Girl's Nite Out: Dark Side of Chocolate Film Screening

I had an amazing time at Busboys last night.  I went with my bestie Arinah...but because she decided to wait till the last minute to primp, we missed seeing Suheir Hammad perform.  :P We enjoyed a delicious and rich dinner then Suheir Hammad was kind and humble enough to take pictures and speak with us.  So I was very happy about that!

That's me standing next to Suheir Hammad (the one with the hat), her friend in the green, and a fellow poet.  Suheir looked fabulous last night!

And here is my lovely and sophisticated friend Arinah posing with our star poetry ladies!  If she took off her coat for the picture she really would've upstaged our celebs ^___^!

This is me wearing my new floral dress from Forever 21, sitting pretty while waiting for dinner to be served! 

 This is my dinner!  I ordered Shrimp and Chicken Chorizo Pasta served in a tomato basil cream sauce.  It was absolutely delicious and well worth the $15.  I had a glass of fresh pomegranate juice with it.

This is Arinah's meal, she ordered Pan-seared Basil Tofu served with roasted red pepper risotto.  I'm not a fan of tofu, but I took a bite of hers and it was mouth wateringly yummy!  Her meal was only $13 and she had green tea as well.

After dinner at Busboys and mingling with Suheir, we made a pitstop at the hospital to say hello to my niece who is in the pediatric ward.  Here's Arinah posing for some camera play in the empty corridor of the hospital!  I love her hair!

And here I am showing off like the camera whore that I am!

There is another upcoming event at Busboys in Shirlington, VA on Tuesday February 8, 2011 at 7:00pm.  They will be hosting the flim screening of The Dark Side of Chocolate by Miki Mistrati.  This is definitely a must see film that unveils the dark and twisted reality of how most of our chocolate is made with the use of illegal child labor.  You can view the trailer at http://www.thedarksideofchocolate.org/. 

So bring your girlfriends and even your guy friends out to this event.  We need to raise awareness about how candy manufacturers are profiting off of child trafficking and how these children are being abused and neglected so that we can enjoy a bite of chocolate.  I'll see you there!

Until next time...

♥ My Kuroi

You've Got Mail!: Textbooks & 3D Nails ✉ ✉ ✉

I love getting mail!  Sometimes I feel like I order things just so for once when the mailman comes, he's got something for me ;D

Let's see what I got!

I am such a nerd lol! ~.~ This textbook is for my bioinformatics class.  Right now I'm working on my Masters degree in biotechnology and biodefense.  Sounds boring, but you learn about really kewl things like...how to make synthetic life...yup scientists can create their own organisms from scratch!

I got my Macbook Pro I needed for school!  This is another testament that I'm not just a happy freak, positive thinking actually works.  This badboy cost $1,200 and then some...a poor lil nurse and grad student like myself just doesn't have that kind of money sitting around.  My dad found the kindness in his heart to get me it!  This is my first mac so I'm popping my apple...teehehehe!

These are my Japanese 3D art nails that I ordered from Tananail! Ironically they are made in China, then packaged in these cute little boxes and shipped for free to me!  I ordered these about 3 weeks ago, and they were definitely worth the wait.  I think I'll either wear the silver pair or the disco ball ones for Valentine's Day...depends which ones will look better with my dress...that'll be here in a few days ^_____^

Until next time...
♥ My Kuroi

Vivi's Closet: Velour Rose Dress & More ♥ ♥ ♥

I'm elated!  I'm an avid believer in using positive thinking to mold my life.  So the dress that I posted a few days ago in my Valentine's Day Preparations post was out of stock nationwide. I put my name on a waiting list for every Free People store from the east coast to the west coast.  They even told me that the dress wouldn't be shipped to the stores until April.  Yet I stayed positive and forced myself to believe that I will be wearing that dress on Valentine's Day.  I stuffed that dress into my soul!  (LOL I'll stop now :P) A lil store associate from a Free People store in Costa Mesa, CA called and said one dress in my size showed up in her shipment today.  I bought it and it'll be here in 3 days, so look forward to my review and pictures!

Ironically, I'm wearing a Free People dress today....
´¯`v´¯`*•.¸¸ ¸¸.•*´¯`v´¯`*•.¸¸¸¸.•*´¯`v´¯`*•.¸¸

So let's break down today's outfit of choice!

I'm wearing a velour cream colored dress with a wine colored rose detail.  Like I said, this dress was designed by Free People and cost $128.00.  This was from their 2010 winter collection, so if you find this dress, it should be on sale!  It does come with straps, but I prefer to wear it strapless.  The bandeau top of the dress is made of this lovely shimmering fabric. ◕‿◕

Over the dress I'm wearing a black vest by Charlotte Russe.  As you can see it has a lace detail in the back that isn't visible in my picture.  This vest is great for layering and cost $14.99. ♥

This is the belt I used to cinch the waistline of my silhouette.  I love the metal rose clips in the front.  I bought this belt from Forever 21 for $6.99.  ✿

You can't see my shoes in my picture, but these are the boots I'm wearing.  I just bought these yesterday from Dots for $18.99.  I love them, they are sooo comfy! ☃


Well that's todays outfit and I have a date tonight ;D  Me and the boo are going to have dinner at Ara in Annandale, VA.  It's a Korean karaoke restaurant, so we're going to get a private room and American Idol it up!  


Until next time...
♥ My Kuroi

Girl's Nite Out: Suheir Hammad in DC εїз εїз εїз

I love going to see poetry performed live.  It's so much fun getting your girls together and enjoying cocktails together while in awe of some "snap-snap" worthy spoken poetry.  One of my favorite poets, Suheir Hammad will be performing at Busboys & Poets in DC this week on Thursday Feb. 3, 2011 at 6:00pm.  

You may recognize her from HBO's Def Poetry Jam.  She is definitely a legend, so grab your girls and come check her out!  Busboys & Poets is a restaurant/bookstore where people can gather and mingle.  Its also a great laid back date spot as well ◕‿- 

So I'll see you there ladies!  Until next time...

♥ My Kuroi

Quick Eats: Honey Garlic Chicken ◕‿-

As a busy nurse and grad student, I cannot jive with culinary slavery, so I love quick and easy recipes! Last night I prepared one of my favorite dishes...Honey Garlic Chicken! ◕‿◕ This dish takes only 25 minutes to prepare and cook.  This is my own special recipe...

Ingredients:

1 yellow squash

1 zucchini squash

1 red sweet pepper

1 orange sweet pepper

1 red onion

1lb of lean chicken breast

1 bottle of Honey Garlic sauce

2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

3 tsp of water

1/4 cup of flour

Garlic salt

Sesame seeds (optional)

Directions:

1. Rinse off the chicken breasts and slice them up into pieces about the size of ice cubes.  Then toss the pieces in flour until all pieces are completely covered.

2. Heat up a pan with the olive oil over medium heat.  Place the chicken in the pan and lightly sprinkle garlic salt over the pieces.  After 1 minute, turn the chicken pieces over.  Then after 1 minute, turn them again.

3.  Add 1 tsp of water to the pan.  Now take a few minutes to slice your up your vegetables (if you chop slow, do this before starting to cook your chicken lol).  Every couple of minutes, stop and turn your chicken pieces over so that they brown evenly.  Add 1 serving (enough to cover your palm) of each type of squash, peppers, and onions to the pan.  

4.  Stir in 1/4 cup of Honey Garlic sauce.  Your concoction will bubble vigorously.  Stir in 1 tsp of water to prevent the sauce from burning on the bottom of the pan.  Maintain medium heat for about 4 minutes, then reduce heat. Cook for 4 - 6 more minutes on reduced heat so that the vegetables are soft, and the chicken is throughly cooked.  During this time add 1 more tsp of water to the pan to keep the chicken from drying out.

This meal can be served with rice.  I did not include instructions on preparing rice because some people use rice cookers, others minute microwavable rice, and some boil it the old fashioned way.  Sesame seeds can be sprinkled over the chicken for added effect!

This recipe prepares 4 - 5 servings.

This is how my Honey Garlic Chicken turned out...

I served mine with white rice, and green tea!  Tastes better than honey garlic chicken in restaurants!  Got any quick eat recipes you love?  I love to hear suggestions!

Until next time...

♥ My Kuroi

Unique Date Idea #001

In Washington, DC the National Gallery of Art is hosting an outdoor ice skating rink in it's Sculpture Garden. Its very inexpensive and a great opportunity for hands on interaction ;D After you finish your skating session the National Gallery has a cafe that you can warm up in and grab a bite to eat.  This is a great place to take pictures and make great memories together!  The skating rink is open from November to mid-March so there is still plenty of time to grab your bun-bun and check it out!


Pricing
Admission Fee - 2 hr session is $7.00 per adult
Skate Rental Fee - $3.00 (ID required)
Locker Rental Fee - $0.50


Ice Rink Hours
Monday–Thursday, 10:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m.
Friday-Saturday, 10:00 a.m.–11:00 p.m.
Sunday, 11:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m.

I'll be sure to post some pics from when me and my honey-bun decide to go!


Until next time...
♥ My Kuroi

Yummy Decorations! ❀ ❀ ❀

I've always loved the handmade bling bling cases that I see girls have on their i-phones.  My best friend decided to give her hand a try at decoden - decorating objects and accessories with jewels and charms.  When she told me how easy it was to do, I did a little research of my own on how to kawaii-fy my things as well. =)


I love the decoden style where you use silicone to make frosting designs.  Here is my first creation...

This is actually a jar of raspberry cream lotion I purchased from the dollar store and I decorated the lid.  I feel like it needs a cute ribbon to finish it off.  I used gems, buttons, deco rose pieces, and the crepe is actually an eraser.  So how'd I do?  I think it looks kinda like a cupcake ;D


Until next time...
♥ My Kuroi