white tee + flared jeans.

easy like sunday morning...

and these were taken on sunday morning. this precise ensemble is my absolute favorite go-to outfit. here in hawaii, i can always count on a cute tee + flared jeans + fun accessories to keep me presentable but not overdone. i'm wearing a fabulous tee and necklace from my friends over at sisters marie with an oldie-but-goodie pair of jeans. and i had to throw in some leopard with this cute clutch from love & sunshine.

this long weekend was filled with just about everything...running, hiking, cleaning, eating. a few pics from yesterday's hike below.

what outfit do you feel most confident in?

anything exciting happen this weekend?

lush sunlit greens.

bamboo.

manoa falls hike. it's uphill most of the way, but overall an easy and kid-friendly hike that's a little under 2 miles. go early or else you won't have a chance to take selfies photograph the falls without people in the background.

post-hike grinds from liliha bakery. known for their fluorescent red jelly...who knows what it is, but it's yummy on their toasted butter rolls.

(necklace & old navy tee (gifted); express denim;

jessica simpson shoes; love & sunshine clutch)

leather-sleeved utility jacket.

this jacket is another score from the buy one, get two free promo i mentioned in my last post. these two jackets (this one and the varsity jacket) weren't on my radar, but i did love this striped sweater. so when i heard that i could get two items free, i didn't hesitate grabbing these two jackets. it was an ideal situation because i'm usually hesitant to spend money on cold-weather items. now i have these options in my wardrobe, and i didn't have to spend a dime on them. so what if i live in hawaii...these jackets will have their day(s).

i had an extra tub of greek yogurt on hand, so i made some yogurt pops...in a cake pop pan. this super simple recipe only calls for 1 cup each of blueberry yogurt and blueberries. i only had plain yogurt on hand, so i added honey to sweeten it. the minis loved them, and i have been loving them after my treadmill runs.

here's my modified recipe:

1 cup plain greek yogurt (i used fage)

1/4 cup honey (or agave)

1/2 cup blueberries

1/2 cup strawberries

blend everything (or just mash fruits and stir into yogurt)

and freeze at least 2-3 hours. add your popsicle sticks

after they harden a bit.

(jacket via pacsun; denim c/o JustFab; vans shoes;

Patty's Closet tee; necklace via ShopLately)

a few to try:

*     *     *

need to update your wardrobe for spring?

enter to win a $500 Amazon gift card

hooded jacket + brussel sprout salad.

say you buy a jacket because it's better than or slightly different from the previous one(s) you purchased...but you continue to wear the previous one(s). is that still considered a quest to find the right jacket? or is it a jacket obsession? i originally wanted a green military/surplus parka and bought this one, but it wasn't olive green. so i got this one, but it's way too hot. then i found this one, but it's more like a shirt. well, this one came along...love, but it's camo. finally, i stumbled upon this one. it's green, hooded, lightweight, and has a drawstring waist. perfection? or perfect till the next one comes along?

i finally had a chance to make a brussel sprout salad since seeing recipes floating around the blogosphere. after a random google search for recipes, i took bits from a couple different ones depending on what i had in the kitchen, and whatever methods would be the easiest. scroll down for my recipe.

Brussel Sprout Salad

20-25 brussel sprouts

1/2 medium red onion

1/3 c grated parmesan (or pecorino romano)

chopped roasted almonds (or toasted walnuts)

dressing:

4 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp dijon mustard

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1/4 tsp each salt and pepper

remove any bad leaves, cut off the ends, and soak in water.

for the dressing:

simply add all ingredients to a jar, cover, and...

thinly slice red onion and soak in water for 15 minutes.

slice brussels by hand (or mandolin slicer), chop almonds.

toss everything together and serve.

i forgot to take a good picture of the salad,
but here's one from my phone.
 i really enjoyed this salad. you could add cranberries for a little sweetness...add anything you want, for that matter. i'm thinking kale would make the ultimate "green" salad.

(mossimo jacket; nine west heels; juicy couture bag)

try these:

bit of a bad ass.

you know when you wear leopard and a black choker with a cross you're bound to feel like a bit of a bad ass. i won this necklace a while back from a giveaway hosted by andrea of

always say grace. congratulations will be in order as

she will be having a baby real soon.

i'm not joking when i say that all of my [good] watches have stopped working within the last couple of weeks. i kind of go thru phases with my watches. this white one was my favorite for a long time. then i wore my gold walmart one that mini-she bought for me one christmas with her own money. ok, that one was more sentimental. so now i'm thinking of getting a

black watch or maybe another gold one.

do you rely on a watch? what kind are you rocking now?

a picturesque day at the beach this past weekend.

with a great spread, of course.

(tee, metropark; skirt, DIY; shoes, nine west; clutch, f21)

too cool for school.

it doesn't matter how cool you are...

you're not as cool as their friends.

as we gathered in front of the water park entrance for mini-she's field trip, six of her friends wanted to be in my group because i was "the coolest mom".

i was the parent to be with.

we talked about all the rides we would ride and

how much fun we would have together.

we headed to our designated home base area, put our bags down, and i hear the teacher say to the kids, "you may go in groups of four without a chaperone."

the kids ran off so fast...before i even had a chance to say, "wait for me!"

so there i stood. alone.

these pants go against the grain of my usual

flares and floor dragging lengths.

and, to be honest, i felt uncomfortably short and wide in them.

i tried to "fix" them by throwing on a basic white tee and super high heels. can't say i'll be wearing these again,

but at least i tried them.

(pants & satchel, urban outfitters; tee, miley cyrus x max azria; shoes, victoria's secret)

some of you have been asking for feedback on

the e.l.f. products i recently purchased.

i finally had a chance to try out

this e.l.f. waterproof eyeliner pen.

eyeliner is key for my single asian eyelids.

while i've never had any luck with liquid liners before,

i was pleasantly surprised with this one.

the tip was slightly dry (possibly because it was the first use), making the application really easy and mess-free. the best part about it, compared to my usual pencil liners, is that it looks just as fabulous now, at 5pm, as it did at 7am this morning when i first applied it. no touch-ups needed.

and for one dollar, i'm sold.

e.l.f. waterproof eyeliner pen in black, #7303