crystal clear

Playing: Trouble-Coldplay
Reading: The Stranger by Albert Camus

A week or two ago, I celebrated Tina's and Hannah's birthdays at Crystal Cove. It's a really cute area and I used to spend a lot of time down there as a kid. There are two places to eat down there along with a bunch of summer homes from the 1960s and tide pools, which are always fun to explore. Afterwards, we went to Lemonade at Fashion Island for drinks and went shopping. Just by our wallets, purses, and drinks, I think you can tell a lot about our personal style. Hope you're all doing well!

here and there

Playing: Every Day-Magic Man
Reading: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

As of right now, I still don't have much to blog about other than the fact that I'm considering becoming a professional concert attendee. (Besides becoming a music journalist, is there a way to actually do that?) I have also discovered the joy of online shopping, which led me to this purchase. I saw the black Fumo clutch from Alexander Wang at Barney's Co-Op and decided I needed one, but then I opted for the maroon Fumo instead from the Alexander Wang website.

Lately, I've  been getting tired of my collection of oxfords, so I decided to add two pairs of what my grandfather has termed "cow kicking shoes" in Chinese, which is I'm guessing his way of saying kickass. Both the boots and cutout flats are from Topshop and so far, they're both pretty comfortable. While they were quite a bit more expensive than I was willing to pay, I'm really glad that I got some shoes to give my Reed Krakoff and Alexander Wang shoes a break.

Other than the joys of online shopping, I've also gotten into the joys of online baking. I really like Chelsea's Messy Apron so far because all of the photos make the food look amazing and the recipes are all super easy. Rather than doing my calculus homework the other day, I tested out her recipe for a Cinnamon Roll Skillet Cake. It was really easy to follow and I finished it in less than 30 minutes. Plus, it makes a great snack/breakfast.

I also celebrated holi over the weekend with my friends, Jessy and Hannah. Holi, which is also known as the Festival of Colors, is basically a celebration of spring arriving and it's a holiday in which you can forgive and forget. However, I only celebrated the part in which you toss colored pigments around and listen to music. It was pretty fun at first until you realized how uncomfortable it was breathing in all the powder that was in the air. (Also, I ruined all my clothes and my body limbs were stained purple for two days afterwards.) I would recommend trying it at least once, but I wouldn't go back again. Please recommend me some recipe blogs for me to look around on, so that I can eat more and avoid homework. Thanks!

Journey of a Dress

Playing: Watch You Change-The Drowners
Reading: Animal Farm by George Orwell

Originally, I visited the Grove for a chance to try a Cronut, which was a pretty big deal during NYFW, at Barney's Co-Op. They were being served from 10a.m.-2 p.m., so I figured showing up at lunchtime would be safe because how many people would be willing to wait in the rain for it? Unfortunately, the line was cut off at 8 a.m. so I didn't end up getting one. I ended up at Singapore's Banana Leaf at the farmer's market for a dish of spicy fish curry instead, which was perfect for the rainy weather.

I ended up at LACMA, which is just a block or two away from the Grove for the Diane von Furstenberg exhibit called the Journey of a Dress, which celebrated the 40th anniversary of the wrap dress. After waiting in line for half an hour, I learned that the Diane von Furstenberg exhibit was actually free, which was a pleasant surpirse. I hope that bit of information saved you time, if you go.

The exhibit was split into four sections-a hallway of photos, an art gallery, a collection of wrap dresses, and a small store. The hallway itself includes photos from her career and examples of her famous wrap dress in movies and on various celebrities. It also includes a few pieces of art and a book in which you can write notes to Diane. The store had a wall covered in photos from the lanch party, which I wish I had known about. Then I could have been one of those gawkers on the street that had fan girled over Anna Wintour, Joe Zee, and or course, Diane.

The main focus of the exhibit is a collection of wrap dresses from the past four decades. All of the dresses were displayed on mannequins and organized by color. My favorite was this long, black wrap dress with feathered looking shoulder decorations, which you can see here. Overall, the collection was pretty amazing and it's a must for any fashion lover. I especially liked how there was something on the West Coast for me to visit after missing out on Alexander McQueen's Savage Beauty at the Met in New York and the Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton collection at the musée des Arts décoratifs in Paris.