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My first digital SLR camera is a Canon Rebel Xti, a gift from Henry. Rebel has been a loyal companion and a solid performer. I have taken her all over the U.S and across the Pacific. She has been diligently capturing interesting … Continue reading
Yes, literally chasing the tail of the Blossom!
Unseasonal heat in D.C. tricked eager cherry trees to reach their peak bloom eight days earlier than the prediction. When we realized it it was 6 days after the peak bloom. Knowing we might be greeted by leaves instead of flowers, we still ventured out. And we were not disappointed:)
Having a baby is real. The thoughts might be romantic, the mystery might be poetic, and anticipation could be exhilarating.
A little person is growing inside of a big person and at some point the little person is going to climb out of the big person. How much more real does it get?
Doctor said today that the little person is a girl. A girl –baby Zoe. All three of us were awfully quiet on the way back from the hospital. Partly because the appointment was way early in the morning and none got enough sleep. A whole lot is going on in each of the three brains.
Inside my Mom: I am so happy lahlahlah. Please please come out after I come back from my vacation in Shanghai. I definitely make sure you are more girly than my daughter…aiiiii….there is hope now.
Inside Henry: uh – girls play basketball too? I think so. Who knows, maybe she will be a lot more interested in cars than her mother. let me look for a baseball hat too..
Inside me: ayayaya. Now what? How to raise a girl? Tell me God. Too many hard headed female role models in my big family. Will it be too much pressure? Is she going to be sturbborn like me? Haha it’s a baby girl…yeah! Oh my God — how to raise a girl???
Oh little Zoe….are you comfortable in there? You know those people always think too many unnecessary thoughts? Just eat and sleep and be merry now. You are fine. Make sure to tell your mom and dad and grandmother and grandfather so on and so forth, that Zoe will grow up the Zoe way. Don’t worry. Be Zoe!
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With New Orleans food, I will also remember New Orleans trees. Gigantic, awe-inspiring oak trees lift the soul of the city. Let pictures speak for it.
Finding a winter escape means going South. New Orleans is one of few cities within 3 hours of flight that is both warm and interesting enough.
We had awesome weather – 3 days of sun and 60+ degree. The sun didn’t just make the trip more enjoyable, it painted the city in beautiful shades and hues. History usually plays itself in black and white in my mind’s eyes. Yet New Orleans is a city of living history – at the French Quarter, the Garden District, or the Plantations– under the Sun the past, present and the future seem to dance in one.
New Orleans is known for her culinary supremacy, which brought us more headache than assurance. Too much good stuff! My wildest dream was to walk into a restaurant with my eyes closed and be presented with a world class meal － cheap. It was a lot more effortful than that. I would like to acknowledge the following eateries that made our trip memorable.
Felipe’s Taqueria (http://felipestaqueria.com): Felipe’s showed up in my pre-trip research as a good and cheap eat. We ran into it in French Quarter at 2:00 pm on Friday for a late lunch. The restaurant (with three more units in the U.S) is well known for using locally harvestes vegetable and freshness of everything else. My vegetable burrito cost less than 5 bucks and it was GOOD!
Cafe Burnside: the lunch restaurant inside of Houmas House and Plantation (http://www.houmashouse.com/). They have super fancy dinner, but very down-to-earth lunch menu. French bread, corn bread, and Mimosa bread (orange juice and Champaign) were served before each meal, accompanied by whipped butter mixed with fresh cane syrup and pecan. It was such a nice touch that made the whole meal special.
Mena’s Palace (http://menaspalace.com): a hole in the wall in French quarter. We had our very basic Sunday breakfast there. Harsh Brown was minimally processed mashed potato, and wonderfully flavored. My vegetable omelet, humble as it may look, tasted like it just walked from the farm.
Jacques-Imo’s Cafe（http://www.jacquesimoscafe.com): the only place where we actually waited for 1.5 hours for seating and a total of 2 hours for food. Real Nawlin cuisine. Very crowded in an old shack; mural everywhere. Henry ordered a huge plate of New Orleans fried chicken (which I picked from) and my Mom and I shared a plate of redfish, which melted in my mouth. Very satisfying.
Don’t want to leave out the bistro at Courtyard Marriot Hotel on Julia street. We had awesome breakfast sandwiches (Egg white, spinach, cheese, turkey bacon on English muffin) and hearty oatmeal.
Appointed by dear friend Fei (http://screamingcat.wordpress.com/), I am to complete the following homework:
There are 4 rules for accepting this award:
1. Thank the award-giver and link back to them in your post.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Pass this award along to 15 recently discovered blogs you enjoy reading.
4. Contact your chosen bloggers to let them know about the award.
So here it is:
1. Thank Feifei for the acknowledgement: Curiosity and continuos learning award. 永远好奇好学好思考的咪咪。羞呀羞呀! (I”m blushing….)
2. 7 things about myself.
a. I”m easily influenced by people that I trust.
b. I love a hearty bowl of authentic Japanese ramen.
c. European movies are courageous in revealing the absurdity of human nature. I like them more than American counterparts. But I do love Steven Spielberg. He has the purest and most daring spirit of imagination.
d. I”m still not sure what to do with my life.
e. Item “d” drives me nuts sometimes. So I learn to love the question itself, without the answer.
f. I hate 客套 – pretentious courtesy. Get into trouble because of that sometimes.
g. My dream is to be on every continent of the earth only to find that 七色花 (Flower with seven different colors – metaphor for the essence of life) grows in my backyard:)
3. Skip. I have very few readers and known connections right now with wordpress.
4, Instead, I will let Feifei know that I finished part of the homework:)
Our home is set in a most mundane American suburban town house that does not radiate an ounce of personality from the outside. It situates in a leafy, average middle-class neighborhood with a gift of a 9-foot ceiling and bay window on the second floor. It also has a North-South orientation, which Asian family loves. We have wonderful neighbors and lots of young children running around on a sunny day.
We started designing the space the day we moved in last year. I have tasked myself to make an ordinary place original and interesting. Since then, we have shifted furniture around, changed where we hung artwork, added color and texture and layered lighting. It is an evolving process of curation and exploration. No matter how many design magazines I read or HGTV episodes I watch, design is ultimately personal. So — here is a view from here, the past and present of our home on Sonia trail in Ellicott City, MD.
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