IT'S FINALLY HERE! The Big Book of Small Spaces.

It's official. I'm published! (Well, kind of...) The Big Book of Small Spaces by Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan FINALLY came out and my room is featured in it!  This is one of my proudest moments to date because the aesthetic of my room really reflects my point of view as a designer. (I feel like that's something Michael or Nina would say on Project Runway.)

The work that I put into the decor and space planning of my room has greatly improved my quality of life. I've always been inspired by innovative design solutions, so even if I wasn't in this book, I would have been first in line to buy it anyway. It should be in bookstores everywhere, so go check it out! 

My kitchen cabinets with a hand crafted decorative treatment done with contact paper.

My tiny but fancy cargo van-sized bedroom.




The book has great reviews and is selling really well. I was invited to the book launch party at Clic Gallery and Bookstore, but unfortunately I was in Montreal at the time, so I couldn't make it. Check out the party pics on Apartment Therapy. 

Natasha Huang of NH Media.

For the last few months I've been working with my good friend, Natasha Huang on developing brand identity for her marketing and PR company, NH Media. Natasha and I have been friends since high school, and often reminisce about the days we would goof off in physics class. We lost touch in college, but found each other again in New York, so NH Media was the perfect opportunity for us to work on a project together. I designed business cards, a website, and all kinds of other good stuff that I will blog about in the near future.

NH Media targets socially conscious companies and entrepreneurs while supporting organizations like The Blind Project, that rescue and rehabilitate victims of sex trafficking in Asia. She is a social media GURU so if you need to get your name out there, contact her. She's so convincing that she actually got me to sign up for Twitter. 

We also had an impromptu photo shoot and took some nice head shots for her website and bio. Which one do you guys like the most?

www.nhmediaspot.com

Bigger, better, blog.

As I was packing away my winter wardrobe, I decided it was time to do some spring cleaning online by improving the organization, look, and function of this blog. As you've probably noticed, I now have BIGGER PICTURES! Unfortunately, I don't have the willpower to go through all my previous entries and re-size the photos, so the older photos will look a bit small and strange. I wish I could change it with the touch of a button, but it's not possible. Damn you, blogspot...

I've also labeled all of my entires so you can view them by clicking on the categories to the right.

Some people mentioned not being able to leave comments. If you're one of these people, please tell me more about the issue and I'll try to fix it. Any other suggestions are welcome. Leave a comment!


Lowell, you're a life saver. Thank you for helping me wrestle with html.

Fancy dinner party.

I got such a hugely positive response when I made dumplings that I thought it would be fun to share the wealth and have a fancy, springtime dinner party. I have been completely swamped with work from my 5.72 different jobs, but with my dearest friend, Neelima, coming to town, I figure it was as good a time as any to get everyone together for a nice evening of food and drink. I don't entertain often, so I really wanted to put some effort into this dinner. It was a ton of work, but I enjoyed planning, cooking and organizing sweet little Asian snacks in symmetrical patterns on a platter. Though my neck and shoulders are still tense from wrapping 300+ dumplings. Why do I do this to myself...

I'm sorry I wasn't able to have all of my NY friends over at once due to space constraints.  I'll have an encore party one of these days, I promise :)

The white plates are my everyday dishes, the blue-rimmed ones were hand-me-downs from my former roommate, Wendy, and the soy sauce trays were only $.95 from Chinatown!


I contemplated whether or not a seating chart would be a good idea, and Peter suggested having everyone sit with strangers. I was hesitant at first, but the mix of old and new friends ended up producing some really hilarious conversations.

I made 4 kinds of dumplings:

Scallop & chives

Pork, shrimp, & chinese celery

Tofu, mushroom, & shrimp

Spinach, tofu, & mushroom

For dessert we had sticky rice balls covered in sweet sesame powder, mango mochi, and the most amazing fresh mango I've ever eaten.




Thanks to all my lovely ladies for facilitating a rapid and efficient clean up effort. Thanks to Terry for the music, and thanks to everyone for coming! It was an exceptionally lovely evening and I can't wait to do it again.