July & August 2012 Happenings

11:14:00 AM mandy 22 Comments


Hi, everyone! I really hate myself for leaving my blog not updated for a whole month. But nonetheless, it happened anyway *sigh* The last couple of months was jam-packed full of activities. In the short period of time, I went to quite a few places and tried many new things. Compared to the last summer vacation I had...this one was definitely more memorable! (I admit! I just lazed around the house before :X) I was able to even get my first job...although for my own good (mentally and grade wise) I resigned from my first job as well. It was interesting while it lasted though!

Enough of why I wasn't on blogger! & Onto what I actually did :]


Besties and I made it a must to hang out more often this summer vacation. Last year we said the same thing and ended up doing absolutely nothing together! In June we went biking. In July we went ice skating in the indoor rink at Flushing Meadows Park. It was so refreshing to be inside somewhere cool cold freezing on a hot summer day. Mental note...next time I must bring a hoodie, even if it's the summer! Skating inside was definitely different from gliding outside in say Bryant Park/Central Park/Rockefeller Center. A lot of skating students of much higher levels were skating around so it was a bit more embarrassing for us newbies to skate there. But after a couple of circles, it didn't matter anyways hah

After we had our share of fun, we headed toward Flushing for dinner. We planned to go to an all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ restaurant (Picnic Garden). Initially, we went there very excited. Sadly we left annoyed/disappointed. The food wasn't the problem. It was the service more than anything. Our group of 4 would get a couple of plates with a lot of food to grill thinking we'd sit and cook what we got a little at a time. However, the servers/waitresses would walk around and dump everything onto the grill (this was even before they had a dinner time rush!). We were rushed to eat and leave before we even started...I don't know if this is what happens at other similar restaurants but the four of us all agreed we'd be happier going somewhere else the next time we're in Queens.






In August we already ran out of ideas on what to do together. We always have somewhere we'd want to eat at but never anything to do! Since we decided to eat somewhere close to the Brooklyn Bridge (on the Brooklyn side) we decided to take a walk across it. As surprising as this may sound to non-New Yorkers, neither of us 4 have ever walked across before. It was very relaxing...even despite the heat that day. But please bring a lot of water (one bottle isn't enough)! We were all dying of thirst by the time we reached the other end. The walk was actually much faster than we originally anticipated. It took about half an hour to reach the other end. Do keep in mind, we were walking at our slow pace and stopped multiple times to take pictures and stare at the view!




Other than going out with the besties, I was also able to finally go to Dorney Park with my mom and brother. Times like this where I wish I had more courage to go on the 'fun' rides. Perhaps if I was with a group of friends who were also going on the roller coasters. By myself? Never! heh Instead, my brother and I spent most of the day in the water park area and boy did I get tanned. Sad to admit but I nearly drowned twice and even caused a big accident (my glasses had to be searched for...that's all I'm going to say) at one of the water slides. Oh, the troubles of not knowing how to swim and being afraid to stick my head in the water. I shall conquer my water fear...next summer! xD

MmmM! The yummy goodness~

My fave steamed rice noodle wrapped around donut(?) - 油條 (youtiao)!! Actually, this particular one was not so good...it wasn't crunchy enough!

The whole summer I was trying hard to curb my eating habits but sometimes when you're out...having a refreshing tea drink isn't too bad right?

Paris Baguette goodies

I think this was the Fruit Green Tea Cup Patbingsoo (팥빙수) & Berry Ade.

I really loved the Patbingsoo! I only wished I was eating it there with friends because even the cup size was too big for me to eat alone. Definitely a sharing food!
The Berry Ade, on the other hand, was just so-so for me. It tasted a lot like Sprite with a hint of berry. Perhaps they were just light-handed on the berry syrup?


Just like in June, I had a big cooking adventure. There were some big failures and great successes!

Curry ddeokboki & Kimchi Fried Rice (김치볶음밥)

I cheated and used a pre-made curry but it tasted pretty good nonetheless!

Fried rice, though, was amazing. (The photo is the first time I made the rice.) I don't know what I did differently the second time around but it did not taste right at all...*sigh* Just when my confidence in cooking was high!




The other fail dish: MacNCheese (left photo) & The more successful second attempt (right photo). Thank goodness it wasn't bad too since I made a big batch of the second one for both my brother and I. If it was terrible I'd either have to eat it all myself or it would go to waste...

The photo does all the talking no? It is easy to tell how bad the first attempt was just by looking!


The only baking I did was for a house party my family had in July. I love cheesecake! So I decided to give it a try and make it myself. After searching a dozen...or two...recipes I was surprised by how much cream cheese was used but it came out alright. I shall try a different recipe next time though! Anyone have one to share?

My other summer project: gardening. Well, to be exact...my mom put everything into pots and I just watered them every day. heh! Is it weird if I thought the lettuce seedlings were cute?





I couldn't believe how fast my lettuce plants grew, only been about a month!

Tomatoes...felt like it took forever to grow! Close to 2 maybe even 3 months? Some of the cherry tomatoes finally ripened. Perfect time for me to try cherry tomatoes (I've never had them before...) The iPhone's camera quality really surprises me when I get photos like these!




As for what I did the rest of my summer...

Watched the Olympics & Went to work

I quite literally woke up and caught the Olympics and went to sleep watching it as well!

Work is a whole 'nother story that is too long and complicated to share here. Let's just say there was a lot of stress and the first couple of days I felt like I was going to go crazy from all the pressure. Retail at a big store is scary...


Gave DIY bracelets a go


Made sure I used all my beauty products more than I did the last summer

And of course went shopping!
center
The dress I wish I bought from Forever21.

The trench coat that I've been eyeing from Uniqlo and bought a couple of days ago because it finally went on sale!

The outfit I wore (sans the pants...decided to wear something less skin hugging) to my job interview.


The booties I tried and decided was too much for me to handle right now (still need more practice walking in heels first!) &

The wedged sneakers from Steve Madden that I just couldn't pass up on!!

I literally saw these Olympiaa photos on Pinterest the night earlier and thought wow! it looks so close to the (way too expensive for me) Ash wedged sneakers. The next day Bestie C and I went to walk around 34th Street after class and I suggested to go into the store to ONLY try on the shoe to see if it'll fit me. Then I was completely suckered in by how comfortable they were despite being heeled shoes. Yet that wasn't the final kicker that made me purchase these...Steve Madden had a Scratch-off promo going on and I got a $20 off! The shoes are still much more expensive than I normally buy but from $99.95 to $79.95...it's probably the best price I can get them for before they go on sale and run out of my size completely (or perhaps I'm just trying to make myself feel better for buying expensive shoes in general ha!).

So that was my July & August for you! How were your summers?

Classes started last Monday. Hopefully, I won't be too caught up by school work that I ignore the blog again! Please don't get mad if that does happen :X

22 comments:

  1. It looks like you had a lot of fun this summer! I've missed your blogposts :) I've only walked across a bridge in NYC twice and both times were years ago so thanks for reminding me that I should probably do it again sometime!

    I think you're definitely a more successful chef than I :( I made mac n' cheese too though and the secret to getting the sauce nice and smooth is to constantly stir it while it's simmering. It actually takes quite awhile and my arm was getting tired but it's so worth it!

    I think I know where you worked :) I recognize the font from the red logo. Does it start with a C and end with a number? I saw a bunch of listings on Craigslist for the store but I pretty much refuse to work in a large retailer; I think I'd do better in a smaller boutique.

    Both of those shoes look great! I love heels as well but can barely totter down the street in them. I've been liking the look of wedged sneakers as well! The ones you got look amazing and glad to hear they're comfy! :D

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    1. I hope the next time I walk across the bridge it's done being fixed!
      I'll keep the tip in mind :] I'll probably try at it another weekend! I haven't done much cooking from scratch. Looks can be deceiving :P
      And that is definitely the place I worked. My friend from HS told me about it and how easy it was to get the job so I applied just to get out of the house. After actually working there I realized why it was so easy to get in :X I think I'll do better in a smaller store too!

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    2. After shopping at that store a few times (probably not the location you worked at though) I knew I did not want to work there. I actually dislike doing things like stock and since I'm so weak it's hard for me to do a lot of the manual work. I love talking to customers and recommending things though. That was my favorite part of my old retail job! Large stores are decent if the work environment is very structured and the shoppers are somewhat considerate. I wish I could take on another retail job along with an internship again this semester but I don't think that's going to happen :(

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    3. I was a cashier so luckily I didn't have to restock. All I dealt with was paying customers which was sometimes good or bad. But just the company's overall attitude toward employees and customers rubbed me the wrong way. The occasional angry customer didn't either...I'm sure your internship will be much better than a retail job!

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  2. ahhhhh your homemade mac & cheese looks sooooooooooo noms.. is the 2nd one w/ ham?? or spam?? if you're not totally disgusted by spam.. you should try frying some spam in and throwing it on top of your mac & cheese.. it's totally my guilty pleasure hahah!

    those wedge sneakers that you got are super cute.. i've been looking for something like that!!!

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    1. It's with spam! I haven't tried frying anything yet but it does sound delicious :D I'll try that next time!!

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  3. i love cheese... specially with carbs such as macaroni/pasta :D ugh, it's just so damn tasty!

    i noticed that you're a new yorker! i was wondering where you get your supplies for your bracelet DIYs? i've been wanting to make some bracelets to stack together and also give away to friends :]

    i hope this isn't too weird, but i've been an anonymous reader for a while and never left a comment. hopefully this abrupt/random comment wont give you a scare! :D

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    1. Same! If only dairy products didn't wreak havoc on my skin and carbs my body =.=

      You didn't give me a scare! I love to follow fellow NY bloggers. Always gives me new things to do/place to eat at xD

      There are quite a few stores in the area just past Macy's Herald Square...so maybe about 37th or 38th Street and on 6th Avenue? The one I bought most of my supplies at this time was called Bead Center. There was no special reason why I bought everything there. It just happened to be the last supply store I walked into that day and I didn't feel like crossing the street again :X

      There may be others where it could be cheaper but I haven't really looked around all that much. If I find something nice I'll let you know :]

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  4. YAY welcome back! hahah I just had Mac n cheese recently. It reminded me of my childhood. I love your shoes! I saw the post on instagram.

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    1. Your childhood sounds like it was full of yummy food :P I didn't have mac n cheese much growing up. Just lots of chinese food xD

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  5. hehe you did good! I always plan on doing stuff for holidays but always end up lounging around the house XD so lazy especially when it's so hot outside. I've never seen ppl make curry doboki!! it looks delicious!!!!!! mental note to myself--> must try to make it sometime :D I've never seen breadsticks (that's what I call it XD I have no idea what it's called either XD) wrapped in rice noodles! it looks delish T_T (breakfast time...)

    your lettuces look amazingggg >o< for some reason the they look so happy. ahaha. I recently bought a little pot of basils O_O+ I think I need to re-pot it soon before it dies on me TOT

    And I know I've already said this nevertheless I'm gonna say it again... I adore your Steve Madden wedged sneakerssssssss~~~~~~~~~~~~ >w<

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    1. Haha that is usually how I am! (I shouldn't say this so proudly... :X)
      I think anything with ddeok takes good! You should definitely try it next time.
      Ah I was going to grow basil too but we didn't have enough pots/soil xD

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  6. Sounds like a really fun summer! Besides my internship during the week, I really didn't do much LOL. Just lazed around at home on the weekends. Wish I spent it better, but this last week before school starts for me has been pretty good! :D

    Have a great school year ahead, Mandy! :)

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    1. Aw. But I'm sure whatever you did at your internship was well worth it! Good luck to you too! :D

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  7. Omg it's been so hot here that you make me want some Patbingsoo right now...haha! Looks like you had a really fun Summer XD

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    1. I felt the same way last week here in NYC
      Go enough it before it gets cooler! :P

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  8. I came across your blog. I really like it. I started following you~

    Looks like you had a lot of fun with your friends. OMG I love those diy bracelets. I've been meaning to give it a try too.

    Come check out the Etsy giveaway I'm hosting for your chance to win a beautiful crafted necklace.

    http://purrincup.blogspot.com/2012/09/shani-adi-giveaway.html

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    1. You should definitely give it a try if you have the time! It isn't very difficult to make. But requires just a bit of patience and time :]

      Thanks for sharing the giveaway! It's a very cute necklace ^_^

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  9. Nice photos! The food looks so good and it's nice to see your skills improving, isn't it? (:

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    1. Definitely is! I can't wait to try more difficult dishes. I just hope I don't cause any accidents in the kitchen xD

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  10. the cheesecake looks deelish! and i LOVE Charlie and the gang!!!! wow you walked the bridge? ive always wanted to do that!
    too bad abt picnic garden, though i personally think it tastes awful lol

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    1. Hehe another NYer who hasn't walked the bridge yet :P I definitely recommend doing it at least once!
      Picnic Garden wasn't terrible, but it wasn't anything stellar either. Next time I go to Queens/Flushing, I should ask you for some recommendations first xD

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