• music • fashion • food • lifestyle •
I discovered this earlier this year and to this day, it’s one of my favorite pieces of ‘tent ever. For a girl that loves wedding and love generally, I sure hate when people say any of these things out loud or in their Instagram captions.
There are so many useful adult life skills that I wish I had known before I had to experience it. Life would have been easier if I was able to do a trial run of my taxes for the first time. If I had had a crash course on equity when I first received it in an offer, maybe I would have negotiated differently. Sometimes even as an adult, I feel like I’m messing up the simple things. One of those was being a great well-mannered guest to my friends.
Up until a few years ago, it didn’t occur to me that I should be bringing something along with me every time I attended a dinner party. Unless it was stated ie) a Thanksgiving potluck, or a Super Bowl party, I would show up empty handed. It’s embarrassing to look back on this now, but back then I was clueless. Many dinners with Mandi and Eric went by with a home cooked meal they prepared and I only brought myself! I’m not sure when exactly that lightbulb went off for me, but it hit me hard.
For one, hosting is a great deal of effort. I rarely do it because I don’t have the space. If I am hosting, I’m typically a bit of a stress case wanting to make sure that my home is spotless and that everything is in its place. A small gesture of a gift goes a long way whether it is a bottle of wine or flowers. If you’re in need of other suggestions, this post by [Cup of Jo] was what inspired me to write this post. Fortunately, I’m visiting Mandi and Eric at the end of the month so I’ll have an entire weekend to make it up to them!
Every so often, someone will say to me, “Shopping must be so easy for you! You’re so small you can shop in the kids section, can’t you?”
I bet when people say this, they think they’re being complimentary, but here’s where they are wrong. If the world so perfectly worked out that way, we’d be in great shape. I’d be spending less money. However, I’m not a kid anymore. Though petite sized, I am a woman. I have hips and a torso and a bra size. This isn’t a post about me getting on my high horse about this though. That being said, we are here to express envy on [Zara’s] current kids collection. We want to own everything and hope in the next few weeks they will actually create this in all women’s sizes.
Before Pinterest existed, I was saving outfit inspirations in a very manual way. It was the shopping list to my mall trip. More important, it was how I got ready for school and would plan for my week ahead. When I had my own laptop, Outfits Inspired, had its own folder. When I didn’t have my laptop handy, outfit notes were jotted in my phone. In 2019, I’m grateful that Pinterest exists so that I can store it all in one place, but it’s also still in my phone too.
As I was getting ready for bed last night and scrolling through my board, I found it fascinating to see how much my tastes have changed. They vary by months, seasons and years. And there’s a whole record of this since I’ve had my Pinterest account forever! In a new series, I’d like to share Outfits Inspired once a season to show the five latest things I’ve pinned and am inspired by.
Are any of you as surprised as I am that there are no dresses in this list? Other than a few appearances of a “rust” color, we’re sticking to neutrals this summer.
Spoiler alert: our dinner with a Japanese name was just ice cream! Just kidding! We’re actually starting this post off sharing the last part of our meal – dessert. And if I’m being honest, we didn’t take too many photos from this very late planned dinner anyways. After a drive up from south bay, I was craving sushi. I had already felt like I’d exhausted every spot around me, but [Kibatsu] was relatively new. Their previous owners had a restaurant before that they closed and Kibatsu was their new and improved. We arrived just as they had opened for their first seating and snagged a spot at the bar without a wait.
I couldn’t find a flaw in any part of the meal. Truthfully, it exceeded my expectations for sushi in San Francisco. Before this meal, Kevin and I were ready to throw in the towel. We’ve always been convinced that sushi in Seattle was superior to anything in San Francisco. We still stand by this, by the way. But that might be because something is off. Here’s what we’ve discovered and it maybe it’s a controversial opinion.
For the same price at Seattle’s Umi Sake House or Wasabi Bistro, you will get lesser quality here in San Francisco. What that means is that for a place similar to those types of restaurants, you will need to pay more in San Francisco to get better quality. It doesn’t seem very fair, but that is what we’ve observed since we’ve been here. Maybe it has something to do with the cost of living or maybe it’s harder and more expensive to get better quality sushi here.
Either way, Kibatsu is going to be more expensive than my Seattle spots, but it was well worth it. We both felt very well taken care of by the staff and thoroughly enjoyed our meal the entire time. I’m already surprised that I haven’t been back in the last eight months.
Writing this is like a blast from the past! The last time we wrote up a [“Proud Owner“] post was back in 2016. It’s unclear why I decided to take a hiatus from this series because we definitely didn’t stop shopping in the last three years. There could also be an opposite take in which I was shopping too much. Whatever the case, it’s a series I’d like to bring back. It was never meant to be boastful about my spending habits, but rather a journal of what I’m into at the moment. Going back into the archives, I’m able to see what I have purchased beyond the last three years at least and what brought me to make the purchase.
As a way to revive this series, I wanted to share my latest buy. We’ve been gearing up for the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale next week (practically a holiday in my book!) so spending is minimal. After breakfast at Stonemill Matcha with Elynn, we stopped into Everlane. This pullover [French Terry Crew] is very simple. I don’t want to say there isn’t anything special about it but it’s true. At first glance you might drive on by. It actually reminds me of the Subpop pullover I already own. Since that one is quite busy with text all over it, I wanted something that was the opposite. I love that I can wear this casually with jeans for an every day look. If I’m out it can be worn over a skirt or a dress at any event. It’s the ultimate cozy piece and for a steal at just $38. If I was baller, I’d buy this in every color.
I’ll be the first to admit that I wasn’t keen on a Charlie’s Angels reboot when I first heard about it. Why? Because y’all know that I have never enjoyed Kristen Stewart in any film. You also know that I can have my mind changed. In the span of 10 years with Yow Yow! that has definitely happened. I played the trailer and clearly liked it enough to share it on the blog. If there’s anything that I’m most excited about, it’s that minus Kristen Stewart, the film is allowing two other leads to shine and come into their own.
Naomi Scott and Ella Balinska are names that I’m only hearing about it for the first time via this film aside from Naomi in Aladdin. It’s their big break essentially and who wouldn’t love something like that? The 2000 version will always hold a special place in my heart.
I can’t even begin to tell you how relaxing this 4-day weekend has been for me. On top of that, I still have one more day! At the start of this week, I felt a bit of FOMO knowing that most of my friends would be out of town and that I would spend a pretty quiet long weekend at home. What it reminded me of was how a year ago, I kind of already did this. The only difference was that I had a month off. I committed this weekend to catching up on shows, running adult errands, and non-stop writing and content building. It turned out to be exactly what I needed.
Ramy (Hulu) was a show that had been on my list since April. I kept hearing about it sporadically and then decided to go for it on the 4th. The show follows Ramy – a 20-something Muslim man who is trying to figure out his life and identify. His life is a series of things he can’t get right: losing his job, dating, Ramadan, etc. The show also centers around those in his life as well, his sister who is a good daughter and listens to everything her parents say and his mother who out of loneliness becomes a Lyft driver.
Each episode is 30 minutes long and flies by. I couldn’t get enough, but didn’t want to binge the show in one sitting so I tossed in his HBO comedy special while I was at it. Ramy has already been picked up for a second season and I’m looking forward to it!
Denim Jacket – Gap / Top – Zara / Pants – Uniqlo / Booties – Munro by Nordstrom
Kevin hates being my photographer, but we have to admit – he does a pretty good job right? While I’m so grateful for everyone that I’ve ever had shoot for me, I’m lucky to have a brother that gets it on the very first take. And then produces the best shots even after that so that there are no bad takes! Earlier this fall, I had a strong craving for camel colored pieces. The perfect camel coat was everywhere this past season, but since I wasn’t ready to jump right into it, I settled for a simple sweater top from Zara. It pairs so nicely with my Uniqlo jeggings (surprise!) and my denim jacket.
