Weekend in Philadelphia

We tried this restaurant called Chabaa Thai Bistro in main street for their famous Pad Thai. I had Crispy Duck Pad Thai which was delicious along with their Thai Iced Tea.

We also tried this Indonesian Restaurant in Snyder Street in South Philly where I found "Es Teler" LOL! 

Red Velvet Cake in Progress

What would be better way to spend time than baking a cake on a rainy Sunday afternoon? Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese frosting is probably the best idea for a late night decadent dessert.

I don't consider myself a baker nor a chef therefore to save my mind and soul I rest my cake with this Duncan Hein's recipe from the box. Quick and easy to say the least. Separately, I made my cream cheese frosting from Smitten Kitchen recipe here.

Let's roll

Bake for 38-40 minutes at 350F


Cream Cheese Frosting

Apply to cake after it cools down

Chill the finished cake inside the fridge for an hour then serve.

Enjoy and good luck!

Fish Eye

In the past year, this type of lens has been very popular among the photography frenzy individuals who want something different in their photos. My brother is one of them. I personally like the fact that this lomo fish eye camera is non-digital and still uses a roll of films to capture pictures. This means we have there's no digital screen to look after the shot is taken. No idea how the picture will turn out until we finished the entire film roll and have them developed. Here's some samples that we took when we were in Bali last year. Something different to make you smile!

Not to mention its cool looking design. This camera will definitely get your crowd talking... :)

Williamsburg VA - Day 2 - Colonial Williamsburg

Continuing my post here on my trip to VA, on Day 2, Sunday, we went to Williamsburg Colonial for some historical "stuff"! We started the day early but the heat was already unbearable and it was draining us to walk towards the site. We literally had to stop every few blocks to get in to the gift shop just to cool us down with the AC. Yikes!
However, we scored to find this (French?) restaurant for brunch called Blue Talon Bistro. They had this "unique" water that they served called "Historical Tap Water". Why? I guess because the area is considered historical? Hence the water is "special"? LOL! Anyways, we all enjoyed our last meal of the trip and the mimosas and cocktails are pouring down. I got a bit dizzy when we head out of the restaurant.. but it was all good.

Williamsburg VA - Day 1 - Busch Garden

Per my previous post here, the past weekend I went to Williamsburg, VA. We left in the early evening on Friday and got there close to midnight due to heavy traffic from DC area towards Richmond. 

GPS check, radar check! We are ready to roll..

On Saturday, we are scheduled to go to Busch Garden which was minutes away from the hotel where we stayed. 

To be frank, I'm not a good sports of roller coasters but apparently my friends are! So I have to suck it in and begin my nightmare with this bad boy called Griffon. Not to mentioned that all of us were on the front seat! I'm so proud of myself though I thought I was going to DIE!

Deadly Griffon

I did IT!!

 The day went by quickly as we starting to feel hungry towards noon. We decided to have lunch in Germany at Oktoberfest to have some good ol German food (sausages?).

Festhaus

Janet and I inside the Festhaus

After all the rides, we also went to some arcade games area where Tam scored on this huge Piplub for first prize. LOL! After this, he had to carry and take the doll with him everywhere, including all the wet rides! LOL

And lastly.... look,  the dinosaur eggs match my dress! WHAT? Unbelievable.

HAHA

To end the night, we had some mah-jor seafood fest at Captain George's!

That's it! Hope you enjoyed the pictures.. :)

Korean BBQ

Last night, we were embracing the Ramadhan by going for a nice Korean dinner before starting our fast tomorrow.
Dude, this year's fasting is rather crazy; 4.50 am to 8.04 pm? Whoaaa.. iono man!
Anyways, for those of you who will be fasting.. Happy Ramadhan and hope you survive.. lol..
In the meantime, happy drooling.. :P

Chicken Pasta

Are you hungry? I am....

Weekend Getaway

Alright guys, to wrap up the summer, I'm going away this weekend to Williamsburg, VA.
It's a 5-hour drive from DE to VA but I think it's worth the drive (read: I'm not the driver). LOL
What's in Williamsburg anyways? I guess you'll find out later after I come back... FUFUFU!

Have a great weekend everyone!

What's in my Closet - Handbags

Due to limited space in my new apartment, I had to use the pantry as part of my closet to store my clothes. Sucks but yes it works! As much as I had donated several boxes worth of clothes,bags and shoes, I still have a lot of them. Surprised? Not really!

To begin this closet journey, let me start with my bag collection. No, I don't have brand names hand bags and yes, out of the "not-so-many" bags, only few that I wear on a regular basis. Mostly due to practicality, size and color. These are my top 5 to-go bags that never fail.

1. Black Satchel Bag from Charles and Keith

I was introduced to this brand by my Mom when we were travelling to Singapore last year. My thought was, the design and material match the price tag - very good business model and marketing approach. After the trip, I became inseparable with this bag and and stuck with it for the entire past Winter. 

2. Brown Satchel Bag from H&M

From time to time H&M does make classic style handbags such as this one. I had this for years and it never worn me out. Durable and cheap (I swear I got this for under $30). Also, in numerous occasions, I had receive many complements on this bag and (for some reason) was mistakenly taken as one of those Brown Cole Haan bag. I don't know which one as I never own Cole Haan bags in my life. But yes, I think this H&M bag is a winner. 

3. White Hobo Bag from Lucky Brand

Perhaps I had mentioned this before but, this bag is probably the most expensive bag that I own thus far. So what's the story behind the bag? I like it because the leather is so soft. All Lucky Brand handbags have the softest leather ever! This was priced few hundred dollars at the time and my Mom kindly got it for me for my birthday! Fufufufufu.. 

4. Brown Rattan Tote from Bali

I got this handmade rattan tote from the local crafter in Tanah Lot, Bali. At the time of purchase, I liked the design as it was very simple and the brown color was dark enough to go with many of my clothes. Recently, my office had required me to bring a laptop everyday to work and this bag is perfect to do just that. 

5. Dark/Light Brown Combo Rattan Bag from Bali

Per my previous post here, this bag has been my only bag this summer. It's durable and I love the design - very chic. At least that's what I think. :P Yes, this is another hand made bag from Bali. I forgot if I got both from the same store - but I doubt it. 

You don't have to break the bank to be in style. Having designer brand name goods are awesome but don't treat it as a necessity. Enjoy with what you can afford! Adios!

J.Crew Women's 2010 Fall Lookbook

One of my favorite looks from the Lookbook

Key words: Girl Scout Camp Military Inspired, Earthy tones and Funny Face by NARS

Beach don't Lie

Towards the end the summer this year, I initiated to go to the beach one more time before Ramadan kicks in. We had some amazing weather this past weekend and so perfect for a day at the beach. Perfect weather + Beach = Unbelievable Traffic. We hit the road at 9 am and did not get there until 12 noon. Parking was also disastrous but with my strong determination, we surpassed all the obstacles and spotted a small empty gap to fill us two by the shore.