Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Movement


Photos courtesy of Sung Shin

Sweater-Theory
Shorts-Old Navy
Hat-Forever 21
Purse-Chanel
Shoes-Christian Dior
Bracelet-John Hardy
Ring-Bought in Greece
Sunglasses-Stella McCartney 

One of the reasons I bought this sweater was because I was drawn to the design of the cut. I love clothes that have movement to them whether it manifests in sweaters, blouses, or shirts because it makes the piece interesting. This is such a warm and cozy sweater that flows as you move and I just love that, especially after all the eating I did over the Thanksgiving holiday;)  As always, thanks for reading and hope you're having a wonderful week so far!

Monday, November 28, 2011

Weekend (Holiday) Snapshots


This weekend I...
1. Painted my nails a new polish color. Another weekend, another nail polish color;) It matches my new iPhone case.
2. Did some major damage with my sister from Black Friday shopping.
3. Baked lemon bars for a good girlfriend whose birthday was this weekend. Girlfriend loves anything lemon. Anything.
4. Hung out around the National Gallery of Art during the day on Saturday. Ice-skating!
5. Bought Mandu a new winter jacket to endure the winter weather that we'll be facing soon.
6. Ate at Matchbox because I just love their sliders. They're also known for their pizzas but I'm much more fond of their sliders.
7. Did more shopping. Can't.resist.sales. Isn't the decor at Neiman Marcus gorgeous?

How was your (holiday) weekend?









Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Bundle of Warmth


Photos courtesy of Sung Shin

Shirt-Old Navy
Jeans-Paige Denim
Scarf, belt-H&M
Bag-Balenciaga
Shoes-Pour La Victoire
Watch-Burberry
Ring, bracelet-David Yurman
Sunglasses-Stella McCartney

I told you I loved this shirt! This look is something I'd wear if I'm running errands or meeting with friends for lunch, which is where I was actually going to:)  By simply switching out the bottom with jeans, the outfit gives off a casual, relaxed vibe versus the previous post here, where that outfit looked more refined and dressy. Clothes that can rotate in my closet are winners.

I am so ready for this week to be over and embrace the upcoming holiday. I only have to get through today and then I'll be free of work for a week! As much as I love this holiday because of all the delicious food I'm anticipating along with the Black Friday shopping (!!!), I love it even more because it's really a celebration of reflecting on everything that I'm thankful for. Wishing you a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Weekend Snapshots


This weekend I....
1. Discovered a new snack I think I'm becoming addicted to: kettle corn popcorn drizzled in cinnamon sugar and white chocolate. Oh my gah.
2. Received some goodies from my mom's vacation in Korea. The woman knows me so well. Those slippers are kinda crucial because they're meant to clean floors AND keep your feet warm and cute. Brilliant.
3. Gave myself a french mani because I'm signing some pretty important papers this afternoon so I figure I should. Fancy, I know. I can't bring myself to pay for manicures since I'm ADD when it comes to nail polish color and it's also something I can do myself. I'd rather spend the money on something else.
4. Feasted on Korean bbq at Honey Pig. It's a great, reasonably priced place to eat delicious Korean bbq (locations are in VA and MD).
5. Bought my sister and myself some new iPhone cases because I just can't resist sparkles.
6. Watched Breaking Dawn!!! The movies are definitely improving but the book always win.

How was your weekend?


Friday, November 18, 2011

NomNom: Bacon Kimchi Fried Rice

So I gather by now you noticed I'm Asian (Korean, specifically), which means I grew up having rice and kimchi as staples in my diet. If you don't know what kimchi is, you're in for a treat. It's a traditional side dish in Korean cuisine which can be served as a side dish (banchan) or used in cooking Korean dishes such as today's recipe. It is basically nappa cabbage that's salted and seasoned with hot chili peppers and left to ferment. Trust me, if you open any Korean person's refrigerator, you'll find a kimchi jar up in that mess--sometimes even several.

Well, the other day I was feeling lazy about cooking and was looking through my fridge to see what I could whip up quickly and my eyes gazed upon the kimchi container. I took a sniff and it smelled too fermented...like a stinky fermented smell. When kimchi smells like that, it is the perfect opportunity to make kimchi stew (recipe coming later) or kimchi fried rice. I came upon this recipe from a fellow Momofuku lover's blog that uses bacon in her fried rice and well, I was sold. (I thought her recipe was a bit bland so I added a couple of ingredients to adjust the taste).
I usually put spam or ground beef in my fried rice but bacon and kimchi? GENIUS. But then again, bacon just makes everything taste so freakin' good. I used turkey bacon because that's what I had in my fridge. It makes me feel healthier. Hahahhaha yea right.

You can use any meat for fried rice really. In fact you can make it vegetarian if you'd like and substitute your meat with tofu. The great thing about fried rice is that you can just use leftover veggies/meat and customize it to your liking. Trust me, it'll all work out. I believe in you. Have a great weekend.

Recipe: Yield: Enough for 2 for dinners plus leftovers for lunch (adapted from momofukuforu2.com)
4 cups old cooked rice (cold)
8 slices of bacon, sliced into 1 cm pieces
3 eggs lightly beaten
2 cups frozen peas, defrosted (or any frozen vegetables)
3/4 cup kimchi, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons kimchi liquid from your jar of kimchi
1/2 onion, diced
vegetable oil
2 teaspoons of sesame oil
2 teaspoons of soy sauce

Procedure
1. Heat some oil in a wok over high heat. When the oil is shimmery, add the diced onions, stirring until cooked, but not brown. Remove the onions from the wok and put in a bowl on the side.
2. There should still be ample oil in the wok, if not, add a tiny bit more and scramble your lightly beaten eggs until mostly set, but not over cooked. The eggs will cook a bit more when you fry all the ingredients together. Remove the eggs from the wok and add them to the bowl with the onions.
3. Cook the bacon until crisp. Remove and put in the bowl with the onions and eggs.
4. If you’re concerned about how much fat you consume, remove the bacon fat from the wok, otherwise, add the rice and fry it, stirring occasionally until all the clumps are broken down and the rice is heated, about five minutes.
5. Add the onions, eggs, bacon, and peas/vegetables and fry until all ingredients are mixed throughout the rice.
6. Add the chopped kimchi and kimchi liquid, mixing thoroughly.
7. Add the sesame oil and soy sauce and mix together.
7. Serve immediately.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

En-trenched By You



 Photos courtesy of Sung Shin

Trench coat-Burberry
Chambray shirt-Old Navy
Skirt-H&M
Shoes-Taryn Rose
Ring, Bracelet-David Yurman
Sunglasses-Stella McCartney
Clutch-Chanel

The first coat that comes to mind when I think of fall is my Burberry trench coat. I bought it last year during one of Nordstrom's sales and am so in love with it. Trench coats are such a classic piece that will never go out of style and it's just one of those closet items that transcends the notion of effortless chic. Pretty soon November will be over and we'll be in winter season mode, which means you'll see me wearing this until it gets ridiculously cold.

Hope you're having a great start to the week. Thanks for reading:)

Monday, November 14, 2011

Weekend Snapshots


This weekend I....
1. Celebrated my good girlfriend's recent engagement. Dress atire was cocktail and the Chanel wanted to come out too.
2. Her and her fiance rented out a private area at Eat Bar and it was open bar and appetizers galore. Dangerous.
3. Continued with the furniture shopping and explored Old Town Ellicott City.
4. Hung out with my girl Mel and gorged on baked brie (the puff pastry is filled with melted brie, cranberries, and almonds) and chocolate wine. Every girl should always have a girls night out or in once in awhile. It's good for the soul.
5. Took a stroll through Brookside Garden to enjoy the last bits of fall weather we're having since winter is just around the corner.
6. Prepared some blog posts for the upcoming week and took a break in between to enjoy my favorite poutine from Victoria's Gastro Pub.

How was your weekend?




Friday, November 11, 2011

NomNom: Pumpkin whoopie pies & Ramblings


I have a confession to make. I made these whoopie pies a couple of weeks ago and decided not to post the recipe because I was so dissatisfied with how they turned out. Don't get me wrong, taste wise it was awesome but looks wise...it was as hot mess. The cake part should have been more smoother and I got so excited about assembling the whoopie pies that I didn't allow the cake to cool completely so guess what happened? The filling part thinned out due to the heat from the cake and it became more icing like. <Facepalm> I don't know if it's fellow bloggers who read my blog or you're just passing by, but as a newbie blogger I realized that whatever I choose to post, I have to love it. I have to love how the food taste and I have to love how the outfit looks because well, I want you to enjoy them too. There have been times where I've taken outfit or recipe pictures and after seeing the pictures on the computer I decided not to post them either because the pictures were too blurry or simply me just not being satisfied with how they looked or tasted. It's incredibly frustrating after putting in all that effort and discovering you don't love what you see; but, it's also been a great learning process. In my ideal world, I would love to publish more frequently but between balancing a full time job, buying my first home, and learning about blogging, it can be a bit overwhelming. Kudos to those who push those blog posts out like no other. So anyway, let me stop with my rambling and get on with the good stuff.

My love affair with whoopie pies began at Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia a year ago. If you've never been,  it's a glorious place filled with fresh produce, baked goods, cheeses, hand made jewelery, and food courts. In short, it's an open air market that is indoors. As I was navigating my way through the market I came across this bakery called The Flying Monkey where it featured whoopie pies. Not knowing what this dessert was at the time, the girl behind the counter explained to me what exactly it was (apparently it's popular in PA) and after tasting them, I was sold. I swear, it is the BEST whoopie pie I've had so far and I've tried many after, but nothing compares to The Flying Monkey. As I was stalking browsing through this blogger's website I came across her recipe for pumpkin whoopie pies. She calls them soft pumpkin cookies but hey if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck....yea. After baking them the 2nd time around, I made a few adjustments to the recipe.



High five to those who are off today and low five to those who aren't? I don't know. Who cares? It's the weekend so relax, make some whoopie pies, and come visit again:)

Recipe (adapted from acozykitchen.com): Yields 12
Cookies:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cups granulated white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup of pure pumpkin puree (canned or homemade)

Cream cheese filling:
1/4 cups butter, softened
4 ounces, cream cheese, softened
3/4 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract


Procedure (for the cake):
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Mix and set aside.
3. In another medium bowl, beat the granulated sugar, brown sugar and softened butter until combined and blended. Add the egg, vanilla extract, pumpkin and beat until smooth.
4. Grab a spatula or wooden spoon, and in two batches, gradually mix in flour mixture, until thoroughly combined.
5. Using a stainless-steel ice cream scoop (with one of those hand releases), drop the cookie dough onto the parchment lined baking sheet, being sure to leave room for the dough to spread. If you don’t have an ice cream scooper, you could also drop the dough using two teaspoons.
6. Bake for 17 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are lightly golden brown. They should still be soft to the touch. Carefully transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Procedure (for the filling and assembly):
1. In a medium bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat until completely smooth.
2. Flip half of the cookies upside down. Using a butter knife, dollop one teaspoon of the icing in the center of each upside down cookie. Smooth it around with your knife until the icing just reaches the edges. Top with another cookie and gently press the two cookies together.
3. Cookies should be stores in an airtight container and will be moist and delicious for up to 2 days.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Feeling Nautical


Photos courtesy of Sung Shin

Blazer-Theory
Shirt-J.Crew
Shorts-Old Navy
Necklace-Lee Angel
Earrings-Nordstrom
Watch-David Yurman
Shoes-Sam Edelman
Clutch-Vintage
Sunglasses-Stella McCartney 


The weather we've been having here on the East Coast has been toying with my emotions. It snowed last weekend and then this past weekend we had the perfect fall weather--talk about being indecisive. I bought these shorts a couple weeks ago at Old Navy and guess how much they were? $2.97!!!!! Yup you read that right. That's cheaper then my Starbucks coffee I had this morning.....

The color even reminds me of fall/leaves so it's kinda fitting to wear, yea? But alas, this will probably be the last time I wear these shorts for now because we're slowly creeping into winteresque weather. Sad face.