Resort Wear Inspirations from Forever 21

Who here is planning a trip to Mexico or the Caribbean this Spring? 

Forever 21 got you covered in a pinch. Here's what I'm loving:

1. Earrings in shapes of the sun:

1, 2

2. Vibrant turquoise outfits for the win:

1, 2

Always a fan of palazzo pants! 

 

3. Flip-flops with bows on them: 

1, 2

4. Color block dresses in macaron colors: 

1, 2, 3

When on vacation mode

1. Palm trees: sometimes I forget there are palm trees where I live. I was at my ophthalmologist's office the other day (to check on my first noticeable eye-floater...I'm getting old), and thought these palm trees outside the building were striking with the vivid blue sky and a light breeze. 

3. Pretty desserts: there's a bakery less than 10 minutes away from where I work that has homemade macarons. Their macarons are expensive, so I don't often eat there. But eh, when on vacation mood, you splurge right? Pictured are lemon and pumpkin spice flavors. I'm always attracted to pumpkin flavors!

The only thing I'm missing here is a cool architecture picture. For that stuff, I'll just spend time reading other people's travel adventures. My favorites so far are from Feather Factor. I feel like I'm there when I read her travel posts :) 

What travel blogs do you read? Do share! 

Macaron tasting

A new thing for me in 2011 is the macaron. They are super popular in magazines and blog photos, but are they really delicious? Earlier this year, I set out to try my first at the only bakery in town that makes them. It was good...like soft, slightly crumbly yet chewy cookies with a cool creamy filling in the middle. There were many flavors but so expensive! I was a bit skeptical if that's what a good macaron should be. Therefore, I vowed the next time I was in a big culinary city, I would try more macarons for comparison. That opportunity finally came when I dropped by the bay area of California for two days. Oh glorious carbohydrate galore!

Bette's Diner To Go - I had an amazing goat cheese pizza here because I was hungry as a hippo. I tried to wrap my scarf in the warmest way to shield the cold wet weather and it came out looking weird :(  Anyhow, for dessert, I picked out the coffee/pecan macaron, the only flavor available in their dessert counter:

Like my first experience, it was crumbly when I tried to break it in half with my fingers (to share) but chewy and creamy. It was good.

La Boulange - I had wanted to check out their pastries (after reading their amazing menu online). But drat! They had little flies all over their pastries behind the counter. I was devastated! I decided to pick up a pre-packaged baguette sandwich instead.

 

Salty prosciutto, sweet dried figs, and mozzarella cheese are a tasty combo!

Flies or not, I couldn't leave without some dessert. Luckily there seems to be no flies in the macaron section:

These macarons were tiny! They also felt drier than the previous macarons I've tried. And their cream is a bit denser. 

 Pumpkin flavor above, Pistachio flavor below.

 Overall, they were "okay". I think I'm getting the hang of macarons. Haven't tried one that amazed me yet.

I wish I had a longer stay in the Bay area to try more bakeries and eateries. This place is seriously magical! The streets of San Francisco are glittery! I was awestruck over the sparkly concrete. I'm such a country girl!

I took many more pictures of my short trip, but they didn't turn out very well. I was dressed like an annoying tourist with my Adidas windbreaker tied around my waist the entire time. Evidently, I have not mastered chic travel-wear. That should be my new goal for 2012. Need to look more stylish in travel pictures, like this girl:

Don't you love it when random strangers look better in your travel photos?