Birthday Twinsies

September is my favorite month not just because it signals the start of fall, but it is also the time when Z and I have birthdays. I love hearing the reaction when I tell people that we were both born on the same exact day! They awkwardly laugh and then ask if I am pulling their leg, but the answer is no! Our birthday is on September 19th and we usually treat ourselves out to a nice dinner or a trip somewhere we both can enjoy rather than buying each other something material. On a past birthday trip, we toured Seattle for a couple of days and I must say that it is one of my favorite places ranked up there with Portland. (I guess I have a soft spot for the Pacific Northwest.) Below are some photos of our trip!

Finnegan, our spoiled pug, also has the pleasure of sharing his birthday in the same month. He turned 5 years old on September 14th and has transformed into the most lazy lap pug the world has ever seen only waking up to eat/drink/poop and then fall back to sleep. I'm looking forward to a great year ahead. I'm lucky to share my birthday with one of the most wonderful, caring, people I have ever met. Happy Birthday Z!

Finnegan Visits Fort Funston

I have always seen other dog owners heading out to Fort Funston all the time, but it wasn't until Finnegan and I went there ourselves that I truly understand why this is surely the best off-leash dog park in our area. Fort Funston features 200 foot high sandy bluffs on San Francisco’s southwest coast where the winds blow reliably wildly. It is no surprise that it is one of the premier hang-gliding spots in the country. A network of trails make it ideal for hiking and horseback riding. Dog owners will be happy to know they can take leashes off here. It is also home to the Fort Funston Native Plant Nursery. 

That day, I decided not to hide my crazy pug lady personality and wore some cut-off overalls and a PUGS t-shirt that I had thrifted a while ago back home in Ventura, CA. I am sure that Z was embarrassed to be seen with me. Upon reaching Fort Funston, we took a winding trail though some sand dunes to an isolated beach. There were tons of dogs, all nicely trained of course, accompanying their owners for this scenic walk. If you want to do some dog watching, this is the place to be. As soon as we reached the water, Finnegan was already tired from the seemingly arduous journey to ocean paradise. At one point, he was so exhausted that he flopped himself down in the middle of the wet sand and probably looked similar to a beached whale from far away. Completely covered in wet sand and panting non-stop, we dragged Finnegan back to the car and took him to a self-wash bathing center near-by. We found out that Finnegan gained some weight on their in-store scale--about 29.2 pounds to be exact! After the bath, Finnegan passed out in his new Star Wars Boba Fett hoodie (I couldn't resist) on the couch and didn't even wake up to eat. I guess he was trying to tell me that this was a pretty successful pug day outing.

To see Finnegan in action, click on the Instagram video below:

An Anniversary of Sorts

I know that I've neglected to up date my blog for the longest time and I apologize for that! I've been busy with work and taking my Anatomy / lab class where all my spare moments are used to study for the endless amount of lab practicals and exams that I have lined up.  I've also gotten back into the pool and I am doing some lap swimming to get back into shape. One of my resolutions this year was to be healthier to honor my mother who fought cancer last year and survived. These little changes has actually made me feel better about myself. I guess it also helps that I have to walk up endless flights of stairs just to attend my Anatomy lecture/lab, which can be quite the work out when you're running late!

Today marks a very special day...it is the day that my boyfriend and I started dating...5 years ago! It was fun finding these pictures of us through-out the years for this blog post because you can watch Z's hair and facial hair change dramatically while I still look the same (thanks Asian genes!). Since Z has class tonight, we decided to celebrate a bit early and went to a beautiful French restaurant in San Mateo over looking some wonderful city lights. I'll post more about this later, but it was nice to waited and attended on for once since we do not usually eat so lavishly. Below are some photos of Z and I through-out the years. Happy Anniversary Z!

Soooooul Food

For our birthday, Z's sisters gave us a gift certificate to a restaurant that we've been wanting to check out for the longest time, Brenda's Soul Food. We were so excited to try out as much as we could on the menu because waiting to get into Brenda's was a trip in itself. After waiting about an hour (which I heard is not too bad for the time that we arrived and put our name down on the waiting list), we were seated and able to have our cups endlessly refilled with watermelon sweet tea. (Delicious!) We ordered some of the specials for the day--pulled pork eggs benedict with the side hash and then a creole frittata for Z.  For an appetizer (like we really needed to get one--such fatties we are!), we ordered the beignet sampler. My favorites were the crawfish (topped with cayenne pepper) and apple cinnamon beignets. Everything was so delicious and well worth the wait! If you're ever up in San Francisco, I recommend checking out Brenda's Soul food but make sure to get there early! After gorging ourselves with so much food, Z and I decided to try and walk around to get some of that food digesting. 

Z looking like "Captain Pissed off"--Reporting for duty, Sir!

Outfit Details:
Brown Peacoat // H&M
Gingham Babydoll Mini Dress // Duet Vintage
Sheer Tights // Walgreens
Rachel Comey Mars Boots
Sunglasses // Urban Outfitters

The babydoll dress that I am wearing is from Duet Vintage and is one of the most comfortable dresses that I own. The shape of the dress is perfect for hiding my huge stomach full of soul food. Food baby! -___-

Washed Out

I don't usually like using the flash on my Minolta AF2 because it makes everything in the photo appear washed out. The above photo was taken on the way to eat some delicious Thai food on Larkin Street. Despite the fact that my face blends in with the white paneling on the house behind me, this is the last picture I have of myself before I chopped off all my mermaid hair and got my bangs re-trimmed. I have to say that having bangs again makes me feel more at ease because I can hide behind my fringe. I'm content at being the wallflower.

Outfit Details:

Brown Peacoat // H&M

Black Suede Pinafore // Tea and Tulips Boutique

Beige & Black Stripped T-shirt // H&M

Black Sheer tights // CVS 

Hunter Green Knee Socks // Daiso

Dooney & Bourke Satchel // Macy's (gift)

Deadstock Hair Barrettes // Lawrence

The above photos are from Halloween at my cousin's apartment. Their pumpkins were just too amazing not to capture. Their pumpkins (The Wicker Man and Scary Monster Face) are being displayed on this vintage tiki bar from the 1970's that my cousin's girlfriend dragged in from the street. Someone left this bar out after moving out of their building. Everytime I see the tiki bar, I think of her trying to drag this huge piece of furniture up the 3 or 4 flights of stairs up to their apartment on the top floor. That's dedication!

What are your plans for Thanksgiving? Z and I will be heading down to Southern California to help my mom and sister cook up a fest. We're trying to keep things fresh and healthy in honor of mom's recovery from cancer/chemo. Hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving with your friends and loved ones. Cheers!

Black & White

For my birthday, I purchased Vanessa of The Velvet Bird's Bookworm dress. It arrived just in time for me to try it out for a night at the War Memorial Opera house. Z had purchased tickets to see Moby Dick for one of his assignments for his grad school class, so I was interested in how this literary masterpiece would be translated to a live-action opera.  Even though you cannot tell from my grainy film photos, the dress has little black dots all over that perfectly complement the black bow on the collar. The dress has brown corduroy elbow patches, which just makes the dress absolutely perfect in my eyes. I tried to get Finnegan to pose with me in my photos, but he just wasn't having it that night. He even refused to look at the camera when he usually flaunts around when I take it out. I guess he was a little moody since Z and I were leaving him alone for the evening. 

Outfit Details:
Bookworm Dress // The Velvet Bird
Black Tights // CVS Pharmacy
Mars Boots // Rachel Comey
Camel Peacoat // H&M

I absolutely love this coat from H&M and have been wearing it nonstop. I think it is just because I am partial to pairing brown with black. I never truly followed that cardinal fashion rule of not pairing black with brown or navy with black. People should just wear what they feel like wearing...the rules should be that there are no rules! Also...apologies for the chronic bitch face (CBF). I can't seem to stop making it in photos because I feel so awkward and don't know what to do with myself.   -____-