All posts by Cath

25 February 2013

Happy Belated National Margarita Day and a Give Away!

I had planned to do this post today before I realized that national margarita day was last Friday – dagnabbit! Well, regardless of my bad blog post timing, let me tell you about how this post came about.

A week ago, the kind folks over at Sinless sent me their margarita and mojito mixes to test and to do a give away.

Usually I don’t push products on AsianCajuns, but hear me out! Here’s why I’m excited about these mixes:

1.) They’re only 5 calories (one of my new years resolution was to, uh, drink less calories)
2.) They’re local! The cute couple that started Sinless lives right by me.
3.) Unlike most mixes, these are all natural. There aren’t any preservatives in the mixes, so you have to keep the bottles refrigerated.

I whipped up a batch of margaritas yesterday and made a salt/sugar/lime zest to rim the glasses.

It was actually warm enough outside on Sunday that it felt like margarita weather. I had every intention of following up the margaritas with some mojitos, but realized that I didn’t have any rum in the house. Guess what I’ll be drinking next weekend! I wonder when national mojito day is.

I didn’t do a full outfit shot with this post because I’ll be showing off the dress I’m wearing when I do a post on the Tastemaker Magazine/ Coco Rae photo shoot (the cardi is H&M and the bracelet is from Forever 21).

Want to try a Sinless mixer for yourself? To enter the give away, all you have to do is like the Sinless Margarita Facebook page and the AsianCajuns Facebook page (if you haven’t, ahem, already done so 😉 ) and leave a comment on this post with your email address. I’ll choose a winner at random on Friday. Good luck and happy, low-calorie drinking!

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Dearest Lar,

Are margaritas big in Scotland? I know I’ve never ordered one at a pub in Edinburgh, but that’s because I’m always so cold in Scotland that I just end up wanting to drink whiskey.

I hate that we didn’t get a chance to really talk this weekend. That just means we’ll have to Skype twice next weekend and email a lot during the week, okay?

Miss you like crazy.

xoxo, Cath

Category: Cath's Style, Decatur/Atlanta

24 Comments

22 February 2013

TGIF Link Love + Nail Polish!

Cath

Happy Friday, lovelies! See those photos up there? See that nail polish? Yeah, that’s AsianCajuns nail polish!!! Actually the official color is called AsianCajuns Double Mint. Get it? Like it? I hope so!

This is all thanks to Coco Rae and Tastemaker Magazine. Coco Rae’s Spring/Summer line is inspired by Atlanta bloggers and we all celebrated with a sneak peek party last night at Fab’rik in Buckhead. I’ll let you all know when the polish is officially available.

In the meantime, check out the fabulous bloggers who also have a color in the collection: The Fashionista Next Door, The ATL Go To Girl, Lipgloss and Binky, Mattieologie, The Style Pundit.

And here’s a couple more links to take you into the weekend:

Must try these cookie recipes: Gluten Free Samoas Girl Scout cookies and 2-ingredient cookies
Get your dose of Daily Dishonesty
The best Chinese New Year homemade decorations
Need to do this now: How To Hide a Zit with makeup
I’m now officially inspired to wear bright pink sneakers
I’m going to pretend it’s already summer and try these out this week – expect a related post in the future.

Have a great weekend!

Category: TGIF Link Love

5 Comments

18 February 2013

Obama Rama in Decatur

Cath

Happy Presidents’ Day!

If you follow me on Instagram, you already know that President Obama visited Decatur last Thursday. The event was invite-only and ~~being a pillar of the local community I was invited~~ I was lucky enough to attend as one of the 40 volunteers needed for the day.

Somehow the White House staff figured out how to pack about 500 people in local recreation center gym and spent three days transforming it into a proper presidential-speaking-venue.

As silly as it sounds, I agonized over what to wear. I mean, what do you wear to ~~meet~~ see the President of the United States up close in person? Honestly, if I had the money I would have taken a page out of Malia and Sasha’s Inauguration style book and gone with a purple dress like this one. Instead, I reached into the back of my closet and went with this Ann Taylor dress from The Little Black Dress Experiment Lar and I participated in three years ago. The White House volunteer coordinator had told us not to wear heels. I scoffed at him, wore my Aldo black heels, and then hobbled home on Thursday after standing on my feet for six hours straight.

Not only was it an amazing feeling to be so close to Obama, but it was also so much fun to see everyone so excited about his visit the couple of hours before he even entered the building. I’ve never seen so many giddy adults.

President Obama talked for about twenty minutes on the importance of preschool. Here’s a little nugget of information: see that Preschool for All sign below? It was created by the White House staff to look handmade. Apparently this is a typical practice when the President talks at community centers. If someone really has a job where they are in charge of making handmade signs for the President, I want that job. Have you seen the tissue paper tassels I’ve created? It doesn’t get more handmade-looking than that! Washington, here I come!

For those of you who want to read about the real nuts and bolts of the President’s visit to Decatur (why are you reading this post?!), click here for WABE’s coverage of the event.

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Dearest Lar,

The only way you could beat this Obama visit from across the pond, would be a visit from the Queen herself to your workplace. I mean, a visit from David Cameron would be nice, but nothing like being in the same room as President Obama. Then again, I might be a little biased towards the U.S. in that regard – and I always considered myself such an anglophile! Shame on me!

Don’t you think the UK should have a Prime Ministers’ day? If it was today, we could spend the whole day Skyping each other. At least we got to talk twice this weekend! Miss you as always!

xoxo, Cath

Category: Decatur/Atlanta

16 Comments

11 February 2013

Trying on the Prabal Gurung for Target Collection

Cath

You know you’re a fashion addict when you wake up at 7:00 am on a Sunday morning to check out a new line at Target and end up spending almost half of your monthly grocery budget on a dress and a pair of shoes (my LearnVest financial planner will be so disappointed!). But it was all worth being able to check out the new Prabal Gurung line with my friend Meredith – and about seven other women waiting for Target to open at 8:00 this morning.

AsianCajuns shop Prabal Gurung

I picked out seven items to try out and wanted to take home almost every piece, but I couldn’t very well spend all of my grocery money so I ended up going home with only my absolutely favorite pieces. I’m hoping some of the items I liked won’t sell out and will eventually go on sale. Wishful thinking, I know!

I loved the sweatshirt in the First Date Print, but figured it wasn’t as versatile as a dress. It would look really cute with black shorts in the spring though. Hmmm.I suppose I could always go back to the store or buy it online.

I was convinced before trying on everything that this was the dress that I was going to purchase. While I really like the shape and design, the jersey dress (a few photos below) won out because it was so comfortable.

I’m really hoping this top and skirt don’t sell out. Both pieces would be perfect for work (worn separate, of course).

I loved the blues of this sweater, but it was slightly too long for me – it’s also pretty think so I wouldn’t buy it for layering over shirts.

So what did I end up with? This drop waist, jersey dress and heels below.

I was so excited about the shoes that I immediately came home and changed my outfit so I could wear them. It’s a little chilly and rainy in Atlanta to be wearing open-toed shoes, but why not?! It’s nice to have a little pop of color in the dead of winter.

Target stripped sweatshirt (old) | H&M belt | J.Crew outlet jeans | Prabal Gurung for Target heels

I’m going to wear my new Prabal Gurung dress to the Polish Me Pretty Party next week. Do you live in the Atlanta area? You should come! For details, check out the previous post.

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Dearest Lar,

After missing your twin sister, not having a Target in your country should be a top reason to not stay in the UK. Just saying 😉 True you have Primark, Selfridges, Office, etc. but there’s just something so wonderful about Target – and not just the designer collabs. It’s a big box chain store, but it has so many fun items and you can buy your groceries and designer (collaboration) clothes all under one roof. But you know all of that already

So glad we had a Skype date yesterday – I wish we could talk everyday!

xoxo, Cath

Category: Cath's Style

21 Comments

10 February 2013

You’re Invited: Polish Me Pretty Party

Cath

I’m so excited about this! Me and five other Atlanta fashion bloggers were invited by Coco Rae, CEO and founder of Coco Rae Cosmetics, to contribute to her spring/summer collection. We each got to pick and name a color and we’ll be celebrating the preview next Thursday evening at Fab’rik in Buckhead.

The event is free, but make sure to reserve your spot at Eventbrite. I hope to see you there!

Category: Decatur/Atlanta

1 Comment

8 February 2013

Friday Link Love

Cath

Kisses by Tim Walker
Happy Friday, dear readers! Do you have any fun plans for this weekend? How about for Valentine’s Day next Thursday? I’ll be at a social media conference this weekend and have no idea what I’m doing for Valentine’s Day. Any thoughts?! I need some cheap and fun ideas!

A few links to get you through the weekend:

• Just purchased this dress for an upcoming photo shoot – details soon!

• It’s so refreshing to hear about modeling in such a real light.

• Want: a grouping of succulents in brightly colored pots.

• The perfect Valentine’s Day cardigan – if you can afford it.

• Five ways to tie a scarf.

• A great how-to: Fashion sketching for beginners.

• A sweet wallpaper for your computer.

• This is a real thing: a modern coffee table that doubles as a dollhouse

Category: TGIF Link Love

4 Comments

5 February 2013

Super Bowl Party

Cath

I’m a bit of a reluctant party-thrower. I usually get so overwhelmed thinking about how much I have to clean my house that I end up talking myself out of hosting. However, every year I’m overruled when it comes to throwing a Super Bowl party because Troy loves football and is the commissioner of his fantasy football league. Yes, for these reasons, we host a party once a year.

Troy and I spent all of Saturday and Sunday morning prepping, cleaning and cooking.

Troy made a ridiculous amount of food. If you follow me on Instagram you might have seen my post yesterday listing everything we ~~ate~~ prepared. On top of all that food, my mom made cupcakes, a cinnamon cake, a strawberry trifle, and wings – she’s amazing!

Super Bowl Party cupcakes

Everyone did their part in eating as much as possible and barely made a dent in the food. Troy and I now have enough food to last us for at least a month. Leftovers FTW!

While I didn’t get a chance to watch all of the commercials (or much of the game for that matter), I was super pumped that the locally made Doritos Goat commercial we mentioned in a recent Link Love made it on the air during the game. Did you see it? Which commercial was your favorite?

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Dearest Lar,

There is something so American about football and I think it has more to do with the type of food you consume while watching the game than the actual game. I mean, wings? Genius! And then you can never forget the Velveeta and Rotel dip – I don’t even think any of the ingredients are real food!

Was the game played anywhere in Edinburgh? I bet you were sound asleep by the time the game started. I don’t blame you. The Super Bowl won’t be worth watching until either the Redskins or Falcons are part of it 😉

I don’t know why, but I feel like I haven’t talked to you in forever – even though we just Skyped on Saturday. When can I “see” you next?!

xoxo, Cath

Category: Uncategorized

15 Comments

28 January 2013

Day Trip to Chattanooga, TN

Cath

Troy and I have been itching to travel, but we currently don’t have the time or money for a full blown trip. Our solution? A day trip two hours north of Atlanta to Chattanooga! I put off my school work, Troy put off cleaning the kitchen, we dropped the dogs off at my parent’s house (thanks mom and dad!), texted our friends for some Chattanooga tips (thanks Greg and Alison!) and we headed north on I-75.

I’ve been to Chattanooga a couple of times – I’ve even stayed at the Chattanooga Choo-Choo twice! But it’s been a while since I’ve explored the city.

Chattanooga is divided by a river and there’s an amazing pedestrian bridge that connects the two sides. I love how many people were walking with their dogs even on a relatively gray day.

Speaking of dogs, Troy and I were tempted to stop into Good Dog – a local hot dog place. It was written up in a couple of the local papers, but we had just eaten lunch. I’ve already made a mental note to stop by here next time we come up for a visit.

Chattanooga has a vibrant art scene and great public art. Troy and I couldn’t pass up taking cheesy photos with this guy (anyone else noticing a dog theme? Hmm.):

Look! It’s Harold and his purple crayon! Lar and I loved that book when we were little:

For the most part Troy and I spent the day walking around, taking breaks at coffee shops and eating (it’s what we do best). Here are a few places that we stopped in:

The sales woman at Bone Appetit was probably one of the nicest people we met today. She has ten dogs at home so she knows her stuff. She even gave us some samples of her new grain-free, meat-free treats for our golden doodle who seems to be allergic to almost everything.

Rembrandt’s Coffee House is right by the art museum and the perfect pit stop for an afternoon break. It’s located on the bottom floor of what looks like an old 1930s apartment building and has a European vibe to it. We also stopped into the New Moon Tea Room on the north side of town. I got a cup of vanilla and citris rooibos that was delicious.

We finished our day off at Easy Bistro & Bar, which ended up being such a treat. The bartender, Sarah, was super friendly and the drinks were delicious. Housemade cucumber gin? Don’t mind if I do!

All in all, it was a great mini road trip. My biggest Chattanooga tip: don’t go on a Sunday. A lot of the restaurants and shops either closed early or were closed for the whole day. We lucked out that places like Easy Bistro & Bar were open.

To finish off this post, here’s Troy showing off the only items we purchased the whole day (we spent most of our money on food and drinks):

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Dearest Lar,

Do you remember when we went to Chattanooga a few years ago with mom and dad? It’s built up a little more since then. The antique mall is still there (located on the north side near the Whole Foods). Troy and I went in there looking for a mid century end table for our living, but didn’t have any luck. In fact, apart from a dining set, there was no mid century furniture to be found! I’m determined to find the perfect piece, so the hunt continues!

Love and miss you as always,

Cath

Category: Cath's Style, Experiences

10 Comments

21 January 2013

Same Blazer, Two Different Takes

Cath

A few months ago my friend Mere and I snatched up these brightly-colored Mossimo blazers from Target and they’ve become staples of our workwear outfits ever since. The ponte material is super soft and stretchy (although mine has started to pill a bit under the arms) and each color has its own fun, matching patterned lining (see my cuff below).

Since we didn’t have work today (did I mention that Mere and I work together? – I’m so lucky that I get to work with my friends!), we both dressed down our blazers. No pencil skirts and tights today – woohoo!

I decided to wear my blazer with skinny ankle jeans. It was almost warm enough outside for exposed ankles. (After taking these photos, I immediately went home and changed into a fleece and boots. #bloggercheating #canttakethecold)

Blazer • Target | shirt • thrifted | necklace from a little shop in Florence | jeans • J.Crew Outlet | pumps • BCBG via TJ Maxx

I love Mere’s patterned top. It looks like it was made to go with her blazer:

Blazer • Target | blouse • Target | jeans • Gap | heels • Kohl’s | watch • Nixon

I’ve actually seen a number of girls wearing this same blazer so we must not be the only ones who love it. If this is the first time you’ve seen this blazer and you’re dying to have it, it’s still available at Target.com here.

After taking these photos today Mere and I realized that we actually have a lot of the same clothes, so you’ll be seeing her in future AsianCajuns posts. Thanks for playing along, Mere!

Here’s to a four day work week!

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Dear Lar,

As I was writing this post my mind kept turning to a very important question: how the hell do you live without Target?! I can’t believe not one single Target has opened up in the U.K. I suppose there’s no Marks and Spencers here, but that’s not really the same. I wouldn’t trade a Tarjay for a Marks and Sparks no matter how many Percy the Pig items they sell!

Did it feel strange to be in a foreign country on Martin Luther King, Jr. day and Obama’s second inauguration? That’s like a double wammy of American-ness. You couldn’t turn on the radio or TV today without hearing Beyonce sing the national anthem – it got old fast. Everyone is saying that Obama’s speech was better this time around, but nothing can beat the feeling of us being there live four years ago watching him on the jumbotrons in D.C. Remember our inauguration post four years ago?

At least Robert Burns night is coming up for you. I wish I could go to a pub and eat a wee bit of haggis with you to honor the occasion!

xoxo, Cath

Category: Cath's Style

11 Comments

18 January 2013

Twin Take: Our Vanities

Cath

Happy Friday, lovelies! Lar and I decided to mix things up a bit and instead of a Friday Link Love, we’re doing a Friday Twin Take. Yeah, that’s right, we like aliteration. And we like sharing our sameness and different.ness. First up! Vanities!

Lar and I are relatively low maintenance when it comes to makeup. Don’t get me wrong, we love our trips to Sephora as much as the next girl, but we both keep our makeup routines under five minutes. Efficiency? Yes. Laziness? Most definitely.

Regardless of our brief daily makeup routine, Lar and I both appreciate having a place to apply our makeup. There’s something so luxurious about having a dedicated spot to primp and Lar and I have both done it on the cheap. Take a look:

Lar’s vanity is located right by her bedroom window. Of course natural light is the best light to apply makeup. Too bad Lar lives in a country where it’s only sunny about 10 percent of the time (sorry Lar, had to make that dig).

My vanity is a five year old Ikea desk. I used my phone to take photos so you can’t see the scratches in the paint. Otherwise, it’s perfect!

Let’s take a closer look at each set up:

I love how girly Lar’s vanity looks – although I guess there’s no such thing as a manly vanity. Matt bought her that bottle of Lancome perfume for Christmas and the pink bottle is from her super fancy Harrod’s hamper. Do you see all of her makeup brushes? Lar is the one who made me realize that makeup is so much easier to apply with brushes than with the weird foam tools that come with drug store makeup and q-tips.

Lar stores the bulk of her makeup in a biscuits (that’s “cookie’s” in British speak) tin.

Instead of cluttering up her vanity with hair tools and products, she keeps them stored in a box nearby. Do you see how she has a GHD straightener? So jealous!

My vanity is a bit more cluttered:

I purchased the chevron tray and little cupcake stand at two local shops in Decatur. The full size cake stand was made by a local potter. I like to think these items make my table top look a little more pulled together.

Lar and I both like organizing things cups (see my white tea cup and Lar’s turquoise mug). I have two tubes of Rimmel concealor because they’re now only available in the UK. Lar brings them home for me and I hoard them.

I keep my AsianCajuns name necklace within easy reach because I wear it almost every day. The little bowl is a gift from a friend who went to China and the A to Z emery boards are from Lar.

I think Lar and I get our love of vanities from our mom. She’s not big into makeup either, but for as long as I can remember she’s always had a vanity. It’s a a weird combination I suppose – like having a big closet but not really being interested in clothes. Go figure. Are we alone here? For our female readers out there, do you have a vanity? Any organizing tips? Do you keep your makeup in a cookie tin?

So many questions to think about while heading into the weekend!

P.S.: Friday Link Love isn’t gone forever. It’ll be back every other Friday.

__________________

Dearest Lar,

It’s MLK Jr. weekend and you know what that means?! Volunteering on Saturday! This will be the second year in a row where we won’t be volunteering together, sniffle ,sniffle. I hate losing traditions like that, but we can start new traditions, like Twin Take Fridays, woohoo!

Skype date Sunday?

xoxo, Cath

Category: Twin Take

27 Comments