In the spirit of consumerism the season, Lar and I thought we’d post a list of our favorite online shops:
We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We had a great one that involved lots of delicious food and lots of dish washing!
Hello Dearest Readers!
Lar and her bf invited me and my bf over for Sunday dinner: roasted chicken, black eyed peas, collards and mashed sweet potatoes. And like all great Sunday dinners, this one ended in us wearing animal masks. That’s Lar in the tiger mask and me as a Zebra (just in case you couldn’t tell).
Wheatie wore his best GoldenDoodle mask:
I have no idea why Lar is laughing at me here. I mean, my zebra mask goes perfectly with my outfit: gray motorcycle sweatshirt from Walmart, H&M black turtleneck, Blank jeans and suede boots from Newport News years ago.
Lar is wearing her bf’s H&M shirt, thrifted belt, Blank cords and boots from Tarjay.
Our parents are hosting a Thanksgiving dinner for 23, so we’ll be swamped this week with table settings, menu planning, Thanksgiving decorating, turkey and Peking duck preparing, and lots of last minute food shopping.
If we don’t get a chance to blog before Thursday, we hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Sweet Auburn Curb Market is marvelous; right in the heart of downtown Atlanta and easily accessible by public transport. It doesn’t have the touristy gentrification of a place like Pike Place Market in Seattle, but in many ways, it’s better for it. People come here to actually buy produce, just-baked sweet potato pies for tonight’s dessert, and whole pigs for . cochon de laits? Oh and they also come here for delicious coffee and some of the best burgers in the city.
My bf and I stopped by Grindhouse (inside the market) for lunch. Two customized burgers, one hand-spun chocolate milkshake, and a basket of fries later, we rolled off our diner stools to start shopping: a huge batch of collared greens, sweet potatoes, 2 lbs of bacon, and freshly ground coffee.
The Sweet Auburn Curb Market’s neighbor is Grady Hospital. It made me feel better that the doctor sitting next to us was eating a large burger with no veggies and a great deal of onion rings. She was probably not a cardiologist, but if we clogged our arteries while chomping away at our lunch, we were just an elbow’s width away from medical service. Win, win!
In addition to burger grease, this is what I wore yesterday:
Hat is the bf’s, sweater is from my highschool years when I shopped at Wetseal, frilly tank thing is from Forever21, pink skirt is from Asos.com, boots are Target, purse is thrifted Coach.
I tried to meet up with Cath at the market to take outfit photos together, but we just missed each other. We’ll be eating lunch together today though- woohoo! She and her bf are due here in about an hour so I have to go get lunch ready: collards, mashed sweet potatoes, black-eyed peas and chicken. A solid Southern precursor to Thanksgiving- yummy!!!
Hope you all are having a wonderfully delicious weekend too!
We’ve had a stir-fry and a bowl of gumbo in the same sitting, but I’m not sure if that counts as AsianCajun cuisine. I didn’t actually mix the bok choy with the roux. The two cultures have remained segregated: a bowl of stir-fry, chased by some gumbo. Such a shame. Luckily we have Serpas; a relatively new restaurant in the Old 4th Ward in the ATL that blends both cultures in one dish. Chef Scott Serpas channels his Louisiana roots and adds a dash of far east spice to create AsianCajun cuisine. We likey. Alot-y.
(ps- above: I’m trying out a new blogger pose. It’s called “grimace-at-poison-ivy-on-wrist.” Kate Moss invented it).
Doesn’t Cath look gorgeous? It must be the post-beignet consumption glow. I would have had it too had I not insulted them and said they were so cold. Isn’t her dress wonderful? I completely forget where she got it. We’ll have to ask her.
My absolute favorite dish we tried at Serpas was this shrimp salad with perfectly ripe avocado and butter-leaf lettuce. nom nom nommmmmmm. To be completely frank, the beignets that were served before the salad were a bit of a let-down. They were served cold (le sigh) and seemed indifferent to their deep-friedness. Parish still has the best beignets in town. (Locals, let me know if I’m wrong. I’m always up for a taste test).
That’s Cath sipping her mimosa. This was a fashion brunch: models walked around in teeny clothes while we shoved powder-sugared beignets in our mouths, and all the proceeds went to Komen for the Cure! Pretty much a perfect morning if you ask me.
Lar: blue dress by Rodarte for Targarte, belt by J.Crew, ring from my lovely friend E via Urban Renewal, boots by Frye.
Cath: errr. Cath, I have no idea. Where you get yur stuffs?
One of the best things about blogging is getting to meet so many talented people in the Atlanta area. Lar and I have been following Atlanta’s 2secondFloor blog for a while now and were so chuffed when Mr. B3rtrand asked to do a feature on us. Not only is he super sweet, we had a fun afternoon taking pics with him at my apartment a few weeks ago. Check out the whole post here.
I’ve been meaning to give this shout-out for the past month: In the November issue of Atlanta Magazine Fidie Ramli includes AsianCajuns as one of her inspirations. Thank you Fidie!!
And last, but not least, June Shin and Jessica Swift’s collaboration that we mention on here is officially on line! Boys, this is your Christmas shopping done. You can thank us later:
June Shin’s Etsy: Treasuring Collection
You know the Monday blahs. They start creeping in Sunday night (right now for me). The dreaded beginning of the work/school week. The only way I know to combat it is to ask my trusty luchadora to put up a good fight. The luchadora says instead of thinking about the work waiting for you tomorrow morning, daydream about the weekend delights. Great idea, luchadora! (Luchador mask from Mingei!).
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Cath and I worked on a mini-photoshoot. The signs above will make sense with time (upcoming blog post will feature full-length shoot).
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Leaves and fall and whatnot (if you haven’t seen the vlog below. well, it’s pretty much the same thing).
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Cath standing outside (in her new Frye boots) of Ria’s Bluebird.
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A delicious brunch burrito at Ria’s. Atlantans are serious about their brunching.
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I opted for the fluffiest pancakes known to humankind. The New York Times says they are the best pancakes in the world. When I said serious, I meant serious. Like NYtimes serious.
So do you guys daydream about weekend pancakes and luchador masks when you are combating the MBs? Tomorrow will be a particularly painful Monday for me because I’m going to the dentist for the first time in five years (my teeth hurt every time I say that). I think it might take more than just memories of pancakes tomorrow. I’ll have to stop by and eat the real thing once the novocaine wears off. Gulp.
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P.S. Some of you asked about the nail polish color the last time I had this photo up. Color: OPI Lucerne-Tainly Looks Marvelous (does that mean something to you guys?). I love the sparkly, but not too sparkly gun metal gray. The ring is from Shopbop.
Need a little weekend break? Cath and I made this little video while we were in the mountains of North Carolina a few weekends ago with Ali (the gorgeous blond in the video). Want a bite of caramel apple? A steaming spoonful of chicken soup? A drive through the mountains, sniffing the crisp autumn air? An encounter with a bear (or maybe that’s me in my faux fur coat)? Play this little video:
p.s. The music in the video is by Camera Obscura. an entirely underrated Scottish band.
Happy, happy weekend, everyone! Let us know what you’re up to and if you came on our vlog-cation with us (cheesy, I know, I’ll work on it ;)). If you are anti-vlog, you can see “the stills” from our mountain vacay in this post.
Lar and I have figured out that if we meet up after work, we can manage to get a few outfit photos in for the blog. I was working late today so she came to visit me at my office.
I love Lar’s color combination of red and turquoise – gorgeous! Her dress is from Ramona West, Old Navy cardi, J. Crew belt and Frye boots.
She found this awesome clutch at a second-hand shop in North Georgia. I think it’s the perfect over-sized clutch.
I started the day out with my nude pumps, but I had a couple of errands during the work day so the chuck-t’s came out. The sweater is from J.Crew (ages ago), the scarf was picked up in Egypt by my lovely friend Ali, Michele watch and Gap pants that are supposedly “cropped” pants. . . hmmmm. . . .
Hope you guys are having a good week. Mine has gotten much better now that I have the GRE behind me ( I took it on Monday and have been studying like a mad woman) and Lar came over to, er, help me at the office.
Cath and I voted together last week. I still get excited about voting, even if I know the outcome might not be exactly as I hoped. There is something really satisfying in performing your civic duty, isn’t there? Or maybe I just really like the peach sticker we get in Georgia once you turn your ballot card in to the voter station volunteers.
Once we left the voter station (local church basement), Cath and I thought we should capture our post-voting glow in the parking lot. I have no idea why I’m pointing to my belly button here. I think it was part of my “where should I put my peach sticker” discussion with Cath.
Going to vote in the middle of the workday means that Cath and I are both attired for work. She wouldn’t be allowed to wear shorts like moi to the office (even if their salaciousness is mitigated with black tights and an oversized cable-knit sweater). But I love how she always looks so chic and not too conservative.
Ooo this is my new love (above). My mom thrifted this Coach bag a few months back ($30!), but found it was too small for her. I love how structured it is without being stuffy.
(Below) Cath is the queen of the messy bun! I so need to learn how to do that with her panache.
Hope you guys had a wonderful weekend!
On Lar: jacket from Express, shorts are from Old Navy, hat is H&M, shoes are Tarjay, sweater is from TJ Max, purse is thrifted Coach.
On Cath: necklace from Rockit Boutique in Decatur, shirt from Zara, shoes, pants and blazer from H&M
What happens when fabulous jeweler June Shin meets wonderful illustrator Jessica Swift? They make perfect jewelery babies pieces together. Last week, June sent us some of the gorgeous items from their new jewelery collaboration, and Cath and I are fighting over loving every piece!
If you’ve followed AsianCajuns for a while, you know we love June. We’ve been raving about her work since May 28, 2008, to be exact. Her jewelry is delicate and subtle without being whimpy, and compliments our style really well.
Below you can see some of the June Shin/Jessica Swift collaborations. We love the whimsy of Jessica’s art with June’s light metal-smithing. These ladies can do no wrong in our book.
Here is the lovely part: June and Jessica are local artists (you can see their wares at this weekend’s Chomp and Stomp), but they both have Etsy stores for you non-locals to peruse. June’s jewelry is also at Beehive Co-op, Sole shoes, Kelly’s Closet and Dakota J’s.
• June Shin’s Etsy store
• Jessica Swift’s Etsy Store
Update: June and Jessica’s collaboration pieces will be up on their Etsy sites November 10 (woohoo!), but in the meantime they have some gorgeous stuff up on their respective Etsy stores.