sequins, plaid, & faux leather

dress: backstage // plaid: vintage // jacket: h&m // boots: anne klein // bag: balenciaga

photography: nik sarac

meant to wear this dress in vegas but the reality of the situation was, i spent more than half the trip in my pussycat dolls booty shorts. comfort apparently, was key. i really didn't want to waste this dress as i don't see another occasion to be fancy anytime soon. and let's face it, by then i'll probably want a new dress anyways.

plaid over the sequins and a more rugged "leather" jacket turned the dress from night to day. done and done.

xxxo,
jenny

ps... photos + modeling was an epic fail for this shoot. nik and i were suffering from our raw diet/cleanse. inability to focus and angle properly were very evident when going through the shots.

cooking adventures:

i am obsessed with asian tacos. kogi. calbi. really doesn't matter. last night, i decided to make my own. i don't like dry food and chicken, though not the specific one that i used, has a tendency to be dry. therefore, i whipped up a spread with a few basic ingredients that made the tacos taste pretty damn good.


serves 6-8
ingredients:
tacos:
8 corn/wheat 6" tortillas
1.5 cups shredded cabbage
1 bag of trader joes teriyaki marinated chicken breast (or 3 teriyaki chicken breasts)
2 limes

spread:
5 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup diced onions
2 T of sriracha
2.5 cups of shelled and ready-to-eat edamame
salt/pepper to taste
1/2 lime juice

1. preheat oven to 375 degrees. leave chicken breast to thaw if they are frozen.

2. in a food processor (or blender) throw in all ingredients for spread. blend until smooth. it's ok if there are a few chunks.

3. place chicken breast in oven and bake for about 15-18 minutes.


4. in a pan, toast the corn tortillas until golden brown. make sure to pop air pockets in tortillas.

5. spread a heaping tablespoon of spread onto one side of the tortilla and place a pinch of cabbage on the other.


6. take chicken out and let cool for 3-5 minutes. then, cut chicken into cubes and use a spoon to lightly mash the chicken until it is slightly shredded.


7. scoop chicken as desired into taco shells. garnish platter with lime wedges.

xxxo,
jenny

cooking adventures:

as i get older, my desire to learn how to cook grows everyday. the food network has always entranced me but everything seemed so involved and daunting. i want to start cooking items that i actually really want to eat. i find cookbooks don't always have pictures (a huge necessity for me; i eat with my eyes) and usually have a lot of recipes i don't really want to make. so, i'm currently hand picking recipes from some great healthy vegan/lifestyle sites and compiling to form a customized cookbook.

yesterday, i made a few things for my family but this was probably my favorite. the combination of sriracha and swiss cheese melted over oven roasted corn was delightfully tasty.


ingredients
4 corn on the cobs (is that how you say it?)
1/2 cup of diced swiss cheese
1 T of sriracha
3 cloves of diced garlic
1 T of diced onions
1/2 lime

1. line baking pan with aluminum foil and lay the 4 corn cobs as closely as possible to one another. preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. squeeze lime juice evenly on corn cobs.
3. mix all other ingredients together in a small bowl.
4. lay the mixture over the corn. try not to let it spill onto the baking sheet as you'll just get burn cheese all around the corn.
5. roast for about 15-18 minutes. let cool and enjoy!

xxxo,
jenny

super distressed denim

jeans: frankie b. // top: LF // vest: Armani Exchange // jacket: banana republic // boots: jeffrey campbell security platform

photography: nik sarac

i've been on a layering kick. trying to master this art.

i found that slightly longer vests with leather jackets over make for a great pairing.

so far, i know my denim armani exchange vest was worth my then-employee discount and my once too clean-colored leather jacket make a great couple. granted, the jacket is pretty worn in now and is more dirty than it is creamy.

xxxo,
jenny

sweater dress

sweater & cuffs: h&m // boots: urban outfitters // rings: chan luu

attempted to make a video. 3 attempts later and we have a valley girl flailing as cameraman attempts to capture. awesome.

black & blue

jeans & flats: urban outfitters // sweater: random boutique // jacket: ann taylor // bag: henri bendel

still very much in love with these bright blue jeans.
on another note, i know that party planning is not my forte. it is extremely exhausting.

i took on the responsibility of spearheading most of the company's chinese new year party. this meant that i was in charge of food, decorations, setting up, and cleaning up. and oh my gosh. after all was said and done, i suffered a minor headache and severe fatigue.

i would post the pictures from the party but... i might pass out. i'm doing a cleanse at the moment. the photos are mainly of food and i might lick my computer screen. this is day 1 of 3 days and i'm convinced i might not make it. i never realized how much i ate until i had to stop eating everything but raw fruits and vegetables. the pictures will just have to wait.

if i don't post for the next 3 days, please alert the authorities.

xxxo,
jenny

chinatown

blouse: angl // jeans: all saints // boots: house of harlow 1960 // bag: henri bendel // coat: lush //colorwheel: chinatown stand

nik and i took a trip to chinatown last week to buy chinese new year decorations for our company party. after all was said and done, we took some time to explore and found that the metro station had a beautiful view! the child within me persuaded me to buy the wind wheel contraption and thus it was my prop for this shoot.

happy chinese new year! hope you didn't sweep your house today. it symbolizes the sweeping out of your good luck.

xxxo,
jenny

chinese new year 2012 photo diary

tomorrow, january 23, 2012, is the official start of the lunar new year. a 15 day celebration, this lunar new year represents the beginning of the year of the dragon. an annual tradition, my family and i prepare for the new year by taking a trip to santa ana and shopping for festive food and cultural decorations.

at shun fat market in san gabriel

the lighting at half & half teahouse

on route to santa ana (land of the vietnamese) from san gabriel (home of the chinese)

"bo bia" - a form of vietnamese spring rolls, which i highly prefer. these were at a buddhist vegan restaurant

bread with curry. the little coconut presentation was adorable. being authentic usually means giving up pretty plating. also vegan.

probably one of my favorite dishes whether vegan or not. noodles with eggrolls in fish sauce. "bun cha gio"

every little vietnamese/chinese kid grows up playing with these snap poppers. i'm quite frankly not sure what the construction is but it looks like some white tissue with mild explosives wrapped inside. each box has about 20 pieces probably. they make a little explosion when thrown on the floor. 10 packs for $1. ahh childhood.

dragon heads

festive decorations

beautiful purple orchids, a personal fave

traditional yellow chrysanthemum flowers

my mom stopped me from buying this. and the would-be recipient agreed that they were lame. i was excited.

so many gift sets!

gold. glitter. red.

momma & me

very very asian

this shop had nifty signs. very white of them.


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i almost got sold on these.

poppa and swissy.
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there was a vietnamese street food market. i was so sad that i had already eaten at the vegan place. she's frying one of my favorites! rice cakes!

lesser known fact, i actually love balut eggs. they're pretty harsh on the heart and cholesterol though.

pandan/coconut waffles. so fragrant and delicious!

meat skewers

again, very very bummed about already eating. :( SPAM MASUBI!??!

so freaking cute. wall decals at a little meat shop.

we burn money to send to our ancestors and gods. when i was younger, this was the highlight of my chinese new year.

hoping this was a typo. not sure who i'm sending and to where i'm sending them. half said heaven half said hell...

i'm going to take on the task of making this gelatinous dessert. basically, three layers of coconut juice and milk in a coconut. after eating the jello, you carve the coconut meat. so refreshing! from my hanh restaurant.

our main alter.

kaleidoscope of the above image.

chúc mừng nǎm mới
jenny