My photo-taking has mostly been about documenting things going on in life, but I really admire those who get really cool shots. There’s so much you can fiddle around with when it comes to taking a picture – brightness, focus, coloring… and then of course is your subject matter, ranging from people to landscapes. It’s so cool how creative you can get with this stuff and I wish I had a better eye for the more artistic shots. I love perusing event photography because you’ll usually find a nice variety of content. There’s the shots that focus on a random detail, like someone’s shoes. There’s the shots that capture a funky angle or perspective. There’s the sweeping view shots and the macro shots and (my favorite) the ones capturing a moment. Each tells their own story and together they share the beauty of time spent together enjoying the company of others. Sometimes the content is compelling, sometimes it’s silly, but always there is a story to be shared. Photography is a great way to capture memories that can be shared and relived indefinitely.
Posts Tagged ‘pictures’
365great Day 245: photography
365great Day 244: Goodies Co boxes
I recently found out that Goodies Co has decided to stop sending their snack boxes. It’s sad because I don’t know of another similar one that I’d be interested in. I mean, their price point of $7 is hard to beat. Granted, the snacks I got probably weren’t worth all that much, but the convenience of having them curated and delivered was still worth it to me. I love discovering new products and brands, so this was an easy way to try them out without doing crazy research/hunting on my part. I definitely found a couple of snacks that I have enjoyed again since receiving them in my Goodies box. It was pretty great while it lasted.
Homegrown Collective October 2013 review
I’ve had this Homegrown Collective GREENBOX for a week or so but hadn’t gotten around to taking pictures! Finally, this morning I braved the cold porch and got these shots. I’m looking forward to trying these fun projects, which are very well-themed for the cooler seasons.
The Homegrown Collective GREENBOX is $39 per box + $9 shipping (or as discounted as $429 for an entire year, with options in between) and comes with fun and easy projects to live a more sustainable lifestyle. Boxes are sent monthly with no option to skip. They offer a referral program you can apply to join.
Project #1, antioxidants & superfoods: Ok, so technically this isn’t a project and they just tell you about the benefits of cinnamon, ginger, and cranberries, which were some of the featured items in this month’s box. I think it would have been nice if they had included some simple suggestions for how to incorporate these into your diet for those health benefits mentioned.
Learn about what makes these food items so fabulous!
I wonder if you can make something tasty with all three of these…
Project #2, gourd candle making: How fun! I love candles even if I don’t actually burn them very often. The concept of a gourd as the container is really cool and unique. I can be confident nobody else will have one quite like mine. 🙂
What a fun way to make a unique candle.
Looks like fun – can’t wait to try it!
Project #3, water bath canning: I’ve never tried canning before, so this is perfect. I like pretty much anything that involves a mason jar these days (I know, it’s a silly criteria). I don’t usually eat cranberries but I’m definitely looking forward to contributing them to the Thanksgiving gathering this year!
Gonna try my hand at canning, how cool!
Seems like quite an interesting process. Hope it tastes yummy!
And some information about preserving and canning your own food.
Do you receive The Homegrown Collective too? What do you think about the projects this time?
[This post contains affiliate links. Signing up through them helps support my subscription and I’d be ever so grateful. 🙂 All opinions are my own and I received no compensation for this review. I just purchased this box and wanted to share what I got!]
365great Day 243: baby animals
The young of almost any creatures are super adorable. They’re softer and wobblier and awkward and cute bundles of fun. Who doesn’t like kittens, puppies, ducklings, and the like? The way they waddle and squeak and don’t quite know how to do things is hilarious and endearing at the same time. If only they could just stay like that! My mom has always wanted a baby tiger for a pet, but of course you can’t keep them for long before they outgrow you. Meanwhile, I prefer smaller animals that can fit in your hands when they’re young, like these ducklings. Back in China in my childhood, my cousin and I would get baby chicks and ducklings from street vendors, then try to raise them at home. They were the sweetest little things! Unfortunately we were not very good at keeping them alive since we didn’t have a heat lamp and had no clue what we were doing. So I guess it’s best to leave it to their moms to raise them til they’re not cute anymore. Still, I love it when I can play with baby animals. They feel so great!
UK Vacation Day 6 Recap
Day 6 of our UK trip was a wonderful day of revisiting memories and sharing them with Panda. We wandered all through York and checked out a bunch of stores, buying some items but mostly browsing. I got a chance to feed some ducks and geese by a river, which I loved. We even had time to enjoy afternoon tea at Betty’s before returning to the hotel to rest and wait for the train to Edinburgh. A few hours later, we were stepping off onto Scottish soil and making our way to the hotel (getting a bit lost along the way). Once we finally found it, we happily settled in and enjoyed the welcome gifts and nice warm quarters.
[Need more recaps? Here are Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, and Day 5 recaps.]
Good morning, York!
I had a lot of fun choosing what to get from the Yorkshire Soap Co.
Yippee, now I’ve got awesome bath products from lovely Yorkshire.
Cat scarves?! I was really tempted, but next time…
Did you know Guy Fawkes was born in York?
Panda got a shot of me getting a shot of York Minster.
Our wanderings eventually took us outside the city walls.
Fancy a ghoulish tour? Then meet these guys for the Ghost Walk!
Hehe, check out this windblown street performer.
Evil Eye lounge! All I remember is weird beds upstairs and Asian fusion downstairs (with a bar too, of course).
Panda had to try some fish and chips. Tasty!
Caught me wandering.
The Sainsbury that I once walked all the way back from with my groceries!
I wish we could get on that bridge.
I had to stop and feed the birds. It’s a compulsion.
Can you see how gleeful I was? I love animals.
A ton of them joined in when they noticed food and I had fun walking along the bank sharing the wealth.
Even this pigeon wanted in on the action. Check out the cool black duck too!
At one point, I leaned over the bridge to feed them.
After running out of food, I happily walked off into the wind.
If they can make their marketing suite this big, I wonder what the places they’re selling are like!
Back in the center of town, we discovered some old cars on display.
Random browsing brought me to these adorable contact lense cases!
It was cold out, so Betty’s was especially inviting to us.
I loved warming up to a pot of tea and some snacks. Afternoon tea rocks!
Back by the hotel, I hardly recognized this as the old Toff’s where I went clubbing once. (I much preferred the Gallery.)
Does this look like a proper hotel entrance? Cuz it totally was.
After a few hours on the train, we arrived in Edinburgh and got to see the castle from afar!
All settled in at the hotel, with these nice treats waiting for us.
365great Day 242: public transit
From our hotel in Secaucas, Panda and I were able to walk a few minutes to a bus stop and take a coach bus into NYC for $6.40 each roundtrip. It took us to the Port Authority Bus Terminal, which connected to the subway system. From there, we were a $2.75 ride away from any subway stop we desired. While I love cars and the freedom to drive wherever, that sort of convenience is hard to beat. In a city, it’s really your best option, especially if parking costs you up the wazoo. I enjoyed being able to kick back during the ride and then not having to slave over attempts to find parking when we arrived. I’m so grateful for the easy and simple to use public transit that’s available in that area! Made our lives a whole lot easier and that’s undoubtedly great.
When a trip to NYC becomes so much more
I should have known a weekend trip to New York could be so much more. As it was, this was set to be an awesome long weekend: Panda and I would spend a day going through my old town of Brewster, then spend a day in the city before heading home on the third day to settle back in for a shortened work week. I was really excited to revisit the areas of my early teens, from Westchester to Putnam counties. It was also a chance for me to share a bit of my childhood with Panda. We were both looking forward to exploring New York City together for the first time – this was my first long weekend since starting work and I wanted to make the best of it (and we most certainly did)!
Don’t just have fun – document it and share it and tag it! Friends might just come knocking.
I’ll share more about the trip another time. What really struck me about this experience was when I posted a few items to my various social media channels. Something completely unexpected happened again and again: my friends in the area began reaching out to say they were nearby! This is exactly what social media is great for, encouraging connections that otherwise would have been easily missed. There were my Singaporean friends and former coworkers who messaged me that they were in the city for one more day before returning home. There was the Yelp comments from my college friend who lived in my building one year and was now in grad out in New Jersey. Then there was the Instagram conversation I had with another college friend, who did Orientation with me (and Panda) and was now doing her residency in Jersey. I mean, I knew I had friends out in the region, but it hadn’t occurred to me who I might be able to meet up with on our trip!
Each of them reached out to me on a social media channel last night and I messaged all of them through those different channels. Funny how they all found me through a different site/app! By this morning, I had arranged to meet with my grad school friend (Shadow) and the Singaporean coworkers (Starfish and Zen). Shadow met us at our hotel in Secaucus, where we had breakfast together. Panda knew her from when we hung out in college, so it was nice for the three of us to catch up and meet up so far from UCLA. I had thought she was still doing Teach For America, but she’s already well into her first year of a grad program! After she left, Panda and I headed into the city to meet up with Starfish and Zen at the MOMA. It was really nice to be able to introduce them to each other, since I talk about them here and there and now Panda has a better impression of who they are. We hung out for about an hour before splitting ways – they were off to a lunch meeting and we were due to head home.
I’m really glad I was able to get those two brief encounters with people I love seeing. Too bad Opti, my optometrist residency friend couldn’t meet up as well… that would have rounded things out nicely. Still, it’s great to know that next time I head up north I’ve got some friends to hang out with. And to think, it was all because I shared bits of my life on Facebook, Instagram, and Yelp! I guess next time I can do a better job of letting friends know my plans, since I probably could have met with a bunch more had they known.
365great Day 241: pictures
I’m a photo addict. I admit it. Ever since I got my first camera when I was 11 or 12, I’ve enjoyed capturing pictures. When I got my first digital camera, I was thrilled beyond belief – I no longer had to worry about choosing what to take pictures of carefully and I could just snap away, then delete later! In high school and college, you’d be hard-pressed to find me unprepared without a camera on me whenever I went out. With the emergence of Facebook, it became a way for me to connect with my friends even more, since every time I tagged them they’d get notified and it could be a conversation starter. Pictures are such a wonderful way to remind yourself a moment, a memory, a feeling that you may have forgotten about otherwise. It’s also a useful way to be able to share those memories more accurately with your loved ones. Seeing you when you were younger creates a deeper connection than trying to imagine it. I always love both taking pictures and having my picture taken, because of the memories I know I’ll have when I look back. It’s a great way to document all sorts of things!
Yuzen Winter 2013 edition (November-January) review
Here’s the Yuzen winter box review that I meant to get out on Friday! I brought the box to work in the hopes of snapping some pictures during the day, but I got so swamped and distracted with other stuff that I didn’t find time until after sunset. I completely forgot to get individual product photos (and I didn’t want to take the time since I was trying to get that one project completed). Still, I think you can get a good sense of what it’s like and then you can tune in to the video when it’s up on Yuzen’s YouTube channel! I’ll try to get better pictures if I get a chance.
Yuzen is $33 per quarter (with boxes sent Feb, May, Aug, and Nov) and comes with around 7 or 8 eco-friendly beauty, skincare, food/snacks, and home products. Boxes are sent quarterly with no option to skip, but you can get one-time gift boxes too. Sometimes there’s a waitlist to get the subscription. They do not offer a referral program.
I like how the colors were inverted for this box – very fitting for winter!
Greetings from founders Jen & Ted, plus that beautiful strip of yuzen paper.
And the contents of the winter box! So many wonderful goodies.
Click on the pictures for the full sizes so you can enjoy all the details! You can even zoom in to read all the messaging.
sanitas – Moisture Mist: Like the serum that we got from this brand in fall box, this is from the Moisturize line. I’m a fan of mists and I’ve been using my two NYR ones pretty regularly. I’m going to save this one til my current ones run out but if it’s anything like the serum, I’m sure it’ll be rich and hydrating.
SpaRitual – nail lacquer in Golden Rule: This is a perfect polish for the holidays! You can layer it with all kinds of nail colors and it looks great. Put some on over bright red nails for a really fun party-ready look, or have some fun like I did and go with more crazy colors like orange. I’m loving my growing collection of SR nail lacquers – the bottles are adorable and a great size and of course the brand itself rocks a 5-free + vegan formula.
Pino – Facial Tissue Mask in Milk & Honey: I have a ton of masks, but none of them are milk and honey! This sounds sooo soothing that I just want to take a bath and then mask up. I’m saving this for when my skin needs a really calming influence. It seems like a lot and I wonder if I could even use it twice. From what I could feel through the packaging, it’s very thick so I think a little will go a long way with this one.
Level Naturals – Grapefruit Bergamot Soy Candle: I love this scent! It’s so wonderfully sweet and citrusy. The small tin makes it ideal for travel, though I doubt the hotel would be happy if I tried to light it in my room. Soy candles are amazing, burning ever so clean that I get all the fun of candles without worrying about getting a scratchy throat from the particles in the air. I wish that Level actually sold this size, because it is beyond adorable.
Jurlique – Rose Hand Cream: I’ve been using a lot more hand creams and lotions lately since every time I go to the restroom at work, I come back with slightly dry hands. My backlog is going down slowly and this will have to wait at the end of that line for now. I’m a bit surprised at their price point ($25 for a 40 mL tube) so unless it works miracles, I probably won’t be buying this anytime soon. I do enjoy being able to try it out though!
Sun Cups – Dark Chocolate Mint cups: I’m hesitant to try these because on the one hand I love dark chocolate but on the other hand I’m very sensitive to mint in chocolate and I’m very picky about what kind of peanut butter flavor I enjoy. I’ll take them with me to work this week and use them as a pick-me-up in the afternoon. They make a great little snack and I’m sure plenty of people love dark chocolate, mint, and peanut butter. I’m just a weirdo.
TARA Aromatherapy – Roll-On Lotion in Stress Relief: I’ve had some trouble getting this to roll out just yet, but I do like the cooling and refreshing sensation I get from the rolling of the ball and the scent. I expected it to be more like a liquid, so I wonder if there’s a strategy to getting it out. I figure if I just roll it around enough it’ll eventually start dispensing. I like doing this whenever I need a little extra oomph (or if my idle hands just want to do something).
Jane Iredale – 24-Karat Gold Dust in Gold: I never thought this would be the type of thing I’d use, but as I read all the suggestions, I find myself looking forward to trying them. A dash in my lotion, a sprinkle in my hair… I like the subtle shine I can get without getting too crazy, so I’ll be experimenting with this dust quite a bit. This is such a fun product to play around with and once again, having gold glittery things is so festive for the holidays.
Kerstin Florian – Fuß Balm: Don’t neglect your feet like I often do. Balms like these are just what we need in the cold months to protect our feet. It’s all too easy to get dry heels or achy soles. For this very reason, I’ve gotten a couple of foot products in the past few months and (I feel like I sing this song every time) I’ll test out this one once those are depleted! This brand is completely new to me and I can’t wait to see how it works for me.
And this rounds out 2013! I can hardly believe that the next Yuzen box will be arriving in 2014… it sounds so far away yet it’ll be upon us way too soon. I’ve definitely enjoyed the seasonal changes in products chosen and I look forward to what the spring box will bring. Jen and Ted did a great job once again and I am thrilled to have this growing supply of products that I may never have tried if it weren’t for subscription boxes.
What do you think of this box? Have you tried Yuzen yet? If not, what are you waiting for?!
*Disclosure: As a super fan, I was invited to be the Yuzen Ambassador to help them spread the word about their brand. I now receive the boxes for free. I was not compensated otherwise and all opinions are my own, irregardless of my relation to Yuzen. I just happen to think they’re awesome (as does everyone else I’ve heard from). 
365great Day 240: deviled eggs
Oh nom! Ever since first finding out about deviled eggs in middle school, they’ve been something I look out for everywhere I go. There was a deli across the street from the school, which my friends and I would sometimes frequent for lunch. It was there that one day I noticed the deviled eggs in the counter. I’m a big fan of eggs, so I decided to try it. I absolutely loved it! It’s funny since I’m not usually into egg yolks, but in this instance, there’s something I can’t resist. I guess once you mash it up with other ingredients, you start getting some fun new concoction. I’ve always meant to play around with that myself but so far none of my tries have tasted quite the way I hoped. All I wanted was an egg that tastes just like the one from that deli. Over the years I unsuccessfully tried all sorts of other places but when I got to have that deli again, I learned that there’s just something different about theirs that I enjoy. If I could just figure out how to replicate it, that’d be great!
