All posts by Cath

20 December 2015

Time for A Change

asiancajunsnotebook_web

For the past few years, Lar and I have been struggling with AsianCajuns.com for a while. We started this blog eight years ago as a kind of lifestyle/fashion/all-things-we-like blog. Then it became almost exclusively about fashion. And then when Lar moved abroad it became about staying in touch and sharing our separate lives and the focus was a mix of fashion, travel and food.

Now that Lar is back in the states (best thing ever, btw) we no longer feel a need to share our lives with each other through blogging because we can actually talk to each other every single day. Plus, fashion just really isn’t our thing anymore. Let me rephrase. Fast, trendy fashion isn’t our thing anymore. At the ripe old age of 32, we’re no longer excited by trips to Zara, H&M (et. al.). Staying on trend is no longer thrilling. In fact, it now feels a little depressing.

This change has come about slowly and for a number of reasons. We’re getting older and wiser – or at least we are getting older. And that means things like travel, owning a home, saving up for furniture and other adult things have taken priority over clothes.

Growing up I was always the more practical twin and in college Lar was the one who was always buying tons of cute clothes. When she moved abroad, I became the twin with all of the clothes and billions of accessories while Lar while was the poster child for minimalism. Then Lar got the KonMari bug. Then I did. And now we’re much more conscious of the clothes we buy. I still probably have more clothes than Lar, but significantly less than I had even a few months ago. On top of all of this, the whole capsule wardrobe, zero waste home, ethical consumerism, and minimalism movements have totally got us excited – as excited as we used to get about trendy fashions.

So with all that being said, Lar and I are moving AsianCajuns in a more focused direction. We want it to become our experiment space where we can share our journey of living more simply. That doesn’t mean we’ll turn into monotone minimalists that live in perfectly edited Scandinavian-inspired homes – not even close! We’re human after all. Humans that are on relatively tight budgets and are fans of a lived-in look that’s not perfect.

The first category we’ll be focusing on will be clothes because we still love clothes. And even though we’ve both cleaned out our closets, there’s still a lot more to explore. We’re both intrigued by the idea of a capsule wardrobe. So we’ll be blogging about what we have, how we make it work, and why we decide to buy certain items if and when that happens.

I hope you can join us on our journey and find it interesting. Even though we’ve been mulling over the future of our a blog for a while now, one of the things that we’ve consistently loved about it is our readers. The blogging world is an amazing (albeit shrinking) community that means so much to us. So stay in touch and let us know what you think!

P.S.: As Lar has mentioned in previous posts, we’ll have a new design up soon to reflect our changing direction. Plus, we’ll start posting regularly once we’ve worked out all of the backend kinks.

Category: General AsianCajuns Info

15 Comments

24 August 2015

The KonMari Method: My Closet

Cath

Konmari_method

After visiting Lar in Scotland last month, I was so impressed with how organized and spacious her 550 square foot flat felt. It’s all because of her devotion to Marie Kondo’s “life changing tidying-up” techniques. Read Lar’s original KonMari post if you’re unfamiliar with the concept. So I decided it was high time for me to jump on the tidying-up bandwagon and get started with the hardest category (for me, at least): clothes.

I’m totally embarrassed to show these before photos, but without them, you wouldn’t get the full “life changing” feel. So, here you go. My “closet” before:

Before_Konmari

before_hangers

My house was built in 1947 and has teeny, tiny closets by 2015 standards. Troy uses the small closet in the master bedroom and I use the second bedroom as my closet. I always imagined getting built-ins one day, but not anytime soon. So my closet consisted of two Ikea clothing racks, a Target cube storage unit and piles of shoes. Yes. I was ashamed of my closet.

before_drawers

So I spent one Sunday sorting through all of my clothes category by category and deciding which pieces “sparked joy” and were worth keeping. Marie Kondo believes that you have to sort through similar items all at once. So that means going through every item of clothing in your house – winter/summer clothes, coats, pjs – everything. It was pretty overwhelming to see exactly how many tops, pants, bags, scarves, jewelry, shoes etc. I had.

before_bottoms

Before_bags

It took at least five hours: sorting everything, deciding what to keep, bagging up everything to give away, deciding what to fold and hang, folding almost everything (another Marie Kondo technique), reorganizing, and putting everything away. I gave away over nine trash bags full of clothes, shoes and jewelry to Second Life, my local thrift store. And after all of that, this is what I have left:

After_konmari

The photo above includes all of my clothes (minus jackets and coats), shoes, and scarves that I currently own and it feels amazing! Everything except some blouses and four dresses are folded KonMari style:

KonMari_folding

Including my socks and underwear. Yep. Underwear gets folded.

after_socks

The fascinator is the only hat I kept and out of 20+ scarves, I only kept three:

Konmari_hairpoducts_scarves

Apart from five rings and three bangles, this board contains all of my jewelry:

after_jewelry

And these are the bags that I kept:

after_bags

Part of me can’t believe I gave away so much and the other part of me can’t believe I kept so much stuff for so long. It’s been a week since I’ve done my big clean-out and I still feel great about it. The only items I’m missing are a good black cardigan (the one I owned got a lot of use but it didn’t spark joy because it was shapeless and worn-looking), another pair of jeans (I only kept one pair!), and a winter coat.

The best part was that I didn’t buy any new organizational items. I used all the furniture I already have. Yes, someday I would like to own a proper dresser, but I’m fine spending my time saving up for something I really like. Until then, the Target cube unit will do just fine.

If you want more KonMari inspiration, read Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, peruse Lar’s KonMari purse post and follow my friend’s KonMari-devoted Instagram account. Also Goop has a pretty great KonMari folding guide complete with videos.

Sorting through my clothes is only the beginning. I’d like to spend one to two weekends a month tackling different categories. I think books are up next followed by all of my papers. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes!

Category: Cath's Style, Home

18 Comments

11 August 2015

The Red Door Gallery, Edinburgh

Cath

Red_door_gallery_necklaces

Sometimes it feels like globalization has made shopping in the developed world so homogenized. No matter what city you visit, you know you’ll find an H&M, Zara, Gap and Urban Outfitters. Don’t get me wrong, I do my fair share of chain store shopping, but I’m always on the search for something unique. Remember Falsi Gioielli in Florence? Well, The Red Door Gallery in Edinburgh is kind of like that. Unlike Falsi Gioielli, it’s not hard to find. It’s located in a very touristy area in Edinburgh and I love to visit it every time I’m in town.

It’s a tiny shop/gallery, but it’s chock-a-block with British-made prints, pins, paper goods, jewelry, pillows, and cards. Lar and I bought matching-ish necklaces by Lucie Ellen (check out here Etsy shop here) a few weeks ago and I wear mine almost every day. I also have a couple of prints from The Red Door Gallery framed in my house.

I would have taken even more photos of the interior but the shop was so crowded that I couldn’t get a decent shot without someone’s head moving into view. Ah well. I suppose that means you just have to visit yourself to see what it’s like.

red_door_gallery_window

wes_anderson_pins

Lar also introduced me to Flux in Leith. I stupidly forgot to take pictures there, but you can check out their brightly-colored website here.

Category: Edinburgh

3 Comments

9 August 2015

Tipple + Rose Tea Parlor and Apothecary

Cath

Remember last week when I said my trip to Edinburgh made me we want explore more cafes/eateries in Atlanta? Well, done and done! Tipple & Rose Parlor and Apothecary opened up last week in Virginia Highland and I made my way over there on Saturday. I love tea shops – the promise of warm scones with clotted cream or, at the very least, a quiet place to have a cuppa and read a book. Tipple & Rose does not disappoint. It’s got a great airy, laid-back vibe with a hint of Victoriana. You have a choice of 80 kinds of tea (you can smell each one at the counter before ordering), crumpets, house-made scones, clotted cream, cakes, pies and a number of salads and sandwiches including vegan options.

Since it was so hot out on Saturday (and Sunday and Monday and Tuesday and forever in Atlanta), I ordered a rooibos over ice, vegan kale salad and a blueberry and white chocolate scone. Yes, it’s a weird combination, but it was perfect for the mood I was in and it was all so good. I can’t wait to take Lar here when she gets into town in September.

My friend Brittany joined me and fell in love with the giant Victorian arm chair she’s sitting in (note, we both got iced teas because it’s so unbearably hot):

These are all the teas at the counter that you can take a sniff of before ordering:

Since it’s part apothecary, Tipple & Rose carries a number of all-natural, locally made bath products. Little Barn Apothecary is one of my favorite local brands. I was really tempted to buy a bottle of the jasmine ocean water:

Bathroom selfie, had to do it because the natural light was so pretty (outfit blog post coming soon):

My very last semester of grad school starts up in a few weeks. I might spend my weekends studying at Tipple & Rose – that would make me actually look forward to all of the work I have to do!

Category: Cath's Style, Decatur/Atlanta

4 Comments

7 August 2015

Sister Time

Cath

When Lar and I were little, our mom would dress us up the same. I mean, we were twin girls, what mom in her right mind wouldn’t? Lar and I never minded. Growing up as a twin and dressing like else was normal. We didn’t start dressing differently until we started picking out our own clothes at the mall – anyone remember Limited Too?!?!

Now that we’re full blown adults and are hardly ever together (sob!) we love wearing the same thing – or at least similar things – when we’re together. It just feels right! Of course we don’t look super twin-like now that Lar’s hair is legitimately curly and I can never come back from over plucking my eyebrows in the 90s – damn you, pink Tweezerman tweezers! But I still love looking similar – if not exactly alike.

Devils_Advocate_Edinburgh

Where: The Devil’s Advocate
Wearing: Old Navy tops

Where: The Hanging Bat
Wearing: H&M black cardigans, Truly Madly Deeply tanks from U.O.

Where: Rose Leaf
Wearing: Not really wearing the same thing in this pic, but we are drinking the same thing – Coconut Crunch juice (so good!)

Lar is still holidaying in southern England (check out her IG pics here), but I’ll get to see her again in a month. She’ll be visiting Atlanta before moving onto Seattle in the fall. That means I get to see her twice in one season – that never happens!

Category: Cath's Style, Lar's Style

9 Comments

4 August 2015

Edinburgh Eats

Cath

Why don’t I go to more cafes in Atlanta?

This is the thought I had as I was eating my way around Edinburgh a few weeks ago. Now that Lar has lived in Edinburgh for four years, she knows all the best places to grab a quick, scrumptious bite. Vegetarian lunch? Hendersons! Daytime meet up with the girls? Love Crumbs! Hipster coffee shop without the hipster pretension? Machina Espresso! The best breakfast burrito (seasoned with rosemary, no less)? Milk! Craving a green juice and a coffee? Filament! The list goes on and on. Edinburgh is packed with wonderful cafes/eateries.

Which brings me back to Atlanta. I know Atlanta has wonderful cafes. I’ve just gotten into the habit of going to my same eateries over and over again. So my late-summer resolution is to explore a little more in my own backyard. First on my list: Tipple and Rose Tea Parlor and Apothecary. Anyone been yet? They just opened.

Hopefully I’ll have a post up soon featuring my new found Atlanta cafe favorites. Until then, here are some photos from the Edinburgh cafe scene.

This cheddar cheese, basil, tomato, chutney, slice apple sandwich I ordered at Machina Espresso is like my idea of heaven. I would eat this over chocolate any day!

See that black storefront in the photo below? That’s Filament on Clerk St (the same street I lived on as a student 11 years ago!). See those people sitting out front? That’s Lar and Troy.

Troy and I ordered way too much food when we went to Milk the first morning we were in Edinburgh, but it was all so delicious. My favorite was this courgette (that’s zucchini for us Americans) cake with cream cheese icing – perfectly moist and sweet, plus I could pretend it was healthy because it had a vegetable in it. Even three weeks later I’m still dreaming about it:

I don’t want to bore you to death with food pictures so just trust me when I write that I could have included A LOT more in this post. If I wasn’t eating or drinking in Edinburgh, I was sleeping – or walking to some place where I could eat and drink 😉

Category: Edinburgh

5 Comments

3 August 2015

Lar Hearts Scottish City Life

Cath

By now Lar only has a few more weeks left in Scotland. As much as she hates the lack of sunlight in the winter, she’s going to miss her adopted home of four years so much. When I asked her what she was going to miss the most about living in Edinburgh, she said her friends and coworkers. She and Matt have created a lovely life in Edinburgh and surrounded themselves with amazing people. They’ve also totally become completely at home with the way of life there. Lar walks and takes the bus/train everywhere while Matt bikes to work every day. They live in the center of the city where they’re within a one minute walk of an amazing beer bar (Hanging Bat), corner shops, a coffee shop, pubs, an Indian restaurant, and a chip shop. And they’re totally smitten with how unpretentious and open folks are in general in Scotland.

I have no doubt Lar will create an equally fulfilled life in Seattle, but I imagine this last month won’t be easy. I know she and Matt will make a number of return trips to Scotland and hope they let me tag along when they do 😉

I took the photos in this post while I was visiting two weeks ago. I love how at-home she looks in these photos – but not as much as I love the fact that she’ll be moving back closer to me! (insert maniacal laughter here)

Category: Lar's Style

4 Comments

13 July 2015

Packing for a Not-So-Summery Vacation

Cath

In less than two days (TWO!!!) I’ll be on a plane heading towards Lar/Scotland – woohoo! I’m so excited, it’s going to be impossible for me to concentrate at work for the next few days. Lar and I haven’t seen each other in person in almost 10 months. I never thought there would be a time in my life when I wouldn’t see my twin sister for more than 10 weeks let alone 10 months. Ridiculous.

Do you know what else is ridiculous? The whole week that I’m in Edinburgh, the high temperature will hover around 60 degrees (48 is the low) – and of course it’s suppose to rain the whole time. After experiencing weeks on end of 90 degree weather in Atlanta this summer, my brain can’t really remember what chilly weather feels like.

I studied abroad in Edinburgh and have visited Lar a couple of times since she moved across the pond so you’d think I’d be more prepared for the difference in climate. But it wasn’t until I looked up the weather in Edinburgh for the next week and a half that I realized the cute, summery shoes I was planning to pack for my trip were not going to cut it. Add that to the fact that most of my suitcase is going to be filled with goodies for Lar, I don’t have tons of room for bulky boots (read: Hunters).

I’ve finally narrowed down my shoe selection to the four pairs pictured above.

1. Sneakers – I don’t even know what kind of Nikes these are. My friend gave them to me because they didn’t fit her and now they’re my favorite shoes to work out in. I plan on wearing these on the plane, so that’ll free up some room in the suitcase, and I’ll wear them on days we’re going to be doing a lot of walking as long as I can style them with an outfit that makes me look more like this than this. Also, Lar and I plan to go to her gym at least once while I’m visiting, so I can’t not bring sneakers.

2. J.Crew Factory Flats – I mentioned these in my 2015 Q1 Favorites post and I still love them. These are the most impractical shoes I’m bringing. They’re not great to wear when it’s raining and after walking around in them for hours my feet begin to hurt on the bottom, but I needed something that kind of looks fancy.

3. Mossimo canvas sneakers – I mentioned these in my 2015 Q2 Favorites. They’re not as on-trend as some of the other Van-like sneakers, but I think they’re perfectly generic. I know that doesn’t really sound like a selling point, but I like wearing non-statement shoes.

4. Mossimo boots – I know, I have a thing for Target shoes apparently. I just bought these, but I can’t find them online to include a link. I might be too old to pull off these suckers, but they’re really comfortable and have a little bit of a heel. Plus, they’re shorter and more compact that my winter boots. If I do end up pulling them off, I’ll include an outfit pic in a future post.

Holy moly. I can’t believe I just spent so space writing about four pairs of basic shoes. I haven’t even figured out what else I’m going to pack for the trip. I’m the type of packer that makes lists for everything – so much so that I don’t think I could physically pack without a list.

Here’s hoping I won’t get so caught up in list-making that I end up throwing everything in my suitcase at the last minute!

P.S.: I’m hoping Lar and I will find time to blog together this week, so there shouldn’t be a break in blogging. I’ll also try to Snapchat/Instagram the trip as much as possible so make sure to follow me at AsianCajunsCath.

Category: Cath's Style, Experiences

9 Comments

3 July 2015

A Summer Wedding Outfit

Cath

I totally love how Lar has simplified her wardrobe. I’m trying to do the same, but I’m going at a much slower pace than her. I did pretty well with my last trip to the mall, but I did break down two weekends ago and buy this dress for a friend’s wedding.

BB Dakota dress | Michael Kors purse | Luxury Rebel heels | Jennifer Zeuner bracelet | Topshop ring

Just like Lar, I’m struggling with finding a balance between simplifying my wardrobe while also being creative stylistically. If I was more disciplined about simplifying my closet, I wouldn’t have purchased this dress and would have worn the same summer wedding dress I wore last year. The only problem was that I was bored and uninspired with last year’s dress, so I bought this BB Dakota one. Yep, #firstworldproblems. I know. But I do find it hard to stay inspired with a limited wardrobe. Although, at the same time, I’m also tempted by the idea of an everyday uniform – like this woman who wore the same outfit everyday for 3 years. Hmmmmsomething to ponder over the holiday weekend.

I hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July!

Category: Cath's Style

4 Comments

14 June 2015

2015 Q2 Favorites

Cath

Here’s my second favorites blog post for the year. In my first post I mentioned that I’ll only do these every quarter because I don’t think I have enough favorites to make it a monthly thing. So without further ado, here are the seven things I’ve been loving this quarter.

1. Mossimo sneakers – I know these are kind of passé, but I’ve been looking for a replacement for my black TOMs that I wore out last summer. These required no breaking in, were only $16, and go with everything.

2. Physicians Formula Tinted Moisturizer – I’ve been using this stuff for years. It’s super light coverage so it’s perfect for the summer and has SPF 15. I don’t use this if I want a more finished look, but it’s perfect for daily makeup.

3. Oribe Texturing Spray – I’m not going to lie. This stuff is expensive. I paid $26 for this little bottle (at a local salon, it’s a little cheaper online) and actually thought I was buying hairspray. I was about to return it when I gave it a try and was hooked. It’s perfect for reviving second day hair and adds texture unlike just regular dry shampoo. It also smells amazing!

4. Pure Barre – The socks aren’t a favorite, but the workout is! A Pure Barre studio opened up two blocks from where I work and I decided to take advantage of the new client special. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Pure Barre (or any barre class for that matter), it has nothing to do with ballet. It’s more like pilates, but with a focus on isometric moves and exhausting major muscle groups: abs, thighs, arms, etc. It’s one of the hardest workouts I’ve ever done, but after 12 classes, I already feel stronger.

5. Jennifer Zeuner bracelet – Another expensive item on the list, I’ll admit, but I love how delicate it is and I wear it almost everyday. And the main reason why it’s on my favorites list is because Lar bought one too and I love it when we wear the same things – even if we are thousands of miles apart.

6. Mario Badescu Facial Spray – I purchased this at an Urban Outfitters when I was in Phoenix two months ago. My skin felt so dry, so I would spray this on my face throughout the day and it completely helped. Now I use it to help set my makeup.

7. Yes to Coconut Cooling Lip Oil – This is a super cheap item – less than $5. I first read about it in a magazine and thought it was overhyped, but I’m so glad I tried it. Unlike lip balm, it doesn’t sit on top of your lips and it doesn’t feel greasy at all.

Are you a fan of any of these items? Anyone else doing Pure Barre? I’d love to hear what your recent favorites are.

Category: Beauty, Cath's Style

11 Comments