my week in firsts.

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

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

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!

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

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.

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)