better, finally

i'm finally feeling better. i had the flu for about nine days! during those nine days, i had a lot of time to myself to do things i haven't had time for. it was kind of nice, aside from stuffy & runny nose, sneezing, coughing, runny eyes, & headache...

anyways, i stayed in bed all day & started watching a korean drama called can we get married?. i hadn't watched a korean drama in a year! it was actually kind of nice : ) i also had time to write a letter & make an envelope.

i began crocheting a blythe hat for someone.

& i wrote in my moleskine. i was really missing miguel while i was sick. he was a sweetheart & drove the hour after work one weekend to surprise me with a visit : ) i was incredibly happy.

in between being sick, i had some hours during the day that i didn't feel as bad, so i attempted mini adventures out. one outing was to starbucks to meet lizzie & her dad for our yearly gift exchange. i loved the cute bag my gift came in.

lizzie works at bath & body works, so she scored me an amazing candle that i love, along with an amazing bird printed scarf that i've been wearing everyday & other cute bits & bobs.

my sister came to visit for a short two days & my mom made us a delicious & fancy breakfast. i was surprised! 

 my sister & papi are so funny ;)

 by saturday i was feeling well enough to actually spend the entire day out of bed, shower, & look halfway decent. haha. this is my amazing new bird scarf from lizzie!

 i know this is really random, but did you know that mango lassi came in a bottle?! i was at an afgan restaurant & ordered one & this is what i got. i was shocked & even more shocked when it actually tasted good. crazy!

even more randomness is that pasta pomodoro has an amazing roasted butternut squash soup called zuppa di zucca. i had that last night when i went out to dinner with my cousin & her man. i was pleasantly surprised with it.

this week is going to be interesting & i'm sure to be quite content & happy. i'm taking today to do a full day of work & then tonight it is off on the train to miguel's for the week. his roommates aren't home yet & he has the whole house to himself. i'm going to use the opportunity for a quite place to work on my thesis all week. because honestly it is very tough getting anything done at home. so i'll be happy to have miguel all to myself this coming week. quite happy indeed : )

getting better...soon

sick in bed since the beginning of the year :/ ahhh...great way to start off the new year eh?

i've been trying to eat good food to make me feel better. 1) homemade apple & spice porridge, 2) grandma's soup with drop noodles. I've also eaten some fun foods like this pintrest idea of bacon stuffed pancakes (but i use veggie bacon instead!).

sneezing, tissues, coughing, stuffy & runny nose, sore eyes & throat, & headache. ahh...slowly, but surly getting better.

(if you have a sore throat - drink lemon juice & hot water with honey. works like a charm!)

oh! by the way, i saw les miserables & the hobbit during my christmas! les miserables was fantastic! so so good. i was crying. many times... also the hobbit was so visually & hobbitly appealing. love those hobbits : )

ok. that's all for now. i'm off to sound more like darth vader...

happy 2013

i'm greeting the new year with side-bangs, fresh coral lip treatment, & a thrifted sweater. 

i'm slightly nervous about this new year as i will be cramming to finish my thesis this semester so i can graduate in may. also nervous because i'm not sure what i am going to be doing after. i just need to stay focused & take it as it comes.

i thought about doing a year in review like the other blogger family members, but decided against it. honesty because i'm lazy & am just starting to get sick :/

i saw blue valentine a few weeks ago for the first time. i loved it & i hated it. for those of you who saw it, what did you think?

i've been growing out my full bangs & making them into side bangs. i have my preference of what i like, but i want to ask your opinion: should i keep growing out my bangs or cut them again to make them full bangs?

i miss miguel.

number twelve: try wearing red lipstick out

 number twelve on my list of 25 things to do before i turn 26 is to try wearing red lipstick out. so, i went on the search to find some red lipstick. a friend sells mary kay & after much bugging, i finally had a house party. i got about $30 credit to spend on any product i wanted, so i was a happy gal. i picked out two shades of lipstick, one of them being "red". once it came in the mail, i was excited & also nervous to try it out. i took it with me on one of my mini trips to stay with miguel for a few days, determined to give it a go. so, one night as we were gussying up for the night, i decided to experiment! here is before:

 & after:

don't mind these crooked shots in miguel's bathroom. i'm still trying to get the hang of taking photos of myself, in the mirror, with my new nikon.
i rather liked how it turned out, but was still a bit nervous to wear it out. so when we were in the car, barely making it down his block, i said, "i can't do it!" & wiped it off...haha. since then, i have worn my red lipstick out, as well as some other shades of red & rather love the spunkiness i feel when i wear it : )

lina's 25th

i know this post is quite overdue, as my birthday was over a month & a half ago. but here they are! photos from the party i through myself. i designed four photobooth backgrounds, gathered three fuji instax cameras together, & filled three vintage suitcases together with props. to eat was a spread of cheese & fruit. i thought it turned out lovely : ) to see instagram photos, look up #linas25th 

miguel was my chef in the kitchen for the evening & made these caprese bites perfectly.

 photobooth #1 was just a dark sheet & colored paper cranes

 photobooth #2 was a little more involved to make. i tore strips from five different colored bed sheets i got from a thrift store & tied them to rope. it takes longer to tie them all than you'd think.

 photobooth #3 was just a vintage quilt i already had.

 photbooth #4 was probably the neatest looking. i got three vintage doors from a recycling center at the dumps for $1 each. they looked great, complete with a metal keyhole! then they were partly covered with pages from an edgar allan poe book. it gave a great effect.

 then i strung up the instant photos for people to take when they leave the party : )

it seemed like everyone had a good time, but i was so tired afterwards. i am more of a "sit-back-&-watch" kind of gal instead of a "life-of-the-party" gal ;)