I hate sewing: The Little Miss Foxy Dress

Last Friday, I tackled on a second sewing project as mentioned {here}. I spent forever a few hours at night after my little hyperactive monkey went to bed. I magically (not really) turned one yard of fabric into a dress for my little girl. While making it, I had a few mishaps good lessons through my own mistakes which in a way was not a bad thing. Sometimes the best way to learn is from our own mistakes, you will forever remember every single mistake you make.

First oops: when I pinned my pattern onto a fabric to cut, I lost my mind and forgot that this was not a solid colored fabric. It had pattern and the head of the foxes should be up. Heck as I cut one side of fabric I realized I turned the print upside dooooooown!!!!!!!!!!! Since it was only one yard of fabric, there was no extra length for me to cut a new piece so I had to make due with what I had. One side of the dress (as shown) is correct but the back of the dress is upside down (last pic)...haha. So artistic (yeahhh whateverrrrr).

Second oops: As I was sewing away into the night, I got sleepy and my mind didn't function correctly. I was supposed to leave the tubes (okay what is the right term) open in order to insert the ribbons. I just sewn away and closed both ends. I soon realized there was no opening to insert my pretty ribbons. So I spent another 10-15 mins fixing that too.

The dress is a tad too long and big but I would rather leave extra fabric and adjust than a dress being too small. I have yet to master the art of sewing a straight line at this point. There are moments I forgot to bring the foot down before sewing and many awkward actions you may not want to know. 
However I finally get better at threading a machine. It was confusing as hell the first time I saw a lady do it. I almost called it quit...lol. So if people ask why I don't sew I may just admit I lack the ability to thread a sewing machine, pathetic?  I know. However I am a master now...wooohooo. Lesson learned: think and plan LOGICALLY before sewing!

Will see what other silly mishaps I come across on my next project. Stay tuned.

A Closet Full of Clothes but Having Nothing to Wear

I am pretty positive that most of us women have said or felt such "powerful", "true to sense" statement like this at least once (if not more) in our lifetime.


There are secret codes within that statement all of us girls know too damn well. To politically correct it, the statement should be something like this "A closet full of (OLD, BORING, OUTDATED) clothes but nothing (NEW, TRENDY & EXCITING) to wear". Am I right? or Am I right?



{Teddy bears, sunglasses and bow c/o of a daughter; a necktie c/o of a husband}
Not too long ago I looked at piles of fresh laundry clothes on the floor in my bedroom. Out of all these countless pieces of clothing.  
How many do I "actually" wear?? I asked myself
Although I have significantly scaled down my clothes shopping in the past few years (really??). I am still facing the dilemma of having too many clothes yet not having things to wear. It is ridiculous, right? Too much of something can be overwhelming.

I think most of us (me included) have a habit of wanting "new" things and we know there will always be new clothes / shoes / accessories and etc.  Who can rotate and recycle their clothes 365 days straight without buying anything in reality? That is no fun. I simply buy what I like (but not always  suit or look good on me). So my problem/diagnosis is that I have been buying the wrong kind of clothing!!!!! Here is my wardrobe analysis.

{I don't have anything to wear, REALLY, SERIOUSLY and HONESTLY.}
Obviously some of my purchases do not suit me/my lifestyle or I don't feel comfortable in them enough to be wearing them often. One obvious example is that I am a pants kind of girl. I wear skirt or dress less than 10 times a year yet 30% of my closet is, you bet, filled with pretty dresses and skirts!!
Hmmm...why???
Weeellllll they were pretty so I bought them.
Some dresses I only wore twice because they are not versatile (or I lack the ability/vision to style it differently,  this sounds more like the true culprit). Then I just LOVE anything lace, ruffles but too much lace and ruffles can make one look like a crown. In conclusion I've come up with some solutions. Here are my areas of improvement:

1) To either wear skirts/dresses more often or cut down on purchasing them in the future (no more than 10%)

2) Clean out my closet. Donate what I don't wear to get rid of clutters so I can easily see all my clothes and hopefully every piece gets some love and wear.
3) I am a casual dresser. My lifestyle is not involved with many fancy events. What type of clothing suit me and make me feel confident? In real life, you know we are not going to be able to rock every look as portrayed by fashion bloggers. It is the matter of experimenting until we find what look good on us.

3) Think versatility: can I style or wear this more than one way?
Have you came across such dilemma of not having anything wear?

Embrace the Green: Salad My Way...

I really have to thank my aunt for introducing and cultivating the love for vegetables during my childhood. I enjoy vegetables so much that I almost think I am a herbivore. 
My husband and I are very different as to what we grew up eating.  He is more of a meat and potato/fat juicy beef burger lover kind of guy but I am somewhat a part time vegan. Vegetables are such foreign objects to him. While we love each other to piece,  we are not always in agreement when it comes to food. 
For years, I have made an effort to sneak in all the healthy stuff in his food (almost the same way you trick a toddler to eat veggies) because I have a concern about his Cholesterol (genetic in his family). Ten years later, I can say my effort has finally paid off. He embraces more green than he ever has his entire life. He requests salad for dinner twice a week (either with baked chicken or salmon). Seeing him gobble down a big bowl of homemade salad got my eyes teary (okay I am being totally exaggerated).
My favorite salad at Schlotsky's was Cranberry, Apple, Pecan & Chicken. Oh man I can eat that thing every day.  There is something yummy about the combination of nut, crisp green lettuce and dried cranberry that got me addicted. However, it can get pricey plus sometimes lettuces at the restaurants are not always the freshest. 
Thus I decided to take this matter into my own hands and make homemade salad. Fun, yum, fresher, much healthier and  more hygienic. 
I bought:
1) Whole organic lettuces (those ready to eat kind are not as fresh and crisp). Per my finding, Romaine lettuce is the healthiest kind).
2) Nuts (raw almond/walnut/pecan/sunflower seeds/pumpkin seeds)
3) Dried cranberry (or raisin if you want)
4) Fruits: my husband and I are not big fan of salad dressing. We always eat dry salad (weird I know but at least we don't have to worry about extra calories). In order to make our salad extra flavorful and keep it natural.  I add fruits such as grapes, orange, pear or berries. They are great substitute. 
5) Avocado for creamy texture. Do you know that eating Avocado with your salad help your body absorb vitamins and minerals more efficiently?   6) Quinoa / roasted beetroot / Pita chips
The key to keep healthy salad healthy is not to overdo on nuts/dried cranberry and fruits. One handful of each category is perfect.  It does take extra time and effort to make things from scratch but it really is worth it. We think our salad is an ultimate healthy salad out there and we enjoy it a lot.  

A Balancing Act: Saving VS Spending

Is there such a perfect balance when it comes to saving and spending?   This may sound like a silly question but really do you think you have a good balancing act at this point in life?

Spending is so easy especially this day, age and society where the marketers and retailers become super genius about finding ways to get money out of the consumers' wallets. Everything just looks so tempting although we don't  have the need to buy when we left the house. All of sudden you have a very strong urge as you spot a super cute packaging/product on that attractive display. You feel an Adrenaline rushing through your body and before we know it we come home with stuff we don't truly need. Does that sound too familiar?

On the contrary, saving is not fun. Saving means putting aside money which we can use on fun stuff in an unseen location. It is for the future use, not now but much later in life. Thus that makes the idea of saving not too appealing. Most of us think more about "now" moment and would rather spend money in the present tense.

At times I am wondering "saving is a great and secured financial decision but what if I saved all my life but die prematurely?". That means I don't get to enjoy the hard earned money I have saved up all my life. Circumstances like that do happen in real life to many people.  I am asking this question not because I think saving sucks or screw that 401(k) now.

Sometimes I feel that I stress myself out due to saving because I have yet to be able to find a balance between the two. I am more into saving than spending because I am "too" worried about the future. I rarely splurge on myself since the day I start living the "real" life (when you know there are things called "bills", "car mortgage", "30 year home mortgage" - depressing much?). My husband did a happy dance when i finally bought a Chanel purse and a Dior tote 3 years ago (my last splurge).  He said it was about time to give myself something.

Ever since I started my career in the U.S., I signed up for a 401(k) right away at the age of 25 years old which I am so glad I did. There is no way I could save up on my own or rely on the super low interest rate from the bank to get to where I am now. Every time I log in to check on my retirement saving plan,  I feel a sense of glory like wow cant believe I have that kind of money probably took me a lifetime to save on my own. I totally agree with the concept of "paying(saving) yourself first" every time you get paid. If you wait to see how much money you have left after all the expenses you will never be able to save. It will end up in someone else pocket. It has proven to be so true. My mother has always told me that when I was young.

Saving becomes a real challenge when there is a child in tow. Now with same amount of dual incomes, you also look at splitting the money into more savings: 401(k),  Emergency saving (in case of unexpected employment), child's saving account and Miscellaneous saving (vacation, unexpected bills or home maintenance). My husband said i set up too many savings accounts (haha...but i find it works better that way to have money allocated for different purposes).There are days I feel I just want to blow up my savings and go spend on things but in reality I don't think I will or can. It has taken years (plus sweats and tears) to save up I don't think I want to blow it in a matter of a day or two.

I will continue to save but I will and should take a different approach to lessen that stress in order to enjoy the now moment more. For years I really am struggle to find a balance and one day a reality hit when one of the coworkers passed away from a heart attack. She was in her mid's 40 and didn't have a child. She had a decent saving in her retirement plan that she didn't get to use even a cent but the money went to her siblings (who fought for the money) to enjoy. How sad is that. That really got me thinking and looking at the way I save differently. Life is too unpredictable.   Lesson learned - it is equally important to live and enjoy your life now as much as the future. So hopefully I will be able to balance things out sooner than later.

Do you think you have found your balance between saving and spending yet?