Holiday Wishlist

T'is the time of year again when everything seems so magical, the clothes are warm and beautiful, you go ice-skating with your loved one and your cheeks are always rosy and red.

It's also the time for giving and receiving gifts. Although, I'm not really a big gift receiver (unless it's secret santa or white elephant) but I am big on getting gifts for myself! Well I just don't feel great receiving gifts from people because I just feel bad even when I give them gifts back so I'd rather give gifts to people and myself than receive them. I've also signed up to give 3 less fortunate children some gifts. Bloomingdale's does a charity every year where we buy gifts for the less fortunate and I signed up ASAP this year. Last year I ended up getting a gift to a 12 year old girl and her request was, ANYTHING. I had such a hard time because I mean, I don't know this girl and when I was 12 I wanted gameboys and maybe a pair of Jordans. Well I eventually got her a nail polish kit (a set of 25!). So, this year I wanted to take it easy since I'm so busy and signed up for 3, 3 year old kids who wanted books and barbies.

I want to make sure they get the books that I loved as a child like The Giving Tree and Dr. Suess books. Can anyone recommend me a website or a bookstore who does the books cheap so I will be able to get them a lot instead of buying The Giving Tree at Borders for $16? Please recommend me some sites! I do want to make these children happy!

I also am going to do the Barnes and Noble charity in which you can buy books for the less fortunate. It, however does get pricey. I did buy a child The Giving Tree last year and it cost me $16!!

Anyways, let me get a little selfish and show you what is on my list this year. Remember, I'm not asking for this from anyone, this is a list of something I want to give myself!



 M.A.C. tartan collection eye pigment set.

Chanel #5.

 The little brown bag. I am a sucker for our little brown label stuff! I want to have it all! I want this plastic one, the little brown mug, the medium brown mug, the shoe bag, the medium canvas bag and the little brown pretzels. I just want everything little brown something especially before I quit!

This gorgeous Marc by Marc Jacobs Hillier bag. I have been wanting this bag for a while now but I never just had the will to drop serious dough on this bag. I'm not really a handbag person but I do feel that I need a handbag soon because I will be taking lots of classes while going to school and I don't want to carry my little clutch while wearing my backpack. This bag is spacey enough for A textbook and some goodies.

What is on your list this year?

a n n i e

Giving Thanks

I have been a very bad blogger. I have actually been working a lot more since I do work in retail and the holiday season is the biggest money-making time.

I also hate that I don't have any consistency. I will do good for a couple of days and then I will go back to being lazy. For example, I wanted to make butternut squash soup and made sure I got all the ingredients. Two weeks later, the butternut squash is still on the counter, uncut and the celery has gone bad. I've also been trying to eat salad every day at work (even though it's cold) and half the mixed greens aren't eaten and 3 bell peppers are still in the fridge (still hoping they are still plump and delicious!).

Time to get my life back on track and really learn time management especially updating my blog.

Anywho, I haven't done a Thanksgiving post yet!



Thanksgiving has got to be my most favorite holiday. The food is good, the ambiance is great and even though Black Friday is around the corner you can't help but to be in a good mood. I got to my cousin's house around 1 pm and we got to making a lot of dishes.

 Turkey was cooked in a bag this year and came out really moist and juicy! A real winner!

We had a total of 11 dishes. It was hard work but I'm glad everything came out great!

We had

• turkey
• steak (for the non turkey eaters) and also cooked to everyone's liking
• salmon with onions, jalapenos, garlic and mayo
• penne pasta with garlic, butter, tomatoes, broccoli, shrimp, alfredo sauce, onions and lemon juice
• salad
• brussel sprouts with bacon, onions, mushrooms and garlic
• cornbread muffins
• green bean casserole
• sweet potato casserole
• garlic mashed potatoes
• stuffing

I had a green salad with my aunt's bomb vinaigrette (remind to get the recipe).

This was my first plate and it had a little bit of everything.

Thanksgiving was great this year and it was fun times with my family.

Time to get a move on with school and preparing for the holidays now.

a n n i e

FUH FUH FUH FREEZING!

It is finally cold here in San Francisco. For some strange reason it got hot for a couple of days and then it would rain hard for a couple of days. Now it's just freezing but the air is still. There are no breezes (those sting your face!) and it's not wet. Just cold. Not even cold but COLD.

Only weird thing that I've been wanting are salads. I've still been constantly drinking hot coffee in the morning and make sure my yogurt gets a little lukewarm for my liking. Lots of teas. The cold has really been making it feel like the holidays are really here.

My salads had 3 different-colored bell peppers (yellow, orange and red), red onions, mized greens, half an avocado that I cut up at work so it wouldn't oxidize and a turkey patty. I couldn't even eat the burger because it was freezer-burned =(

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and in the spirit of being thankful I am going to list 10 things I am thankful for:

1. Having a second chance with Richard.
2. My family, friends and dogs.
3. God.
4. To be able to go to school.
5. My heritage.
6. Even after all the alcohol and drug abuse my health is okay.
7. Music, for giving me the motivation (working out) and entertainment (listening to my iPhone in subways and driving to San Jose).
8. My essentials: food, shelter and clothes.
9. My job.
10. Netflix.

Happy Thanksgiving.

a n n i e

Breakfast

So I finally uploaded all the pictures on my camera. Just a bunch of breakfast pictures. It's not really much but just a bunch of combinations.

 Like a peanut butter bagel thin with hot coffee. Eaten right before i did my makeup.

 Joe's O's with freeze-dried strawberries and non-fat milk. Of course I gotta have the coffee.

 Joe's O's with freeze-dried strawberries, coffee and a yogurt.

 Some mornings I would just have two yogurts and two clementines.

 And you can't forget the coffee.

I think breakfast has become a joy for me at the start of my day. I love the smell and taste of hot coffee. Yet, a big bowl of cereal doesn't give me any staying power. I will literally want to collapse in two hours. Why is that?

 Anywho I tried out a new tea. It's Trader Joe's Jasmine Pearl tea. I wanted this to replace my Stash's jasmine blossom green tea (can't find it anywhere!) and Numi's jasmine green tea (too expensive!) but alas, this tea didn't come close to any of those!

The packaging was really pretty though. It's in this little silk bag but the string was really short and I like to drink tea out of huge cups.
Now, I need to start on two papers. Wish me luck!

a n n i e

Busy

I just finished adding classes for the next semester! For once, I can't wait to get back into school. I know I hated school before and I never went to classes but I realized a lot taking a year off of school.

1. I realized that I do not want to be working at Bloomingdale's wise (maybe corporate but not my position now!)
2. I felt empty this year. I've always had school so to be out of school didn't feel right to me. I mean I don't know if that means I will always be in school but maybe things will be different when I get a diploma.
3. Working part time while attending school is enough time for me to know what I want to do in life.

Let's hope this is a great toast to 2011

 I've been on a salad kick lately. I keep thinking of Whole Foods and I love how great their salad/hot bar is. I made this salad at Bristol Farms. It has mixed greens, spinach, steamed broccoli and shrimp (they were steamed together), red and bell green peppers, a little bit of bacon pieces (which went great with shrimp!), shredded red cabbage, some chickpeas (they were mixed with the cabbage and all with caesar dressing. This cost me about $7 but I think if I don't get the shrimp it would be a lot cheaper. I mean I need to save money!

Of course I got my favorite bread to go with it.
Now I need to get some shut-eye.
Goodnight.

a n n i e

Whole Foods = food for the soul

I don't know if I have mentioned that I will soon be interning for a startup company! It's not paid but I know it's going to be a great experience and I will learn as much as I can so that one of these days I can start a business of own. So 2011 is going to be the start of a very busy year. I'm just glad I had this year to get the laziness out of my system. Starting next year I will be taking 6 classes, interning at a startup and still continuing my part-time position at Bloomingdale's. I know it's going to be tough but I believe it will be good for me. I'm one of those people that need to stay busy or I will just be lazzzzzyyyyy.

Today was a great eating day. I started my morning with a big cup of coffee and a toasted egg sandwich (just two slices of bread toasted then spread with an LC and two over=medium eggs). It was really heavy so I was able to eat just half.

For lunch, my cousin wanted to get salads so we all went to Whole Foods! This big bowl had

• mixed greens
• spinach
• grated carrots
• green bell peppers
• my favorite macaroni salad (I made sure to get a lot since they don't have it all the time)
• grape tomatoes
• chickpeas
• caesar dressing
• turkey
• gravy
• mashed sweet potatoes
• mashed red potatoes
• spinach pesto pasta
• green beans with shallots
• roasted veggies (green and red bell peppers and zucchini)
• some turkey pasta thing (just had two pieces just to try it)

This baby cost me $12! The sweet mashed potatoes had to be the best part of this bowl. It reminded me of the healthified version of Boston Market's sweet potato casserole thingy. You know the one with the marshmellow and granola?

 I had my favorite water with it.

 Worth every penny.

 Then I made some red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. I love this brand but it does ask for a whole stick of butter! Half to make the frosting and half for the mix.

They came out beautiful. I didn't put cream cheese on all of it. I decided it would be better to put the cream cheese on right when I eat one.
Well I need to get my beauty routine/rest on so I look faboosh for my meeting with my new boss!
Goodnight.

a n n i e

In Awe

I meet such interesting and wonderful people in the Bay area. One of my coworkers came to my department and we chatted for a bit. As he was walking away I saw that he had a book in his pocket. I forgot what it was called but it was a Kant philosophy book. He had told me that it was a pre-book that you had to read before you read Kant's philosophy book. I was in awe. He told me he loves philosophy and that he is majoring in it. Smart guy.

I was famished at work today after drinking a grande coffee. I didn't have time to eat breakfast so that may have been the problem.



I started off with a smokehouse chili from Bristol Farms. It had chunks of tomatoes, lots of kidney beans, some shredded beef, sausages, kidney beans and then I topped it off with cheese and sour cream. It was delish!

I also got a salad because after eating a lot of pizza, ice cream and soda at work, I needed one.

This salad had:

• mixed greens
• green/yellow bell peppers
• chickpeas
• grated carrots
• bacon pieces
• pasta salad
• shrimp
• barbequed chicken
• caesar dressing
• roasted potatoes

Shrimp has got to be the best protein to put in salads! That barbeque chicken was bleh and dry but the bell peppers were so fresh and delicious. This lunch cost me a lot though so I need to seriously start packing lunches to work. That way I save money and I can eat healthier.

I had a review at work yesterday and it wasn't really good. I mean I was good but I basically was sucking at the paperwork in the office. My manager had asked what happened because I never used to be so bad and I really had nothing to say. I honestly think that it's because I've abused alcohol and drugs for so long that it really affected my brain. I'm now always forgetful, it's hard for me to focus and it's affected my sleep. I just feel like if I ever did CAT scan my brain is probably deteriorated. Anywho, I got a book about brain food and they said salmon is a great brain food and my mom made it for dinner today. She makes the best salmond! She sautees onions and jalapenos and puts it on top of seasoned salmon and mayo. The mayo sounds weird but it's great!

Anyways, I am re-watching Scott Pilgrim vs. The World because I didn't understand any of it. I will say though, it has got to be one of the strangest films I have seen thus far.

a n n i e

Broke College Student

I signed up for classes tonight and for the first time in a long time, I am actually excited for school! The difference between now and before? I'm finally going to be something that interests me! I signed up for three fashion classes, a general psychology class and I will sign up for two food nutrition classes when my university lets me. It sounds like a lot right? But, I figured fashion isn't really "work" to me, it's something I really enjoy outside of school so it wouldn't be a problem. Plus, if I can't handle it I can drop =P

First tangerine box of the season. Sweet? No. Sour? A bit. Delicious? HELL YEAH. I've been eating them in threes, don't ask me why I chose that number.

This is the broke college part of my blog. I brought home this whole box of pizza (well almost full!) from work. We had a huge pizza and ice cream lunch at work. I worked till closing and one of the managers told me to bring a box home. It looked weird on the Bart: a little Asian girl with a bow in her hair, dressed with a blazer, listening to music and sitting next to potheads. I wish I brought ice cream home because it wasn't just generic ice cream, we had Starbucks, Ben & Jerry and my favorite, It's it! I totally had 6 slices (I haven't had pizza in awhile), two cokes, one sprite and an it's it. I pigged out to the max. I don't feel good at all. Back to eating fresh veggies and fruit!

Check out this web article.
http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/food/10-fast-food-items-turned-into-fancy-dishes-2409342/
I wonder if it tastes like the meal it was made into?
Goodnight.

a n n i e

Feeling Off

I started feeling weird yesterday. I couldn't really describe the feeling except that I felt like I wasn't in my body? I felt hot and sweaty when wearing my blazer but got super cold when I took it off. Then I felt queasy in a non-throwing up way and just felt off. I kept thinking maybe it's because I've been getting 3 hours of sleep (if you call it sleep, more like half awake half sleep) or less Luckily I felt better before I had to walk my butt to a friend's fashion show.

Tuesday:

My sister made some "Chinese" food by using a package of orange chicken sauce over fried cuts of chicken. She also sauteed brussel sprouts (she never steams them before so they're always super crunchy) and cooked up some jasmine rice. I don't know if it may just be me but brussel sprouts have a laxative effect on me. I don't know if I can eat brussel sprouts before anything major anymore LOL.

Then, for dinner I had gomtang in Santa Clara after class. Oh how much I love gom tang. It reminds me of all the family trips to Lake Tahoe and LA trips when we used to stop by all the Korean restaurants (San Francisco is the only city I know that doesn't have a great gomtang restaurant!). It is basically a soup that is cooked with oxtail (weird for some people) for hours and then served with beef and noodles and rice, then you have to season it on your own with salt and pepper and for me and my cousin: lots of green onions. I usually don't finish the whole bowl but since I haven't had it in months, I killed it.

 Then to finish the perfect dinner off, my sister and I had pinkberry! Oh gosh I love this place so much and it's weird for me to say so because I don't really like cold stuff like ice cream. Shocking right? I usually get strawberries and chocolate chips but this time I got dark chocolate crisps instead and I am now a convert. They're like the candy, Crunch.

Then the nice cashier persuaded me to start a stamp card and was nice enough to give my sister and I two stamps each! I thought he was super nice until my coworker mentioned that they usually do it for people who start their stamp cards. =P

Wednesday:

I wanted a really good bowl of oatmeal (Starbucks is not special enough) so I went to Jamba Juice. This was organic steelcut oats cooked with soy-milk then topped with fresh bananas and brown sugar. This was $2.95 but $1.00 if you get a smoothie but I don't really like smoothies so I had Peet's coffee. Oh I love their coffees! Friends don't let friends drink Starbucks.

I couldn't finish all my oatmeal because it wasn't helping me feel better so I decided to get a burrito to cure my "sickness." You see the pil of onions? Yes, I love onions that much.

This burrito came with tortilla chips and a small salad. I love their side salads! It comes with mixed greens, romaine, huge pieces of tomato and avocado and cotijo cheese mixed with a light vinaigrette.

I always feel that guacamole doesn't just cure the soul, it also cures the body. I felt great after eating this burrito for a few hours. I kept wondering if it had to do with getting nutrients from the veggies so I shall now add more veggies to my repetoire.

Before I leave, I will leave you with my cute socks. The nose actually has extra fabric to accentuate the nose but it wasn't too much fabric to feel uncomfortable in shoes.

I just realized I have a ton of breakfast and coffee photos on my camera. I should just either stick with using my camera instead of using my iPhone all the time.

Tah Tah

a n n i e

Mexican Bibimbap

During my depressing summer I wasn't eating anything. I would actually go two days at a time not eating and forcing myself to eat because I knew my body needed the nutrients. My mom would always tell me that a well-nourished body is the source to having a better mind. I think I started getting my appetite back when I actually started savoring food. I was trying to eat "french" and just take time to make food and eat it. I would also try and see if I can name a few ingredients/spices that went to it as well. Sometimes I also feel like not eating for a while has actually made my tastebuds more sensitive. I acrtually feel better eating something that I love. Mama obviously knows best =)

Anyways, tonight I felt like eating one of my favorite foods ever: Chipotle!

My sister wanted to eat Greek food and I had to buy their lemon chicken soup. I LOVE Greek lemon chicken soup. It's like homemade chicken soup but with tang from the citrus. Yummy.

This was my burrito bowl. I got carne asada, veggies (no beans), green tomatillo salsa, pico de gallo, corn salsa, sour cream, guacamole (gotta have the gauc) and lettuce.

I had too much food to eat out of the takeout so I had to transfer all the contents into a bibimbap size bowl. I mixed everything up and dubbed it Mexican bibimbap. It was so delish and it really hit the spot!

Well, I need to hit the sheets and work tomorrow.

Goodnight.

a n n i e

Coffee Feen

I remember when I was a wee lass I hated the taste of coffee. I also didn't like to watch Seinfeld. I just wanted to drink my milk, juice or Pepsi and watch cartoons. I kept thinking,"Oh when I'm grown-up I'm never drinking coffee, it's so disgusting!"

Then, 17 years later, I can't live without coffee.

I love the bitterness with the creaminess of the milk. I love the aroma wafting in the air. I love how it perks me up every morning.

I've been drinking out of my favorite chipped Starbucks porcelain mug. It comes with the top but I don't use it when I'm drinking at home.

One of the great breakfasts I pair with my coffee.

Oh, and this was one of the lunches I had with my cousin and my sister. We were in San Jose waiting for my cousin's car to get an oil change and we decided to walk a few blocks the wrong way (sorry!) then walk a few more blocks the right way to get some Indian food. I got chicken curry but it was extremely greasy and buttery. When I dipped naan, it was just pure oil. My cousin got the saag chicken and it was really good because butter and spinach is such a great combination. Yum.

This naan wasn't just for me, it was for the three of us. I think we only left one.

Anyways, everyone check out Michelle's giveaway!

http://luckytastebuds.wordpress.com/2010/10/30/three-sisters-cereal-review-and-giveaway/

a n n i e

Giant's Day

Today was one of the greatest days ever in San Francisco. I got up too late to really make it to the parade but I made sure I watched every second on the television. People were actually camping outside of city hall last night to get a good seating of the giants getting the key to the city and officially named today, Giant's day.

I don't think I've ever felt so proud to be San Franciscan =)

Another joyous occasion was my sister's birthday today!

We went to Hooter's to get some hot wings, tater tots and for my sister and my cousin, fried pickles (I hate pickles). For some reason we thought it would be dead since 1.6 million people were in front of city hall today but it was still busy and it was packed with Giant's fans.

We also went out to a Japanese dinner and it was so delicious!

We first started off with edamame which was placed with our menu and it was free. It was very salty.

Of course I had to get a seaweed salad. I was planning to have it all to myself but my family looked at me in disgust and so I shared. I also ate the lemons on top.

Every Japanese restaurant I go to I must try their udon. My #1 favorite udon still to this day would be Tsuru in Japantown. This was pretty good considering it was $8.00.

Of course I got tempura with it. Unlike other restaurants the tempura came with sauce and on the side which I like because tempura gets soggy and weird in the soup.

Then my family got the sushi boat which is their biggest seller in the restaurant. I had most of the spicy tuna, toro, the shrimp nigiri and tuna. I love sashimi.

Since we had ordered the sushi boat, all the rolls that we ordered after were half off. So, we got this dynamite roll and more salmon sashimi.

Then we all got free miso soup and salad (salad wasn't worth photographing, it was iceberg with some vinaigrette). The miso soup wasn't as tasty =(

We also got another entree to share since sashimi never fills us up. We wanted to try something different so we got fried mackerel. It was alright. It was fishy? which was weird because the sashimi was fresh.

We then had some tuna poki. My sister ordered this when we ordered but didn't receive it until we finished everything.

I've also added four more colors to my collection! They were buy one get one half off. Love BOGO.

Wearing silver for the holiday =)

Well I have to get my beauty routine down and hit the hay.

Goodnight.

a n n i e