factory farmed chickens

fab five friday {2/14}

happy valentine's day! and happy birthday to my dear, good friend ada!

this week was really a blur. i don't really have anything to share except...

...i finished this book (like 500 pages!)

...i had a bacon cronut and i LIKED it!

so here are some music i've been hooked on. have a wonderful weekend and upcoming week!!

counting stars by one republic

show me by kid ink feat chris brown

sirens by pearl jam

pompeii by bastille

unbelievers by vampire weekend

do i wanna know by arctic monkeys

talk dirty by jason derulo

fab five friday {2/7}

~ a phone call to and from an ex-coworker i haven't seen in almost 3 years

courtesy of panicd

~ rain

courtesy of smashingmagazine

~ this cake (blueberry cheesecake)

~ these cookies

~ these people

courtesy of friends angela & eric

january entertainment

here are my reviews of the movies i watched this month:

* jack reacher

an action movie where tom cruise plays mr. tough guy to solve a crime that actually involves something bigger. action-filled. exciting. somewhat predictable. ehh, it was entertaining ;)

* a royal affair

i had added this to my netflix list without knowing much about it. it was during watching the movie that i looked it up online and learned that this danish movie won the 2013 academy awards and 2013 golden globe award for best foreign language film (among many other awards). set in the 18th century, it's about the triangular relationship between king christian vii of denmark, his wife, and the royal doctor. it is a long movie, made easier to watch with the pretty costumes, exciting plot twists and turns, and beautiful scenery. the actress is also so pretty. i would recommend it to anyone who likes period dramas.

* argo

i kinda put off watching this movie because, since it won best picture, i thought of course it would be a serious and long and dry movie. and yes, it was a serious and long movie, but it was not dry at all. in short, it tells the story of the american cia specialist trying to save the lives of 6 americans from iran by passing them off as a film crew, "argo" being the title of the fake movie. once you read up on the plot (during the movie) and understand the political background of it, it makes more sense (at least to me) and becomes a really good movie. i can totally understand why it won best picture. 

* the ghost writer

this movie is about a ghost writer finding out the truth about his employer. i didn't exactly enjoy or not enjoy this movie - it was just meh. 

* somewhere

this was a mellow movie about a successful but emotionally-devoid actor learning how to grow up and be a dad. it was kinda flat, in that there really wasn't a climax or a problem persay, but it was more of a feel-good movie. you watch it, you think about it, and you oddly have a "that was okay, that was decent" feeling. 

* beginners

i really didn't mean to watch a second ewan mcgregor movie this month but it happened. i was iffy about him before, but this movie made him adorable as a lost and sad son who recently lost his dad (who came out of the closet at age 75) finding and accepting love. i also love the actress melanie laurent - she is so pretty!

* 50/50

i knew this movie had something to do with a young guy dealing with cancer, but it was totally not what i expected. it was heartwarming, funny, touching. not to mention, there are joseph gordon-levitt and anna kendrick! (i like seth rogen too but he wasn't the draw to this movie)

i'm also trying to read more so here is what i read this month:

* the husband's secret

* the minor adjustment beauty salon (book 14 of no. 1 ladies' detective agency series)

phew!! that was a lot to write about. i guess i kept myself pretty entertained this month ;)

January, or is it summer-ter?

as january comes to a close, i look back and realize, it hasn't been feeling like january at all here in los angeles. while the rest of the nation has been dealing with the polar vortex, and while my facebook feeds have been filled with pictures of snow from other parts of the US, it's been cold in mornings and nights but spring/summer-like during the days. maybe that's why i'm refusing to accept that january is almost over.

i didn't take much pictures this month so here's a random sky picture.

here is a brief recount of what went down this past month:

* was horribly sick for 3 almost 4 months
* got a lucky bag from my in-laws
* work got busier and busier, crazier and crazier
* went to lawry's to celebrate jason's visit back to town (and was somewhat not too impressed with the food)
* hiking with h
* reconnected while hiking with jen who was also back in town

* watched a free movie screening for good people
* 4-5 hour dinner and catching up with two of my favorite people cay and ada (with h)

* said goodbye to iphone and welcomed an android phone

i realize that my most treasured moments lie in hanging out with those i love and connecting in new ways, not so much in having new fancy things. you would think that's how everyone feels but i think that's just what everyone says, not necessarily how they act.

h from when we went hiking

"eat anything you want. just cook it yourself."

i came across this little video narrated by michael pollan. you know, the guy known for the haiku-like quote: "eat food. not too much. mostly plants."

he's sorta like a mini-hero in my world.

 

[movie] Zombieland

courtesy of businessinsider

ever since we started getting into walking dead, hubs and i have been captivated by zombies (he more than i, a lot more). we've seen world war z (and liked it), but a much lighter and more entertaining (and possibly bloodier) option for those not so much into zombies would be zombieland.

the story goes that mad cow disease became mad person became mad zombie. the movie follows 4 characters - a dorky student, a redneck, and 2 con-woman sisters - in their travels to look for a zombie-free place. but of course, there is no such thing. and of course, there is lots of zombie-head-bashing, gun-firing madness. (and by madness i mean fun-ness.)

my fav character is tallahassee played by woody harrelson. he's such a bad-ass that he reminds me of a combination of both meryl and darryl from walking dead. and he's just so fun. i also love the actress abigail breslin in general (although i'm not sure what to make of her now that she's so grown up...).

genre: action/comedy (it's also tagged under horror but i wouldn't consider it as such)
big names: jesse eisenberg, woody harrelson, emma stone, abigail breslin, bill murray
stars: 3 out of 5 for action, entertainment, and brain-free fun (excuse the pun hehe)

fab five Friday {12/13}

this is my feeble attempt to restart blogging...

...and here are some things that made my week. no, actually, my recent days.

1. shabu (almost) everyday. it's been really, really, really cold.

2. a random date night in the middle of the week

3. a spontaneous and too-short-yet-it-was-alright trip to vegas with the in-law's

4. a new tv show almost human :: it's entertaining and full of action!

5. speaking of tv shows, i'm all caught up in scandal. does anyone watch it? am i the only one superly annoyed by fitz??

random picture Wednesday {9/25}

Soy sauce Piggie 

I'm not all here

just came back from a short trip to SF so you'll have to excuse me as I am still fully in vacation mode. 

fab five Friday {8/23}

Here are some highlights of this week!

+ Chinatown summer nights

it's supposed to be a summer festival but it seemed more like a Chinese New Year festival (which was cool too). 

+ my old friend's bridal shower. so happy for her for finding her happiness!

my team won the tissue paper wedding dress contest!

+ so happy to see my good friends (who I just don't see enough!)

doesn't she look like Halle Barry?! so sophisticated. 

+ i haven't been able to visit my niece cuz i was sick, so my brother sent over a photo. just can't get enough of her! she looks like she's taking a selfie here lol

have a great weekend!!

fab five friday {8/9}

i'm on vacation so it's a short post.

here are my five favorite things of this week:

+ some of my favorite people

+ new favorite nail polish (to look at, not to wear - i don't usually wear polishes)

courtesy of makeupandbeautyblog

+ new favorite actress anna kendricks
she is so pretty. watch her doing the cups.

then catch her in pitch perfect. i even got h to like her too!

+ new favorite lotion

+ and finally, my favorite baby

weekend reading

Fab five canceled for today because I'm sick as a dog. I feel like a truck ran me over five times and someone set me ablaze while blowing cold AC air on me. Ah dear. Thank goodness for weekend. I leave you with some funsies for the weekend. There would've been more but I fell asleep at 8pm last night organizing links. 

i'm obsessed with this topic, why women should stop trying to be perfect

this is kinda cool: abandoned walmart is now america's largest library

so hilarious: rappers & cereal

Happy weekend! 

fab five friday {8/2}

i can't believe it's already august. august is officially my most favorite month because it is hubs and mine birthday month. and also the month of a lot of my friends' birthdays!

ready for this friday's fab five? cuz i got a chock-ful of goodies to share! it's been a good week.

+ brunch with some g'ole friends at plate 38

pulled pork sandwich

three meat omelette

my pulled-pork sandwich turned out to be more like a burger, and hub's three meat omelette was so speechlessly delicious that he didn't even leave me a bite to try. the food was so good but the portions were too just-right. and honestly, the service wasn't as stellar as the first time we went. but we still had a good time.


+ hubs and my new FAVORITE food/piggin' out place bruxie

creme brulee waffle sandwich + irish nachos

+ i saw this at borders and was so tempted to get it but i have too much toys already

+ hubs and my new FAVORITE coffee shop: dripp. it's in the same plaza as bruxie and they specialize in coffee and ice cream and dessert. they are actually kinda a coffee snob but we like it anyways (even though i'm not a big coffee person).

from my instagram

+ and finally, i took 2 days off of work to take my parents to the doctors' this week. it was a busy 2 days but it was still a nice break from work. short work week, yay!

[hiking] eaton canyon

hubs wanted me to start documenting our hiking trips so here we go!

today we took a local hike up eaton canyon in altadena. we kinda slept in, then the sun came out, so we made it very short.

not my picture, courtesy of modernhiker

time: 1 hour r/t (we didn't finish obviously)

according to hub's fitbit (a pedometer/calorie counter type of thing), we...
...took 7,517 steps
...hiked 3.28 miles
...burned 1,208 calories

i'm suspicious on the calories burned but the other stats seem believable.

eaton canyon is mostly unshaded so it's not recommended for the summer. there is absolutely no scenery whatsoever except rocks, more rocks, dirt, and more dirt. we did this trail a few years ago and got to the waterfall at the end. it's my hope to reach the waterfall again some time this year! i'm also hoping to go another season to see if it's any prettier...

fabuloso friday {7/26}

here are some things that made my week. i've decided to not have a count of 5 because, well, it makes it too forced.


+ look who showed up in my mailbox!

+ taco tuesday

+ a much needed hot pot & catchup with an old friend

+ date / tea-time with hubby

+ things i can't wait for: my birthday (also dreading it). labor day weekend. beginning of new seasons for scandal // the walking dead // white collar.