Dinner Date

It's a simple fact, everyone looks gorgeous in cobalt blue! It truly compliments any skin tone, body type, hair or eye color. So for this birthday outfit, I paired a cobalt blue, sleeveless, draped dress with nude spiky pumps and clutch along with black studs and pendant. I decided to match the nails with the dress and simple bronze eye makeup and curly flowy hair. This would be great for a night time birthday party or intimate dinner with the husband. What do you think of this outfit?

~Hong

Dinner Date by starrysky222 featuring nude clutches

Just Female blue dress
$84 - welikefashion.com

Sam Edelman nude pumps
my-wardrobe.com

Miss Selfridge nude clutch
missselfridge.com

Jayce Wong black pendant necklace
$425 - wolfandbadger.com

Chúc Mừng Năm Mới

Chúc Mừng Năm Mới - Happy New Year! When I was little, I remember being so excited for Tet or New Year's Day. We would spend weeks preparing for this day, prepping food, cleaning the house, and visiting our elders. It is a tradition that we keep even up to this day. So today I spent with my parents, enjoying good food and my family. Here are a few pictures:

Good luck tree with gifts of wine, tea, cookies, fruits, and rice cakes

Closer look of the gifts

Beautiful blossoming flowers

The flowers bloomed right in time for Tet!

Cherry blossom....Yes, this one is fake

This year, 2013, is the year of the snake. Those born in the year of the snake are said to be keen, cunning, intelligent as well as wise. They are known to be great mediators and good with business. So good luck to everyone in the year of the snake. Hope your family is blessed with good health, wealth along with everything you could hope for and so much more!

~Hong

Black Lace

Lace adds such a sense of elegance to an outfit, especially when it's used as simple focal points like with this gorgeous black dress. The sleek knee length and mini one-sided slit gives it a feel of sophistication, but the deep revealing lace neckline paired with these lace heels give the outfit a hint of sexiness. I love these hematite drop earrings surrounded with grey diamonds and this slim clutch. Then black sparkly nail polish and a wavy updo and this is a gorgeous, birthday dinner outfit!

~Hong

Petite Apple Pie Patries

I truly do believe the best things come in small packages! Not just because I am petite myself, I am not even 5 feet tall, but when I'm cooking it creates perfect little portions that help me to not overindulge. It does take a little more than time, but it's worth it! Today, I have a petite apple pie pastries that is very easy to make and fairly quick to whip up. My favorite part of this recipe is the crispy, flaky crust. It is to die for!

So let's begin.

Flour, salt, apple cider vinegar, and milk.
Formed into a ball, covered with saran wrap and refrigerate.

Fuji apples peeled, cored, cut into 1/2 inch rings.

Place one slice of apple in the middle of a 6 inch circle dough. Sprinkle with dark brown sugar mix. Crimp edges over apple, note that you actually wan to cover more of the apple than shown above.
Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with granulated sugar.

Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes or till apple is tender and crust is golden brown.

Ingredients:

    Pie Crust

• 2 cups of flour 
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup butter, cubed
• 1 Tbsp apple cidar vinegar
• 1 cup of milk
• 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

    Pie Filling

• 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp flour
• 3 tsp cinnamon (depends on your taste)
• 5 Tbsp butter, divided
• 2 Fuji apples, cored, peeled, cut into 1/2 inch thick rings
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

Directions:

• In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in butter until flour is crumbly, then sprinkle with apple cider vinegar. Gradually add milk and fold with a fork until dough forms a ball. Cover with saran wrap and refrigerate for about 30-40 minutes. 
• Remove from refrigerate and allow dough to sit at room temperature for an additional 10-15 minutes. I find this helps with making the dough easier to handle.
• In another bowl, combine dark brown sugar, flour and cinnamon, Cut in 2 Tbsp butter till crumbly.
• In another small bowl, melt the remaining 3 Tbsp of butter.
• Once dough is ready, shape into 6-inch circles and brush with melted butter. Place an apple ring in the center and sprinkle about 1 Tbsp of brown sugar/flour/cinnamon mixture over apple. Fold and crimp edges of dough over apple rings, avoid covering the center. Brush with melting butter again and lightly sprinkle with granulated sugar.
• Bake at 375 degrees on a parchment lined baking sheet for 30-35 minutes or until apples are tender and the crust is golden. Yields: 10 petite pastries.

I like to serve my petite pastries warm with vanilla ice cream. They toast up nice and crispy for several days afterwards! Hope you guys give this a try and let me know how they turn out! Enjoy!

~Hong

Casual Birthday Outfit

February is my birthday month! Yes, you read that right. The WHOLE month is my birthday, just ask my husband. So my outfit themes this month will be based around different birthday outfits. This first one includes a beige shirt inspired dress that is casual but a little more fancy with the crossover drape, ruche shoulder sleeves and collar. I paired this outfit with a dark knee high boots and handbag. Keeping the accessories simple I love this multi-cut thick cuff, spiky gold necklace and bronze nail polish. To add a little color these green tourmaline double drop earrings were perfect. Then a slight wave to a short bob to complete the outfit! Casual, comfy birthday ensemble!

~Hong

Ready for Spring Outfit

Alright, I must admit that I am ready for spring! When I think of spring, I think of bright, fun colors and easy, breezy outfits. I reach for clothes that are comfortable to lounge around with a sophisticated twist. So my colorful, eye catching piece are these hot pink pants. They just scream spring! To compliment the bright pants, I surrounded them with neutral items to keep the outfit from being too overwhelming. A drapey, cream dress shirt paired with casual jewelry like these gold hoop earrings, crystal studded bangles, and heart pendant chain necklace keeps the outfit simple. Then I added nude flats, a camel stained cross body bag, and relaxed wavy curls to complete the look. Spring, here I come!

~Hong

Lunch Date Outfit

A reoccurring theme: blue jeans! The outfits in my last several posts have all included a good old pair of jeans. I promise, the next post I will change it up a bit. Anyways, I paired these jeans with a bow tank and trench coat. I LOVE trench coats by the way: simple yet classy! Then, pastel pink flats, leather clutch, diamond dropped earrings, and an antique gold brushed rope bracelet. To complete the outfit, neutral tone sunglasses. I envision myself wearing this for a lunch date, casual dinner or casual Fridays at work.  It’s a put together ensemble without sacrificing comfort. Hope this gives you guys some gorgeous outfit ideas!

~Hong