the Oscars

Eating bacon-wrapped scallops, loaded potatoes, and other goodies while enjoying Seth MacFarlane hosting the Oscars. Kate Winslet, we saw your boobs!

crystal clear

A surprise present from my sister in LA... give me half an hour and I'll have the dog napping!

end of the work week

Nothing says job well done like one-minute nachos, white wine endorsed by a mysterious black cat, and a kitchen full of pets vying for gastronomic dominance.

How you really feel on Valentine's Day

Feel the obligatory love!

No dumpling making in my future

Unless you look at is as "art," there's definitely no professional dumpling making in my future.

target is a wonderland

Woke up early today to ensure my chances of trying on one of Prabal Gurung's pieces in the Target collection. Things were not at all crazy at the Daly City location, though Cabbage told me it was mayhem somewhere in Los Angeles. I did think it strange that the driver of this vehicle with a handicap placard was also waiting for the store to open but you know, maybe she was waiting for a prescription.

Not only did I get the adorable floral fit 'n' flare dress I wanted, I also found this cute pink piggy toy for Soleil. It's plush and it squeaks and it has rope legs... basicslly it's an all-in-one supertoy for my little dog. If I can make my dog and myself happt in one shopping trip, it's pretty much a win.

wear your heart on your nail

I am really into this heart manicure thing! I'm going to see how many spiffy color combos I can work with. Love this bright red and soft gray!

File this under "a blessing and a curse"

After stumbling across the revolvong discount museum of design junkies that is fab.com, I have ordered and received beautiful Turkish earrings, cute castellano travel accessories, and crazy red sunglasses that my mom hates. It is inspiring, fun, and "makes you smile" as fab likes to say. It is also a horrible curse because it is so hard to resist the cute things that weedle their way into my inbox... you'll see sickeningly cute food pillows in a couple of weeks.

Until then, it's back to scolding myself for faltering on the great save-up for my island vacation.

We have a TV!

For the first time since moving back... and just in time to see Bey at the halftime show. Let's take this, 49ers! Let's make San Francisco the city of baseball and football champions!

it can't be a bad day

When you're on the recovery from a particularly boogery bout of illness and your mom wants to make you feel better, you can't help but smile when you see that she's packed a blueberry smoothie in your Vegas drinking cup. Because she wants you to drink it at work.

Love you, Mumsy!

Boxing for beginners

Pink hand wraps in tow, I finally entered the tiny gym of Michael the Boxer and started my boxing lessons. I unknowingly booked a private lesson instead of a group lesson but it turned out to be for the better. My teacher Jim gave me lots of helpful pointers in just one hour.

Fortunately for me, the groupon class program does not include hours of jumping rope and running around town like Rocky. But I still got tired fast! Punching a bag for one minute is easy but after two minutes, my arm started to get sloppy. And the bag moves! It doesn't move a lot but enough that I really had to focus, because you need to punch the center of the bag or you can twist your wrist badly.

My left arm was sore for a bit and I was a hot sweaty mess at the end of one hour but it was fun. It was tiring and fun, and I think I will be back a few more times to see if I can really keep up this new activity.

She just wants to be a girl

That's the cutest and most generous excuse I can think of for Soleil. Why else would a dog chew through a new tube of tinted moisturizer and drag my bra halfway through the house? She wants to be just like me... maybe.

Like the Holi festival

But with way less south Asian people.

A few months ago Tater convinced me to do the Color Vibe held this past Saturday in Vallejo. The cool thing about it is that you get to throw colored cornstarch at your friends and everybody ends up looking like a skittles fanatic (or as some could argue, everyone looks like they raided my closet.)

The bad thing is that it is a 5K run.

I walked, jogged, hopped, yelled, threw colored dust everywhere , and generally did everything but run and roll in the chilly morning air. Overall it was fun. I even gave poor Tater "pinkeye" by accidentally getting pink cornstarch in her eye (sorry girl!)

But would I do that again? Not unless I had alcohol. My plump body, unaccustomed to such exercise, was exhausted. I tried staying awake but once I got home, I slept for 12 hours straight. You know I'm tired when I don't kick the covers off the bed and I sleep through dinner.

lluvia de estrellas

I love these galaxy tights from etsy's shadowplaynyc! They are beautiful and dreamy, and quite honestly one of the best-looking pieces of galaxy legwear on the market. Other "galaxy" tights or leggings look like really bad tie-dye but these are imprinted with photos taken from the Hubble telescope. The genuine image plus the miracle that they fit my thunder thighs makes them worth the $30+ price tag.

Speaking of tattered old tie-dye, that is exactly what my dear Mumsy thought I was wearing until I said "galaxy." Thanks Mom!

More fun at the dollar-fitty store

Is there anyplace more magical than Daiso/Ichiban Kan? I think I was at Daiso but it's hard to tell since they stock the same budget-friendly kitchenwares, candy, and household items you never knew you needed.

Among the plastic brooms and engrish-laced stationery I found this adorable mug of a very naughty cat... I guess missing goldfish is an international epidemic.

This little rascal could sleep anywhere

Even while hanging over my shoulder ♥

my greatest creation yet

I think I finally got this blogger app working again. Which means it's time to play catch up... from about two weeks ago...

A pile of whoopie pies, some with chocolate buttercream and some with my brand new speculoos cookie filling! Just blend some of Trader Joe's cookie butter with a little crisco to make the spread more spreadable and voila! A delicious whoopie pie that tastes a bit like a s'more.

And while we're still sitting at the table, why not show off the new color of the heart on my nail?

shake that ache

I'm not completely pooped but still pretty tired after the first salsa class of the new year.

Huzzahs:

• I didn't forget everything.
• Both teachers remembered my name and how to spell it but not how to say it... it's usually the other way around.
• Both teachers treat me like a senior student.
• We learned a new crossbody pattern... new steps are good.
• Lots of hugs!

Uh-ohs:

• Both teachers treat me like a senior student... which means that they pass by with critiques about taking smaller steps. No, this is still a huzzah!
• A weird, slightly creepy student from last year still attends... and he remembers me :-(
• I hadn't practiced for 3 weeks so my stamina was non-existent and I was prettty sloppy towards the end of the second hour.
• We learned a new crossbody pattern... which is more difficult than the first.

I do love me some cane sugar coca-cola... and let's face it, I love this little heart, too.

onesie time is nail art time

It's cold out and all I feel like doing is sipping tea and painting nails in my shark onesie. But since we all gotta do better, I'm upping the game with my first ever nail heart drawn with a bamboo skewer.

haven't even made it through the door

Mumsy meets plants she can't leave behind at Trader Joe's. $70 of a $150 receipt are spent on plants.