life, by Linley

#springbreak2012

2012-03-17T22:49:00.000-04:00

While my spring break wasn't as eventful as some of my classmates (ahem, sternies), I still had fun in the city, and got to catch up with one of my good friends.
I started off my break by going to Curry-ya, a Japanese curry restaurant in the East Village which Justine had recommended to me. I got the baked Japanese curry, which had potatoes, carrots, butternut squash and beef, smothered in curry, and the topped with cheddar cheese and an egg, and the whole thing was baked. I really liked their modern version of curry. Definitely a repeat!

After that, I went to Dominique Ansel bakery in Soho to get a St Patrick's Day themed pastry for myself. I wanted the heart shaped macarons, but I think that was only for show. Instead, I got the salted pistachio religieuse, which was too pretty to eat! I also brought home a DKA to save for breakfast.

After the bakery, I wasn't quite ready to go home, so I made an extended pitstop in Washington Square to sit in the fountain and watch the street performers and dancers. I think my ankles even got a bit tan.
The next day I made plans to go to Bubby's Brooklyn with Johnny for a belated birthday and general catch up. The restaurant is located right on the East River in DUMBO, and Johnny lives near South Street Seaport, so we decided to walk the Brooklyn Bridge to get there! It was surprisingly crowded for a Monday, but we eventually made it without getting run over by a bike. At Bubby's I got the fried chicken with sides of mac n cheese (which Johnny ate) and baked beans plus a grapefruit margarita. I wasn't that hungry, but that fried chicken was so good! I think the batter had different spices or something, but it was incredibly flavorful. Plus they had a photo booth and I could not resist. For dessert, we tried to go to the Brooklyn Ice Cream factory, but it is closed on Mondays. I was quite upset since I have never been.

The rest of the week consisted of me going to my internship, eating Vanessa's chicken teriyaki lo mein (sidenote: do not get their bubble tea, the tapioca is sub par) and eating too many popsicles.

really liked my nail color this week: Essie, play date

my fingers were pretty tired after stuffing over 200 envelopes!

easter themed window in soho

new sparkly sandals that look like ones I wanted last summer from Zara (but I got mine for less than half the price at Nordstrom Rack)

using my hedgeyhog dryer balls hehe

need to get a haircut soon, probably next weekend

pre-spring break madness

2012-03-09T23:33:00.003-05:00

yikes it's been a while since my last post! I guess it's mid way through the semester, but my midterms are actually quite spread out. Starting February 29-May 9, I have at least one major thing (paper, test, presentation) every week....but for now I can relax because it's spring break!
Things I will be doing during spring break:

soo much laundry
Architecture paper/field assignment
grocery shopping
eating at restaurants no one else wants to go to (specifically curry-ya)
general wandering around since the weather will be in the 60s
and hopefully meeting up with Johnny for his (belated) birthday!

basically my daily life, minus class. Plus the weather is supposed to be in the upper 60s the majority of the week!

The highlight of the past two weeks has certainly been going home to see my sister in the school musical!! Because I studied abroad last year, I wasn't able to see Laine in Grease, so I was thrilled to see Annie!! Sadly, all of the pictures are on my mum's camera.

Laine with her dance partner from Grease

Snapshots

yummy food from Ktown

coconut milk tea with jelly

petit fours

the ceiling of the Met

Laine's wilderness letter

lots of panda stickers were involved

Canal st subway station

haven't used scantrons in a while

freshly baked pita

extra gooey baklava

2012-03-06T01:23:00.001-05:00

long overdue post coming this weekend/once spring break starts. promise promise! In the meantime, enjoy the trailer for Despicable Me 2!

My week in macarons and shabu shabu

2012-02-20T20:15:00.003-05:00

This week was another food filled one. I started off with my beloved Laduree macarons. This time I got two grapefruit, one black currant, one caramel, one coconut and one rose petal. I had really high hopes for the grapefruit since it was a special Valentine's flavor (and I'm still in my grapefruit phase, although it seems to be slowing down), but it was very disappointing. There was supposed to be a vanilla creme center, instead there was a nutty tasting jelly. Overall very disappointing. My favorites are the caramel and coconut.

After my internship on Friday, I walked to the new, downtown Brooklyn Shake Shack to get the Jeremy Lin mint shake. No lines! And the shake tasted like a girl scout cookie. Perfect afternoon treat.

Since we had Monday off for President's Day, I used the long weekend as an opportunity to see lots of friends! Saturday, I had Indian food with Lucas, who I had not seen in a year. Since it was warm that day, I decided to wear my Anna Sui Resort '12 blouse for the first time! I've noticed that I wear a lot more black and grey these days. I still like to wear bright accessories (especially purses) and jewel tone jackets, but I think it's finally happening. I'm becoming a New Yorker. This outfit was also featured on Pose!

On Sunday, a few Shanghai friends and I decided to go to Flushing and eat yummy (and cheap) Chinese food! But before I met up with them, I planned on hitting up a few flea markets on the way to Penn Station, where we were going to catch the LIRR to Flushing. But I never made it! I ended up going in to Joe Fresh near my apartment, and I saw my friends Jessie and Allen! I also picked up a Celine esque denim shirt, which I'm very excited about. I also really like their silk button down shirts, and they come in so many yummy spring colors!! I think I'm going to wait a bit, until they are on sale, so I can get multiple colors!

really liked this blouse, but it was a bit short for my taste.

super cute! and has a pocket.

Once we actually made it to Flushing, the first stop was Coco! I can't help getting milk tea whenever I'm near Coco. After, we went to the New World Mall, and I stocked up on super cute phone cases!!!

ridiculously cute hk cases, but I didn't get them. next time!

Finally, we went to the restaurant to have shabu shabu (individual hot pot). It was soooo delicious and super filling! I wish I could have it all the time!

no trip is complete without a picture of Gian sleeping

A week of risotto and macarons

2012-02-12T14:34:00.003-05:00

This week I was super on top of my school work, which is good. Really trying to manage my time better (like bringing hw to my internship for the slow days), so I can relax a bit at night. Besides school, this week was all about....food.
I made my own risotto! It's actually quite simple, but you have to be patient and have the time to consistently stir the pot until the rice has finished cooking/absorbing all the liquid. I added an onion, mushrooms, basil and lots of cheese.

This morning, I went to Laduree on the UES with the hopes of getting one of their special edition Valentine's Day boxes. Much to my dismay, the store didn't even have them!! I pre-ordered a box and I will have to go back this week. But while I was there, I did pick up a Valentine's box of chocolate-macaron hybrids. I will certainly be displaying the boxes once the treats are gone!

I picked up a new backpack that I'm really excited about using. It's from Baggu and has a really cute cactus print. And it's nice and small, which is perfect for school.

Snapshots from the week:

made lots of press kits this week

cute Reed Krakoff windows on Madison

Prada windows

meh second week

2012-02-05T12:07:00.000-05:00

Week two of school and I'm establishing my routine. With school four days a week, interning three days a week, my very important (and packed) tv schedule and soon to be work one day a week, time management is more important than ever this year.
The weather this week was crazy!! One day was even in the 60s! As nice as the weather was, I am certainly missing the white winters I'm used to. I grew up with at least one snow day per school year, usually more! And this year we don't even have snow.
For a late birthday present, Eunice got me this cute dish sponge in Korea! It's so cute I don't want to get it all icky, so she said you can also use it as a loofah.

Since we've moved offices at my internship, the food options have greatly multiplied! This week I tried a Japanese/Thai place that has a good lunch special. I really want to go back to get the $5.50 Thai special, but it's a bit far.

On Friday, my boss treated me to hot dogs from Bark. I got the beans and frank dog and we shared the disco fries. A yummy Friday treat! Especially since I had to make 30 press kits afterward.

This week I wanted to paint my nails a fun/lighter color. I went with this Revlon Top Speed green shade called Wind Fall.

Friday, on my way to Trader Joe's, I popped into H&M to see if they have a dress I've had my eye on. On my way out, I noticed this mint green beaded collar! Really pretty, but I think I would rather pay the same amount of money for a good quality vintage piece.

I've also been making hk waffles a lot.

First week of school!

2012-01-30T18:40:00.003-05:00

I'm still getting back into school mode, but I'm getting there. I intern three times a week, so it breaks up the school day nicely. The only downfall is that I'm so hungry after 4:55-6:10 class!
On Thursday, I decided to try a new food truck that frequently parks in front of Carlyle: Seoul Food. It is similar to Korilla, but has a larger menu and the items are also pricier. I decided to get the spicy pork bibimbop, which was huge! Easily two+ meals. I was a bit surprised that the truck charges tax, which I don't think food trucks should do because they are a truck and not a brick and mortar establishment. The food was good, but not as flavorful as Korilla and a bit too heavy handed on the kimchi, which I don't like. The guy was really nice though and gave me a sample of the pork.

Eunice invited me to go Megu for dinner, as part of NYC restaurant week. The decor was so cool! For appetizer I got the crispy "Okaki" Asparagus, the Chef's "Omakase" sushi for my entree and the green tea crepe for dessert! So yummy and a wonderful experience!

At my internship, we moved offices from DUMBO to Cobble Hill. What an experience! Because we are so small, we had to do all the packing and loading and unloading—everything! Although, I didn't have to do much of the unloading because we were parked in a school zone and in front of a hydrant, so they told me to stay with the van. I am very excited about the new location! There are many, many more restaurant options (with $5.50 lunch specials!!) and close proximity to target!! Additionally, the building is much nicer.

old desk

old view of Manhattan Bridge

Saturday was a night full of 21st birthday celebrations—including my own! I had Indian food with my friends who were not yet in NY for my birthday, and then we went to our other friend's birthday celebration in Ktown for karaoke! What a tremendously fun night!

my outfit, though I swapped the heels for suede boties

a ceiling of chili pepper lights

I mentioned last week that Pose featured my outfit. Well guess what, I was featured again!!! The app featured my birthday outfit, which was also well received by my friends.

dinner with Eunice!

Pose with me

2012-01-25T21:37:00.004-05:00

Last month I started using a new app called Pose, which is an easy way to share and post outfits. As some may remember, I was quite diligent about creating and posting new outfits this past summer at my first fashion internship. I love looking back at old outfits, and I remember that day.
Today, the Pose app featured me under their features section! I have even gotten a few follows and comments! I am very excited to keep posting my outfits and dressing up everyday, when the kid sitting next to me in advertising is in head to toe nyu sweats (this actually happened today).

that's me: top row, center!

Remainder of Winter Break

2012-01-25T21:26:00.000-05:00

I've been quite bad about posting as of late. School started this week, and I'm still very much not in school mode. Because of my exam schedule last semester (or lack of) my winter break was extra long—five weeks! But now I am back to my busy busy life, which this semester consists of 6 classes (18 credits) and interning in Brooklyn three times a week.
Here is a glimpse of my birthday celebrations (both at home and in ny with my friends) and our first #girlsweekend where my mum, sister and I saw Darren Criss in How to Succeed!!

clam pizza at Otto

Raspberry-lychee bellini at Mercer Kitchen

Tuna wasabi pizza

salmon and mashed potatoes

almond ice cream bar

Four flowers juice: orange, pineapple, banana and pomegranate juice

lemon ricotta pancakes

ramen at Ramen Setagaya

Jason Wu for Target!

2012-01-10T11:58:00.001-05:00

As everyone knows, I love a good designer collaboration. But, I am particularly excited about Jason Wu for Target. Wu gained fame when he designed Michelle Obama's Inauguration gown three years ago. The past two seasons (Fall 11 and Spring 12) have been Wu's strongest, with his signature lady like silhouettes with luxe fabrics and detailing.
After months of teaser images, the full lookbook is finally out! Here are my favorite pieces:

really pretty look, and I already own a similar skirt!

kitty scarf!

love the flippy skirt and the bold color

I want that blouse! (also comes in white)

very reminiscent of Spring 12 runway.

easy DIY

vintage-esque bag

(all images via facebook.)

Home!

2012-01-09T13:21:00.003-05:00

Now that I'm a junior, I am truly appreciating my time at home—a fridge full of groceries that I don't have to buy, free laundry, my own room and a queen size bed and of course my family! This year my exam schedule worked in my favor and I was able to come home December 17th!! During winter break I always catch up with my high school friends since we all go to different schools there is only a short period where everyone is on break.
My friend Amy and I love Ajishin, so we always go there. This time, since we both weren't super hungry, we decided to split an udon and then order a bunch of sushi.

Kate and I also had Japanese food, which we made! And then this weekend Kate and I are going to visit Ann Arbor to see Jess and our other friends at UofM! I'm really, really happy that my internship is letting me start next week so I could stay an extra week at home. Because we traveled, I was only home for one week, which is not enough!

West coast travels

2012-01-09T13:13:00.001-05:00

I've been home for a little over three weeks now, but I was gone for two of it! For Christmas my family went to visit my grandparents in Portland, and we also visited Seattle since we don't go to the West coast that often.

In Seattle, we hit up Pike Place Market right away. We don't really have markets like that in Michigan. I was pleasantly surprised with the variety of produce (especially fruits) that I've never seen before. We also ate at one of the restaurants and had super fresh seafood.

Dungeness crab roll and lemonade

My mum and my sister and I walked around downtown Seattle a bit. We mostly went shopping, but we also stopped for an ice cream break!!

I kinda regret not getting these Jeffrey Campbell heels. They've definitely grown on me

Honey Lavender ice cream!!

I didn't realize Seattle would have so many hills, like San Francisco. I guess that's the nature of the West Coast?
In Portland, we made sure to go to Voodoo Doughnuts and Big Ass Sandwiches. I liked how downtown Portland has lots and lots of permanent food carts, unlike in New York, where they have to drive off at the end of the day. And not just hot dogs and pretzels, lots of South Asian, Greek, etc. food stands. I wish we had had the time to try a few more.

Finally, I went to Vancouver to visit my close friend Justine who I have not seen in a year. I had so much fun in Vancouver!! I arrived on New Year's Eve, so a bunch of Justine's friends from high school came to her house to watch the various countdowns. The next day, her parents took us around the different parts of Vancouver and we had a really delicious hotpot for dinner. Monday, we went to an Asian mall with a yummy food court. For my last day in Vancouver, we went to Granville Island Market, which I really enjoyed, shopping at Artizia (which there is now one location in Soho) and a Glee marathon.

Yakisoba dog from Japadog, now on St Marks!

Baked Portugese chicken and milk tea.

One of my favorite parts of this whole two week trip was Uwajimaya in Seattle. It's a Japanese grocery store/market/food court. I loved the food there. The first time I went with my parents and I got Korean, the second time I got a Japanese bento box. And I had to stock up on baked goods for my flight home, and the biggest honeycrisp apples I've ever seen!

Sunrise in Seattle

Beard Papa cream puffs!

Bulgogi Dupbap

Last week of the semester!

2011-12-18T21:37:00.001-05:00

Well, I've finished my fall semester. whew! My last week was quite busy, with both a final paper and an exam on the same day. Aurora even brought us cupcakes for the last day of class.

After I handed in my advertising paper on Thursday, I headed to the Anna Sui store in Soho to check out their Family and Friends sale. I was a little disappointed by the selection, but I did pick up a new ring and ID holder

And at the end of the week, I had a day to myself to relax. I went to the Daphne Guinness exhibit at the Museum at FIT and I was super impressed. The overall vibe felt very similar to this summer's McQueen exhibit. There were seven sections, divided into categories like Black and White and Armor. My favorite was Evening Chic. There was a dreamy Alexander McQueen gown and a gilded Chanel cocktail dress.

After the exhibit I went to Ajisen Ramen, a favorite of mine (and my family!) in Shanghai. I ordered the Seafood Ramen, but I wish I had ordered the Fried Chicken Ramen. The non-Ramen dishes looked just as good, so I definitely want to go back and try them.

And the week ended with flying home Saturday morning! I got to LGA in record time on the bus, only to find the security line super long. But there was an abundance of little kids in line to keep me entertained.

My Grandma even made wontons for dinner when I got home. Shrimp, my fave!

Snapshots from the week:

Saw three baby parades that day!

Why this was the best week ever!!

2011-12-11T00:23:00.001-05:00

Despite having one presentation and one exam this week, I think this was my best week of the semester! Both the presentation and exam went well, and I'm now done with two classes! Stern even has their own blue books, which actually have better quality paper than normal blue books.....

Thursday, Eunice and I organized a holiday party and Secret Santa exchange for our Shanghai friends. It was a major success!! We decided to go to Gyu-Kaku for their happy hour, when their menu is half priced! We ordered sooo much food for ten people, and it was so much fun to grill it with everyone.

For my Secret Santa gift, I got Melisa these really cute things you put on your glass so you know whose is whose. For me, Eunice got me slippers! It's seriously like having little stuffed animals on my feet.

I used pages from the Ikea catalogue as wrapping paper. hehe

The gift exchange was so much fun, and I was really happy that (almost) everyone could go!! And then there was Gian's present (wrapped in the Financial Times), which everyone giggled at.

Friday, was the last day at my internship. And it was a super busy day for me, since I was the only intern. But, all the hard work definitely paid off when I was allowed to choose more clothes!! I was shocked and so happy the rest of the night!

I couldn't help myself from trying on earmuffs

love the delicate detail

Today, I went to the New Museum to see the "Experience" exhibit with Ben. The exhibit was super fun, because it is very interactive. The exhibit starts in the lobby, where we got these crazy upside-down goggles. I seriously felt like I was going to fall over, it was so confusing! It took me a long time to get used to the goggles, and by then I was developing a monster headache. Other highlights included a giant slide that went from the museum's fourth to second floor.

mirror carousel

animals

Ben getting ready!

the basin at the bottom of the pill clock

the gorgeous view from the sky room

Upside down goggles. Ben said I looked nerdy.

Snapshots from the week:

My nails this week, Essie Nice is Nice

my love for sweet potatoes continues

playing at Pier 1

carving wood reindeer right outside my dorm!

really scary performance art in the ACE 14th st station

super cute slippies

a heaping pile of hk waffles!

switched to my fleece sheets!

and my new skirt finally arrived from Bloomingdales!! I felt so cool and trendy when I tried it on.

yummy cupcakes from Butterlane! I got all banana cake with blueberry, rasberry, caramel and coconut frosting.

Outfit post: birthday edition

2011-12-05T16:51:00.001-05:00

I went to my friend Ray's 21st birthday dinner over the weekend, and it was quite exciting and fun! Since it was a special occasion I wanted to dress up a bit. Eunice really wanted me to wear one my new pieces that I just got from my internship. Both dresses are very summery, so those wouldn't work. One of the tops was from the fall collection, which is what I initially wanted to wear. After pairing it with a few skirts (but not trying anything on) I wasn't happy with my choice. I decided instead, to go with the other blouse that is fall-ish, but the fabric is sheer, making it more appropriate for summer. I paired the rooster blouse with a drapey black skirt, knit tight and heels to make the color palette dark overall and winter appropriate. I also wore one of the coats I got made in China, which was so exciting!!

my dinner: veggie dosa plate

Happy birthday Rui!

My awesome week

2011-12-03T15:53:00.001-05:00

This week was terribly busy and exhausting for me. I had four interviews for potential spring internships! I haven't officially made any decisions, but I think next semester I'm going to learn so much more about PR than I had thought. And combined with my classes, I think it's going to be a really fun semester!
The week started off quite warm, a record breaking 70s in Central Park! But the rain on Tuesday cooled things down. I quite liked my outfit on Tuesday for my second interview. I wore a skirt that I've had for nearly a year and a half, but have never found a way to wear it that I liked. I paired the skirt with a crewneck sweater, jeweled collar necklace and glitter oxfords (that I desperately need to replace).

At the interview, they were filming Law & Order: SVU right outside! I was so surprised to see their huge set in the Meatpacking District.

I also experimented with Butternut Squash this week. It's quite difficult to cut! I'll have to figure out a better method, because I became quite impatient with the slow cooking time.

My current internship is almost done (one week left!) so I finally got to choose my clothing allowance after working 400+ hours! I chose two dresses and two blouses. I'm really happy with my selections. I think the pieces definitely fill a void in my closet. And I chose a lot of mint green, which I don't really have, so that was a happy accident. As per Eunice's request, I'm going to wear one of the blouses tonight to Rui's birthday dinner!

Speaking of my internship, I was quite bored last night, so I got an extra head start on my thank you notes. I don't even remember the last time I got out stationary and wrote a thank you note.

On Wednesday, President Obama was in town for a charity function, which took place right across the street from one of the NYU academic buildings! The police shut down the entire area and gated all the streets. It was quite the production!

This week, I wanted to give my poor nails a rest, but when I found out I had four interviews I couldn't go with bare nails! I decided to do a nude glitter color. quite subtle, if you ask me.

I also used my beloved Hello Kitty waffle maker for the first time this year! and I didn't even burn any of them!

And I took out my pink tree, complete with Hello Kitty ornaments!

For my last bit of kitty related news, I changed my phone wall paper to this:

Snap shots from the week:

sample of press on nails that my roommate highly recommends

Thanksgiving break

2011-12-03T15:46:00.001-05:00

oh dear, I've gotten quite behind in my posts. Instead of going home for Thanksgiving, my family came to New York! We spent our time shopping, looking at all the store windows on 5th ave, going to shows (three!) and eating lots and lots of yummy foods.

Bergdorf windows

Butter Lane

Peter Luger

City Bakery

my week in food and excitement!

2011-11-19T22:58:00.001-05:00

Last weekend was probably my most social one yet. I spent all afternoon on Saturday making sweet potato pies with Ben. Much more simple than I expected! Though I'm not sure if I could bake a pie by myself...

our graham cracker crust which I thought tasted like Momofuku crack pie

Ben using his nifty apple peeler/slicer/core remover

apple beehives!

On Sunday, I went to the Mr. Philippines man-pageant to support my girl, David! And he won first runner up!!

All week, they've been setting up the Holiday Market in Union Sq. It finally opened on Friday! I haven't looked around thoroughly, but I did see my favorite molasses cookie booth! I also need to make a stop at the Waffel & Dinges booth!

Thursday was the last day of Priceless NY, where ten food trucks paired up around Manhattan to serve free lunch, on MasterCard. I was beyond happy when I found out the night before that Korilla would be in Union Sq! I got myself a bulgogi burrito with bacon fried rice.

After, my friend Amanda and I went to the Coolhaus truck, where she interns, and got red velvet cookies for a J. Crew event they were doing a few blocks away. Complete with edible wrapper!

Also on Thursday, my classes were cancelled due to the NYU4OWS demonstration. Over a thousand students met in Union Sq at 3pm on Thursday and then marched down to Foley Sq. Though I read it was very peaceful (I was way too scared to go outside since I live in Union Sq) I heard the protest for hours, and lots of police sirens and helicopters.

This week for my lunch with Ben, we decided to go to La Pain Quotidien, though it's a bit pricier than our usual lunch. But it was also raining that day, and lpq is close to campus. I had a smoked salmon tartine.

The real highlight of the week was tonight, when I went to my first cohort event!! Eunice is the cohort director of Murray Hill, so she invited me to her event, dinner at Ruby Foo's. It was so much fun! I wish we had things like that in Steinhardt. I had Korean fried chicken sliders and sushi taco trio (really yummy with the crispy wonton 'taco'!). And then we went to Juniors for cheesecake!! Four of us split a six inch cheesecake. I'm still stuffed!

I also wore an exceptionally cute outfit for the cohort event, as per Eunice's instructions. I wore a summery orange Zara skirt, and made it more winter appropriate with tights, boots and cashmere sweater. And I dried my hair for the first time in forever. Ray even thought I had gotten another hair cut! Guess I should dry/style/brush my hair more often....

Snapshots from the week:

awesome tassel I found in the education building stairwell. I'm thinking of making it into a keychain

Herald Sq at night

antique furniture for the Diesel windows

washington sq park

OPI in Royal Rajah Ruby

Macy's windows

working on the rugby windows

I love the Times sq buildings at night.

My week in inconsistent weather

2011-11-12T12:07:00.001-05:00

I started off the week by seeing my roommate's show, The Triangle Project. It is based on the Triangle shirtwaist factory fire, and this year marks the 100th anniversary. Half the play was outside, in the northeast corner of Washington Square Park. Actors were placed in a circuit, and the audience was split into three groups and rotated around the loop.

I mentioned last week how I'm obsessed with sweet potatoes. I still am. This week, I decided to make mashed sweet potatoes, using the same ingredients as the fries. Check out my earlier post for the recipe!

Thursday, in Union Square they started setting up the holiday shops! I can't wait to take advantage of all the yummy food vendors! Thursday was also unseasonably warm. In the morning, I comfortably walked to the gym in shorts and a tshirt.

Friday, at work we had the first day of our sample sale! I was able to snag a blouse and a headband before the doors opened. Good thing because the blouse rack was ransacked!

before

this lady brought her extra fluffy doggy!!

I also really liked my outfit on Friday, but sadly I wasn't able to snap a full length pic. I wore a white collared shirt, light grey cashmere sweater, black cropped pants and my glitter oxfords. I got a lot of complements on my shoes! But I certainly felt foolish for my bare ankles!

Snapshots from the week:

switched pencil cases. (left is the old one)

Macy's windows

Herald Sq

Brooks Brothers Flatiron

baby parade in the distance!

hk decorations!!

Jeep PR stunt

mashed sweet potatoes

2011-11-08T19:39:00.000-05:00

In case you haven't noticed, I've been in a sweet potato state of mind for about two weeks now! Tonight, I decided to venture one step further than fries and try sweet potato mash. I looked at several recipes, but I decided to go for the simplest recipe possible.
First, boil the sweet potatoes until they are soft. To check, use a nice to see if it cuts cleanly/easily through the potato. Instead of a timer, I used this as my indicator since my potatoes were quite large and irregularly shaped. I also used one Japanese sweet potato, and one white one. Both the insides are white, so it looks like regular mashed potatoes, but tastes sweet!

Once the potatoes are ready, peel them and cut them into smaller chunks.

I used butter, almond milk and salt to season. Some recipes also called for cinnamon and pepper.

And we're ready to beat! I used a hand mixer. Or you can use a potato masher thingy. or even a large fork if you're in a pinch.

Blend until you reach the desired consistency. I opted for smooth, with few chunks.

And you're done! Enjoy!

my week in firsts.

2011-11-06T01:44:00.000-04:00

This week was kind of meh. I got to relax, because I didn't have any tests or papers this week. Next week I have my last two midterms, and then a paper the following week. Then, it'll be Thanksgiving and December and finals and the semester will finally be over! whew.
On Halloween, I went to Chinatown for a school assignment. I walked around Chinatown for awhile, before observing the old Chinese people in Columbus Park. I definitely chose the wrong day to wear a bright turquoise coat, because I felt a bit uncomfortable with so many people staring at me. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see kids trick or treating! I saw a really cute pumpkin baby in the park. To buy some time before the sun set (my assignment was to write about Bayard st at night) I had a small dinner at Xi'an Famous Foods. While I was eating my lamb burger, two kids came in the restaurant trick or treating. What a different Halloween from the suburban experience of walking house to house.

Wednesday, I decided to dress up a bit, since it was a tad warmer than the other days. I decided to try layering a pair of lacey-ish tights over a pair of opaque tights so it 1. didn't look as weird as usual and 2. would keep me warm! I was really happy with the way the tights look layered. That day, I did an unusual color combo of a mustard dress with eggplant cardi and turquoise coat. I liked how once I took my coat off, the eggplant really toned down the look, and made the mustard-eggplant combo look really rich.

On Thursday, I finally had Korilla! I got the pork burrito with everything (as in all the vegetables + kimchi) and bbq sauce, as per David's instructions. They were out of the bacon fried rice. It was delicious. I'm sad I waited this long to try Korilla!! I might even have to make it a Thursday night tradition....

Of course I had to pair Korilla with sweet potato fries!! I am seriously obsessed with making sweet potato fries. It is so, so simple, how could you not?

And I've discovered warmed up pumpkin butter over vanilla ice cream is magnificent! I need to get a few more jars from Trader Joes before they sell out!

This week I also saw the new season of Celebrity Apprentice filming in Union Sq. I even recognized Theresa from Real Housewives! I was too scared to go up to their booth though. I'm not even sure what it was for.

Snapshots from the week:

homemade sweet potato fries

2011-11-01T19:08:00.000-04:00

Wanting something different for dinner, I decided to get a favorite of mine near St Marks, Tahini's shawarma sandwich. It's super filling and so, so flavorful yet fresh and light (unlike some halal carts). Anyway, to accompany my sandwich I opted to make my own sweet potato fries! It was quite simple and super easy and fast to make!

I started with two small sweet potatoes, which was about one portion.

you can peel them, but I was lazy and chose not to. Cut off the ends, and cut the rest of the sweet potatoes into fry like shapes.

toss with olive oil and salt and maybe pepper.

spread out on a sheet so nothing touches

bake at 450 degrees for ten minutes on each side.

Embellished collar DIY

2011-10-30T22:26:00.001-04:00

I decided to go to the Manhattan outpost of Beacon's Closet today, not looking for anything in particular. The store is arranged much like the Williamsburg store (which is three times bigger, by color. On my way out, I came across this dress in the black section. It's hard to tell if it's black or navy, and it has lots of red polka dot type things. I tried it on, and it fit! So I got it, with some very grand plans in mind.

First up, chop off the sleeves and make it a sleeveless dress. Farewell sleeves!

Then, I knew I had leftover pearls from a costume a few years back, so it was time to outline the collar.

And here's the final result!

Much more youthful, in my opinion. I'm still debating whether or not to cut a few inches off the hem. I think while it's cold and I'll be wearing tights anyway, it's fine. But come summer, snip snip!

my week in (free) food!

2011-10-30T12:03:00.000-04:00

This week was quite busy. I had two presentations (including one for ~Stern) and a midterm. ick. The week started off on Sunday with a group meeting for my EMI presentation. To make things more cheery, I wore my macaroon t-shirt! Of course it was cold, so I had to cover up the macaroons with a sweater.

Tuesday morning, I had an interview for next semester's internship. gah. I hate interviews. I'm not entirely sure how this one went, but I hope I get it! It was pretty cold, so I wore one of the jackets I got made in Shanghai for the first time! I love the shape and the furry collar! I wish I had another one in black!

Tuesday night I had another group meeting at 7:30, so it just made sense to stay on campus and do work until then. I saw on twitter that Artichoke's Macdougal location was doing a 2 for 1 deal for NYU students. So my friend Rose and I went! We both got the crab slices. Yummy!

Thursday I got a free lunch from Rickshaw Dumplings and Kelvin Slush!! Thanks to Mastercard, every Thursday until November 17 the ten best food trucks in the city will have free lunch for #PricelessNY! I hope the locations will rotate every week. This week Rickshaw Dumpling and Kelvin Slush were on University between 13 and 14th st, so I went right when they opened (or were supposed to open) as a study break. I got the Thai Chicken and basil dumplings and the special slush of the day, Arnold Palmer with cherry mix in. I really liked the peanut sauce that went with the dumplings, so much that I ran out with two dumplings left! And it was also my first time trying the Arnold Palmer slush, (I usually get a citrus base with a fruit mix in) and it was so good!

Saturday, it snowed! A record breaking one inch!! I couldn't believe it until I saw the big, fluffy flakes from my window. I certainly did not go outside yesterday...I heard it was miserable.

Snapshots from the week

near WSP

I was entranced by how fluffy her vest is!!

street photography

2011-10-24T11:58:00.000-04:00

February 10, 2010. WSP

April 13, 2010. WSP

April 22, 2010. WSP

June 22, 2010. Battery Park

June 12, 2011. Beijing

June 12, 2011. Beijing.

my week in hello kitty bags.

2011-10-23T00:23:00.000-04:00

This was a pretty low key week. A big photography paper this week and preparing for a slew of presentations and midterms next week. I wanted to give my nails a rest, but I decided on a whim to paint them with a cheery glitter polish.

Last Saturday, I helped out my friend Ben with his photography assignment—it was so much fun! We kind of took over the courtyard, I think a guy on the phone was staring at us when Ben had me pose with a bird bath. This is the shot his professor chose for the assignment.

After my internship on Friday, I went to the opening of the 34th st Uniqlo. I got myself a new pair of heat tech tights!! and socks! They really are so warm, and I love the knit patterns. And, I asked if I could have a Hello Kitty shopping bag. It's so cute!

This weekend, I also packed up my summer clothes and brought out all my winter jackets and sweaters! It took me two days to organize, but my wardrobe is officially ready for the cold, and just in time. The weather this week has cooled down considerably.

On Friday, I wore a new quilted coat that I got for my birthday this year. I wanted to wear it in a different way (since it's quite a common style) so I threw my little fur collar over it.

I made the first pumpkin loaf of the season earlier tonight. I think I should have baked it longer, because the slice fell apart really easily.

Snapshots from the week:

Haven't seen these toys since the Shanghai metro stations

hehe, eating candy at work

must be an important Escada meeting!

a new chandelier

cute backpack!

Amalia and I strung ghostie lights between our beds (cute ghostie faces not shown)

after the Hurricane

2011-10-15T15:51:00.001-04:00

I forgot to download and post these pictures from the end of August! This was the Sunday after Hurricane Irene hit the East Coast. I was really eager to go out and explore. This was also the first time I went to Washington Sq park after coming back from Shanghai.

adventures in cooking: curry edition.

2011-10-15T15:47:00.001-04:00

I somehow forgot that I made my very own, Japanese curry this week! Usually, I opt for the lazy way and heat up this curry that comes in single servings. This time, I used curry paste, which comes in blocks. I added carrots, onions, corn and chickpeas. At first, I thought it was super salty. disappointing. But as I've been eating it more and more, my fondness is growing! I need to pick up more from Hong Kong Supermarket next time I'm in Chinatown!

adventures in cooking: falafel edition.

2011-10-15T15:43:00.001-04:00

This week when I went grocery shopping, I really wanted to try something new, so I picked up frozen falafel. And I already had the accoutrements to make a sandwich! I used pita bread, lettuce, feta cheese and hummus. I would recommend going for tahini over hummus, because the consistency is less viscous than hummus, and I think it might be more flavorful. I also made sweet potato fries to go with the sandwich.

Overall I really liked how light and healthy this meal is, but it's not as flavorful as when you buy falafel from a halal cart. And the fries gave the right amount of sweetness to the savory sandwich.

my week in food and fall breaks.

2011-10-15T15:12:00.004-04:00

Last weekend, I randomly had a five day weekend because NYU gave us Monday and Tuesday off for Columbus Day! Super random, since I've never had Columbus Day off before, but certainly welcome! Going home would have been nice, but I was able to relax in an empty apartment, watch lots of TV and catch up with friends.
Sunday, I finally went to the Hell's Kitchen Food Truck Bazaar! I've been trying to go all summer, but the August one was postponed twice, and eventually cancelled due to rain. And I got to go with my friend David!! who I haven't seen since before I left for Shanghai. There were only five food trucks, since it was the last food truck bazaar of the year. I had Kimchi Tacos and a pear citrus Kelvin Slush! David had a pulled pork Gorilla cheese. After we ate, we browsed the flea market, tried on lots of hats, jewelry and looked at old pictures.

Since I had Monday off from school, I volunteered to go to my internship on my day off to help with the Thomas Lau photo shoot. The clothes seen on the runway are actually only a percentage of the collection, about a third I think. So, Thomas Lau, the photographer, comes in each season to photograph all the garments and accessories that weren't in the show. It was pretty exhausting, just constantly changing mannequins, and getting the next looks ready. It was really cool to see all his equipment though!

Thursday I had dinner with Eunice!! We grabbed lobster rolls from Luke's Lobster truck, located conveniently a block from Carlyle that night. We went back to my room to eat and chat. I've been having a lot of anxiety about internships and jobs lately, and she really helped ease my anxiety. And I just found out yesterday that I have an interview for an internship next semester!
Friday after my internship, I went to the new Uniqlo 5th ave! It's huge! Everything is so sleek, clean, modern and really beautiful. The store is definitely a must see, especially if you love Uniqlo.

+J jacket with an adorably massive hood!

snapshots from the week:

new Halloweenie kitty stickers!

sweet potato fries and falafel sandwich that I made!

berries in the Carlyle courtyard

night photoshoot next to the Flatiron building

more doodles

pumpkin cream cheese!

my week in mehness.

2011-10-08T18:52:00.000-04:00

This week was pretty meh. I have a five day weekend, which is quite nice and unexpected. I'm jealous of everyone who got to go home, I kind of wish I had.
Since Mondays I finish school early, I decided to make pasta and nutella cookies for diner. Next time I need to add more than two tomatoes—two simply isn't enough! The cookies were disappointing. For all the nutella that went into making them, I could hardly taste any!

Wednesday, I helped at a admitted study abroad students event. I kind of liked answering all their questions. Study abroad is really an experience I think everyone who is able to, should partake in. I hope my answers made sense and were actually helpful.
Right outside of Carlyle on Thursday, there was a beauty truck event thing going on. They were doing makeovers and I got some samples of Olay and Pantene products! Union Sq seems to be the place to get beauty samples. who knew.

After my internship on Friday, I went to the International Center of Photography to see the Harper's Bazaar exhibit. I quite like the fashion photography genre. After spending so much time in the showroom for my internship and sending clothes to magazines it's interesting to see the end result. The clothes really come to life.

image courtesy icp.org.

On my way home from ICP, there was a crowd on Broadway in the 20s (I don't remember exactly which street) watching two guys put up new posters. I know they're not actually posters, but I'm not sure if they're advertisements. hmm.

Today, I went to brunch with my friends Ben and Nick. Ben wanted to take me to a new Thai restaurant in the East Village, Ngam, which he frequents. They unveiled their brunch menu this weekend. We were the second ones to try it. I had the Thai wings and waffels. The waffels were made with coconut milk, topped coconut shreds, coconut butter and orange zest. Chef Hong said it was the most popular item so far. I also had a Thai iced coffee, which could have been a little bit sweeter, but it was still refreshing.

snapshots from the week:

doodles from Advertising

wore my Tods for the first time

Meatpacking apple store

gummy tummies penguins. I think they look more like monsters.

package from mums! including PUMPKIN PIE poptarts!

doodles from EMI

yuca fries from Big D's that Gian tried to finish/gave everyone a bite.

new mural on 14th and 3rd ave

my week in baby parades!

2011-10-02T15:16:00.004-04:00

My week was quite mundane. School, hw, gym, new tv shows, internship. I can't believe four weeks of school have already flown by! It's nice to settle into a routine. Now that I have this nice little routine (including, a set route to school) you start to see the same people at certain times. Or, if you're lucky, you get to see a baby parade every day!! Seeing the baby parade is definitely the highlight of my day every time I see them, and I'm starting to recognize the little munchkins! I hope they start waving back to me!

This week I wanted to do super cool nails to make things exciting. I recently saw a tutorial on how to do crescent or half moon nails, which I've seen all over the blogmosphere. The trick is to use paper reinforcements. so clever! For the base, I used a fake OPI polish I got in China, so it chipped liked crazy!! And then the half moons are OPI Russian Navy suede. I don't actually like the suede effect, so I'm not sure why I originally got the polish. But, I discovered that a coat of clear polish gets rid of the suede effect.

Summer is officially over, and fall is finally here! To celebrate the last warm days I wore a dress (which I don't wear very often) on Wednesday. To make it more fall appropriate, I threw a denim shirt over it. If the weather had been a little cooler, I definitely would have worn suede boots with the dress! But I opted for light pink studded ballet flats.

I wore that dress just in time, because yesterday, October brought refreshingly chilly weather! At night (when it reached mid 50s!) I bundled up with a military jacket, my favorite bunny (and miu miu esque) scarf and a little fur stole! So excited to break out all my fall jackets and scarves!

I switched my google chrome theme, which made me surprisingly happy! I really like the color palette of my new one!

And now, the (actual) best part of the week.....I got a haircut!! It was slightly tragic at first. I had "sideswept bangs" that were not sideswept at all and dreadfully short. A few snips at home, and, well you can asses my haircut for yourself. I am quite pleased.

Random snapshots from the week:

lonely ballet slipper

on why I had a good week!

2011-09-25T14:42:00.000-04:00

This week was quite wonderful! for a multitude of reasons!
On Monday, I got two packages!! two! One, was a children's book that my photograph is actually published in!! The other, was a package from my mums which included a nice array of treats and my Missoni bobbi pins!!

On Tuesday, I received an email from my friend Justine! She's studying abroad in Paris this semester, and I was in Shanghai last semester, so we'll be emailing for a year. After classes that day, I (purposely) bumped into my Shanghai friends in front of Stern. After chatting for 20 minutes or so, we decided to get dinner at St's Alp!

After dinner, Eunice and I were walking back to campus, and Dylan Sprouse nearly ran Eunice over on his bike! Eunice was quite happy to see him, to say the least. Then we went to the Coolhaus truck for pay what you want ice cream sandwiches!! It was my first time going to Coolhaus, but I see their truck all the time in Union Sq. I got the Makers Mark peaches ice cream with flapjack cookies.

Thursday, was just as exciting as Tuesday. Before classes I went to the gym, and when I was walking through Union Sq someone gave me a sample of mascara, full size! And one of my suitemates got an entire goody bag of Chanel products from her internship, and she gave me two lipsticks!! I die! After classes, I took my usual walk home, passing Stern and I ran into Gian. He needed my help making brownies for his frat potluck dinner. We had quite the adventure making brownies and cookies, to say the least. And then, we decided I might as well just go to the potluck dinner with him, since I know so many of the members.

Saturday was a lazy day. I slept so well Friday night because my AC unit was finally fixed!! After three nights without AC (aka, not sleeping) I could finally sleep! So, I slept in, went to the gym, went grocery shopping (and I got pumpkin ice cream!) and got a banana cupcake with pumpkin frosting from Butter Lane, my favorite cupcakes! And I got a free cake pop for checking in on foursquare! But I gobbled it up while waiting for my cupcake. I also tried to make brownies for my friend Johnny's housewarming bbq. I wasn't sure how good they were, since I don't have a shallow pan, so I made brownie muffins. They ended up being cookie brownies, which people seemed to like!

Snap shots from the week:

hehe, rainbow nails!

marimekko umbrellies!

filming a news segment in Stern

my week in fashion.

2011-09-18T14:26:00.000-04:00

This week was super busy and exciting for me! It was also the first full week of class, which was a tad tiring.
Tuesday I caught up with my good friend Johnny. We had bagels and iced tea in Washington Sq Park. And we sat near a man playing the piano! I miss sitting in the wsp and people watching.

Wednesday was Anna's fashion show, which I got to attend! and I snagged a seat shortly before the show started!! I had no idea what to wear, so I kind of threw together a lot of trends (denim shirt, tulle skirt, sky high heels and sparkly bow tie) and ended up with this. But I got lots of compliments on my bow tie!!

Bright and early the next day, I went to work and promptly unpacked the clothes from the show. It's amazing how much detail is in the clothes once you see them up close!

All day Friday and Saturday, I assisted with appointments in the showroom. It sounds easy enough (all I did was hand the clothes to my boss), but I had to do it for 11 hours straight for two days, with only a 10-20 minute break for lunch. I was so tired by the second day.
Random snapshots from the week:

modeling hats from the runway

I really liked my nails this week!!

baby parade!

Fashion Week part II.

2011-09-18T13:46:00.003-04:00

Here are my favorites from the second half of NY fashion week. My favorite collections, over all are stil Jason Wu and Jenny Packham. (all images via nymag)

Anna Sui

Derek Lam

Elie Tahari

Jenny Packham

Thakoon

Timo Weiland

my week in eats: 9/4-9/10

2011-09-11T00:42:00.001-04:00

My first week of school was also filled with lots of yummy food! I made cornbread muffins for Gigi and had two Shanghai reunions!

Gorilla Cheese truck outside Stern

line at 53rd & 6th halal

chicken and rice

cornbread!

"family" dinner

Joe's Shanghai

bubble tea

First week of school!

2011-09-11T00:35:00.002-04:00

I had a lovely first week of school! I love the excitement that the fall brings: new school year, new classes, new school supplies (!!!), new friends, the new possibilities are endless! This semester I feel that I am finally taking classes for my major, which is wonderful! I'm taking Advertising and Society, Media History of New York, Photography and the Visual Archive, Entertainment Media Industries and science. I'm a little worried that taking three comm classes might be a bit too much down the road, but I find these subjects so exciting and so enjoyable.
The first two days of school were rainy and gloomy. I chose to go with a darker color palette: all shades of blue ranging from periwinkle to navy and purples. Finally on Thursday, it was nice and sunny, so I brought out a slight nod to summer with a chambray dress, and transitioned it to fall with my favorite military coat.

And then for my internship on Friday, I opted to wear a very summery yellow dress that I wore earlier this summer because there won't be very many more 80+ degree days! (not that I'm complaining)

My friend Jeff found this really funny picture on tumblr of a funny text you can send on iphone. If you send a simple smiley face, the way that iphone (and some other smart phones) format text messages makes it look like a whale!! I'm obsessed with sending whales now!

Fashion week also started this week. Anna's show isn't until Wednesday evening, but I've been keeping close tabs on all the shows in the meantime. I'm a huge fan of the purple at Prabal Gurung! Although once I actually got a good look at the makeup, I was quite confused by the pink fluorescent lips with the black center, so it looks like the mouth is open. I'm also not a huge fan of the slicked back, wet hair seen at several shows, including Prabal Gurung. But of course, Jason Wu is still my ultimate favorite. His looks are so lady like! forever swoon. (all images nymag)

Christian Siriano

Jason Wu and my favorite model, Karlie Kloss

love the sparkly collar

Suno, I like how the print fades to abstract

Jenni Kayne

Luca Luca, love the turban!!

Peter Som, love the color combos! so fun!

Porter Grey

Prabal Gurung

Random snapshots from the week:

fluffy dog getting his hair dried outside Think!!

sunscreen

Barneys Warehouse Sale

2011-09-04T13:50:00.000-04:00

I (unexpectedly) went to the warehouse sale this past Tuesday with my Production bosses. This was my first time going to the sale with other people, so it was really fun trying on designer clothes and shoes that we couldn't afford, but saw on the runway. I didn't have any success with the clothing. There were a few Phillip Lim sweaters that were nice, but still out of my price range.
However, I did find some shoes! I ended up getting a pair of jelly See by Chloe sandals and Maloles Paris wedges. I've already worn both pairs twice! and I think I'm going to get a lot of usage out from the wedges.

the Nicholas Kirkwood x Rodarte shoes!!!

a sea of Wangs

(final) Intern diaries: week nine

2011-09-04T13:42:00.000-04:00

This was my last week interning full time! I'm quite sad that it's going to be much busier now that I'm only interning on Fridays. This week was generally quite exhausting. My main task this week was devoted to training our new interns—all four of them! I didn't realize that there's actually a lot to learn, but it comes so second nature to me I think nothing of it. I think they'll be fine though.
My favorite outfit this week was Wednesday's. Not only did I wear heels but I also mixed three prints! three! I think my yellow gingham, blue shibori print and metallic snake skin went well together! This was my first time wearing heels to work. Let's just say I regretted not bringing flats to wear home.

I finally met my roommate and suitemates earlier this week. After three years in housing, I think I finally lucked out in the roommate department! I have a really good feeling about this year!
Yesterday, I visited my friend Johnny at his new apartment near South Street Seaport. It's a little far for me, but he does have plenty of space, an elevator and a doorman! We decided to go plant shopping near FIT and got two plants. One of them, we discovered, had a little snail in the pot. We named him Emperor Mortimer, natch.

Last night, I went to the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop with Ray and Eunice! I got the choinkwich—chocolate cookies, chocolate ice cream and candied bacon. Pretty yummy, but I think vanilla ice cream might have been better. Next time, I think I want the cococone: vanilla cone rolled in toasted, curried coconut.

Snap shots from the week:

Gigi and his pet balloon, also named Gigi

setting up my room

Intern diaries: week eight

2011-08-28T14:03:00.000-04:00

This was a pretty exciting week, both at work and at home! Fashion week invites! An earthquake! Moving! Model fittings! Hurricane Irene!!

The week started off with addressing fashion week invited. A lot of them. My list included all the buyers from big department stores like Barneys, Bergdorfs, Saks and Bloomingdales to smaller boutiques like Opening Ceremony and boutiques in other states. The instructions were simple: channel my inner 5 year old's handwriting. Neat. Simple. Clean. Let me tell you, it's a lot harder than you'd think! Especially if you mostly use cursive, like me.

I also had to run a few errands this week. My most exciting one was to deliver a dress to Hudson Studios (all the way at 26th and 12th avenue), where they were going to photograph the dress that day. In fact, they had already started shooting by the time I got there! The model was so tall. it was quite exciting.

an empty studio I snapped a pic of

Tuesday night, I moved from TriBeCa/Chinatown to my dorm for the school year, conveniently located in Union Sq! My friend Johnny helped me, and everything went really, really well. It only took two hours! And two car trips! Moving in the nyc gives me terrible anxiety (my mum can attest to this), so it was such a relief that everything went well.

My favorite outfit this week was Friday's. I wore a thrifted H&M dress, but I only like the skirt portion, so I threw on a crisp white, sleeveless button up over it. And I added my favorite nude/glittery flats. Eunice said I looked ready for a summer picnic. This was only the second time I've worn that dress, because it is so girly, I'm never quite sure how to wear it. But I really liked the way I styled it. so summery!

My mum's favorite outfit was Wednesday's. I love the skirt (navy! polka dots! pleats!) but I don't wear it too often because it's a few sizes too small. I got it at a Uniqlo sample sale last year and it, uh, takes some effort to put on. to say the least.

On Tuesday, I wore my new pearl collar I got at the HK flea market. I have never received so many complements! A lady even stopped me on the street! I'm so glad I decided to buy it, after fending off another woman who was thinking about buying it.

Friday, the city was in a tizzy about Hurricane Irene. I wasn't too worried, until my boss from Louisiana got me worried. I bought water, granola bars, soup, nuts, dried fruit, beans—you name it, I probably bough it. It was pretty incredible to see entire shelves, and sometimes aisles, completely empty. And the lines! There was a block long line to get in to the Chelsea location of Trader Joe's!

Anyway, I've pretty much been holed up since Friday night (except for a quick-ish trip to Duane Reade yesterday morning to buy tape). The subways shut down at noon yesterday, and most stores are closed this weekend. Not much to do.

Snapshots from the week:

I really want this Muppets nail polish. so fun!

my necklace tree

I'm on the cover of the NYU in Shanghai handbook!!

this baby kept touching my nails and bracelets on th

my week in eats.

2011-08-21T14:05:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, I went to the Parked! event at South St Seaport. It was a food truck extravaganza with over 30 food trucks in one location! It was really overwhelming to have so much yummy food right there. I walked around two times, and I still couldn't decide what I wanted to eat.

the (crowded) scene on one of the side streets

I decided I should get food from trucks that I don't normally see. So I skipped Korilla, Waffle & Dinges and CoolHaus, just because they're always in Union Sq. I still couldn't really decide, so I just got in the Kelvin Slush line, which was one of the longer lines. I had to wait 20 minutes, and I got a citrus and white peach slush. Really yummy and refreshing!

I really wanted to go to the Gorilla cheese truck, but the line was WAY too long. So I went to Sigmund Pretzel and got a pretzel dog instead.

Finally, before I left, I got shrimp takoyaki and butter corn and edamame from this really cute truck, Mimi and Coco.

Intern diaries: week seven

2011-08-21T13:52:00.001-04:00

This week, I started in a new department: Showroom! It was a somewhat uneventful week because all the clothes are in pattern making and sample room for the finishing touches for next month's fashion show. My tasks included tracking samples and running lots of errands to publications, our PR firm KCD and the Anna Sui downtown store. And in my down time, I'm in the process of assembling line charts (a big flip book of every garment in the collection) complete with fabric swatches for the buyers who are unable to attend the show/market week. I never realized before that there are more clothes than what is seen on the runway. Only 1/5 (approximately) of the clothes make it on the runway. Anyway, I've been cutting lots and lots of swatches for the Spring line charts. From what I've seen, I really like the fabrics! There are lots of hearts and polka dots! so cute!

I didn't really have a favorite outfit from this week. But on Monday, I did wear my favorite skirt from the Thakoon for Target. I love the colors and the shibori print, which is something you don't see that often. And I really like the shape of the skirt—it's so flattering!

I had a surprisingly social and food-filled week. I had lunch with the other interns and dinner. And I had dinner with Jeff twice this week!
On Tuesday I had a banh mi from my favorite banh mi store, Banh Mi Saigon, for lunch (have you ever seen bahi mi used in one sentence so many times?).

That night I had dinner with Jeff at The Smith. It was my first time and it was so good! I had Tuesday's special: pork cooked for 15 hours over some kind of polenta. I forgot.

It was still early after we finished dinner, so we walked around St Mark's, and then over to the Hudson River Park.

Friday night, I went to Saint's Alp with the other interns! This time I got Taiwanese style pork chop and a Lychee nectar drink. I didn't like this as much as the curry udon, but it was still good. For dessert, I went to Spot Dessert Bar with my friends Ben and Nick! I got a chocolate chip coconut cookie with condensed milk ice cream sandwich. I thought the cookies were really good—really crispy and crunchy. But I didn't think there was enough ice cream, and it didn't really taste like much. I forgot to take a picture, but the cookie was pretty big!

The week went by pretty fast. But I still haven't moved! not good! I'm really excited to move back to Union Sq because it is so convenient! Although, I do really enjoy living this close to Chinatown. I just hate the constant pedestrian traffic on Canal st from the hordes of tourists.
Snapshots from the week:

fun sign in TriBeCa

saw this GIANT line (it wrapped around the block) in Soho. I think it was for a casting

and how chic is this little girl?? two tone sunnies, knit dress and neon sandals.

Hester st Market, round two

2011-08-14T21:58:00.000-04:00

This weekend I had absolutely nothing to do because the Hell's Kitchen food truck bazaar was postponed due to the rain. Good thing, because it rained all Saturday night and all day Sunday! My mum suggested I get something to eat at the Hester st Market since I'm moving soon, and I won't be that close to it anymore.
The market was a lot busier since the weather was great! There were so many people and so much yummy food! I decided to get a guaco taco from Brooklyn taco and a pomegranate lemonade from somewhere else. I really wanted to get either the avocado fries or chivacado hot dog from the Chicago hot dog place, but they sold out pretty soon after I got there. And I still want to get a giant shaved ice! Afterward, I wasn't quite ready to go home, so I walked around the LES for an hour or two. I like exploring new areas—and finding new restaurants!

I was so amazed to see the drip coffee!

really cute mini pancakes

I went grocery shopping on Friday, and I noticed this powder coconut cream. I wanted to try and make coconut milk tea, but it wasn't as successful as I had hoped. Even though I use boiling water, the tea was still grainy from the coconut powder. However, I'm thinking maybe it'll work better for the intended purpose, which is food. I'm going to add a bit to my curry later this week. fingers crossed.

Intern diaries: week six

2011-08-13T13:55:00.002-04:00

This week was surprisingly slow. The show is just over a month away, so I thought it would be a lot busier! Well, we did get two new interns this week and I got to show them around the office and teach them everything so they are somewhat prepared next week when all the old interns (all two of us) move up to the 15th floor! I'm a little sad to leave Production, now that I am one of the trusted interns, but I feel that I've pretty much learned everything I can in Production.
My favorite outfit this week was Tuesday's. I actually bought this dress at Bloomingdales a really long time ago....as in Spring Break (when I did a huge East Coast college tour) of junior year in high school. And I just took the tags off on Tuesday, the summer going into my junior year of college. I was never really sure of the shape but I ended up really liking it!

My friend (and future roommate!!) Eunice really liked Thursday's outfit. It's a topshop blouse that I think I've only worn twice? It has a lot going on: mullet hem (longer in the back), chiffon flowers, rhinestones, a bow. whew. But I guess it's good to wear it now and then.

I also got three compliments on this super simple Uniqlo belt that I hardly wear. It's just a patent leather lavender. Maybe I should wear it more often too!

This week, I also bought a new lipstick from MAC! My beloved Hello Kitty x MAC lipstick is getting smaller and smaller by the week, so I think I should use it sparingly from now on. I wanted to get a coral/peach color and something that I don't have. I'm pleased with my final choice. I also am really embracing this hair length. I love braiding my hair at night to get soft waves the next day. I'm seriously considering not cutting my hair now!

On Wednesday, I went to Saint's Alps for the second time ever. The first time was before I went to NYU, and I went with my mom to get bubble tea. I had dinner with 11 other Shanghai friends—so it was more like a mini reunion. I had no idea that they also serve food! Mainly 小吃 (literally small eats, or snacks) for $2-3 but they also have rice and noodle bowls for $5-6! Amazing! I had a beef curry udon with coconut bubble tea. I'm definitely going back!

Some random snap shots from this week:

Chandeliers galore at ABC Home and Carpet!

zip tie lamp posts in Astor Place

cute elephants!

My mum got an iPad a few weeks ago, so it's up to my sister to teach her how to use it. I was pleasantly surprised one day when I received multiple youtube videos of funny babies!! They are so cute! and funny!! This is one of my favorites.

Intern diaries: week five

2011-08-06T14:36:00.001-04:00

This week really flew by! Sunday night, I visited my friend Jeff in his new Murray Hill apartment! It was the first time I had seen him since Shanghai, almost two months ago! And he told me how hard it was to find a good apartment—tips I'm definitely going to remember for when I have to search!

Now I am the only full time intern in production (there is one girl who comes every morning for three hours), so I have to do all the work. The intern's long term task for this past week was to cut out these leaves and flowers to be used as patches on t-shirts and t-shirt dresses. My other tasks ranged from packing and checking orders, minor sewing (just sewing beads back on a few dresses), checking samples back in, and of course running errands to the contractors. This week, I was also given the opportunity to switch departments! So starting August 15, I'll be in the showroom! I'm really excited to go from production (making the clothes) to showroom, which is all about selling the final garment that all the departments have been working on.

cutting the day away

modeling headbands

and bow ties!

This week I also changed up my everyday hair and makeup. When I was home last weekend, I picked up liquid eyeliner, and I've been doing a cat eye ever since! I love it! And, since my hair is currently longer than usual (I'm waiting for the weather to cool down before I get my hair cut, a little counter intuitively) so I'm not used to styling long hair that can transition from the hot/humid outdoors to AC. I started braiding my hair at night so I wake up with great waves! And when I'm outside or on the train, I just re-braid my hair to reset the look!
My favorite outfit from this week was Wednesday's. It was actually inspired by a woman I saw on the train the day before. She was wearing a denim shirt and calf length black A line skirt with an Alexander Wang bag and great heels. I really liked the simplicity and ease of the outfit, but it was still very chic! So I did a blue shirt, black skirt and added my belt that I got from a village in Southern China! And my blingy bracelet from the Hell's Kitchen flea market.

thrifted bracelet and leather band my friend Kate got me in Italy!

On Thursday night, I went to Flushing for the first time! Flushing is exactly like being in China, more so than Chinatown because there are no tourists. I had yummy Malaysian food with some old friends! I also had a giant shaved ice, but I didn't get to take a picture. I definitely want to go back!

Intern diaries: week four

2011-08-02T23:25:00.002-04:00

This week felt pretty slow. In my department, a lot of the interns are leaving or have already left, so there's been more and more of the tedious tasks for me to do, like going out to the contractors. I did get to go fabric shopping again, and I even made myself a little reference sheet complete with swatches! But, I think the highlight (even though it sounds really boring and tedious) was when my boss asked me update two copies of her line chart. A line chart contains a picture of every piece in the collection, complete with style number and both whole sale and retail prices, and is arranged by shipment date. I had to write in next to each item for the Resort and Spring collections how many items were ordered and what color, and who the pattern maker is. It took me two hours to complete! Another highlight was when Elly, who is 7 months pregnant, shared her waffle from the Waffle truck with me!! One of the more undesirable tasks was that I had to put the lace back on the spool nicely....it seriously took me an hour.

made myself a nice little reference sheet!

the ugly before

and the somewhat pretty after

Last week's outfits were pretty bland, now that I'm looking back at them. I guess, my favorite outfit would have to be from Friday then—the only day I wore color! I rarely wear my Marimekko x H&M shirt because it is so bright! Almost too bright! I paired it with a simple black skirt, my new/favorite pink color block Zara sandals and my faux Mulberry Bayswater bag. No one really commented (to me, at least) how bright my shirt was until the end of the day, when Anna said she liked it! And she even has the same shirt!

my new kitty keychain that has tragically lost four rhinestones!

and my new purse! so cute! so fun!

For the weekend, I went home as a surprise!! It was so much fun! I've never taken part in a surprise anything, so it was great fun to see my dad and my sister's reaction (speechless and shocked, respectively). And, I also got to see my close friends from high school, Amy and Kate! We made dinner and it was so simple, yet so delicious! I even made the pasta again last night! Anyway, it was the first time we had gotten together as a group in two years! Can you believe it?? And, we were missing Jess because she had just gotten home from Australia and was terrible jet lagged. The four of us go to four different schools, with four drastically different schedules—it's nearly impossible to see each other. Hopefully, it won't be another two years before the four of us can have a proper reunion.

after a jam packed 40-ish hours, it's back to NY for me.

Intern diaries: week three

2011-07-23T20:13:00.003-04:00

This week, all anyone could talk about was the unbearable heat that is present throughout the entire country. With temperatures hovering around 100, and the heat index even higher, Friday's temperatures were record highs for several cities! This heat made running errands unbearable. Especially when you have to carry five full length, fur coats! But I also got to do fun stuff at work. I got to go fabric shopping all by myself! and, I had to check, and then pack an order of these cute lion hats from the past collection. I think I'm really moving up in the intern ranks since they trust me with these tasks.

I love looking at all the pretty swatches!

hats!

My favorite outfit from this week was a really simple white t-shirt and skirt. I jazzed up the outfit with bright accessories in the red/pink family: bright pink watch, red bag and red color block sandals. It was something I kinda just threw together, but as the day went on it definitely grew on me. While I was running an errand, a guy even stopped me on the street and asked where my skirt was from! What a confidence booster! And then the bag is red, which a color I don't typically wear. It's actually a fake Longchamp from China! Even though it's a color I normally stray away from, I really enjoyed the extra pop of color the bag added to my outfits. And the shape is so school girlish and fun!

my favorite outfit of the week

Today, I ventured out (despite my fear of the heat) to the Hester St Fair. It's like, two basketball courts big, and in the middle of the LES. I would say it's about half food, half vintage clothes/jewelry, maybe even 60/40? Anyway, I was rather pleased with the food selection! I had a cranberry spritzer and a beef meatball slider with cranberry horseradish. Perfect afternoon snack. I wish I had gone with someone though, so I could split one of the yummy (and enormous!) Taiwanese style shaved ice! Taiwanese style shaved ice is much different from a snow cone or a shaved ice in Hawaii. The ice is very, very finely shaved (almost like snow), and though they are all different, the vendor at the market let you choose three toppings (including fresh fruit, granola, carmel popcorn!, etc.) and a scoop of ice cream (mango or green tea) and they top everything off with condensed milk. so yummy!

see the mountain of shaved icey yumminess??

Afterwards, I was feeling quite cool from the shade and breeze, so I opted to take a little detour on my way home and stumbled upon the New Museum's block party! There were a few booths about the museum, and a live band. Pretty small, but I did get two bananas, a ginger snap and a bottle of water from the (random) Whole Foods booth!

Lastly, I just started using instagram last night, and I really like the effects. I'm still experimenting so I can figure out which one is the best.

the weekend I always dreamed about

2011-07-17T20:55:00.000-04:00

This weekend was jam packed with so much stuff, I couldn't be happier! I started off Saturday by going to the 4knots Music Festival down at South Street Seaport, which replaced the decade long, Siren Music Festival at Coney Island (I've been twice). I've never been to South Street Seaport, so I was pretty excited to go! It wasn't very crowded, and because the main stage was on a pier, it was nice and breezy. I only stayed for an hour-ish, but I did see Oberhofer's set, which is a band I had actually heard of!

Afterward, I took the water taxi from Pier 11 to Ikea Brooklyn. The water taxi is free on weekends and $5 on the weekdays, and it has the greatest views of Manhattan I've seen! for free! Unfortunately Ikea was sold out of these giant bags I use to store my out of season clothes in, so I grabbed an ice cream (can you believe they don't have Lingonberry, only vanilla??), and returned to Manhattan.

view from water taxi

Today, I went back to Brooklyn, but this time to go to the Brooklyn Flea Market! On Sundays, the Brooklyn Flea is in Williamsburg, right on the East River waterfront. It's mostly clothing vendors, but there were also food vendors! I only had a hibiscus tea, but I think I'm definitely going to go back and try some of the yummy food.

view of Manhattan from Williamsburg

hibiscus tea!

shaving ice!

Finally, I went to soho to make some returns, and visit old friends. Soho has changed so much! New stores! New food trucks! but the street style is still awesome.

Then, I went home and made myself a tall glass of milk tea accompanied by a fresh piece of banana bread!

Intern diary: week two

2011-07-16T13:26:00.001-04:00

This week was much more eventful at my internship. From Tuesday to Friday, the interns were given the impossible task of de-linting this black lace fabric that is going to be made into coats next week. The lint (for back of a better term) was embedded into the fabric and was literally impossible to clean 100%. I didn't mind the task, but it would have been nice to listen to music while doing it! And then, Friday was so busy! The day passed by so quickly. In the morning, I unpacked four boxes of dresses, sized them and checked that all the labels were in tact. In the afternoon I went out to run errands, and assisted on a fitting.
I think I am moving up in the intern rankings! Sadly, I think the main reason is because all the other interns are leaving at the end of the month, and I will be the only one left in August. Regardless, I'm very excited to be given more important tasks, such as handling the sample garments. And, it took two weeks, but I believe everyone in my office now knows my name!
This week, I was also surprisingly social! I ate lunch with the other interns three times! And I saw a movie three nights in a row!! Wednesday night I saw an advance screening of "Friends with Benefits." It was pretty funny. Thursday night, my friend Rose invited me at the last minute to the midnight showing of "Harry Potter!" I wasn't even planning on seeing it in theaters! Sadly, I really did not remember a lot of the sub plots, but it was thrilling regardless. And then last night, I saw an out door movie at Christopher St pier, where they were showing "Despicable Me!!!!" It was super crowded with families by the time I got there around 9:15, and there was only standing room left. I stood on the side, and leaned against the railing behind some benches, and luckily a seat freed up.

My favorite outfit from this week

Despicable Me!!

view of Jersey

the first meal I cooked!

new internship, new city, new me

2011-07-13T23:48:00.000-04:00

I started a new internship last week, and it has been good so far! It's my first fashion internship, but I'm in the production department, so it's less "Devil Wears Prada" more meh, I don't really know what it's like. I haven't even been there two weeks, so I'm still not sure what to think of it, but initially I like it. The tasks I'm given aren't particularly glamorous, but I like seeing the business of fashion.
Since my internship is full time, I haven't been doing much, but I want to change that in the coming weeks. I thought since so many of my new friends from Shanghai are in the city this summer I would get to see them all the time. not true. So far I've only seen one Shanghai friend, and two other friends, which makes me sad.
So, last night I decided a few things, one is that I'm going to make a conscious effort to eat less meat. I'm not going to be a vegetarian, but I only want to eat meat during lunchtime. And I'm going to attempt cooking more often, even if it's just pasta. Finally, I want to do everything I wanted to do the past two years, but couldn't because I was working. This includes going to the Hester St. market, the Brooklyn Flea market, and general thrifting adventures at Housing Works and the Hell's Kitchen market which I know none of my friends have the patience for. And, I must, must, must see an outdoor film. And now that I work in the Garment District (a mere four blocks from Bryant Park), I have no excuse.
Finally, I've been posting my outfits everyday for seven days now, and I'm not sure if I should continue. I want to, but I'm not sure how interesting it actually is....I'll have to think about this one.

my first day of work outfit. Definitely repeating this one.

hellogoodbye June!

2011-06-28T13:07:00.000-04:00

bahh! I can't believe it's already the end of June—where has the time gone?! After nearly three weeks of touring China with my family (Beijing, Chengdu, Guilin and of course, Shanghai). We ate tons, bought lots, melted in the sweltering heat, held a few pandas—the usual.
Well, I've been home for a full five days, kinda. Over the weekend, we took my sister to Northwestern for her summer program, so I've really been home for three days. Anyway, between today and Saturday I have oodles to do! Lots of errands today, including getting a certain purse of mumsies fixed, and then it shall become mine! More to come once I get it back. I'm also seeing Midnight in Paris with my friend Amy tonight! I'm completely out of touch with pop culture, so I have no idea what the movie's about, but I do know it's directed by Woody Allen! I did all my laundry yesterday, so now I need to re-pack and sort through all of my belongings and figure out what I'm going to take back to New York with me.

Pudong, one of my last nights in Shanghai

oh, and my new friend/phone—Agyness!

last weekend in Shanghai.

2011-05-30T23:27:00.002-04:00

ok, so this isn't actually my last weekend in Shanghai, but it was my last weekend with my friends. There are only three days left in the semester (including today) and I couldn't be happier! I have so much work to do between now and Thursday, but I've made really, really good friends this semester. I think it's a pretty good trade off. Anyway, my friends Eunice, Nick, Nick, Ray, Gian, Lauren and Jeff wanted to hit up the fabric market and one of the fake markets one last time before they all went back to the states.
We decided to go to the Science & Technology Museum market, which is conveniently located in the subway station! It was my first time going, and Eunice and I really wanted to get Toms that we saw a few other girls at school wearing. They had really cool patterns and colors that we had never seen before. And all the boys wanted to get watches.
Afterwards, we went to the fabric market so all the Sternies (aka everyone except me) could pick up their suits. Last time Eunice went, she got also got an Hermes wallet that I really wanted, but they sadly did not have the style in cerulean, only boring colors like black and tan. So I got a Celine-esque clutch instead!

my purchases!

cute baby I saw on the subway.....but I was hiding from the parents so the pic is blurry.

Migrant School Teaching

2011-05-25T09:08:00.000-04:00

This past Monday was my last time migrant school teaching for the semester. Every Monday for the past two and a half months, I've taught English to two classes of fifth graders (roughly 100 kids total). In the beginning it was really draining. It was pretty tough to control the kids and even harder to get them to participate. As the semester went on, it got a little easier, but was still tiring. Was I that sassy when I was in 5th grade?! Anyway, seeing the little kindergarten kids during recess was always the highlight of the day. They are too cute! The last two weeks, they even called me 姐姐 (older sister)!!

Nick with our second class

kindergarten!

my favorite munchkin.

Beijing

2011-05-17T02:39:00.003-04:00

This past weekend, my friends and I finally made it to Beijing, the political, cultural and city capital of China. Beijing is the only city in the world that been both the political and cultural capital of a country for such a long period of time. The first day, we hit up the Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden Palace. And for dinner, we went to Wangfujing st, which is an entire street full of exotic street food. I finally had the candied fruit on a stick (I don't know the Chinese name) and it was so good! I'm sad I didn't try it sooner. I also had a bite of my friend, Eunice's scorpions on a stick. It didn't take like much, but smelled like the back gate of ECNU. They also have starfish, bats, bigger scorpions and cocoon things on a stick. Saturday was solely devoted to the Great Wall. We went to the Mutianyu section, which is were the majority of the Western tourists go. There's a chairlift up to the Great Wall and you can take a toboggan down! Sunday, before we left, we quickly went to the Lama Temple and Summer Palace. I wish we could have spent more time in the Summer Palace because it is so vast! There's even a lake inside!

Temple of Heaven

天安门广场

Wangfujing St

Follow

2011-05-06T15:41:00.001-04:00

Today, my art class visited the "Follow" show at MOCA Shanghai. It was a pretty strange show, I'm still not sure if I liked it. It was a collaboration between eight artists and the Museum of Unknown, which is just what roughly 20 artists combined call themselves. On the first floor, there was really eerie music playing. Kind of like a music box gone wrong. And there was a really disturbing video that made me shout in surprise. And then the second floor had this really cool landscape model made of paper, egg shells that had writing inside and a giant, life size board game! Not only was it a life size board game, but it was also interactive! There were brushes and little pots of paint and you could add to the game, or use chalk and add to the instructions. It was a pretty cool exhibit. I like the range of media, but I honestly did not understand any of it.

1933

2011-05-04T01:58:00.000-04:00

The other day, I went to the 1933 building near the Bund in Shanghai. The building is known for it's Art Deco style facade, and it is a former slaughter house, so it has some rather unique characteristics. My favorite feature is the many air bridges that connect the inner and outer buildings. It feels like a castle in the sky or something. Anyway, the building's architecture is so different from that of Shanghai, it's a nice change.

Hong Kong: Day 6

2011-04-30T00:31:00.000-04:00

This was my last full day in Hong Kong, and I had yet to see the Tian Tan Buddha! The Buddha is the largest bronze Buddha in the world, and can supposedly be seen from as far away as Macao on a clear day. So it was my goal to make it to Lantau island. I eventually made it, but it was certainly a journey. The group of girls I was with this day didn't quite have the same agenda as I did, since they had two full days to sight see. The weather was also drizzly, foggy and generally not conducive to sight seeing yesterday. But, I went to Lantau island anyway, with three girls in tow. Because we got there so late, the round trip cable car tickets were sold out (which makes absolutely no sense to me), so we would have to take a bus from the top back down. I was determined, so I didn't care. It was so foggy as we ascended the mountain, that the cable car was completely encased in fog—I couldn't even see the car in front or behind us!! We eventually make it to the top, only to learn that the bus is departing in 5 minutes OR in one hour. Mind you, there are no other tourists walking around, they are all getting in the cable cars to go back down. I literally took one picture, and had to get on the bus to go back down, since the sun had long set and it was getting pretty dark. I didn't get to see the Tian Tan Buddha under ideal conditions, but I'm glad I went, however brief my time was.

Macao: Day 5

2011-04-30T00:22:00.000-04:00

On Thursday, I went to Macao to meet up with the next group I would be traveling with in Hong Kong. The ferry to Macao was conveniently located in the basement of my hotel, and it only takes one hour. Macao was a Portuguese colony until 1999, so the official languages are both Chinese (Cantonese) and Portugese. I didn't get to see much of it because I was literally in Macao for less than 24 hours, but there's an area where you can really see the Portuguese influence. I wish I had had more time, because I really did not get a good sense of Macao, which is where my pau pau was born! However, I did get the chance to go to the casinos, where gambling is legal for visitors above the age of 18 (21 for residents). We went to the Venetian, but there are dozens of casinos in Macao. In fact, Macao is more profitable than Vegas! Anyway, I was too scared/clueless to actually gamble, but some of the other girls played roulette—and they lost. I tried a few of the slot machines, and called it a night. If you're going to go to Hong Kong, I think it's definitely worth it to take a one day/night trip to Macao, and make sure you get some egg tarts!

Hong Kong: Day 4

2011-04-27T11:49:00.001-04:00

Today was super hot in Hong Kong, about 80 degrees. We decided to do some sight seeing today, so Lauren and I tried to go to the 10,000 Buddhas Monastery in Sha Tin. But, once we got off the MTR, we had to take a taxi there because it's not that easy to get to. We didn't know the name in Cantonese or how to write it in traditional characters, so we tried our best to get there. Our taxi ended up taking us to a different monastery, who's name I don't remember. It only had one courtyard though, compared to the ones in Shanghai and Putuoshan which have several courtyards.

After we walked around for a bit, we decided to go back to the Mong Kok market because I needed to pick up a few gifts for people at home. Since I was there, I asked how much the Tory Burch reva flats were. This guy said only $380 hkd! I bargained two pairs down to $600hkd for both. They look so real. All the stitching, and the logos on the sole, everything looks so real. Lauren thinks they might be rejects from the actual factory. They even came in a Tory Burch box, which I wish I could keep. It's so pretty! I'm totally kicking myself for not using a larger suitcase when I knew I would be shopping in Hong Kong. I really like the two pairs I got. I literally have one pair of flats, and they hurt the back of my ankles because they're pretty high cut (if that makes sense). I can't wait to wear them in Shanghai, compared to my disgusting Converse that are falling apart.

Hong Kong: Day 3

2011-04-27T00:31:00.001-04:00

My day was pretty low key, since my other friends have been staying out until dawn every night, but David and I had only gone out once since being in HK. So while everyone else slept, we were ready to shop! We got a quick lunch at a local cafe and then headed to one of the many malls in TST. We both love Uniqlo, so we headed there first.
The Uniqlo we went to wasn't particularly big (they didn't have the +J collection), but we didn't care. From there, we split up, so I'm not sure what David purchased. I got two pairs of pants, one of which I got altered in 10 minutes!! Asian sizes are so different, because Asian people tend to be of a smaller built, especially compared to Americans. In the NY Uniqlo, we have jeans from size 24-32 (size 0-12), but in Asia, the largest size is a 29 (In between an 8 and a 10). I wasn't sure if this size would fit me, but it did surprisingly! So I decided to get a different color of a pair of pants that I already own in two colors and a pair of black cropped pants, that are actually ankle length on me.
That night, we wanted sushi, so we went to a sushi bar that has the conveyor belt and you simply choose what you want off the conveyor belt, and then they tally up your plates at the end. After dinner, we went to KTV. Karaoke is HUGE in Asia. Instead of going out to bars or clubs, high school and college kids go to KTV. The people I was with are very, very good at KTV-ing. I am not. le sigh.

so dangerous for hungry college students

Hong Kong: Day 2

2011-04-25T13:05:00.001-04:00

Today, my friends and I wanted to explore a different area of Hong Kong besides Tsim Sha Tsui, a shopping district where we are staying. So, we decided to go to Victoria Peak, which overlooks Victoria Harbor and is the highest point on Hong Kong Island. There are two ways to access Victoria Peak for tourists: foot or the Peak Tram. Since we did not want to ascend a giant mountain, we took the tram which is the preferred mode by the majority of tourists. The top of Victoria Peak is surprisingly developed—think two malls and a Madame Tussauds! We went in the late afternoon, so the sun was just setting and the buildings were starting to light up, but we didn't get to see the incredible night view of the Hong Kong skyline.