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What To Wear

Cabin Fever

An Dyer in Jacob by Marc Jacob wristlet | H&M Poncho | Forever 21 Tee, Rosary Necklace & Ring | Worthington Tights | Michael Kors Watch | Aldo Boots

This past weekend was chilly here in Southern California but my husband and I were having cabin fever and wanted to get out of the house. We decided to go to the Museum of Contemporary Arts. I’d been waiting for an opportunity to wear the cream version of my H&M poncho and this was it. The thing about the ponchos that made me apprehensive about wearing them is that they’re warm but cold at the same time. It feels like a big cozy blanket but it’s not so fun when the cold air blows up the sides of it. After flipping my closet upside-down, I finally found my long sleeve black tee that was perfect to wear underneath. I didn’t want to look too bundled up since we’d be indoors so I layered shorts and tights with my over the knee boots. On our way to the museum, it began raining (ok, it was sprinkling but here in SoCal that’s rain lol) so we changed our plans, stopped by to visit my brother and headed back home. What a waste of a cute outfit =/ but at least I get to share it with all of you! 😉

Xox,
An

French Toast

I’m what you would call… a Hallmark junkie. I spent most of my high school years and early college years working retail so a Hallmark store was always nearby and a great place to spend my lunch breaks reading and buying cards to use whenever the time presented itself. I’m definitely one of those people with a box full of cards for various occasions; birthdays, thank you, get well, thinking of you, Christmas, weddings & baby showers etc.

A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I celebrated our 3rd month’iversary and I found the above, adorable card for him. (On a side note – one of my favorite things about being newlyweds is getting to celebrate our monthly anniversaries, what I call month’iversary, all over again like when we first started dating 5 or so years ago lol) It just so happens, breakfast is my husband’s favorite meal of the day and this card was perfect. I decided I wanted to recreate a breakfast with French toast similar to the one pictured on the card. Using this recipe, a piece of paper and scissors, I woke up extra early and got to work. I filled out the card, sealed it and taped it to our bathroom mirror. I made breakfast – cut a heart out of the piece of paper and used it as a stencil with powdered sugar to make hearts on the French toast. My hubby loved it; the French toast was dense, custardy and absolutely delicious (yep, I’m tooting my own horn lol). I added a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the mixture and used a French loaf which I highly recommend (French, Italian… whatever you can get a hold of at your local grocery store’s bakery section). It’s much more luxe and satisfying than slices of your typical sandwich bread and very affordable at usually only $1 – $2 a loaf. Plus, you could always make bread pudding with the leftover bread 😉 !

Xox,
An

Miscellaneous

Mobile Pic Mondays I

When V of Grit & Glamour posted iPhone. iSnap. iPost. Version 2010.1 sort of a collection of her iPhone photos over the year; I knew I wanted to do something like this. I asked for her ok to copycat her copycatting and she was all for it. Unfortunately, I was a little late in the game to do a New Years post of my 2010 photos. Then I thought, I take enough photos on my BlackBerry to probably do this weekly… as Gru from Despicable Me would say, “Light Bulb!” I post tons of mobile photos on my facebook but since it’s set to private, no one out there in the blogging world gets to see them; I figured Mondays would be the perfect days to post these. Now, I’m just hoping I can stay on top of it 🙂 and really do this every Monday. So here we go – a compilation of my mobile photos over the past week… just a fun look into my BlackBerry’s world!

All photos are unedited…

Breakfast I made for my Husband (it’s his favorite meal of the day) – Sunny Side Up Eggs, Ham & homemade Buttermilk Biscuits with Butter & Strawberry Guava Jam

H&M Feather Tutu Skirt

This skirt was also posted here.

Our close friend’s adorable dog, Rio!

Right after getting my nails done.

My typical lunch at work 🙂 Fresh Veggies & Pita Bread with Hummus

Me, amused that I match the bathroom stalls…

The old Saks 5th Ave store in San Diego… I wonder what they’re changing it into…

Lunch at the California Pizza Kitchen with my best friend – no pizza 🙂 just salads, hummus & tacos

The super cute Hello Kitty makeup section at Sephora

The adorable cupcake apron my sister in-law made for me 🙂

Dinner with my parents at a local Vietnamese Restaurants – this is “Bun Tom Cua” which is a shrimp & crab noodle soup.

A sneak peak into an upcoming outfit post ;p

Von's Grilled Cheese & Hamburger Fries Cakes

How impressive are these cakes at Von’s (the grocery store!)?

Is this purple cauliflower really called “orange”?

Too good to be true? I’ll find out this week 🙂 I just bought this last night and I can’t wait to try it!

Special thanks to TM of Paper Packages Tied Up With Strings for telling me about this dressing!

Xox,
An

What To Wear

Friend Friday: The Mechanics of Blogging

What technology do you use in blogging? (computer, camera, video camera, tripod, etc…)
I use my computer, BlackBerry, Cannon D10 camera and sometimes a tripod but 99% of the time my husband ;D Now, you may be wondering, why the D10? …such a random camera, right? Well, I originally purchased it for our honeymoon to Hawaii (the camera is waterproof) and well, my other camera died so I use this one. As a point and shoot, it’s actually pretty amazing. I especially love how great detail shots in natural light turn out. It’s not ideal for blogging but really, for now it gets the job done.

What computer and online technology do you use? (blogging system, photo storage, photo editing tools, etc..)
I swear by WordPress and I’m also an Adobe CS5 addict. For blogging, I primarily use Photoshop to edit tone, color, brightness and contrast as well as lens correction options. Since I use WordPress, I store all my photos there as well. I also love their BlackBerry app; it makes approving comments and quick new posts extremely easy.

What is your process for taking pictures?
It’s not exactly the best process to say the least but it’s efficient. Photos usually occur right before we leave for wherever we’re heading to. That’s why all my shots are on our stairs 🙂 lol sheer convenience.

When it comes to backdrops for your photos what do you consider? Do you scout locations or shoot the same spot daily?
I’ve been shooting at the same spot regularly, as I mentioned in the previous answer, our staircase. I would take the photos indoor but our décor is pretty dark; lots of dark cherry wood, grays and blacks (I swear it looks nice though lol just not great for blogging outfits). Our staircases obviously offer a nice light background so that my look/outfit is the focus. I actually vented to my husband the other night about how boring it seems so he brought up the idea of scouting locations. We’ll probably try this out however; it really depends on our time and availability. Snapping a few shots before we leave is convenient and efficient… scouting out locations and setting time aside to take photos will probably be a process we’ll need to work on and schedule in.

If you could splurge and get one new piece of equipment what would you be buying?
I’m determined to get a DSLR soon. I’ve had it on my wish list for years now (since the D40 was new on the market!) but plopping thousands of dollars down for a good camera (+ lenses) to blog with hasn’t been a priority. I’ve had my eye on the D90, so we’ll see 🙂 keeping my fingers crossed that I can get it sooner than later!

Interested in joining in on the fun to? See information about Fashion Beauty Friend Friday here.

Xox,
An

*the photo above really has nothing to do with this post 😛 and if anything, contradicts my writing seeing as it’s indoors, taken with a tripod in front of a blank wall. Why don’t I take more photos here? It’s no longer blank… boo!

What To Wear

Breton Stripes

An Dyer in H&M Breton Striped Blazer | Brass Plum Camisole | London Bridge Jeggings | Bakers Caged Heels | Michael Kors Watch | Pearl Necklace mady by my Mom :) and ring gifted from my Dad | Banana An Bangles

When Everybody, Everywhere announced breton striped as their next focus, I instantly knew I wanted to wear my new H&M blazer. Afterall, it’s been sitting in my closet staring at me for a week. Now the more I look at the above photo… the more I think it will look great with a pair of white shorts this summer 🙂 hmmm…

Want to see more breton stripes in action? Head over to www.everybodyeverywear.com and check out all the gorgeous looks!

Xox,
An

Fashion

beauty

lifestyle

Cabin Fever

French Toast

Mobile Pic Mondays I

Friend Friday: The Mechanics of Blogging

Breton Stripes