There is Always a Way!!

I have always found a million ways to wear my clothes or to carry my bags but I also have some friends who seldom wear/carry their luxe. clothes or bags just to keep those things fresh and new in the closet!  ^O^  Even so, there is one thing that no doubt we are in common;  We evolve styles from every single way of our lives as well as from each other's.  Aren't we just the luckies gal friends on earth!!!


Hope your friends share the same passion as you!!

My rocker chic feminine look. 
Tips, try a scarf as it seems always almost tie every piece together. 

On me (both), Tsumori Chisato cat's face dot harem pants. 





Beige blazer is every outfit's perfect match!!

My ODJ.


1. Top:
J Crew beige/nude school boy blazer (2011)
Geo. print tank blouse (on sale at Anthro.)
2. Bottom:
Tsumori Chisato 
3. Bags... BV as always in these days. ^^
4.Shoes

Kron by KronKron shoes. 

Style your friends if they look up on you!!
xoxo Rachel 

Red Valentine + Feminine Rocker!!

Think of RED for your Valentine!!

Love my Tsumori Chisato cats' face harem pants...... 


Have a good weekend!
xoxo Rachel 

Spicy Woman!!

I can't live a day w/o chili sauce to go w/ my meal ..... so I definitely deserve the title of Spicy Woman!! lol 

They are great for cooking or as dipping sauce!

This is how much chili sauce I ate along w/ my noodle soup for lunch......Chili dry fish w/ black bean curd, Thai chili sauce and Chili Garlic sauce.
~~~ All we want is HOT HOT~~~ ^O^

Didn't I tell you that I had all my food pre-prepared yesterday and they are ready to go IN the pan anytime?! Well, most of them!!


But obviously, I can't pre-prepare my Tonkatsu until the min. before dinner time.

Flour, beaten egg, Panko bread crumbs, can't mess up the order!!

Ta da~ 

Those are dinner of the day! 

That red soup is Kimchi spicy beef w/ toufu pot...... yeah, spicy food for dinner too!!

I had to cut Tonkatsu into pieces for my kids and they love dipping broccoli into that roasted sesame salad dressing...... so I guess dressing or sauces or spices plays a big role in the dishes for my family! ^O^

Speaking of food preparation, you know, refrigerators,  microwave oven, coffee maker, food processor, and dish washers really emancipated us from much of the drudgery of meal preparation and afterward cleanup.  Let alone those so-called small "kitchen Gadgets" for peeling/crushing garlic, for extracting seed out of cherries....etc. are really helpful in certain situation.  Take me for instance, imaging w/o the extracting cherry seed gadgets, how many seeds I have to take out for all my 3 children when they eating along and the triple speed that I have to train my teeth and tongue to do the job before they all reach out for the next one!! ^O^ Therefore, thanks to the inventor who came up w/ it especially it really works~~ AMAZING!!


It took me 20 mins to cook for myself a lunch and an hour to assemble 4 dishes for family dinner.......... how about this morning!?

We all woke up around 7:30 AM for kids' dental appointment at 8:30 AM. 
zzzzzzz....... sleepy bed head~

Niel, Abby and Ilona (in the next room) take over the entire dental clinic this morning~ lol

Ah, that's why they can really sit on the exam chair -- watch
Sponge Bob - Square Pants on the ceiling!



So after hour and a half, we are OUT the dental office ......


My ODJ. 


1. Top:

• Sequin tank (gift from Pei)
• Inochi Fox fur w/ collar vest 

2. Bottom:
techno metallic charcoal skirt w/ drawstring


3. Accessory:

• Chanel Hawaii LTD metallic silver timeless clutch
• pink sparkle loose leggings
• J crew mustard green studs belt

4. Shoes:
Boss Orange 3 tons mary-jane platform


Going up to the city tomorrow~
Have a good nite sleep!


xoxo Rachel

CHILD-LESS and Ilona's First Day of School!!

Today is the day that Ilona goes to pre-K... FULL DAY from 9 to 6 PM. She stays at school mostly from 9 to 3:30 except for Monday and Wednesday. I know, you probably think I am so cruel to her...... 


However, if you listen to what she talked about school stuff endlessly, I know that only denotes SHE IS SO READY FOR School! ^^

Ilona looked very "sleepy" there~ 
How cute she sits on her luggage for her "bedding" and that lunch box placed right next to her seems so gigantic!! Lol

I did a lot of house chores in the morning, except for cleaning the stove top, I also went two grocery stores to shop.....then I came home to do the preparation for rest of the week prior cooking such as cutting/dividing the beef into small containers, use "Cuisinart food processor" shredding carrots, asparagus, and wash string beans and cabbage and store them in the ziplock bags ... for ready-to-use. As far as what types of dishes and what kinds of ingredients make up a dish goes, I think it is a pretty big task for everyone ....especially for moms to bring the food to the table!!  So I think prewash, pre-cut..... food definitely helps. 


You know, when I was choosing some pre-cut/pre-washed/packed vegetable in the WHOLE FOODS Super Market on Sunday.......I saw a "cutting" man standing in front of a HUGE sink full of water and cauliflower behind the shelves, I suddenly want to take picture w/ him. To thank him for doing such boring job to make people's life easier, to thank him for understanding his girlfriend/wife's hard work too..........Well, I guess he must wel-know that how tiresome and boring doing these cutting/chopping everyday. ^O^

RUGBY dress, Jean Paul Gaultier flower print blouse (past season), Max Co. leather jacket, brown w/ lace trim socks, Chanel Hawaii LTD metallic silver clutch and Proenza Shouler runway heels.   

I can't believe today I have the whole world luxury to really SIT on my sofa and not yelling my kids for messing around the decoration at home and enjoy my full cup of coffee!! 


See you tomorrow. 
xoxo Rachel

Mom's Big Splurge on buying BOOTS!!! Part II !!

I said, whenever I have new acquisition, I almost wear it right away.... If not literally, I still manage to wear them ASAP!!

Speaking of time is money, the time you kept them in the closet or on the shelf is a big waste of money IMO!! hheee........ :P

Here are all the fun I had this afternoon when Ilona is napping and after she woke up!! Well, actually, the fun ended when Ilona bugs me going down stairs looking for her grand-mom and grand-pa!!! :)

Like I said before, when you notice a particular brand name shampoo causes your hair shed more, you better switch to other brands.

So I did!!!

I notice that maybe my scale doesn't like Ferraki so much, then I switch back to my used-to-be-my-fav. hair cleaning regime. All nature ingredients product : Ojon!! I also love Bumble & Bumble Curl Conscious cream but it is salon exclusive so I had to get that next week when I go back to my hair designer!!

From left to right: Ojon light weight hydrating gel/ Ultra hydrating shampoo/conditioning, Revitalizing Mist (leave-in conditioning)

1. The fab find in Loehmann's last week???

Romeo & Juliet Contour sequins leggings for $39.99!!

Romeo & Juliet Contour silk floral top for $39.99!



I styled my kinda out of control bang this morning!!


I think an up-do hair will highlight the blouse!!


GIVENCHY wedge booties.
Front chains covered w/ leather but not on those around the back!







So I can't decide if I should cinch the flared top or not!!

2. Second-hand shop fab find!! Christian Dior petite separated dress (found last year)!

I altered it to one-shoulder top.


This dress needs to be well-accessorized before its ready to go out w/ !!




some small details.


The back view..... I need to think of a pair of heels to go w/ the retro-trendy look. :)

3. Another second-hand fab find: Jaguar 100% fine merino wool plus size cardigan (made in Gt. Britain) for $11.

The cardigan has bat-sleeves style so you won't know it is plus size!!!lol

• Hermes orange lacquered w/ natural horn on the other side necklace.
• Banana Republic edition gold tassel necklace wore as belt.

Dress up fun for mom ends....Ilona is awake!!

I shall have a decent shoots of Hermes riding boots w/ Kelly lock at sides in the future!!!!

Hope the weather gets cool down a little bit more!!!

Mom's Big Splurge on buying BOOTS!!! Part I !!

How come the weather gets so warm these couple weeks?!! So, I hate it!!

Reason?

Well, to begin with, I must say I have way enough boots and I also admit that I never buy these many pairs of boots in one season!!!! lol I wish I can wear them as much as I can but darn the weather that I can only wear them to SF city where is much cooler than suburban!!

My New Givenchy chained wedge ankle boots!

Let's count how many pairs of boots I bought since Barney's legendary warehouse sale.

1. Chloe tan boots

2. Chloe taupe/purple tall boots

3. Chanel 09 s/s white mesh w/ bows booties

4.Minnetonka brown fringe suede boots

5. Givenchy black wedge w/ chain booties (have not posted)

6. Hermes black riding boots w/ Kelly locks (have not posted)

I think if I seriously sum up all the price of above boots, it is close to the cost of small Hermes Kelly!!lol

Guilty? Yes, absolutely!!

What did I do then?!!

1. To justify my out of control splurge, I returned CL maroon sling back heels couple weeks ago. (Brand new, of course!!!)

2. Shop at thrift store or discovery store(second hand/vintage) or Loehmann's near our bay area for clothes instead of major department stores. :P To tell you a good news, those places really are a treasure island and they have much better selection parted from other regular priced stores. :)

3. Eat at home and don't order entree' of my own when dinning out w/ family!! Sharing is a virtue. haha..hahaha.........

The returning CL heels justified almost $1000 spending. As for shopping at charity based discovery store, I think I am not just doing something good for our community but also feel happy about how much I saved aside from buying in department stores.

In fact, couple of my mommy friends all shopped at Loehmann's last week. We are just talking about how trendy and hip selection they had in their stores this year!! I guess *recession* is not so bad in some point of view since merchandise will be "re-priced" at more reasonable count. :)

As for home-cooking, it always benefits to the whole family. It is healthier, time-saving (don't have to wait for a table) and money-saving too!!!

Let's see if I can be the next Rachel Ray!!!!!! hahahaha...