A Very Potter Christmas

If anyone knows me they know that Harry Potter is a HUGE part of my life. On Christmas Day I didn't have much to do so I spent a lot of time on Pottermore trying to keep the winning streak going for my fellow Hufflepuff' house members. We are still in the lead! I also watched Prisoner of Azkaban, listened to my Jingle Spells Volume 3 cd which annoyed the crap out of my Mom haha, and indulged in one of my favorite treats, the Cadbury Fruit & Nut chocolate bar. If you're on Pottermore feel free to add me as a friend, my username is: SnidgetHallow8830 Hope everyone had a more eventful Christmas then I did :-P

Lotte World Theme Park

In the evening after adventuring in Myeong-Dong, my mother & I went to the Lotte World theme park which was right by our hotel. Unfortunately I forgot to bring motion sickness pills on this trip so it wasn't as enjoyable as I would have liked but for the most part it was fun. It's rare that my mom will go on rides with me so that was something special. We also went on this really sketchy ride called the Gyro Drop. I've been on a roller coasters since the moment I was tall enough to ride them so I've never been afraid off them or any other type of ride, however this one scared the crap out of me because at the top it started making a really crazy shaking noise. On top of that there wasn't even a belt, there was just this shield that clipped into the seat. It only dropped once too so it felt like I was going to go crashing into the ground. It was definitely an experience! All in all it was really great bonding experience for my mom & I. 

Myeong-Dong

 The view from our hotel room was lovely and the breakfast at the Lotte Hotel World was a great start to another day of adventuring. The kimchi was awesome but extremely spicy. I wish Japanese kimchi was made spicy like the legit kind! My mouth was on fiyahhh! After breakfast my mother & I ventured around Myeong-Dong and encountered some really sweet & funny Korean dudes. They made our trip really entertaining & were also very helpful when we were looking for certain things. When we got tired we rested at Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, my favorite doughnut chain! The island I'm from in Hawaii doesn't have one & Okinawa doesn't have one either so I just HAD to stop there even though I would have never expected to be eating Krispy Kremes in Korea. :-P

Seoul Train

This past weekend my mother & I went to Seoul, Korea for her birthday. From the airport, which by the way has an ice skating rink in it, we took the train to our hotel. We got lost along the way but thanks to a few kind strangers we made it to our hotel... three hours later...longer then our plane ride from Okinawa. Needless to say it was an adventure! 

Once we arrived at our hotel, Lotte Hotel World, we went to the Club Lounge to relax after our long day of traveling. We drank red wine and tried the different variety of snacks they had to offer. After too many glasses of wine we ventured around different shops near the train station & called it a night. 

Lil Jon in Okinawa

In September the rapper Lil Jon came to Okinawa so I went to his show with a new friend. Surprisingly he sang a lot of songs I knew. We also made it to the very front & ended up getting tons of champagne showers & even got to take a tequila shot poured by Lil Jon as well during the "Shots" song. I also caught one of the Lil Jon masks being thrown to the fans. It was like being in a rap music video I loved it. It was also nice having someone new to see since not a lot of artists come to Okinawa.

The Magnificent Mile Chicago

Here's my last post about my trip to Chicago this past August! I went adventuring downtown & The Magnificent Mile shopping area with my friend Nikki's mom (not pictured because she doesn't like her pictures online but she's a fabulous, gorgeous woman!) No lie about the mile part, we walked for miles! I even got to go into Barney's New York for the first time, which is my dream store thanks to my love of Gossip Girl novels & the influence of Blair Waldorf since middle school. The place was like heaven & I was entranced by the nice aroma of perfume & leather. They had a huge collection of Celine bags. I hope to own one one day but right now I'm having too much fun spending my money on travels! I did some serious damage on my credit card though regardless at American Apparel, Juicy Couture, & some other places.  I also went to the famous Sprinkles Cupcakes for the first time ever. It was so crazy how much attention I got for carrying around those cupcakes. Everyone who saw me carrying them asked me what flavor I got & I even had a few people ask me if they could just smell them. It was ODD. I didn't really understand until I went to visit the old Playboy Mansion & sat down in front of it & took a bite of one. They are soooooooooooooooo gooooooood. They are so rich in flavor & just exquisite. I can't wait until I can taste another Sprinkles Cupcake. After visiting the mansion we walked around & took pictures in front of the Yayoi Kusama x LV display which is fantastic & visited the Water Tower. I am so thankful to Nikki & her family for showing me the city in such a short amount of time. Without them I would have not enjoyed Chicago at all. When I think of the great times I had there I will always think of them. 

Team Werewolf

Haven't done a fashion post in a while so here it goes. 

I was supposed to go see Breaking Dawn Part 2 today with my mother & some of my friends. However the lines were too long, it was hard to find seats in the theater & it was just not worth it so we got a refund & skipped the movie idea all together. I honestly hate movie theaters in general... well I hate the crowds that involve theaters so I only like to go when I know that no one will be there. Twilight isn't my fave series anyway, I can wait until it comes out on Blu-ray. ANYWHO...

 I was inconspicuously trying to go for a Team Jacob (well more like Team Jacob's Abs) look. 

Top: Loose, casual, comfy top handed down from my mom

Bottom: Worn out black jeans

Shoes: Brown Roxy moccasin style boots

Handbag: Brown Marc by Marc Jacobs bag

Jewelry: Vintage ring handed down from mom 

& Native American style earrings from little side of the road shop in Utah

La Bomba Place Chicago

My favorite place to eat while in Chicago was my friend Nikki's relatives restaurant La Bomba! They make authentic Puerto Rican food & everything I tried tasted amazing! I ate the jibarito (the first meal pic posted) which is a type of sandwich where they use plantains instead of bread. I don't remember what the rest of the food was called but it was all heavenly. The Kola Champagne tasted like cream soda which I happen to be a big fan of. If I'm ever in Chicago again I will definitely eat here again & I recommend anyone who's in the area to check it out!! 

La Bomba Place Official Website

Navy Pier

Here's a nice long picture post to make up for my lack of posting. I know it's taking me forever to post all of my adventures in Chicago from August but I am almost done! So as posted earlier after Skydecking it with Nicole we pretty walked to The Bean and then after that we walked all the way to Navy Pier in the rain. Needless to say we trekked the city of Chicago like champions. The Pier was a nice little touristy spot with lot's of cruise ships (hence Pier!), a theater, shopping area, & fun little chain restaurants. After we got there it started raining and thundering heavily so we didn't stay very long but the pictures pretty much sum up our time there. We walked around for a bit & then headed back to Nicole's parent's home on the Metra. I'm really thankful to Nicole for taking me to the main tourist spots  in Chicago in one day, since before I was staying with her the person I was staying with for five whole days did not show me anything at all. If it wasn't for her I wouldn't have seen anything. She's a real friend.

The Bean

After getting our pizza at Boni Vino's (see previous post!) Nicole took me to the famous sculpture in Millennium Park called Cloud Gate created by an Indian born British artist named Anish Kapoor. Yes I Wikipedia-ed it! Cloud Gate was nicknamed The Bean obviously because of it's shape. The Bean reflects the city's skyline. It was an awesome piece of modern art. Nicole & I had a blast taking silly pictures with our reflections on the underside of it & the outside! 

Boni Vino Pizza

My friend Nicole was showing me all of the tourist attractions in the windy city when we stumbled upon a little, inconspicuous pizza place called Boni Vino's. At first we were a little hesitant but soon realized that we had made a great decision in choosing this place. Our waitress was top notch, a super nice lady who told us about a great pizza deal & helped us avoid buying a ginormous pizza between the two of us. I also got to try a Chicago brew beer called Goose Island which was delicious. It was perfect with my sausage & garlic pizza. Although it wasn't the "deep dish" style, it was still the absolute best pizza I ever had while in Chi-Town. It's a few blocks away from the Willis Tower so if you are ever in that area of the city, I would definitely recommend it. 

Sears Tower

Back to the Chicago posts! Here are pictures from the Sears Tower Skydeck or now known as the Willis Tower. It was seriously badass. The skydeck is 103 stories high & you could see all of Chicago from the top! Stepping onto the skydeck was crazy cool. It was so hilarious & so scary though because this Asian tourist dropped her digital camera on the skydeck right when I was on it and everyone went silent ... you could hear people going.. "OHHHHH no she didn't!!" Hahaha. Fortunately the skydeck is not that sensitive, the glass did not break, & I did not fall through the sky hahaha. :-P 

P.S. Sorry, I forgot to take a picture from the outside of the tower!

Gourmet Heaven

After coming home from the states, my mom put together a welcome home gourmet dinner. We drank my favorite kind of wine Pinot Noir & ate some of my favorite gourmet foods avocado, salmon with cream cheese & capers, crackers, ham, imported cheeses from France, salad, & some fried gyuniku with carrots & snow peas. It was so heavenly.