Pajama Day

{Pajama: Oscar De La Renta.  Similar here}

{Backyard Blossom}

There are days that I just don't want go go anywhere or do anything in particular.  So typically I just stay at home, lounging around in my pajamas.  Reading in bed in the early morning while listening to the birds chirping outside my window is truly therapeutic.  Today, I finally caught up with all the reading from my 2 favorite cooking magazines.  To me, Saveur is a good source to learn about foods from different cultures & Cook's is the science of cooking.  

In between the readings, I took a break to watch the Water for Elephants movie. It's so true that animals do experience the language barrier.  I never thought of it until I first took my dog to the vet a few years ago.  He was only spoken to in our native language at home, so he had no clue as to what the vet was telling him.  The vet thought he was just being disobedient and it took me a moment to realize that he had never been exposed to commands in English.  Poor baby, he was lost for a minute. :) 

Hope everyone is having a relaxing weekend :).

Versatile Blogger Award

Here are the rules:

1. Thank the person that nominated you with a link back.
2. Share seven things about yourself.
3. Pass this onto 10 newly discovered blogs and let them know they received the award.

Jessica Cai from Stylized Luxe was kind enough to pass the Versatile Blogger Award to me.  Thank you Jessica!  I am very flattered :).

It's hard to choose which blogs I will pass this awards to because there are too many good ones out there.  To me, it's like trying to pick out my favorite flower branch from the picture above.  But I guess I have to follow the rules. So here are my choices (even though I wish I could name everyone):

1. Loulune        2.  Shades of Monet     3. The knit collector     4. Satin and Salt     5. Santuary

6. Trendy Teal  7. La vie quotidienne    8. FashionRoll              9. Looks of LoveT 10. Wade Ashore

Seven random tidbits about me:

1. My dad (not my mom) was the one who mostly dressed me when I was young. He used to buy  me all these little cute outfits for school. 
2. I moved to the United States after the first semester of my senior year in high school.  I finished the remaining high school year here & graduated with a class full of strangers to me. I won the Principle's Award for Science that year and "my" class didn't know who I was at the Senior Award Banquet. :)
3. I have met a lot of inspiring people in my life, but to me, my mom is the hardest working woman I've known.
4. I graduated college & graduate school with honors.
5. I hate cigarette smokes.  I feel so suffocated if someone around me is smoking. 
6. I love pasta and cannot have enough of it.
7. I have been told to have a photographic memory when it comes to clothes. My coworkers are always surprised that I tend to remember what they have worn. It's funny because when it comes to direction, I just cannot remember anything, no matter how hard I try. :)

{Special} Package Delivered

I woke up to the sound of steadily falling rain today, just to find this special package right next to me.  Someone knows how to make me feel extra special on my birthday :).  Wishing everyone a great Wednesday.  As for me, I am going to spend the rest of my day with my family.  My parents love it when they get to see both my sister and me home for a simple family dinner.

Mom's Shoes

{Dress: Karen Millen} 

{Bag: Micheal Kors Skorpios Ring Tote}

{Shoes: PM Collection 925}

The weather was perfect this past weekend so I took my family out for an early brunch before heading out to work.  I borrowed this pair of shoes from my mom's closet.  When she saw me wear these, she thought they look nice on me and let me keep them for myself.  I've been wearing them the past two days and couldn't be happier.

Hope everyone is having a good start for the week. :)

{Lunch} My Version of Panda Express Bowl

{Abalone mushroom}

{Young pickled bamboo shoots}

{Chinese broccoli}

{Vegetable version}

{Seafood version}

I bought these pickled bamboo shoots at a local market because I thought they would be a good alternative to my regular asparagus.  And I was right!  They taste amazing when stir fried with abalone mushroom, Chinese broccoli, and oyster sauce.  This vegetable combo goes well with chicken, beef, or sea foods such as shrimps, and scallops.  I, however,  prefer crab meat to either shrimps or scallops.
If you have this weekend off, I hope you'll have a great one.  For those who have to work (like me), I wish you a great weekend at work and try to find sometime to spend with  your family and the loved ones.  :)

Office Attire

{Blouse: thrifted} 

{Pants: BCBGeneration, Shoes: Linea Paolo}

Keeping it girly at the office.  I think high waisted pants make a woman look so feminine.   They should have made these in more colors.   I would love another pair in white or red.  No! I think I would like both ;).

Hope everyone is having a great week.

Nostalgia

{The lavenders smell so good!}

It actually rained two Saturdays in a row here.  Last week, I did this flower arrangement to "warm up" our dinner table during a cold rainy day, which my family really enjoyed.  So when I saw the weather forecast predicting another rainy Saturday night, I arranged these flowers for an outdoor family brunch before the rain came.  I used a Coke bottle (better if it was the glass one) as the vase for its image oftentimes evokes nostalgic feelings of my childhood.  It brings me back to those days growing up in my native country, I used to climb up a tree in our backyard, eating the fruits straight off its branches & drinking Coke out of the bottle during the summer afternoons.  I would then sit there for hours reading a book or doing homework (assigned by my dad before he left for work that day) until my mom called me down for dinner.    I was as agile as a monkey.  It's funny how I rarely drink soda now but the seeing a Coke bottle always make me smile :).  What is one item that is associated with your childhood?

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!