My first purple carrot

Checkmark off the bucket list! Funny to think last year I had never seen purple carrots before, and now I see them everywhere! Great thing about that is, I was able to taste my first purple carrot without traveling far distances or expending too much. Found these rainbow colored carrots at my local Albertsons (on sale nonetheless):

Funky how the insides of the purple ones are actually yellow:

Different-looking, but taste like normal carrots.

Organic purple carrots must be the new "it" vegetable, even in baby food! I've also been seeing the ingredient as added coloring for juices. 

Asian American Barbie Lea taking over this blog

This year is definitely the year of the Barbie doll for me. Ever since I discovered Barbie Style on Instagram, my inner child "really really really wants a Barbie doll" again, and especially when I spotted the Asian model! First time ever Mattel came out with a doll with an Asian complexion without the heavy too-glamorous eye makeup. I owe it to my little-girl-self wish come true. I decided to buy myself my very first Barbie (at the age of 33, ha!) Of course they don't stock the one I wanted at my local stores, so I went on Ebay and ended up buying two for over $50! A little bit crazy, but I can afford it now! Yay! But of course, a few days later after I purchased my dolls, I noticed ToysRUs  (and Amazon) began selling the same doll on their website for only $14.99. Yes, I got jipped. Oh well, that's how life goes when it comes to wishes. But I'm happy with my "Lea" Asian Barbies, definitely worth the $50's! This one can do yoga and wears a PURPLE top! I'm so excited about this, I'm revamping this Blog and my Instagram for Lea to take over and be my spokesperson from now on! Also changing the title to "Búp Bê Life" (meaning "doll" life in Vietnamese). 

Purple Label at Ralph Lauren

Why do men look better in purple? Is that why Ralph Lauren has a collection called "Purple Label" for men but not for women?

 I am especially crazy about these purple socks on this guy... 

From Ralph Lauren Mag. Issue V111 Fall 2015 pg. 14

$30 cotton version here (expensive $110 cashmere version here)

Purple dress fit for a princess

I cannot seem to take my mind off this breathtaking purple dress after seeing it on the gorgeous fashion blogger Mary Orton of Memorandum 

Black Halo Karlowe Gown in Orchid

Worth the $650?

I think it's worth every penny on Mary O. at least! 

Doesn't she look like a princess?

A fairy tale! I couldn't help saving snippets of her beautiful photos here. 

Spooky Halloween bouquet looks pretty

Was at my local Michael's and spotted this really cool Halloween decoration....loving the polka dot vase and the stripe gold canes (reminiscent of whimsical witches in Wizard of Oz). Not a big fan of the scary skulls and skeleton hands, but I like the idea of the pretty gold, black, and dark purple combination! 

Edible flowers made of kale

If I were throwing a party today, I would like centerpieces decorated with edible kale in hues of purple and pink like this! 

From Better Homes and Gardens October 2015 issue:

page 111

page 68

page 71

...and maybe add some fresh plums to the kale decorations too! Yeah!

My Little Pony Twilight Sparkle for Halloween

I saw this Little Pony hoodie in a Kmart advertisement last week and thought to myself "I need this for Halloween!" Granted I don't really celebrate Halloween anymore, but if I had to wear a costume, I just want to wear this hoodie:

1. There is more than one purple shades in it.

2. The pony has bangs (so do I!)

3. I probably can fit into size girls XL (yay for being a petite)

4. I read about "Twilight Sparkle" online, and the character is very similar to my kind of persona (student, librarian, magic, friendship...love her!)

Best toddler recycled dinnerware ever

I may be on a roll with amazing purple sightings on Instagram for a long time! Today, it's these Re-Play recycled plastic dining sets for kids! Spotted from one of my favorite fashion blogger Nini's Style instagram:

Discovering the purple cow

As I was perusing the July 2015 issue of Bon Appétit Magazine with the catchy blueberry-purple title font...

...I came across this tiny blurb on soda ice cream floats, particularly the words "Purple Cow". 

Wow, of my 33 years in life, I have never thought of or seen grape soda ice cream floats. Yes, I've had root beer floats and whatever-soda-one-has-on-hand with vanilla ice cream...but not grape (or any crazy colored soda come to think of it.) Well, probably because I'm not fond of the artificial grape flavorings. But man, I've been missing out on the wonderful color it would create in a tall icy crystal glass. My next goal in life is to attempt this Purple Cow! 

Some interesting tidbits I've come across while searching on "Purple Cow":

• Purple Cow Restaurant in Little Rock, AR - purple theme decor and famous for their purple ice cream floats; a trip to Arkansas, anyone?
• Welch's Purple Cow recipe - instead of unhealthy artificial soda, try real grape juice with Welch's. I remember Welch's use to have the cutest kids for their tv commercials too. 
• Serious Eats ranking of best Grape Sodas - sodas to keep in mind for my home experiment with the purple cow...future post to come! 

Touring Portland Oregon in June

I am really a complete homebody. Usually my ideal vacation is spending days off from work just sitting at home, organizing my closet and maybe reading a good book. But I do have many family and friends scattered about the United States, and I'm obliged to visit them ever so often. Late spring, early June, I had the opportunity to visit my brother who recently settled in Portland, Oregon. This is my second time visiting this city, and I must say, each time had been a positive experience. Actually, it was on this trip, that the idea of starting this purple-loving blog came to life! Thus, I snapped a bunch of purple thrills I encountered in Portland...

Powell's Books - I love the organized color-coded rooms at this place. With the store map in hand, self-help computer kiosks in each room and friendly staff, I was able to find the books on my wishlist quite easily in this massive place. I was jumping for joy when they had copies of Paul Gallico's Mrs. Arris Goes to Paris...and New York. For some reason, I have never been able to find these Gallico books at my local library or bookstore. Also, shopping is tax-free in Oregon. No guilt feelings with my purchases here. I enjoyed my experience so much at Powell's, I also bought myself a souvenir tee shirt (in purple of course! Can you spot it in my basket below?)

Pioneer Courthouse Square - this pretty urban park was holding their "Festival of Flowers" during the time I was there. Purple pansies are my favorite flowers. Every time I see these, I feel like it's a personal love message from God. This place is also across from Nordstrom (where I found those lavender sunglasses I mentioned in my introductory post). 

Moonstruck Chocolate Cafe - has quite the creative selections of chocolates. Do not try the tomato basil ones though (tastes literally like tomato basil sauce in chocolate, a weird combination). However, I favored their macarons. Usually, my purple selections are not the best-tasting, but this time, the purple marionberry with the chocolate filling was the best! 

International Rose Test Garden - of course I had to check out the roses since Portland is the "City of Roses." The blooming flowers and landscape was breathtaking. However, I was disappointed that I didn't see any purple-purple roses (maybe they don't exist yet). The closest to purple were these lilac-pink ones called "Love Story." My sister and I debated if they were more pink?

I did manage to find some elusive purple flowers (not roses) on the outskirts of the garden.

Annual Spring Rose Show at Lloyd Center - since they also had the Rose Festival going on (oy, early June is definitely the best time to visit Portland!) we also stopped by the Portland Rose Society Annual Rose Show to check out the winners. Once again, I failed to see any extreme purple roses. The closest was this "Blue Ribbon" variety which has a very similar hue to the "Love Story." Ironically, it did not win a ribbon. However, I thought it had the strongest scent. It brings me back to a time when my family rented a house in southern California where the neighborhood was known for their carnation and rose gardens. My parents had once noted that the pale dusty lilac roses in the neighborhood always emitted the most powerful perfume.  

Andina Restaurant in the Pearl District - this was my first time to a Peruvian restaurant, and I'm in love! I'm ever so grateful that my sister decided to drag me to this place during our adventures downtown. There are so many interesting restaurants in Portland, that it can be overwhelming. This place was definitely the highlight of my trip. Especially the tapas, and especially this Causa Morada...

PURPLE POTATOES, where have you been all my life? I was a bit skeptical about the taste of the Peruvian purple potato, thinking it'll be sweet and musky like the vibrant Filipino purple yam I've tried in the past, but this tastes like regular mashed potatoes. I love that this dish looks strikingly vibrant and exotic, but if you close your eyes, it's like simple homemade mashed potatoes with egg salad, yum! I want to go back to Andina! The desserts were also amazing...we had the crème brûlée, where once again, the local marionberry flavor (I now realized that marionberry is an Oregon thing) was the best. And it's purplish.

SE Division Restaurant Row - on one of the final days of my stay in Oregon, my brother took us to his favorite Pok Pok restaurant. I had my first refreshing Som drinking vinegar, and enjoyed walking down Division street, taking note of all the delightful eateries and food carts we want to try the 'next time' we visit Oregon (regrettably, we were too stuffed from Pok Pok and Salt & Straw to attempt more food in one evening). Can you spot me next to a purple vintage dress in the whimsical Lodekka double-decker bus?

Voodoo Doughnut - a trip to Portland, OR is not complete without a glimpse of the famous Voodoo doughnut shop. Unfortunately, there's always a long, 15-minute wait line. We didn't get the chance to stand in line while there, but I was excited by the purple sign and outdoor decor. I actually have tried their doughnuts before from a day-old box a friend shared from his visit in Portland. I may be biased, but I thought the purple "Grape Ape" was the best of the bunch.

I think Voodoo should consider changing their take-home boxes to purple instead of pink, haha! 

 

The one thing I was hoping to find in Oregon (but did not accomplish), was spotting the new Rogue Wasted Sea Star Purple Pale Ale that I read about in the Smithsonian Smart News prior to my trip. It may be too new to be stocked in the retail stores during my stay in early June though. 

Overall, I felt Portland was not just a "City of Roses" but also a city of creative foods and creative people...and a city for purple-lovers! I definitely left Portland with a bigger list of foods to try and places to see for the next time!

Gaining strength in purple foods

I was at my local Albertsons grocery store this weekend, and this juice bottle caught my attention:

V8 Purple Power Vegetable Juice

Yes, for the love the all things purple, I am a culprit of trying all foods that are purple hued too. Unfortunately this vegetable blend is actually an icky brown color, but what fascinated me the most is the bottle label on "purple carrots." What! I have never heard of purple carrots. How funky is that? I am going to put "finding fresh purple carrots" on my bucket list. 

Although I am adventurous in tasting purple vegetables and plants (eggplant, lettuce, radishes, onions, etc.) none has really hit the spot for me. Probably because I'm not a huge fan of vegetables in general since I was a kid, haha! Veggies, bleh! But looking at the natural hue from nature is wondrous! 

I'm a better fan of man-made purple in desserts and sweets. Speaking of, I'm a follower of this adorable Cakespy site. I cannot get enough of Jessie Oleson Moore's cute cupcake drawings. I'm dying over this "Desserts that are Purple" print she has on Etsy:

Making your own breakfast smoothie can be easy

Kenmore Personal Blender 

Just add your fruits, vegetables, and liquid, press one button, then ready to drink right out of the blender container made to look like a water bottle. Comes in purple! This is how I prefer my breakfast on the go! Currently spotted on sale at Sears for $17.99. 

Anyone own a one-person blender? Do you love it?