busy bear

In addition to a candlelit dinner that he prepared himself, my boyfriend gave me a crocheted polar bear (with removable scarf!) and polar bear hair accessories for Valentine's Day. Food and bear paraphernalia - he really knows the way to my heart.

I apologize for the lack of updates lately, both on the blog and on my site. The reasons are as follows:

• Two trips to Las Vegas last week, and the beginning of Spring semester somewhere inbetween. This week was my first full week of classes.
• Also, I got sick the day after I got back from Vegas. Not fun.
• I didn't have access to my computer for most of this week because it was being fixed.
• It's become nearly impossible to take photos with my ancient camera. I'm still in the process of searching for a new (and affordable) one.
• Some personal things that are causing me a bit of frustration/sadness/confusion/etc.

Unfortunately, I don't really have any relevant pictures to share from my last Vegas trip because of the aforementioned camera issues. Hopefully I'll be getting a new one soon. I hope everyone has a relaxing weekend. I'm definitely in need of one as well.

las vegas, las vegas

This week has been crazy busy. It started out with a family trip to Las Vegas on Sunday. It was my second time staying at the lovely Palazzo hotel. I was sad to learn that one of my favorite spots, Mainland, had closed down since my last visit. Mainland was a fun, modern Asian fusion restaurant tucked away in a tiny corner of the Palazzo's second-floor shops. Their food was kind of hit-or-miss, but their toasted marshmallow milkshakes were incredible. The last time I was in Vegas, I had one every day that I was there (both with and without Malibu Rum). I guess now I'll have to go elsewhere for my toasted marshmallow milkshake fix. But even if I do find another place that makes this wonderful concoction, I doubt that anyone could even come close to topping Mainland's.

Anyway, enough with my sad rant. I have come here (at 2am!) to announce that I'll be going on yet another trip to good ol' Las Vegas this weekend, this time for my friend's birthday celebration. While I do go there fairly often, I think this might be the first time that I've made two trips in the same week. I'll be back next week with photos and whatnot. Until then, take care and have a great weekend!

happy valentine's day

I hope that your day doesn't go like this:

(I actually wanted to post the disastrous Valentine's day date scene, but I couldn't find it on hulu.)

that's just my bag

I love my bag. It's classic, unassuming, goes with everything, and fits all my essentials. It was also a gift from my grandmother, which makes it very special to me (side note: this photo is fairly old; I have since replaced my ancient RazR with a BlackBerry). Lately, though, I've been wanting something new. So, of course, I turned to the internet. I was looking for a bag that was neutral enough to go with any outfit, but that also had details that made it stand out. I also wanted something a bit roomier than my Coach bag, something that could easily hold a book or two, and maybe a light sweater. After a bit of searching, I came across these bags by Hoakon/Helga on Etsy:

Each bag is handmade from repurposed leather jackets. There are currently nine different designs. The Monarda (first bag) is my personal favorite, but I love the oversized houndstooth fabric on the Willow bag.

This electric blue Monarda is already sold, which bums me out so much. My heart skipped a beat when I saw it while browsing Hoakon/Helga's "sold items" section. Such a beautiful shade of blue. I'm crossing my fingers that the next batch of bags that are added to the store will include something similar to this.

rainy days

It's been pouring down rain for the past several days here in Southern California. I've had the same vintage floral umbrella for years, which I found at one of my favorite thrift stores that no longer exists. I love my umbrella, but it has seen better days. It's kind of bent on one side and not very big and, therefore, not completely effective at keeping me dry. So, I decided to go on a search for a new umbrella that was both cute and functional. I pretty much hit the mother lode with umbrellas.net.

Bicycles, polka dots, florals, and stripes - definitely my kind of website! Living in Southern California, though, it's hard for me to justify spending nearly $40 on something that I'm only going to use a few times a year. I decided to browse trusty Target.com for some more affordable options and stumbled upon these:

Bubble umbrellas! Maybe not as overtly adorable as an umbrella with bicycles on it, but still pretty nice. Plus, they're sturdy and they get the job done. I just threw the Batman umbrella in there as a joke. Well, maybe I'm a little serious about it...

the bird and the bee

On Tuesday, I attended the Jimmy Kimmel Live show to see The Bird and the Bee perform. They just released a new album called Ray Guns are not Just the Future. I instantly fell in love with the lead singer and her gorgeous voice. Inara George has one of those unmistakable, striking voices, like Karen O or Jenny Lewis. And, like those two, she also has a really unique sense of style. Very feminine and vintage-inspired, as evidenced by the music video for The Bird and the Bee's "Again & Again" (which can be seen here).

The following is the music video for the song "Love Letter to Japan," from their new album, which I love because the guys playing Dance Dance Revolution remind me of my brother, who was pretty much the King of DDR back in the day. Whenever he would play DDR, a group of dozens would inevitably begin to form around him to marvel in his flawless technique. I was such a proud little sister. Anyway, this song is great. Enjoy!

animals with eyepatches

Check out this adorable little pup! I believe he (or she) is a Shiba Inu, probably one of the cutest dog breeds out there. The shirt's not too bad either, but really, this is all about the puppy.

via Threadless

another sweet weekend

Saturday's outfit. This was hastily thrown together after I realized that it was 80 degrees outside and I had to put my normal uniform of dress/cardigan/tights on hold for a day. I even used a different bag! This one has little raindrops printed all over it. It's one of my favorites.

On Saturday night I went to Chinatown for my aunt's 60th birthday dinner. Afterward, my cousins and I were craving dessert (unfortunately, the fortune cookie did not suffice), so we went to my all-time favorite ice cream place, Scoops. Scoops is a little shop in LA that hosts an ever-changing variety of unusual and intriguing flavor combinations. Every time I go, I always have a difficult time deciding which flavors to get. But no matter what I get, I'm never disappointed.

This time I picked Thai tea and black sesame taro (which tasted a bit like peanut butter). It was the most delicious bowl of orange and grey ice cream I've ever had! The flavors actually complemented each other really well. The other two bowls belong to my cousins, who got caramel Irish cream and strawberry banana, respectively. What a nice way to end a Saturday. I hope everyone's weekend was just as nice!