Kimono.....美しい!!!

My ODJ


1. Top:
Marni braided back tunic dress 
Kimono wrap

2. Bottom:
Chanel 11' Cruise mini full skirt 


3. Accessory:
11' golden tone CC brooch with pears
Givenchy Tinhan hobo with studs
Barton Perreira cat eye sunglasses

4. Shoes:
Alaia lace-up gold sandals

Kimono is actually easy to pull off...it is like a bath-rope except it's so much sexier in its own definition.

Get a Kimono, would you!?

xoxo Rachel

Endearment!!

Whenever I'd like to thank my family for their support especially hubby's taking care of kids while I had my best time with girls night out, a nice home-cooking for my family is always ensued!!

Here are examples of a quick supper which allows you endear yourself to your family! They are going to love both you and the food!

We love the creamy taste of white sauce but I always order/buy tomato cream sauce/ sun-dried tomato cream sauce for a little healthier twist! 

When saute shrimps, I also use herb infused dipping oil + extra virgin olive oil for more flavor!....try it and you'll love how much aroma it can add into your dishes!!

I call this " Fussili Melody" as Niel loves fussili pasta while Heidi and Ilona love Ravioli and add mushroom, Spinach, shrimps, then there you have a healthy and tasty hearty meal!!
Two dishes in one...easy for mom to do! ^^

This is a quick supper for hubby as he lurrrrrrrrrrves hash brown. 
A home-grilled chicken satay (store bought satay sauce for marinate and dipping) and some mini hot dogs keep his protein intake in-check!

As for me, I don't need much food for dinner but I eat 6 meals throughout the day and munch almonds all day long to keep my protein intake in-check. Then, here comes my soul food....fashion meg. lol.

pic. source. fashion mag. 
 So, what I learned today is that you need to "belt" your pleat skirt to add a cool definition, buy as many sequin pieces as possible, and stock up "PINK"!!!! ^^

I was so inspired again by Ann's feather or petal-like cardigan the other night she wore to our girl's night out. So I dug out my vintage find last year....this loop wool cardigan. ....Oh, yes, if you are wondering, I am wearing fall look already. lololol...... nay, jk!

"Pink" can be girly and powerful if you pair it right!!!

Karen Walker s/s 2011

Love Ann's fuzzy but not furry cardigan.

 

My Outfit Du Jour

1. Top:

Pink/white two layered tank 

Vintage loop cropped cardigan

2. Bottom:

Vera Wang Lavender label color block wide pleat skirt

3. Accessory:

Elisabeth Cole dagger Swarovski 24K gold-plated necklace

ADAhandbag color block leather belt with strings

Barton Perreira cat eye sunglasses

Hermes Rubis 30cm Lindy

4. Shoes:

Costume National oxford heels

Try compatible colors for your bags and shoes....here, Navy Vs. Red!!

xoxo Rachel

A little of Everything..... Neon, 70s', 80s' and Whatever!!

We decide whatever length of skirt we want to wear everyday!! Whether we felt like wearing a short mini skirt, floral granny long skirt, maxi dress, midi skirt one day or hot pants, flared pants, skinny jeans the next day, we enjoy ourselves, embrace fashion no matter what the trend is. 


I bought this cream nude bustier at HM and absolutely love the bombshell look it created!! 


LEVIS 531 coral red skinny jeans

Paired with Orange Boss white cropped jacket and tassel belt and BCBG Generation floral square framed sunglasses



Paired with Alice and Olivia denim cropped jacket with ruched shoulder/sleeves and hot pink J crew skinny belt  

(Both looks are styled with Hobo International snakeskin print clutch, Levis 531 Coral low rise skinny jeans and Chanel 08' pink tulle satin mary-jane heels) 

LEVIS 531 hot pink cropped skinny jeans

(Right, Barton Perreira cat's eye sunglasses)







NOW ONTO MY OUTFIT DU JOUR 
yeah~~~ Friday~~~



This Elisabeth and James white blazer with ruched sleeves are now collarless as I iron them flat... ^O^



Aren't those Jill Sander wooden platform cut-out heels and those HM pale pink tights the best pair for 70s' flair!!!!!





MY ODJ


1. Top:
HM cream nude bustier (current season)
Elisabeth and James white blazer


2. Bottom:
Orange Boss mini skirt 


3. Accessory:
Karen Walker baby pink gee gee sunglasses
Hobo International Snakeskin print clutch
Betsy Johnson not-a-pair earrings
Fallon spike necklace


4. Shoes:
Jill Sander cut-out wooden platform heels



Every piece is past season.... except for the HM bustier and power pink tights!
That being said, think monotone and add punch of colors on accessories to maximize your wardrobe!!


(A fellow reader from Argentina wants me to do a post of my closet...I think I better wait till it is ready to do a face-lift and have a before-after post. You know.... how terrible it could be as far as the closet-declutter is concerned.) 

Have fun on Friday!
xoxo Rachel 

Still Challenging.... Sheer Trend!!

I know most of you probably won't appreciate this sheer trendy look, but personally, I love it.  For me, it is an avenue of being sexy without exposing too much of flesh....sheer sexy rocks!! }=^.^={

I had a really fun day shopping with Cathy as well as discovered an effective way of cooking for my family. Let's get started with my outfit du Jour...Sheer look!

 

1. Top:

  gray bustier

 bobkova. sheer asymmetrical tank 

Vince asymmetrical leather jacket

2. Bottom:

Vintage BCBG crochet wrap (altered as tube skirt/dress)

KristenseN Du Nord sheer legging (w/ beaded embroidery)

3. Accessory:

Turquoise bangle

Urban outfitter gold cuff with stone/turquoise embellishment

Proenza Schouler PS1 yellow clutch

Barton Perreira cat eye sunglasses

Gold necklace 

4. Shoes:

Miu Miu studded pump 2010

While we were at Diesel, Cathy fell in love with the neon Orange pump (down left) and found a good deal for $85 around on Amazon.com instead.

One of the male SAs in Diesel loved my Miu Miu studded pumps so much that he had to shared his recent project with me. He bought a pair of black platform for $10 at great-mall and painted it red. He said that he is so inspired by one of the looks at Diesel store. How interesting!! Now all he needs to do is to patiently align those red sequins w/ tacky glue onto the entire heels. ....{I was very excited with him as he shared his baby with me in the store. ^^}

My current fave. perfume, Victor & Rolf Flowerbomb!!
Very sexy scent...if you are trying to seduce .... :P 

Since I carpooled with Cathy, I dragged her over to see Ilona's spring program performance in the afternoon. ^O^

{I think Ilona would feel so special as Cathy came along and I share the ride to save the earth by reducing carbon monoxide.}

 
I bought this Garlic oil for marinating lamb chop/shank, but I find it very handy when I run out of garlic or being lazy not wanting to do all the peeling/chopping.


 I splash some garlic oil along with extra virgin olive oil when cook both Spinach with beef stir fry and Shrimp with lettuces fried rice! {I forgot to take picture of frying udon noodles....as you know, I cook both rice and noodles to satisfy my kids' picky taste buds.^^}

Easy Cheesy dinner ready!!
xoxo Rachel

Spring Knit!!

Yeah, the weather, dreadful chilly even in California today!! Never thought I could wear this cute knitting outfit in March!! 

Simple color scheme is perfectly paired with a pouch of bright/strong color.......RED! 

 

My ODJ

• no brand knitting dress (potentially a great calf-length skirt and I will show you how..... ^^)
• no brand cropped cardigan
• Francisca gold threads with tube bead earrings
• Chanel 11A Rouge Fonce reissue 226 with gold HW
• BCBG generation nude/pinkish wedge (Super comfy)
• Barton Perrieira cat's eye sunglasses

$30 wool dress + $25 cardigan + $88 wedge + $14 Francisco earrings + $3700 Chanel bag + $450 Barton perrieira sunglasses ......Who's the culprit,Chanel bag!! ^O^

Work out your back muscles to strengthen your back and spine and especially it helps to balance your front and back to look even sexier!



Please do not freak out by how strong my triceps looks there. (right)
^O^......it's the shading... ,really. 

Have fun with your knit clothes and jazz it up with bright accessories!

xoxo Rachel

Ahead of The Game!!!

This is ME dressed as Samurai look at Feb. 2010 ...here is the link to original post!! (For this old post: Please let me warn you that you can skip a whole lot of self-meditating talk at upper half post and scroll down to the bottom pictures!! lol.)

Here I cinch Marc Jacob dress w/ thick white leather belt as it would stay the way as is. 

So, what exactly are we look at here?

The belt!! 
The Martial or Samurai look whatever it is will be the hottest way to "accessorize" in 2011. 


2011 s/s Sonia Rykiel runway!!

I thought fabric belt cinched looks are familiar and it is not just Sonia Rykiel, there are also Haider Ackermann, Dries Van Noten..... they all up to the feminine w/ a twist of this tough-it-out belted look in 2011. 

 

I need a hair cut...yes, I know, "again"?!! 
I am not so sure what's the hottest trend for hair-do but I hardly stand my hair "style-less" for a week. ^O^ At least, I probably would want to grow my hair whilst keep the bob shape at back.  
( Barton perreira cat eye sunglasses n' Oscar de la Renta sapphire 2011 earrings.)

There are couple days left before new year, and new quarter of school begins. I am sure everyone hopes for the best in 2011 and so do we. 

Me and couple family friends went to Jelly Belly factory today. Kids are the most excited ones as they sampled a lot of jelly beans w/ lots of flavors. However, I'd give you an advice: "Tour the factory when it is in production"!!!!

Why?

I assume it is still holiday so unluckily, we can't see those cute tiny jelly beans being produced, polished, nor packaged on the assembly belts...... what a bummer, right?!!! We can only imagine it from viewing videos and watch those resting robots in the factory whilst listening to tour guide's explanation.*sigh*~~~

Lollipop~~ Jelly pop~~ Babes~~ :P



Do we look like Jelly Belly nurses or Marine chicks...? haha...



American Apparel 3d mesh jumper, Marni 10'A patched pants, Rochas pony hair leopard mid-calf boots, A. Wang Rocco duffel bag in gray.

Enjoy the last couple days of holidays!

xoxo Rachel

A Big DO!!

A gift-giver on Holidays! --- A BIG DO!

Finally I had almost all the gifts prepared to be wrapped. Say "almost" is because there is always someone that you "kind of" forgot and then you realized soon enough to have an extra gift to give! I even thought of giving my Yoga/TRX teacher a set of holiday Deborah Lippmann nail polish.

Why?

Because she has the most delicate hands and feet I've ever seen (on an adult)... :P sounds like I am a stalker? 

I bought lots of jewelries from J CREW today to give them to my kids' school teachers. I bet they will be so happy once they open the gifts..... I know I would! ^O^ Other than GC, what elses you guys would give to the teachers for Christmas? I am curious!!!!

I was browsing through Glamour mag. in the evening and see they had several pages talking about the trends for 2011 including Do and Don't! I don't care much about Do and Don't because my wardrobe is based on grace, elegance and decency. But there are couple trends I find interesting and start wondering whether or not such trends will even press all the fashionista's button and become a real life hit!!!

Anyway, those are my personal style DO these two days! ^^

All Saints leather smoke brocade jacket w/ tail, gray scarf, wheat knitting hat, Max Co. nude shirt, vintage leather high waist mini skirt (bought in Rome), GAP socks (bought in Rome), Ethic tan/taupe/olive boots w/ shearling trim boots.

1st DO: Match the color of your hat w/ your shoes!^^
2nd DO: Reveal some flesh other than hands, and faces or neck in winter....to demonstrate that you are healthy and strong!!! ...... hahah...... (I made up this one!!! :P) 


We all went to Ilona's school winter program yesterday ~~~ Kids are so cute in PJs singing and dancing along w/ Christmas songs!!


3rd DO: Wear white jeans in the winter, I mean, why not?!!
4th DO: Wear trinkets/accessories to show that you have taste. ^O^ (Did I just make up this one as well??)



MY ODJ

1. Top:
Isabel Marant pull over sweater
White loop sleeves cardigan

2. Bottom:
RUGBY white skinny jeans

3. Accessory:
Sonia Rykiel Swarovski owl brooch worn as necklace
one side of earrings (two sides will be too busy, I think. :P)
bracelet, Barton perreira cat's eye sunglasses... blah blah....
Chanel 10A Maroon tote

4. Shoes:
Miu Miu studded platform in black (Barney's has "brown" on sale)

All right, all right, I think I made up all those DOs....:P  have some laughs, did you!!?
Have a good day. 

xoxo Rachel

Cable Knitting Part I !!

I am a texture snob, or Color snob that I rarely buy solid color or plain clothes.  I guess my life is simple enough that I'd love to stir things up a little bit. ^O^

I bought two exact skirts over the weekend.... for myself and I think my friend, Ann, is going to look great in it! ^^



I don't know what to wear w/ this same fabric made belt yet... I bought it because it is plain "cute"!! 



Love my Barton Perreira cat-eye sunglasses



DH and I went up to the SF city today! He can't believe that we went up to SF city 3  consecutive days whilst he used to forbid driving me there. ^^

I found this big loop sleeves cardigan at Haynes st. yesterday before taking my kids to do trick-or-treat. It is slightly big for my frame but I am liking its' big loop knits so much that I think I will be able to work it w/ my WINTER WHITE 2010 look on Thursday!! (if the weather coordinates!) 

Here is the link to my Winter White 2009 look! That look was inspired from Chanel 09' Runway!

Irene said that I look like a big bird w/ that "feather-like" sleeves...&^%$#*(&^^



Cute knit could cozy me up in England and Italy!



I will show you the whole outfit ....... later!


I have to do my monthly volunteer job - book reading at Niel's school on Tuesday!


No big bird looking tomorrow.. lol.
xoxo Rachel