rain, a tribute to the beatles

On Friday, at Bacchus, my friend told me about Rain, the tribute band to the Beatles. He had a few extra tickets for the last performance today, and I took his offer up. A group of us went to see it this afternoon at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, and it was so much fun!! Rain is a group of guys that impersonate the Beatles and I found myself thinking I am so lucky to see this. I missed the Beatles live, and to have this opportunity to see this is amazing. They are impeccable! Every single song that I love the most by the Beatles was played, so it's only natural that I was on my feet for most of the performances. They did A Day in a Life [my absolute favorite], I Saw Her Standing There [my mum's fave], Come Together, and of course, all the other hits like Let It Be, Imagine, ending with Hey Jude.

h&m shirt dress, gold belt from boutique in SF, nine west bag, h&m blue/gold earrings

After the show, we were still raving about the performances and the songs. Kanin wanted to do a jumping shot to commemorate this event, but the ushers were not happy about us doing it inside the theatre. We took it outside, and I have to say, I am quite impressed with us!! Boys against girls!!

Although we were going to the theatre, it was 90 degrees out so many were in shorts and flip flops. It's CA after all! But for me, I always love dressing up to go to the theatre. I just have to find the lightest dress!

gorgeous sunday afternoon

bacchus, be good to me tonight

We went to Bacchus, a wine cellar in the depths of Irvine tonight, and I have to say, I am quite impressed with the wine selection. The WAC [Wine Appreciation Club] field trip was basically a huge success!! We ordered food as well, but most of the food comes from the restaurants surrounding the wine bar, and they are just ok, nothing worth mentioning. However, the selection of wine does deserve some recognition. On my last trip to Napa with the girls, we tried to get an appointment at Orin Swift but was unable to get in. They have the coveted Prisoner here as well as the Papillon. I also got a flight tasting of a pinot noir from Tuscany that I'll have to get the name of later. Read Yelp reviews here.

food and tons of wine...what more can i girl want?


picking my next bottle...


rhett checking out the potential bottles to purchase


Crostini flight with bruschetta, olive tapenade, smoked salmon, and mushroom with goat cheese


the back part of the cellar for the more private party

when we were still civil and orderly

Onto the outfit post. I took these pics right before I left for the cellar when the sun was still out, so I was thinking ahead!! This black sweater dress is a little late for fall, but the nights can still be chilly, so I am still pulling it out! My favorite part of this dress is, of course, the shoulders! My mom would love this because the shoulder pads are back and i am sporting these strong shoulders with bold fuchsia platform heels to the max! When i got to Bacchus, my friend Michelle told me at least 3 times during the night that I look like my mum...I wonder if I showed this dress to mom, would she take it and not give it back...

h&m black studded sweater dress; jessica simpson fuchsia heels, aldo clutch, h&m earrings

blush pink for spring

I picked up a few blush colored items lately at Zara and H&M. This is a really comfy one with a small detail on the neckline. I simply paired it with some denim shorts and strand of pearls for Saturday afternoon. I did this shoot by myself and it was just not working out. However, my brothers came over to hang out and An good naturedly took these better ones.

My neighbor was trimming his palm tree and threw these out on the side of his house. I looked over and thought score!!!! Those leaves are ginormous and heavy, but they make for some great photos! I overexposed and gamma'ed the crap out of these for some reason...it just felt like an overexposed kind of shoot.

On a side note, while I'm editing these pics, my bros got me Chik-Fil-A! My favorite is the chicken minis with has browns and sweet tea for breakfast. I never finish their lunch combos, so this last time, they bought me the kids meal...with 4 chicken nuggets, small fries, and small sweet tea. It's the perfect size for my fast food cravings!!!! I don't know why I'm talking about this...but chik-fil-a always makes me happy.

h&m sweater, wet seal denim shorts, jessica simpson platform fuchsia shoes, forever 21 pearls

I took these by myself, and I'm not too crazy about them, but they show the detail of the neckline and necklace, so i'll keep them up.

macy's fashion director

I played the Macy's Fashion Director challenge because Atlantis Home featured it on her page, and I got addicted to it. An hour later, I came up with these outfits while I watched Marriage Ref on Hulu. It's actually fun to see what you can do with the certain items they give you. At first, I used simpler things, but by the end, i was throwing all kinds of stuff in, and even transitioning from day to night like this here. I love the versatility of uses and random splashes of color. Play around and submit your fashion directive. You might even win $500 Macy's gift card!

My friend always says "do you have a yacht??? cause you should with your closet!" I have a LOT of striped sailor shirts, jackets with gorgeous navy buttons, and necklines that just cater to that style. This is pretty much what i wear in the summers if i'm not in a dress.

Girls day out! Errands! Shopping!

This was the first one I did. I would wear something just like this, but the directive is a little simple.
I get better as i go!

spring dresses

I'm back from Seattle, unpacked, and a week done with school. It's been a really fast week surprisingly, but I think the impending doom called the BAR is making this semester fly by too fast. It's been hotter than hell lately and this absolutely beautiful weather is going to last awhile, so I decided to make sure my spring closet was ready.

I put away the giant box of sweaters, long sleeves, and turtlenecks in storage, and busted out the light cardigans, blazers, and my giant collection of spring dresses. Sat is the official start of spring, but since my weekend starts on Thurs during school, I am going to take the morning off to have breakfast with my brothers on the balcony and maybe even get in a swim in the now heated pool.

amore, amicizia, e risa

Everytime I go to Pike Place, I buy jewelry. They have the best antique stuff, the best craftsmen, and artisans. This last time, I came across a vendor called Hammering Girl. Kathy Henning has been hand hammering sterling silver and copper for the last 23 years at Pike Place Market. She engraves the quotes onto the bracelet, and she has a list of ones that are ready to go at the counter. However, she also custom engraves what you want to say as well, and if you can't be there to pick it up, she'll ship it to you!

My favorite is this quote "amore, amicizia, e risa" meaning love, friendship and laughter. I bought one for me...and 2 as gifts. I also got one for Tien...and i absolutely love what it says..."progess, not perfection." *_*

She also mentioned that copper was good for you, but i didn't delve further into that until I got home. Apparently, wearing copper is great for curing arthritis and such. Since I'm on the computer all day long and my wrists and hands just plain hurt at the end of the day, I'm hoping this is going to help me finish law school as well as look great! Read about the health benefits of copper bracelets!

I also picked up this ring at Pike Place. It's pure simplicity drew me in, and I had to get it. I wouldn't mind wearing a ring like this instead of a diamond on my ring finger either. Although I wear tons of gaudy jewelry, that one that bears my allegiance to my man must be simple and pure...and i think that's why i was drawn to this ring so much. Please excuse the dry hands and paperwork. I'm procrastinating from doing my legal analysis homework as always.

celebrating tien

I have the best girlfriends. It's vacas like this that make you appreciate them the most and those memories stick with you forever. Tien took the week off to take us around Seattle, and because of it, she will have to work on her actual birthday. Well, we HAD to celebrate it on Friday of course, and after a long day at Pike Place, we found tons of shoes at Nordys and then we went back to the hotel to primp up for the night. Here we are in the hotel bar for the first drink. The bartenders were super nice and we got some great pictures before we took off to dinner at Umi.

the table covered most of our outfits and shoes...should have moved it.

One of the guys at the bar came up with this great idea to isolate Tien from the group.

Also, Jennie got this frilled black dress at Nordys that day, and she looks so hot in it! Michelle always finds the greatest dresses at Forever 21 and she's sporting a grey one with the new Jessica Simpson pumps tonight. Tien is in a classic black dress with her new Jessica Simpson gold pumps. I'm in a random boutique find with tuxedo lapels and fun pockets. It's backless and pretty revealing so i added a black halter to it, and it just looks and feels amazing. Tam can wear anything because she's Hot Damn Tam Pham! She is wearing a Forever 21 ruffly top with a fitted black skirt. *_*

Cody, the host of Umi, the best sushi restaurant I've ever been to.


This is Tam's last shot of the night...at the beginning of the night! hahahah *_*
Me and Tien at dinner enjoying the best sushi I've ever had and some amazing shots.


Last pic before sending Tam home!


Party on at Karma for the rest of the night. I'm not sure why my hair has a blue streak but it's pretty cool!

Earlier in the day....

We went to Nordstrom's flagship store [store #1!!] and browsed around for new shoes. We all managed to walk out with at least 2 pairs of the best shoes each!!! Tien bought these gold pumps that I will have to photograph later and post, the grey suede boots that I wore in the last post, and these amazing FUCHSIA pumps by Jessica Simpson.

Michelle actually found these in black first, and settled on buying them....so Tien asked for them in her size too. Little did we know that when the salesgirl brought out the box, she mistakenly brought out the fuchsia color, not the black one. 5 gasps and a small squeal from me later, she brought them out in 3 other sizes...and we bought them all on sale for $50 a piece. Sigh...it was the best shopping day EVER!!!!!!

bainbridge island

We spent the day at Bainbridge Island to eat at Cafe Nola. We have heard so much about this place, so we made the trek. The ferry is so much fun. We drove our car onto it, and then walked around taking pictures on the deck. When we got off, we drove about 1 min...and then parked because the line of cars was insane. It was just faster to walk up the hill to the restaurant...and we needed the exercise anyway!

the gorgeous skyline!


tien, michelle, and me


group shot of the girls

enjoying the view


a group shot with Josh who came to hang with us for the day

My outfit shot...not so good bc of the flash...but oh well. There is a story to these boots. We went to the Nordsrom flagship store [Store #1!!!!] and I asked if they had any grey suede boots. My cousin overheard and said that she saw one on sale at the reduced rack. She pulled them down and we all gasped ...and then asked the salesgirls in sizes 5 1/2, 6, 7, 7 1/2, and 8. Well, as it turns out, they had all but the 5 1/2...so we bought them all. Every single pair fit to perfection, and we can't believe our luck. They were 30% off the $100 price tag, so there was no way we were not going to get them.

forever 21 dress, club monaco grey sweater, grey suede boots, forever 21 orange scarf

Cafe Nola blew ALL of the other restaurants we went to out of the water. The food, the service, the ambiance, and the people were absolutely amazing. If you ever go to Seattle, make the trek to Bainbridge Island and eat here. There are tons of cute boutiques nearby as well...but be sure to eat here!!! We were the most complicated table with a rushed timeline to get back to the ferry so we could make the flight home, but they we not only accommodating, but made sure we were completely cared for during the meal. They held two tables for us, but since the other table was still closing up and lagging, they seated 4 of us first with 4 dishes. Then we realized that 5 tiny Asian girls can totally fit into the snug corner, and Josh got the end seat. We ended up snuggling close to eat all 6 dishes, and gave up the other table to someone else. The restaurant actually kept that table empty for us, just in case we wanted it, and told us that they don't fill to capacity to ensure that the people they seated already get the best service possible. WOW.

This was my favorite dish...paste carbonara. I'm not a pasta person at all. I usually eat a kid size bowl...but my god, this pasta was so good I almost wanted to order another just to take home.

eggs benedict


i forgot what this is...i think foccacia...and something...i ate a lot of it. The fries are delicious.


baked eggs...omg. The polenta just fell apart in your mouth and the outside was crispy.

bread pudding is giant and yummy. I ate the whip cream mostly

look at this cappuccino. wow

Seattle buildings from the water on the way back from Bainbridge Island


last shot at the front of the ferry. what a great trip. thanks for reading!!!