Getcha tee shirts!

Threadless is having their back to school sale. $12 ea. Time to stock up! $120 later, here are some of my faves:

   

Comforts of Home

Nothing beats home cooking. My home-cooked fave for today: Chicken Macaroni in Soup. Its a childhood comfort food of mine. Usually eaten when I was sick or as a quick & easy meal for lunch after school. The piping hot bowl was such a treat on a cold, rainy day such as today. Mmm..Mmm..

The past few days have been relaxing and well, comforting. Living away from home makes you appreciate it a whole lot more and realise how much you once took for granted. Thankfully my room is still my room and I can still take refuge in it to be pensive and introspective. Nothing much as changed ever since I left about a year ago, although that would be the case since I do visit home several times a year. Its crazy how time flies - I've lived away from home for a year, almost to the date.

I remember how excited and anxious I was when I arrived in New York & when my dad left me on my own for the 1st time. I was quite scared to be honest. I never told him that on our last dinner together, but I'm sure he knew from my teary eyes I was trying to hide from him. I also remember feeling home-sick and sheepishly not tell anyone - because I recollected times in my youth where I'd protest to my parents for my independence and freedom. That's the funny thing about independence: once you get it, you begin to feel a little lonelier and you miss the comforts of family. Because you never really appreciate something, until its gone. Of course, you'd never say "living at home ain't so bad" until you've actually lived away from home. Free laundry, free food, free cable & internet. Lots of company. Home cooked meals & heartfelt talks. Physical time with family never feels so good until you're separated from it for several months or years.

 

Enjoy home while you can, and once you've flown the coop, remember to visit. Cos really, there's no place like home.

Home

I'm back for about a week. Its nice to back in the 'burbs, trolling the mall with Mum, sipping coffees with Dad, catching up with my brother and rolling on the floor with the dogs. I've been fed extremely well (a home BBQ at J's included) and slept really well in my own room which is 1.5 times bigger than my apartment. I conclude that I've gained weight this summer and will continue to do so until school actually begins. Good lord. I am however, looking forward to the following: 

• heading to downtown for a much needed haircut with J
• a "popiah" party at a friend's (more eating?!)
• indulge in more shopping 
• and just being around family and catching up with some friends before its time to hit the grind again in NYC. 

Hello Vancouver! I'm hoooome....!

Central Park at last!

After living in Manhattan for almost a year, I've finally made it to Central Park much to the relief of many of my friends who've been egging me to go. Jordan & I decided that on the last couple of weekends together in NYC, we ought to get out and do something rather than laze around in the apartment. So, on a sunny Sunday we headed uptown after brunch and strolled the paths of 400 + acre Central Park. Of course, 2 hours into it, J was kinda ready to leave as he lugged the SLR and devoured my bottled water and a lime popsicle. 

But at least we made it there.

Next time? Natural History Museum - for the Horse Exhibit, where I'm sure I'll go nuts oohing and ahhing at all the pretty ponies!

What are you wearing underneath?

So my internship is coming to a close which also means my staff discount is ending as well. Off I went to the biggest VS in town at Herald Square and revamped my lingerie wardrobe in one fell swoop! I've fallen in love with VS all over again, after years of La Senza in Canada and Triumph in Asia, VS is a great retailer which carries the prettiest underthings at affordable prices without having to step into Agent Provocateur or La Perla or fly to Paris. 

Pretty lingerie is such a treat. To me, they're the icing on the cake and the secret little omph that no one else knows about. They can make you feel sexy or sweet whichever you're in the mood for and somehow even though they're under your clothes, they make you feel oh-so-good and give a boost of confidence even when you're feeling not-so-hot. Hooray for lingerie! Embrace your inner sex-pot and ditch those granny panties & cotton duds, head out and go get some satin & lace! Oooh La La!

YELP! Vancouver

HOORAY!!! 

My favourite review site has gone up North, to good ole' Canada! I rely on Yelp to help me get through the plethora of restaurants in NYC as well as services and stores. I've always hoped that a Vancouver version of this site would develop and now, it finally has! My love for food cannot be suppressed, certainly not to the restaurants I used to frequent back home that I wish to share with the world. Well, now I can! And with great vigor, I will! I've already bookmarked about 20 places I need to review and look forward to typing up each and every one. Unfortunately, there aren't many places listed, which means, contributing to current database by filling in the blanks. But, so far there has been a fair number of reviews for many of my beloved go-tos by visitors and other transplants. Thank you Yelp! Here's to Vancouver! Go check it out and Yelp away!!

Naturally inspired

Today, with the help of my girlfriend, I bought my 1st set of natural personal care products from Weleda. Ever since I started on this project at work, I've researched dozens and dozens of websites featuring "Natural" and "Organic" personal care lines. There's a fine line between what is truly considered "Natural" and "Organic" and what is now commonly known as greenwashing. Its been a hefty amount of research but hopefully when I present to the Product Development directors, they will feel that going "green" in this case requires a lot of effort but can also reap a lot of profit.

There is a growing number of personal care/skin care companies who specialize in producing all natural consumer products - we saw this "green" craze begin with organic and fair trade foods but the green movement is growing into the realm of other non-food consumer products like personal care products and house cleaning agents.

It is a little bit more expensive and a little more challenging to find products like these but with a growing presence of Whole Foods & other small boutiquey natural food stores, along with websites like Saffronrouge.com - going green with your skincare is getting easier.

I've decided to slowly try to make a change towards natural/organic products and I'm starting out small. I'm slowly replacing all my bath products with natural ones and will eventually replace my facial products too. However, this task proves to be quite the challenge seeing how I have accumulated a large amount of products in my tiny bathroom. But slowly and surely, these products will eventually need to be replaced and I've decided to make an effort to consciously try to buy natural products.

Some things are difficult to change though, such as cosmetics. I love Sephora - and thankfully, they now have a natural and organics section on their website which highlights the products that are natural, though not necessarily USDA certified organic. I'm already a fan of Bare Escentuals whose foundation, concealer and mineral veil, I use on a daily basis. Korres has come up with a great line of makeup which I'm eager to try and Tarte has a natural line as well. So the options are beginning to open up for the green consumer.

However, it must be noted that not everything that is advertised or labeled are "natural" or "organic" is truly natural or organic. Often many companies take advantage of the fact that the skin care or personal care industry isn't heavily regulated by the FDA unless its a drug. Also, there isn't a standardized definition for natural in the personal care industry and currently in the US, it is the USDA which certifies product as organic according to the National Organic Program. The European products will have their own European standards and certifications, along with the corresponding governing bodies (eg. Ecocert) There is much contention as to what is natural as many personal care products contain a large percentage of water and so many companies can get away with calling their product "natural" based on their ingredient list, which can often be misleading. This list might still contain chemicals like PEGs, Sodium Myret/Laureth Sulfate or parabens.

However, there is an on-going debate with regards to how much is too much. Since it has been reported the chemicals in our products are minute quantities and are supposedly harmless even if used daily over long periods of time. So, what's the verdict? Its still out to jury really. For every website out there and association that exist to serve as a watch-dog agency to monitor consumer products and public health, there are arguments from the FDA which assure us, it's all safe. But who's to know right? Regardless, no harm giving it a try. So I'm slowly making the switch, with whatever I can. Which doesn't mean to say I'm never buying generic products ever again...Sephora is simply too irresistible *grin*

Sunday Sightseeing

South Street Seaport

New York City Waterfalls Installation

Last Sunday, we checked off another to-do item on my NY Summer list. For $10 we took the Circle Line Downtown to check out the "waterfalls" up close. It really isn't anything spectacular, just some scaffolding with water pouring from it creating the urban waterfalls. But the Circle Line was a nice way to see the skyline of downtown Manhattan and caught glimpses of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island (which I've yet to go to). We brought yummy bagels for lunch/tea while envious tourists eyed our food, we happily ate and snapped away with our cameras. What an excellent Sunday it was! Summer's just seems to be slipping away so fast...No! Don't go!!!

Avenue Q

GO see it. We did and it was so good! 

Thanks for the recommendation Mel!

PS - Spotted: Mario Lopez walking in the general direction of Broadway - probably off to "The Chorus Line" perhaps?

Times Square on a Friday night?

Not exactly the best idea. 

But thanks to my boyfriend's newly acquired passion for photography, the result is this!

Great job babe! Keep it coming!

bored outta my mind on a Friday afternoon

its that time of the day and week, where I look at the clock on my computer longingly for it to turn 5pm. unfortunately, I'm at least 1.5 hours away from that...but I'm glad the weekend is here and lo & behold, its August already.

that means Summer is ending and school's starting. I'm actually looking forward to school, its my last semester and I'm cramming in as many classes as one physically can whilst trying to pursue an internship with a decent company who will eventually hire me once I've graduated. I really do like school - I wish it would never end. time really does fly, it seemed like only yesterday that I moved in Manhattan and now, I'm nearly done and the impending pressure to find a job in this city looms over me.

August arriving also signals my usual trip back home to see the family and enjoy home-cooked meals, cuddles with my dog and more home-cooked meals at other family friends' homes. the only thing I'm not looking forward to this month, is J moving back to Boston. its gonna be a lonely but busy 4 months...boo.

In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy what's left of Summer and the blissful company of a significant other in the same city as much as I possibly can. There's still so much to do and so little time & money!

Remaining list of things to do in the Summer:

• Row a boat in the lake of Central Park
• Go to Central Park
• Visit the Museum of Natural History (which is in Central Park)
• Shopping day trip at Woodbury Commons (this was originally scheduled for this weekend but was postphoned until further notice due to new vacation plans in November)
• the New York Waterfalls installation via Circle Line Downtown
• Watch a musical on Broadway(we're doing that tonight!! YAY!)