F.Y.Eye - For Your Eyes

Golden Globe Statement Dresses

2012-01-16T00:23:00.009-05:00

I love watching the red carpet! So many lovely stars strutting their stuff in gorgeous to die for gowns, sooo envious! Sharing with you guys my favorite 2012 Golden Globe gowns:

Let's start with some Hollywood power couples. The lovely Nicole Kidman and her hubby, country star, Keith Urban. Nicole looks gorgeous and ever so ageless as usual. I'm kind of inbetween about her dress. She definitely looks good in it, but do I love it? Not really. I just feel she could do better..

Of course, you can't talk about a Hollywood couple without a nod to Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt. Angelina looks amazing. Probably because she typically likes to keep it basic to black. I love this fitted cream gown with red accents. Her infamous pucker complemented with a rich red as well. Her hair pulled back was perfect to showcase the dress.

I'm going to add in Stacy Kiebler with her best accessory yet, her arm candy, George Clooney. Ever since Stacy and George got together, I've been seeing a lot of photos of them together at events. I've never really noticed her before, but I guess being with an A-lister, your style must be top notch. She's doing a good job, she looks great, love the hair and makeup and the gown is simple but still stunning on her.

Next contenders, Glee Sweethearts, Dianna Argon vs. Lea Michele:
I actually like Dianna Argon's gown, its definitely very different, could be construed to be a lace table cloth, although all might not agree, there is something I like about it! Lea Michele always knows how to work it on the red carpet with her smoldering look and a gorgeous long sleeved gown. Although, I feel this look has been done 1 too many times already. Edit - I just got a look at the front of the dress and its def a more risque look. I think I would have preferred a more understated elegance.

Sofia Vergara looks gorgeous in a midnight blue gown. For some reason when I saw this dress, I wondered if she gets a lot of comparisons to Eva Longoria. Paula Patton from MI3 (had to look up where she was from since I haven't seen it) looked AMAZING in a canary yellow gown. She definitely brightened up the red carpet in this number and made a statement that she is here to stay.

Emma Stone's burgundy gown wasn't my favorite of her looks, but I appreciated the fact she is trying new styles and how confident she looks on the red carpet. Rachel Evan Wood's green dress reminds me of a mermaid, but if anyone can rock this look, its her!

Jessica Alba looks gorgeous and well put together in her pink embroidered gown. I'm on the fence about Charlize Theron's look. She being so ridiculously gorgeous can pull off just about anything. Initially I was a little confused about the dress, but after looking at a few more pictures - I see it is a long dress with a large slit. I think I would have liked the look as a whole if she left home the headband. But its Dior chiffon, so hard not to love it!? What do you think?

I love nude and lace dresses, but I'm undecided about the fit of the top of Jessica Biel's gown. It seems she could have a more flattering cut although I do like the dreamy Victorian style of the dress. LOVE Kate Beckinsale's smile! She is working the dress and having fun all jeweled out. The only thing I dislike are her shoes... she should have wore something daintier to go with her gown!

There's many more I missed, but those are few that stood out! Anyone I missed that you especially liked? Or who was your absolute favorite of the night?

pics via omg.yahoo.com

Silver Perfection

2011-12-08T23:02:00.001-05:00

I LOVE Rachel McAdams. She was the Queen Bee in Mean Girls and of course who could hate her in the lovable romance with Ryan Gosling in the Notebook. Now as devious theif and former flame, Irene Adler to Sherlock Holmes, she has completely wow-ed me at the premiere in her silver longsleeved Marchesa Resort 2012 gown.

The low back to the dress was the perfect amount of peek-a-boo we needed for a long sleeved gown. Her shoes and hair were a perfect match! She looks stunning!

What's your take of Rachel McAdam's Premiere look?

pics via mirror.co.uk, contactmusic.com

New Girl Specs

2011-11-28T19:36:00.002-05:00

Who doesn't love Zooey Deschanel? She's the lovable quirky girl, who is every geek's dream! Well I think it is safe to say her following is MUCH larger than that now! I absolutely loved her in 500 Days of Summer.... GREAT movie if you haven't seen it, don't forget she was Santa's Helper in ELF and I'm loving seeing her on the small screen in New Girl. She sings, she's goofy, she's funny, she co-founded Hello Giggles, which if you don't follow, you totally should! Yes, I could go on and on about how much I heart Zooey Deschanel. One more thing to love about her and alter ego Jess is her super cute specs!

Her glasses on New Girl are from Oliver Peoples Wacks 51 Cocobolo frames.

A few other cute specs I found of her online.

Are you a fan of Zooey Deschanel, her new show New Girl and her specs?

I'm thinking of doing a weekly celeb or cool looking spec report, anyone interested?

images via people.com, tv.ign.com, tumblr, warmingglow.uproxx.com

Turkey Day.. ALREADY!?

2011-11-22T15:27:00.002-05:00

I cannot believe how fast this year is going. Thanksgiving is right about here! I cannot wait to indulge in turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn, candied yams... MmMmM... pumpkin and apple pie as well!

Once Thanksgiving hits, its pretty much the start of the holiday season and the shopping shall begin! The malls have already started playing holiday music and all the decor is up. Next thing before we know it, it will be Christmas and then NYE!

Don't forget to be thankful for all the loving people in your life and remind them:

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Hope everyone has a wonderful time! Can't wait to hear about all the great Black Friday deals ;)

pics via we heart it

Banana Republic Jewelry

2011-11-15T16:22:00.000-05:00

I'm a huge fan of Banana Republic jewelry! My friend once bought me a simple necklace from there and ever since, I've been hooked! Recently I spotted out this chain necklace, which I loved. Its a great mix of classic colors that you can wear for work or out with friends. I tend to like chunky necklaces, but at the same time, that are still simple. It wasn't on sale when I first spotted it so I decided to wait a little bit and sure enough 2 days later, once the weekend came, BR had a fantastic sale - 40% off everything! Of course, I scooped it up then and I cannot wait to wear it! Thought I shared my recent buy :)

Have you bought anything lately that you loved?

Bitchin' Kitchen Panko Shrimp

2011-11-11T15:21:00.000-05:00

Recently while surfing the channels, I came across a show on Cooking Network called Bitchin' Kitchen. It was a little odd, like rock and roll, jersey shore cooking show... the show is hosted by Nadia G. It was quite hilarious and she has these random supporting characters. Initially, I was like what is this show!? Definitely not your typical cooking show, but for some reason, I got hooked. She made easy, but delicious looking dishes, which I love! I love recipes with minimal ingredients, but still amazingly good and easy to make!

From the Cooking Channel Panko Shrimp with Strawberry Aioli

INGREDIENTS

Panko Shrimp
Canola oil, for frying
12 jumbo tiger shrimp, de-veined and butterflied
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup honey panko (Japanese) bread crumbs, plus more for coating
Strawberry Aioli
1/3 cup Japanese mayonnaise
1/3 cup condensed milk
12 fresh strawberries

DIRECTIONS
1. To prepare the panko shrimp: Heat 1/4-inch of canola oil in a large heavy frying pan to 375 degree F
2. Place the beaten eggs in a shallow bowl and the bread crumbs in a shallow dish.
3. Dunk the butterflied tiger shrimp into the beaten eggs
4. Place in the bread crumbs and coat with honey panko crumbs and shake off the excess bread crumbs
5. Fry the shrimp for 1 minute per side or until they start curving in on themselves
6. Place them on a wire rack to drain the excess oil.

7. To make the strawberry aioli: In a bowl, combine the Japanese mayonnaise with the condensed milk and mix together.
8. Puree the strawberries in a food processor.
9. Place the fried panko shrimp with a side of Japanese mayo sauce and strawberry puree for dipping.

This recipe was SUPER simple. The longest part was de-veining the shrimp, and taking the time to fry each one of them since I got a bunch! I actually used a rasberry puree because strawberries were out of season. My mom liked the sauce a lot, but I'm not a huge fan of mayo, but I wanted to make it with it anyway! But definitely the combination of the Japanese mayo and the rasberry puree was a great touch to the dish.

From start to finish!

Buzzing for the Clarisonic

2011-11-08T12:42:00.004-05:00

I am in love with this Clarisonic Skin Care System. It based off the Sonicare electric toothbrush. Supposedly, the company found out that patients were using the toothbrush on their faces as an exfoliator so they created the Clarisonic cleanser tool. It is an oscillating brush system, which moves back and forth 300 times per second to clean pores and the skin surface.

You can use any cleanser on the brush and it's suppose to clean your face 60% better than your typical washing face method. I always feel that after using makeup, even after I wash my face, there is still makeup residue on my face, no matter how many times I scrub and even with makeup remover.

I was at Bloomingdales and this sales lady suckered me into trying the Clarisonic skin care system. I was already skeptical, but I gave her 5 min of my time. In 5 minutes, she already sold me. The brush was very soft and gentle. It only takes a minute for it to clean your face on the lowest setting. It literally felt so refreshing after I used it. I felt that I just got a facial. It was super nice and I actually felt that my skin looked better too! Crazy after only 1 minute of cleansing.

Per the Sephora website:
Here are some of the benefits this revolutionary skincare tool delivers:
- Removes makeup six times better than traditional methods.
- Clears pores and reduces the appearance of pore size.
- Cleanses so thoroughly that skincare products absorb better.
- Creates noticeably healthier-looking skin.

There are different lines of the Clarisonic brand.

1) Clarisonic Mia, $119: compact version, 1 speed
2) Clarisonic Mia 2, $149: compact, 2 speed, available on Clarisonic website, not at retailers yet
2) Clarisonic Plus, $195: 3 speeds, universal charging cradle, 1 sensitive head brush
3) Clarisonic Plus Skin, $225, 3 speeds, universal charging cradle, 1 sensitive head brush, 1 body brush

These products are also available at your local doctor's office. The difference is that the ones based out of physician offices have an additional speed, so the Clarisonic Plus Skin has 4 speeds, however I don't think the Mia has an extra speed.

The Mia is great, small and compact, and definitely less expensive. Most people will only need one speed. However, I don't like how it doesn't have a charger cradle... that means more clutter in the bathroom and we all know, we don't need more of that! But the the price difference, its definitely a consideration!

The Plus is great if you have more sensitive skin - it has 2 face speeds, one for sensitive skin and another for normal skin and it does come with the charge cradle. It is larger than the Mia, so it depends on what you prefer. The Plus Skin has an extra speed for your skin - so its face and body all in one. This is great exfoliator for rough patches, arms, elbows, feet, etc. The only thing is, I doubt I personally would take the time to use it for my body, but if you have some body skin issues, this may definitely help.

I'm not sure how warranties and guarantees work when you buy it at a retailer as opposed to Clarisonic.com, but on their website, they tout:

You have nothing to lose in trying any Clarisonic product. We are happy to offer a 90-day, 100% money back guarantee on our sonic cleansing systems and on our sonic infusion systems. Both the cleansing and infusion systems come with a warranty covering any manufacturer defect-related problems resulting from everyday use of the product. The warranty does not cover damage resulting from use with a voltage converter. Voltage converters or plug adapters do not guarantee voltage compatibility.

Following are the warranty terms for each Clarisonic model:

Clarisonic Mia®: 1 year
Clarisonic Mia 2: 2 years
Clarisonic Classic: 2 years
Clarisonic PLUS: 2 years
Clarisonic PRO: 3 years for PRO models manufactured after January 2010. 2 years for PRO models manufactured before January 2010.

I heard from a store associate at Sephora that another friends and family discount (20% off) will be out for in stores soon, if you missed this one that was online, so be patient.. good things come to those who wait ;)

Have you tried this product? Are you interested in getting it?

images via sephora

Black Swan Halloween!

2011-11-02T15:40:00.003-04:00

The question always is, what to be for Halloween. I rarely ever buy full costumes to wear. I usually may buy accessories here and there to help with the outfit, but that's about it. D and I decided to make our own costumes this year. Our costumes cost less than ten bucks, but we did spend a while on them! I can't complain cuz we did have fun and his costume I think especially turned out great!

My cousin Christine and I decided to channel our Natalie Portman and be White Swan and Black Swan. I also just noticed that Lea Michele dressed as the White Swan as well!

Making a White Swan/Black Swan costume was beyond easy! Here are my easy steps!

1. Create a tutu with 4+ yards of tulle. The more tulle you have, the poufier it will be. I would say the minium you need is 4 yards, my cousin used 6 yards, however I wore a white fluffy skirt underneath so it didn't have to be too covering for me. For the Black Swan, she wore a leotard underneath.
2. Try this no sew method I found on youtube. You can always move the spacing of each tulle piece, separate it more if you didn't get as much tulle. I used a ribbon/string I had at home that fit around my waist as opposed to elastic, but you could use either/or.
3. I sewed feathers all around my skirt and a tube top I had. Use a needle to pierce through each stem of the feathers. I would thread 5 or so feathers together and then sew them onto the base of my skirt. For my top, I placed the feathers together as how I liked, sewed them together and then sewed them onto my tube top. My tube top was straight across so I just bunched the middle together and stitched it to give it a V neck shape.
4. For my headpiece, I used white felt, which I cut into the shape of a leaf. I glued on feathers and a few rhinestones onto white felt and attached them to a headband with glue. I wore the headband upside down to get the feathers sitting up.
5. Finish off the outfit with some white tights and very shimmery white eyeshadows. I didn't have time to find some white face powder, but that definitely adds to the look as well!

Simple enough, and ta-da, a white swan is born! Obviously make the right adjustments to create a Black Swan costume :)

I love matchy match costumes! Good vs. Evil =P

My green crayloa!

At the very end of the night, we end with:

Late night JUMBO slice pizza, D.C. tradition!

How was your Halloween?
What did you dress up as?

image via vanity fair

Madewell Super Sale

2011-11-01T14:42:00.002-04:00

I ALWAYS love a good deal! I rarely ever buy anything full-price unless its something that likely won't go on sale or I really LOVE it. For most things, if you wait or search online, you can always find a discount!

During my recent travel around Asia, I thought I had packed my favorite necklaces (my mistake for packing the 3 that I wear all the time, leaving none left once they got jacked!) but by the time I got to Hong Kong, they were no longer in my luggage and once I got home, no where to be found..... so whatever happened to them, whether stolen or dropped out of my bag unexpectedly, someone else is enjoying them! It totally breaks my heart :( Key jewelry pieces can elevate an outfit to a whole another level. Ever since then, I go into a wide variety of stores even if I don't shop there often just to sneak a peak at their jewelry section in search of replacements for my prev favorites.

As I stopped in Madewell, I found a ridiculous sale section there! They had a whole bunch of things on a table for 4.99 each! They had shorts, white denim skinnies, bathing suits, lightweight soft t-shirts! The assortment of clothes was great! The only thing was most of the sizes of pants/shorts were all larger than what I wear so I couldn't fit any of them, but if you happen to fit into any of them, it would be an AMAZING deal. I couldn't believe you could get a pair of denim jeans that go for around $100 for only $5! I bought 3 shirts that day for TWENTY bucks from Madewell! Amazing deal, two of them were $5 and I found something on a non-$4.99 rack that was only $10. I asked the cashier, how often do they have these amazing deals... she said mainly at the end of a season, when things haven't been selling and they really just want to get rid of them. Great for us! Anyway, keep an eye out for these deals! Madewell, unlike its sister's store, J.Crew, you can definitely find some amazing deals there! I love the clothes there as well, although at regular price, its a little steep for me to justify without a good sale :)

Happy Shopping!

BTW, it's been less than a week since I encountered this sale and from the sale people, it seems like it goes on until most of the merchandise is gone. If you guys have encountered this sale, let me know if your local Madewell has it! The one I went to was in Tysons Corner, VA.

Mad for Mad Men

2011-10-10T12:31:00.002-04:00

Since I've only started working part time so far.. I've had a fair amount of free time! I've really gotten into the show, Mad Men. If you don't know much about it, it takes place in the 1960's, about an advertising agency called Sterling Cooper. It stars Don Draper (Jon Hamm) and follows his life as an ad man in New York City. The show has a great supporting case, a slew of great actors and the portrayal of life in the 1960's is amazing.

I'm not typically into TV shows from different eras, but there is something just so sexy about the characters of Mad Men. The women are so glam and always dressed to the nines, the men so dashing in their suits and hats. What's really not to love.

Below are some photos from Vanity Fair photo shoot of Jon Hamm (Don Draper) and January Jones (Betty Draper). I think January Jones is so stunning! She is a true beauty.

Try this cute little "Mad Men Yourself".....This is what I came up with!!

Mad Men Promo with the cast:

My favorites from a previous Vanity Fair photo shoot of Mr. and Mrs. Draper:

Are you a huge fan of Mad Men?

Best Wedding Video

2011-10-09T12:04:00.001-04:00

Hi! Thought I would share an awesome wedding video I found, shared on my bridal blog. Even if you aren't even remotely thinking about marriage... I think you guys can definitely still enjoy this! Even better if you loved the movie, Inception, which I surely did! Tell me what you guys think :)

Inception Reception

Shopping for a Quail

2011-09-26T15:41:00.000-04:00

I recently came across this website for a really cute clothing line, Quail. The meaning you ask? Well, what I've learned from creator, LA Native, Michelle Nguyen Williams, is that quail is a term used to describe a woman or a girl in the 1960's. This line has been featured in numerous fashion mags from Lucky, Instyle, Lucky, etc. and also has been seen on some celebrities such as Lauren Conrad, or should I stay reality TV star, the lines are getting blurred these days!

They've got a pretty decent sale going on so def check it out. Here are my picks from this line:

Love the mustard colors and all the buttons!

The florette stole is gorgeous and different and I love it paired with the Kinetic Dress

I think these silk shorts can definitely be worn outdoors!

Simple but chic

Have you guys ever tried anything from this line?

NEW BRIDAL BLOG!

2011-09-23T23:59:00.000-04:00

Hello all! I've decided to start a new blog chronicling my year of wedding planning. I was engaged over memorial day weekend :) Since then I've finished my residency, had a birthday, moved back from San Francisco (still miss it dearly, sigh), went on a crazay adventure in Asia, and now settling back in the D.C. metro area... I've finally even started thinking about wedding planning!

I've never been one of those girls who dreamed about their wedding their whole life.. which in a way makes it more difficult to plan! I keep getting all these ideas of what I would like my wedding to be, every time I see something inspirational, it changes! My dilemma mostly is keeping my wedding traditional yet personalized - incorporating my cultural traditions and my American roots.

Please check out my new blog - Bridal Eye Candy <3

Infamous B.B. Cream

2011-09-21T19:24:00.002-04:00

Blemish balm, more commonly referred to as B.B. cream is a well-known product in the Asian markets. I've heard about this product previously, but I haven't had the chance to try it until my recent trip to Asia. Now that I have, I'll have to say I'm pretty in love with this product! B.B. cream is suppose to be an all-in-1-product, it acts like a moisturizer, sunscreen, primer, concealer, whitener (Asians love that), foundation - pretty much does it all!

There are different types, some with more or less coverage, some with anti-aging properties, some that are more water based so they have a more sheer feel to them. It is a product based on ointment created in the 1950's by a German dermatologist who used it on her patients after undergoing laser and peel treatments to soothe, protect and conceal redness in the patient's skin. However, today's BB cream has been attributed to origins in Korea with its popularity by Korean actresses using this product and other brands capitalizing on the success.

In Asia, almost every single makeup/beauty brand, even ones used in the U.S. such as Maybelline, Garnier, etc. B.B cream has recently been introduced to the U.K. markets with a bunch of different brands including Clinique, Estee Lauder, Garnier, Mac, etc. and is thought to be the year's biggest beauty trend. However, the U.S. market has been a little bit slower to welcoming B.B. cream. Sephora recently released Boscia B.B. cream, this is the first in the U.S. It is well reviewed on Sephora and I have heard decent things from a friend of mine as well... so definitely worth trying out, plus Sephora is pretty great at exchanges/returns if you end up not liking a product.

I tested out a multitude of different B.B creams in Asia, but there were so many that it was way overwhelming! Their drugstores are great in Asia - I went to Watsons for most of my drugstore beauty products and then some specialty stores such as Skin Food, Etude, The Face Shop just to check out their products. SaSa and Colourmix were another some other popular beauty stores. One of my friends had just came back from Taipei so I was lucky to get her input and use her recommendations

One she recommended to me and really liked was the Maybelline B.B. Cream , SPF 26++, it comes in two colors. The bottle says its an 8-IN-1 skin transformer:

Brightens skin: visible whitening effect
Covers imperfections, reduces the appearance of pores, skin redness disappears
Moisturizes and protects: all day hydration + helps to protect skin from UV rays and free radical

I used the 02 Natural color, since after a month in Asia, I was definitely much tanner and in general I would say I'm not as fair-skinned as the Asians living in Asia. I personally really liked this product a lot! Its definitely replaced my other tinted moisturizer (Laura Mercier) and Nars foundation as my everyday routine. I like the consistency, its very light and it reminds me closely of a water based moisturizer I got in Asia (will review later). I think the coverage is pretty average, not too much or too little... you can always add another layer if you want more coverage. I prefer buildable coverage as opposed to it feeling heavy once you put it on. Although, I had great success with this product as well as a few of my friends, I did have other friends who felt that the color did not fit them. Most B.B creams either come only in 1 or 2 shades and that doesn't always work with everyone's skin tone.

The best thing about the Maybelline B.B. cream though is the bang for your buck. Definitely one of the cheapest ones out there. Prices I noticed were cheaper in Thailand and Malaysia, while Taipei and Hong Kong were more expensive. I bought it at a Watsons drugstore in Thailand for about $6 for 18mL(0.5 oz). The Nars foundation is $42 for 1 oz, so I'm saving $30, while the Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer is $42 for 1.5 oz - I could buy 7 bottles of the Maybelline B.B cream for the price of 1. Well of course part of the reason for the low price is the exchange rate of American dollars to Asian currency, but it definitely was one of the cheapest B.B. creams I encountered in the Asian markets.

I also tried the Missha B.B. cream, probably one of the most well-known brands. I actually just found out they are sold in the U.S. by Korean retailers. So if you do end up wanting to try it instead of trekking to Asia, definitely check out to see if theres a cosmetic store by you that sells it. I personally did not like the Missha B.B. cream. I felt that it was heavier and the color did not match my skintone. It made me look very white and ghostly. The coloring looked like it had a whiteish cast to it, which for is great for some Asians who have paler complexions or want their skin to look that way, but I'm not one of them. I didn't feel like this brand was natural enough for me. My friend had mentioned that likely the reason that the Missha B.B. cream is thicker consistency and the coloring is lighter is because it originated in Korea, where the temperatures can get cooler and skin tones may be paler as opposed to SE Asia.

Skinfood B.B. cream, I thought was a little too shimmery for me. There were a few others I tried, but I don't remember them too well now. I decided just to stick with the Maybelline B.B. cream since it was budget friendly and it did its job! I did notice that Bobbi Brown had a new B.B. cream and I would be interested in trying that out... but that was near the end of my trip and I had already collected enough face goodies!

As for an all-in-one product, I'm not sure if I am convinced if it is that for everyone. For me, as an everyday product, I think its perfectly fine. I still wear SPF in addition, but thats because I am pretty particular about making sure I have on SPF 50 everyday... I don't use concealer or any other products besides moisturizer with SPF and either foundation/tinted moisturizer so this product works perfectly for me. If I wanted more coverage and staying power, I think I would definitely use a powder on top of the B.B. cream, but overall I am pretty satisfied with it and I would recommend it! Hope my review helps!

Have you guys tried B.B. cream before? What brands do you like?

info via, photos by me

Journey of Tips

2011-09-15T02:04:00.001-04:00

After moving back to the D.C. metro from the S.F. bay area, I had only one week home to unpack, attend a wedding, and then re-pack for Asia. We only had 2 nights booked in Hong Kong when we left the U.S. from NYC. Typically being a pretty detailed planner, I realized the joys of actually planning things as you go and going with the flow.

I traveled for 44 days visiting, over 13 cities, and 8 countries with just a backpack, which fluctuated between 10-13 kg (22-28lbs). Throughout this journey, I picked up quite a few travel tips that I thought would be helpful for anyone traveling esp with summer travel.

1. Pack appropriately!!

You know this, you really do, but you don't realize it until you don't have the right clothes. I would say to always bring:

Tennis shoes (you never know what kind of outdoor hike, waterfall trek, bumpy bike ride you can encounter)
Comfortable sandals (will do a future post on sanuk vs. teva sandals) for all the walking you're gonna be doing, can also be used if you need them for a filthy shower or walking around your bunker
A jacket even if its a hot and humid summer (great when you find yourself on a 2AM trek on top of a volcano - yes its COLD up there! or it'll help when you find yourself sleeping in the airport or even a super air-conditioned ferry ride) .. something lightweight, but trust me, you'll be happy you brought it when you need it
A hat to shield yourself from the sun whether its basking in the sun all day or out tomb raiding temples
Bring a daypack to hold all your things as you sight see throughout the day. I used a cross body bag while traveling, but I would say my cousin's daypack was definitely better than my bag. Last but not least, definitely bring a money pouch that you can place underneath your clothes... very helpful for storing extra money, passports & plus you never want to put all your money and valuables in one place, you gotta spread it out!

With this all said, I did bring my favorite outfits although I had to wear them over and over... try to find things you can mix and match easily since space is precious on a trip like this, but with all the photo shoots you're going to do, you of course wanna look good ;) Just don't forget the essentials! & remember, the less you bring, the more you can bring home!

2. To suit case or not?

I wasn't sold on using a backpack initially since I really didn't want to carry a big backpack on my shoulders, but it turned out to be really helpful and I think it helped me build some muscle lugging that heavy thing around... ha! I used a 35L Northface backpack, which was good enough for the trip, you may want to consider something larger if you want to pack more stuff... my cousin carried a 60L backpack. The great thing is when you have to move really quickly and go up stairs, having a backpack is much easier.

Also, don't forget to bring combination locks to lock up your bag when you are traveling, definitely a necessity and if you don't buy those TSA approved locks (but I'm not sure if they work in Asia), make sure you unlock your stuff before you check in your bag or they WILL break your locks (yup, I totally forgot one time :( I would definitely recommend using combination locks over keys...just in case you lose the key and it is ONE more than to carry!

In addition to my backpack, I also brought a large soft travel bag that was helpful for me when we had to check in our backpacks and to keep anything important or valuable. I would also recommend putting in one pair of clothes, contacts/makeup/toothbrush into your carry on, JUST IN CASE your luggage is delayed or lost, which happened to us! We slept in the airport that night so luckily I brought some extra stuff with me, but was definitely extremely relieved when I had a few things while our luggage was on its way

3. MUST USE travel websites

The following travel websites were EXTREMELY helpful on our trip. Considering we did no planning beforehand, we needed good online resources to let us know what the best accommodation for our budget was, places to see, things to do, and how to get from here to there. These are my favorite resources:

Tripadvisor - BEST resource for reviews on accommodations, restaurant and attractions
Airbnb - You can find the best deals on airbnb and hopefully a lovely host like the ones we found that can give you great information, use my link for $25 off your first stay! This is great when you're traveling with more than one person... they're usually very cozy! People either rent our rooms in their own apartments or they rent out their entire apt/home. Otherwise I would use hostelworld.com if you'd rather go that route
Couchsurfing - stay on a free couch and meet some cool people (will do another post my own personal experience) if you're brave enough! I would definitely recommend it, but obviously use common sense and chat with your host for a bit ahead of time before you stay there and if you don't feel comfortable, don't stay there
Flights: We used skyscanner to get an idea of where the cheapest places to fly were. It has a great option where you can select 'everywhere' with flexible dates and it'll list the cheapest places to fly from your current location. I would use it in addition to using sites like kayak.com, farecast.com or hipmunk.com (we found that our flight from NYC to HKG was cheapest on hipmunk so worth a try!) since it isn't all inclusive

We used jetstar.com, airasia.com or tigerairways.com for low cost air carriers, no frills but gets you to where you need to be!
Be sure to always pay for checked luggage as if you don't and they force you to check your luggage, it will be a hefty expense!
Don't be afraid to check our buses and trains in Asia as well, they're very cheap and if you have the time, another experience to tell!

I could go on for days about tons and tons of travel advice, but I think I will leave it at there for now and add more tips as I go into detail about each place I traveled to. Hope this helps! Travel happy!

Passport Stamp Collector

2011-09-06T12:13:00.001-04:00

I had an amazing adventure, backpacking throughout Asia... back now with more perspective about the world, a little heftier from eating so much and endless stories to tell. I'm settling back now so stories and travel tips galore to come! I also picked up quite a few beauty products that need to be reviewed! So excited to try them all :)

Minimalist

2011-07-14T00:35:00.003-04:00

So, another segment completed - residency done done and done! It was the best of both worlds - school and work, while living the life in California. I will look back at the year with the utmost fondest memories. Of course, there must be a post grad trip, enjoying your life before the working begins. I have been dying to go to Asia for the LONGEST time. My parents told me they would take me after high school, then after college, and then after graduate school.. and it never happened. I don't blame them, they are busy, hard working people... but now its time.

I'm traveling to SE Asia with my younger cousin. She's the PERFECT companion, super laid back, go with the flow type of girl... especially since we're suppose to leave for our trip in 1 week with no set plans, still talk of changing dates of our travel and the only thing booked is one ticket to Hong Kong and back. I'm honestly, usually a detailed planner, but with everything that has been going on in life with ending my residency (presentations, papers), packing up my stuff to move back home, family, my good-byes to all the amazing people I have encountered over this year.. it has been crazy whirlwind. But all I can do is embrace the spontaneity and the adventure that is to come. Step 1, learn to become a minimalist.... that will lighten the load I have to backpack around Asia. My travels to come through my blog and tweets! Follow me and my adventures for the next month :)

picture via

INSPIRATION

2011-05-01T12:22:00.001-04:00

Thinking about my time ending here in the SF bay area is making me really sad. I've really 100x fold enjoyed my time here. I really love all the people, the great food, the beautiful weather (for the most part, except for those days days of rain :) the outdoorsiness of being here.

The great thing about this area is how smart and talented the people are. They're are so many tech folks, artsy people, creative and driven people, people who are looking for the next big thing (start-ups mostly). It takes a lot of drive to pursue something on your own, which I admire. You can't be afraid of failure. It makes me think about what can I do, if all these young professionals can push themselves to create something new.. maybe not necessarily new, but innovative of something that is already present, or doing something for the good of people. I read this story about Toni Ko, the founder of NYX cosmetics, and I thought wow, she was only in her mid-20s when she created this. Another brand I find inspiring is TOMS shoes, I love how for every shoe you buy, they give a shoe to child in Argentina.

All I can say is, I feel inspired and I like it. I'm ready for a change in my life. Ready to jot down those ideas, and figure out what the next stage in my life is..

pic via

A SO-CAL Adventure

2011-04-24T12:16:00.002-04:00

Back in February, I had a three day weekend, so my cousin and I took a spontaneous trip down to L.A. and the O.C. to visit our friend. It was such a fun weekend and it was amazing that it was 70 degrees! How, I love California. It will be so hard to leave once my residency is over :(

an awesome bike rike!

WE LOVE KOGI!

Practicing our jumping skills as much as we can!

strolling after the sunset :)

bodards, delish spring rolls!

the getty in malibu, so beautiful

sharing a moment

shin sen gumi, one of the top ramen places i've been to, SO YUMS!

bakery over-indulgence in 85C... LOVE this place!!!

Geeky Chic

2011-04-16T13:25:00.000-04:00

I love Anne Hathaway's large black rimmed glasses! I think she looks so geek chic! Most people would not wear these glasses with a pretty embellished dress on the red carpet, but I actually like it! I love it when people embrace their glasses, haha, part of the profession =P

What do you think? LOVE it or HATE it?

The Elegance of Black Swan

2011-03-05T11:37:00.001-05:00

These are two of my favorite dresses seen on the red carpet in the last few weeks. There have been so many gorgeous dresses out there, but I love the colors of these and the ladies who pull them off! Black Swan was quite the winner, and especially Natalie Portman.

If you haven't seen Black Swan yet, I would definitely recommend it, although it is definitely NOT for everyone. It's definitely one of those in your head kind of thrillers. Natalie Portman was amazing in there, she portrayed the vulnerability of her character so well. It's great to see Mila Kunis getting back into the industry, haven't really seen her in many things since the 70's show except for Forgetting Sarah Marshall. I have a feeling we will be seeing a lot more of her!

Mila Kunis is absolutely breathtaking in this purple Ellie Saab dress. Pure perfection! She looks so elegant and not her usual poutiness.

I absolutely adore this Givenchy dress custom made for Natalie Portman. She is the absolutely loveliest pregnant woman. Who gets to wear couture when they are pregnant and look ever so lovely!? She looks amazing and I love the color of the yellow lace throughout the dress.

Sorry for the hiatus... my life has just been soooo busy. I always try to make time for my blog. It's like my little outlet, but I just couldn't do it in the last month. I had so many things going on from skiing trips to Tahoe, random trip to LA, visitors from the DC, to a huge huge presentation that I just completed last thursday, I am finally at ease for just a little bit, so I'll try to be better at updating! Hope everyone has been well!

Ho ho ho!

2010-12-25T16:18:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone!! Hope you guys have a wonderful holiday season! I had a ridiculous amt of lovely gifts to open this morning and more to come this evening. Flying back home to D.C. to see more family/friends as we speak (gotta love free in-flight wifi :). Life is good! Can't believe the year is coming to an end already. Time just keeps flying by!

pic via we heart it/tumblr

Exhaustion

2010-12-11T13:36:00.001-05:00

My work week has been getting increasingly busy, people have been out sick, I've had overbooks, it's just been ridiculous. At the end of the week, I'm so happy its the weekend, and I have some time to myself. But at the same time, there's always more to do... but I guess the saying goes, work hard, play hard.

Enjoy the weekend! Any fun plans?

pic via we heart it

Product Review: Nars Super Orgasm

2010-12-01T19:44:00.001-05:00

There are an abundance of great reviews on NARS blush, so of course, me being a total blush lover (its my one product that I couldn't live without! It brightens up your whole face, I wouldn't recommend NOT using it!), I had to of course try it! Since I like a little of sparkle in my blushes, I chose the NARS Super Orgasm color.

I am not a fan of this color. The sparkles are not fine shimmers....I've had more than once incident, where someone asked me if I had glitter on my face! I love sparkles, but def needs to be more subtle for everyday wear!

The blush itself is not bad. It lasted a good amt of time, but I wasn't necessarily wowed by it.. but that could also be due to the fact that I didn't love the color I had. I think the original Orgasm is a much better color.

Since I wasn't such a fan of this blush, I might consider another color or start fresh with another brand. The last one I had was Clinique, which I wasn't a huge fan of, def liked Nars better because it lasted longer and it was more pigmented. I'm also not a fan of drugstore brands like Covergirl because I find they don't last all day! So now onto the next one, I'll let you guys know what I choose and what I think of it!

Do you guys have a favorite blush? Any good recommendations?

Bridesmaid Virgin

2010-11-21T19:26:00.002-05:00

My cousin recently got married! We grew up together, I looked up to this girl so much when I was younger.. she was always my cool cousin, with great clothes and hair! haha :) I was so honored when she asked me to be her bridesmaid... well actually she didn't ask me, she pretty much told me I was and there wasn't a question in it!

She was the most LAID BACK bride I could ever imagine! She pretty much had the wedding for her parents. She did it traditional style with a tea ceremony and a 10 course Chinese dinner. Def was not a bridezilla at all.. she did her flowers herself with the help of her sister and some of the bridesmaids who were already in town, she gave me a french manicure the night before her wedding, she actually borrowed her wedding dress from her sister's friend! She was just a super chill bride and it def made the experience of being a bridesmaid very relaxing! I cannot wait to see the photos!

Congratulations to my dear cousin Mandy and Chris! This was our first wedding of the family on my dad's side, everything was amazing.

Photo courtesy of Stefani Chung

2/6 of the bridesmaids: My younger cousin and I

I've attended/been invited to so many weddings in such a short time! I guess it's getting to be that time =O

Have you ever been a Bridesmaid before?

On Top of the World

2010-11-16T14:12:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago I went to Yosemite National Park with several friends and co workers. It was such an amazing experience. I was about to not go and then last minute, I decided to go. So I honestly packed my bags the night before, found a sleeping bag and in the morning at 7AM my friend picked me up! She got two tickets to climb Half Dome, which influenced my decision a little bit.

From the start of the trail, Half Dome is a 8.2 mile hike one way (6 hours), 8,800 feet above sea level, 4,800 feet elevation. People have died off of this dome, which made me a little nervous. There are cables for you to climb up to the top, you are unable to get up there without any rock climbing equipment if it wasn't for the cables. Usually people start really early at 6 AM, since they have to prepare for about a 12 hour hike and you want to come back before dark!

We of course started at around 8:40 AM, we bring headlights, food in our backpack and I bought about 5 bottles of water. My pack was super heavy since I didn't bring one of those hiking packs, which I totally regretted not getting one beforehand! But I was totally unprepared, I wore tennis shoes instead of hiking shoes... basically, I didn't know what I was getting myself into!

I was SUPER nervous when I got to the subdome onlooking to the actual half dome, terrified actually. I honestly didn't think I could make it looking at the cables... it seemed so steep and I just couldn't fathom going up them. Luckily, all the hikers are super nice, they helped pep me up and since I already made the 6 hour journey one way, I really couldn't leave without accomplishing what I came to do. I took my time, step by step, but I made it and it was such a great accomplishment! I was so proud that I actually did it, especially since I was having major doubts beforehand.

The hardest part was the trek home in the DARK! It was so scary, but I don't think I realized how scary it was because I could only see a few steps in front of me. We walked by the rocky paths by the waterfalls. It just felt like forever getting back, my legs felt like jelly, but we had to keep on going! We were SO happy when we made it back, got a hot shower and ate some soup by the campfire that our friends had ready for us (since they ditched us and decided to hang by the camp)

It was a great experience, I would def recommend it to anyone, but its not something I think I would ever do again... once is enough! My friend and I made some random videos, which were fun to look back and laugh at! We also met some German tourists on our trip and they helped us through the hike there and back. We were really lucky to find such nice hikers, it definitely made our trip a lot more fun!

My advice for conquering the terror of Half Dome:

1. Get a good night's rest and get up EARLY!!
2. Bring enough water (depending on the season, peak summer you will need more water as opposed to later on in the fall) and snacks/sandwiches
3. Get a hydration backpack such as a CamelBak
4. Less is more!! Which is a recurring true statement, bring only what you need and nothing more, the less you can bring, the happier you will be!
5. Recommend hiking shoes, although I did it in tennis shoes, the more traction you have, the better!
6. Pack a headlight just in case it does get dark
7. AT&T service works on the top of half dome, feel free to call your friends and family to let them know you are on the top of the world!! :)

Derm Lessons

2010-11-09T15:01:00.004-05:00

About a month into moving to San Fran, I started having some skin issues. My lips were cracking at the corners, and then later I developed some dry skin on my chin. It was really awful! I tried using aquaphor and vaseline, but the dryness on my chin never went away. My skin would become inflamed with too much sun or with certain products. I've never had a problem like this before, so I finally went to see the dermatologist.

He pretty much diagnosed me with eczema. I've never had eczema before, but he mentioned that it could be due to the products I'm using. He told me since most of my dry skin was on my chin, I should swtich my toothpaste also.

I'm a product junkie so I'm always trying new products once mine run out. I have a ton of different things that are in constant rotation so its pretty hard for me to tell if a certain product is causing the problem or not.

He prescribed me an ointment to use when the eczema flares up and an antibiotic for pimples and blemishes instead of using salicylic acid products you find over the counter. I did get some good advice from the derm. I actually think my toothpaste was causing the problem - it had some baking soda, which might have been irritating my skin. I d/c the toothpaste and pretty much since then, I haven't really had many flareups. He recommended me to switch my products to Cetaphil for cleanser and moisturizer with SPF. I actually really like the SPF moisturizer, I'm always looking for an SPF at least 30+, and this one is very light and non greasy.

Lessons from the Derm:

1. Condense your products, less is more!

2. Use non-comedogenic hypoallergenic and fragrance-free products

3. Salicylic acid can irritate skin so avoid products with this!

4. Be aware of what products you are using for your skin

* If you do have a problem with your skin, document when it

happens and what products you are using to narrow it down

Pumpkin Crazy

2010-10-24T13:45:00.019-04:00

Nearing the end of October, which means its almost time for Halloween - scary (or sexy) costumes, haunted houses and corn mazes and most of all, pumpkin patches!! I loveeeee pumpkin patches, I don't think I've gone to a real one since I was a little kid! My friends and I decided to hit one up last weekend and carve a pumpkin together, be festive :)

We went to Half Moon Bay, and it turned out to be their annual Pumpkin Festival... if you are from the area, you know that theres really only two ways into Half Moon Bay, which means TONS AND TONS OF TRAFFIC! It honestly took us over 2+ hours to get there, it was so ridiculous. I don't think we will ever go back during this time again, unless we leave at 8AM!

I love frolicking through the pumpkin patches and seeing all the families and kiddies who are looking for their own pumpkins. Especially cute when the little ones choose the HUGEST pumpkin possible :)

At the festival, we had the most delicious pumpkin pie! I love home made pies... there is a world of difference between home made pumpkin pie and the store bought kind definitely!

We also watched the Giants game while there. They had a big screen playing the game outside. GO GIANTS!! (Off to the world series baby!) I honestly am not that into baseball, but I so have Giants fever from being in the city and around so many people who love it! We actually ended up watching the whole game at this English-style pub because the traffic was so bad! Luckily we won and then once the traffic died down, we had a MUCH quicker drive home

**Outfit: top: f21, necklace: banana republic, purse: vintage coach, flats: issac mizrahi for target**

Before then, we had a great lunch at the Ritz Carlton while at Half Moon Bay. They had this awesome coal pit, it was cold so it was just perfect for us to lounge outside and see our amazing view..

Isn't the view amazing!? just GORGEOUS..wish I could look outside my window and see this everyday!

Our group pumpkin that we carved!

So what are your halloween plans!? Any costumes picked out yet?

City of Sin

2010-10-09T22:00:00.000-04:00

I feel like I just posted that I went to Vegas and then I go again! I guess its so much easier when you're on the west coast! We had to show my cousin a proper Vegas trip for her very first time! It's always a lot of fun when you do a girls trip :) My friend was arguing with us about how Vegas is cheap for girls, but we did argue back, we do have to pay for hotel, flights, food, and new clothes of course!! But it is true, its definitely more pricey for guys to go to Vegas! You only need a few short nights in Vegas and then some recovery time!

Love the water show at Bellagio, so Oceans 11

We like to jump in our hotel hallway at 4AM in the morning, we did get pretty good air I will say!

Sipping drinks and lounging around

Can't leave Vegas without a little gambling!

Photo Op time!

Beauty while you Sleep

2010-09-29T12:21:00.013-04:00

I was reading Glamour magazine a couple of months ago and reading this article about beauty treatments and staying young and how early is too early is botox. I honestly wouldn't even at all consider it until a lot later in life (look at Heidi!), but it was interesting because theres kind of 2 thoughts so that matter. One is that if you if you get botox earlier, it will help prevent wrinkles and you'll need less botox later and the other is that botox actually causes atrophy to your muscle after repeated use.

Its up to you whether or not you really feel you need botox! I think that I'm gonna try to stay away from it for as long as I can so onto creams and other things for me. Honestly I don't have really have any major wrinkles yet but I'm all about preventative measures!

This product, Frownies, is a great early product for those super fine lines in your mid/late 20s that doesn't really need any heavy hitting botox yet. The great thing about this line is that their products are 100% natural - containing aloe, oats, cactus collagen, bear berries, lavender and rose essential oils, combined with antioxidant vitamins, and plant-based ingredients. Wrinkles partially caused by the overaction of your muscles (thats why botox works, it relaxes the muscles!), this product works in a similar way through repetition of using the product to relax the muscles.

I haven't had a chance to really try it out yet, but when I do, I'll give you guys my full review! What do you guys think about something like this, would you try it, go the creams route or go full-on botox when needed?

The Glamour and Drama

2010-09-23T00:06:00.002-04:00

Marchesa Spring 2011, to die for..

Jenny Packham Spring 2011..

I love the shine of this dress, how could you not keep your eyes off it

If you couldn't tell....

I love gorgeous gowns, the more glamour the better

Monique Lhuillier Spring 2011

this one looks so sweet, perfect for Spring

Just some eye candy.. what were your favorite collections from New York Fashion Week Spring 2011?

Time to Kick off the Heels!

2010-09-05T13:46:00.002-04:00

I'm starting to train for a duathlon that I'm doing with my co-workers at the hospital. Its a duathlon because theres no swimming otherwise it would be a triathlon. We run 2 smiles, bike 13 miles and then run 5 miles at the end. I've never done a run/bike race before! I've only done the Susan G. Komen Race for Cure 5K run/walk before. So I was a little hesitant to commit to this race, but since everyone was doing it and I figured I needed some exercise anyway, this would give me motivation! I've only ridden a bike for leisurely purposes like around the beach, so this will be interesting to see how I do!

I love being out here.. I don't know if its just because I am somewhere new so I'm more open to try and do different things, but back home I definitely don't think I was as active. It also helps that the weather is perfect out here! Theres not that high humidity that you experience on the east coast in the summer time... but at the same time, when I go into the city, its pretty cool so I can't wrap my head around the fact that its cold and summer but I still wear my skirts and summery clothes anyhow!

Hope you guys are having a fabulous week!

Forever Shopping

2010-08-29T13:35:00.007-04:00

Forever21 has free shipping over $40 which is much better than their usual $75!

Code: SHIPFREE

I can definitely find something worth $40 to spend and not feel guilty about it at Forever21. The good thing about their return policy is that merchandise can be exchanged at their stores so no return shipping fees, but you only get store credit back so thats why I'm always reluctant to buy TOO much online since you don't know how it fits and I'm pretty picky about having to love something before keeping it.

Here are some of my picks!

Georgette Ruffle Skirt

Studded One Shoulder Dress
Speckled Spots Dress

Draped Sateen Dress with Braided Belt

Graduating in style

2010-08-13T20:50:00.001-04:00

This is my new LV purse! A graduation gift from my momma! She thought that since I'm going out into the workforce now, its a must that I have a stylish purse to go with a hopefully stylish life in the bay :) I haven't really toted it around much. I guess when you have something so new, for me at least, it takes me to some time to get comfortable carrying it around... I'm so use to throwing my other purse around so much, I feel like I need to treat this one well! But I will say I do love my first Louie :)

Stock up time

2010-08-10T08:00:00.000-04:00

I got this mail-in rebate for $10 sent to my email, I dunno how you guys feel about rebates but if you do have the energy to do them its like getting $10 bucks in free products :) As long as you buy $30 worth of Olay, Pantene Pro-V, Cover Girl, Venus or Secret, any combo of this you can be eligible for the rebate! I think its pretty good b/c when I buy 1 moisturizer from Oil of Olay, its almost 10 bucks! So add in a couple more things I can easily stock up on, Cover Girl Lash Blast, some Pantene condition (family size :) it will equal that up in no time, and they're all products most of us use regularly! Just make sure you purchase between now and Sept 17th and mail it by Oct 1st, plenty of time to spend $30 worth of products.

$ 10 Rebate
Here are some the products I would buy:

Oil of Olay Regenerist Night Cream

Oil of Olay SPF 30 daily moisturizer

Cover Girl Lash Blast mascara - I haven't actually tried it yet but I want to!

SF Adventure

2010-08-05T01:24:00.002-04:00

My friend came to visit SF this past weekend, it was such a good time! She's my first visitor since I moved to the bay! So happy she came, we did so much, ate alot and partied a lot! haha! So overall it was a great trip! Its always great when friends come to visit, theres never enough time to do everything you want. My cousin did give us an amazing tour of the city: we did shopping at haight street, drove across the golden gate to sausalito, ate ice cream at by-rite around delores park, ate at burma superstar, by the end of the weekend i had no voice left, but it was quite worth a well-done weekend!

First stop: Farmer's Market at the Ferry Building, HIGHLY recommended! SO much good food and lots of vendors!

The flowers at the market were so pretty and the peach samples were delish!

Paparazzi shot while waiting to go on the bridge at the Chinese Tea Garden

One of our nights out, love how everyone wants to be in our pic!

My future 2.7 million condo in Sausalito!

Don't you loveee the view!

Back to the foggy city, but I heart it muchos <3

35, Single & Fabulous

2010-07-22T01:42:00.001-04:00

I love Drew Barrymore! She is so gorgeous and seems so down to earth. I was at Borders the other day and I came across her Elle August 2010 cover. I absolutely loved it, I love her smoldering look, wavy hair and black polish with a form fitting shimmery black dress...pure perfection! Her cover quote: "If you're 35 and single and it's a choice, it feels fine. So I didn't settle with the wrong person yet. Big Deal". I love how she is fine with being single at 35.. as you get older, and everyone around you is getting married, sometimes you feel that pressure put on yourself, but its great that she knows who is and what she wants.

Any pressures of marriage yet? What do you think of Drew's cover?

Living it up LA Style

2010-07-15T01:05:00.004-04:00

So right before I came to SF, I went down to LA & spent a ridiculously fun night in Vegas before starting my job! One last hoo-rah! It was such a great time. We went to the Grove to do some shopping, went to the Griffith observatory, Kodak Theatre, Corona Del Mar Beach, ate lots of good food, hung out with lots of cool people and had a blast :)

walking around the grove

roasting marshmallows on a beach fire we crashed, so californians so nice!

w my 2 college friends, 2 of the most fashionable girls i know, they're darling arent they!?

strolling in the wynn after lunch buffet!

one crazy night at XS

beginning the night at tao

Have you been to LA and /or Vegas? What are your favorite things about those cities?

Neutrogena Clinical FREE!

2010-07-12T23:59:00.001-04:00

After Mail-In Rebate, Neutrogena Clinical is free! These anti-aging cremes are always expensive so its nice to be able to try this one for free. I'm definitely gonna go out and buy one of these!

via Slickdeals.net

Neutrogena offers a Rebate (up to $40) on their Clinical Facial Lifting Wrinkle Treatment products which would make it Free after rebate.

online options:

Walgreen's.com
Neutrogena Clinical Skincare $27.99 (save $5)
Free shipping on $25 & get $10 future credit w/ code FACIAL20
-Receive $10 Credit on your next order
-Receive $27.99 rebate
Final Price: Free plus $10 money maker

Walmart.com
Neutrogena Clinical Facial $35.97
-Receive $15 eCard (good at Walmart or Sam's Club)
-Receive $35.97 rebate
Final Price: Free plus $15 money maker

Drugstore.com Free after rebate with free shipping

Skinstore.com Free after rebate plus $4.95 S/H

In-store options:

Rite Aid
Neutrogena Clinical Skincare $33.99
-$5 printable Neutrogena coupon
-$5 off $25 Rite Aid coupon
-$10 Rite Aid Gift Card WYB $25 SCR #555
-Receive $33.99 rebate
Final Price: Free plus $20 money maker

Walgreen's
Neutrogena Clinical Skincare $34.99
-$5 printable
-Receive $34.99 rebate
Final Price: Free plus $5 money maker

CVS
Neutrogena Clinical Day, Night or Eye $34.99
-$5 printable
-Receive $34.99 rebate
Final Price: Free plus $5 money maker

Has anyone tried this product or hear any reviews about it?

Busy Bee

2010-07-11T20:32:00.008-04:00

I've been SUPER busy... so I will give you a quick update of my life since . I just moved to the San Fran area, started my 1 year residency program and went on recent trips to Seattle & Vancouver and LA & Vegas. It was also my birthday over the 4th of July weekend!

Its an easier adjustment coming back to SF, I couldn't stay away! in terms of not being homesick, but my new job has a lot of responsibilities and the amount of paperwork/charts I have to do it keeping me there much later! I definitely had an overwhelming 1st week, but I know it will get better once I get situated and learn everything.

Some pictures for 4th of July weekend :)

We're being Blackberry models, we're holding up little speech boxes like in comics...I forgot what it said on the boxes

my quick f21 outfit, striped bandage type skirt and a comfy white

racerback, i usually look for a dress for my bday but this is all i could come up with!

Tea time birthday lunch!

Isn't it just darling!?

I also went camping 4th of July weekend and I saw fireworks, it was a fully packed weekend! I will update more about my travels to vancouver/seattle and la/vegas soon!

did you have a great 4th of July weekend?

Tweet Tweet

2010-06-21T05:26:00.002-04:00

I have joined the Twitter network! I only did it so I could find the Korean Taco truck in LA, haha :)

Follow me at HERE!

No posts yet, I'm gonna see how useful this twitter is! It reminds me of facebook so if you guys can tell me how much better or useful it is, I would love to hear it!

Do you guys have twitter and/or tweet?

The Ugly Truth - All Hot Air?

2010-06-13T01:05:00.000-04:00

I've been testing out the BF's netflix and they don't have too many new instant movies, but I decided to check out The Ugly Truth. Even though Rotten Tomatoes gave it a mere 14%, horrible critical reviews, but I mean what can you expect from a romantic comedy using the same formula all are made from, I honestly actually enjoyed it! Its def not an intellectual type film, its got some awkward transitions, but overall a good film to watch and laugh with plus Gerard Butler is a TOTAL hottie, oh my! At the end of the movie, Katherine Heigel's character and Gerard Butler's character go on a hot air balloon ride. It looks so gorgeous and it would totally be such a romantic date! That scene alone has now made me crave going on a hot air balloon, totally on my list to do before I die. Anyway, I shall leave you with some pictures of hot air balloons so you can swoon over them to, at least those of you who aren't afraid of heights! :)

Have you ridden on a hot air balloon? If so, please tell me its amazing!?!

HP Laptop Giveaway

2010-06-08T14:50:00.008-04:00

One of my sponsors is having a HP Mini 210 Vivienne Tam edition netbook give away!

Definitely check it out! Who wouldn't want to win a new netbook? :) I know I want to win!! Contest ends June 15th.

The Post Grad Travel

2010-06-05T01:06:00.003-04:00

As the completion of four years of hard work and endless amts of studying, there is that post graduate trip that I fully believe everyone should allow themselves to partake it. It can be a short weekend trip, a long relaxing beach trip, a trip around the world, whatever it may be, after all that hard work and the excuse of "you will never have time off like this again", it must be done! After high school, it was beach week, after college it was an amazing unforgettable trip to europe - London, Paris, Barcelona, Rome, & Venice (what would almost be considered backpacking, hostels and all of that but I didn't travel with a backpack!), and now my big trip was GOING to be Asia. That didn't really pan out so well due to poor planning on my part, my mom throwing me a late graduation party so that it wouldn't be so close to my cousin's wedding and my moving to California in a few short weeks! So with all of that in stow, Asia couldn't happen, so it'll take backseat for a post-residency trip perhaps!?

So where where did I have in mind to go, you ask? Well, my last vacation was a cruise for my cousin's wedding, that went to Bahamas, St. Martin & St. Johns, plus I'm not a huge beach person. I like the beach, I like warm weather, but I also get very restless. So cross out beach vacay for me. Hawaii was an option, which I would have been fully willing to partake in, but the timing wasn't exactly right as well. Thought about going back to Europe, should have jumped on it when the volcanic ash was bringing down the flight prices, but you wait a few days, a week, and now those prices are upto $1000/flight, so that gets axed off. So the trip at choice is Seattle & Vancouver.. which is a perfect mix of sight seeing, nature & food, and we do get to go out of the country, even though its our neighboring counterpart! I'm SO extremely excited to eat all the delicioso food both cities have to offer. There is so much to do and so much to see in only 6 days!

If you've been to Seattle and/or Vancouver, any advice and what to see, do and eat would be lovely! & Please share your summer plans :)

Sex and the City - One more time!

2010-06-01T13:50:00.009-04:00

Like many other women, I'm a HUGE fan of Sex and the City. I didn't watch it originally when the series aired, but later on in college through the DVDs. I actually got the whole set for my birthday one year! I couldn't resist these four single, independent women with some killer fashion sense and amazing shoes. Sex and the City was about the bond between real friends, the relationships they encountered, their love for the City, and most of all it showed how fabulous women could be without men.

I was really looking forward to the 1st movie, and I enjoyed it! But SATC2, I'm not too interested in, only because it seems that they're making it to make it, its all about the $$ & success of the first one. There's not much there in the story line the 2nd time around, and it seems a little outlandish & far fetched they're going to Abu Dhabi; but then again its Sex and they can pretty much get away with any costume design and look amazing! I'm not saying that I won't watch it because I'm probably going to end up seeing it, it just doesn't excite me like the first one did!

It might not have excited as many viewers as they hoped either, Sex and the City 2 fell short of expectations of 60 million with 51.3 million from this memorial day weekend opening, but they had some tough competition from Prince of Persia and family friendly Shrek. Although it is expected to pick up. This memorial day weekend was a slump in the movie business, but maybe thats attributed to high ticket prices and recession conscious consumers. I know I don't go to the movies as often as I once did and the prices are DEF way higher than they use to be!

So my question to you guys is, are you going to watch Sex and the City 2? & If you have watched it, what did you think of it?

Are you going to watch Sex and the City 2Market Research

source: via WallStreetJournal, YahooMovies

Just Keep on Running

2010-05-25T15:07:00.005-04:00

I've been really bad about exercising in this last month. I was really good at going to the gym at least 4x a week for several months. I would run and do a form of interval training, lift some weights, and do crunches. My gym membership ended since I had to give them 2 months notice, and I wasn't sure how May and June would be with my schedule. So now that I don't have a set gym to go to, I've been lazy about motivating myself to go out for a run & etc.

Although, I did use the bf's gym membership to take a step aerobics class last week. I was so uncoordinated! There were these little old korean women in the class who did so much better than me, I was following them! haha. It reminded me of when I took a step aerobics class back in college. It was so awful the first week because I was so slow at following the steps, when everyone was on the right side, I was on the left, etc, I was so embarrassed I almost dropped the class! But I decided that it would be silly to drop a 1 credit gym class I'm taking for fun. I did get the hang out of it eventually and then loved the class.

My cousin suggested that I try interval training through a podcast, #130.2 Special Reserve Request Edition -Treadmill Training 3.0 She told me she typically does her base rate at 6.5-6.7 and speed interval at 7.7-8.0. I was a little less ambitious, and did my base rate at 6.0, and speed at 7.5. Man, this is a work out! If you really want to challenge yourself plus LOSE more calories since interval training works your body out harder, I would definitely suggest you do this work out. Its about a 30 minute work out, definitely have a bottle of water close by! This will definitely give you a good run if you're using the treadmill and you can download it to your ipod so you can listen to it at the gym. It'll def give you a little more out of your workouts :)

What do you guys do to stay fit?

pic: via we heart it/flickr

Congrats!

2010-05-21T18:59:00.003-04:00

Congrats to all the 2010 grads out there!

I'll be graduating this Sunday, so excited, after so many years of school, I'm so happy that I'll be finished with optometry school and no longer a student! I had an amazing 4 years, met a whole lot of unique personalities from all over the U.S. and Canada! so I'll be really sad that we will all part our ways. Thats how graduations always are, bittersweet. Happy that I accomplished what I set out to do, sad that at the same time its come to an end. I met the best of friends through school, got to live & grow on my own, travel & live in so many various places, I've had the best 4 year ride of my life, won't ever forget the good times, and almost forgetting all the stress of exams and practicals! Good luck to everyone out there!

Product Review: Melvita

2010-05-17T18:28:00.005-04:00

On my last trip to San Fran, I was in the downtown shopping area and I saw a store front launch for Melvita. I immediately took a picture of it because it was my next product to review! I've never heard of this brand before, so I was really excited to find out more about it and I always find it MUCH easier to buy things at a store, where you can try the product on and don't have to deal with the hassle of returns if necessary.

Melvita is a company founded in 1983 by a French biologist, who developed their first product from bee hives. They were one of the first companies to earn the ECOCERT certificate for their organic skin care products. Their products fall under organic and natural guidelines, they do not test on animals, and their packaging is recyclable!

I was able to review the Fondant Body Balm through a sample from the company. I was taken a back from the strong apricot smell when I first open up the container. This was different for me considering I usually shy away from using scented body products like the Victoria Secret lotions or Bath and Body works lotion, I usually go for good 'ol Vaseline non scented lotion or Aveeno! But I wanted to try the Body Balm due to getting over cold weather skin and transitioning into summer ready skin show ;)

This body balm was really moisturizing. It contains cocoa, shea butter, safflower and sunflower oils combined with thyme honey and stevia leaf to give comfort and moisture to the skin. It was a thick creme that went on smoothly on my skin. It definitely provided good moisture throughout the day and it didn't have a strong scent on as when I opened up the container immediately. The downfall of this product as with other balms, is that its not in a easy dispense container, you just open it up, scoop up as much as you need and use the product. Considering the thickness, I don't know if any balms out there are in those squirt dispensing containers. I would DEF recommend this product because it does a great job at moisturizing and a bonus is that its organic!

**UPDATE: Melvita has already opened up their first store in S.F. on April 28th :)

Weekend BBQs

2010-05-08T10:46:00.003-04:00

Summer is around the corner, the weather is wickedly nice. I'm heading to my first BBQ of this warm weather and good riddance to winter! I'm ending work in about a week and then its relaxing from here on out until graduation. I'm so excited. This next year could bring a lot of changes so I'm contemplating my life and wondering what will end up happening, but thats the beauty of life, you don't really know until it happens. Hope everyone enjoys their weekend! Anyone have any great weekend plans?

Natural Skin MD Giveaway Winner

2010-05-03T19:14:00.003-04:00

So I inputted everyone's name with multiple entries if granted, I used this random name picker which randomized all the entries and then announced the winner for me: CAFE FASHIONISTA

Congratulations, thanks to everyone who participated! :) Until the next one!

Whisk Away to S.F.

2010-04-30T08:00:00.001-04:00

This is from a little whiles ago, but I went to S.F. for an interview so I most likely will be moving to S.F. in July if everything goes according to plan! Here are my pictures from my short trip back to S.F.!

Union Square & downtown shopping

Blue bottle coffee, a little hotspot coffee joint!

Brunch at Zazie's...mMmm

Stopping by Chinatown for the New Year festival! (SUPER packed!)
Golden Gate Bakery for some yummy baked goodness!
Gotta have Japanese food when I go back to Cali! With my lovely cousin who took the time to take me aroud :)
Oh S.F. how I adore you!

Have you guys ever been to S.F.? Any S.F. hotspots I should know about?

The Limited: Jodi Arnold Collection

2010-04-25T15:32:00.004-04:00

I've been a little late in writing about this, but I went to a Limited collaboration launch event for the unveiling of the new Jodi Arnold collection on April April 14th at Tysons Corner Mall in Virginia. It was really fun and a cute event! It felt kinda exclusive because you had to be on a list to go to the event (almost like a club in the mall! haha) and when you got in, there were an assortment of sweets & desserts plus wine and drinks!

I didn't know that much about the New York based designer, Jodi Arnold, before this event, but she was really nice and very down to earth! At the unveiling of her new collection for The Limited, she went over her worldly inspirations for her textures and prints of her collection - the different crafts of various cultures that inspired her. She also inspired by a book called "Half the Sky" and mentioned turning oppression into opportunity.

The fashion show showed the versatility of each piece from casual to business to a night out. Her pieces were very wearable and definitely something I would wear to work for a business casual look that doesn't come off as too boring. The pieces are also really easy to mix and match to create different types of looks. The dresses were easy to wear, the fabrics soft with easy movement. Definitely not fussy clothes, which is definitely what I need!

Have you purchased anything from the Limited Jodi Arnold collection? Which outfit fits you the best?

Product Review: Skin MD Natural

2010-04-19T19:35:00.013-04:00

I love trying new products so I was excited to receive a sample of Skin MD Natural to review. I've never heard of it before so I was excited to try a new product, plus I'm always looking for a good moisturizer! The great thing about this product is that its a lotion that you can use for everything - Face, hands and body! which makes this product so super versatile! I use a different lotion for each of those so it was nice to have a product that was good to use everywhere.

Skin MD Natural touted that it was great for not only for those normal skin, but also problem skin conditions such as those with eczema & psoriasis, and an effective anti-aging skin care treatment that helps diminishes wrinkles. It is a shielding lotion, which "special type of lotion helping the skin restore its integrity, enhance its protective functions so that the skin is able to heal naturally and regain its youthful appearance". It basically is suppose to bond to the cells of the skin's outer layer and works as a protection against environmental irritants and pollutants, as well as sealing the skin's own natural oils and moisture. It also has a moisturizing factor that is 6x greater than glycerin, which is contained in many skin lotion products. Skin MD Natural is NOT tested on animals, hypoallergenic, fragrance/colorant/paraben free, and dermatology tested. The great thing about this product is that if you do want to try it, there is a 100% guarantee for this product, and you can also get free samples (only have to pay the postage fee $2) on their website!

This is my review of the product after using it for several months:
Generally I liked this product. My skin gets very dry in the winter months, so initially using, I didn't really like it because it gave me a weird after-feel on my skin (most likely due to the aloe), but once I kept applying it every night, my skin adjusted to the product and it really did give me good moisture to my skin especially as the the weather got better. When my skin is extremely dry, I still felt like it wasn't my end all product, but it was a decent overall product. I also realized that I didn't need to glob on so much, a little really goes a long way. I really liked the fact I could use it on my face and hands!

The texture of the product had a thinner feel to it, it wasn't a thick creamy lotion, but more like a water based aloe texture. It reminded me a little of Clinique Moisture Surge type of feel if you have ever tried that moisturizer before, but a little stickier. I don't have eczema or any serious skin conditions so I cannot comment on its use with those conditions, but there are many testimonials on their websites and even some before and after pictures. With anti-aging effects, I haven't noticed anything dramatic, but I also do not have any deep wrinkles. I also liked the SPF moisturizer better than the one without SPF... plus SPF is always needed on a daily basis! The SPF moisturizer had a much lighter feel than most creamy based moisturizers with SPF, so I was definitely pleasantly surprised by it and it didn't have as much of that aloe feel that the original has. Overall this is a good moisturizer that comes in SPF (which is SUPER important!) and I would definitely give the SPF moisturizer a try over the regular one, especially if you are looking for a new lighter, non-greasy moisturizer!

You would potentially win a free bottle of Skin MD Natural through my FIRST PRODUCT GIVEAWAY! and let me know how you like it (everyone's skin is a little different and how they like different products!) All you have to do is:

1. Go to the Skin MD Natural website or visit a store that carries this product and leave me a comment about what your favorite aspect of the lotion is or what you like about it that makes you want to try it.

**Extra entries:

2. Become a follower + leave a comment saying you are one!

3. Adding me to your blog roll + leave a comment telling me you did so!

Also don't forget to leave your email addy!

Last day for entry is May 1st!

Thank you so much & Thanks to the people at Skin MD Natural for sponsoring this give-away and allowing me to have the opportunity to try out this product!

Yee-Haw!

2010-04-11T12:22:00.003-04:00

I was in Fort Worth Texas a few weeks back for a conference. It was really nice since it was all paid for and even sweeter that I got upgraded to first class on my way back! Definitely more roomier, better service and you don't have to pay for food (they even have real utensils if you've never been, haha)

This was my first time in Texas so I was super excited to go! Fort Worth is a smaller city outside of Dallas. It probably only took like 30 minutes to walk around the downtown. It was a really packed weekend since I had classes to attend plus trying to fit in those touristy things! We did go to a rodeo, which was fun and a little sad when the calves' legs got pulled in different directions! But anyhow, it was a good trip & I'm glad I got to see a little of the southwest!

Glimpse of Downtown Fort Worth, Texas

Mmm, Texas Beef!

Bulls as modes of transport?

This cowgirl shows us how to do it!

We can say now that we've gone to Texas and rode a bull!

The kiddies at the Rodeo, the clown made them roll all over in dirt and go back to their parents, it was hilarious!

A night out, drinks were only 75 CENTS!!! We felt rich that night, drinks on me! haha. Coat check costs more than 5 drinks in DC!!!

Nickelodeon’s Kids Choice Awards: Selena Gomez

2010-03-30T08:00:00.001-04:00

Selena Gomez is a ray of sunshine in this yellow Christina Cota chiffon dress with a gold beaded belt. She paired it with Sergio Rossi Girandola Bis Gladiator sandals, Lauren Merkin oval gold lambskin clutch and Ippolita jewels. She looks great! Love the color, its fun and young look thats perfect for her! Her hairdo is also very IN for this season. Check our some glamour tips on how to get her hairstyle, simple braid to fishtailing braid.

She won Favorite TV actress for her role in Wizards of Waverly Place at the Nickeloden's 2010 Kid's Choice Awards in L.A. I don't usually follow the Disney stars, besides hearing the gossip from Miley Cyrus, but Selena Gomez seems like a stylish down to earth teen.

What do you think? Are you loving Selena's look? Would you wear this?

Source: JustJared & Red Carpet Fashion Awards

Past Due NYC

2010-03-27T13:50:00.001-04:00

I went up for an interview in NYC about a month ago now but I have been so extremely busy these last few weeks to put up pictures and post about my time. It was quite cold and snowy while I was up there but theres just something you've gotta love about being in the big apple no matter if theres a blizzard going on!

I stayed at the Double Tree Hotel Suites right in the middle of Times Square, I totally love it! The suite was super nice, flat screen t.v.s in the living room area and the bedroom, there was a little mini bar area, the bathroom was very nicely sized. It was so comfy and the perfect location! It was nice going around and then being able to come back to such a cozy place especially since the weather wasn't the best, it was great to have a place to call 'home' temporarily! I also got a greal deal by booking through Priceline.. you never are sure what you are gonna get but so far it has been really good to me!

Tell me what you love to do in the NYC and what places you love to eat at!

Here area few of my favorite things:

I wish I would be invited to a NYC fashion week show!

Cannot wait for Sex in the City 2!

Can't go to NYC without any sushi!

These cookies at Crumbs were so delicious! The cupcakes were enormous!

I LOVE Pret A Manger.. their sandwiches are so delicious.. they tout good natural food!

We watched Mary Poppins, which was SUEPR CUTE! The weather was super crazy but hey, the show must go on! :) I really enjoyed this broadway and I would definitely recommend it!

Spring FOREVER

2010-03-22T20:23:00.002-04:00

I am totally loving the weather! It has been so incredibly nice lately! This makes me want to wear skirts and flowly tops and definitely bring on some fab sunglasses!

I commute to D.C. everyday and today I didn't realize it I took the wrong bus home which landed me at the mall (my subconscious telling me to SHOP!) I called my brother immediately to pick me up but what I should have done is tell him to come get me an hour late! I did go to Forever21 and pick up a couple of cute items! There were just so many great things for Spring and Summer, it made me happy! haha.

I got the blue polka dot skirt, so super cute, a blue striped tank and the blue ponte cap-sleeved dress for work. Can't wait to wear my new items! Tomorrow happy hour in the city with a few friends and watching Dancing with the Stars tonight! Hope you guys enjoy your week!

From R - L

Sporadic Polka Dot Skirt $9.80

Floral Pleated Linen Dress $22.80

Casual Striped Dress $10.50

Raw Edge Tier Skirt $24.80

Ponte Capsleeve Dress $11.50

Zip Front Striped Skirt $14.80

My Life as Liz

2010-03-11T16:00:00.000-05:00

I don't regularly watch MTV but recently I watched a few episodes of the MTV "reality TV show" My Life as Liz. I don't know if any of you have ever seen it, but its about an 18 year old named Liz Lee, who was once an in-crowd blonde follower, but now more-so a misfit hipster in the small town of Burleson, Texas, in the suburbs of Forth Worth, Texas. (I'm actually going to Forth Worth today!) I really like her wry humor and the ironic sense of her life.. she's a nerd but a pretty cool one with her journalism video club, not to mention she has her own t.v. show! But besides the point, we all have had those awkward teen moments & growing up with the popular girls who once use to be your bestfriends, but now pretty much hate you and would like to make you miserable aka her arch nemesis, Cori, can't be all that easy for Liz. Liz dresses in thrift store finds and edgy little pieces but what I notice most about her, is her love for lipstick color! She wears these great red lipstick colors, which show off her pout so perfectly! Makes me want to go out, trade my lipgloss for a perfect little red pout! Have you ever seen the show? Can you relate to her?

I will post some pictures from Texas when I get back! I'm going for an optometry conference down there and it'll be my first time to Texas ever! I'm so excited :)

CL Wear Beware!

2010-03-08T06:00:00.001-05:00

I'm hugely a contact lens wearer, I've considered the possibility of LASIK, which I may discuss in another post, but for now contact lenses it is! Here are some tips about contact lens wear and care! But of course any questions you have about your own eyes, you should discuss it with your eye care practitioner! I feel like I had to put that in :) haha.

If you're gonna be out on the town drinking, no matter how tired or drunk you are, don't forget to take off your contact lenses before you go to bed!! Alcohol dehydrates your eyes which makes your contact lenses adhere tighter to your cornea, which will increase the risk for a corneal abrasion (scratching the eye when you take them off), which can definitely irritate your eyes and make it feel like you have something under the eyelid. In general, wearing contact lenses overnight, increases your chance of an infection. Don't forget to use some rewetting drops if your contacts/eyes feel a little dry, a good one is Optive or Blink tears, but there are tons at the drugstore you can pick up over the counter.

When you are storing your contact lenses, make sure you a multi-purpose solution such as Opti-Free or Renu (click for a 2 dollar coupon!). Even though some of those solutions may taut a "NO RUB" solution, don't listen to those because it takes you squirting your contact lenses for like 15 minutes to actually get off all the debris/bacteria or you could gently rub your lenses to make them as clean as possible! Always use new solution every night and store them in a contact lens case.

If you really hate rubbing those lenses, try a daily disposable contact lens that you can just throw out everyday after you're done wearing them or use Clear Care solution. This is a hydrogen peroxide solution that cleans your lenses without rubbing them! You CANNOT put this solution in your eye or it will BURN! My brother and my cousin has the unfortunate accident of using my Clear Care solution to rinse out their lenses for a second and ultimately felt the burn of this! Your contacts need to be soaked for a minimal of 6 hours so the hydrogen peroxide solution can neutralize. This solution is probably only good for those who are willing to take out their contacts earlier or sleep at least 6 hours, which most of you should anyway!

Hope these tips help to keep your eyes healthy! :)

pictures via austincountyeye.com, walgreens.com, renu.com

Pretty for Spring

2010-03-06T15:50:00.003-05:00

Countdown for Spring, supposed March 20th which gives us 14 more days till! I can't wait for Spring to come along! The snow is nicely melting.. I'm back from SF now, but no pictures of food and travel yet. I'm really lazy when it comes to uploading so I will soon enough! I'm so ready to prounce around in spring pastels, pretty little dresses and shorts and not always feel like I'm freezing to death. Heres my browse of cute things for Spring. Enjoy! What are your essentials for Spring?

From R - L

Cynthia Steffe "Sam" Ruffled Floral Dress $325.00

Jill Stuart One Shoulder Tiered Chiffon Dress $228.00

Herve Leger Airbrush Stripe Strapless Cocktail Dress $1590.00

Forever 21 Strapless Silk Romper $24.80

J.Crew Palmera Ruffle Cami $88.00

Forever 21 Matelot Trouser Shorts $19.80

Enzo Angiolini McGavin $89.00

Forever 21 Flounce Ruffle Sun Romper $22.80

Busy busy!

2010-02-23T18:13:00.003-05:00

I've been so busy lately!! I just finished my rotation in Baltimore and now I'm working in DC! My first 2 days of work have been busy due to the horrible commute, pretty much waking up at 5 AM and getting home at 6 PM. But luckily this is another short week for me, tomorrow I'm off to my favorite city, San Fran till Saturday! Whoo hoo!! Not all pleasure, have an interview, but still, I cannot wait to get there!

In between that I got a few days off which was filled with lots of DC fun with my cousin who is a current DC-er and my other cousin from SF to celebrate her 25th bday! We had the most amazing food ever- pure decadence for 4 days. Loved the restaurant Zaytinya, had some great sushi, and a cute brunch at the Old Tabbard Inn. Plus we also got to go to the Eastern Market..I adore farmer's markets!

Here are some pictures from our DC adventure :)

Tory Burch Sunnies

2010-02-17T08:00:00.000-05:00

Classic Cat Eye Sunglasses $150

Tory Burch came out with a new line of sunglass eye wear to add to her brand. I started recently noticing displays of her sunglasses at The Sunglass Hut at the mall, which made me delve a little more into her brand. I know she is famous for those ballet flats, but I was interested in seeing what designs she would bring for the eyewear line. This partnership with Luxottica Group is predicted to generate $30 million dollars in sales. Her inspiration is said to come from Holly wood icons, James Dean, Peter Fonda, and Faye Dunaway, as well as her parents' trips to Greece, Istanbul, and Morocco in the 60's, 70's and 80's. I love her modern twist on these retro styles.

Here are my picks for some nice new sunnies once the weather gets nice, which isn't happening anytime soon in the D.C. area since we've received an overabundance of snow, way enough to last years! Which style is your fave?

Oversized Square Sunglasses with Metal T-Hinge $165

Classic Cat Eye Sunglasses with Metal T-Hinge $165

Oversized Rounded Sunglasses with Metal T-Hinge $165

I like how they're different shapes, fun colors, a little twist on some classic styles. What do you think? Would you wear them?

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-14T14:03:00.005-05:00

Happy V-day Everyone!

I had a low key vday this yr plus its also Chinese New Year so actually quite a lot of family time, red envelopes and tons of food!

I decided to make a valentine for my bf and a co worker (she told me that we could be valentines this yr) so I thought it would be nice to do a home-made thing and try my creative side (which is like none!). I had a bunch of scrap booking paper that I used plus to keep it interesting I added in a lil eye-creativity inside the card. I actually didn't give these cards to the respective owners yet so hopefully they won't read it here!

As I was writing this post, I was just thinking, I didn't receive anything for Valentine's day... not that it really matters, but then my mom comes into my room and gives me a little heart shaped Godiva chocolate and says "Here's a sweet for my sweetie!" She is too cute and that actually made me really happy considering I'm having a little of an off day!

I wanna hear what everyone did for Vday! Kept it low key? Went to a lil fancy dinner? Had some girl time? Any gifts? Well I do hope everyone had a fabulous day regardless of how you celebrated!

P.S. Read my Vday holiday dress picks at Fashion Court

RIP Alexander McQueen

2010-02-13T00:32:00.002-05:00

So Creative, So Ingenious, So Tragic.

via

True Blood

2010-02-07T00:06:00.003-05:00

Vampires are all the rage now especially since the whole Twillight craze. I never got into Twillight b/c of all the hype and I just felt I couldn't buy into it. My cousin, however, got me ADDICTED to True Blood.

True Blood is based on the Southern Vampire/Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. It is about a telepathic waitress named Sookie Stackhouse who lives in small town, Bon Temps, Louisiana, who falls in love with a vampire, Bill Compton. Vampires have "come out of the coffin" and now live in co-existence with humans. The Japanese have created synthetic blood, which allows them to live off instead of feeding off of Humans. Although not all vampires have decided to "mainstream" as Bill, which means living peacefully with humans, this series takes you through Sookie's adventures with Bill, the Vampire World, and other crazy creatures of the world.

It sounds really crazy, but I absolutely loved the first season of this show! Some scenes are a little graphic definitely in the second season (which of course never as good as the 1st), but its also HBO, so they def. don't censor like prime time t.v. Anna Paquin plays Sookie Stackhouse, Bill Compton is played by Stephen Moyer, and they have incredible chemistry on-screen together! I like how Sookie's character is a strong girl who is willing to fend for herself, her family and friends. Sookie's brother (Ryan Kwanten) has his hands full with various women, but has a good heart. Her bestfriend Tara (Rutina Wesley) is a hard, sarcastic girl, who works with her at the Bar, owned by Sam (Sam Trammell), who is also in love with Sookie.

I would def recommend the show if you're in for something a little different, and def if you like vampires!

This is a perfect time to start the series if you guys are trapped in SNOW like us in the D.C./Baltimore area!

Deep into Aqua

2010-01-31T08:00:00.001-05:00

I have been way into online shopping right now. I went to shop for some LV bags with my mom the other day, since she wants to get me one for a grad present, more on that later. Anyhow, while at Bloomingdales, I saw this perfect red one shoulder dress, just the most perfect dress. We went to the mall when it was almost closed so I didn't have a chance to try it on! So I went online to look for it, not online sadly, but I'll def go back to check it out at the store.

Shopping online at Bloomindales.com just opened pandora's box for me.... I started obsessing over all the great things on sale at Bloomies! I'm especially loving the Aqua line. I'm not too familar with it, but they have some really cute styles and the prices are def more reasonable! I don't regularly shop at Bloomies since everything is pretty pricey, but during the sale season when everything is an ADDITIONAL 25-40% off, who can resist?! Not I! I didn't get all these items but these were some of the ones I liked, what do you guys think? Do you guys shop at Bloomies and have you tried on some of the Aqua line brand clothing?

BTW I believe today is the last day for extra % off at Bloomies so def shop today!

From R - L

Aqua One Shoulder Dress $52.80 + additional 25% off

Aqua Short One Shoulder Tiered Tulle Dress $134.40 + additional 25% off

Aqua Short Tiered Peplum Cocktail Dress $152.60 + additional 40% off

Aqua Short Chiffon Dress with Hanky Hem and Feathers $208.60 + additional 40% off

Aqua Cotton Draped Dress $46.80 + additional 40% off

Aqua Silk Taffeta Bow Dress $66.00 + additional 25% off

Aqua Double-Breasted Boyfriend Blazer $61.60 + additional 40% off

Aqua French Terry Boyfriend Blazer $64.80 + additional 40% off

HELP HAITI

2010-01-23T21:41:00.013-05:00

Poor poor Haiti... this country seriously has the worst luck.

I've been lucky to have a chance to visit this country Sept 2008, right after Tropical Storm Hanna, Hurricane Ike, Gustav and Fay hit Southern Haiti. We went to Cap-Haitien, Haiti as part of Student Optometric Services to Humanity (SOSH), over 20 people from my optometry school went to provide eye care to those in need. We provided eye exams, gave eye glasses and sunglasses, sent patients for cataract surgery and appropriate referrals to those with serious eye conditions in the screenings we did at community centers.

It was such an eye-opening experience. The people of Haiti have so much hope and such great resilience. They were so grateful to have us there, we were more than happy to do as much as we could for the short week we were there. I'm lucky to have the experience to be able to give through volunteer eye care.

It is so heartbreaking the amount of destruction and devastation encountered by the people of Haiti by the Jan 12th 7.0 earthquake. There has been lots of aid help and awareness made to help raise money for this disaster relief. This country is the poorest in the western hemisphere and it definitely needs all the help it can get to help their residents get food, healthcare, shelter and eventually begin rebuilding. The 'Hope for Haiti' telethon raised a record breaking $58 million dollars with many moving performances from celebrities and artists. I think its great that everyone is trying to do their part to help in whatever way they can.

Donate through American Red Cross or pick your choice from these various organizations, which also list how they're going to use the money.

An easy way to donate through Red Cross is text "HAITI" to "90999" and a donation of $10 will be billed to your cell phone bill.

Don't wait and expect others to help, every little bit helps!

NYE 2010

2010-01-23T01:26:00.003-05:00

I didn't really post anything about New Years Eve.... This was actually the first year we went out to D.C. and did the whole big party/open bar thing. It was a lot of fun! We went to Union Station in D.C. which is a historic train station in D.C. It was really nice! Great view of the Capitol building. I decided to post up a few pictures even though I'm way past due!

This is my getting ready moment. Trying on my dress, which I bought for a cruise, but unfortunately didn't get to wear, but add some grey tights and a little faux fur vest, and its perfect for a cold NYE night!

Sorry that last pic is a little blurry! That was just a few snapshots of my NYE night! Hope yours was memorable as well!

Is everyone sticking to their New Years Resolutions?
I've broken a few, going to bed before 12 on a work night, it sounds so easy but it apparently isn't for me! I def need to hit up the gym more as well! It use to be so easy when I was at school, I don't know why I'm such a slacker now!

Golden Globes 2010

2010-01-19T23:13:00.004-05:00

Another awards show post, I can't help myself! I just wish I could dress up for one of these events, but of course just wishful thinking ;) Sorry for the lack of posts, I've been really busy applying for residency positions and some other things I'll update you on, but a little fashion eye candy first!

Cameron Diaz looks great in red and I love how she's holding her own red umbrella! I loved Drew Barrymore's gown with the crystal details at the shoulder and the hip, gorgeous! Maggie Gyllenhaal has a perfect form fitting gown on in a pretty peachy color. Jennifer Morrison looked Hollywood glam, love the hair and the red lips, and I can resist anything ruffly as well as chiffon-like as in Emily Blunt's dress. Love her jewels, perfect accent to her dress!

I thought it was interesting that Kate Hudson decided to wear Marchesa BRIDAL to the globes! She does look gorgeous and I don't really think of her dress as a bridal dress, but I guess cuz its more couture. What do you think? Who cares its a bridal dress?

Anna Kendrick from Twilight, I actually don't know who she is since I'm not into the Twillight craze, but I know she has a rocking wardrobe cuz she's always wearing some really cute stuff, so I have to add her in since she's on my radar now. Dianna Agron, from Glee, looks all grown up in a flowy silver dress and I have to add my favorite True Blood stars, Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer. Anna looks amazing in that sequined dress!

Who were your faves at this year's Golden Globes?

People's Choice GLAM

2010-01-08T17:51:00.006-05:00

Everyone who walked the red carpet for the People's Choice Awards hosted by Queen Latifa, looked so amazing!

My absolute favorite, hands down was Jessica Alba. She is seriously one hot mama! I absolutely love her outfit, shoes, her makeup and hair. Just perfection!

Other notables were Carrie Underwood -her dress was so gorgeous and I loved her hair and acessories, Oliva Wilde from House - who looked elegant in Monique Lhuillier, Taylor Swift - who is never overly trendy, but she wears exactly what works for her and I always love the curls in her hair, Sandra Bullock looked ravishing with her cute costar in the Proposal, Ryan Reynolds. I added in a picture of Katie Cassidy, who I'm not too familar with, but I thought she looked great at the awards show and of course I had to sneak in a picture of my favorite Glee members, Lea Michele and Cory Monteith. Lea Michele looked cute but I'll let it slide since she's new on the scene, but she def could amp up her look for an awards show next time!

Who was your favorite to walk the red carpet at the People's Choice Awards?

Getty Images via Socialite's Life

Elementary my dear..

2010-01-05T20:29:00.002-05:00

I've always loved Rachel McAdams. She's simply gorgeous, great actress with a little spunk to her. I recently watched her in Sherlock Holmes. Theres alot of witty humor between Sherlock and Watson played by Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. Their characters interact very well together. Rachel McAdams plays Irene, an American, which is Holmes' love interest throughout the movie, a rebellious independent woman who has outwitted Holmes more than once.
She is just gorgeous in this Vogue spread!

Have you guys seen Sherlock Holmes? What did you think of it?

Style for the New Year

2010-01-03T00:25:00.004-05:00

As by Coco Chanel, "Fashion fades, only style remains the same." I think the most important thing about style is confidence. It doesn't really matter what you're wearing as long as you OWN it. Love what you wear, wear it with confidence and rock on! I'm so ready for 2010 and what it has to offer!

Via Satorialist - Accoutant in Sydney

Product Review: Revlon Fantasy Lengths Eyelashes

2009-12-27T19:16:00.000-05:00

I know I've been talking a lot about eyelashes lately with Latisse and mascara, but I found one more thing to make your eyelashes nice and luscious! I recently got a product sample of Revlon Fantasy Lengths Eyelashes. I've heard of this product before from Glamour magazine because one of the stars from The Hills, Olivia Palermo, swears by this product! I was psyched to test out this product.

I've tried false eyelashes before with terrible results. I couldn't even get the things on! I have horrible coordination and with the glue, I just couldn't get them on right so I pretty much gave up on them until this product. I really love the adhesive! Its seriously so great and MUCH easier to put on. It still took me a little time to get them right and as close to the eyelash line as possible but it definitely was not as bad as I remembered.

A lady at Sephora commented she liked my lashes, and although she could tell they were false lashes, they weren't over the top, just the right amount of volume she said. I could def tell the difference with the eyelashes, great for a night out but def not my style for the day time. I also tried trimming a few of the lashes one by one because I felt that they were a little too long for my liking, but with some little adjustments, I really liked them and I would def try them again! Its also great because you can reuse them since it comes with an extra adhesive.

A piece of advice, I would put your eyeliner on first, although the adhesive portion of the eyelashes looks like eyeliner but just in case you want to line the whole lid, it was difficult for me to line my lids afterwards. And also, don't place the eyelashes too close to the corner of your eyelids because you'll feel if when you blink if you place it too close!

They aren't too expensive, and you can probably find them at your local drug store. Hope this helps spice up your lashes for the holiday season!

No falsies on

Falsies on!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T01:08:00.002-05:00

Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!!

Any Christmas traditions that goes on in your family?
We're going to my Auntie's house for a family gathering, which will be fun! Lots of holiday parties going on until New Years too! Such a busy season, its great to be with friends and family :) Hope you all enjoy this holiday season!! What kinda cool gifts did you receive this yr?
After-Christmas means after-xmas sales! Are you guys doing any shopping!?

via we heart it

Can't Rain On My Parade..

2009-12-22T23:36:00.000-05:00

I went to NYC last weekend, it was a lot of fun but the rain was a little bit of a downer. I thought it was suppose to snow, but actually it rained instead, ALL DAY Sunday :( We made the best of it though.

I almost missed my Bolt Bus at 10PM. I didn't realize it parked in a parking lot, I called my cousin to ask where the Bolt Bus was since she took it earlier in the day and as she told me, I saw the bus start driving away! Luckily it was in one of those paid parking lots which slowed the bus down, so I ran and the bus driver opened the door for me!

Took a nap in the bus and we arrived in the city at 1:45 AM. Straight the club, we went to 230 5th Ave rooftop club. They give you red snuggies to wear outside which is nice since it was so cold! The music isn't all that great there, but it was fun spending time with my friends from Philly.

Some pictures of our other events while in NYC and of course we ended the weekend with the xmas tree at Rockefeller center!

At FAO Schwarz, love the holidays!

Late night eating at 53rd and6th, Chicken and Rice, YUM! Watch out for the red sauce, its quite spicy!!!

Breakfast at Ideya

Eggs Benedict their way

Pancakes with Plantains and Cinnamon, SO GOOD

Winter Wonderland!

2009-12-19T22:36:00.005-05:00

The east coast has been hit with some major snowfall! Esp in the DC metro area, we've gotten over a foot of snow and some forecasts say upto 2 feet of snow. I love snow, but why did it have to occur on the weekend when I needed to finish my xmas shopping and I don't have work. It would have been much sweeter on Monday, but oh well! Its still very pretty and fluffy right now. The bad thing is, don't drive outside!!! Stay home, drink hot cocoa and relax by a fireplace if you're lucky enough ;)

Snowball or football coming at you?

Laying in the snow can be so much fun..

Last night we went to a comedy show at DC Improv and we saw Gary Valentine from the King of Queens. It seemed like a good idea to go out there since we had tickets we didn't want to waste and the snow fall didn't really hit too hard yet, but once we left the show close to midnight, the snow was def coming down. It took me 2 hours to drive home from DC, which it normally takes 45 min. I was so scared of getting into an accident, seeing so many cars abandoned on the side of the road, cops and tow trucks. Super scary esp if you don't have a big SUV. I really should not have been driving, it was def a stressful ride home! But luckily I made it home safely.

X MAS Wish List

2009-12-17T22:33:00.007-05:00

Yay for the holidays! I love all the lights and the glitz of the holidays. Its gonna be a low key xmas this year. I'm not really asking for anything too big although a nice new watch would be sweet! or an iphone or something cool like that but not really necessary. So for this xmas I'm asking for a

- Vanity mirror, just one of those 1x/2x mirrors: mine got stolen about a year ago and I never replaced it :(
- Black pumps for work, always a staple
- Neutrogena face lotion SPF 45, MUST wear SPF everyday!
-Clinique Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief : this stuff is awesome.
- Gold dress shoes (cuz I realize I have none in closet to go with my favorite gold vintage belt)
- Accessories - necklaces and bracelets, the more the merrier right, it always spices up any outfit if you had some jewlery!

So what is on your xmas wish list!?!

Product Review: Hourglass Superficial Lash

2009-12-15T21:01:00.005-05:00

I cannot believe that Xmas is only a week away, where did the time go? Well I've been spending a little time at the mall to BEGIN my holiday shopping so of course I have to stop in my favorite store, Sephora.

While I was browsing, a sales associate saw me looking at the mascaras and told me which one was her favorite one - Hourglass Superficial Lash . It is a lengthening, voluminizing mascara. I tried it in the store, and I actually really liked it! Another employee showed me his lashes, which looked really good, very full and long. The good thing about this product is that it is enriched with Vitamin E to keep lashes soft and made without sulfates, synthetic fragrances, synthetic dyes, and phthalates.

I'm not actually very big on mascara since I always have problems with mascara smearing and eyeliner smearing underneath my eyes after a long day, but I do wear it out and on special occasions. This mascara def has good potential! Its a little pricey at $26 but thats not much different from most of the mascaras at Sephora, Diorshow is $24 and they're all around that range. I would def give this mascara a chance and if you ever stop by Sephora, test it out! Although the brush makes a difference in application of mascara, it doesn't hurt to see what it can do even without the special brush, it can only be better with it :)

Deals and Steals of the Week

2009-12-11T21:53:00.002-05:00

Limited - $15 off any purchase
Ends Dec 13th

Express - $15 off $30 Purchase
Ends Dec 13th

Borders - 30% off any item
Ends Dec 14th Online code:BSL7021A

Espirit - 40% off full price and sale items (excludes outlet items)
Ends Dec 13th Online code: FRIENDSR

Steve Madden - 25% off off entire purchase of > $59.99
Online code: FF25
Free shipping code: SMFREESHIP
Ends Dec 13th

DSW - $10 off $49 or $20 off $99
Ends Dec 14th Online code: 2XLOVE

BEBE - 30% off full price items
Online code: UNWRAP30
$10 off purchase of > $10.00
Online code: SURPRISE
Ends Dec 13th
+ Free shipping on all purchases

To The Big Apple I Go!

2009-12-08T18:33:00.003-05:00

So much is going on this weekend. Going to my bf's company holiday party at the Ritz Carlton and then off to NYC to see my favorite girls for a birthday celebration. Its gonna be so cold in NY, a chance of some snowfall, so def gotta bundle up! I can't wait for some shopping and some yummy eats in new york. Got any suggestions for me? What are you upto this weekend?

GLEE love

2009-12-06T00:20:00.004-05:00

I'm totally on the Glee bandwagon.. I absolutely love this show!! Its so over the top, but I can't stop from loving it. I love their renditions of popular songs. The cast is a perfect combination. If you haven't caught on to it, I would highly recommend watching it

For those of you who don't know much about it.. its basically about a bunch of high school kids, nerds, cheerleaders, football players that all come together to join Glee club lead by their high school Spanish teacher Mr. Schuster, a former Glee Club member himself. Its got all the high school drama with a whole bunch of great singing and dancing. Don't worry though, its not like the whole show is a musical or anything.

Shorties!

2009-12-04T21:26:00.007-05:00

"I'm actually very proud of my short legs. They take me to places. Actually when you're short, people feel pity for you, so you can get away with a lot more stuff. If I was tall I'd be in big trouble."

-- Shakira

I saw this quote via I'm Not Obsessed and I thought it was funny. I can relate since I'm only 5'1! I think its interesting how some short celebrities don't even seem short in their pictures and all. You really can't tell unless they're standing next to a supermodel or something.Well lucky for Shakira she has some hot short legs! haha.

HAPPY TURKEY DAY!

2009-11-26T14:00:00.001-05:00

Happy Thanskgiving everyone! Cannot wait to eat some turkey, fill up on some stuffing, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie! I love big family get-togethers.

I cannot believe how fast time flies. This year has been going by so quickly, it'll be Christmas before we know it. Anyone doing any Black Friday shopping? I don't think I will be this year, I have some major last minute cramming to do before my big boards exam Dec 1st... so all my time needs to go to that except this little break to make a few posts on my blog, which I've neglected for a while!

I've been so busy with finishing up my rotation at the VA hospital in Connecticut and moving back to Maryland with my cousin's cruise wedding in between! Yup, busy busy! Anyhow, hope everyone has a great holiday! Eat lots! :)

Product Review: Clearasil Ultra Rapid Action Treatment Cream

2009-11-22T21:53:00.006-05:00

In the last few months, my skin has been very terrible. I have been breaking out like crazy. I actually think it could have been the water in CT that caused my skin havoc.. since being back in Maryland, I feel like my skin has improved a lot. Regardless, I tried a whole bunch of acne products to try to calm my skin.

One of the products I tried was Clearasil Ultra Rapid Action Treatment Cream, Tinted, 1 oz. Its a super strong formulation with 10% Benzoyl Peroxide Acne Medication as opposed the usual 2% formulations. It touted clearer skin in just 3 days. Also, with this product, you must use sunscreen if going outdoors (this is why its impt the read the labeling otherwise you might not catch this pt!) Due to the higher concentration, a possible side effect would be skin irritation and redness and also due to excessive drying, you should start with one application and work up to 3 applications.

I did feel like this product worked quickly to resolve some of my acne spots, but I experienced excessive drying in the areas I applied and in some spots, I felt that it darkened my skin in that area. If you need something quick acting, this product is definitely good, but I would recommend using a very small amount and only at night time since it is advised to limit sun-use with this product probably due to product interactions with the sun.

Cruising Along

2009-11-07T00:00:00.003-05:00

I'm done my rotation site at the Hartford CT VA, 3 months done! It really flew by. I had a great time traveling the Northeast :) although I will admit Hartford was pretty boring, def made the best of it! I'm back to Maryland now for my next rotation. I guess theres no place like home although its been quite a while since I lived at home now! My cousin is getting married on a cruise ship so thats where I'll be for the next week. We're going to St. Maartens and St. Thomas... super excited! Hope you guys have a great week!

Feel Good Clothes

2009-10-26T23:47:00.005-04:00

I saw this photo on Satorialist of Olivia Palermo from The Hills. Honestly, I don't watch the show, but from commericals and clips I've seen, I guess she use to be Whitney's previous work rival at DVF. I love this girl's outfit. I love all the texture of her clothes, everything is so unique. She totally rocks all the pieces together. What do you think? Love it as well?

Sephora Friends & Family

2009-10-22T23:44:00.002-04:00

Its that time of the year now, time to stock up all your beauty goodies at Sephora! Friends & Family coupons should be coming out for all the stores pretty soon. Sephora's event is Oct 19-Nov 2nd, use code "FF2009" for the discount. What are you guys gonna be getting? I'm thinking of some new blush, most likely Nars.

Nicole Ritchie & Joel Madden at the Noble Humanitarian Awards

2009-10-20T16:48:00.006-04:00

Joel Madden accepted an award at the Noble Humanitarian Awards in Beverly Hills on Sunday October 18th. There to accompany him was the lovely Nicole Ritchie. She looks sooo gorgeous in a Jasmine Di Milo gown. I remember the days when she was so super stick thin. She looks healthy and beautiful.. absolutely glowing in that gown. I also love her simple makeup and her nude lips. Joel and Nicole are such a cute couple, they seem to complement each other so well, love how his tie matches her dress :)

Pic credit: JustJared

Burberry Love

2009-10-18T10:52:00.028-04:00

This is a late post, but the weather has gotten chilly and that made me think of taking out my winter Burberry accessories. I love how classic Burberry is, their Spring 2010 Runway collection was gorgeous and simplistic. I love the pastel colors, the mutedness of the colors, but the fabulous draping and updated coats which their famous for. Burberry is so classic, I can't help but continue to love it.

via style.com

One of Burberry's loyal followers & current fashion ad campaign models, Emma Watson

via: we heart it

P.S. I FINALLY figured out how to align my pictures next to each other, you can't imagine how long that took me! :)

Mosing through Newport

2009-10-14T19:48:00.000-04:00

A couple of weekends ago, I had an amazing time in Newport RI. We ate the absolute best lobster roll, "doughnuts" - which are these seafood fried ball things, and scallop clam chowder. The seafood was literally amazing! Newport is seriously a super quaint city, love the boats, the atmosphere, and the food!

Gorgeous waters & sail boats

The Breakers Mansion where the Rockefellers spent their summers

Running through bushes with all the other little kids :)

Lobster sandwich, the best one I've had so far!

"Doughnuts" at The Mooring Seafood Kitchen and Bar

Sunshine Cleaning

2009-10-07T22:18:00.007-04:00

I recently just watched "Sunshine Cleaning". This movie stars Amy Adams and Emily Blunt as two sisters who decide to go into the business of biohazard removal, which means cleaning up the blood and stuff left after a crime scene/suicide/etc...sounds like a great job right? I really enjoyed this movie a lot. Its unique in its storyline, its got his comedic moments and also its heartfelt ones. These two actresses are great, you really feel for each of their characters. Amy Adams plays Rose, a single mother who is trying to provide for her son and intertwined with her old married high school sweetheart, while Emily Blunt plays a her rebellious sister, Norah, who trying to find her direction in life. I would definitely recommend watching this indie-drama!

Atlantic City Bachelorette Fun

2009-10-03T18:14:00.013-04:00

Last weekend, I went to Atlantic City for my very first bachelorette party! My cousin is getting married on a cruise in November and since a lot of the family is from the east coast, we flew her in for the bachelorette party. For those of you who haven't been to A.C., it is definitely no where close to what Vegas is, but hey, there are casinos and shopping (tax free + outlets!) and if you've got a great group of friends/family then you are all set!

I went straight from work, of course on the day I have to leave to catch a bus in downtown Hartford to NYC and then to A.C., I get the last patient of the day with loss of vision never noted before on a Friday afternoon! But luckily that gets squared away and straight to the bus station, although I didn't eat dinner and then in transfering buses, there was no time even to grab a quick pizza in NYC or even when we made a pit stop, the Burger King was SUPER slow so no food yet again. Once I reached A.C., my cousins told me to come the hotel to get ready to go to the bar. I didn't end up eating until 14 hours later after a night of clubbing at the Borgata. We went to Fatburger and I got a nice juicy hamburger and fries all to myself! I gobbled that thing down. haha.

The next day, we helped the economy by shopping for like 6 hours! Ceasars buffet for dinner and off to Dusk for the last night's celebration. It was such an amazingly fun night. It was a great party night too because Nicky Hilton was there celebrating her birthday with Lance Bass and Sean Kingston performed 2 songs! We had a great view of Sean Kingston's performance. I was able to see Nicky Hilton and Lance Bance (which btw is such a cutie in person!) but not close enough to take pictures with them! :(

Overall, this weekend was majorly fun. My mom-cousins party harder than I ever knew, which was super cute and I had a great time with the family. I can't wait for my cousin's wedding on a cruise in Novemeber. It is going to be one amazing family trip! My cousin said she wanted to have a wedding on a cruise b/c as a kid she watched Love Boat so I guess she wanted her own :)

We decided to live it up baller style.. Penthouse Suite!!

The view from our hotel

The glob of light is Sean Kingston!

Nicky Hilton as DUSK nightclub in Caesers, celebrating her 26th birthday!
(Wearing a Kate Moss for TopShop dress :)
pic credit: UMCSSA.net

Sorry for the low picture quality, our cameras weren't that great!

So what celeb sightings do you guys have!? :)

Product Review: Clinique Turnaroud Concentrate Visible Skin Renewer

2009-09-28T19:50:00.009-04:00

I had my makeup done so of course you need to buy a product. I've been getting worried about my skin since I just turned 25 this year so I decide to buy Clinique Turnaround Concentrate Visible Skin Renewer and of course since I got a free gift with purchase, I can't resist those things sometimes! It touts:

"A high-performance cocktail of exfoliants prompts a renewal process that is multilevel, time-released. Speeds fresh, vibrant cells to the surface. Continually unveils brighter, more radiant skin. Leaves skin with a velvety feel, perfected look."

It is actually a product that has really good reviews on Sephora.com I'm all about reading product reviews and getting other opinions about beauty products. I personally did not find much difference in my skin. I really wanted to love it and try to see a difference in the texture of my skin, since I heard so many good things about it, but it didn't deliver. I won't be purchasing this product again. I always try different products until I find one that works perfectly for my skin. I'm trying a drugstore brand, Oil of Olay for preventing wrinkles and keeping my skin young and pretty still... so I'll review that once I'm finished that that product.

Hello Beantown!

2009-09-16T22:34:00.007-04:00

First weekend in Hartford proved to be less exciting than we hoped so next weekend, roadtrip to Boston! Its not too far, little less than a 2 hour drive plus we're lucky that one of our pals is living in a small studio in a great location :)

Boston is a great city - its clean, lots of good places to eat, its a big city with a small city feel, u can walk everywhere or take the T (subway) anywhere you pretty much, theres a whole bunch of colleges around, lots of museum and history, and plenty of places to shop. I really like the atmosphere there. We went on a perfect weekend, it was 75 degrees and gorgeous!!

We walked to the Science Museum, which btw was SUPER fun, tons of little kids there running aroud but we enjoyed ourselves tons. We took a nice scenic trail by the water to get there. I would love to go on a sailboat! There were people kayaking on this river as well. We would have it we had more time!

A picture of me being a nerd at the Science Museum.. as you can see, I love eyes! haha

This is the heart of Boston for me, the Prudential center with nearby Newbury St. The first time I came to Boston, we were at the Hynes Convention Center for an Optometry conference so we spent a lot of time around here so this is how I always remember Boston for some reason. We had drinks at the Sky Walk in the Prudential Center one night and you can see a great view of the city, enjoy a drink instead of going to the Observatory. Also hit up J.P. Licks, homemade ice cream on Newbury St. .. I loved the flavors Cow tracks and Coffee crunch. They have some unusual ones you can ask to sample before buying too!

Breakfast at Trident Booksellers & Cafe. Simple yet delicious.

Sushi at Fin's... We had the sushi pizza, which was interesting, different from another sushi pizza I had at Gochi in Cupertino CA. Both sushi pizzas I wasn't a HUGE fan of, not bad, but not in love with it. This place had pretty decent sushi though!

Quincy Market/Fanueil Hall
This place is great because there are a whole bunch of food places congregated into one. Clam chowder, super creamy, I love it and I love SF clam chowder as well but Boston clam chowder is just a little different, a little creamier I think, but I won't say if I like one over the other! We ate outside and watched some outside comedy act, before we hit up the famous Modern Pastry. We opted for Modern Pastry over Mike's Pastry. There was a line up outside, which we had to wait through. I got a nougat (pretty tasty) and some creme brule!

You can't go to Boston without going to Harvard.. gotta rub the man's shoe for some good luck! Something similar we do at the University of MD, during finals week, everyone rubs the Terrapin's (its a turtle!) nose for good luck and leaves offerings around him to help them pass their finals!

Deals and Steals of the Week

2009-09-15T22:01:00.006-04:00

Been a while since I posted up some deals.. I pretty much have kept with the recessionista ways and tried not to tempt myself to shop TOO much! I love good sales so here are some the recent deals I noticed:

H&M - Buy 1 and get 1 50% off entire collection
Ends Sept 20th

Express - $15 off $30 purchase
Ends Sept 20th

Espirit - 30% off all merchandise (includes sales!)
Online code: PSS9HUSE (free shipping & returns online)
Valid Sept 18th-20th

Limited - $15 off $50
Online code: 837
Ends October 5th

Martin & Osa - 25% off entire order of $100 or more
Online code: 33034548
Ends Sept. 22

Charlotte Russe - Free shipping for any purchases $25 and over
10% off with email sign up
Free returns to store
Ends Sept 19th

Payless - 15% off purchase

I am so blogging this

2009-09-08T20:53:00.002-04:00

I came across this tank top and I thought it was funny because sometimes I'm actually thinking this! Maybe not those exact words but you get it. This little tank is from Forever21. I actually have a whole bunch of things that I need to post... I don't have a camera right now so it kinda sucks taking pictures with my camera phone but I guess it'll have to do for now!

Another Day, Another City

2009-08-30T14:46:00.008-04:00

So I've been lucky that I've gotten to travel to a couple places for my rotation sites. I was in SF for my 1st rotation, which if any of you know me, you know how much I LOVED living in Cali.. it was great cuz I got to go to LA/Las Vegas/&San Diego while I was over there. I went back to Philly after that to do my school rotation, I'll love and hate Philly always. haha. Whenever I'm there, I hate it, but when I leave I always remember the good times I had while I was there. There is also a whole bunch of good places to eat and of course no tax shopping! Luckily CT also has no tax shopping, which I was super excited about.. also bad b/c I shouldn't be spending money, being a very poor poor student.

Hartford is a small city, we drove around the downtown and there wasn't much to do and not too many people walking around, granted, it was a rainy day! We haven't found too much to do yet, but I'm sure we will (or at least hopefully!) The good thing about Hartford is it is in between NYC and Boston so I'll def be hitting up those cities a lot with my roommates. & We did hit up the casino, at Foxwoods, randomly on a Tuesday night. It was actually very nice...in the middle of the woods, but a pretty decent resort/casino.

Its my first week here so just adjusting to everything but I know I'm gonna have a good time exploring the Northeast. Any suggestions on what I should do while I'm up here?!

pic credit: planetware.com

Closet Exchange

2009-08-25T21:51:00.000-04:00

So of course I have a ton of clothes I don't wear anymore. You just get tired of them. Or they become just not appropriate anymore... like those tight clubbing shirts I use to wear 1st yr of college :P So my friend and I decided to check out selling our clothes. We went to Closet Exchange since it was close by my apartment, its like a Plato's closet, pretty much a 2nd hand thrift shop.

We brought a whole bunch of our unwanted clothes and they took the WORST stuff. I mean some of the things I brought in were decent, but they picked out the stuff was super cheesy. I had this yellow, faded Tommy Hilfiger racerback tank top from MIDDLE SCHOOL, which they wanted! Why? I have no idea! My friend brought 7 jeans and other nice things and they didn't want those! It just shows you how fickle second hand shops can be. The idea of selling your clothes seem good, but I mean you really only get about $1 for a shirt if you are able to sell it... so it makes me think, is it even worth it or should I just give it away to charity? Well I guess it is better than nothing! I was thinking trying to sell my decent pickings on Ebay, which may be a better idea, but more of the hassle I suppose.

What do you guys do with your old worn down clothes? Charity? Hands me downs to your siblings? Or do you just allow them to sit in your closet forever?

Buying Glasses Online?

2009-08-23T23:33:00.009-04:00

Everything you want, you can pretty much get or find on the web. Thats the luxury of our internet technology, all at your fingertips! I love online shopping for clothing, shoes, books, beauty products and so on... but would you buy your glasses online?

There are definite pros and cons to both.

PROS
- Cheaper!
Glasses online are usually cheaper due to lower cost of overhead such as eliminating the need of maintaining an optical with employees and stock
-Less hassle due to online purchasing, you just fill everything online and the glasses get sent to you.
-No interaction with sales staff: this could be good if you prefer not being bothered by sales associates

CONS
- Unable to try the glasses before purchasing.
Its definitely difficult to gauge if you will really like a pair of frames without trying them on
-No measurements performed by the optical; measurements such as PD and bifocal/progressive heights must be performed to assure proper fitting or glasses
-No adjustments by the optical; if the glasses come back and need tightening or adjustments to fit properly, a trained staff is unable to do it over the internet
-No interaction with sales staff: this could also be a con because you don't have help from a live person except through phone interaction

I was fortunate enough to be able to try out a pair of eyeglasses from an online prescription eyeglasses company, GlassesUSA. I chose the Liberty frame in black, just a cute little simple pair. The prescription glasses were a pair of good quality frames/lenses which I didn't have any problems with! I think a single vision pair would be easy to order from an online source, but definitely with a progressive/bifocal pair it would be more difficult due to accurate measurements that need to be done. With that being said, every online company has their own return policy -- I checked the return policy on GlassesUSA and it said "If you are, for any reason, not completely satisfied with your eyeglasses, you may return them to us for a FULL refund or a NEW pair of glasses – no questions asked! We will be happy to exchange your glasses or offer you a full refund- NO MATTER WHAT… even if your dog chewed the frames!", which sounds like a pretty good return policy to me! If you are interested in trying this site, here is an offer from the company for 5% off using the code "Mommy5".

Another tidbit about GlassesUSA is that they donate their returned glasses to various organizations that re-distribute eyeglasses to people around the world who cannot afford vision care. I think thats great that the company does this! I was part of a student organization at school called SOSH and we went to Haiti to give eyecare to those who are less fortunate so I definitely have to give this company props for helping out for a good cause!

There are pros and cons to everything we purchase online, what do you think? Are you for purchasing glasses online or do you prefer purchasing your frames at your local optical shop?