LDN: Square One

Deanne writes...

There are many things I have to ask forgiveness for but nothing on the moral level (at least not on this blog). When I started this with my friend, I knew commitment would be required of me. And then life sort of happened and this got pushed to the side... like many other projects of mine. This time though, that can't happen.

First of all, I am in London (do you see what happened to the blog? It's not MNL and NYC anymore. It's LDN and NYC.)

Second, I love to write.

So I have no more excuses. 

I took the above photo last April 8 on my flight from HK to LDN. It's been 3 weeks. I am halfway around the world, far away from the shores of my country in pursuit of the dream that has been potent for quite some time now: fashion. You can laugh, wonder what the hell I want to do in this seemingly fluffy, airy industry. But I've been in the Condé Nast College of Fashion and Design for 2 weeks and it can take me all day (or two... or three...) to challenge you on that notion. 

I have a lot of catching up to do (if there's such thing as a New York minute, there's also a London minute) but for now I'll leave you with where I want to end up:

Above my head, there it is: VOGUE HOUSE. I understand how big that dream is but you know... Don't tell me I can reach for the sky when there are footprints on the moon. Yes, it's that sort of thing. 

Back to square one. A clean slate. A new beginning. 

Thank God I can do it in style.

Xx

Move Dust Through The Light

Ever since I got back from London, all I’ve really been doing is working and studying for the LSATs. I haven’t been staying out really late and whenever I do go out, it is just for dinner and that’s it. All I’ve been doing is saying no to my friends whenever something comes up but I decided I needed a break. And hey! It’s my birthday weekend so I’m going to do something different and just have fun. The chance came when my friend asked me if I wanted to go to the Bon Iver concert with her to Radio City. It took me a couple of days to finally say yes and was I glad I did. It was one of the best concerts of my life and it was in Radio City Music Hall no less! 

I’m gonna admit, I only knew a couple of their songs so I didn’t know what to expect plus I was still a bit down from not being able to watch Ed Sheeran live the night before. However when the show started, that all changed. My mood was instantly lifted and I literally got chills. When I heard the first strings of the guitar, I couldn’t help but close my eyes and just feel the music. They opened the show with Perth; and, from there on out, I became an avid fan. I could imagine myself with my friends driving down at night with the windows down and just blasting this song. It was incredible and that’s what I felt song after song. 

I apologize for the crappy quality. I had to zoom in using my phone.

They played a total of 14 songs plus an encore composed of 2 other songs. The show was very mellow and you could tell that everyone was there to simply just enjoy the music (expect of the 4 people behind us who were clearly high on something and were yelling the entire time). I would definitely recommend everyone to watch them live. Hearing their songs on your iPods or whatever is nothing compared to seeing and hearing them live. You get to feel and appreciate the songs more and isn’t that what music is about? Now I understand the expression, “Music is Life.” 

 K

P.S. Here's a little peak from their performance of Skinny Love and Perth.

 

Barefoot In The Kitchen

First of all, I would like to say I sincerely apologize for the lack of new blog post. Things just went into serious overdrive but I promise to be more consistent when it comes to blogging from now on. As for my first post in what seems like forever, I decided to share one of my hobbies, which is cooking.

When I was younger, I would always watch my uncle and grandmother cook. I would observe and even help them out if they would let me. I even took cooking lessons when I was 10 years old until I was 12 and I would go grocery shopping with my mother to buy the ingredients I needed. However, as I got older, I lost the motivation to cook. I didn’t exactly completely stop. I just cooked less often. It wasn’t until I got to the States wherein I started really cooking again.

For tonight’s dinner, I decided to cook chicken breast that I marinated using the recipe my dad thought me with a little help from this recipe I found as well. Basically, I just mixed olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic powder, salt, pepper and brown sugar and let the chicken marinate in it overnight. When you are ready to cook, you can either pan fry or grill them. Obviously, I don't have a grill inside my apartment so I pan fried them using a large skillet. 

We sliced the chicken so it would cook faster.

As for sides, I roasted some asparagus and made pasta using this really simple recipe I found online as well. When I say easy, I really mean suuuuper easy because I only had to use 6 ingredients! I could have used less but I wanted to add extra flavor to the pasta so I added some sun-dried tomatoes in it. If you don’t want to add sun-dried tomatoes, that’s ok. All you really need is some thinly sliced garlic cloves, olive oil, dried parsley, crushed red pepper flakes and of course, some salt and pepper to taste. Heat them all in the pan with the pasta and viola! You are done. Like I said, it could not be any simpler. 

Ingredients

At first, I decided to include mushrooms but I ended up against it because it might be too much.

Before I forget, to roast the asparagus, you just preheat your oven to 400 degrees. In a baking sheet, toss your asparagus with some olive oil, garlic and season it with salt and pepper. Once the oven is ready, put it inside and wait for 15-18 minutes or until tender. Take it out and let it cool for a bit.

before

after

The end result is an amazing dinner to be enjoyed with a friend. Just look at Laura's happy face! LOL

Restaurant Week

It’s weird to think how my last post was when I just arrived to the homeland and how this post is with me being back to the city. It’s so surreal how fast time flies but I have never been more glad to be back. As much as I loved being back with my friends and family, there is nothing quite like New York City and she has been spoiling me since.

It was Restaurant Week here when I got back and so my friends and I have been taking advantage of eating in restaurants we normally would not be able to afford. For $35, that will get you a 3 course dinner at any of the participating restaurants which is not bad considering $35 is how much a single meal would cost you at these restaurants. It’s even cheaper if you eat out for lunch for it will only cost you $25 for almost the same meal as dinner. How crazy is that? So far, I’ve tried out 3 restaurants and my favorite out of the bunch is Bobby Van’s.

Bobby Van’s has five restaurants in the city but only three of them were participating in Restaurant Week. My friend and I decided to eat at their branch in Park Avenue because they call it “the original” so why not eat at the original for the first time, right? When we got there, we felt so out of place. It’s exactly the type of restaurant that your business partners there for a meeting or after work. I would definitely take my dad here but I probably won’t go back with a friend. My friend and I felt like we were the youngest in the room, which was extremely awkward but oh well. The food was amaaaaazing! I could still taste it in my mouth!

For starters, we got the Baked Clams Oreganata and it was hard not to eat everything at once. I’m very picky when it comes to clams because I don’t like it when I taste the “sea” when I eat it. I know it sounds weird but you know when you eat something and you taste so many different things that you forget what it is you’re eating in the first place? Yeah. That. When I eat a clam, I want to taste the clam and not the “sea” and this one definitely did not disappoint. Next up was my Pork Chop with Apple and Mango Chutney while my friend got the Petit Filet Mignon. The main course came with creamed spinach and mashed potatoes that go well with the meats. Everything was just so delicious that I barely had room for dessert! The Chocolate Mousse Cake was so rich and creamy that if you are a fan of things like that, you will enjoy it for sure. I, on the other hand, am not really a fan of anything too creamy so I passed halfway.

Bobby Van’s is definitely a treat for all you steak lovers out there like me so do try to check it out! Restaurant Week is still on going so go eat out at these restaurants as much as you can! Who doesn’t want a good meal at a low price anyway?

P.S. This is me and my friend at the bathroom. Lol their bathroom is so nice!

It's Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas

After 3 dreadful finals straight, a few sleepless nights and a 20 hour flight, I've made it back to the homeland. One of my first stops is an out-of-town trip with my friends and fellow stylish fascinator Deanne of course! It was definitely a much-needed trip after a very stressful week. There’s nothing like a road trip with friends to make everything ok again.

We headed to Tagaytay for dinner and dessert and we laughed all the way there. It was a very chill night filled with good food, good company and a good location with the perfect night breeze. Tagaytay will always have a special place in my heart - good and bad memories included.

Thank you friends for such a wonderful trip! We need to this more often. Kudos to Karen also for figuring out my camera and for such lovely photos. Lol

The Store You've Been Waiting For Your Whole Life

I have less than a week before I finish doing all my errands, study for finals and pack before I leave. With so little time, I try to maximize my days by doing as much as I can. This day was no exemption. Woke up early to get ready for my appointment down in Soho and while I was there, I discovered one of the cutest stores ever. No joke. I wish I could live there. In fact, I think it's even better than...well...Bloomingdales. Cue gasps.

I usually don't divulge my secret places in Soho. I like having things to myself but this store is too quaint not to share. Are you all ready? It's called C.Wonder and you can find it in Spring Street by Lafayette. I haven't been in Soho for quite a while now (a month) so when I got there early for my appointment, I decided to explore. Thank God I arrived early or else I wouldn't have found my new haven. I was instantly attracted to its bright apple green double doors and as I stepped inside, my preppy heart skipped a beat. The store has the same aesthetic as Tory Burch, Kate Spade and Lily Pulitzer mixed with its own chic whim. It’s kinda like J.Crew but think ladies who lunch or 50s/60s housewives. Does that make sense? I could gush on and on about this place and it still won't be enough to express how much I absolutely adore this place.

They offer a wide array of fashion apparel and lifestyle accessories that are way more affordable compared to the other brands that I mentioned. I had such a hard time shopping because I couldn’t get just one thing. I wanted everything in the store! I think I went around the store a total of 5 times before I decided on my purchase. I was running out of time as well so I decided to just get bracelets for my mom and sister and a belt for myself.

I really wanted to take pictures of the store but I didn’t know if I was allowed to take pictures at all. I went online however and I found some pictures from Yelp. I’m acknowledging now that I do not own these pictures so please don’t sue me. These pictures belong to the people who took them. Thank youuu!

P.S. Oh btw, I just found out that C.Wonder is started by Chris Burch. Yes. The ex-husband of Tory Burch. No wonder both stores have the same aesthetic. Don’t worry though, Tory. I still love you.

Eve With Clothes

Forever 21 maxi dress (from Katrine). Topshop fringed bag. Vintage feather earrings from Paris. Forever 21 necklace (used as a bracelet). Charles & Keith white sandals. 

The background makes me look like I'm in the Garden of Eden. Thus, I look like Eve except I have clothes on - thanks to fellow Stylish Fascinator blogger Katrine. But while looking at the photos, I realized that I also look like a mermaid because the dress elongated me! So yes, I'm a mermaid in a jungle. These photos were taken by Ale Rivera (again). Amazing, noh? He just used his camera and played with the natural light.