Indian Summer.....so bittersweet

My posting is very sporadic. I'm actually really disappointed in myself because I'm usually so good at documenting my life. Lately, writing (and just about everything else) has become a non-priority. I've left my personal journal blank for almost two months. To be perfectly honest, not much has been going on in my head.

I've been obsessing over DIY projects and buying STUFF. It's not the buying part that gets me, it's the actual feeling of having possession of STUFF. Terrible, I know.

So here's what I've been doing really.

1. Shopping like no other. My style is evolving once again. I'm kind of linking my super girly side with some of that LA hipster stuff that seems to be getting so popular. But ruffles, full skirts, feather and lace are still my favorites. This is what I did in one day...I just really couldn't help myself. Especially since I was in a foul mood--shopping makes it all better. And then I ended up returning a good portion of it just because I either found better deals or felt guilty for spending so much money.

2. Nails and Nail Polish and Makeup

I totally blame my friends for this one. I was a no makeup kind of girl before! Now I can't leave the house without some Posietint and Mascara. Maybe a little concealer. Sometimes when I have extra time, Mac lipstick in Myth.

Then there's the huge collection of nail polish I've amassed. It's kind of disgusting, but now I just want every color ever made. BAD BAD habit. This isn't even all of it. I have another 7 or 8 bottles lying around the house.
Then there's the hair products! Hundreds of dollars spent on hair serum and dry shampoo and regular shampoo and conditioners and curl enhancing sprays.

3. Obsessing over my iphone cases! I can't decide on which one to buy. The thought of spending another $35 on a piece of plastic seems really ridiculous to me. I love the phone though so it's probably going to be a good investment. My only problem with the iphone is the volume of the ringer! It's WAY too soft. I have it all the way up and it's still inaudible. Sorry in advance for not picking up my phone. I miss my blackberry curve--that thing was deafening.

4. Scrapbooking. I'll put up pictures of it later when I've finished. If I ever finish. It was supposed to be a Christmas 2007 present for a friend. I'll be lucky to finish the sucker in time for THIS Christmas.

What I really should be doing is sleeping now since I'm supposed to be going to Disneyland tomorrow. I should also get to the stack of books I ordered from Amazon at the beginning of summer! I'll post more pictures soon!

Love City Living

I am a city girl. Something went wrong and I ended up being born in the burbs. But really, REALLY I belong in the city.

I really like taking taxis. First, you don't have to do the driving yourself. You also don't have to waste time and money for parking. Especially in China, the taxi fares are relatively affordable. Can't say the same thing about Taipei though. I spent two weeks in Taiwan and blew half of my allowance on cab rides.

Shanghai is a city of a much higher caliber- you really can't compare this place to Taipei. It's like the New York of Asia. Mostly, I'm impressed by Sherpa's. It is a delivery service that will deliver any kind of food to you from a huge list of restaurants. They have their own menu which you can order from in like 17 different languages. The array of restaurants is pretty comprehensive, but it's all international restaurants. The fee starts at around $2 US to $15. I think it's a good deal since traveling there yourself might cost more if you don't have your own car in the city. And the food??? It looks amazing (they've got pictures) which is another thing I love about big cities--the diversity in foods! So tomorrow I'm definitely going to try out the service. I'm a foreigner so this crap really appeals to me.

I find it amazing that people can still tell that I'm not from China when I'm walking in the streets. I speak in Mandarin to all the waiters and sales people and yet they still try to talk to me in English.....

I went to XinTianDi today on my own. I'm rather proud of this act of independence since I very rarely am allowed to venture off by myself. I successfully ordered a Chai Latte in Mandarin, then asked for a specific magazine at the cafe (this took like 5 or 6 attempts). I'm only allowed to do this because my father left me here for 3 days straight while he attends to business in a neighboring city. So, I have no one to take me out. My dad's former driver quit, and everyone else is busy in the office.

Here's some photos from my time in Taiwan (there really isn't much; I'm so bad at remembering to take pictures).


This was at the restaurant called Modern Toilet. The decor, food, etc. is pretty self explanatory.





This is at the restaurant called GanBei. If you make-out for ten seconds, you get a free plate of meat. They also take a polaroid of you and post it on the wall. :)


This was my $30 Asian -style manicure.


At a seafood restaurant where all the seats were swings. There was sand on the ground too.

Summer is escaping through my fingers

I just want to start off by saying that I really LOVE my family. There really is never a dull moment in the Sun-Lai-Chen-Fu Family.

My uncle randomly wanted to treat me for dinner. He claims it's a celebration of completing the first year of college (telling him I got straight A's over dinner was just the icing on the cake), and he also wanted a going-away dinner before I left for my dreadfully long vacation in Asia.
*After today, I will never underestimate the food at Outback Steakhouse again. I haven't been there in years, and I was really shocked at how good everything tasted. Or it could have been the fact that I was extremely hungry. *

I have noticed that I am definitely the favorite in the family, and I am seriously reaping the benefits of being the favorite niece and granddaughter. hahah I feel evil for admitting and acknowledging the favoritism that's going on, but I feel like it's not undeserved. I am the only one who can speak Mandarin fluently. I also am the oldest. I was a good student and still am. I am very nice to my little cousins. I am extremely talkative when it comes to adult issues. I always say the right things at the right times. I buy my cousins ice cream and take them to dumb kiddy movies. I drive people around. I was everyone's flower girl.

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It has come to my attention that the Internet is a scary thing. You really can't control it. People will see what they see, and people will most definitely judge you based on what they see. We just have to be careful, and we have to learn not to be embarrassed. I know posting some of this personal stuff will come back to bite me in the ass later. But you know what, I'm at the point in my life where I can care less about what people are thinking. (uhhhh I might not feel the same way for long).

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These shoes, by the way, are actually $945..... yeah definitely worth going back to the house for! Didn't Louise say they were $400, then Carrie corrected her and said they were $525??? Well they were both wrong!



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My summer ends tomorrow!!! I am so sad. Then I'm off to Taipei and Shanghai until the 28th of July. I'm going to miss my friends. They really are the best part of my life right now aside from my family.

I couldn't help but wonder...

Yes, I'm a Sex and the City fan. Aren't we all these days? But in case you're not, the title of today's post is an homage to Carrie Bradshaw's column.

Anyway, I have seen the movie twice--in a span of 7 days! You may judge me all you want. Obviously, I thought it was fabulous, and so far, I don't know anyone who would disagree. It was certainly darker than the series but definitely a feel good movie.

The one thing that really bothered me though was that with such an extensive wardrobe budget and the abundant amount of free clothing from all kinds of glorious designers, why did Pat Field recycle the shoes on all the women? It was most evident with Sarah Jessica Parker's outfits.

Exhibit A: The Zebra Print Manolos


Exhibit B: The White Sigerson Morrison Booties


And finally, with the most appearances, Exhibit C: The Dior Shoes


In case you want these for yourself, they're available on Neiman Marcus's website.



Did you count them? That's 4 different outfits with those shoes! Pat must have LOVED them. But I must say that this is quite realistic and practical. Real women would and do wear their designer shoes over and over again with different outfits. These shoes make it easy by being so versatile because they can do both dressy and casual. And at $780, I would definitely wear them more than 4 times. WAY more.

Cleaning Out the Closet

When I got home yesterday, without even thinking, I decided to throw all of my clothes onto my mom's bed simply because my own bedroom is way too small. (*sigh* this is where I start missing my room in Irvine). After the birthday celebrations were over, my mom forced me to put all the clothes away. Problem is, we have no closet or drawer space to accommodate all of it. I guess my wardrobe increased significantly in the past few months while I was at school, but I was totally unaware. Well, I should have foreseen this happening since I spent a lot of time at South Coast and Irvine Spectrum in attempt to cure my loneliness. If school were more challenging or if I actually had a social life, I could have saved myself from spending so much money. Oh well.

So, I reluctantly began to clean out my closet yesterday. It shouldn't be a big deal since I don't wear a single thing in my closet anymore. All the things in there are from my painfully dedicated preppy Abercrombie days c. 2002-2005. Although I've certainly grown out of that style (and of the clothes physically!), I can't bear parting with them. What if pleated plaid skirts and striped oxford shirts become fashionable again? And what about all those sherbet colored polos? I decided on packing them away for the future. But the hot pink fleece zip-up from Gap Kids can definitely go...

In the process I found my frayed denim shorts from 10th grade. Miraculously I can still squeeze into them, but HOLY SMOKES they are so short!!!! Can you say "skanky"? I cannot believe I walked around in public like that. The only time I will wear these again are at the beach where you can get away with wearing almost nothing. It's kind of mortifying just thinking about it.

Garage sale happening sometime in the future. Most definitely.