Daily Good Thing

Happy Year of the Dragon

2012-02-07T09:01:00.000-08:00

Why hello there! It has been a while. Hope 2012 is off to a glorious start for you. Happy Year of the Dragon!

Last year was year of the Rabbit- which was my year. I thought it was meant to be a good year but apparently your own year is bad luck. 2011 was pretty fantastic so if it was supposed to be my "unlucky" year I can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for me!

I spent the Chinese New Year holiday in Hokkaido, Japan (which was absolutely MAGICAL- details to come) so missed most of the festivities and fireworks here in Hong Kong but did manage to check out some of the fun in the days leading up to the holiday.

KGT and I were exploring on a lazy Sunday and stumbled upon a charming little street market in Sheung Wan with lots of CNY goodies. KGT got me a cute handmade dragon ornament -I collect ornaments and love them to have a story to go with them. I also found some fantastic fluffy earmuffs for only 30 HKD (about 4 USD) for my Japan trip. They broke by the end of the trip but I'd say I got my money's worth.

Being the dragon (obviously)

And it wouldn't really feel like Chinese New Year in Hong Kong without a trip to the beautiful and somewhat tacky New Year's Flower Market in Victoria Park, CWB. One side is all sorts of dragon related kitsch as well as a ridiculous amount of Angry Bird merchandise. This side is crowded with people trying to get you to buy whatever they are selling. The other side is remarkably tranquil and calm and full of beautiful flowers for the new year. I bought a lovely little cherry blossom bouquet that waited until I came back from Japan to bloom.

snacks

pinwheels to blow away bad fortune

Dragons everywhere

orchids

Happy Year of the Dragon- best wishes for health, happiness, and good fortune!

Stop SOPA&PIPA

2012-01-17T22:25:00.000-08:00

Stop American Censorship

Congress is about to pass internet censorship, even though the vast majority of Americans are opposed. We need to kill the bill - PIPA in the Senate and SOPA in the House - to protect our rights to free speech, privacy, and prosperity.
We believe in the open internet. Do you?

Watch the video, please!

thankful

2011-11-28T07:11:00.001-08:00

I know it has been a while since I've posted but November has been absolutely crazy! This whole year has been crazy- I can't believe 2011 is almost over.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! It felt a little strange working on Thanksgiving but it was actually quite festive. One of my colleagues brought amazing pumpkin pie and I made "thankful cards" for everyone in my office. Nothing fancy- just a simple "I'm thankful to have you as my colleague because X". Kind of like when you are little and give valentine's day cards to your whole class. A lot of my colleagues aren't American and so don't celebrate Thanksgiving but I think the sentiment of being thankful is pretty universal.

Have so much to be thankful for this year....

being able to live in my favorite city in the whole world

the fact that one of my all time favorite people also lives in my favorite city

incredible friends all over

family (mom, dad, brother, sister, grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles...)
books

DELICIOUS thanksgiving food- even in Hong Kong! Shout out to Blue Smoke BBQ. The manager is from Georgia and the food was absolutely delicious. They had all my favorites! Read my review here . Ok just delicious food in general.

living in a time where I am connected to all the people I love via awesome technology. thank you facebook, twitter, skype, googlevoice, email.

my teeny tiny but wonderful apartment

my health

having so many visitors this year!

dim sum

all the support for my WIP

being able to walk to work

Yu's!

the amazing hiking trails in Hong Kong

Yu's Sichuan Restaurant in Causeway Bay. I go at least once a week .

the trips I have planned (LA, Japan, Thailand...)

and the list goes on and on. I won't bore you any more though. Instead I'll leave you with a pic of my delicious thanksgiving dinner and this spectacular article on how being thankful is actually good for your health

been busy...

2011-11-07T16:56:00.000-08:00

To my lovely readers- sorry for recent lack of posting- work/life has had me pretty busy. I'll be back to it soon. Thanks for reading! Have a wonderful day x

Happy reading and exploring....

Source: weheartit.com via Katherine on Pinterest

Jerry talking about candy

2011-11-01T09:09:00.000-07:00

Halloween Countdown is over but this was too good not to share...

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T08:02:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween weekend!

I certainly did. Delicious Halloween themed dinner at a good friend's house, going all out with my costume, dancing all night...it was so much fun! I was Lumiere the Candlestick from Beauty and the Beast. It was one of htose costumes where no one got it right away and then when I explained they were like "ooooh!" It definitely ranks as one of my favorite costumes.

What were you for Halloween?

Boo on the spaghetti- I love it!

Be Our Guest!

Also in case you missed it here is the fabulous Heidi Klum looking amazingly creepy at her Halloween party:

Halloween Countdown: Haunted Dollhouse

2011-10-28T20:33:00.000-07:00

Growing up I loved doll houses. First I had a Fisher-Price plastic one and then when I was older I was lucky enough to have a beautiful, hand-made doll house. I still love doll houses- which is why when I came across Jenny Lawson's work I had to share it.

Jenny (aka the Bloggess) has a haunted doll house. She has been working on it for over 10 years and it is one of the most amazing and intricate doll houses I've ever seen!

Everything in the doll house is not only spooky in some way but most things have been inspired by fantasy books or films. You can see more of the doll house here but below are some of my favorite parts

Fairy Skeleton: Cause of Death- Disbelief

The Attic- can you spy Hedwig in the back?

A dragon's egg hatching as a raven looks on. I personally think this one is a reference to Game of Thrones but I'm not sure

The bedroom has the sword from Narnia hanging above the bed and the dog from Nightmare Before Christmas

The bookshelf opens to reveal a secret passage....

Such beautiful and intricate work! It is the perfect Halloween dollhouse. I wish I could shrink myself and wander around in it.

Thanks to Jennifer at TheBloggess and Kitsy.com for sharing!

Halloween Countdown: All Hallow's Read

2011-10-27T08:50:00.000-07:00

Halloween already has candy, trick-or-treating, haunted houses, costumes...what more does it need?

All Hallow's Read- that is what it needs!

Inspired by the genius that is Neil Gaiman (and if you don't know who he is you better find out fast or we might not be able to be friends) is a wonderful new Halloween Tradition that I am SO excited to share with you! Because remember I get excited about things.

The idea behind All Hallow's Read is to give someone a scary book on or around Halloween. The options are quite literally endless. You've got your R.L. Stine, Steven King, about a million Vampire Books, ghost stories, Gothic novels, murder mysteries, the list goes on and on.

So this year in addition to giving trick-or-treats...give a book!

You can find out more information at http://www.allhallowsread.com/ and here is a little more insight to the inspiration behind it.

I am going to give someone special a spooky Stephen King novel (haven't decided which one yet) and Hollowland by Amanda Hocking. Ok full disclosure- Hollowland might really be for me but if I give it to someone then I can borrow it/steal their kindle and read it myself. In case you haven't heard of it Hollowland is a really cool sounding Zombie book. I have never, ever read a zombie book and was never really that interested but I read an excerpt from this one and it had me hooked. So we'll see. If I like it I'll check out the sequel Hollowmen. This is also my first Amanda Hocking book- really looking forward to it.

What book are you giving for All Hallow's Read? And who are you giving it to?

ps if you seriously don't know who Neil Gaiman is do yourself a favor and read Stardust . American Gods is next on my Gaiman must read list.

HAPPY ALL HALLOW'S READ!

Halloween Countdown: Trick-or-Treat!

2011-10-26T07:26:00.000-07:00

Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year. I love dressing up and all the Halloween movies and carving pumpkins- everything about it.

In honor of Halloween from now till October 31st all of the Daily Good Things will be Halloween related.

To kick things off here are two great Trick-or-Treating scenes from two great movies. The first is from one of my favorite Halloween movies- Hocus Pocus

I so want to be her for Halloween one year!

And here is the Trick-or-Treating scene from the classic movie E.T. -

That has to be of the best moments in Halloween cinematic history. Makes me want to re-watch E.T. right now.

Do you have any favorite trick-or-treat scenes from movies?

live in the sunshine

2011-10-24T06:48:00.000-07:00

floating in the sunshine in the south china sea

beyond big wave bay in hong kong

Dragon's Back in Hong Kong

with my sister at my favorite beach on maui

getting offline

2011-10-22T19:12:00.000-07:00

Oh the Internet- keeping us all so connected. Email, twitter, facebook, blogging...it is all great but sometimes it is nice just to unplug and get offline. I spend most of my days at work looking at a computer and then when I get home I will also spend another hour or two looking at a computer. I spent all day yesterday unplugged- left my phone at home, didn't open my computer- it was glorious. Made me kind of feel like I was on vacation. Brought a camera to document my day but the battery died- oh well- just one less screen to look at during the day :)

Slept in, tried a new Mexican restaurant for lunch that had awesome gauc, went to an afternoon matinee to see Friends with Benefits which was great, went up to the peak and found an amazing park that actually has grassy fields (so rare in HK), read for a few hours in the park which might be my new favorite place, hiked around for a bit enjoying the incredible views, went to Mongkok and thrifted for potential halloween costumes, and then finished the day with an Indian feast at a great spot in Causeway bay. Came home and was tempted to go online but instead curled up in bed with a book.

Now I feel relaxed and rejuvenated and it I still have a whole day left in the weekend.

Overlooking Times Square in Hong Kong

street crossing outside of Sogo in Causeway- very crowded

now that I've found a park I can combine 2 of my favorite things- books and tress!

ode to the nerds

2011-10-20T09:02:00.000-07:00

This pretty much sums me up

grumpy nerd in the jungle

but actually really happy because I am hiking one of my favorite hikes in Hong Kong wearing a tank top from Laos and shorts from my alum UC Davis

-all things I am pretty enthusiastic about

Other things I am "nerdy" about (aka get way to excited over)

-travel

-books

-good food

-mexican food in particular (missing this!)

-DIM SUM

-writing

-cooking

-researching trips

-local art that reminds me of places I've been

-foreign films

-chinese literature

-China in general
-taking pictures

-wet markets

-hong kong's dai pai dongs

-hiking

-teasets

-any kind of outdoor market
-fresh mozzarella
-autumn leaves (really missing this in HK)

-bamboo

-tress in general. I really, really love trees

-fantasy fiction

-dystopian fiction

-when people who didn't like to read discover the book that makes them a reader
-ice cream
-waterfalls
-spicy sichuan food
-dressing in costume

-libraries
-dancing badly with lots of hair flipping

-board games

-dailygoodthing

What gets your inner nerd going?

a picture worth a thousand words

2011-10-19T08:58:00.000-07:00

I am recently LOVING artwork that uses actual words as the medium. I fell in love these posters that print whole chapters or an entire book on the back of them. Going the opposite direction Vietnamese artist Huy Lam's beautiful portraits that are completely created using one or two words over and over again

Van Gogh was created using the word "Genius"

Bob Marley, One Love

And for the one and only Marilyn Monroe- her supposed dimensions. An impressive 36-24-37

Heath Ledger is immortalized in his famous role as the Joker using the words "Such a Shame"

They are all amazing (and you can check out more of Huy Lam's art here ) but my favorite is definitely the Van Gogh

I really want to try to re-create this style using one of my own photos. I'll post it when I do :)

Daily good thing- discovering awesome art

Kenya is calling...

2011-10-18T07:53:00.000-07:00

I love living in Hong Kong and feeling like I have all of Asia at my fingertips to explore and adventure in. And while I am living in Hong Kong I am dedicated to using my resources and time towards traveling in this part of the world (trips home to California being the exception).

Then I'll stumble across this and immediately start dreaming about going to Kenya. Can you blame me?

Photo by Mathilde Guillemot

Photo by Billy Dodson

Photo by Jonathan P. Howard

Someday I'll go and see it all for myself- but for now these gorgeous photos will have to do.

Tai Tam Gap

2011-10-17T09:20:00.000-07:00

Tai Tam Gap Hike

Take the MTR to Tai Koo and then follow the signs to Wilson Trail Stage 2. Urban terrain mixed with green rolling hills and bridges that look like they are from medieval times. Happy trails!

Go with the Flow

2011-10-16T08:36:00.000-07:00

I love all kinds of books but ones from a secondhand bookshop have a certain kind of specialness. It is like two stories- the story the book is telling and then the story of the actual physical book.

Several months ago with a very good friend I discovered my own local secondhand bookshop:

The shop was actually closed but we browsed the stacks of books that were outside in the hall. Since then I have gone back several times and now plan on making it a weekly or bi-weekly thing.

so many books crammed into such a tiny space!

Flow is literally overflowing with books...

Flow is located on Hollywood road on the 7th floor of the building right across from the crosswalk. Erm I'll come back with a more exact address tomorrow :)

My book haul this week:

Anne of Green Gables is a childhood favorite that I am really looking forward to re-reading.

Anything by Joyce Carol Oates is always great- I'm sure I'll Take You There will be no exception.

Somehow in all my years as a booklover I'd never read The Bridges of Madison County before. I actually started and finished it this morning. Such a beautiful book. Now I want to see the movie!

Very excited about The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters as she is one of the authors I want to start reading more of. This is actually from Dymocks Bookstore. Reading it with my little bookclub in Hong Kong. Since it is a ghost story that takes place in England we are planning on discussing it at a British restaurant right around Halloween.

I have heard SO many good things about The Magicians by Lev Grossman- absolutely can't wait to start it!!

Overall a very good weekend for books!

“Analysis destroys wholes. Some things, magic things, are meant to stay whole. If you look at their pieces, they go away.”- The Bridges of Madison County

High in the Hong Kong Sky

2011-10-15T20:58:00.000-07:00

View of Hong Kong from the 118th floor of the Ritz Carlton

For a truly spectacular view of the Hong Kong skyline go to Ozone at the top of the new ICC building in Kowloon. Try and go on a clear night- the views are amazing. Plus there is no door fee- just buy a drink or a snack once you are in there. Everything is relatively reasonably priced as well (considering you are at a sky high bar in the Ritz Carlton). Non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks can be found for around HK$110-HK$120 (about 14-16 USD).

I recommend going on a week night so it isn't as crowded and you can get a spot by the window. The decor is a little over the top- bright flashing neon moon lights that change from red to green to blue and back again. But I'm there for the view- not the interior design. Service is good but can be a little snooty- and remember that for men no t-shirts or flipflops.

To get there you can either take a cab directly to the ICC or take the MTR to Kowloon station.

Overlooking our city

I can never get enough of Hong Kong's incredible skyline and this is one of the best ways to see it. Yep- I'm head over heels for Hong Kong

Living Bridges

2011-10-14T08:16:00.000-07:00

I thought that these treehouses were pretty amazing but I came across these beauties and they absolutely blew me away....

Living tree root bridges. They can be found in one of the wettest places on earth- Cherrapunji India.

The bridges are made from the roots of the ficus elastica tree and actually get stronger as time goes on. They take over 10 years to be fully functional but then you have strong sturdy bridges that can support up to 50 people or more at a time.

Find out more about these miraculous living bridges here

Serious travel-lust to see these gorgeous natural creations in real life. I've never been to India but I would love to go and when I do I will make sure to go to Cherruapunji.

So many beautiful places to see in our world - I love having so much to look forward to and so many places to daydream about going.

PS- This also gave me some serious inspiration for one of the settings for my work-in-progress...doesn't it look like the perfect setting for a fantasy story?

Jay Gatsby is in my house

2011-10-13T05:04:00.000-07:00

Or will be soon...on my wall specifically

You can't see from this photo but this is a poster with the entire text of The Great Gatsby written on it. On the front is scene from The Great Gatsby. I am guessing it is Jay looking out across West Egg at Daisy's house with the green light on the lawn.

THIS IS SO COOL! I definitely want to get The Great Gatsby one although there are lots of other great ones. Another one that I love is the Wuthering Heights poster. Wuthering Heights is one of my favorite novels and the image on this poster is beautiful- I love the tree.

Trees and literature all in one poster. I need it! And according to the website they are coming out with Grimm's Fairy Tale posters soon. Other books include Don Quixote, Anne of Green Gables, Heart of Darkness, Little Women, Peter Pan, Frankenstein, and many many more. What books would you want on your wall?

Thanks to BookRiot for finding this!

So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

-The Great Gatsby

"Be with me always—take any form—drive me mad! only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! it is unutterable! I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!'"

- Wuthering Heights

Finding Meaning

2011-10-12T09:45:00.000-07:00

One of the big books on my ToBeRead list is Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. Big in every sense of the word. Over 1000 pages Infinite Jest is big in scope, aspiration, and reputation. Wallace is hailed as one of the greatest writers of his generation and his death in the fall of 2008 shook the literary world.

Wallace taught writing at Pomona College and a friend of mine had the opportunity to take a class from this literary genius. Adam wrote about his experience in the class and how "Dave" impacted his writing and his life in a absolutely fantastic article for N+1 Magazine. Adam is an incredible writer himself and I am thrilled to share some wonderful snippets from his article here.

Adam

My own soft underbelly was spoken (if not written) politeness, a Midwestern habit of deference and sorrys and if-you-don’t-minds my Midwestern teacher invariably mentioned or mocked or prodded in a mild recursive torment, recursive because politeness tends to be polite about itself.

On the class itself

The class was exciting and productively creative, and fostered abject terror. Wallace knew that he could drive us as hard as he could, and he did, even as he endured a mental hell we learned about only after his death. I knew nothing, suspected nothing.

On receiving critiscm from Wallace

He worried that he hadn’t gotten through to me, and, confused, he asked, "I mean, did you cry?" "Yes." "Good. I would’ve cried.”

Wallace as a teacher

He gave so much of himself, convinced that he could teach us writing’s minutiae and that our knowing the minutiae would help us to communicate meaningfully and that meaningful communication would help us to feel for and so to care for other human beings. So there he was, his generation’s literary genius, teaching undergrads how not to split infinitives.

Being Real

If Wallace worried that you were bullshitting him, he’d sometimes blink hard, pause, and look angry and anxious at once, as though you’d stolen from him and hidden what you stole

Seeking Meaning

I’d light a candle on the rim of the fountain and stare at the gray stone rim, at the candle, at the water as it fell into the pool and at its reflection against the fountain’s blue center by white lights in the water, a kind of cross-section of cloud, and hear the endless rush of the fountain as I recited “A Rabbit as King of the Ghosts” and waited for meaning, hugged my knees, closed my eyes.

Wallace's writing

Wallace’s rhetoric is unmistakably religious, powerful, and problematic.

What made David Foster Wallce the writer he was

These are the torments that led to his triumphs: his faith in other people and his doubt about humanity.

David Foster Wallace's influence spread outside the literary world. Colin Meloy- the frontman of one of my favorite bands The Decemberists wanted to base the music video for "Calamity Song" on a scene from Infinite Jest. David Schur, co-creator of NBC's comedy "Parks and Recreation" openly admits his full-blown obsession with the book jumped at the opportunity to direct the music video.

“His concern was always what it is to be a human being—that is, how to be an actual person, someone whose life is informed by values and principles, instead of just an especially shrewd kind of self-preserving animal.”

David Foster Wallace on Dostoevsky

Find meaning in your life. Through books, music, travel- through living.

Tree House Love

2011-10-11T09:13:00.000-07:00

I would like to sleep in a really cool treehouse someday. Hmm maybe I'll add this to my list of future dream homes :)

The Smell of Books

2011-10-10T08:47:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love the smell of books. Old books, new books, any kind of book. I am also a slow convert to ebooks- although I will always buy real hardcopy versions of my favorite books. I must admit though that for traveling ebooks are great. It is really nice to load a bunch of books on my ipad or kindle before a business trip. I also want to support self-published authors and often the only way to read their work is via ebooks. So like I said- I'm all for ebooks. But I am missing that great book smell...

I recently found out that I can read my ebooks and have my book smell too! Ok maybe not exactly...but some brilliant folks came up with BOOK SCENTED CANDLES!

There are a few different options- some are book scented candles that actually smell like paper and ink and books and another company offers candles that are author themed. For example the Jame Austen smells of Gardenia, Tuberose & Jasmine and Poe is apparently more of a Cardamom, Absynthe & Sandalwood

And then for even more book/word love there was this little item on Etsy -

I adore this clutch with the dictionary print but would love it even more with copies of the pages of my favorite books. Maybe I'll suggest that to the artist - fingers crossed that isn't some sort of copyright violation.

I still don't think anything can replace the smell of a new book from a bookshop or the smell of a well-loved and well-worn book but I will definitely be ordering one of those candles.

Fun and fantastic book related goodies are always a good thing

"A room without book is a body without a soul"- Cicero

The Original Blonde Asian

2011-10-09T08:12:00.000-07:00

A lot of people ask me why and how I got so interested in Asian culture. I actually have been really crazy about all things Asia since I was a little girl. My dad lived in Japan for 2 years and still speaks a little Japanese and used to talk about it and I think first sparked my interest in Asia. Of course when you are 6 or 7 you don't really differentiate between the different Asian cultures (so unpolitically correct- I know- but it was true for me). As I got I became more interested in China and Chinese culture and jumped at the chance to study Mandarin Chinese in high school. I still maintain a deep interest for all Asian cultures and recently I have found myself particularly fascinated with all things Japanese.

I have always loved Japanese and Chinese food and when I was little my favorite thing to do with my dad was have a "daddy-daughter" date and go to a giant Japanese superstore and have a delicious Japanese lunch and then I got to pick out a cool Japanese toy. It always was a toy related to the original Blonde Asian herself...Sailor Moon.

I loved, loved, LOVED the Sailor Moon show - it was the only thing I would ever wake up early for. In my old diaries I wrote about what was happening in Sailor Moon's life and speculated about what was going to happen next. I also had a huuuge crush on Tuxedo Mask. I still have a deep affection for Sailor Moon and feel a little bit of a kinship with her- blonde girls who live in Asia and love it. That is pretty much where the similarities stop (no moon crystal wand or talking cats for me) but I still smile whenever I think of Sailor Moon and credit the show for helping inspire my love of Asian culture. Sailor Moon also really inspired my early love for fantasy and sci-fi fiction and stories.

I just booked a trip to Japan in January and can't wait to go to eat the amazing food and soak up the culture. This one's for you Sailor Moon!

Here's to favorite childhood TV shows. What are some of your favorites?

"She will never turn her back on a friend...she is the one named Sailor Moon!"

Dressed up as Sailor Moon and the Sailor Scouts for a college costume party in 2007

Rooftop Cookout

2011-10-08T05:07:00.000-07:00

The weather is finally starting to cool down in Hong Kong- and it is the perfect weather for rooftop cookouts. I somehow managed to snag an apartment with a coveted roof deck so I try to use it as often as I can. Having friends over and grilling out is one of my favorite ways to use the roof.

Hosting a BBQ is an easy and fun way to entertain. You can do anything from burgers to steak to grilled veggies...the options are endless and almost everything tastes better grilled. The always brilliant Mark Bittman offers over 100 fast grilling ideas here.

Here in Hong Kong I have a few tried and true favorites that I like to use. Some of these can be thrown on as soon as the grill is hot and for others a little bit of prep work makes all the difference.

Chicken Wings: insanely easy and great for an appetizer while the other food is grilling. A few hours before grilling simply toss them in with a marinade (I am partial to Lee Kum Kee Honey Garlic Marinade) and then pop them on the grill. Be sure to cook them long enough.

Fresh Corn: You can either wrap the corn in tin foil and let them cook for a long time or put them directly on the grill. I personally like them directly on the grill so they get that nice, charred taste. With a little bit of butter these are perfect.

Grilled Steak: For smaller parties you can grill a steak for everyone but even with bigger groups you can have steak for all of your guests and still be economical about it too. If I am having a BBQ dinner party I usually buy several chuck steaks- tenderize them and put a nice rub on and a little bit of marinade. Grill all of them together and then cut them up on bite size pieces and serve them on a cutting board. Guests can help themselves.

Prepping Zucchini

Zucchini: Zucchini is my favorite vegetable to grill. Slice it into little coins and let them cook until they are lightly charred on either side. Be sure to make extra because these reheat really well and go great in pasta.

Grilled Asparagus: Roll them in some olive oil and then either put them directly on the grill or wrap in tin foil.

Shrimp: A few hours before grilling de-vein the shrimp and put them in a marinade of fresh squeezed lemon and olive oil with a little pepper. You can either cook these directly on the grill or put them on a skewer. Grill a few lemon halves to squeeze on after they have cooked.

Grilled Pineapple: Perfect way to end the meal

You can also always do burgers or grilled chicken. For burgers be sure to grill some onions and tomatoes to go with it- really adds to the burgers. Whenever I do grill I usually do a few chicken breasts at the end and keep them for leftovers. Grilled chicken goes well with everything- pasta, salad, sandwiches.

Happy Grilling!

BBQ for China National Day Holiday (Like 4th of July but for China)

Best kitchen I've ever cooked in

Literary Gothic Horror Romance Murder Mystery Movie

2011-10-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

If that title seems a little intense let me explain...

John Cusack starring as Edgar Allan Poe in a movie about a murderer who models his murders after Poe's poems and leaves hints for Poe- oh and and the woman that Poe loves is a possible victim. So I was forgetting something in my title. Let me clarify: LITERARY GOTHIC HORROR ROMANCE MURDER MYSTERY MOVIE AMAZINGNESS

If you don't believe me watch the trailer of "The Raven" for yourself courtesy of comingsoon.net
(sorry for the commercial at the start)

SO EXCITED! The best movies come from wonderful literary inspiration.

Is it too soon to say this is probably going to be one of my favorite movies?

I did say that about Troy from the previews and let's just say that didn't make my top 5. Cusack don't let me down!

In all seriousness I have extremely high hopes for this movie and can't wait for it to come out! Ok time to re-watch the creepy wonderfulness of the trailer again and brush up on my Poe poetry.

"Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before"- Edgar Allan Poe