Getting schmancified at dineLA "Fogo de Chao"

DineLA is a yearly event in Los Angeles where a bunch of restaurants join in offering lunch/dinner meals for a discounted price. The meal usually consists of three courses, but it really depends on what restaurant one decides to go to. Prices differ as well: lunches are $16, $22, $28 and dinners are $26, $34, $44. I've been once before and I enjoyed the whole experience a lot!

This year, I went with a friend (and now some new friends) to an all-you-can-eat Brazilian Steakhouse in Beverly Hills. To be honest, I'm not really a meat person, but I figured it'd be a good experience and for $44! My friend had talked about Brazilian places like these where they come around with skewers and ask if you want a cut of that specific meat, and with a discount (this place usually costs $60/person), I was excited.

Fogo de Chao:

133 N La Cienega Blvd.

Beverly Hills, CA 90211

(Valet parking only.)

Green for "Bring on the meat!". On the other side is red. Red for "I've had enough...I think."

The waiters kept coming to only me, only to have me towards the end of our meal. Then I realized that mine was on green still. Fail.

Dark and "sulty". haha...jk. But the ambiance was nice. It's a bit loud in there though.

All you can eat salad bar. I enjoyed the smoked salmon very much! I tried not to stuff myself so much before what was expected to come...

Nice, classy dinner setting.

BRING ON THE MEAT! 

I think this is the filet mignon. I swear I had 10lbs of meat that night: lamb, black pepper steak, sausage, lots of filet mignon...so good!)

Two of the side dishes: seasoned mashed potatoes and caramelized bananas.

They cut out the dinner during this year's dineLA. DARN. For $45+, we could have had at least a little dessert! Oh well. Definitely a once in a year at most kind of dinner! 

Pineapple Dole Whip (similar to the one sold at Disneyland). YUM!

My schmancified pictures. I felt so rushed before actually heading out to dinner. I never really do anything special to my hair...so when I tried to something "different", it didn't turn out very special at all. Oh well. I still was able to make it work.

Added some BLUE. Amazing, right? Lip butter is in "Berry Smoothie".

Used my L'Oreal Infallibles: Iced Latte, Amber Rush, and Midnight Blue! 

OOTD: Black bow dress: H&M, Diamond Cross Tights: Urban Outfitters (similar, similar), Heeled booties: Nordstrom Rack (similar)

Such a classy post. Heh heh. I love trying out new food, and this one was definitely a keeper (though I think I'm done with MEAT for a while...). 

Hope you all are doing well! Weekends tend to be the busiest times for me, so hoping to catch up on blogs soon! ♡ Hope you're having a great week and enjoying the last day of January 2012!

"Beverly Hills, that's where I want to be!"

Are you ready to go on a journey with me through a little part of Beverly Hills, better known as Rodeo Dr.? Let's start out with a little bit of breakfast to start out our little adventure, shall we?

Sprinkles Cupcakes:

9635 South Santa Monica Blvd.

Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Monday-Saturday: 9-8

Sunday: 10-7

With a whole array of cupcake flavors, from the daily populars to daily specials, if you like cake, you'll love choosing your cupcake(s) of the day. I've tried most of the popular ones, so I tend to go for the more unique flavors. (Each cupcake is $3.50.)

Cupcake window!

Blake Lively from "Gossip Girl" promoting her cupcake for a good cause.

Breakfast of Champs: L-German Chocolate (belgian light chocolate cake with a sweet caramel frosting laced with coconut and pecans); R-S'more by Blake Lively (graham cracker lined dark chocolate with ganache topped with toasted marshmallow frosting)

A true s'more cupcake. Graham cracker bottom, chocolate middle, with just the right amount of marshmallows. Definitely left me wanting for s'more! Nom nom nom.

 After hitting up Sprinkles, I think we're ready to take that walk down to Rodeo Dr.  With more than 100 world renowned designer stores, it has become an iconic place of Los Angeles. Lately, I've been into reading about different brands on blogs, but I'm not where near the level of owning anything "designer" of my own just yet. Yet, even if you aren't looking to buy, it's a nice place to visit. The weather was quite hot that day though..so be prepare to bring your SPF and shades!

On the weekends, expect to see the streets filled with the fanciest cars casually parked to the side. Bugatti anyone?

The window displays are fun to look at as well. Here's one of an outfit I liked in the Miu Miu window.

Print on top of print. Cute, no?

Welcome to Beverly Hills.

Many of the window displays were also decked out in "The Year of the Dragon" themes and motifs. Kinda cool. Go dragons! This is the Harry Winston display. I don't even want to ask how much each of these pieces are.

Passing by the Chanel, all that was going in my mind is that I'll never own one at the rate their prices are going up!

Inside of the Lladro store. My mom used to collect these porcelain figures way back when. Prices are significantly gone up over the past 20 years. More are very exclusive and can reach up to $5000 in price.

There aren't many restaurants on Rodeo Dr., but if you head up to where Sprinkles is located, there's tons of little restaurants. I want to try them all! We ended up eating at a cafe a few streets down. Didn't take pictures (shocking on know!), but it was a Kosher deli and the food was delicious.

Hope you all enjoyed this little adventure to Beverly Hills with me! 

Where shall we go next, hm?

Here's a little taste of how LA people talk and function. I can relate to so much. hah! 

So dear blogger friends, please, do come visit! 

FOTD: Sleek "Sunset" Glow

I've received my very first Sleek palette from Vicky, who is one of the sweetest bloggers I know and am grateful to have gotten to know quite well this past year. ♡ She sent me the Sleek "Sunset" e/s palette during out first swap!

To be honest, I was a bit intimidated with the colors since I had nothing like it in my collection! Hence, I didn't touch these for..quite a while. Actually, I used the teal blue and..gold I think once when I went to the vet and kbbq~ lol. Hopefully I didn't scare off any of the doggies or kitties...

Fast forward to today, I've come prepared to worked with some colors! Still on the neutral side since the "color" I used was purple, but it's still a new change for me. (I am determined to use the orange in a look! Maybe something inspired? I'll make it work. ;])

Face: Reviva Primer (review), Skin79 hot pink bb cream, Missha concealer (review to come), Maybelline Dream Matte powder to set it all.

Eyes: NARS Eyeshadow primer (upcoming post about this soon!), Sleek "Divine" palette (see ♥s for the colors I used + full post is on the upcoming list!), K-palette 24hr tattoo liner.

Cheeks: NARS "Sin" from Danmari palette, ELF Healthy Skin bronzer in "Sun kissed".

Lips: Revlon lip butter in "Peach Parfait".

Had a lovely afternoon in Beverly Hills today. Walking amongst the "rich" and where they "shop"...there's something fun and exciting about it. Took many pictures so I'll be doing a "place post" again soon! Many other posts to come like one on lip butters, US L'oreal Infallibles, my attempts at applying falsies, plus many more!

Oh, and I'm going to a schmancy dinner tomorrow night so...an OOTD post as well? It's schmancy, hence I need to get schmancy-fied... but I'm super excited! (though my friend told me to prepare myself for a FEAST...omo).

Hope you all are having a beautiful day! 

It was in the mid-80s here and I burned up! Winter weather...where you at?

I'm "Tough as Taupe"!

Originally engraved in my little head is the idea of eye primers being a must for my oily lids, so when reading about these new "24 hour tattoo" cream shadows from Maybelline that can act like primers and bases, it got me curious.

I picked up "Tough as Taupe" from my local CVS. At the time I went, this was the only "neutral" shade they had. I'm not too much into the brighter colors like the orange, green, teal, and purple just because I feel like I won't use them as much. I got it with a deal (one of the many known to CVS. It's definitely my go-to drugstore). Retails for around $7.50. 

They claim to have 24hrs of wear, but who really wears make-up for 24hrs. These are very similar to the MAC paint pots.  I own "rubenesque" thanks to my friend and Secret Santa this past year (Hi Beastie!) and though they are similar, I feel like the Maybelline ones are a bit thicker and dryer. Because of this, they set quicker so be aware that once you have it ready to be applied, work it in quick!

See. Very much like the MAC paint pots. Encased with a glass jar with a plastic black cover.

Left: Swatched heavily and unblended; Right: Blended out.

The color is more on the matte side, but it's great for the crease when blended upwards.

I guess you can say it's a bit more on the brown side, but when applied with shimmery neutral shadows, the taupe really toughs it out and comes through in the end.

(No full FOTD due to my laziness of applying face make-up. lol. Skin hasn't been too good either.)

 Applied "Tough as Taupe" using my clean ring finger and then used my UD NAKED palette: Sin, Half-Baked, and Creep

Tried to get it on camera the best I could. But as you can see, the taupe naturally brings out a bit of smokey-ness. 

So how did these live up to its 24hr claim? Well, it's been about 12 hours and for review purposes, these really do last long on the lids! I didn't even use a primer underneath. Super impressive! The shimmer of the shades stayed in tact and my liner did not smudge at all. And when swatching, I rubbed pretty hard with soap to get it off and yet I still can see the color on my hand. For less than half of what a MAC paint pot would cost...these are a great alternative.

Pros: 

Very pigmented. 

Super long lasting.

Multifunctional which can act as a primer, base, or even just for an all over type of look.

Cons:

Color selection due to many brights (good for those who like to wear colors).

Harder to blend. 

Will I purchase this again?: Heck yeah! I already have two more that I want to get! If you like cream shadows that are nicely pigmented and long lasting, I definitely recommend for you to try these out. 

Get these while you can! Drugstores seem to always be swamping out older collections for new ones by the week/month so..make sure to check your local stores. :] 

What are your thoughts on these? Have you guys tried some for yourself?

Hope you're all having a fantastic week!! ♡

Year of the Dragon 2012.

Ending the first day into the first day of the new lunar new year and week's long celebration.

It's the year of the Dragon!!! 

Cheap decor for the home from a local Chinese market since I never did do the lanterns. ><

I worked today for the full 8hr shift and my mom told me to ask if I could leave early. I was about to...but then my office manager asked me "apple or yogurt?" during out last hour of work. I accepted a blueberry yogurt...how could I leave?

But I did tell my sister to take pics...and I have taught her well.

Steamed fish! And yes, that is a really old wok. lol.

Clams, two types of mushrooms, and white/brown rice (which I'm not too fond of..)

CHICKEN!

Though it wasn't your typical traditional Chinese New Year's meal, it was just as good. We're quite an Americanized family, but our little cultural traditions are ever so special to me. Usually, we'd order in some take-out, but my mom decided to cook. The Year of the Dragon is already starting on a great note.

And ending it off with this red envelope ("Lei See") from my mom. ♡

Hope that the new lunar year brings you much happiness, prosperity, and changes...for the BETTER! 

A Day at the Huntington Library.

In the greater Los Angeles resides "The Huntington". What is this place, you ask? Founded by Henry Edwards Huntington in 1919, it houses what are now a library, art collections, and a variety of botanical gardens.

1151 Oxford Road • San Marino • California • 91108

Admission: Weekends - $20 adults, $15 seniors, $10 students, $6 youth, free for children under 5. Group rate $14/person for groups of 15 or more.

Weekdays - $15 adults, $12 seniors, $10 students, $6 youth, free for children under 5.

Group rate $11/person for groups of 15 or more.

EVERY FIRST THURSDAY IS FREE.

 The Huntington Library building. Here, a collection of rare books and manuscripts of British and American history and literature are displayed for visitors to observe. It is on the largest and most complete research libraries in the United States in its specializations. Are you familiar with Chaucer's Canterbury Tales or the Gutenberg Bible? They're here!

 

OOTD: Sunglasses: Marc by Marc Jacobs, Cardigan sweater: F21 (similar, similar), Dress: Cotton On, Tights: Betsy Johnson from Nordstrom Rack, Ankled oxfords: F21(similar)

Lunch time! There's a nice cafe grill located near the rose garden, where everything is made to order. Telapia fish tacos and chicken pesto sandwich. Yummy.

The botanical gardens are my favorite part of visiting the Huntington. From the Rose Garden, housing the statue of Aphrodite, the godess of love -- to the Japanese Garden (which is currently being renovate - reopening in April 2012), I find my mind starting to be completely at ease.

And if you want to take a little ride on the wild side, Subtropical, Herb, Jungle, and Palm gardens are also on the grounds. With such variety, its no wonder so many visit this beautiful place.

After passing the Jungle Garden, be prepared for the desert life. The Desert Garden is a large grouping of mature cacti and other succulents. The varieties still amaze me. I'm used to seeing the stereotypical cacti on family trips. Who knew there could be so many different types.

Next, visit the Art Collections in the Hungtingtons' old residence. The gallery displays one of the finest collections of European art in the nation, as well as giving all visitors a taste of Huntington's lifestyle here, which was, believe it or not, a ranch. 

 

Two of the most famous paintings amongst the wide collection of British and French art that are part of the Huntington are "Pinkie" by Lawrence and "Blue Boy" by Gainsborough. I used to come to the Huntington back in the day, and "Pinkie" was my favorite. Even though I was just a child, I felt like I could relate to her. And...that I was her.

View from outside the Huntington residence. 

Can you imagine looking out if this was your "backyard"?

Aside from the many things to do in LA, the Huntington is one of those that aren't widely known. But, if you're one who likes to step out into nature while being chummy with a few art pieces, please do visit if you get the chance. 

I'm hoping to take another trip by the summer when the Japanese garden will be ready for me to explore. You all already know how much I love Japanese inspired places... ♡

Our exit, reminding us that Chinese New Year is upon us. 

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

"Remember me?" ^^