Time for a change.

So much has been going on but just too lazy to write =) But in other unimportant news I did get my hair dyed at Salon Blanc which btw is now my new fav hair salon. Decided to go for a more reddish-brown color, although I wouldn't mind going a little bolder & lighter.. I think I'll wait.

Besides that, I've just been busy with work, portfolios & spending as much time with my friend Sarah who is leaving back to CA soon =( Seriously, I don't know what I'm going to do without her. I also have to think of what to get for Russ' bday... another very stressful thing!! Shopping for my friends.. easypeasy. Shopping for Russ.. actually gets me stressed out lol. And I want to plan something for his bday.. possibly a suprise bday party? Ahhh, I have less than 2 weeks to think of something!!

WARNING: Long update

So I am aware that I am awful at blogging. Really, I've been meaning to update it but I've been so busy & tired that I really have no energy to just sit and type. That is why I have made this entry super long filled with pics :) I warned you! So lots have happened since the last time I blogged. After a month of being away from each other, Russ came back home. To be honest, it was rough the first week or so. I thought to myself, wow I could never be in a LDR. BUT by the 2nd/3rd week I started to feel a little more at ease and just kept thinking how happy I feel when I am back in his arms again :D It did help that we talked pretty much everyday even though it cost a ridiculous amount of money to talk, but oh well. This time away from each other also really gave me time to focus on things I've been meaning to do but just too lazy to do! Such as Insanity, but that's another story. I pretty much just worked, spent time with my friends, cleaned/organized my life & room, worked out like crazy and attempted and trying to eat healthier. I really wanted to look good when he came back. I didn't lose as much weight as I wanted but hey 5 lbs is a start. I even got my hair done before he came back (nothing too drastic, just black & brown highlights). I took 3 days off the week he was coming back since he was going to have some time off.

The day he arrived, I was suuuper nervous & anxious you don't even know. I had butterflies in my stomach. I woke up at 6am, got ready.. contemplated different outfits and then finally picked him up around 745am. Ack, the wait was unbearable. Although he arrived around the time he was scheduled, he took forever to get through customs so I literally waited like 30-40 min at the airport. I was getting annoyed actually. But the wait was all worth it cause when I saw him walk out, I had nothing but smiles on my face. The saying is true, distance really does make the heart grow fonder. The next 3 days was all spent with Russpoo. He showed me all the neat things he got in Jakarta. He got a scarf for my mom & sis. He bought me this Indonesian dress which unfortunately fit me kind of weird? lol. He brought back a bunch of bootleg dvds.. everything is copied & imitated in Jakarta. You can buy a "Gucci" bag for like $30 and it really looks like the real thing, although I don't think I'd ever carry an imitation one. He also got me Hello Kitty slippers from Japan since he made a one day stop there. And the best present of all was in a small blue little box with the words "Tiffany & Co." on it ;) lol. I guess he picked up at the Japan airport but he bought me a heart shaped key necklace which was something I totally would wear. My bf knows me too well. But I was really happy and thought it was really sweet :)
The next 3 days we just spent quality time together. Although Russ was majorly jet lagged so he got a lot of rest at my place. I felt bad cause the first day he got back, I dragged him to dinner with my dad, Tiffany (my half-sis) & Ian (her bf). I completely forgot about them asking me a couple weeks ago but my sis sent me a last min txt reminding me. We went to Murphy's Bar & Grill cause supposedly their fish & chips is the best. I ended up not even trying it and getting the corn beef & cabbage cause it seemed healthier? The food was good.. but I'm not a big Irish pub type of person lol. The second day, I dragged Russ again (poor guy) to Yubee's birthday dinner. It was a pretty chill bday though at Apt3. I was, however, fairly dissapointed with the food. They changed the chef and I hadn't been there since but after trying the food, I doubt I'll be going back anytime soon unless it's for drinks. Sadly, the quality went down. But the place is definitely nice chill spot to drink & hang with friends. In other news, me & Sascha finally hung out! Yes I have proof haha. She actually invited me to a Charity Walk which I was a little hesistant at first because she told me it was at 7am.. and for all those who don't know me.. I am not a morning person!! Especially when it's on a Saturday. But I did kind of agree to it before hand.. plus I figure it was for a good cause and I could get my workout in at the same time.

Sascha enjoying her acai cup while on the Charity Walk

The walk was 6 miles so it wasn't too bad.. but I will say my legs were pretty sore the next day. I enjoyed it though.. and me & Sasch got to play catch up! Something that needs to happen more often.

Tonight me & Russ went to Mitch's Fish Market for Ian's birthday. I've heard many good things about this place so I was looking forward to going there. When you first arrive, you might be taken a back cause it's a hole in a wall type of place. It's very small.. fits like 20 ppl? But the food is why ppl go there obviously. I had no clue what to order but everyone ordered Mitch's Special so Russ & I figure we might as well order the same thing. I didn't realize it was going to be like a set menu deal but boy it was a lot of food! Even Russ couldn't finish it and he normally eats A LOT. The first plate came with all sorts of sashimi: chu toro, hamachi, scallops, fresh live lobster (it was so live that the tail was moving.. creepy I know), salmon and abalone. I don't eat abalone or raw scallops so I gave it all to Russ. But mmm chu toro.. yes please :) The sashimi just melted in my mouth.

The lobster miso soup was one of my fav's. It comes at the end of the meal. Unfortunately, I was so full that I couldn't finish it... but it was delish. Overall, I'd rate this place a 4/5.. only because although the food was fantastic, the place could perhaps maybe be remodeled? It's very cozy & homey but I still think that if they made it nicer, it would be a lot more inviting. Nonetheless, this place is still popular cause people just want to eat good fresh sushi. I will warn you, the food does not come cheap. Be prepared to spend at least a $100 per person.. well that's if you want to get the Mitch's Special which I think is so worth! Thankfully, my sis treated us all tonight.. how kind of her :) lol. But definitely a place you should try at least once.

Staycation at the Hilton

View from our suite

Beautiful Diamond Head =)

Sweet bread french toast.. oh how I love you room service.

Chillen at the pool

Russ & Ian enjoying their frou frou drinks

Me & my half-sis Tiffany... do we look alike?

Lucky we live in Hawaii!

I heart him.

Russ is leaving in a week to Jakarta for almost a month! I am deeeply saddened by this and had a hard time when he told me he'd be gone for that long but it's for business and it's a good experience for him to go anyways. He'll be helping open Benihana/Doraku in Indonesia.. pretty awesome huh. I am really proud of him =) Although I am a little worried since I've heard how Jakarta is kind of dangerous.. plus he will totally stand out lol. But I'm sure everything will be fine as long as he not out roaming the streets!!

Sooo.. since he'll be gone for so long, he decided to surprise me and get a suite at the Hilton Hotel over the weekend. Russ normally doesn't like staying at hotels since he thinks it's a waste of money plus I live like 5 min away from Waikiki but he knows how much I like it so it was very thoughtful of him to book a room for us =) I must say my bf is pretty good when it comes to surprising me. It's good to know that even after 4 years, he still knows how to be romantic every now & then =P

We checked in the afternoon but Russ had to go back to work at 4 so I had to wait till he got off and meet him at the hotel at night. Our first night was kind of just chill & relaxed since Russ pulled a double shift and was too tired to do anything. We pretty much just munched on Cheetos & McDonalds and fell asleep to the sound of the ocean =)

The next morning we got up around 10am. I was well rested especially from that soft bed. I took a shower while Russ ordered us room service for breakfast. He surprised me with sweet bread French toast.. although his steak & eggs looked pretty nummy!! Man I could totally live like that everyday.. oh how I wish. After breakfast we rested our tummys before we headed out to the pool. I totally forgot my sunblock (I hate getting tan!) but I was not about to waste $15 on a small bottle of sunscreen at the hotel. So tan it was! I had a nice dip in the pool.. Russ was being a baby and complained about how cold it was. I thought it was perfect. The only thing that sucked was that it rained every now & then but no biggy. After our relaxing day at the pool & beach we headed to the ABC store and picked up some alky. In fact I think Russ picked up more than enough.. but I guess he was ready to party hardy ;)

We had dinner reservations at 730 with my half-sis Tiffany & her boyfriend Ian so we rested in the hotel for a little bit. We had a drink out on the balcony and just enjoyed the beautiful view from our room. It really made appreciate how lucky we are for living in paradise =) Russ ended up falling asleep & taking a nap. I watched a movie in the room and then dozed off into sleep. I didn't get much of a nap cause Russ woke me up with all the ruckus he was making lol. It was already 4:45pm and we were pretty hungry since we hadn't really eaten much since breakfast. Russ decided to order an angus burger w/fries & French onion soup. Mind you this is like 2 1/2 hrs before our dinner reservations! We shared it but man was it a big burger. I was scared I wouldn't be hungry at dinner time.

Well at 730 we met Tiffany & Ian at Benihana (which is conveniently located at the Hilton). I was still full from half a burger I ate earlier but I decided to order the ahi.. something a little lighter. Dinner was fun and they really enjoyed the show. I've seen it many times.. but it's still entertaining. After dinner we went back to our hotel room to have a few drinks. Well actually a few drinks turned into many. I had a lava flow earlier at the restaurant which didn't do much. But then I drank a bottle of mojito.. and Russ proceeded to make me drink a cran & vodka and THEN a screwdriver. Those who don't know me I have a low tolerance for alcohol! I could barely finish the screwdriver. Next thing I know, I was highly intoxicated and couldn't stop laughing at the most stupidest things. It was almost like I was high on weed lol. We got into a conversation about dancing and then Russ decided that me & Ian should have a dance off. He wanted me to prove that I could "dance." Lol. Although I was pretty drunk, I wasn't THAT drunk to humilate myself. Ian didn't mind though. He was just grooving away to the music haha. I had some pretty good laughs that night. Since Tiff had to work early the next morn, she & Ian left around 1. I didn't realize how intoxicated my bf was cause he acted totally normal. But as soon as Tiff & Ian left, he headed straight to the toilet to do you know what. The night ended not so fun for him. I felt so bad for him especially cause I HATE that feeling of being that drunk lol.

The next morning I knew he was still hurting. He kind of just forced himself out of bed since we had to pack up and check-out by 11. He ended up just crashing at my place before he went to work at 3. By then he was feeling a lot better.

This mini-vaca was a much needed one! I wouldn't mind doing this every now & then. Kind of makes you feel like a tourist hehe. I think next time we're planning to get a beach house or get a cabana at Turtle Bay with Tiff & Ian. Can't wait for the next mini-vaca!

Diary of a Shopaholic.

So when did Charlotte Russe start selling $98 jeans?? I went in there today and found a really cute pair of jeans by People's Liberation. I tried them on and loved the fit then I looked at the price and saw $98. At first I thought it was an error they made on the price tag. But it wasn't. Seriously, I thought Charlotte Russe was like clothes made to be fashionable and affordable? Well I ended up getting them anyways. In fact, they were 30% off.. so that was nice. What's really bad is that wasn't the only thing I bought. I was suppose to be helping Sarah shop for an outfit for her bday bbq tomorrow (which I was doing.. I picked out a few cute outfits for her infact) but then of course while browsing, I managed to pick some things for myself. I told myself I wasn't going to buy any more clothes, but that just flew out the window cause I ended up getting 2 pairs of jeans, pj shorts, a floral pink romper, and 4 tops. Mind you, I spent about $600 on my shopping splurge couple weeks ago. So I obviously shouldn't be spending any more money on unnecessary things.. especially on clothes. But in the moment, for some reason in my head I tell myself I "HAVE" to have it or else I'll regret never buying it. My blog should really be called the Diary of Shopaholic. I think I need help.

Amazingness.

I've discovered 2 amazing things within these past couple weeks. One is actually a place called BLT Steak located in the Trump Hotel. And no the BLT doesn't stand for bacon lettuce tomato. It's actually the initials of the chef Bistro Laurent Tourondel. Russ and I discovered it awhile ago while passing through Waikiki but hadn't gotten a chance to try it yet. So we finally randomly decided to go on a Wednesday night which was his day off. He pretty much told me last minute and only gave me 30 min to get ready.. which you all know is not enough time for a girl!! But I am pretty fast at getting dressed especially when under pressure. We left at 8 on the dot and got there within 5 min since I live so close. So this restaurant is located in several other states and countries but I have never heard of it. It is a fine dining restaurant.. kind of equivalent to Wolfgang's Steakhouse or Mortan's. When we got there it was surprisingly very busy. Little did we know it was BLT's 6 year anniversary (although the restaurant here in Hawaii has only been here for 3 months). What was pretty awesome was that they were doing a special for their 6 year anniversary and ALL the sides, desserts, AND drinks were only $3.03! Now that is a pretty damn good deal especially since they usually run about $11. Seriously, we got lucky that night cause we had no clue about it. And we were able to get seats.. they had one seat left outdoors... yes it was cold and a drizzling a little bit, but we didn't care. I was pretty stoked about the $3 drinks. I ordered a limentine mojito cause I'm going through this mojito phase. Russ ordered a bottle of red wine.
They brought us out bread & pate before we ordered which was pretty awesome. I love pate. Russ thinks it taste like "cat food." Then after that, they brought us more bread! Actually it was a popover which I'm normally not too fond of (well at least not at Mariposa's). But this one was to die for. The best popover I've ever eaten.. no joke. They even provide a little card with the recipe so you can make it. I guess it has some kind of cheese baked into it.. but omg I couldn't stop eating it. You're suppose to put butter and salt on it. I didn't eat the whole thing cause I knew I wouldn't be able to eat my meal.. but I really wanted to finish it lol. Anyways, Russ ordered spicy tuna sushi which I was pretty surprised that they had. It was excellent. I got the filet mignon which was on special that night too for $33! And Russ got the wagyu steak. We ordered a bunch of sides... of course I got my cream of spinach. Everything came out pretty fast & looked uberrr delicious. My filet mignon was perfect.. and everything else was fantastic. I kept saying, "omg this is so good." Russ was pretty impressed too which is saying a lot cause he's a hard critic when it comes to food. We both agreed that this place outbeats Wolfgang's. And the service is so much better.

I ended up only eating half of my filet mignon, not only cause I was getting really full but I had to leave room for desserts! Since everything was $3.03, Russ ordered like 4 different ones so we could have a taste of each one. Omg we looked like such piggies but we didn't care. This was like a one time deal. I would say every single one we ordered was pretty good but my fav would have to be the chocolate peanut butter mouse with banana ice cream (which the waiter recommended as well). By the end of the night, Russ and I could not even move. We were so full.. and very satisfied. I would definitely say this was one of my favorite fine dining restaurants that I have been to. It's too bad the $3 thing won't be happening too often over there.

So I mentioned 2 amazing things I discovered. BLT was the first. The second is the cookies & cream honey toast at Shokudo. They were also having a 5 year anniversary so they made it specially for that. It was only for a limited time though.. infact, yesterday was the last day. I think they should put this on the menu as a regular item because it was such a hit. It is also like 50,000 calories.. but it is damn worth it!

Big Lazy Bum.

I am so tired. Running on 4 hrs of sleep. Had a guava mango Xenergy drink + a Starbucks nonfat latte and I'm still exhausted. Ahhh. I need energy so I can get back to my gym routine!! I need energy so I can stay awake to type up my lesson plans. Blehh, my job is seriously draining sometimes!! I can do this though. Just need to get motivated again.


Btw these are my new fav lashes by Shuemura (Slant Black - $20). I wore them on vday. Gives a nice flare to the eyes ;)

Happy Love Day!

Last night Russell came over after work around 12 at night and surprised me with a dozen red roses :) For some reason I didn't expect him to get me any since I know he wouldn't have time to go and get them but I guess he got them delivered to him at work. Flowers never get old with me... I'm a sucker for them! My eyes lit up when I saw him holding them... and I jumped up and down with glee.
He spent the night and luckily he had vday off cause his days off are usually on Sundays. I was super happy to be able to spend the whole day with him cause last vday I had to wait till he got off work at night. We didn't do anything spectacular or out of ordinary. Just kept it mellow. I gave him my gift basket I made him with all sorts of Anthony products from Sephora. I got him a body mud scrub with oatmeal (which he loved!), toner face wipes, shaving gel and shaving razors. I decided to be practical this year instead of getting something like jewerly that he might not wear. To my surprise, he liked it all. I really wished I had gotten the Anthony face wash cause he told me that he ran out of his. Darn, I was so close to getting it. Oh well, next time I'll pick up some from Sephora.

I made him breakfast in bed... fried rice, japanese omlette, portuguese sausage and toast. We pretty much lounged in bed all day which was fine cause we were botht tired. But at 9pm he had a dinner planned at Sarento's Top of the "I" which is a fine dining restaurant located in the Ilikai. It's in a tall tower which overlooks Waikiki. I've never been there so I was pretty excited. Russ actually really wanted to go to BLT Steak at the Trump Hotel but it was booked when he called. See he should of listened to me... I told him that he better reserve like a week or 2 before cause it's going to get full fast! Anyways, I wore that dress pictured above. I call it my "Kim K" dress because it reminds me of something she would wear. It's one of the dresses I got from the Fashionista Market.



Dinner was pretty late.. but it was the only time available. I was pretty hungry when I got there. It was a set menu and there were a several items to choose from. I ordered the Gabriella salad (chopped lettuce, maui onions, artichoke, shrimp, avocado and tomatoes). And for my entree I ordered the Shrimp Scampi pasta although Russell's surf & turf looked super delicious. Mines was really good too.. I was satisfied with my choice. And for dessert we had a yummy chocolate cake. Oh yeah we also had a bottle of red wine... I forget the name? The funny thing is they forgot to include it in our bill... mind you it's like a $95 wine. But, Russ being the good-hearted person that he is, told the waiter. Darn, we almost could of gotten away from a free bottle of wine lol. That would be wrong though. Anyways, dinner was really nice and relaxing. Everything was delicious. I would still say Wolfgang's Steakhouse is one of my fav fine dining restaurants.. but Seranto's doesn't fall too far behind. Valentine's was really nice. I am so grateful to have such an amazing, understanding, loving and giving boyfriend. Sometimes I don't realize all the little things he does for me or that extra effort he goes to make me happy. I truly love him and appreciate everything he does! Happy Valentine's Day!