A modern room and wallpaper removal

I came across the Kreiss site today and just loved the look of this room: cool, clean, comfortable. It's called the Libra collection and surprisingly has materials that I wouldn't normally consider, like marble (always thought that too high-end shi-shi for my taste) and wrought iron. But I like how bright and light the room is, with several accent colors and the contrast with dark materials. I've always liked the look of a white room with dark floors -- it just looks so spacious and airy (I guess tall ceilings also help in this instance).

And I really like this chair:


for the low price of $2575. It looks so comfy, yet has clean lines and looks solid. Hoping to find a close replication for much less.

Meanwhile, I'm looking into wallpaper removal options for the apartment:

• a step-by-step primer, from This Old House
  
• video and instructions on what to do when someone has painted over the wallpaper, from an episode on Ask This Old House that I saw on PBS
  
• step-by-step, from Zinnser (using their products, of course)
• information on stripping and how to paint afterwards, from This Old House
  
• and lastly, I've heard about spraying the paper with fabric softener mixed with hot water

One of the articles mentioned that you should use an oil-based primer after removing all the paper and glues because the water in water-based paints might reactivate some of the glues. But can you use water-based paint over oil-based primer?

Good quote to keep in mind

The perfect is the enemy of the good. -- Voltaire

Mattress purchase: Goldilocks

I once avidly watched the PBS attempt at reality TV where they got a bunch of people to "travel back in time" to re-live the colonial experience. I remember there was a guy who was delegated to a servant position and he worked so hard to make a comfortable bed for his master. I think he stuffed straw and goose feathers into a large white sack and out came a mattress. When the master and his family had had enough of the "New World" they packed up and left. Before a new leader would arrive, the servant was able to use his previous master's bed, which was a huge improvement over sleeping on the floor, even if it was a little moldy, and he was so grateful.

Alas, if we could only go back to those simpler times (at least in our head). Now if you want a new mattress, you must decide amongst a billion and one different things. There are pillowtops, wrapped coils, reinforced sides, foam sides, solid foam mattresses, height and size to consider. And within each, there are thirteen other decisions to make -- soft pillowtop or firm? Memory foam? Medium firm, firm, or lumbar support? Locked grid? Number of coils? Silk, wool, polyester, or combination fabric? Box spring or not? You have to compare amongst brands Sealy, Simmons, Posturepedic. And don't forget price. For queen size mattresses, we've come across anything from $300 to $1700. To make matters more difficult, every retailer has different models so you can never be sure you're comparing the same thing. Even Bloomingdales and Macy's have different models, even though they're owned by the same parent company. A saleswoman said that if you comparison-shop for mattresses that are about the same in price (about $50-100 difference), with similar coil counts, you can guess that maybe the two mattresses are the same thing. The only way you can really be sure is if you try each one out, in all the positions that you usually sleep (back, side, stomach), to find the right one for you.

The other night we went to Macy's and bounced around from one mattress to the other. Yep, we're finally looking into getting a new bed, something my mother urged me to do before we got married so that we could start 'afresh,' as part of that impractical Chinese tradition.

We passed up a sale at Macy's because it was our first experience and we thought we needed to check out more than what's available at one store. I was also looking for closeouts that supposedly are marked down significantly for new stock, where they change little things like fabric.

Our next stop, many weeks later, was Sears, which advertised mattresses for $300. The place was terrible and I didn't even want to really shop there -- there were kids lounging and bouncing around on a few beds at a time, some mattresses were gated off, there were footprints on some mattresses, and absolutely no one approached us to help.

The next day, we went to Sleepy's. I wanted to check out what these so-called "mattress professionals" had to offer. Unlike at Sears, we got a lot of attention from the lone salesman, who asked us a series of questions like, what kind of bed do you like, when was the last time you bought a mattress, what size you want. Since we weren't sure what we liked, he had us try a firm and a medium firm. He made us take off our coats and lay fully on the mattress. I immediately disliked the firm and liked the medium firm a lot. Dear felt the opposite, but he also thinks he can sleep standing up. After seeing our preferences, the salesperson made us try a few more, amongst different brands, all without pillowtop so that we could get a real feel for what we liked. We even tried the Tempurpedic foam mattress, which was like a better version of the memory foam pad I once had. Supposedly lots of arthritic people like the Tempurpedic because there is no pressure on any part of your body. In the end, we settled on this insanely expensive medium firm mattress (the first one that I tried). However, we really didn't want to spend that much money on one thing, and I really didn't have a good feeling about the salesman. Even though he really helped us narrow down our choices (it is so overwhelming otherwise, where every mattress begins to feel exactly as the previous one did), I thought he was a bit sleazy. He had a typical sales pitch -- you missed the biggest sale of the year, but if you put down a deposit today, you can get that sale price, which is essentially a free boxspring and free delivery. He also kept telling us whatever we wanted to hear -- when we were trying the bed with reinforced steel sides, he said that it's the best one out there, especially when compared to the one with the foam sides, which could sag. But when we really liked the foam-sided one, he said having foam vs. the steel wired one was about the same. All that could have been fine and dandy, but when I asked him about closeout mattresses, he lied and said that they don't carry closeouts because they just ship it back to the manufacturer. I suspect that the mattresses in the back are the closeouts, which is why he kept us in the front. The guy was also full of lies -- he said he was the manager and so he was able to authorize the special price but he supposedly rotates among 15 stores so he may not be there the following day. Of course, he was there the next night when Dear went to cancel the order and get our deposit back. It was kinda sad to see him in that dead-end job though, trying to sell stuff that people only buy once every 10 years or so.

Back at Macy's, it was an entirely different experience, about halfway between the Sleepy's and Sears. The salesperson didn't really pay much attention to us and mostly let us experience the mattresses for ourselves and relied on us to ask him the questions. Most of the beds there have pillowtops, which makes it very difficult to compare with the one we had picked out at Sleepy's, but we settled on one that we liked last time. This time it was also on closeout, plus it was "Friends and Family" coupon day and we could save even more with the opening of a charge card, which I did. The mattress came out to be quite inexpensive and we could cut the price even more if we decide against the frame ($100) or the boxspring. We also made the cut-off to qualify for free delivery -- could it get any better?

All in all, I think there are great deals to be had at Macy's. I would stay away from Sears entirely, and I think going to Sleepy's helps you to narrow down what you like. You just have to be careful of the pushy salesperson. We also checked out the mattresses available through Costco, but we decided that it's too difficult to choose based on a description -- we needed to feel it in person.

Some pointers when shopping for a mattress:

• Test each one out. Be sure to wear comfortable clothes (take off your coat, relax) and lay in the position that you usually sleep in (on your side, back, stomach, etc.). Try to lay on each one for a while so that you get a good feel. If you have trouble remembering what a previous one felt like, go try it again.
• Compare, compare, compare! What I liked about the Sleepy's experience was that the salesperson first made us choose which one we liked among two types. Then he asked us to pick a favorite among a few, and then compare the favorite to other ones so that it is almost like having a control in a science experiment.
• Ask about closeouts, which should be plentiful especially at the end of the year. If the person steers you away from these discounted mattresses, you know he's not the most honest person out there.
• Once you've found a mattress that you like, if you feel you could find it cheaper, check out other places. Take note of the characteristics that you liked, the price, and any other specifics that you can so that you have the fairest comparison amongst various stores.
  
• In the end, despite all the hype about any one particular characteristic (you may not care for one that has more coils than another), I think everything depends on whichever one you feel most comfortable with.

You spend a third of your life sleeping, and a mattress lasts about ten years, so it pays to put quite a bit of thought into what could be a big investment.

Once we've had the mattress for a while, I will have to see whether the salespeople are correct, and we do indeed no longer have to flip the mattress every few months.

Go bare!

Ever since I started using BareMinerals makeup, I can't help but rave about how great it is! It meets all the requirements I've ever wanted/needed in makeup: it's easy to apply (takes 5 minutes a day); comfortable (the minerals don't make my skin feel extra oily or like there's a layer of stuff sitting on my face -- I sometimes even forget that I'm wearing it); and it evens out my complexion, even concealing red spots and blemishes.

I tried out the Starter Kit, which includes the 2 foundations in Medium and Medium Beige, the Skin Rev-er Upper, Warmth All-Over Face Color, Mineral Veil, and 3 brushes. I use the Kabuki brush to apply the foundation for heavier coverage, then the concealer brush for those red spots (i.e. pimples and scars), then the All-Over brush to apply the Mineral Veil, which is like a finishing powder. After some use, I came to see that the Warmth thing does nothing for me (actually it doesn't look right on me) so I can cut out that step. I'm a bit torn, though, on which foundation is right for me (I may even need to combine the Medium with a Light b/c I think I'm in between).

But overall, I love this product. If you don't like the hassle of putting on makeup and you don't like the feeling of wearing makeup, you gotta try BareMinerals!

Holiday campaign of note

'Tis the season for much commerce and all the campaigns that go with them. I thought I'd share one that really impressed one. I don't think it's a new one (a few years running) but it's so well thought out who would blame them for bringing it back?

American Express' "My Wishlist" campaign at first glance appears to be a just selling a bunch of cool stuff for a hugely discounted price (most notably a luxury car for $5000). But it is actually a multi-tiered campaign to not only sell stuff but also has the benefit of getting people to sign up for the credit card (only Amex members can buy the products). The highly covetable incentives (or is it merchandise?) are offered for just a limited time, three times a day for 2 weeks or so. There is a different item for each of the days during the time period. If you fail to be one of the three "winners" for the top-tier items at each of the designated time slots, you can always buy "featured products" at anytime as gifts for yourself or your friends and family.

The breakdown, on the Amex site

To add to this clever campaign, is the wonderful Flash presentation. For example, when browsing through the featured products that you can buy at any time, a mouseover produces a virtual flip up to reveal what the discount is for that particular vendor.
There is also a handy little feature to remind yourself of when the "prize(s)" that you want will be open for purchase. To extend the marketing, there is of course, the usual email-a-friend and also mobile phone reminders.
The only weak spot, which may or may not be Amex's fault, is the unclear images for some of the featured product vendors. Some company logos are so small and/or blurry that it is almost indecipherable.

Mexican night

The other day Dear made dinner for the BS group -- it was a big production, but I think it turned out quite well. He began by rubbing the pieces of chicken (that he de-boned himself, of course) the previous night with Goya's Adobo. Ever since I tried the chicken burrito from Chipotle, I've fallen into salivating love with that Spanish flavor and it's so much easier to get the seasoning than it is to make from scratch. He also cleaned up strips of skirt steak the night before but he didn't season it until right before grilling. On the day of, he grilled the chicken and beef while I helped him saute the onions and peppers. We also heated up the tortillas in the oven, along with some tortilla chips. When things were done grilling and cooking, Dear wrapped everything up in foil and kept it warm in the oven.

For the tortilla chips, we got a jar of the "Deli Style" medium salsa from Costco. It was chunky, a bit spicy, pretty fresh-tasting, and almost tasted like homemade. Good thing we didn't spend too much time to make it from scratch. The cool salsa was a great complement to the warm chips.

The chicken and beef had a great smokiness, though I think the Adobo flavor has died down some since we first bought it about a year ago. They were still good and juicy though. Along with the shredded cheese and warm tortilla (all we were missing was sour cream!), we had some good eating. I had three and was clamoring for more but there was none left. :(

Falafel and French food

Given my carnivorean tastes and dislike for beans, I just had my first falafel sandwich today. I had heard good things about the balls of ground up chickpeas at a place close to work on Broadway (think it's called Broadway Cafe) so I went there. The guy behind the counter constructed the sandwich by first cutting an end off of a pita to open it. Then he threw in 3 falafel balls (they look like browned meat balls) and put it through the commercial toaster oven. When the sandwich came out, he drizzled some loose tan-colored sauce (tahini) over it, then piled on a chunky salad of cucumbers, green bell peppers, and tomatoes and he finished it off with more of the tahini on top. Somewhere along the line he added hommus too.

There was a lot of salad to get through at the top (I usually dislike raw vegetables), but the tahini and the crisp pita bread made it easy. Then I got to the falafel. With all the spices and density of the packed ground chickpeas, it was quite enjoyable. The tahini (though a bit bitter on its own) made everything a bit creamy, kinda like adding mayo to sandwiches. Towards the bottom of the sandwich, I think I got the full experience of what everything should taste like: each bite had some pita, falafel, salad, and tahini, where the salad cooled down the spices in the falafel, and the wet tahini held everything together yet juxtaposed the crispiness of the pita well. All in all, I'd have this again and IF I was forced to be a vegetarian, this would make it on my menu (next to the vegetarian duck). Speaking of which, I've not had meat all day!

But chew on this, my other food story! Last Wednesday, since we were let out early from work for Thanksgiving, I had a long leisurely lunch on the LES at Lucien. It is a charming little French bistro on 1st & 1st, complete with French waiters and a table of patrons taking a very loooooong lunch (actually it seemed like they were just on the aperitif part of the meal b/c I didn't see them have anything but wine). They also decorated the place "very French" -- the waitress explained that they like to decorate with eggs when we inquired about the odd (stationary) ferris wheel-like rack on the counter that held over a dozen eggs on display, like a bunch of egg cups combined. But I digress -- the food was worth writing home (or to the public at large) about.

I ordered a bouillabaise, my standby, since I just love seafood. If only I had brought my camera, since the presentation was so nice. Besides the usual shrimp, clams, mussels, and white fish (probably cod) arrayed around the plate, there was a half lobster in the middle of the dish. As the waiter brought it out, all we could see were the antenna and part of the head, little did we know there'd be a body attached! All the seafood was well-cooked (nothing overdone) and to dip their fresh, crusty bread in the soup was quite tasty. It was a bit of a bother to have to disassemble a lobster sitting in reddish liquid when you're wearing a white dress shirt, but they made it easier by cracking the claw in all the strategic places (but still keeping everything intact for presentation purposes) and also providing a lobster fork and a bowl to discard all the other shells. I think the bouillabaise could have used some more flavor from the sea (besides salt) -- it definitely wasn't very complex and full-bodied to me. But thank goodness for the dessert, the real piece de resistance (isn't it always?).

Before I get to the end of the meal, though, I'll add that my companion had the duck, which was also presented beautifully -- it had height and sat on a bed of wine infused beets and some spinach. I didn't taste it though, so I hardly remember anything else about it except that my companion really liked it too. And while we were enjoying our respective dishes and conversing, the owner/manager came over to us (he was sitting on the table with the loungers) and asked how we liked our meal. I thought he was just an over-friendly Frenchman, or perhaps jovial from the wine, but then he asked if he could buy us a glass of wine. We turned him down (being the polite Asians that we are) and proceeded to eat. Later on, someone else from the table approached us and asked if we'd like a drink -- he'd pour it right from their table. But we just couldn't but instead, tried to get dessert out of him, which he just laughed about. Oh well, we tried.

But good thing that didn't deter us from ordering dessert. We got the apple tarte tatin with cinnamon ice cream. I'm not one for cooked apples, so I wasn't expecting much. I'm also not a huge fan of cinnamon but the melting ice cream next to the hot apples infused just the right amount of spice, while adding a smooth creaminess from the ice cream, much like a good dollop of whipped cream would have provided. The apples were sliced very thinly so that it wasn't mushy at all; the layers of it added a bit of crunch and fresh apple-ness but were also cooked to just melt in the mouth after a few bites. The absolute best part of it all was the thin, caramelized sugar coating on top, with the same crunch and crackling of the sugar between your teeth as with a creme brulee top (also on their menu). Ooooh, was it good!

LUCIEN: B

Birthday wording

Been thinking of how to do FIL's 70th birthday invitation. Here's some stuff for the charrette bin....

Age is opportunity no less than youth itself. --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams. --John Barrymore

Grow old with me! The best is yet to be. --Robert Browning

To be 70 years young is sometimes far more cheerful and hopeful than to be forty years old. --Oliver Wendell Holmes

Youth has no age. --Pablo Picasso


You are cordially invited to attend
a YEAR Birthday Party
for NAME
DAY
TIME
LOCATION
ADDRESS
CITY, STATE

You are cordially invited to attend
a YEAR Birthday Party
honoring NAME
DAY
TIME
LOCATION
ADDRESS
CITY, STATE

Please join us for a
Birthday Banquet
in honor of
NAME'S
YEARS Birthday
DATE at TIME
LOCATION
ADDRESS
HOSTS

A Golden Birthday
Celebration
Please join us
NAMES
for a birthday party
in honor of our dear friend
NAME
who will turn AGE
on DATE
at TIME
LOCATION
ADDRESS
CITY, STATE

And here's some stuff from Mark Twain's own 70th -- dang, did ppl know how to write back then!

Paint inspiration

I was surfing today and somehow came across this on the design*sponge site:I think it is a great way to transition colors from space to space and it seems pretty DIY-able. Not sure when/where to use this, or if I could even find a design that I like, but I will tuck it away for the future.

Also, I've always liked the idea of having a chalkboard wall. Here's a way to make custom colors of it. All you need to do is mix up the following:

3 teaspoons acrylic paint
1 1/2 teaspoons glazing medium (water-based)
1/2 teaspoon powder tile grout

Or from everyone's favorite Martha:
Custom Colors: How To

Start with flat-finish latex paint in any shade. For small areas, such as a door panel, mix 1 cup at a time.

1. Pour 1 cup of paint into a container. Add 2 tablespoons of unsanded tile grout. Mix with a paint stirrer, carefully breaking up clumps.
2. Apply paint with a roller or a sponge paintbrush to a primed or painted surface. Work in small sections, going over the same spot several times to ensure full, even coverage. Let dry.
3. Smooth area with 150-grit sandpaper, and wipe off dust.
4. To condition: Rub the side of a piece of chalk over entire surface. Wipe away residue with a barely damp sponge.

Mango/peach smoothie

My co-worker is a vegan and she suggested this smoothie:

frozen bananas
frozen peaches or mangoes
vanilla extract
honey

For 2 ppl: add water to 4 cup line in blender and blend. I've never tried smoothies sans milk, so this will be interesting. Once we unpack everything (including our new blender/food processor), this will definitely be on the list to break in the blender. This ought to be a good breakfast item as well!

Plastic bags & more

A friend forwarded me an email with these very clever advertisements. I could say something about the portrayal of women and body image, but for now I'll just say that I don't see the point of the one about strangling the old man. What could they possibly be trying to sell? Any thoughts?

Learning weekend

This weekend, MIL and I sorta bonded over the sewing machine. I guess all her nitpickiness and exacting standards (to the way she wants things, not necessarily always the best way) pay off when she's teaching or trying to impart wisdom (often she'll just come across, somewhat annoyingly, as a 'know-it-all'). I don't have a sewing machine (yet!) and I've just started learning how to use one, so I really appreciated her help with hemming my jeans. I can sew by hand without many problems but the machine is a different story. Even by hand I've found hemming pants tricky (especially when you try to do the hidden seams -- no idea what that's really called) so hemming pants by machine = very daunting task (and yet not worth the $10/pair of pants at the tailor, imo). But this weekend I saw that it's not so bad, even kinda fun. I'm not sure if I can remember all the steps but I can't wait to try hemming on another pair (maybe pj pants, since there's less at stake there)!

Despite all the bonding (and there wasn't a whole lot) I still don't know what to call her.

Politics stink!

I hate political season, especially when it gets down and dirty. What makes it worse is Crazy Nag at work has to bring politics into the office. I thought she'd stop after the presidential elections back in 2004 (she's a staunch Republican) when she would defend her favorite candidate to me every day. All the mudslinging from the politicians or even the comments that the mostly liberal Democrats at work would utter, she'd come up with a retort but only unleash it on me. Lucky me! And I think no matter what side you're on, you gotta admit, Bush ain't the shiniest apple in the barrel (if you watched any of the debates back then for even a brief instant you'd know) but she refused to acknowledge it by refusing to watch the debates.

I think she was pretty good last year, but today she comes up to me and rants for a while about Democrats offering flu shots to those who register for their party, how that's unethical, blah blah blah. I haven't heard about this previously so I can't say that I've made up my mind about the issue but I wish she'd just keep mum about it and let me be!! Actually I think my defense mechanism has been built to oppose her no matter what, even if I agree with her (or maybe that's the devil's advocate in me). And since that was a convenient segway for her to bring up politics, she asked her friend to bring over a political cartoon that made fun of Kerry. I think I would have found this humorous in any other context but b/c she brought it up, I reserved any show of emotion (I know, not hard for me to do) and wished her to go away.

Now, her friend is also a Republican but she doesn't push it in anyone's face. Why can't Crazy Nag do the same?! Oh the stories I could tell about this Fox News-loving woman!

NYC BBQ!

This past Sunday a bunch of us went to the 4th Annual Big Apple Barbecue Block Party by Madison Square Park on 23rd. It was a gorgeous day (a little windy but so sunny and not too hot) to have a little picnic on the grass with jazz playing in the background. I had always wanted to go (forgetting about which weekend it's on every year) so I'm glad I was told about it last minute.

The event is actually a gathering of 10 renowned 'experts' from around the country that come to barbecue for two days. There were pitmasters from TX, MS, MO and other southern states from the bbq belt. They each charge $7 for a sampling of their food (which in retrospect, is not exactly the best bargain out there) but ppl will wait in lines to get a taste of some good 'cue.

We split up into 3 groups, each waiting on different lines so that we could most efficiently taste as many different things as possible. While deciding what to do on the Salt Lick BBQ line (TX), a woman said that she enjoyed the rib tips from Smoki O's (MO) so we headed there.

Here are the Smoki O's rib tips with baked beans. Some of the ribs had barely any meat on it (hence tips) but when it did, it was yummy! What really surprised me were the beans though. I normally hate beans, especially the baked variety but these beans were hearty, smoky, creamy and sweet (no bean flavor!). You could tell a lot of molasses and bacon went into making them.


Pulled pork shoulder from Ubon’s “Championship Choice” (MS) -- I loved this (as I generally love pulled pork) b/c it was so tender and flavorful. Their famous BBQ dipping sauce was not so great though. I thought it was overly sour and too loose. Their coleslaw was interesting though -- it was very peppery, a little sweet, and had no mayo.


And the long-awaited beef brisket and sausage from Salt Lick -- we finished eating the other two plates before they came back with the goods and they were waiting on the line before we did. So, unfortunately, I was quite full already and I couldn't enjoy it as much. But that first bite was soooo good! The smokiness (there were smoke rings) and overall flavor was very good. The sausage, quite sizeable, was alright (I'm not a big fan of sausage unless it's in small portions) and the coleslaw was just ordinary (not a fan of slaw either).


I kept smelling something like barbecued yams but couldn't locate it, much to my dismay. But still some good eating! If I had to rate everything, my favorite was the pulled pork, then the brisket, then the rib tips. I'm not sure if I'd go again next year (kinda expensive and I think my dear does 'cue better).

Baltimore Eating

This past weekend we went to Baltimore, MD. Here are the culinary highlights (I forgot to take a picture of the pit leg of lamb sandwich that I had at the Sheep and Wool Festival though).

We had what is probably the BEST crab cake that I've ever had at Faidley's in Lexington Market. Lots of tender lump crab (no filler at all, just a little something to hold it together when they deep fry it) with a tinge of mustard flavor. We got 2 sides with the platter: cucumber salad (surprisingly good, very light, and refreshing) and fries. This was a good light (and late) lunch before the dinner we had at 7pm.
For dinner, we had crabs at Obrycki's in Fell's Point. We spent many hours in this restaurant. After the six of us polished off 2 dozen crabs, we ordered more food. Some ordered linguine and dessert but I stuck to just dessert (key lime pie) and some potato skins with bacon(!).


The next day, for lunch, we ate at Eat Bertha's Mussels in Fell's Point. The restaurant is in a charming building that looks as if it used to be a house, with little nooks and alcoves in unexpected places. I had the mussels with garlic butter and basil sauce and also tried the garlic butter and capers sauce.

This time around, we stayed away from eating at the Inner Harbor, which seemed to be a good move b/c we didn't spend oodles of money on little food. Thank you New York Times for sharing good places to eat at!