shark attack!

I have been friends with Helen since our pre-teen years, and if there's anyone's birthday I do not forget, it's hers.  She's obsessed with Shark Tank-- trading in her Friday nights for some QT with Mister Mark Cuban. Personally, I love the baldy, O'Leary, but it's not a show I normally watch. For her birthday last year she wanted to stay-in and watch her favorite show (bunch of party animals aren't we? #latetwenties) with our NY family and good food and drinks.

I had some time to kill between getting off work and the party so I decided to make shark party hats. Last minute inspiration from Dani of Sweet Dani B (thank God for smartphones!). I didn't have too much to work with since I wasn't at home, but I macgyver-ed my way through it and they were a hit!

I found paper plates at Emily's, picked up rubber cement and a black folder from Duane Reade, and luckily, she lives near 1 of 2 Party City's in NYC so I was able to pick up a pack of 12.

The most tedious part would have to be the teeth (naturally). If I wasn't working with paper plates, I would've cut out long strips of paper and snipped triangles back and forth in a zig-zag pattern ,but don't worry about uniform cuts, I think it makes the sharks look more ferocious!

Because the teeth were warped (paper plate!) and the black "paper" was glossy folder finish, they didn't stick well and I had to be patient... not a trait my friends and family would tell you that I have mastered. But you should wait(!) because it makes it that much easier to trim the excess "teeth". After that, it was a breeze, glued everything and waited for the party girl to arrive.

Et voilà! Despite numerous tweets to @ABCSharkTank and a certain Shark neighbor in Emily's building, unfortunately it didn't gain any traction.  Although little tedious (gluing all those teeth!), they're an easy project (not to mention cheap!) that makes everything a little more festive, wouldn't you say?

I've since been thinking about other simple DIYs that I can make with the classic party hat!

Happy Birthday again Helen!

tea time all the time

Every New Year we are compelled to make goals to (hopefully) make our next year better and brighter.  In my new year, I have left behind a job that lacked inspiration and am lucky enough to have the luxury to spend the beginning of this year navigating my way back to my passions.  What they might be... your guess is as good as mine.  While I am thoroughly enjoying my funemployment (thanks Joel!), the lack of progress with my career search and wedding planning has made me anxious.

Joel got me this silly engagement cup a couple years back, I love it!

Enter blog and first-ish post about tea.  There's something so relaxing about tea -- recently, I've had to give up coffee, the caffeine was making me uncomfortably jittery.  Late last year, Joel and I took a mini weekend escape to Pennsylvania to stay with his wonderful Aunt and Uncle.  She and Joel's mother have an incredible command of the kitchen and I love spending time learning techniques and observing their effortless dance around their kitchen and the ingredients.  While we love cooking, it's so different from my kitchen where every movement I make is dictated by a detailed timeline (more on my neurotic obsession with lists later), god forbid if we're off schedule or he tries to improvise...!

The entire time we were there, his Aunt had a beautiful pot of tea that was steeping a teaposy throughout the day, sitting on her counter top.

I didn't know that Chinese loose leaf tea can be brewed many times over, lasting all day (the penny pincher in me is rejoicing!) and with my teapot sitting on the counter, it's a subtle reminder to stay hydrated during these dry cold months.

So here's to a relaxing and hydrating New Year...full of blog posts!

permed

After 2 years of constant deliberation and going back and forth with my poor hairdresser, and insisting that blunt bangs would solve all my problems, I finally bit the bullet and permed my hair.

When I was about 7, my Po Po insisted that all American girls have their ears pierced and their hair permed. Silly me, my family was living in Hong Kong at the time and I took my cues from my American grandmother-- who is 100% Chinese, but only had two sons and was very excited about her two granddaughters. Needless to say, the next thing I knew, I was at my older sister's friend's house, sitting with tight rollers in my hair while her mother assured my grandmother that she 'went to Beauty School and knew what she was doing'.

Since then, I have immediately declined all suggestions of perming - straight or curly. To this day, I still can't get my hair to be stick straight like it used to be before that perm. Having said that, I LOVE the "beachy waves" look that has picked up again. And have bought too many products trying to coax my hair into that effortless style. But Tom, my hair-stylist, explained that this is a "digital perm" (which I still am not sure I understand).

It's subtle for sure and many people don't notice it all, but I can tell that I have a lot more body and especially when I shower the night before and sleep on it, it's very wavy in the morning. I love it! Tom knows how low-maintenance I am with my hair and pleaded that I purchase an Air Curler attachment for my hairdryer. I'm too scared to tell him that I don't blow dry my hair. hardly. ever.