The Leaves are Turning Yellow Already

This morning, while I was washing the dishes I should have done yesterday, my mom calls me from the computer room where she was checking her e-mail.

“Natash!”

“Whaaat?”

“Come! Hurry! Take a look at this!”

I wasn't very anxious to get over there because when she usually tells me to come, she just shows me uninteresting things like an e-card she received or some game her friend sent her that she can't figure out. So I take off my dish washing gloves and walk over and see a short video clip loading. There was this bird sitting on top of a chair.

“He loves the Backstreet Boys.”

“Oh”

haha! Isn’t that funny? A head-banging bird... he has good beat. Good exercise too!

My mom is going to Edmonton for the next a couple of days for a conference. I was thinking of what she could bring back for me…. But after 10 minutes, I still couldn’t think of anything... 'cause there's really nothing in Edmonton.

I feel a little guilty b/c I hardly did any substantial schoolwork today. I basically cleaned/organized myself and somewhat purged my closet of clothes I just don't want anymore.. (and watched a couple hours of TV). I told myself to get rid of things I've been keeping unworn for over 2 years... and I put away my summer clothes. I sort of feel like I'm starting my winter wardrobe from scratch this year because I can't seem to find any of my winter clothes from last year! How expensive.

Oh and my banner... the font is all unclear. I need to install Photoshop on this laptop haha.. MSpaint can only do so much!

Real Estate is HOT HOT HOT

I watched a lot of upscale home renovation shows today and it made me consider becoming a house flipper for a good five hours or so. It's definitely hard work but it's fun at the same time. What's a house flipper? It's someone who buys a house (usually old and very out of date) and basically does a total renovation by gutting it.. knocking down walls.. and building the entire cavity of the house over again. It can be extremely risky, especially if you're dealing with million-dollar estates but it can also be very satisfying! AND if you sell, you can earn a HUGE profit/commission. There's quite a few shows about house flipping these days. There are these two... (British/Scottish)? designers who did a project by investing in around 6 houses and flipping each of them, seeing how much they could get from each house and for the most part, they profited a LOT. While I was flipping channels during commercials, I kept switching whenever I saw ACTUAL renovations.. like the dirty work haha - my dad and I both agreed that even though that's part of being a house flipper, I wouldn't be doing that sort of work. I'd be the one pointing, telling people what to do. I think I can be good at that stuff... especially when I know exactly what has to be done. I want to be a wedding planner.. or some event organizer.......

OK so today, I'm adoring
Anthropologie's "for the HOME" collection.

Anthropologie is actually under the same chain as Urban Outfitters and similarly sells both clothes and furnishings. However Anthropologie is "designed to appeal to 30- to 40-something affluent professional women with total family annual income above $200,000USD"... sooo not me haha. They definitely don't sell things for cheap! I just learned on Wiki that Anthropologie doesn't advertise at all so their customers stay longer in the stores (averaging 1.25 hours)! They also avoid malls, preferring stand-alone stores. Interesting concept. I went into an Anthropologie in New York. It's an amazing store - definitely not mainstream. They really pay attention to detail and the whole store was decorated so uniquely. Anyway, since the clothes really aren't for my age (even though I did buy a shirt there), I'm going to concentrate on their gorgeous, overpriced furniture.

I love this armoire - it's so pretty!
It's made out of wood and the design is carved and lined with linen.

The chair on the right looks so similar to the one I always see in this house when I'm taking the bus over to UBC. I fell in love with that room... and that's why I love this chair. It makes me feel as if someone should serve me champagne and a platter of cheese and grapes when I lounge on that chair.

This chair (left) has a bit of a vintage flare to it. I like the overall shape and detail of it.

Anthropologie has a few pieces from flea markets that they re-upholster and sell for ridiculous prices. I believe this is one of them.

Again, it's a neat store and if you ever have a chance to go in, do!

LOL Vera Wang has her own Serta Mattress line... does look luxurious!

Anyway, I'm off to finish the dishes.....

Sleep well,

N

YesStyle.com

I got my YesStyle (an online Asian fashion store with well-known/unique brands from China, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea) package today!! FINALLY! It only took 23 days...

I ordered a thin long black cardigan for $15USD. I like it but since it only comes in 1 size, the arms are a bit short (by about half an inch) but I can always pull it up.
I also bought... [drum roll please: doogadoogadoogadooga] a Googims hoodie (I'm modeling on the left)!! I was a bit scared I didn't order the right size because (1) all the models on YesStyle are very slim and petite, (2)because Asian sizes usually fit smaller... but I checked the measurements before I ordered, and (3) because I've never ordered any clothes online before by myself (besides maybe a tee from Threadless.. but I tried the shirt on before I bought it). Their smalls are actually the size of a small-medium. I have a problem with sweatshirts -- they are either too big in the shoulders and armpit, or everything else doesn't fit right. Lucky enough this fits perfectly! I'm extremely happy with it. It's something different, yaknow? If you can't see the print, it tells you how many calories you burn when you do various activities (mainly chores). For example, when you do laundry, you burn 25 calories every 10 minutes. When you take a bath, you burn 28cal/10 min. I just hope nobody comes up to me and tries to read it... that's why I don't like wearing graphic tees haha
Btw, Googims is a brand from South Korea. Wanna tell people you're on a diet? That you're single? Busy? Hot? Stressed? Dry for over a year? They sell a lot of cute t-shirts and bags with motivational messages (like the one on the right $48USD)!
Check them out!
See, the reason why I adore online shops such as YesStyle, is because what you see on there you can't find HERE. Plus, sometimes the prices can be pretty darn reasonable.
Anyway, I'm quite impressed with YesStyle and definitely won't hesitate to order from them in the future. I'm currently waiting for their winter coats to be in stock! The reason why I bought from them was because they had free shipping if you ordered $99USD or more so I combined my order with M (who bought a pair of music shoes). I really hate paying for shipping and handling. Usually, you'd have to purchase over $200USD for free shipping. You also get $5 off your first purchase when you create an account (which is easy peasy lemon squeezy).

So since this blog is all about YesStyle, I'll show you some of the things they sell:
lolll such a hurried MSpaint cut-and-paste job... Click the pic for a bigger view.

Chunzane# (South Korea)
Bit Button Double Breasted Trench ($88USD)
Hankerchief Hem Knit Dress (Black) ($38USD)

Donda (South Korea)
Comfy Casual Jacket in Different Materials ($82USD)

Puch (South Korea)
Stretch Fit Dress ($32USD)

Anna Sui
Flower Face Mirror ($22USD)

JBROS (South Korea)
2-way Perforated Satchel ($62USD)

Ryu Ryu (Japan)
Short-Sleeve Lamé Knit Dress and Arm Warmer Set ($88USD)

Whew! It's already Saturday.
Oh and scary thing about the plane crashing into the apartment in Richmond, eh? R.I.P. Pilot.
Totally forgot to talk about my day! Very quickly: Had GIS lab and Cyrille (TA) knows my name. Shopping downtown w/ M to find her church clothes. Bumped into Martha (great coat!), Theresa, and Katherine (so smart she had rainboots!). Stepped into GIANT, unavoidable puddles... thank goodness my shoes were cheap. Found a Guess Outlet-type store with 50% everything (cute things like dresses for $25(!!) but all summer clothes and no money). Ate at Kintaro Ramen on Denman for the 3rd time. Oh yea - I tried CHEESE ramen, which is ramen with a bunch of sharp cheese on top... I don't think I'll ever have it again b/c the cheese was a bit much after a couple bites. I think my ramen needed a bit of gochujang (super flavourful Korean red pepper paste)... 'cause you know - Gochujang goes with everything BUT cereal.
"Sleep well",
N

When it rains, it POURS

WHEW the hardest part of today is finally OVER!

How did it go? Quite badly actually... I don't think I passed my accounting midterm but the class is curved and I heard ppl say the exam was brutal/terrible/awful etc... so hopefully I did just as well as they did hah
My Japanese oral also didn't go so well. I got the easy stuff about myself like what my phone number is, how old I am, what's my father's occupation... but then he spoke faster and I got all lost and confused. AND (lol) at the end, 'cause all Japanese questions end in a "ka".. but he said something that didn't end in a "ka" and I didn't understand what he was saying so I sat there for what seemed like a minute and a half ('cause there's a digital clock in front of me) and did nothing.. waiting for him to repeat it. It was my pointer to leave! hahaha how sad. I swear those 5 minutes were actually 3 minutes. Aish! I treated myself to a Blenz Belgian Dark Hot Chocolate. They gave me whipped cream even though I told them I didn't want it.

So what can instantly cheer me up (not like I really needed cheering up..)?
(In no particular order)












1. An outing/talking with friends
2. Shopping
3. An episode of Gossip Girl
4. DBSK (more specifically, Junsu on Iple) + their new Jap song, Forever Love - beautiful song
5. Bern's story when it's updated

BRR wasn't it cold today?!
I saw this girl wearing a longish white coat with bunny ears and a little cotton tail (attached to her jacket) today... like the coat was MADE like that. She probably got in Hong Kong because she was wearing it with one of those printed tees I also bought in MongKok and Acupuncture shoes lolll

Clutch-wallets

OK so every girl needs a clutch... just like they need at least three basic handbags, a good eyeliner, a LBD, lip chap.... and what's better than having it double as a wallet?
Anyway, I already have my basic go-with-everything (fake) Marc Jacobs clutch (right) from Hong Kong that took Bern and I sooo unbelievably long to get! OK so they made us go to this totally sketchy apartment on the side of Ladies Market to look at the fake and make us wait at LEAST 30min for them to get it because the ones they had in the apartment were defective! What kind of service is that?? mind you, it's HK so what do you expect but still. AND the selection for all their other fakes were so disappointing except for maybe this white patent LV symbol-engraved zipped wallet/clutch I was eying but it was the same price as this clutch and I couldn't afford both so anyway, I told the lady that if it (the clutch) didn't come in 5 minutes (after we waited foreverrrr) that we were going to leave and thank goodness it came or... ok I'll stop now. I like it.

OKOK so this (on the left) is by Gwen's Stefani's classier line, L.A.M.B.
I'm quite impressed with the quality of this line from what I've seen in stores. This wallet-clutch ($255USD on ShopBop.com) is from her signature collection. Her ACTUAL clutch... my goodness... so you know HUGE clutches are in style right now... this is a bit too big. Ew.

UMM so yea... I guess I'll continue this another day b/c I'm a bit distracted by watching subbed clips on YouTube.

"Sleep Well",
N

Lamb Chops Play-Along

Short post today because I have to study.

Did you ever watch Lamb Chops when you were young? I did... My mom used to stick me in front of the TV to watch this. I still remember Charlie Horse (the buck toothed donkey) and Hush Puppy too. Gosh I never realized how ugly they were until today!




This is the song that doesn't ennnnd
Yes it goes on and on my friendssssss
Some people.. staaarted singing it not knowing what it was
And they'll continue singing it forever just because this is the song that never ennndsss... yes it goes on..
Here: Relive one of your childhood memories.

Most of you have probably seen this caricature on Facebook. I had Johnny draw this for me using a mouse and MSpaint. He's quite talented isn't he? He totally got my cheeks down pat... and it looks like he decided to give me more hair haha! He has a whole album of his creations on Facebook -- take a look! I hope that link worked.
As for what it says... I'm embarrassed it says that but just look at the picture, will ya?




UUUUGGGGGHHHH accounting... I keep asking myself why I'm even doing Business! I'm not even GOOD at it! I just want to do something that has a bit of creativity in it. I watch decorating shows and long to help out, organize, pick fabrics and accessories and design things... which is why I can't wait until I take Marketing. I wonder if it's going to be what I hope it is...

Back to studying,
N

P.S. HAPPY 20TH CASS!!

Umbrella-less

I WANNA SEE DISNEY'S PRINCESS ON ICE!






So I will.








So my Ginseng presentation is all over and done with thank goodness. It went well! Yes... my whole 3 minutes of talking. I got my GIS and Nutrition midterms back today too and I'm pretty satisfied with my marks (hey anything over average is good enough for me!). I just have my Jap Oral (which is an 1 on 1 interview with my Sensei -- 5 minutes long and worth 15%!!!!!!) and my BUS 251 midterm on Thursday. RATS. I really need to start studying my Japanese. It seems like almost everyone (well, the ones who talk a lot) know so much and they sound pretty much authentic (darn Koreans). A lot of them seem to have self-taught themselves before this class... which was a very smart idea. I think the hardest part is listening right now. My ears aren't trained to listen to languages spoken really quickly - there's so many syllables and it somtimes sounds like one big mess. If I'm lucky, I can pick out a few words here and there to get the gist of what he's talking about. I feel a bit behind and I'm pretty sure Olga is with me. I'm probably the only one in the class that's not fluent in another language. Everyone else, well, except probably this brown guy named Snead, knows at least one other language. I hear the girls in front of me switch back and forth from Mandarin to Cantonese all the time and they're getting one of the Korean girls to teach them Korean too. I still really enjoy Jap class though and I cannot wait to try out what I learned next year in Japan!
Last week I learned that "tokidoki" means sometimes in Japanese.

Now onto the fashion segment.

Oh gosh.. what am I doing. I need to do well this term and should be studying! Oh well - I'll do something quick.

Forever 21.
Who doesn't like that store? Or should the question be "who knows about that store?".
It's basically a clothes store that (in my opinion is only for people aged 16-28) sells young, trendy clothes for basically every occasion (darn it I always spell occasion wrong and BlogSpot always underlines it with a red squiggly) at ridiculously cheap prices. Anyway, when I say cheap, I mean CHEAP! Like $3.70-for-a-basic-t-shirt-cheap. Forever21 (originally called Fashion 21) was actually founded by Korean Americans and the clothes are designed in Korea (I wiki-ed it). Forever21 is also related to For Love 21 that just sells accessories and cosmetics, Heritage 1981, and Forever XXI which is the largest kind of Forever21 store that sells both Men's and Woman's fashion and everything else under the Forever21 roof. Unfortunately (and fortunately because of our strong dollar), the closest Forever21 is in Alderwood Mall in Washington... or one in the West Edmonton Mall. I believe they're trying to spread the chain all across Canada soon (so yay!).
I read an article about a month ago that couture designers want to sue this chain because they (Forever21) come out with rip-offs and have them on their shelves before the the designers do! How they do that I cannot tell you but I do notice very similar designs from Gwen Stefani's Harajuku line and from the red carpet when I'm browsing through this store. Oh I just noticed wiki has something on this: "Designer Diane von Fürstenberg has recently filed a lawsuit against Forever 21 for duplicating her dress designs.//Singer and designer Gwen Stefani has filed a federal lawsuit against the fashion megachain, claiming the retailer illegally ripped off her Harajuku Lovers designs.//Designer Anna Sui has also filed a lawsuit against Forever 21 alleging that Forever 21 sold and offered for sale numerous women's clothing items bearing a striking similarity to her products featured at the most recent New York Fashion Week shows."
OK so very interesting indeed. I quite like clicking through Forever 21's website once in a while because they come out with new things practically every week. What I like about them is that they have a different (meaning better) quality to their clothes than stores that sell clothes in the same price range such as Urban Planet, Sirens, Stitches, and Urban Behavior... and their selection is a lot better and less trashy.
I'm not entirely impressed by their causal/dressy/graphic tops right now (I love their summer collection) so I'll just go onto their dresses, accessories, and Heritage collection.





This one is called Heathered Knit Tunic ($28USD) from their Heritage 1981 collection. What caught my attention was its square neck line. It's a cute throw on shirt.

Wow I'm surprised I can't find anything else in the clothes department that I'd want. This is rare.



I've always liked filigree earrings... but they just don't look too great on me. There are tons of styles @ Forever21. This one is only $4.80!





OK that's enough. Disappointing unfortch.

Goodnight - I'm studying all tomorrow at home so phone me there.
N

Nails and Eggplant

Boy I need to cut my nails. I go through phases when it comes to my nails. About once every 2 or 3 months, I'll notice how long and unloved they look and try to perform some manicurgery with a quick file and a new coat of polish.

I worked all day at my dad's office. Nothing exciting there except that I had a burrito bowl @ Mex Burrito (which isn't really worth the $6.35 as it was before) for lunch. The guys who work there are so unenthusiastic too. Don't blame them - it's a crappy job in a dark environment.
So Daisy, the receptionist, wore this really cute English style cropped trench today so of course I had to find out where she got it from. Lo and behold, it was Lululemon! I had no idea they came out with them. This coat is called Studio Trench and is water resistant (great for Vancouver weather)!! However, when I looked it up on their website, it looked a bit different than it looked on Daisy... definitely not as cute in the picture. On Ebay, they're selling it for $225USD but I've seen it for $175.

$100+ seems like the going price for nice coats these days eh? It almost seems like $200 for a coat is what you're gonna have to pay for if you want something somewhat durable and fashionable. Actually, for our weather, coats are definitely a good investment. I'm sort of obsessed with coats. I've added two coats to my wardrobe so far this year: a practical North Face windbreaker for when I do decide to do more outdoor/sporty-type activities, and a detachable fur-lined bomber one from A&F. I told myself that I'm not going to wear the same coat every day like I did last year (it was my mom's dark green pea coat from Fairweather or one of those stores). I plan on adding a long dressy coat and a long, down-filled (but not quilted) Korean coat to my collection if I ever find one.

Nad just sent me this site called TWINKIE's FRIDGE.
In it, you can buy scarves that resemble food!


Green salad anyone?
They also come in Spaghetti n Meatballs, French Fries, and Rocky Road Ice cream.

My favourites (which translates to which ones I'd most likely wear if I had to choose) are Eggplant and Rocket Pop.


Cute concept but I'm not sure I like the idea of having what looks like the remnants of a healthy food fight as an accessory.

Soo not much of a fashion post today... I have my Ginseng presentation (for nutrition) tomorrow and a Japanese quiz.. and I have to finish my lab for Friday and I have my accounting midterm on Thurs!
Gotta getta crackin',
N

Black Lego

I'm finally back up in my room after spending a few weeks hogging the kitchen table with my textbooks, papers, and laptop. It's nice up here - a lot more quiet and dark. I feel like I'm in a hole.

So today D and I went to Waves (a coffee shop on Commercial) as planned. The biggest cup size at Waves is called Waves. I think it should be called Tidal loll.
I put in a good 4 hours of studying sans music before I needed a good break. What did we do for a break? We walked down to Lululemon's factory outlet to take a peek. I've never been before and I don't own a single piece of Lululemon clothing. It was alright. They had those super popular Scuba hoodies in white and yellow and a bunch of tanks, shorts, and capris. Nothing was really under $29. Even their yoga bras were $39! I can't say I really get the whole Lululemon hype but their pants are very soft and comfy. However, if I were to choose between Lululemon pants and TNA sweat pants, I'd definitely choose the TNA ones (they're cheaper too).
After the outlet, D and I hung out at Grandview Elementary and looked over some notes for a while and then bussed to D's house. It was her sister's birthday family dinner so I helped her aunt make some food (and of course eat) -- super super good Viet food. D is so lucky to live in the same house as her. Luckily I live 5 blocks away.. so guess who gets invited over?? I'm so spoiled.

Here are a few more material things I adore that I wanted to post yesterday:

I don't know why it was so hard for me to pick a picture that best represented this dress! I know I didn't do it justice so click HERE for more pictures. This dress ($32USD on YesStyle) is made by a Korean brand called Puch.

This is another perfect all-occasion dress you can dress up or dress down and wear with practically anything. Work? Yes. Dinner with the girls? Yes. Clubbing? Yes. Dates? Yes. It's not a "where can I wear this?" dress. It's a "where CAN'T I wear this?" dress. The accessories you choose can really make this dress look totally different.

The whole outfit is so simple yet super chic. The whole layered past-the-knee stocking idea is fabulous and really breaks up the block of blackness.

This could very well be THE peep-toe pump I've been looking for!! This one is from BCBGirls and is found on Piperlime.com for only $89USD! Too bad I'm too scared to order shoes online because I'm afraid they won't fit. Anyway, it has been so hard finding a pair of peep-toes with a decent peep. So now that I know that these exist, I will go hunt them down.


I also adore Dong Bang Shin Ki (a Korean Band you should definitely check out) so here's a picture of them in Thailand from today:
Left to Right: Yunho, Changmin, Jaejoong, Yoochun, Junsu

I'm working for my dad tomorrow so goodnight,
N