New recipe tried out for dinner last night that was really delicious and a must try!  I’ve never really eaten brussels sprouts before this and they are soooo good.  I’m going to have to make them more often.  The original recipe is from weheartfood but I made a few slight alterations to it so that’s what I will include here, but you can check out weheartfood if you want the original recipe and portion size.  Next time I make this I’m going to try it with come green beans because they taste so good, but here goes with the original recipe:

Servings: 2-3 large portions

Ingredients:

(3) medium sized beets

(20) brussels sprouts

(1) shallot, peeled and diced

(2-3) gloves of garlic

(2-3) tbsp of toasted almond slivers

(1) tbsp fresh thyme chopped or (1) tsp dried thyme

olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

_Heat oven to 350 degrees and place the beets in a pan.  Roast the beets in the oven for 1hr and 10 mins or until tender.  Remove from the oven and set aside to cool down for a few minutes.  When cool, peel the skin off and put them aside to be chopped later.

_Fill a skillet half way with water and bring to a boil.  Place the brussels sprouts in boiling water and cook for 2-3 mins or until almost cooked through.  Drain and set aside to cool

_Chopping time. If you haven’t diced the shallots and garlic then do so.  Chop the beets into 1″ or so chunks. Take the brussels sprouts and cut the stem off and then cut the sprouts in half (cut into quarters if you want them smaller).

_In a skillet, pour a little oil and saute the shallots on med or med/high heat until they are translucent.  Add in the garlic when the shallots look close to being done since the garlic doesn’t take as long to get a little golden brown.

_When the shallots are done, add more olive oil (about 1-2 tbsp).  Add the brussels sprouts, beets, almonds, and thyme and mix everything together in the pan over med-high heat.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Once thoroughly mixed (add more olive oil if you like), take off the heat and serve.

_You now have a delicious side dish or even main vegetarian course.  Very filling.

(image from weheartfood)

Really cool design by London architect, Julian Hakes.  One continuous piece of material–the foot makes the connection between the heel and ball of the shoe.  The shoe is composed of carbon fiber with rubber edge and leather material covers the portion of the shoe that touches the foot bed.  Wonder if you can walk comfortably in them?  Interested to see when they are produced how they look and feel.

(images from dezeen)

Fun little iPod dock I saw in the window of a store on 5th ave. It was right next to the piggy banks in the window.

(image by: vivien chin)

This is about as close as I wanted to get to this year’s tree at Rockefeller Center. As you can see there are waaaay too many people and just didn’t want to fight the crowd yesterday. Plus my camera battery died and all I had was my phone. So here they are a font view and side view. Wish the shots were better!!

(images by: vivien chin)

2010 is here!  New Year, fresh start, new adventures….  Can’t wait to see what’s next!  Hope everybody has a great year!!

Best Tevis quote last night!! (kids are soooo cute!)

A little trip to the See’s Candy store is always a plus.  Dark chocolate is my favorite, carmels too, and covered almond clusters.  Scrumptrulescent

(images by: vivien chin)

You see roosters walking around in a random shopping center parking lot as if they live there.

Where did they come from???!! Hahaha

(image by: vivien chin)

Because I don’t know what this is called I will call it the “Pinch” because that’s the first thing that comes to mind when I see it.  Mural on the side of a building in San Francisco (next to that Furniture and Carpets building in the previous post.  Fun.  Always enjoy art on buildings.

(image by: vivien chin)

Really liked this random building in San Francisco on Market Street.  Just noticed the center pivot windows.  Pretty cool feature.

(image by: vivien chin)

One day I’ll own my own piano like this, but for now I’ll admire it from afar and apparently just stare at the insides of them…haha.  Saw some of these Steinways while I was in San Francisco.

(image by: vivien chin)

Had a chance to check out the San Francisco Federal Building by Morphosis recently when I was in SF. Interesting to see it in it’s completed state because the last time I saw it was about 4 years ago (give or take) with Fowler’s class at Poly. There weren’t more than 20 floors of the building finished then, but we were allowed to climb up to the top of what was completed at that time. Pretty cool to see what took shape since then. Some detail shots of the building below.

(images by: vivien chin)

A glimpse of the outside of the Contemporary Jewish museum by Daniel Liebskind in San Francisco.  Also located nearby is Yerba Buena Park and the SFMOMA by Mario Botta which you can see in the reflection of the glass door in the last image.  There’s a tasty mexican restaurant, Tropisueno, that I met up with Chris, Melissa, Rachel, Oana, and Justin at for lunch.  Sooo good to see you guys!

(images by: vivien chin

Free money earned to date = $130. Just cashed in for another $5 Amazon card. New wii game here I come!

Here’s my referral link if you want to get started earning your own and help me earn some points too! (thanks for the help):

http://swagbucks.com/refer/vivchin

And just a reminder, swagbucks is a search engine where you get rewarded “bucks” for random searches. No surveys or gimmicks. No personal info, except where to send your redeemed prize when you earn them. Yay for free stuff!

***(Please see earlier post: “swagbucks = free $$$” from April 13, 2009 for more info on swagbucks)

Grafitti Artist, Chor Boogie, has covered 1028 Market Street in San Francisco in one of the most amazing murals.  Caught a glimpse of it on my way to check out the Federal Building by Morphosis just down the street.

The mural is called “Color Therapy of Perception” and is part of San Francisco’s “Art in Storefronts” and “Street smARTS” programs.  The mural “explores the healing aspect that colors have on the subconscious and their conscious effects on modern-day society”.

The colors are so vibrant and Chor Boogie skill with spray paint is pretty spectacular.  I could have stared at it all day.  It’s a pretty mesmerizing mural and set of eyes staring back at you.  If you are ever in the area you should check it out because it’s well worth it.

a vision of color…..

The Artist leaves his mark…

(images by: vivien chin)

My first crochet project looks like a success!  Decided to teach myself how to crochet so I gave myself a little project–a doggie sweater for Roger, Kristin’s dog.  Mostly it was inspired by the fact that the picture of the finished product with the pattern was a boston terrier so it was most appropriate for Roger to be my muse…haha.  I always thought it was slightly strange for pets to wear clothes (dresses specifically), but seeing how cold and wet it is in NYC at times, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to give them a little protection from the elements (wet dog smell is not fun). 

Found the pattern on the Lion Brand Yarn website.  I usually buy their yarn (used for this sweater too) because it’s really affordable and there are lots of colors.  They have TONS of free patterns online for knitting and crochet and they also have a learn to knit/crochet instructions if you want to teach yourself.  I learned the basics from my grandma when I was younger, but this site is really helpful for beginners with no experience or for people who need a little refreshers because they forgot something.

Hopefully Rog enjoys his new sweater and that he’s toasty warm!  Thanks Rog for being such a great model!  And thanks Kristin for humoring my first attempt at a crochet project and promising to have Rog try it on no matter what it looked like–even if it had 3 arm holes.  But Thankfully it had 2 arm holes and fit Roger pretty perfectly!!  Yay…success!  (more pics below of the fitting/modeling session….)

Front view…

Running towards the owner for a treat to keep the model happy…

There’s a perfect “sit”

From the Blooper Reel:  The arms have not quite made it into the armholes so it kinda just looks like a shawl.  I let Kristin handle the getting on of the sweater…haha…she’s a little more experience with getting him into doggie clothing.

(images by: vivien chin)

Hope everyone is having a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!  I’m having an excellent time with my family and friends and hope you are too.  Happy Holidays everyone!!!  Hope Santa left everyone something nice.

View after the weekend snow.  Nice white powder on the ground and as you can see the xmas village/market is still kicking. 

(image by: vivien chin)

Took a walk to Central Park to check out the snow action there.  The Natural History Museum (above) is looking really pretty with the snow cover on the ground.  Any time I see fresh snow I can’t resist putting a nice new footprint in it!

These guys looks like Santa Claus with the snow.

It was cute to watch this little boy get pulled down the hill by his dad.  I wish i had a sled! I just used my butt instead to slide down a few small hills.  Just as enjoyable.

The Gazebo by the lake is looking especially pretty today.

Slid down one face of this giant boulder covered in snow.  Fun stuff.

Thin Ice!  Guess I shouldn’t be Nordic skiing across then.

The ducks and birds decided to do a little ice skating of their own. 

Really fun watching these kids sled down the hillside. Some were better than others at it. haha.

(images by: vivien chin)

I’m the proud owner of a giant snow cone now. Woke up this morning and this is what I saw on my little terrace. Beautiful snow outside. Ready for some snowball fights and mini snowmen. Very Nice!

(images by: vivien chin)

Pretty blue xmas lights @ Columbus Circle.

(images by: vivien chin)

Yummiest cookie towers ever.  Was out and about today and had a white chocolate chip chocolate cookie today at Birdbath, a green bakery, in Soho that just opened.  It was delicious!  You can see a tower of it in the far back there next to the Statue of Liberty figure.  Definitely recommend the cookies there.

(image by: vivien chin)

Pretty cool dunny I saw at the Kidrobot store today.

(image by: vivien chin)

$40 for an ostrich egg?  That’s one expensive omelette.

(image by: vivien chin)

Stars at Columbus Circle

Glowing globes at Uniqlo

(images by: vivien chin)

Drawings I found in the snow today…

Today’s snow is sticking. Fun to finally have snow. It been freezing lately but no snow till now. Will it be enough for a snowball fight tomorrow?

(images by: vivien chin)

When you turn on the TV at 2am this is apparently what can show up–Miffy goes to Africa.  Pretty sure there are no little kids up to watch this…lol…except probably myself who admits I watched it for 5 mins.  Cuteness factor.

Thanks Santa Jeff!  Adding it to the collection!

Nothing puts you in the xmas spirit like some snowflakes!!  Excellent snowflake skills team-Alison, Jon, and me!

(image by vivien chin)

2 of my loves in one: Dunny’s & Architecture/Art

Danish firm, BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group), created a piece for a Dunny Show Exhibition in Copenhagen.  Very cool.  I’d live in a Dunny-shaped building.  Awesome.

(images from http://www.big.dk/)

the best advice I heard on the ice today.  Some guy told his friend that to skate she had to glide and “move your feet like a penguin”.  hahaha.

The Cloisters are part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  They are located in Fort Tyron park and overlook the Hudson River.  The Cloisters house a large collection of Medieval European Art intermingled with gardens and the architecture of French Cloisters.  To get there you take the A,C,E subway to the 190th street stop and follow the signs towards the Cloisters.  It’s about a 10 min walk from the subway.  I really liked the walk up to the Cloisters as well as the descent (yes there’s a descent, the Cloisters are located on a pretty high hill relative to the street level below).  It was a peaceful and nice park area.  Also got a glimpse of the density of the Northern tip of Manhattan which was pretty incredible.

Density!

The river.

The Cloisters in the distance.

Almost there…going around the side

(images by: vivien chin)

Headed up to 190th street station in Manahattan to check out the Cloisters last weekend.  Pretty cool station.  Nice park land to walk through if you make the trek up there.

(images by vivien chin)

Saw this truck last week while walking to the subway.  It’s like the ice cream truck only they sharpen your blades for you??  Looks like they’ve been around for awhile and sharpen pretty much anything including your lawnmower.

(image by: vivien chin)

Free money earned to date = $125. Just cashed in for another $5 Amazon card. New wii game here I come!

Here’s my referral link if you want to get started earning your own and help me earn some points too! (thanks for the help):

http://swagbucks.com/refer/vivchin

And just a reminder, swagbucks is a search engine where you get rewarded “bucks” for random searches. No surveys or gimmicks. No personal info, except where to send your redeemed prize when you earn them. Yay for free stuff!

***(Please see earlier post: “swagbucks = free $$$” from April 13, 2009 for more info on swagbucks)

Ice skating in Bryant Park was crazy as ever today with the crowds, but still fun. Free ice skating is definitely a plus if you have your own skates. Open until January 24 so enjoy it while you can!

(image by: vivien chin)

Rog  is lookin a little gangsta in his xmas tree hoodie.  Just another day in the life of a dog.

(images by: vivien chin)

blue blue sky the other day in union square during our one random day when it reached 64 degrees.  Now it may snow today.  What a change.  Is winter finally here???  Xmas market is in full bloom as well. 

(image by: vivien chin)

View of the lake next to Lasker Rink.  Mini iceberg in the foreground!!

Last week I went up to the top of Central Park for the first time to go ice skating at Lasker Rink.  Typically I go to Bryant Park to ice skate because it is free if you have ice skates (which I do), but the line is always so long on the weekends with the Times Square/Holiday Market crowds.  Especially since last weekend was a holiday weekend it was worse.  Decided to try Lasker Rink instead.  It’s one of the 2 outdoor ice rinks in Central Park–the other being the more famous Wollman rink that you see in movies all the time.  Lasker is cheaper than Wollman and definitely less crowded than Bryant Park.  Definitely a lot more fun to skate when you don’t feel like you are trapped in a sardine can.  Now that I’ve tried ice skating at Rockefeller Center, Bryant Park, and Lasker Rink, I guess Wollman is the last one I need to try of outdoor ice rinks in Manhattan.

Lasker is right off the 110st stop on the 1,2,3 train

(images by: vivien chin)

Thought this was a cute drawing.  Took a picture of this ad for the Tim Burton MOMA exhibit.  Not sure if it’s a cow or a dog or something else, but I like it!  A taste of things to come at the Tim Burton exhibit at the MOMA on show from November 22, 2009 to April 26, 2010.  Can’t wait to go.