omg.

on wednesday, may 9, 2012, at 5:10 p.m., i finished my last final examination ever. my final final. well, for the foreseeable future, anyway.

we celebrated with dim sum, naturally, at winsor cafe, followed by the best pinkberry flavor ever. then, i traipsed around in the rain and took photographs of this beautiful campus at night, before witnessing friends competing to eat bowls of jalapenos in the dining hall. anticlimatic, a bit, but i wouldn't have it any other way.

spring

harvard is unspeakably beautiful the springtime, especially right after the rain, when the courtyard is blanketed in blush-colored blossoms. the lilacs are in full bloom right now, and their heady perfume never fails to transport me back to kindergarten days in beijing, when my father would pluck a sprig for me from the trees that soared overhead and i would bury my nose in them, before walking home together.

minolta

i recently bought a 35mm minolta and i have absolutely nooooo idea what i'm doing, as evidenced by this accidentally quadruaply exposed frame, shot inside the isabella stewart gardner museum. i just squint and pray for the best. it's so much fun.

honey-coloured weekends

ducking into this new-to-me shop while walking to karma yoga was the best decision ever. sampling a (very yummy) glass of tupelo honey amber ale 10 minutes before yoga, and blogging about it at 2 a.m. the night before a midterm, aren't quite as good.

anyways, if you're in boston, you must stop in! it is heart-breakingly cute in every way.



Follow the Honey
1132 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, MA 02138
(617) 945-7356
http://followthehoney.com/

a road trip

last weekend, we rented a car and drove for hours

and sang along to the radio, misread maps, and poked around towns sprinkled along the bay

with no set time or place to be, just trusting ourselves to road signs and the sight of the sea

we skipped stones into the waves until our hands went numb

then stood on a cliff by the ocean,
promising each other that we'd come back in april and have a picnic in that same spot.

true bistro

i have a really lovely restaurant to share with you today...

it's vegan and it's in somerville.



no, really, i promise it's good!





trust me.

start with the black bean and plantain torte with salsa verde and vegan sour cream. throw in an izze soda (or go with one of their many wines/cocktails/nonalc drinks).

then, you must order the phyllo purse stuffed with seitan and squash.

and a vietnamese crepe that you'll find really hard to believe doesn't contain egg.

don't be like us and completely neglect to notice the hot sauce that was served alongside.

savour the crunchiness with your newly healed wisdomteethless mouth.

proceed to dissect the purse with glee.

wish that your real purse tasted like this.

of course you can't leave without dessert! what are you thinking?? (that just because you're going to a vegan restaurant you're going to be abstemious? pshhhh)


friend: "i have a feeling we're going to end up with the coconut torte."
me: "why would you think that?? not at all!" [internally: okay i was set on the coconut torte ever since i saw the menu online but how in the world did you know that?] "am i really so predictable?!"
friend: "well....... i have a sample size of 1, but i just have a feeling."
me: "okay. i'm going to look at the menu again just so that i can order something BESIDES the coconut torte."

[waitress brings the dessert menu]

me: "excuse me, does this mango-macadamia crumble have ginger in it?"
waitress: "yes, it does."
me: fuck. [i have ginger issues.] "okay thank you! uhhhhh maybe we can get the sorbet?? or the death by chocolate cake. or the napoleon sounds good!"


pause.


"okay nevermind. we're getting the coconut torte."

sometimes, it's perfectly okay to be a predictable eater.

even peta approves!

friend: "when peta likes something, that makes me want to like it less."

...including animals?




True Bistro
1153 Broadway
Somerville, MA
truebistroboston.com

the best macarons in boston...

... are these, from sofra bakery. (trust me, i would know.) however, they are available only on special occasions -- this box was procured around mother's day.

a little birdie tells me that sofra has macarons right now. go.

eastern standard

i adore eastern standard inside the commonwealth hotel. the food's not revelatory by any means, but it's comforting and always reliably good. the atmosphere is vaguely french and elegant, but still relaxed and cozy -- i don't really feel like i'm at a restaurant; instead, i'm just sitting down in a well-appointed room, and there just happens to be people serving me food (how nice!). there's also a cool photo gallery on the second floor. and last but not least, the drinks here are definitely some of the best in boston.

all in all, it's just a wonderful place to come to eat and talk and drink and repeat ... on and on for three hours, and never feel rushed. :)

"corio coupe"--reyka vodka, apricot puree and orange oil

offal du jour: crispy chicken liver!

camembert & tomato flatbread

egg cream; drowning my reading period woes

christmas decorations in the commonwealth hotel!