leisure reading

grad school distracts you from life sometimes, even things that make you feel safe. I miss reading and this winter break is about catching up:

Route 101

If I spent the day riding bus route 101 down the coast, I would have written the next great American novel by now.

tonight bonfire, tomorrow night, disco dance party on skates!

definition

haunt (verb)
1. to visit habitually or appear to frequently as a spirit or ghost
2. to recur persistently to the consciousness of; remain with
3. to visit frequently; go to often
4. to frequent the company of; be often with
5. to disturb or distress; cause to have anxiety; trouble; worry

what inspires me...

fashion and art

I finished my scarf!

lost within myself.

One of my former heroes once wrote that he preferred actors over models. Models are being something while actors are doing something.

This past week, I found myself being weighed down by my thoughts. I'm the type of person that lives life by doing things. I don't think, I just do. I let my thoughts chase me around hoping they will never catch up to me. When they do, they swallow me alive and I'm forced to live within myself. One of my best friend's favorite quote from the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's is "Because no matter where you run, you're always going to end up running into yourself". It's true. And I've accepted it.

Lately, I recognize the person I've been running into and I'm going to keep running into her over and over again. The real question is does anyone else see her?

Winter in Seattle has been interesting. The snow has brought in peace and chaos.

everything is illuminated

I wish I could find the middle ground in writing. A couple of weeks ago I discovered and started reading my old journal. It's fascinating to see how much lost, sorrow, disappointment, and heartache can create hauntingly beautiful words and sentences. Now, I can never find the words to express the many feelings I go through in a day. I fear if I list them here they would lose their meaning and appeal because honestly, we live in a society where happiness is so vague and elusive. I do notice the trade-off though. In the event of my lost for words, I have become more creative in other ways. I create beautiful things.

So for now, I say goodbye to old words and friends.

apartment therapy in Seattle

These pictures are a little delayed but this has been my home for the last year in Seattle:

i'm still working on my playlist

Opening Credits: Sleepyhead – Passion Pit

Waking Up Scene: I Didn't See It Coming - Belle & Sebastian

Average Day Scene: The Sun – Portugal The Man

Fall Scene: Dance Yrself Clean – LCD Soundsystem

Best Friends Scene: Meet Me Half Way - Black Eyed Peas

First Date Scene: The Night Starts Here - Stars

Falling in Love Scene: Between Two Lungs – Florence and the Machine

Love Scene: Need You - Travie McCoy

High Scene: Animals - Miike Snow

Sex Scene:

Winter Scene: Sunday's Pretty little Icons - Belle & Sebastian

Fighting with Friends Scene: Gold Guns Girls - Metric

Breaking-Up Scene: Emotions - Destiny's Child

Broken Heart Scene: My Boy Build Coffins – Florence and the Machine

Getting Back Together Scene: Go Do- Jonsi

Mental Breakdown Scene: Honey and the Moon – Joseph Arthur

Driving Scene: The Ghost Inside – Broken Bells

Lesson Learning Scene: Dull Life – Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Falling Asleep Scene: Nadine – Fool’s Gold

Deep Thought Scene: Boy With A Coin - Iron and Wine

Flashback Scene: Western Hospitality – Club 8

Spring Scene: Daydreamin – Lupe Fiasco

Party Scene: Heads Will Roll – Yeah Yeah Yeahs



Closing Credits: I'm A Lady - Santogold

Louder than sirens Louder than bells Sweeter than heaven And hotter than hell

dear mind,

please catch up with heart. or at least be on the same side. The shoes shouldn't fit on the right feet anymore. I don't apologize for being distant and careless or making foolish choices. i want to see where this restlessness takes me. dear friends, bear with me.

nestmaker

I finally finished decorating my apartment or having it exactly the way I want it:

black dress

Lately, I only want to see things in black and white especially concerning my personal life. Interestingly enough, what I have in mind, perfect on paper clashes with reality. When I started this dress, I wanted a simple black dress for everyday. I got a little carried away, which might reflect the fact that I often get carried away even when I don't choose to.

welcome september. and rain, coffeeshops, and warm coats.

I'm currently on dress #3 as I begin my last year of grad school and prepare for my job search. I have to keep about the things that are keeping me sane:
my family
my friends
sewing
playing
drawing
walks
nature
pretty clothes
music
dancing

hopefully all of these will be enough to keep me going.

breaking it up - lykke li

Apartment Dancing

And I like sometimes to wave it high
Up where everyone can see
I'm a lady
Got my mind made up

summer.

There's a drumming noise inside my headThat starts when you're aroundI swear that you could hear itIt makes such an all mighty soundThere's a drumming noise inside my headThat throws me to the groundI swear that you should hear itIt makes such an all mighty soundLouder than sirensLouder than bellsSweeter than heavenAnd hotter than hellI ran to a tower where the church bells chimeI hoped that they would clear my mindThey left a ringing in my earBut that drum's still beating loud and clearLouder than sirensLouder than bellsSweeter than heavenAnd hotter than hellLouder than sirensLouder than bellsSweeter than heavenAnd hotter than hellLouder than sirensLouder than bellsSweeter than heavenAnd hotter than hellAs I move my feet towards your bodyI can hear this beat it fills my head upAnd gets louder and louderIt fills my head up and gets louder and louderI run to the river and dive straight inI pray that the water will drown out the dinBut as the water fills my mouthIt couldn't wash the echoes outBut as the water fills my mouthIt couldn't wash the echoes outI swallow the sound and it swallows me wholeTill there's nothing left inside my soulAs empty as that beating drumBut the sound has just begunAs I move my feet towards your bodyI can hear this beat it fills my head upAnd gets louder and louderIt fills my head up and gets louder and louderThere's a drumming noise inside my headThat starts when you're aroundI swear that you could hear itIt makes such an all mighty soundThere's a drumming noise inside my headThat starts when you're aroundI swear that you could hear itIt makes such an all mighty soundLouder than sirensLouder than bellsSweeter than heavenAnd hotter than hellLouder than sirensLouder than bellsSweeter than heavenAnd hotter than hellAs I move my feet towards your bodyI can hear this beat it fills my head upAnd gets louder and louderIt fills my head up and gets louder and louder

first dress for the summer season

being in the arizona has inspired me to make a cotton sundress, something flirty and comfortable to play in the sun in.

adventuring.

currently in arizona, will return with updates. stay tuned.

Celebrating Bastille Day!

Summer Breakfast.

Cinnamon Roasted Peaches with Vanilla Yogurt

Serves 2 Greedy People

4 Peaches
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon of light brown sugar
1 tablespoon of butter
2 cups of low-fat Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon of almond extract (my alteration)
1 tablespoon of honey
Fresh mint leaves

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Wash and cut the peaches in halves, removing the pits, and place on roasting pans.

Sprinkle each peach half with cinnamon and brown sugar and dot with butter. Cook for 10 minutes.

While the peaches are cooking, mix the honey, yogurt, and almond extract together.

Serve the peaches doused with yogurt and garnish with mint.

edging closer to my 26th birthday, retail therapy helps numb the fear of getting old...just a little

with warm birthday wishes from my family, I bought myself:

1. Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights: Recipes for Every Season, Mood, and Appetite
(the colorful and whimsical pictures and delicious recipes sold me)

2. summery nailpolish
( in efforts to slow down and relax)

3. black and gray ribbons for my hair

4. flowy skirt for the summer nights in Seattle.
(source: Redlight)

things a woman should know about style

trinh's definition of her style.

1. my inspirations comes from chanel's masculinity meets femininity. i want to dress like blair waldolf meets keri russell meets michelle williams.

2. I have a fetish for pearls, roses, and time pieces. i'm a june baby and the pearl is the month's stone and the rose is the month's flower. i usually alternate between pearls and my watch pendant. i like the elegance of roses and pearls and i like how time represents structure.

3. taking four years of art in high school and classes now and than, i like to play with complementary colors on the color wheel. my favorite color is blue. my latest favorite color combination is navy blue and light pink ( it ties back to masculinity meets femininity). i like orange with mint green, pink and green, purple and red, and blue with gold, pink, and orange. i love wearing white.

4. my motto is elegance and class.

5. i can't live without black eyeliner and blush

6. i live in urban cities so i can dress up.

supermarket scavenger hunt

RIP Jimmy Dean...?

this is a secret...I will be hiding out in Buenos Aires, Argentina soon.

I just realized that last summer was the first time I

stayed in the States because I felt it was time to figure out my life.

The past summers, I have spent exploring Europe and Latin America.

I miss traveling and sketching.

Now that I have gotten the answers to life, it's now time to change the questions.
It will be weird to have company on this trip.

Force of habit.

I live in a bubble. Not just in a bubble, but in bubbles within bubbles.

The SeattleU/StudentAffairs/CapitolHill overlap of bubbles. This weekend, my good friend, Marie, visited the Emerald City. Despite the unstoppable rain, we frolicked throughout the neighborhoods discovering secret Seattle. From this point on, I now crowned the city as "the city of endless indulgences". You're pretty much screwed if you don't enjoy good food, music, books, nature or anything that passes the time besides work. Anyways, sometimes it takes an out of towner to pop several bubbles to see the city differently than through my graduate student eyes.

Picture above. Donut Stand in Pike's Place. They put freshly-made donuts in a brown paper bag, add cinnamon, shake and hand it over to you.

Paintings that I started. Lanterns complimentary from
Bainbridge Island.















Remember to watch your step!

rationality

In my opinion, most of the time, it's worth it to chase the impossible. I have been doing it for 25 years.

question

What's the fun in playing it safe?

love Emily Blunt in Young Victoria

sometimes I just watch tv and movies just for the clothes:

view from my roof deck

Now that the hideous Taco Time is out of the way, the city seems brighter

if the shoe fits

than wear it.

land of bridges and roses

This past weekend, I celebrated my friend's birthday in Portland. After our food adventures and hours in Powell's, I adopted this into my lovely home:






The Life of Pi has always been my favorite book because our relationship has strictly only been between the two of us. Before returning to Seattle, I gave my paperback copy to my uncle, passing along the luck and life it brought to me. Finding the illustrated version in the used section of Powell's, I knew that Life of Pi will lead me somewhere new.