squishy shoes

best: it was raining out, but we attended our first nyrr running class at central park this evening. i still can hardly believe that the reknowned bob glover was our coach and came out with us in this pouring rain (!!). i ran 3 sets of 1600m at 7:35 mile pace with 3 min jogging in between, with a half mile warm up and cool down. first lap felt quick, second lap felt breezy, and final lap felt a bit too slow.

worst: pretty great start to the day waking up at 4:30am (jetlag) and enjoying some slow time with kevin in the morning over coffee and congee. as today was month-, quarter-, and year-end for our firm, and my first day back at the office, it was hectic to say the least, but good. it felt good to be back, catching up with clients and colleagues, and getting my product back out. unfortunately a last minute meeting with a senior salesperson turned my entire day around and i arrived at practice pretty upset and defeated. 34 years old, and i'm still learning to manage stress - actually it seems to get harder as i get older. but hopefully i can put it behind me and move on by morning.

smile: haven't trained with a team in 15 years, and totally forgot how great it feels to have the coaching, camaraderie, and competition. i'm really looking forward to getting out for our race this saturday and to the next class. and i think my goal will be to move up comfortably by the end of these 8 classes from my current pace group.

lunching ladies

it's rough enough going to asia which is currently 12 hours ahead of nyc for just one week. but then to get back at midnight on a sunday and go straight to work the next day? it wasn't happening for mae or me!

as she called it, we were lunching ladies getting over our jetlag together at cafe grumpy this afternoon. we had painful headaches from the jetlag, but ... the coffee was delicious and it was a good to to stay up rather than nap all day.

shinjuku & hakone

today is our last full day in japan! tomorrow we will head back to taipei via haneda around noon, so it was time to get our run in and go for some ramen!

we woke up relatively early to a beautiful cool morning and did a few loops around shiba-koen and tokyo tower. during our run, we saw more trees and flowers blossoming, as the weather was warming up through the weekend.

after the run, we headed to tokyo station and it took a little while to find the station's yaesu south entrance and *drumroll* ramen alley! we were gunning for rokurinsha again, but given that there was another 45 minutes before opening and a line beginning to form, we decided to have it next time. we opted for the veggie ramen shop which was really tasty! i don't feel like i eat enough fresh or green vegetables whenever im in japan, so the bean sprouts were a welcomed addition. here is a picture of kevin finishing off my bowl :p

in the afternoon, we headed to shinjuku-gyoen to enjoy the thousands of cherry blossom trees - there are so many different types! shades of powder, pink, rose, to hues of purple. there were mobs of tourists around the larger blossoms, so we eventually made our way to an open grassy field with a view of the empire state building in shinjuku. lol.

in the evening, masa and chisa picked us up from the hotel and we took a long drive to tenzan onsen in hakone. hakone is a mountainous area in kanagawa prefecture, just south west of tokyo. it surrounds fuji mountain and lake ashi, two iconic places to visit in japan. we had a nice shabu shabu dinner and then everyone enjoyed the onsen for an hour while i napped in the quiet room. it was a lovely way to spend the evening and the onsen grounds were very lovely.

omotesando & shibuya

on our second day in tokyo, we slept in and woke up to a beautiful view of tokyo tower and zojo-ji, a large buddhist temple. we spotted some cherry blossoms from the temple outskirts and peeked in for a look. i love how japanese architecture is so grand, yet simple.

but we didn't have time to dawdle. first things first - brunch is the most important meal of the day and we were off to bill's, the bill granger restaurant in omotesando. granger achieved stardom for his first restaurant in sydney, which i've not yet visited, though we have visited his shichirigahama and notting hill locations. the restaurant decor is simple, yet decorative; modern, yet country; clean and spacious. the lemon ricotta pancakes are fluffy and light, and while the menu differs from location to location, the food is as we remember it - consistent and tasty.

a big breakfast put us in the mood for a walk so we spent the rest of the morning walking through the meiji shrine park, catching a glimpse of a traditional japanese wedding ceremony, and then a walk through the neighboring yoyogi park. yoyogi park is designed with a large circular walking path surrounded by trees, not too long, but just long enough to stroll and do some people watching. of course, i chose all the shaded routes.

after exiting the parks, we awed at the multiple long lines which wrapped all along omotesandao-dori for garret's popcorn, bill's, and eggs n things. i took kevin down one of my favorite streets in all of tokyo, cat street! when living there, i think my friends and i spent at least 2-3 days each month browsing this quiet little street of small shops. these days, it feels a bit more commercialized and crowded. in the middle of cat street is a coffee shop with the most delicious "new york style donuts" (basically cronuts), the roastery. since we discovered this little haven last april, i've been excited to come back! i picked up the limited-edition sakura flavored donut this time.

we split up in shibuya after coffee: i was off to matsumoto-kiyoshi and kevin was off to bic camera. matsumoto-kiyoshi is one of the most popoular and largest pharmacies in japan, and where i like to go for my grooming, medicinal, and skin products. the breadth of products available at matsuomoto-kiyoshi is breathtaking! from inexpensive drug store brands to luxury department store brands! i treated myself to a few goodies and picked up a few things for my parents, while kevin treated himself to a new g7x. it's been a successful shopping trip so far :)

finally, lunch-dinner at suju-masayuki on the sixth floor of the shibuya hikarie building. it's a delicious spot that our friends brought us too last spring and one of my most memorable meals in tokyo! the lunch setto comes with 8 small dishes, including a fish, a rice bowl, miso soup, a few side dishes, and tsukemono. they also have an english menu for us gaijin - how convenient :D

konnichiwa!

after a short morning flight, we landed in tokyo's haneda airport around 11am.  haneda airport is the international airport located just 30 minutes south of downtown tokyo by taxi/metro. after checking into the prince park tower hotel, we headed to our most recent favorite place in tokyo - kappabashi dori, a street of restaurant supply shops!

no longer newbies since we visited kappabashi street last april, we scoured the shops on both sides of the street for tableware and settled for a set of black porcelain dishes with a silver-gold swirl on them. then towards the end of our multi-hour search, we arrived at the mecca of coffee shops for coffee geeks. this shop has coffee making tools and machines going back to the 1800-early 1900s? and all the fancy japanese brands for almost half the price in the US. kevin stocked up on a few things and picked up a new kalita glass pot for his brother.

we hung out in the asakusa area, spending a bit of time along nakamise-dori before arriving at the stately sensoji temple. before dinner, we treated ourselves to back massages and i brought kevin to onyasai, my favorite all-you-can-eat shabu restaurant, next door.

our hotel, thought a little on the older side and not in a fancy part of the city, has wonderful service and gave us a room with direct views of tokyo tower. it's stunning!

台北

taipei. we were still suffering from jetlag, so we got up early for an easy run along the keelung river this morning. it was super windy, but it was a pretty peaceful place for a run. i like exploring new routes, and along this run, we actually ran past my grandma's neighborhood and around the songshan airport. there was also a route on the northern side of the river, which we'll have to try another time.

at 8am, we arrived to 奶奶's place for breakfast and she was up and dressed, and all made up! it's been a while since i've seen my 95 year old grandma in such a good mood, dressed up, and even with lipstick on :) after breakfast, my 大姑 picked us up and we drove out to 金山 to visit my grandpa's gravesite. it started pouring right after our run, and continued raining hard throughout the morning, but my grandma was determined to take us to the gravesite as it was kevin's first time to pay the visit. we fell in and out of sleep during the hour long drive, catching glimpses of the pacific ocean and the gorgeous taiwan shoreline to our right. it reminded me of driving along the 1 in oahu.

it was raining so hard and very windy when we arrived at 金山, and we had to walk four treacherous flights of stairs up the mountain to my grandpa's grave. i was very worried about my grandma, but with kevin and me by her side, and my uncle and auntie in front and back, we made it up and down with no problems. that is the last time i will let my grandma take us on a rainy day though - i regretted it immediately as we were trying to come down the mountain side.

after the tomb sweeping, we stopped by 野柳 (yeh liu) to bargain for dried seafood, and bargain we did. between my grandma, aunt, and me, we left with +20 kilos of fish floss, scallops, sakura shrimp, and various other types of dried seafood cooking products. i can't wait to put them to use!

for lunch, we dined at the taipei 101 鼎泰豐 (din tai fung), and met my close friends from tokyo days at 雞窩 (gwoo) for dinner. after being suckered into eating an obscene amount of food at breakfast and lunch, we were glad to sip on delicious chicken soup and the light-flavored dishes at dinner.

it was actually emily's last night in taiwan before her month-long australia trip, so a few of her friends came out. they were so so so funny ... after dinner, we all had drinks at a speakeasy-type bar, ounce, where PDT bartenders from nyc were mixing drinks! feels like tokyo days ...

員林

yuanlin. our plans to get out for an early 6 mile run along a relatively newly paved road around yuanlin folded when we awoke groggy-eyed on sunday morning. a horizontal sleeping surface was what the doctor ordered!

after enjoying the yuanlin grandview hotel breakfast (DELICIOUS!!!!), we drove about twenty minutes to the northern part of city to the site of the first cheng ancestor's gravesite (kevin's grandfather's grandfather). it was pretty interesting because we parked on the side of the street, and then kevin's relatives turned left and proceeded to walk between a cement wall and 3-4 ft high grass, some of them hacking the unruly, long greens with machetes along the way, creating a path to the gravesite.

we met many of kevin's relatives that he didn't recognize and hadn't met before - it was really refreshing and unexpected how kind everyone was and genuinely interested they were in getting to know us. for us, we were very interested in getting to know them as well, but we definitely felt a little uncomfortable with our own mandarin and taiwanese language skills (no taiwanese for me at all). in total, there were probably 40 or so relatives at the grave site, and another 20 or so at the mausoleum afterwards.

at the mausoleum, my FIL showed me the area with his relatives tombs were located, and in particular, his parents' tombs. this may seem morbid to some, but actually my FIL is very laid-back and relaxed, so it felt like a very humbling, intimate experience for me.

in the afternoon, we were off to taipei ...

best: although i grew up my entire life in the US, taiwanese breakfast are by far my favorite. a couple years ago, kevin introduced me to the concept of taiwanese hotel buffet breakfasts ... it was a whole new world. at the grandview hotel, i enjoyed two large servings of 稀飯 with 魚鬆 and an assortment of taiwanese breakfast sweet and savory side dishes.

worst: uhm, my FIL was set of getting us a local cell phone card and we walked what felt like 2 miles from the hotel stopping by multiple cell phone shops before we found one which sold temporary SIM cards. we were also rushing since we were on our way to lunch, so we arrived a bit sweaty and stressed, to say the least.

smile: without even realizing it, i broke out in a smile from ear to ear as our van reached taipei. even though i spend just a week each year in taiwan, the familiarity of the city, the bright restaurant and cafe signs, and the anticipation of all the food and activities for the days to come, all excited me as we arrived after a 3 hr car ride from yuanlin. it felt like the city was saying, welcome home!

早安，台南!

good morning, tainan! after arriving taoyuan at 6:30am, we headed straight for tainan to meet my father-in-law and my mother-in-law's brother, uncle austen. after a little freshening up, we went to visit kevin's grandmother, who is in her 90s, and still living in the home where my MIL grew up. we had a nice lunch together with ah-ma and my MIL's relatives, and then went back to ah-ma's house for chitchat.

that's when the sandman came calling for me. i passed out for 1-2 hrs on kevin's shoulder while they reminisced in taiwanese around me. it felt reallllly good :)

then we headed up to yuanlin to check-in to our hotel and set our eyes on the first horizontal sleeping surface we would experience in the last 48 hours. had a fancy seafood banquet style dinner with the cheng dynasty at the hotel restaurant, met kevin's dad's cousin's wife (!!) who runs her own shaved iced store nearby (!!), and oggled at hana and kiki for the rest of the night. 

sleeping on a flat surface that night never felt SO GOOD! well, actually it also felt pretty darn good after camping for 4 nights in patagonia, but who's counting :p

best: fresh watermelon juice made while you wait at taoyuan airport! a great start to my morning, which started at 6:30am after our 16 hr flight from jfk, during which i watched 6.5 movies :)

really the best: seeing kevin's dad and uncles get together in yuanlin! what a festive, fun occasion for the five brothers and their families to celebrate, and with much anticipation for the tomb sweeping events and more relatives to meet the next day. they had a heckuva mom, who gave them family and a support network for the rest of their lives. and reasons to make the annual trip to taiwan year after year as well.

worst: waiting for what felt like 1.5 hrs for lunch to be served in tainan ... it was probably more like 45 minutes, but a combination of starvation + jetlag + inability to converse in taiwanese with kevin's relatives left me a bit hangry while i watched waitresses come out with bowls and bowls of food, but none for us.

smile: today was my time taking the 台鐵  (taiwan railway) and it was very cool! we took the 高鐵 (high speed rail aka shinkansen) from taoyuan to tainan for lunch, but for dinner, my FIL took us on the taiwan railway from the old school tainan train station. it was a partial open air station built back in 1936 during the japanese occupation and looks like it hasn't been touched since its inaugural ride. it reminded me of the taiwan-japanese baseball movie, kano, which we saw last summer. the taiwan railway train was quite similar to the hsr inside, lots of leg room, reclining seats, and large windows to enjoy the countryside views.

faig ahmed

loving faig ahmed's stuff and hoping for a NY/US show soon! his stuff is genius. to me, his designs demonstrate that simple and clean can still speak volumes.

onto my other loves ...

costco now carries two of my favorite snacks in bulk, biscoff biscuits and nutella & go's! i couldn't help but indulge in multi-packs for our trip which begins TONIGHT!

pending

the redfin listing went pending today!

best: we celebrated with prosecco and sparkling rose over a low key dinner at spasso. it's been some time since we've had their chicken liver mousse, which is always a treat, and they had a special pork meatball which was bursting with intensity. i'm not sure what was in there, but possibly some salsiccia and herbs - small, but tasty. i miss being walking distance from these restaurants.

worst: it was so cold today that it started to flurry in the morning. last snow is yet to come it seems.

smile: kevin nabbed us a lower 30yr rate by waiting until after the the 2pm fed announcement today to lock. thanks, yellen!

hold onto your butts

it was 7:25pm when kevin stepped into the apt and we had to be fed and across town at the peoples improv theater in gramercy by 8pm! what to do?

as a testament to the busy lives of manhattanites, we left the apt at 7:33pm, walked two blocks north to chipotle where we waited patiently in a line that reached the door for our burrito bowls, caught the taxi making a left turn at the NE corner of 26th and seventh ave as we exited the restaurant, and scarfed down our dinners in the four block crosstown cab ride.

it was hard to imagine that we could consume an entire meal and still make it to the show early enough to get seats, but thanks to the miracles of taxicabs and fast food, we made it! we arrived at the theatre just before 7:50pm, gave ourselves a high five and also laughed at the fact that had it been a year ago, kevin probably would have made dinner and drink reservations near the theater for us and we would have had a proper date night. haha how times have changed.

we met our friends, jay and kathy, and a few others, for one of timeout new york's top ten comedy shows of 2014, hold onto your butts, a parody of jurassic park presented by recent cutbacks. although we'd seen the preview clip online, i think none of us fully expected what was presented to us that evening.

on the stage were two brilliant actors, kyle schaefer and nick abeel, and off to the side was the foley artist, kelsey didion, performing a parody of "jurassic park". with props as simple as two chairs, a backpack, a wig, sunglasses, and a necktie, kyle and nick were able to do a scene-by-scene reenactment of the movie we all watched and loved in 60 minutes. kelsey was an integral part of the reenactment, seated on stage with a table of every day objects and an apple laptop, recreating a nearly orchestral experience for the duration of the show.

it wasn't by any means your traditional play or reenactment, but it was very satisfying and we found ourselves squeezing each other's hand throughout the performance and at times, slapping my knee to the tripped out sets and dialogue. as the performance progressed, the actors took some liberties and stepped out of the bounds of their rehearsed scripts to truly push each other to the limits. it was a hysterical hour of geeking out and pushing your imaginations to the limit. 

best: after remodeling our chelsea loft last year, i think we caught the bug. and after looking at properties in the pnw for the last year, and after watching the unit we fell in love with go into contract two times before falling out, we are finally in contract! 

it's a 2600 sqft loft in downtown seattle, washington. completed in 1904, the building was once home to the h.n. richmond paper co who used its loading dock and water-powered hydraulic elevator to transfer goods to neighboring businesses. it's a real work of art with seven SE facing windows, six skylights, and an enormous wheel-and-pulley system in the ceiling. time to get to work :)

worst: not being able to keep up with my work email inbox. too many great notes to read, but not enough time.

smile: we changed up our granola recipe this week. swapped in cashews and dried blueberries for the pistachios and dried sour cherries, and although the change is quite subtle, it's nuttilicious! and so darn tasty sprinkled over greek yogurt!

strombolis

best: pedicure + massage chair (i'm a total sucker for massage chairs!) at spa belles on 23rd and seventh after a hellish day at work. brought capa and travel&leisure with me, and ended up reading three issues of people instead. i think i've found my new go-to nail salon in the neighborhood!

worst: felt a wave of hunger pangs and started to feel lightheaded when we were waiting for a craiglist buyer to meet us outside of the apartment building. not sure if it was low blood sugar levels, but it came on very quickly and started sweating :(

smile: around the same time as i was starting to fall apart, our doorman, steve, received two strombolis from a random woman who had asked him for directions to find a restroom. since he'd already had dinner, he offered them to us and kevin and i (well, mainly me) scarfed them down. kev had also run to the store down the block to pick up granola bars for me *heart flutter*, but i guess you can't separate a girl from her stromboli.

a day of potting

it was 42F out and cloudy - perfect for running weather! we ran to the FDR and back, for a total of 5.2 miles this morning. out of shape and a few pounds happier, i mean, heavier, i was winded by mile 3. uuf.

after the run, i took my princess time getting ready - la di da - i love long baths and showers on the weekends, and we headed to chinatown for lunch at nyonya. i let kevin run with the ordering and we had roti canai, prawn mee, bean sprouts, and half a hainan chicken & rice order. i tend to eat too much at nyonya and make myself sick, so i nibbled a little here and there.

then we made the long-awaited trip to the sill together! i chatted with eliza and andrea for a while about their plant recommendations based on location, lighting, and level of care needed. we have so far managed to keep healthy all the plants in the loft: a 4 ft fiddle leaf fig tree, a few snake plants, and a handful of succulents, so i'd say we have a non-black thumb. yellowish-greenish even perhaps.

we decided on a few additions to add to our small collection and a couple of custom-made stoneware clay pots and saucers. from the top right (clockwise), they are: vining philodendron, marble queen pothos, neon pothos, and dwarf zz plant. they are supposed to be relatively drama-free and easy to care for. 

i spent the afternoon repotting them and placed them around the apartment. it feels much livelier around here already :)

had a spontaneous roundabout with daisy at the new harbs around the corner (yay finally!). we shared the sakura tea, yuzu sencha tea, strawberry tarte, and rare cheesecake. the cakes were very light, fluffy, and tasty, and the teas, not too sweet, were a nice complement. we were wondering - what exactly is "rare cheesecake"? as it turns out, it's the japanese way of saying it's a non-baked cheesecake. LOL. im pretty sure that's the way cheesecake is traditionally made in the US as well. it was a fun, relaxing way to spend chilly sunday afternoon.

oh and HARBS. what exactly does it mean? the explanation is almost as classic as the "rare cheesecake" logic. harbs is derived from the word herbs, which are tasty and lovely to the taste. funny :)

and below are my potted friends! welcome home.

apple q&a

we rented a little red mazda 2 compact sedan and visited my parents this weekend. we met for lunch at our usual spot, shanghai bun, in matawan, new jersey, and snagged a booth upon arrival. when my parents arrived a few minutes later, i ended up sitting across from my mom, and kevin from my dad. 

we ordered the usual: 擔擔麵 (spicy sichuan style noodles, but served somewhat sweet and nutty at this restaurant), 牛肉麵 (spicy beef noodle soup), 小籠包 (xiao long bao, aka, shanghai pork soup dumplings), 牛肉夹饼 (beef with pickled veggies wrapped in sesame bread), and 甜豆漿 (sweet soy milk). so tasty! the food at shanghai bun rarely disappoints.

after lunch, we went back to the house completely stuffed from lunch, and my mom basically force fed us her homemade 酒酿 (jiu niang, a sweet soup-like dish made from fermenting glutinous rice). i love jiu niang!!! my mom had made a stock pot portion of jiu niang and prepared the soup by diluting it in water over the stove and throwing an egg in there, and even though we were full from lunch, our dessert stomachs had room.

from there on out, we spent the next hour or so hosting an apple iphone - ipad combo q&a session for my parents around their kitchen table. as software engineers and programmers, my parents are quite technologically proficient, but were familiar with the windows pc logic rather than the apple interfaces. therefore, we showed them how to create folders for sorting purposes, move and delete apps, reset their fingerprints for the unlocking function, and lastly, enabled their phones for the zooming function, which is buried deep under the accessibility section in the settings. my dad wanted to join instagram so kevin set him up and also watched some youtube chinese magic shows on the side. LOL. 

it's easy to take for granted how natural the apple interface feels and how useful the different functions can be, but it's not necessarily so for our parents' generation. im glad we were able to help explain some of the functions and capabilities of their apple products though. i should probably spend more time with kevin's mom to get her up to speed as well.

in the evening, we made a quick stop at ikea to pick up loads of child-proof dishware - lots of friends with kids and babies these days - and we spotted this mess of snow+ice+shopping carts. it looked so destructive, it was emitting emotions, and felt symbolic of sorts.

best: sitting across from my parents at lunch and having individual one-on-one conversations. while my mom and i chatted about my brother's burgeoning  programming career in dc, my dad and kevin were chatting about mortgage bond valuation. my dad has always been a sponge and was just soaking it in ...

worst: ikea. on. a. saturday.

smile: i noticed that my mom's iphone's data usage was 5.5 gb last month while the rest of us were closer to 1-1.5 gb, and when i asked her why, she turned red grinned and sheepishly explained to use that she plays videos on her iphone that over time allow her to accumulate points, which over time, amount to little sums of money. LOL. how adorable!!!

reset

best: a random night to myself to reset: catch up on emails, reading, and a little cleaning. i think i'm learning that i feel more motivated to be productive when kevin is not around for some reason.

worst: kevin's dinner at ravagh and poker night lasted until half past one (am). hahaha. it's been a while since i've been up that late, and a long time since my eyelids have actually felt heavy and droopy before bed.

smile: while reading my latest purchase, shawn's comics, i found these cute dedications to his family members on the first page of each booklet. the drawings really capture the essence and mannerisms of his family members, which is especially endearing. shawn and yuka and their family are some of my favorite people - they are individuals, artists, and parents, prioritizing all three equally. i am always learning from them, and laughing when around them!

harper lee & factoids

i learned today that the state of alabama started an investigation last month to the complaints of potential elderly abuse with regards to harper lee, 88, and her unexpected endorsement of her new book "go set a watchman." 

maybe i wanted to believe that people have the ability to change their minds. and maybe i wanted to believe in the goodness of people - that her attorney and literary agent would find it impossible to take advantage of this accomplished, elderly individual. but after reading this article and giving it a bit more thought, i'm not too sure if i'm just delusional. 

i'm rethinking my pre-order of the prequel, which is slated to arrive on july 14, 2015, and eagerly awaiting the results of the investigation.

best: we finished the last two episodes, including the finale, of gilmore girls. it was great to see the series in completion over the frigid months of winter, and share my adoration for these quirky, loquacious, loving characters with kevin.

worst: learning about the authenticity debate around the falling soldier photograph, arguably robert capa's most riveting and famous photographs taken during the spanish civil war. capa was well-known for embellishing and at times even making up stories, as he did with with the adoption of his name and image when he was a penniless, unknown hobby-photographer.

smile: stumbled upon a steinway & sons at the corner of 45th and sixth ave on my way home after work drinks. apparently it is an interim location, in anticipation of the third flagship showroom in nyc which will open in late 2015 at the former icp museum, one block south. it was closed when i stopped by, but i can't wait to pay them another visit and slide my fingers across the ivories.

factoids: i learned that the first steinway & sons flagship showroom was next to our previous apartment building at 71-73 east 14th street, between university place and fifth avenue. i wonder if it was in the building which currently houses reebok, and formerly, diesel. what a rich history new york city has!

the second interesting factoid: robert capa's brother, cornell capa, was the founder of icp. 

it feels nice to connect the dots.

spring is nearly here

:) :) :)

the days are getting longer and the sidewalk ice is starting to melt. temperatures in nyc reached highs of 60F today, though it was still a bit too brisk to go jacket-less. and i wore my birkenstock gizeh sandals for the first time this year, signaling the start of the running season again.

we scored a walk-in table for four at basta pasta this evening and enjoyed a high-carb dinner with kris and jessica. construction on their loft began on monday and we were overdue a get together. we literally feasted at dinner. lol. for appetizers, we shared the hamachi crudo, spaghetti with tobiko, and spaghetti with proscuitto and parmigiano. for dinner, kevin and i doubled up on pastas - fusilli with chicken ragu and linguine with uni, while kris and jess indulged in the chicken and duck breast. for dessert, we had the almond flan, which tastes a bit like chinese almond tofu, but a little richer, and the parmigiano reggiano cheesecake! it was my first time trying the latter and it was surprisingly light, and oh-so-tasty!

(that reminds me, i still have to check out harbs when we get back from taiwan.)

best: received the latest comics from shawn cheng in the mail! the drawings are so intricate and detailed, and each comic has a dedication to one of his family members.

worst: leaving my coat at home today. haha. it's definitely not warm enough for birkenstocks + skirt weather yet.

smile: lorelai poured her heart out singing "i will always love you" at karaoke to luke and logan asked lorelai for rory's hand in marriage!!! gilmore girls is coming to a close very soon, and hopefully i will find something a bit more intellectually stimulating to do with my time afterwards. or something outdoors - the weather is on the up and up!

the heidi chronicles

tuesday was a drizzly, but relatively warm day.

after quick work drinks at 44, the royalton hotel bar a couple blocks at my office, i rushed over to danji for dinner with daisy, who had arrived early to secure seats from the potential broadway rush crowd. as i arrived 15 minutes late to dinner, we were a little tight on time and had to push the pace a bit. the food was, as we both remembered, very flavorful and tasty. danji's dishes are tapas style, however, so you're not left feeling overly full afterwards. we had the hamachi sashimi, bulgogi beef sliders, lightly fried tofu with ginger scallion dressing, and bossam (braised pork belly) - it was all delicious! their cocktails are pretty good too, though dais was getting over the flu and my pinot grigio from the royalton was quite enough for the night.

we arrived at the music box theatre, where i'd previously seen one man, two guvnors starring james corden, just minutes before the play began and were sitting at the edge of our seats for the next three hours. we were watching the heidi chronicles, starring elizabeth moss, jason biggs, and bryce pinkham, during its previews before its march 19th opening night.

more and more these days, i enjoy watching a play or film without knowing too much about the plot, and tonight was no different. 

the heidi chronicles is a well-scripted, witty zeitgeist-play about the changing role of women in the 60s-80s chronicled through the life of  baby boomer, heidi holland. elizabeth moss did an excellent job portraying a young woman seeking a career through her passion, art history, and dealing with society's expectations for the role of a woman (and a number of other important themes, including homosexuality) during the 3 hour play. my second favorite character was peter patron, played by bryce pinkham, who is heidi's best friend over the twenty year period. he emits brightness, solidarity, and a lightness which is much needed in the life of heidi holland.

during the play, there are numerous vignettes with set changes, which are seamlessly integrated with a rotating set design. the dialogue is peppered with historical references and intelligent allusions which really set the scene for each period of heidi's life. 

it was a light-hearted and interesting night for a couple city girls. for anyone looking for a little direction, some affirmation, or just some interesting food for thought, i would highly recommend this play.

pioneer square

kevin went out early to do some hill repeats this morning while i caught up on my latest book, robert capa: a biography. after visiting the magnum photos exhibition and trying to visit fondation hcb in paris, i felt compelled to learn more about this photographer who led a famed, yet tumultuous life, which ended at just the age of 40. i was hoping to finish the book during this trip, but it seems like i've only gotten a third of the way through.

today we visited two more lofts in the pioneer square - downtown seattle area. i think kevin and i both felt an immediate connection with this one (top floor). this photo is taken from the building's batcave-like parking garage, which is parallel to a set of train tracks. there's something industrial, tangible, and historical we both love about trains. maybe it was because we loved watching the men who built america a few years back and learning about cornelius "commodore" vanderbilt's railroad empire. with a mess of unfinished walls, outdated kitchen and baths, and hundreds of feet of commercial electrical wiring, i'm not sure if this one will be our next project, but we did both individually love it.

in the afternoon, we walked around the u-dub (university of washington) campus where kevin's father did his residency +35 years ago. it was the start of spring and the sakura's were starting to bloom, making the cherry blossom quad a spectacle with hundreds of students and visitors picnicking, tossing frisbee and football (i so wanted to join in), posing for photo shoots (LOL!!), and more. 

i was enjoying the sight, but secretly thinking back to last march when we visited the quad on an early sunday morning and had the sakura to ourselves. it was towards the end of the blossom during our last visit, and the sakura petals covered the quad paths, creating quite a magical setting.

here is a photo of kevin and his mom in front of a magnolia tree. i think it's called a saucer magnolia or tulip tree, which is a hybrid between the lily magnolia and yulan magnolia. i generally see them in shades of white with a little pink, but these were magenta.

hello, pnw!

we started our weekend off with a 4-miler at nearby mercer slough. there is one hill on the east side (around mile 2) which i remember used to hurt quite a bit, but i think we are stronger mentally so we took it nice and easy and it was no obstacle. woohoo! it was 37F out, a bit cooler than we were expecting, but it kept us from overheating.

after a coffee and lemon glazed old-fashioned from top pot, we headed down to pioneer square to meet with a redfin agent, jimi lou steambarge (that's not a joke), to check out a loft on south jackson. the views were gorgeous and the unit had great bones, but would take a bit of work. maybe a fun project in the future?

explored occidental ave a little, visiting drygoods design, london plane, and zeitgeist coffee. dreamed a little about living in seattle and taking sewing classes at drygoods. took in the beautiful ranunculus and local artisan work at london plane. i was excited to learn that little shirley vases are made in seattle! they are carried by lots of home furnishing retailers these days, such as room and board and dwell. when we get our guest room set up a bit more, i hope to pick up a few. probably won't be having the chai latte from zeitgeist again as it's mostly spice, and not enough sweetness.

i think it was the first spring-like weekend for seattle-ites, as well as us new yorkers! the sun was shining brightly out and there was not a cloud in the sky. we finished off the afternoon with a walk through the botanical gardens, where liam showed us his favorite suspension bridge. here's a photo which i think pretty much sums up our afternoon: