365great Day 165: rocking chairs

laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: , , ,
26 August 2013
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365great challenge day 165: rocking chairsWhat a fun concept it is to sit and rock yourself back and forth. While I enjoy rocking chairs, it’s more about that soothing motion for me so I’m a big fan of gliding chairs and hanging chairs as well. Perhaps it’s comforting because it’s sort of like bobbing in the ripples of the ocean. The rhythmic motion sort of lulls you into a gentle trance, peacefully rocking away your stresses. Rocking chairs are a great place to sit and forget about your day. Somehow whenever I’m in one I appreciate the world around me a bit more and I get super into staring out into the distance or people-watching. It’s also a great time to curl up with a book or even take an afternoon nap. I always envision them sitting in a perfect patch of sunlight, the warmth of which is relaxing. I’m totally going to have a set on my porch someday because they’re so great for chilling out in!

365great Day 164: Pandora

laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: , , , ,
25 August 2013
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365great challenge day 164: pandoraPandora offers a fantastic service that has helped me discover a ton of music I probably wouldn’t have otherwise. It’s so hard to filter through all that’s out there and find songs to my taste. Why not take advantage of technology that helps me do that? Pandora has a large library of music and quite a robust system to find the qualities that you like about certain songs and artists. I mean, I never would have been able to break it down like them, but it totally works. Sometimes what I like about a song or artist is not obvious but as I keep rating what I like and don’t like, Pandora can start to hone in on my preferences. I’ve set up a bunch of channels based on my mood and I know I can count on a great mix for whatever I feel like!

365great Day 163: jujubes

laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: , , , , , ,
24 August 2013
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365great challenge day 163: jujubesOk, so there is some confusion about dates vs. jujubes. I always thought them to be one and the same, but apparently dates grow on palm trees. What I’m thinking of are jujubes, aka Chinese dates. Those are the red wrinkled fruits that we commonly put in soups or eat as a super sweet snack. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I learned what fresh jujubes look and taste like. My mom planted one of those trees in our yard and when it started to bear fruit, I had no clue that those fresh green fruits were the very deep red dried fruits I was used to. As soon as I bit into my first one, I was hooked. They are sweet and crunchy but not juicy like apples would be, so it’s easy to eat them and they don’t make a mess! They’re fun to eat fresh and they’re delicious dried too – now that’s a great fruit.

365great Day 162: couponing

laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
23 August 2013
2

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365great challenge day 162: couponingI never learned how to use coupons until Panda showed me a few years ago. I still rarely use them, but I’ve gotten to appreciate their value a whole lot more. I’ve managed to get cool shampoo for less than a dollar and enjoy some fun nail polish because of my couponing efforts. I grew up used to not buying things very often and when I did it was usually from China or some random small thing that I liked. These aren’t the type of things you find coupons for. When it came to household items, my mom got great deals sometimes by attending closeout sales and browsing swap meets. Our family just wasn’t into the couponing thing and I can’t recall using them as a child. In the past year or two I’ve started to pay more attention because Panda showed me how you can sometimes get free things. We had a lot of fun bonding over an outing to get free things and I really enjoy getting such a deal. I’ve also gotten more into the blogging scene and a lot of bloggers are mommy bloggers who write about saving money and will at least bring up coupons if they don’t actually focus on it as a topic. I think coupons are a great way to save money if you plan wisely!

365great Day 161: AcuHoop

laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: , , , , , , ,
22 August 2013
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365great challenge day 161: acuhoopBack in high school, my best friend Katana and I would drive out to Chinatown on a whim and hang out there for the day. We loved browsing Saigon Market (umm why is there a Saigon market in Chinatown??) for all the random trinkets, clothing, and even pets they had. We bought matching clothes, phone charms (back when phones could have charms dangling off them!), and even betta fish. Once when we were shopping around for qi pao (Chinese evening dresses), we happened upon a stand selling AcuHoops. You could get the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6-lb one. We found it to be quite hilarious and I decided I wanted to get one sometime. I believe it was my first year of college that I actually went through with it and chose the 3-lb one. It’s funny because I can’t hula hoop, but when you have a heavy weight like the AcuHoop, I actually got the hang of it quickly! Soon enough I was able to keep it up for over an hour at a time. I trained myself to be able to rotate it clockwise and counterclockwise so I wasn’t always putting the same force on my opposing sides. What fun it was! It’s still one of my favorite ways to “work out” and it really does help trim your mid-section. I think it’s really great! 🙂

365great Day 160: home

laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: , , , , , , ,
21 August 2013
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365great challenge day 160: homeHome is what you make of it and to me the strongest association I’ve had for it as of late is my parents’ place in SoCal. This is the longest we’ve ever been in a single place, albeit on and off for many years. And now that I’m a new Virginian, I feel like LA is my old home – the one I can keep coming back to, where my family, friends, and alma mater are. Since the new place out east doesn’t quite feel like home yet, the best home in my mind is currently this house I’m back visiting for the week. Nearly all my stuff is here and much of my personal and social connections are too. It was nice to come home after a long day of traveling and hang out with my mom and cousin, be temporarily reunited with my cats (Missy shown here), and return to this house. When I see Missy sprawling like that I know I’m home, chillin’ and enjoying all that it has to offer. That’s a great feeling.

365great Day 159: Julep

laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
20 August 2013
2

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365great challenge day 159: julepI’ve actually never purchased a product from Julep, but I’ve certainly been eyeing them for awhile. My first encounter with them was with a focus group study I was a part of, where I got to try out a bunch of their hand and nail care products. From there I got a chance to experience more of their products as I began to do trades and swap items for them. So far I’ve managed to try nearly all of the products that I’m interested in, including the green tea blotting papers that Brandy gave me and the nail polish remover and gel top coat that I received in a trade. Of course I’ve also tried a couple of their nail polishes at this point, including a crackling one! I love how they’ve been churning out all kinds of beauty products in rather unique packaging. I’m holding out on getting the free intro box until they refresh what’s offered in that box and I’m looking forward to seeing what they offer! Already it’s great how they’ve branched out beyond nail care and I’m sure there’s plenty more expansion to come.

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365great Day 158: reusable bags

laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: , , , , , ,
19 August 2013
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365great challenge day 158: reusable bagsI’m a fan of bringing my own reusable bag with me whenever I can, especially to Target for that 5 cent off bag discount. I’ve definitely saved on a TON of plastic bags since I started toting them around and I get to use whatever fits my mood (and needs)! Sometimes I use super cute small ones that are perfect for bringing my wallet, sunglasses, and phone in. Sometimes when I know I’ll have a lot I want to bring back to the car, I get a giant bag complete with reinforced bottom. I’ve got red ones and blue ones and orange ones and green ones… some say Target, some say Kaiser, some say Bliss, and some say Green Festival! I love switching it up between them and have pretty much stopped using purses since all I need is one of these bags. It’s amazing all the brands that are giving them out these days, so I don’t even have to buy them! Save money and the environment? Pretty great!

365great Day 157: cornbread

laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: , , ,
18 August 2013
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365great challenge day 157: cornbreadOh how I love cornbread. One of my favorites can be found at Boston Market. It’s just the right combination of soft and sweet, yet crispy and crunchy. It’s very fragrant and always the perfect complement to the chicken pot pies that I get there. I love how it’s filling like bread but then sweet like a dessert. I feel like I’m getting more out my meal that way. I prefer moist ones to the crumbly type and I always enjoy having some corn pieces hidden inside. I just had some last night that was really delicious too – came served straight out of the skillet! I can eat them as breakfast, a snack throughout the day, or a side to my meal. I’m going to have to try making it sometime, just so I can have the experience of pulling it out from the oven piping hot. That would be so great.

365great Day 156: Kia

laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
17 August 2013
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365great challenge day 156: kiaI just got my Kia today so of course I had to feature them. I’ve thought about getting a Kia ever since I test drove an Optima at the LA Auto Show three years ago. When it came time to think about getting a car this month, of course the first thing I did was go to a Kia dealer. I test drove the Optima again and still liked it a lot. Plus, with the premium package it has practically everything I wanted in my next vehicle: moonroof (actually a dual one!), heated seats, backup camera, USB port, auxiliary port, Bluetooth, voice activation, power windows & seats, digital compass, etc. AND it has other cool features I didn’t even think of, like a great sound system, keyless entry, start engine button, not just heated but cooling seats, a chilled glove box, a tire kit in lieu of a spare tire, power folding side mirrors, and so much more. I’ll go into more details about that in a future post. Suffice to say that I am very pleased with my luxurious vehicle. I love how it handles and it has a fantastic turning radius. So much about it is just plain great.

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