February Favorites

It may be a few days into March now but I still wanted to take the time out to tell you guys some of the things I’ve been loving in February.

I would like to start of with music. I love music, who doesn’t?

This month was no different, I managed to fall in love with some new bands and new music.

The Band Camino really caught my attention with songs like:

• My Thoughts on You
• For a While
• What I Want
• 2/14
• The Black and White
• Berenstein

Amber Run – 5am

Hozier – Nina Cried Power was my jam this month, and Movement, Almost (Sweet Music) and Shrike towards the end of the month. I guess I can’t talk about the entire album Wasteland Baby! since it came out March 1, huh?

James Bay Stand Up radio on spotify in general has been on repeat for me.

Books

I really enjoyed reading The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg and I finally finished reading these books that I stopped reading a long time ago. The Replaced and The Countdown by Kimberly Derting.

I recently reorganized my bookshelves and put all the books I own but haven’t read together and I’m attempting to get to all of them and I started with those two books in a series that I did not finish.

TV

My friend and I started watching this super trashy reality show Temptation Island and I have been obsessed with that. My favorite trash people on the show would have to be Morgan and Evan, they’re a mess and I love it.

Let’s not forget, this vanilla bean candle from TJMAX

and the succulent on my windowsill, her name is Lucinda.

And last but certainly not least, my newly painted and redecorated room!

The Power of Belief

I recently finished the book The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg and it really changes your perspective on things. The narrative was mix of research and anecdotal storytelling, which I really enjoyed. It relayed information that could be considered boring if told wrong, through different stories that proved what the author was trying to convey, which is how powerful habits are.

A big takeaway I got from the book was how strong belief plays into changing your habits, or creating good ones. It’s not only being consciously aware that you have these habits but it’s the belief that you can change or that you can do what you set out to do. Once you get past the hard part, that is starting something challenging, and you keep in mind that you can continue to go on, even though it’s hard and it sucks and/or it physically and mentally hurts to continue doing something, it is then you can truly form a habit. Because the hard part does get easier and eventually it’s something that you do without even thinking about it. And from that habit, other good habits can come from it.

A good habit that I want to form and that I’ve always struggled with was exercising. I’ve eventually just said that it isn’t for everyone and I’m just one of those people, I’ll never learn to love it. I’ve always had a negative mindset that I can’t exercise, and maybe that’s where I went wrong. I’ve never actually made it past the hard part of exercising, but with a new outlook after reading this book, I’m going to try again. But this time the big difference is that I’ll believe in myself. I’ll also keep in mind all the tools I was given in this book and see if I could form the good habit of exercising and getting in shape. I know it’ll be challenging and it’s not something that will happen over night but at least now I believe in my ability to do it.

The Time I was Attacked in Seoul

I’ve never had a more of a straight out of a comedy movie moment than when I was attacked in Seoul, South Korea, by a bidet.

Picture this: It’s 11pm, my friend and I just came from a long “hard” day of roaming the streets of Seoul and so of course we wanted to refuel and what better way to that than with some Korean Barbecue. We stop into one of the many Korean BBQ places on the street and got a table.

My friend decided that she needed to use the bathroom, so while she went and did that, I was settling into my seat, setting up vlog camera and what not. Just then my friend comes back from the bathroom in a panic trying to explain to me the horrible thing that has just happened to her. She tells me about the toilet and how it had so many buttons and how she just wanted to flush the toilet. In a rush she goes on to say how she pressed one of the buttons and something comes out of the toilet and starts spraying water at her and she pressed up against the side of the bathroom stall trying not to get sprayed. Now I’m just sitting there laughing my ass off at this experience she just had, thinking really, flushing the toilet isn’t rocket science.

I then decided that I also need to use the bathroom. So I go upstairs, use the bathroom and its my turn to flush the toilet. I’m looking at the many different buttons, careful not to press the button my friend said she pressed. Now I’m confident, I’m like “I got this, I totally know what I’m doing.” I press a button that I think will flush the toilet and I see the device begin to come out of the toilet. In the moment all I could think was “ohhh, this is what she was talking about.” (You really have to see it to understand.)

Did I think to step back or that the toilet was going to start spraying water? No I did not. So when it does, it comes as a total surprise. (Remember what my friend did, she pressed up against the side of the stall so it wouldn’t hit her.) Well that was not my approach. I had opened the stall door already in case something was to happen. The device proceeds to start spraying water. I yell at the top of my lungs and run out of the stall to the bathroom door. I was in the first stall so it was directly in front of the bathroom door. I didn’t realize that the water would travel so far, so when it was still coming at me, I bang against the locked bathroom door trying to turn the knob in a panic to get the hell out of there. I somehow manage to get the door open and I run out of the bathroom down the stairs screaming frantically like I was being murdered. The waitresses and my friend comes up to ask me if everything is okay. I try to explain what happened and all my friend has to say is “Didn’t I just tell you that this happened to me?”

There you have it, the time I was attacked by a bidet. Sad part is, I came in contact with a bidet another time and I noticed that the flush was right where it was supposed to be, but because we were so distracted by all the buttons we didn’t even notice it.

Wok Wok Southeast Asian Kitchen

The other night, my friend took me to a Malaysian restaurant, Wok Wok, in Chinatown, Manhattan. Now this is not the first time I’ve had Malaysian food, it was the second and it was my first time at this restaurant. Before we went my friend sent me a Facebook link where I could sign up and get a free appetizer/snack. I did that and the appetizer I chose were the sweet chili wings and let me say, I highly recommend. We ordered a few dishes and shared them. My friend recommended the pork chops, she said they’re not known for their rice dishes, even though there was an abundance of them on the menu. We got the BBQ pork chops and they were top-notch, although I do recommend pairing it with a fried rice dish, at least that’s what I eat any BBQ with. I chose the pearl noodles. The flavors were all there and it tasted good, however I was not a big fan of the noodles itself because they were chewy and I’m just not a huge fan of chewy stuff, personal preference. Then on the side we had the roti and curry chicken. The roti is more flaky than the ones I usually have but all in all it was good and paired well with the curry chicken. I would definitely go back to this place for dinner. No pictures unfortunately, except for the grainy ones I took for my Instagram story. But you can follow me on there and be sure to keep up with my journeys through the city.

Pic from a different night

New Year, New . . . Show?

Happy New Year everyone! Hope you enjoyed it and got drunk or brunch or whatever. My new year was spent playing UNO and watching Lucifer. Now I said that this is now a lifestyle blog and promised you posts about things going on in my life. Sometimes that includes spending days upon days binge watching TV shows.

My latest obsession, as you can probably tell by me mentioning it in the paragraph above, is Lucifer. My friend introduced me to it — well not technically, she was just making a comment about how she forgot how good it was and I took that as a recommendation and ran with it.

Anyway the point is I’ve been watching it all day, I got caught up in the drama and comedic points of the story, that I couldn’t help but to keep click next episode. I’m on season two right now and this is basically how I spent my new year. How has yours been?

Note to Self: Tips on Traveling With Only a Carry On

Every time I pack for traveling, I think I got this, I’ve done it a few times before, I definitely know what I’m doing now. However, by the end of the trip I find that it turns out I know nothing at all. Take my most recent trip for instance. I went to Amsterdam, Paris, and Dublin and decided to only take a carry on because let’s face it I’m budget traveling and checked luggage is expensive. I flew with three different airlines with three different set of rules. My main leg of the trip, going in and out of the states, was with Norwegian and they have a 10kg limit on both your personal item and hang luggage combined. I somehow managed to make it through, even though I was a little over. Then for my next two flights, I flew with Transavia and they are even stricter, 10kg and no personal item everything must be combined. I barely bought anything in Amsterdam and ended up throwing out stuff including my personal item bag and traded it in for a tote, which is lighter, somehow I was still over the limit. Luckily they didn’t charge me.

My last Transavia flight, I did the self check-in so they didn’t check the luggage weight, but it was a struggle. I stuffed a lot of my stuff into a hole in my coat pocket and by everything I mean a journal, a paperback novel, my camera, my case with my wires, a hat, a fold up bag, and my battery pack. I was also wearing four layers of clothing including two sweaters and two shirts. Then two bottoms (I gotten rid of one already and only one was left in my suitcase), a leather jacket and my coat. Standing there checking in was awful, I was burning up from all the layers I was wearing. Eventually, I took off my coat but I still had to lug it around with all the weight of my smuggled items in it. I wasn’t sure if they were going to weigh the luggage at the gate so I didn’t want to put anything inside.

For my last flight back to the states, I was lucky. Even though I stuffed myself with everything and wore almost all my clothes, they didn’t weigh my bag when I went to check in. Now we’re not always that lucky, so I was being better safe than sorry. Overall my experience traveling with only a carry on for a longer trip was a struggle, but I somehow survived. However, because I’m sure I’m going to think I’ve got everything down next time, I made myself a little checklist to save me the trouble of so much struggling.

So here are a few guidelines to remind myself when packing:

1. Only carry what’s absolutely necessary. You don’t need ten tops and three bottoms while winter traveling, chances are they won’t be seen in pictures anyway because you’ll be wearing a coat! Just rewear clothing! You also don’t need TWO freaking jackets!
2. Only one shoe, no matter how badly you want to bring two, just make the one comfortable and stylish! And bring some gosh darn shower slippers if you’re going to bring a second shoe and/or staying in a hostel.
3. If taking multiple flights, no electronics besides your phone! I brought my camera and didn’t even use it! And I only used my ipad on the flight, I can just download the movies on my phone.
4. Make sure you makeup and toiletries are in non-leaking containers, oh and that you have enough toiletries so you don’t run out nearing the end of your trip, it’s may be almost the end but you still have a few days to go in which you want to look your best.
5. Just pack smarter not harder.

Hopefully I will take these tips into account when traveling with only a carry on again, i.e. next month— but that’s a weekend trip so I got this! Right, right?

What’s happened so far . . .

It’s been a while, six months to be exact. During that time, I finished my teaching contract in China, moved back to the states, started school, got a part-time job and just trying to live my life to the fullest, that about sums it up. But let’s break it down. In August, I finished my teaching contract, most of the year I was pretty confused about what I was going to do next. I wanted to move to Germany and go to school but things didn’t line up exactly where I wanted them. Instead I decided to give myself a year to actually focus on my career and goals. I said that if I give it my all for a year, I can at least say that I tried and I will still be young enough to run off and continue being reckless with my life. So here I am enrolled in a publishing program, because if you don’t know this about me but I love books and I love reading and to be able to do that for a living was always a dream of mine. I’m only taking two classes, so of course I had to find something to do with the rest of my time in the meanwhile. I got a part-time job at a start up company and I’ve been gaining new experiences from that and learning a lot.

This post is basically my fresh start. I’m renewing this blog. I want to write more. About my experiences, about my life, my interests. Before it was just about traveling but I’m not a full-time traveler so I just kind of let my blog slip, but I’m back and I’m better than ever. This is me actually taking into account the name of this blog, which is fawning over life, my life. So here’s to seeing where life takes me next!

Xi’an Brewery

Recently I discovered that there was a Xi’an Brewery. If you’ve read my Shanghai post, you’ll know that when I went to Shanghai, my friends and I made Shanghai Brewery our second home. So it was a delight to find out that there was a Xi’an brewery as well.

We went to check it out and it did not disappoint. Although their menu is much smaller than Shanghai Brewery and don’t have as many options, what they do have is quite tasty.

I tried the spicy chicken wings and I had the California burger, which included avocados, caramelized onions, pickles, cheese, and I asked the waiter to add bacon on mine and substitute my regular fries for sweet potato fries; it only came up to an extra 10rmb and it was so worth it.

The menu includes a few burger options, including sliders, one vegetarian sandwich, a chicken salad that looks amazing, pizza, and a few other options. It’s a little pricey for China because it’s western food but a bang for your buck. And if you’re a lady and go between 8pm-10pm you can get a free cocktail, which is a nice added bonus.

Although I won’t be making this place my second home in Xi’an (sorry but it’s too expensive for me to be eating there all the time) I definitely enjoyed it and will go back a few times.

Xiangzimen Youth Hostel (Xi’an)

Xiangzimen Youth hostel, located right in the center of the city, is the perfect place to stay when in Xi’an that won’t break your pockets. It’s also my first choice when recommending hostels to people.

I like to call it the quiet hostel because right around the corner is Shuyuan hostel and bar (Parkqin), everyone in Xi’an is familiar with it. It’s the party hostel, I don’t recommend it as a place to stay because it can get loud. What you can do however, is stay right around the corner at a quiet hostel where you can get a good nights sleep, play some pool with friends and head over to Parkqin if you want to party.

At only 45-50rmb for a bed, you get nice clean accommodations, in a relatively big space. For about 150rmb, you can even get a private room with a bed big enough to share with about 3 people. I’ve stayed there quite a few times in 2017 and I can safely say that I haven’t been in a room I didn’t like.  The bathrooms are fairly clean and the shower pressure is better than the one I have at home.

You can go downstairs in the morning and get some breakfast. The options include American breakfast, French breakfast and Chinese breakfast. It’s not a five star gourmet meal but it gets the job done.

Then there’s the added bonus that it’s in the perfect location. It’s right near the Xi’an wall and the center of the city. It’s near a metro station if you want to get away from the area. The Bell Tower is one stop away by subway or you can just walk there and take in the sites.

So if you’re looking for a place to stay, before sure to check this one out. It’s one of my favorites!

The Story of How We First Met a.k.a The Best Restaurant in Beijing

Ok, so I don’t know if it’s the best Mexican restaurant in Beijing because its the only one I went to but to me, in my own biased opinion, it’s actually the best restaurant in the world.

I first stumbled upon Q-mex by accident. I was intending to go to another restaurant, one that rated higher than Q-mex on trip advisor (I will never know if it was better now). While wandering around looking for the other restaurant, which turned out to be in a darkly lit location, my friend and I were stopped by someone who was asking for directions to Q-mex, we didn’t know where Q-mex was and sent the person on their way. We continued walking and lo and behold there was Q-mex. There were so many people outside and everyone looked like they were having a good time. It was then we decided to give up and go into Q-mex.

Lucky for us we stumbled into the best night we had while in Beijing. It was Wednesday and Wednesday is apparently trivia night. On trivia night you get free beers just for participating and free beers throughout for winning certain rounds etc. My friend and I participated in trivia night because why the hell not. We didn’t win but we had a fun time doing it and we got free beers. We also got free drinks for following Q-mex on wechat.

And then there was the food. Man on man hands down the best burrito bowl I’ve had in my life. My friend ordered an appetizer (sorry I can’t remember the name) that brought her to tears. We loved it so much we went back the next night, which was our last night in Beijing, and waited 45 minutes to get a seat because it was totally worth it.

Ever since that night, I have not been able to stop talking about Q-mex, so I’ll just leave this link here, incase anyone wants to check it out.

http://www.qmex.com.cn/