Taxi!

kate Spade! How brilliant! Make me smile :)

An antique folding screen

I got this 60"x36" beautiful folding screen at a neighbor's garage sale down the street when I lived in NJ. It is an antique Chinese painting in very good condition. It was framed using a high quality traditional frame technique that you no longer can find today. I believe it was created sometime between 1920~1945. My neighbor told me that it belonged to her father who was an American spy during the WWII and had sadly passed away. It was a gift from a Chinese governor of Zhejiang province at that time. The governor painted it himself. I paid $15 for it! What a steal!

Happy 4th July firework!

                                 This is a short version of the firework. 5 frames animate GIF.

Happy 4th July!

               65 frames GIF file captured most of the spectacular NYC Macy's firework.

The Roaring Twenties Fashion

Coming out the theater, despite feeling sad about lives that were corrupted by selfishness and greed, I was blown away by Baz Luhmann's version of The Great Gatsby.  His vision of the story was painted with lavish thematic scenes and featured the vibrant styles of Jazz Era. Miuccia Prada and Catherine Martin designed over 50 costumes for the film- the Golden Twenties' style with modern infusion. I have always been fascinated by the 20's. Its style is so distinguishable that even 90 years later, almost everyone still can recognize it.

My personal opinion is that the 20's was the beginning of the modern age. Coco Chanel said" fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening." The world changed rapidly after WWI and fashion changed along with it. The Flappers - young women at the time, left their corsets behind and put on a cloche hat to cover their short locks.  They wore the dresses without waist or dropped the waistlines to their low hips and enjoyed the looseness of the prime time of their lives. Their dresses with the hemline just below the knees was often adorned with excessive fur and sequins. Fashion had changed, and it would never be the same.

Straight sheath dresses with Art Deco jeweling and applique, low-waist frocks, pleating and flounces pay homage to the twenties high fashion.

菩萨蛮- 南唐后主- 李煜

花明月暗笼轻雾，今宵好向郎边去。

刬袜步香阶，手提金缕鞋。

画堂南畔见，一向偎人颤。

奴为出来难，教君恣意怜。

My Little Norway Spruce

This is our Norway Spruce tree in a park of New York city for the earth day 2013. Hopefully, it will grow tall as it should. According to the instruction, I need water it once a week for the first few weeks until the seedling is well established. Good luck little tree:)!