bernini

when i was in rome last summer, i stayed at the wonderful hostel domas valeria (http://www.domusvaleria.it/) that's minutes away from spanish steps and the galleria borgehese. under the guidance of wonderful host marco's, i booked galleria borghese's tickets 2 days earlier.

on the day of, i set off my supposely 20 minutes walk to the galleria, but got lost and distracted by all the wonderful scultures and places in rome, when i finally got to the galleria, i was over an hour late vs. my reserved time. so i begged and begged. finally, they let me in.

and that's when i say it - rape of Proserpina, aka pluto and prosepina, by gian lorenzo bernini, in 1621 to 22, when the artist was merely 23 years old.
 

 

it's love, lust, passion, tenderness and cruelty, all at a split second, captured in this incredibly moving marble time capsule. i couldn't move for a full 20 minutes in front of this sculpture, and this was the single most impressive sculpture i've seen on my journey from spain all the way to singapore. This and the Parthenon at the acropolis, Athens, proved to me once and for all that you have to be there to really see it.

the it bag

last Saturday i went out to grocery shop and came home with a valentino rockstud mini vitello tote. i loved it when i first saw it at nordstrom, it whispered to me in a language that was unique to me, i had to have it.

so i did (!!!)

it's soft lamb skin leather, incredibly light, just the right size that carries a lot but doesn't look chunky, rockstuds add badassness to this very structured ladylike bag, not showy with a little bling, and does not have logo printed all over.

i loved it so much that i put it in the middle of living room for a couple of days so i could see it walking by. and my hubby put it next to my pillow so i could see it when i wake up in the morning.

i'm not a purse gal and never felt like this for a purse before - it was first love at first sight.

Serenpidity @ Sunday Randolph Street Fair

i've never been into vintage before, but pleasantly surprised at here on a sunday stroll.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/102735755/vintage-80s-album-by-kenzo-for-the

1. Album by Kenzo made in Japan print pants, circa 1980's @ $50 (saffronvintage.com). very cool patterns of lotus, v shaped typical 80's pants, not full length, will be great in summer, can dress up with some suits & heels or dress down with crisp white t shirt and a pair of sandals.

2. Unknown designer pendant (picture case) @ $24. cute, round and shiny, goes with any outfit. little girl's dream!

3. Edgar Bereni earings @ $50. shimmery glaze, great for summer, goes with everything and gives a bit of edge.

4. Ebony fashion fair dark green wool hat @ $50 (apshop.blogspot.com). Just the right color for spring, autum AND winter too!

A few of my favorite things - the professional woman collection

professional woman = time and sleep deprived, plenty of travel, tired, stressed, but still want to look and feel fabulous. Here a few of my favorite things for professional woman maintenance.

fitflop - When i was traveling across north Mediterranean, from spain to singapore last summer for a month, I only brought a carry on suit case with two pairs of shoes: hiking boots and my fitflops. The fitflops are a dream come true, super cushy and comfortable to walk around as a tourist, AND don't make you feel like a dorky tourist. they are the perfect answer to style and comfort. Never felt uncomfortable, and never felt intimidated. You can't get better than that. I haven't tried their winter editions yet, but will for sho.

tumi double shoulder backpack - a must, sleek and professional, saves trouble, looks chic. they don't carry the one i have anymore, so here's a look-alike - and you can add your own monogram on the name plate for free too.

Travel perfume atomizer - genius, you remove your perfume bottle cap, put this little gem on top of it, and start pumping, the perfume will enter the atomizer from the bottom, not wasting anything. and you get to smell like your normal self even when you're traveling, without having to manually move the perfume into a smaller bottle, or spending money buying smaller packages. tiny little genius.

Kiehl's eye de-puffer - i have eye puffness and dark circles like every other professional woman, and i struggle with bringing eye cream to travel with me, they are too big for travel size. i use guerlain eye cream, which is also extremely expensive so i hesitate to try to spoon it out to another smaller container which always results in waste. so when i found this i'm very excited. it's like a lip balm, but for eye. it's soothing and it's solid, so perfect for traveling. it does NOT work miracle but does make your eye feel a bit better. love.

Burberry lip velvet long wear lipstick - nothing beats a smart color lipstick when it comes to instantly brightening up a whole face, this is my favorite color - i've owned 3 of this long wear version, 2 of the satin version of the same color - 304 redwood, very natural and very flattering color - doesn't embarrass you no matter you're meeting a client or a friend.

 

this color also goes well with the sepia gloss - the Burberry lip glow natural lip gloss. 

2 weeks to my grand tour..25k miles..very unreal.

Happy New Year!!

Christmas eve church goers

Botanic garden in the winter

Mom and the beautiful sky light

So cold, so pretty

Mom is the most glamorous lady i know!

And a few NYE pics

2012.1.1 Zzzzz...

btw, our new condo is a pretty much full fledged adobe now...

The pixie short hair do

So ladies... i finally did it, a highly textured, pixie short hair do. It's VERY liberating - as if you're telling the world: here i come, and don't mess with me! :)

This isn't the best angel, but right now
the only couple i have

took my friend Rachael to korean
bbq on her last day in town before london.
she looks so cute in this pic - i think
she's trying to look korean! :)

this is the shortest i've ever gone to!!!

and, if you want the stylist info - it's Laura at Red7 Salon!!  (http://red7salon.com/?page_id=39)

The butterfly shirt

I got this butterfly shirt from Zara last month, it has this vintage charm to it, was about $50, and needs dry clean. I like the black zipper in the back - gives this very summer-y playful shirt a bit of that heavy metal feel. The whole look says: relax and have some fun, it's summer! :)

The white pants are from Eddie Bower. I noticed that Eddie Bower always has some good stuff on sale, especially their pants, very good quality and inexpensive. Highly recommend!

i wore this to work that day, it's very playful but not
childish, almost a bit vintage charm

got the belt a while bck from beijing
- it was about $5!!

purchased these shoes at $70 about two years ago,
never had an opportunity to wear them. this time,
they went perfectly with the white pants
and eggshell butterfly shirt..

the whole look says: relax,
it's summer! :)

The day i was spotted by a nordstrom buyer!

Ladies, no joke - I (I!?!!) was spotted by a nordstrom buyer the other day in the nordstrom on michigan ave. She insisted taking a picture of me and wanted to use that as an "inspiration for us". We chatted about fashion during my 5 minutes of fame. Gosh, so here's what I was wearing!

Coat: Zara Zip Up Coat ($159, about half year old); pants:  Eddie Bower on sale cotton stretch pants ($10, about 2 months old); top: Zara dressy t-shirt ($59, about two months old; bag: MICHAEL Michael Kors Hamilton Large Tote ($300, over a year old) 

whole look

Just got these earrings on that day - Kendra Scott 'Danielle' Oval Earrings, nordstrom $58.  I think this was a big reason my outfit got her attention - these sapphire earrings popped on my nude colored background outfits and shoes. Sam Edelman 'Orly' Slingback Pump, got from Nordstrom, $115, about 4 months old - sling backs is a very cute choice for springy summer this year... plus nude color is very happening..

sapphire earring

very big girl shoes by my standard

Chrispy Chicken Thighs with Browned Mushroom, Squash, Roasted Carrots and Fried Rice

Total: 40 minutes. 


This is a great soulful dish - low carb, healthy, visually beautiful, and with a splash of Asian fusion! :)

Baby bella mushrooms, yellow squash, organic carrots with greens, Perdue Fit & Easy Chicken Thighs Boneless Skinless - 4 ct Fresh. Generous extra virgin olive oil, salt, black pepper, teriyaki sauce, small cube of butter.

Please please please try using extra virgin olive oil - it will completely improve your diet. 

1). Preheat oven to 400F.  Chop up the mushrooms, yellow squash, rub butter onto carrots.

2). Apply extra virgin olive oil generously onto all veggies, splash of salt and black peppers. Put into oven for 15 minutes. While the veggies are roasting in the oven, season the chicken thighs with teriyaki sauce, salt, and black pepper for 5 minutes. Then, prepare a olive oil covered skillet and get it heated. Add seasoned chicken thighs to the skillet, skin side down. Cook over high heat until the skin is crisp, 5 minutes. 

you can get this sauce at domick's for
around $5very very handy

3). Move the chicken thighs from skillet to the oven, cover the veggies (so that the sauce and oil can drip down to the veggies.... hummmmm yuuuuuummmmmm!)  

Optional 4). I used the leftover teriyaki sauce in the skillet to fry some left over rice - worked like a charm! Left over rice is the best kind for frying, plus the chicken and teriyaki gave the rice much nice flavors without being too oily.  

The chicken is juicy, mushrooms just browned enough so very meaty, yellow squash soft and tender. This is the first time I included whole carrots in a dish - the organic carrots here were worth the money. The only bit of luxury of this dinner was the Stratton Lummis Cabernet Sauvighon, 2006 Napa Vally (drinkability 95, drink or hold). The retail price was over $70, but any red wine will go nicely with this meal! :)