OOTD: Asymmetrical stretchy knit dress

 Hi Everyone,

I can't believe 2011 is here in two days. What are your plans? I haven't decided on what I wanted to do, but I am leaning towards having a chill night. At this time in my life, I enjoy going to dive bars more than a club unless it is for a friend's bday party or a special occasion. For NYE parties I am sure a lot of people will be wearing a lot of sparkly dresses and shoes.... well, at least that is something I would wear. But today, I just want to show you a nice simple dress that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. It's a dress that you can wear for almost any event.

I bought this dress towards the end of November from Forever 21 for $22.80. I like the sequin detail at the shoulder and ruching at the side seam. The large sequin pattern on the shoulder gives the dress a more sophisticated look for a nice night out. Great for those date night dinners you have with your significant other.

For this dress, I want to keep it sophisticated look so I paired it with a simple black closed toe heel.

These heels are not the most comfortable if you are going to be doing a lot of walking, but their cute! They have 4-5 inch heels so girls make sure you are holding onto someone or walk super slow with them on. I got them in September from Alloy.com for $39.90 to wear for my brother's wedding which was outdoors..... not a good idea... I just have to keep telling myself that they are cute.... And for those who are curious... I had to wear flats by the end of the night at the wedding.

Scarlett Stiletto (can still purchase online) 

Happy New Year Everyone!!!!

<3 <3 <3

Cooking with Sugarcookie #7: Baked quail and miso salmon soup

Hi Everyone,

I baked some quails and made some miso salmon soup a few nights ago that I would like to share with you. Again, I was at the Asian market and I was there just to look for some Salmon fish bones..... just as a side note, if you cannot afford to buy Salmon meat, this is the next best thing. You can say it's a poor man's way of substituting for something more expensive. So, while I was waiting for my number to show up on the screen (if you are Asian you know what I am talking about.... if not, it is a number you pull from a ticket dispenser that indicates who they need to service next) I saw the frozen quails and I had to buy them. The quails are good for you because of the less fat content. The breast is where the majority of the meat lies which is only 70 calories and the rest are the bones.

Let's start cooking.....

Baked Quails:
1) Take the quails out of the packaging and wash them thoroughly.
2) Then place them on large sheet of aluminum foil

Look, it's like a whole army of them lined up..... =)

I don't know how to put this but.... spread their legs open like this. Sometimes I like to add stuffings inside, but this time I didn't get around to doing that. 

3) At this point, I like to turn the oven to 375 degrees and start making the marinating sauce to rub on the quails.
4) Sauce: squeeze half a lemon, add 2-3 tablespoons of water, and 3 tablespoons of brown sugar.
5) Stir until the sugar dissolves.

6) Rub the sauce all over the quails

7) Add salt, pepper, and garlic powder on top

8) Chop some green onions to add more flavor.

  9) Stick the tray into the oven for 30 minutes.... maybe 40 minutes depending on how dark you like it to be.

While that is baking, I decided to steam some pork and chinese spinach mini buns that I have also picked up from the Asian market. Using my steamer, I placed each bun an inch apart and leave it in there for 10-15 minutes. I should have use a parchment paper underneath the buns because once it is steamed, the buns tend to stick onto the pan.

The quail is done and the buns are steamed..... here is the finished product.

I also made made soup that day to wash everything down. 

Miso Salmon soup

1) Start boiling 10-12 cups of water, depending on how much soup you want. 

2) Wash the fresh Salmon fish bones

3) Slice up one whole onion
4) Smash 6-7 cloves of garlic (I love garlic so I tend to put a lot in there)

5) Once the water starts to boil, add the fish, onion, and garlic in there

6) Slice a medium firm tofu into squares

7) After adding the tofu, add 4-5 scoops of miso paste into the soup. Make sure the miso dissolves.

8) Chop some green onions and throw it in last.

 The miso turns the water brown..... and since there is salt in the miso paste I didn't add any additional salt.
I did add 2-3 teaspoon of brown sugar.

Yummy!!! I love warm soup.

This is a healthy and delicious meal!

Bon appetit!
<3 <3 <3

OOTD: SImple & Casual Wear for the winter

Hi Everyone,

There are days where I feel lazy and don't want to spend too much time picking out an outfit. Not everyday needs to be glamorous. So, feel free to throw on something comfortable from time to time. If you are running a quick errand..... who the f**ck cares about what you are wearing.... just throw something on that's plain and simple. Heck, I even wear my pajamas out to run errands sometimes.... that's on my extremely lazy days. I am not saying to look grundgy or crazy, just casual. 

My casual look: It's been cold and raining so I brought out a jacket from my winter wear closet that I got from Hautelook.com 4 months ago..... and it's amazingly warm. I have been reaching for it a lot lately because it is so easy to pair up with jeans. 

It is a faux suede jacket with faux fur hood and toggle closure which fits perfectly with this kind of weather. The only negative thing I can say about this is that it is a bit heavy on..... but what can you expect from a warm and soft jacket that is faux suede. 

Hautelook.com  Jacket: Esprit- original price $238. Sale price: $60  (awesome price!)  

The furry lining on the inside keeps me very warm.....

Here is the back of the jacket....

For this simple look, I am wearing a strip shirt from Forever 21 $22.80 (you can still pick this up at the store) and a pair of jeans.

For the shoes, I am wearing a pair of distressed leatherette boots from Forever 21- $32.80 (can still purchase this online) This pair of boot is very comfortable and I have been wearing it for a few weeks now with no complaints.  The three things I like about these boots are the 2 buckle detailing, the punk-rock style, and again it's comfortable.  I even wore these boots in the rain and it hasn't ruin the shoes yet. 

Keep yourself warm and dry.... especially during those lazy days.

<3 <3 <3

BH Cosmetics- Great colorful palettes!

Hi Everyone,

BH cosmetics have came out with some great palettes for a very affordable price. Similar to Coastal Scents, which I also love, have the 88 color palettes for both the matte and shimmer colors that cost $18.95- $24.95. These palettes are great if you are just starting out with makeup or if you just want to add more colors to your collection. I have a makeup train full of eyeshadows, blushes, lipsticks, lipgloss, etc and I still bought these palettes. Who can resist all of these wonderful colors that it comes in...... not me obviously. I got my palettes probably about 8 months ago and I just started using it again.... I forgot how nice they are.

All the colors in these palettes are highly pigmented and it's so easy to create different looks with just using one palette. When I got these in the mail, I was afraid that some of the eyeshadows may have cracked, but no.... that didn't happen. It was very well packaged with bubble wraps around each palette and there were peanuts to help cushion them from being damaged.

From the BH cosmetic line I bought 4 different palettes.... 2 of the 88 color palettes and 2 of the 120 color palettes....

Let's start with the 120 color palettes..... once you opened the case there are two stacked layers that comes with 60 color palettes in each layer.
I got the 120 color palettes 2nd and 3rd edition.

This is the 2nd edition and it has a lot of bright colors.... mostly for someone who wants to explore new shades. (120 palettes)- $29.95

The 3rd edition has more sophisticated colors for a sultry look. It is filled with neutrals and shimmery lavenders. With this palette you can create a day time and night time look. (120 color palettes) - $34.95

The 88 color palettes are a little less expensive and still have a lot of great colors. I got the tropical shimmer palette..... look at the nice ocean blues and sunset oranges.....  $24.95

The is the 88 color tropical palette (similar to the one on top) but in matte.  $24.95

There are so many colors..... I don't know which one to wear. Time to experiment! Fun! Fun! Fun!

<3 <3 <3