Packing For a Long Trip

First, I want to say a big thank you to my brother and Marcia who have moved in to stay at our house when we're on vacation to take care the house and our puppies.
We're very excited for our trip to Paris, Provence, France and to Portland, and Seattle. The kids are excited too! I can't wait to show them Paris, Provence and of course Seattle. It's their first time to visit these cities. This will be a long trip (almost a month) and I should be ready for a lot of energy to travel and take care of my kids at the same time. Light packing for four people is not easy. We always pack clothing that can mix and match. Usually, we don't like to travel with much luggage.

Here are a few dressy clothes for my kids. I also packed along some comfy, casual and cute clothes for the them.

And here is my dressy clothing. The same for me, I packed along some comfy, casual yet chic clothes.

Christopher Ross frog and Merlin cat buckle-belts come along with me.

Merlin cat buckle is so adorable. I especially love his blue eyes.

Four pairs of shoes and one pair of tennis shoes. Alaia ankle boots, Alexander Wang leopard wedges, Balenciaga sandals, and doub studded clog by Jeffrey Campbell. These clogs are 4" high, 2" platform. They're super comfy and light and available now at Freepeople.com . I plan to wear these clogs a lot on this trip. Alaia boots are very comfy too, but I don't want to wear them out. Oh! forgot..need to have one pair of flats. See! it's always a good idea to pack your stuff in advance to avoid forgetting things at home.

Hopefully, I'll have time to update my blog during our vacation. Thank you everyone for visiting and comments!

I hope you've enjoyed your summer so far. Before you know it, fall will be here. Have a nice day! Kisses...Hanh ;-)

Shoes and Clutch update

Nowadays, I love to collect Alexander Mcqueen pieces which they were designed before his tragedy. Yes, I'm still sad for what happened to him whenever I think about it. He was truly a genius.
This clutch is from the pre-fall 2010 collection and I'm lucky to have it. I purchased it at the store 4510. The clutch was sent to our apartment in Portland while we were there last week. I adore the clutch. When I flew home from Portland, I decided to carry it in my carry-on. Guess what? When I went through the security gate, they didn't allow me to carry it on! It's considered a brass knuckle; a weapon. We waited about 15' for their meeting to see if they would allow me to carry it on. It was so serious. I was so nervous and I was so thankful that they all agreed to let me carry it on. It's hilarious how a clutch could be a weapon. Actually, I understand their point. A happy ending.

These are brass knuckles.

My new addition to my shoe collection: Givenchy boots. I love the stitches and how they look old and dusty.

Another addition to my shoe collection: Alaia boots. They're so comfy.

These two pairs of Proenza Schouler shoes in the pictures below are in my wish-list. I'll be so happy if I have one of them :)

Thank you everyone for visiting and your comments. Wishing you all a fabulous day!! Big hugs...Hanh :)

Jeffrey Campbell

I'm in the mood for less expensive shoes, but still fabulous shoes. Look at these shoes below, don't you think they're amazing? They definitely made it into "My A list of fabulous shoes in my closet." This is an example that you don't have to spend lots of money to have fabulous shoes. Thank you to Solestruck and Freepeople website. But, if you want to spend to the max for higher end designer brand shoes and your pocket allows you to do so, then why not go for it. My thinking about fashion is all about spending what you're comfortable with, having fun, being happy and confident...

These Jeffrey Campbell Lita boots are from Solestruck. They're ridiculously comfy, definitely high and so hot. Love it!

And these Miramar straps Platform wedges are from Freepeople, also Jeffrey Campbell. I love the straps. The shoes are amazingly light, comfy, and awesome. I love Jeffrey Campbell shoes!

HOME-COOKING.

In Vietnamese cuisine, there is a dish called "Bo tai chanh", it means beef carpaccio cured with lemon juice. One day, I was tired of beef and wanted something different, but I wanted the same flavor as Bo tai chanh. Here is what I came up with: Fresh salmon carpaccio cured with lemon juice.

Here's what you need: sweet-sour fish sauce, 1 sliced red bell pepper, 1 sliced orange bell pepper (you could use any color bell pepper that you like), 1 medium side sliced red onion, a handful of cherry tomatoes (sliced them in half), a handful of chopped cilantro, a handful of chopped rice-paddy herb (called Ngo Om in Vietnamese), minced a handful of unsalted roasted peanuts, 8 oz of fresh lemon juice (I used about 6 large fresh lemon), a thin bed of mixed green salad in a large plate, and I sliced fresh sockeye salmon about 3 cups. The preparation as you see in the pic below. First, put sliced fresh salmon in 8 oz fresh lemon juice for 10'. During this time, you mix sliced bell pepper and sliced cherry tomatoes with 2 tablespoons sweet-sour fish sauce. Then, you even out this mix on top of the bed of mixed green salad. Pour over this bed the fish sauce which you use for the mixing as in the picture below.

After 10', you drain out the salmon from the lemon juice (to make sure it's comply drained). Transfer the salmon into a big bow. Now, add 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon concentrated fish sauce, sliced red onion, chopped peanuts, and 1 tablespoon sweet-sour fish sauce. Mix. After that, pour evenly over the top of the green salad-bell pepper-cherry tomatoes bed as you see in the picture below. There, you have a delicious, healthy salad. Enjoy it with a glass of white Burgundy!! Let me know how it turns out for you :) To make sweet-sour fish sauce: 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, 1 tablespoon concentrated fish sauce, about 3/4 tablespoon sugar, 2 tablespoon water. You could add more water depending on if you want it less or more salty. I use Viet Huong-Three Crabs brand fish sauce.

Thank you everyone for visiting and comments! Wishing you all a wonderful day!! Hug...Hanh :)

ps:I try to post once a week. I'll update to share my looks, food, places, etc...daily on twitter-lifeintravel. I'm thinking about facebook. I'll let you know if I have one :)

The To Post Or Not To Post

Hi everyone,

I hope you're doing well. It has been a while since I posted something new. Many of you who follow me on twitter probably know that I have been thinking about stopping my blogging. It's just because I'm getting busy with my volunteer work and my kids after school activities. We also planned another huge project to be done for our life that will keep me extremely busy which I will probably share with you guys in the future. Thank you everyone for leaving messages on twitter, on my comment page, and my email to encourage me to post. I'm not sure what I will do. But for now, I'll try my best to blog. A big thank you to you all for the love, and for supporting my blog. Please, follow me on twitter-lifeintravel- which is the way that I announce my new posts. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend ahead! In the meantime, please enjoy my new post :) xoxo

This is the work of Rachel. Don't you think her sketches are beautiful? Thank you Rachel for the feature of me on your special 21st Bday post on your blog, Visual Basic! click here to see the rest of this special post.

One more time to say thank you Vicen for featuring me on your blog-LOOK 10, again. It's so sweet of you. I absolutely love the portrait. Check out the selection of my looks on the blog LOOK 10, click here.

And here I carried my beloved Alexander McQueen clutch for Fashion Night Out. The leopard top is Junya Watanabe which I purchased on final sale at Barneys about 2 years ago. It's a classic piece, great investment top that I will wear it lots this fall/winter. This picture credit for Danieljoseph Photography.

Again, thank you everyone for stopping by and comments. Have a lovely weekend with your family and friends! Big hugs...Hanh :)

Random Family Pictures in Provence // Seillans Village

Thank you everyone for the love. I don't have a final decision yet. It's not a bad idea to post once a month, twice a month, or whenever I have time, as many readers suggested. I know for sure, though, that I won't close the blog. It'll be there for you and me as a great memory. I actually learn a lot from the blogworld. You all are my inspiration. You show me the sweetness, the honest heart, and care for people. I truly feel like I know you more and more through your comments in each post. I feel like you all are my friends that I can share everything. It's one of the great feelings in life. Now on with the blog!

Now, look at my big girl! I can see her growing up to be a fine young lady. She's sweet, thoughtful child. She loves reading and science. I'm very proud of her. Love!

Here is my little girl. She's easy going, sweet, and humorous. She loves drawing and wants to be an artist when she grows up. She loves numbers and think that numbers is easy for her. It's nice to hear that :) Oh, she also loves the camera. She makes my day delightful :) Yes, she loves to eat- healthy food.
They are my sunshine :) I'm very proud to be their mom.
With my nephew and his fiance.

We love to play games and make up our own games to play on our trips. It's a great way to entertain the kids while waiting. It's fun. We laugh...Sweet memories! Smelling-game was made up, because there was rosemary and lavender everywhere at our hotel in Provence. We closed our eyes to smell and tell.

The kids and me at Fayence village.
At the hotel.
I wanted to bring this wild cat home from Seillans village, although I'm not a cat person. I love her all white hair, just beautiful.
We went to Seillans village for dinner when we stayed in Provence. Seillans village is a small village. It has small, narrow, up-down hill allies like the rest of old villages in Europe. One thing about it,there are a lot of beautiful wild cats here. I mean a lot! It has two beautiful restaurants in middle of the village with a very romantic setting. The one that we dined is called La Gloire de Mom Pere. It has a star in the Guide Michelin 2010. The food was absolutely delicious. There was a charming old guy playing violin that was a perfect romantic touch for the evening.

Thank you everyone for visiting and comments! Wishing you all a great day ahead! Hugs...Hanh :)

Ps: Please, follow me on twitter-lifeintravel- to know whenever I post new posts.