Howdy Sunshine, It's Sunday!

Breathe in through your nose....breathe out through your nose....Once again, in....and out. One more time altogether, breathe in through your nose.....and out from your mouth and say haaaaaaa...... Ahhh.....Feels good, no? How are you spending your weekend, everyone? I'm still in a deeeeeeeeep freeze in NYC. Yesh, the winter in NY is awfully cold, freaking cold. I'm not fond of it at all. Not at all.  Despite of the cold weather yesterday, I attended my favorite yoga class at Kula Yoga Project, trying to get a kick out of it. The class was packed with many yoga enthusiasts! My yogi Steph was still a bit sick, but she gave us an awesome lesson! Thank you, and feel better, Stephanie :)

As I was walking towards my favorite pastry shop " Once Upon A Tart " after yoga, I saw these crazy guys working on a street. It's on Canal Street and Broadway. Here's what they were doing in the frigid weather!

Yup, they were painting a mural for an advertisement of some sort! They must be the ninjas? Whoever they are, their work is super! Hope they get a bowl of yummy & warm chicken noodle soup at a chinese kitchen near by ;) 

I encountered another creative people on my way back home. This happened in a subway station. I was waiting for a train at the Union Sq station, then...I started smell yucky smoke coming out of somewhere all the way inside of a tunnel. I immediately turned around and tried to get out the station. Then...here comes a cheery music...! Aha! Yes, it must be them, " Baby Soda Jazz Band ".  I was right. Haven't seen them quite some time, but I looove their music. It makes your feet tap and dance. 

They have a pretty big family in the band, so I see the different faces always. This time, I bought their latest album! whoo hoo! Baby Soda rock!! They are on Myspace, check them out ;)

Baby Soda

Today, I had a craving for beets! Sí, one of my friend's comment makes me think of this root veggie. I know, it's out of season right now, who cares? I just wanna EAT them!! Thank you, those fantastic farmers in California, Florida, and Mexico and elsewhere. We need you badly! Anyways...I made a yummy balsamic vinegared beets ♥ 

Wash and clean the surface of them...

and slice them...what? who said I killed them?!

Place them on a tray and put it into an oven until the surface is slightly cooked. This way, you can lock the yummy juice inside! cool?

Now, it's ready to do the rest of cooking. 

Put them into a pan, and add some extra virgin (me?) olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.  Add water till it covers the surface of beets. Cover the pan and heat to boil off any excess water.

When the water is almost gone and the beets get tender, taste for salt, season with a little lemon juice and balsamic vinegar. Toss with a sprinkle of dill. ( or tarragon, parsley )

Yay! My yummy beets! Mangi, mangi... :D

This was a part of my lunch menu aside from a butter milk scorn and a super green drink. oh, this super green drink is so easy to make. I got it in Japan. It's a barley powder. The taste is like Macha-tea. 

Add a tea spoonful of  the power into a container and shake it with some water. That's it. 

ahh...so good to spend a weekend like this. Wish tomorrow is Saturday again... ha...! I think I'm gonna go for this as my dinner...raw raw raw your boat, gently down the stream...♬ ha ha ha. Go Raw!

A bowl of colorful veggie salad! The ingredients are... baby spinach, celery, carrot, watermelon radish (cute? Got them at a local farmer's market), zucchini, and fennel. Maybe...I make some soup, too. 

Hope everyone had a great weekend. 

Be well, 

Love, love, and love...

-Hana

Yummy Nummy Once Upon A Tart

Had a awesome yoga lesson this week! Feeling so fantabulous! How are you? Life is good and yummy?Mine is so far so good. Yummy as well. Speaking of food...it was so so soooo good to have this yummy nummy Irish soda scorn at lunch last Sunday! ahhh...love it!! Well,  I wanted to enjoy my favorite food that day since it was a sort of special occasion. Yeah, yeah, yeah...my 42nd birthday! ha, ha  :)  Due to my persistent jet lag, I didn't do any crazy things at all. Postpone those fun gatherings with my friends later in February. I just wanna celebrate my B-day for a month long or so. Strange? No, not all. I adapt the idea from my friend. I believe it's a sweet thing to do, Sí? oh, but I already had a couple of birthday sweets. Here's one. 

My favorite apple tart ♥ Got it from a bakery down in Soho, called " Once Upon A Tart ". Believe me, their baked stuff are so delish! ...and my boss got me this fruit tart at Citarella. Sweet?

Yup, my B-day is very very sugary. Another sugar laden feasts are coming soon...Stay tuned for an updated news of my growing muffin top. ha!

Today, I'm thinking of making a photo blog. I'll show you some photos and tell you what's in it, or what my thoughts are. Ready? ok, then... let's start it!

I just turned around now. My kitty, Seesaw was sound asleep. so sweet to see her face like this. Sweet dream, baby...chasing a butterfly in a flower field?

I saw this Miss Moon and an airplane the other day. They said hello to each, then the airplane was busy carrying people to where they can share LOVE...♥

The weather was grayish. Light showers give a life to all the living creatures. What about you, Mr? Are you happily singing in the rain?

Love is mysterious. It comes to us without any warning and suddenly... put a blindfold in our hearts! How can we get there? The place I can see you clearly? Guide me please, wanna see your smile.

Come out, come out wherever you are...It's only in your mind. There's nothing to keep you inside of the wall. You are free to go anywhere... I'm waiting for you. 

           

It was snowing when I got out of my bed on Thursday. My lovely spring flower, mimosa gave me such a delightful comfort with its sweet aroma in entire my bedroom. The yellow colored flowers were giggling. They told me that the spring is on its way. I hope so. I realy do!

Here's another adorable smile of mimosa. I tell you, boys. The Valentine's day is near. I strongly recommend you to send some spring flowers like this. A bundle of mimosa would be so charming in your love's bedroom. They are so fragrant, so sweet. I promise. This brings a smile on your love's face :) This is a tip from a flower child. Ok? 

and...my blog will be ending with this video. I love this song. " The Rainbow Connection ". This is done by my fav musician, Jason Mraz and Paul Williams. Promise. It's worth listening to it. The slideshow is only for a huge fan of Jason or Paul ;) Listen to the lyrics. Beautiful...

Have a happy weekend!

Love and Peas....

-Hana

It's 2:30am...do you know where your heart is?

Bummer...a jet lag is bugging me a lot! As my peaceful sleep time was disturbed by the persistent jet lag last night, my mind started to wander... then rise and shine! Here comes a bright morning. Sleepless, but gotta start a new day... oy vey ;p  Anyways...I posted my tweet/status on Twitter & Myspace several days ago and some of my friends commented on it. I asked this question randomly : Letting go of your possession is hard or easy?   So, what's on your mind? This has been a big issue for me somewhat. I often discuss about this with my shinyu / best friend by email.

Like it or not, we always come across to " hello and good-bye " on every event or beloved item /possession at a certain time in our life. How do you deal with it? Are you good at letting go of things? Be a master of letting go. Know when to release your heart from them. You'll be able to enjoy your life without any stress by doing so...I know I'm just talking about an " ideal "way of life. But it is true...I suffer if I hold those things so dearly. I prefer the things to flow...not to be fixed. hmm...

ok, imagine....you've got a coolest hat, loving it so much. then...oops! You left it at a counter of a coffee shop!! Ugh...! There's no way to get it back. What do you do if you're in the situation?? Think about the whereabouts of the hat for the rest of a day and feel unlucky and sad? or detach your thought from it completely and feel content with what you have still? Don't you think the latter seems happier?

What about this situation? You are having an super awesome time traveling in a foreign country. Your experiences made you strong and wise. You feel refreshed and happy.  Now, the vacation is over, back to your home. All you can think about is... the great memories of the vacation even though you have a tons of things to do in your physical world. It seems you're forgetting to be in the now. It's ok to cherish the past, but better not hold it. Because...we only go forward, not backward.

Letting go of what we love is definitely not easy. But sooner or later, the time will approach us to say good-bye to our attachments. We just need to work on how we can detach from them, and release our feelings from them when a right moment comes. Ebb and flow. This is a cosmic rule in this world, I believe. You know why it's hard for us to follow the rule? We are so afraid of making and accepting a change. Letting go of things means we're making a space for something new (condition) to come in. Yup, something new. Changes are coming, and we are not so good at being ready for them!

BTW, I read this blog long ago. I found it very interesting. It's about " ebb and flow ".  You'll see this artist's work visually and learn how he accepts changes and letting go of his attachments.

Sand Dancer

I llike this part in the blog : "Don’t fight it.  Trust Peter’s example:  the unstoppable tide is an opportunity for change, for rebirth.  Destruction is part of the evolution of beauty.  It’s elemental, inevitable and ultimately LIBERATING. "   

Well said. That's it. Go with flow.

Hope you find a way to a happy-go-lucky journey in your life :)

Love & Peace,

Hana

These are a few of my favorite things!

Hola, everyone. Hana here. I'm trying to be a lazy cat today. Lounging at home, sipping a glass of soothing mint tea...ahhh....this is the ( cat's ) life! Had some yummy cheese ( I got it at a local farmer's market yesterday ), a few slices of walnuts bread with blood orange marmalade at lunch.

                                       

I've finished editing one of my slide show, I've already uploaded it in my web gallery.  If you wanna check it out, here's the link. Web Gallery

Ok, today.... I'll show you some of my favorite things around me. You may play a song, " My Favorite Things" as a background music.

I love my Blend Apparel T-shirt! Don't you wanna get one for yourself, too? Jon Marro is a genius designer! and these T-shirts are all environmentally friendly productions ;)

My kitty, Seesaw. Her pink nose is so so sooooo sweet! Currently, she's in love with a feathery toy. My roommate has got one for Seesaw recently. Yup, they are becoming a bff.

Sunset at Queensboro Plaza, NY. Love to see this golden colored train track. Don't you think it's like a golden bridge to your dream, yes?

My friend, Mari's handwritten original T-shirt. Her hubby is the best pizza chef in Kyoto, Japan. Stop by their lovely pizzeria and get one of her fantastic T-shirt as a souvenir. I strongly recommend to order the shirt in advance. Her Myspace site is here ➔ Otto Bello  Their pizzeria is located in Uji-city. This link may be helpful to get there...but sorry, it's only in Japanese! ➔ La Gatta

The music of my friend, jon ji, always encourages me a lot. He spreads a happiness and courage. He's currently on tour in California. Hope some of you can give him a high five at his show. Check him out on his web, pretty please? He sings 21st century gypsy blues. Interesting, huh? ok, here's the link. ➔ jon ji

Sunrise at Bliss street station in Queens. It's filled with hope. Well...the name of the station tells all.

James De La Vega's street art work, " Become Your Dream ".  I love them a lot. You can see some of his work in my web gallery.

I love to watch the night sky, listening to the chatting of stars and moon. In this pic, Miss Moon and Venus were gossiping about...a boy next door.

oops, gotta go now. The concierge of a la la land urges me to get back there now. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm coming. See ya everyone, I'm off to see the wizard of dream... ;-)

Love and Peas...

-Hana

PS. ...duh, why am I forgetting about this guy. Jason Mraz. Yes, love his music, thoughts, ideas, smiles...He definitely creates my favorite things!! Thank you. Namaste....

Blood Orange Marmalade On A Cold Day ~revised version

Cold wind, icy sidewalks, snow covered naked trees...the winter is still remaining perky. How are you, everyone? Hope you're home having a cup of tea or so.

I read this blog on my fav website, Superforest : Leon " Seasonality Chart ".  It was about fruits and vegetables in season. This article let me think of the benefit of the seasonal food. Also...I thought about our life. Our life also have the four seasons, you know?

First of all, how many of us are aware of the seasonal food when we cruise around the supermarket for our breakfast, lunch, and dinner? Our mother nature does not intend to produce strawberries for year-round, but we see them almost everyday. What's wrong with this picture? Aren't we supposed to eat the foods only comes out in its season??? Think about this. Here's a white peach at a local supermarket, and you're about to grab it...just because you love it so much. Then...how is the taste? hmm...something is wrong, this is not as same as the one you like. Yes, those are not grown naturally. So, they are lack of its true nutrients! Let's take a moment...the seasonal fruits and vegetables give us its magical power of nature directly into our body's system. They will help us get through the season.  As a result, we are happy and healthy! If you pick the one which is forced to grow in a wrong season, then it may not as powerful as the other one.

                                    

* FYI, This rainbow colored chart was created by people of Leon. 

Now, turn your attention to your own life. You see the ups and downs or the beginning and end of something throughout your life, right? Don't you think it's like you're experiencing " a season " of your life?  What I want to say is this : Everything has its season. We can actually put ourselves in a chart above, too. The  four seasons indicate the cycle of our life. Let's say, someone is starting out his new career  = Spring time. His work starts thriving rapidly and he's super energetic = Summer. He starts to see the result of his efforts and gains some achievements  = Autumn. The work has completed, then he's now contemplating to get down on a new assignment = Winter. Get it???  Know where you are, which season you are in. Try to use your maximum energy being the very best of you in the season. If you know this rule, all the good nutrients comes together into your life and you'll be able to grow a yummy fig or something!

FYI, my life still remains in the winter, but not that bad at all. The taste of it? hmm... slightly sweet, a touch of bitterness to follow. Just like a spoonful of Blood Orange ( winter fruits ) Marmalade... Looking forward to a warm spring time soon. I may dig for some Apricots ( spring fruits ) afterwards...!  Cheers to you all.

Love,

-Hana