cioppino

Cioppino. This seafood stew is one of my friend Michelle's staple dishes, but I did not get the chance to try it until now. Dinner was hosted at Tam and George's pad, but the cooking was done my Chef Michelle. I did nothing in the kitchen. Instead, I brought butterfinger frozen custard from Stricklands and a chilled chardonnay.

Cioppino is an old fisherman's stew, originating from San Francisco, and later became a staple in Italian restaurants. The name comes from ciuppin, an Italian word meaning "to chop" or "chopped," which described the process of making the stew by chopping up various leftovers of the days catch.

We had boiled and roasted crab as the appetizer, and the guts were thrown into the stew. [use everything!] The finished product was sooo good. We toasted bread to dip, threw in the mussels, clams, fish, and crab guts, and DUG IN.

..:: roasted crab ::..

..::a place setting::..

I meant to post this with the hot pot, but I forgot to take a picture then. These hot drops are the HOTTEST drops I've ever had. I put one drop into my cioppino and it was insanely spicy. At hot pot places, they will not put this out because it is so lethal. You have to ask for it, and they will not put it in the steaming broth [will tear your eyes]. They drop it into your ponzu sauce, and then you can do as you please from there. We had to order this online because they don't sell them in the supermarkets!!

earth day

Today isn't actually Earth Day, but then, I think everyday should be Earth Day. I took these pics to do a post on the actual day, but forgot with all the schoolwork. I've been doing my part somewhat, trying to get all my coffee in these cool mugs to save on the Styrofoam. Did you know that if you bring this into Starbucks, they give you 10% off your drink, just by using a mug? I didn't. I have a Gold card from Starbucks too, so 10% off any drink and free refills on regular coffee is pretty dang sweet! Get me through finals!

sweet niblets

My cousin Tien wanted something sweet, and something salty. We went to three stores to find candied pecans, Rolos chocolate, and SQUARE pretzels. Yes, we went to three different places to make a recipe that only included 3 ingredients! oh...and we microwaved it for approximately 20 seconds too. You want it to keep its form, the chocolate should be slightly melted to the touch. They are delicious, I tell you.

when someone knows

le love

i'm yours

I've heard a million versions of this song, and tons from Jason himself, but this clip is one of my favorites because it's clean, clear, and just plain awesome.

how we work the summer

viva el peru

fashiongonerogue

When i was in Peru, this little one stole my heart. Peru is one of my favorite countries that I've visited so far, so when I saw this photoshoot, I had to repost. Where I found this editorial, there were no captions pertaining to where this shoot took place, but i didn't need them. The colors that embody that country are fantastic, so vibrant and distinctly Peruvian.

hot pot

I know I've posted about hot pot a billion times, but it really is the most healthy, delicious, and easy meals to make. Tam and George hosted a very intimate hot pot dinner this weekend, and we happily obliged on being fed. I didn't take any pics once the hot pot of water with tom yum base came out...because we were eating, and sweating, and laughing too much. Tam and George are veteran hot pot eaters. They have netting so you don't loose any eggs and random foods that sit at the bottom of the bowl, they have each dish fresh and ready to go. They have the Bunsen burner with extra cans of fuel to keep the meal going too! Experts, I tell you!

Honestly though, after looking at these pictures, did i just upload the whole pyramid of food? meat: check. seafood: check. veggies: check. dairy: check. pasta: check. sweets: pound cake that never made it to into the pic. Just think Sara Lee.

George's dining table has a black wood surface so the presentation of the dishes were gorgeous! Here are a few of my favorites...

quail eggs

gnocci mushrooms and herbs, tofu and egg noodles

fresh shabu meat, shrimp, and clams

green onions go with everything. we throw them into the broth, in the sauce, wherever we can!

alexa chung for mulberry

You may have seen this bag floating around blogs as of late. It's the Mulberry Alexa bag, named after the British it girl of fashion, Alexa Chung. I love this bag, but I can't justify the $1500 by any means. Nonetheless, I love Alexa's style and have been following her outfits for quite some time. She use to model, but since that was not a positive influence, she turned to media presentation, and soon became a fashion icon in Britain. She still models, but with a better sense of self confidence, and it definitely shows. Mulberry is a British luxury designer, so the combination of these two just makes for classy, yet modern fashion.

going nautical with nemo

This outfit is the best description of my closet. Nautical in striped shirts, navy blue pants, and gorgeous buttons, I have about a hundred different variations of these things. Here is one. Lillian always says, "you need to own a yacht with that kind of closet," I may not have a yacht, but I do have a red car named Nemo to complete my outfit! When I told my friend that I was doing a nautical outfit post, he told me to find Nemo. I laughed, but then ... isn't Nemo a great name...for my car?!!

An took these pics for me. We had trouble getting a good angle because I wanted the red to be a large powerful color. It rained today so Nemo is disgustingly dirty and spotty. However, these photos came out better than i expected, even with the mistaken tungsten white balance.

Zara high waisted pants, Zara striped shirt, DSW heels

wingback chairs

The wingback chair is one of my favorite types of chairs for a living room offset or a library. I saw this one on Lonny magazine [which has an AMAZING site], and I instantly started to swoon.

This Massoud wingback is gorgeous as well. I can see this in my library with a dark shady lamp by its side to read! On the other hand, this Wilshire Wingback by Woodson and Rummerfield is just bizarre, but strangely fun. I think I would put that by a matching accent hall table...

I stumbled upon Coco + Kelly via Atlantis Home and immediately fell in love with the blog. I try to restrain from looking at interior designer blogs because I go nuts from lack of my own home to decorate, but sometimes, I just can't help it! Cassandra just has the ability to find the best inspirations to share, and I find myself clicking on one post after another, craving for more.

I browsed through her Rooms of the Week and found about a million great inspirations. This room tour caught my eye the most. The green is absolutely stunning, and I can see it on my balcony or patio or even backyard. I recently picked up 2 amazing wicker chairs from Craigslist and on the lookout for a matching table, so this is right in line with my vision for a perfect outdoor scene.

adventure racing jacket

REI One Jacket, Purity Yoga Wear capri pants

Picked this up at REI today on clearance. I saw only one, and it was an XS. Is that a sign? Yes, yes, I think it is. I read the tag for it and it says "perfect for ADVENTURE RACING on a day when the forecast is as dicey as the footing on the course." Hum...is that another sign? For Amazing Race....?

The high performance fabric is breathable, flexible, packable, water resistant, wind resistant, and most important... comfortable as heck. I wore it walking around the store because I was hesitant on dropping a benjamin on this thing, but in the end, I took it home. It's a BIT large on the arms, but when I put on a thick wool sweater underneath, it fills out nicely. That way, I'll be ready in case I need to wear extra thermals or sweaters. I thought about the places I'll be hitting from September to October [Great Wall of China, Tibet, Russia, Romania], and realized that this jacket may be the best purchase yet.

The yoga pants are by Purity. I got them at Marshalls for $15 bucks. They are amazingly comfortable and well fitted.

oh! and i became a member of REI today! The only thing I've ever purchased there is a travel backpack, but now that this trip is going to be the biggest thing in my life thus far, I think its time to sign up.

REI and ISO

We ran LA today, literally. I drove up to meet Kat in the law library. We got tons of stuff done, so we rewarded ourselves with a trip to REI on 3rd street! We've been slowly planning our insane trip after the bar, so we registered jointly at REI for graduation/birthday/anytime gifts!!! We ran around the store scanning stuff we need and I took some pics...but then forgot after I found an amazing jacket on clearance. Kat beat me though...she also found an amazing jacket for this trip....but it was on sale for $30!!! SOOOO jealous!!!!

We both want this backpack. It's SO light and compact, and it contorts to our backs perfectly...and it also airs out so your back isn't sweaty in the crazy heat! The blue one is behind the snail color, and its super pretty!

This color reminds me of a snail...but it's an insanely comfortable backpack. I want it in blue!

Amazing shamwow towel and comfy socks are a must.

After REI, we went to Westwood to study at ISO, a really great Japanese fusion cafe. It's a small place with fast Japanese food, wi-fi, and large tables to study. The food isn't great by any means, but it gets you through study periods and the milk tea is fantastic!

milk tea and chicken katsu curry

spicy ramen and crunch roll

getting work done? it's cold in hereeee