Wide Legged Trousers

BIG PANTS.

I've always liked big pants. They're good for:

• Days when you're bloated or having a "fat day"
• When you go to your friend's family's house for a 9-course Thanksgiving dinner followed by cake and 2 kinds of pie
  
• After Indian buffet (mmmm naan and palak paneer)
  
• Because I just refuse to let go of the JNCO and REQUEST days c.1996

At any rate, they're back in now - but in the high-waisted and trouser assortment.


At first I was like I don't know. High-waisted doesn't work on me because (1) I'm short and (2) I have no waist.

But look at THIS:



That's real cute, man!

(Also, I have a special place in my heart for MK + A and their homeless man style.)

I don't know how I feel about tucking in my shirt, but the pants with the belt look nice. I really like the front pleating. But not on boys. Boys, NEVER wear pants with pleats in the front please please please.



Also try them in the seersucker and sailor variety because Colonel Sanders and Popeye are good.







Price: $58 (seersucker); $68 (sailor) *but I scored them for $14.99 each this weekend!*
Vendor: Urban Outfitters

Jose Gonzalez

Jose Gonzalez - Hand on Your Heart



My current song obsession is Jose Gonzalez's cover of Hand on Your Heart, originally by Kylie Minogue.

I was like eh the first time I heard it. I'm not particularly fond on folksy music. But after a few more listens, I started liking it more and more. His voice and the lyrics are just so so pretty.

I wasn't crazy about his cover of The Knife's Heartbeats. The original is just too good. However, dare I say - I like his version of Hand on Your Heart better than Kylie's version? I know! And I LOVE me some Kylie! She's one of my favorite ladies, but her version is a little TOO 80's for me. It scares me kind of.





This song is a single, so it's not on his Veneer album.



See the video for Hand on Your Heart at www.josegonzalez.com.

Listen to Heartbeats at www.myspace.com/josegonzalez.

Barefoot Coffee

I'm a coffee connoisseur. Self-proclaimed, that is. (Also, I totally spelled "connoisseur" right on the first try and I'm really proud of myself!)

Ok, so I don't really know all that much about the "art" or "science" of coffee, but I do drink coffee on a daily basis and I know what I like and I know what I don't like.


Barefoot Coffee - I like. A lot.


I used to be pro-Seattle's Best - which, in its own right, is also very good. MUCH MUCH better than Starbucks, which I actually kind of hate. Tastes like burning!

They have lots of specialty coffee drinks that incorporate condensed milk, coconut milk, 5 types of chocolate, and even caramelized sugar where they use a TORCH. With FIRE.


Barefoot coffee, how I love thee. Let me count the ways.

• Smooth and rich taste (never burnt, never sour)
• The in-store roasting
  
• The cute pictures they draw in the foam on top of your latte
• The little almond biscuit they give you when you have a drink in-store
• The "Cubano"
  
• The "Vietnamese Coffee"
• The "Voo Doo"
• The superfluous amount of outlets
  
• The counter w/ stools (I really like sitting on stools at counters)
• The condiment station (containers of liquid sugar, molasses, caramel, turbinado sugar, brown sugar, honey)
• Buy 10 drinks, get 1 free
  

But best of all - it is truly a GOOD cup of coffee.



Unfortunately, you can only have it if you live in the South Bay.


Location: 5237 Stevens Creek Blvd, Santa Clara, CA 95051
Website: BarefootCoffeeRoasters.com

Target Presta Wedges

I heart Target.



Why I like these:

• 4.25-inch heel. My motto - the higher the better.
• The wedge is skinny. This is important because I have an aversion to platform on shoes (UGH so gross stop wearing them please). The wedge is narrow and curves inward so it doesn't look bulky.
• Rope + Cork. The combination makes it so much better than if it was cork alone.
• $24.99! Enough said.
  

Great cheap shoes to throw on and not care if you mess them up by tripping on nonexistent items on the sidewalk or sideswiping brick walls. (Unfortunately, this really is a concern of mine.)

You can't tell from the picture, but the ankle ties are actually long strings that you wrap multiple times around your ankle (and not a solid cuff as the picture leads you to believe). Esperadille-style. I'm not crazy about this style, but I'm willing to forgive it.

I LOVE the height. They make we feel like I'm walking on my tiptoes, which is fabulous. THE HIGHER THE BETTER. Wear them under those jeans that are just a tad too long, but not long enough to make hemming them worth it.

Plus - they're comfy!



Price: $24.99
Vendor: Target

Tamron 17-50mm F/2.8

I think this will be my first lens purchase. For two reasons:

1. Faster shutter speed. I was also considering the Canon 17-85/4-5.6 IS. While the Canon has image stabilization, the Tamron is faster, though it lacks IS. While slow lenses with IS can be used at slower shutter speeds than would be possible with a faster lens, those slower shutter speeds aren't always be fast enough to freeze movement.


2. Smaller depth of field. I love this look! Blurring the background = cool. Here's an example:

Actually, it would be pretty cool to get a SUPER wide angle lens, but that's probably not very practical. This one would be more everyday-use friendly. I'm not making enough (or ANY) money to be splurging on extravagant, unecessary camera lenses. This one is a good "in-between" lens to waste money on until I can afford $1500 L-lenses!


I should rename this blog "How to Waste Money by Tramanh Phi."


Price: $449
Vendor: Amazon.com