TGIF - Whatcha Up To?

Today is the last working day of August for most of us. Kinda mind blowing that we are done with the summer (granted we still have a week or two of humid and hot days left this year).  What do you have planned for this Labor Day weekend?  I'll be splitting my time between my friend Nancy's place in north Jersey and home.  I'm hoping to hit the Brooklyn Flea Market (Williamsburg) with Nancy.  I've been wanting to go there for some time, so I'm really excited about that.  And I'm also excited that "Brooklyn Flea" opened in Philly too.  Apparently, it opened in June.  Where have I been?!  

Here are some things that caught my attention this week. 

• Would love to join in on the world's biggest food fight in Spain. Just let it all go, act like a 4 year old, and have fun, right?!
• These condiments make for a perfect gift/purchase for those who celebrate Rosh Hashanah.
• I'm still obsessed with the 80s super models.  This Interview Magazine Model Issue brings it all back...
• I'll definitely be downloading Lowland, Jhumpa Lahiri's latest magical piece of work. I'd give my right arm to write as beautifully as she does.  (I guess I'll type with left hand then...)
• Madewell's Wildly Simple fall collection hits the simplicity mode I've been in lately in every way possible.  It also kills my plan to put myself on a spending freeze. 

Have a wonderful and relaxing weekend! See you in September~ 

    

Design Junkie

There comes a time when things around your house start to look outdated and tired.  Well, that's exactly what's happening with our dining table and chairs.  Nothing's wrong with them BUT we could use a little change.  Of course, the practical side of me says I'm being frivolous. But I would like to think that a little updating won't hurt us in the long run as our eyes won't hurt so much every day looking and frowning at our now outdated and tired looking dining set.  Anyways, when and if we get to that time to update our stuff, I'd like to start with our dining chairs.  I'm thinking of these...with some skepticism... 

(the first set of chairs via here; Katie Lee Joel and her chairs from an old Domino (yes, I still mourn the death of that magazine); faux wishbone chairs via here;  and it's cousin :) via here)

And of course, if I could get an entire make-over of some sort, I'd want something like this...

(via House & Beautiful)

And now, I have to laugh at having become such a design junkie!!

Feeling Simple

I truly don't know what it is these days.  I'm really feeling the dark colors and simplest of simple silhouettes. Perhaps it's because I have a lot on my mind (who doesn't, right?!) and I need at least, my wardrobe to be hassle and worry free.  The good thing about falling into this mode is that simple is always classic (albeit at times mistaken as "boring" for some :) Here's a simple and even a bit mod of an ensemble I'd love to see in my closet during this period of seasonal transition. 

a. Adia Kibur Earrings// b. Tibi dress// c. Alexander McQueen The Heroine Leather Tote (seriously, I want to liquidate my 401(k) to purchase this bag...)// d. Ann Taylor Beagle Bangle (too cute)// e. Sam Edelman Opal Pump (to die for nude color, right?!)

Happy Wednesday, we are half way there to the final hoorah and sashaying out of the summer into the fall~~

Dream Kitchen

A close family friend of ours asked for my thoughts on renovating a kitchen. Being a renter, I don't have the luxury of renovating, really anything.  I'm fortunate enough where I do like the set up that came with my place, BUT if I had my way, my kitchen would look like any of these places...

a// b//  d//  f//  (sources for c and e - to be found!!)

I truly don't know how difficult it is to maintain white cabinets but man, they look good! And I love the white & grey granite counters;  they kinda feel apothecary like in a good clean way.

Dreamy, right?  

What kind of kitchen do you dream of?  

What I Eat - Cucumber Kimchi Salad

Holy cow, we are really in the last week of August, aren't we?!
So weird how realization of time passed brings so much mixed emotions... 

I had a pretty productive weekend that included making a delicious salad.  It starts out with julienning a seedless cucumber.

I purchased the stainless Kuhn Rikon julienne peeler (thanks to Sarah from A House In the Hills) in the photo above and omg, it's a must-have for all chefs (or wanna be's like me).  

  
I added some fresh kimchi, avos, baby radishes, a drizzle of sesame seed oil and rice vinegar.  We had this salad with salmon filets and I have to say it was one delicious and healthy meal!  

Hope you have a great last week of August~~ 

TGIF - Whatcha Up To?

TGIF~~ Friday's finally here!
I'm super excited because Randy and I are meeting up with a friend of ours for sushi tonight and this is such a treat because we didn't eat out at all this week!

On Saturday, I will finally go to a local farmer's market with another friend, who is always hilarious. I am excited to get some fresh lox, veggies and to just hang out with my good friend. 

Here's what else is on my mind for this weekend....enjoy your weekend~~

• Carrot Noodles in Peanut Sauce - Sara from A House in the Hills turns out another winning dish

• Ricotta with Lemon Basil - Martha knows best

• Painting Vases - Totally doable, right?! Tx, Creative Mint!

• Simple necklace - so pretty (from Black and White Jewels/Etsy)

Noma, That's All

My friends Nancy and Katy recently went on an amazing trip to England for a beautiful wedding (MJ - congrats again!!), and took the opportunity to fly over to another Euro country, Denmark.  There, they visited a world renowned restaurant Noma in Copenhagen, known for their wildly imaginative and delectable dishes. And guys, the photos Katy took of the 15+ gastronomical creations (more like artwork) left me green with envy. With Katy's generous permission, I share her photos. Enjoy the "food porn" as Katy calls it. 

In the Middle

Yesterday, Jess from Jess Lively (a must read blog for oh so many life lessons) asked a "super important question" on her Facebook page - Long or Short?  As in hair length, of course (what else can we think of?!).  

I've been pondering obsessing over the same question this entire summer as my hair continues to suffocate in a ponytail or a chignon (ok, who am I kidding, it's a bun!). I've  been told by many that I look better with short/shorter hairstyle.  I wish I could wake up and my hair would look like any of these mid length styles...

(all images found here on Pinterest)

So pretty, right?!  I think I'll go for the chop-off sometime at the end of the summer.  It'll be a nice fresh make-over for the fall :) 

We are half way there~~  #alreadythinkingoftgif

Old Habits Die Hard

I used to dress in black from top to bottom just because I thought it was the cool thing to do but more importantly, it was just so darn practical. Well, old habits die hard.  I was recently at the J.Crew Outlet, looking for some basic tops for work, and found myself plucking out just about everything in black - I took these into the dressing room. (Btw, how fabulous is J.Crew Outlet/Factory stuff these days?!)

Sweater // pencil skirt // necklace//  belt // 
Bag // earrings // tights // wedge //

I walked out with just the sweater and necklace (extra 15% off for card members, yay!).  Next day, getting dressed for work was SOOOO easy.  I wore everything black and although I looked as if I were a member of the MIB team, I didn't care! Old habits die hard but I don't think dressing in black is a bad habit, especially when practicality and time management mean something to you in the morning :)  

Trending

Hi there~  I'm back.  I took a sabbatical from blogging last week.  Yup, I did.  I really needed to.  I was suffering from a major blogger's block. I had like zero motivation.  During my time off, it felt really refreshing not to think about blogging whenever I was surfing the net.  But I did miss this place.  With that said, let's hope I get back into my groove with some consistency here :) 

So, I noticed a late summer trend but it's one that's totally familiar to me.  Birkenstocks are back.  Wow... I know fashion's cyclical but this comeback did surprise me like the way shoulder pads did when they came back for like a nano second, thankfully.  I have to admit - I never lost my love for Birkies since my college days (yup, like 15+ year ago).  I'm now totally jonesing for a pair, if anything, purely out of nostalgia. 

a. Arizona  
b. Gizeh   
b. Florida   
d. Arizona



   

Just Sayin'

this is how i've been feeling lately.  no worries, i love blogging and my little place here, so  I'll be back!  hope you are having a great week so far!! we are half way there~

<image via Pinterest/unknown>

TGIF - Whatcha Up To?

TGIF~~ 
It's another rainy day here in Philly but I actually don't mind it today.  That's because I'll be just fine staying in and enjoying a glass or two of wine tonight.  With the summer winding down, I find myself less excited about the warm weather.  Instead, I find myself feeling a bit burned out and in need of some changes.  At the same time, I'm so not ready for fall!!! 

Here are my TGIF picks from above:

• Creamy Latte - I need to master the art of latte making.
• Raspberry Muffins - and baking...
• Pretty Dresser - DIY Makeover - and painting an old piece of furniture
• Bellisima via Elephantine (love the shop; love the blog)

Have a great great weekend~~ 

Rain Proof

Hi there~~ 

Sorry for the inconsistent blogging lately.  It's been a combination of blogger's block and being physically tired.  Not sure if it's the weather or just me gettin' older! 

Speaking of weather, I've been subject to a couple of rainy days lately and I finally invested in a good rain jacket.  I got this North Face Resolve jacket in 'cosmic blue'.  I've really been into various shades of blue lately and this 'cosmic blue' is quite pretty in person.  Here are some other things on my wishlist that go perfectly with the cosmic blue rain jacket. 

jacket// boot// bag// scarf

One more day 'til TGIF~~  

Tanglewood Recap

Happy Monday!  

How was your weekend? It came and went for us.  To our dismay, our drive to/from Tanglewood took FOREVAH due to traffic both ways.  That said, we had an amazing time.  


Upon our arrival after 5 1/2 hour drive...

The "shed" where we enjoyed an amazing performance by the Boston Symphony accompanying Lang Lang (all the photos I took of him were total blurs :( )

The next day, Sunday, we enjoyed mucho wine brought from home and some prepped but delicious caesar salad and onion rings from the cafe on site, on the lawn of Tanglewood.  

This is us post lunch. A little power nap before we saw the one and only Yo Yo Ma perform.   

Hopefully, despite the drive, I'll be back again next year~

Have a great week!! 

TGIF - Whatcha Up To?

Today could not have come sooner!  This week was l--o--n--g--- for me.  And hello, August!  It came out of like no where!! I miss saying "July" ...  

This weekend, we are off to Tanglewood music festival to see Yo Yo Ma and Lang Lang perform. I went to the festival last year to see Diana Krall, and dished about it here and here.  This time, my husband will come with me.  It'll be a little mini road trip/vacay for us.  

I hope you have something fun planned this weekend.  If not, one can always just chill the heck out doing nothing!!

Oh - I didn't forget.  Here are the links to the above goodies~

• Fruity Sangria via Pinterest (of course)
• Pretty shades via Linda Farrow Shop
• DIY lighting via Camille Styles (who always looks impeccably pretty)
• Peter Pan Collar Tee via J.Crew Factory

And while you are at it, check this reporting on Minnesota's First Day of Marriage Equality. Melted my heart...