~ Momo vs Big UFO ~

It's been a while since I blogged about Momo. I know you miss him :) Remember the mini UFO that he likes to bark at? Well, it called in the mothership the other day!!!


It's just made out of foam, plastic wings and a small motor.



So simple and yet, it provides hours of fun!!! My dad says it can go up to 8 floors! I have never seen it because it's been too windy to play with it outside. I will be very sad if this get flown into the trees and get stuck there. Here's a little video! I haven't been taking a lot of pictures of Momo 'cause I cut his bangs and he looks funny now. More to come when his bangs grow back :)

~ The Navette Pendants Photo Shoot ~

You all know how I love the Swarovski Navette pendants. I finally got Aquamarine and Olivine to complete my collection!! Here's Olivine. It's such a pretty and warm green!


Aquamarine is a bright, clear blue.


I like putting them together like flowers :)



Don't they look so pretty together??


I wish they will come out with a light topaz one so it would be more yellow. But, I guess light topaz doesn't really match the marquis shape. It's too bright and fluffy. Does that make sense? Golden shadow is such a more sophisticated color which matches the Navette pendant very well.


Look how they sparkle!! Some people say they don't like the "glare" in the crystals from the lights. To me, those are not glares. That's how crystals sparkle! If they don't have that reflection, it'll just look like glass. And I like seeing the different shapes of the facets too.


I am surprised that these pendants don't sell as well in my Etsy shop as they sell in person. I have sold so many in person that I ran out of the bails had to restock. I have only sold a few through Etsy. Of course, my first thought is that my pictures don't do these beauties justice! So, I took a look at the listings and I must admit that they are a little bit weak.


So, I retook the pictures for all my Navette pendants. The new pictures are cleaner and the colors seem truer to the real crystals. The background is less busy, which can be a good or bad thing.


Check out the red magma one! The pendant look so much sharper against the white background. I think I am going to stick with white backgrounds from now on. I am just a simple girl who likes to have simple things :)



I also tried using a simple gift box as a prop. It's ok I think. Nothing spectacular though.


So, I have been using my new lightbox. I love it! It's all about the bulbs!!! I am going to clean it up a lil bit and show you my setup sometime this week. There's a lot of stuff going on right now, but hopefully, I will get to it!

~ New York City Street Food ~

One thing about walking around in NYC is that you can eat and walk at the same time. With all the little shops and food stands everywhere, I can barely go an hour without food in my mouth. So, here are some pictures of street food that I consumed in one weekend in NYC. There are actually more, but I don't want to scare you with the way I eat :)

First, gourmet ice cream at Soho. I think this was close to Guess. I tried to take a picture of the flavors, but it was cold and my hands were shaking:


Note that it's a yellow ice cream truck. :)


We were so happy to be eating ice cream even though it was like 35 degrees outside. We had earl grey tea which was wonderful, very flavorful and not to sweet. The hazelnut was very good too. Everything was great and tasted just like the flavor was described.


This little meat skewers stand is on the corner of 38th and Main. There's one on 39th and Main too, but I was told that this one is better. I didn't eat there though because I was way too full. I am sad. I wanted a chicken skewer. I heard the lamb one is phenomenal but I don't like lamb.


Curry fish balls and rice rolls. The fish balls were great! I think it was 6on a skewer for $1. They have spicy and not spicy They were bouncy and flavorful and fun to eat. Just don't get any curry sauce on your clothes. I think this is also on Main, under this bridge.


This place was really crowded when we stopped by to get a bento box for my friend so she can eat on the bus. Lots of different snacks and sushi. Very cheap too!


We stopped by this little cafe/bakery place in Brooklyn Chinatown. Forgot what it's called though. Just snacking and hiding from the rain. This is a soup with a pastry puff baked on top. So very good!!!!


Look at this creamy hot soup with seafood on the inside. The puff on the outside is slightly sweetened with honey.


Yum! Ok, that's all the food from NYC. Next up: Korean BBQ :)

~ Wedding Cupcake Tower ~

I was looking for the wedding cake today. I needed motivation so I decided to check out Flickr. Wow! There are some awesome cakes out there!!! Check these out!!! You can click on the picture to go to the actual picture on Flickr. These are just some of my favorites. To see more, check out my gallery on Flickr.

Very simple. Love the calla lilies.


This one is just so gorgeous. Love how it flows and yes, the calla lilies too.


Frangipani!!! So pretty!!!


I think this is my favorite. So elegant! I love the texture in the white layers.


Love the colors on this one.



I think cakes like these runs about $5-$15 per person. Ouch. That's a little bit out of my budget. Besides, I feel like most people don't even eat the wedding cake. I see it go to waste all the time. So, what's a good solution? Cupcake towers! I know these are not new or very trendy. I read on a website that they are so "2008". Whatever! I like them! Check out these yellow ones I found on Flickr too.

I love the colors on these! Very nice display.


Look! More frangipani!!!


Love the display on this one too. I like how the cupcakes lie on the side and the flowers are so cute!


I think the cupcakes are also the wedding favors. Cool! Kill 2 birds with 1 stone!


Blue and yellow :)


This one is just adorable. The little wedding dress is so cute!


So, I am 95% sure that I will go with a cupcake tower. It's so much more convenient. If people are too full to eat the cake, they can easily take one home. Also, I already know that the servers at the banquet hall are going to butcher a regular cake. I have seen it. Usually, after the cake is cut, it ... doesn't look so nice.

Now, just need to find a place that will do it for the right price. I hope they will set it up too. 1st cake tasting on Saturday! This is the funnest part of wedding planning right?

~ How to Eat Little Dragon Buns at Joe's Shanghai ~

What the heck is Little Dragon Buns? Well, that's a direct translation from Chinese (小籠包). It's really little steamed pork buns. If they are made well, they are really steamed pork soup buns. I will explain the soup part later. Though, I don't know why they are called buns. I think they are more like dumplings. There are many places that sell these little buns in New York City, but only one is famous: Joe's Shanghai.


They have two locations, one in Brooklyn and one in Flushing. On my last trip, I ended up at the one in Flushing. Like most Chinese restaurants in Chinatown, both locations are small and crowded. I have never gone there and not have to wait at least 15 minutes. Good luck trying to get a table on the weekend for dinner.


Each order of buns come with 8 and it takes about 10-20 minutes to make. So, be patient! I think 1 order per person is about right. We had 4 girls and 5 orders and it was a little too much. An order of regular buns is $4.65. An order of buns with crab meat is $6.65.


They are going to come out in these steamers and the steamers will be stacked if you have more than one. This way, the ones on the bottom stays hot while you eat the ones on top.


Now, eating these buns require skills. Otherwise you are wasting them and should not bother eating them. Sounds harsh right? But, it's true! So, here's how to eat little dragon buns.

Step 1: Pick it up with the prongs
Pick them up from the top, where the wrapper is twisted together. That's the sturdiest part of the bun.


Step 2: Put it in the soup spoon
I call these soup spoons. I don't know what you call them. Don't drop it.


Step 3: Bite off the top part.
It shouldn't be too spicy.


Step 4 (optional): Add vinegar and/or hot sauce
Just pour a lil bit into the bun.


Step 5: Eat it!
I like to pour out the soup and just drink it on its own. It's thick and so very tasty! It's more than soup! It's like yummy pork juice! Oh wait, that doesn't sound very good. Pork essence? You don't have to pour it out. You can just stuff it in your both. But, I suggest that you pour it out into the spoon carefully if it's your first time. You may under estimate how much soup is in the bun and squirt it out of your mouth. Then, everyone is going to laugh at you and that's not good. Another reason to pour it out is because it may be very, very hot. Seriously like boiling hot.


The taste is very rich and flavorful. The pork to wrapper ratio is perfect. It's never salty to me, just rich. The soup is so thick that if you let it cool, it'll congeal. Some friends only like the pork ones and some only like the crab ones. I love them both equally :) The nappa cabbage that is underneath the buns is edible, by the way, if you need some veggies to even out all that meat.

I usually don't order anything else when I eat at Joe's. I don't want to waste precious stomach space on other food besides these awesome buns! Just thinking about it makes me hungry!!

~ Thinking about Frangipani Bouquets for My Wedding ~

I love Frangipani aka Plumeria! Frangipani sounds cooler to me, more exotic :) They are just so simple and pretty and...yellow! Let me share some pictures with you.

From flowerhawaii.com:

See? so simple!

From www.alohaislandweddings.co​m

From Wild Violet:

At first, I just love all the simple bouquets with only frangipani. But then, I saw these:

From lahianaflorist:

From plumeriasweddingflowerboutique:

I love calla lilies too! I think calla lillies and frangipani bouquet will be perfect. Now, I just need to find a local florist who can do it. Frangipani are tropical flowers after all. Most of the florist I see online that carries Frangipani bouquets are in Hawaii. Oh well, I will start calling around soon.

Another choice will be to use fake ones. plumeriasweddingflowerboutique.com seems to have a good collection. Too bad the website says they are can't fill any more orders before August 2010. I am ok with quality real touch silk flowers. This way, I can keep it forever right? If I go with fake ones, Hong Kong may be a good place to get some. Good thing I am going there for soon!

I did find a listings on Etsy from jdleggans. These are silk too.

I am thinking that my bouquet will have more yellow flowers and the bridesmaids will have more white. All with soft blue ribbons. So, what do you think? Is it too tropical for a Maryland wedding?