Just Sweet Love

me, lately

LOVING Amy Tangerine's Sketchbook line! Super amazing stuff.

This last layout came from the wise words of Wiz Khalifa. 

Portland: The Food

So it's been almost three weeks since my Portland trip and I am still dreaming about the food. One, wow, three weeks have flown by already?! Two, I'm sorry it's taken me this long to post these pictures. Three, seriously, the food in Portland is outstanding. 

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Before I proceed, I'd like to dedicate this post to one of my favorite bloggers, the one and only Kelly Purkey. Her creativity is out of control and I am so envious of the food + travel adventures she goes on. In the good way. I love her style and wit and if we played for the same team, you bet your buns I'd be all. over. her. 

Food is a major source of happiness for me and up until reading Kelly, I had so much trouble showcasing the foods I've discovered and loved. It's difficult to take food pictures. Throw in trying to make it look as good as it tastes is even more discerning. 

I've drawn so much inspiration from her, especially from her Seattle food post and the one about shooting what you eat. So thank you Kelly for being so awesome and amazing. Please do not freak out if you catch me making googly eyes at you at the end of March. Amy makes me feel the same, exact way.  

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A very big thank to my seester, Janet, for coordinating this trip. Right down to our food itinerary with the time table of when we were eating and all. Serious business. Let's go :

After hopping off the plane, we unloaded our luggage and stepped off to grab lunch. Mother's Bistro & Bar wasn't too far of a trek so we decided to hit the eatery first. Amazing!

Pictured here [above] was my favorite dish we ordered, the Wild Salmon Hash. 

After we polished off our meal, we continued walking ahead to our next destination to Voodoo Doughnut. It was on the way to Chinatown.. Believe me? :) 

I was very happy I tried Voodoo, but I can't say I was in love with them. Anyway, we made it to Chinatown but the weather was starting to turn super gloomy so we headed back to the hotel and unwind. 

We had to make a stop at one more place before dinner so Blueplate was up next. 

 

Their grilled cheese was heaven and paired with their tomato soup made me feel right at home. It was the perfect meal for the rain that came pouring as we got to the hotel.  

For dinner, we took to Yelp and found Piazza Italia. We ordered the Pappardelle with wild boar meat sauce (the best dish of them all!), linguine with claims and spaghetti with pesto and shrimp. The food was authentic and while it was not a hit with my group, I thought it was a hit. We were quite tired and didn't take any photos though :(

The following day, the clan and I woke up bright and early to catch Tasty N Sons. Picture this: the restaurant opened at 9:00am. We arrived at 9:15am. The wait was already at an hour! 

It was however, the most amazing breakfast of my life. Every single dish required no additional condiments or alterations. I am the queen of ketchup and didn't need a thing. 

After breakfast, we took a stroll around Boise, Portland and oohed and ahhed over all the cute shops. We slowly made our way to the Pearl District. Next up was Little Big Burger. 

LBB, can you please open up a SoCal location?! Their burgers are bitesized perfection. Their ketchup has a hint of sriracha - it was the best version of anyone's ketchup I have ever tasted! I miss this burger joint so bad! 

Immediately after LBB, we walked straight into Kenny and Zuke's. We didn't take pictures of our pastrami or corned beef sandwiches. (I thought it was a bit too dry!) 

 Any way, for dinner, we followed a suggestion of dining at Screen Door. I've never had fried okra before. It's slimy. Their crispy fried catfish was off the chain but the winner hands down is definitely their brisket. The meat would literally melt in your mouth. YUM !

On Sunday, we woke up very early (again) and made our way to my second favorite restaurant of the trip:

 
No words can describe my affection for this establishment. I love the comfy cozy feel of this tiny restaurant (there's only two tables and few bar stools!), the fluffy freshness of their biscuits and the fact that the owners are called The Biscuit Boys. S o, so, good ! 

After, we went over to The Waffle Window . I think by this point I was over all the eating, but we still had a few more restaurants we needed to cross off Janet's itinerary. Insane. At WW, we had a little bit of savory.. a little bit of sweet... a whole lot of carbs...  

 
The very last restaurant we hit before going home, was the restaurant of our hotel, Urban Farmer. The decor was amazing! It was so open and creative, kind of like walking into an Anthroplogie. The dishes we ordered were.. alright. I'd say come for the atmosphere, not for the food. 

  So there you have it folks. My taste of Portland. I can't to come back! 

my sister the hero

I am so excited to announce that my sister has a blog! Yes sir, Janet the Star Lor, has joined the blogging community. Her blog covers an array of her favorite topics - fashion, cooking, and fun. For those of you who don't know her, she has a keen eye for style and a natural artistic ability that baffles me. I can spend agonizing hours on a project, and Janet will whip something up in minutes. It's painful. 

She is my fashion guru, my stylist, and my own personal chef. 

Please go see her here. 

My Weekend in Photos

My little brother, sister, and I went on our first sibling vacation this past weekend. To add in the fun, Janet's bf and his little sister came with us and I had the best time! 

10 restaurants in 2.5 days! Amazing. 

Portland was blistering cold, but the food made it oh so worth it! It felt so good hanging out with family and turning off my phone for a few days! I'll be back in the next few days to show you the restaurants and the book :) 

a day in the life

I had a lot of fun with this project. Though, I don't think I'm being honest because some of the events that conspired yesterday aren't part of my daily life. Is that okay? Is it cheating?

For example, I rarely (if ever) go out to eat for lunch. I feel I got lucky because Darlene and I picked this day to have a Plancha date. Or, normally on Wednesday I have a Stretch & Flex class in the late evening. Instead, my sister told me she was making dinner and I opted to attend that instead because it'd be more photo-worthy. I'm such an opportunist! 

It's official. I am no longer a morning person. 

My little vanity nook. 

Or I curl or leave straight?

Hey Columbus, does this work? 

I really don't give a tail about how you look. Please feed me. I'm starving. 

Checking in with mr. boss man. Going to work before work. 

My morning walk for coffee

Mapping out the day

Love affair with the copy machine

My view. If you squint your eyes, you can see the Hollywood sign :) 

Midday snack

Lunch with one of my faves :) 

The best surprise at work ! 

Only the best will do

 

Visiting my sister + eating her amazing cooking

 

1. He never likes to cuddle (but he did last night!) 2. I am so obsessed with him! 

Next up will be scrapbooking the pictures. Thank you for challenging me, Ali Edwards!     You rule. Seriously. 

Reflecting on Twenty.Seven

Tonight is my last night as a 27-year-old. The time just flew by. So many things happened this year, and yet there were still many goals I didn't get to achieve. Looking back at this list, I was not very successful. But I'm not disappointed. I had a great year. I gathered the strength to leave an unhappy situation and went on to live my life exactly the way I wanted to. I laughed often, I cried out loud, I worked hard, I learned to say no. So Twenty.Eight., bring it. I'm ready for you. 

1. Read 10 books 

The Walking Dead: Compendium 1 , Game of Thrones , The Strain , The Fall , Before I Go To Sleep , The Other Wes Moore (I didn't finish this one) , The Hunger Games , Catching Fire , The Passage , Day by Day Armageddon 

2. Bake a layer cake [Never happened] 

3. Knit a blanket or scarf [It's in the works!]

4. Take more pictures 

 
 
 
 

5. Blog more regularly [You can be the judge of that]

6. Cook more [Guilty]

7. Reorganize digital library [Slowly, but surely]

8. Go out and have more fun

 
 
 
9. More Skype dates [Never happened]

10. Be responsible on checking my voicemails [Yuck, on to the next one]

11. Go to the beach [I'm a bad California girl]

12. Cut bangs [yeah, this totally didn't happen]

13. Continue writing love letters to Amy [Amy, I'll try again this year!]

14. HIke one mountain

 
15. Swim, swim, swim! [Didn't happen this year, but definitely happening soon]

16. Learn to let things go  [ :) ] 

17. See an exhibit at LACMA [ :( ] 

18. Try three new restaurants

19. Bake cupcakes from scratch [Meh, next year]

20. Learn to sew [Does sewing on paper count? Yeah.. yes, it does]

21. Get a flip camera

22. Do two spontaneous things

Proud momma to a mischievous little man

I can't shoot targets but I am amazing at shooting zombies

23. Take one Disneyland trip [no disneyland for me this year]

24. Make a mixed CD for each month [Trying again next year]

25. One in-state road trip [Okay, this is kind of cheating but it still counts!]

26. Write one haiku [Meh, over it]

27. Get inked part-two

My Weekend in Photos

This weekend flew by like a blur, I just couldn't keep up. Between packing up my studio for a semi-permanent move, fulfilling orders, tying up loose ends at the shop, and trying to get back the full use of my wrist, it's been a lot of running around. 

Janet and I did find some time to get together and have brunch, which was so nice because I love spending time with her. She took me to this phenomenal place called Europane Cafe in Pasadena, where they're famous for egg salad sandwiches. 

I'm off to take photos of my Dec Daily update for tomorrow! 

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Oh, PS - do I have any Pearl Jam lovers out there? Anyone? Leave a comment below if you are. I have a Pearl Jam present for you. 

To my spider killer

 

Today you turn 23. I'm equally joyous and heartbroken by this momentous occassion. You've grown up to to possess the most amazing qualities - you're generous, patient, and unbelievably funny. Thank you for being the sanity amid my chaos.

You are truly a gift from whoever's in charge. We love you to pieces.

- Your sisters

 

Renegade LA quickie

 
After brunch, Janet and I stopped by Renegade LA to show our support. It was wonderful seeing such a good amount of people shopping, chatting, and having fun despite the cold. 

We bought yummy goods and cute stuff. 

Janet wasn't a fan of the last two pictures so I'm not allowed to show them to you.

JSL 2012 Calendars on sale!

I love organizers and planners about as much as I love clothes. 

I love flipping through the previous months and admiring my penmanship, hearing the rustling of old pages turned, and feeling the inkmark the pen leaves on my written pages. Typing this makes me nostalgic of high school in second period when I would write my daily to-do's every morning right after the student body president said the pledge of allegiance :]

Janet and I are so excited to share with you a project in the undertaking that has finally come to fruition!

Unsatisfied with a planner I purchased last year, my sister and I went into a three-hour long conversation of our ideal calendar. We reminisced over our high school "reminder binders" and gushed over how awesome it would be if "our" calendar could have this feature, or be this size. Thus, we began sketching out a prototype of what we feel is the ultimate planner.

 
I am so happy to say Just Sweet Love's 2012 Calendar/Planner is now available on Etsy.