Patterns in Beijing

If one examines a place at a microlevel, they will find the texture of it unbelievably rich and abstractly beautiful.

Beijing Duck

恭王府 (Gong Wangfu), or Prince's Mansion, in my opinion translates more accurately into "The Prime Minister's Mansion", because the occupant was Emperor's minister who ascended the ranks rather than being born into royalty as a prince would have.

     

Work

The newly opened Hong Art Center Gallery in Beijing's prolific 798 art district is just a short U-turn from the 798 library and these four potted plants.

Lufthansa > Beijing

The outskirts of Beijing are far more mountainous than I expected, far different from the carefully sculpted, geometric divisions of Munich.

Just a small teaser for now; more updates are forthcoming. Sorry for the delay!

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High Tea with Professor

End-of-the-year huzzah with Professor Kleutghen, who was leaving for Paris on Wednesday. It felt like a scene from An Education; a casual teatime with our beloved professor, whom we only loved more in retrospect.



/// The London Tea Room: masala chai latte



E looking fresh to death in mint.

  

I was quite obsessed with the tiny ceramic creme pot and the lovely spread: raspberry chocolate mousse, lemon tart, macaroons, English scones, and tea sandwiches.

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Mailbag: 3 Beads for Epilepsy

   

I'm always so excited to receive snail mail, and recently my friend from lalamooo.com sent me her first handmade pieces from her project called 3beads. The concept:

A friend of mine passed away in February 2013. He was the kindest and gentlest person I know and I miss him dearly. I started 3beads as a way to remember him. These are just really simple bracelets that have 3 lavender beads on them, lavender being the color for epilepsy awareness. All of the money used to purchase these bracelets go directly to funding epilepsy research.

   

They are a wonderful way to wear your heart on your sleeve, and you can customize the colors however you'd like. I'll be wearing mine until it falls off on its own.

   

This is her business card; so cute. I hope you will take a look at her project here. It's raining over here; stay dry. x

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The Crescendo

Big Yum's - Beef Curry Soup

I'm always a fan of soups that are actually meals, especially when it involves curry. This noodle shop across the street from school is a dangerously addicting place, and has become a new guilty pleasure of mine. Fragrant beef, strips of sweet yam topped with peanuts fulfill every craving, whether it's sweet, salty, or savory.

//// Bobo Noodlehouse

Fin de Siècle Splendor

I've recently been reading some contemporary Taiwanese literature, and the writing is beautifully sad.
  

Ἀθηναίη

And so she was bourne from the head of Zeus, fully matured and bearing the arms of war.

Women as Silent Support: Diary of Miss Sophia (spoilers)

Stop. Open this and this.

Recently, I read a piece of May Fourth Era literature, Diary of Miss Sophia. It's amazing how even after so much time passing, we are still able to form emotional connections to characters in historical literature.

Ding Ling 丁玲 (1904-1986), author of Diary of Miss Sophia

The story is really quite simple: woman, dying of Tuberculosis, refuses two lovers. Her month-long struggle is recorded in several dozen pages of diary entries. This romantic disease as a literary device demonstrates the extent of a woman's agency; historically, a woman only has two things that she may use to her advantage: her body and her mind. While men may fight amongst each other in physical contact, Sophia fights internal battles while confined to her mental ward. Have you ever found that, one of the only ways a woman can consistently demonstrate her love is through self-inflicted suffering?

The Birds and the Bees

Even as technology develops, I am glad that there is always an effort to preserve the past. I recently fell in love with Hibiscus & Sparrow by Japanese painter Katsushika Hokusai. Most known for his Great Wave Off Kanagawa, I find his more serene works equally as poetic and visually compelling. It's like a breath of fresh air after being indoors for far too long. Although I'd love to own the original, I purchased it as a mouse pad, so that I may always be happy even when cloistered in the library on late nights.

  
/// Hibiscus & Sparrow mousepad
////// Arc mouse

Beans are good for the heart

My good friend gave me these delicious green tea mochi munchies from Japan: sweet layers of mochi molded into edamame shapes. What would be better than to eat with some homemade mung bean porridge and English black tea? Breakfast should fill the soul.

 

Small Yum's: Honey and Hash

Breakfast was never my favorite meal until I learned to make it. Today: hash browns, avacado, and demi-baguette with honey.

Recently, I was talking with one of my friends about how to soften hardened bread. One way is french toast; the other way was one I'd seen my mother do in my childhood. She'd toss small slices of bread or bagel in water, sesame oil, and honey in a frying pan for a few minutes, to yield something similar to Chinese shaobing flatbread (烧饼).

Liu Wen: Madewell 2013

Did you know Liu Wen (刘雯) is one of the most sought-after model in the world right now? She was the first Chinese model to walk the Victoria's Secret Fashion show runway, and now she's a Madewell girl for Spring 2013: