Happy holidays

I hate posts without pictures.... but I was a lazy photog while in Vegas.

This past week has been busy!

I just got back from a 4-day trip to Vegas on Wednesday, and today I spent all afternoon and night baking a cake and cookies, making an experimental batch of homemade stuffing (a success), and taking care of a sick boyfriend.

I had a cold before and during Vegas, and now he's sick after!  Despite the sickness, I enjoyed Vegas, but I did not enjoy the Encore housekeeping.... they ignored our "Do not disturb" sign twice while we were in the room, what the hell?  It makes me wonder what happens while we're away.  It's like they hope that the do not disturb people are out so that they can rummage through their things!

I'm glad we left Vegas early on Wednesday, because after we left it was deemed to be "in a state of emergency" due to widespread flooding.  The weather in Vegas wasn't as bad as it was in LA, but I was behind a car that spun out while getting on the freeway.... pretty scary.  The good thing about slightly bad weather was that I didn't want to walk to the various hotels that have good shopping areas (Caesar's, Palazzo, Venetian, Planet Hollywood).  I also didn't lose any money gambling!  Definitely a rare occurrence.

If I didn't have to rush around tomorrow I would take photos of my homemade stuffing walkthrough, but the food aspect of my blog will have to take a backseat to efficiency!  Pictures of the final product will be taken, though :)

The life of a bum...

I've been SO lazy these past few days, but it has been glorious.  Watching lots of TV (finally caught up on HIMYM), reading lots of magazines, and just relaxing.

I think I took like 2 naps today, which I'm actually not proud of.  I haven't worked out in a week or so, and I've been eating the worst food ever.  My energy levels are just way too low, so I'm thinking about going on a mini version of a cleanse by cutting out bad carbs and eating lots of veggies.  It's tough when my parents decide to cook a huge pot of rice and delicious fatty foods, though...

Finals were pretty horrific, but that's mostly because I'm used to walking out of finals feeling good.  I walked out of two finals feeling like poop!  Thankfully I got an A in one of those classes.  My first grad school A!

I'll try to think of some "interesting" posts later.  Even though I have all the time in the world now, I'm the least motivated to make blog posts.  Sigh.

Magnolia Bakery - Los Angeles, CA

I finally made it out to the famous Magnolia Bakery!  Well, famous in New York.  This location has yet to reach the New York one's status of being ridiculously busy.

Anyway, it was completely empty when I came in at around 2 pm.  Apparently everyone was a few blocks down at Toast and Joan's on Third--both of which are great for people watching.

I decided to go with two cupcakes and a flourless chocolate cake.  The cheesecakes were screaming at me, though!  They were so tiny and cute.  The lemon bar also looked really good, but the fact that I was going to walk over to Joan's after to buy more made me say no.

The vanilla cupcake was actually really good, and I hate anything that's straight up vanilla!  It was quite sweet, though, so some people may be turned off.  I think I may have liked this more than the chocolate cupcake...

Thick frosting!

The chocolate cupcake was as expected (good!), but not mind-blowing like the media/rumor mill makes it out to be.  I think I prefer less frosting when it's such a rich combination of flavors... The chocolate cupcake is crazy decadent.

I was actually disappointed in the flourless chocolate cake.  I think I've gotten way too used to the molten lava cakes and I needed some kind of gooey, hot liquid to come streaming out of it (that sounded gross).  Despite that, my mom and boyfriend LOVED it!  There must be something wrong with me haha.

Would I go back again?  Sure.  I need to try a cheesecake, a cookie, and a lemon bar!

Fitting room review #1: Free People + J.Crew

So, I'm bored and I don't want to study. 

Time for blog posts!

I went to the Americana at Brand a few weeks ago and decided to take some pictures in the fitting rooms.  I tried on more stuff than what I'm about to show, but these were the only ones that looked halfway decent, haha.

Free People - Winter's Embellishment Top - size 4 (fit was slightly large)

It looked GREAT on the hanger, but once it was on, it wasn't very flattering in the chest or waist area :(  Perhaps if I tried on a size 2 it would've worked, but at $118, it was NOT WORTH IT!  I might have tried on the smaller size if it was $30, haha.

J.Crew - Pink Flannel Boy Shirt, size 4 (TTS)

I liked the way it fit, but the color was just too "cotton candy" for me.  At $70, it was also not worth it.  I've been trying to find a really great plaid/flannel shirt, but I still haven't found one at a price that I love.  Where in the world are all of the cheap, awesome boy shirts?

J.Crew - Buffalo Check Boy Shirt - size 6 (TTS, so a tiny bit looser)

I actually really liked this one, but since it was a slightly loose fit, the unbuttoned collars kept coming back together.  I cannot stand it when the collars on an unbuttoned shirt meet!  This one was actually on sale, but it was still around $45.  Didn't purchase... :(

For size reference, I usually don't match the measurements listed for size 4 OR 6, but I always fit into them at every store I go to.  (Bust 34A/B, waist: 28, hips: ? haha)  I also typically wear a size small.

Wish.

Take me to Paris!

But first, maybe I should learn a bit of French...

...and save up $5000.

This UCLA student was on "Let's Make a Deal" yesterday afternoon and she won a trip to Paris worth $24k!!!  Accommodations are at a luxury hotel, and she got $5000 in spending money.  Lucky!

Re-entering the world.

Finally uploaded pictures from my camera.  Here's an outfit from a couple weeks ago (when it was still HOT outside!)

Top: Renn - Nordstrom TBD dept. - circa 2006?

Skirt: Ann Taylor LOFT - on sale for <$10!

Shoes: Steve Madden "Melrow" - got 'em for like $50!

I need a mental (almost done with one of my papers!) and emotional break, and blogging is one of my escapes, so FUCK IT.  I'm back!

Pretty sure that my life is going to remain in its current state for a long time so I've been getting used to it.  It's actually pretty easy acting like I don't know anybody, but some people are nice and actually initiate interactions with me.  5 more draining days of school/tests, and then I get to be free for 3 weeks!

Some plans:
- Reading all 20 million magazines I've been ignoring for the past 2-3 months.

- So. Many. Movies!  Inception, Eclipse (yikes..), Easy A, The Town, and anything else I can get my hands on.  I just watched Avatar and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button--loved both!

- Staying away from shopping, except in VEGAS!

- Going to Vegas once during break.  Darryl and I are finally splurging on a luxury hotel after all of our free rooms at random casinos.  Encore King Suite, here we come!

- Helping Darryl clean up his room at home--he's moving back for a year before his job starts.  That's going to be a very dusty challenge....

- Oh whoops, outlet shopping in Cabazon with some high school girlfriends.  I guess Vegas is not the only time.

- ...and hopefully LOTS of cooking and baking since I haven't really had time to (these are some of the recipes I'll try to tackle: spiced applesauce cake, cranberry orange scones, and scalloped tomatoes with croutons.)