Category: New York
Streetart in Williamsburg (photos)
I was in Brooklyn today- for the first time in a long time- to attend the Northside Festival. You may have noticed I have a slight obsession with street art so in between sessions I found myself walking around the area snapping a few photos. I liked what I saw! Take a peek:
Dinner in the kitchen of my dreams
If it wasn’t already obvious, I love to learn and share; this is no different when it comes to food.
Not too long ago, I blogged about how Urban Girl Squad announced a Sage Pesto cooking contest where we were given a Sage Pesto recipe to serve with a dish of our choice. Well, I won that contest (read/see my winning dish here) and my prize was a luxurious cooking lesson and dinner at the state of the art kitchen at the GE Monogram Design Center in midtown New York.
Needless to say, I was so excited!! I couldn’t wait to learn how to cook something new and of course, eat. Last night, I was able to invite four friends to share the experience with me.
We all walked in to see this lovely table set up for our dinner but beyond that, we were greeted by some of the most beautiful kitchen areas I had ever seen!
Venture For America Party
You know when you see something or someone and immediately recognize that he/she/it is something special? Have you ever met someone or done something that just inspires you? Have you ever come across something where you can just feel the potential oozing?
Venture for America is exactly that. At least it is for me.
I don’t remember exactly how or when I first found out about VFA but I know that once I did, I kept my eye on it. This is how I knew about the most recent Venture for America summer celebration. I scored early bird tickets and told my parents to consider it as a graduation present and an investment in the future.
The opportunity to be in the same room as some amazing people- Arianna Huffington, Jeff Weiner and Andrew Yang (just to name a few) and great people my age- all while supporting a great mission and vision was an incredible experience. The entrepreneurial spirit and enthusiasm was not only inspiring but contagious.
Do Epic Sh*t
I had the opportunity to tag along with one of my editors for Creative Week. Creative Week prides itself for being ”where advertising, design and digital media collide with the arts.” This includes a lot of my interests so it was a great first time experience. Since I was one of the few students in attendance I feel almost obligated to share some of the things that I learned (and boy, did I learn a lot).
One of the (many) sessions I attended was “Inside the Creative Lab” hosted by Google. Robert Wong, Chief Creative Officer of the Google Creative Lab gave an inspiring presentation that brought some of the people in the audience to tears. Here are some takeaways that apply in both business and life:
Asia Represent at Asia Society
I’m not in the Upper East side too often but it seems that whenever I make the trip, it is always a good time. The last time I visited The Asia Society was to see Maureen Chiquet the CEO of Chanel speak and before that, I learned more about the design scene in Hong Kong and even at my first visit to the Asia Society, I discovered the Shanghai Restoration Project (my favorite song of theirs, here). I learn something new or meet someone great every single time I visit and I’m happy to report my most recent trip to the Asia Society was no different, maybe even the best visit yet!
What do you think of the collage I made!?
Front Row at MOCA NYC
Just a stone’s throw away from the hustle and bustle of Canal Street in Chinatown you’ll find a quieter street with a hidden gem: MOCA NYC.
Back in January, I visited MOCA for the first time to attend a panel, “Female, Fashionable, New York“, to hear perspectives of three Asian American women in the Fashion industry. This is when I found out that MOCA would have two upcoming fashion exhibitions:
Front Row: Chinese American Designers
Sage Pesto? Challenge Accepted
Is it just me or do a lot of people these days not know how to cook!? We all love to eat, but not everyone knows how to cook. Sure, we might just be “too busy” and have better things to do but growing up, I watched my mom make delicious homemade food and it was in college when I faced the cruel fact that nothing compares to the food she made with love. Ever since, I have made it my own personal goal to cook at least one meal a week in an effort to be healthier if not to become half the cook my mom is.
If you follow me on instagram you’ve probably seen a lot of food photos. Well, believe it or not, it’s all food I’ve cooked or made whether it be baked goodies, korean food or random dishes. I’ve been getting pretty good at it if I do say so myself even though I have a long way to go. Turns out the photos don’t just look good, the food also tastes good- Just ask the people I’ve shared it with 
When I go out to eat or see photos of food elsewhere, I usually plan on trying to make it myself- especially from scratch with very little shortcuts. Recently I saw that Urban Girl Squad announced a Sage Pesto cooking contest so of course, because of my competitive nature and desire to try and learn new things, I accepted the challenge. I did make walnut basil pesto not too long ago and it turned out delicious… so sage pesto- pft, easy. Why not?
homemade walnut basil pesto pasta made from scratch!
Memorable moments at the Met
After dinner one night over a year ago (sometime in January), my friend and I walked until we found ourselves in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art where we saw an elegantly dressed crowd exiting the museum. At the time, I had no idea anything happened afterhours at the Met (I guess I imagined something like those “Night at the museum” movies) so I said to my friend, “I want to attend a reception at the Met…!”
Lo and behold, just two days later I got invited to exactly that. Thanks to my active involvement in various non-profit organizations at the time, I was invited to attend my very first Lunar New Year reception at the Met. I even had a +1, so I invited a friend who had technically never been to the Met (only passed by it). We had been meaning to explore the museum together but never could find the time so I decided there would be no better way than to explore during what was sure to be a magical night at the Met-kill two birds with one stone, of course. It also gave me the perfect excuse to get all dressed up and fancy if only for a night.
Fast forward to the present and I have been fortunate enough to attend 5 receptions at the museum. The Met will always hold a special place in my heart because of all the wonderful memories it has given me, especially on my 5th and most recent trip…
Stay hungry, Stay Curious
Believe it or not, there was a reason why I made my sister walk a lot while she was visiting. Besides the fact that I am an inveterate walker, I had more time during break and it’s just calming to walk in the company of a loved one, I simply wanted my sister to be more curious.
If you haven’t noticed already in my instagram photos or facebook posts, I quite like street art. I think it’s the “voice” that says what everyone is thinking but is too afraid to say. Its transient nature, as ever-changing as our own mood and lives, intrigues me. It’s a barometer or even a mood ring of our culture and by extension, perhaps, the collective voice of our generation if not our time. For the most part, art you see in galleries and museums reflects the inner workings of the artist/creator whereas the way I see it, street art is created for the public by the public. The city, NYC in this case, is a canvas.
Art is relatable to each and every one of us in some way. I especially like street art because someone like me- someone who isn’t a professional artist, just someone with a vision- created it and had an impact on others.
Besides, street art makes nice backgrounds for photos, don’t you think? I say win-win.
Here is the street art we came across!! All photos taken by me, please credit accordingly Continue reading
Only in New York.
So it’s evident my sister and I ate a lot during spring break BUT we also did explore and walk a lot. I think the best way to get to know a city is to get lost in it so that’s exactly what we did- we explored every nook and cranny of New York (something I usually do anyway). When you take the time to walk around you see things you would usually miss if you took a cab or subway. We must’ve visited every neighborhood in fact and to think we did all of this in just about 4 days…
Let me show you sides of New York you might not have seen before. The places I showed my sister so that she could fall in love with New York as much as I have (and she’s not a city girl.) They say a picture is worth a thousand words so here they are:
(All photos taken by me as usual, this time no filter. Please credit!)
