A Word About Jeremy Lin (and have a great weekend!)

He's become a superstar in NYC over the last few weeks.  I can't tell you how excited I am to watch him (and I'm not even a basketball fan).  Can you believe he's the first Chinese American to play in the NBA (really the first!).  I love that he persevered and that he's representing so many Asians in a sport that has barely any Asians - no pressure man!  The press and fans are going crazy and finding an amazing number of different ways to use Lin - Linning, Linsanity, Lincredible, Lin-ktastic.  Hopefully his fifteen minutes of fame last much longer.

And have a great weekend!  (I started my long weekend with a cup of coffee and pistachio hazelnut biscottis from Toby's Estate.  Ridiculously delish.)

What Makes a Thursday Even Better?

Having the next the next two days off.  I've already slept in late, got the gym out of the way, had the Costa Rican coffee we brought back while having time to read my NY Mag, and then I'm off to meet Michael for a lunch date.  I'm so relaxed right now and I don't have to think of the office for another four days.  Hope you're enjoying your day too...

I Love This Print

Perfect for Valentine's Day. Perfect for the bedroom, but let's see if Michael agrees and doesn't think it's too cheesy. Ooh, how I love cheese.

You can find it at 20x200 (by Dylan Fareed) but hurry, there's only a few left.

Tea Bag Holders

Tea bag holders - one of those unnecessary necessary things you should have in your kitchen.  I first saw them at Fish Eddy's and thought it would be such a great hostess or houswarming gift since no one would ever buy one for themselves.  

This past weekend though, my neighbor who hosted the Superbowl party whips out three square glass tea holders she got on etsy.  I couldn't find the exact ones she got, but etsy has a very large selection.  Who knew!  Too bad they don't have zombie ones (perfect for the hubby).

mypolkadotpottery

mudworks

Hello February

I know, we're already into the first week of February so it's not really timely to start a post the way I did.  I'm obviously way beyond in posting.  I still have to tell you about our four Chinese New Year dinners.  That's right...four...but that will have to wait until tomorrow.  Let's recap the weekend.  This past weekend and the entire year so far has been a great example of global warming.  It was in the 50's...in February!  Anyway, I started out with a bridal shower in Chappaqua.  It was originally going to be in Manhattan, but there was a little confusion about party-booking fees and all that fancy Manhattan ho-hum.  Ideally, the next option would have been in Brooklyn since the bride, several neighbors who were in attendance (yeah, me) and the groom's family were all coming from Brooklyn.  We all ended up in Chappaqua at one of the bridesmaid's house.  I admit it's beautiful up there and we drove through Pleasantville (sound familiar?), but after 45 minutes driving and only going 5 miles through Queens, almost having a car side-swipe us, and the GPS giving us bad directions, we had wished the lovely party was closer to home.  They did have delicious food (including a drop dead delicious pesto pasta salad) and a tiramisu cake, which saved trip.  Thank goodness for the delicious dinner at Jadis and much-needed dancing at Fat Baby with my girls that night to celebrate Cyndi's birthday to make up for a long afternoon.  As someone said to me today we partied like we were in our twenties.  (Sad...)

Yesterday, we went over a neighbor's place to watch the Superbowl.  Michael made pulled pork sliders.  Ridiculously delicious, and I'm not just saying that because he feeds me on a regular basis.  The host wanted to hide them so that she could have the leftovers for lunch.  They were gone in about 15 minutes.  They were that good. 

Like most of his creations, no formal recipe.  5 lb. pork shoulder cooked in the crock pot for 6 hours (garlic and onion powder, orange juice, and a packet of beef ramen seasoning).  We cut hot dog buns into thirds and topped the pork with pickles.  Oh, and I guess the game was fantastic too!

Snow Day

It's the first snow storm of the season!  Technically the storm in October was in the fall so this is our first official winter snow storm.  It's freezing, but it's beautiful.  Just enough snow where it hasn't shut down the entire city and still pretty enough for pictures.

12 in 2012

Can you believe it's 2012?  It always takes me a month or two for all of it to sink in.  By then though, I'm wishing for the warm spring and before you know it, it's the end of the summer.  Ok, I'm getting way ahead of myself.  This year is going to be wonderful my darlings.  The predicted apocalypse, an election year, summer Olympics, big birthdays and anniversaries, lots of babies and weddings on the way.  I love the way the new year brings hope and excitement.  It also brings expectations and big plans.  Can you hear another big all-year to-do list coming?  Here's mine, in no particular order...

1. Learn how to use my camera.  That means using the manual settings and not just pointing and shooting.  Quiz me in 6 months and hopefully I'll the difference between aperture and depth of field (or maybe the fact that they're not related at all).
2. Put together our wedding album, make one for my Mom and make a wedding film.  We still haven't watched our wedding video and even though it just home video, it'll be nice to put something together that comes somewhat close to this or this.
3. Be healthy.  This is for overall good health, but I also had specific goals - eat more fruit, swim at least ten laps like a champ and not be out of breath, get rid of this persistent shoulder, neck and jaw pain (all stemming from my bad posture at work).
4. Step it up at work.  Now that I'm not new in my new role, I need to push it up a level and instead of just getting work done, I want to initiate new projects and build stronger relationships with the business unit I support.  I want to be that go-to Compliance officer that they go to, not just the person testing and monitoring bad behavior.
5. Cook more, bake more, blog more, explore more.  For this blog, you'll start seeing more inspirational posts - design, food, party planning, quotes.  Last year it was all about original content.  I'm keeping that, but I also want to incorporate all the inspirational things I see and find and make it a scrapbook (for lack of a better word). 
6. Finish the apartment.  Ok, this will probably never happen since decorating, etc. is an ongoing process, but there are a few big projects that need to get done.  Finish the bedroom with a few art pieces. Paint the nook cut-out in the living room (with the same Cathedral Grey as the bedroom).  Last year was all about creating our living space.  This year, I want to live in it.  I saw a post today where Ivanka Trump said "I don't want to work on decorating my apartment.  I just want to enjoy it."  That's exactly how I feel right now.
7. Dress up more.  I've fallen in the trap of black pants and a different top/blouse/shirt for work again.  Time to step it up in the wardrobe department.  Dresses, suits and lots more accessories.
8. Be a New Yorker (which may mean sometimes acting like a non-New Yorker).  I watched Tony Bourdain's Layover episode on New York and he visited a few places that I've never been, but should have been places I've gone years ago.  Sad, sad Erica.  I consider myself a New Yorker, but I coming to think I don't really take advantage of what that means.  Right now, it means for me (which really means us) to experience the good, bad and ugly (and expensive and cheap), even the tourist traps - Empire State Building, St. Mark's Bookshop, 11 Madison Park (this might be a stretch), Ippudo, 9/11 Memorial, buying shoes at Barney's, Kin Shop, momofuku (all four of them), Meatpacking District, etc. etc.  I should give myself a little credit since all of last year, I photographed 52 weeks of the city so it's not like I'm sitting around being lazy or haven't been anywhere.  Oh, and in the same vein, explore Williamsburg (and more of Greenpoint, Red Hook, Bushwick, etc.).
9. Gaining a new perspective and letting go.  I'm not sure how it happened and I didn't realize it until recently when I wasn't feeling like myself.  I was boxing myself in - professionally, personally and mentally.  I've always cared too much about what other people thought which stopped me from moving forward with opinions and actions and made me second guess myself a lot.  I was resting too much of my feelings and actions on what I thought might be other people's reactions.  It's amazing that as an adult, I still hold on the chip on my shoulder that I had as a kid (a kid!) and the persona that I had decades ago.  Even after growing up, getting married, getting promoted, buying an apartment and living the life that we live, I still feel like a kid sometimes and trapped thinking I'll be judged for the things I say or do.  So after realizing that I put myself in a box again and that I really have to just snap out of it, it's time to move on from that chip.  
10. Volunteer
11. Take better care of my husband, family and friends...this means being thoughtful and un-selfish, making time for the people in my life, and remembering what it's all about.
12. Live every day to the fullest.  Ok, that's really cheesy, but it might be the end of the world soon according to the Mayans (or not) so we might as well figure out how to fill each day full.

Something to Help You Start Your NYE Weekend

Have an amazing and safe New Year's.  See you on the other side...

52 Weeks: Week 52, NYE Centennial Ball

We made it my darlings!  52 weeks of photographs.  52 weeks of this crazy city.  52 weeks of another year in the life.  It's amazing how time flies.  It's even more amazing that I finished this project!  It was inspiring, labor-intensive, nostalgic...and absolutely totally fun.  I'm going to put together a coffee table book of all the photos...if you can guess which was my favorite photo of the year, I'll send you a copy of the book.  Here's a reminder of all the fabulous things I saw in 2011.  (Leave me a comment with your guess by January 15.)

Christmas 2011

Christmas this year was a little different, a little off, but definitely one to remember.  We went out to NJ to my sister-in-law's for Christmas Eve and then my parents' house for Christmas day.  We ate, watched a horror St. Nicholas movie, hung out with a cousin we didn't expect to see, didn't see a lot of others we expected to see, went out for Chinese food for Christmas dinner, celebrated my uncle's birthday, tried to Skype my cousin but failed miserably, and miraculously didn't have traffic coming home.   We somehow came home with more stuff than we left with.  I'm not sure how we're going to fit everything into our apartment.  Oh, and I got this bad boy (yeah, still can't believe it!).  I'm sad this holiday has passed, but this year, it was very anti-climactic.  I think I hyped it up too much (even though I didn't really blog about it). I just need to enjoy what's going on in front of me and not think about three steps ahead.  I keep missing all the good stuff!

Happy Holidays!

Some scenes from the week...

Have a wonderful holiday!

52 Weeks: Week 51, Hoboken

Lots of Holiday Parties

My work holiday party was uneventful, which is always a good thing for a Compliance department.  Two co-workers did end the night with an ugly sweater showing though.  These were one of the guy's mom's old sweaters!  I told them I wouldn't post showing their faces, but would ask which one everyone thought was the "ugliest". I'm not sure... they're both pretty awesome.

On a very different note, we had our annual Jingle Mingle last night.  Most of the NJ kids made it and we had an amazing amount of food.  I was in a food coma most of the night and I'm not sure how I managed to get home from Hoboken with more food than I brought.  Adele, Elf and DDD also got us through the night.  Another fun night!

52 Weeks: Week 50, Gray's Papaya

Done!

And because I can't resist showing another Target Christmas commercial....