I Heart Greek Yogurt

Yet another reason I love Greek yogurt....

{Pasta with Zucchini, Tomatoes and Creamy Lemon-Yogurt Sauce}

 I tried a new pasta recipe found via Pinterest last night... and it was absolutely delish!  It was probably not quite as healthy after piling on the shredded parmesan... but healthy enough.  I know Greek yogurt sauce sounds strange, but I promise, its creamy&cheesy and not at all tart.

 

Black Friday Wishlist

1. Faux Fur - Express - (Minus the) Fur Vest

2. Luxe Pants - Gap - Stretch Velvet Always Skinny Jeans

3. Accessories for my future new toy, only a few more days till my contract is up on my ancient bb! - J.Crew - Glitter iphone Case

4. Leopard Accessories - Stuart Weitzman - Leopard Print Calf Hair Pump

5. I need a new camera - Canon - S95

i want one...

{via pinterest}

treats-no-tricks

This is how I celebrate Halloween weekend... no costumes or crazy parties, but definitely filled with lots of goodies.

 {Bouchon Bakery Macarons}

 {homemade sushi}

 {Better Than Crack Brownies - recipe by How Sweet It Is}

 {Goat Cheese & Summer Black Truffle Pizza - Cecceoni's West Hollywood}

Fall Favorites

While on the calendar it is officially fall, the weather here in socal has taken a u-turn back to summer.  With temperatures nearing the 90s this week, most people are basking in the last warm days of the year.  But I'm secretly wishing for crisp cool days where I can enjoy all my fall favorites: scarves, comfy knits and pumpkin flavored everything.

1.  Starbucks - Pumpkin Spiced Latte

2.  F21 - Knitted Colorblock Sweater
3.  Piperlime - Mia Tracey
4.  Deborah Lippmann - Single Ladies
5.  Zara - Two-Tone Leopard Print Scarf
6.  J.Crew - Heather Carbon Tights

Petite Sizing

{Ann Taylor - Overlapping Placket Long Sleeve Blouse}

At 5'-2" tall, I definitely consider myself "petite."  Ironically though, I only own a handful of petite-sized garments.  I attribute this mainly to the fact that most retailers/brands do not carry petite selections; and I also find that when I do come across a petite item, the proportions are short and wide, and overall ill-fitting.  Ann Taylor, however, is known to be petite-friendly and almost all their styles are available in petite, especially online.  So during their recent 40% off everything sale, while putting this blouse into my shopping cart, I found myself not knowing what size I should buy.  Since this blouse is an online exclusive, and I could not try it on in-store, I did the only logical thing, I ordered four of them!

{top to bottom - 0P, 2P, 0, 2}

As it turns out, Ann Taylor petite sizing is quite petite!  The 2 Petite is about half a size smaller (all over) than the 0 Regular.  This is how they fit:

0P - Shoulders too narrow, sleeves a little short, length too short to tuck in.

2P - Shoulders slightly too narrow, sleeves fit perfectly, length too short to tuck in.

0 - Shoulders fit, sleeves a little long, length perfect to tuck in.

2 - A little big all over.

I kept the 0 Regular, and returned the rest.  Another puzzling petite "miss" for me.  Does anyone else find that petite-sizing is too short?

Miu Miu Me

A few weeks ago, I made a quick trip to the Nordstrom Rack near my work.  I had wanted to pick up a few Bliss beauty products, which are sold at a dramatic discount there.  Since I had some time to take a leisurely lunch-hour, I browsed the entire store.  I finally made my way to the racks of shoes (this Nordstrom Rack did not have a separate designer shoe section),  and that's when I caught a glimpse of a blush nude patent pump.   

I had been searching for years for a blush nude pump and last year I finally found the perfect pair in the Miu Miu Platform Pumps; I loved everything about them, just not the price tag.  For months I went back and forth on whether I should purchase them or not until they were no longer available.

So my search continued, until that fateful day at Nordstrom Rack.  As I bent down to take a closer look, I think I actually let out a gasp, staring back at me were the exact Miu Mius I had been dreaming about.  I'm not exactly sure how these shoes ended up at Nordstrom Rack, and at less than 1/3 their retail price, but as far as I'm concerned, it was my personal shopping miracle!       

Missoni for Target

this is just stupid...

{fashionista}

That being said... I was particularly excited about the monstrous Missoni for Target collection and extremely disappointed that their website crashed and was down pretty much all Monday.  At some point during the day, I gave up any hope of purchasing any of the items I had my eye on:

However, when I got home Monday night, I checked Target.com one more time and it was surprisingly up and running.  At this point, all my favorites were long gone, but a few items were still available.  Since shipping was free, I caved into the hype and ordered a few things, mostly out of curiosity.  Has anyone seen these pieces in real-life?  How is the quality?

{floral blouse}

{pleated maxi skirt}

{chevron puzzle trays}

{and this sweater tunic for baby grace!}

I've heard rumors that Target stores will be restocking items until October 22nd... hopefully I'll get lucky and find one of those silk scarves or vases!

Aulani

Last weekend I spent two nights at the new Aulani - Disney Resort & Spa with my family.  It was quite exciting to be one of the first to experience and enjoy the new resort (it opened only a week prior).  Overall, I think it is a great vacation destination, especially for families with young children; everyday we were given a calendar of events which included a wide range of activities from character performances, beach-side fitness classes, Hawaiian crafts, bonfire storytelling and much much more.  My niece and nephew had such a great time they were nearly in tears when it was time to go!

{the view as you exit the lobby}

{view of the lobby from the pool}

{menehune bridge}

{the room}

{oh, there's Mickey!}

{the bathroom}

{h20+ products!}

{view of the lazy river from the 16th floor}

{view of the water slides and rainbow reef}

Omiyage

{Bouchon Bakery - Beverly Hills}

I have been obsessed with Bouchon macarons and chocolate bouchon brownies ever since I first tried them at their Napa Valley location a couple years ago.  So, I was super excited when I heard they were finally opening a bakery at the Beverly Hills Bouchon Bistro location. In Hawaii, we bring "omiyage" (gift/souvenir) to family and friends when visiting or returning home from a trip.  Since I was flying out of LAX and sort of in the area, I just had to stop by Bouchon Bakery to pick up omiyage and of course, extra macarons for the plane!

{caramel macaron}

YogaWear

{lululemon - Get Fit Tank}

My usual fitness routine is sporadic at best, however, for the past few weeks Holly, Rachel and I have been going to corepower Yoga, 3 times a week.  The classes are heated and intense and while I have not seen any results yet, I certainly feel stronger and more fit.  Of course since I am working out more often, I also need more active gear!  My go-to brand for athletic wear is lululemon; all the items I own, from my most recently purchased Get Fit Tank to my favorite Groove Pant, fit great and feel incredibly smooth and comfortable.  The only downside is that their prices are quite steep, especially for clothing you're going to drench in sweat, so I have been looking for a price-friendly alternative.  While perusing Target, I found these capri pants that have a similar look and feel to my lululemon pants, and so far they are functioning quite well too.  At less than 1/3 the price, they are totally a steal.

{Target - C9 by Champion - Seamless Capri Pants}

I also saw this top in store, but they did not have my size in stock.  The top comes with an inner-bra, which is one of my favorite features of lululemon tops.  I just ordered one online... crossing my fingers it works out well! 

{Target - C9 by Champion - Premium Athletic Top}

Blue Hues

New fall nail lacquers are rolling out and a blue-ish tint trend seems to be at the forefront.  I usually don't stray too far from nude and red/pink tones, but I can feel myself falling for these new shades.  I'm especially loving the dark teal variations of Chanel Blue Revel and Zoya Cynthia.  Will you be rocking blue nails this fall as well?  

{Chanel - Blue Revel, Coco Blue and Blue Boy - Fashionista}

{Deborah Lippmann - I Know What Boys Like}

not quite blue... but similar effect

{Deborah Lippmann - Billionaire}

{Butter London - Bluey - Ulta}

{Zoya - Cynthia}

You and I

The video is pretty crazy, but I cannot get this song out of my head.

Almond Latte

{Nespresso Pixie - Electric Titan}

Meet my Pixie; this tiny machine has seriously revolutionized my coffee drinking habits.  Only a few months ago I was either brewing regular 'ole coffee out of my Mr.Coffee machine, choking down the nasty office drip or making pit stops at my local Starbucks on the way to work.  I was an avid and loyal Starbucks fan to the point where I was going nearly daily.  But then my boyfriend brought home this little gem.  I had seen capsule-style espresso machines before, but was convinced it was expensive and a hassle to mail-order the capsules.  The Pixie, however, is extremely affordable at $249 for the machine and 55 cents per capsule and lucky-me, my local Bloomingdale's houses one of the few Nespresso Boutiques in the nation.  Now, my favorite barista is... ME!   

Aloha Hour

 {mango mojito & 1988 cocktails}

There is a lot to love about happy hour: fun cocktails, appetizers and great prices, but it is so difficult to leave work early enough to make it on time!  Roy's Aloha Hour, however, is miraculously available daily and therefore has been on my weekend to-do list for quite some time now.  Most amazingly, everything on the menu is a mere $5 (including specialty cocktails), so we did the only logical thing, order one of each!  The souffle is not on the Aloha Hour menu, but its warm-oozing-chocolatey-goodness was too delicious to pass up.

 {tempura crusted spicy ahi roll & lobster california roll}

 {crunchy golden lobster potstickers}

 {Wagyu beef sliders with sweet potato fries - my favorite + best deal}

 {salt & pepper crisped calamari}

 {szechuan grilled beef tenderloin skewers}

{melting hot chocolate souffle}