An Education

Just saw this movie, and I was blown away.
Highly recommended.

Coming Soon: Kuala Lumpur!

Fortune Cookie and I just booked a flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for this coming April.  

Petronas Towers, here we come! 

:)

Wonderful Purse Collection Video

For the past couple of weeks, I have been spending most of my time watching YouTube videos of women talking about their handbag/purse collections. As I've mentioned before, I had started obsessing over makeup because of Michelle Phan who is YouTube's No. 1 Guru. Well, it turns out, a lot of makeup gurus also have handbag collection videos because their fans request them. This is how I stumbled upon the wonderful world of handbag collection videos. This also explains my sudden obsession with handbags (as most of you should probably have noticed by now).

I have officially been brainwashed, and all I've been able to think about has been handbags, whether they be shoulder bags, tote bags, top handle bags, wristlets, clutches, or what have you. All I wanna do when I come home is look up handbags on the internet. All I wanna do when I'm out is either buy or window shop for handbags. I stare at women's bags on the train, on the street, at the mall, everywhere. While I teach, I dream about handbags. And of course, my dreams are filled with handbags.

I am not joking.

YouTube really is that powerful.

Anyways, I just wanted to share with you this adorable video that really stood out from all the videos I've seen (and I've seen many!). This lady really took time, effort and creativity to make this video. And of course, the purses are beautiful and oh so elegant.  I love the vintage feel of this; it's simply wonderful.  Enjoy.  :)

Isn't it just adorable?

:)

Valentine's Day

I had an amazing Valentine's Day. Romance was in the air all day.

First, I had a Valentine special for my class. We spent the last hour doing activities all related to dating. We started off with speed dating, which they had a ball doing.  Some of the girls pretended to be boys.  One of the boys pretended to be a girl.  Hilarity ensued.  Next, they created Match.com profiles with questions such as "What are you looking for in a mate?"  I re-distributed these profiles, and they went on dates with the people they got.  Then we ended class with the Dating Guru Talk Show where each student played a dating expert giving advice to someone with a dating/relationship problem.  It was so much fun!  My students really got into it, and it maximized their speaking and creativity.  It was just great.

After my class, I had to observe one of the other teachers to get teaching ideas since I'm still new.  While I was in the classroom, the door opened to my right, and guess who I saw?  Fortune Cookie!  He had traveled for an hour on a Sunday morning to come and personally deliver a red rose and 2 boxes of chocolate!  Oh my gosh, I was so surprised!  He is soooo sweet!  :)

After my observation, we went out and had lunch in central Bangkok.  Then we went shopping.  I found this great store that sells department store makeup samples for super cheap!  I was in heaven!  I bought 7 products (Clinique eye cream, Estee Lauder eye makeup remover, Lancome and Clinique mascara, Lancome and Clinique eye shadow sets, Estee Lauder lip gloss) for only $40!  We also bought some DVDs.  I bought 3 movies I had been dying to see (Nine, Bright Star, An Education) and the 1st (incomplete) season of Vampire Diaries.

Next, we headed out to Starbucks to cool ourselves down with some drinks.  Then we went to see Wolfman at this beautiful movie theatre which only charges $3.  Wolfman wasn't good, but seeing a movie in such a romantic theatre was great.  :)

After that, Fortune Cookie accompanied me to go window shopping for bags.  Poor thing.  Lol.  Then we had dinner at a great Italian restaurant with a view of the city.

When we came home, I opened my inbox to check my e-mail, and what do I see?  The sweetest, most beautiful poem written by him.  He wrote it under the comments of my previous blog entry.  I was speechless.  It was so beautiful. *sigh* I don't mean to be cheesy, but I just can't help but gush over him.  He's so wonderful.  :)

Finally, we capped off the evening with another movie in our apartment.  We watched Bad Lieutenant which he had been begging for me to watch with him for the longest time.  Yeah, not my kinda movie. Lol.

Overall, the funnest, most amazing Valentine's Day for me.  I hope you enjoyed it too!  :)

Valentine's Day - The Movie

Seeing this today. Can't wait! :)

Dear Mama

To the best mother in the whole wide world,


Being the highly organized, thoughtful and responsible daughter that I am, I have decided to compile a wish list of bags for you to consider when you come visit me this June.  This way, you will have a more than sufficient amount of time to ponder how to best approach the upcoming gift-giving that would bring so much peace and happiness in your daughter's life.  You see Ma, you come first and foremost in my thoughts, and I was only making sure that you wouldn't have to think and stress so much about your impending purchase/S.  I would never leave you hanging like that, second guessing yourself.

Neverfull MM w/ a Trunks & Bags Mini Pochette
$700 + $275

 

Speedy 30

$690 

 

Sukey Medium Tote

$775  

Feel free to pick and choose from this tiny, humble list.  There is also a wide range of Coach wristlets to mull over.  Oh the possibilities!  Suffice it to say, my life will be on hold until this wonderful month of June.

Thank you my beautiful, kind-hearted mother.  Can't wait for our sweet reunion!

Your loving, adorable, precious daugher,

DJ

 

 

A New Place to Call Home

Last Saturday, Fortune Cookie and I went apartment hunting.  I know that in the past I had gushed over and over again about how much I love the apartment we currently have, but now that I work in the north side of Bangkok, the commute has started to get to me.  It's hot, tiring, expensive, and Bangkok traffic is horrible.  Most of the teachers at AUA live around the school and love the convenience, so I decided to follow suit.  Moreover, we wanted to save more money by getting a cheaper place.  We live in a very upscale area, and our place is actually a great deal for this neighborhood, but we could still do better price-wise.

So last weekend, we walked around my school's neighborhood, and our last stop was the building which is literally right next door to my school.  Fortune Cookie and I fell in love with the place.  The apartment is a one bedroom with a full kitchen, which is quite rare with Bangkok apartments.  It's very spacious and has a small balcony.  We also love that they provide an extra big table, which Fortune Cookie will use as his desk.  Currently, we share the dining table and use it as our work table.  Needless to say, it is ALWAYS a mess.

The building also has a gym which Fortune Cookie is quite excited about.  They're currently building a swimming pool which should be finished in a few months.  The staff was also very nice, friendly and approachable.  We felt very comfortable with them.

But the best part of it all was that we got a 2000 baht discount!  The apartment is originally 17000 baht a month, but they went down to 15000 when Fortune Cookie negotiated with them.  We were sooo excited!

Here are some pictures I found online:

 

The building

  

The bedroom

  

The extra table I was talking about - Fortune Cookie's future desk

  

The living room - TVs provided!

  

The full kitchen

  

The small bathroom - the bathroom we have right now is bigger

 

And the gym!

We are so excited!  We're moving on the last day of this month.  I can't wait to start walking a few steps to school.  It's gonna be so awesome! :D

Current State: Makeup Obsessed

Anyone who knows me really well knows that whenever I get very interested in something, I have a strong tendency to go on these obsessive spurts where that thing is all I think about, all I do, all I read, all I see, all I look up on the internet, etc.  I've been like this with Jane Austen, British period miniseries, Leonardo DiCaprio (right after Titanic), anime, handbags, cellphone models, chicklit, Korean TV series (Oh my gosh, I got ALL my friends hooked on this! It was wonderful. :)), Hana Yori Dango (O.M.G.), etc., etc.  The duration of these spurts varies (some have lasted for only one short but tooth achingly sweet day), but the intensity is always strong.

Right now, I am obsessed with makeup.

FYI, I have NEVER been into makeup.  Never.  So this definitely came out of nowhere, and it was completely unexpected.

Last month, I needed to buy a new compact powder because I mysteriously lost my MAC blot powder which was wonderful.  So I headed over to the MAC store, and to my disappointment, they didn't have my shade.  It's been very difficult finding my shades here in Asia because most brands offer much lighter shades.  The counterparts of American brands here have very different lines that are catered to Asian preferences.

I ended up buying MAC's Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in a shade that was too dark, so I had to go back for another, w/c ended up being too light!  I was getting slightly frustrated with my makeup problems, so I went online and rediscovered Michelle Phan.

I was introduced to Michelle Phan by my sister last year, and my love for her has been reignited.  Michelle Phan is Youtube's Most Subscribed Guru of All Time.  She's a makeup artist who posts makeup tutorials online.  Her tutorials stand out from every other makeup video online because she cares a lot about aesthetics and presenting pleasing, relaxing and entertaining videos.  I love the music she plays in her videos, and her voice has such a soothing quality.  She also studies art and views makeup as art with a person's face being the canvas.  This is a very refreshing way of approaching makeup, and it makes it a lot more interesting and less superficial.

Check out her Youtube channel and you'll know exactly what I mean: http://www.youtube.com/user/MichellePhan

I don't know what it was, but after watching Michelle Phan's videos and reading her blogs, the makeup obsession began.  I can't really explain this because I had seen her stuff before, but it didn't have the same effect it has on me now.  Maybe it's because American products are more expensive and scarce in Thailand that I've ended up wanting them more.  I can't wait to go back to the States and stock up there.

Here are all the new products I've purchased these past couple of weeks using the birthday money my mom sent me (Thanks Ma! :)):

Yikes!  I've never purchased this much makeup in such a short period of time. Uh oh.

My top favorites so far are:

1.  Benefit's Benetint Lip Balm SPF 15 - I have seriously tried almost all drugstore lip balm/chapsticks and none of them ever really worked well for me.  Benefit's Lip Balm does a great job of moisturizing, and it also has a nice red tint to it which brightens my lips.

2.  MAC's Lip Glasses - Now that my lips are moisturized, I can start wearing lip gloss! I love the colors I've bought (Glamour for All & Pfff), and I plan on buying more.

3.  Maybelline's Magnum Volume Express Mascara - great at lengthening my eyelashes, although it is very difficult to remove even with makeup remover.

Upcoming Movie: Cracks

I CANNOT wait to see this movie!  I love Eva Green ever since I saw her in The Dreamers.  She's physical perfection.  And I love movies set in boarding schools.

Doesn't this look fab? :)

2 Days in Vientiane

As I had mentioned previously, I spent 2 days in Vientiane last week to apply for my non-immigrant visa. Last Wednesday, Fortune Cookie and I took a 6:30 pm train to Nong Khai, which is the Thai city right at the border of Thailand and Laos. We had 2nd class seats instead of 2nd class sleepers, so it was very difficult for us to fall asleep.

Here's a picture of Bangkok's Hualamphong Train Station:

When we got to Nong Khai, we took a tuk-tuk to the Friendship Bridge, which links the two countries.  We got out passports stamped and waited for the bus for an hour.  It was cold!  Then we were crammed into the bus that crossed the bridge pretty quickly. After the initial entry into Laos, we applied for our tourist visas, which cost $35. Then we rode a mini-truck that dropped us off at the Thai embassy in Vientiane.  Lots of stops and transfers!

After submitting my visa application, we headed for out hotel, the Intha Hotel (which by the way was listed as Dork Champa No. 2 online so it took awhile for us to find it) to take a nap.

Here's a picture of the lobby:

 

I have bad reviews for this hotel.  Our room was gross.  There was no separate shower area, so whenever we showered, the toilet would get soaked.  The bathroom door wouldn't close completely so the carpet ended up getting soaked as well.  There were bugs flying around, and the sheets were stained.  Eww!  Never again.

Aside from that, however, Vientiane was very nice and pleasant.  It's a very chill, laid-back city.  There's not really much to do.. but the food!  Oh, the food!  I wanna go back there just for the food, and we will!

We went to three great restaurants and one awesome cafe.

On our first night, we had dinner at Le Cote d'Azur.

 

 

 

the most delicious tiramisu ever!

The next day, we had lunch at La Terasse.  We had a 3 course meal for only $7!  Amazing!

 

This was the most delicious salad I had ever had.. and I hate salads!

  

 

*le sigh*

I am so ready for more later this month when we go back for Fortune Cookie's visa.

:)