Kat

Yoga with Adriene: 30-Day At-Home Yoga Challenge

January 30, 2020 By Kat

I highly recommend Yoga with Adriene! Her channel on YouTube has 6M subscribers (wowza) and that’s because she has so many great yoga videos!

I first heard about her through my friend Jodie last January (2019) when Adriene was doing her 30-day yoga series to start off the year. I did a couple days and then fell off the bandwagon.

This year (2020), she is releasing a new 30-day yoga series to start the year. I started a little late, but I’ve been doing it every day for almost a week since.

Her voice is so soothing, and she incorporates pausing to reflect and look inwards throughout the practice. She has a gentle approach and encourages you to do the best you can, even just showing up is enough.

Her sessions are about 20 – 40 mins long. Great for busy people! I find that doing it in the morning is the best and calmest time for me to enjoy it. I leave feeling refreshed and feeling good in my body – that I treated it well that day!

Try it out for yourself here:

30-Day Yoga Journey Playlist

If you only have time for one video, try Day 2 – Intend.

She also has a dog Benji, who lies down in the background or walks in and out of the shot lol. Cute!

Cheers to a happy and healthy new year, everyone!

2019 Winter Sale Favorites at Bloomingdale’s

January 29, 2020 By Kat

Bloomingdale’s has their winter break sale going on through this weekend. In case you don’t have time to scroll, scroll, scroll, I wanted to curate a list of items that I think are cute! I have not personally tried these items, but these are ones that I would select from their sale. Available sizes may be limited. Note that an additional 50% discount is taken off when clearance items are added to your bag. YES!

Disclosure: I am an affiliate for Bloomingdales.com, so I may earn a small commission on purchases you make through these links.

Eileen Fisher System Scoop Neck Tank

Aqua Belted Crossover Jumpsuit

Baublebar Mini Kiera Earrings

Likely Camden One-Shoulder Gown

Cole Haan Slick Wrap Coat

Good American Off-the-Shoulder Top

Aqua Cashmere Long Open Cashmere Cardigan

Blanknyc Suede Moto Jacket

Ted Baker Gateshd Wool Twill Baseball Cap

Aqua Snakeskin-Embossed Crossbody

Blanknyc Cropped Faux-Fur Jacket

Aqua Curve Dolman-Sleeve Jumpsuit

Aqua Striped-Cuff Sweater

Aqua Half-Zip Sherpa Faux Fur Jacket

Lysse High Waist Faux Leather Leggings

Free People Santa Clara Waffle-Knit Tee

Lysse Plus Pearl Trench Coat

French Connection Sophia Balloon-Sleeve Sweater

1.state Sleeveless Blouson Cutout Dress

Nookie Tyler Scuba Midi Dress

T Tahari Combo Pleated Maxi Dress

Hope that helps! Do you have any favorites from this list?

Afternoon Tea at Fortnum & Mason in London

January 10, 2020 By Kat

I got to spend my birthday in London on our honeymoon, and the ONE thing I wanted to do was have Afternoon High Tea at the famed Fortnum & Mason.

If you aren’t familiar, Fortnum & Mason is the Queen’s favorite grocer – it’s an upscale grocery / department store with fancy teas, cookies, and many other beautiful things. You walk in and want it all!

They are a couple of locations in London, but their 300-year-old flagship store in Picadilly is where the magic is.

On the top floor is The Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon, where they serve their afternoon tea complete with cakes, sandwiches, scones, and of course, tea!

Make a Reservation

First of all, to get in, you need to make a reservation. As soon as you know you’ll be in London and want to go, you should book a table. It was all full when we checked, and I was so sad! But luckily a couple spots opened up that morning when they opened for business. We immediately snagged one of those tables using OpenTable. Score!

The Store

When you arrive at the store, wow, it is a sight to see! It looks majestic even from the outside. Since it was near Christmastime when we went, it was also beautifully decorated for the holiday season.

Since the tea salon is on the top floor, you go up these red carpeted staircases from one amazing floor to another until you get to the top.

The Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon

Once you arrive to the salon, you walk into this big open space with comfortable seating in the waiting area and a counter to check in. You feel like a VIP walking in here!

We waited for our table to be ready and then got graciously seated with menus. The service is impeccable and all the staff is so polite.

So excited!

From the menu, you can choose different sets: Afternoon Tea, Savory Afternoon Tea, Vegetarian, or High Tea. I chose the classic Afternoon Tea, which comes with the all the below items.

If you come with someone, I recommend one person getting Afternoon Tea and the other person getting Savory so that you can try each other’s. The food and tea are unlimited!

Next you choose a tea flavor from their extensive menu. I’ve never seen so many tea options in my life!

They have all different types of teas (black or green) and special blends that are named after royal occasions like the Queen’s Jubilee or Prince William and Kate Middleton’s Royal Wedding!

My tea arrives! They pour it into this silver tea strainer that looks like it has fish fins, and it catches all the loose tea leaves. Then you put it into the container on the left and enjoy your tea.

It looks like ordinary tea but boy, it tastes so delicate and rich.

Then our food came. It’s hard to see the other person with the 3-tier cake stands on the table, ha!

This is the top layer of tiny cakes. They were so delicately made and very rich, but not too sweet. Each was better than the next!

Middle tier. The scones. One is plain and one has fruit in it. Very dense and filling. There are different spreads and jam you can eat with them. The clotted cream was amazing!

Sandwiches – my favorite part! They were so good. We asked for refills on these!

Vince’s savory tea set came with this egg thing called “Oeuf Drumkilbo” with lobster in it. It was impeccable. Got seconds of this too.

Pretty soon, I was feeling incredibly full. From tiny sandwiches, how is that possible??

With Vince’s savory tea option, you can also choose a slice of cake from the cart afterwards. We couldn’t even imagine eating anymore, so we packed it home.

They pack it for you in this beautiful to-go box. It’s like a gift!

Okay also the bathroom is really nice! They have this pomegranate rose hand soap that smells magnificent. You can conveniently buy it downstairs from their store, but sadly it was closed by the time we were done eating.

So that was our high tea experience in London! It did not disappoint! Lots of people were celebrating their birthdays there too and the waiters would go around singing for them.

His first time having afternoon tea. I think he liked it!

Later in our trip, we visited the Fortnum & Mason store at St. Pancras and bought some gifts to take home like shortbread and tea bags. We ended up getting this assorted set of 120 tea bags, so we could take a little bit of London home with us! 😉

If you enjoyed this foodie blogpost, here are related ones:
A Truly French Bakery in the Bay Area
Revolving Sushi Bar
Driftwood Deli for Sandwiches
Thursdays at Buffalo Wild Wings
Rebbl Drinks to Fight Human Trafficking

My Word of the Year for 2020

December 31, 2019 By Kat

Every year, I pick a word that I will focus on for the year. It’ll be my mantra for the year, if you will.

How did I do for 2019?

Last year, my word of the year was COURAGE.

I would have to give myself a B for that. I could’ve done better. I could’ve been more courageous and showed up more. I’ll admit that there were times where my fears got the best of me and I hid.

New Word for a New Year

So my word of the year for 2020 is CERTAINTY.

If I had regrets for 2019 and past years, it’s that I waffled too much with uncertainty. I wanted to do things but then rationalized myself out of not doing them. Or I got busy with other things, and put them on the wayside.

I really like the word CERTAINTY for this upcoming year because it means that whatever I want, I need to be certain and move ahead with it. It’s almost worst to want something 50%. I either need to decide I don’t want it (0%) and forget about it, or decide that I want it (100%) and do everything in my power to go for it.

Going for things full force with my finite amount of energy means committing myself to less things. I won’t be able to spread myself as thin.

Confidence

Another reason I picked this word is because certainty reminds me of the word confidence. For the most part, we all could use more confidence in life – to carry ourselves with pride and know what we’re worth.

But confidence is such an overused word now, it almost doesn’t mean anything. I hear the word confidence so much that it doesn’t inspire / empower me as much (on a visceral level) compared to the word certainty.

Certainty is knowing what you want and knowing that the actions you take are aligned correspondingly.

So wherever you are in your life, whatever decisions you make, make them with certainty. Even if they lead you down a less-than-ideal path, at least you explored something new and learned from it.

If you’re going to be wrong, be bold about it! You’ll likely make more progress by failing forward than by continually stepping forwards and backwards with trepidation and indecision.

In a few hours, we’ll enter a new decade. I welcome 2020 with open arms!!! I will be wrong about certain things, but at least I’ll be certain that I wanted them.

Gift Guide for Her

December 20, 2019 By Kat

This is Part 2 of my holiday 2019 gift guide! See Part 1 on Gifts for Him.

Disclosure: I am an affiliate for Nordstrom.com and Amazon, so I may earn a small commission on purchases you make through these links.

I wanted to write these gift guides because a lot of the guides I read in magazines or online actually contain a lot of things I would never buy. I don’t know why. So I try to keep these as practical as possible and do a wide price range because your budget will depend on how well you know the woman / how close of a relationship you have with her. So enough talk, here is the list!

Nest Fragrances Grapefruit Reed Diffuser – Perfect for adding a nice scent to any room. I got it a housewarming gift, and it lasted a long time! Plus it looks nice on a coffee table.

Rainbow Silicone Skin Keyboard Protector – After I spilled boba on my keyboard and broke it, I got this colorful protector to prevent future accidents. Be sure to check that it’s the right size for her laptop. This one is for a Macbook Pro. At under $10, this is a good deal!

Kylie Skin Headband – This is from Kylie Jenner’s skincare brand. I have not tried her skincare products, but I’m on the lookout for something to keep my hair back when I wash my face / do makeup, so a headband like this would be nice.

Longchamp ‘Le Foulonne’ Pebbled Leather Card Holder – This is convenient for holding your important credit cards for a small purse that may not fit a wallet. And it’s even more useful for switching purses quickly because everything is in one place.

Uncommon James Girl Boss Square Hoop Earrings – A novel twist on classic hoop earrings from Kristin Cavallari’s Uncommon James jewelry brand. These bold square earrings make such a style statement for the ultimate girl boss.

Topshop Heavy Brush Check Scarf – Scarves make a great gift as they can be thrown over any outfit to add more interest and make it look more cozy. I like a good checkered / plaid scarf for the cold months. This scarf would go well with a black jacket or outfit.

Beis The Travel Set Passport Wallet, Pouch & Luggage Tag – Black Croc – Cute luggage tag and passport holder set. Beis is the travel luggage brand by Shay Mitchell. Everything looks so swoon-worthy! See their Instagram page.

Too Faced Chocolate Bar Eyeshadow Palette – Besides being a go-to eyeshadow palette for me (with matte browns and shimmery shades), this also SMELLS LIKE CHOCOLATE because the shades are infused with cocoa powder. Win win!

Tasha Wave Headband – I think a headband would be a cute gift to give a gal pal. Just picked one example here. Headbands are usually at an affordable price range and she could use it to accessorize and look fabulous for the holidays.

La Luna Zipper Front Sports Bra – front zip sports bra that provides full support for the woman who wants to be more active next year. Created by my friend Linda Lippold, the Wrights Active brand donates 5 percent of proceeds to The Joyful Heart Foundation.

32 Degrees Ladies’ Heat Tees and Pants. Costco has a nice brand called 32 Degrees where they make long sleeve shirts and pants that are lightweight but keep you warm. I suppose you could wear these outside as a layering piece, but I like to wear them at home. For my recent Europe trip, I underestimated how cold it would be, but I wore the top and bottoms to sleep and it was a lifesaver!! Having a set of these would be very practical.

Veja Women’s Campo Low-Top Sneakers – This is the brand of sneakers that Meghan Markle wore. Ever since then, I’ve been eyeing them as basic white sneakers to add to my wardrobe. 😉

Williams Sonoma Silicone Utensils – I enjoy using silicon utensils – especially my silicone spatula and tongs. They have a range of sets with varying number of pieces or you can buy individual items. If she doesn’t have any of these, I recommend them!

Sugarfina Peach Bellini Candy Cube – The Sugarfina cubes are a fun gift for a lady who likes her sweets. They have an assortment of flavors like champagne gummy bears and come in pretty bento box sets too.

Okay last but not least:

Massage gift card – send her off to some rest and relaxation with a massage. For those in the Bay Area, Kua Body offers gift cards and has amazing massages!

Style makeover with me – gift her a personal styling session with me, where I take her shopping and show her what styles and brands can fit her body well and make her glow with confidence!

Bouquet of flowers – who doesn’t love fresh flowers? Even better if you picked out the flowers in the arrangement yourself. See my earlier blog post on flower bouquets from Whole Foods.

Photo prints – We take a lot of photos at family gatherings. But for my grandma who doesn’t have a smartphone, that means she can’t see them! So I like to go to CVS or Walgreens to print out physical prints of photos of us from throughout the year and stick them in a Christmas card for her. You can upload them from home and go in store to pick then up. You can usually find a coupon code too!

Good luck in the last days of holiday shopping!! Don’t get run over by frantic shoppers!

I Almost Didn’t Go On a Honeymoon

December 19, 2019 By Kat

This year, Vince and I got married! Wedding planning was a process, to say the least. And because the wedding took up so much time and a big chunk of change, we were thinking about delaying our honeymoon. We were going to save up money to do a big trip later and do a small trip right after the wedding. We considered going somewhere nearby in California – nothing that we were too excited about but it was financially smart.

That was the plan until I was having dinner with some college friends (shoutout to Tina and Wendi). They have been married for awhile already. They asked why we weren’t doing our honeymoon yet and then strongly encouraged us to reconsider.

One of the chief reasons being that if we didn’t go now, we may never plan to go. And that life would catch up with us after the wedding, and we wouldn’t be able to get back to that special moment of being newlyweds.

Another reason we hesitated to go was work. We both had work and it wasn’t the exact opportune time to take a long vacation.

Now the nuances will be different for every couple and will depend on your financial situation.

But here’s the thing that my friends helped me see: there will never be the perfect time to take a vacation. And in your mind, you will always come up with reasons not to go, whether it’s money, time, or work schedule.

They weren’t suggesting it had to be big or expensive or even a long vacation. But they recommended a honeymoon for us two to celebrate and spend some quality time together.

After thinking about it long and hard, I allowed myself to think about “What if we went on an actual honeymoon?” and “What if we went on a trip to a place we had always dreamed of going to?” It felt so weird to allow myself to imagine that type of grand possibility. And then the barriers to make it actually happen started to fall.

We started to figure out how we could make our work schedules work. We started to figure out how we could afford to go on the trip – including using a bunch of free travel points from our credit cards. The more we started seriously considering and planning for it, the more excited we both got. It became something we both really looked forward to – especially when things in the wedding planning process got stressful.

So in the end, we did go on a honeymoon. It was 2 weeks in Europe – Paris, Barcelona, Rome, and London. We went from not having any honeymoon plans to a full-blown European vacation. And yes it was an investment, but it created the most priceless memories as we started our new life together.

Being over there, it was breathtaking how beautiful the sights and cities were. It was inspiring, refreshing, and just created so much joy. It was time for him and I to just be with each other without outside distractions. We woke up each day and indulged in life, eating and doing whatever our hearts desired. There are no regrets in going, and I am so grateful for my friends who encouraged us to go.

So as the holidays are approaching, this is my message for you.

It is tempting to keep working through the holidays, to catch up on what hasn’t been finished yet, and try to cram in some more to-do list items before the end of the year. But like my business coach said, it’s important to take those breaks during the year – to go on vacation and recharge, especially when everyone else is on vacation.

So take a break. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy or long, but step back from your crazy everyday life and do something for you. Do something that fills you up with so much joy because that joy is something we can forget to prioritize in our busy days. And those far off dreams we always wished to experience one day can actually be a lot closer than we think. Jump while you have the chance. Live when you still have a breath.

Gift Guide for Him

December 17, 2019 By Kat

Guys are notoriously hard to shop for. I always get stumped! That’s why I wanted to pull together this gift guide to help any shoppers out there who are still racking their brain to find something in time for the rapidly approaching holidays.

I like practical gifts, so for awhile now, I’ve been taking note of what would be good gift ideas based on what I come across or see Vince using!

Disclosure: I am an affiliate for Nordstrom.com and Bloomingdales.com, so I may earn a small commission on purchases you make through these links.

1. Dior Sauvage Eau De Toilette – Vince wears this for our date nights. It smells so good!

2. Aer Travel Pack 2 Backpack – Good if he has any upcoming big trips planned!

3. Aer Dopp Kit – to keep his toiletries!

4. Royce New York Travel Leather Catchall Valet Tray – for organizing his coins, keys, and other miscellaneous things.

5. Whiskey Oak Seasonings – by a local Bay Area business and available in these stores.

6. London Sock Company – they have gift sets in various sizes and styles.

7. Adidas Men’s Stan Smith Sneakers – popular pair of white sneakers that he can wear with many outfits.

8. Apple AirPods

9. Williams Sonoma Splatter Screen – to prevent the oil from splattering everywhere.

10. Comfortable Loungewear from Intimissimi – It’s an Italian brand we discovered while in Rome and Vince got a couple of full sets for lounging around / sleeping in. The modal version apparently feels very soft like this sweatshirt and looks great with the pants too!

Experiences

If you prefer to gift the guy an experience, here are some suggestions.

11. BodySpec scan – They have a mobile van that goes around to various gyms and companies around the Bay Area. You go in for a full-body scan and then they print out results about your fat, muscle, and bone information. I did this at Google and it was recommended by my health coach there.

12. Food Tour – Search on Yelp and book a reservation for a food tour. It would be fun to try new foods together! For example, in the Bay, they have different themed ones in the various neighborhoods of San Francisco.

That’s all for now. If you have suggestions for good gift ideas, please let me know in the comments below!

Recycle Old Bras and Underwear

December 13, 2019 By Kat

Sustainability in fashion is becoming a hot topic, as consumers become more conscious about the impact that their purchases are having on the environment.

The American-made lingerie and sleepwear brand Hanky Panky has an innovative Lingeriecycle program to divert worn out lingerie from landfills.

Lingerie is a problem in our landfills is because often you can’t donate it for reuse at a secondhand store due to hygiene reasons or because the item is too worn out. Furthermore, certain fabrics / trims are not biodegradable.

Through their recycling program, they process the items by separating out the metal components and sending those for metal recycling. The fabric parts of the items are shredded and turned into carpet padding.

Also good news: They accept bras and panties of all brands.

Bravo to this company for taking on this sustainability initiative. The cost of processing these items is an expense that the company is taking on. They hope to lead by example for other retail companies to also become responsible for the end-to-end lifecycle of the products they create.

Here’s how the program works!

1. For every order made on the Hanky Panky website, you can add up to 5 free Lingeriecycle envelopes to your cart. The size of each envelope is 10″ x 13″.

You must use the envelopes they provide because each envelope has a waste management recycling permit issued to it.

2. Once you receive the envelopes, stick your lingerie in there – bras or panties that are worn out and can no longer be used. They ask that you kindly clean them before shipping them off.

FYI: They do mention that gently worn bras can still be donated to local women’s shelters and organizations like Support the Girls.

3. Affix proper postage for the envelopes and send them off!

For sending my items from California, the shipping cost was about $6 per envelope. Depends on how much you stuff in there.

This program is only available in the United States. For all other questions, check out their FAQ page here.

If you enjoyed this post on sustainability, check out these related posts:
Recycle Old Jeans and Get a Coupon Here
Shoes from Recycle Plastic Bottles
Renting Clothes from Rent the Runway
Thrift Shopping at thredUp IRL

My Picks for Holiday Dresses 2019

December 13, 2019 By Kat

‘Tis the season to be getting all dressed up and going to holiday parties. But if the thought of “What to wear??” sends you in a panic mode, here are my picks on 12 fun, sparkly, and elegant holiday dresses you can wear.

Disclosure: I am an affiliate for Nordstrom.com and BCBGMAXAZRIA, so I will earn a small commission on any purchases you make through these links. I have not personally tried on or purchased these dresses, but have curated this list of items based on my personal preference and hope that they are helpful to you.

Dress The Population Ruby Strapless Sequin Party Dress

Dress The Population Lillie Long Cape Sleeve Minidress

Xscape Off The Shoulder Velvet Party Dress

Women’s Dress The Population Zoe Sequin Embellished Sheath

Eliza J Crystal Cuff Drape Back Dress – This one has a sexy draped back!

Rachel Rachel Roy Isabella Velvet Dress (Plus Size)

Reformation Nicola Silk Midi Dress

Xscape Caviar Bead Long Sleeve Body-Con Dress (Plus Size)

Xscape Strapless Velvet Gown

BCBG Single Sleeve Mini Dress

Vince Camuto Popover Dress

Veronica Beard Kendall Ruched Stretch Silk Satin Dress

Some only have a couple sizes left but I loved the look of them, so hopefully they spark some ideas for you on what you can wear to your upcoming holiday parties!

Disclosure: I am an affiliate for Nordstrom.com and BCBGMAXAZRIA, so I will earn a small commission on any purchases you make through these links.