My oh my, sweet potato pie~! Oh, and happy 2011.

  Hi!!!!! I missed you. HAPPY 2011~! あけましておめでとうございます〜！ I'm sorry but for a while there, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo series have my complete and undivided attention. I'm just warning you now, I might go M.I.A. again after this because I'm still working on the last book of the trilogy. If you haven't read it, do it.  It's like Da Vinci Code + Sherlock Holmes + CSI + IKEA (as in the Swedish interior deco heaven) with some major Freudian slants. It's awesome. I could go on and on and on about the series but I'd rather start a blogger book club and then discuss so....go buy them and then we'll discuss, dahling. I'm stalling on finishing the books too fast because after I read them and watch the movies....I'll feel empty inside and it scares me just a little bit. Maybe I'll rebound with Harry Potter again.

  Anyway, besides my major plug for Stieg Larsson (the author) and his legacy (the author died shortly after finishing the series...he never got to see how successful they were),  I've been doing great. My other obsession has been sweet potato pie. I usually crave it right around Thanksgiving (because my mom made the bestest sweet potato pie ever in all history once and it's haunted me forever in a delightful way since then). A co-worker baked some and was nice enough to give me a slice (perhaps my not-too-subtle hungry-girl eyes were a hint for him to put it down and slowly walk away). But that had only whet my appetite for more. And then it happened. The other day, my mom baked her sweet potato pie--with a twist. It was in puff pastry. And she flavored it with a pinch of salt and maple syrup....sooooo deeeeeeelishhhhh..ousssss.... Now I'm going to have dreams about this pie forever. Just thinking about makes my mouth water and I literally just finish eating a piece! I

  For Christmas I got Brent and sweater and shoes (I know! My Filipino and Korean friends gave me grief about it too but I couldn't help it...shoes makes him so happy). My momma, Junior and Salena flew off to Disneyland for the week between Christmas and New Years (they came back on 1/1/11) so I spent a lot of time with Brent and his family. On New Years eve, I went to Brent's family's newly renovated house (not quite done, but almost there). It was really nice. I'm excited to see the final results.

  I realized that I didn't do a New Year's Resolution list last year so this year, I'd decided to make one:
-Be more organized (in my room)
-Get back in to dance
-Perform on stage more than once.
-Do at least 11 things that are out of my comfort zone.
-Blog more

  I'd like to do a photographic year-in-review ala Sasch,  but unfortunately A) I'm way too lazy and B) there are wayyyyyy too many pictures for me to sift through to create the perfect recap album. So instead, I'll do an extensive recap of Christmas, New Years and recent stuff...enjoy!

Salena and Mini Me (aka Lisa)at their first dance recital.

Brent and Angry Birds

Our first time at Soul @ Kaimuki...I had the gumbo and brent had a smothered chicken....it was pretty delicious. Especially the cornbread.

Waterfalls and clouds by the H3

We eat at Pah Ke's in Kaneohe.

Salena's leter to Santa. Translation: I want a "changing time baby" with all of the accessories too..Note to potential parents, aunties and uncles...DON'T buy the little girl in your life this creepy pooping, moving plastic doll...it scares me.

French Coffee (decaf) with Vicki at GEN cafe in Waikiki.

Neopolitan pasta.

Holiday nails by Anri at Salon Cherie!

First time at Mr. Ojisan...

This picture of my wafu steak makes me drool every time I see it.

More waterfalls.

We were driving in the clouds.

And then it poured so hard, the rain made Brent's neighbor hood look like a mosaic painting.

My secret resolution came true this year...Brent smiles for me and my camera :D

Papi love.

Christmas lights: extreme edition series...

That's a canoe coming out of the garage, by the way.

These we synchronized with music. Yes, the speakers were facing the general public. Yes, it was all Christmas tunes.

I try the Clam Linguini in white sauce ( I usually do tomato) at CPK.

Harada and Brent's bonding time...

Back to Papi...

New Year's Eve at Brent's.

We played many games of Hanafuda.

Brent did some fireworks.

Happy New Year!

shopaholics anonymous

  Hi I'm Sascha and I'm a spontaneous shopper. I don't ever plan to shop, I just do it. The worst part is, I don't even see it coming. Like the other day when Brent and I were having a day off together and he announced that he'd like to go buy something for himself. About an hour and a half later, I was about $100 poorer--or as I like to say, I had a wardrobe augmentation. I don't ever remember what I bought that day--maybe a new bra? Who knows? Since that day, my wardrobe has also gained a new pair of cowboy boots, two dresses, a skirt and a top--all while I diligently try to think about maybe starting on my Christmas shopping. It's been hopeless.

  To make matters much, much worse--I've been working at the mall again for the up-coming issue and there's a new store. Fortunately, they don't have their full selection yet. Unfortunately, by my next visit to the mall, there will be a Forever 21, Sephora and a Victoria's Secret all within walking distance. My life is in shamblesssss......

  At first I tried to resist but now I know that I have to just go with the flow on this. I've devised a plan--I've been spending the past few hours (and by few, I mean more like most of the day) thinking up exact presents for those on my Christmas list. I figured that if I have something specific in mind, there's no way I'd be tempted to stray from my plan...I hope. I've felt like it's been working so far. Instead of going to websites that I'd be interested in, I've been frequenting "guy" sites, trying to get as much inspiration as possible. So far, I've got four guys to shop for: Ken, Brent, Junior and Jermaine. In case you were wondering, I decided that I don't trust myself around the "girl" sites yet because it might lead to a relapse. The way I see it, until I come up with an awesome "girl present" idea (that would tempt me to shop for myself),  should probably back off Victoria's Secret, Bamboo Sky, The Butik, Sephora, American Apparel, Nine West and Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom (the department store and Rack). Sigh...wish me luck. I'll need a lot of it.

  On a related note, here's your first edition of Sasch Couture. Enjoy!

First order of business: Anime is in for Winter 2010-2011. Especially One Piece, Bleach, Naruto and Totoro--the perfect cold weather action-drama-comedy to watch while sipping on hot coco with big, fluffy marshmallows (hey! This is Sasch Couture and whatever I say is in, is in.). Proudly flaunt your anime-mania with phone charms, sweaters and cellphone cases.

Second order of business, Sasch Couture ins and outs--Out: mullet style, split-end, un-dyed shag cuts.

mullet....?

In: Henna-dyed classic bob cuts. :)

In: My new FOB friend, Mariko! You'll see more of her soon. I've totally taken her under my wing. She just moved out here. how did I meet her? She does my nails! Isn't she so cute?

Speaking of nails....In: Hand-painted floral print round-tip nails by Anri @ Salon Cherie. Oh, and this Kate Spade ring isn't too bad either, huh?

In: "The Royal Hawaiian" fedora. Available in April 2011. It's pretty sweet, huh? I kind want one for me.

 

 

In: Dinner dates with Vicki.

In: Dinner combo for 2 at India Cafe on Kapahulu.

In: Dinner date at Ichiben in Pearlcity.

In: Photobooth app on iPhone 4.

My favorite Engrish moment.

Can you inquire within if you're already within?

Holiday cheer

Oh yeah, you know I put some major gusto into my Christmas deco this year...here's a little preview

Sasch Couture, coming soon.

Hi. The deadbeat blogger is back. I know--everything's been a whirlwind of things over the past few weeks. Brent came home, Thanksgiving came and went, I've been on hiatus from the gym (and the weight scale because I really don't want to know), I learned a new drinking game from Brent, oh and I'm officially definitely not entering the Honolulu Marathon (in case you were dying to know). Like I said, I've been busy and I can find better ways to lose weight and not mess up my pedi, thank you. I'm currently very interested in Upside Down Pilates, a cool-looking class that I've discovered via Living Social, seriously the best invention since the iPhone, I think. You get great deals offered daily for a very limited amount of time (about 24 hours on average). Its got deals for everything and you should definitely check it out.

   Wow, free plug for Living Social much? I swear they didn't pay me to do that. Anyway, I digress. Right now I'm  working on the Spring issue of our fashion magazine so remind me to post a little fashion report....we'll call it Sasch Couture (you know you love it). I'm sorry I don't have pictures to post right now--I'm typing this up on a different computer (that's how much I missed you).  Keep an eye out for pictures. I'll see if I can post something from my phone in a little....k, bye!