lady in red

Hello Everyone! 

I turned 27, I mean 17. waaaah! Leon and I had dinner at yet another Steven Starr restuarant, Talula's Garden. The atmosphere was amazing, the pictures couldn't portray its true beauty and rustic setting. Unfortunately it rained and we couldn't enjoy the outdoor patio. 

Now for the more important part! What did I wear?  I'm so excited to introduce you to my favorite item in my closet currently. She is vintage. One of the main reasons why I love vintage and thrift shopping is because I find pieces like this, one of a kind. Meet my lady in red, a vintage red leather Valentino skirt!!! YES, RED LEATHER with CROCHET FABRIC PANELS. She is soft as butter and the color is vibrant and and and I just LOVE her! 

This is the setting outside at Talula's Garden . Lots of greenery and lights, breathing in the fresh fall air. 

Yes, I did say skirt. I hiked it up and made into a dress. I told you I was a transformer. But I can't wait to pair this with a plunging top or a white button down. 

Before dinner we took a few snaps across the street at Washington Square Park. 

I couldn't bare the thought of covering her up or over doing it with accessories. So I kept it simple with a owl cuff bracelet, $5 and a vintage scarf I picked up for $3. 

Isn't she lovely? I paired her with my something blue from my wedding. I love these heels, blue suede. Ahhh.. A birthday outfit could not be more perfect. Vintage Valentino and Blue Suede Louboutin.

Thank you so much for reading. I really enjoy sharing my vintage finds with you! If only you can see what I do when I see these pieces. My heart races, I get hot flashes, deep breathing is involved and there may be some jumping up and down in stores. Ekk.. I'm a true fashion, vintage and thrift shopping dork.

:: Outfit :: 

Dress/Skirt :: Valentino : Vintage 

Shoes :: Christian Louboutin (old) 

Scarf :: Vintage 

Cuff :: Owl (thrift find) 

il pittore

Good morning,

What's morning without mouthwatering pictures of delish food?! When I moved to Philly 2 years ago (2 years, ekk!) my perception of Philly's dining was similar to most people. Philly Cheese Steaks right? Wrong! Philly has so much more to offer than just Cheese Steaks! Philly's abundance of amazing restaurants, welcoming atmosphere and exceptional service is almost overwhelming. It's difficult to find a bad restaurant.

Thank you Steven Starr for revamping the city known for its cheese steaks to a food lover’s dream. Steven Starr, if you did not already know is the creative mind behind well-known restaurants such as Buddakan and Morimoto. In Philadelphia alone, he owns over 20 restaurants. 

Let me introduce you to me newest Steven Starr love, Il Pittore. The pictures below are only a portion of our food that evening. Leon was too hungry to wait for me to snap pics! I wish I took a picture of his grubby little hands full of homemade bread, mouth stuffed and telling me "Oh my god, this bread is amazing!" 

A roasted  Fresh  Asparagus : pancetta vinaigrette, fried egg and pecorino pepe

This was okay, decent but didn't blow my socks off. If you want asparagus and cheese, go to A Kitchen. A Kitchen serves up a cold version with no egg. 

Tortellini : lobster filled pasta with chives, black truffle and burrata

The Tortellini was served perfectly al dente. Coming from a major seafood city like Boston  and the daughter of a former fisherman, I would give this dish 6/10. I couldn't taste the lobster but the overall flavor of the dish and the pasta itself was excellent!

The slow cooked suckling pig pear mostarda, roasted baby carrots and cavalo nero (kale) was superb! Currently my best of Philly dish!  We were informed by our waiter this dish required a 5 day preparation. The pork was tender, juicy and perfectly seasoned. It was topped with an irresistible layer of fat which seemed to have been broiled or torched to create a crispy exterior. A must eat next time you are in the area.

My love for Burrata Cheese has grown since traveling to Florence, Italy last year. I would have preferred Burrata at room temperature, watery and in its full form gooey goodness but the brusell sprouts with warm burratta were like tiny balls bursting with flavor.  

Another best of Philly! Chocolate Bomboloni : nutella filling with a vanilla bean dipping sauce. It is out of this world! The mini donut balls are hot out the oven, the nutella filling was not to sweet and served with a side of vanilla bean dipping sauce that I could drink by the gallon.

I loved the atmosphere of Il Pittore. The first floor has open windows where you can sit and dine. The second floor's roof top is made of glass and decorated with potted plants. I could not speak more highly of this restaurant. The wait staff were also friendly and knowledgeable. Highly recommend! 

On another note, it has been such a great day at work. I got to see 4 of my heart transplant patients who were so appreciative and pleasant today! Thank you for reading and hope you enjoy the pictures. I am over joyed by all of the positive responses on my facebook page yesterday! Thank so so much, it means the world to me!  

clowning around

Hey Guys, 

I had a wonderful weekend with my bestie. She was in town to celebrate our birthdays together. Her's being on the 17th and mine the 26th. There was quite a bit of shopping and a gluttony filled weekend

These are pictures from Friday's work and play. Thankfully working in an outpatient clinic means that I can wear normal human clothing. On the occasional "I don't have anything to wear" days, I have the option of wearing scrubs too. It's a pretty sweet combo, however I still have to follow some rules. 1. I must wear business casual 2. Live in the 1920's and cover my legs and the tops of my feet. Which means I own an over abundance of leggings/tights and bright colored shoes or flats. 

I was the talk of the office in these shoes, on Friday. Since most people are not as .. lets say colorful as I am, I did not stop hearing comments all day. "Anh love your bowling shoes" "What are those clown shoes?" "Those shoes don't go with that dress" The great thing about fashion TO ME is rules are meant to be broken. So what if I'm wearing a gray dress with leather trimming, maroon colored tights with polka dots and neon "bowling" shoes. It makes me happy and that's all that matters.

OOhh, also I had to tell someone in the office that "the shoes make the outfit". Well they do! If I have to wear flats to work all day at least have it be a statement piece. Am I right or am I right? I'm sorry I am not plain Jane. 

Later that night I swapped the neon shoes for a pair of booties and colorful socks. We had a nice dinner date at one of the many Steven Starr's restaurant,  Il Pottore , (posting pictures shortly). There were two dishes worthy of best dish in Philadelphia. The Suckling Pig which takes 5 days to prepare and the  Chocolate Bomboloni, with nutella filling and vanilla bean dipping sauce... mmhhh 

Loving my new lipstick from Makeup Forever. It's purple or Aubergine! I would have to say it's in between a tinted lip balm and a lipstick. It's extremely moisturizing and you don't even need a mirror to apply it. It is not opaque like most lipsticks. Since I do have natuarally darker lips most tinted lip balms don't work on me. But this lipstick applies with the perfect amount of color and moisturizer. One stop shop, no chap-stick needed. I picked up 3: The Aubergine N50, Red N45, Candy Pink 

N34

Thank you for reading! 

:: Outfit ::

Dress:: H&M ($20 in stores now) 

Necklace :: Anthropologie (old)
Lipstick :: Makeup Forever Aubergine N50
Tights :: H&M (In stores now)
Socks :: H&M (old)
Sneakers: here (I purchased mine for $20 in store)
Booties :: Vince (Old) 

Kiehls friends and family 20% off

Hey guys, 

If you don't know about Kiehls go check them out! They provide men and women's facial products, body lotion and shampoo. A few times a  year they offer 20% discount for friends and family. Just enter the code FRIENDS at checkout. Offer ends 9/24

The hubs and I have been using Kiehls for a number of years. We often share the products regardless of what the "label" says. My favorite product at Kiehls has to be the facial fuel scrub. It's in the men category but hey it works, so why not. I have introduced this product to several of my (female) friends who have all fallen in love with it as well. One of my biggest concern are black heads, and this truly minimizes the appearance and it leaves my skin feeling milky smooth. I use it 2-3x a week with warm water. 

                                           

 I have used several of there facial cleanser but found that the Rare Earth Deep Pore cleans well, does not over dry and my pores are looking smaller. 

                        

 After applying my SKII "holy water" and SKII moisturizer I apply a few drops of Kiehls Midnight Recovery Concentrate on. I use it mostly during the colder months when my skin tends to be a bit more dry and flaky. It smells nice and you wake up with a nice morning glow. 

Does eye cream really work?? Honestly, I have no idea. I will be 27 next week :( and I have tiny wrinkles underneath my eyes. I know it will be more beneficial rather than harm so I do use it. I guess my problem is I don't use it consistently enough to see a huge difference. (set goals: must use eye cream more consistently!) 

Do you use an eye cream you love ? Can you truly see a difference? 

Thank you for reading. 

antique row & turdy the turtle

The weather was perfect this weekend and we started it the way we always do, brunching it up! I love the cozy feeling of Le Pain Quotidien which happens to be a few blocks from our place. 

Hub's Mochachino 

My English Breakfast with a splash of cream and a drizzle of honey. I adore the tea sets here!!!! 

Very yummy fritata. The best part of eating here is all the yummy jams you get to try. Love the specs spread which taste like spreadable honey cinnamon-mon-mon graham crackers.

Casual outfit to walk around antique row. Silk blouse with wool textured sleeves from Zara and high waisted loose fitting shorts from H&M. 

My mode of transportation? Wind in my hair and back seat of a dog on a hog of course!  

Some really cute French inspired coasters and a new ring I picked up from a vintage shop, $14.

Hubs not-so-random, random photography. 

New wall art for my walk in closet. 

Finally, meet Turdy the Turtle! He is made out of all recycled goods. Old washers and his shell is an old drawer knob. Just munching on some powdered fried dough from Zios. 

Oooops.... Turdy!!! Now we know how you got your name.  

 wahhahhaha We have the combined maturity of a 9 year old. Overall, a successful weekend. Thanks for reading and enjoying a day in the life of Leon & Anh's weekend adventure. Now time to read up on heart stuff (ACLS) and get recertified to save lives. Good night world. 

bang.. bang... jane louie shot me

Jane Louie shot me with her love arrows! I love this girl! 

If you have read previous posts you know that Jane is a good friend of mine who helps me shoot some of my looks. She is talented, meticulous and so passionate about what she does. 

Check out her work for  Free People during Boston Fashion Night Out! 

I have loved Urban Outfitters since I was about 8. I first step foot into their Harvard location in Boston and have been shopping there ever since.  I've grown to love Free People and Anthropologie just as much. Jane, you transformed Downtown Boston into botanical garden. (tear drop, so proud) The pictures are soft with a Free People edge and a touch of whimsy. Love you! 

chunky monkey

When I saw this chunky monkey I had to have it and knew it was the perfect layering essential.   This vest is the perfect amount of chunkiness for a late summer/early fall piece over summer dresses. It will work well when the weather gets a bit more chilly and you can layer on even more chunky sweaters!!!

 I did a little dance as we walked to Shake Shack for dinner because the weather is perfect. Time to pull out the boots and the scarves!!! 

 I found this vest at the back of a Second Time Around, $29. For those of you who are not familiar with STA it's a consignment shop and the one close to me has the best finds. They have a few vintage pieces there as well. I bought this vintage dress the same day. 

Since I have so many dresses, I'm starting to layer all of them with sweaters to transition them into fall looks. 

 My fall love boots, peep toe booties. 

Thank you so much for reading! 

:: Outfit :: 

Dress :: Vintage 

Vest :: Loft (STA, here ) 

Sunglasses :: Rayban: here

Belt :: J-crew: here

Bracelet :: Gold: Canal St. $7

Silver :: Sowa 

Watch ::  Vintage Gucci: (flipped into bracelet)

Shoes: Vince (old)