panties + vodka

just got back from a trip to LA and San Diego. Man, why do I always get sick going to and fro vacay? Perhaps because I opt for wellness instead of airborne. will have to switch it up for next time...

i didn't get to do any shopping on this trip so sorry to report any LA store updates.

but i did eat like a queen, as usual.

this is from a korean crab house on Fisherman's Wharf in Redondo Beach. Each crabs like 30 bucks but so succulent and worth the price and water weight.

no playing around here. we just hammered those suckers. sorry, vegan friends.

i wasn't adventurous enough to try these baby octopus. i usually don't mind eating seafood with their faces still attached but this was a bit too much for me.

and after you polish off the crabs and lick your fingers, this spicy fish soup will have you licking your spicy smacks all day long.

compare to my fave Joe's Stone crabs down in South Beach, Miami. Holla! they're closing for the season soon so make reservations if you have plans to hit south beach soon.

oh, and there are plenty of food photos from my trip to San Diego but no time for that right now.

went to the zoo and i'll leave you with this photo of the panda bear.

want more pandas? check out last year's litter

Posted by cindy at 12:20 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

finally, i am ready to post some more stuff from my paris trip (from 6 months ago!)

S H O P P I N G

colette 213 rue saint honore
the original lifestyle store. my old boss used to buy me gifts whenever she went away on business trips. she was funny, that lady. we were in the fashion industry and if i wasn't aware of something hot, she always sounded disappointed. "colette? what's that?" i'd ask and just get pummeled with sarcastic remarks and disapproving looks. only the coolest shop in the world!

while i was there, they were showcasing kate moss for top shop. that's a little out-dated now but i guess it was just new back then? regardless, i could spend hours in this store. it's the most well curated shop i've ever been to. everything from the little gifty knick knacks to the outlandish designer clothing is all tasteful and gorgeous - it makes me hate myself for not having money to buy it. (i'm working on my self-hatred)

i almost got my camera confiscated while taking pics in the store. phew! good thing i know how to speak fake japanese...

listening station: they have great music compilations. we play them all the time at the shop.

2nd floor women's clothing section. they also sell my hub's t-shirt line here but it was sold out by the time we got there. nice!

visit the colette website by clicking here.

erotokritos
also a favorite french line of mine. you can find them in the states, but it's a rare find and expensive one. they also have a diffusion line called eros. tres french. at 99 rue Vielle du Temple

les archives de la presse at 51 rue des archives
if you get bored of shopping for clothes (how could you?), take a break and peruse this crazy bookstore that has newspapers and anything printed in the last 50 years in its tiny shop.

photo:

the Flea markets or "les puces"r
market hours are saturday - monday 9 am - 7pm
it's a lot of junk to go through but if you're into antique furniture, knick knacks or vintage clothing make sure to hit the flea markets.

Paul & Joe Sister at 56/58 rue Vielle du Temple
This cute sister (read: more affodable) line to Paul & Joe has now hit the States but available only in select stores around the country. They're known for printed chiffon, flowy blousons (quelle chic!) and capes to look fab in (tres mignon!).

You can find Paul & Joe at 46 rue Etienne Marcel or 62 rue des Saint Peres.

fleux 39 rue Sainte Crois de la Bretonnerie
cool modern home stuff. if you want to bring back some gifts, this is a fun place to find unusual items. click here for the website.

l'eclaireur
a design, accessories and lifestyle store. Not sure but I think it's Japanese-owned. Very crazy stuff to get "inspired" by but you'll have to drop a lot of $$ for anything in there. here's the site
they've also got a store/restaurant at 10 rue Boissy d'Anglais (galerie royale). i'm sure you'll find crazy stuff in there.

some more places i did research on but didn't get to go to:

Sonia Rykiel 194 blvd st. gremain; you know who she is.

APC stock at 45 rue madame
this place has discounted surplus stock but APC is so much cheaper in France than stateside. you could most likely go to their shop in le Marais and not be disappointed.

A R T

well, i'm definitely no expert on the art front and you'll find all the major museums in your travel books.

Definitely hit up Musee National d'art Moderne inside the le Centre Pompidou.

Some pics from our trip in October:

But also walk around the Pompidou area and you'll find tons of little art galleries to walk around in. (le marais area)

and i heard the Palais de Tokyo (place de tokyo) is a great to go later in the day.

**recommendations from Sarah**
-picasso museum in the marais
-musee des art decoratifs: it's gorgeous, new and design focused (next to louvre and tuileries - also their outdoor cafe is supposed to be a chic meeting place)
-musee rodin
-design musee nissem des commando (sp?) - per my friend - off the radar screen and unusual kitchen

F O O D

le hangar at 12 impasse berthaud
this place is a little hidden next to the do doll museum and around the corner from the Pompidou.
great atmosphere, good service, and excellent food. i was so excited that they had pommes dauphine here because i had just finished watching an episode of Top Chef where Hung had messed this dish up. They're air puffs of potatoes. yum!

great bistro. just remember that they only accept cash. we met up with my friend grace and her mom and we had to shell out all the change we had (since it was midnight and all of the banks were closed). the other bad news was that the taxis were on strike while we were there. their metro card was not working so grace had to usher her mom to jump the turnstile. naughty gals!

the pommes dauphine on the edges of the plate.

le relais de l'entrecote
i'll just plagiarize and copy and paste my hub's blog post about this place. especially since he cannot stop talking about it since we got back from our trip...

"i recently got back from paris, which is quite an intimidating place. there's no way not to feel like a tourist unless a local holds your hand and takes you somewhere that you'd never find on your own... anyway, i hit up Joplus to tell me the places to eat, and he gave me a list of places to go, but prefaced it with:

"if you can only hit one of those hit the first one, the sauce they serve with the steak is more addictive than crack... I have re-occuring dreams about it!"

that's the place for me.

ok, so this isn't some hole in wall, down a dark alley place... it's a super-famous place near Champs Elysees, but most of the people there were definitely french... of course there's a long line (no reservations) even at 11pm. the all female wait staff is dressed in sexy maid outfits (even though some aren't that sexy).

there's only one choice in the restaurant. no menus. the waitress simply asks you how you want the steak cooked.

it finally arrives. check out that sauce. my first bite was underwhelming, i was expecting some sort of first french kiss mouth explosion by the way people were skarfing the food around me (there was a 80 year old couple literally licking the plate behind me). but with each bite, this sauce started growing a head, arms, and legs...

i devoured that shit but....

the best part is that they bring "seconds". the waitress saw me eyeing the sauce, so she dumped extra on there....

round two... finished... did i mention how perfect the fries are? and how much better they get in that sauce?

i love you sauce." --from blog.turntablelab.com

**note from cindy: my plates looked very similar to his but i have to say i couldn't finish all of the second round of frites. we left in the morning for NY, and I have to say I was relieved. Any more beurre and i would've felt started my self-loathing exercises.

pho 14 at avenue de choisy & doctor magnan
vietnamese food in paris, you ask? well, the french did occupy the region. where do you think asian fusion food started? the vietnamese town of paris is kind of far out... it took us a while to get there. the only reason we went there was because i needed soup after my partying with the frenchies. les vins x 25 bottles or something stupid like that.

oh man. it was one of the best pho soups i've ever had

and then, it was all gone...

les baugettes
how do the french do it? the baguettes here are just not good enough. geesh, i sound like a francophile but seriously, no wonder we're all obese. the bread here is so bread-y and there it's just light and airy. and they don't really stuff the sandwiches with an inch-high of meat. all you need is a slice of ham, slice of cheese and no condiments.

and the pastries

forgot to take a picture after most of it was already devoured up. pain au chocolat everyday!

**recommended by Esther**
-make sure you have ice cream at Bertillon on Isle St Louis.
-Le Gallopin for some very french bistro fares
-Le Christine -have some macaroons at La Duree. they are to die for.

**recommended by Sarah**
-mariage freres - tea shop and cafe - oldest tea in france - beautiful packaging and delicious flavors
-also pierre herme has a modern touch to them...
-falafel on rue des rosiers - at l'as falafel - delicious!!

**recommended by food&wine magazine
i wanted to go here but you have to make reservations like a month in advance.
-Spring at 28 rue de la Tour d'Auvergne
click here to read more about the place.

**i read this girl, Pim's blog before the trip and it was well-written and has great pics. she was just featured in food&wine mag.

and the new friends i made in paris:

one of the best "house parties" i'd been to in a while. read all about it...

and last but not least, make sure to ride the free bikes (velib) while you're there...

Posted by cindy at 01:28 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Our  journey to Paris was for inspiration; to find my mojo; to feel passion for fashion again.

Well, I've found it but not in the most obvious of places.

I had a very long list of shops to go to in Paris (and I'll share them with you in a shopping guide to come), but it wasn't really in the trendy boutiques that I found it. It was literally in the air.

You see, French women wear perfume... and lots of it. Perhaps it's because they want to smell nice even after a night out at the smoke-filled bars. But it's never over-powering; it's just mesmerizing almost spell-binding. The French women take better care of themselves.  I got inspired by such little things.  The perfume was one detail.

Another was the healthy nature of life. The idea that Europeans take their personal life seriously is not something unknown.  Older women biking on the streets is common. People looked healthier, more relaxed there. Working hard is important, but playing hard even more so.  We need to take both into consideration to be happy - and look great. We took part by riding the free Velib bikes that are stationed all over Paris. We biked from our area of le Marais to the Eiffel Tower. Such tourists.

Also, I wasn't looking to buy anything practical while I was over there. But it was so darn cold, my flimsy (but seriously cute) trench coat with its 3/4 length sleeves weren't going to do me any good. I found this one shop Comptoir des Cotonniers and what must have France's best-selling salesman. He sold me a coat with his chic gay Parisienne style and persuasive French accent. The way he tied a scarf around my neck just so. When the French tie a scarf around the neck, it's not just wrapped around for warmth. It's tied perfectly to make a statement, whatever that may be. Even if it's messy,  that's been done on purpose.

My conclusion?

1) spray yourself with some annick goutal

2) Expore the bike share program in nyc  

3) Learn how to tie a scarf

and live hard, play hard. panties and vodka!  

Posted by cindy at 08:12 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

  Yeah, I'll brag a little. I went to Paris to look for some (fashion) inspiration. Found some but along the way, I fell in love with the city.

There's too much to blog (maybe some of it's not that interesting) but I'm going to drag this trip out into several entries so get ready.

We're pretty low-key travelers; not necessarily basking in luxury because either we can't afford it or it's just not our scene. So this is the Paris guide for people who like to take the road less taken and have a fearless appetite for food.

Where to Stay:

There are hundreds of options but we decided to rent an apartment in Paris. How can you beat having your own kitchen and stocking it with your store bought drinks? I don't believe in mini-bars unless someone else is footing the bill.

This one's from a website called http://vacationinparis.com 

1) you get your keys and instructions before leaving the States.

2) Location for our place was amazing - 2 blocks from the Centre Pompidou and on a tiny little street with a cluster of equally tiny galleries.

3) what won me over? the free bottle of wine they give you as a welcome gift. gotta love it.

4) of course, there were bakeries, markets all around for us to get snacks.

5) under $150 a night.

Posted by cindy at 01:58 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

so i was doing some research for a potential summer vacation (tripadvisor.com lets you see other travellers' candid photos), and jen + i learned that the Mexican hotels seem to have some kind of preoccupation with creepy towel-animals? i've always applauded the famous tin-foil swan doggie bag, but this doesn't quite carry the same charm:

even less appealing: alligator?

 nothing says "welcome" like a towel-monkey...

hey cindy, be sure to let us know if you run into any of these on your honeymoon... 

Posted by katie at 11:49 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (2)

i went recently to asia (seoul and tokyo, specifically) to find inspiration. well, the trip was too short for that, but i did find these:

got lucky and got upgraded to first class. apparently, first class riders get finer toilet seat covers. hmm, what's up with that? finer tooshies?

Classic example of Asians not quite grasping English. Go check out Engrish.com for better examples.

we bought these knives at the fish market in tokyo.  we couldn't really communicate or bargain with the man who sold us these knives (you know, my college japanese sux), but we were sold when he cut slivers of newspaper right in front of our eyes.

if you ever hit up tokyo, make sure to go to the fish market - it's the freshest sushi you'll ever have. no joke. but it's best to go when they open at like 5 am. does the sound of sushi and sake in the morning turn your stomach? how about if you've been out drinking all night? then it's not really morning, is it?

oh, but you may not be into this guy:

we had this at dinner the night before. one of one restaurant we went to that didn't have an english menu (dumb tourists)...all i kept telling them was "no meat" cuz my friend's a vegetarian. they made us a soup with that thing that looks like brain. we couldn't figure out what it was and when we went for sushi (again) the next morning, there it was right before us. when i asked the sushi chef what it was, he kept saying "s-p-a-m" "s-p-a-m?" SPAM? what? and then i reluctantly realized that he meant "sperm". or perhaps fish balls of some sort. hey, until i knew what it was, i thought it was pretty good.

  you can't do asia without boozing. we did it up right - one night was filled with sake, soju, beer (as seen above), then champagne and finished off with whiskey. and you wondered why we call this panties + vodka.

Posted by cindy at 10:50 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

 so my computer crashed on me today... TWICE!

running your biz may be cool, but double-duty as IT crew isn't cool at all when you have no clues about computers.  

the last time this happened, i went and bought next day tix to the bahamas. well, escape is not an option this time. instead, for your enjoyment and for my torture is a pic of the beach i was laying on right about this time last year in curacao.

 god i wish i were there right now. dell sux.

Posted by cindy at 04:40 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)