Fabulous finds { L'Opéra pâtisserie et café }

Last week, a very good friend of mine introduced me to a really good cafe around North York area. The cafe is called L'Opéra. It's a small, relaxing cafe with good jazz music and atmosphere. The best part is, they have the BEST cake in Toronto!!

I ordered Tiramisu....and OMG! It's so delicious, light and creamy!!



Royal Chocolate for chocolate lovers. There's a creamy chocolate mousse inside with a little surprise.



I'm so glad we found this lovely cafe. I can't wait to bring my fiance there. I know he will love it! We both have sweet tooth :)

L'Opéra pâtisserie et café
5291 Yonge Street
North York, ON M2N 5R3, Canada
(416) 733-8830

Fabulous finds { Blue Drifters }

I want to share a very lovely short animation done by my sister, Fern. She is an illustrator/student in OCAD. It's her first animated illustration, please check it out!! It's sooo cute :)

Lovely + Inspiring { White room and Wooden decor }

It's been such a busy week for me. Christmas is coming soon and the shop has been busy for the last few days. I love keeping myself busy actually.

By the way, the WINNER for my #1 giveaway is Hilary. Congratulations!! Your pretty little thing necklace will be shipped by this week. Thank you everyone for joining the giveaway. I will definitely do it again :)

I found some amazing home interior pictures while surfing the web. I LOVE white rooms and wood furnitures. It is so simple and lovely.









photos credit:

Come home! magazine

Shop n' Promotions { Giveaway #1 }

I have very exciting news! I will be giving away a necklace from my shop. Dionne from City of Dionne is hosting a giveaway on her lovely blog.

For your chances to win, please visit Dionne's blog. The winner will be announced on Sunday, December 6th.

It is a fun and exciting contest. Be sure to participate. Thank you Dionne :)

Please follow me on *TWITTER* for promotions and upcoming giveaways.

Fabulous finds { Winter Wonderland }

It's almost snowing in Toronto. I'm thinking Winter Wonderland :)










photo credits:

Alicia Bock
A little hut
House of Peltier
Nature Mandalas
Sunshine and Ravioli

Fabulous finds { RMK liquid foundation }

My new makeup foundation has arrived the other day. I ran out of my Kanebo Media foundation, seems like the product is discontinued too.

I have heard about RMK for quite some time now. It is mostly recommended in plenty of Japanese magazines. Since, I have Asian skin, I prefer Asian products. They tend to match my skin tone more.


I ordered RMK liquid foundation #102. It has SPF 14. I've been using it for a couple of days now. I LIKE it very much. I love it more than my previous one. This foundation is light and tend to dry quickly. If you have dry skin, you may find the foundation a little too drying. I have combo skin, so far so good for me :) The texture is very very light and watery, which makes it easier to glide. You don't need to apply a lot.

The foundation doesn't cover much. It tends to brighten and make your skin tone more even. It doesn't cover acne or dark spots very much. I love that it doesn't make my skin look dull or oily. It stays the same hours after I applied the foundation on.

I always check the ingredients before deciding to buy it. I try to avoid products that will clog pores.

Ingredients: Water, Cyclomethicone, Alcohol, Phenyl Trimethicone, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Silk Extract, Sorbitan Isostearate, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Dimethicone Copolyol, Egg Oil, Magnesium Sulfate, Diisostearyl Malate (+/-) Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxide, Talc.

This is my first cosmetic review ever! I hope it helps :)

Sunday Brunch { Tofu Quiche }

I'm making Tofu Quiche for today's brunch. I was inspired by a Japanese drama I'm currently watching, Ohitori sama. It was my first time making quiche and it turned out quite nice. I'm surprised I couldn't even taste the tofu inside!

I found this lovely recipe. I adapted it a little by adding extra soft tofu into the recipe.

Ingredients:
Bread 3 slices
Onion, grated 1/4 cups
Shredded Swiss cheese, 2 tablespoons
Milk, 1/4 cup
Egg, 1
Extra soft tofu, 1/2 cup drained of water
A pinch of salt and pepper
Mixed vegetables, 1/4 cup optional

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease 12 muffin tins.
2. Trim or cut bread into circles. Place circles in bottom of muffin tins. Distribute the onion and shredded cheese evenly between the muffin tins.
3. In a medium bowl, combine milk, eggs, tofu and pepper. Divide between the muffin tins.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a quiche comes out clean.

Fabulous finds { Wedding gowns }

Last time I blogged about wedding/engagement rings. This time I will blog about wedding gowns. Let's start off with my favorite gown:

Vera Wang, Fairy dust:


Vera...I WISH I could afford you! This dress is my favorite of all. I LOVE ruffles. It's so feminine and romantic.

Monique Lhuillier, Bridal 2010:


What a stunning, couture wedding dress!

I will move on to beautiful and affordable gowns :)

Saja Wedding:



Jcrew:


This dress is simply elegant!

The wedding collection, Spring Street Dress:


This is also one of my favorite dresses. It is so cute and artsy.

BCBG Maxazria:

Lovely + Inspiring { Separated at birth }

I received a very early Christmas card this morning from my fiance. I guess I'm not supposed to open it until Christmas, but I just couldn't wait that long. I'm so glad I opened his letter.



Isn't the card adorable? I love it so much that I have to share it with you. The card is from Sanrio, yes, it is the "Home of Hello Kitty". He is so good at picking the right cards for me :)

I don't have a santa hat at home, but I found something that is close enough to put me into the Christmas spirit.

Separated at birth:





I hope this can put you to the Christmas spirit as well!

Lovely + Inspiring { Pet love }

I found this lovely kitten on a Japanese magazine today. So adorable. I thought I would love to share it with you :)







photo credits:
Neko

Fabulous finds { Something pink }

Pink makes me want to smile :)












photo credits:
Maleah Matthews
Mod Cloth
Sarah Jane
Cozy Moments
Shaded Memories
Cocoa Chu Chu

Fabulous finds { TOKYO本音モデルズ }

I came across the youtube clips of TOKYO本音モデルズ featuring Vivi models Lena Fujii (藤井リナ), Marie (マリエ), and Rola (ローラ). It reminds me of The Hills. It's like the models' real life, but it's fiction. The clips also include some behind the scenes from Tokyo Girls Collections, photo shoots, etc.

Lena and Marie appear on TV more often recently. Vivi is one of my favorite Japanese fashion magazines. It was fun watching them, I LOVE their makeup by the way :)



Click here for the promo.

Shop n' Promotions { upcoming giveaway }

I finally sent necklaces to my future mother in law (as I mentioned on my last post). They have safely arrived and she seems to love them very much. I sent the vintage flower to her:



and the above necklace is for her friend. Since her friend is a music teacher, I made a custom necklace for her. My future mother in law thinks that it's such a "thoughtful gift". I'm so glad she's happy with the necklaces. I hope her friend will love it too.

***Next month is the 1st anniversary for my shop. I'm thinking about doing a giveaway. I haven't decided which necklace I'm planning to give. Please check back for more updates and a chance to win a free giveaway!!***

There are lots and lots of beetles these days, in my ROOM. I don't know if it's only me or what, but they seemed to be flying everywhere in my room. I think the weather is getting colder outside and they have to migrate somewhere warmer. They're cute, but I prefer them to be outside :P

Today's lunch { Korokke and ketchup fried rice }

I have some left over baked potatoes from dinner the other night. I thought Korokke (croquette) would be a great idea for today's lunch. I know ketchup fried rice sounds funny, but it is such a perfect combination with potato korokke. I added tonkatsu sauce over potatoes korokke and it tastes even better!! Another yummy homemade meal :)

Ingredients for ketchup fried rice (for 2):
Cooked rice 2 cups
Mixed vegetables 1/4 cup
Garlic, finely chopped 2 cloves
Butter 1 tablespoon
Oil 1 tablespoon
Salt and Pepper
Ketchup 2-3 tablespoons
Shrimps (optional)

Directions:
1.Heat the oil, put butter into pan with the oil.
2.Once the butter melts, add garlic and mixed vegetables. Saute until fragrant.
3.Add shrimp and take shrimp out when almost cooked.
4.Add rice into the pan, then put the shrimp back into the pan.
5.Season with ketchup, salt and pepper.
6.Serve with potato korokke and some grilled asparagus.

For korokke recipe, please follow this link.

Shop n' Promotion { Simply elegant }

I'm proudly introducing a new collection in my shop, Simply elegant. My previous designs are mostly playful, whimsical and story like. I intended to continue doing previous designs, but I also would love to include this new feature in my shop.

My new design is inspired by everyday life. I'm thinking of something dressy. Something you can put on when you want to dress up or down :)

I still don't have a lot of items in this section yet, but please come back and check my shop out for more updates.

Shop n' Promotions { A very special order }

Yesterday morning, my fiance told me out of the blue "My mom wants you to make necklaces for her and her friend".

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm more than honored to make something for her. In fact, I'm very happy that she asked me :)

But, the challenging thing is I know very little about her. I only met her once on my last trip to Japan. She took care of me so well with a warm welcome. When I asked my fiance about his mother, he simply replied "Don't worry, she will like everything you make". It's really sweet, but not very helpful >_<

I have already ordered some supplies in order to make necklaces for her. Necklaces in my store are mostly playful. I'm thinking something more like everyday piece, simple, but sophisticated.

I can't wait for the supplies to arrive. I'm very excited about making this very special request :)

Shop n' Promotions { Featuring in La Boheme }

I'm currently featured in Anna's lovely blog La Boheme. Thanks Anna :)

You will find yourself lost in her amazing blog that is full of inspirations from colorful interior designs, fashion, photography and much more! If you need design inspiration, don't forget to check Anna's blog out!

photo credit: Lindatinne on Flickr via La Boheme

Lovely + Inspiring { Work spaces }

Do you like work spaces? Here are some work space photos from various artists and artisans. They are very inspiring. Looking at them make me want to work harder already :)















photo credits:
Bosque
Pearson Maron
Miki Sato
Camilla Engman
Migy
Ben Javens
Studio on Fire