flower garland - DIY!

Yes, we are both aware that we have not been blogging! I promise I haven't forgotten though, I have blog posts lined up, but let's just be real, being a grad student in NY takes up quite a bit of time!
Anyway, as promised, I'm finally posting up the DIY project I did weeks ago to decorate my room. A flower garland inspired by A Daily Something, on craftgawker! I put my own little twist on them, but they turned out great and very cute indeed! Plus, it'll cost definitely under $5!

You'll need coffee filters, which can come in different shapes apparently. The ones I chose were flat. A roll of twine, tape, and probably push pins as well to keep the garland up.

Fold the coffee filter in four.
Cut the coffee filter in half, in a crescent cut. This will the the flowers petal-like edges.
Scrunch the end of the coffee filter and open it up on the other side so that you've created a flower.
Tie the twine around your scrunched end. Be sure not to tie the string too close to the edge or the flower will slip right out! The texture of the filter and the twine helps so that your ties do stay secure. What I also did was fold the end over, like a hook so the tie stays on.
Tie various flowers on the same string ~ voilà!
And that's my room, cozy (:

- - - - - - <3 myv

Greetings from NYC

Ah, I'm glad the other half finally introduced himself!
I'm excited! There will be so many adventures from the both of us!

As for me, I just moved to New York City...literally two days ago, & am currently residing in South Brooklyn. These past couple of days have been trips to Target, IKEA, local markets here & there to fill my room up with cuteness (: I'll be updating soon about some DIY projects I did to decorate the room, they are definitely worth the time and effort!

Everyone I spoke to about moving to New York said I was going to love it. And well, they are so right. But I don't know New York very much yet, so I can't say that I do. I landed in JFK Airport Tuesday to a mucky, hot New York with lots of luggage. (I don't know how the suitcases filled up, my closet is definitely still very empty!) I live right by an urban strip of fruit markets, restaurants, and vendors, and wake up every morning to the subway passing by. I stopped by my Institute of French Studies building on Wednesday for an informal open house they were hosting, and my, when I got off the D train to W. 4th street to a bustling Washington square it was definitely love at first sight!! <3 Heh, I've never been able to say that confidently about anything/one before! I love the energy, it's quite contagious, and I love that I get that curious feeling filled with questions like, "where am I? What building is that? Who are these people? Is that really a film cast?" I love the ambiguity behind things that are right there, in front of me.

So many things to be excited about.
Look out. (:

- - - - - - <3

Long overdue!

Hellooooooooo!

I am ze other half of Fancy F words...ze one and only Hoa Ky! Been a bit lazy to blog about my past mini adventures, but I decided to do a little update today about what will be happening for the next several months since it's going to be a BIG adventure. I will be heading to Australia (The Land of Oz) with some side trips to Asia!

I do have some cool things to share from the previous months...

If you're dying for a weekend adventure/minigetaway, you're going to love Alamere Falls in Point Reyes National Park. Grab a few friends, some good tennis/hiking shoes, and bring lots of water! It's a moderate trail of about 7.5 miles round trip. There's a cool waterfall at the end of this hike so it's worth the 3.25 miles hike there! Waterfall..do I really need to say anymore?  Also this is one of the coast trails at Point Reyes National Park so there's plenty of great sights of...you guessed it...the Pacific Ocean. Amazing! It's a great way to work off those few pounds you've gained over the week sitting and staring at your computer at work/home! Also it's fun to just kick it with the homies for several hours...a little bonding experience and you can always say, "..hey remember that one crazy day we got lost to Alamere Falls?.." :D justttkidding you won't get lost especially with the following website!

Here's a great website that describes the trail very thoroughly: http://www.bahiker.com/northbayhikes/palomarin.html

There is actually two waterfalls for this trail. One is a mini waterfall you hit once you've climbed down a steep trail of boulders on your right. I managed to take several pics of this one, but was not able to take pictures of the other one. I was able to see the second one from the top point of view, but it's not as great as being on the bottom on the beach viewing it.

Here are some pictures of both waterfalls:
First smaller waterfall
Second bigger waterfall, view from the bottom
Second bigger waterfall, view from the top

Definitely a must hike trail. Totally worth it. Make sure you wear long pants/jeans! There is a part of the trail that is not managed and a few poison oak hanging around that can getcha! So if you don't want to get owned by these poison oak, I highly suggest covering yourself as you go through "the jungle."

On a side note, I will be updating more often with my adventures in Australia so stay tuned! but until then..

Peasssss out..side

- HK

MAXInes.

Talk about blogging hiatus. :/
Finally a Sunday I can savor, so well, here's a little something something to start the week!

Had a cute little visitor this weekend! So yesterday, Dia & I checked out the Ashby Flea Market, haven't been there ever.. the four years I've been in Berkeley, shame! Flea markets are usually way more fun than swapmeets, there's just something interesting about buying legitimately. old. stuff.
So well, there was a little vintage stand, that sells just that. Second Gen Vintage had a variety of pieces that stood out and were definitely timeless. I was caught on a Ralph Lauren pink floral skirt...but didn't feel the $12 the cost. We couldn't stay away and on our way back to the car..we looped around and stopped by and got our hands on some cute maxi skirts, one for each of us.
To be honest, I wasn't too keen on maxi skirts. I think they look great on other people..but I've been resisting the trend. Ha, well, I finally tried a printed one on (whoop, $5!)..and I actually didn't look short..and now I'm converted. :P
Sunday comes around and I have an entire freeeee day! First in a while, so I had a bit of the legitimate old stuff craving rolled over from yesterday & ask roommate Pang to come with me to Goodwill. Not too lucky today, except that I pick out this beautiful sheer maxi skirt that I made Pang try on! & Now it's in her closet, can't wait for her to debut it :P
Dia's floral buy- $6.
Pang's sheer buy- $6



- - - - - - - <3 myv.


112 would sing about these peaches.

It's peach season. And I thought I'd revive my pie palooza project at least once. (: Still gotta make my strawberry rhubarb pie but haven't quite mastered the crust just yet. Other than that, it's a super easy recipe, that's why pies in general are so amazingggg.



Personal Peach Pies, skin & all.

recipe

* for the crust, I just followed this recipe. I made it in the morning, went to work & used it in the evening.

filling ingredients:
- 3 Large peaches or ~ 6 cups of sliced peaches. Without peeling the peaches, I sliced them thinly, about 10 slices per half, and then cut those slices in half so they would fit into the cupcake mold. If making a regular sized pie, you don't have to do that.
- 3/4 cup Pure cane sugar (any granulated sugar is fine. I always minimize the sugar as much as I can so  adding up to 1 1/4 cup of sugar should be okay, depending on preference)
- 3 tbsp All purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp Nutmeg
- 3 tbsp Butter (unsalted)
- 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

procedure:
The personal pies were actually accidental because I couldn't find my circular pan so I had to improvise a bit and made mini pies instead. They're cute, at least?

01. Grease the cupcake pan. Spread flour on the flat surface you're going to use to roll out the crust. Take the refrigerated crust & roll it out flat. Using a cup (or something that legitimately cuts circles is okay too :P), cut circular shapes for the mini crusts. Form the circles so they fit into the cupcake molds, with the edges reaching the top of the mold. Put back into the fridge until ready to fill. I was able to fill about 10 cupcake slots.
02. In a large pan, mix the peaches, flour, and nutmeg gently. And let sit for about half an hour. During this time, I cut strips to use to top off the mini pies with the extra dough crust I had. Also refrigerate that.
03. On medium heat, stir the peaches, though not too often or they'll get mushy. Cut the butter into chunks & add to the peaches, and lastly, add the vanilla.
04. When the liquid in the pan starts to bubble, turn off heat, and take out cupcake pan from the fridge. Add the peaches to the little cups generously, pat gently, and scoop in all the juices, nothing should go to waste!
05. Preheat the oven to 425F. Lattice the extra dough strips on top of each pie, tucking the the edges of the strips with the edges of the rest of crust, if possible. You can also butter the tops so they're a bit golden when they're done.
06. Bake for about 25-30 minutes. The crust should be done, but it does depend on ovens :/
07. Take out of oven and let cool before removing from the pan. Once they're cool, they're super easy to pop out, but still be careful! They'll still be warm so a dollop of vanilla ice cream on top to serve is quite delightful (: 



- - - - - - <3 myv.

D (dessert, delicious, dance?) Bar


pouring the raspberry sauce into the soufflé.
 

D Bar, San Diego

My weekend in San Diego was amazing! It was particular nice seeing my parents, cousins from far away, and celebrate! Weddings <3 Of course, I had to write about at least one food adventure!

The night before leaving, I went to a dessert & wine bar called D Bar in one of my favorite pockets of San Diego. Hillcrest is an urban, upbeat part of town that attracts some of the friendliest people of San Diego!

So we started with a safe Riesling (my friend Chris has never heard of the German wine! :O) and a bubbly Sarraco. The Riesling was mild and well, safe. The Sarraco, however was quite tasty. I have a sweet tooth and enjoy subtly sweet wins, so I may be a little biased. The chilled bubbles brought out fruity notes, like lychee! Whites are always good for or with desserts because they can come chilled and that changes the flavor so much.

Food wise, we tried the harlequin soufflé, which was accented with sugared beignets, and a scoop of crème fraîche ice cream swirled with raspberry sorbet. I especially enjoyed the freeze dried raspberries at the bottom of the ice cream. I think the soufflé was a bit eggy, but maybe ve only had one other soufflé in my life, and as it was savory I don’t have much to compare to!

0I wish I was hungrier to try more things, but the kobe beef sliders were definitely notable. The onions were soaked in Bourbon before grilling, so the drunken onion description was  pretty justified. They came in 3, with a side of French fries, in it’s own little container that fits in it’s own little square slot in the plate! The kobe wasn’t medium rare like how most burgers are but still super tender. And yes, I enjoyed my sliders very much :P

Definitely going to share this place with my friends the next time I head home to SD. 

Thought I’d also include some more creative shots from the wedding. Congratulations, Johnny & Ruby!


- - - - - - - <3 myv


Country Club Summer

I'm so excited to go home to San Diego tomorrow! I get to see my parents, see my friends, eat delicious food, andddd go to a wedding (: My cousin from Oregon is getting married & since his fiancé lives in San Diego, my house is going to be bustling with wedding chaos. LOVE!

So, since a summer wedding is coming up, I get to share some of these shots I took for AlbertMing last weekend for our Summer Blazer Look Book. I had a lot of fun fitting the model, putting pieces together, and shooting my own project for the company! You can view the rest of the looks at the AlbertMing blog, but I'll also be posting some more looks on this site within the next couple of weeks (:

The Country Club look is a relaxed, but clean look that is perfect for a more casual but still elegant summer wedding. The Start-Up Blue blazer is quite a tease, the slim fit and thin, peak lapels make a man look sharp, yet the patch pockets say "hey I'm quite approachable." My favorite part is that once you get close enough, you'll see that the blazer has a gold lining, which is a actually a shameless tribute to our Alma Mater, Cal [go bears!]. What seriously tops it off is that it's water resistent, made with Japanese Bemberg. OOo.

Ethan D. wearing AlbertMing Start-Up Blazer, that you can find here; J.Crew mini-gingham shirt in light orange; J.Crew chinos in khaki; Calvin Klein leather loafers in tan; Tommy Hilfiger reversible belt (guys, invest in this, please).




More looks to come! yay. Enjoy the weekend as I will enjoy mine! (:

- - - - - - - <3 myv.

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