K Takes New York

Finally! Back to blogging! I've finally reached a lull in my hectic summer schedule where I can catch up on posts.

Last month I went to a two week entrepreneurship camp where I developed a start up idea and pitched it to a board of investors at the Athena Center at Barnard College. Never have I been immersed in such an empowering, positive environment. Check out my video to see more of the people I met and the things I did!

Here's one outfit from that trip:

I was surprised! The sweater and skirt was bought in NYC on sale and ! I love that these two pieces are the perfect transition into fall outfits too (out of season much?) and I can imagine a million other pairings to go with this too. I'm loving the white sweater and shoes that tie the whole outfit together and the necklace that adds some weight and interest against the blank background.

Honestly this outfit was more fit for an autumn day rather than a sweaty humid summer eve in New York but it was cute and worth the perspiration. The suede skirt with the playful laser cut outs instantly caught my eye in the store and they were only $15! I feel like its quirky juxtaposition of material and pattern makes it the perfect piece to transition my closet into something more sophisticated.

You also would not believe how much controversy there was over buying those $20 pair of Birkenstock dupes. Some of my friends questioned our friendships. Nevertheless, I identify as pro Birks (long live the mom sandal) but I'm also not about to pay $180 for something I know is going out of style sometime in the near future.

Right next to Chinatown we went to this hip cafe called Two Hands with my friend Cleo.

 The interior had 'grammable ambiance with the crafted clouds, strung lights, exposed brick, and hand written menu on the wall! It set me up for high expectations of idiosyncratic food...

 I got the blat sandwhich which was $9.00 but it was disappointingly small. It featured Sriracha, spinach, tomato, bacon and avocado. The bacon and guac gave the sandwich depth while the Sriracha have it an awesome kick. The salad was too boring and plain as it only featured some spinach leaves, some olive oil, and some red chili peppers. Disappointing. 

 Cleo got a cappuccino for $3.50 which she thought was average. She also commented that the $9.00 chewy granola was very blueberry based but sweet. It featured hemp and chia seeds, blue berries, granola, coconut, and raspberries. 

 As you can see there was not much mass in the blat sandwich. While I can understand everything is expensive in New York City, I feel like I could have found something that was more worth the price. 

 Cleo and her adorable cup of coffee. The store did have great merchandise ranging from mugs to shirts with whimsical designs on them. I think the aesthetic of the cafe is what brings in the customers not necessarily the quality of their food. 

I will say that the mocha was pretty good but it was less rich than the Mocha Tesora at Philz. (I can't find it on the menu but I believe it was around $4.00). 

Right now I'm in Valencia, CA for an arts camp called CSSSA (California State Summer School for the Arts). I'll update you guys more on that in a later post. 

Love, 

K

Adventures into San Francisco

Adventures of K and S actually went on an adventure this time! Well really K and A, but S was missed and there in spirit <3 To see more beautiful pictures visit A's travel blog by clicking here: By the Breeze Blog

A took me around the city for my birthday and we visited so many gems within the city! Our first, and my favorite, stop was at the Front St. Cafe, which ironically is not on Front Street. The cafe was nestled in the Mission Bay area and had an industrial theme going on with the exposed pipes, beakers, and test tubes. It is the poster child for the Urban-San-Franciscan-Coffee-Addict aesthetic. Check out A's blog to see the rest of our adventure :)

Walking around the misty city in the morning was refreshing but also very chilly so layers were my best friend. Given the gusting wind, a wide-brimmed hat may not have been a good choice but my fashion muses all have this kind of hat and A got me one for my birthday :) I can now actually call myself a fashion blogger! I love the elegant waves the hat makes on its brim and how the camel color is so versatile. 

Taken in front of adorable painted ladies at Duboce. 

My lovely friends gave me necklaces for my birthday so of course they're making it on the blog. Thank you EM, LP, and LH! 

Taken in the adorable patio seating area of Nopalito, a hip Mexican restaurant near UCSF. The dewy vertical garden complimented the light green theme of the restaurant, contributing to a comfortable ambiance when paired with twinkly string lights. The overused flannel makes another cameo!

Layers being taken off at Duboce—all the walking around midday was starting to warm me up!

The hat just made me so dang excited, also thanking CH for the romper :) 

On K: 

Hat: Cary Lane (An adorable boutique near UCSF)

Sunglasses: Gas Station

Necklaces: UO, F21, Gifted 

Romper: Francesca's

Flannel: Thrifted 

Coat: Target

Tights: Target??

Boots: Stuart Weitzman

I feel so blessed to have friends that would take me around the city! She has amazing photography skills AND style. 

Yes, we have matching hats. We're THOSE friends. 

Hat: Cary Lane 

Sunglasses: Ray Ban 

Blouse: H&M

Coat: H&M

Jeans: Topshop 

Bag: Rebecca Minkoff

Shoes: Converse

Thanks for adventuring with us! 

- K and A 

Spring Forward

Although we lose an hour of sleep this weekend, at least we know later sunsets and warmer days are to come. This weekend in the Bay Area is full of blue days and sunny skies, so K and I have brought out the start of our spring wardrobes for this post. (Of course, we’ll still go spring shopping to replenish and renew our closets for the warmer seasons ;) ) Please check out A’s (our lovely photographer) beautiful travel blog.

K's Outfit

From a young age I have always held fashion with a certain fascination. Fashion is transformative. It has allowed me to redefine who I am with a simple change of clothes. Somedays the preppy pleated skirt must find its way in my outfit and on other days I just want to bust out the obnoxious gold disco pants. Yesterday I could be into streetwear, today I could be into k-fashion, and tomorrow I could be feeling bohemian.

But today my outfit makes me feel some what like Marilyn Monroe. In fact, the skirt I am wearing is a tennis skirt from the 50’s that I found in a thrift store near Berkeley for $15. The pleated circle skirt’s annoyingly flirtatious fabric has given me a fair share of scandalous moments reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe’s subway grate “mishap”. The red, white, and navy blue colors also make me think this’d be a perfect Fourth of July outfit.

The silhouette of the breezy skirt and the cut-out, bustier type top makes it very appropriate for spring and summer climates. I rolled up the hem of the top to fit with the higher waisted skirt, and can roll it back down to fit with moderately high-waisted jeans. I’m really loving this unique top because of it’s fun pattern that adds a cheerful touch to my wardrobe. Recently I’ve been into exposing a bit of midriff. I haven’t delved far into this trend before so it’s interesting for me to try out. Usually I prefer contacts over my glasses since it’s less of a hassle and looks better but in this outfit I think they add to this look here.  

 

        

I ended the look with some oxford flats for a preppy feel. This pair was from F21 and as you can see, have been quite beaten and frayed at the shoelaces. I’ve been meaning to tape them back up but just haven’t gotten around to it. BEWARE these shoes have absolutely no traction. I have landed squarely on my butt many a time while running to class because of these slippery soles.

S's Outfit

Today’s outfit is pretty urban, with a bit of a retro, cutesy twist (hence the mysterious stare towards the right side of the photo). The cropped fishtail jacket is definitely more of a masculine and urban styled piece, but I think it balances well with the floral prints and more feminine details of other pieces of clothing such as the collar on my shirt, my oxfords, and my golden bar necklace.

My collared chiffon blouse is from Urban Outfitters, found at the bottom of a heap clearance clothing for $5.99 - thank goodness for the store’s 50% off Clearance sales. The shirt has a unique, diamond like floral print, and I just can’t get over the peter pan collar. The shirt is pretty sheer, so I always pair it with a bandeau of bralette underneath. The golden bar necklace is from H&M, and while it looks nice, it’s broken on me plenty of times! I still love it regardless, I think it adds the perfect touch to many outfits.

Being the height that I am, finding pants can be quite a nuisance, especially as I’m not one to get clothes tailored. I’d been looking for looser-fitting, breezy pants for awhile, and came across this pair from Nordstrom, by Lush, in about December. These pants are great for warmer days and a great alternative to jeans, because let’s be honest, you’ve gotta give your legs a break from being so restricted all the time.

I’m all for floral prints - and anything that comes in black, so these were an automatic “YES” for me when I saw them. Best part - they were 50% off for $22.99! In all seriousness, not only are they cute and chic, but they are so comfortable as well. They’re so soft, I could sleep in them.

Lastly - my long loved and very worn out oxfords (let’s just call them vintage). I got these almost three years ago, but have never stopped loving them. They are my go-to flats, as my feet aren’t quite suited to the shape of ballet flats. My favorite part of these shoes are the black outlining/detailing, I think it makes the shoes pop and stand out a bit more than they would without it.

On S:

Headband - F21

Necklace - H&M

Cropped Fishtail Jacket - Delia’s

Collared Blouse - Urban Outfitters

Track Pants - Nordstrom (Lush)

Oxfords - DSW (Not Rated)

Cali Sundays: Denim Shorts and Dim Sum

What was an obligatory food review for my school's magazine publication became a blogging opportunity. Sunday was idyllic and warm enough that the environment enabled me to wear shorts. Even though the warmth was quickly replaced with a cool chill on Monday, the reprieve from colder temperatures was greatly appreciated. I've always been a shorts-and-tank kind of person because I love the tingling sensation of sunshine on my skin that comes every spring and summer. Please excuse my awkward stance as I found this was the least awkward photo from a plethora of other horrifying options. 

Many things I want to say about this shawl that I'm wearing: 1) I made it for five dollars using this tutorial and a scarf from H&M  2) It should *not* be called a kimono. Calling this shawl a kimono is actually cultural appropriation. Cultural appropriation is when someone takes part of another culture and adopts it without recognition of the significance of what they have appropriated. This doesn't sound bad but it can get offensive really quickly. I don't think many people know what cultural appropriation is (at least I didn't until the magazine I write and draw for wrote an article on it)  and how insensitive and inaccurate we are every time we call this article of clothing a "Kimono". A kimono is far more elaborate and holds much more cultural importance than those at Brandy Melville could ever express. I'm not calling for a boycott of these trendy shawls (though lets be real selling flimsy fabric for over $50 is kind of an injustice), but let's just rethink what we call these breezy pieces :) 

This shawl took me about 5 minutes to figure out? It was really easy and I love the colors! 

I found this gold snakeskin print bag in the recesses of my mothers closet. I have no idea where she got it and how often she must have worn this baby in her 20's but I now use it for almost every outing. 

This silver bracelet was actually a gift from a beloved Aunt in China. 谢谢小舅妈！You can't really see it in this photo but the bangle has a star charm and a doll face charm. It goes with so many outfits and every time I wear it I'm reminded of the family I have in China <3

I bought this crop top from Choies and it came out to be a little more cropped and looser than I'd hoped. However, it works out well here with the high waisted shorts so that I'm only exposing a classy bit of midriff. It's a very comfortable, stretchy material but the sleeves also end at a bit of an awkward length, and without staying tight. Overall I really like the items I got from Choies but I wish processing and shipping was a little quicker :/ It was my first time ordering but I thought the VIP membership points were very disorganized and not made lucid to customers. They have very cute clothes and very affordable prices though so I can't really complain.

Shawl- DIY (scarf from H&M) 

Striped 3/4 Sleeve Crop Top- Choies

High-waisted Shorts- F21

Sunglasses- Stanford Bookstore 

Silver Bangle- Gift 

Assorted Leather Bracelets- Choies

Gold Bag- Mom 

Flip Flops- Old Navy (not pictured)

After my lovely photographer, E, helped me with these photos we went to divulge in my favorite food: dim sum. 

Ahhhh yes, obscure asian drinks! I grew up going to dim sum every other sunday lunch with my family in the very cantonese town of Union City. I've never gone without my family so this was exciting for me and I felt like such an adult. We went to Cooking Papa because it was the closest authentic dim sum place around. 

^ My photographer and partner-in-crime besides S.

Hong Kong Milk Tea $2.50- The tea flavor was deeper, richer, and more... burnt? But in a good way. Taiwanese milk teas tend to have more sugar and milk in them than I would like but this is more appropriate for a morning drink than boba.

 Steamed Pork Buns $2.50(I think?)- Cha shu bao, I've missed this so much! The fluffy, sweet and white dough resonated well with the barbeque-honey flavors of the pork. This is one of my childhood favorites.

 Steamed Shrimp Dumplings $4.50(I think?) The wrapping is clear and the bamboo in the shrimp filling offered good texture to the dumplings which I either never noticed or has become a unique variation on dumplings. 

 Siu Mai $4.50?- Another one of my favorites. Steamed pork and shrimp dumplings with fish eggs on top. 

Steamed Turnip Cake $3.50?- I usually like the fried version better but this was flavorful too. 

After dim sum, E and I went to Sno-Zen to have some shaved snow! I'm not sure how the Taiwanese come up with so many amazing snacks but props to them. 

 Not sure of the price but the shaved snow is vanilla with sweetened condensed milk, strawberries, and lychee jelly. The flavors together offered a quintessential asian taste commonly found with shaved snow and pearl milk teas. 

- K

Manic Mondays

Nobody likes Mondays. It's a shocking juxtaposition to the exciting saturdays and lazy sundays, which make it hard to appreciate.

For us, last monday was an especially busy and stressful time! Producing a publication is a lot of work. We might not have ourselves together, but it's fun to try and look the part ;) 

On K: 

      I think the shirt and necklace combo convey a nice, "I'm responsible and getting my edits done so please don't fuck with me" vibe which is perfect during production time. (Just kidding, love everyone on the magazine) I'm pretty short so the longer cardigan and heeled boots make me seem just a tad taller, which is much appreciated. 

Necklace: Nordstroms

Shirt: J. Crew

Jeans: American Rag

Cardigan: Urban Outfitters

Shoes: Stuart Weitzman 

On S:

Sweater: Demasque (Which I think is closed and makes me sad :( )

Skirt: Ebay

Socks/Tights: Express

Shoes: Converse

Necklace: Francesca's

I love that the black and white elements in S's outfit are broken up with a playful houndstooth skirt and delicately balanced jewelry. Houndstooth is a gorgeous print I've been hoping to try - K

Foodie Adventures: Umami Burger

u·ma·mi /o͞oˈmämē/ noun - a pleasant, savory taste

For the namesake of our blog, we inevitably had to go on some adventure. And what could possibly be more adventurous than downtown Palo Alto? While we didn't go far, we were able to explore some interesting flavors. Time to put that 10 credits of CTE to good use in this food review.

K: The Umami Burger restaurant can be described as a library meets cabin-in-the-woods meets art school. Bookshelves offer some form of privacy between tables which was nice. 

S: I ordered the actual Umami burger ($11.50), also known as the Original Burger. Gotta try what a restaurant calls its original dish, right? The burger has a one juicy beef patty cooked to your preference of doneness (mine was medium rare), a sweet and succulent roasted tomato, shiitake mushroom, caramelized onions, crunchy parmesan frico, and Umami Burger’s unique house ketchup. It’s always such a great feeling when each ingredient in a dish work with each other to create the perfect harmony, and that is exactly what happened in this dish. The juiciness of the tomato, patty, and onion combined with the crunchiness of the bun and frico and the chewiness of the shiitake mushrooms create such a pleasant texture in the mouth — not to mention the extraordinary taste of the burger as well. After biting into the burger, I detected some sweet notes from the tomato and onion, then some fattier notes from the frico and patty itself. The patty was definitely made from high quality meat, cooked to the perfection, rounding off the perfect bite of the burger. 

K: Until I tried the Truffle Burger ($12), I had never tasted a burger that felt so luxurious in my mouth. My burger consisted of a succulent medium-rare beef patty, creamy truffle aioli, house truffle cheese, and a truffle glaze. I couldn’t distinguish which truffle ingredients were what because all together they just looked like cheese. However, the flavors worked in the most harmonious way imaginable. The juices from the burger paired with the depth of the truffle and creaminess of the cheese is a treat to the palate. I was expecting the truffle flavor in the burger too be too rich for me to scarf down the whole thing quickly but boy was I wrong… The main concentration of the truffle flavor resides in the cheese but overall is not overwhelming and is very pleasurable. The crisp bun in conjunction with the juicy patty and savory sauces offered the most satisfactory combination of texture and flavor in each bite.

S: The table placement at Umami is so beautiful - it is the little things that make the restaurant's cozy yet classy atmosphere so pleasing. The menu itself has so much to offer as well, anything off of the menu is sure to be an experience the taste buds will remember.

K: The burger paired perfectly with the crunchy sweet potato fries which were seasoned with brown sugar and spices that gave it a great kick. I found that the Umami ketchup sauce also had hints of truffle oil in it, so that every dip definitely gives that signature savory flavor that is known as umami.

K: After enjoying such a trendy gourmet burger restaurant, I feel the need to be just as artsy. After all, you are what you eat.

S: So, it was still a bit rainy the day we chose to go to Umami Burger — but of course we were prepared. K is rockin a dress and flannel combo, dresses aren’t just for warmer days! Along with that, she’s paired a leather messenger bag, cute wedges and a clear umbrella. For myself, I’ve still got my black rainboots and top paired with relatively lighter components of the rest of my outfit. I love the contrast of the boots and top with my peach and cream cardigan, gray infinity scarf, and white jeans.  

K: If I had to match a TV trope to S’s outfit I would say she embodies the adorable girl next door in that cozy yet feminine cardigan. I love that the femme color palette utilizing the soft peach and white is juxtaposed by the edgier black elements in her boots, shirt, and umbrella keep the outfit balanced literally from head to toe. It’s a very classy combination. I didn’t feel like it was that cold that day so I opted for a t-shirt dress with a daintier floral print to mix with the larger plaid checks on my flannel. I got the flannel while thrifting in SF and have found it to be a surprisingly versatile item in my closet. It’s also a larger (I think mens’ size) fit so its comfortable as well. The combination of the two prints gave off a rustic vibe so I paired it with leather and suede accents like my bag and shoes.

S: Cozy and comfortable - yet chic. That's always something to go for, looking good while feeling comfortable. Everything in this outfit feels good to wear, and is super versatile. Everything is either warm, or flexible when pairing with other elements of an outfit.

K's Outfit:

Flannel- Thrifted

Dress- Urban Outfitters

Necklace- DIY

Messenger Bag- F21

Boot Wedges- Nine West 

Umbrella: Amazon

S's Outfit:

Cardigan: Forever 21

Scarf: Nordstrom BP

Top: Forever 21

Jeans: Ralph Lauren

Boots: Amazon

Umbrella: Target