My Little Paper Crown Obsession

It's no secret how much I love the laid-back, subdued and oh-so-chic look of Paper Crown. And although Spring has sprung a while back, I, on the other hand, still wouldn't quit obsessing about its pastels and nudes and corals, and taupes. I don't normally dress in a lot of colour or in a flashy fashion, but this year is turning out to be quite the exception, given that summer's becoming a huge, beautiful neon mess. But before I did consider going that direction, I started with my basic loves: the nude, navy, teal, subdued floral, and blush tones which are to die for. The beautiful designs of Paper Crown fit that to a T, that their blush tones actually make me blush. :) Ha-ha.

Paper Crown Clothing by Lauren Conrad 

(also available at Nordstrom)

http://www.paper-crown.com/

Like them on Facebook if you agree with me! 

Blooming back into Spring! (Some of my Springtime 2012 Favorites)

This Spring has been a warm ray of sunshine indeed! And the season of fresh starts, bright new adventures and happy, colorful knick-knacks has never been more promising. Although the nice balmy summer breeze has indeed been quite the visitor lately, it's still nice to recall the wonderful blessings Spring has left with its flora. Here are some of my favorites:


My little visit to LA (Santa Monica Pier, LA)

Our last champagne at Shinshotei before Leeann flew for Vegas

  My own trip to Vegas!

Finding my next nail art peg for the love of white!

...Which brings me to my own wall peg for my white room

Long planned virtual shopping with and for my BFF Ali (which inspired me to jump from a pastel spring to a neon summer)

And her quick and happy response to receiving what I got her in the mail!

My Aloha tumbler (a tiny motivation to drink VOLUMES of water each day, since summer's out and about)

Fresh, lovely Petunias I got my mom for Mother's Day

My trip to Maui (which kicked off the start of my Summer!)

Spring brings all that there is to love. :) Looking forward to next year's peachy surprises! 

Dammit, Jared.

A Recent Snippet from My Mini Travel Hiatus

Enjoying the bright lights and saktong-chilly-saktong-cozy Santa Monica Pier in LA County.

Just recently I made a little visit to the mainland (CA, NV) on my own to get a little break from work, to re-ignite my wanderlust and of course, to reunite with the important people in my life. Since I've been back work has barely given me the time to silently recall memories from my trip or even upload pictures. BUT! Shooting my last segment for May yesterday just might allow me to have the time to do so. But for now, here's a little reminder of what I like looking back to. :)  

April is the Month of Amazing

Being that I've been grateful for April being such an amazing month of great love and great friends so far, I propose that everyday should be as sunny, cheery and happy as all the days of this month. Cheers to the perfect season of spring-summery beautiful days ahead! 

A Quarter of a Pound Gained, for Quarter-life Crisis' Sake!

Celebrating the 5th anniversary of my 20th birthday, 4.11.12

My Quarter-life Crisis Flowers

Been trying to keep 'em alive for 5 days now, and though I know for sure that neither of my thumbs is green, they're hangin' in there. :)

It's Here!

with two of my favorite bands too! 

Too bad I fly out to Cali on the 25th, but there's always next year to consider! 

VIVA LA MUSICA DE COACHELLA! 

Another Crazy Lady to be Missed!

Last week, me and my friends from work joined Leeann, at a bar and sports grill to celebrate her send-off to the Ninth Island of Hawaii (aka "Hawaii Extension")--VEGAS! She will be staying there for good, shaking her booty and goodies every night if she wants to. Ha-ha! We're all happy for her to finally be reunited with her husband who works for the US military (thus the relocation), and her wonderful, beautiful children. But before we got our moves on the dance floor that night, we figured a little get together with some of our closest was just in order--and so off we went wreaking havoc in Lindsey's garage. 

I couldn't let Leann go without a little token to remember every character (uniquely known for their own quirks) in our close-knit circle (scanned images from my Instax mini)

As proof might have it, Leanne (wearing white beneath a black blazer) is one fun, funky, crazy lady with such a huge heart for people. I'll always miss her little anecdotes about motherhood, the entertaining, funny and quirky way she talks (Hawaiian Pidgin) and the life she always, always brings to a party. She's so indispensable to us that as a matter-of-fact, I was looking for her yesterday at work and completely forgot that her last day was the day before that! But from our hearts to hers, we love her to pieces and we only wish her nothing but the best--AND the bright lights of Sin City. 

A Little Morning Greeting from My Sweetie

I love him. And will do so for another 25 years and beyond! :)

Faith on Ink

Last week I joined a little web-based sharing (fine, contest) by LitReactor that showcases a myriad of literary-based tattoos their readers wear. In lieu of mine being a literary form of skin, I decided to share it with the website, and also considered it my own little post to remember Holy Week--albeit not in direct, specific relation to it. So anyway, you may find the whole contest shebang here

Inspired by the novel Eat Pray Love, my tat is a symbolism that translates to "Om Nama Shivaya" or "I honor the Divinity that resides within you"

 Half-agnostic and partially confused with my sense of self two years ago, I took initiative on a little soul-searching in between places that I haven't really visited, looking for faith in myself and faith in a Supreme Being. My realisation is, the Personification of one's faith need not be pronounced as an item of celebrity. The heart of religion is faith--and by that, it should not defy that notion itself by being culturally or geographically imposed. For that I have RESPECT for all religion that have their own sense of Divinity--the Divine what, or the Divine who. 

Whether your religion's Divinity or "god" if you may, translates to Love, Buddha, Allah, the Universe or the Michelin man (who always saves you from skidding on the freeway), my religion is Respect for the maybe twisted, maybe love-filled, graceful, unexplicable, convenient, politically-structured, vanity-infused, orally-evolved, painfully proverbial, culturally-satisfying or most of all, esoteric (in every way shape or form) faith that gives birth to what any person's  Religion is (in every way shape or form).

I respect the fact that you are human by the basic virtue of faith and belief in that which you call Divine, or your Divinity.

Respect is the religion that fuels my travels and cross-encounters with the plethora of cultural religions of the globe--it does not boast, or criticize, or debunk theoretical dogmas of science or argue the kind of fruit that fell from the Tree that seperates the Yin and the Yang. It does not necessarily persuade you to believe that walking on water will bloom lotuses in a freezing pond. It is what it is--a humble, grounded expression of faith for faith, of reverence for reverence--to that which is Divine--for you, your neighbor, your neighbor's dog or your cat's (and its 9th coming.) It is not dogmatic, pragmatic or dance-on-burning-coal ecstatic. It binds the central human propensity of believing without seeing, and enabling by feeling.

I will not discuss which 'god' I have chose to love and will love for the rest of my life, much like I will not review and persuade anyone of my political stances. I have a very loving Divinity that I choose to respect, by virtue of respecting other Divinities that may exist in the hearts of the devout, or in those fueled by doubt.. 

I honor my Divinity in many ways I keep private and may not subject it to arbitrary debate.

I like to keep it simple.

I believe in my Divinity, but I hold religion in Respect. And this religion of mine will not wage wars against yours, as it surely doesn't create that much difference between your 'god' and mine.

Yes, I have tumbld into the Tumblr bandwagon.

come tumbling with me here.

If I had the Moolah

I have always been an avid fan of Fight Club, but more than that, I have always been a die-hard Chuck Palahniuk fan anyway. Ha-ha! But as thorough and expressive as I'd like to be, reality pulls me down to the fact that I am not so blessed with the budget to do it. The furthest I went to being a fan of the movie was going to a costume party as Marla Singer, and having a short-term project of making Fight Club pink chocolate (yup, bar molds and all) But to be a part of this commendable effort by the Pixie Project  in saving a number of shelter-less dogs and potentially winning a piece of Fight Club memorabilia, is something that would definitely boost my dorky fanatic powers to high-status level! (Then again, if I had the money, I would.) But the reason I'm helping spread this noble act is also because it's an exciting, quirky way to give help--and wake up in the morning and have coffee on the table that even Edward Norton would recognize--if he ever visits your home (Ha-ha)--in fact, the thought of it alone has sent me through the WOOF!  

Autographed Yin-Yang table from Fight Club for auction on e-bay, to help save the homeless dogs, click here! You just might win one of the best movie memorabilia ever--and help them little pooches, too! :)

So, bid if you can, help out if you can, cause all that matters is definitely none of your 500 channels of your television, your paycheck, or your wallet. And you definitely do not need your IKEA furniture and your Martha Stewart houseware, because she's off--polishing the brass off of the Titanic.

Hello, Will You Be My Birthday Date?

Fujifilm Instax MINI 7s White Instant Film Camera

'Cause I'm in love with you and all the memories we're going to make together!

Yogur Story: An 'Orgastronomic' Spin for Your Palate

       My co-workers and I used to have a funny tagline for Yogurstory. Basically we joked that the place was "where you eat yogurt--and talk story"--a proverbial reference to the Hawaiian pidgin jargon of chit-chatting, which was, indeed, to "talk story."

        Trying out the place for the first time got me all tongue-tied about the tagline I swear I stuffed those words back into my mouth as fast and as soon as the restaurant's service. Not only does it look like a modern-day gourmet place, it was a fantastic modern-day wonderland of gourmet food! (And mind you, there was no yogurt on the menu)

      Walking into the HUGE retaurant, I found myself in yet another idiotic moment of ooh-ing and ahh-ing at how good it feels to be inside. The vast space of the two-story resto was intelligently designed to accomodate a huge volume of people without the hassle of waiting for that small gadget in your hand to vibrate for when you're ready to be seated (knock, knock, Cheesecake Factory). The bi-level space they had was practically designed like a loft with a fantastic balance of natural light and just the right amount of indoor light that blended well with the building's interior design. The walls were hand-painted with this age's minimalist pastel artwork of tree branches and little birds perched on them, matching the same decorative birds that graced the staircase railings. Being inside felt like being at home--cooped up in your childhood dream room with that little attic arch above your headboard. Outside was another story. They had a wide, comfortable porch with the prettiest outdoor furniture that accommodated people who'd rather enjoy the breeze or the sunset with their waffles. See, the only reason I mention all this is because I have learned that lighting, ambiance and interior settings have always been constant factors that determine how much "gustatory gusto" I am inspired to actually put on my plate--and palate. (Ha-ha) 

      But more than that, I cannot complain about the second factor either--the TASTE and PRESENTATION. Me and my friend ordered their Asparagus and Chicken Pasta and Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich, which was absolutely fresh, delicious and not overdone just to impress snooty critics. The juices of the cherry tomatoes were just right to the bite and exactly where you want them to be; their bread wasn't over nor under-toasted, and the way they had their cheese on both the pasta and the sandwich was PERFECTION. 

Asparagus and Chicken Pasta

Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich

    For dessert (Yes, I purposely have set this aside as a third factor, being that I am a mammoth for sweets), I ordered one of their signature Waffles By Andy Strawberries and Cream Waffle and boy, did they blow me over with their presentation!  On top of the waffle itself  a full crown of whipped cream, blackberries, raspberries and mandarin orange, fancily decorated with candy-speckled white chocolate "seaweeds", and a chocolate-dipped strawberry & whipped cream on the side, with strawberry sauce on the other side of the plate. DE.LI.CI.OSO. Seriously, I looked at it and blushed. It was love at first sight. I tasted it and it  well delivered its promise. :) I felt like a 4-year old on steroids.

Strawberries and Cream Waffle

      Here's more tummy-tickling eye teasers from their Facebook page:

(Visit their page on Facebook here)

       It was a good experience altogether, and yes, I still couldn't believe they didn't have yogurt. It slammed my egotistic self-fulfilling prophecy (ha-ha), but in any case, for food, y'all know I'm very bribe-able and easy to please. And Yogurstory was a special kind of yummy in my tummy. :) 

Now, let's all start a story together. ;)