The After-College-Before-Work Lifestyle

At this moment, I am currently in that awkward phase of nothingness between college and work. For those who don't know me, I just graduated two weeks ago from College and is spending a month home until I begin working in February.

In the meantime... I've definitely developed a relaxing lifestyle with daily moments including:

1. FOOD

Homemade breakfast on the left :) This simple and healthy breakfast is helping me train my cooking skills for the real world! Do you know about these delicious and healthy Power Oranges? Read more about them here.

Dimsummmm in NYC on the right. never enough dimsum. 

2. TV

[Insert a gazillion asian dramas] haha.. this is me putting my premium DramaFever subscription to good use finally! I got to watch:

High School Love On - Cute drama, nice pace, would recommend. Read more here.

Vampire Flower - Short mini series-60min total. I love to watch these mini series because it's short but also tells a full stories. Short the story won't be too detailed but I like the pace and this plot since I'm a sucker for the Vampire genre. This one is a bit hard to find with a good quality and eng sub, I watched it ep1-3 on youtube and the rest here.

Also re-watched Sword Art Online!

It's the only Anime I've watched in recent years and will recommend it to anyone because the plot is great! I was and am still not an Anime fan but I absolutely enjoyed it. The plot is basically a futuristic world where players are stuck inside an MMORPG game and death in the game means death in real life. It explores in depth psychological effects of people in virtual reality and brings very interesting concepts. You can watch it here.

3. TRAVEL

New Year's Eve view of NYC! Had an awesome night of dancing and enjoyed a few drinks at The Shannon  sports bar in Hoboken. It had a nice dance floor and atmosphere!

4. Shopping

Shopping in NYC and finding a gem at Kate Spade NY! 

Link Here

Also snagged this Andrew Marc coat!










5. WAY TOO MUCH TSWIFT

Just can't get over her new album... I've never been a big fan of Taylor Swift, but after this new album I've been converteddddd. I just love all the songs on the album and put it on repeat for hours :0

Tis is the lifestyle of a school-less work-less wanderer. 

Life is pretty good just being able to enjoy these simple things :) Check out more photos and ideas on Instagram :) @graceyliu

命运-家家 （兰陵王插曲 冯绍峰林依晨 Lan Ling Wang Ariel Lin Feng Shao Feng)

兰陵王这剧情看得我泪流成河。。。整整两个小时的眼泪。。眼睛肿的象核桃-.-
尤其是这首歌，真催泪
在脑子里挥之不去两个星期了，所以就算感冒也决定做个cover!

March Madness: The Fun&Laughter

Yet another month swings by, so much fun and laughter, living the life~ 

Those are flavored marshmallows!
From Bubo Patisserie 

In just a month, I feel like I've aged a decade. I've become more mature, more focused, and more motivated after figuring what I want to do with life. To reach this conclusion, it was a long and difficult journey, with internal conflicts, moving on from an important stage of my college life, and building up courage to pursue my aspirations. To blog this development, I've split this March Madness into different themed posts: 

First: The fun&laugher, Spring break in Europe~

Icebarcelona!

Santa Maria Del Mar

Magic Fountain of Montjuic

SO much fun and excitement! This has definitely been the best spring break of my life. Though the idea of studying abroad sounds appealing, I'd rather visit individual places on my own, plan trips according to my schedule, and not be burdened in any way by schoolwork~

On top of Park Guell
AXO, ZY REPRESENT!

Everything about this trip has been so extraordinary, from spending time with the boyfriend who's studying abroad, to hiking all over Barcelona, to cheering a sister on at the Barcelona 26.2mile Marathon. 

Growing up and and no longer traveling with the family is a great feeling. 

Not that I don't want to travel with my family ever again, but independency gives the most rewarding and blissful kind of freedom. 

Seeing the different cultures that exist in this world is liberating. Recognizing there are so many wonderful things out there and so many possibilities make even my most farfetched dreams seem within reach. 

AXOXO,

Grace

Winter Edition: Turkey feast, NYC, NBA, Beyonce and beyond

This is a way overdue post :P Just realized I saved it as a draft and never published! 

If you've ever watched an extensive action filled movie, you've only experienced a fraction of what I feltloft my 4 days of my Thanksgiving break--that's how crazy and amazing it was.

In a nutshell:

1. 8 hour roadtrip from Cleveland to Jersey and back with boyfriend, and our friends Effie and Darius.
2. Feasted for 3 days. Feasted the entire Turkey Day from the moment we woke up. (Effie stayed at my house for break)
3. NYC shopping from Thursday night
4. Dave&Buster's at midnight
5. NBA game front row seats, LA Clippers vs. Brooklyn Nets, AND SEEING BEYONCE!

Reuniting with high school bestie Kevin, shopping at Times Square Black Friday~

College bestie, she's an international student, coming home with meee for thanksgiving~

Baumgart's Cafe NOM NOMS

My baby is growing up :( It's a Lexus RX 300

Just being big kids at Dave&Busters

Boyfriend's family overfeeding us at their restaurant Baumgart's :P

Waited two hours for this Totto's Ramen! Get their tuna don, so amazinggg~

LA Clippers vs Brooklyn Nets! AND I SEE BEYONCE O.O

those small blissful moments in life

Baumgart's homemade icecream is just TOO GOOD

Words cannot describe this adventure~

Though I ended being more exhausted than I was before I left campus for Thanksgiving at "home", this adventure was one of the best outings ever and I'm so glad I got to sharing it with all the amazing people in my life :)

AXOXO,

Grace

Gtimes in Gtown: partners in crime, DC style

Oh it's that time of the year when school and exams are suffocating and there never seems to be enough time to do anything...until FALL BREAK

Georgetown <3

What an awesome 4 days in DC with my best (and worst) partner in crime Tammy :D During the day we sleep, eat, and shop. The weather was gorgeous, like true fall weather with the sunshine and slight breeze and autumn leaves falling. 

DC CUPCAKES YUM

Watching DC CUPCAKES on TLC always made my mouth water; I finally got to taste its deliciousness after an hour long wait! I tried Maple Walnut, Red Velvet, and Key Lime Pie. Can't decide a favorite because all three were absolutely amazing :D 











M Street is definitely a place you'll not want to miss. The liveliness is incredible between the good food and awesome shopping, that's one thing Case Western cannot compete with. (We're gettin there with uptown developing!) And one thing I realized about DC is the time you spend on waiting, for EVERYTHINGGG. 

Pentagon City Mall!, VA

We Also took a little detour to Virginia to the Pentagon City Mall. My wallet definitely took a blow at this 170 store, 5 story premier shopping center. Especially at one of my favorite stores Francesca's Collections :D Now that's what I call a real mall. 






And when it gets dark... well let's just say chandeliers ain't all that fancy and Case girls aren't just talk either, we bring the game. Call it what you want Gtown peeps, we'll still knock it out and backwards pass till the table's clear. Our mentors have trained us well, all day every day over summer. BOOM

FYI, it was worth totes worth the $280 speeding ticket, damn pennsylvania construction zones..you can build another great wall with all that construction (oops.. still need to mail that check!)

Cheers~ 

BE A SMART LAZY – excercise without grossness

Ever wanted to get toned for that hot summer body but grimace at the thought of dripping sweat on the treadmill or gasping for air on the track field?

First. World. Problems.

STORY. OF. MY. LIFE.

I’ll admit, I’m a damn lazy person. But besides that, I’m also highly self-conscious of being sweaty, smelly, and gross. My laziness, in combination with bad weather and high humidity in Cleveland, resulted in a week of failed attempts to work out at Veale(CWRU athletics center) with my housemate Tamsies. But that doesn’t mean we stopped consuming high calories at night, if you know what I mean. Derpp…

Sunday afternoon PHO with Tamsies, result of our evening ventures..(-_-)

Eventually, I figured if I can’t make it to the elliptical or treadmill, I should at least stretch out and try the Backyard Boot Camp workout I read on Fitness before my pitiful muscles decay further. Little did I know that these simple stretches and exercises can be just as helpful as running your ass off and sweating balls on the track field. My main concern is toning and reducing cellulite, so it might not be as effective if you’re looking to lose weight.

But as far as I’m concerned, it’s pretty awesome for casually bending your arms and legs here and there while watching Suits. Who says you have to hit the gym (which takes 15-20min for me to walk to) and feel disgusting to tone and firm skin? Though I just started two days ago, my skin already seems tighter; I feel satisfied and healthier, while watching my latest tv obsession. WIN :D

In addition, mix in some beginner yoga to loosen up neck, shoulder, and back tension or to simply relax, and you’re golden J

Cheers~