“In a world filled with hate, we must still dare to hope. In a world filled with anger, we must still dare to comfort. In a world filled with despair, we must still dare to dream. And in a world filled with distrust, we must still dare to believe.” – Michael Jackson

New Toys

In the mail yesterday came my new toys from Everyday Minerals. A while back, I mentioned that I was purchasing a sample kit from them that included: 3 powders, 1 concealer, and 1 blush for the cost of $3 shipping (such a deal!). Well, I loved my samples so much that I decided to purchase the super custom kit that has 12 items of your choice for only$50!

I picked 7 eye shadows: (top) Spelunk, (middle row, left to right) In the Garden, Wallaby, Late Checkout, (bottom, left to right), Smokey Eyeliner, Wild Flowers, and Smokey Pink. Do you see a theme in colors here? lol.

I also got loose powder, concealer, and two blushes: swimming pool and back to school.

Today I even got up extra early so I could apply a face before work. The powder and concealer are old friend of mine, and I love love love their multi-tasking concealer--it takes care of everything from hiding blemishes to taking care of those little baggies under your eyes. And I used wild flowers and late checkout for eyes, as well as swimming pool for the cheeks. So far so good! What I love about this makeup is that is finishes so well on the skin and doesn't make you look unlike yourself--that is, unless you want it that way! It enhances what you have, and keeps you looking like the pretty you are. I highly recommend and thanks Sheens for the tip!! =)

Finger Lickin' Goooooooood

Yesterday I finally got to go to the Del Mar Fair (yeah yeah yeah I know it's now "san diego county fair" or whatever) and get my eating on! I had been waiting for this day for weeks now, and had fully prepared my stomach for all the delicious, the decadent, the fatty, the fried, the greasy, and the scrumptious food to be had.

chocolate funnel cake. a MUST.
(L) fried smores, (R) fried twinkie---smores was much much better :)

Needless to say that even I, who had scoured the booths for delectables,  drafted an eating plan of attack, and even spaced out most of my eating, was feeling the stomach pangs of remorse. One thing on my list that I didn't get to eat were those deep friend frog legs--although the mac and cheese on a stick would have been nice too I think lol. 

However, just to make myself feel better about not going to the fair simply to stuff my face, I also include a trip on the Ferris Wheel whenever I go---actually, I really do enjoy the ferris wheel so it takes no effort on my part to shell out the big bucks for tickets to ride on the big wheel, there's something about it thats is special to me. 

views from the top. One the right, the fair....

and on the left, beautiful coastline of Del Mar. It was a lovely day.

Literary nightcap!

Today I woke up refreshed after actually sleeping in (8:30AM woot!). I had an overwhelming desire to clean out my closet, which began the day looking like this (sorry for bad quality, these were from my camera phone):



it was getting out of control. jeans mixed in with blouses, missing pairs of shoes, bags piled on top of bags on top of bags, and a big bag filled with misc. crap that I had been putting off sorting. Needless to say that it took me some time to get everything straightened out, but my closet is like, so glorious to look at now. Neatly arranged storage boxes, clothing arranged by type, and, hey, look at that, I can see my carpet again! Not to mention that I had a nice pile of stuff to give away to good will.

But let me tell you, it was almost like finding lost treasure and I was Indiana Jones or Lara Croft or something because I kept finding things that I thought I had lost forever, or discovered things that I hadn't even known I had (just when did I buy Hemmingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls?--not that I'm complaining). Speaking of Hemmingway, amongst my newly found treasures, was my long lost pocket sized moleskin with its one entry. I will end today's post with Tennyson's Ulysses. Although I'm sure I've posted selections of this on my blog before, I think it works so much better reading the whole thing.

It little profits that an idle king,
By this still hearth, among these barren crags,
Match'd with an aged wife, I mete and dole
Unequal laws unto a savage race,
That hoard, and sleep, and feed, and know not me.
I cannot rest from travel; I will drink
Life to the lees. All times I have enjoy'd
Greatly, have suffer'd greatly, both with those
That loved me, and alone; on shore, and when
Thro' scudding drifts the rainy Hyades
Vext the dim sea. I am become a name;
For always roaming with a hungry heart
Much have I seen and known,-- cities of men
And manners, climates, councils, governments,
Myself not least, but honor'd of them all,--
And drunk delight of battle with my peers,
Far on the ringing plains of windy Troy.
I am a part of all that I have met;
Yet all experience is an arch wherethro'
Gleams that untravell'd world whose margin fades
For ever and for ever when I move.
How dull it is to pause, to make an end,
To rust unburnish'd, not to shine in use!
As tho' to breathe were life! Life piled on life
Were all too little, and of one to me
Little remains; but every hour is saved
From that eternal silence, something more,
A bringer of new things; and vile it were
For some three suns to store and hoard myself,
And this gray spirit yearning in desire
To follow knowledge like a sinking star,
Beyond the utmost bound of human thought.

This is my son, mine own Telemachus,
to whom I leave the sceptre and the isle,--
Well-loved of me, discerning to fulfill
This labor, by slow prudence to make mild
A rugged people, and thro' soft degrees
Subdue them to the useful and the good.
Most blameless is he, centred in the sphere
Of common duties, decent not to fail
In offices of tenderness, and pay
Meet adoration to my household gods,
When I am gone. He works his work, I mine.

There lies the port; the vessel puffs her sail;
There gloom the dark, broad seas. My mariners,
Souls that have toil'd, and wrought, and thought with me,--
That ever with a frolic welcome took
The thunder and the sunshine, and opposed
Free hearts, free foreheads,-- you and I are old;
Old age hath yet his honor and his toil.
Death closes all; but something ere the end,
Some work of noble note, may yet be done,
Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods.
The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks;
The long day wanes; the slow moon climbs; the deep
Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends.
'T is not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die.
It may be that the gulfs will wash us down;
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.
Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho'
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are,--
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

goodnight!

Here's a little something...

for the aspiring Julia Childs and internet bloggers everywhere:

I can't wait for this movie! Out August 7, 2009 =)

"It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power."

-Alan Cohen

Seattle: Food Review & Other Things

I've been sitting on this post for days and days now, debating on whether it was even worth it to blog about eats in Seattle when I have like 1 picture to show for it. Food isn't nearly as interesting to read about if you cant see it. My solution? A list of eateries described in brief, broken down by meal type and conveniently linked for your perusal. And here we go...

Breakfasts

- Specialty's Cafe and Bakery: Huge kitchens, the comforting smell of something baking, the warmth of ovens burning never ever fails. Quality food, decent prices, and everything made in house. Mini-quiches are excellent, scones were a bit on the dry side for me, but their muffins/cookies looked divine.

-University District Farmer's Market: I'm putting this down under 'breakfast' but the goodies bought here could last you all day. A feast for the senses: vibrant colors of the fresh cut flowers (peonies!), the sounds of street performers singing and playing instruments, so many great stalls, good prices, and most importantly great eats. Some things I didn't even know what I was eating, but it all looked/tasted so good that I didn't even care lol. Notable mention: the truffle stand had me with salted caramels and the white chocolate green tea truffles. yeah, I dont need to say anymore.

-The Crumpet Shop: See previously posted picture. These crumpets are similar to an english muffin, but like, upgraded version. They come sweet or savory: nutella smeared on top, or with fresh ricotta/tomato/pesto, or made into open faced sandwiches with eggs. The shop is cute and cozy, and the staff was so friendly, even on a busy saturday morning. The fresh lemonade is made on the spot, right in front of you with a hand juicer and fresh lemons. A step away from Pike Place Market, its a jewel amongst the endless shops/eateries threatening to overwhelm the visitor.

Tea

-Remedy Teas: Featuring 150 organic teas in periodic table-like form, I was in tea heaven. They have vials where you can smell all 150 varieties, from black, green, rooibos, herbal, oolong and whites (I did this, and it took me a while). I was bold and tried the Creme Earl Grey (trust me, I was very bold as I usually HATE Earl Grey), and enjoyed the smell of most of the rooibos and black varieties of tea. I also ordered the cucumber and also the radish tea sandwiches. I enjoyed the cucumber ones so much more, sometimes you just cant beat the basics. All in all, super cozy, unpretentious and dedicated to good tea.

Desserts

- Trophy Cupcakes: See previous picture of "red velvet cupcake at night" as I like to call it haha. I adore everything about Trophy Cupcakes--their location (the CHARMING neighborhood of Wallingford, where real people live and eat; in a red building that used to be a school), to their shop (whites and soft blues and everything endlessly cute), to the flavors (red velvets, cafe au lait, snickerdoodle, chocolate graham cracker, need I go on?). I wished I could have stayed in Seattle if only to warrant trying out more of these little cakes of perfection.

As for the other things, I suppose it's really just one other thing: Elliot Bay Book Company. If I lived in Seattle I would frequent this book store all the time. Not only is it bursting with books amongst exposed brick walls, and dizzying levels of literary bliss, theres even a cafe with good eats below! This is the sort of bookstore that you dont see very much anymore: the old wooden floors that creak with well loved use, the musty smell of something old and lived in, the huge wall of staff recommendations, the used book section, the rare book collection, their selection of good quality, signature bound, blank writing books. Elliot Bay is like some sort of heaven for the avid, or not so avid, reader.

Introducing: Vienna Teng

I've recently been introduced to the musical stylings of Vienna Teng. Watch, listen and enjoy.

Find Her Here

...of wind, sand and stars...

"Thus is the earth at once a desert and a paradise, rich in secret hidden gardens, gardens inaccessible, but to which the craft leads us ever back, one day or another. Life may scatter us and keep us apart; it may prevent us from thinking very often of one another; but we know that our comrades are somewhere "out there"--where, one can hardly say--silent, forgotten, but deeply faithful. And when our path crosses theirs, they greet us with such manifest joy, shake us so gaily by the shoulders! Indeed, we are accustomed to waiting."

"We forget that there is no hope of joy except in human relations. If I summon up those memories that have left me with an enduring savor, if I draw up the balance sheet of the hours in my life that have truly counted, surely I find only those that no wealth could have procured me. True riches cannot be bought... There is no buying the night flight with tis hundred thousand stars, its serenity, its few hours of sovereignty. It is not money that can procure for us that new vision of the world won through hardship--those trees, flowers, women, those treasures made flesh by the dew and color of life which the dawn restores to us, this concert of little things that sustain us and constitute our compensation." 

"So in the heart of the desert, on the naked rind of the planet, in an isolation like that of the beginning of the world, we built a village of men... We were waiting for the rescuing dawn...Something, I know not what, lent this night the savor of Christmas. We told stories, we joked, we sang songs. In the air there was that slight fever that reigns over a gaily prepared feast. And yet we were infinitely poor. Wind, sand, and stars...But on this badly lighted cloth, a handful of men who possessed nothing in the world but their memories were sharing invisible riches."

Love Notes from Seattle

Of course, the shot of Starbucks at Pike Place Market.

Sunset over Puget Sound.

A Pesto/Tomato/English Cheese "Crumpet" from the Crumpet Shop, freshly made lemonade, and my new purchase from Elliot Bay Book Company: Calvino's "Difficult Loves."

Pike Place Market fun.

And how not rainy it was in Seattle when I was there.

Trophy Cupcakes--so many I wanted to try, but I settled with a Red velvet.

And it was divine <3

Will post more on my food discoveries and adventures later.