Updated usually on Mondays and/or Thursdays!


Monday, July 4, 2016

(626)-7/4-2016

Happy 4th of July! Today we're having a fusion post of our time last night at the 626 Night Market and a quick fashion guide on how to put together a patriotic (and stylish!) outfit. Enjoy!

This was my (Diana)'s third time at the Night Market and fourth time at Santa Anita Park, but it was Dorothy's first time to both, so hopefully this post will cover enough perspectives to give both veterans of the 626 and first-timers some valuable information. 
I began with a potato swirl ($5), garlic and parmesan flavored. There was actually way more potato than I expected. I also got two Chinese lamb skewers, which were some of my favorite things from my childhood. At $2 a skewer, though, I think it's way more expensive than it should be. I'm going back to China in two weeks and I can get 5 of these suckers for $2 there. 

(By the way... YES I dyed my hair. Going briefly off topic, but oh my gosh!!! I'm so excited about this hair. I've wanted purple hair since I was a kid so this really was a dream come true. Hair done by the incredible Jeffrey Robert at Kut Haus Claremont.)


My first tip: Avoid drinking stuff until you get thirsty because there's going to be a LOT of food you want to eat, so if you fill your stomach up with liquids first, you're not going to be able to try as many different things. 
To get some spice into my system, I began by eating a curry bowl by Lazy Bear. It's so cute!!! You can get a chicken curry bowl ($9) or a crab stir-fried curry bowl ($10), and it comes with rice shaped like a bear with seaweed for eyes! Is it overpriced? Heck yeah. But everything at this Night Market is overpriced, so if you're going to pay for overpriced food, I think you should at least get ones in cute packaging. 
Dorothy:
I couldn't resist getting a lobster roll...and yes I'm aware this is an ASIAN night market LOL. I was low-key disappointed because I was comparing it to the bombbb lobster roll I had in Boston. Also, $13 lobster roll = sad wallet.

This was a bacon, avocado roll that was $4. They also had a poke and bulgogi one. I wish I got the $11 'boat' that is made up of the 3 rolls instead of the lobster roll. Oh well, at least this was tasty! 
Tip: The longest lines aren't necessarily the best. Just get whatever you think looks tasty!
Dorothy and I then shared a bowl of Thai Rolled Ice Cream from Rolling Ice. The flavors all looked really good, but in the end we decided on the Bangkok Special ($7), which was Thai Iced Tea-flavored ice cream with whipped cream, mochi, and french toast crunch cereal on top. It was a bit too sweet for me but I still liked it! 
Tip: Definitely share a bowl of rolled ice cream. There's so much in just one bowl!


By this point I was feeling quite thirsty, so I decided to get a lychee slushie from Squidies ($8). The line was SO long, but apparently later in the evening it gets even longer. Was it worth $8? Nah. It comes in this super cute lightbulb container completed with a twisted straw and a small lightbulb that lights up in different colors for a keychain accessory, BUT the lychee slushie itself isn't anything extraordinary. But like I said: everything at the 626 is overpriced, so if you're going to get something, might as well get something cool. Luckily, we arrived at 4:15 PM before it got really crowded, so the cool stuff didn't all have hour-long lines.
Tip: Get there early. Not only will you have a better chance of getting good stuff before it sells out, but you'll also deal with shorter lines and more flavor choices! 
Also, another tip!
Don't wait in line for the women's bathroom by one of the entrances. The line can get more than half-an-hour-long. There are bathrooms inside the horse-bidding building that very few people go to, so they're faster and cleaner!
Then we just checked out different vendors at the Market. Some of them sold some really cute stuff. There was this terrarium shop that had the most vibrant flowers I've ever seen, but... I forgot to take a picture. Classic. Here are some pictures that I did take:
Unfortunately, I have no idea what this shop is called. These signs would be such cute dorm room decorations though!
This booth was by Essyli

I bought this infinity ring with two little rhinestones on the side for $10. This is literally the first ring that I've ever bought and owned so... I think it's worth it. Bought it as a reminder to myself that "we are infinite." ^.^
If you missed this weekend's 626 Night Market, no worries because there will be 3 more! The next one is July 22-24, then August 5-7, and then Sept 2-4. The OC Night Market, which is basically the same thing, is August 26-28.
These Alex & Ani bracelets are huge right now, especially in California. I really like the two that I have because they hold a significance. The first one I got has a Stanford charm and the second has a compass charm. On the back of the compass, there are three words: Direction, Objective, and Transition. When I saw this bracelet, I was really drawn to how the words really describe the current season of my life.
In the spirit of 4th of July, of course I had to wear some red, white, and blue! You can't see in these pictures, but I wore my striped, blue espadrilles to match the striped, red tank top I was wearing. To balance out the stripes, I chose the rest of my outfit to be plain solids. The denim vest complemented the denim shorts. I made sure my shorts were white and not blue because that would have clashed with the blue vest.
Denim Vest: American Eagle / Denim Shorts: Lucky Brand Jeans / Striped, red top is from Korea!

Now for some fun facts about the 4th of July that you may or may not know! :D (If you didn't know, the 4th of July is celebrated because it's the day the Declaration of Independence was signed, signaling the separation of the United States of America from Britain, but as you will see below, even this story is disputed.)

  • On July 4, 1783, Princeton received a letter from the Continental Congress confirming that the town would be the new home of the U.S. government (Yes, Princeton's Nassau Hall was once upon a time the home of the Continental Congress. #TigerPride)
  • Thomas Jefferson changed the wording of the Declaration of Independence from "the pursuit of property" to "the pursuit of happiness"
  • John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on July 4, 1826. (James Monroe also died on July 4th, and Calvin Coolidge, another President, was born on July 4.)
  • America’s independence from Great Britain was actually declared by the Continental Congress on July 2, 1776
  • Only two men signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 — John Hancock and Charles Thompson. Most delegates signed the document on August 2nd, and some waited even longer to sign. The names on the document were not made public until January, 1777!
  • Congress declared July 4th as an official holiday in 1870 as part of a bill to officially recognize other holidays, Christmas being one of them
  • More people live in the city of Los Angeles today than lived in the U.S.A. in 1776
  • An estimated 150 million hot dogs will be consumed on July 4th, and I will be adding to that statistic today :P
So go out there and eat a hot dog (or the vegetarian/vegan equivalent) today if you are an American! 

Happy 4th of July!*
*For our international readers, we hope you have a wonderful Monday/Tuesday (depending on time zone) :)