Recent Obsession

What I love about these antique ceiling tin art is not only its rustic touch, but that almost every tin piece is salvaged from historic places. Therefore, I'd like to think every one has its own story.


I got the first mirror from a local antique store while shopping with my friend, Jenn, and I love how it adds a little vintage charm to the modern interior of our house. Since then, I have been obsessed with finding more pieces. This weekend I went to the monthly antique show in West Loop, and found an enchanting tin art piece and another vintage mirror.

What are your recent obsessions and good finds?

New York, New York

Every time I'm in New York, I feel reborn. I feel something inside of me has awaken. My heart beats faster, my eyes open wider, my energy level rises higher. Something in the Manhattan air whispers that I belong there. Every time I'm in New York, I feel at home.

Our team's annual sales conference was in New York this week, and I got a chance to experience this interesting transformation physically and psychologically again. It was a 4-day conference in Mid Town, and we also visited Long Island one afternoon. Jeff's cousin, Burt, was in Brazil, so he was very generous to let me stay at his stylish 2-bedroom apartment in Chelsea!

I was also excited to meet up with Jeff's cousin, Michelle, as well as her husband, Peter, and their 2-year old son, Luke. Before dinner, Michelle took me to one of the hottest spots in Manhattan -- The High Line, the most recent urban renewal project in NY. The High Line was originally constructed in the 1930s to lift dangerous freight trains off Manhattan's streets. Now it is an elevated public park, owned by the City of New York.

Dinner was at a famous Chinese restaurant, Grand SiChuan, where I had the most authentic Chinese cuisine and some of the best dishes I've had in the U.S. Our after-dinner drinks were at Maritime Hotel. To me, New York is one of a kind. I can never get bored of it. Whatever I do in New York, it's always a different experience!

"I like coconut~"

After driving down from Beaver Creek, we spend a day in Denver enjoying the Mile High Music Festival.

Under the big hot sun, we sipped on cold beers and wines, and we danced along Mat Kearney, Robert Randolph, Matisyahu, and the main attraction, Wide Spread Panic.

Outdoor music fests are one of my favorite things to do in the summer. I think our Mile High experience will bring us back someday.

Got Oxygen?

What is your limit for altitude sickness? I found out last week it is about 7,400 ft for me. As we drove up to Beaver Creek from Denver, headaches and dizziness defeated me. Interestingly however, these symptoms were accompanied by uncontrollable giggles that led to tears. Friends thought the thin air was like my laughing gas. But hey, at least I also found out altitude isn't all about sickness for me!

The main reason for our trip was to attend the wedding of Jeff's friend from Junior High, Greg. We participated in the BBQ dinner on Friday, which was out of this world. I still remember the impeccable taste of the chicken, pulled pork, jambalaya and mac and cheese. Saturday was the wedding day. Since the ceremony was not till 2 pm, a group of us decided to take the lift up to the mountains for some amazing mountain views and a quick hike. Though Beaver Creek is a famous ski resort, summer time is especially beautiful as well. Deers and groundhogs were our company in the mountains.



The intimate wedding was at a local chapel, and the reception was at a large beautiful cabin. We were fortunate to be part of this union and spent a weekend in this 7,400 ft. altitude haven.

The Finer Things Club (Chicago Chapter)

The Chicago Chapter of the Finer Things Club was established in the fall of 2008. The founding fathers of the Club were inspired by the popular TV show, The Office, and set forth this prestigious club among our group of friends with invitations only. The founding philosophy of the Club is not only to enjoy the finer things in life, but most importantly, to celebrate life, friendship, love and laughter through the beauty of humour.

The Club's gatherings have been wine tasting, outdoor concert, as well as the most recent horse racing event in Arlington Park, IL. To maximize the enjoyment of finer things, we reserved a suite with a food buffet of North American delicacy, such as hot dogs, buffalo wings, spinach dip of sorts. The open bar in the suite also indulged our alcohol in-take. We bet on stalkers, closers or platers to win, place or show. We cheered on our winnings and smiled at our loses. It was a perfect afternoon for another perfect gathering of the prestigious Club.

Facing my Fears on the Ledge

Being one of the most recognizable landmarks in Chicago, Sears Tower held the record for the world’s tallest building for 25 years until the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia were built in 1998. There are a total of 110 floors in the Sears Tower. When you're on the top Sky Deck, you can see over 50-mile radius on a clear day.

After Sears Tower got a new name, "Willis Tower", this year, it also got a few new "ledges". They are glass boxes jutting out from the side of the Tower on the 103rd floor. Since the debut of this new feature this week, Willis Tower has attracted many locals and visitors to experience the adventure of standing on a ledge, if you will.

Everyone working in the Willis Tower, including me, are treated complimentary visits to the ledges this week. Being a moderate acrophobic, I was hesitant. But just like all fears, I've long realized it's a bad cycle until you face it. So, I stepped onto the ledge this morning! My legs were trembling, my heart was pounding, my fingers curled into fists, but I did it! I don't think I will ever be completely over my acrophobia, but I forced myself to face my fear, which I believe is the only way to alleviate it.

"In high tide or in low tide, I'll be by your side"

Bob Marley would have loved how we celebrated part of our 4th this year. It was a cool yet perfect evening to be on a boat cruise. We rocked with a live band in the tune of free-spirited reggae.

The shore of Lake Michigan was especially crowded with locals and visitors. After our boat set forth, we wowed not just at the annual fireworks ceremony at Navy Pier, but the breath-taking skylines of the beautiful Chicago.

As the lake breeze kisses my face and caresses my locks, I'm in disbelieve that I live in this amazing city.

Grandma Take me Home

Jeff's mom was in town last weekend and stayed with us on Friday. As usual, she brought a lot of food for us, many of which was authentic Taiwanese cuisine and snacks. We are always so spoiled whenever Jeff's parents are in town. Scraps gets especially excited when seeing Grandpa and Grandma!

Friday afternoon, we hung out in our back yard, then went for a walk in our neighborhood. Dinner was at an Italian restaurant, Francesca's Forno, within walking distance from our house. The next day, we had breakfast on our deck and walked around with Scraps in the sunny day. I feel extremely lucky to always have a lot of fun hanging out with Jeff's parents.

Thank you, Ma, for visiting us! We look forward to seeing you and Pop soon!

Summer Festivities

If you're a Chicagoan, I don't need to tell you about Chicago's summer. It is the most unbelievable time of the year, and Chicago makes it even better. It's not just about the brutal winters that makes everyone cherish the summer more. There seems to be magic in the air when it comes to June and all the way till September/October in this beautiful city.

The City offers so many different kinds of fun activities and events that Chicagoans would usually hate to miss. There are summer festivals every weekend in different neighborhoods, concert series on Wednesday nights, "Movies in the Park" on Tuesday nights, the famous "Taste of Chicago", Lollapalooza Music Fest, just to name a few. Not to mention Chicagoans' favorite Cubbie games!

Jeff and I joined a group of friends last night at Millennium Park in downtown for a Mariachi music concert and John's birthday picnic. We all brought a lot of drinks, food and everyone's favorite cupcakes. Many of us went there directly from work, and what's a better way to spend a Wednesday night?

Frisbees and fireworks concluded the evening. Since we all had so much fun, we have made plans to do this every month, celebrating July birthdays, August birthdays and September birthdays this year!

New Sod

We re-sodded our yard last night, and it looks amazing. It has already become Scraps' new hangout spot! It's my first time seeing the process, so I couldn't help but took a few pictures of it. For the next couple of weeks, we need to water it twice a day. Then we will need to go get a manual lawn-mower soon!

Maybe someday we will re-design our backyard landscape. But for now, we are enjoying the way it is!

Sweet White Roses

The white rose tree in our back yard has blossomed! These lovely flowers exhale sweet and alluring scent while adding a little elegance to our green space. I'm captivated by it every time I pass it by.

What Scraps doesn't like about our new home....

While we were living in Jeff's condo, Scraps had "full access" to the place. We have spoiled him to a point that now he only likes to sleep either on the couches, in his bed or in our bed. Our leather couch has been badly scratched by him (his nesting routine prior to sleeping, in addition to the 3 turns). And he even had his own couch then!

We now have a new sectional in our new home, so I have been preventing Scraps from getting up there. He sure doesn't like it at all! I know he's been sneaking up there while we are gone. I've noticed dog hairs and drool on the new couch when I come home from work. He is still very much tempted to climb up while we are sitting there, but sorry Scrappy...this will have to be the only one thing mommy is firm with you about.

Moving

Today's closing went very smoothly. It only took about a little over an hour. We are finishing up packing today and will be moving into our new house tomorrow!

Last Hurrah!

Jeff and I are moving to our new home on Friday, so we decided to have the last party on our rooftop deck this weekend. It was a beautiful day, so we grilled out and made summer cocktails. We prepared some Chinese cold noodles, which is always a big hit at parties, marinated flank steak, grilled vegetables, burgers and hot dogs.

More than 20 of our friends joined us -- Steve and Heidi brought the cute Violet (their 2-year-old girl); John and Marie brought Jack (their 8-months-old); Jen and Andy came with marinated shrimp and cheese cakes; John and Jenn made "the skinny girl's margarita"; Andy and Jessica brought a couple bottles of white wines; Bret and Katie came directly from the Cubs game; Suzanna brought the champagne and the delicious Mandy B's cupcakes; Prow got us a juicy watermelon; Kelly and Todd shared their delicious prosciutto wrapped melons.

Jeff also surprised me with a cake from Dinkel's, which is everyone's favorite Chicago bakery. Everyone had such a great time, and the last party was a success. I got a little emotional throughout the party....We have lived in this place for 6-7 years, so it's hard to know that it was actually our last party here. We will definitely miss our private rooftop deck!

Megan's Engagement Party

We are all so excited for our friend, Megan, who recently got engaged. Her sister, Alexis, threw a celebration party at the party deck of a high-rise in downtown Chicago near the lake. Quite a few of Jeff's (and Megan's) high school friends also attended, so everyone had a great time reminiscing and telling interesting stories from the old times. Surprisingly, I also bumped into an old colleague of mine from Edelman Public Relations (my first job in the U.S.), who is Megan's friend from college. What a small world!