Resolutions + more

I reeeeaallly want to go shopping right now, but I must recover from this cold before NYE. Hopefully I can go on Friday. Urban Outfitters, Forever 21, Anthropologie, Martin + Osa, and Nordstrom have been calling out to me since Christmas.... especially since stuff I want is on sale!!

Anyway, resolutions time!

1. I've lost between 8-10 pounds since January 2008, and I want to keep it off for another year (and possibly lose some more.) So, resolution #1 is to not gain weight!

2. Exercise at least 3 times a week (tied in with #1)

3. Try a new restaurant every month.

4. Be more patient with my mom. This could be challenging...

5. Try and see high school friends more often than just during the holidays.

I've given up on my road rage problem haha. There are just way too many stupid drivers out there who piss me off. Just the other day TWO people cut me off at like 20 mph on a 45 mph speed limit street. One was failing miserably at merging into the lane next to us, so while everyone next to us was passing us at 45-55 mph, the idiot kept going 20 mph thinking that someone would stop to let him in... YEAH RIGHT! The other driver rudely and slowly reversed from a side street into oncoming traffic. I blame it on living in an Asian area (and I am allowed to say that because I'm an Asian woman...)

Anyway haha, my resolutions this year are fairly simple. I've stopped putting impossible resolutions up (such as "ending road rage") because I don't enjoy failing.

What's your top resolution for the upcoming year?

Chicken Marsala

I've never eaten chicken Marsala before since it isn't my favorite dish, but I enjoyed this recipe. My mom is the Marsala connoisseur (wow did I spell that right?) and she said that it was good, but she likes more sauce, and a stronger sauce. I guess I'll have to experiment some more!

It looks a bit messy, but it tasted good! I have no plating skills so I didn't even attempt it haha.

I used Tyler Florence's recipe and it was really simple. I think his addition of prosciutto is different from most recipes, but I guess it adds another dimension.

Blah...

I've been sick with a cold off and on for like 4 days. I know that sounds weird, but it's like one day I feel exhausted and achy, another I feel fine, another I have a runny nose and a cough, and another I have a huge headache. I haven't taken my temperature because I can function (so I figure it's not the flu)... I just feel slightly crappy. I blame it on my horrible sleeping pattern :(

Today I went to my favorite place: Trader Joe's (well, my favorite food place hehe.) Nomnomnom. I bought some Peach Lambic for New Year's Eve along with some essentials like arborio rice. I loooove eating risotto, and I love making risotto. It's so creamy and indulgent, but I add veggies like green beans to make it "healthier" feeling. I usually barbecue salmon when I make risotto, mostly because I feel that beef is too strong to go with it, and chicken is too dense. Salmon is so perfectly light and flaky.

Time to make some chicken marsala! My parents are "old" and like eating dinner early... silly, huh?

Random stuff...

-My burn from baking cookies is healing very painfully... boo...

-I wrote my thank you cards and sent them out already! I bought this really adorable set of cards from Paperchase at the Americana at Brand so I was excited to write thank you notes :)

-My BF finally tried on some of the clothes I bought him, and he seems to like the way everything looks haha. I've typically only bought him Best Buy gift cards, video games, or other technological things in the past. I don't think he's bought new clothes in 3 years so I figured it was time to get him new clothing! He was sweet and bought me new earrings. They match the necklace he got me for my birthday. My ears look awkward so I only have a picture of the necklace haha.

-I went to the mall the day after Christmas and it actually wasn't horribly crowded in most stores I went to. It was a madhouse in Forever 21, though! I guess that's to be expected since most people can only afford inexpensive clothes at the moment.

-I've been missing a lot of UCLA basketball games now that I'm an alumnus and don't have tickets. When I had tickets, I knew when the games were, and now that I don't, I don't even know when they're on TV. I'm such a bad fan... and I missed the game where we scored over 100 points! That hasn't happened in 10 years so I was realllllly sad. I vow to pay more attention to the schedule once we start the conference games.

-Tomorrow I plan on making pork chops alla pizzaiola (via Giada) and the next day I plan on making chicken marsala (via Tyler Florence.) Hopefully I get at least one of them on camera. Maybe even both!!

-Wednesday my family is celebrating the Japanese New Year (which is actually the same as regular New Year...) so I'm going to be eating a lot of delicious food. Maybe I'll make a photo blog of that too. My grandma is so cute, she should be the star of my blog haha.

-New Year's Resolutions will be posted on... Tuesday, probably. I was around 90% successful this past year, so I'm aiming for 100% successful this upcoming year!!

Warm and fuzzy

I've been looking for a cozy, long sweater to invest in, but I haven't exactly found the perfect one.

I ordered this Gap one ($58) in a size small but I thought that the arms were too tight compared to how flowy the rest of it was. I'm debating whether I should order it in a medium... So far it's the leading candidate for my new sweater heh.


This sweater is actually from Forever 21. It's cheap so it wouldn't be my investment piece. Also, one requirement I have for my "perfect" sweater is pockets on the front--this one doesn't have any.

I always go to shopbop.com for inspiration, and I really love the look of this sweater. It has the shawl collar style that I've been looking for (and pockets!,) but wool is so uncomfortable to wear! The price also turns me off ($206, on sale) but I do have the money to burn at the moment.

I'm probably going to head to the Americana at Brand to check out some options tomorrow.

I also really want to try Katsuya there! Maybe I can force my mom to go with me on a mother-daughter lunch and shopping date...