|
|
lauren ♥ atlantis princess
|
|
|
| small things that make a day better. |
[03 Dec 2009|10:55pm] |
Today was immensely better than yesterday was (because arguments with your significant other are hard, stressful, and depressing).
Some lovely things from today...
♥ I got to the client at 9:45 and immediately noticed one of my favorite scents from this time of the year in the air -- fresh pine needles. They were setting up the two Christmas trees in the lobby... the scent of a fresh Christmas tree always reminds me of my family's tree every year.
♥ I ventured into the basement level of the connected shopping plaza and discovered that they have a Korean market, as well as a small bakery/patisserie. I tried out a sasuage croquette and purchased two macarons for later (look at how big they are!!). I hope I can try the curry-flavored croquette tomorrow.
Macaron Ratings:
Strawberry - Moist and chewy. Wonderfully comparable in
texture to Bottega Louie's but cheaper and larger!
Melon - Crappy tasting. I hate melon and I thought this
one would be pistachio. It was also dry and crumbly. FAIL.
♥ Upstairs there are a few small Korean stores... I found this cute sparkly teddy bag charm. Overpriced, but I want to go back tomorrow to pick up these cutie Mezzo Piano appliques and turn them into accessories for my outfits.
|
|
| just out of it. |
[03 Dec 2009|12:38pm] |
|
Just a small FYI -- I apologize for being slow to respond to LiveJournal & e-mail requests.
Things have been a little crazy at work and with my personal life lately, but rest
assured, I have remembered to take photos of those kitty brooches for Kim & Quinne.
Thank you for your understanding! P.S. I am so excited to go to Disneyland again this month, Nicole! Wheeeee & in lolita! P.P.S. I got my hands on a pink Royal Poodle JSK, yay! And now, I only have 3 dresses on the wishlist + jacket. P.P.P.S. Wahhh, 2 holiday parties for work this year and Jon wants me to attend 1 more. We have lots of prep stuff to do beforehand. >_<;;! (You know, they are really Networking events in disguise.)  Above: Halloween @ GT
October 30, 2009
Jon: "So that's what the GT women's bathroom looks like..."I also have this old October photo that I took of myself at work! I dressed up in my sailor Alice & the Pirates garb! Funniest Quote From That Day: John: So, what did you think she came as today? Simon: I first thought a ballerina, but then I looked at her skirt (with the skulls on it) and thought... no, that would be a pretty scary ballerina. |
|
| no need to be technical. jeesh. |
[30 Nov 2009|06:04pm] |
I got my new laptop at work a few days ago and was looking through my old e-mails.
I asked Jon to check the cube numbers so that I could reserve a seat when I visited the Irvine office. I brilliantly drew this picture in MS Paint to illustrate where I wanted to sit:
( Apparently, my illustrations FAIL, but c'mon... you get the point, right? )
|
|
| "Airy...," she said. |
[29 Nov 2009|09:48pm] |
| [ |
music |
| |
frankie j - more than words |
] |
Above: Beautiful macarons that my sister
Erin surprised me with this weekend
Another Thanksgiving has come and gone. Moreso than ever does my house feel as if my sister, brother, and I have grown up and my parents are empty nesters. While I do still live in Walnut... between work and spending time with Jon, I find myself everywhere but here. This was also the first Thanksgiving where I was back in Walnut and I waited for both my sister and brother to return from school for their holiday break. Usually, it has been the reverse situation.
Jon, I wanted to send you a love note ♥ because I thought it would be fun for you to get some mail once in awhile (besides advertisements & bills!) -- plus my dad is doing the daily post office visit and could mail it for me. And then I realized that my dad sending it for me to you was just kind of creepy, lol.
|
|
| los angeles |
[21 Nov 2009|09:28pm] |
| [ |
music |
| |
owl city - fireflies |
] |
Two months ago, I transferred my home office from Irvine to Los Angeles. Since I am always away at the client site, the change felt as if nothing had happened with the exception of getting new business cards and a new phone number.
After months of being assigned, I finally found myself unassigned this past week -- time to report to the Los Angeles office.
( I can't stop staring at this statue. )
Also, I'm in town this weekend to run my errands. I knew I would be, so I picked up a small bunch of pretty daisies on one of my lunch breaks in anticipation. I love how fresh flowers can cheer up your desk or dresser. These came from an L.A. farmers' market.
|
|
| the return to Irvine |
[26 Oct 2009|10:08pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 awake |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
jay sean ft. lil' jon - do you remember? |
] |
Wow, it's been such a long time since I made a post in my journal!
Above: Becker CPA study CD in hand...
of course, it isn't for me to study with. (I never!)
October 17, 2009
Last week, I was so excited to be able to stay with Jon down in Irvine for my client in Aliso Viejo, CA. Jon had taken Friday off work so that he could move to his new place and I dashed on over on Saturday afternoon. Staying with Jon last week and this week has made me realize how much I miss living away from my parents. While living at home for the past year out of college has been convenient in terms of meals, having everything and more in one place, and having consistant mom-and-dad company, I admit that I really miss living on my own.
That, and the promise of being able to get back to Jon's place in only 30 minutes after work (compared to up to 2 hours when returning from Sylmar to Walnut) since I would be staying near the client site has really been the cherry on the top. ^_^ Because I get back relatively "early," last week was filled with:
- Eating out too much
- Shopping for furniture & decorative items for the apartment
- Assembling said furniture
- Being introduced to Jon's friends
- Finding out nearly the entire bathroom is leaking, lol
Jon said that I could help decorate his new place as long as what I chose was in his budget and approved by him. I have several simple, but nice ideas for his place, but apparently many will have to wait because neither of us have infinite spending power. While I've been alright with buying certain things for his apartment (e.g. area rug, bathroom items, plants, decorative storage trunk to use as a coffee table, groceries), it has come across my mind that I really do need to be careful how much stuff I buy. I can consider it a "repayment" now for allowing me to stay for two weeks, but I need to remember I am only a guest... In one week, I will be back to reality at my L.A. and northern clients.
One rule Jon has is that his place has to be a "man cave" -- a term that never fails to make me laugh. Basically, this means no girly things and definitely no pink!
But although Jon OK-ed my craft supplies ahead of time, I nearly forgot that they were all pink, so he's had to live with it for awhile now! Also, I was in such a hurry two Saturdays ago that I grabbed a package at the Post Office on the way down to Irvine. I dislike keeping stuff in my car's trunk, so now little Milky-chan has been sitting in the corner of his room, pink as ever...
Above: Milky-chan and my standard (boring) work pc
Despite Jon's intentions for his "man cave," some of his interior choices really make me raise my eyebrow because they seem contradictive of his initial intentions. Apple-scented oil plug-in air freshener? Lighting berry-scented candles? Nothing gets girlier than that, lmfao. (It's alright; I find it endearing, I guess. Plus, I don't mind the nice scents. ^_~)
Also -- Kelly would be proud of me for this -- I have attempted to make a few meals for myself and Jon. Without Mom to constently feed me after work, I've tried to make some dinners so that we can save money and not eat out. Coming from the girl who has difficulty cooking an egg, this is is indeed a great feat.
Above: The beginnings of an omelet
----
On Sunday...
Jon: *making grocery list for this week* Is there anything else you want?
Me: More rabbit cookies! *waves empty box*
Jon: No. That was last week. This is a man cave. A manly place. From now on, only bear-shaped cookies or mountain lion cookies are allowed.
Me: T_T;;;
|
|
| bottega louie |
[04 Oct 2009|09:47pm] |
So, it is finally open.
I remember during the warm and lazy "non-busy" days where we would find ourselves burning time at the office (seems like long ago, hm?), we would take too long lunches in Little Tokyo, visit farmers' markets and drive around L.A. on the "scenic" route back to GT.
One of the Seniors pointed at the future Bottega Louie -- which was then still under construction -- and said, "I hope they have macarons."
And apparently they do! What a coincidence. And more than just macarons!
Only that now I actually have to find a reason to be back in L.A. to make my way to this restaurant/market/patisserie.
(Backposted from Sept. 5, 2009)
|
|
| new camera review |
[04 Oct 2009|03:19pm] |
It's been awhile since I last made a fun post on my journal. So on this fine autumn day, I'd like to show you a recent purchase that I received last month in hopes that maybe you'll be convinced to buy it, too!
As I mentioned earlier, this new Sony camera was one of the items I picked out as my "self-Birthday gift!" It took about 1 month for Sony to release this after accepting pre-orders in early August. For one, it is stylish, cute and fits much easier into my purse compared to my higher-end Sony digital still camera (DSC).
Of course, because this camera is really only a tiny point-and-shoot (PAS), it does have the usual PAS limitations such as handling dusk/indoor enviornments. This includes difficulty maintaining color accuracy in those conditions. However, I have noticed that either the new "Exmor" sensor or the updated image processing has made indoor photos and dusk photos a lot sharper and "well-lit" than some of the past tiny PAS cameras I've tried out.
I'm pretty darn pleased with it, but I am now curious if the slightly older $280 model would have fared just as well. Some features that definitely make me not regret getting this camera is the super fun panorama sweep mode, the fact that all functions are touch screen activated and that they improved the actual touch screen surface from the older model (harder and scratch-resistant now).
I can safely say that the camera's software is really made for 'dummies' in mind -- the automatic settings will switch modes from macro to twilight to backlight to distance shots, etc. It basically switches settings all on its own depending on the setting.
The worst part about having this camera has nothing to do with the camera itself: My personal laptop is so old that it is having difficulty playing the videos and resizing the photos. (The 'best' settings on this camera are in such a high resolution compared to my old camera). In fact, I have to upload videos to Youtube if I want to view them on my PC because they'll be resized and compressed.
And as usual, I decorated my camera just a bit... though I don't think Jon approves. >_<
(Oh, c'mon. I don't have to keep a little hot pink camera "professional" looking!)
(And no; for the record, I'm not studying. How else would I have a video of us eating out? Do I even want to be a CPA at this point? Lmfao.)
|
|
| learning to work. pt. x |
[22 Sep 2009|11:22am] |
We are now in busy season.
Yes; the time of year where work life and personal life are indistinguishable. (Contrary to popular belief, work/life balance is a myth in public accounting.) This is my first busy season... if you recall last year, I was an unassigned new hire. How I miss those days.
It might be telling when your senior is more worried about your wellbeing than your own boyfriend.
|
|
| i'd like to be out enjoying the night |
[05 Sep 2009|07:59pm] |
While most everyone is out frolicking and playing this warm night on Labor Day weekend, I am under voluntary lockdown.
I now understand when I, back as an even more naive first-year, asked David how he passed the entire CPA exam so fast, he said, "It was because of my extreme hate of the test."
So here I am -- studying.
[EDIT 9/6/09 4:21 PM PST] Yes; anything sounds better than studying right now!! Boiling Crab... even the shooting range -- A-OK!
|
|
| all dressed up with nowhere to go |
[01 Sep 2009|09:29am] |
Too many good things. Mmmhm... I think I knocked out one of my paychecks and then some.
It also seems that the more stressed and occupied that I am (such as with preparing for my October CPA exam section), the less I go out to shop at the mall, so I end up unconsciously compensating by spending online.
Angelic Pretty Milky Dot Chiffon JSK
( August 2009 Purchases... )
|
|
| i almost forgot. it was my birthday. |
[23 Aug 2009|07:29pm] |
About 1.5 weeks ago, it was my Birthday on Monday, August 10th.
It was one of the most uneventful Birthdays I've ever had, as I did a 10 hour day at work, came home, and fell asleep. I got 3 Birthday meals from my family, Jon, and my senior at work... but going out is so regular for me that it felt just like normal meals. ^^;;
I, however, did make two Birthday purchases for myself...
Beautiful classic-styled Angelic Pretty wine-colored JSK from Autumn 2007. It's made of a soft corduroy, though looks a bit more purple than wine red. It's lovely with any kinari-colored blouse and coordinating knit stockings. I really like the more classic pieces that Angelic Pretty has released, so this was a perfect find!
( I'm still waiting for this one... )
|
|
| learning to work. pt. ix |
[21 Aug 2009|04:02pm] |
I can't help myself when 2 or 3 pm rolls around... I need those M&Ms in the vending machine outside.
Of course, M&Ms are the worst option to choose, since they get stuck in the machine 95% of the time due to their small size and light package weight.
Be prepared to give a puppy-dog eyes look to passerby employees at the client when your candy is stuck in the machine.
This ensures you take no part in violently harassing/shaking/punching the machine to free that tasty snack.
|
|
| an early chill |
[16 Aug 2009|02:53pm] |
Autumn and Winter are my favorite seasons for lolita clothing styles. I love the longer jumperskirts, velveteen and heavy tartan suiting, the darker colors (like wine red)... and best of all, coats!
Though it's almost too warm for thick winter coats in the wintertime for Southern California, they are my favorite article of lolita clothing. Long ago when I was an aspiring lolita with my first paying job at Joann Fabrics, I always thought that no wardrobe could ever be considered complete without a cute coat.
Here are two that I have my eye on this year!
Metamorphose brown houndstooth check coat with faux fur trim.
( The second coat.. )
|
|
| navigation |
| [ |
viewing |
| |
most recent entries |
] |
| [ |
go |
| |
earlier |
] |
|
|
|
|
