Sunday, January 8, 2012

Game on




The past weekend a group of friends and I decided to attend an Arizona Cardinals game. I must say, football is a lot better and much more entertaining when watched in person. We tailgated for a couple hours, hung out, and chit chatted until the late afternoon. The game went into overtime, but lead us to much anticipated victory!


Saturday, January 7, 2012

Prints



Picked up some new shoes today. Just another cute pair to add to the collection.






Saturday, December 31, 2011

Happy New 2012 Year!

Year 2011 has come to a close. Wow, the years really do fly by as you get older. One thing I can be proud of is my visit to Korea. If you read my last new year's post you'll know that this trip was really important to me. I wasn't going to let anything get in my way! Now that that's done and over with, I can start planning for next year's trip.....which will most likely be Korea again! Ha.


Aside from that much needed vacation, I'm glad I've accomplished other things along the way.

Reflecting back on my year 2011-
  • I visited Korea for 3 weeks
  • made new friends
  • made more time for friends
  • used my camera more to document parts of my life
  • stayed active and attended the gym 4-5 days out of the week
  • continued my interest in school
  • pursued a different job opportunity and got the job
  • slowly cut out processed foods
  • started juicing and eating more raw vegetables
  • got a new car
  • enjoyed weekly sushi dates
  • ate out less and cooked more at home
  • stuck to eating smaller portions
  • discovered more blogs/vlogs to add to my favorites
  • used more of a positive mindset
  • discovered Adele
  • reminded myself to not depend on others as they can be unreliant
  • less is more
  • found interest in other hobbies
  • received a nice painting
  • saved money by cutting down on my shopping
  • got familiar with my kpop before (and after) visiting Korea
  • fell in love with shellac nails
  • realized that I wore my croc shoes 95% of the time
  • went hiking for the first time
  • didn't cut my hair at all this year in attempt to grow it out faster
  • started buying produce from my local farmer's market
  • changed the name of my blog (so unexpectedly and without any notice...*sorry*)
  • became a video game nerd again
  • Got hooked on Mad Men and use that show for inspiration when picking out work clothes
  • visited the northern part of Arizona such as Sedona and the Grand Canyon

For 2012 I hope to visit Korea again along with some other smaller destinations. I really don't have any new year resolutions because things that I wish to achieve are done right then and there. There's no waiting for a new year, month or week. I like to just start now.

Sunday, December 25, 2011

'Tis the season



Merry Christmas to you all! I hope this day is filled with happiness, laughter, good times, and memories. I always like to reflect on the things I'm grateful for and the wonderful friends and family that surround me everyday. Cheers!

Friday, December 23, 2011

App Lover

The blogging world has endless amounts and varieties of "personalities." Some days on my day off all I do is hop from one blog to another. My list is getting longer every month and at times it takes me hours to catch up with everybody's current post. This is where my smart phone comes in handy.

 The android market has endless amounts of apps available to help make our lives easier and a lot more convenient. I remember the first week I got my new smart phone I was downloading games left and right. Now I think I have more apps than phone numbers floating around. Being that I love reading blogs everyday Pulse has become my absolute favorite app of all time.It comes in handy when I’m waiting in line or waiting for an oil change. I can just catch up on my daily reads without having to wait until I get home to boost up my laptop. The only downside-you can't leave comments. But that's no biggie.

Here are my other top favorite apps that I use on a daily basis- 
  1. Screen Filter- This has helped preserve my battery life by a lot!  This screen filter dimes the background lighting to your liking (I have mine at 78%) therefore extending the battery life.
  2. Open Advanced Task Killer- This was a step 2 on helping my battery last longer as well. I didn’t know that certain programs or games stayed active even if you closed it out. With this I can “kill” the running apps and make sure they close for good until I reopen it again.
  3. Kakao Talk- If you have friends and family in other countries like I do, this will really come in handy. Unlike standard text messages where you can only text within certain areas/within the US, I can text people in other countries for free. Just make sure both parties have the app and you’re good to go. Plus, the emoticons are so cute.
  4. Facebook- Of course this should be self explanatory
  5. My Days- This is my portable menstrual tracking calendar. Really handy next time you go to the doctor and they ask when’s your last cycle date.
  6. Words with Friends- Remember the game Scrabble? Well, now you can play it all day long with your friends. I’m so addicted to this! I have like 12 games going on.
  7. SushiBar- I dream and breath sushi so it only be appropriate for me to get a game about it too. Here you play as the sushi chef and quickly prepare food orders in a certain amount of time. Can you master the pressure?
  8. Appreciate- This app helps you find other apps that other people find interesting, fun, or useful. This is how I came across a lot of mine as well.
  9. Diversion- A cute little 2-d world were you play as a character collecting gems and costumes. Good enough to keep me busy in a boring doctor’s office.
  10. Weatherbug- Yes, I like to check the weather everyday.

Do you have a favorite game or app that you just love? Maybe one that helps smooth out your day? Do share!

Dress like a (Disney) Princess










Growing up I would watch my disney movies again and again. I could never get tired of my pretty princesses. I remember my Little Mermaid eventually got worn out (from all that cassette winding) that I had to replace it. Don't we all wish we had their prince charmings?

Monday, December 19, 2011

Life is like a Buffet


Many people love a good buffet as it offers a wide selection of food, and allows them to eat all they can. That aside, you will be surprised by the things you can learn by going for a buffet.
Here are 5 life lessons learned from eating buffet.
#1 Don’t be greedy; it is important to know what you want. In a buffet, there are so many things to choose from, and it is very tempting to go for everything. We need to know what we want, and focus on getting there.
The same logic applies in life. There are plenty of temptations out there. There will always be someone/something better out there; be it a prettier girl, or a better job. Instead of chasing after something that does not exist, we must cherish the important things in life.
#2 Good buffets come at a price, the same goes for everything in life. There is no such thing as a cheap and good buffet. Period. In life, not everything cheap is bad and not everything expensive is good. However, as a general rule, good things come at a price. And by price, I mean working hard for what you want.
#3 Know what you need to do, you are here for a reason. When you are having the buffet, don’t feel guilty about indulging in good food. Eat first, worry later. You can always exercise to burn off the calories after the dinner. In life, things always happen for a reason. You are meant to do something at each stage of your life. Stop looking elsewhere, do what you have to do, and move on to the next level.
#4 Buffets show you the ugly side of humans. If you ever want to learn more about someone, bring them to a buffet.
#5 Taking a break is absolutely necessary for the well-being of our stomachs & minds. Round 1: eat and take a break. Round 2: eat and go to the washroom. Round 3: eat, eat and eat. There are techniques on how to eat at a buffet (more on that in another post), but the point is, it is important to know when to take a break. In life, everyone should take a break once in a while. Go for a short weekend getaway, spend some time with your loved ones. Taking a break helps to keep us alive.





Everyday, I learn so much from food. When the world seems crazy, food makes us believe that there is something worth fighting for. When we are hungry, food shows us how simple life can be so long we have something nice to eat. When people let us down, good food will always be there for us. Food, has a lot of things to teach us about life.
Here are 5 life lessons learned from food.
#1. Life is about taking a risk. People always like to stick with things they are familiar with – be it frequenting the same restaurant over and over again; or eating the same thing all the time. Most people are not very adventurous when it comes to food, so I can understand why they are doing this.
Life is short. Be brave. Step out of your comfort zone. Make mistakes. Do crazy things. Live.
#2. Bad things happen so that we learn to appreciate good things. Bad things happen all the time. We experience bad service, and occasionally we eat in a lousy restaurant that serves bad food. I believe everything happens for a reason, and not everything will be bad.
Maybe it is okay to have “bad food” once in a while so that we will learn to appreciate good food. The same goes for life. If not for the bad times, you wouldn’t be able to fully appreciate just how wonderful the good times are.
#3. No matter what you do, it is very important to manage expectations. You went to try a restaurant after reading about it on my blog, and it wasn’t as good as I’ve described. Was the food really bad? Or was the chef having a bad day? No, I think the definition of good differs from people to people. Taste is subjective, so you really need to learn how to manage your expectations and try out new things with an open mind.
Like what I always say, expectations are the root of all problems.
#4. If there’s something you’ve always wanted to do, DO IT (before it’s too late). There are some restaurants that you’ve always wanted to visit, but put off because you think that they will always be there. The now-defunct Twelve + One Patisserie and Brown Sugar Bistros were some of the places that closed down before I got the chance to visit them.
In life, timing is everything. We wait too much and believe there is always a tomorrow. But we forget there is only a limited number of tomorrows this life. If you’ve always wanted to do something, do it now.
#5. There are always two sides to every story, don’t be too quick to judge. The food blogger saga is the best example to show how quickly people jump to conclusions. In life, there are always two sides to every story. No matter what it is, make sure you understand the full picture before coming to a conclusion.


                                                              via ladyironchef.com