Off The Grid

Serendipity.

It happened today.

While Richard and I made our way down to our therapy sesh, we wanted to stop by the McDonald's on haight to grab an iced coffee when we saw this:

 Aww yeah... OFF THE GRID!

As seen on Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern. A gathering of all food trucks to create the ultimate eating fest.

 The lines weren't bad at the cupcake truck, regular taco truck and the Filipino taco trucks but a huge line (all the way to the other end) was for one truck.

 The Korean BBQ truck. I saw the menu and it wasn't THAT impressive. Plus, my mama makes the best Korean BBQ!

 This truck didn't have a line and it seemed pretty interesting. Japanese riceballs filled with different fillings wrapped up with seaweed. Some were even toasted.

Too bad, Richard and I had our own nosh fest at Popeye's. But, if I had known it was right next to our therapy sesh, I would've eaten there! D'OH!

 At least we had In n Out on our way home =)

It was also scorching today here in the Bay Area. I also read that it was a record-breaking mini heatwave at 82 degrees!! Yes, it's not that hot compared to the south or other countries but it was scorching for us. We're always at a constant 40-50 and I even wear my peacoats in July. Yet, we all bitch when it gets too cold and we all bitch when it gets too hot.

San Franciscans are definitely Goldilocks.

[ a n n i e ]

Cafe Style

Weather has warmed up in the Bay Area and it is making me crave cafe food! I am longing for lazy afternoons outside at a cafe with a golf umbrella over my little table, an iced coffee with a black straw and I'll be wearing a beautiful floral sundress and oversized sunglasses and people watch.

So inspired that I made my own cafe style lunch.

 Chopped spinach salad with half a can of tuna, leftover couscous and chickpeas and homemade balsamic vinaigrette. I decided I love chopped salads better since I am able to get couscous and chickpeas with every bite and not left with all the toppings after all the spinach is gone.

 Warmed up Panera Bread cheddar broccoli soup.

 A perfectly-cooked soft-boiled egg. I had originally boiled two eggs but the other one didn't cook as well (the larger egg) so I fed that to the dogs.

 Delicious.

 Of course I had a beer! Just kidding! It's chilled barley tea in a beer mug. The reason why it's in a beer mug is because that's how much barley tea I drink.

 Then finished off with two little tiny clementines.

A perfect way to end a scrumptious meal.

I've also pre-ordered something that I can't wait to receive!

 A Le Petite Prince Moleskine notebook! I love Moleskines and I love The Little Prince so I had to purchase it right away!

 It comes with a little cutout in the pocket.

So excited to write in it! I must buy pretty pens for this!

[ a n n i e ]

How I Put on my Red Lipstick

I had a reader email me and ask how I put on my red lipstick. I am by no means an expert or a makeup artist but I will share with you all on how I put on my red lips.

** Please excuse the bra straps, the messy hair, the shiny nose and the bad pictures =P **

First start off with clean lips. No food stains and make sure it isn't wet.

 These are my tools for red lips.

 First, you MUST moisturize! I love lipsticks but have found that the cheapy drugstores tend to dry out my lips. There is nothing wrong with drugstore brands because I do love them myself but they lack moisture for the lips.

 Then you must prime the lips. Red lipsticks tend to bleed (especially when they are cheap!) so primer is a MUST.

 This is MAC myth lipstick. This is a cross between concealer and lipstick. It is very matte and very dense. I hear Angelina Jolie uses this lipstick for her lips. It does have the power to enlarge lips. Or just a regular primer like the Shiseido one that I use.

 Make sure your lips are matte. At this stage, I will get a facial tissue and press my lips against it to make it more matte.

 Then you must line the lips. This is an important step especially if you don't have a lip brush to be precise and color in lips.

 You can probably stop after this step and call yourself a chola.

 This is Chanel's Russet Moon. I had oought this for my nighttime lips.

 Apply generously and blot with facial tissue. If you want them darker make sure after you blot to put on another layer. Keep layering until the color you desire is met.


"Why so serious?"

 I look like the Joker in the last picture. I'm such a creeper.

There you go! Red lips galore!

[ a n n i e ]

Light Days

Light denim makes me cringe. I have no idea why since I used to wear light, distressed denim from Abercrombies with my polo shirt (oh God, why?!) back in the day. Now, I've switched to dark black skinny pants/jeans and the darker the better denim pants.

I have this on the top shelf of my closet.

 Light denim jeans from abercrombie that I had bought on a whim on sale. I want to be able to let go of my weird loathing for light denim by hopefully wearing them and learning to love them. These are unfortunately flares which looks cute with wedges. I am thinking about pairing them with a navy blue boy blazer, a flowy white top and wedges.

It's sounding cute already, maybe it won't be as hard?

I've now decided that I NEED to eat some porridge/oatmeal in the mornings.

 It is the only thing that can keep me full for hours and not feeling fatigue at work. I only do 4-5 hours of work per day but I move around a lot and I get that hypoglycemic feeling. I still blame coffee but I am way too addicted to quit so I must find other means to continue drinking coffee. Hope this works!

I've been trying to find a great angle to take pictures and hopefully be able to use myself as a photographer but it's hard!

 Pretty good but my face is blurry! It's actually kind of artistic. I dig it.

Off centered and wearing a raggy old t-shirt I stole from Richard a couple of years ago. It's a Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt and what is so significant is that it's a Hard Rock PARIS t-shirt. I die.

Remember girls, when in doubt always wear pearls! Keep it classy bitches!

[ a n n i e ]

Feet are Killing Me

It's no secret that I love to indulge in Christian Louboutin shoes and for a long time I probably would've given my left arm in order to get one. It never got that extreme and I made enough to buy the right amount to keep me grounded.

However, I have two dogs. My first, Titan, was a breeze to train and he was easy to maintain. Maximus, on the other hand, is a handful. He isn't the brightest crayon in the box and he doesn't know what full is.

So, if you guys see where I am going with this, my dog Maximus uses my shoes as chewtoys.

 First pair:

 Nothing wrong with this shoe.

 Then you see this one.

 Chewed all the way down to the bone.

 Then skinned alive.

Second pair:

 Nothing wrong.

 You don't see anything really wrong with this shoe either until you see the heel.

Not as bad as the first pair but these are made with pink satin so I don't know how this can be fixed.

Many thoughts ran through my head:

• What do you think getting expensive shoes?
• What did you think having a dog that is teething?
• This wouldn't have had happened if I weren't so lazy and so trustworthy and left my shoes out.
• This wouldn't be such a big problem if you had bought cheaper shoes!

I learned my lesson but now am so traumatized that many pairs of shoes are locked away, unworn under my bed.

I've also read a Vogue from a while back that a shoe repair shop in New York specializes in Louboutins but I can imagine that it will cost about the same as the shoe!

Mr. Christian Louboutin, if you can hear me, please be kind and send me replacement pairs please!

[ a n n i e ]