Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, my lovelies! Hope your Thanksgiving is filled with blessings and joy! 

Last year's Thanksgiving table for our family of three. 

Our simple Thanksgiving table set up.

The roasted chicken (turkey would be too much for our family).

Green bean casserole.

Mashed potatoes.

Store-bought pumpkin pie.

May your home be filled with laughter and happiness and may the good things of life be yours in abundance, not only at Thanksgiving but throughout the coming year. Most importantly, stay safe and stay well! 

The BIG 4-0!

Guess what? Yesterday was my birthday! I can't believe I just turned 40! 

Despite the circumstances, this year's birthday is a very special one for me. Besides the arrival of a baby, my mom is also here with us. Although there is no expensive dinner, no birthday cake, no birthday card, no birthday gifts and no flowers, my heart felt full, thanks to two wonderful meals lovingly prepared by my mom. 

She made my favorite dish, the braised pork ribs. It is my mom's signature dish and it was delicious. 

It may look simple but it took my mom tremendous effort to prepare this dish (chopping those thick pork rib bones was a backbreaking chore). And for that, I am thankful. During this difficult period, I feel blessed to be healthy and to be at home celebrating my birthday with my loved ones.

My birthday wish this year is for our world to become healthy again so nobody gets sick anymore. I hope everyone continue to stay well, stay safe and stay healthy!

Happy birthday to me!

Today is my birthday and I feel very blessed to see another year! Last year was filled with ups and downs so hopefully, this year will be a smooth-sailing one. Fingers crossed.

This year I do not have any big plans like the previous years. To celebrate, we will check out a new hot pot restaurant in Chicago later. We are planning to go for the all-you-can-eat option so we can try as many things on the menu tonight. The restaurant has a lot of rave reviews so I am pretty excited! 

I also picked out this gorgeous card case as my "birthday gift" while we were at the outlet mall a few months ago. Thanks hubby!

It is not something I would normally picked but I am super obsessed with this beauty. I am drawn to its bold, striking and beautiful design. Although it is a card case, I am planning to use it as a small wallet. I can't wait to use this baby! 

How do you celebrate your birthday, my lovelies? I am dying to know!

Happy 8th blog anniversary!

In a blink of an eye, my blog turned 8 today! Yay!

Many wonderful and exciting opportunities continue to come my way since I started this blog. At the same time, I am becoming more and more selective of the collaborations I picked and have declined a lot of product reviews to stay true to the original purpose of this blog. 

Some of most satisfying moments came from design clients who came back again and again to ask me for design help. Another client recently wrote to me to tell me they still loved their room that I helped them designed more than 5 years ago. As a decorator, I couldn't be happier!

On another positive note, my blog has garnered over 11 million pageviews throughout the years! Without you, my wonderful readers, my blog wouldn't have come this far so I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to all of you who loyally follow, read my blog and take a moment to leave an encouraging and positive comment from time to time. 

I feel so blessed and grateful to all of you! I am sure my blog will continue to evolve over time but I will try my best to provide good inspirational content for you. Hopefully, you will continue to stay with me. 

Thank you my awesome readers, you are the best!

Happy birthday to me!

Guess what? In the blink of an eye, I turned 38 years old today! Happy birthday to me!

During my 38 years on this earth, I have been through a lot of ups and downs, fortunately more happy moments than sad ones in these 15 years so I feel very blessed! I am also thankful that I am able to do what I love, have a loving family and remained healthy (even though I have gain some pounds throughout the years!). :)

To celebrate the special occasion, we went to Chicago two weeks ago. We ate a lot of delicious Asian food and desserts and also did some window shopping at Rejuvenation!

I have also received a Chloe bag (my dream bag!) from hubby a week ago, a bouquet of beautiful roses yesterday and a few lovely surprises this morning!

Getting older isn't so bad after all! I feel so blessed and grateful! 

This year, our family will be going through some big changes so my birthday wish this year is for everything to go smoothly! Wish me luck! 

Happy 7th blog anniversary!

In a blink of an eye, my little blog has turned 7! My blog actually turned 7 on Feb 13 but I totally forgot it until yesterday, thanks to a week of celebrations (Valentine's Day and Chinese New Year), lots of cooking and heavy feasting. :)

Fun, exciting and wonderful opportunities continue to come my way, some I gladly welcomed and some I have politely declined. The most thrilling experience were from design clients who came back again and again to ask me for design help. One client even offered to fly me out of state to design her beach home! It means one thing. My design clients trusted me enough to transform their homes and I did something right. As a decorator, I couldn't ask for more!

On another happy note, my blog has reached another milestone yesterday. Over the course of 7 years, my blog has garnered over 10 million pageviews, believe it or not! Without your love and support, my blog wouldn't have come this far so I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all of you who continued to follow and read my blog. I would also like to thank my dedicated readers who take a moment from their busy lives to drop me an encouraging and positive comment from time to time. I feel so blessed and grateful to all of you!

I will try my hardest to find the chicest, most beautiful and most inspirational interiors to share with you everyday so I hope you will continue to stay with me. 

Thank you my fabulous readers, you are super awesome!

Happy birthday to me!

My lovelies, guess what? I just turned 37 years old today! Happy birthday to me! Getting older isn't so bad after all considering I have made so much improvements in many aspects of my life. Compared to when I was in my twenties, I am definitely a better person, a better decorator, a better cook, a better communicator and someone with better skills overall especially in the makeup and singing department. :) Perhaps many people are already great at these things when they are in their 20s, but it took me a while to hone my skills. :) 

To celebrate my big day, I have the whole itinerary planned out because honestly, who knows me better than I do, yes? A few reservations have been made which included an "award-winning" hipster restaurant for brunch and a Peking duck restaurant for dinner in Chicago. I can't wait! In between both meals, I am planning to visit a few furniture stores in the city, do some serious grocery shopping in a few Asian stores to replenish some hard-to-get ingredients and indulge in delicious shaved snow (a popular Asian dessert originated from Taiwan) that I love but can't get in my suburbs. 

These desserts create an explosion of textures and flavors in your mouth and are truly yummy! I have tried it once in Hong Kong and I am hooked! :)

Besides the gifts (of course), special occasion for me is always about the food. LOL. Many of you already knew my love for interior design but food comes in at a close second. I can't wait to celebrate my birthday with mountains of delicious food today! My lovelies, how do you celebrate your birthday? Do you indulge yourself with lots of good food as well?

Happy 6th blog anniversary!

Yay! My little blog has turned six today! It's hard to believe that I have been talking about beautiful homes and stylish spaces for six long years. Through this blog, I have meet a lot of like-minded, design-obsessed friends which I wouldn't have met in real life and for that, I am very grateful.

Since starting this blog, I have received many exciting and unexpected opportunities, some I gladly welcomed and some I have politely declined. The most satisfying experience were from design clients who came back again and again to ask me for design help. It means my design clients trusted me enough to transform their homes and I did something right. As a decorator, I couldn't ask for more! :)

Over the course of six years, my blog has received over 8.5 million pageviews! Without your love and support, my blog wouldn't have come this far so I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all of you who continued to follow and read my blog. I would also like to thank my dedicated readers who take a moment from their busy lives to drop me an encouraging and positive comment from time to time. 

I will try my hardest to find the most inspirational interiors to share with you everyday so I hope you will continue to stay with me. 

My lovelies, thank you for your love and support! You are the best!

Happy birthday to me!

Guess what? I turned 36 today! Honestly, I am perfectly fine with getting older, but hubby likes to tease me about my age. Heck, he is 9 years older than me! If I am old, then he's a piece of antique, right? Hahaha...

We are supposed to go to a new to us popular Asian place for dinner but a few weeks ago, when I tried to make a reservation, all the time slots that we wanted were unavailable. My husband tried to convince me to try the restaurant next time but I was drooling over their food so I made a reservation for tomorrow instead!

However, since it's my birthday today, I told hubby that I shouldn't be cooking and we should go dine in a restaurant instead. He agreed! So, it is like having a two-day birthday celebration! :)

I am looking forward to dine at the new eatery tomorrow! Can't wait, so excited! Oh, I also asked hubby to get me these Cole Haan boots that I have been eyeing forever! I have a few lovely leather boots so I can't imagine them getting wet but these boots are so chic, a little rugged and water repellent so it's perfect for those rainy or snowy days (we have those a lot in our area)! Plus, these boots have rave reviews as well! :)

via 

I love asking hubby to buy me shoes, handbags and home goods as gifts. What about you guys?

Happy 5th blog anniversary!

In a blink of an eye, this little humble blog of mine has turned five! I wondered where did all the time go? My blog actually turned 5 a month ago but I totally forget about it until a month later. How very absent-minded of me!

Many exciting and wonderful opportunities continue to come my way and I feel very grateful. At the same time, I am becoming more and more selective of the collaborations I picked and have declined a lot of product reviews and guest post collaborations to stay true to the original purpose of this blog. 

Without you, my wonderful readers, it wouldn't be possible for me to have come this far so I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to all of you who loyally follow, read my blog and take a moment to leave an encouraging and positive comment from time to time. I will try my best to provide good inspirational content for you so I hope you will continue to stay with me. 

Once in a while, you will see a few featured brands or paid campaigns and possibly some posts that might not be design-related at all, but I hope you will continue to bear with me. I also wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone for supporting the brands that support this blog so I can continue to provide beautiful, inspirational content for free. :)

Thank you my fabulous readers, you are simply the best!

Guess who is getting one year older?

Guess who is getting one year older? I am! I turned 35 today! Well, time really flies when you are having fun! 

Sure, getting older sucks for the most part especially physically which means I have less metabolism now and it's incredibly hard to shed all those extra pounds (boy, I missed my 20-something skinny size zero body where I looked good in absolutely everything!). Now with the extra pounds I carried around my tummy, thighs, legs and arms, I have to be very careful with the kind of clothes I pick!

However, the good thing about getting older is I have equipped with better skills (people skills, cooking skills, make-up skills, etc) and my taste and style (in fashion and decorating) is getting better, in general. I have also learned to be more patient and not sweat the small stuff as much. I am still far from being perfect but I hope to become a better person as time goes by.

So what plans do I have today? Not much. Hubby will be taking us to our favorite restaurant for some fancy and delicious sushis tonight, I can't wait! I have also received two pair of beautiful shoes as presents. Besides home goods, I am obsessed with gorgeous handbags and shoes! These are the ones that I picked!

LUMA

LUMA

I have always love the look of pretty closed toe shoes and this one comes without the discomfort of high heels and painful blisters, what's not to love? They are casual and stylish with a hint of understated glam, comfy to boot and goes well with everything, definitely my kind of shoes! Now you know why I needed to get two pairs in different colors! :) I will be wearing one of these for my celebration tonight!

I am fairly easy to please. Two pair of nice shoes and a nice dinner is enough to make me a happy girl. What about you? What is your ideal birthday like? I would love to know!

My blog turns four!

Today, my blog turns four and I couldn't be more thrilled! To be perfectly honest, I started this blog in 2011 with the intention to use it as a platform to start an interior design business down the road but this blog has given me much more opportunities that I have ever dreamed of and I couldn't be more psyched!

Through this blog, I feel emotionally more fulfilled because I can talk about design endlessly and connect with like-minded people. Along the way, I also made a few good friends through blogging and for that, I feel very grateful. 

I have been design obsessed for many, many years and prior to starting this blog, I felt like I was wasting my life away because I was not doing anything to achieve my dreams of becoming an interior decorator. During those years, I often felt trapped and always had horrible nightmares which included getting stuck in a confined space and couldn't get out of the situation. In those days, I wasn't happy with my life and as a result, I suffered from depression. 

Since starting this blog, my life starts to look brighter again and seems more purposeful. It made me felt like I am heading in the right direction in regards of my career and life goals. I still have a long way to go to achieve my dreams but I feel content at this point in life.

Without you, my wonderful readers, this blog wouldn't be possible so I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to all of you who loyally follow, read my blog and take a moment to leave an encouraging comment from time to time. I cannot promise to deliver the freshest design content in blogland everyday but I will promise you that every blog post you see is the best material that I am able to find at the moment. I hope you will continue to stay with me.

Thank you my fabulous readers, you are simply the best!

Happy birthday to me!

I turned 34 years old today. In the beginning of this year, life has been challenging for me. It's hard to believe but most of the challenges have been blog-related (one crazy obstacle after another, some technical issues and some financial ones) and it made me almost want to quite blogging altogether. Honestly, I was quite depressed for many, many weeks.

Fortunately, my sadness subsided and I am feeling happier recently. We have some exciting plans ahead, a few wonderful things I definitely look forward to! We are supposed to have an early celebration last Saturday but something came up at the very last minute so our celebration is postponed to this Saturday instead.

My plans? It's simple. This Saturday, I am planing to go to Chicago and have dim sum in Chinatown for brunch, then shop for a desk chair (it will be a birthday present from hubby) and have the best roast duck in town (according to Yelp reviews) for dinner! This is the desk chair I have in mind.

Bentwood Office Chair + Cushion

I like how it looks but I will need to take a test drive to make sure it works for me. Do you have this West Elm chair? What do you think about it, comfort-wise? Ideally, I would love to have this desk chair from Jonathan Adler but it was out of our price range.

Chippendale Side Chair

This chair is gorgeous isn't it? But for $695 (before tax), it is quite expensive for us. Maybe one day! A girl can dream....

How do you celebrate your birthday, my lovelies? Do you have quiet celebrations with your loved ones or throw big parties to celebrate the special occasion? Do you wish to receive home goods for your birthdays as well?

Happy blog anniversary?

Today marked another milestone for my blog. Mix And Chic turns three today!

Instead of feeling happy, I feel mentally exhausted. Not to be a Debbie Downer or anything but a lot of unhappy things happened to me recently and it made me wants to quit blogging altogether. If you are a regular reader, you will noticed that I don't post like I used to (at a specific time). To be honest, blogging seems like a chore to me now.

Perhaps a long blogging break is all I needed? Or having less posts in a week might help? I don't know. If you are a blogger and have been in a similar situation, what did you do to pick yourself up? Suggestions?

To all fans and supporters of Mix And Chic, I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. Without you, I wouldn't have come this far.

Another year older ..........

I turned 33 today! Life has been great so far. In my twenties, life had been about having fun, experiencing new things, exploring the world and navigating my life. Now, in my thirties, my life is more family-oriented, focused and purposeful. I have acquired new skills and gain more confidence in general. Getting older isn't so bad after all, eh?

So what have I planned for today? I am planning to wear a new outfit (a black eyelet lace top with emerald green cropped pants!) and celebrate in a new sushi restaurant tonight, just the three of us. (update: the food was super delicious and I got a small surprise from hubby, too!) Absolutely looking forward to it! I am also thinking about getting a good quality cross body bag, something large but doesn't look bulky. Here are my favorites!

Marc by Marc Jacobs Classic Q Natasha



I really can't decide between the two colors. The black one feels chic and timeless but the pink one is so pretty and looks more special. I wanted to order both online to try them out but later decided to check them out in person instead. While at the shop, I can also check out the other designs, right? Besides, having something to looking forward to is quite fun, don't you think?

While doing my "cross body bag" research, I also came across this one as well.

Cobble Hill Fabric Clarke

This one is feminine, has stripes (my all time favorite pattern!) and has a little bit of black and pink. It's quite a lovely design but I am not sure about the size. Now, I have three great choices! Seriously, it is so hard to pick. If you were me, which one would you choose?

I will be enjoying myself tonight, I hope you will too. Have a great week, my lovelies!

My blog's second anniversary!

I am so excited because my little blog turned two today! To be honest, I didn't expect much readers when I first started my blog two years ago. 

A lot of exciting and wonderful opportunities came my way after I started this blog. At the end of year 2011, I started to offer online design services and have been keeping myself busy since last year. I also want to take this opportunity to apologize to all my blog friends because I haven't been visiting your lovely blogs recently. Without your support, my blog wouldn't have come this far. I promise I will be making the rounds as soon as my workload gets lighter. At the meantime, please bear with me. :)

On a happier note, my blog received over 2 million pageviews recently! Without you, my fabulous readers, it wouldn't be possible so I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to all of you who loyally follow, read my blog and take a moment to leave an encouraging and positive comment from time to time. I cannot promise delivering the best content in blogland everyday but I will promise you that every blog post you see are the best material that I am able to find at the moment. I hope you will continue to stay with me.

Thank you my wonderful readers, you are simply the best!

New Year's Eve plan!

It's New Year's Eve today, do you have any plans? As for me, I will be making a steamboat/ hot pot* dinner for our family of three to celebrate the new year!

Whether it is watching the fireworks or attending a new year party, I hope you have lots of fun ushering into the new year! Thank you for sticking around and following my blog, my fabulous readers! Let me know what your New Year's Eve plans are in the comment box below.

Happy New Year's Eve, my lovelies!

*Steamboat/ hot pot is similar to a fondue. A large pot is filled with boiling broth and raw meats and vegetables. Each person can cook whatever they choose in the broth. Meats and vegetables are usually dipped in various sauces (usually store bought sauces or homemade sauces).

Another year older, another year wiser!

Today, I turn 32 years old. Another year older, another year wiser? I guessed so. I definitely do things a little differently these days.

Anyway, yesterday, I had an "early" birthday celebration with my family! 

We made a trip down to Chinatown to have dim sum (my favorite!), then explored a few "new to me" furniture stores in Chicago. On our way back, we stopped at Nordstrom Rack Outlet and Marshalls. I bought a few things yesterday and had so much fun.

Check out the goodies I got!

Left And Right Bookends

Mr. Woof Photo-Memo Holder

I got a pair of the donkey bookends and a photo memo holder from hubby at CB2 . You might remember my recent post. The adorable leather donkeys were the inspiration for my post. 

Coup Clover 23"x 11" Pillow

While at CB2, I got a pair of these chic pillows too. I can't resist the beautiful geometric lines and the discounted price ($20 each!)

Jessica Simpson Getaway Tote 

While at Nordstrom Rack Outlet, I spotted this bag. I owned more than 30 bags but I just had to get this one. The colors are so chic, it's quite spacious and it's only $50 (regular: $88). It's perfect for my upcoming travel (you know, it's good for storing those kid's stuff).

Ombre Eternity Scarf

While still at the outlet, I checked out the scarves section. When I saw their line of gorgeous and inexpensive ombre scarves ($12 each), I had to buy it. And it goes perfectly well with my new tote. (Note: The above scarf wasn't the one I bought but the colors are the same, mine was a regular ombre scarf with fringes.)

My lovely readers, and that's how I celebrate my birthday with good food and lots of shopping! I am easy to please, you know. :)

 How did you spend your weekend? I hope you had an enjoyable weekend too, whatever you do!

My blog's first anniversary!

Today, my little blog turned one! A lot of exciting things and wonderful opportunities came my way after I started this blog. I have learned so much in terms of designs and interior decorating in general and of course, the technical part of blogging as well. I couldn't be more happier with everything that is happening and I am already wondering what the future will bring!

And just for the fun of it, I want to show you what my blog looks like during its earlier days.

The first blog banner I had was a simple template I selected from Blogger. Unfortunately, I didn't save it so I couldn't show it to you today. I liked it but it wasn't the look I was looking for.

This is my second blog banner. It was a free template I got from a website. I made a few changes by inserting my blog's name, a tagline and played with the colors to achieve this look. Again, I wasn't truly satisfied with the design because it looked a little amateurish.

This is my third blog banner. I wanted to simplify my design with a geometric background but still, it doesn't look professional.

Finally, my fourth blog banner. I am finally satisfied with the design. It's chic, it's green and it's definitely the look I was going for, thanks to an awesome blog design giveaway that I won!

Like my blog banner, I am sure my blog will continue to evolve and hopefully improve in the future so I hope you will continue to stay with me. I want to take this opportunity to extend my deepest gratitude to all of you who loyally follow, read my blog and take a moment to leave an encouraging and positive comment from time to time.

Without your support, my blog wouldn't have come this far. Thank you my fabulous readers, you are simply the best! 

A birthday wish!

Time surely flies and with a blink of an eye, I turned 31 today. Bye-bye youth, I will never see you again! But it is okay. Although I am getting older and gaining weight on the side, I am looking forward to many more birthdays to come. There are just so many things to look forward to and to accomplish, however hard they may be.


This year, one of the best decision I made is starting a blog. I have always enjoy reading other people's personal blogs, food blogs and fashion blogs for so long but I never thought I will be having one simply because I don't think I have the right materials or will I be disciplined enough to update them frequently. The most ironic thing is as much as I love interior decorating, I only started reading decorating blogs since the middle of last year. Anyway, much to my own amazement, I managed to update this blog everyday ever since I started it on February 13, two months earlier.

The best thing that comes from blogging is meeting like-minded people. I don't know about the rest of you but I don't seem to have any friends that love interior decorating as much as I do. Many people I know seems to view furniture as utilitarian and not something they can admire as well. With meeting like-minded people through blogging, it leads to building friendships as well. And building friendships through sharing common interest is the greatest thing. In addition, the constant support they gave me through commenting on my post really moved me. A big thanks to all my readers, followers and commenters! You really, really made my day when you post comments and that keeps me going when I feel like a slacker!

As fun as blogging is, there is just one thing that has been bugging me. It is the mysterious readers. I feel like I do not know them at all. So, since today is my birthday, I have a simple wish. I wish that everyone who happen to read this post would come forward and tell me a little bit about themselves. I will be very appreciative if you state your age group( 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's, etc), your occupation, how you chance upon this blog, which is your favorite post and why, content suggestions and your website, if you have any. Frequent commenters are welcome to tell me more about themselves, too. I hope it's not too much to ask for! :-)

Thanks for taking the time to read! Have a happy weekend, everyone!

Regards,

Jessie