photography – Page 7

travel | boston, massachusetts

Published on October 9, 2014October 6, 2014 by Lan | MoreStomach8 Comments

hihi!
i wanted to sneak a
very quick post
about our jaunt to
boston last month.
it was our first time
travelling to this area of
the country together.
southwest had a sale
early in the year
so we booked
our anniversary trip
while planning our honeymoon.

tips:
public transportation – boston is a great city for walking and hopping on the bus or metro. i only threw up ONCE due to my motion sickness; as a result, we walked 2.5 miles home after our anniversary dinner. no worries, it was a lovely time spent in the city with dw.

if you’d like, more pix below, as well as some links to the places we visited. stars are the ones that i highly recommend.

the elephant walk
eastern standard*
cafe beirut
the salty pig*
FoMu*****
harvard museum of Natural History*
Neptune Oyster
The Blue Nile*
Fiore Italian Bakery
dumpling cafe
b&g oysters*
airbnb apartment (the neighborhood, Jamaica Plains, is wonderful. not exactly central, but super easy to get around on the bus and metro lines)

confab | current reads

Published on September 1, 2014August 31, 2014 by Lan | MoreStomach9 Comments

it’s september.
which means my first love turns
half a century old.
it also means there’s
an extra 25 minutes to my commute
cus schools have started.
mostly it means
that the weather is cooler
i’m thinking about knee high socks
plans are being made for apple picking.
i might put away summer clothes
and bring out the sweaters
i’m also thinking about making soup
but mostly,
i’m snuggling with dw,
possibly with a book in hand.

last month i finished
TWO POINT FIVE BOOKS:
is everyone hanging out without me by mindy kaling
this song will save your life by leila sales
disconnected: an e-short story by jennifer weiner

there were times when i
thought mindy & i should be bffs,
i even tweeted her.
she ignored me.
that’s the other times i thought
we shouldn’t be bffs.
i listened to the other book,
which made me sad,
because it reminded me of high school.
and then i read the short
one while on jury duty.
that’s it.

currently on my kindle slash cloud reader slash audio thing:
allegiant by veronica roth
one more thing by bj novak

currently wait-listed:
interworld by neil gaiman
bossypants by tina fey

currently reading in the car during road trips:
the smokejumper by nicholas evans, which happens to be a repeat,
and one of my favoritest books.

and you lovies,
what are you reading?

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?