In true fairy tale fashion, my prince charming whisked me away in a golden chariot to the city of lights for my birthday. It was my first international flight since moving to CA(lifornia) from CA(nada) so we made sure to pack some good reading material for the flight. Hence the new title of this blog: Blink by Malcom Gladwell.

En route, we experienced one of the most beautiful sunrises I’d ever seen in my life. Even if I tried photoshopping, which I didn’t, I’m not sure I could make the sky look so beautiful. It was truly breathtaking.

Then the sun “cracked” over the clouds. I don’t even know how to describe it. Makes me want to take overnight flights every time.

Since we only had about 48hours in the city, we hit the ground running. Our hotel was only a 5 minute walk from L’Arc De Triomphe so we hit that first.

Paris is moderately confusing when you first get there: the streets, the metro, ordering food, etc so we struggled at first. It took us a second before even figuring out how to get to the arch itself. When we did, down the rabbit hole we went…

… and up the stairs …

When we got to the top, we witnessed Paris in all its dreary, gray glory hahaha Oddly enough, it was still gorgeous. A hot chocolate with marshmellows would’ve been perfect :).

The Louvre was our next stop, but since it was closed we went straight to Notre Dame. As opposed to the traditional building picture, here’s one I messed up on with the focus. But I kinda like it even more like this, haha.

This guy also caught my interest. He um, really likes birds? We watched him for about 10 minutes just feeding these guys, without a fear in the world. The birds didn’t fear him either.

By the time we got done with dinner (at some pretentious cavier place, where we didn’t order cavier haha) the sun had set so we went to catch the city in all it’s glory – by walking down the Champs Elysees en route to La Duree for their world famous macroons.

We capped off our first day in Paris by stuffing our faces full of macroons at the Eiffel Tower :) How touristy of us, right? haha

Now I’d share photos from the top, but we were both sooooo cold and snotsicles were definitely forming :P NOT a good look. Stay tuned for part 2 coming soon!

I’m (finally) two decades old. Wow.

20 things I’ve learned about myself, life and the world around me. Or just random ramblings. Read at your own risk.
1. The good life isn’t all that good when you don’t have loved ones to share it with. Family first, friends a close second.
2. School isn’t so bad. Thanks mom and dad for the most incredible, (expensive) and eye-opening experience of my life.
3. Do what you love, and the money will follow.
4. Impossible is nothing.
5. Growing up is tremendously overrated. Take heed Elizabeth…
6. “What if I played college ball…” haunts me everyday.
7. Read more books than blogs.
8. Fashion and food don’t mix too well.
9. Love, fairy tales and happily ever after does exist.
10. There are a few small indulgences in life that make it all worth it: high thread count sheets, freshly squeezed organic orange juice, fluffy towels, new socks, and a tank full of gas.
11. A night of staying up and playing Guitar Hero or SSX 3 deems a good night.
12. I’m not the biggest fan of kids, but hanging out with my sister makes me want to be a teacher. If only all kids were as cool as her.
13. Los Angeles is a terrible place for self-discovery and growth. It’s only the weather makes everything bearable.
14. My folks are way cooler than I give them credit for… and I give them quite a bit of credit. Really blessed to see a functional relationship growing up, good values, frugality and the importance of dinner at home. I wouldn’t trade my family for the world.
15. It’d be pretty neat to be a professional food blogger. Or Iron Chef China.
16. I promise to tell you the truth if you promise to believe me.
17. dɐʎ pnǝs (hint: uʍop ǝpısdn, sdrawkcab)
18. Communication is at the heart of everything. There is a fine line between “listening” and “hearing.”
19. You don’t make money by saving it. You make money by earning it.
20. Quoting others never gets old. “Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.” (John Wooden)

My dear friend Nick started a neat little project where he selects various creatives and asks for 12 songs they’re digging at the moment. Check out Neil’s selection here, and don’t forget to cop a mixtape here or via Fatlace HQ in Japantown!

On a side note, Neil just dropped the sample for DNA of the Blueprint, the newest gourmet mixtape in the works. Get ready to have your mind blown. Check it out.

This is Poh. He’s part pit, part lab and the definition of man’s best friend.

Besides peeing in the house on occasion when he’s trying to get your attention, eating the leftover Peter Lugers you leave on the counter and kissing your face off when you’ve been out of his sight for more than 5 minutes, it’s nice to have him around. Miss you Poh Bear…

While in NY, I had the pleasure of indulging in one of the best steakhouses the country has to offer: Peter Luger. The entire experience (and company) was a bit unreal and possibly the highlight of my trip.

I was trying not to geek out too much to really take photos and document the evening.

Not to mention, I was super sick and couldn’t taste a lick of anything. But, the reheated steak the next day was still tremendous. Possibly one of the most delicious meals I’ve had all year. I’m dying to go back and try it again. Thanks so much Sky for the treat!

Should be interesting… now see if you can spot a familiar face! :)

The Friday before I left, big bro Ernie invited Neil and I to catch some Professional Bull Riding at Madison Square Garden. Yeah, that’s right. The rodeo… in MANHATTAN. We couldn’t pass it up. And course, Neil had to tweet about it.

Took a few touristy pictures to pass the time :D

We got to our seats just in time to catch Muttin’ Bustin’- where kids 7 and under ride sheep the length of the arena. Absolutely adorable. Maybe I’ll get around to editing/posting the video I took… probably not. It was cute though.

Ernie actually has a really funny video up with me nerding out if you wanna have a laugh. HAHAha I couldn’t get over how random the whole night was!

Afterwards, we met Chad, proud owner of ALL the bulls. Apparently bullriding attracts a huge crowd, even in the concrete jungle. Gotta love it!

I’ll eventually venture out into the cold and shoot some city shots (yeah, right.) but for now, indulge in an easy peezy process of making chocolate chip cookies from scratch! I vote Fatlace should add a FOOD channel to the top links. Whaddayah say Mark?? :)

Ingredients:
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly firm and cut into chunks
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar (brown sugar maintains moisture better and results in softer cookies)
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, or however much you want for extra chocolateness

As always, start by preheating your oven. Don’t forget to line your cookie sheets with parchment paper, or just oil them with cooking spray.

Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt and set aside. Using a hand mixer, combine the butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla extract and eggs until light and creamy. Finally, add the originally set aside ingredients. Start the mixer slow, then speed it up. This will add air to your batter, making for some delicious cookies. Finally, mix in your chocolate chips.

If the dough is too warm, it’ll spread too much while in the oven. Chill it in the fridge for about 15-20 minutes prior to baking. When you’re ready, drop the dough by tablespoons onto the cookie sheet. About 1.5″ apart does the trick.

Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cool 2 minutes; transfer to wire racks, and let cool. NOTE: for chewier cookies, pay attention to the timing! I used to always mess this up. Set a timer so you know when it’s done and transfer to wire racks/airtight containers RIGHT AWAY. If you don’t they’ll end up super duper crunchy (unless that’s what you’re going for).

My first batch came out kinda like lumps instead of chocolate chip cookies so i used extra chips the next time around and stuck ‘em on top.

Martha Stewart has been my newfound best friend this holiday season. Most of her recipes are really easy to make and come out delicious! What are your favorite goodies to make for loved ones??

Haitus in blogging due to being in NYC. Currently hibernating/ commencing my love affair with Rosetta Stone. Japanese and French on deck. Wish me luck!

(Tagged this post ‘adventures.’ What a nerd I am.)

Sure there’s tons of great food in NY, but untouchables in la la land are just that: untouchable. Got my share of some grub before hitting the right coast… starting with Phobulous on La Cienega.

My girl Thuy (Green, Grown & Sexy) met me for a mellow night of spring rolls and fabulous pho. Of course, we started out night off with some spring rolls and egg rolls. Deereecious!

The next day, after a delirious set of finals, I ACCIDENTALLY bought a blended green tea boba from Urth :( Tragic. Not a fan or Urth or green tea… I don’t know what I was thinking. The black tea blended boba is the best. So are their baked goods!

Finally, big bro Nick insisted we grub at Park’s Korean BBQ as opposed to my usual top secret all you can eat spot for the last supper.

Their array of whatever-those-little-dishes-are-called was unbelievable! I’ve never seen so many different kinds of kimchi, pickled stuff, salad, etcetc before! Delish :)

Thanks Alice for holdin’ it down & coming out! Always good to see you my Korean sista.