Friday, September 14, 2012

Sweet Treats

So I'm supposedly on a healthy-penga diet so I can fit into my sundresses again for when we go back to Hawaii this winter (YAY!). But I can't resist trying out a new food - especially if it's sweet!

How about an ice cream taiyaki?

So cute!
Filled with red bean and some sort of frozen soft cream/whip creamish stuff.

Or this candy, that promises an archaeological dig inside it's milk chocolaty goodness?
Okay, so this one was pretty disappointing. I thought it would come with an mini tool for digging. Nope, nothing! And I'm not sure the gummy inside really resembles a dino, but then I did let it half-melt in the car for a while...

A little more grown-up, how about a tasty thai tea popsicle?
These are seriously amazing. One of my favorite drinks, frozen on a stick! How can one resist? They also make a melon flavor that I really like too!

Anyway, it's good I have Sak and other family to help me eat all the interesting stuff I find. Or maybe I just need to stay in the vegetable aisles of grocery stores from now on. :P

Have you discovered a new sweet treat to indulge on this summer?

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Labor Day in LA

For Labor Day weekend, we drove down to LA, picking my sister up along the way.  The trip was to visit friends and family, especially Cousin T who just moved down there after her wedding!
 We started at the zoo, thanks to tickets from my uncle! It was very hot. And the LA zoo is HUGE. So it was a very long day, haha.
West Nile Virus warning @_@
Poor little guy only has three legs..

Prairie dog girls!

Loved this goat rock exhibit! They were chasing each other around the whole rock!
This tree is cool! And dangerous!
A raccoon telling you to recycle. Makes sense, they love to dig through trash canes >.>"
After the zoo we went to the Galleria in Koreatown for lunch. Penga-Sis and Cousin T enjoyed Korean version bentos. The fruit salad/potato salad crossover was interesting.
I had a bibimbap style sashimi bowl. So tasty!
After some shopping, we met my Aunt and Uncle at their atelier (my uncle is a runway/wedding dress designer). We stopped by for a stroll at the LACMA, playing in their outdoor art installations.

Spaghetti strings!
Famous lamps!


Giant rock!
Penga-Sis is an earth bender, ya know~
And the end of a long day - with Jambas, pretzels, and cover bands at the Grove!
We checked out their American Girl store..holy cow, I would have died if they had this when I was younger. A full salon for your doll! I have a Molly doll in storage back at home, which I guess made me a pretty spoiled kid.

 The next day we all met up again (this time with my Cousin E too) and had dim sum lunch in Chinatown, followed by shopping of course. While I love SF Chinatown - LA's is the best I've ever been too for shopping. Tons of shop stalls all lined up together in a giant alley - it's seriously awesome.
They sell fake butts at Chinatown. Everyone needs a fake bum.
And no trip to LA is complete without a walk through Japantown as well! It was a good day of shopping, as I found two SKET Dance figures at Marukai. Seriously, buy your action figures through the grocery stores if you can find them - they are usually cheaper.
Cousin E, me and Penga-Sis. You can see all the strap charms she bought hanging out her pocket, as well as the awesome pixellated sunglasses she found for $5. 
Anyway, we had a great time, and I'm glad my Aunt and Cousin E got to hang out with us a bit, despite the whole family being super busy with their NY fashion week prep. And for once I didn't get sick! Usually LA dries me out and makes me feel gross, but I remembered to constantly hydrate and moisturize this time.

Me talking to Penga-Sis: "Put this lotion on so you don't turn into crispy duck"
Penga-Sis: "We're gonna eat crispy duck? That sounds good."

We should go to LA more often. When's that high speed rail coming again? Ha!

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Phone Charms

Poor lil blog, so neglected.  I've been hard at work on some art, and its been eating my after-work free time. Hopefully I can show you the finished piece soon, cause I'm pretty proud of it. :)

I've also been feeling quite anxious the past two weeks. You know that feeling..like something's not right and something must get down now now now or else the whole planet will collapse? That's how I've been feeling. So itchy and annoying! But the weird thing is I don't know where this gnawing feeling comes from. What exactly am I anxious about? I narrowed it down to three major stressors (one is an upcoming work presentation, for example).  I'm hoping that once these issues are resolved, my anxiety will go away.  If not, then maybe I am developing some sort of problem. :P

Anyway, retail therapy never hurts! Check out who moved in on my phone..
 Totoro! My neighbor!
He's an earphone jack charm, the new alternative to phone straps!
Just plug him right into your unused ear phone jack, and he's there to keep you company!
I know they aren't the most practical. They might break off if you're not careful, but my are they cute! He was $2.99 from Legends in Cupertino.  I also got a two-pack of a bee-bunny charm (which I gave to my cousin B), and a panda-bunny charm (which I gave to my mom). Here's my mom's charm in action!
So cuteee!

Anyway, these things are extremely popular, and there are sooo many different kinds! I want to collect more!
(source) Chi!

(source) Cuppy cake!
(source) This one glows!

(source) Artoo!

(source) Usamimi!
 You can also buy the plugs by themselves and...make your own! How cool is that? Doesn't your phone need a custom hat? :)