daily plume

A new day, a new lesson, a new post.

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Awesome.

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Another amazing artist that played at the Mercy lounge in Nashville: Carrie Rodriguez. She played 5 different instruments on stage not to mention, also having a killer voice. Happy Friday ya'll!

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Oh Nashville, how I miss thee! The city or aka "Music City" was buzzing with live music from new artists in coffee shops to local artists like Will Hoge at the Mercy Lounge. I watched him play "When I Get My Wings" after he described how he had written the song based on a story in the paper when a man lost his wife. I loved it instantly. The weather was sunny, the music was from the soul and the people were warm. Nashville is my kind of town.

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Hello my pretty! This is a juicy one so for all you foodies out there listen up!

Oct 24th marks the beginning of a new chapter in my professional life. In honor of welcoming new experiences, I am taking a road-trip to the south! Why the south? Well, it's a long story. (Let's just say I am a mean line dancer and have secretly listened to "Something to Talk About" on repeat about a million times.) Anyhow, without any solid plans we decided that what better way to plan a road-trip than around all the amazing food the south has to offer? Enter tvfoodmaps.com. Some clever person decided to plot all the spots that the shows on the Food Network have been to on a map. You can customize it for your road-trip needs! I knew this had to exist. Go road-trippers go!

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Today I learned about Gillian Welch's latest album "The Harrow The Harvest". Enjoy one of my new favorite songs above that she did with David Rawlings. How did I miss this? Thanks David!

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le macaron

Thanks to Groupon, yesterday I learned how to make french macaroons! Apparently there are a number of varieties of these bite-sized sweets hailing from Scotland, North America, Turkey, Spain, Irelend and India but my favorite comes from the bad-ass French.

I booked this workshop from Dessert Truck Works a month ago and the class was packed. We had to split up into teams of 3-4, each taking turns whisking (not stirring), folding (not smashing) and piping. I had no idea how sensitive these little guys were. Some important words of wisdom in case you ever want to try to make them from your favorite recipes that the pastry chef Jerome bestowed upon us:

Use mature egg whites - leave egg whites in a sealed container for a few days in order to get that more-watery-less-lumpy consistency

For the almond flour, use cold almonds to get a more powdery texture after  putting into the food processor

Invest in a scale, timing isn't reliable

Keep whisking and folding, making sure that the consistency isn't too runny and falls off the spatula slowly. Easier to fix if it's too stiff, harder if it's too runny

Piping (the best part!) - ziploc isn't strong enough so use a pastry bag

Use a tall take-out container to hold the pastry bag as you are filling it. Twist the bag to get the mixture to the tip then squeeze from the top not middle of the bag.

MOST IMPORTANT: Hold the piping tip in place as the mixture lands on the mat and quickly pull up and to the right. Don't try to make a circle!

Parchment paper just doesn't cut it - use a Silpat baking mat instead

You can't make it less sweet surprisingly - it needs the sugar for binding purposes

don't put them in fridge - moisture will ruin them, instead freeze them

At the end of the workshop, even though we didn't get to take home the ones that we made because they had to be baked and cooled still, we filled and stacked 4 to take home. After a few trial runs in my own kitchen, I plan on having a workshop at my place with other ocd sweet-toothers. Let me if you're interested. Let's bake!

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The Refine Method

Today I learned about a fitness philosophy where cardio meets resistance called The Refine Method. Taught by the founder in a little studio in the upper east side, Brynn Jinnett was a professional ballerina and can be spotted in one of my favorite movies ever Black Swan. After reading this article by Courtney Rubin I instantly related to her curious mind:

So she traveled around the country, studying kinesiology, how professional athletes train, and how that could be applied to mere mortals. "I wanted to know how the body works, and how you change it well and safely and efficiently," says Jinnett, who deferred and then turned down management consulting offers after graduation. "I didn't want to make a better barre class; I wanted to make something different."

So inspired, I just signed up for my first class this Saturday!

"To do good, you first have to do something." - Yvon Chouinard

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Heroism is all about what we do when the chips are down.

- Alice Hoagland, mother of Mark Bingham

In 4 days seals 10 years since the events of September 11th. Some may have forgotten about Mark Bingham and the other passengers aboard United Airlines Flight 93 that changed the plane's fate, saving lives and more destruction that we witnessed that day. I am one of them. I learned today about the ability to inspire from one's legacy not just by a single act, but all the influences, events, and people that made that person who they were. I am very grateful for all the parts. 10 years later, Ms. Hoagland continues to carry her son's legacy and is still sharing it with the world - www.withyoufilm.com. 

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30 Days of GOOD Challenge

Just returning from three weeks in Beijing, I came across something brilliant from the fine people at GOOD - challenge yourself to connect to people through small tasks each day. I’ve dabbled with the idea of completely disconnecting from technology (cell phones bad) for a month in hopes to reconnect with other parts of my life recently. This seems to be a bit more doable at the moment so I will be trying my hand at it starting with #7 tomorrow. (Let it having something to do with puppies, please!) Looking forward to it!

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This weekend I decided to learn more about my love for painting in today's most practical sense. Yes, you guessed it... make-up lessons! Being an Asian American, traditional make-up application hasn't really cut it for my Asian features. I scoured the web for a NYC based make-up artist willing to teach that specializes in Asian faces (thanks Yelp!). I am happy to report that I met not only a make-up genius but a totally classy and sweet gal - Renee Lee. She taught me new sculpting techniques, foundational knowledge and of course, my fave, tips and tricks:

how to highlight & exaggerate features while exhibiting a natural glow

how to achieve the perfect (non-droopy) cat eye

which kinds of brushes to use and how

pigment is the concentration of color in make-up; the more it has, the higher quality make-up

get a matte taupe eye-shadow because it functions as shadow on your face

primer is useful to stop oiley look or prevent creasing on eyes

Sonia Kashuk has good affordable brushes at Target

concealer is a natural highlighter and eraser

use bronzer on cheeks, under the jaw, hair line, and over concealer to tone down areas

highlighter on the top of the nose, cheeks and inner tip of the eyes

She has taught me a lot and I'll be forever grateful. I will be practicing a lot. Would you like to be my model? You can pay me in cookies. I love cookies.

"The most beautiful makeup of a woman is passion. But cosmetics are easier to buy." — Yves Saint-Laurent

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Sometimes when I work, I like a bit of background music. Well no ma'am, not today! I noticed an episode of Fearless Revolution TV was just about to start so I tuned in with no expectations. It was an interview with Allen Lim, a sports physiologist, someone I've never heard of but a humble coach who's trained the whos who of the cycling world like Lance Armstrong and Floyd Landis. While professional cycling isn't quite my thing, he was a true story-teller and drew me in instantly with his soft-spoken voice. He shared many stories of triumph, competition and handling insecurity, and personal choices as he transitions to a new chapter of his life. He is quietly inspiring. He also shared two more things that I've never heard of:

1) X - a drink mix that he helped develop over the years to hydrate athletes (and non athletes) with natural ingredients  

2) Research findings that sleep extension over a period a time can have positive and measurable effects on athletic performance based on research done by Cheri Mah at Stanford. 

Allen Lim is someone I'll definitely be following from now on @allencolim. Down the twitter rabbit hole I go.   

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Today I finally decided to tackle the kabocha squash that had been sitting on the kitchen counter for 2 weeks now. I washed it (seemed like a good place to start) and set it down on the cutting board. Not a clue what to do next. I headed straight for my trusty Yahoo! search box and entered "kabocha squash recipes" and up came a delightful site - justhungry.com. I followed the recipe for "Sweet and Spicy Roasted Kabocha Squash" and it turned out DELICIOUS (the picture does not do it justice). Bonus for it being dead simple. Here's a slightly modified version I used:

Sweet and spicy roasted kabocha squash

1 small to medium sized kabocha squash

5 1/2 Tbs honey powder

1 tsp ground cayenne pepper

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbs soy sauce

Olive oil for drizzling

Mix dry ingredients. Coat the squash in the mixture then add the soy sauce and mix again. Put on baking sheet and drizzle the oil on top. Bake on 400 degrees F for 15 mins then flip. Bake for another 15 mins and serve.

Now I can offer my guests more than just eggs and lasagna. Woohoo!

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May all beings living to the East All beings of the universe, be free! Free from fear Free from all distress Free from poverty May they have peace in their hearts.

Chants from the Sept 2007 demonstration initiated by thousands of brave monks on behalf of the citizens in Rangoon. This was captured on video recorders by citizen journalists in the documentary Burma VJ. I can post about it because I'm one of the lucky ones that doesn't know what it's like not to have the right to express oneself. For others, freedom must be demanded, fought for and even died for. I learned what bravery means today: to rise up against fear internally and externally.

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One of the best things I’ve eaten in Thailand and in my life are mangosteens. If you’ve never had one before, know that they are sweet petite sized fruits with a hard purplish exterior that protects a delectable white fleshy center. Mangosteen trees bear fruits as well as flowers and grow mostly in South East Asia, native of the Moluccas of Indonesia. Sensitive to temperature, exposure to temperatures below 40 degrees Fahrenheit can kill them. That explains their costly price-tag in NYC ($20/pound?!) I sense a business idea coming… mangosteen tree greenhouse! A delicious cash cow I tell you. 

So what do they taste like? Unlike anything I’ve ever tasted before, but if you twisted my arm I’d say after uttering “uncle” reluctantly that they are tangy like a nectarine but mild and fibrous like a mango. Intrigued? They also possess a number of health benefits too. They are loaded with anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatory properties, boost immune systems because of the chemical substance xanthones that it contains, and the rind has been used for topical solutions to treat skin diseases like eczema. They can sometimes be found in spa products that counter the appearance of aging too. Intrigued now? Vanity works every time. As a bonus, here’s a video (my first one so excuse the nervousness and frizzy tropical weather hair!) I made in my hotel room at Phran. Did I already tell you how much I loved staying there? Oops, yeah I did.

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Kicking off our visit to some of the most amazing Buddhist temples in Thailand and Myanmar, we stumbled upon a small temple on a side street in Chiang Mai. As I was admiring the teak exterior, I noticed these colorful cartoons posted by the entrance describing the dos and don'ts when entering the sacred temple. For the record, I knew to leave my hot pants at home. I didn't know however that touching someone's head was inappropriate. According to the sign, it's because the head is "the highest part of the body both literally and figuratively."

I threw in a few other for giggles. I'm pretty sure the illustrator had some fun with these :)

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The morning of my flight home from Bangkok, I shared a cab to the airport with a staff member from the hotel. (I highly recommend Phranakorn Nornlen - they have the nicest staff, a banging breakfast, and is conveniently tucked away from tourist traps so you get the local experience.) She and I started talking about travel and let me in on a not-so-little organization called WWOOF. Not only does the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms have an awesome acronym, their mission gives people interested in learning about organic farming an opportunity to volunteer in countries like Nepal, Guatamala and Japan. Organic farmers host volunteers by providing food, accommodations and opportunities to learn about organic farming in return for help on their farm. Not a shabby trade at all. "Hello WWOOF Hawaii..."

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Greetings from Thailand! My first stop to Hong Kong proved to be quite an adventure. With only 4 hours between my flight to Phuket to spare, I decided to meet up with a friend in Causeway Bay. I headed straight for the MTR. As a New Yorker, I’ve been jealous that people can use their cell phones underground for a while now (see the 3 ladies from the left). This time, however, it was the kind of phones they were using that caught my attention. In my short 20 minute ride that consisted of 2 transfers, I counted 11 iPhone 4s! (The kind young man that lent me his to call my friend had a shiny white one.) In my short time in Phuket and Chiang Mai, I’ve seen a couple as well. According to a recent Distimo report, the download volume in the Apple App Store for iPhone from Asian countries grew significantly in the past six months. China has now become the second largest market after the US. I’m off to my mother’s motherland tomorrow - Myanmar. Will post all about what I learned in Thailand soon!