Colourful Leaves and Crisp Morning Air

Autumn is very much bipolar in Korea. It's freezing cold in the morning and night and hot during the day. Sometimes the sun is actually scorching that I'm sweating by the time I get home from work. I try to layer my clothes so I can put on and take off whenever necessary but it's still hard dressing for this extreme weather. I guess it's better than having the temperature being freezing all the time. 

I saw these little statues on the way to the Canadian Embassy in Seoul. The play with the perspective really caught my eye and I just had to take a picture. Even when I was standing close the statues looked squished it was so neat! These little figures were definitely playing tricks on my eyes. 

I had this shrimp tempura rich dish and mini udon on the side at the Shinsegae Department store in Seoul. This was definitely a satisfying meal after walking for 20 blocks.

Fun shopping trip in Daejun with the girls :D

 One of the gym teachers at my school was handing out this lovely rice cake package. I don't know what the occasion was but it sure was a nice little surprise. They tasted good too!

 A newly built bridge that will reduce about 5 min from home to school. I'm totally down with that. It's pretty to look at AND it will save me time to work!

It's hard to tell in this photo but I'm actually wearing 3 layers of top underneath my jacket. I felt very warm so didn't want to take the stairs to my apartment on the second floor. Silly I know but I was feeling lazy and I didn't want to sweat anymore.

Rain, Rain Go Away

Dreary weather + sleep deprivation + starvation + stress = NOT FUNCTIONING HUMAN!
This past week has been extremely busy with midterms popping up left, right and center and trying to balance work and sleep which don't seem to go together. At the end of the day when I lie on my bed, I wonder how much longer I can keep up this hectic schedule and just hope for April to come faster. 

Today was my grad photo day. If you know a little about me, I absolutely hate taking pictures. I always look a) retarded b) smirky and c) absolutely retarded. For that very reason I DISLIKE taking pictures but I guess to commemorate the end of my excruciatingly painful four years, I decided to get them taken today. WRONG! Since I had only 3 hours of sleep for the past 48 hours my eyes were blood shot this morning! I looked like someone who had been high for the past couple of days! As I tried to frantically find some tear gel at my place I carefully caked on some concealer under my disgusting bags. 

So I go to school to find that there are a billion people who need their photos taken before me. All I have to say is that "C'mon you're not taking your family portrait here! It's a graduation picture! No need to bring your 12 thousand relatives!" Anyways 50 minutes later (yes, I wrote that right... 50 minutes) after the receptionist apologized for the long wait, I get into the gown shared by MANY others. So I don't know why my brain had to stop functioning right then, and there but it did. As she was trying to pronounce my very difficult legal name, I said "Thank you?!" I'm not sure what I was thinking... Thank you for what?!! Anyway she looked confused... and I was just as confused so I quickly hid in the photo taking booth. Oh well... doubt that I'll ever see her again. 

 Outfit #1: worn a couple of days ago... Club Monaco jacket, Joe sweater, Banana Republic Jeans, SUKRIS scarf, Joe Boots

 The weather has been disgustingly chilly... perfect for some soup! Turkey salad sandwich on multi grain bread with butternut squash soup. mmmmm~

Outfit #2: Today after a long day. Joe factory jacket, Joe shirt, Gap jeans, SUKRIS scarf, Joe boots

Freedom

There are many times in my life where I just want to scream out freedom! I feel like we are tied down by so many different aspects of life that it becomes difficult for us to do something completely just for us. You live life only once... mind as well do something you enjoy.

Reading session with a hot cup of Earl Grey. Looks like I'm studying hard??! LOL I am reading lots of journal articles for an entrepreneurship class. At first I absolutely hated it because it made me think... and think A LOT! But the more and more I attend that class I am inspired to start something of my own. Not just to be my own boss but to share my vision with others.

This is what I wore on Friday. It HAD to be comfy because I was going to be at school for a long time and had to go to work straight from classes. Wearing: Vintage blazer, Joe Pants and Boots, Scarf and Bag from SUKRIS

 Unfortunately I was not able to take a picture of this prior to its consumption... :( It was Maple Glazed Salmon with Steamed Vegetables and Potato, Broccoli Disks with non-alcoholic apple cider. It was absolutely delish! And all for a humble price of $4.99!

My mom also had her fair share of dinner with vegetable pasta and fish and mash??? aka mashed potatoes. Lovely time with my parents and major pow wow session. Hope everyone is having an enjoyable weekend! 굳밤~

PS: For all you Baby Sitter Club fans out there... I saw a person who looked exactly like Christy's mom on the subway the other day. I REALLY wanted to ask... Excuse me... are you Christy's Mom??? LOL

Not-so-Gradual Changes

What seemed never-ending finally ended - the unbearable Korean summer. And now the temperature has suddenly changed from 43 degrees to 18 degrees overnight. Well, that's how I feel about the weather here anyway.
I've never been in Korea during this time of the year since moving to Canada. It's very interesting to see the seasons change. Obviously the daylight is shorter and the air is definitely different. It's much more crisp in the morning. I quite like it. I mean, how can I not? Especially after sweating so much this summer.
Overall, it's been nice living in my homeland again. And luckily, I haven't been homesick yet however I really did miss the turkey dinner back at home.

 Enjoying my fave mint chocolate chip with Cecilia :)

 Spicy chicken dish that didn't enough meat... tasted good though!

 My quaint little O-town (above). Coffee with rich black chocolate cake and very ambiguous flavoured mini macaron (below).

Double the Posts, Double the Fun!

I, the sister (aka. "the roommate"), will also be contributing! From Korea! A little warning, you may salivate while looking through some images because there will be many photos of amazing food. That's all I seem to be doing in this wonderful country.

I hope to post frequently with lots of beautiful scenery, eatery, and of course, SHOPPING. Koreans call a fun shopping trip "funpping" LOL.

This is a very small portion of the beautiful Gyeongbuk Palace in Seoul on a scorching hot day. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see most of the palace because of the heat. I was already exhausted at the entrance gate.

 I love the traditional Korean architectural details. So rustic and ornate.

 A cute vintage pink dress at one of my favourite neighbourhood in Seoul: Samchundong.

 The white flowers are actually made of tissue paper. They're so delicate and pretty but so temporary. Think of what they'd look like after the rain!

KOREA

The weather today was NG! NOT GOOD! It was cloudy for a bit and then started to pour and apparently for the next couple of the days it's going to stay that way. :( Oh well, school was pretty good today other than the fact that my classes were like the perfect lullaby. I say it every single day but I can't wait to graduate!

Since I'm on a monthly budget now (thought I should start managing my $$$ more effectively...) I can't go shopping or eat out as much I would love to. So I need to creatively source my clothes. Due to our impulsive shopping, my sister and I have accumulated heaping amounts of just crap! But not all that crap is bad... I went through the racks and bags of our vintage stuff and found a plaid blazer that my sister had been meaning to get tailored. The shoulders don't fit as well as I would have like them to but for $3, I'll take it!

 Carrying just a whole bunch of stuff... cinnabuns... mmmm I just couldn't resist them smell at the subway station.

This is a detailed shot of the plaid print.

So oddly enough the latest food trend on the band wagon of other food trends is Korean food. As you can tell from the 굳밤, I'm 100% Korean. I've grown up eating Korean food my whole life but it was never something that I was proud of. Within the last couple of months I have never talked to so many strangers and gotten to know the preferences of many by sharing Korean food and Korean culture. Something that I was ashamed of before has now become my best asset. It still needs a little getting used to but all I can say is that timing is everything. 

So I went out for dinner on Monday to have Korean barbecue. The weather was pretty nice and warm so I just wore a denim shirt and reddish orange boyfriend pants with my Chloe bag. Simple... no? I went to Yonge and Finch to have Korean barbecue and I must admit it was a bit of a culture shock. There were just too many of my kind roaming around the streets! So it's true... asians are dominating one city at a time. Everyone 굳밤!

PS: Note to my kind... it's rude to stare! Spread the news.

Fragrant Leaves

The lack of postings again... ooops! I would like to say happy late Canadian thanksgiving everyone! Turkey Day! :D This weekend was a lot of feasting on good food and gaining weight like mad! Unfortunately me being the pig forgot to take pictures of the lovely beast before it was devoured. But if I had, I'm sure it would look something like this... :D

Overall it was an enjoyable weekend minus all the massive truck loads of homework. Lately my new favourite tea is Earl Grey. Not that I was ever a fan of tea but I'm absolutely obsessed with this one. I think I have at least a cup a day brewed in milk with some sugar, it truly puts a smile on my face in the midst of a crappy day. My favourite kind has to be Twinings, the King of all Earl Greys.

Lately I have been thinking of a new project. I have seen many blogs with postings on the multiple uses of one plain top or wearing a pair of pants with different outfits for a week. So I figure why not apply the same concept to food? Try cooking a particular ingredient in a different way for everyday of the week? It would have to be something challenge though... I mean cooking with garlic is just way to easy. Anyways something to think about in the midst of my 10000000 other incomplete thoughts. Everyone 굳밤!~