new haircut! (and it was the best $25 i've ever spent!)

i'm sooooo happy with my haircut! i know it probably looks the same as before, but believe me, it's so much lighter and thinner, and i have a lot more volume at the crown! i can't wait to start curling it and experimenting with it. LOL

i can't believe i only spent $25 (and i gave him a $10 tip)... it was just too good to be true when i had been spending 3-4x that amount at the salon i had been going to for the past 2 years. i'm sure it's also because i got my hair highlighted as well... but i'm not going to do that anymore... too much upkeep! i am anxious to get back to my natural color. more of it is now showing after this haircut. there's just a few more chunks left and in a couple more haircuts, they will be gone. i could just dye it, but i don't want to damage my hair even more.

my favorite part of the haircut are the layers framing my face. my hair now has shape because of that! my new stylist just kept on cutting, cutting, cutting... snipping, snipping, snipping. i didn't even want to look down... but when i did, i couldn't believe how much hair there was! it didn't scare me... but i was just a little surprised. i will definitely be going back to this salon. i might go shorter next time. we'll see. xoxo Kathleen

what's in my bag?

just a quick video showing you what's in my bag... this bag from Ann Taylor LOFT is really roomy! when i took it with me to Washington last year, i jammed it full of crap... including my iPad2!

i also hope you don't mind pictures of food that i've been cooking at home. part of my 2012 resolutions is to cook more at home, especially my favorite dishes i grew up. i grew up eating Filipino food at least 75% of the time... we almost always ate at home and rarely ate out. my mom did cook spaghetti and we did have McDonald's and pizza, but for the most part, it was always something home-cooked. so over the past few years, i've vowed to learn how to make my favorite dishes so i can cook it at home for myself and my husband. nowadays i'm the one teaching my sisters how to cook these dishes. i'm very proud of myself for learning how to cook Filipino dishes. my mom is very proud of me, too.

so here's what i made tonight for dinner. please don't mind the wrapper i used when making the lumpia. i bought the wrong one as i was in a hurry at the grocery store. there also wasn't a lot of variety when i looked for it. when i spoke with my mom, she told me what i should've bought and i know what to do next time. practice makes perfect! despite the error, the lumpia was so yummy! xoxo Kathleen

outfit of the day & tiny haul

just another quick outfit of the day... simple & casual!

the video where i learned how to make sushi was from ItsJudyTime from 2009! she and Benji look so young! i don't think i watched her that much back then, but i watched her a lot in 2011 and i'm totally addicted to her daily vlogs on ItsJudysLife. she and Benji live in Washington State and when we went on vacation there back in October 2011, i was so nostalgic about Seattle that i had to watch her videos, especially her vlogs, to see where they go. my husband grew up in Washington so when i watch one of their vlogs, i ask him if he's ever heard of the places they visited. most of the time he has! we dream of living in Seattle one day.

anyway, i have to hand it to the sushi chefs. it's hard work! i already knew i was using the wrong rice but i had to make do with what i have. then when it came time to rolling the sushi, i couldn't get the hang of it. i made 5 rolls and they all came out too thick. i know i put too much rice. it does take lots of practice, and since they were so delicious, i know i'll be making this again. i'm sure i can make better hand rolls because that requires no cutting! LOL i think i made about 40-50 pieces of sushi and had about 10 pieces leftover. i got so full!

here's my creation! it was YUMMY! this picture taken with Instagram, using the Kelvin filter... you can follow me on Instagram, too! search for "daysies"... xoxo Kathleen