All posts by Lar

13 February 2013

Chinese New Year + Mardi Gras = AsianCajun Week!

Illustration by Lar • King Cake photo

Don’t tell me you didn’t know about the international holiday that is AsianCajun Week! Neither did I until Cath mentioned that Chinese New Year and Mardi Gras were happening within two days of each other. And Valentine’s Day also happens to fall on (what I am now officially calling) AsianCajun Week too — which makes sense because we love love and chocolate. So that’s Chinese New Year + Mardi Gras/Pancake Tuesday + Valentine’s Day. Too much of a good thing? Nevah!

Matt and I celebrated Chinese New Year on Sunday by having dinner at the most delicious Cantonese Restaurant in Edinburgh, misleadingly named Karen’s Unicorn. Yes, that’s right. Karen’s Unicorn. Karen might have been there, but there was nary a unicorn in sight. No mattah. We gnoshed on char siu bao and the most delicious sweet and sour tofu I’ve ever tasted.

Our plans for Mardi Gras and Valentine’s are far more humble — as in, we don’t have any. But I want to hear what you guys have planned for AsianCajun Week (or Valentine’s Day, et al as you may know it). Whatever you’re up to, let the good times roll and may you have a prosperous year of the snake!

—–

Dear Cath,

Did you and Troy eat pancakes last night? Swing some beads around? Bite into a king cake? It seems so wrong that we have managed not to be together during AsianCajun Week. Terrible planning, AsianCajuns!

Are you guys doing something romantico for Valentine’s Day? Matteo and I don’t usually celebrate Valentine’s, but we were thinking of starting a tradition: gluten free crepes from this guy and watching a classic Cary Grant rom com.

Gong Hey Fat Choy and Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez and LOVE YOU!

xoxoxox,

Lar

p.s. DID YOU MEET OBAMA YET?!

Category: Edinburgh, General AsianCajuns Info, Lar's Style

7 Comments

6 February 2013

Do You Still Read Magazines?

Lar

Cath and I used to gobble up magazines in our teens and early twenties (good fiber and whatnot), but about 3 years ago I noticed a definite decline in my reading of Vogue, InStyle, Elle, et. al. Instead of adding to my stacks-that-became-night-stands of magazines, more likely I’d be glued to a computer screen reading blogs. I thought, why pay for this stuff when there are all these great bloggerinos out there who share their wisdom and know-how for free?

Well, I’ve had a magazine rebirth* — a magazine renaissance, if you will! But this time around I’m not as interested in the hefty, glossy Condé Nast-ers. Instead I’m hoarding their less famous, independent cousins. And it’s not just fashion I want (or get), but magazines about food and travel and booze. I don’t plan to amass stacks of these guys, I just want to curate a neat little library of inky-perfumed goodness that I can delve into whenever I want to learn something new and tantalize my eyeballs.

I still love me my blog reading, but it’s nice to have something that slows you down a bit. On the internets when I read, I tend to be fairly fickle and distracted; clicking around different tabs constantly and scrolling down pages at a mad rate. Sitting down with a magazine and a cup of tea slows my brain down in a way intertube reading can’t.

How about you guys? Do you still read mags or has that gone by the wayside for you too? If you are reading mags, which ones still manage to pull you away from your computer? Or are you all faincy-pants and do all your reading on a mobile device? What does the future hold for us content-gobblers?

* I blame a massive part of my magazine rebirth on two things. 1) I’ve just started working as a designer for an agency that produces lovely magazines: see Hot Rum Cow (also in the pics above). 2) There is a great shop in Edinburgh called Analogue Books that carries a satisfying selection of these tomes — in Atlanta I never knew where to shop for really good independent magazines. If you guys have places in your cities that carry the indies, leave that in the comments as well!

——-

Dear Cath,

Remember our Seventeen magazine days? Or wait! Further back: American Girl, Girl’s Life — hah! Do you remember those? I forgot that we were magazine addicts before we turned 10. I still remember some of my favorite articles: that girl who illustrated that book about a clumsy ballerina (American Girl mag) and a blurp about Kirsten Dunst (at 11) doing Interview With a Vampire, and I remember thinking “kissing Brad Pitt? Eh.” 10-year old me was not impressed easily.

Do you have time to read anything other than case studies and work memos? If not, I’m going to make sure I hang on to all these guys so you can read them when you next come to visit!

MISS YOU GAHHHH!!!!

xoxoxox,

Lar

Category: Edinburgh, Lar's Style

10 Comments

1 February 2013

TGIF Link Love

Lar

Happy Friday, Bloggerinos (that’s you)! We’re starting the weekend off with some goodies from our pinterest boards. It’s been a long week for me and I need some pinspiration to ease me out of a stressful week:

• You can follow AsianCajuns on Pinterest (and Cath here and Lar/me here) if you fancy some more pinspiration and puppies in swimming pools — awwwwww!

• Guess who traveled almost a million miles in the past four years? Hint: her initials are H.C.

• A sparkly make-up tutorial from one of our favorite bloggers.

• The necklace we get the most compliments on when we wear it (I say “we” cuz we share it)

• A SuperBowl make-up tutorial. Yes, you read that right.

• Your inspirational reading for the weekend.

• One of our guilty pleasures is following Kate Middleton’s style choices. We aren’t the only ones. In the latest British Vogue they chronicle everything from the size of her curls to the preferred angle of her fascinators in a six-page spread called Katepedia.

Category: TGIF Link Love

5 Comments

30 January 2013

Twins Are In

Lar

Photo Credits 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6

Apparently twins are trendy now because Marc Jacobs sent models down his Louis Vuitton runway in pairs. Phooey, I say. Twins are always in.

——-

Dear Cath,

Looking at these images makes me miss you so very, very much! I’m so jealous all these people get to sit/stand/walk next to their twinie. Do they know how good they have it?

Your Green-eyed Twin,

Lar

Category: General AsianCajuns Info

7 Comments

24 January 2013

TGIF Link Love

Lar

Image via Visit Scotland

• Aren’t those wee shetland ponies so sweet?! If I were an animal, that’s what I would want to be: you can’t run fast or fly, but boy can you rock a sweater and stumpy legs. They are dressed up in their fancy cardies to celebrate The Year of Natural Scotland.

• Want to know what Google street views looked like 100 years ago?

• Kohl’s is collaborating with Derek Lam (YIPPEEE!) this spring. Want a cherry to put on top of that good-news sundae? Use promo code TENFORBLOG to get 10% off your Kohl’s purchases through March 9. Sweet!

• A delicious food blog written by siblings who live far apart, but blog together (sound familiar?)

• A heartwarming story about American Girl Doll Kirsten. Did you guys have an AGD growing up? Cath had Kirsten and I had Samantha.

• Have you seen Before Sunrise and Before Sunset? How can this movie not be wonderful?

• A twist on the denim button-up.

• What girl doesn’t want a pair of Valentino studded pumps? Too bad they’re so expensive! Now you can make your own!

Category: TGIF Link Love

5 Comments

24 January 2013

Deelicious Brazilian Food in Edinburgh

Lar

Here’s a fun fact (that I made up): Edinburgh’s answer to the food truck is an old police box (the latter recognizable to Dr. Who fans around the world). If you are a long-time reader of AsianCajuns you’ve heard me wax lyrical about my friend’s Indian food police box: the Bollywood Coffee Box. But it doesn’t stop with mouth-watering curries and spicy chili pakoras. All around Edinburgh (and probably other British cities too), entrepreneurial souls are selling hot drinks, ooey gooey chocolate-filled crepes and aromatic soups from a space no larger than a small American walk-in closet.

Take this guy, for instance:

Awesome, obviously. (He posed like this for the photo — I didn’t just mistakenly catch a fleeting smirk). This guy makes incredible brazilian food from his police box called Tipiniquim. Most days he whips up gluten-free crepes that he fills with your choosing of sweet or savory delights, but on Saturday, oh boy, you are in for a treat. If you haven’t been introduced already, let me tell you about Brazilian bean stew, or feijoada (pronounce fay-jah-dah):

It’s like this: black beans cooked down with sausage and ribs for hours with delicious spices. Serve over a bed of fluffy white rice, ground cassava root (adds a lovely texture and a very light nutty flavor), perfectly tender steamed greens, and a squeeze of orange. Shovel into mouth. Fall into blissed-out food coma.

Apparently feijoada is usually made on Saturdays in Brazil, kind of like red beans and rice Mondays in Louisiana. Have you guys ever had feijoada before? I seriously think Matt and I will be haunting Tipiniquim every Saturday afternoon (stew’s usually ready after 12:30 pm). Apart from the delicious food, standing by the vividly painted police box with tropical fruit hanging in baskets temporary transports me to some place that gets sun more than two days a year. Some people take vitamin D, we’ll just take our weekly dose of Brazilian bean stew.

I love small, independent food movements like these and really am curious what the different manifestations are around the world. Any food trucks or police-box-turned-cafes in your cities?

—-

Dear Cath,

Definitely on the list for when you next visit. And we’ll get gluten-free nutella crepes for dessert. Have you guys been food trucking lately? Not living in the States anymore I was wondering if that was just a trend or if they are still going strong. Matt and I will have to scope out the other police boxes in the center of town. I think most of them are sort of coffee and soup places — I feel completely spoiled by the Bollywood Box and Tupiniquim.

Miss you so very, very much!

Brazilian Bean Stewly Yours,

Lar

Category: Edinburgh

8 Comments

16 January 2013

I’m Finally A Warby Parker Glasses Wearer

Lar

Cath and I have been Warby Parker fans for years (p.s. the gushiness is not due to sponsorship — Warby Parker have yet to hear about the AsianCajuns — shocking!). Cath and Matt have sported their hipster frames for years, but I stuck by my over-priced, barely-there specs and contacts for reasons unknown.

Warby Parker have lovely frames (especially for those of you who like your glasses to say “LOOK AT ME! I’M A PAIR OF GLASSES” — my old wishy-wishy pair said “Errr, this girl would so rather be wearing her contacts instead of us. Harumph.”) and every pair they sell, they donate a pair to someone in need. Ethical specs?! A dream come true! So I bit the bullet and went big and tortoise-shell-y.

Here is a close-up of my new frames in all their stylized glory (with, you know, some silverware, a mint julep cup, straw hat, rocks, and brown paper-covered books to keep them company):

Cath and I love Warby Parker so much we even went to a party they threw in Atlanta over the holidays. To be honest, apart from getting to be with Cath, it was kind of a let-down. When I went to try on glasses in their party school bus, the Warby Parker attendant was kinda rude to us. Maybe my jetlagged swagger was mistaken for public drunkenness — not to trusted around delicate hipsterware. Anywhoodles, we did manage this snap before we skedaddled:

——-

Dear Cath,

My frames are so heavy because of my coke-bottle lenses that I’ve sent away for these ~~nerdy~~ awesome accessories so they don’t slip down my nose constantly. I’ll let you know if they actually work once I get them. I hear-tell that you can headbang, grapple, and run on a treadmill once you get these on. I’m going to try all three things at once.

Miss you ever so much!

Love and lenses,

Lar

Category: Lar's Style

12 Comments

9 January 2013

New Year, New Job, New Bag

Lar

Happy New Year, lovely readers!

So what’s new with you?

I’m back in Edinburgh (way too far away from Cath again) after a lovely two weeks back in the States. I have a new bag and a new (thrifted) skirt. And a new job! Yup that’s right. I no longer wear sweat pants 24/7. I’ve been so inspired by Cath’s workwear these past few years, and I’m trying to live up to her stylish ways.

Do ya see me with the tights, and the pencil skirt and the accessorizing?! I also have a lovely new Kate Spade bag with my name on it (or close to it) given to me by Cath and my mama for Christmas. I’m all professional and stuff!

p.s. Is it spring time yet? I have to admit that post-holiday winter is my least favorite time of the year. Resolutions schmesolutions — I miss the sparkle and warm fuzzies of December. Who’s with me?

—-

Dear Cath,

You are my work-wear guru. I’m still getting the hang of it, but I haven’t touched a pair of “yoga” pants since starting this job. Maybe you should make a special trip out here to show me how it’s done properly. You know, like tomorrow. Wonderful! See you then!

Love Your Deluded yet ever hopeful Twin,

Lar

Category: Lar's Style

25 Comments

21 December 2012

AsianCajuns Together Again

Lar

Hi Lovely Readers,

We hope you are having a wonderful holiday season and hamming it up with family and friends. We apologize if it goes a bit quiet around here this week and next. Cath and I are together in Atlanta for the first time in 16 months and we’ve been spending every waking moment (which isn’t long for me — darn you, jet lag!) with family and friends.

So we apologize to you for being bad bloggers, but send you lots of love and AsianCajun kisses to make up for it. We hope you are having a wonderful time with your loved ones. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Newtown, CT and everyone for whom this holiday season is such a hard time.

Much Love,

Cath and Lar

Category: Decatur/Atlanta, Experiences, General AsianCajuns Info

10 Comments

9 December 2012

The Harrods Pamper Hamper

Lar

This Pamper Hamper from Harrods is perhaps one of the nicest things I’ve ever received as a blogger. It’s one of their luxury chocolate hampers: Harrods champagne, milk chocolate pink and white truffles, a Lardurée candle and rose perfume. I imagine this is the sort of thing Marie Antoinette would pack for her strolls around the grounds of Versailles. Who needs sandwiches and crudité when you can have champagne and chocolate?

Ladies and (especially) Gents, if you are still searching for the perfect present for your significant others or mothers (and have a cool £150 to spare), I highly recommend this most pampered of hampers. I feel down-right decadent eating chocolate and cream and tippling bubbles, whilst I smell of roses. Even in my wee Scottish flat with teeny windows, this basket of goodies makes me feel like a French queen in a palace — all without the fear of servant revolts and a potential beheading. That’s having your cake and eating it too.

Photo courtesy of Harrods

——

Dear Cath,

Oh my goodness, Kitcath, I sooo wish you were here to share this basket of amazingness with me. I still think it’s so funny you thought getting a hamper meant getting a laundry basket – tehehehe! Best laundry day ever, huh? Would you like me to bring the pink truffles home with me? Nom nom nom.

I’m currently smelling of the Ladurée rose perfume because I feel so fancy using that atomizer. I’m never had one, have you? I feel so glamourous and la-ti-da-y.

Still the best prezie of all is yet to come. . . SIX DAYS until I see you!!!!!

xoxoxoxo,

Lar

Category: Lar's Style

18 Comments