I may be wearing a dead heiress's old jewels...

... but I don't care because it looks fabulous and exudes vintage glamour!

I went to my first estate sale last Friday––sneaking away from the office for awhile to shop is so delicious! It was the estate sale for the late Anna May "Babe" Ahern, an heiress of a prestigious golf club and resort in the Chicago 'burbs. Needless to say, there was 15,000 square feet of vintage goodies, including a room entirely devoted to hundreds of golf club sets and Titleist balls, another room with tables and tables of figurines––some junk, some valuable––furniture, furs, designer handbags, Irish crystal collections and French china... I was told by my friend (whose law firm represents Anna's estate and this sale) that two brothers from Alabama made off after spending $58K on stuff on the first day!!

I, on the other hand, was a bit more humble. I left with only a few pretty vintage baubles, silks, and a hand-carved Oriental vase depicting a village scene, all for a satisfying price... 

Jacket, some SoHo boutique; Blouse, from Russia; Pants, Express;
Italian scarf, from estate sale; Shoes, Style & Co. from Macy's

{ vintage silk scarves }

Now I know my ABCs...

I think Maya from Kinzie Says tagged me in this because she knows I am most likely to fill it out! I'm a sucker for these things: back in the late 90s/early 2000s when these existed in the form of email forwards to all your friends, and more recently, as Facebook notes, and now, making its way around the blog-circuit! 

So, in honor of letting you into a little more of my personality and my favorite pastime of wasting time, here goes!

A. Age: 29

B. Bed size: Currently Queen, although I'm perfectly fine with my old Full-sized bed which is now in the guest bedroom. It's like sleeping on a delightful cloud and sometimes I sneak away to it to languish in naps. Did you know that I bought it almost-new from the former Miss Florida?

C. Chore you hate: Unpacking, putting away laundry (I don't mind folding it, but I hate putting it away), hanging up clothes on a daily basis... oh wait. Am I only supposed to pick one?

D. Dogs: Love dogs but only those that don't slobber/drool or jump on me. I used to be afraid of dogs as a young girl when a bunch of rabid beasts loose in the neighborhood came barreling at me as I suntanned in the yard... then I met The Fella during my college years and he had a dog who I had to learn to like!

E. Essential start to your day: Checking Gmail and Facebook on my phone from my bed. Did you know that 34% of young women make Facebook the first thing they do when they wake up, even before brushing, according to Mashable?

F. Favorite color: I don't discriminate. I love all colors, even put together! Especially bright ones or jewel-tones! Not really one for pastels, although I do like neutrals such as camel, cream, and white.

G. Gold or silver: Gold! (I'm Asian, duh!)

H. Height: 5'1"

I. Instruments: I was an accomplished piano player for 14 years at the regional and state levels. I was even the President of the Florida Federation of Music Clubs at one time!

J. Job title: Marketing Slave

K. Kids: A very furry one. (And to prove it, her name is FurFur.)

L. Live: Chi-town!

M. Mom's name: Molly

N. Nicknames: Jammers, James, JamJam, JimJam, Jaime, Asian Persuasion, Lil Mama

O. Overnight hospital stays: Just once many, many moons ago (knock on wood!) and it was a scary time. I'll always remember how my mom and dad brought me homemade wonton soup as I recovered (mostly broth, no solids just yet!), my sisters handmade me cards, and the support from mere acquaintances. A daughter of my mom's boss and friend––a girl whom I barely knew––sent me a very thoughtful Get Well card. Sadly, her daughter died a few years from a tragic car accident.

P. Pet peeve: I hate people who repeat themselves, people with backpacks (the irony is that The Fella went out and bought one last weekend. He was so proud of it I didn't have the heart to tell him how much I hate these people), rat dogs, ignorant people, and people who don't believe in first impressions. Yea, that about sums it up. 

Q. Quote from a movie: "You sold your soul to the devil when you put on your first pair of Jimmy Choo's." – The Devil Wears Prada

R. Right or left handed: Right

S. Siblings: Two

T. Time you wake up: 7:40 AM: when my alarm clock goes off. 7:50 AM: when I actually get off the bed.

U. Underwear: What kind of question is this?!

V. Vegetables you dislike: Currently not digging any veggies, but I usually like spring mix salads (or any other fancy salads –– none of that iceberg crap), Veggie Delight Subways, Roasted Root Veggies, and Tomatoes!!

W. What makes you run late: Oversleeping and the dog.

X. X-Rays you've had: Teeth X-rays only. I think.

Y. Yummy food you make: I like to think everything I cook is yummers. Hahahah. Okay, recently, I made really good Hot Asian Chicken Wings.

Z. Zoo- favorite animal: Tigers

The weekend, succinctly

I didn't take out the camera to photo-document my weekend like usual. Well, except for this one:

Besides humoring myself by decorating the dog with an old stethoscope (of course it won't be used on patients! This one is getting thrown out!), I also committed to my second consecutive Core Fitness class! Trust me when I say this is a big deal. I haven't gone near a gym since my college days––8 years to be exact! Well, unless you count that other time I signed up for a year-membership at the youth center gym across my apartment in Coral Gables! Folks, it was literally steps across my apartment and I didn't use it once! 

My first Core Fitness class was called Train Like Jane––"to help today's woman navigate the urban jungle" mumbo-jumbo––basically, it consisted of speed rotations through various weight and core fitness stations. This weekend, I decided to take the Fit to Hit class, supposedly the pre-cursor to Train Like Jane. It was just as physically engaging and even though I felt like a sled dog at times (pulling the Sled Machine), I will definitely go back. This studio also offers Primal Training, where men can throw around giant car tires and stuff.

Good thing I'm doing these fitness classes––we also indulged in a hearty Ethiopian take-out dinner at a friend's home, followed by fresh-baked, warm Ghirardelli brownies with ice cream! 

How was your weekend?

OOTD: Khaki & green glaze

I'm back (sorta) from a much too long hiatus from blogging here! I returned from a long trip in London and Amsterdam at the beginning of this month––with a nasty cold that I couldn't shake and heaps of work at the office which shortly thereafter turned into many structural changes resulting in even more work for me. Joy! Oh, and a ruptured blood vessel in my right eye (hence the eyeglasses, still!). Yea, that's why I took a break for about a month. Friends and family have asked about our trip abroad, which I will have to get around to posting when there is more time. I plan to remain blog-lite for awhile longer still, but in the meantime, here's what I wore today!  

Silk blouse, Topshop London; Pants, Soul to Sole Coral Gables;
Green and bronze tassel necklace, vintage from an estate sale; Belt, ASOS

Ramen noodles for the soul

{ my homestyle version of ramen noodles }

I'm heartbroken over the recent events in Japan. Having Japanese friends from my University of Miami days who were born and raised in Sendai––one of the hardest hit cities affected by the tsunami––and who still have immediate family living there––I feel one degree closer to the despair and sadness that sweeps the people of Japan even as I sit here rather comfortably in my own bed with a roof above my head. You can help in many ways––traditional methods like donations to the reputable organizations or non-traditional ways like donating airline miles to aid Red Cross volunteers in their rescue efforts, which is what we did.

I've also been reading about many phenomenal fundraisers benefiting Japan led by all types of people all around the world. There was this one story of a grass-roots food relief effort that I find to be full of extraordinary heart and passion. Led by a makeshift coalition of ramen shop owners in Tokyo, this small group will truck in bowls of freshly prepared bowls of hot soup and noodles to those left homeless and hungry, every week for a year, because "ramen is the comfort food of Japan," said one of the chefs involved in this effort. And if that doesn't warm your heart...

Try my (makeshift) recipe for Quick Ramen Noodles, which I threw together tonight for dinner...

Ingredients
12 oz noodles (soba, thin spaghetti, whatever you have on hand!)
1/4 cups low-sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp sugar
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp rice vinegar
3 tbsp pure sesame oil
2 tbsp canola or vegetable oil
1/4 tsp hot chili oil (I used the leftover chili sauce that you always get with your Chinese take-out)
2 tbsp hot, salted water (I use the cooking water from the noodles – the salt helps bind the sauce together)
4 whole green scallions, sliced thinly (I used flat-leaf parsley instead, since this was all I had)
Black pepper, to taste

Directions
:: Whisk all ingredients together in a large bowl, except for scallions and noodles. Taste and adjust ingredients as necessary (I found I was in the mood for a slightly sweeter sauce tonight, so I added in an extra 1/2 tbsp of sugar, hehe). 

:: Toss in warm noodles and coat evenly. Sprinkle in scallions.

:: Eat with chopsticks!

Spring flowers & cupcakes

There's nothing like a pretty bouquet of Spring flowers and Flirty Cupcakes to brighten my Friday! Been waiting not-so-patiently for the cupcake truck to make a stop near my work so that I could have at the limited-time, special St. Patty's flavors... 

Irish Pub (chocolate Guinness cuppy with Jameson whiskey marshmallow frosting)...
Butter O'Scotch (butterscotch cuppy with buttercream cream cheese frosting)...
Bailey's & Cream (Bailey's Irish Cream cuppy with a coffee caramel filling and topped with Irish Cream buttercream)...

Need I say more?

{p dot s} There was a fourth cuppy, but I ATE IT! (This might not be a good idea for me to have alcohol while at work...)

Brief hiatus

Sorry for the radio silence... have been taking a brief hiatus while vacationing in London and Amsterdam the past 8 days! Have only just returned late last night (with a bad cold, burst blood vessel in my eye and minus one luggage) so won't be posting regularly until things are back to normal!

Ciao!