before school starts!!!!

-dineLA

-OC fair

-hiking? 

-sew costumes

-shabu shabu bar

-gen kbbq

-make macarons? 

-picnic

-fight club movie

-clubbing

-thrifting

-no other shopping

-get internship things done

-beach

-read The Lost Symbol?
-fisheye fun
-LA arts district
-LACMA? 

The Catman Rises

i fucking love and miss mulled wine...

Ingredients

• 4 cups apple cider
• 1 (750-ml) bottle red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 orange, zested and juiced
• 4 whole cloves
• 3 star anise
• 4 oranges, peeled, for garnish

Directions

Combine the cider, wine, honey, cinnamon sticks, zest, juice, cloves and star anise in a large saucepan, bring to a boil and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Pour into mugs, add an orange peel to each and serve.

Ina's Mulled Wine on the Food Network

donations

I tried to clean my room again today and resulted in filling up two more trashbags full of my old clothes, stuffed animals, bags, and miscellaneous items to donate to Goodwill. I'm a pretty sentimental person and parting with anything I have is usually a difficult task for me. I usually like to keep anything that has been given to me by someone or things that remind me of events. Today I was finally able to let go many different stuffed animal gifts from people and memorable clothes, because I realized that although I may still treasure them, there are many others that would appreciate these items more than I would. There is no use for them if they're just compiling dust in my room. So in the trashbag finally went my polar bear bath & body works gift set given to me by my friend Brian during freshman year of hs, my old Looney Tunes sweater given to me by my grandma when i was about 7 years old, my first purse/bag, my 6th grade binder, and many clothing items that dated back to grade school but i wasn't able to give away until today. By now I must have donated at least 8 full trashbags to the Goodwill over the past two years. How is it possible that my closet is still full?? When i went to the Goodwill and donated the bags, i couldn't help but go inside and browse again (yes, shame on me). I actually saw some items that i donated a few days ago on the shelves for sale. That was amusing. I think i arrived at a good time where they had just restocked, because i found wonderful items today! I saw this lovely plum colored coat by the American Girl brand and fell in love with it, because it was so reminiscent of the 40s and that it fit me perfectly (it was a girls size 12). I looked it up online and it's called the Sugarplum wool coat that was made in 2001 and retired in 2002. It was originally $90, and was recently sold on Ebay for $75 in a size 12, which made me wonder if that ebay coat was the exact one i just bought for $5.99? who knows. next, i saw this cocktail dress that looked really nice and had a  1950s style to it. I checked the tag and it said it was made by Chloe and Reese and that it was 100% silk. The dress was about a size too big for me, but i quickly checked on my phone for the brand and apparently it's a pretty expensive brand from NY and is sold at Saks 5th Avenue. Most of the cocktail dresses i saw online by that brand costed $400 and upwards. I decided that I needed to purchase this too, because it was such an awesome find for $5.99. If i didn't like it, then I could try selling it on ebay i guess. Next, I finally found a mirrored vanity tray that i've been looking for. It's rectangular and long in shape. it's not exactly what i pictured in my head of wanting initially, because i wanted something with more of an antique lace trim and this one was quite simple, but for $3.99 for the size and quality of it, it was a steal. all in all, it was a good donation and shopping day. i'll update later with pics of my purchases.

total = $16

photo update

SB Shopping

SLO Farmer's Market

Foreigner Show

wishlist

orange beach cruiser bike with basket, swoonnnn. 

good day

Today was a nice productive day! I went through my room and donated another garbage bag full of old things dating back to at least 10 years (see photo below). The things i used to own are so embarrassing, i don't know why i kept them for so long and how they managed to survive my previous donation haul. old fisherman hats, beanies and visors that say "Asian Gear," those 90's belts. i also donated a bunch of old stuffed animals, a keyboard that i found, old costume jewelry, never used lotion bottles, figurines, plaques, and sunglasses among other things. 

I went to drop off the bag at the Goodwill donation center and couldn't help myself from browsing through the Goodwill for myself. I felt that i deserved a little thrifting after cleaning my room! went to the shoe section first and got two pairs of black heels for $1.99 each. they're both great. the pair on the left are super comfty hush puppies shoes. i love the ones on the right, because of the cute strap design, but these feel slightly tight on me. I also finally found a denim skirt for $3.49 that i liked enough to use for my ombre project. I love the button down detail and the ombre came out great!!! so happy. all in all, a good day of donating and thrifting. 

total = $7.50

The XX - Stars (Jonas Woehl Edit)

The XX - Stars (Jonas Woehl Edit)

feelin this

top 5 reasons for my addiction to thrifting

1. for therapy - it's relaxing, calming, and "shopping is cheaper than a psychiatrist." it feels good. i can spend hours at one thrift store just exploring and slowly enjoy my time there.

2. for savings - i'm pretty frugal and shopping is expensive. i derive the same satisfaction from shopping at flea markets, vintage, and thrift stores as department stores, so why not?

3. for variety - i'm picky as hell and thrifts stores are so amazing because i can usually find at least one thing that i like as opposed to not seeing anything appealing to me at most retail stores.

4. for fashion and inspiration - i feel that my sense of style is very particular and i enjoy finding unique items that suit me. i like finding items that i can alter or make into something that is my own. i also like finding vintage designer bags that are no longer sold in stores.

5. for treasure - i'm a hoarder and i love thrifting especially because i can find great treasures and deals, like an antique skeleton key hanger, vintage ninja turtles figures, or a beautiful old jewelry box.


thrifting regrets -- i wish that my love for thrifting began earlier when i was still in tokyo. thrifting in tokyo sounds so amazing. i went to one thrift store while i was there but didn't actively look for anything. shame..

productive day?

today was pretty normal except I actually accomplished more things today than I have during the past 2-3 weeks combined.. i think. although everything i did today was pretty ordinary, it felt kind of productive. i went to the bank to deposit money, finally got a car wash and considering trying to wash my car again on my own tomorrow cause i still see small spots of bird poop residue, mailed out randy's postcard, and went thrifting again. i got a blue sleeve collared blouse, a white sleeve collared blouse, and a black turtleneck dress all for under $5. at the thrift store, an old lady tapped me on the shoulder and began talking to me. i was wearing this long floor length black skirt that i knotted on the bottom, because it was too long and she noticed that i guess. old lady said in her old lady voice, "oh deary, if i was your neighbor i would sew that up for you! it's really easy. i just don't want you to trip. all you do is just cut the bottom and stitch up the hem up and down like this *showing me with her hands* and then it'll be better. maybe one day you'll even make your own clothes!" i smiled politely and thanked her for her thoughtfulness. she was a really sweet old lady, and i definitely enjoyed the small conversation about sewing with her. little did she know, i actually just liked my skirt that long and knotted cause of the way it looks lol. and when she said that maybe i'll make my own clothes one day, it made me smile because i already have and her words meant well. random encounters with the elderly are always great. Earlier in the day I sort of impulsively bought Black Keys + Tegan & Sara tickets at the Honda Center for October, which costed $102 for two tickets. dunno who i'm going with yet tho, but not concerned. i sort of just wanted the tickets as a bday gift to myself cause it's in october and i'm pretty sure i'll be having midterms during that time too. should be a good stress reliever. i usually like to set up plans for myself in advance, so i can have something to look forward to. on that note, i might be going to my friend's bday weekend in vegas the weekend right before the concert (the concert is a monday), and i'm already stressed out about whether i'd be able to handle both a vegas weekend + concert during the possible midterms week. i can only hope that i finish my papers a week early if that's the case, because i really want to go to vegas since i haven't been in a while. anyway, i did my laundry and have mostly upacked from my Mexico trip, but I still have a lot of things in my suitcase cause i'm going to go back to the OC soon anyway. school is approaching, i'm excited for the new internship, but i'm dreading the coursework. i always complain about writing papers and i'm sure this year will be no exception. i finally sat down tonight and cleaned out some memory space on my laptop. it was down to 16gigs of free space this morning and now there's 46gigs free! yayyy. that took forever though to transfer and delete about 30gigs. quite satisfied with that amount of space, because my laptop feels fantastic now. or maybe it running faster is just in my head, who knows.   i also cleaned up my computer desktop and changed the rest of my folder icons to tamagotchis. laptop makeover, complete. -Tine xx

home inspirations

I love this vanity area and will incorporate it into my future bedroom

reused tin Twinings Tea boxes

photo wall

antique/vintage collection corner

dream dress up closet

sewing and craft room

comfy area

wall decor

orange sherbet room with some kind of hand painted wall decal

why does it have to taunt me..

Marc by Marc Jacobs Classic Q Natasha Bag - $368

why does this bag have to taunt ME??? :( I've wanted a Marc Jacobs bag for so long and initially wanted a black Ukita bag, but this one seems so much more appealing now... I really wish i would have bought this instead of the Rebecca Minkoff bag that i bought on impulse and now regret buying.. I really hope someone buys it soon... :( seems unlikely though. 

animal print

thrifted this animal print top in a size Large today for .70 cents. Can't wait to alter it to my size by cutting off the sleeves and sides, then turning it into a collared sleeveless top. it's a cute print, looks like it was suppose to be pajamas or something. 

I really love thrifting now.. i think it's my new favorite hobby. it definitely relieves my itch to shop all the time and i don't get buyer's remorse because everything is so inexpensive. win-win!