Thanksgiving Activities & Black Friday Shopping!

I'm back!!! :D!

I know I'm really late on this post, but it's better late than never, right?
This weekend is definitely going to be an crazy one. Today isThanksgiving which means... LOTS OF FOOD! YES! For a huge foodie like me, Thanksgiving is aweeeeeeeeesome! (haha) The Holidays are by far my favorite time of year. It's festive, bright, cold and warm at the same time! It's wonderful and a great time to share lots of laughter and smiles.

In NYC, the Macy's Thanksgiving parade is always a big event. It's a great activity to do with family and friends, but I definitely prefer to snuggle on my coach and watch it from the TV (lol). Did anyone go watch it in person this morning?

After (or for some, during) Thanksgiving is the infamous Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend! Lots of camping out at stores and shopping drama. I gathered a few iPhone apps I found that were rather helpful and hopefully will help you sort through all the chaos this weekend.

1. tgiBlackFriday by dealcatcher and xtransmogrify
This app makes finding popular deals easy to see and finding deals via stores and categories just as simple. There's a search option which makes trying to narrow down a deal even faster and you can add the items you want to keep an eye on in your easy-to-access list.

2. Black Friday by fatwallet.com
I love this app! The layout is so simple and I love the look of it. When you first open the app, search by stores and categories icons are conveniently placed as well as all the different features in a handy left sidebar easily accessed by a tap of the menu icon on the top left. Search is also a feature that will help narrow down the list of ads to find what you want.

3. tgiCyberMonday
This app is by the same people of the first one. It works pretty much the same way except for CyberMonday deals.

What I love about these 3 apps are that they have the products' name, price, and picture clear for you plus a scan of the actual ad so you know these deals are real. Hopefully these apps help you through the chaos!

Lastly, here are my few personal tips to prep yourself for the Black Friday shopping rush:
- Use a big and light shoulder bag that has a zipper closure. Something like the Longchamp Le Pliage works best. One, you can fit a lot of what you buy in it. This will help when you're in a hurry to get out of the store or if you're shopping on foot. Two, the zipper closure will lessen the possibility of someone stealing your wallet or stuff. Three, the shoulder strap bag makes it easier on your shoulders and still gives easy access to your wallet. This is going to be gold when you're rushing in and out of stores.
- Carry a water bottle and snacks. Having some snacks will give you extra energy because it can get pretty hectic and tiring. You'll definitely need water, you'll be parched by the end of the spree.
- Keep wallets in check. If you're paying with cash, have your bills separate. Big bills together, small bills together, and a separate thing of change (if you really need it). If you're paying by cards, know which one you will use at which store.

Well that's my top tips! Oh and one more thing, GIRLS, wear a watch and a hair tie on your wrists. They'll come in handy!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend, everyone! :D

xx,
Evey(^.~)

A&W Root Beer Float, I Love You!

Ahahaha... Title says it all. It's only $2 right now at A&W and it comes in a frosty glass!!! :D Man, I wish we had this in the States :(....

My Vancouver Adventure: Day Two!

Hi all!
Well, it's my 2nd full day here now and it's not like I've never been here before, I have. But this time I have almost a week to just hang out and actually see Vancouver! My bffle, C, is travelling with me this whole trip and we got here, we met up with the rest of our group who will be joining the trainin program too.

So yesterday, C and I headed for Aberdeen with a friend. At first, we took the skytrain in the wrong direction, but we made it to Aberdeen soon enough (haha). We wanted to go to Aberdeen for some dim sum, but I couldn't find the place I went to last time and we were starving so we just picked the first place we saw. We were walking in, then we realized... crap, no pushing carts.. only order forms in Chinese. And let's just say our ability to read is not the best... (ahaha). We pooled together what we knew and by guessing we managed to order 8/9 things correctly! (Haha...BOOYAH!) And the last one actually was better than what we thought it was^^. So props to us! (Lol)

After brunch, we walked around the mall a little bit and we found many anime shops (and I wanted to buy like the entire store, but it was too expensive :'(), which had really cool stuff. C and I also had to exchange money because we had no Canadian dollars left.

Right on the outside strip of the mall next to Aberdeen, YaoHan Centre, we found a currency exchange place who had a rate of 1 to 1 and with no service fee!!!! What a blessing from God! The whole day we were searching for a good place, but they were all .96 or .98 to the dollar and still had $2 or $4 service charge. I was so happy, I was dancing :D (lol!) The place is called Kingmark (Canada) Currency Exchange Inc. The staff was very nice and the exchange was super quick! They have 3 stores in Greater Vancouver. You can check them out at www.kingmark.ca.

We got back to the house we're staying in and our friend made some spaghetti for our dinner! YumYum!^^

I'm hoping to blog more pics so you can SEE more of my adventure! Happy Friday all!

My Seattle Adventure!

Hi all!

Sorry for being MIA for the past week. I've been busy running around getting things done for my trip. Right now I'm on the Bolt Bus enroute to Vancouver from Seattle!

Seattle was fun, but sadly I could only stay for one night. I'll be staying one more night come August before I fly back to NY. My trips to Vancouver is usually about a week or a week and a half. This time I'm staying for almost 3 weeks and man, so many things are different when I go for that long.

One, I need to be very precise when I pack. Because I flew to Seattle then bused it to Canada, checking luggage would cost me $25 a piece so instead, I decided to pack less. A LOT LESS... (lol)
Two, I have to worry about more things like when I'll arrive in Seattle then when I'm leaving for Vancouver, etc.
Three, I don't even know anymore. There's too much to keep track of and I'm so sleepy... I'm sorry if this post makes no sense... (lol)

Time for a little nap..^^

Happy Bastille Day!

Hi all!

Happy Bastille Day to all my French friends! In NYC, FIAF (French Institue Alliance Française) presents a festival for a celebration of all things French. Located on 60th Street, 5th Ave to Lexington Ave. Festivities begin at noon and ends at 5PM. Definitely a great family event!

Through Twitter, they will have a challenge for a chance to win great prizes, including a trip to Paris for 2 O:! All you have to do is tweet pics of yourself at 5 participating booths. That's so easy.. I want to go to Paris :3 (lol).

For more details: http://bastilledayny.com/

Have a happy and safe Sunday, everybody!

Calling All Starbucks Lovers!

Hi all!

Just sharing some news I just received!
Today from 12-3PM, Starbucks is giving out free tall handcrafted Refreshers! I tried the Lime one the other day and it's pretty good & seriously refreshing! Happy Friday!!(:

Kim Hyung Joong: New Show, City Conquest!

Hi all!

I'm so excited for KHJ's new show! It's such a different charater from Jihoo sunbae (of F4). I think this is going to be good! Much support, dear prince<3 (haha..)

Gyu-Kaku: Japanese BBQ & Happy Hour!

Hi all!

Man, today was an eventful one. Went to Church meeting in the morning, proceeded to the park for the Church family picnic, then headed to the city for an early dinner/happy hour at Gyu-Kaku. Located on E6th Street and Cooper Square by St. Mark's, it's actually quite easy to miss. It's most definitely a hidden gem in the East Village. From 3PM to 6PM is their Happy Hour and all alcoholic drinks are 50% off (meaning about $5 a drink, instead of the usual $10) and many Happy Hour specials on food. They even have a separate menu for Happy Hour.. so awesome (lol). The staff was extremely nice, patient, and helpful. Our server, Karma, explained everything to us, including the menus, the grilling times, the sauces, the drinks, etc. He was just exceptional! It definitely contributed to our great time there.

   

There are many delicious things on the menu, but there are a handful that are must-tries. The Hanger Steak, the Bi Bim Bap, the Swai Fish, and the Rib-Eye Steak. Among the things we ordered, those were absolutely the most delicious. All the BBQ meat were marinated perfectly and even the sauce for the Swai fish was amazing! My friend ordered the liver, which she said was really good, but I wouldn't know because I hate liver (lol). 

  

The picture on the left is my fish.. the foil was blowing up so much and so quickly, I thought that it might actually blow up.. (lol). Thank God it didn't! And it tasted very delicious!^^

The girl with me in the picture on the right might look familiar to you because she was in my last post too! She ordered a drink called the Rainforest, which was very tropical-looking and tasted like pineapple (haha..) and I ordered the Lychee Bellini, which is basically lychee with sparkling wine or something like that. Both were very delicious and not too strong. I found that their drink menu had a pretty good range. Some drinks were pretty light, like the Strawberry Lemonade Vodka and others were much stronger, like their Espresso Float. Overall, I would definitely give this place a 5/5! Even during the regular dining hours, 6PM-9PM, the prices aren't too crazy, but it's most definitely worth it during Happy Hour! Make sure to get a reservation, just in case. A place with food this good and prices this inexpensive can fill up pretty quickly! I just felt a little bad for the other customers because the guys were getting so loud towards the end of our meal... (lol).

P.S. If you plan to go there often, you should get their rewards card. It's $1 for the card and basically you collect points on it. Every $1 is 2 points I think or was it every $2 is 1 point... something like that! (haha..)

My July 4th!

Hi all!

 I know this post is super late and I'm very sorry, but I had so much fun on July 4th that I couldn't help, but share my adventure with you!

 So on that morning, I went with some friends to watch the matinee show of The Amazing Spiderman, which by the way, was freaking AWESOME! I actually was not planning to watch it because it just felt weird to have Spiderman without Tobey McGuire. With that in mind, I went to watch it anyway and it turned out that I loved it; Andrew Garfield didn't do too bad of a job after all! (lol) I loved it because it told the story from when he was little. As the audience, I got more of Spiderman's background, like how he came to live with Aunt May and Uncle Ben. I also liked the story between Peter and Gwen more than Peter and Mary Jane. Although I think that's because I like Emma Stone more than Kirsten Dunst..

 I definitely give it a 4.5/5. Because this one involved more of Peter's beginning as Spiderman, there was more emphasis on his web-swinging, doing flips, etc (compared to the other Spiderman movies). I watched it at the 34th Street AMC theatre which was packed that morning with people watching Spiderman. Some of us got there an hour earlier to grab good seats and there were so many people there watching the 3D one. I don't know how the 3D one was, but I feel like the 3D would take away from the movie itself. I think 3D is best for animated movies or else they have to have done an extremely good job. We rushed upstairs with along with the big stampede of people thinking that all the good seats would be taken, but it turned out that the stampede was headed for the 3D movie (lol) and there was only like 3 people in our theater when we got there (haha!). We were able to secure two good rows in the center! Yes!(lol)

 After Spiderman, the group split into 2. One sought after food in KTown, the other went on a journey to Midtown Comics and of course I would be with the group going to.... THE COMIC BOOK STORE! (haha..) They had some pretty neat stuff there and since it was July 4th, there was a 20% off discount on everything (I think the sale is still on, until July 10th!). Then we headed for Haru in Times Square for a late lunch^^. So yummy yummy yummy... I'll do a review next time.

 At 4:30, I met up with one of my best gfs, D and we walked towards the piers to get our spots for the fireworks. As we were walking, the cops were already blocking off parts of the piers and not allowing people in unless they had tickets, so we walked faster (which is our regular NYC pace..lol) and walked towards the bigger numbers. When we reached 44th or 45th or so (between the Circle Line cruise and the Intrepid), we found a street where they were still letting people in, so we took our chance and slipped in. It was soooooo HOT, so we were looking for a nice place where we could sit for the next 5 hours with some shade.

  

We did NOT want to get heat strokes! We ended up choosing a nice spot by a tree that gave us decent shade from the sun. At first it was hard to find a good spot because there were already quite a big amount of people waiting already, but the cops started telling people to move their blankets because people were just spreading out big blankets and taking up so much space. Thank God for that 'cause that's how we got a better spot! (lol) We sat down and chatted for the next 5 hours and finally saw the sky going dark and the park lights turned on.

  

Around 7:30 or 8, all the cruises and boats were lining up on the water preparing for the fireworks. An FDNY boat started spraying red, white, and blue water (which was actually pretty cool). A group of helicopters flew by in a V formation. 

  

The sunset was so pretty! And seeing the Intrepid lit up in red, white, and blue was amazing! It looked so nice against the sunset. 

  

Although my pictures didn't come out too good, we were still able to see pretty much all of the fireworks from our spot. It was my first time actually going in person to see them and it's just so different from watching it on TV. 

  

There were smiley faces, spheres, hearts, and so much more. On the right is the herd of people leaving altogether (lol). It was crazy trying to get back to 9 Ave and they wouldn't let people walk on certain streets. Thank God we weren't heading for the train because I can only imagine how crazy that would've been! But as bad as it was, it wasn't as crazy as when I went to the Lunar New Year festival in Hong Kong just this past January (haha..). 

  

She is one of best girlfriends, my partner in crime for the weirdest things I've ever done and some of the most hilarious days I've ever had. She's the only one crazy enough to last 5 hours with me waiting for the fireworks in that incredible heat. Those 5 hours were definitely worth the wait. Watching the fireworks in person is just so different from watching them on TV. The waiting, the anticipation, the excitement, the people, the applause, the "Oohs and Ahhs".. and the list goes on. It's like watching it in HD with super surround sound, with the Boom! of every firework and the lights of every spark, the thumping of your heart from the loudness and excitement. It's absolutely an incredible experience to watch the fireworks up close! I'm so glad I did it this year^^

It's Kim Beom's Birthday!

Hi all! Just a short post tonight, I'm so wrapped up in this book I'm reading. I'll definitely be doing a review for it when I'm done. Anyway, July 7th is Kim Beom's birthday, so this is my little dedication to him. HAPPY 23RD BIRTHDAY! I will do a profile post about him soon!^^ Goodnight everyone!

Thursday Mani! (Or technically Tuesday's...)

Hi all!

It's been a while since I've done a mani post, so I decided to do my nails for July 4th(:
I don't have a name for this one, so here it is!

  

For some reason the pinkish-orange looks really orange.. but I still like it^^. It's my colors for July 4th this year! It's not too dark and it feels like a lighter shade of red and blue. 

  

Sinful Color's Luminary, DHC's C18, and Sally Hansen's Double Duty Base & Top Coat. I love Sinful Colors! The polish goes on so well and so easily. One of the reasons why I don't get my nails done at the salon is because I like to do them myself. Many girls like to get them done because they are supposed to last longer that way. But with Sinful Colors polish and the Double Duty Base & Top Coat, my nails can last about a week and a half, maybe even two. And I'm not the type of girl that just sits around doing nothing, so for my polish to last that long, it must be really good.. (lol!)

Work is making me so tired, it's getting so hard to share my adventures every day. But I'll definitely try to share as much as a I can and as often as I can! Thanks for reading!^^

Deets on Canada Day & Movie Screening of Savages!

Hi all!

As promised, here's some details on the 'Canada's Birthday Bash ft. The Great Canadian Songbook!' event at Joe's Pub! This event celebrated Canada's 145th birthday, produced and emcee'd by Jeff Breithaupt. Musical Director, Peter Kiesewalter (Brooklyn Rundfunk Orkestrata, East Village Opera Company) and the all-star “Workin’ for the Weekend House Band" really created a fun and hype atmosphere as the audience swayed, stood, clapped, and sung along to their Canadian favorites. The evening featured a whole line of great artists, like Tyley Ross (East Village Opera Company), Shannon Conley (Lez Zeppelin), Jamie Leonhart (The Truth About Suffering), Greg Naughton (The Sweet Remains), Shelley McPherson (Beneath the Hush, A Whisper), Alyson Palmer (BETTY), Victoria Cave (Brooklyn Rundfunk Orkestrata), Amy Cervini, Melissa Stylianou, and a special appearance by NY1 morning anchor, Pat Kiernan. All of whom, whether Canadians themselves or friends of Canada, put on a great show and sang their hearts out as their respect to Canada. The evening ended with a great colab of all the artists on stage. Happy Canada Day weekend to my Canadian friends!

On to the screening of 'Savages'! I went to watch it at Lincoln Square's AMC. Along with 'Savages', 'The Amazing Spiderman' and 'Katy Perry's Part of Me' were screening on the same evening, so the theater was quite packed. It was quite funny to see the lobby filled with lines of people, but no one on the ticket lines. 

 Well, let me start with.. it was a good movie. A great movie, in fact. However, for me, I probably wouldn't have chose to go see it on my own (as a personal preference). Having said that, I still thought the movie was awesome. It was jam-packed with action and the violent scenes were so amazingly graphic, I partially covered my face for some of them. (I'm such a big baby, I know! lol) 

This intense thriller is based on Don Winslow's best-selling crime novel that was names NY Time's Top 10 in 2010. Chon, played by Taylor Kitsch, and Ben, played by Aaron Johnson are best of friends and entrepreneurs. Their business? Dope. Apart of the action, the story is narrated by the one shared love of their lives, Ophelia aka O, played by Blake Lively. The story begins with these three and slowly, but twistedly turns, much to their fear, into something they cannot control or escape. Chon and Ben run into trouble when they face off against the Mexican drug cartel. They find themselves in multiple life or death situations as they sacrifice everything to get O back. 

Maybe it's because I only watched one trailer, but the movie was very different from what I understood of the trailer I watched. When I search for the movie summary, it gives a pretty accurate portrayal of the movie, so maybe the trailer was of a different perspective. I feel that 'Savages', is more than just a movie. I feel it can be seen as a message. It's scary to think such terror happens in real life, but that is reality. This movie can encourage people, especially young people to be more attentive to the things that happen around us and be more careful of the choices we make and the situations we get ourselves into. 

The acting in this movie was pretty incredible. That is what I love about the movies. While watching any good movie, you should feel sucked into that character's perspective, environment, feelings. Something about Lively felt a little off, but throughout the movie, I couldn't stop thinking how incredibly strong O was because in her situation, most girls would have broken down or given up hope. Kitsch and Johnson were great. At first Chon and Ben seemed so relaxed and kind of gave off an "I do what I want. Whatever." type of attitude, but they became when it came to saving O, it was so intense I could feel their strong desire and will power. Dennis (John Travolta) was the middle person between the two groups. His acting was great, as usual;  I gave up trying to figure out which side he was actually on and which side he was playing (lol). Lado (Benicio Del Toro) was such a "good" bad guy that I was wishing him dead by the end of the movie and even though she was the root of the Mexican drug cartel, I couldn't help but feel bad for Elena (Salma Hayek). At one point in the movie though, I did think about the fact that if she was a man, they may not have made her character weaken. It was such an intense movie that even after it ended, I was still fuming about the injustice of the final events. I would definitely recommend it to thriller and action-movie lovers! If you're afraid of blood or torture scenes, I suggest you not watch it in theaters (you'll probably have nightmares or end up covering your face for half the movie..lol). It was definitely a R-rated movie. Overall, I think I'll give this it a 4/5!

That's all for today! Thanks for reading^^

Canada Day Event & Savages Movie Screening!

Hi all!

Sorry I didn't get to post about yesterday's event. It was pretty awesome and definitely I'll give more dets later tonight!(:

Right now I'm just getting ready to go to a screening of the new movie, Savages! With John Travolta and Blake Lively, directed by Oliver Stone, how can you miss? ;D

I'm really looking forward to it! Check out my review later, it's time to jet!

BBQ & Roccos Calamari!

Hi all!

Yesterday was super hot, but I ended up going to my friend's house for a BBQ. For once I was being served and didn't have to do anything :P! (lol)



I got so hungry walking to her house and I was so full after all those fishballs, chicken wings, and baby ribs.. mmmmmm^^! (lol) I felt like a fatty afterwards, but whatevs 'cause I didn't eat anything the whole day. (hehe..)

 

Today, I had lunch with a friend at Roccos Calamari. It's a really nice Italian place situated in Fort Hamilton. The calamari was freshly-made and super delicious!!^^ We also ordered the Hot Antipasto for two, which was also very yummy. Eggplant, Jumbo Shrimp, Baked Clams, and Baked Mushroom! Yum Yum! On the left is the Linguine with clams. It wasn't my fave and it tasted much better after I sprinkled lots of cheese on it because the sauce was too watery and it had a very heavy clam taste.. :/

I'm so tired after the long day of yummy food, clothing shopping, and a super exhausting walk to meet with my boss.. I think I'll go to bed now. Goodnight world! Tomorrow (or technically today..), July 1st is Canada's Independence Day (or so I've learned..), so I have an event to attend tomorrow night. Really looking forward to it! :D

Vacation's Over + New Obsession, Boys Over Flowers F4!

Hi all!

I'm really sorry I haven't been updating. Our resort's wi-fi was terrible and when I got back, my work was all piled up. So in this next week or so, I'll share my Orlando adventure with you!(:


But first.. I have a new obsession! Boys Over Flowers' F4!!!!! AHHHHHHHHH! It's like OMGOSHHH, how can I NOT have been obsessed with them before?! (LOL!) 


 


I can't. It's like OMGAHHHHHHHHH! (lol) 
Kim Jun, Kim Bum, Lee Min Ho, and Kim Hyung Joong! Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh :D!!!!!!!!!!
They're all so cute, tall, and have great smiles! Wahahaha... ^^
Such talented actors, it would be so cool to meet them!

More about my Orlando adventure soon. Happy Friday!

My Orlando Adventure: Day One!

Hi all! Currently at La Guardia waiting to board my flight. Thank God for the awesome weather! :D All us girls are so excited, but this waiting is killing us >.< (lol) We should be boarding soon and then it'll only be a few hours before we get to Orlando!!!! Yayyyyy More to share later!<3

My Orlando Adventure: Night Before The Flight!

Hi all!

The trip is finally here! I'm leaving tomorrow morning Yayyy :D!!! Sleeping over at my friend's house and her dad is driving us to the airport in the AM. Her kitty cat is adorable, I'm going to leave a pic for you guys(:
Anyway, I tested out the color cons today and so far so good. I'll do a more thorough review later on when I've tried them out a little longer. Time for bed now! Goodnight all & thanks for following me on my Orlando adventure!^^

Long Day Adventure: Dentist, Shopping, and Dinner With The Fam!

Hi all!

I am so tired, but I still have to pack for my trip! I'm currently surrounded by my massive checklist and clothes and such (lol). Since Delta has gone cheap and now requires me to have to pay $25 for check-in luggage, I've decided to just bring a carry-on. It's not that I'm cheap (if I really needed it, I would've paid for it), but I don't really need to and I can make do with a carry-on bag so why waste $25, right? Exactly!(:

Well today's adventure required a lot of walking. First the dentist (yuck :/ but thank God there was this female assistant there who took me instead of my regular dentist. He's alright but a girl is usually more gentle and considerate), then I went shopping again (as promised! lol). I'll share my jewelry haul with you guys tomorrow! I also got my crossbody bag! FINALLY! (haha..) It'll be in pictures of my Orlando adventure as well so you'll see it then!^^ After shopping almost 4 long hours, I went for dinner with my family. I'll be in Florida on Father's Day (sorry, daddy!), so we celebrated today! I also got him a great card, which he'll get tomorrow! It's a funny card, I think he'll like it(; Here's a pic of my family dinner (@ XO in Chinatown): Yum Yum!

So much has happened today (my color cons came in! I'll be testing them tomorrow and reviewing them sometime next week! :D) and I must resume packing now! More on my Orlando adventure later^^

Nail Polish Haul: Revlon & Sinful Colors!

Hi all!

This whole week has been a rush to prep for my trip. Yesterday, I took a trip to Duane Reade and I got a few more beautiful colors to add to my collection.

Revlon's Strawberry Cream! It's the cutest pink color. It's reminds me of strawberry milkshakes^^ (hence the name lol) And guess what! It has a scent to it too.

Sinful Color's Luminary! It's a pale peachy pink with sparkles-- a very nice color.

Revlon Minted! I've been wanted to add this one to my collection for a few months now and I finally got it! Yay(: It's such a nice pastel, it'll be great for Summer.

So that's my haul! I hope you guys enjoyed it^^. Stay tuned for my Orlando adventure!

Shopping Haul: TJ Maxx!

Hi all!

I'm leaving for Orlando, Florida on Saturday with my gfs! I can't believe our trips is finally here!! We began planning this trip in October, so we've really been anticipating this Saturday to come. We have most of our itinerary planned, but there are many things we want to do and so little time :( ! This is my first time in Orlando, so I'm starting to get really excited (though it hasn't fully sunk in yet). Since it's Summer and it will be very warm in Florida, I had to do a little shopping! So I took a little visit to TJ Maxx yesterday and I am now officially a Maxxinista! ;D Here's some pics of my little haul:

 

There were so many dresses, but I've never been a dress type of girl because I'm always so active, a dress is kind of inconvenient. But in Orlando, it'll be really hot so I decided to give the dresses a try. The first dress ($19.99), I really love the pattern of the skirt! I think it was supposed to come with a belt, but there wasn't one :(. The second piece ($24.99) is wearable as a skirt or a dress. I'm usually not big on these types of skirts/dresses because I'm not a skinny girl, but when I really liked it after I tried it on. It wasn't too short as a dress and the material is very soft and flowy. I did spend a lot of time pondering this one because it is more expensive than I wanted. 

The shirt ($14.99) is super cute! They had different patterns, but I chose this one because of it's light colors. The straps are adjustable and the bow is a nice touch. Perfect for work!(: To the right is the one piece that I knew I definitely was buying. They're dress pants ($14.99) that are flowy so it looks a little like a skirt! They're SUPER comfy and the little folding detail around the waist adds a touch of elegance. (Sorry for the not-so-good photos, it was terrible lighting.) 

 

I know these aren't clothes, but I really wanted to show you guys the ice cream pop thingies I got! It was only $6.99 and basically I can fill the top part with ice cream and freeze it so that I can have my ice cream on the cone or I can freeze juice and have a nice "ice cream" popsicle! :D

The treats on the right are for my best friend's dog. I love my Pazu baby to death, but they never buy him treats. I'm always the one buying and giving him treats. My poor baby.. he should live with me instead ;p. Next time I'll post a great pic I edited of him. He looks so cuuuuuute!^^

That's all for my first clothing shopping haul! I might go shopping again on Thursday morning or Friday night (right before the trip :p). I'll be taking you guys on the trip with me and keep you posted with lots of pics of my Orlando adventure! So stay tuned! 

TGIF!

Hi all!

Yes, it's weekend! :D Today was definitely quite interesting. I slept in because my body was still all very sore from yesterday's book-carrying. Then God gave me another great gift! A DOUBLE RAINBOW!^^ Have you ever seen one before? It's quite beautiful and very cool.

Enjoy!~

BookExpo Day 3: Last Day!

Hi all!

Oh man.. I think I pulled a few shoulder muscles and broke my left arm or something because my shoulders hurt so much and my left elbow joint feels like pins are poking at it (I don't know how I'm even typing.. the things I do for this blog -smh- lol). Anyway, today was the last day of BookExpo America! Considering this was my first year there, I think it was overall pretty darn AMAZING! Here's a few pics to share:

 

So today was a little crazy.. I got lost looking for my dentist's office, which made me late for my appointment and then I had to reschedule it. Meaning I went to the office for no reason (-.-), but yeah.. I really don't like the dentist :T Tell me, how an Asian girl can get lost in freaking Chinatown!? (LOL, fail much?) Anyway, I had to get a drink because it was just so hot out today! I stopped by a Chinese bakery and got my honey water w/ lemon (my fave!<3), then off I went, back to the Expo! Oh and there was some guy on the train with Champagne bottle balloons.. The pic's a little fuzzy because I didn't want to seem like a creep taking his picture.. (lol).

 

Today was a little different for me. Yesterday, I was there to help Life's Spring! Today, I was there as an editorial assistant! Yay :D I got my own badge, with my own name. Thanks to Terry Maloney (the great guy I met yesterday)! I was so proud ^.^ On the left, I took a pic of the Press private area. They had little tables set up, coffee, tea, water, cookies, brownies, strawberries, lemonade, some freebies, and computers for our use. It was pretty cool! On the right, I was waiting for the shuttle bus to leave. BEA organized shuttle buses that would drop you off at various hotels where most of the exhibitors and guests were staying. I took the one that dropped me off two streets from my house. Hooray for living in Manhattan!(;

Look at all the stuff I got!!!! I had to carry all of that home today. This is why my shoulders are so tense and my left arm feels broken! (lol.. ouches) But I do have some pretty cool stuff in this pile; maybe I'll review some books for you guys^^. Most of them are Advanced Reader or Review copies, so they might not be on the market yet (but will be soon)! And man.. when I got off the shuttle, it was starting to downpour. Thank God I was smart enough to pack an umbrella and that it was only two streets! 

Alrighty, well it's time for bed now^.^. Goodnight all!

Busy Busy Wednesday: BookExpo America!

Hi all!

I can't even express what an amazing day I had today. I am so tired, but I really wanted to share my experience with you guys. Today I had the chance to visit the BookExpo America at the Jacob Javits Center. It was by far.. THE COOLEST THING I HAVE EVER DONE in the NYC (or ever)!!!!! I saw so many publishers and books I grew up with, like American Girl, Captain Underpants, Goosebumps. It was so awesome to be able to see it all in one place, meet some publishers, and authors. Here's some pics to share:

 

This year is the 20th Anniversary of Goosebumps, so Scholastic's booth had a 'Cake with R.L. Stine' event. Congratulations!!! I missed the morning book signing, but I was still able to get the book AND get a photo with R.L. Stine himself! I was sooooo excited! I grew up reading Goosebumps, and I even remember writing stories in Elementary school following his book layouts. I got a little emotional there (haha)..

 

So I was on a line at a booth waiting to get a new book that was debuting and some finger food they were serving, and behind me this guy says something, so I cracked a joke. It led to a whole conversation and now I'm apparently his new assistant! (lol) It turns out that he is Terry Maloney, from timessquare.com. He's a very cool guy, very funny too. He got us into a nice after-party event :D. 

 

They were serving mashed potatoes in a cocktail cup! Haha.. It was so cute! You get to choose between 3 mashed potatoes, then you pick whatever little toppings you want, and lastly you pick between 2 gravies. Oh man.. it was so delicious! On the right is the lovely Grand Central Station ^.^. It's just so grand.. and so pretty.. (lol).

That's all I have for today. I got so many books, it's crazy. Tomorrow, I have a dentist appointment in the AM (boohoo!), but afterwards it's back to the BookExpo and maybe work as well..   -sigh- 

Anyways, have a great night! Or morning.. or afternoon.. depending on where you are (lol). 

NY Book & Media Week!

Hi all!

Happy Tuesday (practically Wednesday lol)!

If you didn't know, this week is actually New York Book & Media Week! And tomorrow, I get to visit the BookExpo America in the Jacob Javits Center! Yayyyyyyyyyy! I can't wait! Omgosh, I'm just too excited. Among all the wonderful publishers who will be there with booths, a selected group of authors will be having autograph sessions! R.L. Stine, Dav Pilkey, and Eoin Colfer, just to name my faves! I really hope they don't run out of tickets before I get there :( because the session has a limited amount of tickets. I grew up with Goosebumps and Captain Underpants! And Artemis Fowl came into play in JHS and HS. I would LOVE to meet the authors! I'm going to have to dress up all business-y and professional, but end up squealing like a little girl when I meet them x: (haha.. this is going to be a sight to see!)

At the same time, this is also the week of the NewBlog and Media Expo. Also at the Javits Center! Unfortunately, I have no connections there so I probably won't get it :(. It would have been kind of cool to learn from the top! Oh well..

Anyway, for this week, there are little events happening in some bookstores and such, so go and check them out! And if you're going to be at the BookExpo, come stop my affiliate's table, Life's Spring! We have Chinese and English books, mostly Christian hymnals and Spiritual books.(:

It's so sad that so many young people dislike reading. I love movies too, but reading is so much fun. It's really a different feeling to hold that book in your hand and physically turn the page. It's completely different from a movie, where all emotions and actions are set out for you. When you read a book, you take the author's words and vision, and you can envision the whole story in your head. The amazing thing is that everyone can read the same book, but have a different feeling or perspective. That's the difference between a book and a movie.

So catch the opportunity and check out some of the events! They're definitely going to be pretty cool ^.^ 

Monday Randoms: A Pigeon, Spiderman, Horsey, Korean Food, & Jamba Juice! Whoo!

Hi all!

I woke up early this morning to go to my friend's graduation. (-sigh- I am not a morning person.. AT ALL..) But anyway, Woot! Congrats to the Class of 2012! After the graduation, I kept (immediately) running into people I knew (all unplanned!), so it became a very interesting day(: Here's some random pics:

 

My friend's graduation was at the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan and when we were leaving, I saw a pigeon walking around, strutting it's stuff. (lol) And right outside the 39th Street exit, Spiderman himself hung on the huge building wall! Who's watching this movie in July? (I actually like the previous actor more :/)

 

When all (very long & not all interesting..) speeches were made, caps were thrown, and pictures (a lot of them) were taken, we journeyed to 32nd Street, Koreatown, for a late lunch. Everybody was starving! (including me.. lol) OH! It was 3PM already (Yeesh!), and while we were passing 34th Street, I saw this giant tennis racket :D.

 

OMG nomnomnom.. We finally made it to the Korean food court in 32nd Street (Ktown) and my noodles were so yummy ^.^!!!! The left half is a dry noodle with a sauteed black bean and onion sauce. The right half is a spicy shrimp and veggie soup with noodles. Both sides are my favorites! (I know, that didn't make sense lol) I love this dish so much!! :D Next to it is the Korean sushi I "stole" from my friend (hehe..). It was alright, not too bad, but not amazing either.

 

After lunch, it so happened that a good friend of mine was around my neighborhood, so we met up for some drinks and just to catch up. First, we were going to Starbucks, but there were so many people! We ended up going to the food court in Whole Foods, in the lower level of the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle. We grabbed some Jamba Juice and sat down to chat. I ordered the new Watermelon Splasher, but the girl made me a Strawberry Banana one.. :( Oh well.. 

They now have a cute blue dog welcoming you in front of the main entrance (lol). It reminded me of Blue's Clues so I took a pic for you guys! So that was my start of the week. Despite today's (kind of) crappy weather, it turned out to be a pretty good day^.^