Soba..

...and a bonus post!

   Today, R took us to lunch. I chose to have the veggy cake and shrimp tempura over rice, green bean salad and soba (cold). It was delicious. I also had katsudon on the side. See the drink I had, that too was good for a H_O_T day, like it was today...

To the right of the bento box is the sauce for the unseen katsudon side order. Chopsticks are iside that little piece of floral paper on the right of the picture.

Soba what a good choice for lunch to find respite on this very warm day.

Travelling light...

   In line with keeping things light and short for my weekend posts, let me post a photot of what my idea of travelling light is. Have a safe weekend one and all!   My D & B large tote and stilleto black booties....that's it!

On the road again...

   So far these last couple of days have been nothing short of great.

   I have temporarily left the mountains for some quality family time here in California. Asia was having too many erratic typhoons to enjoy the weather and wacky as always humidity. I packed my bags and am now here in hot Golden State for a little bit of time. And so far, it has been great.

   I sleep, eat and feel well. A little drowsy because I never liked short naps and when travelling I never really get my required 8 hours of night's sleep; so here I am feeling great yet a tad bit sluggish.

   The two suitcases I came with were in all honesty, empty. Returning them to their rightful owner, thanks R. I can get used to this travelling light concept. It was fast, efficient and no hassle at all. The fear of loosing luggage was almost non-existent. And I feel good about that.

   Thus here I am back in front of my computer but not facing the foothills anymore. R, re-oriented my desk so now, I am facing the wall. No view whatsoever. Sad. It is not much fun this way but hey, I am just visiting so, who am I to complain, right? Right!

    Have had the usual staples done already. Saw my hairstylist, done! Quick trip to the pharmacy, done! A fast purchase of 2 items at the cosmetic store, done!

    Being back in the Golden State, I wanted to post a picture here but the photo was taken with my phone, so maybe next time, I can post it with the next blog entry.

   Friends to see, dressmaker to coordinate with, ex-coworkers to have lunch with, shopping to complete, more friends to plan  lunch or dinner with there or here, family to spend time with, I will be busy on this visit - but thank goodness, no luggage when I travel again.

    So as Bob Seger said, Oh so here I am, on the road again.....

    Loving it here as well, now off to my nap.......

  

Trench coat

My trench coat. This picture does not do it justice but the color is so close to the chanel #64 lipstick with a tinge of succulent raspberry hue. It has a gold buckle and black buttons. It falls just right above my knee. Perfect!

I have had this for a couple of years now. It was a very good investment. With all the rage on trench coats in fashion magazines now, I am glad I have one. The hoopla on trenchcoats is due to the anticipation of autumn. A light material but it is waterproof, well-sorta!

I love it anyway. I get to pat myself on the back everytime I get the chance to wear it. As you can tell I do not shy away from colors! I wear it open or belted. I get the "put together" feeling when my ensemble of this is right. Good with jeans or dressy pants, depending on the shoes, of course.

I even feel great wearing this even if I am not wearing anything else underneath it! Not!! That's a Joke,by the way!!

So I advocate getting a nice trenchcoat. Choose a color that makes you happy but useful and will keep you warm on a chilly evening or afternoon stroll; you will never regret having a staple like this in your wardrobe. Go, Shop!

It is a Friday, so I thought a funny post is overdue on this blog of mine. Have a great weekend everyone!

Thai food..

   The very thought and image of Thai food makes me salivate. I love Thai food. Thai iced tea makes me, well, happy.

   Allow me to expound. My love for Thai food is primarily due to the fact that when this cuisine is cooked right with very good ingredients, it can be very delicious. And mostly because "my R" and I have very good memories in our experiences in Thai cuisines. I treasure to this day our "special dates" to various Thai food restaurants. These memories and tastes are forever memorable to me.

   I remember a specific restaurant we used to go to when they were still a small establishment and we still followed them to this day after they moved to a bigger location. I feel all fuzzy and warm when I think of this restaurant. We come for the romantic dinners here. I miss that since I am so far away. It has to be on my to-do list for next time.

   We have our favorite dishes, of course. In this restaurant, "my R" loves the fried rice and their Thai beer. We also share chicken and beef satay with peanut sauce/dip. My all time favorite is Phad Thai noodles. We always choose the rolls, for appetizer. We sometimes have both the spring rolls and the fresh rolls together with our drinks. They make a very good cosmopolitan drink. Yum!

    Sometimes we order the sticky rice with sliced ripe mango for dessert. Sometimes we just had so much to eat we are happy to finish our meal off with the house dessert, a sweetened porridge with coconut milk. Yum! yum!

    We are always on the hunt for the next Thai food place. I think we have found a very good one close to his work. Very good food, good price and good service for lunch - what a deal.

     R, let's go back to this restaurant when I see you next time, ok? (I am smiling here) Thank you.

     Enjoy these pictures.

     See ya tomorrow? Let's see what I crave for tomorrow..

   

  

The "girl" in me

   Today, was a nice and sunny day. A rare occurence after a series of gloomy weeks. Today was exceptionally bright. So, I thought, "What was does a woman do when the sun decides to show up". Easy. Let's go shopping!

   Hence, after lunch I decided to make the hour and so drive south from my point of origin to a major mall. Shopping always gets me inexpicably giddy. There was a Tshirt for R that I have been meaning to get. I needed all the luck I can get on this endeavor.

   The drive was good and relaxing. I took my time and listened to some CD and I was there even faster than I thought. It also pays to know a short-cut.

   The hunt for the elusive shirt did not pay off. Alas, they do not have anything that I liked. The material was right but the design on it was horrendous. So, NO! If I find a good design on the Tshirt, the cloth used is either see-through or just plain cheapy. So, again NO! Or worst, they do not have any size that would fit my R. Urgh!! I went inside a major department store and even to several private owned shops to check them out. But woe is me, nothing. R, if you are reading this, sorry but there is no shirt on this puny island I am in that would make me proud to give to you.

   All this shopping got me thinking about one aspect a girl always try to cultivate - mastering the art of shopping. The "girl" in just kicks in when the task before me is shopping. My color and material with price radar is always on alert. My gut feeling always works 99.98% of the time. I thought it was amusing that when you hit your prime, like I have, I think I have honed my shopping skills to the max. I love a good bargain and there are things that I have bought that everytime I look at them years later. I pat myself on the very good find and good buy I made on the said item.

    Look at few of the bracelets I got ages ago (see picture below). And with proper care and storage, I still get to enjoy them to this very day.

    The "girl" in me always come to the surface when it comes to shopping and if I do it right, my purchase are never trendy or fashion that is just for the moment, they would be classic pieces thus rendering them timeless. Now that is a good girl!

    I ended up getting munchies for myself on this unproductive Tshirt hunt of mine. After all what beats a nice slice of Ube (purple root crop) marbled cake and a little muffin made of plain chiffon cake to take home after shopping. Well, the girl's gotta eat...hahaha...

    The drive home was slower, heavy traffic you see. But, with the sunny day, I am not complaining.  But I got home in ample time to write this blog and have decided to save the cake for tomorrow's "le gouter" (afternoon snack).

     See you tomorrow...(picture below are some of my collection of bracelets)...take care.

On a rainy day

   Being in Asia at this time of the year, I get to see more rainy days than sunny days.

   Oh, please do not get me wrong. I love rainy days. The cool breeze bring gusts of wind that make leaves and tree branches sway. And being in an agricultural part of this archipelago, that is a sight to behold. The only down side to all these rain is that, when it rains, IT RAINS! Pouring rain would be a slight drizzle any other parts of the world. A days worth of rain can cause flooding here, lowlands and up close to the mountains. And that spells disaster to those who reside close to any small or large bodies of water. But, otherwise, the cooler breeze offsets the horrid humidity that can sometimes be unbearable.

   So we find ways to occupy our time when we are homebound. The books and magazines have been read twice-over, DVDs have been viewed and there is always the good old cable television channel. So far today, I watched "Anna and the King" with Jodie Foster; and if one has to watch a movie on a rainy day with a bag of cheeze curls surrounded by lots of pillows this would be it.

   So, there I was laying in bed watching this movie ( with a box of tissue to my right). I always cry when I watch this soppy love stories. And this one is a sad one - no happy ending here. A more realistic ending, that I tend to like. I love the whole costume thing going. A period movie will always have a soft spot in my heart ..but the Anna and the King (instead of the original The King and I with Yul Brynner) is a good one to watch again and again.

   I am not sure exactly what it is that I love about this movie that draws me to watch it each time it comes on TV. I think it is partly because of the sad ending or the fact that Jodie Foster plays the part of Madame Anna Leonowens so well. Such class, guarded restriction in demeanor yet with a slight defiance and rebellion to her character. I just like the whole ensemble. Oh yes, there is the young prince in there that is so endearing and with his soft moments on screen, would want me believing, he too would make a very good King to Siam one day.

  Well, today as I watch this movie, I anticipatingly wait for one of my favorite three best lines uttered in this movie. Allow me to share one of them. This was said by King Mongkut to Anna Leonowens, "When a woman who has so much to say, says nothing, her silence is deafening."

  I love this line and always will. I think it speaks alot and can only be interpreted one way, your own personal way. Oh so, King Mongkut!

  On a rainy day, I watched an all-time favorite movie of mine. And I forgot how time passed so fast. Good movie.

   I hope tomorrow the sun comes up and shines a little though. I am hoping to go out and enjoy my Sunday with the sun.

   Thank you for keeping me company today. So, see you back next time.