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travel | chiang mai, thailand & elephant nature park 2014

Published on April 17, 2014April 20, 2014 by Lan | MoreStomach14 Comments

we traveled north for a few days
to get out of the city
to see a dear, dear friend
and to walk with elephants

i looked up at the night sky,
the same night sky
that is usually invisible
to our eyes —
what with the urban lights
and smog
and lack of time to pause,
i looked up at the unending expanse,
with its innumerable exploding stars
and gigantic galaxies,
i felt the earth spinning
and i felt dizzy
and small

walking with these elephants,
these intelligent beasts
with their faultless presence
i also felt dizzy
and small

and i will tell you:
it was exhilarating

additional information for Chiang Mai, Thailand and Elephant Park
accomodations: private townhouse
dining: the Riverside, we dined here twice
day trip: sukantara, an eco-boutique resort
shopping: night bazaar
elephant nature park: 2 day, overnight visit

*note: pic of me with my hand in the elephant’s mouth courtesy of dw. he really does capture me at my most random….

we’ll go back to regular food + dream stuff soon …

travel | bangkok, thailand 2014

Published on April 14, 2014April 30, 2014 by Lan | MoreStomach18 Comments

i’ve been trying to write this
for awhile
from many places
— while walking sidewalks brimming with food vendors
— crossing a busy street, clutching dw’s hand tight
— from cramped airplane seats, recycled air pressed down on me
— early morning thoughts while combating jetlag
— dreary late night musings, preparing for reality

there is a heat in bangkok
that seizes you
it gets caught mid-breath
and you’re left gasping
for some it’s oppressive
for me,
it’s joyous
i don’t mind the heat,
or the slick tendrils of hair at my temple
or the pit stains
i’m 16 again
wearing slippers, dusty toed
and ignoring hawkers as they
implore & vie for my attention

i’m caught up in the magic
of travelling
of wandering a foreign city with my love
never mind the blisters on
both feet
and
the stink i’m sure i’m emitting

all i know is
i am in love with everything:
dw
being lost
the dirt
the heavy air
dw
even the lack of soy milk for my coffee

and i am dreaming of our next adventure

bangkok information and resources:
i’m sorry, i won’t be able to highlight every place we went to, i don’t remember & most places were on a whim

accommodations: 1 bedroom condo we found on airbnb. we kept the place even when we went to chiang mai for a long weekend.
dining: no lie, i think we had khao man gai 7-8 times. i asked the landlord for recommendations and then i asked shesimmers, and if i saw a joint that had it, we’d stop for it. i’ll list just the two leela endorsed cus they were gooooood. Khao Man Gai Monkhon Wattana (ข้าวมันไก่มงคลวัฒนา) and Khao Man Gai Heng Heng (ข้าวมันไก่เฮงเฮง). if you really want to know more about those places, email me & i’ll send you the info.
urban kitchen: we met up with dw’s cousin and he took us to this great cafe. i’m now obsessed with bruised cucumber salad and drunken chicken. i will eventually recreate that meal
Methavalai Sorndaeng: dw’s parents visited thailand after their stint in india with the peace corps. they dined at this restaurant, so we did too!
shopping: we hit up most of the shopping malls, whole sale and retail, and bazaars. i could not tell you where i bought the cutest tea cup set, cus i don’t know, and cus it was by luck. i did hit up all these and the weekend market
sights: the grand palace, adhere to the dress code

next: our chiang mai leg, specifically, walking with the elephants!

other wanderings:
vietnam 2012
barçelona2010
rochester
pittsburgh

february | remember

Published on February 28, 2014February 27, 2014 by Lan | MoreStomach7 Comments

today being the Last Day of Feb
meaning
we’re right on the cusp
of Spring
or
~~something~~ nothing like it
it being much more bearable one day,
the next being pretty effing awful

i find myself deadline crocheting,
again
i also doodle in my notebook
listing things to pack for
our upcoming trip
things to buy for/during
our upcoming trip
one of which is potentially
a NEW LENS
which could be death
of me and my nikon friends
who i keep pestering for their opinions
but they’re all the same
and i haven’t won the lottery yet
so i can’t buy all of them
only one
gawd, the decisions!

felt … omg, the excitement as we countdown till we leave
watched … a movie, with friends, that made me simultaneously laugh & cry inside. i also spent a good portion of the drive home ranting about parents and family and divorce and how fucked up people in general are
drove … for miles. to southern va and i am reminded again of how beautiful the blue ride mountains are
commenced … a juice/smoothy type thing. let’s just say that i adore chewing & leave it at that
swooned … over this book, that is making me love pride&prejudice all over again, despite what twain says about austen

a few pinterest and internet discoveries:
||i’d wear this dress everyday
||thinking about this pretty cake for a dear friend’s baby shower this summer
||blueberry season cannot get here fast enough
||i need to make this, and i will, once i get over my crush for her dandan noodles
||i may have gotten teary-eyed over this
||just this
||seriously considering going even shorter!

photo captions:
||the view of muddy gut creek. don’t let the name fool you
||dried flowers, early morn. dear spring: just get here already
||an adaption of this recipe. we’ve made this thrice, once with cilantro instead of mint, another time with paprika instead of chili, yet another time with millet, all times were fabulous. now that pomegranate season is over, i’m wracking my brain for what other relish i can make…
||pickled mango: what am i supposed to do with it? i received it from my foodie penpal this month. he actually sent me a box of random condiments and spices and goodness and that jar of pickled mango has my utmost interest right now, though i don’t rightly know what to do with it. thoughts?

DIY | scratch off lottery tickets

Published on February 11, 2014February 10, 2014 by Lan | MoreStomach12 Comments

they say there’s
50 eskimo words for ‘snow’
that’s a lot of words for
the same damn thing that’s
falling from the sky
and can’t seem to resolve itself
it started snowing back in
DECEMBER
and it’s hardly stopped since
i know there are places
up north
out west
the North Pole
Antarctica
that have it waaaay worse
so with that in mind
dw & i thew a party
our first dinner party
and made our guests sit on the floor
BAM
one new year’s resolution resoluted
we had vietnamese hot pot
cus that’s what you feed people
to celebrate the year of the horse
and when it’s cold out
and when you want to do as little
cooking as possible
making guests work for their meal
is the best party trick
go ahead,
steal this idea
some more tips:

have games
if you have friends,
like i do,
who are competitive,
games are good
homemade scratch off lottery tickets
are damn good

how to:
very similar to how i made my
wedding save the dates
except,
under the scratch-off paint
write incredibly assertive
messages
and watch the quibbling that
ensues between said competitive friends
as they scramble to
get the best prizes in the basket
(note: prizes ranged
from homemade blueberry jam
to real lottery tickets)

we also played two kinds of card games
Peanuts: a wilson family game
that rumor has it
grandmothers were mowed over
to clinch wins
our games entailed
quite a bit of stress,
silent planning,
and entirely too many swear words
a version of Asshole
which also caused
cussing

all in all,
it was a success
i’ve been day dreaming
about entertaining
and it all came together so easily

resources and inspiration:
kitchn | don’t be afraid to rearrange furniture. my friends sat on the floor!
inspired food | always have a plan B. i planned to make fortune cookies but shit did not go right. i had a plan B.
dinners for winners | kinda reverse this post: i made note of dietary restrictions, the sauces were gluten free and we made sure the abode was clean so everyone could make themselves comfortable.

january | remember

Published on January 31, 2014January 30, 2014 by Lan | MoreStomach10 Comments

today’s the last day of the month
which means
it’s the first day
of the Year of the Horse

may this new year be:
prosperous
joyful
flavorful
simple
healthy

felt … falling snow, wet and hard and unforgiving. this winter has been brutal. 30F has actually felt balmy around these parts.
saw … perfect 20/20 vision. my lasik procedure was a success and while i’m still recuperating, it’s been a revelation to wake up to an in focus world.
read … a book! actually, still reading it and i’m serious, i’m about 18% in and my heart is breaking already

a few pinterest & internet discoveries:
||i have a serious thing for tutus and sequins
||i don’t even like camping, but how delightful does this look?
||i have my heart set on making this, even though we’ve been shedding books
||i’m a fan of this solemn man and i need his action figure in my life
||this is magical
||my creative writing professor never gave us this assignment, thank gawd
||i loved this read so so SO MUCH: What’s wrong with me? Plenty. But that was never the point.

photo captions:
||it’s not so much the snow that kills me, it’s the damn cold. it’s like a soul-sucking siege, a state of which i see no end of
||weekends in general means dw makes breakfast. i’m not complaining, the man spoils me rotten
||not seeing these seeds any longer at the markets, meaning the season is over… meaning, winter needs to make her exit now already
||i walked into michael’s for yarn and walked out with these spoons, completely unnecessary
||finally, i signed up for a foodie penpal thing back in november. it happened to fall during a busy time and can i just tell you, seeing a package on my desk after an absence from the office was just what i needed. my penpal Alyssa sent me some trader joe’s ingredients and cookies will be forthcoming, i’ve had an idea floating in my head for the last 3 weeks and it just might be born this weekend… stay tuned. meanwhile, to join the fun, go here

last. i must share this with you. my current celebrity crush is tom hiddleston. i like me a bad boy and he as loke had me quivering. this is him doing a reading of ee cummings’ may i feel said he. swoon