A Fall Stroll

Photos courtesy of Sung Shin

Shirt-Old Navy (also bought it in gray)

Jeans-Blank NYC

Blazer-Banana Republic (camel color sold out online but love this color here)

Shoes-Enzo Angiolini (similar style here)

Purse-Chanel

Sunglasses-Karen Walker (last day to use code FAMILY25 for 25% off)

Hi everyone! I just got back from my trip to Hong Kong and Seoul and am trying to get back to the groove of things. The first couple of days are always the toughest after a vacation especially when you're trying to get over jet lag. The absolute worst. 

The trip was so much fun, especially revisiting Seoul, my birthplace. It's been about 12 years since I've been back and I still have several relatives living there and it was so good to see all of them and spend quality time together during the trip. Hong Kong was great in its own ways because it was a new city to explore which had awesome (and cheap!) food and shopping--my two favorite things;) It felt like summer in Hong Kong though with temperatures reaching the mid 80's, so coming back home to this Fall chill was a drastic change. More on the trip on an upcoming post.

I recently purchased this blazer and button down shirt several weeks ago and both items have been on constant repeat since the purchase. The petite sizing on the blazer is the perfect fit (sleeves actually fit in length!) and I just love me a striped button down shirt that can be worn for both office wear and casual pairings (not to mention the hard to beat price at $10!).

Though this is a little off topic, I think it's worth mentioning. Last night I had the opportunity to attend Saks Fifth Avenues Annual "Key to the Cure" kickoff party who has teamed up with the Tigerlily Foundation, a non-profit that raises money for women 15-40 years old for support before, during, and after breast cancer.  The charity shopping weekend begins today until Sunday 10/19 at all Saks Fifth Avenue stores nationwide and online (www.saks.com and www.saksoff5th.com). During that shopping weekend 2% of participating vendor sales will be donated to Tigerlily Foundation and 100% of the proceeds from this years shirts (retails at $35, designed by Rag and Bone) sold at Saks stores and online, will be donated to the foundation. I have to admit that I forget to do at home breast self-exams and this event was a stark reminder to start making it a habit. I hope that you will make it a habit as well.

Wishing you guys a fantastic week/end. Xo.

It's Cold

Photos courtesy of Sung Shin

Peacoat-J.Crew (40% off with code TAKENOTE)

Jeans-Rag & Bone

Shoes-Pour La Victoire

Fur snood-Trilogy via Saks (similar here)

Gloves-Portolano (similar here)

Sunglasses-Karen Walker

Hi everyone! Hope my fellow Northeast/Midwest readers are bundled up against the subfreezing temperatures we've been having the past couple of days. Over the years I've come to realize the importance of layering and winter accessories when battling bone chilling temperatures like the ones we've had the past couple of days. The last time I felt this cold was when I traveled to Austria and Czech Republic two winters ago where it would constantly snow with temperatures being in the teens during my stay. It was a huge lesson for me in layering and adding warmth with winter accessories to say the least. 

Stay warm. Xo.

Weekend Snapshots

 

This weekend I....

1. Invited a friend over for dinner. We haven't seen each other in a couple of months due to our work schedules (she's also a pharmacist w/ nonconventional work hours) but finally found a day to meet. Instead of going out for dinner like we usually do, I invited her over for dinner because there are just some days I prefer to dine in the the comfort of my home. I made baked tilapia with herb butter, couscous with apricot vinaigrette, caprese salad, and a trifle berry for dessert. The tilapia and couscous recipe have been bumped up to one of my favorite things to make--so good. The first thing my friend said after taking a bite of the fish was, "Linda....this is restaurant quality. Maybe better." Not sure if she was exaggerating but hey, I'll take it.  Our meal and conversation lasted for about 4 hours (we had tons to catch up on!) and she left happily stuffed.

2. Received a bucket full of fresh blueberries from my parents. They went berry picking at Butler's Orchard in Gaithersburg, MD and dropped off a huge bucket for me (thanks umma & appa!). One of the things I made with the berries was a berry trifle dessert. I bought some pound cake, made pudding, and layered it with the blueberries and strawberries. I had friends come over throughout the weekend and assembled this easy dessert for them to snack on.

3. Put together a little care package for my sister living in NYC. She's currently doing her anesthesiology residency and expressed to me recently that her program is wearing her thin. I decided to surprise and send her some of her favorite snacks and candy, along with a recent and highly addicting discovery (Justin's chocolate hazelnut butter spread). I've been shamelessly spreading it on everything from toast to bananas to apples, and just straight up eating it by the spoonful. The timing was perfect with the care package because she received it after working a 24 hour call. Mission accomplished.

4. Stopped by the Saks designer sale and came out with a Nancy Gonzalez crocodile purse, Alexander McQueen scarf and a pair of Michael Kors shoes. I also ordered some clothes online that should be arriving earlier this week....

5. Went to May's Restaurant for all you can eat crabs. Growing up in Maryland, this is a summertime tradition for me so when I read reviews on this place a couple of months ago, I put this place on my radar for places to try soon. I asked Mel if she was interested in going and she immediately said yes. I love having friends who have such enthusiastic attitude about food (a common thread amongst my group of friends). The AUCE comes with hush puppies, fries, and crabmeat soup which were all mediocre at best; but, the steamed crabs were good. All were good sized, seasoned with Old Bay (a must), with plump, juicy meat when cracked open. Will be going back again.


How was your weekend?

Black and Blue

Photos courtesy of Sung Shin

Sweater-A.P.C. (love this color HERE)

Jeans-J.Brand

Shoes-Vera Wang Lavender Label

Hat-H&M

Sunglasses-Stella McCartney

Hi everyone! Over the weekend, this outfit was my go to uniform with the DC area experiencing very mild temperatures. It's simple but adding a hat kind of elevates that simplicity into something a bit more chic, no?;)

Hope your week is going well. Work has been rough and tiring the past couple of days and I am so thankful to have a day off today to get some much needed rest. It's been a whirlwind, past couple of weeks with personal and blog related projects and I can not wait for a little break with the holidays coming up. I have a very exciting (well, to me at least) announcement on Friday that I can't wait to share with you;)

Have a fantastic day. Xo.

Weekend Snapshots

This weekend I...

1. Braved the mall with my sister and shopped till we dropped on Black Friday. Our two favorite stores (Neiman Marcus and Saks) were participating in the Black Friday shopping festivity but this year's sale wasn't good as last years. Nonetheless, we both came out with some major goodies.

2. One of the best Black Friday deals my sister found was a pair of gorgeous navy blue Chanel ballet flats for about 70% off the retail price at Neiman Marcus. There was only ONE left which happened to be her size....it was meant to be.

3. Bought gold spray paint to give a makeover to some lackluster things around the house--one of them being this aluminum/silver tray I use in my bathroom to put random things on (contact case, hair bands, etc.). I love the final outcome and can't tell you how easy it was.

4. Dined at Dino restaurant, located in Washington, DC. It was my first time there and there were definite highs and lows of that evening. We ordered an appetizer dish, which was a crispy pork belly paired with Asian Pear but the appetizer came out with the rest of the meal. The server apologized and comped the appetizer but that didn't make up for the fact that it was a disappointing dish. I love pork belly and usually order it when I see it on the menu but the meat was overcooked, dry, and drenched in this anchovy salsa verde-too many flavor profiles going on that wasn't cohesive. I ordered the Pappardelle Cinghiale Bianco which consisted of ground wild boar, rosemary and cocoa, topped with pecorino cheese. Let's just say this dish made up for the appetizer we ordered.

5. Printed out one of my favorite quotes and put it in a frame to place near my work area. There are lots of little home decor details I have in mind that I want to work on and I'm hoping I'll get them done in the next couple of days.

How was your weekend?

Fall Layers

Photos courtesy of Sung Shin

Sweater, jeans-Gap

Polka dot shirt-Uniqlo (similar style HERE)

Boots-Saks 10222

Bag-Mulberry (similar color HERE)

Leg warmers-shop in Portugal

Bracelets, rings-David Yurman

Happy Wednesday/Halloween everyone! Hope you survived Hurricane Sandy if your area encountered it. The East coast got hit hard with the hurricane and the DMV area suffered from it with flooded roads and lost electricity. I keep reading and seeing these updated reports and horrifying images from the major impact the hurricane had on NY/New Jersey and it's a definite wake up call to be thankful that this area wasn't on that same level of disaster. Praying for those that the road to recovery is a fast one.

Wishing you a safe and warm rest of the week. Xo.

 

BlingBling: Mulberry Alexa and Tips on Saving

Hi everyone! I want to introduce you to my latest addition to my purse collection: Alexa. I've been eyeing the Mulberry Alexa for over a year now after falling in love with the relaxed yet chic schoolboy look to it and the fact that you have the option of wearing the bag two ways. It comes with a long strap so you can wear it as a cross body bag and if that doesn't suit you, you can tuck it away and wear it as a hand purse. I personally love cross body bags because it's more comfortable for me when I run errands to have two free hands and the weight of a purse isn't emphasized on one shoulder.

I initially saw this snakeskin purse at the Intermix store in D.C. about a month and a half ago and fell in love with the texture of it. The Alexa's I've encountered up until that point all had the smooth, soft leather texture which I really liked but then I saw this snakeskin bag and it was game over for me. I loved the fact that it was a bit different. It is more expensive then the traditional leather so I was hesitant about purchasing it and I walked away.

A couple of things I consider when purchasing designer purses or high end jewelry is that I ask myself, is it a classic item that I can see myself wearing years down the road and is the the price worth it. I personally don't like spending money on trendy or cheap accessories because to me, it's sort of a waste of money. I'd rather save that money and spend it on one big investment piece that I know I will absolutely love. Classic Chanel, Hermes, and Louis Vuitton bags will never go on sale BUT there are ways to go about saving money on them and I want to share with you some tips on what I've done in the past.

1. Look for special events such as Friends and Family or gift card events. Usually high end department stores such as Saks and Neiman Marcus will have biannual Friends and Family events where designer items will be included and a 20% discount will be given. This is the prime time to buy those designer items you've been coveting. Sadly over the years, I've noticed less designers have been included in these events but it never hurts to check/ask. I know that David Yurman will participate ONLY in charity events held at department stores, so that would be the best time to buy Yurman jewels (all of my David Yurman jewelry have been bought during the charity event). Another event to look out for is the gift card events. There will be times when department stores will announce a "spend some give some" event where for example, if you spend $1000 on an item, they will give you a $200 gift card. That is another way of saving money on an item because you can see it as a 20% discount. These are way better then walking away paying full price for that item and not saving money in some way.

2. Choose shipping over tax. Whenever you go to an actual designer store versus finding the item at the department store, check to see if that store exists in your state. This Mulberry bag I bought happened to be in NYC. I wanted to check out the store while visiting my sister because Mulberry isn't sold at Saks or Neiman and there isn't a stand alone store in the DMV area. I wanted to window shop while in NYC and I happened to see the SAME snakeskin bag I saw at Intermix and on top of that it was on SALE. Needless to say I was overcome with joy and bought her on the spot. I knew that the DMV area didn't have a Mulberry store so I asked the sales associate (SA) how much shipping would cost and she said $20. Now NYC has about a 8.8% sales tax rate and the tax on a bag over $1000 is way more costly then a $20 shipping, so if you can, just have that item shipped. I was able to avoid tax on the bag and saved money because she was discounted to 20% off the ticked price. Patience is key. I didn't think the snakeskin would go on sale (the SA said the traditional colors such as brown and black will never go on sale) but it did and I am so happy that I waited.

Hopefully these tips have helped you and given you insight on ways to save if you're on the search for a designer item. I would love to hear you share any tips/suggestions on how you go about saving money on big purchase items.

Have a great weekend.

Weekend Snapshots

This weekend I....

1. Finally received my Mulberry bag in the mail! I took her out this weekend and will post pics soon=)

2. Went to BonChon chicken for dinner because I was having a craving for it. For those of you who haven't heard of the greatness that is BonChon, it is Korean fried chicken (most crispiest, flavor infused skin) done right. Locations in the DMV area include Virginia and now Maryland. Get on that.

3. Received another package I've been waiting for in the mail--my Vera Wang sparkly shoes I purchased on sale from Neiman Marcus. Who doesn't love adding a little bit of sparkle to their shoe closet?

4. Dined at Little Serow located in Washington, DC. It's a recently opened Thai restaurant that has very limited seating (about 28 seats) and reservations can NOT be made. It's a fix prixe menu (7 courses involved) that is basically a hidden treasure. We got there around 5:20pm (doors open at 5:30pm) and a line was forming already. When we got inside the restaurant, we were told that we wouldn't be seated until 7:30pm! If you are a Thai food lover, I highly recommend this place. There are dishes I've never tasted before and the flavor profiles on each dish is beautifully aromatic, pungent, sweet and salty. I asked our waitress (btw the entire waitstaff we encountered were so friendly, including the chef who came over to our table to explain one of his dishes to us) how often the menu changes and she said every 4-5 weeks, so I will definitely be back.

5. Watched the Amazing Spider-Man. I love the whole series on Spider-Man and was doubtful if it would be good this time since the cast changed, but I LOVED it. This time around, the movie focused less on battle scenes and more on character development. Andrew Garfield did an amazing job portraying teen angst and well, I just wanna be bffs with Emma Stone. I loved her since watching her in Easy A and it's easy to see why Peter Parker is smitten with her character. Two thumbs up.

6. Stopped by Saks to check out their designer sale and am so glad I did because I found this Ali Ro trench coat for $69 (original $320)!! I love finding interesting twists on classic pieces and this is the perfect example of that.

How was your weekend?

Weekend Snapshots

This weekend I...

1. Received my first pair of Alice+Olivia shoes I ordered from Saks. Bows+Sparkle=Sold. I was a bit unsure when I initially saw them online but fell in love instantly when I saw these beauties in person. Love love love.
2. Made hot spinach dip using Martha Stewart's recipe for my friend's NYE potluck. Will post recipe soon.
3. Celebrated NYE with several of my good friends at a friend's place. Her bf cooked pork tenderloin (not pictured--ate too fast) using their sous vide machine and the meat was unbelievably tender and delicious. For those of you who are unfamliar with sous vide, it's basically a method of cooking food in a sealed plastic bag in a water bath for a long time (usually 72 hrs) at a precise temperature, which allows the food to cook evenly. You can only imagine how incredibly good a steak will turn out using this thing. I love how my friends enjoy food just as much as I do. Our love of food is one of the things that brings us together.
4. Drank a lot of wine at the party.
5. Finally watched The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo. I've read the book and was not disappointed at how the movie turned out. So, so good. I have a major girl crush on Rooney Mara now. She had the ability to look fierce/tough with all her piercings, tattoos, and punk rock haircut yet exude femininity with her flawless skin and tiny physique. There's a quiet vulnerability in the character she portrays from the book and Mara executed that beautifully in the movie.
6. Painted my nails to fit the New Years holiday. Black and silver are the common colors I see in NYE party favors/decor so I used similar colors on my nails with a twist on the french manicure.

How was your weekend?

New Years Eve

Photos courtesy of Sung Shin

Leather jacket-Andrew Marcs

Shirt-Splendid

Jeans-Gap

Shoes-10022 Saks

Bag-Balenciaga

Scarf-United Colors of Benetton

Sunglasses-Stella McCartney

Necklace-Banana Republic

Hi everyone! I just wanted to do one more quick post before the new year is upon us. I have lots of errands to run today before meeting up with friends tonight to celebrate NYE and wanted to share the casual look I'm wearing while I run my errands. I bought this scarf a couple months ago and was immediately attracted to the bright, cheery color it exuded (not to mention the soft texture of it). I love using scarves to brighten up an outfit because it can immediately spruce up a plain white shirt. The color is fitting to the mood I'm currently feeling because I'm pretty happy and excited to see what 2012 has in store for me. This year was definitely a great year for me for various reasons and I feel blessed for the things that has happened so far, whether good or bad. I'm a firm believer in that everything happens for a reason.

I sincerely wish you a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year and as always, thank you so much for reading.

Weekend Snapshots

 

This weekend I...

1. Caught up on some of my favorite magazines.
2. Finally took the plunge and bought a tempur-pedic mattress. For the amount of money I paid for this mattress, I better be getting the BEST SLEEP OF MY LIFE. Like for reals.
3. Tried Taiwanese shaved ice (similar to Italian ice but with toppings) for the first time. I'm very particular with my shaved ice because Korean shaved ice is so freakin' good and the Taiwanese version wasn't too shabby.  I had it at Bob's Noodle 66 in Rockville, MD and chose taro, red beans, and black jelly for my toppings. It's also drizzled with condensed milk. Yum.
4. Bought a gold bracelet by Kenneth Jay Lane from Saks. It's my first piece from this designer and I just love how bold yet simple this bracelet is. I've been searching for more gold bracelets to add to my collection and I'm very satisfied with this purchase, especially because it actually fits my wrist. I also love the pouch it came in because it's perfect for packing when traveling.
5. Painted my nails in all glitter. I used Essie's "adore-a-ball" as a base and Opi's "Rainbow's in the S-Kylie" on top of that. Just trying to prep for the upcoming holiday ya know?
6. Bought a new planner for the new year. As much as I love technology I'm still old fashioned in that I still love writing things down. Writing things down helps me remember stuff and the dorky part of me just loves seeing things checked off my "to do" lists. I can't believe 2012 is just around the corner. I'm ready to embrace 2012 with open arms...I have a good feeling about next year.

How was your weekend?