Weekend Outfits

I had actually started my blog to indulge in my love for clothes and all things related to fashion, but somehow it ended up with a mish-mash of everything ... mostly food I have to admit ... I guess it's cos I'm usually in my "housewife" garb consisting of shorts and t-shirts, so I end up with nothing to post except for all the food I cook/eat everyday.

However, I do love dressing for my weekends out of my apartment - that's when I get to take out my accessories, new clothes, shoes, and team them all together to form the most appropriate outfit for my day out :)

So, to "return to my [fashion] roots", here are my outfits last weekend ...

A/X Backless Sleeveless Top, Orange Tank Fm Jardine's Bazaar (HK), Isabelle Wen cardigan (Tpe designer), Urban Outfitters BDG Skinny Jeans (which I ended swapping out for my Gap jeans that went better with the whole look), Watch Ring and Drop Earrings (self-made)

... oh! And cutest hanger fm Narayana, Bangkok!

Printed Maxi Dress fm a roadside stall in Taipei, Isabelle Wen Cardigan, Drop Earrings (self-made)

Cheese n Crackers

When we were in Newport on the duffy boat, our hosts very considerately prepared a little picnic onboard. We had cheese with crackers and grapes. And the crackers were so great with the cheese that I started hunting for them when I got back to Taipei. However, the cracker selection here is pretty slim, so I got hubby to buy some of these back when he went to the States not too long ago ...

Nabisco Wheat Thins Flatbread - Tuscan Herb Flavour ...

And I picked up some deliciously tasty and creamy cheeses from Jasons - they actually have a pretty wide variety of cheeses, and the girl selling them is very knowledgeable!

Yum!

Mad About Jewelry ...

After a Rachel Zoe Project marathon, I was accessories crazy. While I'd love to have drawers full of Chanel and other nameworthy jewelry like Rachel Zoe has, I decided to settle for making some myself:

Purple Jade Teardrop Earrings ...

Gold Knot Chain Earrings ...

(In case you're wondering, when experimenting with new designs, I like to make just one side first to see if I like it ...)

Buttercup Danglies (Left) and Lil Bow Daisies (Right) ...

Jade and Freshwater Pearl Necklace ...

(My mom gave me this piece of jade, and I saw a cool design with pearls like this in Shanghai a loooong time ago. But I'm going to try to restring the pearls when I figure out a more aesthetically pleasing way to attach it to the gold bit where the jade piece is.)

And this simple freshwater pearl necklace is for a dear friend, C .... in lieu of a proper Mikimoto :)

Taiwanese Fruits In Season

One of the things I missed when I left Taiwan was their wonderful fruits! In season right now are these "Ai Wen" mangoes ....

... and lychees ...

Chocolate Bundt Cake!

Lately, I've been thinking about the Motherlode Chocolate Cake at Claim Jumper (posted here), but I didn't have a very good chocolate cake recipe ... that is, till I stumbled upon this one which I found on joythebaker.

Here's my chocolate bundt cake fresh from the oven ...

Freshly turned out fm the bundt pan ...

(p'haps I shouldn't have been too impatient for a slice of the cake and left it in the pan to cool longer before I turned it over ... maybe that'd have prevented any bits of cake fm sticking to the pan) ...

There were little bits of white amidst the deep dark luscious chocolate cake as I just simply couldn't get all the lumps of flour to blend into the mix. Fortunately, that didn't detract fm the delicious texture of the cake ... it was perfectly moist, tender and chocolatey!

I smothered the cake with a chocolate glaze, and boy did that hit the spot! It was really like the motherlode chocolate cake fm Claim Jumper I was craving! DELICIOUS! No wonder the recipe is called "The Best Chocolate Bundt Cake"! :)

Lemon Meringue Tartlets ... Again!

Yellow lemons are pretty hard to find in Taipei, and when you do find them, they are usually quite pricey, so I couldn't resist when I saw a bag of yellow lemons on offer. I was intending to bake a lemon loaf cake, but one of the eggs I bought cracked when I came home, so I needed a fast recipe using lemons and eggs, and the one thing that came to mind was ... lemon curd!

And since I had some tart shell pastry in my fridge just waiting to be rolled out, I whipped up some lemon meringue tarts. And I just have to say, I really really really love my new eggbeater cos I managed to whip the whites into meringues in no time at all (unlike during my other attempt here where my arms were positively aching fm whisking)!

Meals for One ... Part 2

The other day, I saw some lovely bunches of young asparagus in the market, and decided to try out this dish which I'd always wanted to attempt: prosciutto wrapped asparagus ...

I cooked up a little aglio olio spaghetti and had the asparagus with it. Delish!

And below is my yummy lasagna! I had tried cooking this before, but the sauce was never enough to get everything nice and moist. This time, I used 2 tins of canned whole tomatoes, and finally got the lasagna I wanted. It was a tad too wet, but I intended to reheat it over a couple of days for my lunch, so it was pretty perfect :)