Hidden Treasures in the Sunny Shores

So apparently, Miami isn't only about beaches and trumptinis. I mean, from someone who has spent the past few years living in the Midwest, how am I supposed to know this?

With warm hues and inviting atmosphere, Fly Boutique has a touch that's thrift-storey and a hint of luxury. You can find some designer stuffs here such as Chanel for under $200. Some others are Pucci, Gucci, and Dior. The owner even has her own line called Puglia.


And I honestly don't think any caption will suffice.

Oh how you'd just love to linger around, sitting on the sofa, while watching your girlfriends trying out on the cutest pair of shoes and the most delicate dresses. See..vintage doesn't always have to be dusty..

Photo credit: Fly Boutique

Comic Con '09 highlight: James Jean

So...Comic Con in San Diego. Yes, this is related to my internship in NBC San Diego and a long, whirlwind story behind that.
I didn't have that much to post because mostly everything that I recorded was in a P2 card through the station's video camera. But Comic Con was pretty crazy, packed, filled with the most creative costumes you can imagine. I got to talk to a handful of celebs which was never bad. But yesterday on the last day of comic con, me and the boyfriend bought Kindling, a painting portfolio of James Jean, had it signed, and had our picture taken with him.



Kindling is a beautiful piece of artwork. It's all about surrealism - ravishing, way beyond words kind of surrealism. Add a little tidbit of gore wrapped in dreamy strokes- although my artist boyfriend says the renderings couldn't be more realistic- but hey, I'm a commoner.

He personalized the first page for us. He did it in less than 15 secs as far as I could remember. Every print in Kindling is a high quality print in which you can take off and display wherever you want.



One of my favorites painting in Kindling: Shattered.
And I have always like the colors that James Jean uses and their effects: marriages of color that no rainbows can't make a statement of; they bring an alluring wave of fantasies and a little chill down the spine.



James made a joke about my name and what it stands for. For all of you who don't know, my name is pretty much the same as an acronym of a high profile government agency, though I believe it mustn't be my parents' intention to do that. Anyways, James was really nice and I was pretty nervous when I got the chance to talk to him.

Have a cupcakey Saturday!

Today is cupcake day! I woke up around 11am simply because the sky was really dark that I couldn't tell it's a new day already. It was pouring hard this morning. We were still in St. Louis and had to drive back home to Columbia. I've been craving for cupcakes since the day I got to St. Louis (although the day before that I just made some at home) and there I was putting out my best little girl attitude of whining how I really wanted some cupcakes (the cupcake place isn't only a few minutes away from our friends' place in St. Louis) to my boyfriend. He was craving for dim sum instead. Not really the exact same thing, eh? But apparently our friends wanted to go to U-City Grill instead (they have the best, pretty authentic Korean food, for such a friendly price) which is located in Delmar Blvd, where Jilly's Cupcake Bar also is.

Jilly's is one of the very first pioneers of cupcake shop in St. Louis. We were all stoked when we got there (including the boyfriend- which is rare when it comes to cupcakes), the cupcakes are HUGE! They are seriously a lot bigger than normal cupcakes are! And yes they are serious when it comes to the frosting. It is tremendously thick, rich and they put all kinds of finger-licking things in it.


This one is called Missylicious. I bought one but accidentally knocked it over (heh) so it's not pretty anymore to take a picture of. It's a vanilla cake stuffed with whipped cream and topped with Tahitian vanilla buttercream. Photo: Jilly's Cupcake Bar



This one I couldn't resist and ate it in seconds at the shop, shared it with the boyfriend. It's a chocolate devil’s food cake, stuffed with marshmallow buttercream and topped with a chocolate ganache, drizzled with dulce de leche, praline pecans, a toasted marshmallow pretzel stick and a chocolate dipped graham cracker. I couldn't even tell them apart anymore of which one is which, they're all just so pretty together! But really, the cake and the marshmallow buttercream inside are just a perfect match-made. Photo: Jilly's Cupcake Bar


These last two, I sat them down on my IKEA carpet (now everyone gets to see what I've been talking about for years) and took pictures of them. We had them to go so they're put in a cute little space ship-like container of their own. This one is white chocolate strawberry. It hurts for me to eat it because it's just so beautiful to gaze at. I haven't had it yet till now.





This is Bee Sting (vanilla cake infused with lemon and honey syrup, stuffed with a honey lemon curd, topped with lemon cream cheese, toasted almonds, lemon candy dust, a sugar bee and white chocolate). Yes, I know, stupid camera, sorry..

Just fur is not enough

Spring Break is here, the month of March almost ends, now where has the sunshine been? Welcome the midwest. Throughout my blog, it's obvious to see that I'm going to use this as a common theme to constantly whine about. I still haven't gotten over this fact although I'm on my 2nd year of my stay here. So here where weather is not exactly our best friend, I can totally see why our furry friends need some comforting too. This etsy shop called Beantown Handmade has the cutest pet apparels for quite an affordable price.






Photos: BeanTown Handmade

These pictures are amazingly cute and it's either the photographer is really good at his job or the dogs are just such divas! But of course, the product itself contributes a lot. I showed these pictures to my girlfriends and it's just an endless parade of "aww" after "aww" for every picture after another.

A tribal vintage beauty

To be honest I wasn't really familiar with Native American jewelries until I looked at this month's Marie Claire and went through Mandy Moore's photo shoots. Yes, sorry, that's how ignorant I was. My potential defense would be that I didn't grow up here in America. Ok...I don't think that'll work out. Apology proposed.

I have, though, known for a fact that turquoise stones are gorgeous but they're a bit tricky to wear as accessories. They just seem to carry such bold manner, especially when they come in such big shapes, that if you mix them with not-so-simple outfit, I don't think it's going to be too easy on the eye. At least that's how it is for me.

But this Large Navajo Necklace from Southwestern Jewelry is just breathtaking beyond words. It still carries the bold manner that I was talking about, but it's also the same thing that constructs such magnificent aura in it. It's so grand, it's almost mystical. Still very traditional in its tribal vintage elements, but so bewitching it can still be paired up with anything contemporary.


Photo: James White/Marie Claire


Photo: Southwestern Jewelry

"Darling it's better down where it's wetter"

Fancy a scuba diving experience without getting wet and having your ears suffer due to the water pressure (the latter one is my case)? Well, a Florida mansion brings you nearly the same experience while still having all the luxuries that you can get off water. Florida real estate artist Frank McKinney, known for his oceanfront artistry, decided to name the 1.6 +/- acre eco-friendly mansion "Acqua Liana" which means "water flower" in Tahitian and Fijian.

Located in Palm Beach county, Manalapan beach, Acqua Liana is blessed with a "water floor" with a Lotus garden illuminated underneath the glass, 7 bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, 2 glass elevators, 2 laundry rooms, a glass wine cellar, an oceanfront grand salon that opens to the beach, a dining room that opens to the pool, swimmable water gardens, a classical lounge and lap pool, a waterfall spa w/ fire feature, and a yacht dockage. The list is much longer. And the visual is breathtaking.


Twenty-four foot water wall peering through glass staircase


A grand salon and oceanfront lanal at sunrise


Guest house bath with glass tiles looking through to waterfall


The water garden: A tropical mini laguna that's actually located in America


Waterfall overlooking tropical water gardens


It's almost like a tiny little village of its own!

And guess what? even pop corns can still fit in the big picture. The home also features almost a more personalized version of AMC movie theater in it. Although the pop corns they have might be organic, whole wheat, locally grown, or infused with vitamin boosters? I don't know.

The house is up for grabs for $29,000,000 USD.
It is obvious that my problem is highly interconnected with the last statement.

Photos: Frank McKinney

Rugging it in

The Rug Company has the most beguiling rugs I have ever seen. I have always been a big fan of rugs and have always agreed that they add so much accent to a room like magic. The Rug Company has a designer collection line which pretty much blows my mind. And I don't know how they can pull off matching each rug and come up with the most breathtaking roomsets. Ok, first thing first, I need to get an apartment that is not the size of a chinchilla cage.

Goodbye bland whole wheat pastas, for now.

It started out with me giving up meat for Lent without being considerate with my stomach and my taste buds. It's almost like a double whammy since I'm not at the very privileged point of where I can be very choosy of what I eat due to me being very active of skipping my daily job (Yes, again, my broadcast class is the culprit). Meaning I'm also currently broke. So, since seafood is almost unaffordable, non-meat food would translate only to one thing: veggies. Spinach, brussels sprouts, and broccoli are my BFFs.

As a result of my appetite ennui, I plan to do some cooking this weekend. Might I emphasize that it takes a well-constructed PLAN in advance for me to cook, due to time constraint and my slothful desire to just lay in bed surrounded by my mags, tv, and macbook. Trust me, this is quite a rare occasion. I guess I'll just stop by at a grocery store tomorrow and I have these delicious recipes that I have my eyes on:

Spinach-stuffed mushrooms

Photo: Kraftfoods.com

And Asparagus Frittata with Creme Fraiche and Chives

Photo: The Food Channel

And of course they combine the best of best veggies: spinach and mushrooms. Asparagus is great too! My boyfriend usually pairs them up with baked salmon; one of his specialties. So wish me luck for this weekend as I move one step forward in my cooking quest. I'm just gonna store them in a tupperware and have them for the next few weeks (seriously I don't think this condition is going to improve at all after I graduate from college) for an hors d'oeuvre before I move on to my pita bread with grilled veggies for my entree.

I'm gonna google what a creme fraiche is now.

Milan FW '09: Ballantyne

Milan Fashion Week kicked off this passed Wednesday and Ballantyne just had to show off this playful, frolicsome collection dominated by pink and purple for its Ready-to-Wear Fall 2009 which pretty much reminds me of my room, hehe.
It's almost Barbie-like with a preppy twist. Wait, Barbie IS preppy, isn't she? With Lily Pulitzer and all...?


The scarf adds so much accent to this one!



Photo by Giovanni Giannoni, courtesy of WWD.

So Ms. Tomei, can I....

I know it is sad that it took me a week to post this entry about Oscars. I literally sat in front of E! since 1 in the afternoon waiting for the Oscars to start though. I was accompanied by Lisa Rinna and Joey Fatone while flipping through my communication law notes for today's test. And of course, I didn't get that much done. Anyways, here's my pick of the best Oscar dresses!

Marisa Tomei wearing Versace Atelier.
This one is actually my favorite of all. I love the train and how the pleats all over the dress look so neat!


Angelina Jolie wearing Elle Saab.
It's never wrong to go with the classic. Humm..I don't know about the earrings though.


Evan Rachel Wood wearing Elle Saab
I like how the flowy skirt is just so..flowy and the criss cross top gives the dress so much structure. And her make-up does play the part as well.


Freida Pinto wearing John Galliano.
traditional with a modern twist. gotta love it.


Taraji Henson wearing Robert Cavalli.
The white-tiered dress gives a mermaid silhouette which looks amazing. I also like how there's a flowy layer on the outside that adds up to an even more beautiful construction.

I guess it's not hard to tell that mostly I like the ones with a more classic touch of subdued pearl or champagne satin hues. Even for dark colors, my vote goes for the bold, classic ones.
And oh- what's up with the bridal-like gowns that SJP and Pen Cruz were wearing? Not a really big fan of those.

So, Ms. Tomei, ahemmm, can I borrow that dress for my future, although unplanned yet, engagement party?

the luminescence' charm

I'm not a really big fan of bright lamps. Those giant T5 fluorescent lamp sticks turn me off. For some reasons I always think of Home Depot when I see one. Now don't get me wrong, Home Depot is great. But living in a place that looks like it wouldn't be the prettiest thing, would it? I'm not a big fan of the kind that's attached to a fan either. The exact same thing that comes with my furnished apartment, heh. They just look unattractive to me. My most reliable source of light in my room is my desk lamp with its 40 watt type G bulb that I got for Christmas 3 years ago (Heh, I know). It's got this warm, illuminating and sort-of-inviting kind of brightness. Not mention how it's been proven to be very cooperative and accommodating during hard times such as writing a 3000 word article in a night.
But really, I would be the luckiest person on the planet if I happen to have this kind of drop-dead gorgeous lighting from Ligne Roset in my apartment:

my hierarchy of needs

Ok, while I still can I'm just gonna go ahead and post one more entry before I gotta go pick up my guppies from an Indonesian friend of mine who has been baby-sitting them for the last two months. She said all the guppies are doing great and but I'm just tad worried either that's true or the bitter truth just lies under the gravel where she couldn't see the dead guppies buried in them.
Enough about guppies. I got a really cool gift for Valentine's Day. It's the one that I've always wanted since the year of monkey. It's nothing too fancy, not a ravishing diamond necklace or some sort *hint hint*. It's a red hard shell case from incase for my macbook. Now that my mac is comfortably wrapped in a sturdy, incredibly soft on the outside, and still looking cool armor, I am on to the next quest to find the best laptop sleeve out there. (Well, think of Maslow's hierarchy of needs and how it is normal for a human being to move on to the next level of the pyramid if his basic needs are fulfilled -that's my justification pretty much.)
Back to laptop sleeve. I stumbled into Janine King designs and found some good stuffs there.






My favorite is the zebra pattern just because I think it'd be a match-made in heaven with my red hard shell case. Yeah, one of these days when I stop spending money on curry-flavored instant noddles then maybe I can save up for one. Maybe.