Taiwan Day 3!

Sorry for the delay in my posts; there's no internet connection readily available at my grandmother's house! I have to walk a couple of houses to my uncle's house to upload videos and pictures, and then it takes forever for everything to process! But here I am with day three of our Taiwan tour! On this day, we mainly visited the Hakka town in Taiwan, where they specialized in home goods such as pottery, bath soaps, and even homemade wooden massagers! There were also BEAUTIFUL intricate wood carvings and sculptures on sale, which I'm sure were worth a ton because they take to long to complete and every little minute detail is paid great attention to. Below are the video and the pictures I took on that day, remember to watch in HD! Enjoy :)

Day 2 in Taiwan!

Hey everyone! I'm currently in Malaysia YAY! I was finally able to upload a few of my videos on youtube, even though it took an eternity to process because of the internet connection here in Malaysia. I already have some vlogs in Malaysia in queue ready to upload and share with you all here, but first I must finish uploading day 3 and 4 in Taiwan! My trip was amazing, the last day even more so, since I was able to purchase a couple more pairs of shoes and goodies! Enough talking, check out the video and the pictures below of beautiful sights and food you will only find in Taiwan!! Watch it in HD to truly enjoy all the sights, especially Sun Moon Lake!

Day 1 in Taiwan!

I'd successfully uploaded and edited day 1's footage in Taiwan, saved it, then opened it up later only to find that all the files in the video were corrupted!! It's my fault actually, because I uploaded the files to Windows Movie Maker straight from the memory card and deleted them right after they were uploaded, which caused the broken links :( All the videos were lost from day 1, but fortunately I still have the pictures! The lost videos showed the streets of Taiwan more in depth, and I'm so upset I can't share it with you here :( We did all kinds of things, from visiting the museum of Chiang Kai-Shek to experiencing the night life on the bustling
streets of Taiwan!

Taipei 101, ranked second tallest in the world, with Dubai's Burj Khalifa taking the title for #1

Salt and Pepper Porkchops - FIRST MEAL IN TAIWAN!!

After enduring 16 or so hours on a plane plus a connecting flight, we'd finally arrived in Taiwan! It was almost dinner time, and as much as my mom and I would have loved to walk around and shop for some clothes, we were all JUST TOO TIRED and exhausted from our flight to wander that far haha. We had a bit of trouble deciding what to eat, considering how we wanted to have a real, authentic taste of Taiwan for our first meal! We finally decided on this local noodle shop, which was known for their amazing porkchops that went fantastic with their homemade noodles.

Salt and pepper Pork chops with pickles on top.

The perfect combo to end the long day of spending 16 hours in a plane!!

I wish we walked around more to see more of the night life, but our tour of Taiwan will start tomorrow morning, and I plan to take many, many more pictures :) Check back here for more updates!!

V

Goodbye NY!

Ah, the day has come at last. In two hours I will be boarding our plane to Taiwan, and our adventure begins from there! The only thing I'm not looking forward to is the grueling 18 hour flight itself, as I tend to get motion sickness quite easily :( My plan is to just sleep through the whole ride, and then wake up to arrive in Taiwan! From there, I will try my best to capture every special moment to share with you all on this blog :) I can't wait to experience all the great sights and food!!!! I have an idea of a photo and vlog diary in mind; stay tuned for amazing adventure in Taiwan and Malaysia!!

To everyone living in the states--hope you all had a fabulous 4th of July!

One of the most beautiful islands on the archipelago of Langkawi, in Malaysia!  I'm really hoping we'll have a chance to go there, I remember visiting Langkawi when I was younger and seeing serene oceans and crystal clear blue waters!

V

Home style Latin food yummmm!!

Anyone who has been to Cafe Habana knows just how their renowned Mexican style grilled corn makes you salivate just thinking about it!! They only have two locations, one on Prince St and Elizabeth St in Manhattan, NY and another one in Brooklyn. I've only gone to their Manhattan location because it's just so convenient when you're shopping in SoHo around the area! Today, I decided to take my friend Annie to this little gem so that she could have a taste of the amazing grilled corn for herself! The lines are never really that bad, and even if they are bustling with customers this little cafe has a really great and fast turnover rate! We both ordered an ear of grilled corn each, and we split their also-famous Cuban Sandwich, which drips with the juices from the fresh pulled pork :) Prepare for a whole ton of salivating and lip licking :

The oh-so-famous Mexican grilled corn. Grilled to perfection with a side of some lime wedges. Then they slather on some good ol' mayo with some cheese, cumin and chili powder, and you have your own mouth-watering side dish :)

Where are my pianists out there?!?!

So, I mentioned somewhere in my earlier posts that I'm very passionate about being a pianist! Granted, I haven't been taking lessons and taking a professional's tips and advice for quite a while, but I believe that if you have it in you and if you practice for a considerable amount of time, anyone is capable of playing a song of any caliber, no matter how intricate the piece! Some finger dexterity practicing is needed too though, of course :)

I find that playing music takes me away to a place where nothing else matters and it is just me, the melody, and the notes harmoniously flowing together. I've recently started playing some classical music again, Chopin, to be exact. For those of you who aren't familiar with the composer, he was greatly known for composing beautiful waltzes and nocturnes, and was dubbed as "the poet of the piano". Understandably enough, I had no interest in classical music when taking lessons as a child, and I would've much rather skipped practicing all together! Somehow classical music found its way back to me, and I really don't remember how, but I spontaneously decided to flip open one of my old Chopin books. I'm currently working to perfect Valse Op. 64 No.1, also known as the Minute Waltz! Here's a beautiful interpretation from Youtube that I particularly enjoyed listening to:

Close your eyes while listening, now can you imagine an image of a puppy happily chasing around his own tail? Apparently Chopin had been watching just that, and it lead him to compose this beautiful piece!
So if you are interested at all in listening/watching my interpretation of the Valse, stay tuned VERY SOON, and I will be more than happy to share my version :) I'm currently trying to the best of my ability to perfect this waltz haha.

P.S. I would like to share with you all, my OOTD!

I didn't want to pass up the perfect opportunity to check out some sights on top of my roof, so I took a little trip there after work today :) Enjoy!

xoxo,

Valerie

Just another lazy Monday!

So this is what I threw on today to run some errands with my mommy. The Vienti bucket bag is actually my mom's from waaay back when she first came to the US! I scored the bag when she was cleaning out her closet and till this day it's still one of my favorites :)

Here're some closeups of the bag!

AHHH only about a week till I'm off to Taiwan and Malaysia! I can't wait to blog about the great sights and food there and possibly get a couple pairs of cute shoes and some clothes :)  Until next time!

xoxo,

Valerie

First Purchase from Jewel Mint YAY!!

So I made decided to make a purchase a few days ago from a site known as Jewelmint.com, and my mommy's birthday was coming up, so I thought, why not try out Jewelmint since the Forever Yours bracelet caught my eye! I had to discretely make sure my mom liked the bracelet, so I showed her all types of pieces on the site, finally landing on the Forever Yours bracelet, and it was a winner! I made the purchase, and it came in the mail only three days later even though Jewelmint had estimated for it to take about a week. I highly recommend Jewelmint to add to your collection of jewelry because of the amazing service and their service. Girls, you can purchase from Jewelmint by clicking right here. And for guys, I think Jewelmint is the perfect place to purchase something special for that special girl in your life since their jewelry really is one of a kind! WELCOME50 is the promo code for 50% off of your first purchase!! You won't be disappointed, I promise you :) You can see the bracelet up close in my video below; bear with me, it's my first review video I'd ever recorded haha. Enjoy!

CHECK OUT JEWELMINT!!

xoxo, 

 Valerie

WHO'S UP FOR SOME SHAKE SHACK?!

I know you guys love burgers, and cold shakes, AND YUKON GOLD FRIES!!! Which is why I'm sharing this link with you all!! Scoop St. is offering 50% off of specific items at Shake Shack, and I thought the deal was pretty hard to resist. What's better than spending an afternoon or an early evening devouring the fries and burgers at Shake Shack?! Especially the one located at Madison Square Park where you can enjoy the outdoors! Use the link below and enter your email for a chance to get 50% off of your favorite burger at Shake Shack!

50% off Shake Shack deal!!!

MMMM YUM!

A Taste of my Baking & A Look at Some Nail Art

I was sorting through my picture albums on my computer today, and found some that I thought I might share with you all! Here's a look at what I sometimes like to do during my free time, when I feel particularly inspired by the Food Network or some trendy nail art!

I'd made this for my honey Mikey a while ago when I was visiting him at school. It's a cheesecake with mascarpone cheese, almond graham crust, and some nutella drizzling on top. I simply just mashed together equal parts of graham crackers with some crushed bits of roasted almonds and then mixed it together with some butter to create the crust. Then I added some mascarpone to the cheesecake mixture to give it a creamier texture, and then into the oven it went! Finally I piped some Nutella on top because I felt that it would blend well with the nuttiness of the almond crust. I think i received some positive feedback from Mikey haha.

I'd wanted to recreate these adorable little cookie monster cupcakes after seeing them in a blog! I was also making some money on the side by selling candy during the day at school, so I decided, why not change it up by selling some baked goods!
For these little munchkins I used a devil's food prepared cake mix (I was lazy) and baked it as per usual. I then cut a small opening on the lower third of the cupcake for the chocolate chip cookies, and piped some homemade blue vanilla frosting with a star tip to create the "fuzziness". Then I glued some bittersweet chocolate morsels with frosting on some mini marshmallows to create the googly eyes. Stick the cookie in the mouth, and voila you have your own adorable, irresistible cookie monster cupcakes!!

Allusion to University at Albany's school colors? ... Maybe

When I was thinking of a name for this look, I couldn't help but notice the purple and gold in it, and so that lead me to the name, 'Purple and gold', and maybe I'm also purposely hinting at my school's colors haha.

This might just be the only time I'm representing my school by wearing its colors! We have what's called Spirit Fridays where one would wear a specific purple and "gold" designated shirt every Friday. What they consider as "gold" is actually this marigold yellow printed on top of a purple shirt, which I don't particularly find appealing.

But anyway, hope you've all had a nice weekend :)

xoxo,

Valerie

Who loves "How I Met Your Mother"?

OOTD: Casual Work Day :)

So today was just another normal day at work--updating our client list and such, and I just thought that I would share today's outfit with you all!

Nothing too special, though I wish I could've had the chance to enjoy the weather outside! Well I'll have plenty of time to do that this weekend when I visit my boo bear in Albany for a few days :) Finally, a weekend to just relax and do nothing at all, except maybe catching some How I Met Your Mother episodes here and there, which I'm growing especially fond of. I LOVE Neil Patrick Harris and the hi(WAIT FOR IT)larious character that he is!!

And I also think the "Bro Code" at the end of every episode is very clever and amusing. My favorite episode so far, I'd have to say, would be the one where Marshall and Barney pretends to be the girl that Ted is into because Ted is not following the "three day rule", where basically, a guy doesn't call a girl until after a date until three days later. So Marshall and Barney starts to have some fun with Ted, and they exchange sexy hot texts with each other, and it ends with a hilarious ending! This episode takes the cake right now, but if any of you watch How I Met Your Mother, and know of any other great episodes, please do let me know so that I can watch them!!!

Until next time,

xoxo,

Valerie

OOTD: Silk and Suede

Hello everyone! So I really really wanted to stick with my summer goals and live up to its potential, and what better way to do that than to FINALLY post my first Lookbook look?! After earnestly trying to take some full body pictures and some closeups of my bag and shoes, I've succeeded in producing a mini collage of my outfit of the day!

This is the first of many looks to come :) Enjoy!

P.S. I have no idea what to get my dad for Father's Day yet!! What gifts do you all have in mind?

Goals for the Summer

Another year has come and gone, and as I have sat in my room equipped with double window fans (instead of an air conditioning system because my dad believes in saving money for our summer trip), I felt the need to reflect upon myself and what I have done so far ever since I had come home from school. After much scrutiny, I've come to the conclusion that I haven't used the past few weeks to my best advantage. Besides playing OMGPOP during the wee hours of the morning and being molded into a sand-pregnant mermaid (see below) with biceps comparable to Jacob Black's, there really hasn't been much that I'm glad to say I've accomplished.

A few people stopped to take pictures because my friends did such a great job haha.

Though I'm taking a trip to Taiwan and Malaysia for a little over a month, boredom likes to creep up on me if I'm staying home for an entire day (which is expected in Malaysia, especially without the vast , which has brought me to make a list of goals and aspirations to complete for the summer:

• Successfully round up everyone to go paintballing. This has always interested me, I've never gone paintballing and I like to believe that my pain tolerance is pretty high. We'll see if I'm right about that pretty soon. If you know of any good places near or around the NY area, let me know! That would be great, thanks :)
• Video blog in Taiwan and Malaysia. I plan to vlog about the different foods and places that I visit during my little getaway. If all goes well I will post them on this blog for you all to enjoy!
• Try new foods and cuisines. I always need something new and interesting to keep my palette entertained hehe.
• Learn how to cook more of Mom's dishes. I want to be able to pass down my mom's recipes to my future generations, and what's a better time to learn from the best than in the summer?
• Post some looks on Lookbook. The warm weather has been giving me some fashion inspirations lately! I've been meaning to do this for quite some time now, but again, I need to purchase a new charger for my camera for that to be possible.
• Stop neglecting my camera and actually do some shoots already. Okay I have to admit, though the lost charger situation is a setback, I haven't been feeling artsy for some time now. Hopefully this summer will get me out of that rut!
• SAVE MONEY. Isn't this everyone's aspiration? Somehow the money I earn will always find its way out of my wallet whether it be for purchases of little trinkets, clothes, or just miscellaneous items that I feel the need to buy at the moment. What are your best money saving techniques?

Feel free to share YOUR summer goals, whatever they might be :)

xoxo,

Valerie

Greetings! :)

Hello my dear friends and new potential readers :) I have had the thought of blogging in my mind for a while now, but when my Tumblr account didn't quite inspire and encourage my writing, I turned to Blogger for some help. And I'm happy to say my Blogger is now officially underway! :D

First, let me start off my introducing myself to you so you can get to know me a little bit better. Some of you may have known me for years, while others may have happened to come across my blog today. I invite everyone to come together and to revel in reading blogs for what ever reason there might be. I believe that in the age of technology, one can reveal so much of themselves to another, so why not pass on some of that insight that I have of our world to you guys? Everyone sees and understands the world so much differently than the next person, but I think we can all agree on one thing, carpe diem. I live my life to the fullest, and I would like to share with you on my blog, the most quintessential of my being, somewhere in brooklyn.


My blog name was inspired by Bruno Mars' song, Somewhere in Brooklyn, if you hadn't caught on already :) I'll share the video link below:

A little about myself:
- I was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, which explains my choice of a blog name
- My favorite color is burgundy
- I enjoy photography on my spare time, but I misplaced my charger to my SLR while I was moving back in (I just like to believe my charger is hiding from me very well), so though I would LOVE to share some new pictures, that would have to wait until I purchase a new charger
- I love music, and playing the piano puts me into a place where I'm one with my music. I've been playing ever since I was 5 years old, and though I've struggled with my love/hate relationship with the piano when I was younger, I've learned to embrace the beauty of music throughout the years only after I was forced to quit my lessons due to my lack of practicing. Ironic, isn't it?
- I will walk the world endlessly fighting monsters along the way in search of chocolate if all the world's supply was chocolate was depleted. I just love chocolate THAT much.
- If I'd lost my sense of smell and taste, I think I would just be the most distressed and miserable girl in the entire world. I love food, and I don't mean just scarfing down food. I love indulging and engaging my senses in what I'm eating...especially chocolate.
- I love spicy food and tea, specifically chai tea, but that could just be the Malaysian in me talking.
- Experiencing the way different ethnic cultures around the world live is so enlightening, and by traveling, one is able to have a glimpse into just how people live their daily lives on the other side of the globe. For that, I truly thank my parents for taking our family across the globe every summer to broaden our horizons.
- Fashion is my passion, and sometimes it's hard for my wallet to keep up with my spending with all those ideas of what I want in my wardrobe!

That is all I will leave you all with! I hope I have interested you with my first blog post. Please forgive me if it is not up to par with what you are used to, after all I'm still a newbie :)

I urge you to try a cup of chai tea if you haven't already. I promise it's amazing :)

xoxo,

Valerie

TESTING

We received our keys to the city together!!

"Verum est ens" -- Thomas Aquinas & Aristotle