Permission to Intermission

I'm taking a hiatus from blogging! The below may or may not be the reasons for my lack of posts:

 

• Writer’s block
• Time*
• I’m washing my hair
• Lack of inspiration
• Laziness*
• I’m busy thinking of ways to save the world
• I have stage fright (à la Meg White)
• I have moved to the country and I’m eating a lot of peaches

I’ll be back one day!

Flirty 3-0 Tea Party

Here are a few pictures of the Tea Party I helped throw for our lovely friend Lauren who turns the big 3-0 this week! I thought everything came together very well! Great job Dana, Karen, and Courtney! Also a big Thanks to Mai for her great photos!

I'll be posting more pictures with recipes and tips soon!

 Invites by my Karen

Hand beaded and embellished flutes by Dana

Happy Birthday Lauren!  

Out of commision

Greetings! I finally get a break but I'm also getting my wisdom teeth taken out. Don't fret, I've stockpiled a few things for nourishment.

Muse

This is a two for one post.

I've been really inspired lately by other people's blogs (I'm down with OPB?). I think it's so great that there is a medium in which we can share our creativity with everyone. Here is the latest craft I made using a tutorial posted at OnceWed. It's an adorable way to add color to any space. I'm planning to hang it up in my office/craft room!

Tip: To cut the circles I opted to go a bit high tech, I purchased the Olfa Circle Cutter (at Joann's Fabrics with a 50% off coupon). It works fabulously and saves time! Check out the demo video below to see how it works!
  
On another note, I saw the band Muse last night! We had great seats and the show was AWESOME.

Ocean View

As the weather (very slowly) gets a bit warmer I start longing for pool lounging. I know it's more romantic to dream of the beach, but realistically there are no warm beaches in the area. So pool it is! Below are some images (from Anthropologie) that don't involve water, sun, or sand; but still make me want reach for the sunblock.

I love blue!

 

Baking tools under $5

The following tools are not necessary but are all under five dollars and worth every penny!

Parchment Paper: Will always get you out of a sticky situation. I myself have jumped on the silpat bandwagon, but I do enough baking to justify the price tag. Parchment paper is tied and true and easier to clean too! 

Egg separator: Separate egg yolk from whites in a jiffy! No tricky handling or waste and can hang on the rim of a bowl.

Non stick cooking spray: Aka Pam. Yes there are times you'll need both parchment paper and non stick cooking spray. Plus its always good to have in the kitchen even if you're not a baker.

I fried a burger, and I liked it

Yes people ground meat (get the 80/20), salt, and pepper on a cast iron pan. Served with caramelized onion, smoked Gouda (Rob's niece from Amsterdam would say "yawda") on a buttery brioche bun! 

Easy Like Sunday Morning

Happy Easter! Nothing like a Dim Sum lunch after church! Check out our plate of Snow Mountain buns!

I have been busy working on a few creative projects that lead to a big reveal at the end of the month (exciting n'est pas?!). More interesting tidbits to come!

Puff Pastry Remix

I had this package of puff pastry in my freezer for a month or two. I know *gasp* I have a form of boxed food in my kitchen! Its from Trader Joe's so it's not too bad, right?! 

I actually found a great savory way to use it; thanks to this recipe. I didn't have all of the ingredients on hand (I only used pork, fish sauce, onions, and the bean thread), but it still turned out great (says Rob).

Next time I may add shrimp and hard boiled egg, just like a steamed pork bun! 

But you can't be any geek off the street...

I totally need to regulate myself and really learn how to schedule time to write blog posts!

Today was a very domestic Sunday, I only left the house once! The rest of the time was spent cleaning, putting away clothes (I have a bad habit of letting my clothes pile up and then putting them away all at once). I also spent some more time working on my office/craft space. Its great to have my own space where I can just be by myself, and it can be as girly as I want!

Sneak peak:

Love the lemon icing colored walls?

Hopefully everyone else had a great weekend too!

Under the sea

Last week, Jenn and I made a big batch of sea creatures (fish and starfish) in sugar cookie form. They were for a themed baby shower. Check out the little fondant hearts I gave them!

I want your everything, as long as it's free

Happy Thursday!

I have to admit that I do a lot of web surfing during my work day (tsk tsk!), and last week we moved into a new building with new clear cubes. So now, looking at my favorite blogs in a tiny resized browser window has been nothing short of cumbersome. I mean how do I explain fashion blogs being relevant to my boss during our 1:1? Well maybe my old boss, but the new one? Not so easy.
So I created a rough draft of this post in MS word. No pictures, but below I give you links to a few of my favorite websites that also give you something free (how’s that for cheap thrills?).

Girly: The Brightside Project
What: Giveaways to up and coming artists and businesses.
How: The creators of the website wanted to bring a bit of sunshine to their visitors everyday by offering a featured product (for free to win) and the story behind its creator. In order to win you must answer their daily question.
Plus: You get information on fabulous products you ordinarily would not hear about from small business owners (most of them women).

Brainy: Free Rice
What: Vocabulary/geography/ language lessons (for you) and Rice (for the hungry)
How: You are quizzed on topics such as vocabulary and geography and for every one you get right; 10 grains of rice are donated to the UN World Food Programme.
Plus: It’s a game, it’s a charity, and it’s just plain fun!

B-a-n-a-n-a-s

Yum I love banana bread (without nuts)! 

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar (set 1 tablespoon aside for topping)

1/3 cup butter softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (set 1 teaspoon aside for topping)

2 eggs

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 super ripe bananas (store in fridge for about 2 weeks)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a loaf pan with nonstick spray
2. Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg)
3. Beat sugar and butter together until fluffy. Added eggs, vanilla, and butter milk and mix until incorporated
4. Mix in dry ingredient until incorporated
5. Pour batter into loaf pan. Sprinkle reserved sugar and cinnamon on top of batter and bake until cake tester comes out clean, about 1 hour.

Best ever comfort food

The children are bored on Sundays

Check out this very quirky short film/mini movie starring Shirley Manson (love her) and Elijah Wood (go Frodo!) for Oliver Peoples sunglasses. It has a total Wes Anderson a la Royal Tenenbaum's feel. I love it!

Patterns and Texture

Happy almost Friday! Great deals at UO! They have a pretty good selection of items $9.99 and under. 
Kimchi Blue Pleated Satin Skimmer $9.99(Was $28.00): The pleats make this shoe more interesting than a plain flat, and the satin is great for dressier occasions.

Kimchi Blue Zip Front Terry Silken Two-in-One Dress $29.99 (Was $58.00): This price point is great for taking a risk on mixing patterns. The colors are muted and soft but the exposed zipper makes it more grown up, and it has pockets!!

Liberty of London for Target

While everyone else is waiting for Zac Posen's line for Target, I'm ready for color and patterns! Liberty of London is the UK's version of Lily Pulitzer (in my opinion). Patterns, short dresses, and home decor (and more)! Find more info at Target. Launch date: March 14th. I want the cute teapot below!

 

Picture: Simply Stated Blog by Real Simple Magazine

Pucker Up

A week ago I had a great conversation with a very sweet friend. It was going so well then we somehow stumbled on the fact that she does not enjoy sour treats. Dude - what.is.up.with.that? It's ok, we're still friends but I didn't bake these for her.

Lemon cupcakes with raspberry cream cheese frosting. You are missing out Dana Chau!

 

 

Forals and Stripes

Hello! After a stint of hardcore concentration on work, I'm back! It's Thursday, so let us go to our cheap finds. We're visiting where else but Forever21. This spring expect to see a LOT of nautical stripes and floral patterns.

Water color floral dress:$24.80. This dress has potential. At first I thought that it was a bit too 80's, but I decided if it was styled correctly, (jewelry, belt, etc) we can bring this sweet dress up to date (and date worthy)!

Vivid floral tunic: $19.80. This is labeled as a tunic, but its long enough to be a dress. The colors offer dramatic impact and the floral print is not too saccharin. 

Striped Slub Cardigan: $11.50. I'm glad that open cardigans are here to stay. This nautical stripe short sleeve cardigan will be great over a simple tank and shorts. Add pop with colorful flip flops!

Striped Boyfriend Shirt: $10.50. I own this shirt, and I love the boyfriend fit. Very casual yet you can dress it up with jewelry. $10.50!!!

Rah-rah-ah-ah-ah

I'm totally feeling like I'm in a Bad Romance... with work!

I'm here on a Staurday! Need retail therapy...STAT!!!

Prosciutto for breakfast and dinner

 

For breakfast: A few slices on bagel with cream cheese and on a spinach and mushroom frittata.

 

For dinner: Served crispy on the side of portobello risotto

Too bad I'm not that into meat these days! Eat up Rob.

Happy New Year!

Cheap Thrill Thursday: Organize for less

Here are a few things that have made my life easier or more bearable at least:

iphone/ipod headset wrap 5.99 for set of 5: Check these out listed on Amazon. They keep your headset untangled and tidy in your pocket or purse for when you need them!

Pretty wall hooks 18.00: This can double as your spot check mirror and help you keep your jewelry organized. You can find some with several hooks to separate necklaces from bracelets. You can find these anywhere at any price range I just love this one from Anthropologie.

Ikea Bevera Clips 2.99 for 30: I love these clips! One giant step up from chip clips or rubber bands. The really seal any open bags up well. Keeps your food fresh (no spilled rice)!

Enjoy the rest of your Thursday!

Don't mess with chicks in Burberry Patterns

All this rain has got me craving a trench coat. Take a look at this neat site: Art of the Trench created by Burberry to showcase people stylin' in their trench coats.

Dear Anthropologie

I'm writing as an avid fan and a regular consumer of your vastly stocked stores and website. I thoroughly enjoy browsing your website and take delight in your  product names, (the rising vapor dress brings great imagery). I also enjoy perusing through your stores; the way the outfits are styled, the way the stores smell, you offer everything for the senses. 
I'm writing you because I sometimes just don't understand you. I know you set the bar high for yourself; you want to be fashionably coveted, quirky, and whimsical all at once. And I love you for that, but please view my evidence below of where it can go wrong.

Country Fair Dress: 198.00! I'm not sure who the intended consumer was for this dress. I always wanted a dress with scenes from a country fair that looked like it was made from my four year old brother's bed sheets. Yes, when I was 6 years old. Although I know I'm not the only one you need to please, I just had to vent. Thank you for your time. Keep up the good work and I forgive you, lets move on and improve.

Still a fan,
PN 

Cheap Thrill Thursday!

It's Thursday, the day before Friday. You need something to do. You browse for cheap stuff, for no reason.

Today we'll visit Victoria's Secret's clearance section. Sorry boys no lingerie will be mentioned in this post!

Strapless Dress: $78 19.99. Strapless berry perfection, wrapped with a velvet bow

Ruffled v-neck sweaterdress: $58 19.99. Great transitional piece for late winter/spring, great for the office and night (pile on the accessories).

500 Colors to inspire you

Visit the 500 Pencils Site!

I came across this site through the Brightside Project and instantly my first thought was "I wish I could draw!" I am completely inspired by this. It's a total art meets functionality piece that I would love to own if I had better artistic abilities. It would be great to have a rainbow at my fingertips.

Citrus Ap'peel'

 

I love that it's citrus season right now. Right now my fridge is filled with several types of citrus. Lets start with the most striking, blood orange and move clockwise. Besides the beautiful color, it has a wonderful sweetness with a hint of raspberry. The Honey Tangerine is as sweet as its name suggests, I love that it's easy to peel!  The Cara Cara Navel used to be harder to find (I used to only see them at Whole Foods exclusively!), they have a great pink flesh and mild rosy flavor. Clementines (aka cuties) are easy to peel and super sweet. Last we have the exclusive Meyer Lemon, a hybrid between sweet orange and lemons. You really can't tell in my photo, but the lemon does have a slight orange tinge to it. These are the best baking lemons. I'm very lucky Rob's generous coworker has a tree!

Pink Flush

I love when February rolls around, the sun peeks out more often, and the trees seem a bit less bare. It seems cheesy but I also love all the Valentine's Day decor, the shades of pink and red are so cheery (and festive for Chinese New Year!). 

I made these vanilla cupcakes topped with strawberry frosting and they brought my day to a sweet end.

I am what I eat

I must be made of butter, sugar, flour, and rice! With a side of veggies of course! A few weeks ago I watched the uber frightening and eye opening Food Inc. and I felt like I should be more conscience about what I choose to eat. I have always been an advocate of eating whats in season, reading labels, and avoiding high fructose corn syrup, but I also had a penchant for eating grapes all year long (even if they traveled from across the globe and picked when unripened). It's also very hard to stray away from convenience and be budget friendly at the same time.

Maybe I should run away and start a farming community! Who's in?

Okay maybe I'll just cut my meat consumption and shop a bit more wisely.

I'm dreaming of Miami

I'm going perusing through my favorite places to (browser) window shop (I prefer firefox--har har), and found a neat little sale at Gilt. Through their Jettsetter mini site you (yes you) can snag tickets to the Superbowl! How fun does that sound?! I have always wanted take my Dad one day. He's a big fan and I think he would be over the moon if he ever went.

Current Packages start at 13,500.00, which gets you at least the following:
Two Super Bowl tickets for adjacent seats between the 20 and 50 yard lines, on the Lower Level.
One room for three nights (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) at the Standard Spa hotel, in Miami Beach.
Two passes to the official NFL Tailgate Party the day of the game.

A girl can dream right?

If you don't currently have a gilt account, please use this link (also listed in the sidebar).

Picnic on the tile....

This dreary weather has been getting to me. This past weekend I wanted to do something that did not involve the tv, wifi, or an oven ( I need to stop baking to save my waistline!).

Rob and I set up a picnic in our living room complete with picnic blanket. We picked everything up from Trader Joe's: cheese, wine, baguette, valrhona chocolate, and salami. It was fun to sit and chat (and eat!) for a little while.

My plate is full...and the rain persists

Work has been super busy and it seems to be invading my dreams nightmares! I had visions of to do lists and excel spreadsheets! It's oh so depressing!

The weather does not help either! I crave a big bowl of noodle soup and my warm bed and magazine!

I commend everyone out there that lives where winter really exists!

This Piggy went to sleep in a slow cooker

Southern Pulled Pork Sliders

January is continuing to drag on and to make my life a bit easier I took a few shortcuts when it came to a weeknight dinner. 

I slow cooked some pork in my hybrid steamer/rice/slow cooker for 8 hours using Martha's Southern Pulled Pork Sandwiches recipe, stir fired some spinach and garlic and we had a feast! Other short cuts:
-Trader Joe's Garlic Fries (baked)

-Pilsbury biscuits (for slider buns)
-Bullseye bbq sauce (no high fructose corn syrup!)

P.S. notice the change in font size? It's easier to read- no?

Retro Wedding

You guys know I love the show Mad Men right? Well I caught an article on Christina Hendrick's (aka Joan)wedding. I love it! She got the show's stylist to help her with the wedding! See more at Instyle . I love how they all look like they stepped out of a vintage photo album!

If you find the groom familiar, he was in the movie Super Troopers and more recently 500 Days of Summer (as Tom's work friend). I would have loved it if they filmed Summer's wedding in that movie. Her style is so simple, girly, with a retro feel.

Twenty Ten: Absolve, Resolve, Procrastinate... Repeat?

Hello everyone!

Sorry no updates for awhile! Who reads this anyway?  I've been in a funk lately. I think it's a hangover from the holidays. That time of year is full of everything: food, fun, festivities, fluffy- cake, friends, family, and fromage (if it doesn't start with an F its no fun). Come January, you're stuck in the cold.

When the actual new year rolls around people feel the need to turn over a new leaf and change. I think its great that our culture encourages self reflection, in some small way. As I write this post gyms are a bit more crowded, someone out there is applying a nicorette patch, and a donut was passed over. Progress in baby steps, I say! I hope everyone out there sticks to their resolutions!

Many moons ago I resolved to not have new year resolutions. I prefer to call them hopes or goals. I like to think about things I would like to do in the course of the new year. Like

-Save Money!

-Buy less crap I don't need--- Buy only things I love!

-Be less materialistic (this is really hard when you really love clothes, maybe I'll try thrifting this year)

-Make more stuff (cook, sew, etc)

-Save for a DSLR (aren't you tired of my crappy photos?)

-Volunteer More

Things I'm looking forward to in 2010

-Concerts: Muse and JayZ
-Trips: Hong Kong and (one other destination: Japan or Taiwan)
-Trying new things

Go out there and do something people!

"We can’t do anything to change the world until capitalism crumbles. In the meantime we should all go shopping to console ourselves."

 -Wall and Piece

Holidays treats in review

Sweets!

 

 Sorry Gingerbread Man!

One is just not enough!

I love you Tartine Bakery!

  

 Home made ice cream

Savory!

 

NYE meal: Bo Ssam

Cabin Fever

The weather has been wet and dreary for the last week, and the rain will continue this week!  I've been trying to find indoor activities that do not involve a tv, wifi, or an oven (yes, I'm not baking in efforts to save my waistline).

We decided to have an indoor picnic. We gathered the basics at Trader Joes: salami, cheese, nuts, valrhona chocolate, wine, and baguette. We sat on the living room floor and ate like little piggies! It was nice to sit and chat while imagining we were somewhere else!