Merry Happy Holi-New Year

So...it's officially been a long time.

A bit over two months to be exact, but it did feel like a lot longer.

So this will mostly be an update post.

The major changes, one of which kept me from blogging, was my new job. It's a temp position, but is 40 hours a week, and Monday through Friday. It's been really fun, and has gone by so fast! I now only have a few more weeks left, and am already looking for another job. Other than that, the only other exciting news is....I got an apartment!

This will be my very first ever. It is sooo tiny, but I am excited to make it mine. I already have so many decorating ideas, and clearly had no idea how much it costs to furnish a place! I don't move until the beginning of February (I literally CAN NOT wait...I'm too excited!), but will have pictures once I move in and start getting things together. So far, I've bought one thing for the apartment. A faux sheepskin rug, that cost way too much, and was completely necessary!

For the holidays, I kept it pretty quiet. On Christmas I went to the movies with my cousin and saw the new Catching Fire movie. It was pretty good, had a hot guy in it, and was really funny. 

Then for New Years, I went to Jersey to hang out with some Uni friends! Here's where the crap loads of pictures come in.

Enjoy.

On the way to Jersey. Some creepy scary bridge and a toll ticket.

We went to IchiUmi, a completely delish Japanese (real Japanese) buffet. They have real sushi, shabu shabu, chiffon cakes, tempura, miso etc. They have octopus, squid, fresh veggies, all the good stuff. Only thing I wish they had was some of the western influenced Japanese foods (omuraisu, Italian style pasta, cutlets), and some more Osakan foods (takoyaki, okonomiyaki). But this is pretty good for basic level Japanese foods. Tempura and actual Japanese sushi are what make it special. To my surprise they even had karage this time!

Preparing to make Shabu Shabu. Fresh shrimp, fish, squid, octopus, and mixed veggies!

Cooking time! My faves are shrimp (kinda creepy when it's fresh shrimp with eyes and antenna) and octopus!

Shabu Shabu aftermath

For New Years, we had some lovely red wine!
...And Paris Baguette!!!

Fresh fruit chiffon cake for New Years, and omg delish cream bread with strawberries and powdered sugar pastry. I wish I had bought like 5 of those pastries!

Lemon Blueberry Tart with greent tea chiffon cake layers (should be illegal) and the truest statement ever uttered on a receipt.

Omuraisu from Hmart, being reconnected with my love for Vitasoy coconut milk, and view from the train to New York.

Picked up some yummy macaroons from Tous les Jours, another nice Korean French bakery (though I prefer Paris Baguette). Must say though that these made me realize all the other macaroons I've eaten were so sub-par!

Lastly we went to Arisu, a Japanese sushi restauant. Sushi was pretty good, but the edamame were the best!

They also had cute decorations for the Holidays.

And lastly, photos of my friend's cat! He is so cuteeeee, but is getting pretty old. He is like 16 or something, so crazy! He is a killer cat, but very cute at it :)

Well that is finally it for now.
I will have another post soon perhaps on something I bought myself for Christmas, my Birthday, and surviving 2013 gift. I may add the goodies I bought in NY there as well.

Butt for now, peace and pastries,

Sierra Anastasia

A Bite of Food

Today's post is...

*Drum roll please*

.

.

.

.

.

Not a haul!

Whaaaat?!

No, it is not, but it does have to do with perhaps the one thing I like to do more than shop.

Eating.

This past week I had the chance to go to a food tasting at Carrabba's Italian restaurant.

To be honest, I'm not so sure if I've ever eaten at Carrabba's before...perhaps only once.

When it comes to Italian I usually am just fine with Olive Garden's delicious free salad!

But anyway, there was a tasting of their new "fire finished" menu that they are launching.

This was the tasting menu for the night that explained most of the dishes and their contents.

Overall the experience was nice. The ambiance was mild but comfortable, and it was seated semi cafeteria style. There were a cluster of tables in the back of the restaurant, and you had to sit with other parties if yours didn't fill the whole table (6 people). Can be a little awkward, but they did make it feel like an event instead of just giving you tiny plates of food. Other than that, we were served the dishes one at a time, while some varied from being served family style to individual plates.

Now on to the food!

While we waited for our courses to begin, we were served fresh bread with olive oil and pepper. I don't like to eat stand alone bread (unless at Olive Garden lol) so I'm guessing that this was good. It looked like the norm for an Italian place. After that we were served a tasting of their new mushroom and sausage appetizer. This was okay...but nothing too memorable. Not too much flavor, but not bad.

So I clearly fail. i forgot to take this pic before everyone jumped in! This was the Rigatoni al forno. Again, mildly likeable but didn't find it worth the calories lol...so I only had two bites. THEN there was the Testa baked pasta. Totally up my alley! I quite enjoyed it...though I'm easy to please. Anything with a creamy pesto sauce complete with spinach is a winner for me.

Just look at it! I still only had a tiny bit lol (I'm on a diet!) After that was the Salmon! I LOVE salmon! This was one of the few dishes with a distinct flavor. They added a bit of apple and honey to the salmon and it was baked within the layers...quite delish. And then it was topped with jumbo lump crab meat *no words*.

Lastly was the Sirloin. This was the second dish of the night that really caught my eye...slightly. It came topped with bleu cheese and sweet roasted peppers. Now, while the rest of my table did not really appreciate the bleu cheese, I actually like it. I don't really eat beef, so it made it more tolerable for me than trying to eat stiff meat alone. But the roasted peppers didn't sit well with me. I prefer my sweets separate :) I feel like they're always showing up uninvited when placed on a savory plate! 

Next to last was this creme brulee. I thought it was DELISH. I am a sweets person though...but it was nice and rich and very creamy. But, I don't know if it was just a mistake that night, or how the dish will always be made, it was not firm...like at all. So I actually heard one of the waiters refer to it as creme flan! It was totally a pudding...but had bits of cinnamon or nutmeg and I really enjoyed!

Last up was this uh...drink? I'm pretty sure there was some time of alcohol in it, and half of a moon pie lol, but other than that...I have no idea what it was. It wasn't on the menu so, your guess is as good as mine. But whatever it was, it was quite tasty and added a little warmth for when we left the restaurant :)

Whelp,

That's it for Carrabba's. If you like "fire cooked" items I'd say give it a try, but don't get your hopes up too high. The food was good but not mind blowing. Definitely a safe choice for decent fare though.

Until next time,

Love and nibbles,

Sierra Anastasia

Autumn Inspiration

Another haul!

So the weather has chilled a bit and the sun goes down sooner :(

So I'm now addicted to dark colors and vampy lips!

Here's my new stuff^^

H&M printed dress with beaded details and basic black top

Cut out sleeve sweater from Cloud 9 clothing and sheer gold top from Ann Taylor

Mesh crop top and mesh &velvet top from Urban Outfitters

Side slit maxi skirt and asymmetric faux leather skirt from Forever 21 (photos from Forever21.com

Lace neck dress and sheer black blouse with gem accents also from Forever 21 (pix again from forever 21)

Awesome jewelry I found from H&M for super cheap! Love their sales

River Island gold and pearl earrings from ASOS and some nail deco gold studs and foil

Aaaaand to top it off! A lovely vampy lippie from Revlon. Number 663 Va Va Violet. A few coats of this and you'll have a lovely deep purple black color!

And my number one inspiration right now:

Until next time!

Love and shopping,

Sierra Anastasia

Blue, Black, and White Fantasy

Yay new post!

Firstly...here are the Nuts Magazines I ordered on Ebay:

The left one is December 2012's issue, and right is August 2013 issue.

This is February 2013's issue front and back. Emoda's ad on the back is just so inspirational!

So chic and stylish...LOVE

***I am really surprised at how much I have been enjoying these Nuts magazines...maybe a new fave although I am eternally loyal to Jelly***

These as well as my new Jelly and Blenda mags have really been influencing me (as proven in my last post) and so I wanted to share the items I bought that correspond with the trends.

The main trend I've been obsessed with has been basic clothes in black, white, and cobalt colors. As well as the houndstooth! These items below are all from Forever 21:

Faux leather speckle jean pants and a cap sleeve velvet crop top

Matching set! And it actually came together as a two piece! Loose checker print v-neck crop top (3/4 sleeves) and matching high waist flare skirt

And lots of houndstooth! Long black sweatshirt with houndstooth sleeves and leather trim high waist houndstooth legging pants!

Lastly,

I picked up this white over sized clutch (trend alert) featuring see through plastic (bonus trend)!

Love the studded frame of the bag and the fact that you can see all my things!

Downside is that I will have to actually organize it lol

I also love that this one comes with a made in white pouch for all of your valuables.

Well that's all for today!

Love and peace,

Sierra Anastasia

A Little Inspiration

Happy October!

Today I want to make a post about my recent style inspirations. 

So...my blog has changed yet again, but not too much. 

Before it was a lot of white, black, and purple, and now it just has a lot more black (for fall & winter), but is still mostly those colors.

ALSO! The background is my and Japanese designer's new obsession (really everyone's): houndstooth.

Houndstooth has found its way onto my phone, my make up case, and now my blog.

But moving on...magazines!!!

I not so recently ordered new magazines which took FOREVER to arrive from Japan. But I've been toting them around ever since!

I got Blenda's August issue (because Namie was on the cover!) and Jelly's September issue. 

I'm not sure if I've mentioned magazines on here, but Jelly is hands down my favorite. It was always the more mature and stylish (imo) of the Japanese gyaru magazines. Some people don't even really consider it gyaru...but more just fashionable lady's wear? 

Whatevs. 

But lately gyaru fashion has matured a bit (thank God) and now other magazines are delving into it...or I'm noticing them more. So this was my first ever issue of Blenda, which I believe has always been similar to Jelly, just I didn't notice them.

And now I just ordered 3 back issues of Nuts...which I never thought I would ever buy! (Pix and info when they arrive)

I also started following Rienda and Murua on instagram....horrible idea for a shopaholic!

I literally want everything that they post!

To be honest though, one of these days I will go ahead and start buying the designer items since most of them are conveniently on one site...Runway webstore. 

Here are some of my faves (all from Murua)

Awesome jewel collar top from Murua. Comes in Black and White options.

Really cool "cuff" like earring that says...Murua :)

(This one comes in a pierce or version for "pierced" ears and an "earring" which is actually a clip on)

Comes in silver and gold options

Tassel earrings (as if I don't have enough) in milky green. Also comes in a nudy pink, white, and black. 

There are also some gorgeous velvet crop tops and loads of houndstooth sweaters, cardigans, and skirt sets.

Hope this was inspiring! Haul is coming soon on the items I found at Forever 21 inspired by these sites and magazines :)

Love,
Sierra Anastasia