HELLO KITTY AIR!!!

http://designyoutrust.com/2012/02/hello-kitty-air-jet-by-eva-airways/

I was watching TV and it just so happened that this came on the news. HELLO KITTY AIR!!! I had so many reactions!!!

WOW!

OH MY GOODNESS!

HOT TAMALE!

WHAT IN THE WORLD!?

AMAZING?!!

I WANT TO GO!! I WANT TO GO!!!

Hello Kitty has flooded stores all over the world. This kitty icon has so many different variations: rock, nerd, tanned, etc.. I love Hello Kitty. I may not love it to the extent where I must buy everything Hello Kitty and cover my room in Hello Kitty, but I do love Hello Kitty.

I would love to experience Hello Kitty Eva Air!! One day!! From its website, it looks like it only flies out of Taiwan. Ha-ha-ha Maybe one day I will take the flight from Taiwan to Seoul. In Seoul, I will go visit the Hello Kitty Cafe!! A whole trip dedicated to Hello Kitty!

At the moment, I am in Japan! I will be heading to Kiddy Land soon! I hear they sell many Hello Kitty and Rilakkuma paraphernalia. :) I can't wait! I am such a little kid at heart!

Fun Distractions

My Desk Distractions

When trying to tackle my homework the other day, I kept getting distracted. I don’t know why. The TV was off and my apartment was quiet. I took a look around and realized all the cute, fun distracting things on my desk. Let us take a tour through my distractions.

Rubiks Magic and Slinky

• There is the Rubiks Magic puzzle, which makes really interesting shapes. I’ve never solved it, and I don’t think I ever will.

• Who can resist a Slinky? Slinkys are so simple, yet so amusing. I just love motioning it back and forth. Plus, I find a Slinky falling down the stairs really cool. Have you seen the 1960 slinky commercial? Slinkys are so awesome!

• Have you guys ever been to Kid Robot? I’ve only been to the one in San Francisco, but there is one located in New York, Los Angeles, Miami and London. I bought two toys from Kid Robot’s POP! Super Shiny Mini Series. Kid Robot toys are so addicting to buy because you never know which toy you are going to get from the series.

Kid Robot Toys and Wilson from Cast Away

• Do you remember the movie Cast Away that came out in 2000? Wilson was the friend that Chuck created from a volleyball that washed up on the shore in a FedEx package. Even though Wilson never had a line, he was one of my favorite characters in the movie.
• Then there is Rilakkuma’s friend. Rilakkuma is a Japanese bear character that is famous in Japan.

Rilakkuma's Friend, 20 Questions, and Pink Piggy Bank

• Twenty Questions is another fun distraction. The game usually always guesses what I am thinking.
• My little, pink piggy bank that my friend gave to me for Christmas.

• And lastly, my stress squeeze toy shaped as my school mascot, Richie. I don’t really squeeze him when I’m stressed, but he’s just so cute. 

Richie

What distracts you at work or what distracts you from homework?

Happy Easter!

Easter is here and that means, eggs, tie-dye, bunnies, and baked goods! To get into the Easter spirit I decided to do some baking. I had bought all these baking supplies and hadn’t had the time to bake a thing. I whipped out the usual baking supplies and ingredients: mixing bowl, whisk, baking pan, wax paper, eggs, flour, butter, rice krispies, marshmallows and a pack of sugar cookie mix that my friend, Susie, had given me. As the oven heated up to 350°, I melted some butter and marshmallows in a pan and mixed it with the Rice Krispies. I transferred that to a pan and was ready to make the cookies.

Rice Krispie Treats

When I make cookies, I usually drop cookie dough on the pan. This time I wanted to try and roll out the cookie dough and cut out bunny and egg shaped cookies. I had limited supplies, but I was going to give it a shot.

Tips and Tricks I learned…

• When flattening the cookie dough, make sure there is enough flour on the dough, so it isn’t as sticky.
• Don’t have cookie cutters? You can simply use a knife and cut your own shapes right on the dough; or you can make your own cookie cutters from those heavy duty disposable pans. I learned this trick from Miss Strawberry in her Making of Delicious Kpop Battle video. (Thanks Miss Strawberry!)
• If dough is freshly mixed and soft, don’t throw the scraps away after you cut out the cookies. You can easily mash the extra dough together and flatten it back out to cut out more cookies.
• When placing a cut out bunny on your baking pan, make sure to spread out the bunny’s ears, so the ears won’t get stuck together as it bakes.
• Let the cookies cool off before you decorate them. You don’t want your cookie icing to melt.
• Have fun decorating! Don't be afraid to get messy.

Decorative icing I used

Here is how my cookies turned out!

Easter cookies

Happy Easter everyone!

Some knitting indulgence for myself

Ever receive a knitted scarf? Have you seen people knit and wished you could knit? I had always wanted to knit, but never sat down and learned until Christmas break 2011. Oh boy, did I not know what I was getting into. I went to my local Joann’s; I bought a “Learn How to Knit in One Day” book, some yarn and a pair of knitting needles; and then I went home and started to learn how to knit. Once I got the hang of things, it was a breeze. I had learned later on that the smaller the knitting needles, the more knitting I would have to do.

The type of yarn I used to knit
 my first scarf

I had the ambition of knitting two scarves for my friends’ Christmas presents. I thought three weeks would be a piece of cake to knit two scarves, but I didn’t quite think things through. I picked a really thick, fuzzy, Joann Sensations type of yarn to knit my first scarf. It was so hard to see where the knits were for this type of yarn. When I finally got that scarf done in February 2012, I was able to start my second scarf. This type of yarn was much easier to knit and only took me three days. When those scarves were done, it was hard to give them to my friends because I worked so hard on them. In the end they loved them!

Since I had some extra yarn left over, I decided it was time to knit something for myself. I decided to knit a bow and it turned better than I thought. Now I have something I knitted that I can wear, and someone else may be the one thinking, “I wish I knew how to knit.” If you are that someone, here is the site that really helped me (because the book wasn't as hands on): Knitting Help.

My knitted bow 

I put a clip on the back so I can wear it in my hair.

Cupcake Cheers!

When planning a trip, what do you usually do after booking a hotel and a way to get there? I usually find myself looking at touristy sites and Yelp. Yelp has helped me find so many awesome places to explore and to eat at. It has also helped me satisfy my cravings. The craving of the day was cupcakes!

Black Velvet Cupcake

It was a long bus ride to Washington, D.C. After walking around for a while and hitting many museums, my friends and I were in search of coffee and cupcakes. We found our way to a Chinatown Dunken Donuts after asking for directions at a gym. A few blocks down, we hit Red Velvet Cupcakery. I was thrilled out of my mind. To myself I was cheering, “Cupcakes! Cupcakes! Cupcakes!” As soon as we walked in I said, “Smells like YUM!” I can't resist the lovely smell of baked goods!

My friends and I each ordered one cupcake. In our cupcake cheers we had a Black Velvet cupcake, which was a light, vegan/gluten-free chocolate cupcake topped with chocolate butter cream; Cookies in Cream cupcake, which was a marvelous chocolate, oreo cookie mixed cupcake topped with American buttercream; a Southern Belle cupcake, which was their famous red velvet cupcake topped with whipped cream cheese; and a Hazelnut cupcake with coffee buttercream frosting. What better way to enjoy baked goods than with friends? The buttercream was to die for! It was so rich and creamy that it melted in your mouth. Although it wasn’t the best cupcake I’ve ever had, it certainly hit the spot for the day.

Cheers to Cupcakes! Black Velvet, Cookies in Cream, Southern Belle, and Hazelnut

Can’t wait for the next time to feast on some delightful baked goods accompanied by friends!