Back at Don Quiote again

I swear I was only going there to pick up Worcestershire sauce (yeah try spelling that without spell check!!) and tobasco but ended up with a crapload of other things. I seriously could shop at Don Quiote for hours.

Anyways the reason I had to buy Worcestershire sauce & tobasco was because I was making my own tonkatsu sauce! Tonight was my first attempt to make that and chicken katsu. I was pretty satisfied with my katsu & the sauce.. Although the presentation could of been nicer. But oh well, it was my first try!!

Russell's chicken gizzard

These were pretty darn good. Russell also made deep fried hearts.. Thankfully they didn't turn out so good and so he had to throw them away *phew* I was saved.

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Too cute for words.

Spending the day with my 2 favorite munchkins.

Donkey

I heart Don Quiote.. Makes me miss Nihon :(

Musubilovee.

Mentaiko musubi from Don Quiote

I forgot to add...

Russell's charsui chicken & pork w/rice & kombu.. My dinner the other night.

I must say for a white boy, he's pretty darn good at cooking Asian food. In fact sometimes I feel like I'm dating an Asian guy lol. I heart my Armenian/Asian wannabe hubby :)

Btw I love being able to conveniently post from my iPhone with my BlogPress app.

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I smell something good cooking in the kitchen...

I love that my hubby cooks dinner for me. Even after a tiring day of work :)

My first May's burger and definitely not my last! So yummy!!

Indian feast

So I just found my new favorite Indian restaurant, thanks to the bff Sascha. Yes, I think I may like it better than Himalayan Kitchen which is saying a lot since I really do love Himalayan Kitchen. This cozy little restaurant is located on Kapahulu.. kind of hard to find and would of never known it was there if it weren't for Sascha guiding the way. When we got there, there was ample parking and only 2 other people in the restaurant. I guess we came on a slow night (it was a random Thursday evening anyways) but supposedly it's usually more busy.

The menu had a pretty vast amount of items and we had a little difficulty deciding what to order. Then we saw the 2 person menu that comes with 4 choices from the meat/curry section, 2 veggies, bread + rice.. perfect! Got to taste a little bit of everything. Ordered a few curries, some fried tofu thing, mixed veggies, and got 2 types of bread (sorry don't know the names) but everything was absolutely delicious & a bit spicy! The food came on 2 huge platters with everything on... I was amazed at how much food there was. I think my fav would have to be the fish curry and the chicken spinach curry. The lamb curry was also very good.. had a bit of a kick but complimented the chutney that came with it. YUM.. I'm craving Indian food all over again.

You definitely need to try one of their yogurt drinks called sweet lassi. They have 3 different flavors but we both decided to try vanilla. It was lighter than a regular milkshake and tasted exactly like yogurt. Loved it! It especially helps when you're eating spicy food.

Overall the total came out to about $20 something each... pretty good deal for the amount of food we got. I will for sure be back. This is also a perfect place for a catch up sesh with your girlfriends or even a date night with your bf/hubby. I will definitely be bringing Russ here!!

Busy Bee

The title says it all. It's also the reason why I suck at updating. But I'll try to recap as much as I can of what's been going on in the past month or so. So besides stressing out over apartment hunting (which I've been doing for several months already), I was also on a mission to learn how to cook and be the best gosh darn cook. Ok maybe not the best, but good enough to prove to Russell that I could cook since my previous attempts were not so impressive. Plus I got to prepare for being a wifey!! And as the saying goes, the best way to a man's heart is through his stomach. I had my trusty ol' friend Yubee (or as I call her, Iron Chef Bee) use her cooking magic on me.

Chef Bee teaching me how to make breaded baked chicken & pasta (I mostly watched lol)

.... and voilà! Dinner is served =)

Finally got to have a 3-way skype date with Sarah (well I guess 4 if you include Broadway). Miss this girl like crazy :(

I also played tourist and did some sight-seeing with Russell & his friend who was visiting.

Makapuu!

Had a sunset BBQ at the park with my sis Tiffany & her bf Ian.

Got to show off my cooking "skills" and made basil chicken. I guess Yubee's cooking magic worked because my chicken was a hit.

So was my easy peasy pasta salad :D

Found these Hello Kitty Doc Martens shoes while passing through Nordstrom. Although I am a HK fanatic, I definitely would not wear these. But I thought it was cool that Doc Martens make Hello Kitty mary janes!! I think I would of wore these back in elementary school day (which btw, I use to sport Doc Martens.. super comfy!).

Went on another island adventure with Russ & his friend. Took him to the infamous, Giovanni's Shrimp Truck. Never knew the lines were this long.

30 min later... we got our shrimp. All 3 flavors. Was it worth the wait? Sure if it's your first time. Would I do it again? Probably not.

Happy shrimp lovers.

Also celebrated my sister's 22nd birthday at Benihana. This was actually bday dinner #1.

Bday dinner #2 was at Wolfgang's Steakhouse.. one of my favs.

My sister looking posh as always ;) Btw, this jacket totally reminds of Rachel Zoe.

So Yubee was suuuper awesome and helped me do some home shopping because.....

WE GOT THE PLACE!!!!!!!

Well me & Russ that is. Yes, it's official, I am MOVING OUT. Never thought I'd say those 2 words haha. ROSS is awesome for home shopping. Btw, Bee & I had to lugg all that stuff to her apt which is like a 15 min walk. Yeah, not fun!! But got a good work out at least?

After lugging around like 50 lbs worth of stuff, we decided to reward ourselves to a nice dinner in downtown. Got all dressed up (finally put my lace leggings to use) and had a romantic dinner for 2 at one of my fav restaurant's Du Vin.

We were feeling a little frisky and ordered some baked oysters... so yummy ♥

Was keeping Bee a lot of company since her BF was away for a month in training. On a random Saturday night, we decided to take an adventure through Waikiki at 1am. Where did we end up at? Mickey D's. How sad right? Oh well, we burned it off anyways by dancing the night away~

So since we got the place, Russ & I have been busy getting it ready & moving stuff in. Russ and his friend installed a 47" flat screen tv to the wall... the finishing product looks very nice. Pic will be up later ;) We have yet to finish moving everything, but I will say.. I'm loving it more and more!

This is Russell and our friend's daughter. She likes him :) This pic makes me go "awwww."

I know I shouldn't be shopping, but found these cute Kathy Van Zeeland flats at ROSS. Seriously, cutest thing everrr and soooo comfortable. $25... a steal right? I love pairing these with like a non-printed summer dress.. loves it!

Got a crate full cleaning products from one of my kiddie's mom... isn't that so thoughtful? What's even greater is that they are Method cleaning products so they are good for the environment ♥ and better yet, non-toxic so kid-friendly!!

Super random, but I went to the Justin Beiber concert. Took these 2 kids and felt like a major teeny bopper. Despite being surrounded by little teenage girls swooning & crying over JB, I had fun. In fact, I have more respect for JB cause he is one very talented kid.

I know you can't tell, but that's Justin Beiber. And no I do not have Beiber fever.

Yesterday I had to go to one of my kid's bday party. Thankfully Sascha tagged along with me. Did not take any pictures. But I did take a pic of this yumtastic cream puff & strawberry cream soda from Cafe Laufer.

You're probably wondering why I have a picture of a pizza & a Chuck E Cheese cup. Well I had to go to ANOTHER birthday (same child) at Chuck E Cheese. Haven't been there since I was a wee little kid.. but I was def looking forward to the pizza. Russ was a great sport and came with me to the party :D

Chuck E Cheese has def changed from back in my time lol. I thought it was cool that they had a ticket blaster for the birthday girl or boy. It's like those game shows where the money is blowing and you have to grab as much as you can. In this case, it was tickets.

After the party, Russ and I did some home shopping and then headed back to our place to do some cleaning & organizing. He also took a little nap on our new bed!! So happy it is finally here :) For dinner, we went to Gyu-Kaku (another fav) and ordered up a storm. Tried their new beer battered fries w/wasabi mayo. It pretty good & very crispy.

It's been a crazy couple months. Still have so much to do!! PLUS I got to plan & get ready for my Japan trip end of this month!!!!!! I am so excited you don't even know. Lots to plan & do!! Got to get on it.

Stripes & Lace

I had this sudden obsession with nautical stripes and went on a strict hunt for them. I guess I was inspired by the Kardashians who seem to always be wearing stripes. But seriously, I had the hardest time finding the perfect nautical top that I was looking for. This past weekend, however, I went to Forever21 at Pearlridge and seriously grabbed about every striped top insight. Ended up with a few tops (not all pictured) and found even more at Wet Seal! My mom glared at me as she saw me buy stripe top after stripe top. When I have an obsession over something, I really have an obsession over it! Anyways here are a few outfits I put together. Oh and my trusty stylish sister helped me out & took pics =)

I love this top!

Sweater: F21, Shorts: Guess, Bag & Shoes: Nine West, Bangles: Acid Dolls, Necklace: Guess

Dress: Wet Seal, Necklace: Guess, Shoes: Nine West, Earrings: Pineapple County

Top: Nordstrom (bought this couple weeks ago), Jacket: F21 (my sister's), Leggings: Bamboo Sky

Same top but paired it up with a F21 faux leather jacket and a cute bright bag (Shana Logic)

Top: Peaches n Cream, Skirt: F21, Lace Leggings: Express
(I know this isn't stripes but just had to add this in cause I love lace leggings! Too bad it's so hard to pull off.. well for me at least.)

Gosh, I'm a true shopaholic at heart ♥

3-DAY Weekend plan

You don't know how overjoyed I am for this coming 3-day weeking. Seriously, you don't. Work has been pretty hectic and just knowing that we actually have a Monday off (very rare), really makes me happy. Normally I'd work all week and then have to work, well actually babysit, on a Fri or a Sat. But this weekend I left my weekend completely free to do whatever want. I think I deserve it =)

So I planned out my whole weekend.

FRIDAY (TOMORROW):
Work 9am-6pm
Go home and get all dolled up
Dinner @Shokudo with the girlies (yay girls night!)
Next stop, First Fridays!
Then possibly another club after?? hmm who knows, we might be spontaneous and go somewhere random.

SATURDAY:
11am - Salon Glitter nail appt... still don't know what design I want yet.
Lunch date with Sascha & maybe some shopping.. err I mean browsing.
Reminder: need to find some cute flats & leggings for my JAPAN trip!!
Eyebrow wax
Check out Bamboo Sky... new arrivals are in! eep.. this could get dangerous.
Then mtg at night.

SUNDAY:
Russ & Vicki QT.
Dinner @RICHO (new Korean restaurant) with Tiff & Ian
Then after... who knows??

MONDAY:
Fambam time.
Possibly use my Heaven on Earth gift card that's been rotting in my bag. Hmm.. I could use a good massage ;)
Finish up portfolio.

Do you love it or do you love it?

My new vintage Chanel bag from my mommy dearest :)

Isn't it beautiful? Gahh. What I love about the classics is that even if it's 20 or 30 years old, it still never goes out of style. My mom actually has a few Chanel classic bags that she was almost going to sale. It's a good thing I stopped her because now she can just pass it down to me :) Now I won't have to fork over $1000+ for a designer bag.

Although I do love my Chanel vintage bag and the million other bags that I have, I am currently on a search for a cute messenger bag. I've come to realize how much easier it to have a bag that's hanging across your body rather than holding a big shoulder bag. I'll especially need one for my trip to Japan in November cause I know I'll be doing a hell of a lot of shopping and won't want to lug around my huge LV bag. So I have my eyes on this bag from Nine West...

Boom Boom Cross Body bag
only $39.99 at Nine West!

JULY... A month to remember.

Since I suck at updating and don't want to type out a full long drawn out post about what's been going on in the past month in a half, I will update in pictures instead =)

My bestie Sarah left and went back home to CA =( I miss her tons.. seriously, she has been there with me through thick & thin. But I know we'll remain friends till the end.

Russell's 28th birthday was a success! I took him & my half-sis Tiffany and her bf to Azure. I actually had never been to that place before hand and was going by the reviews of Yelp. They were right.. this place is definitely worth the 4.5/5 stars.

Me & the birthday boy

Their filet mignon with foie gras just melted in our mouths.

Sorbet w/pop rocks! Probably their most interesting thing there. It's to cleanse the palate.

Russ also really liked his gift =) It's a Burberry ceramic watch.. yes I know, I'm pretty awesome. But so is he... and I think he deserved it. This & the dinner combined left my bank acct looking not so good lol.

On Sunday, July18, 2010... we got ENGAGED!!! Russell proposed to me while we were having brunch at the Hau Tree. About damn time right? I really thought he was going towait till our 5 year anniversary, but I guess he couldn't wait any longer. It did, however, catch me by suprise which is good cause I wanted to be suprised! If you're all wondering if I cried. No, I didn't because I was too mesmerized by the sparkly diamond ring in that little black box hehe. No wedding date set yet.. but after we find a place and get settled in, we will have a good idea when our wedding will be.

The Ring.

In not so good news, my grandpa passed away July 25, 2010... exactly a week from my engagement. Definitely a shocker for everyone because we didn't see this coming. But we know that he lived a fulfilling life and he wouldn't have wanted it any other way. He was seriously, the best grandfather anyone could ever ask for. Thank you for everything. We will miss you...

My cousin Emerson also came to visit from CA to see my grandpa one last time. Don't worry he doesn't normally look like this. It was fun catching up with him and hanging out since we rarely get to see him. Had some pretty good laughs with him.

Took my grandma & my mom to their very "first" pedicure. Well they've actually had pedicures but it was like 50billion years ago. They loved it though.. I think I got them hooked. Seriously, pedicures are a great way to relax without having to spending a fortune and at the same time make your toes look nice & pretty.

Cutest kids ever. Also the kids that I babysit. I've been doing that a lot... I would say almost every weekend or every other weekend. But I really don't mind.. I love my kids plus it's a great way to make extra cash on the side =)

Russ & I also celebrated our 5 year anniversary (8.12.10) at BLT Steak. Can't believe we actually made it this far haha. It's been a journey to get where we are at but I am in a very happy place with him. I look forward to many many more years with him.

Btw, their popover is to die for. I normally don't even like popovers.. or at least not at the ones at Mariposa. But the one at BLT.. OMG!.. is sooo good. It has grated gruyere cheese baked in it which makes it even more orgasmic. And the bread is so nice & fluffy. Mmm.. with butter & salt.. so good! What's great is they give you a recipe card with it so you can bake it yourself. I think I may just have to do that.

Yeah we were pretty full & drunk by the end of the night.

I got to play catch up sesh with Sascha & her sister Selena. We went to Hot Pot Heaven since we were in a hot pot mood but didn't feel like waiting in the long ass line for Sweet Home Cafe. Although Hot Pot Heaven was pretty good and a lot cleaner and less of a wait, I would still say I prefer Sweet Home Cafe. Plus Hot Pot Heaven is a bit pricier and they don't give the free big bowl of shave ice like Sweet Home Cafe does =(

*****************

So that pretty much sums up what's been going on. Oh well, I forgot to mention I went on a big shopping spree the other day with Sasch... and actually I went a week before that too. *sigh* I know, I'm bad. But I found a lot of cute finds!! I will post pics later when I'm not so lazy/tired. I must mention though that I am in love with American Apparel. The funny thing is I used to despise that store just because it reminded me too much of the 80's with the whole spandex and super high waisted pants. But, I realized that after going in there last weekend, I found a lot of things that I was looking for... such as the one sided off the shoulder tops and comfy leggings. Ohhh and I can't forget my cute purple shorts. Yes, purple!! I love them =) Great summer pants. Anyways, that is all for now. I am off to bed. I promise not to wait so long to update again.

Oyasumi!