french toast with mixed berries || coffee & cookies || yogurt parfait || cream of mushroom stuffed bell peppers & scrambled eggs || mixed berries smoothie || egg in a hole with love || lace heart pancakes || chocolate spoons with assorted sprinkles

before heading back to thailand, my cousin came to stay with me for a little while. essentially we found out that we share common interests in --you guessed it-- food & photography. we came across so many delicious recipes on taste spotting, so we thought it would be fun to try out a few! my apologies for the massive amounts of food pics but i hope you enjoy it as much as i do. :)

on another note, my lovely friends at romwe wants to host a little giveaway for my readers.

1. sign up/register on www.romwe.com

{on me: thrifted cardigan | in my air fuchsia sheer tank | romwe leopard scarf | gap 1969 jegging | steve madden boots}

{on cody: stella mccartney x gapkids sweater | gap shirt & black jeans | converse jack purcell}

*excuse the wrinkles on my shirt! sorry, i've been living out of a suitcase! heh.*

despite living in SF for over 2 years, this was my first trip to alcatraz island aka "the rock." random fact: "the rock" just happens to be one of my favorite movies of all time. so... to actually step foot on the island was ah-mazing. haha.

alcatraz is a place full of history. for 29 years, the cells of alcatraz were home to some of america's most notorious criminals; al capone, robert stroud aka "birdman of alcatraz", bumpy johnson and george "machine gun" kelly to name a few. it's really amazing to see how teeny-tiny the cells are. being able to step inside the cell and experience it was fascinating. it makes you wonder (& cringe at the same time) how the inmates were able to survive through the frigid nights. the island also offers an excellent view of the city -- so close yet so far away. how taunting, eh?

the trip was definitely rewarding. i can't wait to go back and do the night tour one day... creepy but exciting, i'm sure.

{forever 21 jacket & blouse | zara lace short & clutch | h&m boots}

while back in SF, the rain greeted us for two days straight. then on thursday, the sun came out at the perfect timing to give us such a glorious day before heading back to LA again. the whole day felt ideal, partly because it was so effortless. there we took in the views of the entire area as we relaxed and waited for the sun to set. how much more ideal can it get?

this is a sneak peek of my shoot with the amazing & talented lydia hudgens! i can't wait to show you all of the sets! she really does amazing work. :)

despite it being a sunny early evening, it was so windy & chilly -- which didn't help with my nervousness at all. nevertheless, i still had fun and just went with the flow. i really can't predict what the weather is going to be like anymore. afterwards, i decided to walk around the area & couldn't resist taking a few shots of the randomness.

{silence + noise drape blazer, seventy two changes asymmetrical dress, forever 21 belt, thrifted bag from crossroads}

simply put, this is just a ploy to get you to tell me about your guilty pleasures.

i'll put down my pride and go first...

1. books. || i can never get enough of good reads. one day, i'll have my own library in my house... ya know, a secret library with hidden bookcase doors, vintage books from wall to wall, & the whole sha-bang. when it comes to romance novels, i realize the revulsion many feel when even thinking about the stereotyped, mushy-gushy stuff, but hear me out! i read a particularly ridiculous and trashy one and loved it, to my chagrin. the ridiculous titles make my eyes roll, but every once in a while... i get sucked into the romantic escape they provide. they may be silly, with, more often than not, less-than-stellar writing, but i don't mind. i don't feel guilty for all the books i've read. i'm only guilty of not buying enough.

2. criminal minds.  || i rarely watch tv... but when i do, i'm hooked watching criminal minds. don't even get me started on the all-day marathons they have. i would die before i admit it, but i'm in with love matthew gray gubler's character {dr. spencer reid} ... nerd alert. no joke. either way, the show's amazing. matthew/dr. reid too. or both. go figure.

3. desserts/sweet treats.  || i have a husband who doesn't have much of a sweet tooth as i do. i guess i'm sort of lucky eh? otherwise, we'd be fighting over this delectable treat {pink velvet cupcake} that i am happily consuming as i type this! sweets are definitely one of my weaknesses. has anyone seen my thin mints?

4. rockin out in the privacy of my own car.  || seriously, what is better than a beautiful day with the windows down in the car, great music playing & rockin' out on air guitar? okay... wow, i am totally embarrassed to have just admitted that. c'mon... air guitar, who does that {besides my 3 year old}?! apparently, i do. eeks.  

5. shoes. || i know, total cliche. but having too much is never enough, be that as it may, my wallet & husband doesn't seem to agree.

6. food. || thai... japanese... american or whatever. i'm a big foodie. as long as it's GOOD eats, i'm down. & i get to indulge it everrryday. can't complain about that!

7. not waking up to an alarm clock. || cody is all the alarm that i need. it's a joy to wake up to, "mommy, i need to go pee." lol.

8. 60's, 70's & 80's oldies music. || i grew up listening to songs that were released before my time. it must have rubbed off on me somewhere along the line because i love oldies to death. late at night when the oldies greatest hits infomercials are on, i feel slightly ashamed as i jot down the number to call later so i could order their CD's. but honestly, i don't know anyone else my age who knows the lyrics to america's "a horse with no name" & "i need you", bread's "make it with you",  & gilbert o'sullivan's "alone again" but okay, i'm not going to mention all my faves but you get the drift.

9. star wars. lotr. harry potter. twilight.  || yup. i love it all. need i say more?

10. movie theatre popcorn drenched with extra butter. || this is probably my greatest guilt. i always look forward to the popcorn whenever we go to the movies. it's salty, greasy & buttery... all mixed in its deliciousness. the satisfying crunch and the explosion of guilty flavors. so nom worthy. even the atmosphere screams of guilty pleasure: you take this giant tub of overpriced butter, salt, and popcorn into a dark room where anonymity rules, and then you indulge! you can't even see what you're eating, just adding to the indulgence... i mean, if i can't see it, the calories don't count, right? movie theatre popcorn should be in the guilty pleasure hall of fame.

last but not least...

no matter where i am, out about in town or hanging out at home... it's always delightful sharing a special moment with ones i love. guilty pleasures come in many forms. and i love being more in love each day... with my two main squeeze, cody & will.

guilty pleasures put colors in our lives... am i right or am i wrong?

so i fessed up, now it's your turn. what are your guilty pleasures?

xx

{free people 'spring garden' flutter top; forever 21 pants; joe's 'diva 2' sandals; lagos 'torque' bracelet; gifted slave bracelet}

wore this simple outfit this past friday for cody's special day. thank you so much to everyone who greeted & wished him a happy birthday. he's one of the luckiest kid in the woooorld. you all are so amazing! ♥

once again, it turned out to be such a fun-filled weekend with family, food, desserts, music, and more food. :)

sorry for the short post but i've got to pick up these delicious red velvet cupcakes before the bakery closes!

yup... you guessed it, more delectable treats!! nomnom time.

recap of my past weekend jaunt.

family, food & photography.

my three loves besides fashion, music & art.

i'm savoring every moment of life in every way that i can.

excuse the lack of post, it'll be cody's 3rd birthday tomorrow! i'm hoping the weather will cooperate this weekend & the next.

as i'm laying here... watching him sleep, thinking about how fast he's grown in the 3 short years. he's grown to be such a witty and charming little man. i wonder what the world holds in store for him. what will it be like 5 years, 10 years, 20 years from now? life is so good for him right now... i hope to keep it that way for a long while.

i've been really behind on posting pictures. oops.

1st outfit; thrifted denim vest & sweater, bellatrix floral blouse, f21 accessories & jeggings, dolce vita boots.

{"you look like you belong in a scrapbooking club or a motorcycle crew but not the cool kind" - B}

2nd outfit; h&m top, f21 belted shorts.

1st food pic; dinner date with my little main guy at ajito... we had yakitori - yummzah. but their ramen? ehh, not so much.

2nd food pic; shrimp scampi at mi piace is B-O-M-B. go there if you haven't been. yes, it's that good.

i work. eat. & play. -- on repeat.

{1. thrifted cropped lace top; 2. asos dress; 3. h&m purse, 4. thrifted bangles}

'tis was such a perfect day to spend quality time with my codymonster & hubbykins. i was beyond excited to finally see Will last week. gosh, i'm already missing him like crazy. it was well-needed, well-deserved & necessary. felt sooo good to be basking in the blazing heat of the sun. felt so good to be with the ones you love. days like this should last a lifetime.

there must be something in the air. it seems to be meme season again already.

& so here are 15 things you might not know about me;

1. as cliche as it sounds, i've married the man of my dreams. ♥

2. slow walkers & drivers drive me nuts.

3. i secretly wished cody was a girl... he'd make the perfect mini-me. haha

5. i've been thinking a lot about cognitive bandwidth and the prospect of reducing the number of things i pay attention to in life.

6. i'm a tadbit of a clean-freak & everyone around me knows it... especially at restaurants; i like to stack up the plates as if it were my job to do so.

7. if i see spider anywhere near me, i'd gather up my hoopskirts, scream like a little girl & run from the room. well, not quite... but i really, really don't like them.

8. if it were possible to get paid for doing it, i'd probably take a job reading books.

9. i was born in chonburi, thailand & lived there for 7 years before coming to the states. i miss my childhood flying kites in the open field behind our neighborhood. i'm so proud of my family & myself to have gotten this far in life. i have truly been blessed in my life, much beyond what i could have imagined or deserved.

10. i love motherhood; despite all the hardship, anxieties and sleepless night it brought me. i will forever cherish & appreciate everything all mothers go through for their families.

11. my dream career: forensic pathologist. just because working with cadavers are so much more fun.

12. i should spend an afternoon creating the soundtrack of my life. so when the day some hot shot producer comes up to me with permission to film a tribute of my life story, i'll be prepared. lolol

13. my first name has the word "porn" in it. yes, i'm pretty proud of it.

14. i'm a big foodie. i love food, i love to eat & i can eat. my friends say that i should join an eating contest. hmmm...

15. i had a hard time coming up with the final one, but in the spirit of keeping this interesting, i'll end with this throw-away: if someone offered me the opportunity to become a game show host, i'd take it in a heartbeat!

so... tell me some things about you. :)