happy new year*

The end of another year and the beginning of many possibilities. I wish everyone an epic 2011.

Photo by Lizzi, gif made by moi.

my christmas

Christmas was another day of fun filled family activities.  My sister and cousin happen to choose gingerbread house making as the activity for the night for the kiddos.  I happen to partake in gingerbread house making because I have never built one myself.  How crazy is that?  I have a niece who stated she builds one every year.  Oops on me, I had to build one.  For the following day, on my sister's birthday, my family and I brunched at DTF dumpling house and pigged out on some tasty dumplings.  We ended her birthday extravaganza with a dinner and the anticipated movie, Somewhere, written and directed by Sofia Coppola.  The film had the similar mood as Lost in Translation and the coolest part is seeing the inside of the Chateau Marmont.  I was surprised it looked like a shit hole, but then again, it has the old hollywood feel decor and the comfy couches made the chateau feel like home.

My gingerbread house.

 

My sister's cupcake cake with some delish macaroons! Oh so yummy macaroons.

DTF dumpling house, such good dumplings and isn't this adorable?
My fav drink during dinner, PCN, yum!

My two sisters enjoying their burgers. Somewhere mood board of Sofia Coppola.

amelie

I have a thing for gnomes ever since seeing the movie Amelie ages ago.  One of my favorite films of all time and Amelie was actually my first DVD purchase and my last since I rarely watch DVDs at home.  I am a movie watcher gal who enjoys going to the movies and seeing a film in the big screen.  I did see Amelie in the big screen and enjoyed every moment of it.  It must be the artistry of the film and the quirky scenes, like the gnome traveling all over the world.  If I spot one at the cafes I frequent or just a random gnome around the places I visit, I will take a picture of it.  The gnome on the swing is at a restaurant in Catalina Island and the two other gnomes are from Aroma cafe in Studio City.

sweet lady jane

Sweet Lady Jane cafe reminds me of tiny cafes in NYC.  You would think no one is inside, but the place has a house full of people sipping tea and enjoying some dessert.  The cafe is located in an odd place around random stores in West L.A., like a hole in the wall with nice decor on the front and inside.  They have some tasty cakes, coffee and tea in decent prices I might add.  Another gem in the city.

black swan

A good film is when it disturbs your thoughts and allows you think about the character living in her own conflicts. I was impressed with Natalie Portman's performance as Nina;  an Oscar contender indeed.  I saw Black Swan at one of my favorite places, the Landmark theatres in west L.A. I must show you the sketches from the talented sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte, who designed all the ballerina costumes and the amazing white dress of Natalie Portman's character Nina, during the scene where she debuts as the new Swan Queen.  Designers should showcase their sketches more often because you can see the beginning to the end of their masterpieces.  Anywhoo, go see Black Swan.

anthropologie mood

One of my favorite stores to peruse when I'm out and about shopping.  Anthropologie is top notch when it comes to store displays and the holiday season is a fave of mine because the trimmings are unique with a vintage flare.  The store's theme this year is cabin chic' and they manage to fit a tree, log cabin and this adorable owl.  I enjoy perusing their website as well and must share with you the outfits: holiday do's.  Here are my favorite looks from the holiday do's:

tree farm outing and bakery stop

hosting at home and cocktail party

magnolia bakery

To be so lucky to live in L.A.  One of my favorite cupcake places from New York makes a new home on 3rd Street in West L.A.  The bakery is huge compared to the original bakery in NYC.  The bakery reminds me of some good times when celebrating my sister's birthday last year.  Here are some nostalgia.

              

My sisters and me at the Financial District and me at Strawberry fields in Central Park.

The Beduya sisters resting after our walks around the park.

At the MOMA: Moi at the courtyard and My sis with Egon Schiele.

The original Magnolia Bakery in the West Village.

The Brooklyn Bridge and the Guggenheim. The Guggenheim is a true gem in the city.

The second time around in the Empire State Building and enjoying the night time view.

Moi and Hello Kitty and Time Square aka Disneyland.

tis the season to be jolly

I rarely get into the holiday season, but this year has got me and everyone in the mood. It must be the cold crisp weather L.A. has been having. I have purchased many lattes to warm up for the past week because it has been uncharacteristically cold.  People are wearing scarfs to warm up, rather than wearing it as a fashion statement.  Now everyone seems to be wearing leather gloves as well to keep their digits warm.  Sometimes it makes me laugh because there are colder parts in the states, but you can't blame L.A. people since we are not used to this type of weather.  Here are my hipstamatic shots around the Farmer's Market at the Grove.  This place will get you in the mood due to the gingerbread house and the massive tree decorated with sparkling lights.  Happy shopping!

black friday

Instead of the traditional Thanksgiving dinner, my family ended up having lunch. I ended up doing multiple things since I woke up early and wrote my paper. Conveniently, coffee bean was open and had my holiday drink of the moment, peppermint vanilla latte. I also saw Harry Potter after our Thanksgiving lunch and of course went shopping on Black Friday.  It's starting to be a tradition for my sis and I because we have been going for 2 years straight at the Camarillo Outlet for some shopping.  They had some good deals all across the shopping spectrum.  If I had a living room to furnish, it's a good deal to buy a Sony flat screen 48 inch t.v. for 900 bucks!  Anywhoo, here are a few buys from 1 to 8:

1) Merino wool from J. Crew, 40 bucks

2) Marc Jacobs clutch, 72 dollars. It was mispriced and so I scored it for the low price. This clutch has been at Neimens forever, but in good condition. Who can complain when the original was around 500 dollars.

3) Canvas bag from J. Crew, 5 bucks.

4) Floral button down from J. Crew, 20 bucks.

5) & 7) Colorful thermals from Esprit, 6 bucks

6) Eternity scarf, mixed blend from J. Crew around 20 bucks

8) Striped long sleeve with a gold zipper at the back, J. Crew, 24 bucks.

a hello kitty sunday

In honor of Sanrio's 50th anniversary, they decided to turn the Santa Monica Barker Hanger into a festival of cute dedicated to the characters we have grown to love during the wonder years.  I was excited to partake in this special event because it brings out the little kid in me who collected Sanrio erasers and pencils. I have been receiving Sanrio pencils, erasers and pencil boxes as gifts since I can remember. My mother would pretend they were presents from Santa Claus because at a young age I believed a fat dude with a beard would hand out gifts.  As a tween, I would save my allowance and every Saturday my parents would take us to the mall. The first stop would be the Sanrio store and see what I can buy for 10 bucks. I had to save a ton of moola to even afford a big plush animal. With my lack of resources, I end up buying an eraser or a mechanical pencil to fill up my stamp cards and to receive the little token when you buy something at the store.

My favorite character was Ahiru No Pekkle because my favorite color is blue. I immediately bought anything Ahiru No Pekkle and had a fairly decent size collection.  I felt a whole lot of nostalgia perusing around the extravaganza along with my sistahs.

The festival consisted of games, food trucks, a ferris wheel, smart cars, art and of course some shopping.

Here I am, waiting patiently for some Sanrio collectibles. Seriously, a line to spend money, Priceless.

Tada... The End!
P.S. Check out my flickr account for all my pictures. Especially the art portion. There were lot's of great kitschy art.
Click here!

mi bolsa

 I love contributing to my favorite flickr group, What's in my bag? It's one of those voyeuristic things and I like to share and also love to see other people's belonging in their bag as well. This will be my 3rd post. So far, I have been fanatic with Hello Kitty. I never liked the Sanrio character when I was growing up because she was too pink and girly. In college, there was feminist article I read about Hello Kitty not having a mouth to voice her opinions.  According to the feminist, Hello Kitty is a cute thing that doesn't speak her mind and  shouldn't be praised by young girls. I was so upset at about the article because there was some truth to it and disliked Hello Kitty even more. The kat grew on me and now she is an icon.  I still find it disturbing why she doesn't have a mouth though, but at least she is not so pink. But since I read her story, Hello Kitty is one metropolitan kat. Here is Hello Kitty's story, Hello Kitty was born on November 1st and she lives in London, England with her parents and twin sister, Mimmy. Her hobbies include traveling, music, reading, eating yummy cookies, and best of all making new friends.

i voted

I hope California will get out of this sink hole.

an owl, clogs, paul & joe sister

Eeek, I'm Gilty! Yes, Gilt has been my vice for some time now and I have been buying up a storm whenever my pocket book allows. When I saw the Paul & Joe sister bag, I couldn't pass it up because it's reminiscent of the Alexa bag for Mulberry, minus the hefty price tag. Also, investing in such a bag is a bad idea since everyone from their mama has the Alexa bag and it will be as tired as a Balenciega bag. Well, I don't think so because I'm still drooling for the Balenciega in black with gold hardware, I just can't muster myself to buy it. Anywhoo, I am enjoying the Alexa inspired bag as a staple in my fall wardrobe. I'm also steppin' around L.A. in my clogs from Madewell my sis found for me. What a good deal I might add and the fringes on top are icing on a cake. Even though I'm not an owl fiend like my sis, I had to buy this cute coin purse too. This madness has to stop! There are too many cute stuff out there and in these ridiculously low prices that no one can pass up like moi. Oh boy, am I in trouble.

honey toast in vegas

My sisters and I rarely go off the beaten path when it comes to Vegas because the Strip is fairly convenient with all those buffets and all, but ironically, most food places close early for a city that never sleeps. We had to trek out to their Chinatown, which is more like an Asiatown since it's a hodge podge of Chinese, Korean or Japanese eateries. We ended up in Ichiza, a Japanese tapas place. The food was delicious, once you figured out how to order. They make the restaurant authentic by posting the best dishes in Japanese all over the walls of the restaurant. Their highlight dessert is called honey toast. It's basically toast, honey and vanilla ice cream and ooh it was yummy. I ended up googling honey toast and it's quiet the rage in Japan. Who knew?

summer skin 10'

The summer months do bring us outdoor concerts, Vegas trips and a day out on the beach. The summer season in L.A. wasn't as hot as expected. It never felt like summer because there were nights around the 60 degree Fahrenheit. Anywhoo, It doesn't stop me from enjoying summer. Here are my top summer moments in 2010 and in no particular order.

I spent 4Th of July in Paradise Cove, Malibu with my family. My parents enjoyed the seafood extravaganza and my sisters enjoyed taking in the sun and the sea breeze. I managed to enjoy another day in Paradise Cove and walked along the beach admiring the ocean front view homes.

My annual trip to Las Vegas for my Anni. Surprisingly, Vegas was not too crowded and steaming hot. We stopped by at Peggy Sue diner because I have always wanted to go. Every time I pass around Barstow I see large statues of dinosaurs and was always curious to see the park. The food was typical burgers and shakes, but it's a unique little place. I gambled in Vegas but didn't win as always. Will you ever win in any slot machine? But I did find the most fun slot machine ever, the Sex and the City slot machine. Only a penny and you get to enjoy excerpts of some episodes and match shoes to which Sex and the City gal. So fun! It's always popular since every gal is playing it. Also with 20 bucks, you can play a good amount of time until you loose it all.

I got to participate the 2ND annual Fashion Night Out. I knew about this since last year. I went to Fred Segal to celebrate Fashion Nigh Out last year and who knew the event would blossomed to an all night extravaganza. My sister and I headed out to Rodeo Drive since we were attracted to the free Chanel manicures, a ginormous Ferris wheel and Sprinkles cupcakes. To our surprise, we stumbled to a good friend of mine Trung and his BF Luke. Ooh how fun it was as we chin chin to free champagne in all the lux stores and scored on some free nail polish.

My favorite summer moment to date was when my sis Darah and I received our certification as bonified Open Water Divers on 08/08/10. As always, we didn't know what we were getting into. It's a lot of dedication, time and perseverance. There are lots of times where we were thinking, can we possibly do this? We stuck to it, especially my sis since her nickname is "Girlie" and she is never the sporty type of gal and found enjoyment in breathing underwater. People who never dive do not know the process in diving underwater. There are lots of equipment, troubleshooting, and safety checks before jumping into the water because if these safety checks are not done, you will compromise your life. Even though it's such a high risk sport, it is an amazing adventure breathing underwater among sea life.

Summer always bring out great music and we managed to enjoy La Roux at the Nokia Club, which is a great venue I might add. The place is intimate and the sound is impressive. We also saw Kings of Leon at the Hollywood Bowl and were they badass! We saw our favorite songbird, Mieko in Saint Rocke in Hermosa Beach. I luv this venue because it reminds me of the coffee houses you see in the movies. The seats are couches, and there are tables all around where you can enjoy a drink while they perform. Great acoustics too.

We spent the last day of summer in Vegas to see Phoenix at Pearl in the Palms Casino. My sis Darah and I will make an excuse to make a road trip to see a DJ, band or art exhibition. For example, we made a weekend to see Paul Oakenfold in SF and to catch the Frida Kahlo exhibit in SFMOMA a couple years back. The last day of summer, we made a trip to Las Vegas to see Phoenix. Las Vegas in the weekdays is amazing! No long lines for anything, we got upgraded to a better room with no extra cost and after the concert, out of no where we see Thomas Mars in Ghostbar. What a crazy night. The venue is pretty intimate too and our seats were not bad at all.