Santa Monica

I spent some time on the West Coast as of late, and the weather there was amazing. No need for a jacket, boots, or anything! You could leave the house in almost anything and feel fine.

We decided to go out to watch my cousins' friends' band play in Santa Monica one evening. I had trouble pairing what to wear since I didn't pack very much because I wanted to carry-on (I always have issues with checking in luggage).

I managed to put together a decent outfit, that looked something like this (It's so fun creating collages of my outfits!):

Actually, it's VERY VERY similar. The only difference is the Forever 21 necklace and the color of the sweater top. I made the collage so you could see more detail because in my actual photo, you can't see everything.

Michael Kors boxy sweater (mine is in white; from Nordstrom), Marc by Marc Jacobs Anya pants (Barneys New York- the most comfortable pants EVER btw), Cynthia Vincent for Target wedges, Movado watch, F21 necklace, and Louis Vuitton Eva clutch w/ crossbody strap.



I wish I had some better photos but I don't like bringing my good camera out. It's way too large to fit into any of my going out bags and I refuse to wear it around my neck like a tourist.

Next time I post an outfit with these pants, I hope to capture the detail on them. They are really unique and have little detail on them that makes them super hot! Not to mention, they are the most comfortable pants I own right now that I'd actually wear out! I really really love them (even my mama wants to borrow)! And they were ON SALE at Barney's! I get excited just thinking about it. ;) The Barney's Outlet store had a huge blowout sale recently, where I probably purchased like 10+ clothing items plus 2 pairs of shoes, all for a great price (compared to the original price). I gotta say... I really heart Barney's sales!

MoMa

Target Free Friday nights at the MoMa!

From 4-8 pm on Fridays, admission to the MoMa is free for all! I don't know how I get so lucky to be at museums when they have free admission. One time in Paris, I just showed up to the Louvre on what happened to be a free admission day. And I was a broke college student at the time, so lucky me!


Everything inside was pretty interesting but I was pretty exhausted from a whole day of walking/shopping. I just wanted to eat. :)

Zara blouse, Diane von Furstenberg shorts, Urban outfitters belt, Movado watch, TART leggings, Gianni Bini leather boots, Longchamp Le Pliage large tote, Burberry raincoat

Cupid's Day!

Phewww, haven't updated in awhile!

Ahhh! I've been so lazy to pull out the large camera... But I have some travels coming up so hopefully I'll have new photos for blog posts! I also have a lot of new purchases that I'm DYING to post! Need to photograph and work them first! Eeek!

Here are a few from Valentine's dinner with my beau.



Dinner at Fearing's Restaurant (at the Ritz). I had the surf 'n' turf that came with filet and a chicken fried lobster! So unheard of!

Banana Republic dress, BCBGMaxAzria necklace, Express blazer, Steven by Steve Madden heels, Zara pouch.

Hope everyone had a lovely Valentine's! <3

Winter in Tokyo

On our last day, we went to the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. I was beyond amazed. Everything was lovely! I am OBSESSED with pretty leaves!

There were a lot of flowers, trees, plants, etc. I really love the ones that scream. Especially screaming red.
Some of them were still so full of leaves! Some, not so fortunate.
Needless to say, I had a lot of fun with it. I even stuck some in my bag to scrapbook (hope that's okay!)! =X

See, even the dead fallen ones are pretty!

The sun made the weather more bearable. I was able to take my coat off and use it as a picnic blanket! :)

F21 romper, Infinity scarf from random boutique in HK, Tart leggings (Nord. Rack), Ray-ban sunnies, Steven by Steve Madden Intyce boots

We spent a lot of time here. The rest of the day we spent doing my favorite thing: shopping!

Isn't it lovely! It all went by so fast... there goes by big trip of 2010! C'est la viii! ;)

Breakfast Sushi

If you're a real hardcore sushi lover like me, you'll have no problem getting up before sunrise to head over to Tsukiji fish market for the freshest sushi of your life. My boo, however, didn't enjoy the 'waking up when there's no light out' part.

Tsukiji Fish Market is the biggest wholesale fish/seafood market in the world. Wholesalers auction off their goods way early in the morning to the highest bidder. I didn't get to the auction bc it's WAY too early but I hear it's pretty cool!

There are several sushi restaurants in the area that have the freshest sushi. I went to one called "Daiwa." A friend recommended it to us... she claimed it to be the best sushi of her life... I'd say that statement is 100% accurate for me, too.

It was a little too early for photos but I managed to capture a few.
The toro was the freshest. I was disappointed we didn't get more tuna. Tuna's my fave.

The sun came out soon after and we did some exploring. (The sun rises and sets really early during Tokyo winter.)

Asakusa Temple

Forever 21 top, no name jeggings, Banana Republic Heritage silk scarf, Burberry coat & bag

View after sunset

Of course for dinner, we have sushi again (we're in Japan so why not?). This is where I get my tuna fix since I didn't have enough that morning.

On our way home, we walked right up to it. And went all the way up, too. Amazing.

<3

Bonsai Christmas!

We explored the more Western parts of Tokyo first (Harajuku, Shinjuku, etc.). There's a lot of scenery in Tokyo. Anywhere you walk, you'll see something beautiful. This is why I like walking more than taking the subway. (Also, the subway system is very complicated. Once you figure it out, you'll be set for life with learning subway systems. I'm proud to say I now know how to use the Tokyo subway!)

Some photos:

Near a park by our hotel

Passing by the tower on the way to the subway!

We discovered out favorite place to eat: Yoshinoya. There's a HUGE orange sign, and there's one in almost every neighborhood. You can't miss it.

They have this rice with kimchi soup that's that's stupidly good. We went here every morning we were in town and I got the same thing every time. Yum!

In Harajuku, we stopped by Yoyogi Park, where a lot of locals come to hang out. We just walked/sat around and watched people. It was cool!

H&M dress, BCBGMaxAzria scarf, TART leggings (Nord. Rack), Christian Siriano for Payless boots, Zara drawstring pouch w/ foxtail (random boutique in Shibuya), Burberry raincoat

This was also where we discovered the bonsai-turned-Christmas tree! Hehehe I thought it was cute.

They sell EVERYTHING through vending machines. It's weird... but doesn't make it any less delicious!

Strawberry, bananas, whipped cream, chocolate sauce! Uhm, could there BE a better combination!?

And of course, like Hong Kong, there's a lot of shopping in Tokyo. This a Takeshita-Dori street in Harajuku. It has a lot of cute stores! I had to come back here again another day! :) Bought a lot of good stuff! Thanks for reading. ;)

Tokyo, my love!

Sparkle & Fade cropped sweatshirt (Urban Outfitters), Forever 21 necklace & jeggings, Christian Siriano for Payless tall rainboots

You know what this means... another stamp on my passport! Yessss! I'm still so pissed that my passport didn't get stamped in most countries when I traveled within the European Union. Blah, whatever.

First thing I noticed in Japan: the toilets! They're so advanced! They had several buttons on the arms rest (yes, the toilet also had an armrest!) that do different things like flush noise, bidet, music, volume, etc.! So. Freakin'. Weird.

The flight from HK to Tokyo was about 4 hours but it took us forever to get to our hotel from the airport so we got in pretty late. We ALMOST got into a cab that was going to cost us $225 USD to take us to the hotel! Luckily, they told us the price BEFORE we agreed to get in. We opted for the limousine bus ride as our transportation instead, which costed us only $30 per one-way ticket.

People in Tokyo are extremely polite! It almost makes you feel kinda bad! They don't speak English really well, but they'll always try to help you. Seriously, super nice people. It's so different from being in Europe, where everyone's minding their own business and doesn't care that you're a lost tourist.

We got to our hotel just in time to clean up and head out to explore the area around our hotel and have dinner. There were several restaurants by out hotel.

Street of restaurants nearby. See the Tokyo tower hidden in the background?

We picked one that looked good and walked in. The salmon sashimi was the freshest I've EVER had! Sooo good!

I was kind of grumpy through the long bus ride and sitting through traffic as the sun set but sushi (or food, in general) always makes me happy again!

Our hotel was really close to the Tokyo Tower. It's like a 5 minute walk! It's really pretty at night. Contrary to what you may believe, it looks nothing like the actual Eiffel tower. Can't wait to be back (to either cities)!