Knot so casual

J. crew factory chambray shirt / Banana Republic Trina Turk dress (sold out, more here) worn as skirt / Madewell flats (on sale now) / F21 earrings / Citizen watch

As pretty as this dress is, I can feel a bit overdress when I am wearing it to the office by itself. For those more casual days, I like to add a shirt over it. To define the waistline so that I am not drowned in my shirt, I created the illusion of the shirt being tucked into the dress by tying a double knot at the bottom of the shirt. This gives me more wear out of a more dressy dress, I also get the bonus of combating the usually freezing AC at the office.

Linen in stripes

J. crew linen shirt / Uniqlo jeans (similiar, on sale) / Zara sling-back pumps (similiar)
 / Madewell satchel

With lots of trial and error, I've come to notice that whenever I pick an androgynous/boyish item, it works best to counter that with some feminine items—in this case some pumps. It especially works for my not-so-endowed figure so that I don’t end up looking like one of my male co-workers. 

Win to boy shirts + pumps!

Pastel de Nata {Portuguese Egg Tart}

Pastel de Nata, or as we usually call it “Nata”, is a famous pastry introduced to Macau from Portugal. Every local knows where to get the best of these in Macau. These custard-filled pastry have a buttery flaky crust and a burnt top that make them extra special. I personally love putting a ton of cinnamon on mine. Best for teatime, or hey, I’ll happily eat them for breakfast as well.

As a girl from Macau, I crave these but they are a rarity here. To curb my cravings, I am making these at home with a lazy verson—store bought pie dough. heh! They are no where as good as the ones from Macau, but I think they quite delicious, close enough for a delicate snack. One of these days I am going to make the dough from scratch and see how they compare. Well, until then here is the quick version.

Peter Pan in Lace

Forever 21 dress (also loving these peter pan collar dresses 1 . 2 . 3) /
Forever 21 earrings / Madewell stacked rings (sold out, but similar) / Madewell sandals

Crab salad two ways

If I could eat seafood every day with no consequences, I will. When lumped crab meat went on sale at Central Market, I could not pass off this deal. I bought a pint of white crab meat, it doesn’t look like much but it is a lot of meat, granted all the shell has been removed. I am such a seafood fanatic that I usually don’t mind just spooning it out and eat it plain. This time I wanted to try something new.

Summer by default

J. crew polka dot shirt / J. crew 3" shorts / Madewell sandals

White on white has become my summer uniform. Whenever I get lazy on picking outfits for the day, or just feel like I need a color break, I go straight to white. That peek of pink on my sandals are insoles I added to the sandals because it was a bit roomy around the front straps. They help fill up some room there, with an added bonus of some extra cushion. 

Walking in stripes

Image above: 1. Walkable City by Jeff Speck / 2. Wedge with striped heel / 3. Gold striped iPhone 5 case /
4. Peplum top / 5. Elephant stripes umbrella

I came from a city (Macau) where people walk everywhere. All through high school, I have been walking to school 20 minutes each way (15 minute if speed-walking to avoid the school gate closing on me). Since I go home for lunch, every day I would walk at least an hour total, not counting those days of wandering around after school for some drooling window shopping. One of the things I miss the most while being in Texas is the walking experience in my daily commute: the fragrance of magnolia from the street flower stalls, food aroma steaming from the street hawker's cart in the winter, convenience of picking up a few snacks without a driving detour, and did I mention lots of window shopping!

This book Walkable City's cleverly-designed cover caught my eye, it reminds me of those walking days. I can almost imagine skipping workout if I were walking instead of driving an hour daily! With the size of America, it takes more than a day to make every city a walkable downtown. Till then, I am going to remind myself to take frequent walk breaks at work and break a sweat more often. 

If you had to pick, would you rather walk, or drive?

Safari in the city

Banana Republic Safari dress (similar in yellow, on sale!) / Nine West sandals (this is even more versatile) / Tote bag via design conference / Forever 21 sunglasses / Forever 21 earrings / Madewell stacked rings (sold out, but similar) & Southwestern ring / Tissot watch / Nails Revlon Sheer Pink

Bling in the rain

J. crew vintage tee / Forever21 Military Jacket (old, similar from Macy's) / J. crew factory floral fringe necklace, on sale now / Forever21 jeans / Madewell patent flats (also love this holepunch version & fall version in suede) / Zara umbrella

Meet Maru (first seen here). He is my 5 year-old Shih Tzu who came home with me since he was 3 months old. He is the most skiddish pup who has the biggest personality at home. When we are outside, he loves being held so he feels secure. He’s the happiest when he’s running on “his” lawn. Just watch him smile! A lot of people asked me what his name means. It is a Japanese word meaning round, ball, or completeness. To me, he is total fluff ball who is completely perfect.

Since he’s so photogenic I thought I’d make him my guest model on this blog. Be sure to see him again very soon. Maru is wearing harness by puppia in brown because he pulls on the leash. The harness distributes the pressure evening across his chest, it helps to avoid him choking himself over his collar while he pulls (this little guy is strong). It also calls out his boyhood because he tends to be called a “she” regardless.

Beer barbeque chicken

As the work week progresses, I tend to get less disciplined with meal planning. Needless to say, by Saturday morning, the dreaded question of “What's for lunch?” comes up. My Saturdays are mostly "chore" days, being able to have lunch at home really lets me work the day more productively without doing a lot of extra driving and lingering at restaurant (slow eater!). One saturday morning, I did a little googling on chicken recipe, and found this recipe. I opened the fridge: drumsticks, dark beer, thyme, whole grain mustard and some lemons. Just what I needed. How perfect!

I did some modifications based on what I had: Mexico dark beer instead of German beer, using a grill pan instead of a charcoal grill. It turned out to be some very juicy flavorful chicken I’ve made in a while. I really enjoy that tanginess and the hint of beer. Totally worth giving it a try.

 To go with the chicken, I whipped up a quick beet and spinach salad to go with it.

Pho Elize

 

Madewell blouse (similar in white) / J. crew shorts / Madewell satchel (also in brown) / Madewell sandals / Nail Polish Revlon Charming

Elizabeth Street Cafe (check out their cute website!) is a French Vietnamese cafe here in Austin, it has the cutest everything from interior decor, patio, menu, website... all the way to its signage. I discovered this gem through my friend Sam. She introduced me to their papaya salad and pistachio macarons. Both are wonderful selections! I personally dig their iced jasmine tea and cream puffs. They also serve vietnamese sandwiches (bun mee) and rice noodles (pho, sounds like “fa”).  This place makes me want to visit Vietnam and its unique beauty and French-influenced colonial culture.