before we say goodbye...

As summer quickly fades into fall, each young member of my family slowly packs up their belongings and leaves for their respective colleges--me included. With most of them already a month into their fall semester, I am the last one in the bunch to leave for school in a few days (as I am on the quarter system). Before I say goodbye to my beloved Norcal and depart for my final year at UCLA, I met up with my cousins and our significant others for some quality time in Berkeley, where half of them go to school.

We decided to meet at Trattoria La Siciliana, a quaint Italian restaurant on College Ave in Berkeley. The reservation was for 16 people; my family is super big!!

I ordered the bucatini 'chi finucchiede', which is a Sicilian specialty that includes fresh sardines, pine nuts, currants, sweet onion, Sicilian anchovies, saffron, fennel, and toasted breadcrumbs in the sauce. It was VERY different from anything I've ever had before. Extremely herbaceous and pungeant, the flavors were striking but perhaps a little too out there for me to fully enjoy. I loved sampling everyone else's typical gnocchi, spaghetti and meatballs, rigatoni, and mushroom ravioli, though! And there was a particular seafood stew that was divine.

Me, my younger sister (far left), and some girl cousins. Coincidentally, we were all wearing dresses!

Standing outside Ici (pronounced ee-cee) to get ice cream for dessert

Inside Ici

Some baked goodies for sale

The names of the flavors (changed regularly) are hung up on the walls in rectangle frames. This time there were flavors like brandied cherry, malted chocolate chip, rose vanilla, bartlett pear sorbet, earl grey, and brown sugar gingersnap

Display case with some ice cream scoops and brownies

I ended up getting Earl Grey, a very creamy, delicious flavor with the essence of a cup of good tea. The not-too-sweet cone proved to be a perfect vehicle for the delicate taste of this particular ice cream. The surprise chocolate filling at the bottom of the cone was nice too :)

Holding my Earl Grey and the boy's brandied cherries ice cream

Enjoying

A bunch of us standing outside the sweet shop, savoring our frozen treat before we say goodbye...


I will miss all of my family and loved ones here in Norcal. However, I am extremely excited for school to start! I have a feeling that it's going to be a very busy, exciting year for me :) Wish me luck!

Sephora by OPI in Under My Trench Coat

Described as a "light grey khaki with gold shimmer", Under My Trench Coat (one of Sephora's newest colors) satisfied this week's need for a more muted nail color. As always, this color looks so much better in real life. I like how it's so different from the bold, bright colors that I usually sport. Definitely a hit for fall!

I think this picture does the color the most justice...the other pictures make the color look too grey. This picture above captures the khaki

Click for a closer look at the shimmer!

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So it seems I have a bit of a nail obsession as of late....I can't stop eyeing and buying nail polish! I haven't even tried all the colors I currently have and still I continue to add to the collection. Meet my three newest acquisitions:

From left to right: Mod Hatter, Berry Berry Broadway, and Sahara Sapphire

I stopped by a random beauty salon a few days ago and noticed that they were doing a 50% off sale on a bunch of discontinued OPI and Orly colors. I ended up getting these three because they look like very winter-y colors, no?

Also gave in to those rave reviews for Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat. For $9.99 it's definitely a very pricey top coat, but after I tried it last night on top of three coats of Under My Trench Coat, I could understand why people love it so much. It made my awkwardly painted right hand nails (sooo hard for me to paint with my left hand since I'm right-handed!) super smooth and perfect. AND it really did dry fast (though not as fast as my Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-Chip Top Coat) and make my nails look incredibly shiny. The formula is a bit thicker than traditional top coat polishes, but that didn't bother me at all. Definitely my new favorite!


Last, but not least, another top coat polish. This one is supposed to make whatever color polish is underneath look holographic. I was intrigued, so I swatched a bit on top of my Ocean Love Potion polish and it looked pretty cool! I can't wait to try this on top of a darker color though :)

Sephora by OPI in Ocean Love Potion

Have a full day ahead of me, but before I go, a quick view of one of my new nail polishes :D

Sephora by OPI in Ocean Love Potion, described by Sephora as a "Mediterranean turquoise". I likey! It's a cool blue-green that's a nice pop of color but isn't too bright. Btw, this is after 5 days of wear, with a base coat, 2 coats of color, and a top coat...pretty good right?

With flash!

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A peek at some of the things I got at Sephora last week, except all the Benefit products, which were given to me. Will be reviewing them shortly!

Also, I've been meaning to try out some drugstore brand mascaras, and this waterproof Cover Girl Lash Blast was first. So far, it's ok, but definitely not up to par with my DiorShow Iconic Extreme Waterproof mascara. The brush's big size makes application a bit messy, and for some reason, I could NOT for the life of me remove it all at the end of the day. Even after waterproof eye makeup wipes and a thorough rinsing in the shower with Cetaphil face wash, there was still some gunk. I guess I have to applaud its staying power, but that's just too much trouble for me! Other than that, it gives pretty good volume and definition, but not as much length as my Dior

Going to the club tonight, so I'll try to make my first FOTD post! :D

Today I decided to sweep my bangs over my eyes and somehow it ended up covering my whole face. I liked the results though; it looks a little edgier. I'm contemplating getting some bangs since I can't do much with the rest of my hair right now....I've had such conservative-looking hair for so long that I don't think I'll mind going a little shaggier and punk rock....thoughts?

Maybe some different colors in there? Hmm....

Accessories of the day: zipper necklace from F21, crucifix necklace is from my mom. Layered together and worn with silver hoops

Spent the day in SF with one of my faaavorite shopping buddies. I've known this girl for 11 years, crazy! Since we went away for college, we only see each other during winter, spring, and summer break. And every time we get together, it's a guarantee that shopping (and gossiping + eating of course) will be involved. I think we spent 2 hours in Sephora just browsing around, lol! Anyway, here's just a quick pic of us trying on sunglasses in Juicy Couture. Be back tomorrow with pictures of my haul! :)

Hair Accessory of the Day 9/2/09

Anyone who knows me in real life knows that I have a penchant for headbands. I don't think I ever left the 2nd grade, because I've been wearing them from then until now. Before all the headband hype generated from Gossip Girl, I've been sporting and collecting this undeniably girly accessory. A lot of my headbands are collected from random places here and there, but a great many of them are from Forever 21. Yea, yea....overlooking the whole sweatshop controversy, you have to admit that F21 has some majorly chic, cool, cute, and awesome stuff. Headbands are one of them. Plus the prices don't break your bank so you can afford to have a wide variety!

Today's featured hair accessory is this cream, vintage-inspired piece. Love! I wore it with a simple white tank, jeans, and gold sandals, but I wish I had a pretty, lacy vintage dress to go with it

Close up, quote taken from F21 website: "This vintage inspired headband is covered with satin and trimmed with twill tape and chiffon ribbon. A jeweled stone sits up top surrounded with pearls and bugle beads"

Silly face just because. By the way, I've been trying to give my skin a rest by not using any foundation other than for special occasions. Moisturizer, SPF, and concealer are a nice reprieve, but I miss the even look I got from my mineral powder :( Excuse the blotches! BUT, I must admit my skin is liking the break

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On another note, I have a hair dilemma!

This is what my hair looked like when I last cut it, back in May (picture is just from a series of me and my cousins messing around with the camera after a wedding)....

.....and this is what it looks like now. I hate it! It looks so awkward...shorter in the back than the front! I'm still unsure of whether I should cut it again or not, but even if I don't, I'm still stuck with this weird length until it's long enough for a trim. Any suggestions on how I can cut it or at least style it so it'll look better???


More accessories next time! :)

summer skin

School doesn't officially start for me until the end of September, so until then, I'll still be in summer mode. Here are some things that have made me smile recently :)

*My second excursion to The Golden State. They are still my pick for Best Burger in Los Angeles! This time was especially yummy with a cold Minted Lemonade (for me) and a dark, dark ale (for him) on the side

and a scoop of banana-Oreo ice cream for dessert!

*Driving down Sunset Blvd with my feet on the dashboard on the warm, beautiful evening before I went back home to Norcal...excuse the grody toe nails (grody= my sister's word for gross + dirty)

Just to take a stroll and people-watch in Hollywood

*This cute sight of my little cousin wearing my fedora. By the way, for those who asked, I got it at one of those random stalls at Third Street Promenade but I'm sure you can get it at a regular mall

*Essie polishes in Bermuda Shorts (fuschia) and Shorty Pants (yellow)....these are from last summer, but I still looove them for their bright, fun color. I also have Mini Shorts, which is orange

Too bad this picture of my feet doesn't do any justice for Bermuda Shorts. In real life it's way more vibrant!

*This pretty copper kettle holding utensils at my favorite American BBQ joint in the world, Everett & Jones. I love the whole vibe of the restaurant...they serve their drinks in jam jars and everything feels very homey

*Palm trees at the Jack London Square pier in Oakland

*Waterfronts

*My 3 year old cousin's Spongebob birthday cake

*Gardening Mama for my Nintendo DS (which goes with me everywhere like my camera and wallet :P). I feel kinda sheepish for admitting this, but I'm OBSESSED. As in playing-until-4-am-obsessed. Then turning it on again first thing when I wake up in the morning. I feel like a kid, sneaking in play time when everyone in the house is sleeping. AAAHH!!


Ok, it's 2am here in California, and I'm off to play 10 minutes of Gardening Mama before retiring for the night... :)