[Sid] “We need to put our heads together”
[Sondra] “If you put OUR heads together, you’ll hear a hollow noise”
“16 blue ponies, 21 jetplanes, and 12 spinning midgets” [Sid's mnemonic device to remember a lock combination]
Quotes from “Scoop”. Just watched Woody Allen’s movie “Scoop” and thought it was really funny. Woody Allen’s pretty awesome in it.
dining area and bar
reception desk
old post office boxes (images from http://www.public-nyc.com/)
Had an amazing and delicious birthday dinner last night at PUBLIC located near the New Museum (I included the address below). The restaurant is designed and operated by design firm AvroKO whose office is located right above the restaurant. AvroKO designed and operates a few other pretty cool restaurants that I want to check out someday.
The space at PUBLIC has very industrial yet elegant feel through their use of materials, fixtures, and lighting. It was a really beautiful space to be in and the lighting is much darker than it appears in the pictures so it sets a great mood for dinner at night. The restaurant and bar filled up fast so it seems like a pretty popular place. The food is a mix of Austrailian, Asian, and Mid-Eastern cuisine.
The items off the menu I tried were all delicious and I would highly recommend:
[Starters] Grilled scallops with sweet chili sauce, crème fraiche and green plantain crisps (the scallops were sooo tenderly cooked and go really well with the sweet chili sauce); Artichoke salad with mixed Spring greens and vinaigrette
[Main] Snail and oxtail ravioli with pickled shiitake mushrooms, oven dried tomatoes, peashoots and smoked paprika oil (this is very very delicious if you are willing to give it a try); Crispy skinned barramundi with a wild mushroom broth, fingerling potatoes, pickled ginger and pea leaf salad
[Dessert] Cheesecake flan, blood orange caramel, citrus salad and pistachio brittle (highly recommend! This was sooo good and I want to learn to make my own); the dessert wine paired with it was – Lilly Pilly “Noble Blend”, 2002 (Riverina, Australia) – (Loved the name Lilly Pilly and it had a great taste as well)
PUBLIC
210 Elizabeth St. (Between Prince St. & Spring St.)
New York, NY 10012
(212) 343-7011
Found this strange sushi roller on the kitchn site. Not sure how useful it really is. Thought is was funny though. Here are some pics of it in action.
pretty self explanatory i think 
Girl Scout cookies finally arrived! Thanks Mia . Thin mints are the best! Found some recipes for homemade thin mints recently. Can’t wait to start making my own…thin mints year round…yay!
I discovered the Dunny series by Kidrobot after moving to NY. I bought my first one at the Cooper Hewitt Museum and collected a few since then from the Kidrobot store in Soho on Prince St. They are these small 3″ tall vinyl figures that selected artists have put their designs on for each collection. Kidrobot releases a new series of the Dunnys (as well as plenty other types of toy figure series) every so often. They are a “blind box toy” so you never know what you are going to get when you by them. I’ve been really fortunate and only had like one repeat so far.
After all these furniture and design postings I got a little nostagic for my chair/lounge. I wish it was here in NY with me. Many comfy naps in it were definitely had by myself and others. Those who went to school with me already are familiar with it, but for those who didn’t here’s some background.
This was part of my 5th yr thesis project in college as well as an entry for a furniture design competition held yearly by a local contemporary furniture store, Vellum. I bent and welded the rebar frame and hand wove the fabric weave from belting material commonly used for backpack straps (many many hours of weaving!). It was a really fun project and even better that I came out with a comfy lounge that fits me perfectly. The concept idea behind my design was to create something that had a variety of ways to sit and lounge. There’s no right way it sit or lie in it and I even did a photoshoot and study of how people decided to sit in it. It was pretty intrested to watch as people decided how they wanted to sit in it. Too many options I suppose!
back view
deatail – the weave
happy lounger
sleepy lounger (images by: vivien chin)
I’ve seen this on Wallpaper, Dezeen, and Inhabitat and think it is amazing. Tokujin Yoshioka designed and grew these crystal chairs for his “Second Nature” exhibit. The furniture and art in this exhibit are formed by soaking a polyester mesh in a mineral solution for a month. These are all really beautiful pieces and I wish I could have experienced the exhibit in person.
“Second Nature” exhibit
“Second Nature” Exhibit
Venus – crystal chaise lounge
the making of a crystal chair
the making of a chair
This set of stationary is soo beautiful. The designer is Nicolas Cheng. The set includes: pencil, A5 paper, pencil holder, and eraser. Each set is made from 100 recycled eggshells that undergo a “high pressure technique” that utilize the proteins and mineral crystals existing in the shells. Check out the original article.
Chair that looks like a koosh ball! It’s made from recycled flip flop materials. The industrial leftovers from factories are used to make this ottoman. Found this in an article at inhabitat.com. They are being sold at DWR for $350! Don’t think I’ll be paying that much for recycled flip flops. Fun idea tho!
yum yum yum! My favorite fruit is finally in season!!
Craving Chex Mix so I just made some right now. The recipe below is for the Original Chex Mix that is found on the Chex cereal boxes usually. My favorite part of Chex Mix is just the cereal so I usually make it with just Corn Chex for myself and mix in extra garlic powder after the seasoning mixture is stirred in because I like mine extra garlicky!
Ingredients:
3 cups Corn Chex
3 cups Rice Chex
3 cups Wheat Chex
1 cup mixed nuts
1 cup bite size pretzels
1 cup garlic bite size bagel chips
6 tbs butter
2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1.5 tsp seasoned salt
3/4 garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
Instructions:
(1) In large microwave bowl, mix cereal, nuts, pretzels and bagel chips.
(2) In a small microwave bowl melt the butter uncovered on High for about 40 seconds or until melted. Stir in seasonings. Pour over ceral mix and stir until coated. (I find it helps to evenly coat the cereal if you spoon small amounts of the butter mix, mix a little, and repeat)
(3) Microwave uncovered on High for 5-6 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes. (I only really heat it for 2 mins or so because my microwave is very hot and burned/ruined my Chex Mix the first time I ever tired to make it. You may have to figure out yourself the best amount of heating time is for your microwave.)
(4) Spread out on a tray or paper towel to cool. (I don’t really wait for them to cool completely because I usually want to snack immediately…haha)
Here’s one for you Mac users that I thought was funny. A hard drive in the shape of an IV drip bag to resuscitate (back up) your computer.
Found this clock in an article on www.unplgged.com and thought it was fun. It’s called the “Ora ilLegale” by Denis Guidone. It’s an analog that when you need to adjust it for daylight savings all you do is just tilt! Let’s see if that makes it easy enough for people to remember to change their clocks an hour forward or back. Here’s the original article.
Japanese pop artist, Yoshitomo Nara, has these intriguing drawings and sculptures that I’m fascinated by. A lot of them depict children or animals in a cartoon fashion. Some look very cute and innocent, others have a slightly angry look on their faces like you had just woken them up from a good nap or something. Regardless I think they are pretty awesome and intriguing. Here are just a few examples.
Enjoying some excellent Chrysanthymum Tea today made from dried Chrysanthemum flowers I bought in Chinatown. It is my favorite tea and it’s fun to watch the flowers rehydrate. Very pretty!
Found this on Curbed on last Friday and I couldn’t stop busting up laughing. I have know idea why I think it’s so funny, but I’m determined to find him. My friends say they’ve seen this set up in Soho in different places. This picture was taken by some one who saw him on Prince St. I guess he’s selling house music. I’m gonna find this little plot of land for myself and see what it’s about!
above: “XL or XS”
Found this article on Dezeen a while back that I thought was very cool. Designer Roger Arquer’s project “Fish Bowls” presents 15 variations on the standard fish bowl each of which he says, “examines a topic or suggests a solution to an issue” I’ve included the names of the pieve, but you should check out the full descriptions of the ideas behind each variation in the original article on Dezeen. For example, the above image shows “XL or XS” describes the relationship between a big and small fish if they were to live together. Here’s some more images of the other variations.
above: “Bottle Vase”
above: “Above Water”
above: “Wishing Well”
above: “Under Candlelight”
above: “Pure Life”
above: “Russian Dolls”
above: “Private Matters”
above: “Hanging from a String”
above: “Don’t Piss Me Off”
above: “Dear Neighbour”
above: “Chil Out Warm Up”
Could this be the way to go? 
Story of my life recently… (thanks Alison for the find)
There used to be a restaurant around Union Square called Barocco that served this really tasty orzo salad that I liked. It inspired me to go and make my own, but I added a few more things to the mix that I thought would be good additions. The salad is Mediterranean in taste. The recipe makes a lot, so there’s leftovers for the next day too which is always a plus! Since I just sort of guessed on how much to put in I don’t have too many exact measurements (I make it to taste basically), but you can’t really mess it up too much. Just keep adding things accordingly to the proportions that you would like. For example, I love olives so I’m not opposed to adding a ton to the mix. Here’s a good starting point for you to try:
Ingredients:
3/4 lb of orzo (or 1lb. if you want to just use the whole box of orzo)
olive oil
1 sweet red bell pepper (large)
1 avocado
1 bunch of green onions
1/2 cup of kalamata olives
1/2 package of baby spinach salad
feta cheese
sea salt
pepper
Instructions:
(1) Boil the orzo pasta ’til al dente. It cooks pretty fast, so keep an eye on it. When it’s done, drain the pasta, and place in a large mixing bowl.
(2) Chop and dice the red pepper, avocado, olives, green onion, and spinach leaves
(3) In the mixing bowl, mix in some olive oil to lightly coat the pasta and a little sea salt (you can add more salt later if needed after adding the olives and tasting so as not to over salt).
(4) Then mix in the red pepper, avocado, olives, green onion, and spinach.
(5) Add more olive oil, salt and pepper to taste if needed. Add feta cheese to your liking.
(image by: vivien chin)
Passed by at church near the Empire State building on Saturday that had these ribbons tied up along the fence in rememberance of those who have lost their lives fighting in the war in Iraq. Please take a moment to remember them in your thoughts.
(image by: vivien chin)
These blossoms pretty much summarize my saturday walk around manhattan….BEAUTIFUL.
The longest line I’ve seen at Shake Shack yet was yesterday. There’s waaaay more people to the left of the picture that didn’t make it in the shot.
(image by: vivien chin)
I’m a huge fan of In ‘N’ Out Burger on the west coast, but since I can’t get those here in NY I go to Shake Shack. Their burgers, fries, and concretes (ice cream) are excellent. They have 2 locations. One “shack” is in Madison Square Park seen above and one on Columbus Ave. @ 77th St. The line is often really long at the MSP location, expecially on nice sunny days like yesterday, but if you’re really craving it then it’s worth the wait. You can always check out their ShackCam on their site which shows a live feed of the people in line. Atleast you’ll know if it’s going to be a long or short wait. I usually go to the Upper West Side location since it’s in my hood and the line isn’t as long. Another cool thing about the buildings are that they are completely Wind Powered. Yay for being green!
Typical Order for me: Shack Burger and Fries (and an Upper West Slide Concrete if I’m feeling super hungry)
Stopped at Jamba Juice during my walk around Manhattan yesterday and heard some interesting takes on names at the pick up counter (including my own)…
JAMBA GUY: “order for Killy…original Strawberries Nirvana. Killy…Killy, anyone?”
GUY: “uhh..that’s my order i think.”
JAMBA GUY: “what’s your name?”
GUY: “Billy…”
JAMBA GUY: “oh haha..I don’t know how your name became Killy. Sorry about that.”
JAMBA GUY: “order for Dani…16oz. Strawberries Wild…Dani…”
(no one is moving….)
JAMBA GUY: “k, anyone with an order for 16oz. Strawberries Wild please come and get it anyway.”
ME: “ um…I got that order, but that’s not my name.”
JAMBA GUY: “what’s your name?”
ME: “Vivien”
JAMBA GUY: “k, well this is the only order of this i see on here, i guess it’s yours. Have a good day!”
(images from: http://www.hermanyung.com/red-hook-grain/)
Found these awesome pics of the Red Hook Grain factory that this guy Herman Yung took. He snuck in and took some amazing shots that you can check out here.
There is also a description on his blog describing the day that he went there and background on the Factory.
Times Square 1961
Times Square 2009
There’s this pretty awesome photo blog site I found called NYC Grid. It’s a photo blog dedicated to exploring New York block by block. They have tons of galleries with photos of MANY different blocks in NYC. This gallery I like in particular because it compares differnt areas and landmarks of NYC during 1961 vs 2009. Check it out by clicking here.
5th Ave 1961
5th Ave 2009
(image by: vivien chin)
Tulips are my favorite flower so it made me smile when I saw these. Very spring like for a warm spring day.
One of my recent favorite artists is James Jean. I first discovered his work in Prada’s Spring/Summer 08 campaign. His whimsical, charcoal drawings that covered the walls and merchandise of Prada stores were incredible. I fell in love with them immediately. His work is varied and includes comic book illustration and animation. His art is provacative, whimsical, inspiring, among many other descriptions I could give. Check out his site for more examples of his work.
(images from www.jamesjean.com & www.prada.com)
One of my recent favorite artists is James Jean. I first discovered his work in Prada’s Spring/Summer 08 campaign. His whimsical, charcoal drawings that covered the walls and merchandise of Prada stores were incredible. I fell in love with them immediately. His work is varied and includes comic book ilustration and animation. His art is provacative, whimsical, inspiring, among many other descriptions I could give. Check out his site for more examples of his work.
(images by: vivien chin)
A little awhile ago, I was passing by the Lever House and saw these Hello Kitty statues in the courtyard. I’m not a big Hello Kitty fan, but these are pretty cute .
I don’t have any pets of my own, but I would love to have some. In the mean time, I’m having a lot of fun playing with with my friends dogs. Meet Abe and Roger.
Abe – Kelly’s dog (images by: vivien chin)
Roger – Kristin’s dog (image by: vivien chin)
(image by: vivien chin)
union square peeps say: “I Love You”.
I miss lots of things about Copenhagen, Denmark, but especially on Wednesdays I miss the Onsdag Snegle (Wednesday Snail) from Sankt Peders Bakery. This warm piece of yummyness is like a giant cinnamon roll only more delicious! It cost only 10 Kroner (little over a US $1) when I was living there. Having this bakery only 2 blocks from the school was DANGEROUS, but ohhh sooo good. If you are ever in Copenhagen on a Wednesday definitely get one. This bakery has a daily special for 10 kr. (or atleast they did when I was there), so you’re bound to find some deliciousness there.
Sankt Peders Bageri
(images by: vivien chin)
So for a Secret Santa Xmas 2007 Jeannie got me one of those plants that you grow in an egg shaped, ceramic container (picture 1). It was pretty cute and I thought it was awesome to have the little guy around on my desk. The Italian parsley started to out grow the egg so I repotted it (picture 2, taken this morning) and it is still growing today! I have no idea how and I haven’t added any fertilizer or any plantfood to help it. I didn’t think it would last this long. The base of the parsley plants are so thick now that they look more like parsley trees than anything else.
The other plant is my basil plant in my apartment (picture taken this last weekend). It’s practically the same age as the parsley. I purchased it at the Union Square Farmer’s Market as a super tiny seedling. These 2 plants are amazing. Will they make it to another Xmas? I don’t see why not? SUPERPLANTS!!!
Here’s one of the sites I’ve found that sells the little egg plants if you want to get one yourself. They have all different kinds of plants: www.elsewares.com
(images from www.re-nest.com)
hmmm…after all the plastic I molded for my thesis project, this should be easy. Cool use for a bic pen, but the fumes are going to be slightly toxic. Here’s the original article.
(images by: vivien chin)
Here is a installation my cousins and I found last year when were around the South Ferry area. The installation was called “Playing the Building” by artist David Burne. It’s a pretty interesting installation. I loved the space (the Battery Maritime Building) that it was in and the concept behind the installation was very cool. There is a piano in the middle of the space which has wires coming from it that are attached to different parts of the space rigged with some sound producing element–banging pipes, squeaking, etc. Visitors are encouraged to go play around on the piano to produce different combinations of sounds
(image by: vivien chin)
I think this is the best dedication plaque I’ve ever seen.
