Target and Marshalls Haul

It's crazy how we always have this sporadic shopping on weekends with my husband. I am a bit scared that it has become a habit now. Lol. We didn't have anything else to do anyway so he asked me if I wanted to go to Target and so I said yes! Who wouldn't? I super love Target and it's always a treat going there. 

{I'm wearing: Marc by Marc Jacobs Tee, Gap shorts, Kenneth Cole flipflops, Chanel sunnies and MK tote}

 The weather was warm and nice and was glad I can wear shorts and flip-flops. We initially agreed on looking for a vacuum cleaner for the apartment but ended up getting a cab home because I think we got a lot more stuff than expected. Haha! 

Here's my mini-haul from Target.

 Here's what I picked up from Marshalls. Spent a bit much but I think the Free People dress on the left is too hard to pass up. The rest are well under 20 dollars and I was a happy camper and even allowed the husband to play his favorite Xbox game for the rest of the afternoon. Remember: a happy wife is a happy life.

We had lunch at Texas Armadillos and ordered mushroom burger for lunch. It was good and I liked it. Bridgepoint is a strip of shops so it's a decent place to eat and chill out after a long day of shopping.

I did try this hot sauce and I personally think that caption was overly stated. I'm not saying I have high tolerance for spicy food but for me it tasted just like Tabasco or Cholula.

Here's a picture of the mushroom burger. 

My weekend keeps getting better each time. I hope you all are having a good one too!

XoXo

Weekly Favorites

I might have found a beauty blender dupe! 

It's all the rage from youtube make-up vloggers and gurus. 

I've heard about this beauty blender for quite awhile now and I was hesitant to try it out myself because I think it's too expensive of a sponge and I couldn't quite justify the price. So last week, I bit the bullet but not that hard. In fact it was an easy purchase. Whew! Five bucks of a beauty blender dupe I found at Marshalls. I grabbed the last piece at the rack without thinking. So the picture below is a result of me using mostly drugstore products and my trusty Revlon foundation with the Revive beauty sponge. It looks nice I believe and better coverage than using my regular foundation brush. I might take another shot next time. The picture (iPhone pics) wasn't really showing how good the application was using the sponge.

The next time you're headed to Marshalls, you know what to look for.

Here are my favorites from Trader Joe's this week:

The Pugliese bread, which you can finish baking at home and turns out really good. It's crispy on the outside and really soft on the inside. Perfect for breakfast or a sandwich. The white organic Quinoa. I am excited to make my first Quinoa dish this week; so watch out for it. The yellow nectarines are in season and they are so sweet and juicy. The German Bavarian bratwurst. My husband is a big fan of bratwurst so this is actually his favorite and I liked it too!

Rhianna's Summer Collection for MAC

I spent most of my time here today. How ridiculous and agonizing it is to get hold of this collection. I am close to giving up and throwing my my iPad out the window (ooops! just in my head but I'm never going to do that) lols. That's how stressing it is to get to the order confirmation screen. Ugh!

{Disclaimer: Picture not mine. Grabbed from Google}

The collection doesn't look very outstanding to me but it gives out a very Rhianna-ish kind of attitude if you wear the bold lipsticks. I am particularly interested in the Ririwoo as I have been eyeing out on a good red for a while now. I've been a pink and nude lippie kind of girl for like forever. So I need a bit of color in my make-up stash.

Yup! Multi-tasking and this is after an hour and I'm still not getting anywhere. I wonder how many women around the world are keeping watch and wasting their day away for Rhianna and MAC Cosmetics. I seriously think MAC needs to update their website. It is freaking slow. Are we on the same boat? I hope this is all worth it.

Let me know what you end up getting ladies! I will update you with mine soon.

XoXo

Happiness in a Tiffany Blue Box

 Who doesn't get swept away by these pretty blue boxes? I mean they're not just ordinary robin egg blue boxes because they're specifically called "Tiffany Blue" and created as a private custom color by Pantone as protected trademark color of Tiffany and Co.

I love how they make such an effort to make it look pretty before handing it out to you. These blue boxes are just pretty stacked together in your jewelry closet.

  This is my second and third box of Tiffany's and I am quite excited to have a growing collection of silver jewelry. I might expand into gold at a later time. For now, I am loving this bow necklace and earrings. I love love love it! I can't say anything more. It's a simple everyday jewelry and not too overpowering or attention-grabbing. I am liking delicate jewelry at the moment and this is just a classic piece that I can wear many times over. I can even hand this down to my future baby girl.

 This is how it looks on me. I got the medium size bow and I think for my body frame, it's just perfect. If I had decided to get the large one, it might be too big for the kind of look I am trying to achieve.

Just like any silver jewelry, this requires delicate storage and cleaning. Exposure to air may tarnish the silver metal. So I suggest you get one of those silver jewelry cleaner to polish it once in awhile and store it on the pouch and box that it came with.

Weekly Favorites

 It's no-brainer that the best part of my week was getting my birthday present - the Tiffany box. Call it shallow but I was overly excited like a kid in a candy store the moment I walked in. Another reason for me to be thankful and stop worrying about the stuff I don't have..By "stuff" I don't mean materially. If you're one of the persons close to me you know what I mean. I might share it in one of my post in the future but I am not quite ready for it yet. Anyway, I do not want to dampen the mood but I am also extremely happy that I found a store that sells macarons, as I haven't found any store nearby that could match up to the Laduree ones. It was good in my opinion but not as good as what I've had in the past. 

{Macarons from La Bloulange du Dome in Westfield Mall San Francisco}

This was another favorite of mine from the pastry section. I forgot what its name was but I am pretty sure this was a tart. Strawberry tart perhaps? Go check them out if you haven't or if you're visiting San Francisco on a tour. It's delicious paired with any of their brewed teas.

What have you been up to all week? Any recent restaurant discoveries? Feel free to share in the comment box below. Have a great week everyone!

Post Birthday Treat

{What I'm wearing: Jeans- JBrand houlihan, Shirt- H&M, Blazer- Gap, Shoes- Forever21, Bag - Louis Vuitton, Sunglasses- Chanel}

 My husband woke me up so early today and told me to get dressed for a trip to downtown San Francisco. He told me he was going to buy me a gift today since I was too indecisive last week that we ended up not getting anything at all. I was happy to oblige. I got a confession to make. I am scared to cross this bridge and  I cannot look down at highway 101 below. It just makes me feel like I'm gonna fall every time I look down. Weird, huh? I am pretty scared of heights.

{I love the ceiling. My husband took this picture while we were having tea at La Boulange}

We spent most of the day at Westfield Mall. We went straight Bloomingdales and tried looking for anything that I like to no avail. We exited the department store and came across Tiffany and Co. I secretly wanted to have another necklace or a pair of earrings for awhile now but still indecisive what to pick. So the husband nudged me into going inside the store and browse for silver jewelries. Thirty minutes later... I walked out with  these.

I am so keyed out for the rest of the day! I mean I went out with two boxes instead of one. I will reveal them in a different post next week. So hold on tight. We ended up watching "Now You See Me" after a Chinese sit down lunch at M.Y China. Finally caved in and had dim-sum. Yay!

{Lovely day at Market street. Very tourist concentrated area in San Francisco I'd say. Apart from Pier 39} 

My heart melted when I saw this homeless guy with his pet dog sleeping on the street. =(

Weekly Favorites

I find it hard to say a wish for myself when I got so much to be thankful for. My husband kept asking me two weeks ago for my birthday wish list and I can't seem to make up my mind. Despite my indecisiveness, we got to enjoy the weekend. We stayed in Sunday evening and ordered take out food from our favorite Asian deli near our apartment. I miss celebrating my birthdays back home, the intimate dinners with family and friends. This year, it's just the two of us. Oh, well maybe next year it'll be a lot more fun.

{We just discovered our  new favorite Chinese take out - the crispy shrimp we ordered for my birthday dinner}

I have been hearing a lot of great reviews about the beauty blender sponge. I saw this at Marshalls and gave it a try. I may have not tried using the beauty blender but I'd say, I am completely in love with this! Flawless foundation application. I am completely sold on this and may not consider buying the more expensive brand. This is a complete dupe since I am not quite convinced to pay three times more for the same great result. Try it for yourself.

I've been on a hunt for a new skincare product that will save my skin from its constant love-hate relationship with water, weather conditions here in California since we arrived. I found these on sale at Sears last weekend and thought of buying it after reading rave reviews from one of my favorite blogger/editor - Eva Chen. A week of using it and I can already see great results. What I loved about it is it's not sticky and it's not oil-based and my ever temperamental skin didn't react surprisingly. Kept me hydrated under make-up. I will keep using it and see what happens.

I think that the Trader Joe's version is overrated compared to this one. I've researched about speculoos cookies and found out that it originated in Belgium, Netherlands and Northern France. For those who can't get hold of the TJ's cookie butter, try this and you'll never look back. I honestly don't care when Trader Joe's is going to stock up on their own version of the speculoos because I think I already found my new love.

Weekly Favorites

I always look forward to my alone time each week to do a bit of window shopping at Hillsdale mall or challenge myself into looking for stuff or clothes under 20 bucks. For two straight weeks now, I've been having a lot of luck. I scored these. 

{Peplum top and blazer from H&M}

We capped the memorial day weekend by visiting one of my favorite thrift or goodwill shop called "Plato's closet" in downtown San Mateo. I first discovered them when we were visiting our friends in Wisconsin back in 2011. I've bought a lot of good quality stuff at a very low price. The trick when shopping at flea markets or thrift shops is to bear in mind the kind of items you're looking for. I have been on a hut for a good cargo pants and it was such a pleasant surprise to find one there! 

{J Brand houlihan jeans is love! Sam Edelman leopard print flats, Ed Hardy tee new with tag}

{An ice-cold moscato and a movie in our new TV. Yay!}

Cheers to a wonderful week ahead!

Weekly Favorites

If I'm too lazy to whip up anything for breakfast, here's our go to meal: cereal, almond milk and lots of berries. 

My husband still haven't decided what TV to get, so I'm stuck watching online streaming on the laptop. Here's my current favorite, Faith, a Korean series. I'm in love with Lee Min Ho, although my husband thinks he's gay.

During my weekly trip to the mall sometime last week, I scored these items from H&M for 20$. How fab! I might just make it a weekly habit :)

My trip won't be complete without a visit to my favorite shoe store, DSW. Don't judge, I'm no shopaholic. I just love to go around the shelves of shoes and trying them on.

On second thought, I think this Franco Sarto wedge sandal is really cute for summer. I couldn't resist the price and I figured it's going to go well with my new Michael Kors tote. It's on clearance at 40% off. Not bad, huh? Perfect summer accessory.

How about you? What have you been up to lately?

Weekly Favorites

I've been doing a lot of shopping the past weekend and I found some really awesome deal. Don't you just love it when you find something good at a hard-to-resist price?

So this post might come every week or so and I will share with you some of the "good stuff" I scored.

{This was a steal at Marshalls. Michael Kors jetset tote size small.The only piece left. Paid 140$, original 229$}

{American Eagle Outfitters' boyfriend jeans, Paid 18$, original 40$}

Now, this isn't bought at a discount but been hearing so much about this and went in and caved. I'll give you an update about this face primer soon.

I was hoping this might help me cut down drying my long hair after a good shower. I'll see if it works.

Nothing brightens up my day but a bright yellow Sunflower at my table. Got the owl vase at Marshalls for 3$ .

How about you? Did you find any great deals lately?

XoXo

Road Trip to Palo Alto

After three weeks without a car, my husband and I decided to go on a little road trip. We had a rental car from Avis and we headed out to Palo Alto for a day spent on shopping, discovering places and trying out new restaurants.

{my driver for the day. very serious on the wheel}

 We went out early before breakfast so our first stop was at Mc Donald's. I didn't know they got mini breakfast muffins.

{i love that McDonald's got tiny breakfast muffins}

After our quick trip to IKEA, we went straight to Stanford mall for a bit of retail therapy. I love the open air setup. It feels good to walk around with blooming flowers all over the place on a good weather like today. The shops are high end and you can find almost anything here. They got Bloomingdales, Nordstrom and Macy's. What more can you ask for?

 Spotted this cute dog while shopping at Sephora. It's good that animals and human can actually shop together nowadays. 

{flowers all in bloom around Stanford mall}

{real-life playhouse, I wish I could buy them and ship them home}

{I am wearing a muscle shirt from Greenhills, Blazer fron Gap, Leggings from H&M, Shoes from Toms, Bag from Louis Vuitton, Watch from Casio, Bubble necklace from Greenhills}

 We had an awesome time browsing through the stores at Stanford mall that we forgot it was past one o'clock in the afternoon already. We passed by this restaurant called Babbo's that has a nice outdoor seating and decided to try it out not realizing it was a bit pricey when we sat down after we checked out the menu. Too late to back down and we were too hungry to even think of bailing out on the waiter. LOL.

{Wishing I was somewhere in Italy. Babbo's serve Italian and Mediterranean food.} 

The setup made us feel like we were eating somewhere in Italy. I just hoped that the price is worth paying for. I'm guessing it was good as the place was packed.

{Quattro Stagioni for me, it's like four seasons pizza}

{The husband ordered Focaccia Americana, Angus beef burger}

 The food didn't disappoint actually, as I finished the ten-inch pizza all to myself. Like what? That was a first, or maybe I was too hungry. My husband thinks the burger was well-made and enjoyed it too. So we'd probably give it four stars instead of five as the prices were expensive. It would have been better if they served sparkling water and the sourdough could be done better. Well, if you're around Stanford and you don't mind paying the price and you want a little less crowded area, this place is a good option.

{Very patient husband waiting for me while I was busy shopping at Sephora}

{Don't you just love this kind of mall with a beautiful outdoor seating. There's free wifi from the Apple store too}

{We had Pinkberry after shopping to cool us down}

 Today was fun! I hope you had an awesome day too. ;)

XoXo