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Showing posts with label Personal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Personal. Show all posts

Sunday, April 15, 2018

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! 

Saturday, April 15, 2017

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?

Friday, April 15, 2016

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?

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

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!





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!

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

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.



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.



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?

Monday, April 15, 2013

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!




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.



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!

Monday, July 9, 2012

A product review and a giveaway- Reflections On Canvas!

Last week, I received a gorgeous canvas from the wonderful people at Reflections On Canvas for a product review.




Reflections On Canvas offers hand embellished giclee on canvas from customers' original photographs. With a group of artists specializing in photography, digital graphic artistry and the traditional medium of paint on canvas, their talented team collaborated to transform your digital photo and preserve your special moment into a unique and original artwork.


Reflections On Canvas will make a perfect gift for yourself or others! Think about creating a canvas to cherish loved ones, heroes, family vacation, the home you grew up on or simply to memorialize the family pet. For gifts, think wedding gift, birthday present, retirement gift, anniversary gift, father's day gift, mother's day gift, the list is endless! 


I am sure all of us have many memories to cherish, preserve and reflect upon so Reflections On Canvas decided to offer all Mix And Chic readers a 20% off on all your purchases. Just enter promo code: CHICSUMMER20 at the "notes to artist" section when you place your order. Enjoy your 20% off discounts starting today through the end of August!


Are you interested to see which photo I picked for this review? One of our wedding pictures, of course! Check this out!


This is the photo I sent in.



What do you think? Don't you think they did a fabulous job on our wedding canvas? Let's take a closer look at their work.


The result is gorgeous and I love the vibrancy of the color enhancement.


Take a closer look at the beautiful brush strokes.


Hardware is included with the canvas for easy hanging.


Take a closer look at the hardware.


The canvas is stretched all the way to the sides so the canvas looks good in every angle.

Before the canvas get made, I had a hard time narrowing them down to our most favorite photo with the amount of wedding pictures we had. Mike, (the friendly representative from Reflections On Canvas who contacted me earlier) suggested that I send him a few of my favorite pictures so they can show me the digital proof proposals before we decided on our most favorite.

One of the digital proofs they sent me:


I sent them 3 of my favorite pictures on a late Friday night and received all three digital proofs the next day in the afternoon! Needless to say, I am absolutely impressed with their efficiency and great customer service!


I love their professionalism as well. They found a crack in the stretcher bar and wasn't happy with the end result of my first canvas, so they reprinted, restretched again and applied the finishing touches for my second canvas. I really appreciate it when businesses took the extra effort to make things right for their customers.


In short, I think the team at Reflections On Canvas delivered a beautiful and quality product with exceptional customer service. They answer all my questions promptly and the final result definitely exceeded my expectations. I can't wait to hang this gorgeous canvas in my master bedroom!


*I received this product to review for free but the views and opinions expressed are entirely my own.


Now, let's get to the best part. The fabulous giveaway! The generous people at Reflections On Canvas decided to offer one of Mix And Chic readers a $100 credit to be used on any of their canvases.




This giveaway is open to readers worldwide! Yay for international giveaway!


To enter:

Be a follower of Mix And Chic blog via Google Friend Connect, visit Reflections On Canvas and let me know exactly the size you are planning to get if you win, (please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions section). Don't worry, you can always change your mind later. (one basic entry)

For additional entries (an extra entry for each of the following):

1. 'Like' Mix And Chic on Facebook and leave a separate comment. (If you are already following, please leave a separate comment to let me know as well.)

2. 'Follow' Mix And Chic on Twitter and leave a separate comment. (If you are already following, please leave a 
separate comment to let me know as well.)


 3.'Follow' Mix And Chic on Pinterest and leave a separate comment. (If you are already following, please leave a separate comment to let me know as well.)  

4. Mention this giveaway on your Facebook status (include a link back to this post) and leave a separate comment. 

5. Tweet about this giveaway (include a link back to this post) and leave a separate comment.

6. Blog about this giveaway (include a link back to this post) and leave a separate comment.

7. Bonus question 1: If you win, let me know the type of canvas you plan to create (family picture, wedding picture, vacation picture, etc). Would it be for yourself or a gift for someone?

8. Bonus question 2: Let me know what you love about Reflections On Canvas.

The last day for entries is July 18, 2012. The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced on Thursday, July 19, 2012. Good luck, everyone!


Sunday, April 15, 2012

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!



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. 


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!)


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).


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!

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Lucky me!

Why am I lucky? You may ask. For someone who has not win anything based on pure luck for the past 30 odd years, to win not one, not two but three giveaways in a row feels pretty amazing. I find it hard to believe but I am definitely thrilled, happy and excited!

My first lucky win is a stylish American Apparel clutch, a giveaway hosted by the lovely and fashionable Linh from La-lalinh. (Thanks, Linh) The best part is I can pick my clutch in whatever color I want. I mean, how cool is that? Previously, there are not much color to choose from, so I was thinking between the white or the black. In the end, I picked the black for practicality reasons.

Below are two pictures of me taken recently at the Chicago Botanic Garden with my new clutch. The weather was supposed to be perfect that day but not long after we arrived, the weather started to get chilly. Shortly after, it began to rain. And with the little one getting fussy and noncooperative, I didn't have a chance to take more pictures, so these two were the best pictures we had that day. I wish I had a red pea coat instead so it would have a wonderful contrast with the black clutch, but oh well, my wardrobe is very limited.



What do you think of my whole look? Did I rock the clutch? I am clearly not a fashionista, so please bear with me, my lovelies. Anyway, my husband took all these pictures and I was playing the director of photography that day! :)

Up next is my second win, a giveaway hosted by the lovely Elizabeth from The Mustard Ceiling, courtesy of Radiance From Ruins. It was a pair of 20" dark pink and white geometric pillow covers. Again, I was given these three options to choose from.

Option #1

Option #2

Option #3


I instantly knew Option #3 would look great with the rest of my pillows. I was actually looking for a pair of geometric pillows for a while and these couldn't come at a better time! And the best part is, the shipping was fast. I was pleasantly surprised because these pillow covers arrived two days after the giveaway winner was announced. Talk about great customer service! Many thanks to Elizabeth and Katie from Radiance From Ruins for the wonderful prize! The pillow covers were of good quality and heavyweight fabric and they were very well-made. I am incredibly happy with how they look in my living room. 


Aren't they perfect with the rest of my pillows? By the way, please ignore the blank walls behind my sofa. My living room is far from completed and I am still on the look out for suitable artwork or mirrors for these walls. :) When the pillow covers came in, I did not have any inserts for them so I thought of shopping for inserts that very same weekend. I ended up visiting a few furniture stores and a consignment shop.

Luckily for me, I found two pretty zebra patterned pillows at $10 a pair at the consignment shop so I bought them instantly thinking I would use them if I ever want to change my decor. I have always wanted to have a zebra patterned rug in the future so I thought these pillows will come in handy. After I got home, I thought maybe I can take out my zebra pillow covers and replaced them with my two new pillow covers so I can save some money instead of finding two new inserts. Unfortunately, the inserts didn't come with a cover and they were just filled with polyfill stuffing. I thought it will be a hassle to take them all out and stuff them back inside the two new pillow covers. So I just took the new pillow covers and cover them over the zebra pillows. Fortunately, they are the same size and they fit perfectly! Yay! As always, everything worked out in the end.

Next up, my third win, a giveaway hosted by the talented designer, Caitlin Creer, courtesy of Plum Street Prints. Now, Plum Street Prints is a darling shop selling printable art and iPhone cases run by two sweet girls. Their designs are modern, affordable and chic. Best of all, everything in their shop is customizable from designs, colors, names and initials.

I love most prints in their shop but in the end, I decided to go with Boy's Monogrammed "Conversation" Children's Print because I need some modern and stylish artwork for my son, Isaac's future bedroom. I contacted the girls, Lori and Shannon at Plum Street Prints and tell them my favorite print, my preferred background and colors. These wonderful girls quickly worked their design magic and came up with these four choices below for me to choose from. I thought the design from the first row on the left was what I had imagined in my head, so I picked that one although the rest was quite adorable, too.

Which one would you pick if you were me?

The final design.

In case anyone is interested with any of Lori and Shannon's prints at Plum Street Prints, let me reassure you, these girls are a breeze to work with. They are very patient, accommodating and efficient! I have yet to print this artwork but I am sure it will be pretty fabulous! Many thanks to Caitlin Creer for hosting this great giveaway and my sincere thanks to Lori and Shannon, for this awesome print! I love this print very much!

So, there you have it, my three wins in these few weeks! Among these giveaways, which one is your favorite?

Friday, April 15, 2011

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

Sunday, February 13, 2011

What's in a name?

Welcome to my blog. I got inspired to start this blog after stumbling upon many beautiful and stylish design related blogs. It is very inspiring and makes me want to transform my ordinary living space into a very happy, comfortable and chic space where I can unwind and have a peace of mind. Hopefully with my sharing and discovering of chic spaces and cool objects, it will inspire, bring joy and excitement to you, too.

So yesterday, I got so motivated about this little blogging project and begun to come up with many, many names for this blog which includes but not limited to 'the flair factor', 'inspired casa', 'interior motives', 'create and decorate' just to name a few but unfortunately, the good ones were always taken. Isn't that always the case?

Anyway, since I was still highly motivated, I ended up coming up with more names and in just less than 2 hours, I managed to come up with another 60-70 contenders, believe it or not. After narrowing down the name options, I came up with 'mix and chic'. I love this name because it is fun, catchy, easy to remember and it suits my blog content to a T.

I coined my blog 'Mix and Chic' because it sounds like Mix and Shake, pun intended obviously, with good and fun reasons. 'Mix' -In today's world of home decor, commonly mixing furniture with different styles and time periods are inevitable considering people are constantly exposed to global trends and cultures through frequent travelling, diverse population in every parts of the world and of course, through the internet. Besides, mixing and blending unexpected objects and furnishings in a home makes a space feels fresher, less boring or serious, thus injecting the home with loads of fun, personality and character!

Not forgetting why I chose another word- 'Chic', which is one of the most overused term and kind of a cliche in the design world but this humble little word is essential to sum up the content of this blog. I mean, how else can I sum up good taste, stylish and elegant in only a four-letter word?

So, let's Mix ( it Well ) and Chic ( it Up), people and have some fun in your decorating! Remember, there's no right or wrong in decorating. It's just an expression of the mind and spirit and a matter of different design choices for different individuals.

Hope you will have fun following along!