Weekly Want: Fifi Lapin iPhone 4/4s Case

I've been a long-time fan of Kris Atomic, an illustrator based in Brighton, UK. In fact, I'm currently rocking her work as my wallpaper. Her work is fun, whimsy, sassy, and girly. I love all her girls. The best way I can describe them is: they're the type of girls I've always imagined myself hanging out with and the type of girls I thought I'd grow up to be.

But Kris is probably most known for her character, Fifi Lapin. Fifi is the most fashionable bunny alive and has been seen sporting the best looks from the runway. She became so popular that she even has her own book titled What Shall I Wear Today? Prior to getting an iPhone, I made a mental list of cases I want when I finally get one. Somehow this cutie slipped my mind. Here's Fifi Lapin sporting oversized shades, white v-neck, and a yellow skirt…essentially my uniform.

Available at Iconemesis for £24.99

Galactic Glitter Party

I stopped by American Apparel today to meet with my bff Nisa for lunch. She ended up getting caught up with a quick meeting so I decided to kill some time in the Factory Outlet store. Although the Factory Flea Market is currently going on and it's going to continue all through summer, I just didn't feel like browsing through that mess despite the lower prices. After a while, I felt like I was wandering the store way too long so I thought what better than to get some new nail polish for the summer. With the Fourth of July just days away, all I could think of were FIREWORKS!!! I spotted these two bottles of glitter and just had to have them!

The one on the left is called 'Supernova' with multi-sized, multi-colored glitter and the one on the right is 'Galaxy' which I describe it as "it's as if a Jeff Koons exploded" but all the glitter in that one are the same size. I've been dying for multi-colored glitter nail polish for a while but I've been wary since my past experiences with glitter polish have been horrible. Back in high school I had a few bottles of heart-shaped glitter polish and star-shaped glitter polish given to me by a relative who worked at a salon. I remember them being really chunky and really difficult to get an adequate amount of glitter on my nails…in other words, it took a lot of work just to get more than two pieces of glitter on my nails.

But these from American Apparel are quite wonderful! I paired OPI in My Private Jet which is an iridescent black polish with Supernova and I love the result. I also love that even when the glitter is layered on unevenly, it still looks intentional.

My favorite part is how they just sparkle and glisten in the light. Now my nails are ready for some Fourth of July fireworks!

Yokoo Turns 5!

Today, the most memorable face to ever grace the front page of Etsy turns 5! And to celebrate she's offering a 30% discount with coupon code 'YOKOOTURNSFIVE'. Head on over to her shop and get cozy.

Weekend Food Recap

After seeing many of my friends' delicious photos, I finally made a trip over to UMAMIcatessan. Compared to the regular UMAMI Burger restaurants, the menu is way more extensive and way more adventurous. I wasn't really feeling like red meat on Thursday, so I got the Ahi Tuna Burger. It was perfect because it satisfied my burger and sushi craving at the same time! It was a quarter pound of hand-chopped Ahi tuna that was lightly seared with crushed avocado, pickled ginger, sprouts, and wasabi flake.

We got the mini potato knishes as a side. They had a nice cinnamon-y sweetness that went well with the tangy grain mustard. I'm always about warm potato-y goodness.

Then for dessert, since the State of California is banning foie gras starting July 1st, we got the FG&J donut.

That's right, it's a foie gras & jelly donut! It wasn't my favorite but it wasn't horrible. It definitely looked like a PB&J donut on the inside and it kinda tasted like one except a little more game-y. I've had foie gras before, but in a cold-pressed paté like state and I don't mind it. I grew up eating duck paté with a baguette as a mid-day snack so it's no big deal. But this donut was definitely a bit overwhelming for me.

On Saturday after paying a visit to the new Poketo store, I stopped by The Pie Hole. Me being a totally sucker for both curry and puff pastry, I had to have the curry puff. It was a veggie/potato curry (kinda similar to a potato samosa) served with a homemade cherry tomato chutney.

On Saturday, we celebrated my friend Janet's birthday with a beach bbq. I made some simple hot dogs in some toasted King's Hawaiian rolls. I've been in the habit of using them instead of regular hot dog buns mostly because they're not dry like generic cheap buns and they're totally delicious! I got the idea after many trips to DogHaus where they only use King's Hawaiian rolls as burger and hot dog buns.

On Sunday, I picked up my bff who was home for the week from Berkeley. When I asked her what she was craving and missed, her response was "Tacos!!!" LA definitely has the best tacos ranging from super cheap to more artisan/gourmet variety. We took a trip to Guisados where most of their tacos are stewed meats. I got the Mole Poblano and the Chuleta en Salsa Verde.

Their tortillas are handmade and are made as you order. I love them because they have the perfect amount of doughy chewiness. The Chuleta was my favorite of the two. They have a sampler available that comes with 6 mini tacos for anyone who doesn't know what to order. I had the sampler once and it was totally delicious but I couldn't remember which ones I liked because they don't list which ones it comes with. Also, size-wise, I prefer the sampler because a full-size taco of some of their meats can become too much. And they definitely don't skimp on the meat regardless of whether you get the sampler or the regular size tacos.

Summer brings one of my favorite things: Fosselman's Fresh Peach Ice Cream! I've been going there since high school and I love that they do seasonal flavors along with the flavors that are available all year round. Peach is typically available from the first day of June til the last day of August. Their ice cream contains 60% butter fat which makes it really creamery yet airy.

Shop Poketo!

Yesterday, I stopped by the brand new first ever Poketo store that opened up in the Arts District of Downtown LA. For years I've ordered stuff from them online, and now they just made spending money a whole lot easier. This weekend they're having their super soft opening from 11am – 7pm. For those familiar with the area, the store is just a few doors down from the back patio of Wurstküche on 3rd Street…with a bright red doorway you can't miss!

I love these gradient dyed woven leather chairs that they had specially made for the store. And they're actually quite comfy too! All of the store displays are made of a combination of wood and metal. The use of wood all over the store was the perfect look for what I imagined a Poketo store would be like.

All the tables in the store have these great yellow legs! And now they carry health and beauty products too! There's also some beautiful Turkish towels that are new to the store and available in some great patterns.

This was my favorite table for two reasons: Leather & Watches. I have the Colorparty Watch in white and I love it. It's the perfect everyday watch because it's lightweight but doesn't look or feel super fragile. I'm debating about getting one of those snap wallets…the white one, of course!

The one thing I've always loved about Poketo is that they have such a great eye for color, patterns, and cool products. Every item they carry feels carefully curated.

They definitely have THE BEST selection of notebooks and planners. 90% of the notebooks I own are from them (the other 8% from Field Notes and 2% other). They carry a huge selection of notebooks from the Korean brand Millimeter Milligram which I can't find anywhere else except for maybe a couple museum stores (who probably order them through Poketo). Millimeter Milligram's planners have some of the best page layouts I've seen and they give you plenty of writing space. Some of their planners even encourage you to "Draw Your Tomorrow" instead of just writing it down like an average planner.

Of course, I had to pick up a few goodies for myself. I got a Tomorrow planner in white and fresh strawberry lip balm that smells totally delicious. When you get a chance, you should stop by the store at 820 East 3rd Street, Los Angeles, 90013. You'll probably find it very difficult to leave without something too.

Cat Coveting

This week's want is made up of a trio of cuteness dedicated to one of my favorite animals on the face of the planet.

1. Uniqlo x Lulu Guinness Short Sleeve Graphic T $19.90

2. Donna Wilson Mog Plate  £21.00

3. Wooden Cat Tape Dispenser from Omoi Zakka $14.00

Workplace Companion

Whenever I'm at work, I almost always see this cat whether it be when I'm arriving or when I'm leaving. There's quite a few stray cats who roam the construction yards near our office. But today, I attempted to befriend this little one. It's actually quite a sweet cat although a little camera shy. I've been wanting to get a second cat so that Sebastian can have a friend to hang out with when I'm away at work, but I can't have a second cat just yet. I really wanted to take this one home.

Happy Birthday Sebastian!

On Sunday, I celebrated Sebastian's 2nd birthday. Two years ago, he was born in my backyard just a day after I had gotten back from visiting my sister in Illinois. He was the only orange one out of a litter of six; the other five being cream kittens. He was named after one of my favorite bands: Belle & Sebastian. He was my first cat ever! Growing up, I always had dogs and never thought I would be a cat person. But now I can definitely say that I'm a total cat person.

I've been wanting to get him a new bed for a while because I felt like he had outgrown his old one. So for his birthday, we got him a cozy little sack. We noticed that he really likes hanging out inside of paper bags and tote bags and under rugs, so we thought this would be the perfect gift for him.

Weekly Want: MUJI Smooth Ballpoint Pen

A little over a month ago, I took a quick little trip to New York. While I was there, I finally got a chance to stop by a MUJI store. My go-to pen used to be the Gel-Ink Ballpoint Pen in 0.5mm Black. Every time one of my friends had plans to go to New York, I would give them a shopping list asking them to bring back at least two of them for me. But when I went to the store myself, I decided to try something different and got myself one of these. The Smooth Ballpoint Pen is a retractable pen only available in black with a 0.7mm tip and I absolutely love it. I love the super minimal design of the pen (like all things MUJI) and it is the best writing pen I've EVER owned. They weren't kidding when they named it 'Smooth'. The ink flow is perfect and it's super light in the hand. They're just $0.75 more than the gel pens and totally worth it. I need at least 5 more of these to keep at my desk and just to always have one on me.

Available at MUJI for $2.25

Super Late to the Supahcute Dream Team Show

Amidst all the craziness of the final weeks of my college career, I totally missed the opening reception for the Supahcute Dream Team Show at Leanna Lin's Wonderland. The show was curated by my friend Hana Kim of Supahcute.com and featured some of my friends & favorite people: Michelle Romo (CROWDED TEETH), Genevieve Santos (Le Petit Elefant), Melissa Contreras (Axelhoney), Martin Hsu…just to name a few. But the entire lineup was totally amazing! After recovering from the final semester, I finally got a chance to check out the show.

Here are a few of my favorite pieces:

The above are pieces by Hiné Mizushima. I love the way she works with felt and her pieces are always whimsical.

Like Hiné, Yoko Nomura also makes awesome felt sculptures. Yoko's focuses more on the shenanigans of forest friends.

I love this deer guy by Gary Ham mostly because it feels very Amanda Visell-esque.

But this guy was my absolute favorite. He looks slightly sad and indifferent, but at least he does it in style.

All the pieces in the show can be viewed online over at Leanna's blog. The show is still up until June 24th.

Weekly Want: SUPER Giaguaro Quasimodo

Living in sunny California, we wear sunglasses almost all year round. SUPER by RETROSUPERFUTURE makes the best glasses (both optical and sunglasses) I have ever seen. They're made in Italy and have ZEISS lenses from Germany which provide a high level of protection in all conditions. They have an amazing range of colors and the perfect tortoises. The Giaguaro is by far my favorite frames of the bunch and the Quasimodo colorway makes me think "Why don't more people make tortoise like this anymore?" It employed a long-forgotten acetate blending technique from the 70s which gives it its unique color and making each pair slightly different. I just love how rich the gold and ambers are in the blend. The shape reminds me of some of the great glasses I had growing up that I wish I could still wear.

Available at RETROSUPERFUTURE for €185

Summer Skin

The weather started to get a lot warmer this week. Sebastian refuses to sleep in his bed. He's been spending more time laying on the bare wood floor. When I migrate to my bed, he steals my leather desk chair from me. I noticed last week that he found a cozy spot on the leather sofa in the living room. When the weather gets warmer, he prefers to sleep on leather because it just feels a lot cooler than his fleecy bed and it's comfier than the floor. I have a horrible feeling that this summer is going to get uncomfortably hot…more so than usual.