Summer Fun in China

Hello everyone! Sorry for the long break! I was in CHINA~~

China is one of the funnest places for a summer break--in my opinion. There's so many places to visit and so many different foods to try. I love shopping at the little boutiques on the street and trying out interesting Asian snacks.

My sister and I at an expensive mall in China (meaning LV, prada, etc.)...Excuse the mismatching gym shoes -- I hate getting my feet wet in the rain, and I didn't bring shoes suitable for the rain...so I was left with wearing gym shoes.

For the most part, I was visiting my extended family! I love seeing them, but sadly, my Chinese isn't that great. I wish I could speak fluently, so I can converse with them. Instead, I get shy and don't talk a lot because I don't know how to say what I want to say in Chinese... Despite the language barriers, my aunts, uncles, and cousins are very kind to me and give me lots of gifts and treat my family to yummy food~ Someday, I hope to perfect my Chinese, so I can adequately thank them for their kindness (and to talk with them)!

The following pictures are from ShangHai. ShangHai is where my mom grew up! It's such a beautiful city, despite the smog. I love the food and culture there~

ShangHai is so beautiful! The skyscrapers and the lights are perfect at night!

ShangHai!!! The TV tower changes color~~

I also vent to visit my grandparent's home in the countryside. They're farmers with their own kiwi and bamboo farms! When my family arrived, we were gifted--by different families--with a total of four large watermelons!! So for a couple days, we ate an entire watermelon each day...I actually tried kiwi picking, and the kiwis are so delicious and sweet--better than any I've had in the states!

This

This is grandma's sister's house (in a different, nearby village) :) 

This is what my grandparent's house used to look like before getting remodeled. I miss it, because I remember visiting this type of house as a child...

It's very touching that she gave us red pocket money! Despite farmers not being wealthy, they still have the heart to give us red envelopes <3

This is the beautiful view from my grandparent's village! Do you see the rice fields?

We picked kiwis!

Summer at the County Fair

Hello everyone! Sorry for not updating recently!! To tell the truth, I've been so caught up with pharmacy school applications, and writing essays has always been a weak point for me. Luckily, I had my sister and mom to help read by essay and give suggestions!

I'm done with applications for now! Horray~ I'm hoping to be admitted to a school nearby home, so I can visit family and also have instate tuition! :)

On Tuesday, I went with some friends to the county fair! It was my first time going, but it was a lot of fun. Admissions was $10, but the rides weren't included...sadly, the Asian in me wouldn't let me pay $5 for one ride. XD hahaha. However, I did see lots of cute animals!

It's an alpaca with a red afro and a bandana!! How cute~

Goat with baby goat. Baby goat has a bandana, too! Melts my heart <3

Hehe, you might be able to tell, but I love animals with their babies! Cows are no exception <3

It's a LLAMA! hahaha

awww, a sheep with a black head!

Petting bunnies! They're so soft and adorable! I want one!!!

I love this sheep! She's probably my favorite! They're so cute!!!

Spotted goat! An interesting pattern :)

Summer white & gold

Click here to cheek out the polyvore version!

Skin Tips: Summer Sun Care

Hope everyone's been having a great summer! Recently, I just tumbled onto the site Total Beauty...Have you ever heard of it before? It's so interest and so useful. I want to share with you all about some summer skin care tips I discovered on the site. It makes me wanna spend so much money on skin care products now~~ hahaha

Sunscreen

• Look for mineral rather than chemical sunscreen ingredients: zinc and titanium dioxide over avobenzone and octinoxate. Why? Because avobenzone and octinoxate break down as they absorb UV rays, releasing free radicals! Free radicals may lead to aging...On the other hand, the mineral ingredients lay on top of the skin (rather than being soaked into your skin) and provide a protective layer!
• It doesn't matter if the sunscreen has antioxidants! The antioxidants don't work well if "drowned" in SPF ingredients! Rather use an antioxidant serum first and then apply a layer of sunscreen after the serum has been absorbed. The antioxidants can help prevent the breakdown of elastin, but doesn't help reverse the process of aging. Look for a serum containing Vitamin C and E and ferulic acid. Vitamin E can help extend shelf life if combined with C, and ferulic acid helps increase the UV protective properties of Vitamin C. 
• Avoid retinol in sunscreen. Retinol lessens appearances of fine lines and speeds up cell turnover rate. It is best used at night, because the sun lessens its effectiveness, so using such an expensive ingredient is wasteful during the day...

Sources: 1, 2, 3

What's your summer skin care regime like? Mine's really lacking...I barely do anything! Gotta protect my skin more now!

"Windowing" shopping: Zimmermann

I love "window" shopping--on the internet. Even though 99% of the time, I won't buy anything, I still love seeing the styles and fashion available. Recently, I've been hooked on the brand Zimmermann. The clothes are so beautiful and so relaxed, perfect for the spring and summer. The items are quite pricey and something that I can't afford at the moment, but...a girl can always hope, right? ;)

The latest from Zimmermann focuses on the "hydra" and lace prints. The hydra print is a gorgeous, floral blue, and the lace is such a intricate design. I'm so in love with both the patterns and the designs of each piece!

all images from zimmermannwear.com

Does anyone else ever spend too much time "window" shopping? :)

Bread-making, nature walks, and dream places

So far this summer, the only productive thing I've done is eat, lol. When I arrived home, my mom bought four cakes from Ikea! Strange, right? You wouldn't expect them to have yummy food, but they do! And the cakes are amazing!! True, true, true!

Sizzling Rice Soup -  it actually sizzles! Really good, but a little salty T_T

Chicken Mu Shu

My family also made bread together! It was a super fun and delicious process~~ This is a braided bread with --of course, due to the Asian-ness of my family, and due to our lack of cinnamon-- red bean paste and raisins.

It's rising! How cute and round~

Putting red bean paste and raisins on!

Braiding it! Braid, braid, braid~

Baked with egg-wash, and now a beautiful gold color!

Now for a random side--I really wanna go visit Moomin Anti-loneliness Cafe! It's a cafe in Japan. If you don't wanna go to a cafe by yourself, it'll totally be okay to go to Moomin, because they provide you a "date"! You get your own over-sized stuffed animal to have coffee and cakes with! OMG! I wanna go. T___T Aren't they so cute?

Image credit: CNN article

WebRep

currentVote

noRating

noWeight

Have you guys ever baked something before? If so, what would you consider your greatest accomplishment? hehe :)

Summer starts now!

Hello everyone! Summer has finally arrived for me! No more exams and finals from college, but still a busy packed summer (sadly with studying). Currently, I'm "studying" for the PCAT exams at a nearby Starbuck, sipping "daintily" (*note sarcasm*) on my cup of Jo. Anyways, I did have some fun at least! Here's what been going on recently:

1. Towards the end of Finals week, my Christian group had a celebration banquet for the seniors. My job was to make the table decorations. Sadly, I didn't take too many pictures, but here they are.

There's two different types of flowers~~ They took forever to make, but I think they turned out pretty cute :)

2. I also got my ears pieced! for the third time... The first two times they both closed due to an infection. But this time I got my ears pieced with better quality jewelry, so hopefully it works out! So far, no infections~ I went to Piercing Pagoda. The lady working there was super nice. She was very patient and sweet. She also told me that if the earrings lose their shine within 15 months, I can go exchange them for new ones! How exciting :)

Aren't they pretty? These are princess-cut "diamond" (but not really XD) earrings. They look nice, because they glitter in the light.

3. After attending my friend's graduation (sad, sad T___T), we went to the aquarium! I haven't gone for such a long time, but it was super fun and exciting. I got to touch jelly fishes, rays, and sea anemones! I love being a science-nerd sometimes :)

4. I can't help but want to share this music group my friend showed me. Clean Bandits has such a unique sound and their videos are beautiful! They are an instrumental group, but they invite singers to sing for them. Hope you like them too~

Clean Bandits - Extraordinary

Clean Bandits - Rather Be

Well that's it for now! What are your summer plans?

WebRep

currentVote

noRating

noWeight