Hello!

Hello! How is your weekend going? Mine is off to a pretty awesome start. The sun came out about an hour ago. We've had two days of calm cloudy skies here in the Pacific Northwest. It will be my 4 year anniversary with this very green state of Washington next month!! lol I can't believe I moved here nearly 4 years ago. I'm finally starting to feel like it's my city. :D

My friend, Marisa came over the other day and she took me to this hidden gem of a beauty salon in Renton where they offered eyebrow threading for $5! (Upper lip was only $2 too!) The girl who threaded my eyebrows was super fast with the thread and I love the final results. She definitely was a pro because it didn't hurt at all. If you get someone who doesn't have "the skill" it feels like little razors cutting into your skin. lol #truth. I used to get my eyebrows done at any mall and it usually was hit or miss depending on who you get that day. It cost $15 for eyebrows and $7 for the upper lip without their membership card (which is now $80 for 6 months..yeah no thanks!).  My eyebrows don't grow that fast each month! I'm so thrilled to have found a new place to get my eyebrows groomed!

I also discovered the "Costco" or "Winco" of Asian grocery stores. It's in the same building as the eyebrow threading salon. It's called DK Market, and it's this giant building filled with all sorts of ethnic foods. The best part is definitely all the fresh produce. You can buy 5 fresh, huge cucumbers for $1!! That's the price of one cucumber at most grocery stores. They also have the best price for Granny Smith green apples! It's 79 cents per pound!! I started out buying them at the local grocery store for $1.99 per pound...then I got smarter and found them for 99 cents per pound at Viet Wah (Vietnamese/Chinese grocery store). Now I have a new place to stock up on green apples. :) I have been using my Breville Juicer (5 Speed, everyday for the past month. And I almost always use cucumbers and green apples in my juice recipes. Kale, green apple, and ginger is one of my favorite simple juices. I also like cucumber, lime, ginger, and green apple (or carrots).

That's pretty much what I've been up to...getting my eyebrows threaded for $5, and bargain shopping for cucumbers and green apples. My life is very exciting right now. lol jk or am I?

I also have been obsessed with listening to the Pitch Perfect station on Pandora when in the car! I love that movie!!

I end my evenings watching an episode of two of Barefoot Contessa. I have over 68 episodes recorded on the DVR. I love Ina Garten! She's defines East Coast, American "royalty" in my book! :)

We have some hydrangeas in our yard and I figured why not spruce up the house. I just put 3-4 stems of flower in a small mason jar. How Pinterest-y of me, right? Almost, I didn't wrap it with twine and tie a bow knot on it yet. lol  Fresh flowers really DO make a big difference on the appearance and feel of your house. I wish someone who works downtown would bring home some pretty Pike Place Market flowers every week for me. ;)

I am now a master at making mochi desserts! I've actually only made them 3 times and they've turned out delicious every time because the recipe is super easy! Here's the Youtube video recipe I followed.

I'm on day 3 of bleaching my teeth again. For a period of time (cough, cough winter), I completely stopped caring about hair, makeup, etc. lol I drank a lot of black coffee, espresso, and black tea so my teeth were slowly getting less white day by day. I'm glad to be back to my happy self and I'm taking it a day at a time to get back my pearly whites! I used to be so obsessed with whitening my teeth. I guess I secretly like the gum sensitivity? It feels kind of cool when air touches your teeth...in a really painful way. lol

Did anyone buy anything from the Nordstrom Anniversary sale this year? I thought I was going to pass, but I discovered how awesome of deals they had on Zella (Nordstrom's version of Lululemon active wear), and Spanx! I splurged on three pairs of Zella's gym pants. They feel SO good! I like them much better than Lulu.

I've been so obsessed with wearing dresses. It's so not me, but for some reason as I get older, I start to feel the need to be more feminine. I picked up the Spanx Slim Cognito body shaper because it had a lot of good reviews and it was on sale (around $50 from $80!)! I've been buying a lot of $20-$25 summer dresses from Target. It is the best place to find affordable cotton dresses, however they don't wash very well. They all start looking old after a couple wash cycles. : / Then I start wearing them as my "at home" clothes.

I finally got my first two pairs of black Havaianas flip flops! I can see why they are a "favorite" item. They're super comfortable and non-slippery. I remember in middle school, I was obsessed with the Old Navy flip flops. I had them in almost every color (bad idea because they looked so dirty when your foot print starts staining the base.) You would also  have to be careful where you walk because you can easily slip if the floor is wet. You won't have that problem with the Havaianas!

The Sam Edelman Gigi Sandals I have in Rose Gold have been THE Summer sandal for me. They're so comfortable! They're worth the money, get them if you're on the fence! This reminds me that I should visit Target to see if the Sam & Libby shoe line is on sale or clearance. They're the same Sam!

This has become a very random blog post, but I love it because it's been a while since I've had a "dear diary" post. :)

A few more things,

I have been so into Thai Pad See Ew noodles with beef and tofu! lol I never used to like Pad See Ew and always ordered Pad Thai, but now I've switched over! I also love Indian Tandoori Chicken..I can never get enough of Indian food. I love it!

True Blood and Drop Dead Diva are definitely my favorite Summer shows.

Timmy and Wally are doing great! They're 3 years old and they're finally dogs in my mind. I used to always refer to them as the puppies, but they're grown and responsible now! There's no more chewing on mommy's things. Phew! I'm so happy that phase is over!

Cupcakes and Cashmere is a blog I cannot get enough of! She's so good at always updating too. :) I look forward to checking her blog.

I gave my mom my iPhone 4S and introduced her to the world of Candy Crush back in May and she is OBSESSED. She text me to send her lives, and tickets to unlock episodes. She doesn't even call me to ask. She demands them via text message! lol What have I created?! Somehow, she learned to send a group text to my sister and me. It says,

Mom: "Unlock candy crush for mom please. Send me ticket!"

Me: "Ok" (I open Candy Crush, a game I don't even play anymore to accept all to the messages.)

Mom: "Thank you. Still need one more."

*minutes later*

Mom: "I want tickets not lives."

It's like WHOA lady, calm down. lol I only open Candy Crush to send her lives so I guess it takes a while before it updates me on who to send lives, and tickets to...okay!?

Anyhow, I gotta go now! We're off to go look at a house and piece of land with our friends. They're super into houses, land for investment. I feel like I've grown so much this year. I'm 26 and I finally feel like I know who I am. :) It's a wonderful feeling! I'll talk to you all later!