. In 2010, I packed my life into 
My Serena & Lily duvet cover is on sale on RueLaLa, my favorite sample site, today - along with a bunch of other pretty bedding, including W Hotel sheets. My friend has them and they are GODLY… I’ve “accidentally” taken naps on his bed on more than one occasion. Click through for invite. You get $10 credit if you shop by 2/14! Gogogo.
(Much to my chagrin, my room is not this lovely.)
Casey’s DIY Chalkboard Tree Wall
If you’ve been following the adventures of the Superlounge for the past year, you’ll remember that in April of last year, we painted our kitchen wall with chalkboard paint.
In the fall, my friend Casey stayed with us for a weekend visit to NYC. Inspired by our chalkboard wall, Casey - who is a homeowner in San Jose (of all my friends, he is most passably a real adult) - decided to paint a chalkboard wall in his own kitchen. I have yet to see it in person but he recently uploaded a photo of it to Facebook, and I’ll admit he has totally outdone ours. Since I never got around to writing my DIY chalkboard wall post, I asked Casey if he could share the details of painting his. In his words:
I was looking for ways to decorate my place to give it more of a homey feel, but didn’t want it to look like a cluttered college apartment with random posters and objects. One area that needed some personality was my kitchen - since all the walls were white. The back wall looked like a place where I could hang a picture or make it a colored accent wall.
A friend of mine suggested putting up one of those tree sticker decals you find at places like Urban Outfitters.
Procrastination got the best of me so I never got around to doing anything with it. Fast forward to October, where I had the pleasure of staying at the Superlounge while traveling to New York City for the first time. In their kitchen was a large wall that had been turned into a black chalkboard using a special paint. Who would’ve thought that there’s such a thing as chalkboard paint! Genius! There was a bunch of stuff written all over their wall, ranging from thankful messages from party guests to house rules. I loved it!
(I would’ve preferred something like this on my wall, but obviously painting this or commissioning someone to do so would be way too difficult.)
So came the idea of combining the original tree wall design with a chalkboard. I didn’t trust myself to have the artistic capacity to free-hand anything, so I took the tree shapes from a Googled image.
Step 1: Drawing the design on the wall.
Step 2: Sand and prime. All the reviews on Amazon recommended smoothing out the surface you plan on painting so the end result will be easier to write on with chalk. My walls have a very hard and heavy texture, so sanding it smooth would’ve been a bitch and a half. The only solution was to skim coat it using wall joint compound, and then sand that afterwards. I left the tree areas the original wall color and texture.
Step 3: Paint! Apply the chalkboard paint to the finished smooth areas. I used Rust-Oleum chalkboard paint, which you can get on Amazon for $15.
The finished product.
Have you painted a chalkboard wall before? I’d love to see what yours looks like! If you’re looking to do something similar and have questions for Casey, let me know.
Ohaithere, new bag craving! Been looking for the perfect work bag and I think THIS IS IT.
(Source: jessicachu)
A Chinese New Year gathering of friends and food at the Superlounge
In my family, Thanksgiving and Christmas pass without much fanfare, but Chinese New Year is the real celebration. I was a little bummed I couldn’t make it out to California this year, especially as my dad was visiting from Asia for the holiday. Instead, we decided to have our friends over for a favorite type of Chinese meal of mine: hot pot!
For the uninitiated: Hot pot involves cooking fresh vegetables, tofu, seafood, and meat in stock over a communal pot. It’s often described as Chinese fondue, which I find hilarious (but helps people get the idea).
We headed down to Deluxe Market in Chinatown to pick up ingredients for our feast - a supermarket not for the faint of heart. (Imagine unrecognizable body parts of a variety of animals behind glass cases and pushy ol’ Asian grandmas trying to to swipe the last pack of dumplings.) After a particularly claustrophobia-inducing trip, we ended up coming home with mushrooms, taro, bok choy, napa cabbage, tofu, fish balls, vermicelli, and 12 (12!) platters of meat - beef, lamb, and pork belly. Based on our well-stocked fridge, we may have gone slightly overboard with our estimates of our friends’ appetites.
Michelle brought over her portable stove, everyone contributed a variety of sauces to supplement our pathetic stash of Asian condiments, and we got to cooking. Though our apartment is hardly cut out for hosting groups (is anyone’s in New York?), I couldn’t have been more content seeing our group of friends kneeling around our coffee table, dipping and eating away.
I love the idea of hot pot, or huo guo. To eat huo guo is to weilu, or “encircle the stove.” It means bringing together the two things the Chinese cherish most: food and family. More than anything, it reminds me of home - and I love that even when I can’t bring myself home, I have a little New York family that’ll bring the home to me.
If you celebrate, Happy Lunar New Year! And even if you don’t - eating in abundance is the cornerstone of this holiday, which I take to mean binge eating will bring me great luck in the new year. So go forth - and eat lots.
I miss this face.
(via Refinery29)
I’ve been meaning to add a bit of low-maintenance greenery to my room - this DIY terrarium looks like a fun weekend project.
OPI Done out in Deco / Your Royal Shine-Ness + a new ring I scooped up at AuH2O
My second winter in New York is confirming my suspicions that I am a victim of SAD. When the seasonal blues roll around, the only things that make me feel better are napping and shopping. Some weekends - like this past one - to cheer myself up, I only take a break from one to do the other.
After big bowls of ramen in the East Village on Saturday, Annie and I we wandered down the consignment shops on 9th Street before making our way to AuH2o, an adorable thrift store on 7th.
The girl at the shop (whose hilarious blog I just discovered) was assembling some jewelry and is pretty much the sweetest thing ever. Annie actually picked up this pretty ring and showed it to me - it’s very perfectly me and was only $8. I also found a gold chain bracelet for $10. Unlike the price tags at many consignment shops, AuH2o’s are actually beyond reasonable. It’s a tiny shop, so the selection is small - but well curated. If you’re in the neighborhood, make sure you stop in to browse.
AuH2O
84 E 7th St (b/w 2nd and 1st Ave)
New York, NY
auh2oshop.com
PS did you notice I’m making an effort to blog more? (It was on my new year’s resolutions. \o/)
(via polishyoupretty)
Chevron nails - I love! Click through for tutorial.
Recipe for fixing a crappy day:
- 1 bottle of cheap red wine from the liquor store down the block
- 1 half pint of leftover Haagen Daz caramel cone
- 3 OPI nail polishes
- 1 Votivo candle in clean crisp white
Directions: Drink, eat, paint, light.
What’s yours?
When geeks collide: A Googler (me) has lunch with a Blipper (Annie) and a Facebooker (Alex)… then all giggle quietly when we check in with a Foursquare founder (Dens).
Founderspotting aside, ramen was undoubtedly the answer to Saturday’s cold weather blues. I love the little Japanese noodle shop feel of Minca over the fancified Ippudo, and the lack of a wait was delightful, too. That said, I don’t think it’ll usurp Ippudo’s reign at the top of my noodle list - while the so-soft-it-falls-apart pork and perfectly chewy noodles hit the spot, the broth itself was a little too rich for my tastes.
Minca
536 E 5th St
New York, NY 10009
Today is my birthday, and this is a photo of me looking very delighted at being presented with ice cream (yay my favorite)!
Teresa sneakily organized a surprise birthday dinner for me last Friday night at Crispo that was equal parts delicious and heaps of fun. Thanks Rahul, for catching this shot, and thanks Twu for being such a wonderful friend. I was caught very off-guard for this surprise! :)
I am so fortunate and grateful for the people in my life. Thanks all, for the birthday wishes. <3
Happy 21st ;) birthday to my BFF, Annie! Doesn’t it feel good to be legal?
Crispo made for an excellent group dinner spot - we were able to make an eight-person reservation the morning of. From your basic salads and pastas to unique dishes like bone marrow, caramelized brussels sprouts, and risotto balls, their menu has something for everyone. Despite the incredible variety (thank goodness for Foursquare tips to guide our way), the things they do well, they do really, really well. We also split several desserts - my favorite being the zeppole - deep-fried doughnuts with chocolate sauce. So heavenly!
Crispo
240 W 14th St
New York, NY 10011
Miso salmon, broccoli stirfry - Sunday night family dinner at the Superlounge!
