What I Wore: Wedding #1

I went to my first wedding of the season over the Long Weekend. Finally, a chance to wear this amazing dress that I bought 2 years ago at the Waikele Outlets in Hawai'i.

It was hot on Saturday, but the evening cooled off enough so I wasn't sweating (except for ripping up the dance floor).

Dress: BCBG, Shoes: Guess by Marciano

My lovely boyfriend was kind enough to take this photo of me, even after I poked fun at him last week. What a guy.

And for those who remember, yes, this is the impossible to find shoes for dress - it's the lightest grey possible and lemongrass.

1 down, 2 to go - which means more outfit posts for you guys!

And let's be Facebook friends!

Formspring

I'm now on Formspring. Ask me anything!

http://www.formspring.me/hausofhybrid

Patty's Eggnest - Lynnwood, WA

A few weeks ago my boyfriend and I went to Seattle to catch the Mariners/Yankees series. To avoid lines at the border, we went really early and stopped for breakfast before the malls opened.

My parents recommended a place that they had been to with my Aunt, Patty's Eggnest. I had wanted to go to the place with the 12-egg omelette, and thought that it was Patty's. It's not, that place is Beth's Cafe, and I'll be heading there on my next trip.

Reading about Patty's on Yelp got me really excited. Everything sounded so good - but one item in particular caught my eye.

My boyfriend had this - I forget exactly what it is, but the omelette had artichokes, spinach, and other healthy things. It was served with chorizo. Definitely good.


I had what can only be described as the best idea ever. Nutter Butter French Toast. I love peanut butter - so, so much. If something has peanut butter it is instantly better and I'm definitely getting it. I had no idea how they were going to pull this off, so I was definitely intrigued.

2 pieces of DEEP FRIED French toast, topped with Devonshire cream and bananas, served with bacon.

Yes, you read correctly. Deep Fried. But where was the peanut butter? (For those more interested in the bacon, it was THICK-cut. Maybe the thickest bacon I've eaten.)

The peanut butter was hiding inside the french toast. Essentially, it was a peanut butter sandwich, deep fried, french toast style.

I felt both amazing and disgusting as I was eating it. It was such a huge portion of fatty food that I couldn't finish it.

Overall, it was good and I'd get it again. I just with it had more peanut butter in the middle. With peanut butter, I think more is better.


Patty's Eggnest
402 164th St SW
Lynnwood, WA

Outfit Posts

I've been asked more than a few times about why I don't do outfit posts.

One of the reasons is because I don't have a photographer.
Once, I asked my boyfriend to take pictures of me, but they weren't right.

However, at the request of Nicole & Ace, I'm posting one of those photos, just to illustrate why.

Wearing: James Perse tee, GAP khakis, random shades, Zara clogs

My boyfriend wanted to make sure that the scenery was in the picture. What a cutie.

Food For Thought

On bravery:

What you consider to be brave may come naturally to someone.

Be mindful that what you do, no matter how insignificant, may be brave to someone else.

Traveling Fashionista: Packing

So you're backpacking through Europe/Asia/South America....and you're carrying everything on your back. That's right, on your back...in ONE bag.

I backpacked through Europe 2 years ago (late August to November) and made it through with one bag. In fact, I even brought home a long wool-blend coat from H&M. And 5 or 6 pairs of shoes.

Here are 3 tips to maximize your bag:

1) Bring only what you NEED...or when in doubt, bring things you don't mind parting with

Sounds simple enough right? The time of year I went was tricky, the weather was HOT at the beginning of the trip (especially in NYC and Greece), but by the time I was going home, it was freezing in Switzerland, France and London. If you're like me and traveling over multiple seasons, it's much harder to pack.
Single season travel is so much easier: sandals, skirts, dresses, bikinis - all things you will use often. But on my trip, I didn't need that 3rd bathing suit after Greece, or the shorts. Lucky for me, I had brought some older shorts and swimsuits, so I just left them at the hostel, or you can always find a consignment store/charity shop.

2) Take the time to pack your bag

Yeah, packing sucks. Big time. But if you're trying to cram your bag with more than it should hold, make sure you take the time to pack well. I stayed at a B&B in Marseilles before going back to London so I had plenty of time to pack, unpack and re-pack my bag. I had a separate plastic bag of things that had never seen the inside of my backpack. But I fit everything in. Wool coat and all.

3) Roll & Stuff

Make use of every bit of space that you can, especially if you're short on space. Roll your clothes up to make them as compact as possible, stuff underwear and socks into shoes, whatever it takes. The packing compartments and cubes that are available are helpful, but if you can't afford those, then extra-large Ziploc bags work just as well, if not better. These items help you stay organized, and make packing simpler and less stressful. Ziploc bags are really good because you can take the air out of them, literally taking advantage of all the space you have

In the Trenches

It's almost July and Mother Nature has her hate on for Vancouver. A few days of sun riddled with a few days of rain. What's a girl to do? Stick with the classics and beat those rainy summer days with a lightweight trench.

Club Monaco

Forever21 - Bell Sleeve Trench $15.99

Anne Klein - Lightweight Trench $140

Free People - Piano Nobile Jacket $148

Chocolate Macarons

This was my second foray into the world of macarons. The first time I made them, I used a buttercream filling which, while tasty, was a bit too sweet for my liking. Determined to not make the same mistake, I wanted to try a recipe that had a ganache filling. Chocolate it was! I had tasted Say See Bon's dark chocolate macaron at the Style Spy party at Fine Finds, and they were delicious. Not sweet at all.

I decided on this recipe, since I was more comfortable with my macaron making abilities. I used almond flour this time (available at Gourmet Warehouse) instead of making it myself (so much easier and WAY less time consuming - obviously).

Seeing the 'feet' on your macarons is the most exciting part

The finished product

This time around, my cookies were a lot less chunky, since I used almond flour. However, the batter was quite thick and didn't have the "magma" consistency that I had learned about from the previous recipe. It made piping the cookies a bit harder since they were a bit more sturdy.

I found that the recipe would have been a bit more advanced if this was my first crack at macarons. Compared to the first recipe that I used, this one had very little tips and tricks. In fact, there were some glaring differences between the two recipes, like letting the cookies to sit, piped, before putting them into the oven to create a skin.

My ganache was a bit runny when I made it. Maybe I didn't let it cool enough (even though I had put it in the fridge), but once I had assembled the macarons, the ganache was still running out of them, so I had to put them in the fridge to avoid a huge mess. From the fridge, the macarons weren't very good, but left to reach room temperature, they were yummy.

I doubled the recipe and it still only yielded 12 macarons - a lot of work for very little reward.

I'm looking forward to my next go at it.

Guess by Marciano Dress for Success Event

If you're in Vancouver on Thursday, June 24, make sure you RSVP (by June 21) to this great event. Not only is the event hosted by 2 local bloggers/fashionistas/PR mavens, Olivia of Style Struck and Niki of A Haute Mess, but it's for a wonderful cause.

Calling for a Boycott!!

Dear Friends,

Events have transpired over the past hour that have been appalling.

For those of you who are not aware, there is currently a Twitter backlash against racist comments made by NYC Shop Guide.

I had been tweeting since Monday night about my excitement for the Brasil/DPRK (North Korea) game in the world cup, saying that I would be sporting my Ronaldinho jersey. I have an extreme fascination with DPRK, I want to visit it, understand them, watched the Departures episodes with wide eyes. I tweeted that I wanted a DPRK jersey, that they would be like the Norwegian curling team pants, impossible to find and awesome. But no luck, no jerseys, in South Africa or online.

Prior to today's match, there was footage about the DPRK team, showing the players as relate able, regular guys laughing and having fun.
The teams took the field and anthems were played. One DPRK player was so moved by the atmosphere that he was crying. This image absolutely struck my heart strings.

Having had to opportunity to represent my country, I know how moving it is to hear your anthem on the international stage. You are granted this unreal opportunity to do what you love for the country that you love. So imagine how this would feel coming from a socialist dictatorship. This is DPRK's second World Cup appearance, so this isn't exactly a regular occurrence, in fact, it could be a once in a lifetime opportunity. So imagine the emotion that would be running through your body.

Instead, I see racist comments in my feed:

I have no problem with the support for Brasil. None. But to feel the need to re-tweet a racist/ignorant comment from someone else and then to laugh at it is poor brand management. Sure, it's funny to joke about DPRK being a dictatorship, but that is no way to represent yourself as a brand. I found the comment to be offensive, so I tweeted whether or not I should unfollow someone due to my belief that they made an inappropriate comment.

So, I decided that I would unfollow them and let them know that they crossed a line.

Maybe you believe that I shouldn't have said anything. And maybe you're right. But I absolutely cannot support ignorance. Canada is a multi-cultural place, where tolerance is a way of life. While I don't agree with the political stance of DPRK, you cannot blame the citizens. They know no different and really, they don't have much choice. I don't believe that what I said was malicious or angry. I believe that it has validity. I don't know anyone, personally, who would represent their brand in such a way.

What did I receive in response?

Shocked, I immediately re-tweeted it:

Immediately after I re-tweeted this comment, the original tweet was deleted. And just to show that Tweetdeck doesn't lie:

It is not possible for me to have put a tweet with their avatar in the middle of my Mentions column.

I am now being called a liar by this individual, saying that I targeted them because they were cheering for Brasil, not because of their ignorant and insensitive comments.

Thank you everyone for your support. How can we move forward as a society and race with ignorance and insensitivity? Don't be afraid to stand up for your beliefs. Don't be afraid to have your voice heard and start a movement. These people should not be supported until they are willing to TAKE ACCOUNTABILITY for their actions.

Sport is a wonderful thing because it brings people together. Let's erase the hate. Let's support our favourite teams. Let's be proud of these men for doing their countries proud - they are not politicians, they are soccer players, and to some child, they are heroes.