Sweet & Sour Pork Recipe

D: Typed up the full post and it all disappeared when I tried to return to add A's photos. Meh, photos are worth a thousand words right? :)

Sweet & Sour Pork

Deep Frying Pork Pieces

Stir Fry Ingredients Together

Source: Rasa Malaysia

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes Recipe

My VP and I took an a friendly bet on when our coworker's baby will be born - I lost and here are the cupcakes I made to pay off this debt. I wanted to utilize fall flavor, narrowed it down to three recipes, and ultimately chose this pumpkin spice one. J came over for the weekend and helped me with these. I'm so grateful, especially since we made everything by whisk. Maybe it's time I invested in a stand mixer... End of the day, what did I learn? - babies come after the supposed due date! Congrats A on fatherhood! 

Ingredients 
For Cupcakes

• 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 cup pumpkin puree

For Frosting

• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions 
For Cupcakes 

1. Preheat oven at 375F. 
2. In smaller bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, allspice, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. (I finally got to use the sifter J got me almost a year ago!) Set aside.
3. In large bowl, beat together butter, white sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. 
4. Add eggs one at a time, allowing each egg to blend into butter mixture. 
5. Add in milk and pumpkin puree. 
6. Stir in the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated. (I had to do flour in portions to all the hand whisk to churn everything in.)
7. Pour the batter into cupcake tins. (I lined with cupcake cups so didn't need to grease the tins.) 
8. Place in oven and bake for about 25 minutes, or until golden brown. 
9. Remove from oven. Allow the pans to cool for 5 minutes and remove cupcakes from tin to cool completely. 
10. Once cupcakes have cooled, frost with cream cheese icing (see below).

 For Frosting 

1. Beat together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. 
2. Beat in the confectioners' sugar a little at a time until incorporated. 
3. Add vanilla extract and ground cinnamon. 
4. Beat until fluffy.
5. When cupcakes have cooled, frost cupcakes with icing.

Source: The Stir | Kim Conte

Mashed Potatoes Recipe

J did an amazing job mashing this up to the perfect creamy! M compared it to the IKEA mashed potatoes.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs potatoes, cut
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 cup heavy cream 
• 1-1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
• salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Cut potatoes and put into a large pot. Add bay leaves, 2 tbsp salt, and cover with cold water. 
2. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. (Fork should go through the meat easily)
3. Drain potatoes and remove bay leaves. 
4. Heat heavy cream and butter over low heat, until butter has melted. 
5. Mash potatoes with potato masher or whisk. 
6. Add cream butter mixture to potato. 
7. Season with salt and pepper. Mix well and serve.

Source: Food Network | Tyler Florence

Beef Bourguignon (Kinda)

I chose the recipe for this week, but didn't read through it properly. When I saw frozen pearl onions, I thought to myself - frozen onions? I can afford fresh onions - I'm going to get that. (Food noob here -.-). At the end of the day, everything tasted good. The beef chunks were a little overcooked - gotta take it off the heat earlier next time.

Ingredients

•  1 cup onions, diced
• 2 lb beef chunks 
• 1 tbsp butter or oil 
• 3 bacon slices, finely chopped
• 1 8oz pack of mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tsp thyme 
• pinch of sugar
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 cup red wine 
• 2 cup beef broth 
• 4 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour 
• Salt and pepper

1 cup frozen pearl onions

1 pound beef tenderloin, cut into roughly 2-inch chunks

1 tablespoon clarified butter or canola/safflower oil (or other neutral high smoke point oil)

1 bacon slice, finely chopped (or substitute pancetta)

1 10-ounce package of cremini mushrooms, quartered

2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

pinch of sugar

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1/2 cup earthy, good-quality red wine (Cote du Rhone, Burgundy, or Pinot Noir)

1 cup low-sodium beef broth

2 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

fresh thyme sprigs (to garnish)

- See more at: http://www.bloggingoverthyme.com/2013/10/24/30-minute-beef-bourguignon/#sthash.y3q6flK7.dpuf

1 cup frozen pearl onions

1 pound beef tenderloin, cut into roughly 2-inch chunks

1 tablespoon clarified butter or canola/safflower oil (or other neutral high smoke point oil)

1 bacon slice, finely chopped (or substitute pancetta)

1 10-ounce package of cremini mushrooms, quartered

2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

pinch of sugar

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1/2 cup earthy, good-quality red wine (Cote du Rhone, Burgundy, or Pinot Noir)

1 cup low-sodium beef broth

2 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

fresh thyme sprigs (to garnish)

- See more at: http://www.bloggingoverthyme.com/2013/10/24/30-minute-beef-bourguignon/#sthash.y3q6flK7.dpuf

1 cup frozen pearl onions

1 pound beef tenderloin, cut into roughly 2-inch chunks

1 tablespoon clarified butter or canola/safflower oil (or other neutral high smoke point oil)

1 bacon slice, finely chopped (or substitute pancetta)

1 10-ounce package of cremini mushrooms, quartered

2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

pinch of sugar

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1/2 cup earthy, good-quality red wine (Cote du Rhone, Burgundy, or Pinot Noir)

1 cup low-sodium beef broth

2 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

fresh thyme sprigs (to garnish)

- See more at: http://www.bloggingoverthyme.com/2013/10/24/30-minute-beef-bourguignon/#sthash.y3q6flK7.dpuf

1 cup frozen pearl onions

1 pound beef tenderloin, cut into roughly 2-inch chunks

1 tablespoon clarified butter or canola/safflower oil (or other neutral high smoke point oil)

1 bacon slice, finely chopped (or substitute pancetta)

1 10-ounce package of cremini mushrooms, quartered

2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

pinch of sugar

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1/2 cup earthy, good-quality red wine (Cote du Rhone, Burgundy, or Pinot Noir)

1 cup low-sodium beef broth

2 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

fresh thyme sprigs (to garnish)

- See more at: http://www.bloggingoverthyme.com/2013/10/24/30-minute-beef-bourguignon/#sthash.y3q6flK7.dpuf

1 cup frozen pearl onions

1 pound beef tenderloin, cut into roughly 2-inch chunks

1 tablespoon clarified butter or canola/safflower oil (or other neutral high smoke point oil)

1 bacon slice, finely chopped (or substitute pancetta)

1 10-ounce package of cremini mushrooms, quartered

2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

pinch of sugar

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1/2 cup earthy, good-quality red wine (Cote du Rhone, Burgundy, or Pinot Noir)

1 cup low-sodium beef broth

2 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

fresh thyme sprigs (to garnish)

- See more at: http://www.bloggingoverthyme.com/2013/10/24/30-minute-beef-bourguignon/#sthash.y3q6flK7.dpuf

Instructions 

1. Remove beef from refrigerator and all to sit for at least 20 minutes. Finely chop half of the beef. Season with salt and pepper
2.  Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Melt butter or oil. 
3. Add large beef chunks to the pan and quickly brown on all sides. Remove beef from pan and foil wrap in a stainless steel bowl. 
4. Add the finely chopped diced beef and bacon to the pan. 
5. Add the mushrooms and saute until lightly brown, about 4-5 minutes. 
6. Add garlic, thyme, and the pinch of sugar. 
7. Add tomato paste and cook for another 1-2 minutes. 
8. Remove the pan from the heat and pour in the wine. 
9. Return the pan to heat and bring to a boil, scraping the bottom of the pan. Reduce the wine to half.
10. Add onion and broth and bring to a boil. 
11. Whisk together water and flour in a separate bowl. Add to the pan, stirring constantly until the mixture begins to thicken.
12. Add back browned beef chunks and cook over medium heat until beef is medium-rare, about 2-3 minutes. 
13. Season with salt and pepper. 
14. Serve with mashed potatoes.

Source: Blogging Over Thyme

Risotto Primavera Recipe

Wednesday Dinners have been moved to Tuesdays now to accommodate our new cooking buddy - J! J is taking dance classes up in San Francisco on Wednesdays (boy has moves!). Chef on Tuesday. Dancer on Wednesday. Here's our attempt at The Pioneer Women's Risotto Primavera. The end result was very tasty - we all ended up eating a lot more rice than we typically do. Props to people making risottos regularly - I had to pass the stirrer over to Alan for the home stretch.


Ingredients

• 5 cups chicken broth 
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced 
• 3 carrots, diced 
• 1/2 cup cauliflower 
• 1/2 cup broccoli 
• 4 oz mushroom 
• 1 yellow squash, diced 
• 2 tsp salt
• 1.5 cups Arborio rice 
• 1.5 cups dry white wine 
• 4 oz goat cheese
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• green onion

Instructions

1. Pour chicken broth into small saucepan. Heat to simmer. 
2. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil and 2 tbsp butter. 
3. Add diced onions and carrots. Stir and cook for 2 minutes. 
4. Add cauliflower. Cook for 1 minute. 
5. Add broccoli. Cook for 30 seconds. 
6. Add squash and mushrooms. Cook for 30 seconds. 
7. Sprinkle salt. Stir. Remove from pan and set aside. 
8. Add 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter to the pan. Heat over medium-low heat. 
9. Add rice and stir, cooking for 1 minute. Add half the wine and 1.5 tsp salt. Stir and cook until liquid is absorbed
10.  Over next 30-45 minutes, add 1 cup of broth at a time, stirring and cooking until each addition of broth is absorbed. 
11. Add other half of wine and cook until absorbed. 
12. Taste to make sure rice is the right texture; add another helping of broth if rice has too much bite to it.
13. Once rice is cooked, remove from heat. Stir in goat cheese, Parmesan, and vegetables until all goat cheese is combined.
14. Serve with green onion on top.  

Source: The Pioneer Woman

Nutella-Stuffed Browned Butter Chocolate Chips Sea Salt Cookies

J found this amazing recipe and made the trek over to my place that evening to try it out. I got impatient and didn't allow the cookies to sit long enough, so it was a bit difficult to roll them into balls. Nonetheless, the end result was amazzzinnngg - the final touch of sea salt - perfection.

Ingredients 

• 2¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 1¼ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp of salt
• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 1¼ cup packed dark brown sugar
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
• 1½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp plain Greek yogurt
• ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• ½ cup milk chocolate chips
• Nutella
• Sea salt

Instructions 

1. Mix flour, baking soda, and salt until combined. 
2. In a saucepan over medium heat, brown butter and set aside to cool.
3. Beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. 
4. Mix in egg, yolk, vanilla, and yogurt until incorporated. 
5. Gradually add the dry ingredients until combined. 
6. Fold in chocolate chips.
7. Place cookie dough in the refrigerator for 2 hours to let the flavors meld together.
8. Preheat the oven to 350F. 
9. Roll 1½ tbsp of dough and flatten the dough to make a flat circle. Place 1 teaspoon of chilled Nutella in the middle then place another flat circle of cookie dough on top. Crimp edges to seal.
10. Place dough balls on cookie sheet, 2 inches apart and bake 9-11 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown.
11. Sprinkle with sea salt and let cool on wire racks.

Source: The Bite Sized Baker

P.S. I realized that I have a lot of J friends. I should find a way to start distinguishing J from J from J. HAHA

Candy Corn Jello Shots

J's Teaser Pic (see Jello Shots on bottom left)

Made these for my Halloween party and J's "End of Summer BBQ."

Ingredients 
Milk Layer (used for both white & yellow layers)

• 2/3 cup water
• 2 envelopes Knox gelatin
• 1/2 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz can)
• 1/3 cup whipped cream flavored vodka

Orange Layer

• 1/2 cup water
• 1 envelope Knox gelatin
• 1 box orange flavored gelatin dessert mix (sugar free dissolves faster!)
• 1/2 cup whipped cream flavored vodka

Instructions

1. Pour water in small saucepan and add in gelatin. Allow to soak for 1-2 minutes. 
2. Heat on low heat for about 5 minutes, or until gelatin fully dissolved. 
3. Remove from heat and stir in sweetened condensed milk. 
4. Stir in vodka. 
5. Fill containers with white layer and place in refrigerator.
6. Repeat steps 1-2 for orange layer.
7. Add the orange gelatin mix and stir until fully dissolved. 
8. Remove from heat and stir in vodka. 
9. Remove containers from refrigerator. Fill containers with orange layer and place back in refrigerator. 
10. Repeat steps 1-4. Stir in a few drops of yellow food coloring. 
11. Fill containers with yellow layer and place in refrigerator.

 Source: Jelly Shot Test Kitchen

Chargers' Rivers, Cowgirl, Charlie Brown

Pork Chop by Chef J

Korean Beef with Rice

A just got back from his two-week Asia trip with his friend - finally back from our hiatus! This also meant he was two weeks behind at work since no one took over his projects. Alas, we picked another simple recipe. Simple, but delicious!

Korean Beef over Rice

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef 
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup brown sugar 
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp ginger, minced
• 1/2 tsp crushed red peppers
• salt and pepper
• green onion
• rice

Instructions

1. In large skillet, add garlic and sesame oil.Stir in ground beef, cook until browned.
2. Drain most of the beef fat. 
3. Add brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger, salt, pepper and red peppers. 
4. Simmer for a minute. 
5. Serve over rice. 
6. Garnish with green onion. Enjoy!

Source: ElizabethBryant

Chicken & Waffles Recipe

I recently learned that my roommate has a waffle maker - my mind went straight to Chicken and Waffles! My friend M got a deep fryer for K and me during Christmas last year, so it was perfect. However, he forgot to bring it, so alas, I resorted to the good ol' stove top.

Ingredients
For Chicken:

• 2 lbs chicken (I used drumsticks, but thighs work too)
• 3 cups water 
• 1 tbsp salt
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp chicken bouillon 
• 2 tsp seasoned salt 
• 1 tsp herbs (I used oregano, thyme, basil)
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 cup flour 
• Crisco/Vegetable Oil 

For Waffles:

• 1 lb bacon (optional) 
• 1 3/4 cups flour 
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt 
• 3 eggs, separated
• 1 1/2 cups milk 
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• Syrup

Instructions
For Fried Chicken:

1. Combine water and salt. Cover chicken with mixture for 1 hour. 
2. Combine herbs, garlic powder, seasoned salt, chicken bouillon, and pepper. Mix in flour. 
3. Remove chicken from water. Dip chicken into flour mixture and coat well. Let chicken sit for 5 minutes. 
4. Melt Crisco until 1 inch keep in skillet or pan. Heat to 375 degrees. 
5. Fry chicken, turning once every 5 minutes - be sure to cook chicken until done. 
• Alternatively, preheat oven to 375. Fry chicken for 5 minutes on each side. Let rest on paper towel to allow excess oil to drip off. Place chicken into oven to finish cooking. 
• Or you can take the easy route out like we did - after frying, microwave to ensure center is fully cooked. 
6. Rest chicken on paper towel until ready to eat. 

For Waffles:

1. Cook bacon until crisp. Drain. Crumble, and set aside. 
2. In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking power, and salt. 
3. In a larger bowl, beat egg yolks, milk, and butter. 
4. Stir dry ingredients into large bowl until smooth. 
5. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold into batter. 
6. Add bacon (optional). 
7. Before making each waffle, stir batter. 
8. Follow instructions for waffle maker. 
9. Enjoy! 

Source: CopyKat | Taste of Home

Dan Dan Mien

My friend K told me about this recipe, A and I went right to it for our weekly Wednesday dinner. The recipe was surprisingly easy to follow despite having so many ingredients. A ended buying more meat than suggested in the original recipe, so we basically 1.5-ed the ingredients - portions may be a little off, but it worked. I was hesitant of this meal at first since I can't handle spice that well; fortunately, it wasn't bad at all. If anything, maybe next time, we should add more chili oil.

Note to Future Self: more chili oil, season meat longer, boiled egg

Ingredients

• Sichuan chili oil 
• Dan Dan Sauce
• 0.5 lb ground pork 
• 1.5 tsp soy sauce
• 1.5 tsp sesame oil 
• 6 cloves of garlic 
• 1 tbsp ginger (~1 piece) 
• 4 tbsp douban chili bean paste
• 3 tbsp rice wine 
• 4 cups chicken stock 
• 1.5 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp ground white pepper
• Asian white noodles (ex. flat udon noodles) 
• sprig of cilantro 

Instructions

1. Bring pot of water to boil to cook noodles according to package instructions. Drain and separate into two bowls. 
2. Meanwhile, mix ground pork with soy sauce and sesame oil. Set aside. 
3. Mince garlic and ginger. Combine with douban paste and peanut butter. 
4. In a medium pot, brown the pork in 1 tbsp oil. 
5. Add douban mixture and saute until fragrant, about 2 minutes. 
6. Add rice wine. 
7. Add chicken stock. 
8. Bring to simmer. Then add 1.5 tsp sugar to balance out saltiness. 
9. Add white ground pepper and simmer for another 5 minutes. 
10. Serve into bowls. Add sauce.  
11. Add chili on top to taste
12. Add cilantro. Enjoy! 

Source: Lady and Pups 

App-o-Rama: Chase Sapphire & AmEx Blue Cash

My First App-o-Rama! I've been waiting the last 1.5 months to finally do this. My brother-in-law - my personal mile-traveler expert - has been prepping for his exam so we've agreed to pushed this off until now. Although the sweet American Express Business Gold offer of 75K for $5K spend was enticing, I decided to stick to the original plan - there's only so much I can spend in four months!

This is what I ended up with:

• American Express Blue Cash Preferred
• Chase Sapphire Preferred

American Express Blue Cash Preferred
Annual Fee: $75
Sign-Up Bonus: $250 Reward Dollars after spending $1,000 in first 3 months

I mainly got this for its amazing 6x rewards on grocery. Entering the reload arena, this will be my go-to card to purchase gift cards at my local Safeway. There is a $6,000 max to the bonus on an annual basis. Nonetheless, that's more than plenty rewards dollars I'll get from my purchases to cover the annual $75 fee.

Chase Sapphire Preferred

Annual Fee: $95, waived first year

Sign-Up Bonus: 40,000 Ultimate Rewards Points 

As a newcomer, this is a great starter card to acquire points for travel. Paired with my Chase Freedom with rotating 5x bonus categories, I can combine the points and redeem them with the travel partners. Here, Nerdwallet talks about the perks of this card [LINK]

American Express Bluebird

My Bluebird Card from American Express has finally arrived today! I won't dive into the details since travel bloggers, like ThePointsGuy, have done a great job explaining its worth. I've been eyeing this card since January when I decided I will travel the world on points and miles.

Yes, since January - you read that part right. It took me a full five months to finally get this card for multiple reasons:

• Existing American Express Serve. If you have a Serve account, you have to cancel it before applying for the Bluebird. I signed up for the Serve account during a promotion, but never actually used it - I don't even know my account information. When I called their customer service line, I learned that there was a $25 balance sitting on my account. The representative made out a check for $25 to me to zero out the account. I called again a few days later to cancel the account - was done within five minutes. Later that night, I applied for the Bluebird, and for the first time, I got a message and email notifying me that my application was under review. It felt great!

• Vanilla Reload Unavailable in Bay Area. I tried to jump into the game the moment I learned about Bluebird, but these VR cards are like rare 1st Edition Pokemon Cards! I went to multiple Walgreens and CVS in my area, but no luck. I was fortunate enough to find them in stock at a local Luckys, but they didn't accept credit card as payment. After about 1.5 weeks, I knew VR was a no-go for me. And just like that, Bluebird lost its value to me.
• Gift Cards w. PIN Numbers [FlyerTalk] [MillionMileSecret] woke back up my desire to get a Bluebird. I had to go grocery shopping that night anyways, so I picked up a Visa Gift Card as well. The cashier checked my license against my credit card - rang up the transaction no problem. I went home and placed a PIN on the card. Now all that's missing is my Bluebird to finally load money onto it... 

Now, back to the present, I got home from work and saw the envelope from American Express. Opened it to find my new Bluebird in there, grabbed my gift cards, and headed straight to Walmart to load up. My kiosk was a little hidden - near the restroom instead of MoneyCenter where I remember it being the last time I was there. I emptied three different gift cards onto it. I look forward to making payments from my Bluebird - one step closer to my travels!

Now Empty Gift Cards

Transaction Description Online

Mung Bean Dessert Recipe

Mung Bean Dessert

Ingredients

• 1 cup green mung beans
• 1/3 cup small sago (tapioca pearls)
• 8 cups of water
• 1 cup lotus seeds
• rock sugar (to taste)
• 1 can coconut milk 

Instructions

1. Boil a pot of water. Add sago and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the fire, cover the pot with a lid, and let the sago sit for another 10 minutes, or until all the sago is translucent. Run the cooked sago through a fine sieve to move the excess starch. Set aside. 
2. In a large pot, add green beans and water. Bring to a boil. 
3. Add lotus seeds. Reduce heat to simmer, partially covered, for about 50 minutes. Stir the sides and bottoms occasionally. Top off with water if necessary. 
4. Stir in rock sugar until fully dissolved.
5. Add cooked sago to green bean soup. 
6. Stir in coconut milk. 
7. Serve warm or chill. Enjoy! 

Source: NoobCook | Le Petit Oven

Wish List: April - June 2013

The Quarterly Wish List is a list of pieces I am allowed to shop for during a specified period of time. If it's not on the list, I shouldn't be allowed to buy it. I've been going on random shopping sprees (too many of them) and always end up with impulse buy items that I never use. If I can return all of those pieces, you have no idea how much richer I'd be!

Quarter Wish List: April - June 2013

1. Laptop Tote Bag
2. Stealth Dress
3. Shell Top 
4. Cardigan 
5. Flip Flops 
6. Beach Cover Up
7. Pencil Skirt 
8. Flats
9. Bracelet
10. Lace Top 

OOTD: Banana Republic Tweed Skirt

A spontaneous shopping day led to an impulse purchase. I said I'd stop buying in the moment, but I am quite satisfied with this piece - no buyer's remorse yet. Banana Republic, along with what seemed like every other stores in the mall, was having a 50% off sale. I mindlessly thumbed through the clearance petite section and was actually quite surprised to fish this out. The orange tag said $34.99 - 50% off that means YES! 

Banana Republic Tweed Skirt - 00P

Introduction

While this blog is here to chronicle my random musings, there will highly likely be posts revolving around fashion, food, and travel. Here's to logical (hopefully) decisions and purchases!

Fashion. That may be a misnomer - I see this more of a style blog; I don't have an eye for fashion unfortunately. While my closet has grown exponentially in the past couple of years, there isn't much variety and I always end up feeling like I have nothing to wear. My focus will be on collecting the essential pieces, minimizing spontaneous purchases that end up at in the back of the closet, seeking out versatile pieces, and sticking to the budget. 

Food. Any of my friends can attest to the fact that I love food. I'm an amateur chef at best, but that's why we have people who make a career out of cooking and setup restaurants to share. I will be documenting my trials and tribulations in kitchen as well as experiences dining out.  

Travel. I grew up in a big family, making travel hard to come by. Now that I'm older, I want to travel the world and see what's beyond the gentle walls of home. As a young professional still paying off my student loans, I have limited spending money to save towards travels. Let's see how I accomplish this desire.