The Softer Side of Spring

Currently mesmerized by the subtle, yet impacting shades of Gucci’s 2014 Fall/Winter show featuring dusty rose pairings with vanilla latte, mauve with marigold, and lovely lilac layered with blush and bashful…

Interiors 1/ 2/ 3/ 4/ 5a- 5b/ 6/ 7/ 8/ 9/ 10

Oh the softer side of spring awaits…where barely there color beckons you to a faraway land of fresh baked croissants for breakfast, candy-colored macarons for lunch, and a lovely buffet of confection and sweets for late supper…

Calgon take me away…

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Food Porn Friday- Bolsa by the Bowl

Happy Friday hunny bunnies!!!  Remember to turn up them clocks for daylight savings time come Sunday morning!  Although we’re losing a precious hour of beauty sleep, can’t tell ya how excited I am to get back into my training schedule with an extra hour of sunshine bursting through them SoCal skies!  Which ultimately translates to party hardy time!  It’s funny how I don’t hear a peep from my peeps during the transitional months but as soon as spring peeks her pretty little head, it’s back to back events of drinking and debauchery coupled with the occasional fancy meals in-between.  Boooooo for my poor aging liver, yayyyyyy for a new season’s worth of foodie ventures!  Seeing as how my weekend is booked up with my besties for some fun nights out on the town, I thought it only fitting that I feature some of the BEST hangover cures brought to you by noodle soups in Bolsa! 

Here’s the roundup today lovers:

Café Picasso

15619 Brookhurst St.

Westminster, CA 92683
(714) 531-0144

The former Café Picasso (they kept the name, but changed ownership) under the direction of Chu Long and his wife was one of our rotating faves.  Where “everyone knows your name” type of vibe, so as much as we were saddened to see them (and their highly recommended menu) go, it’s always a nice change to see what sprouts up in their place.  Enter the new Café Picasso, with Anh Phu and his team working hard to serve some of the tastiest egg noodle soups south of Bolsa Ave.  You can expect Anh Phu to greet newcomers and old patrons alike with a heart-heavy HELLO as you enter the newly stark and minimal space, indicative of what’s to expect on their modest single-page menu.  As he explained that their egg noodles come fresh from a gal that makes them in her San Francisco kitchen, you can instantly see how much pride he takes in creating a clean and savory broth, a nice respite from the traditional msg-and-oil-laden soups we’re so familiar with around town.  One look at the surrounding smiles of in-house diners and we were sold! 

The Mi Ga Di Bo (first pic):  Egg noodle soup with free range chicken was everything he promised and more!  Al dente egg noodles almost with a ramen-like buoyant texture mixed with fresh spring onions, fried onion chips, and hand-shredded white meat.  Free range chicken is typically more chewy than hormone-injected ones since they’re grass fed and as the name suggests, these chickens are free to roam about their farm and surrounding fields.  They’re super fit, low in fat, and perfect for us beach babes who are equally as mindful about what we eat as where our food comes from.  A+!  Also notable:  Mi That Nghiep is their pork and shrimp combination version of this noodle soup if chicken’s not your thing.

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Hoa Binh Restaurant

14472 Brookhurst Ave.

Garden Grove, CA 92842

(714) 531-3088

Hoa Binh’s Mi Hoanh Thanh Xa Xiu is a local fave, boasting some of the freshest homemade wontons in Bolsa.  Since the establishment is famous for this particular egg noodle soup with chinese barbequed slices of pork, you can expect that their shrimp and pork wontons are made fresh daily, as opposed to frozen ones that lose their light and fluffy shape once thawed.  The soup is fresh and flavorful, a bit on the under-seasoned side but nothing a little hoisin/sriracha mix can’t fix.  If you’re thinking about ordering this specialty dish, make sure to ask for the barbequed pork on the side.  This way you don’t lose the sweet, smoky flavor that coats each piece of pork once mixed in the broth.  I love my flavor profiles separated so I can truly appreciate the balance of flavors combined.  That’s the Viet in me for sure!

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Phat Ky Mi Gia

14140 Brookhurst St.

Garden Grove, CA 92843

(714) 530-9228

Phat Ky Mi Gia was introduced to me by le bf’s Korean bff so I was skeptical to say the least, but one look at their accoutrements and I knew they were legit.  I can’t tell ya how unfortunate it is for a Chinese/Viet noodle establishment to forego Chinese mustard and fresh vinegar-soaked peppers in lieu of traditional sauces, but I say they’re a MUST for layered flavors in your broth.  Their Mi Dac Biet Phat Ky house special egg noodle (both dry and soup-based, pictured) features boiled shrimp, pork, liver, and sauteed ground pork along with fresh cilantro and spring onion mix.  I can definitely taste the appeal as their broth feels very homemade; however like mama used to make, I’m sure they packed as much MSG in this sucker as yo’ mama did as well.  Undiscerning palates will LOVE this "umami-made" flavor, but I felt it heavy handed especially when I like my broth clean and additive-free.  I much prefer to post-enhance my noodle soups myself with all the free fixins’ on the table, ya feel me?

What’s your go-to meal to cure those aching hangovers??  

Do tell, my ravenous appetite awaits y’all!

Bon appétit mes amis!

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Get Organized NOW! Tips for organizing your home

With winter almost over and spring just peeking above the horizon, I wanted to take the next few days to share my TOP tips for organizing clutter and transitioning your space into a brand new season.  One of the questions I get asked the most is how to maintain a beautifully efficient home amidst the chaos we call “everyday living.”  It’s really quite simple and it all starts and ends with a highly sensible system of organization.  Hands down the healthiest habit you can adopt starting NOW and here’s how you do it:

{Tip 1:  Take inventory of your belongings}

I like to break this tip down according to space.  Just like my closet organization system HERE, my tips for storing jewelry and accessories HERE, you will find that it’s much easier to devise a practical and efficient plan by first surveying your belongings and second grouping them by attribute.  How many sweaters do you own?  How much jewelry do you have to display?  How many books are frequented on a daily basis?  Pay attention to the quantity of your possessions and design a plan around that.  You don’t need double 5x5 Ikea Expedits if you only read tabloid magazines and swear by your Kindle ya dig??

{Tip 2:  Group similar articles together}

This one’s a no-brainer but I can’t tell ya how often people overlook such a simple fix.  Clothes stay in the closet; accessories in your armoire, books on the bookshelf, paper towels next to a drawer full of cleaning supplies…you get the idea.  Don’t just throw your keys on the table when you come home, designate a valet tray right by the entry door and ONLY place them there.  Be it in the bedroom, the office, or that crazy closet you stuff all your junk into, assign specific areas for storage solutions and you will never have to waste valuable time searching for anything again.

{Tip 3:  Source Ikea’s Expedit for storage}

Peep out my dub-stacked Ikea expedits below.  My FAVE flexible system of organization to house everything from architectural samples to fabric remnants to magazines, board games, pictures, and props, these babies are my #1 saving grace in my studio.  I love using the vertical height of walls to hide clutter and display objets d'art, it’s the perfect solution for small spaces since I live/work/play in all of just under 900 sf.  To maintain a clean and tidy look, I use Ikea’s black Drona boxes to store my loose fabric samples but you can use any of these baskets to hide toys and other goodies that just don’t stack up.

{Tip 4:  Bookshelves aren’t just for books}

Check out these pin-worthy solutions for Expedit organization.  I love how they can double-duty as a buffet console in the dining area, a room divider for larger spaces, a makeshift bar, or even a gallery wall to display artwork and accessories.  Get creative with how you organize your belongings and these shelves can instantly become a key feature in the space whilst being practical and functional. 

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{Tip 5:  When in doubt, label label LABEL}

There was a time when my trusty P-touch and I were BFF.  If your memory doesn’t serve you right, label your way to better organization.  It wasn’t until I became efficient at consolidating my bits and bobs that I gave up the handy labeler, which I actually still use to organize my thousand-plus samples.  I even stack clear acrylic boxes within these squares to hold my stationary and loose items.  Visibility adds to ease of retrieval.

 There you have it!  
Becoming the success story you always imagined first starts with the mindset.  Find value in the healthy habit of organizing and watch your productivity shoot through the roof y’all!  Money back guaranteed.  :D

Any home organization tips you'd like to share?  
Do tell!  Love finding new solutions to make life just a little bit simpler...

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Haute Khuuture on Instagram

Happy new month of March my loves!  Hope y’all stayed productive amidst all this crazy weather lately.  Spent the super rain-drenched weekend doing the usual…running errands with le bf, meeting up with my posse for a fun-filled Game Night, and ended my Sunday with a glorious picnic atop my bedspread to chillax and watch the Oscars.  Ellen was friggin’ AMAZEBALLZZZZ!  Like, literally killed IT with that pizza and star-studded selfie shtick!  Way to “humanize” celebs fo’sho!  One of the most entertaining Oscars to date!

But on another note, follow Haute Khuuture on Instagram HERE for the latest in the dailies of an interior designer!  From my before and after’s…to fashion and food porn…and most recently been saturating my feed with TONS of weekend projects to inspire your next DIY design! 

Catch y’all on IG my loves!  

Happy Monday and make it a productive week!

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