If you didn’t know, I like having hobbies now. I think it’s mostly due to the fact that I never had them when I was a kid. From kindergarten to the (community) college years, I never had hobbies that didn’t involve being on the computer or watching televsion all day. I was different from most (in a stereotypical sense) Asian girls at school–IN A REALLY BAD WAY–because I was the most unproductive, lazy derpy American kid you can ever imagine, and of course my parents never really cared because they probably assumed a really rich guy was going to take care of me someday, so I was use to staying home and doing nothing for a very long time.

Well, I’m 24 and I’ve barely woken up (from the laziness) and now I’m simply trying to do all of the things I should’ve done years ago. Some of these involve building Gundams (I should take pictures of them!), creating fake armor and eventually sewing fabric for cosplay, and now to add to the list…making little food toys and charms out of polymer clay.

My interest in these things started out from googling “how to bling your phone case” and the search results had lead me to discover the fabulousness of “decoden“. Decoden is a Japanese thing (great description!) and what it is, is basically cutifying the shit out of your stuff. Have you ever seen cell phones, makeup compacts and nails that were laden with Hello Kitty, bows, fake candy and other cute stuff? That’s decoden. And the cute stuff I’ve mentioned is what I want to make.

People usual make this out of polymer clay. Polymer clay is a sculptable substance that will harden/cure once you bake it. You can sculpt anything you want and turn them into earrings, charms and the like. I’ve already ordered most of my supplies and I’m really excited to get this baby going. Of course, I don’t expect to be good right off the bat. If all else fails, I’ll just make a really cute turd.

I feel like my life has been pretty meh lately now that I’m home and not in France anymore. I’m just a grumpy old woman (as usual). I’d eat food at a restaurant in LA and all I want to do is spit it out and go “Pleh! I’d rather eat from the French grocery store!”

Though I am enjoying my new camera and new glasses (prescription is finally in there!)–at least I got that going for me. My glasses has inspired a man at my work to go a little bolder with his frames, so hey, that’s kinda cool.

Trying really hard to smile all cute-like. It has to be working.

I TRY to find unique or ridiculous glasses to wear because it’s the only way for me to express myself because I like expressing myself. When I’m wearing a uniform, work clothes or just my usual bum PJs, I know I’m still me because of my glasses. Whoa–hey–that should be a slogan.

Phew! We are finally back from our trip to France and of course it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t post about the trip without any pictures to share! I have lots of pictures, and I’ll only post a few of my favorite ones (for the rest of the photos you can go to my Flickr).

Palace of Versailles

Before I start, I should probably mention that I bought an expensive camera at the very last minute (two days before I left). I was so tempted to buy a better camera for this trip because I knew France had lots of beautiful places and monuments, that taking photos there with my standard point-and-shoot wasn’t going to suffice. My impulsiveness and hunger to take quality photos had lead me to give in and purchase the Olympus Pen E-PL2. I first heard about this delightful little camera from Becca’s and Jenny’s blog, though at the time, I was never planning to purchase it, just to oogle over it really.

After reading the reviews (like one or two quick glances–I was impulsive and running out of time!), I knew this camera would fit my preferences; I still wanted a point-and-shoot camera, but a more glorified version of it. It doesn’t hurt that the camera looks insanely cute as well. I also purchased a cute rainbow stripped camera strap for extra cuteness.

 

Since there are going to be a lot of pictures I’m about to post, I tried my best to organize them so it won’t look like I’m jumping all over the place.

Table of Contents
I. Hovering in France
II. Food & Drinks
III. The Wedding
IV. Conlusion

I. Hovering in France

When my boyfriend and I first went out to do our tourist-y things, the first thing we went to was the Palace of Versailles. He took a picture of me standing in front of their golden gates. The problem was, I was standing. It was such an awkward feeling, I was completely clueless on how I wanted to pose. I didn’t know where to place my hands or how my body should look so I decided to hover for most of the pictures.

When in doubt, just hover. Pictures like that turn out to be way cooler anyway.

Normandy

Louvre Museum

II. Food & Drinks!

Their milk tastes absolutely incredible and almost everything else. It’s far more delicious than the milk we drink in the states. Our milk feels and taste more watered-down and bland. I can also say the same for their most of their meat, chocolates, wine, bread and cheese. I’m also very, very, very impressed with the pho we had in Paris. The flavors were much more intense and flavorful. Their eggrolls were light and crispy and their Vietnamese iced coffee was extremely delicious and strong. I’m definitely going to miss the food here.

Roasted chicken straight out from the farm. It lived a good life.

Couscous

Delicious Northen African sandwich

III. The Wedding

We attended one of my boyfriend’s friend’s wedding, which was in Normandy. Normandy is definitely the opposite of Paris. It’s REALLY rural. I don’t think the residents there even know what the internet is. I’ve never been to a countryside before so it was certainly a pleasant change of scenery. The wedding was beautiful and extravagant compared to all the other weddings I’ve ever attended. For me, it was seriously like going to Disneyland for the first time when you’re a kid.

Dig this: For the reception, the servers passed out all sorts of delicious appetizers. There were raw oysters, foie gras, raw salmon, pastries and a bunch of other fancy little things I had no idea I was eating, but it was soooo good that I wanted to cry out of pure happiness. The next day, there was a “wedding” lunch, where they had all-you-can-eat crepes. I ate a whopping total 4 crepes. Yes, it was that good.

We stayed at a manor! I didn't know what a manor was until now.

The wedding car

IV. Conclusion

Overall, this has been such a wonderful trip and I am most grateful to have a boyfriend who practically translated everything for me and gave me a comprehensive tour of Paris and everything around it. He’s such a good sport. The only thing I regret is not charging my camera battery in time only because there was a point where it died and it resulted in me missing out on taking potentially sexy photos of models wearing vintage burlesque dresses and lingerie when we attended a photo art exhibit party (doh!).

Park of Versailles

Again, check out my Flickr gallery if you’re interested in seeing the rest of ‘em!