Tuesday, September 22, 2009

I wonder why ice cream for breakfast is so good

Haagen Dazs Green Tea

Maybe its cause it has 17g of fat. haagen dazs Green Tea ice cream is one of the very few brands that do green tea ice cream well. (I think they're the only one.) The second would be people who make it at home. (Unless you're an american restaurant who things they're trying to be fusion. I'm definitely not pointing at General Greene.)

Breakfast was supposed to be healthy. I started with a banana, then kiwi, then corn, then 1/2 a pint of ice cream, then a kiwi again. I like greens and yellows. What can I say? I'm trying to compensate for the black and blue thats going on in my toe.

BTW: I made lentils the other day and it made me full.

Though please catch this thought train: lentils - long shelf span = is that sweet potato in my fridge still edigle?

So I stumbled on to a site that lists the shelf span of basic american grocery food. In these "organic" days, its scary to notice how some foods last so long. Btw, it did not answer my question about my sweet potato.

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The flu season peaked in last week for me and is dying down a little. However, I've still got a couple of the sneezes. (not sniffles). I do enjoy theraflu as my remedy. The kind that you can pour hot water on and enjoy as a drink. Though, I thought tylenol itself is a miracle when I first came to america. I have a few friends that dont believe in medicine. The sucky part about that is, you'll have to wait till the sickness is full blown in your body and you cant prevent it earlier.

i think that, if you have the free time to get sick, go for natural. Otherwise, if you have no time to get sick, take some medicine.

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My friend and I went to La Bergamote of Chelsea. This bakery has happy reviews of pastries and almond croissants (which is one of my obsessions.) Though, I feel a bit sad as oen of the waitress is not only bitchy but also, doesnt describe the product very well. But worry not, she's not bitchy to everyone. She's only bitchy to girls. She was pretty nice to guys. (even if they're obviously gay. I dont know what her angle is.)

Pistachio and Hazelnut mousse cake

IF ONE CAN LOOK CLOSELY: it is not just "a mousse cake." (She said there were no layers). However, I would describe this as: A layer of hazelnut mousse, topped with a thin layer of pistachio cake, topped with another layer of pistachio mousse, wrapped with a thin layer of pistachio cake. There are particles so its not a perfectly smooth mousse. (Which I like.) I was hesitant to buy it because it was 6 dollars of mousse. For me, mousse is essentially flavored whip cream, which is not that appetizing. I'm a fan of variety and textures.

I like my nuts. (tee-hee.) ANYWAY, I bought it because I like nuts and not mousse. I also wasnt letting her anal attitude ruin my diabetic experience. IT WAS: 3.5. It was oh-kay. Would I buy it again? No. Did I regret it? No. It wasnt that disappointing.

Though I do love the french for their pastries, I feel like america hasnt captured my favorite french pastries quite well. For example, I love almond croissants. However, I have tried a many almond croissants but havent found the perfect one yet. I have not been to france but I keep hearing that there is no equivalent else where.

For that cake to be 6 bucks, its kind of understandable. I would say 5 bucks is more like it. 6... is a bit much. (and I'm from a 3rd world country, so these prices are insane to me.)

Monday, September 21, 2009

Vimeo Parade

Has anyone downloaded the iQ font yet? Its interesting has been around for a while now. I like how people try to be innovative for the littlest things. Its cute.

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I was told the other day to post my awesome video findings at vimeo.
So I would like to say that this video is majorly sexy in a lighting and rendering 3d kind of way.

ARTIFICIAL PARADISE,INC. from Jp Frenay on Vimeo.



Universiteit Twente from Buro Knapzak on Vimeo.



With Rain from takcom™ on Vimeo.



I think after this, people can tell what type of styles I like. And if you're still stumped, I like minimalistic/clean/b&w styles. I love color, dont get me wrong. But I love the level of sophistication a simple grey scale design can bring. Its all about paying more attention to form and function when the colors are gone. Its like muting a video.

Anyway. I'm off. Enjoy.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

New Favorite Patisserie and Type

The other day I had to take pictures of glass ceilings for research and ended up in the Winter Garden place at the Financial District.

As I stumbled around, I passed by a directory that said "Patisserie." I immediately went that direction (because I'm a sugar addict). So I stumbled upon Financier Patisserie.

Financier Patisserie

Financier Patisserie Store

I had or-gay-zms looking at the variety of selections at such a decent unexpected price. I dont know, I thought that place would be pricy but it wasnt. I found more expensive things in chelsea or the lower east side. (Surprisingly)

I decided that if I had to get one thing (because I finished a pint of ice cream for breakfast), I would get a pistachio macaroon.

Financier Patisserie Macaron

And OHMYGODZ! It was such a steal at 2 dollars. It was the size of 3 macaroons. Even if it had the butter cream type of center, it was the best one I've had. The meringue that sandwiched it borderlines cookie consistency, but retains its nice light texture with a very perfect tint of density. I was extremely happy, to say the least.

I was also happy that it took me more than 2 bites to consume the whole thing. I feel like this place should lick madeline patisseries' ass because they charge 2.25 for a cookie a quarter of that size.

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I'm taking Michael Kelly for Type I in the ComD department in Pratt. He's pretty popular and will grade you a C in your first semester. Its almost a fact, no matter "how good you are." This weeks homework helped me reassess my definition of "good type" and "bad type."

But here are some interesting type links:

Typographic Posters
Hauser Lacour An interesting editorial design company. Love their stuff.
Simon C Page Another Graphic Designer
Design the News Information Aesthetics dude.

Productivity level = 0.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Morning Photography

I'm very anxious about my photography class. I'm the type of person with zero talent, and majority of the concept is from research. But then again, I really like clicking away on a chair for hours.

Its my first b&w photography class and I just want to see other people's work to get inspired. Strangely, its difficult for me to find pictures of work that I like.

Smashing Magazine has a list of black and white photographs that some people would be interested on seeing. However, most of the pictures there I have no personal interest with in style.

I think one of my favorite photographers would always be my friend Emi Nishiwaki. Her work can be found here. She hasnt really been on the photography boat wagon for a while. She told me that last year (around 2008/7) photography was getting really trendy or that style was getting really trendy so she stopped.

There is also this interesting photography magazine that is too expensive to buy. Its called Foam. I bought a copy last year because they were selling back issues for $5 instead of the regular $20. They have a lot of work there that I like also. If you think you're awesome with your photographic skillz, they have an occasional issue called "Talent" and they publish you. Good Luck with that.

Out to Lunch

I made this little number in 2004 when I graduated from high school with no knowledge in photography. I took a 3 day workshop and didnt retain any information. Looking at it, maybe, I could have used a filter. Or make it a bit darker. It has a very sunny day, that day. People came up with some awesome work. I was a little bit 'meh' on my side. But this starts from something I want to grow from.

Monday, September 7, 2009

Forty Carrots and Dinner

On columbus day, after "work", I went to manhattan to buy the things students need to buy: a lot of expensive things. However, before my monthly unlimited ended, I decided to finally go to a place I've been dying to go since last year: Forty Carrots.

forty carrots 01

This little place was crowded at 2:30 in the afternoon. But then again, it was a holiday. I'm sure in a normal weekday, it wouldnt be crowded. But the point is, I finally got there. The menu gave 4 options but when I reached the front, there were 5: Chocolate, plain, mango, coffee and blueberries and cream.

Apparently if you got a large, you could get 4 flavors, a medium was 3, and a small was 2. I had to make a quick decision. I went with a plain and blueberries and cream. They were both freakishly delicious.

forty carrots 02

Usually, I would run to Red Mango for my frozen yogurt cravings but I think this place is my new favorite. Everything was very creamy. The plain wasnt as tart as Red Mango's but it was very smooth and rich but not too heavy. The blueberries and cream was my favorite. I was pretty sure that it might as well be a normal soft serve but I love the amount of richness that Forty Carrots had. Other places like 16 handles and Pink Berry tend to get slightly watery. (I guess its fine if you're on a diet) However, Forty Carrots was instant gratification and more.

The height of the fro-yo was the length of my hand. It was freakishly big for a small. And for 4.90 (tax included), it was a steal.

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For dinner, I decided to steal an idea for this place called Macaron Cafe. A sandwich composed of Goat Cheese, Cranberries, Honey, and greens.

goat cheese and honey sandwich

I did the such but changed it a bit. Instead of a baguette was a ciabatta. Along with cranberries, I added dried figs. What I got is something I'm willing to make again for tomorrow. I made my later of goat cheese almost a quarter of an inch, instead of an inch I was served in the cafe.

Welcome to...

my new blog.

Hi. My name is Candice. I like spending my early mornings with a cup of tea, a bowl of oatmeal and two hours of surfing online (when possible). I'm currently a student at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York studying Interactive Media. There are two things that I enjoy: art/design and food. Food being the part that takes up 70% of my money.

Though I wish I had a specialty somewhere but, instead, I'll post some things I find interesting. These things will be from Installation artists to graphic design ads to restaurant listings and recipes. I will also be posting occasional rants and maybe some interesting events for those who live in new york.

Cheers.