs bother me (I'm disgusted by fake LV, D&B, and Coach handbags,) but in the case of simple leather handbags, I welcome most as long as they're well-made.

I really liked the size and functionality of Linea Pelle's Dylan Zip Tote, but I could never get past the $595 price tag. I'm guessing that Sabina, a brand that seems exclusive to Urban Outfitters, noticed the popularity of the Dylan Tote with celebrities and decided to make a cheaper, just as cute version for $258.

Both come in black, but I really love purple. I'd say it's in my top 3 favorite colors :)

Which do you prefer?

Current goals:

1. Start making my own jewelry (necklaces and earrings.)
2. Buy a parking pass for school.
3. Buy books? I still have like 20 days to do this, and two professors haven't put their book list up.
4. "Train" for a 5k. I mostly just want to have the stamina to jog for 5k straight. I don't need to be under 25 minutes or something ridiculous.

Relatively easy goals, but the jewelry thing may be difficult. I have ideas for what I want, but we'll see if I can find cheap enough materials. If I make nice enough jewelry, I might be able to sell some for shopping money :)

Doctor's office and cooking!

My doctor said there's probably nothing wrong with me despite two swollen lymph nodes. At least I wasn't imagining the swollen things in my neck! I do feel better today, but we shall see how I feel later tonight. We'll also see how I am after my blood test results come back.

Since I feel fine, I'm currently making chicken pot pie. Well,.... I finished making the dough, but I haven't started the filling (the most important and delicious part of it!) I might document this with pictures, but I get so involved when I cook that I don't like breaking out of the zone to take pictures with my shitty camera.

On my wish list: a better camera!

Edit:

No pictures :(

But, the pot pie turned out delicious! I'm going to try making pastries more often now that I can easily make pastry dough.

One good thing about cold weather:

...Cute hoodies!

I should really stop online shopping, but it's so hard to! This Hartman Button-up Jacket by Mike & Chris is $211 (boohoo) so I cannot afford it. I'm sure I can find something equally as cute at Forever 21, but I truly hate shopping at F21. Their stores are always so ridiculously packed (if not with shoppers, then with too many racks of clothing,) that a relaxing shopping experience is impossible.

Health

I've decided that the lump in my neck was not an abscess. It disappeared after a couple of days and then another lump showed up on the other side of my neck. Now, my neck is sore and slightly swollen, so I'm thinking my lymph nodes are very busy fighting something inside of me. The weird thing is that I feel well for 90% of the day, and then for an hour or so (typically at night) I feel headachy and slightly flu-ish. That feeling passes, and then I sleep for 10 hours and wake up feeling fine.

I'm going to the doctor tomorrow for a blood test (if he's not too busy for me.) I'm kind of scared because I know that I haven't been normal for at least 3 weeks... first I was nauseous every time I ate and I lost 3 lbs., then I felt relatively normal, and now this lymph node business happens.

Limey

I respect and adore his clothing, but why must Alexander Wang make such simple clothing so ridiculously expensive? I do enjoy a nice racer-back tank dress, but not at $90! A cheaper alternative (although not as long) is this AE Pocket Halter for $19.50.

I was eying (eye-ing? it looks weird) it at the mall the other day because I feel like my wardrobe needs a nice lime *pop* in the springtime. I should also make a stop by American Apparel since they tend to have really cute basics in tons of colors. Plus, my white v-neck is getting a bit too worn out and I need a replacement!

Oh, Edward Cullen...

I swear I'm not a 14-year-old teenybopper.

Anyone want to watch Twilight with me?? It's, shockingly, still out in some theaters! Now that I've read two out of four books in the series, I need to watch the movie.

I would start reading the third book, but I don't want to pay more than $10, so I'm waiting for it to be published as a paperback novel :)

On to weirder news... I think I have another abscess in my mouth/jawline. I had one when I got my wisdom teeth out, so I'm not sure why I would get another one 4 years later, but it feels the same. If it isn't an abscess, I have no clue what this lump/uncomfortable spot is. I'm starting to think I'm being cursed for hating my former students. -_-

Time for bed!

Re-do

I really need to re-do my nail polish. My nails have grown a centimeter since the last time I painted them, and I want to try another color. Preferably something brighter than the old dark blood red :)

Crate and Barrel

If I could have everything in C&B's inventory I would be the happiest little non-homeowner in the world! The chance to decorate/furnish my own home is what I look forward to when I move out.

... Aside from living with Darryl and being independent, of course :)

Today I went there to buy some "Round Au Gratin" dishes in preparation for homemade chicken pot pies. Hopefully my lazy cooking streak ends and I decide to go grocery shopping Thursday. I haven't had a cooking post in SO long that I think I'm going to force myself to cook Thursday.

...and for a future post, I've been meaning to use some two buck Chuck from TJ's, so maybe next week I'll make something that requires red wine. Any suggestions?? I was thinking of making this red wine risotto that Giada does, but I want something more substantial than that. Maybe a coq au vin type of dish... or a rich pot roast? (Two buck chuck is probably too cheap for coq au vin, hehe)

Humdeedum...

Bored and not ready to go to sleep.

I was able to get out of jury duty by answering the prosecutor's questions in a way she didn't like :) I wasn't lying to her! I just knew that I couldn't be impartial the way she wanted me to be, so I made it clear when she got up to ask us questions individually.

I went out and bought New Moon so that when I finish Twilight (hopefully within a day or two) I can dive right into the next book. I'm excited :)

I think I may be getting sick again... one of my tutees has been sick and my mom has also been sick. I've also been a bit sleep deprived due to jury duty and early basketball games (UGH UCLA!) so that isn't helping my immune system.

Speaking of basketball games... UCLA failed me this weekend when they lost to Washington State. I'm not terribly upset because I figured this year could never live up to the success of the past 3 years, but I was hoping we would at least be the Pac-10 champ. Josh Shipp failed me even more, though. How does he miss crucial lay-ups??? One was a wide open, nobody-was-defending-him, momentum changing shot in the last 2 minutes. UGH!

Jury Duty

Today was pretty unpleasant, not counting the wonderful time I had reading Twilight. I was transferred from one court to another, and was sadly put on a jury right at 3:50 p.m. Since we were picked so late in the day, we didn't have time to question more than 6 of the 30 eligible jurors/do the first elimination process. I'm really hoping that I can somehow get out of it before 4:30 tomorrow because I neeed to tutor my math girls.

On to nicer things, Twilight is a really enjoyable read, haha. I never thought I'd say that! The reading goes by very quickly, and since I know which actors play the characters, it's very easy to visualize everything in my head. I want to see the movie now, but I feel like my imagination will disappoint my movie-going experience. I thought Robert Pattinson was cute in an unconventional way ever since I saw him in Harry Potter. Mixed with Edward Cullen's description.... he sounds way hotter.

Bye Bye Mint Nikki! AND Nautical Blue Devote!

It was a unique and colorful bag, but it just wasn't the right one for me. I'm shipping it back to Shopbop tomorrow morning.

I saw this Nautical Blue Devote (also by Rebecca Minkoff) at the Nordstrom in Brea and thought it was soooo beautiful. When I got home, I still loved it, but once I put my stuff in it and carried it, it just did NOT hang nicely. One side looked like it stuck out too much, and it just was too large. Sigh... when will I find my perfect purse???

This little baby is going back to the Nordstrom in Santa Anita in the morning.

WTF

This is not an angry post, just a very confused post.

So, after all that I ate this weekend...

-Avocado bacon cheeseburger + fries + soda.
-Carne asada fries + part of a carne asada burrito.
-At least 2 cans of Pepsi.
-2 double chocolate cookies.
-$2.50 worth of Yogurtland.
-Chipotle burrito bowl.
-Carne asada burrito + chicken burrito.
-Filet mignon, twice-baked potatoes, creamed spinach, bread pudding.
-Pizza rolls.
-Fried rice.
-Cheeseburger.

....I managed to lose 3 lbs. from Friday to today (and I haven't weighed 128 since middle school.) This was without exercise, and consisted of me sitting on my ass (I watched 3 movies) for at least 75% of the weekend. I did walk around in heels every day, so that might have caused me to work my muscles out, but still, do I have a parasite or something??

Weddings.

I'm not engaged, but Darryl and I have been having some heated debates about wedding traditions.

Bachelor parties:

I have no idea what the traditions are for bachelor and bachelorette parties, but he thinks that he has zero say about what is going to go on at his. I think he has at least a 65-75% say. Why would his buddies want to take him some place he wouldn't enjoy? If I were a friend, I would ask the bride/groom for preferred activities and other preferences, but I would be the one to do the dirty work such as finding the perfect place, booking it, and splitting the cost with the other bachelors/bachelorettes.

Who pays for the wedding nowadays?

In the past, it's always been the bride's family. Recently, I've read that a lot of couples have been splitting the cost of the wedding, and are not even involving their parents. Darryl still believes that my family should foot the whole bill, but since my parents do not want to help me pay for my wedding, that means I have to. Since I thought that was completely unfair, I told him that I will intentionally leave out some of his friends I don't like from the guest list (there's only like 1 or 2.) I think that if I'm paying for everything, I should have some say about who I'm feeding a $60 meal to, and who I have to hug and be nice to (I can be fake nice, but I don't want to be forced on my wedding day, ya dig?)

In this modern day and age, I think some traditions need to be put to rest.

Bored.

I was supposed to go home tonight but decided to stay at Darryl's (more like didn't want to drive home at 1 a.m.) This weekend was good! If you ever go to Downtown Disney, you HAVE to eat at the Jazz Kitchen and order their bread pudding!!! If you love chocolate, it is heaven in your mouth. I really enjoyed our dinner there. After we ate, the waitress took our picture for us, but she made us turn around and it was a hideous close-up. I would have asked her to retake it but I didn't want to be an ass haha. After that we watched Taken, and it was badass and really good. I think parents (who like action movies) can relate to it because most parents would do anything for their children. Liam Neeson's character was just way more badass about it than most parents.

Next year I was hoping to take a trip to combine both our anniversary and V-day, but Darryl made a little joke about how he's not made of money so I don't want to do that anymore...

Weekend

Hopefully I take some cute pictures of Darryl and myself this weekend. We have no recent pictures of just us :(

On the agenda for this love-filled (should be more like food-filled) weekend:
Friday dinner: Brea's Best for some delicious burgers.
Saturday: BBQ carne asada and chicken while watching the UCLA/Arizona game. Dinner at the Jazz Kitchen, and watching "Taken" at 7ish?
Sunday: ?

Love it or leave it?

Here's my new Mint Nikki! I'm only like 60% sure I'm keeping it, but it's such a unique color I feel like I'll never find anything like it again. What do you guys think??

Also, my last day went okay. One kid kept acting up, but I'm thinking he's realizing why he gets into so much trouble. I had the kids do a writing exercise about kindness and being nice to others and he knew why. He kept making fun of one of the other kids (who is supposedly his friend) because he says "untinue" instead of "until." It's not his fault he's ESL! Actually most of these kids are ESL, but they sure as hell know how to spell violent words. It's amazing how much these kids learn from TV and cartoons, yet they learn NOTHING from teachers.

One more session of tutoring my math girls on Friday, and then it's time for an awesome weekend!!

Things I want to do within the next 5 years...

1. Tour Hearst Castle.
2. Go wine tasting in Napa. I may not have tolerance, but I still want to do it :)
3. Eat at the French Laundry (in my wildest dreams... maybe within 10 years.)
4. Stay at the Hotel Del Coronado for a romantic weekend (I love Coronado!)
5. FINALLY visit New York City.
6. Go to Hawaii again, and not do stupid shit like visit the swap meet. I'm hiking Diamond Head, going to Matsumoto's, parasailing, possibly taking surfing lessons, and more.
7. Take a cooking class.
8. Go to a beer festival (probably not the real Oktoberfest...)
9. Visit the Arboretum and the Huntington Library (easiest and cheapest.)
10. Take my mom to afternoon tea at the Ritz Carlton (or somewhere else nice.)
11. Get my effing Masters.
12. Get a REAL job!
13. Help one child enough so that he/she will never have to go to a speech therapist again!
14. Buy a Welsh Corgi (or a Yorkie, or a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.)
15. Not buy any more purses!! Darryl will agree with this one.
16. See UCLA win a National Championship in men's basketball!!!!
17. See UCLA beat USC at least twice in football (wishful thinking..)
18. Eat at Osteria Mozza.
19. Go to Descanso Gardens. I would get married there, but it's super expensive and restrictive :(
20. Get married?... ;-) This will probably happen before Hawaii, and is all up to Darryl haha.

The purse that started it all...

I'm really bored and I can't go to sleep so I decided to make this post.... you may ignore it.


I don't remember how I learned about Rebecca Minkoff, but it was all downhill from there. This is me with my faaavorite purse in the whole wide world: Morning After Bag Mini in Wine. I'm literally praying that the Nikki in Mint that I ordered will be hideous in person so that I'll actually want to return it, thus saving myself lots of money.

Bored...

Nooo... the nice sunny weather today tricked me into thinking the weather was going to get better! It's supposed to rain again this week/weekend :(

Since we're now into February, I decided to look back at my resolutions. So far I've been good about most of them. I've eaten at a ton of new restaurants (enough to cover half of this year haha.) I've hung out with a lot of friends who (whom since they're objects? I think?) I normally see once a year. I've been exercising fairly often; it doesn't help that I've been eating like a maniac on the weekends, though. I've been more patient with my mom than usual. When I feel a condescension coming on, I stop it. I mostly get irritated by her when it comes to technology; I know I shouldn't, but most of what she doesn't understand is so simple. For example, today she inserted a music CD into her Mac laptop. iTunes opened up, and she freaked out! She was like, "Why did iTunes just open up???" and I explained to her all of the things that iTunes can do so she doesn't freak out again.


I should also NOT online shop at shopbop.com while I'm on a shopping ban. Granted, I can't afford 95% of their inventory, but everything that is within my range is so tempting!! I normally abhor anything Juicy Couture (hah, I rhymed,) but this watch is so cute! I love white accessories. I think they look great against a nice tan (which I'm trying to build in this intermittently sunny weather.)

Double Chocolate Cookies

Darryl and I said there will be no gift-exchanging this V-day, but cookies that we'll share can be an exception :)

It was supposed to be a surprise, but I told Darryl tonight haha. I might make this and another cookie, or this and brownies. We'll see how I feel on Thursday night/Friday morning.

Double Chocolate Cookies (~3 dozen)

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt (I never put it in..)
1/2 lb. milk chocolate (4 oz. coarsely chopped, 4 oz. cut into 1/4" pieces)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1.5 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 325. Put together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Melt 4 oz. coarsely chopped chocolate with the butter. Let it cool slightly.
2. Put chocolate mixture, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a bowl, and mix with an electric mixer on medium. Reduce speed to low and mix in flour mixture. Fold in chocolate chunks.
3. Drop dough onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Space 2" apart. Bake until cookies are flat and cracked (15 minutes.)

Excited...

I am way too excited for this purse. Like, unnaturally excited.

Even though I can't buy new things, I have a really strong urge to clean out my closet and reorganize it. It's a mess right now, and I don't have closet doors. If I had closet doors I probably wouldn't mind so much, but everything is just out in the open, visible to guests, and getting dusty.

It's so hard to part with some clothing, though. There's always one or two reasons why I can't throw certain clothing away, and that's probably why I never have room in my closet. "When I'm chubby I'll need it," or, "It could be useful when I need to layer in the winter." I still haven't used those "useful layers" and I hope that I don't need to resort to my size large shirts in the near future.

What a boring way to spend my Monday night...

New Coat

So, like I said, I am on a shopping ban unless it is for a winter coat. Now I'm completely on a ban because I got really lucky and scored a beautiful royal blue coat at Nordstrom for $44 (orig. $89!) The tag actually said $58.90, which is what it is on their website, so the extra discount only showed when she rang it up on the register.

It's really comfortable, it has pockets (I neeed pockets!), and it's not itchy at all because it has a satiny lining. The only qualm I have with it is that it is hoodless, but I rarely use hoods anyway. Dark purples and blues are the new black for me! :)

Potential V-day plans

1. Downtown Disney
2. Jazz Kitchen @ DD.
3. Watch "He's Just Not That Into You" or "Taken"?

I read that couples shouldn't watch HJNTIY together because it'll cause one or the other to become guilty, paranoid, or overly inquisitive.... but it looks so good! On the other hand, 'Taken' looks like it's pretty badass, which is a plus for both Darryl and me. I'm thinking we may be too food-coma'd for a movie, but we'll see.

Superfeet Dress Fit 3/4 Insoles

Do not, I repeat, DO NOT buy these things! I bought them a few weeks ago because all of my flat shoes have zero arch support. Well, due to the stiff, plastic nature of these insoles, they slide around and do not mold to your feet or give comfortable arch support. Even with the velcro sticky dots, these do not stay in place!

I'm hoping Nordstroms takes them back...

Good weekend.

Houston's cheeseburger, $13 (with a LOT of fries, but it doesn't look like it because the burger is that big.)

Since Darryl and I had been to Houston's before for our two year anniversary, we decided we could just have a casual lunch there for our fourth. Granted it was a $70 casual lunch, but it was sooo worth it! Since Darryl and I have a 'no gifts' agreement, I bought this meal, and he's buying the Valentine's day meal.

The last time we were there I got a filet, but after looking at Yelp for inspiration, I decided to get the cheeseburger. Best decision of my life!!! Not really, but my mouth and stomach sure thought it was. Next time I will get it medium-rare; I was a wimp and got it medium-well, forgetting that they grind their own meat so it's safe.

That was on Friday afternoon. Friday night we decided to go to Koraku in J-Town for some ramen and fried rice. It was Darryl's first time and he loved it! It always makes me happy when I introduce someone to a restaurant I like and they end up loving it too.

Saturday was really good because I got to catch up with friends I haven't seen in like 6 months. Good times.

Not sure what I'm doing the next couple of days, but I'm excited that Thursday is my last day at my stressful job! I know I complain about them a lot on here, but this is my place for venting. My new (and highly unnecessary) purse is coming on Thursday so I'll consider it my reward for sticking with these kids for the past 5 months.

Shopping ban FOR REAL!

Okay, so I've seriously ignored my shopping ban that I set for myself a month ago. This may have been caused by the fact that my parents agreed to pay one quarter of tuition (their first ever, and the cheapest, btw,) but I also blame it on my weak shopping will power.

My expenses for the rest of the year (minus two upcoming vacations) will be Netflix, food, books, toiletries, family/Darryl gifts, and tuition. No clothes or accessories!

I have reached a low point, especially after buying the RM purse I mentioned a few days ago.... -_-

I never shopped this much in HS or as an undergrad. I swear it's due to all of my downtime. I can never be a housewife, or at least not a housewife who isn't taking care of kids all day.

This will be my last shopping post until I need a winter coat (One of the few things I don't have.)

Always Yelp it...

I almost made a rookie mistake by not Yelping before I went to a restaurant!!

So, I trusted that the Glendale Katsuya would be good due to the hype around it and the number of Katsuyas that have been built, but NO, it had horrible reviews. If I were only going for the ambiance and "hot waitresses" I would still go, but nope, I enjoy food, thank you very much. Now I'm not sure where Darryl and I are going...

At least he really enjoyed Koraku in J-Town as a midnight meal! ...Who wouldn't?

Rain, rain, go away!

Due to the horrible weather that rained down upon us today, Darryl couldn't visit me when we had planned and we missed our reservations at Katsuya. There are obviously worse things going on in the world than not seeing each other for our anniversary dinner, but I was looking forward to it. Thankfully DineLA is still going on tomorrow, so we're going to try and go then.

On to other news... The kids were still extremely rude and misbehaved today. I am so patient with them, and I try to humor their demands, but seriously, kids these days need to get a fucking beatdown from their parents. Sorry if that wasn't what you expected, but they could blow up their own house and their parents would give them a kiss on the cheek. If I were rude to a teacher and my parents were told about it, they would probably grab me by the ear, make me cry, and make me apologize profusely to my teacher. Granted, I never did such a thing, but these kids' parents KNOW what their kids have done in my class (i.e. write in their notebook that they want me dead) and they stop by every day. They haven't even looked me in the eye.

Also, the kids couldn't even stay quiet for 5 minutes. How hard is it to sit in your chair and find something to do quietly? I even told them that if it was hard to stay quiet while awake, they should put their heads down and try to nap. Their reward for staying "quiet" (a few made weird noises and whispered) was to play Hangman with me since it's the only thing they enjoy doing, but of course, they said that the word I picked was, "Stupid," and that, "That game sucked!" when it was over. I tried something easy because they always lose, and since they were actually able to get it, they say it was stupid.... fucking kids.

Rebecca Minkoff Nikki in Mint

How gorgeous is this? If only I had money to waste.

Thankfully I think it's a very impractical color; it's a little too young for me... but it's such a great replica of the Tiffany blue! I might want Tiffany Blue to be one of my wedding colors, but that will probably change by the time I actually get married haha.

Vamp

I figure I would rather be called vampy than goth with my dark nail polish (my mom said it looks like I have blood on my nails...) so that's what I'm calling this look.

I haven't painted my nails a dark color since... ever? I decided to be brave since I was already at CVS buying things, and I wanted to look a little dressier for my celebration dinners coming up. Dark nails just look chic-er than bare nails :)

This one was cheap (<$4) and had a pretty name so I bit the bullet and bought it. I've never heard of Milani so I'm figuring it's some off-brand, but the name of the polish is 'Bella Berry.' Possibly referring to Twilight, and possibly referring to 'beautiful' in Italian? I'm guessing the latter haha. I think we've been inundated with Twilight enough... My brother said Chanel made a nail polish similar to mine and called it 'Vamp' in honor of Twilight. Anyway, here are my horribly messy results and my freakishly long fingers: