I’m Officially a Business Owner…whaaat?!

Hello, dolls,

I’m back! I have been solely devoted to school since my last post. It has definitely paid off though 🙂  I managed to be on the Dean’s List last semester!! The only letter grade I want on my transcripts is an A…that’s why I’ve had no life lately. School has taken much longer than I ever anticipated but I am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. My goal is to get into the Marriage and Family Therapy program at my uni so I really have to give it my all these two last semesters. God willing, I will be graduating in May 2016. Woohoo!

Anyway, enough about school. That’s not the only exciting thing in my life right now. I am super thrilled to announce to you guys that I have officially launched my own clothing website. It is called Nicky Posh! It took me some time to get all of my paperwork situated in between school and exams, but I was finally able to do it. This is something I would not have been able to do without my man’s help. He is seriously my number one supporter/fan/cheerleader. I always come up with the most random ideas. One time, I decided I wanted to become a painter. So I told my boyfriend. He took me to Michaels that night and bought me a bunch of painting stuff: canvases, paintbrushes, paint, an easel, the whole nine yard. The only thing I was missing was my beret. I was so ready to become the next Picasso. The following day, I spent hours working on my masterpiece. I decided to paint white and black checkerboard with red flowers. I was trying to go for that MacKenzie-Childs Courtly Check dinnerware look (don’t ask me why). When he got home, he said, “those are the prettiest exploded worms I have ever seen”. (scroll down for a little surprise)

Another one of my spontaneous ideas was when I decided I wanted a puppy. I drove to his office, locked him in there, and told him I wouldn’t leave until he said I could get a dog. After much persuasion, he drove me to Anaheim (an hour and a half north from where I live) to pick up my puppy. My point is that he always believes in me. No matter how crazy my ideas are. Him helping me build this little business of mine is such a blessing. It makes me feel so special to know that someone believes in me so much and is willing to help me reach my goals. It’s a little tough balancing school and this new business venture but I am beyond ecstatic about it.

On October 30th, we had our usual Friday date night at Bencotto (my fav Italian restaurant in Little Italy) and sealed the deal with a glass of sparkling rosé. And now, here I am. Lying on my bed, sick with a cold, ready to launch my store. I am beginning with only a few items but soon I’ll be adding more merchandise to the website! The clothes are super trendy and sexy at affordable prices. They’re the perfect dresses for going out to dinner with your man or to go out for drinks.

I hope you guys love the clothes as much as I do! Check out my website and let me know what you all think. I would really appreciate positive vibes being sent out my way. Xoxo

Pop, fizz, clink!

J

P.S. I leave you all with my “exploded worms”

Don’t Judge My Wine by It’s Screw Cap

After another fabulous Friday double date night, I went home with one thing on my mind. Screw caps.

Over dinner, we had a bottle of my ultimate favorite wine: Meiomi. It’s the perfect pinot noir…scratch that…it is the perfect wine. PERIOD. Why, you may ask? Because it is equally enjoyed and appreciated by a wine lover (aka someone like me) and someone who is not so much of a wine drinker. It is a luscious and extremely layered wine with a slight earthiness and sweet oak on the finish. It’s easy, fruity, rich, and just plain perfection (just talking about it makes me want to walk over to the kitchen and pour some heaven-in-a-glass). It’s said before and I’ll say it again, Meiomi contradicts itself but in the best way possible. Easy-drinking, it will leave you hooked…and tipsy.

Anyway, the point of my story is this: it doesn’t have a cork.

I immediately associate cheap wine with screw caps. I am 100% prejudice when it comes to that. I admit it. I still don’t understand whyyyy Mr. Wagner would make such an amazing wine and ruin it with a screw cap. I was so bothered after Friday date night that I went home and did my research on these hideous caps. It turns out that many wineries are opting out of using corks because they are twice as expensive and because they cause ‘TCA’ cork taint. That’s when the wine has like a musty taste to it.

Many articles online say it is becoming “the new thing” in wineries. In fact, it has become the norm in Australia. I don’t think the same can be said in the States. I feel like drinking a wine bottle that comes with a screw cap instead of a cork is pretty much drinking from a wine box. No disrespect to my boxy lovers but that’s just my preference. I love the whole art of drinking wine (I am very artistic as you can see). I love to preserve my wine bottles, especially the ones I collected from my trip to Italy and Napa. Also, I live for the sound the cork makes when you pop the bottle!! I may not know how to open it myself, but I sure love to play princess and have someone else do it for me. Also, if you have been to dinner or partying with me (which I am sure you guys haven’t), you know that I will hunt the server down until he hands me the cork. It’s my tradition. I have to keep the cork of every bottle I drink from. I am still debating what I should do with all of them but for now, it’s my wino hobby. That’s why it was, and still is, such a disappointment when I ordered my precious baby over dinner.

I had our friends try it over Friday double date night at Ruth’s Chris and they fell in love. My friends husband was raving about it all night that the following day, my bf gifted him (and me) a bottle (you can find it at Ralph’s for like 28 bucks…BevMo sells them for 20 though…why am I not a member yet?!).

I can’t seem to warm up to this idea of no corks though. What do you think about screw-caps on wine? Do you think it’ll also become the norm? Does it make it less enjoyable to you? Or am I being a total brat?! I don’t want to be prejudice over screw-cap wines but I don’t know how to and it makes me very sad.

Pop, fizz, clink!

-J

Kitchen Nightmares

One time in high school, I invited a few friends over to my pool. After hours of swimming, my friends and I were starving so I went over to the freezer to take out some chicken tenders. I read the back: add oil to pan, once it’s hot, throw the tenders for 5 minutes (or something like that). Pretty easy, right? I turned on the stove, poured a lot of oil on it, and went to check on my friends. Next thing I know, the living room was covered by a gray cloud causing us all to cough uncontrollably. By the time I got up to the kitchen, the pan was on fire!! Literally up in flames. I start panicking, my friends start panicking. I was about to throw some water on the pan, until my friend stopped me (Did I mention I was clueless in the kitchen?). Somehow one of them took the pan by wrapping his boxers around the handle and managed to throw the pan outside on the grass. Where the hell did he get his shamrock decorated boxers from?! He certainly wasn’t naked if that’s what you’re thinking. After that, my friends forever clowned on me for my disability in the kitchen.

I like to blame that embarrassing moment on my parents. Growing up as an only child, my parents spoiled me rotten. I never had to cook a single meal or snack; whenever I wanted to help my dad by prepping dinner, he would kick me out and say he didn’t want me to cut myself. When I was younger I thought it was great because I didn’t have to move a single finger. Even during college all I knew how to cook were scrambled eggs and spaghetti. I felt like a failed woman (I am a non-conventional feminist; I believe the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach). I was so frustrated, my parents are excellent cooks so how come I sucked?! Three years ago, I decided I wanted to cook a Thanksgiving dinner for my bf at the time. It was just going to be him and I so I thought it would be my one chance to do this on my own. I went the whole nine yards: I made stuffing, a green bean casserole, biscuits, mashed potatoes, and of course, the turkey. All from scratch with the help of many, many recipes. I had never tasted juicier turkey in my life. My ex couldn’t stop talking about how much he loved it. Part of me thought he was just doing his boyfriend duty by being nice but I really agreed with him. I have been in charge of Thanksgiving dinner for the whole family since. All it took was looking up recipes and following instructions 🙂

A little over a year ago, I moved in with my boo. I was terrified of the kitchen. He would come after a ten-hour day at the office and cook for the two of us. I was so embarrassed! Took me about two months to finally feel comfortable in there–I told myself, if I can cook thanksgiving dinner for 20 people, I should be able to cook dinner nightly. After all, my parents are great at it so by nature I should be too (?).

I soon realized my love for cooking. I get so much gratification from making people happy through my food. By no means do I think I am an excellent chef but I do put a lot of love in everything I whip up. Every night I make simple, quick, and yummy comforting food that it’s bf approved. He jokingly calls me his Rachel Ray but I prefer to be called Ina Garten 😉

With all that rambling, I hope you guys follow me on my cooking endeavors as I’ll be posting weeknight dinners soon. Any tips, comments, recipes, or your own kitchen nightmares you would like to share are more than welcome!

Pop, fizz, clink!

-J

Friends are like Boobs

You’ve got big ones, small ones, real ones, and fake ones…?

Hi! The worst blogger-ever is back! I have been completely MIA and I am ever so sorry. It is a terrible way to start the new year but..I’m back! I’ve been wanting to share everywhere I’ve been to lately and all the great people I’ve been in touch with since December 30th. Unfortunately, getting everything situated for the upcoming semester has taken all of my time. I have 8 days left before class resumes!! *cringing*.

Anywho, I hope everyone had a fabulous NYE and has started the year with positive vibes. I ended my year perfectly; I was reunited with my high school friends that I hadn’t seen in about 4 years! It honestly felt like no time had passed between us. The gathering was very spontaneous and ended up being such a great time. We initially drove to The Queenstown Public House in Little Italy. To our much disappointment, they did not have a breakfast menu so we left. I decided to take them to Cafe 21, the perfect place to get tipsy off of mimosas and be loud without feeling awkward. This place is always packed. It’s a very hipster-y place with instagramable drinks and food. Cafe 21 is located at “people watch” central, Gaslamp right on 5th avenue, which makes it a perfect place to enjoy a refreshing raspberry mimosa or a prosciutto bloody Mary (uh…if you’re into that) on their front patio. I’m telling you, this place is known for their extravagant cocktails so I recommend you give it a try. My BFF had the prosciutto omelette, another friend a pesto chicken sandwich and they said they loved it. Did I mention their tiramisu pancakes?? I will be trying them next time. We all started with a single mimosa, then a second, then a third, and by 3pm, Happy Hour kicked in. I hadn’t seen my friends in ages so a bottomless champagne outing was deemed mandatory.The fight of delicious mimosas is half off by 3pm, by then, we were all drunk. As soon as I got home I stuffed my face with toast (mom’s alcohol cure-all) and took a cat nap. I sound like such an alchy raving about the drinks but in reality I am a light weight. However, I am not going to apologize for my excitement over bubbly cocktails.

I have been here for brunch a few times and I have yet to find the plates to be stellar. I don’t think most agree with me judging by all the people lining out the door. The food is simply not all-that in my opinion. I had chocolate chip and strawberry pancakes with a kiwi jam. By the time the server got back with my butter, they were cold. The restaurant was not expecting it to be so busy on a Tuesday (a day before NYE) so they ran out of french toasts, ketchup, and coffee mugs. Totally understandable but I had to mention it because my picture was ruined thanks to those paper cups. Overall, Cafe 21 is a great place to hang out with your friends over brunch. Drinks are fabulous, food is picture worthy, the ambiance is fun, and the waiters are very friendly. It’s no surprise why this place is so popular. To me, the company is what made it such a special lunch. I left drunk and with aching abs from laughing so much.

Pardon the bad pic quality

Lipstick stain, oops!

After my reunion and the new year in high gear, I began to analyze my friendships. We tend to distance ourselves from a lot of our college or high school friends as time passes. Usually the people who withstand the test of time during our “transient” years are the ones who have a better chance of staying in our life for good. This is a natural process that I am sure everyone can relate to. As individuals, our interests and views change and sometimes we grow apart from each other based on those or other reasons like school, work, kids, significant others, etc. Basically, life gets in the way and we become picky by who we share our time with. I am also aware that there’s others who can balance it all and are surrounded by tons of good friends. I for one am not that type. I would sometimes get anxiety over the thought of hanging out with “new” people. These were people who I considered my friends but who I did not see on a regular basis like my two BFF’s at the time. I was afraid we wouldn’t have anything to talk about after exchanging niceties (I’m weird, I know). I did not branch out, I always stayed in my comfort zone and ended up hanging out with my two BFF’s. It’s not that I didn’t want to spend time with my other friends; it was my inexplicable shyness that got in the way.

SO, I hate the whole “New Years resolutions” crap. I have never given into the new year new me thing, I’ll start working out, blah blah blah. I feel like if I mention it, I’ll jinx myself from actually accomplishing my goals. I rather take mental notes, reflect on my past, and try to make my life better. Now I’ve taken it upon myself to spend more time this year with the few people I consider my friends. I’ve come to realize that in order to have and keep a friendship, I must take the initiative. I plan to reach out, set a time and date, and then leave the ball on their court. It can go both ways: (1) the “friend” agrees, we meet up, and everything is back to hunky-dory because we have shown each other that we value our friendship or (2) the “friend” makes 101 excuses not to show up (loose ends officially tied). My boyfriend always complains about people in San Diego not keeping their word. He thinks we like to say “let’s catch up!” to friends we haven’t seen in a long time but never follow through. I believe he has us well figured out. I’ve fallen victim to that where I run into someone in person or social media and the last words that come out of my mouth are the latter. I honestly do mean it though! Whatever the reason is for others or for myself, I plan to change my ways with the realization that it takes two to tango, the energy must be reciprocated. Ain’t nobody got time to beg phony friends! LOL. That’s my attempt of growing-up and establishing life-long friendships (a girls needs her bridesmaids, you know). All I am certain about is that friends and friendships should ultimately be effortless and natural. You can’t fake it or force someone to be your friend (unfortunately). Ha-ha, kidding!!

So with all that rambling I want to end by sharing a quote perfectly fit for today’s post and by asking y’all: what defines a true friendship and what do you do to preserve them?

“If they miss you, they’ll call. If they want you, they’ll say it.

If not, they aren’t worth your time”

 

Pop, fizz, clink!

-J

Bye-bye Christmas 2014

Honestly, this year flew right before my eyes! It feels as if the older I get, the faster time goes by. With finals in the way, I had to play Grinch for a while and ignore everyone and everything around me. The saddest part is that I waited until the 16 to put my Christmas tree up. The good thing about my procrastination was the sweet deals I scored at Michaels. Everything I bought was 60% off!! Um..yes please. I could barely fit all of the ornaments and decorations in the tiny cart but I managed to improvise (I’ll be posting a pic of my tree tomorrow so y’all can see what I’m talking about). That is why I am reluctant to take my Christmas tree down anytime soon! I need to make up for my “delayed response” to the holiday spirit.

I love everything about the holidays; Michael Bublé singing Christmas classics, drinking hot cocoa by the fireplace, and the decadent aroma of the warm Macadamia nut cookies in the oven. There’s something about this season that inspires me to make sweets. Aside from the cookies, I made basil and berries jam a few days ago–and if I may say so myself, it was pretty darn good. I’m also all about making the house smell festive and feel cozy. I currently have peppermint and pine scented candles that I light up every night. On Monday, I tried a homemade aromatherapy recipe. I boiled orange and lemon peels and about a teaspoon of cinnamon. It smelled divine! I can’t wait to try other recipes.

So with that being said, how long is too long to keep a tree up? I can’t let go just yet, Elsa!! (“Frozen” reference fyi)

Pop, fizz, clink!

-J

Ramblings of a Broke College Student: Is anybody out there?

I am so stoked to finally join the blogger community along with the billion others! sigh. Now that I am on winter break, I finally found the time to embark on this new hobby. I remember when I was just a little girl writing in my Mulan plastic-pillowy diary about all the great things I encountered day-by-day. Growing up, Sex and the City was my (inappropriate) addiction and all I wanted to be was a Carrie Bradshaw who typed advice columns for a living as she sipped countless glasses of champagne.

My goal here is to share my lifestyle and help others with my “advice columns”. I want to talk about my tips and favorite things like the most chic and delicious restaurants, the hottest places to be at, the places I’ve traveled to, my version of style, the new recipes I whipped up in my kitchen; I want to talk about relationships and how to survive being a college student for life. Hope you guys enjoy it.

Merry Christmas Eve ♥

pop, fizz, clink!

-J