Shopping & Sushi Extravaganza!

On Thursday some of the girls in my program and I took a trip to Champaign for sushi and shopping. What could be better?
We started at the mall and spent a good 3 hours there...I tried not to buy too much, but the siren call of Forever21 will always lure me in...

I got some fun socks (love the mushroom pattern on the black ones!) and sunglasses from F21 along with some tops and a dress. I also got a lip gloss at Victoria's Secret, and a funky green nailpolish from Sephora. I'm loving mint-green things these days. The clothes didn't photograph that well...so you'll see them when I wear them! I also got a free (unpictured) full-size body wash from Sephora as a belated birthday gift when I signed up for a rewards card :)
After the mall, we met up with a friend for dinner at Sushi Rock on East Green Street.
I ordered the vegetable gyoza:

These were pretty good- maybe a bit over done though, as the tops of the dumplings were a bit dry. The sauce that came with these was so spicy it made me cough, too!

The star of my evening was this:

Yam tempura rolls- these had cucumber, carrot, avocado, and tempura fried yam inside, and were topped with sesame seeds and a savory sauce. This was the best vegetarian sushi I've ever had! This picture is making me want it again right now...

It was my friend Ashlee's first time trying sushi and her first time using chopsticks!

She was an instant pro:

Ashlee is a vegetarian too, and got the veggie rolls. She liked them! 

After dinner we headed to Cold Stone. I debated in my head whether I should get any ice cream or not, as it doesn't always agree with me...but after a sample of the coffee ice cream (my favorite flavor), I ended up getting the smallest size...which wasn't very small at all.

I was basically shivering as I ate this--it was about 10 degrees outside, but it was very tasty!

Unfortunately, all of the sugar kept me awake until well past 4am the next day.

After dessert we headed to an Asian grocery store to stock up on some items we can't get in Charleston.

This is what I got:

From the top left: 10 lbs Basmati rice, Japanese Sencha tea, roasted chickpeas, coconut oil, tamarind paste, 3 Indian boxed dinners (for Raine). Second row: Nori for sushi, sesame candy, dashi kombu (seaweed powder for making soup), millet, and dried fruit (mango, ginger, kiwi). At the bottom are a tea strainer and a soup spoon for this Miso:

I love miso soup! My dad used to buy miso paste and make soup for me when I was a child, but I have only eaten it restaurants since then. I'm glad I can start making it for myself now- with whatever I want to put in it! 

Something I did not get was this:

 eek! I know some people probably love this stuff, but it's not something I'm interested in trying! To each their own...
All in all, the trip was a success, and I can't wait to go back to Sushi Rock and back to Champaign.

PS: I've made a Master of Her Romaine page on Facebook- please feel free to "Like" me!