Photo du Jour

Voila Jennifer, Silky, Pam, et moi at Mozart's on the lake (an Austin gem!). Gorgeous day! Incredible women!! WONDERFUL MEMORIES!!

PARISIENNE Picnic

From le blog:

"PARISIENNE is the essence of a woman who knows how to love and how to live. At the heart of YSL’s DNA is the empowerment of women, and true to this we believe that any woman, anywhere, can adopt the values of being a PARISIENNE. To celebrate the launch of PARISIENNE, and to encourage women to find their “inner PARISIENNE”, we have created www.ExperienceParisienne.com, where the essence of a woman and her PARISIENNE experience is shared with other women.

In this spirit, YSL is sending five renowned bloggers on a journey around the country to discover and reveal their very own PARISIENNE experiences in New York City, Miami, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Yves Saint Laurent has chosen an ensemble of women with passions for beauty, art, design, music, fashion and food to create a travel diary of their trip. Stay tuned here to read articles, see photos and follow the women on their journey"

How fun is that?? The first post I stumbled across involved a delicious mini French picnic on... an airplane! That's right!! Personally, I abhor flying, especially now that I am forced to take off my shoes (even flip-flops!) at security. Ew. Also? I get uber motion sickness-y and usually have to down several dramamine which make me pass out as soon as i get on the plane (not a bad thing). Anyway, most of all, i hate the food. I hate airplane food and I have airport food (although Austin-Bergstrom has some pretty decent local options). In honor of Julia Child and PARISIENNE, perhaps I'll whip myself a delicious snack to take on the plane? PB + honey? Baguette + goat cheese? What do you eat on airplanes?

{Image from Experience PARISIENNE}

Happy Monday!

Happy Monday, my darlings!! How was your weekend? If you follow me on Twitter, then I'm sure you know I had a FANTASTIC weekend with Jennifer! We ate, we shopped, we laughed, we played, we snuggled avec Lola, and we chatted A LOT. And we made oodles of plans for the future... can't wait! Wish I could share now, but it will reveal itself in time. ;)

And without further adieu, here's a list of what's making moi happy today:

- FOUR DAYS until I'm in California with Ma Soeur!! Our plans include a couple of fancy schmancy dinners out, afternoon tea in San Francisco, beaucoup de shopping, some yoga and/or a long run, and lots of catching up. Woot!

- Meeting Silky Hart, the incredible woman behind Expressive Hart. You know how you just meet some people and they literally glow/sparkle/shine? That's Silky! I hope to join her on a retreat to Costa Rica next year!!

- Knowing that everything happens for a reason. If there was a theme to this past weekend (aside from all the food & burnt orange & Lola loving), then it would be that everything happens for a reason. This rings true for moi EVERY. DAY., and it's just sort of an incredible concept, n'est ce pas?


And not to trample on the spirit of Happy Monday's, but you know what's not making me too happy? The fact that Tay Tay has left Rachel Zoe, Inc. ??? How will RZP ever be the same sans her? This is BANANAS indeed... Guess these fun moments are long gone. Le sad.

Asian Invasion

Growing up in Lafayette, Louisiana, I was the only Asian girl in my school for YEARS. And although I had plenty of friends, I still got made fun of a LOT. Flat face, ching chong chang, flat top, etc. were routinely hurled in my direction, even by my "friends." Luckily I was young enough and apparently had enough of a sense of humor to come out unscarred.

Except. I never thought I could be beautiful unless I looked like my Caucasian peers. Blonde hair and big eyes were my top two wishes. And now, to this day, I get stupid excited when I see a beautiful Asian chica grace the small screen/big screen/magazines and now blogs. This morning as I was checking my Google Reader, I clicked on one of my fave fashion blogs, Style and the City, and was captivated by what I saw:

First, I noticed her terribly chic outfit - j'adore the muted black on black tones mixed with a gorgeous, oversized (and hopefully faux) fur vest and sparkly handbag. After all my initial oohing and ahhing, I then realized that she is: (1) stunning and (2) Asian! Love that. Love that Asian women are now celebrated in the fashion world as being stylish and beautiful. Love that I no longer feel that my small Asian eyes, petite nose, and high cheekbones cannot be beautiful.

C'est tout for moi this Friday. Bon weekend, mes amies!!

Weekend Plans & Lotsa JuJu

I know it's only Thursday (as Rachel put it, "Friday's brother!"), but my weekend starts promptly at noon tomorrow. Pourquoi? Because JENNIFER is arriving in Austin then, and we have a weekend of fun, food, and scary projects involving full length mirror, posterboard, and magazine cutouts ahead of us! My fridge is stocked with fruit, soy milk, hummus and plenty of vino, and my apartment will (hopefully) be much cleaner after tonight. WOO HOO!!!

Anyway, I feel as if my heart has really been into le blog lately, and I sort of get the feeling you are feeling it, too. C'est vrai? I'm not sure what it is. I considered taking a break, but then sometimes something comes along and my first thought is, "ooh i should blog about it!" I also want to pursue a different blog venture as well, but it will involve some work. Hmm je ne sais pas. In any case, merci to my loyal readers who put with moi!

Today i have a busy day of research (boo), an Indian lunch w/ a dear amie (yay!), a session w/ Dr. G (much needed!), and Nachos Thursday/Grey's with Matty (WOO HOOOOO!!). What're you guys up to tonight?

Also, if you adore babies as much as I do, especially little girls, then you will just D.I.E. over Jora's darling little JuJu. I've been reading Jora's blog for awhile now and just love it. She's a beautiful (and i mean BEAUTIFUL) mother of 3 (just had another girl - Little E!) with an INCREDIBLE mid-century modern home in San Diego. She's also a former attorney and loves Austin as much as i do! Anyway, I'm obsessed with JuJu!!! Here are some fun pics, and you must check out this dancing video. Ahh I DIE FOR THIS GIRL!!

Bonjour, November!

Everyone else is saying so I might as well - can you believe it's November?? WOW this year is flying by (and almost gone!). Despite the shock that it's almost 2010, I'm BEYOND ecstatic that the Holiday season is upon us! And without further ado, i'm going to check in with my October goals and announce my new November ones...

OCTOBER GOALS

1. Stop swearing - FAIL. I find that 99.99% of my swearing happens in the car. Road rage, much?

2. Re-implement 11 p.m. lights out rule - HA! MAJOR FAIL. Although it seems daylight savings may help with this...

3. Stop mindless channel surfing - YES! I still watch a lot of (free) cable, but I stick to the shows I love, and then I usually turn it off or at least get up and be productive instead of sitting on the couch praying that my cable lasts forever...

4. Find balance - BETTER! This will take longer than a month to achieve, but I think I've a little bit closer to equilibrium that I had been. Part of it is that work is not as crazy and part of it is that I'm learning how to handle it. Also? Running 101 is definitely keeping me balanced in more ways than one!

5. Work. Out. YES! Thanks to Running 101, I am at least fitting in some good heart pumping cardio every week. :)

6. Focus on MOI - YES! I grow more obsessed with myself by the day. ;) Ha, no but seriously, this has been really good, and it has also had unintended side effects. For example, part of focusing on moi is loving me and my body right now. As I'm learning to do this, my body is actually shedding weight. Not a ton or anything, but it's just feeling lighter. Amazing!

Moving on to NOVEMBER GOALS...

1. Add 3rd run and yoga. My running coach gives us "hw" every week, which is normally in the form of a 3rd run (in addition to our Mon and Sat ones) midweek. I have yet to do this. Part of it is busy-ness and obligations. Part of it is laziness. And part of it is that I'm scared to go out running by myself. When I'm with my group, I feel like I can run forever. I push myself harder and faster and enjoy it. I fear that will all change when I run alone. As for yoga? Well my body needs it, and even if I can't make a class, I want to squeeze in some home practice. My hips are begging for it!

2. Control my temper. Confession: I have an fiery temper. It's not as bad as my mom's or ma soeur's (sorry y'all but you know it's true!), but it's pretty bad. I need to keep tabs on it because I notice it growing shorter these days.

3. Respect my parents. When I was in Dallas, I got uber defensive and pissy with my parents (at separate times) when they tried to tell me something I do is wrong. In this case, it was (i) drinking iced tea and (ii) drinking cold water. (Don't even ask...) While I STILL think my parents, ESPECIALLY MY DAD, are WRONG WRONG WRONG about their theories re: my drinking these beverages, I really need to just let it go and say, "Okay Mom" and "Okay Dad" and not get super defensive about it. Because in the end, parents will be parents, and my parents? Will always have something to say.

4. Less self-help and more FUN! Taking a cue from my darling amie Kylie, I am taking a petit break from the so-serious self-help that normally inundates my life. The truth is, I get enough of that in therapy, and I really don't want or need to spend my rare free time getting more. Not right now. Tis the season to be jolly and HAVE FUN! (Sidenote: This is kind of why I jumped off The Joy Diet train. Part of it was b/c I am not a huge fan of the book. The other part is that it felt like a burden and became stressful. Not the point.)

5. Get ready for CHRISTMAS!!! At this time last year, I was going through beaucoup de changes. I had just started my first job. I was adjusting to not being a student. I was tired! As a result, there were no holiday decorations, no holiday cupcakes, no holiday cards, etc. Another part of it was that ma soeur stayed in California with her hubby's family, and well, that kind of destroyed me. THIS YEAR, however, ma soeur and my bro AND my darling little niece Sofie (a tiny maltipoo) are coming to Texas!! So I'm more than excited for Christmas. I want to get an early start this year! I want to decorate, I want to bake, I want to make homemade Christmas cards (this might be un peu ambitious)! I want to do it all and have fun. Yay Christmas (or whatever Holiday you celebrate)!! :)

Okay, now tell me. What are your November goals? And are you SO excited it's for holiday season??

Full Frost Moon Dreamboard

Voila my November Full Frost Moon Dreamboard (click picture to enlarge)! I had SO much fun making this one. I just adore Fall images... note oodles of warm comfort food, Thanksgiving celebrations, warm fuzzy knits, cozy boots, fall foliage, and a cozy bed. Afterwards, I took some fun "Fall" confetti (leaves and acorns) and sprinkled them throughout for that extra sparkle. This is the beginning of Holiday season (my FAVE) for moi... welcome!!

(Oh! I also added a pic of our dear President enjoying some food b/c well, this is election month, and i'll never forget the election of 2008!!)