Fab Five Friday {8/17}

1. It was H's 33rd and my 30th birthday a few days ago (yes, 1 day apart!), and H and I decided to go to Vegas.

We ate at a fabulous off-strip find, Goyemon. They have the freshest sushi and the tastiest non-sushi items we have ever had.

We ate lots of buffets, and I had lots of desserts.

We did some shopping.

I wanted to try this but didn't want to wait in line. Next time...

We took some time at the Bellagio Gardens (pictures via Instagram).

We went to the Bodies Exhibit in Luxor, which I've been wanting to see for years. H was very gracious to stay the whole time even though he was totally grossed out by it.

And most important of all, we met up with H's brother and his wife and also my friends Amy and Michael who drove all the way to Vegas after a camping trip to surprise me for my birthday. I was indeed very surprised!! (Too bad we all forgot to take pictures...)


2. I've been on a smoothie phase for 2-3 weeks now. H used to work at Jamba Juice, so for him to let me make smoothies however I want was a biggie. Yesterday he complimented me on my watermelon+yogurt+banana creation. Score!

3. Went with my friend Karen to my first Pop Physique class. I've done Pilates before but this was more intense and more fun!

(picture via PopSugar)

4. Came across this trailer of Downton Abbey Season 3 - can't wait!

5. I took a weekday off and spent some time with the parents and my nephews. It was tiring...but family time is always good!

Travels: Northern California

Last weekend, we took a trip up to NorCal with H's parents and cousins to attend H's cousin Harry's wedding. It had been more than 2 years(?) since I had been up north so I was really excited. We started driving Saturday around noon.

The drive was...scenic. Lots of emptyness.

 We saw a bunch of grapevines and other fruit fields where we tried to guess what the fruits were.

More nothingness... 

Oh yes, lots of coffee.

Random tractor. 

Stacks of hay. 

We also saw lots of tomato trucks. We lost count. I told everyone about how tomatoes are actually picked when they are green and are made to mature during transportation, but I'm not sure if everyone appreciated that nutrition tidbit, ha!

We passed by The Oracle, home to the Golden State Warriors.

So much traffic I thought I was back in Los Angeles. Oh but wait, there is a toll bridge!

I love bridges. This is the Bay Bridge. Too bad we didn't get to go through the Golden Gate Bridge.

More random views of SF.

We got to San Francisco (where the wedding was) 2 hours early, so we dropped by Japan Town where they had their annual street fair.

I think they were having some kind of dog show or contests because we saw lots of interesting pooches.

SF is so green. Even their food containers at the fair were of recycled material.

The wedding itself was at a bank reserve. How neat is that! (and no, they are not in the financial business)

Wedding flowers.

Violin trio during the ceremony.

Decoration - isn't this beautiful?!

The wedding menu. One of the very very few American-style weddings I've been to where the food was awesome and filling.

Centerpiece - so beautiful, again.

It was a wonderful, beautiful wedding, and I had lots of fun bonding with H's family and meeting his other cousins. Too bad we had to leave right after the Sunday wedding to drive back to LA because H's parents wanted to go back to work on Monday. We ended up getting home at 4:30am... It was terrible... But at least we made it home safe!

Our New (Rental) House

So we have been at our new place for 2 going on 3 weeks now. I will admit that this place grew on me. I initially didn't like it (see picture #1 below), but it's super spacious, especially compared to our 2-bedroom condo prior.

To show you how old this place is, I present, a Tiffany-like lamp hanging from the wall, surrounded by wood panels.

It's the same kind of lamp that my parents' house had when we moved in 22 years ago...

Cool thing is that we have some fruit trees in the backyard and in the neighbor's yard (which reached over the fence to our side).

green apples from neighbor's tree

peaches

pomegranate 

grapes - the only fruits i tried. they were kinda sour but h's dad said he got some sweet ones.

Unpictured: a hammock.

We also have a white picket fence.

Yep, we are now one of "those" people. With a white picket fence. Can't wait to be able to have people over now!

Video: The Hidden Costs of Hamburger

I came across a video made by the Center for Investigative Reporting on the other costs of making a hamburger, in terms of the impact on the waistline, the environment, and the planet. I like how the information is portrayed in an easy-to-understand way and also goes into (slightly) of subsidized corn. Don't get me wrong - I like meat. But I do think that Americans eat too much red meat. Anyway, it's only about 8 minutes long. Check it out!

Theory: Fall 2012 Collection

One of my favorite brands to look at is Theory. (I say look at because I can't yet bring myself to spend that much money... *sad look*) So I was happy to learn about Theory's Fall 2012 collection.

The traditional LBD (little black dress)

A girly silk top

Oooooh, leather legging

As much as I love coloar, I think deep down inside I'm still very much a neutrals gal. That's why Theory, with its simple designs and classic pieces, keep drawing me back year after year. Even if it's just to look at.

Inspiration Board: Catwoman

After seeing Anne Hathaway in Dark Knight Rises, I of course now want to dress myself in nothing but black, leather, and red lipstick. Oh and pearl necklace. And find myself a cool Batmobile.

catwoman by lyndagp

Oasis vintage style dress, $100 / Bastyan fitted shirt, $94 / Jitrois long pants / Casadei platform knee high boots, $1,510 / Magnetic jewelry / Lanvin long leather glove, $1,060 / Giorgio Armani lip stick / Tom Binns necklace

Nike's new commercial: Greatness

Ok people. We all know about Nike. They always use well-known athletes to promote their brand, and we love it because we recognize those athletes and associate their greatness with the brand, as successful marketing will have us believe.

Well, now Nike has a new commercial, called Jogger. It features Nathan, a 12-year old obese kid from Ohio, running. Simply running. It is truly inspiring. Take a look.

The last 2 weeks...

After a 2-week hiatus and break, I'm back! Instead of the regular Friday feature, this is the last few weeks in review.

1. The biggest thing was that we moved. It was a 3.5 mile move, but it felt very far. I will do a solo house feature soon!

2. We were able to go watch The Dark Knight Rises.

I don't care how everyone else thought, I loved it! I'm a huge Batman fan, as in I've started watching ever since the originial Batman with Michael Keaton.

3. We went to H's sister-in-law's birthday party and they had a taco lady. As in a lady that prepares tacos! She normally has a taco stand, but they go to her stand enough that they were able to snag her.

So yummy.

4. Summer means a lot of Chinese shaved ice for H and me. Different from the Hawaiian shaved ice or just regular shaved ice, the Chinese kind has a lot of toppings - some fruits, some jelly's, some red or green beans, pudding, etc...

5. Last weekend, our friends who are house shopping invited us to go look at houses with them. It was fun! I didn't get any pictures of houses but I snagged a picture of Vietnamese coffee over our lunch of Pho, which is dripped over condensed milk, to be stirred and poured over ice.

After the open houses, we went to a Hawaiian food place to get some Hawaiian shaved ice. Then I saw this grandeur:

So bad yet so good...

6. End of July means my older nephew's birthday. He opted to play basketball...

... at the kiddie rim. Just kidding, he was just doing this for fun.

Here he is pooped out.

And for his "cake," he went all fancy and requested red velvet cupcakes. How a 9-year old whose parents have never bought red velvet anything knows about red velvet cupcakes we all have no idea.

7. Lastly, this is one of the most interesting things I've seen: the Facebook office.

Have a great weekend!