chopped

i cut my hair and this is the first picture of me from the smashbox photoshoot. see how excited i am?

heaven's on fire

venue: the independent
artist: the radio dept. (sold out!)
who: ro
when: 14 february 2011 (monday)
show starts at 8:00p

this is my first show of the year. i first started listening to the radio dept. back in 2007 or so. they were part of the swedish pop mélange i'd come across that i couldn't get enough of. they offered something different from the others. dream pop. and oh, how i do enjoy dream pop.

the openings were terrible. dj axelson and some local band from belmont. the band was horrendous. not only did they sound bad but they had no stage presence. there was no one pretty to look at. the instruments were too loud and you could barely make out the vocals. when the radio dept. finally come on, my ears were in heaven.

apparently, this trio is quite popular here. they played two nights (monday and tuesday) and both shows were sold out. johan duncanson has the sweetest vocals. he's a bit of eye candy as well. so being up front wasn't terrible. their drums were programmed which was surprising but good for my ears. their tunes are danceable and seeing/hearing them live definitely gets you into the mood. as the 20-something drunk girl who kept bumping into me could attest to. i'm just hating because i couldn't be drunk. i had to work the next day and i'm not 20-something anymore (thank goodness!!).

and unfortunately, they only played one song for the encore but by that time, i was ready to get home.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

happy belated v-day shoes!

any reason to buy shoes, right? ok, so i bought both pairs in the same week and i actually got the boots on the 14th. i know i don't need a reason but it makes me feel better when there is one, wouldn't you agree?

plus, these are my very first pair of d'orsay pumps. i know, i can't believe it either. they are patent leather with a nearly 4" heel. they feel comfortable (so far) and are super sexy.

happy new... shoes for me!

despite having purchased 5 pairs of black shoes in the last 2 years, i still find myself with a shortage of black shoes. i've been looking for a pair of black wedge boots for a while. finally, i found them... these are ankle boots with 3¾" wedge heel and a fleur de lis zipper.

my heart aches for you, pete fijalkowski

i'm not sure why i decided to look him up today but i randomly google him every so often. pete fijalkowski, formerly of the britpop bands adorable and polak, who is the most underrated and under appreciated singer and lyricist. i suppose i've been in search for new music that makes me feel nostalgic. i re-discovered them in 2006. listening to both albums of each of his former bands brings me back to the days where i'd lock myself in my room just listening to music. hours and hours would roll by unnoticed. remember those days? i miss those days. those were days of youth and long gone. i am so busy these days, i barely have enough time to sleep.

pete has a myspace page offering 4 songs off of his secret acoustic solo album, unfortunately unreleased. one of which is a cover of new order's love vigilantes. one of my most favorite new order songs of all time. pete's version is alive yet slow and sexy. really sexy. while i love love bernard sumner's vocals, i am falling more and more in love with pete's. he also does an acoustic version of adorable's big hit, homeboy. it is quite dreamy. i am loving it just as much.

in the early 90's (after high school), i had an opportunity to see adorable play free at golden gate park in san francisco. however, i opted to spending the day with my boyfriend (at the time) which i've regretted for many, many years. fortunately, my brother went and brought back a recording of the show. i still have that cassette tape, somewhere. in the late 90's during the time i was living in san diego, pete's other band polak was scheduled to play in los angeles. so, i planned on going. much to my dismay, the show was canceled.

listening to both fake (despite having bombed when it was released in the mid-90's, is one of my fav albums of all time) and rubbernecking (according to pete, was never even reviewed or acknowledged) makes my heart ache for more. more music please, pete. pretty please. ♥

holiday festivities

on saturday, i left the house at 4p to go to stephen & rowen's annual christmas party. but first, i picked up funie who graciously came as my date. we got there a little early just before 6p. i wanted to come early as parking in the castro area is limited and a bit frustrating. we found parking easily. i also wanted to take pictures of the tree before the crowd came. the tree is amazing. i'm told there are over 600 glass ornaments (click on the image to see a close up). stephen is a collector of santas so if you can imagine, his place is covered in santas. every corner, nook and cranny. it's a santa wonderland. the food is also delicious. i hadn't eaten since breakfast so come 6p, i was quite famished. so i ate and looked at santas, ate and looked at more santas. it was a fantastic party. we left after nearly 2 hours.
despite all the food and being a bit full, funie and i decided to go to our usual italian restaurant in north beach, è tutto qua. i get my flirtation fix fulfilled there. all the italian boys are cute and fun. plus, we were celebrating my belated birthday and funie wanted them to sing happy birthday to me. their spaghetti neri is especially yummy that i actually finished it. funie and i ate most of the panna cotta too, which is so so scrumptious. after about 3 hours, we finally asked for our bill. the boys were disappointed that we were leaving so soon.

after dropping funie off, i got home at 1a. i was out for nearly 9 hours! it was like a work day, if i worked the swing shift or something. and on sunday, i didn't leave the house... at all.

last pair of the year!

these navy blue mary janes are satin with glittery wing-tip toe and chunky 3" heels. they are surprisingly comfortable and very cute.

birthday presents!!

a few weeks ago, i celebrated my birthday. and as most of my friends and family know, i generally like to celebrate all month long. in addition, i don't mind opening presents early. even if it is several months early. i got a new messenger bag from my sister in late august. she got it for me after i bought myself a matching wallet.

as usual, i bought myself new shoes, two pairs, though only one is shown here. the other pair are snow boots, not particular exciting but necessary if i should ever find myself in snow again. i'm not planning on it anytime soon but you never know, right?
these are gray wedges that are close to 5" high with platform heels. they are quite comfortable and i am super tall in them!

this year, my dear sister took me to a french bistro called chapeau! for my birthday dinner. they are known for their foie gras and highly recommended by friends and yelp. the food was quite delicious, especially the foie gras. she also gave me a turntable earlier that morning. i have 5 vinyl records but didn't have anything to play them. i've always wanted a record player, however, it didn't seem practical. there is something really special about playing vinyl. it feels nostalgic even with new music.

on black friday, i purchased a new camera. i've had this camera in my "cart" for half of the year. it is always fun to have a birthday around thanksgiving, as there are so many opportunities to shop for yourself. on cyber monday, i got myself a clarisonic mia. it is yellow and works really well. my face feels so much softer and smoother. it's great for daily use on sensitive skin. i highly recommend it!

i also received these beautiful tulips (my favorite flowers) from my dear friend ashley. she is a sweetie. all in all, it was a fabulous birthday! thank you to everyone who helped me celebrate! ♥

i heart stars

venue: the fillmore
artist: stars & geographer
who: romi & joey
when: 10 november 2010 (wednesday)
show starts at 8:00p

my friend joe came up from la to visit and to see stars with me and ro. it was his first time so he was quite excited. it was my 10th time and i too was quite excited. this band gets better and better. they are one of the most amazing bands out there.

the opening band, the geographers were pleasantly surprising. especially, when they played a new order cover, age of consent that didn't suck. it reminded me of how much i love that song. nothing beats bernard sumner. their other songs weren't bad either.

when you see stars, you definitely get your money's worth. they have so many great songs to go through. they play encores like it's a second set. and in between songs, as with their previous shows, they thank the crowd profusely for being able to do what they love. entertain us with their beautiful music. they also throw white roses at the crowd. this is fairly new that started within the last 5 (or so) stars shows i've gone to. and to top it off, amy millan is 5 months preggers! what a trooper, to go on tour and rock out like it was business as usual. congrats to amy millan!!

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ stars, you are awesomeness.

my boyfriend's back...

and you're gonna be in trouble...

who is a blabbermouth?

venue: swedish american hall (upstairs from café du nord)
artist: trashcan sinatras
who: ro
when: 23 october 2010 (saturday)
show starts at 8:00p

i thought that if we left at 5p to make a 6:30p dinner reservation, we would be okay. boy, was i wrong. heading to the castro area on a saturday night, parking is always an issue. we didn't make our dinner until closer to 7p. after circling blocks and blocks, i gave up and decided on the $10 parking lot. we ate at l'ardoise and E V E R Y T H I N G was delicious. even the coffee was superb. i would highly recommend this place. except for the part where our waiter asked if everyone here was at least 21 while looking straight at me. will it ever end? i hope so... i'll soon be 40.

we arrived at the swedish american hall sometime after 8p which was early enough to get prime balcony seats. despite the giants game going on, they carried on and played. during their set, frank gave us updates on the game. he said that once the game was over, they would play a proper show. this show was acoustic with requests taken online. ro asked me if i'd ever been to an acoustic trashcans show. i thought about it and couldn't remember. then i did... they played an acoustic show when they played at popscene back in 2004 when they made their comeback.

since the show, i have been listening to a mix i put together. here is my list and the albums they come from:

1. the best man's fall - cake
2. you made me feel - cake
3. earlies (because i ♥ john douglas) - i've seen everything
4. the safecracker (who is a blabbermouth?) - a happy pocket
5. only tongue can tell - zebra of the family (originally from cake)
6. freetime - brel (newest acoustic cd! but originally from weightlifting)
7. how can i apply...? - brel (a happy pocket)
8. i'll get them in - brel (a happy pocket)
9. i hung my harp upon the willows - brel (in the music)
10. i'm immortal - brel (i've seen everything)
11. got carried away - brel (weightlifting)
12. oranges and apples - brel (in the music)
13. i've seen everything - brel (i've seen everything)
14. weightlifting (acoustic) - weightlifting
15. send for henny - live @ slim's may 2005 (i've seen everything)
16. obscurity knocks - live @ slim's may 2005 (cake)
17. bloodrush - live @ slim's may 2005 (i've seen everything)
18. easy read - live @ slim's may 2005 (i've seen everything)
19. the therapist - live @ slim's may 2005 (a happy pocket)

unfortunately, the trashcans no longer end their shows with the therapist, but despite that, i had to end my cd with it.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ time is up

vinci park

earlier this summer, my friend jolene was in town from alabama where she is an assistant professor. i met her last year when she was still a student. all summer, we talked about going to happy hour at xanh restaurant in mt. view. she would tell me how her boyfriend, han, was always going there. but he would never take her because he told her they didn't serve any vegetarian items there (she's a vegetarian).

well, jolene and i finally made a date to go. and while we were catching up and enjoying the various types of vegetarian food we ordered, she was texting her boyfriend about it. he was going to come and pick her up as she was staying with him during the summer. when he showed up, she introduced us. as he offered his hand to me, he says, we've met before... i know you. he didn't look familiar to me, at all. and when he knew what my last name was, i got a little scared. i told him i was really sorry but i didn't remember him. i asked him where/when we knew each other. was it high school? he said, no, before that. we know each other from vinci.

i went to 4 different elementary schools (meadow homes, burnett, northwood and vinci) and i was at vinci park elementary from part of the 4th grade through the end of 5th grade. so i asked han, was it in mr. snydal's class? was it 4th or 5th? he didn't remember. he only remembered that it was a combo class (which meant it was 5th grade) and that he hung out with two kids in that class. one was me and the other kid was a boy named brian. han moved to cupertino after vinci so we went to different schools after that.

i knew i had that class picture so i told jolene that i would go home and find the picture, scan it, and send it to her. upon returning home, i directly went to my room in search for that class picture. after 15 minutes of looking, i found it! there is only one asian boy in the class and i remember him. coincidentally, i remember his name was han. i also recognized the brian kid as well.
after showing the picture to several colleagues and friends, it turns out that i have not changed at all. well, maybe the hair is different. what do you think? can you find me?

hit and run

last month, the morning after i got back from my LA mini break, i got into a car accident. it was during the morning commute and it was a hit and run. the chick behind me was putting on make up and rammed into my rear bumper. as i was about to pull over, she took off. in a panic, i tried to chase her and get her license plate but she got away too quickly. luckily, i was told someone called in the plates for a car matching the description of the car that hit me.

this past week, the day my car was ready at the body shop, i finally made it over to pick up the police report. and they caught the chick that hit me! in fact, they tried to catch her the day of the accident. turns out, she was hiding the car and herself at her friend's house but her mom/parent gave her up. and now, she's getting charged with a misdemeanor. and i will get my deductible back for my car!

but none of this would have been possible if not for the good samaritan driving next to me who not only witnessed the accident but also called in the plates. i am extremely grateful to her and plan on letting her know. so, if ever i witness such an accident, i will do the same... you just never know.

ps, i got a bit of whiplash but am fine otherwise... in case anyone was worried.

u aint 2 old

venue: the joint, hollywood
artist: man vs teeth
who: the guys
when: 19 september 2010 (sunday)

this is my favorite song from these guys. and best of all, it was dedicated to yours truly. they totally rock. ♥ ♥ ♥

boyfriend

don't you, touch my boyfriend
he's not your boyfriend
he's mine

last one, i swear!

but probably not...

i think i'm addicted... maybe a little

andes™ mint chocolate cookies

i made these cookies especially for my brother as andes mint chocolates are his fav. earlier today, i was at target with my niece (said brother's daughter) and saw them so i bought them. i've also recently inherited a lot of baking supplies and decided that i would take advantage of the new refreshed supply. this recipe comes from the back of the andes mint baking chips bag with some alterations. i won't retype the recipe but i will describe my changes which i must admit come from america's test kitchen. specifically the episode on the perfect chocolate chip cookie which i watched with my sister on saturday. i noticed that the recipe called for more brown sugar than white sugar. this was the main reason i decided to go with this recipe rather than the one i usually use.

what i learned from america's test kitchen:

despite the recipe calling for "softened" butter, i melted it. well, ¾ of the butter was melted and then mixed with the rest of the butter. this does two things. it cools the melted butter and melts the remaining ¼. america's test kitchen actually melts the butter in a non-stick pan and browns it to bring out the nuttiness. i didn't do this, however.

the melted butter (to mix before the rest of the ingredients) makes the cookie crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. after the butter and sugars are "creamed," let the mixture sit to allow the sugars to dissolve. when baked, this causes the sugars to caramelize rather than melt. i notice that the cookie is not as flat as the usual recipe i use. i guess i will have to test this out which means... more cookies.

the recipe calls for 2 2/3 cups of flour. i put in 2/3 cup of whole wheat flour to make it a little healthier which i'm sure gets canceled out anyway. my niece who was my guinea pig didn't notice, at all.

our little star

this is our little lion during her tap dance at her recital last month.

coconutella rice krispy treats

i decided to call these coconutella rice krispy treats (made with nutella, coconut and topped with toasted coconut). see recipe below.

for those who tested them out for me, thanks! these are the final product and what i took to the party. :)

recipe:
3 tablespoons butter
10 oz bag of marshmallows
1/2 cup nutella
1/2 cup coconut
6 cups of rice krispies

topping:
1/2 cup coconut (spread out on a baking sheet and bake for 5-10 mins at 250F, keep an eye on this or it will burn!)

instructions:
melt butter on low heat, add marshmallows and melt
remove from heat, add nutella, then add coconut (this must be done quickly) and add 6 cups of rice krispies

butter a 9x13 inch pan and spread rice krispies mixture. top with toasted coconut and refrigerate.

and enjoy!