My purchase from Shanghai

Its been over two months now and i still havent fully post all my travel pictures from my trip to China. However I did buy a cute white top hat from H&M in Shanghai. When I first saw this I knew I had to have it. I didnt have a dress to match with this but now I have giving myself a new found project to work on. But for the time being I like to show up how pretty this top hat is. In Shanghai, there were lots of girls wearing these so casually in the streets. Its like a new found trend that U.S. havent caught up with. I just have to wait until there is an awesome event to wear this out.

yeah this is what happens when you give a girl a camera and she takes loads of pictures of herself. I couldnt decided which shots were the best so I give you all the shots. Haha

DIY Key Mini Skirt with Bow

Its been really hot over the summer and I been telling myself to make something cute to wear out. Here is a really cute key print that I purchase for urban outfitters. I had this fabric for awhile now, and I thought of alot of projects I could use with this print.. so far I have recovered my iron board and resurface my chair with this and with addition to a cute little mini skirt with matching bow. So easy to make that I made two of these skirts. Hehe I think I might make a black skirt too.

Oh yeah I also dyed my hair a couple of days ago, I am officially blonde again!

super blonde!

I dont really light flash in picture, but this picture is accidental and it came out alright.

What do I look like?

more to crafting...

DIY Daisy Flower accessories

A couple days ago I did some quick crafting because I wanted some cute flowers for my hair as accessories but dont want to pay for it, so i went to the dollar store and bought one bouquet of plastic flowers of my choice and now i have 7 cute daisy flowers. I hot glue felt cloth over my hair piece clip to the flower. There are so many ways to use these flowers! I love them... and it cost me nothing to make, just some time and patience. so cute for the summer!

Here i provide many ways you can style it with. There are many ways too but these are what i thought of.

I think these are Daisy?

Now what should I do with the rest of the extra flowers I made?

Quote from "Eat Pray Love"

Like said from my last post I been reading the new popular book and I am infatuated with Elizabeth's writing. There is this quote i just read today and it made my heart melt. I hope it does for you too.

"If I love you, I will carry for you all your pain, I will assume for you all your debts (in every definition of the word), I will protect you from your own insecurity, I will project upon you all sorts of good qualities that you have never actually cultivated in yourself and I will buy Christmas presents for your entire family. I will give you the sun and the rain, and if they are not available, I will give you a sun check and a rain check. I will give you all this and more, until I get so exhausted and depleted that the only way I can recover my energy is by becoming infatuated with someone else."

Eat Pray Love

-Elizabeth Gilbert

DIY nail art + new book!

I been updating so much my adventures, I forgot to update about my beauty. I love nail art especially the Japanese style kind. But since that service cost i cannot afford, I diy myself. I did alot of self taught, trail and error, and lots of youtube videos. Most of my designs and inspirations comes from all the japanese magazines i been looking at. I dont have any fancy machine to do this just simple tools you can get at the drugstore and lots of ebay! Oh yeah, I also dont use expensive nail polish because i get tired of my nails in a week and i just repaint them again. I dont think I am an expert, but I am still learning. I love how I can be as creative and as colorful as I want. Here is summer look that I have on now. These are my real nails.

#1 summer

#2

I just finish one my last book (I'll tell you about on next post)/ But I am currently reading Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I heard great reviews on it and I quickly bought it before I was done with my last book. The lady working at the bookstore also had a great pleasure reading it so I was more eager to buy it. There is also a movie out currently starring Julia Roberts, but I want to finish the book before I watch the movie or else it will ruin my reading. I been glued to this book for 3 days now and its been fun and enjoyable. I like the authors writing style it doesn't confuse me at all. I not a avid reader but I like to improve on building up my speed reading and vocabulary.

#3 Here is my other design awhile back in June

-Marie

Hiking with Poochi in Eaton Canyon

I love hiking, especially with my poochi Rebecca. I think she makes my hiking experience better every time. Plus hiking duals as exercise and somewhere to go and see. My pooch and I went to Eaton Canyon in Pasadena because its one of the closes one in our house and it has a waterfall. We went on a late Wednesday there and it was sooo hot, we thought we were gonna have a heat stroke. Eventually we made it to the waterfall and it was so relaxing there... It just takes my stress away everytime Im there.

#1 so happy!

#2 She's so photogenic

#3 I think she likes her alone shots

#4 aww I love her face expression on this

#5 relaxing

#6 the view behind

#7 her hunting mode kicked in

#8 view

#9 what you find girl?

#10 funny story, poochi always wander around and disappears when we hike and comes back when i hike with her. there was a family that walk pass me and Rebecca appear out of nowhere and almost gave them a heat attack because they thought it was a coyote.

#11 at last the waterfall

#12 keeping my toes cool

#13 this guy tried to climb up the waterfall, fail

What's Next? We are gonna hike in Hermit Falls, they have a 40ft fall i want to jump off!

DespairsRay Concert

Just last week I went to see my favorite band DespairsRay Concert. I love their music, it has taken me to another world everytime I hear their songs. DespairsRay is doing a World Tour and they came to LA!! When I first found out I quickly ordered the tickets. They were promoting their new song "Love is Dead"

#1 my attempt look of a rockstar

#2 my friends that went with me

#3 smile!

#4 We both dressed up like rockstars!

#5 group shot!

#6 ahh!

#7 drinks were only $5

#8 waiting waiting and more waiting....

#9 come on i didnt know he was doing that!

#10

#11 she had the craziest hair updo, too bad the camera couldnt catch it.

#12 ahh my love Hizumi!

#13 The most awesome night ever!

It was a great concert, though when we came out all of us still hear the ringing in our ears. Haha. I LOVE YOU DESPAIRSRAY! PLEASE COME BACK AGAIN!

Travel through China: Forbidden City and Bird's Nest Olympic Arena

Just to let readers know, we went on this trip ourselves without any tours or guidance. We mostly did the planning ourselves and from helpful travelers we met. We initially had a itinerary planned but talking to all the travelers our plans drastically change from all the suggestions and recommendation from them.

We went to Forbidden City in Tienanmen Square and the Bird's nest Olympic Arena. We met 2 British guys in our dorm and decided that we should all go together to these places. Funny story how we met. They came barging into our dorm pissed off because they just gotten scam by the locals. Its quite common that people in beijing scam foreigners because our money is worth more than yuan.

Anyways our two British friend got tea scam. The way how it works is usually two asian girls will come up to foreigners and tell them their student as well and their studying in China. They will also humbly invite you to join them for a cup of tea to chat. They will take you to one of the tea shops they know of and help you order which tea. As a foreigner you are being nice and dont want to refuse a generous offer. Then when the bill comes its like an arm and a leg. They charge you so much and the girls expect you to pay. How much does a cup of tea really cost? Thats what my friends question themselves. There are many scammers in beijing but this is just one of the very few. Since Alan and I look "asian" we didnt stand out as much as foreigners. I felt sorry for our two friends so I made a suggestion that they come with us and we can help them out.

#1 we pass by some cute ducklings

#2 Alan's new Luffy shirt

#3 Our new friend Richard

#4 He's quite photogenic

#5 Richard and Aidan

#6 Alan's lying pose

#7 he drop my bottle of water so he's jumping off the ledge to get it

#8 yay he got it!

#9

#10 cute

#11 my second pooch

#12 sorry Rebecca we found a second pooch

#13 relaxing

#14 looks like he start already

#15 super blonde

#16 so these little soldiers are guarding that man in green, i think he's like some official government person VIP. But the guards are so rude they push you around to let that VIP go through. We try to get away from this chaos

#17

#18 fire pooch

#19 his rock

#20

#21 alan thinks i look like a lifeguard

#22

#23

#24

#25 i could never reach on top

#26

#27 this guy try to scam us with this peanut snack

#28 i straighten things out by yelling back in mandarin

#29 they were scared to do it

#30

#31 YUM justice

#32 Richard didnt want this at first, but then i persistently tell him to try it

#33 looks like they love yogurt

#34 must try in Beijing

#35 Only in China

#36 Glamour Shot

#37 we didnt know what this is, but it looked pretty cool

#38 so cute

#39 kites!

#40 Bird's nest Olympic Arena

#41 shes so cute, i stood next to her and pose too

#42 at the palm of my hands

#43 we got this in our hands

#44 coke taste better under a umbrella

#45 group shot

#46 my sweet tea drink

#47 coke taste better in china

#48 Aidan's mango yogurt drink

#49

#50 close up on the structure

#51

#52 weather pole

#53 can you tell what this is?

#54 the only okay looking guy in china, cool shoes

#55 lunch at McDonalds

#56 waiting until the lights turn on

#57 so beautiful

#58 nightlife

#59 this was awesome

#60 he did open the subway door

#61 silly Richard

next stop Great Wall of China...