My Veruca Salt Yearnings

I was a tomboy as a child and most of my teenage life. I took no interest in brand names, labels, or designers. Most of my clothes were from Gap or hand-me downs and I didn't mind at all.  Then came the Hilton sisters with their purses and my fashion sense changed practically overnight. I wasn't their fan, but they did possess enough attraction that influenced me and peaked my interest in labels. I didn't splurge on anything ridiculous, but I did become aware of important names in the fashion world :) Eleven years later I still hold certain items in "reverence":

1. A pair of Manolo Blahnik shoes (blame Sarah Jessica Parker for this).

2. An expensive bag (fulfilled my wish with a Louis Vuitton & Coach bag).

3. Chanel No. 05 perfume

4. A piece of jewelry from Tiffanys (got this onyx bracelet for my 25th b-day). 

Monterey Bay/Cannery Row

Last weekend, I went to Cannery Row in Monterey for a day trip. I saw a few signs with the name John Steinbeck, so my curiosity led me to go online and read his relevance to this area. It turns out that several of his novels, including Cannery Row, highlight this street. The name "Cannery" was inspired by the expansion of the fishing industry (and fishing canning companies) in Monterey. I loved the architecture of the buildings on this lane (you can judge that by the pictures of random buildings) and having a sandy beach right next to it was nice too. 

"Pony" Doll House

As I mentioned earlier, my room is under a minor makeover. Another goal on my list was to organize my bedroom closet space. I went to the Container Store and got a few necessities to store my shoes and out of season clothes. I ended up with some shoes boxes, which I thought I could use in a project with my niece. The project turned out quite cute. I was responsible for the architecture of the house, whereas my niece was the decorator. She calls it her "Pony house". 

Feather in my hair

One of the latest trends of the summer is adding feather extensions to your hair for added style. Earlier this week, I went to Hair International at Stanford Mall http://www.hairintl.com/ and got myself one feather. I took a few pictures today at home of the the look. It is pretty fun and I am so excited about it :)  

Flower Mart: San Francisco

Today, I visited the flower mart in S.F. I found about this place online and it is touted to be the best flower market by Martha Stewart. Naturally, I had to make the trip to see the place for myself. Unfortunately, by the time I got there (around 12:00), half the place was closed. Apparently, you need to get there really early to see the entire selection. Also, you need a badge to get in early, otherwise non-badge people can only shop after 10:00. On the bright side, finding parking was a breeze. I did buy lilies and hydrangeas. Browse the website for more information: http://www.sfflmart.com/.  

Stencil Art

My room has been under a minor makeover the last few months.  Over the weekend, I worked on my walls. I wanted to do stencil art as a border, which is not as dramatic as sponge painting, another option I thought of. I found that online stores had more variety in stencil templates. One website I found was particularly good- stencilease.com. You can find paintbrushes and and stencil paint in addition to templates. Over the period of two days I worked on stenciling. The end product is quite pretty. I decided to not paint the entire perimeter of my room, rather than focus on certain parts.

One of the walls

Around the air vent

Capinata with Garlic Bread

Ingredients:

12 black olives

5 tomatoes, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 eggplant, diced

2 spring onions, cut

2 tbsp parsley 

1 capsium, cut  

3 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp chopped garlic
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp salt
1 tbsp pepper

Procedure:
1. Cut garlic bread in equal sized pieces. Warm according to instructions.
2. Warm frying pan on medium heat. Add 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil.
3. Add onion and fry on low heat until translucent.
4. Add spring onions.
5. When onions are completely translucent, add 2 more tbsp of olive oil.
6. Add eggplant, 1 tbsp salt, and 1 tbsp garlic, 1/2 tbsp pepper.
7. Cover lid 5-10 minutes.
8. Add tomatoes, red wine vinegar, and sugar.
9. Let it simmer, then add olives.
10. Sprinkle 1 1/2 tbsp parsley and let it cook.
11. Serve with garlic bread and capsium (seasoned with a pinch of salt and black pepper).

Cal Pride

Last week, I drove up to Berkeley to visit my alma mater, UC Berkeley. I spent time seeing some of my favorite places on campus you will see below. The visit brought back many memories of classes, professors, rallies, study cram sessions, apartment parties, and much more. 

Sather Gate

Wheeler Hall (Many of my literature classes were held here) 

Wheeler Hall 

Sather Tower

Memorial Glade 

Doe Library ( I spent many hours studying for midterms in here) 

Eshleman Hall (another study location for midterms and finals)

Lower Sproul Plaza

View from Lawrence Hall of Science

Stadium 

Add caption

Julies 

Cafe Milano- my love for coffee started here

My Apartment Building