How I wish to be roaming the fields of lavender bushes! Alas, I must settle for these and pretend that there are more than just four of them all lined up against the sidewalk. Houses of ordinary folk lay just beyond. Despite feeling like a treacherous inferno, the day was beautiful and clear with wisps of clouds stretched across the sky. A hummingbird on silent wings granted us a visit, imbibing in the nectar of the lavender blossoms. Butterflies flitted by in their soft, playful way, and a gasp escaped from our lips as our eyes alighted on their vibrant patterns.

 Having now completed the recap on South Korea, I now take you on another three-part series. This time to the refined city of Kyoto with its beautiful shrines and temples. Of course, it would not be complete without pictures of the delectable fare interspersed throughout our visit. I believe we stayed in Kyoto for one weekend, but it's all very fuzzy now so I can't be sure. It was definitely not long enough to all the wonders Kyoto had to offer. We managed a few and they were all so very enchanting. I would dearly love to come back again.

 The wall in which I'm pictured standing in front of here belongs to one of my favorite sandwich shops known as Lovebirds Cafe. I always get the "Love That Basil" sandwich. The basil pesto sauce is so yummy. But the thing that keeps me coming back is their Dr. Snyder bread, which consists of a sort of wheat bread with raisins and walnuts interspersed throughout. So each bite is a pleasant surprise and goes so well with my favored sandwich. Much to my disappointment, they were out of the Dr. Snyder the day I went. I really need to remind myself to call beforehand because this isn't the first time it's happened. It's a good thing because they make their breads fresh!

 We stumbled upon this lovely fence of overreaching bougainvillea just a few feet away from a bike trail that runs along the canal. We could not have found a better place than this. The blossoms looked so charming, quietly basking in the soft glow of sunlight. They grew in abundance, spouting a torrent of bright fuchsia petals, just beyond on the other side. However, entrance to it was gated off as it was private property.

 I discovered Larmoni not too long ago from some of my favorite bloggers. As someone who adores retro styles, I instantly fell in love. I do think the clothing are a bit pricey, but the styles are fairly unique. It seems as though they've been carefully selected. I do not feel the dress I am wearing in this photo was cheaply made at all. The zipper is sturdy and the fabric is nice. I love that there is a cotton lining inside so that it's light and breathable. I detest polyester linings, especially in the summer - they're the worst!

 Ladies and gentlemen, I bring to you the third and last leg of our stay in South Korea. This large domed arena is part of the famous amusement park known as Lotte World. I had no idea it was on the Guinness World Record for being the largest indoor amusement park. It really was incredible though. I thought it was amazing how so much could fit inside a building. Not only that, it consisted of about four levels. My only regret was that I was so tired from the trip that I walked around like a zombie the entire day. Have no doubt, deep inside the recesses of my energy reserves, I was screaming with excitement.

 As you may already know, I am particularly fond of vintage clothing. There is something unique and timeless about them that I find endearing. This dress in its natural state has large, puffy sleeves. I always meant to alter it myself but I never did get around to it. A simple fix was just to roll it up a bit so as to seem like my shoulders were being gobbled up by all that fabric. I think it looks rather nice this way. The only problem is that the dress doesn't stay buttoned! I had already left the house when I realized this misfortune. Luckily for me, no one else was around to see. And the bobby pins I found in my backpack saved the day!

 I feel as though I'm being bombarded left and right with talk of the approaching fall season. I'm beginning to see pumpkins everywhere in all their bumpy imperfections and varying shades of orange. Is it any wonder that I jumped on the computer and googled pumpkin recipes? Instead of rejoicing, I raised my fist at the oven because it was much too hot to turn on. It already felt like an oven inside the house. And then, I stumbled upon this pumpkin pie yogurt parfait recipe and all was good again. I tweaked it to my liking by putting just one layer of yogurt and pumpkin in a one-cup mug. I sprinkled (a lot) of pumpkin spice and drizzled some honey all over it. Admittedly, pumpkin is one of my favorite things to eat so I've been eating this parfait for the past few days!

The title of this post came upon me while I was thinking of Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being, which I've been reading for the past few weeks. I'll admit this is not a fast, easy read for me. I am glad that I am now able to understand the philosophical ideas Kundera takes into consideration. If I read this book five years ago, I probably would have put it down right away. Anyway, there is something about the color of lilac, or even lavender, that attracts me so. Was it a fortuitous event that when I happened to glance upon the color for the first time, I was inundated by a great love for this soft, delicate hue and knew instantaneously that this was the one - the favorite? I like to think so.

 First and foremost, we began our second day in South Korea with a big, hearty meal consisting of soondubu jigae, which is a delicious spicy tofu soup. I especially love eating this in the winter. It warms you right up! I don't remember who but one of us ordered a spicy pork dish. And as it when one goes traveling, obligatory photographic documentation of the things we noshed on shall consume this post in its entirety.

 I imagined this as more of a fall/winter dress with its vivid boysenberry hue, but I had an incredible urge to wear it the day we went to visit the Ghetty Museum. I used to associate September with the beginning of autumn, but I know now summer's will to live on into October is undeniable. I suppose my subconscious yearning for the darker, cooler days must have been quite powerful for me to have chosen such a color. I'm reminded of the plush red wine lipstick sitting in my makeup drawer and I want to smooth it over my lips. Opulent, somber velvet. I'm itching to slip into long sleeved blouses and cozy knit sweaters. And I'm even craving pumpkin already!

This post is picture heavy so I've manually added a jump break. Might consider doing this more often...!

It was John's birthday this past Sunday. I thought I'd dress up a little to celebrate the occasion. I bought this Emily and Fin dress (on sale) last year from Modcloth. I had my eyes on this dress for the longest time. Even on sale, it still was more than I normally pay for an article of clothing. I don't often splurge, but when I do, it's only after I've pondered over it for several days. It's such a fun dress to wear. It's bright, colorful and so, so cheerful. It puts me in a good mood and makes me want to twirl all day long. And it's got pockets!

 I'm not big on birthdays, but even so, I'll admit that it's nice to celebrate with friends. I got John a record player so that he could play the vinyl version of Tool's Undertow, which he received as a birthday gift from our mutual friend. And by chance, John discovered the same day that his friends from high school lived a couple houses down from me. They had lost contact with one another after they graduated. He said it was a nice birthday surprise. I thought it was pretty sweet. We were invited inside to their party and we chatted a bit before heading off to eat Korean BBQ. Of course, I changed out into plainer clothes. I was not about to have the smell of it linger on my pretty dress!

I tend to avoid shift dresses because my large bum usually turns it into something else - a loose, ill-fitting bodycon dress, if you will. But once in a blue moon, a darling dress like this comes along, waiting for me to snatch it up. I found it in the sale section of Forever 21. No more than $10, if I remember correctly. It's an old dress but it's held up well over the years. I was drawn to the floral crochet lace overlay pattern that allowed a bit of the soft blue lining to show through. I can only ever see myself wearing it in the summer time, but we'll see. I thought I'd mix it up with this mustard polka dot print blouse. It's another one of my purchases from Japan. The boutiques there sell the cutest things. If I had room in my luggage, I would have come home with so much more.

Now that I'm older (and wiser), I am able to discern the quality of product. I learned a lot about the quality of fabrics and the construction of clothes when I was working in the Fashion District. I wish I had that knowledge when I was younger. I would have carefully examined the fabric and stitching before buying. If it met my standards and the price was reasonable, I would allow myself to buy it. Of course, this also applies when I go thrift shopping. These days, I've developed such a critical eye that it makes shopping almost impossible. What have I done...!

In this week's throwback post, I will be writing a three-part series of our trip to South Korea. In November, we received an entire week from our studies to do whatever we wish. Of course, many of us decided to travel. My group consisted of three other girls. I don't recall any of us being familiar with the Korean language so I was bit nervous. We stayed at a really cheap hostel. I had never stayed in one before and the only hostel I ever heard of was the movie, which I don't recommend anyone ever watching. We were lost for a little while trying to find it. It was very clean and simple inside. I wasn't expecting much but we did find a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter inside the mini fridge!

We discovered this beautiful river beneath the bridge. We did not explore the entire length. It extends for quite some distance! I would have loved to have something like this where I live. With the drought we're having, the only riverbed near my house is dry as a well. I wouldn't really call it a river either.

Oh, delicious bibimbap! It's such a riot of color that it made it really fun to eat. It looked so pretty that I felt a little guilty destroying its loveliness by mixing it all up.

Oh, gosh. The journey to N Seoul Tower was quite a trip. We had no idea if our taxi driver understood where we wanted to go. We were taken and round and round for such a long time that we wondered if he was just taking advantage of us. Or that he might take us somewhere and do the unimaginable! Eventually, much to our relief, we reached our destination. I don't remember how much we paid. I was just glad we finally got off. The walk up to the tower was breathtaking - literally and figuratively. It was all uphill for at least a mile, but the autumnal leaves of the maple trees were so beautiful it made the walk more bearable.

N Seoul Tower had more features inside of it than Tokyo Tower. And like Tokyo Tower, it looked to be a popular date spot for couples. I thought the wall of what seemed like love notes was pretty cute. There were even trees of hearts and padlocks outside that reminded me of the famous Love Lock bridge in Paris that no longer exists. It's too bad. I had wanted to see it. Understandably, the strain of so many padlocks put the bridge at risk of breaking and causing harm.