A little Chocolate Flavored Assistance, Please

First of all, one's sanity should never ride on a cake.

As most inanimate objects, it cannot apologize when it does not pull through or pour you a glass of wine to make up for its shortcomings.

But. It had been that kind of week. A week when a cake can seem like a God-send. A week when you can bring yourself to believe in nothing more than sweet, sugary confections.

So there I was. Spending the better part of my Saturday afternoon scouring the aisles of the supermarket for all the makings of this so-called heaven sent cake.

Sugar, eggs, flour, butter, etc., etc. And a bit of hazelnut liqueur, intended to go straight from bottle to batter, but most of which went from bottle to highball and straight to...

Like I told you, it had been that kind of week.

I tentatively watched the oven. And as the cake batter rose, so did my mood.

(See, you can do something right)

By the time, it was time to frost, the tops of my two layers were evenly shaved, the kitchen near spotless, and my china laid out.

(See, everything is coming together perfectly, just like your life will)

Then, right as I started feeling better, the freshly zested orange zest frosting turned out like this...

...like someone had puked all over my chocolate hazelnut flavored hopes and dreams cake.

I found myself back at square one...

(What. The. Eff.  What a whack frosting recipe)

...taking a bite of my sad little cake and sighing with surprisingly sweet satisfaction. 


(It may not look perfect on the outside, but it sure is damn good).  

Fresh Fishtail

If you're like me, giving yourself a fabulous blow-out during the staggering heat of the summer months includes the following: watching your freshly applied make-up melt before your eyes, several cool down breaks in order to salvage said melting make-up, and the instantaneous flattening of formerly mentioned fabulous blow-out once under the sweltering sun.   


The side braid and I are good friends, but after this past weekend and seeing one girlfriend give another girlfriend a fabulous fishtail braid, my latest mission is to master the fresh fishtail.  Bobbi Brown would do as its told and stay in its place, cool down breaks would not result in a coffee-based breakfast, and my tresses would be frizz-free, flat-free, and Fergalicious.

Do you have fresh summer solutions?  Do tell, loves. 

Cheers,

Roxy

Vogue Korea Destination II: Vietnam

As I flipped through Vogue Korea: St. Tropez, I was already feeling better about two things 1) the improved rate at which the minutes of my excruciatingly long layover were ticking by and 2) the idiotic haste with which I bought this deceiving mag, in which I could read nothing, was turning out to be not so so idiotic.  After all, pictures are half the fun, and at least I could read the designers named.  The next editorial brought exotic flavors from the Far East, and I was immediately transported from Incheon International to Vogue in Vietnam. 

{via}
Have you ever seen such a chic rice paddy hat?  I think not. 

Cheers loves...it's Thirsty Thursday.

Vogue Korea: St. Tropez

As I awaited my flight at Incheon International Airport, I couldn't help but to indulge in a little "reading material" to get me through 6 hours of layover leisure.  In my rush to feed my need for fabulous fashion, I snatched up what I thought to be the latest issue of Vogue.  Indeed, what I had purchased was Vogue July 2010, but Vogue in English, it was not.  My "reading material" turned out to be eye candy since translator I had not, and my Korean extends to hello, thank you, and cheers- all three of which are very necessary on a daily basis.  Despite the language barrier, I fully understood what Vogue Korea was trying to tell me- Brigitte Bardot had a twin, and she was fabulously Asian.

There you have it, the first of four utterly fabulous editorials I want to share with you.  What do you think?  3 more countries to visit with Vogue Korea.  Gun Bae to that, loves!

Note: My scanner is a no go so the pictures I'm sharing I found here.

Food Adventures: What Uppp Anthony Bourdain

So, I love food.  All kinds of food.  You will be hard pressed to name something I will not put in my mouth.  Well, at least once anyways.  Besides the obvious joy I get out of cooking and eating, I cannot get enough of the travel channel's No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain.  I love that he loves a good hard cocktail at any time of the day.  I love his sarcastic sense of humor.  And I love his job- will travel for food?  Sign me up.  With that said, it was only natural of me to drag my family to at least one Bourdain approved spot during our travels abroad.

Enter, Noryangjin Fish Market.  Seoul, South Korea.

"Sea squirts."  Have you ever heard of such?

Not sure, but I would definitely eat this.   Would you?

Live octopus anyone?  It was on my checklist, but we didn't have time.  I swear. 

You think I lie.  But this is exactly what your dirty little mind thinks it is- Sea Penis! HA!

In this instance, I do lie.  This is one thing I will not put in my mouth.  Not even once.  

Stingrays $20 each

 Of course there was plenty of normal seafood to be found such as shrimp, crabs, and lobster, etc., but what fun would that have been to share?  If I managed to gross you out, at the very least you learned something new today because I'm pretty sure you have never heard of our little friend, sea penis.

More on my travels to come...
Cheers loves!

Food Adventures: Seoul

One of the best ways to experience a new culture is to eat it!! Seoul cuisine is full of fresh veggies, seaweed, spicy chilis, and the traditional drink (if you dare to drink out of a shot glass as regularly as you do a water glass) soju.  Here are a few pics of my Korean food adventures...

 Rice ball with seaweed seasoning

My brother teaches English in Korea.  I haven't seen him in almost a year so I demanded I be taken on the "Lawrence" tour or basically a day in his life as an American teacher living abroad!  Gimbab Sarang, basically sushi but with cooked fish and various veggies, is something he has for lunch several times a week because for one dollar it's quite filling and not too bad!

My favorite!  Pork with spicy kimchi and fresh veggies on a grill plate.  I was sweating bullets after this one, but I couldn't stop!

Another one of my brother's favorite dishes- omelet stuffed with fried rice served with fried pork and kimchi

 Korean bbq!  Also a fave, as you can see we had it several times, but what wasn't?  The headmaster of my brother's school took all of us out to lunch as a welcome gesture!  Korean bbq is served with all kinds of tapas like dishes that include kimchi (of course), pickled radish, bean sprouts, different varieties of lettuce, and dipping sauces. MMM

I fully embraced this tradition ;)

And soju!  Soju is a traditional Korean spirit that is typically served at most meals.  Personally I think it tastes like vodka, but I may be biased to my poison of choice, and it's drank all throughout dinner just as water or any other beverage.  One thing to remember: Do not pour your own shot (apparently, it's bad luck) and never shall a shot glass go empty (also bad luck).  Crazy, right? But. Oh. So. FUN! 

More to come on my international adventures!! 

Cheers!

I'm back! (kinda)

I know some people say that there's no place like home, but frankly it would not hurt my feelings if I were still living out of my suitcase and filling my days with shopping in Seoul to diving to the depths of the South Pacific.  While I unpack, catch up with friends, kick jet lag's ass (12 hour time diff!), and re-group my thoughts before sharing my adventures with you, I thought I'd keep you company with my latest and most exciting blogosphere adventures- a little something I'm lucky enough to start for a fantastic and most fashionable trade association.   

Click!

Can't wait to catch up loves!
Cheers,
Roxy