It's Strawberry Season!! and Summer 2009... so far.

I've been pretty preoccupied with things that come up, with that said, I tend to procrastinate on blogging. Finally, my blog entries become so long that it becomes mundane towards the end... up until the photos, anyway I think. So what have I been up to? Enjoying my summer, of course! This post will be filled with pictures!

After I finished my last final, I spent time with the boyfriend. During my stay, I attended his friends' wedding, which was held in the bride's back(front?)yard. Sounds kind of lame, but it was a huge backyard with a 10-yard diameter pond. There was a field and stable behind where we were seated for their horses. Oh, and a pool behind the house. I love attending weddings; I love that glow that the brides emit on their wedding day. It truly was a beautiful event. I regret not taking pictures with the groom and bride though.

There was a Korean marketplace near where the BF resided, so we decided to head there to look for ingredients for thai tea. There was an Amore nearby, and to my surprise, my boy suggested that we check it out LOL! The lady that helped me out was really nice; she saw me eyeing the Laneige products and asked me if I wanted samples. I immediately said yes! She gave me Laneige Basic Care and Water Bank samples, which included the emulsion(wtf is it?), toner, essence (wtf is that?), "Designer Eye Cream," Strawberry Yogurt mask, Water Sleeping Pack mask, foundation/concealer, and some Korean shampoo. I was overwhelmed with all of these samples, but of course I couldn't wait to try them.

As soon as it was time for bed and for me to begin my beauty procedures, I used the emulsion, skin refiner, essence, and eye cream. My skin became instantly smooth, so soft and supple. The next morning, I found my boy feeling my face because he was amazed about how soft it was LOL! I went through the same procedure, and by the end of the day, my face was surprisingly in the same condition as when I first applied it. I was expecting my face to get super oily, but alas there was little oil, if any oil! Too bad I ran out of the samples, but I will keep my eye on these products for a while... :3

I played with a Konad stamping nail art set that belonged to his brother's girlfriend. Not bad for my first time, huh?


During one of our morning walks, I came across lawns full of tiny little frogs. I did what I do best: I picked it up!


I love my boy's freshwater aquarium, especially since it's filled with many plump sterbai corycats! Cutiessss! In the morning, you can see them play and frolic! It makes me want to start one, but I'm constantly moving and I'd have no way of feeding them every day.

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A few days after I arrived home, I spent a week cleaning out my room, which includes sorting out all the old clothes from my closet and dresser, and my messy desktop. I took out a huge trashbag of... well, trash, and two trashbags full of old/outdated clothes and purses that I will probably never wear again. Can you say yard sale?!

On my mother's day off, she took me to get my long overdued haircut! Guess what guys, I got bangs now, albeit it is quite fobby but i haven't had bangs in years! I'm having lots of fun with them. Now I can *try* to pull off a cutesy summer look. What do you think of the bangs? :X And since it's been two weeks since I got my hair cut, my hair have grown out a bit.


During the couple of weeks, I met up with some of my close friends. What did we do? Purikura and cupcakes!! And other delicious things, like tres leches cake from Perfectly Sweet. I think that's going to be my new favorite bakery, although it was priced at $4.50, considering $3 cupcakes, it's pretty much a deal. To my surprise, it wasn't too sweet like other tres leches cakes I've tried. The cake was moist and smooth... delicious!

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And for the rest of the week, I made this yummy strawberry snack. I used ripened strawberries because they smell the most fragrant and full of that delicious strawberry taste. Spritzing some fresh lime juice, it created a medley of aromas and tastes. Then adding a pinch of sugar to enhance the flavors. It vaguely reminded me of a margarita/strawberry daiquiri... in fruit form of course! My mom could not keep her hands off this bowl of fruit that I made for myself... hahaha!


My mom finally made one of my favorite Vietnamese dish of all time, bánh xèo! She said she's going to make it when I come home, and since I'm finally home... Nothing beats mama's home cooking.


That pretty much sums up what I've been up to during the time I was missing hehe. I'm surprised that people haven't already started to unsubscribe this blog, so thank you loyal readers! <3

Must Love Strawberries, Chocolate, and Dogs!

Just in case you guys didn't already know, it's pretty much a known fact (among my friends, anyway) that I am a complete choco-holic and strawberry-phile! Despite the fact that I am a self-proclaimed chocolate connoisseur, I have drastically decreased my consumption of chocolate due to my fear of developing premature diabetes. It would be the end of the world for me if I could not have anymore sugar, EVER. I do require some chocolate fixes though hehe. For example, I like the holidays where stores like Target sell seasonal chocolate. They usually mark down the chocolate by at least half, so I eagerly await for the day after the holiday! Hehehe. Today is Easter, and I was planning on running down to KMart and buy the chocolate, but luckily my uncle bombarded me with hella chocolate from Germany (and a knock-off Swifter Duster for my apartment). /Drool.

Uncle also brought us some typical souvenir keychains. A funny conversation between my brother, uncle, and me while taking our pick. I got adorable miniature Dutch clogs. My brother had a choice between a tacky-colored "HOLLAND" one, and a beautiful antique-bronze finished Eifel Tower. My brother chose "HOLLAND," and this was why (it was also the more expensive one LOL).

Uncle: "Yay! You chose the more expensive one! Why did you decide to choose the HOLLAND one?"

Brother: "Because I didn't want to choose some country who hasn't won any wars yet." (My brother and I high-fives)

Don't tell me you don't get that. Shame on you, if you're not familiar with your 20th century history!

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My sister surprised me with a cute strawberry solar-powered uhh... thing with flapping leaves. Forgetful me, I was supposed to bring it with me to my apartment, but I forgot to pack it.

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I am officially sick of sushi for a while, since I went out to an all-you-can-eat place. It is pretty bomb, as yelp.com reviewers gave it 5 stars. The employees had amazing customer service: a baby was crying at another table, and the customer mother was too busy attending the baby instead of eating. One of the female employees was able to put the baby to sleep, as his parents were finally able to focus on their food. After sushi, we headed to Wal-Mart. I bought a 5-layered Sterlite organizer for my makeup hahaha. It was $6!


Because I have a lot more free time this quarter, I took out my clay and made original keychain charms. I made these both for my boyfriend, and he better like them! It's actually a surprise, but it's not like he regularly reads my blog! The red one is a goldfish in a strawberry suit, and the other one is of him and me (in my typical geometrical drawings LOL).




Thursday evenings are usually spaghetti nights for my roommate and me; if we're not making some kind of pasta, we're making some meal together. We also clean up the whole apartment that night. As I was reaching for the Lysol spray, I found a piece of Super Shammy, or commonly known as the SHAMWOW! I was not a believer of it, just because I didn't find it to work. However, I followed the instructions that came with it that tells you to "activate" it, and then voila! It absorbed water like nothing! That is the only thing "towel paper-like" about the product: that it absorbs and holds water efficiently. I wouldn't recommending it for scrubbing things. That night, my roommate and I purposely "spilled" water onto the kitchen counter and watched the artificial "chamois" soak up all the water. That night, we became believers. Here's a video made by yours truly!

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This weekend was pretty productive. I went out for Korean BBQ on Friday night (HI STEVE AND ELAINE!), and I'll let the pictures describe what the rest of the night was about... No incriminating evidence though ;)




On Saturday morning I ran errands with my mother. Luckily I didn't wake up with a hangover or anything! I was craving for some Costco cream puffs, so we got some of that. We also made a stop at the mall to help my sister pick out a prom dress. It took forever; not to mention the pains of finding the right style and color that will complement her body (she is almost a plus-size). She wanted a bright purple dress that had a slit where you can see some leg, but her other option was an elegant-looking black dress. We convinced her to get the black one, of course. A few moments after getting home, some friends gave me a call and we were originally going to Yogurtland for green apple flavored yogurt, but they didn't have it on that day. Instead, we hung out at Bin Bin Konjac for some Taiwanese shaved ice. It's much more preferable to me than Guppy House. That evening, another group of friends and I took one of my girlfriends out on a snack shopping spree as an early birthday activity! It was supposed to be a candy run (she has a sweet tooth that rivals mine LOL), but who knew she was going to buy healthier stuff as well! We then finalized the run by watching Marley and Me at my home. I didn't like the movie, by the way. Even though I love dogs, I didn't like his on-screen owners.

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I am not a religious person, but Happy Easter to those who celebrate it! I woke up and went out to the backyard where I found Munmun frolicking in the sun. I had my phone with me and took a snapshot while he was standing still. I spent my afternoon having Vietnamese food with my parents at Tay Ho. Mmm... fried yam and Bánh cuốn! We have been going there since I was born or so, and it felt really nostalgic. At the table, my parents and I were discussing about my future career and suggested about getting a license for a side job. My mom suggested cosmetology/beautician, so that I'd have some extra income on the side (plus the free haircuts my family would be getting LOL). Just a plan, but nothing permanent, although it'd be an awesome side job hehe. Spent the rest of the afternoon getting last minute groceries.