CHRISSYCREAM

Pink baby cheeks

2007-06-10T19:37:00.001+08:00

Here's a solution for those who don't enjoy putting on makeup but still wanna have healthy and glowy looking skin: cream blush! Just use your finger and smear some of those magic pink cream around your cheeks and you'll have an instant glow. My favorite is the one by Vidi Vici, a relatively unknown brand but they carry a lot of great products. This cream blush has a nice velvety finish and the color is long lasting. It's always in my cosmetic pouch. Their products are sold exclusively at the Joyce Boutique in Hong Kong.

Yesterday out of curiosity I bought a gel blush called "o-glow" by Smashbox. The interesting thing about this product is that the gel appears transparent when you squeeze it out, but once you get the rubbing action going, it instantly turns pink. Amazing huh? The Smashbox site claims that the ingredient Berry-C Complex "is full of antioxidants like vitamin C, pomegranate seed oil and marine plankton for added healthy-skin benefits". Verdict: It doesn't give enough color and I am not fond of the texture.

LOVE.LY

2007-06-10T18:35:00.000+08:00

Over the past few weeks, I've received invitation from friends to attend this opening party of an exhibition called LOVE.LY in Hong Kong. It's hosted by a local cultural and arts label 89268. LOVE.LY is a an 8-month consecutive, creative and collective exhibition that welcomes everyone from any part of the world to participate. Your works would have be to created on a piece of regular A4 paper with any medium. ex. drawing, illustration, paper cutting, writing, photography, installation. Different topics related to love would be used for different phases, every phase will last for a whole month. Works will be exhibited in Lab Yellow. This exhibition is aimed to encourage people to express boldly & release their unexplored feelings. By just using the most commonly used A4 paper to simply & naturally express their intimate feelings.

The first exhibition will be hosted at Lab Yellow from June 15 – July 15, 2007. Opening party for such event will be held at the same place on June 15, 2007, starting at 7pm.

Phase Two Topic: Love & Attitude
Collection Period: July 15 – August 12, 2007
Exhibition Period: August 16 – September 16, 2007

Penne in a Creamy Tomato Sauce - Penne Vodka

2007-04-23T17:55:00.000+08:00

I had this sauce at a restuarant and fell in love with it. The waitress said the chef taught her how to make the sauce, and revealed some of the ingredients to me. To my surprise, vodka was included. How interesting! When I got home and flipped through my pasta book, there it was, "pasta tubes in a creamy tomato-VODKA sauce". I followed the recipe and was able to recreate the dish!! I'd like to share this recipe with you and hope you'll like it.

This is a hearty dish but takes some time to prepare.

Penne in a Creamy Tomato-Vodka Sauce

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil
9 ounces pancetta, sliced into tiny cubes
2 shallots, minced
1 cup vodka
1.5 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup salsa pomodoro (this is a tomato sauce). See below for ingredients.
5 teaspoons sea salt
1 pound dried penne
1/3 cup freshly grated parmigiano
1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley

Sala di Pomodoro (Tomato sauce):
28 ounce can whole peeled tomatoes with juice
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 medium onion, diced
2 garlic gloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
6 fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces (I've replaced with 2 teaspoons of dried basil)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano (I've replaced with 1.5 teaspoons of dried oregano)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

First prepare the tomato sauce...here's how:

Pour the tomatoes with their juice into a large bowl and break the tomatoes into smaller pieces with your hands. Set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over med-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, and pepper. Cook until the onion is tender, 3-5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, basil, oregano, and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook uncovered for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and puree over a bowl. Makes approx. 2 cups.

Making the creamy tomato-vodka sauce:

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saute pan over med-high heat. Add the pancetta and cook until crispy, about 5 minutes.
Drain the excess fat from the pan. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and heat over med-high heat. Add the shallots and cook until soft, about 3 minutes.
Add the vodka. Bring to a boil and cook until reduced by half, about 6-7 minutes.
Add the cream and cook until reduced by half, about 5 minutes.
Add the tomato sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and keep warm while the pasta is cooking.

Cooking the penne:

Bring 5 quarts of water and add 2 tablespoons of salt to a boil in a large stockpot over high heat. Add the penne and cook for approx. 10 minutes. Transfer to a colander to drain. Add to the pan with the tomato-vodka sauce and toss to coat evenly. Transfer to a serving plate and sprinkle with parmigiano and parsley.

Ingredients

Peeled tomatoes with juice in a bowl

Cooking onion in a pan

Simmering tomato sauce

Puree tomato sauce over a bowl

Adding heavy whipping cream into reduced vodka

Tomato sauce added to cream

sniff sniff

2007-03-12T16:26:00.000+08:00

I got a box full of yummy stuff last week from Elaine...rose scented soap, rose bath salt, seaweed bath salt that smells like the ocean, etc etc. This babe knows me well hahaha. Now I have more stuff to play with.

This lamb pouch by Anya Hindmarch is where I put lipstick and powder. It's small and cute. This brand is known for its bags with prints. They also make leather bags and clutches. Most of the bags have suede linings...they smell good!!!

Anya Hindmarch shops in Hong Kong:

The Lee Gardens: Shop 208, Causeway Bay. (852) 2808-0128
Harbour City: Shop 113B Ocean Center, Tsim Sha Tsui. (852)2918-1689
Harvey Nichols : 2/F The Landmark, Central. (852)3693-4133

Abbey RIP

2007-02-06T10:54:00.000+08:00

Jewel Song by BoA

2007-01-31T02:58:00.000+08:00

Love her voice. Enjoy!

Lazy Chrissy is back!!

2007-01-30T21:34:00.000+08:00

I should have updated my blog but was being lazy. Here are the things I'd like to write about in the VERY near future:

1. A step-by-step guide of how to make the world's best tomato cream sauce. Which means I am gonna have to head down to Citysuper and grab some ingredients.

2. Making of: Chrissy' first chocolate pavlova. Is it gonna be a disaster? M's been saying that I never used the KitchenAid. Well I did use it to make the warm chocolate cake..but it was 6 months ago hahahhaaha. Oh well who wants to have some pavlova?

3. A tarot journal. Really need to play with my 17 decks more often. I can't believe I have 17 decks!! My favorites are Thoth, Tarot de Marseille, Morgan Greer, and Yoyager.

4. Hair cut!! Please every time I walk down the street I swear 9 of out 10 girls in hk could improve their look with a new hair cut and/or color. What's with all the greasy hair? or hair that's too long and flat it does nothing to your face. I can go on and on....hmm maybe I'll take snapshots of people with bad hair and post them here. Is that too cruel?

5. Taking snapshots of 100 people on the street.

6. My favorite songs by Faye Wong. Why? Becoz M bought me a new ipod couple days ago, so I went through my CD collection and realized I have lots of Faye's CDs and 2 of them are really good.

7. A really stupid game for wh*res when they are really really bored.

What should I write about first?

Birdie Nam Nam

2006-11-25T02:14:00.000+08:00

I've been looking everywhere for a tablelamp and finally found one I like - Birdie Nam Nam. This lamp is made of porcelain and steel, and it comes in white or black. I liked the white one better but bought the black one instead coz I think the black goes better w/ my room. I also love their liquid Light...but need to figure out where to put it before I buy one. If you are interested, visit their site at www.next.de.

Global warming - things you can do about it

2006-11-22T01:06:00.000+08:00

I watched the movie "The inconvenient truth" today. It basically covers a speech given by the ex US vice president Al Gore, who's an activist in environmental issues. The movie presents a lot of facts on what causes global warming, how global warming in recent years has affected the earth, and most importantly, what we can do about it. You can watch the trailer here.

What you can do:

Replace a regular incandescent light bulb with a compact flurescent light bulb (CFL).
CFLs use 60% less energy than a regular bulb. This simple switch will save about 300 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.

Move your thermostat down 2 degrees in winter and up 2 degrees in summer
Almost half of the energy we use in our homes goes to heating and cooling. You could save about 2000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year with this simple adjustment.

Clean or replace filters on your air conditioner
Cleaning a dirty air filter can save 350 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.

Install a programmable thermostat
Programmable thermostats will automatically lower the heat or air conditioning at night and raise them again in the morning.

Choose energy efficient applicances when making new purchases

Use less hot water
It takes a lot of energy to heat water. You can use less hot water by installing a low flow showerhead (350 pounds of carbon dioxide saved per year) and washing your clothes in cold or warm water (500 pounds saved per year) instead of hot.

Turn off electronic devices you're not using
Simply turning off your TV, DVD player, stereo and computer when you're not using them will save thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide a year.

Unplug electronics from wall when you're not using them
Even when turned off, things like hairdryers, cell phone chargers and TV use energy. In fact, the energy used to keep display clocks lit and memory chips working accounts for 5 percent of total domestic energy consumption and spews 18 million tons of carbon into the atmosphere every year!

Be sure you're recycling at home
You can save 2400 pounds of carbon dioxide a year by recycling half of the waste your household generates.

Buy recycled paper products
It takes 70-90% less energy to make recycled paper and it prevents the loss of forests worldwide.

Plant a tree
A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. Shade provided by tree can also reduce your air conditioning bill by 10-15%.

Buy locally grown and produced foods
The average meal in the US travels 1200 miles from the farm to your plate. Buying locally will save fuel and keep money in your community.

Buy fresh foods instead of frozen
Frozen food uses 10 times more energy to produce.

Seek out and support local farmers markets
They reduce the amount of energy required to grow and transport the food to you by one fifth.

Buy organic food as much as possible
Organic soils capture and store carbon dioxide at much higher levels than soils from conventional farms. If we grew all our corn and soybeans organically, we'd remove 580 billion pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Avoid heavily packaged products
You can save 1200 pounds of carbon dioxide if you cut down your garbage by 10%.

Eat less meat
Methane is the second most significant greenhouse gas and cows are one of the greatest methane emitters. Their grassy diet and multiple stomachs cause them to produce methane, which they exhale with every breath.

Cut down driving by walking, biking, carpooling or taking mass transit
Avoid just 10 miles of driving every week would eliminate about 500 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions a year.

Keep your car tuned up
Regular maintenance helps improve fuel efficiency and reduces emissions. When just 1% of car owners properly maintain their cars, nearly a billion pounds of carbon dioxide are kept out of the atmosphere.

Check your tires weekly to make sure they're properly inflated
Proper inflation can improve gas mileage by more than 3%. Since every gallon of gasoline saved keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, every increase in fuel efficiency makes a difference.

When it is time for a new car, choose a more fuel efficient vehicle
You can save 3000 pounds of carbon dioxide every year if your new car gets only 3 miles per gallon more than your current one. You can get up to 60 miles per gallon with a hybrid.

Fly less
Air travel produces large amounts of emissions so reducing how much you fly by even one or two trips a year can reduce your emissions significantly. Your can also offset your air travel by investing in renewable energy projects.

Crazy for bath

2006-11-20T02:17:00.000+08:00

A friend of mine once asked me "How come you were always in the bath everytime I called you?". I enjoy taking bath, and use different products. Most of the time I use bath bombs by Lush. My favorites are Sex bomb, Avobath, Blackberry, and Golden Slumbers.

Sex bomb - the smell is strong with jasmine, ylang ylang and clary sage essential oils. The fragrance lingers in the bathroom for the whole night everytime I use this bomb hehe. It's pretty strong and I love the smell of ylang ylang. A good one to try out w/ your other half. :P

Avobath - a refreshing bomb scented with lemongrass, bergamot and rosewood. Good one when you need a lift.

Blackberry - I loooove the smell of this bomb. It's got a light fruity and woody smell, not the sweet type that I can't stand. Frankincense relieves tension and calms you down. Bergamot inspires confidence and relieves depression. This is such a happy and positive bomb!!

Golden Slumbers - with calming, soothing lavender, neroli, and chamomile essential oils. Such a soothing combination. Use this one and you'll sleep like a baby. =D

Some tips for bathing:

Drink 2 glasses of water to boost your blood circulation before taking a bath.
Ideal water temperature is between 39-42C.
Soak in the bath for 20-30 mins, and massage your body. Massaging yourself increases blood circulation, relieves muscle tension, and detoxifies your body.
Try to keep the water level below your heart. If you wanna soak your whole body though, don't stay in the bath for more than 15 mins because hot water speeds up your heart rate.

PS3 TVC

2006-11-09T23:38:00.000+08:00

Interesting TVC for PS3. Scary baby...how can I not like?

Sketching practice

2006-11-08T23:55:00.000+08:00

Sketch of the day. Will draw a watercolor version.

Beauty...a distorted perception?

2006-10-28T01:25:00.000+08:00

Society puts a lot of emphasis on beauty. Look at how plastic surgery has become common practice all over the world. Are we all striving for beauty beyond a sane level? When you see pages after pages of gorgeous women do you realize how much work has been done to make them look so beautiful it's unreal?

Sketchcrawl Hong Kong 2006

2006-10-26T21:23:00.000+08:00

In 2004, a storyboard artist from San Francisco called Enrico Casarosa came upwith a brilliant idea: “SketchCrawl!” – a drawing marathon for artists all over the world. The concept was well received on the internet and people began to organize their own local groups, set out a date and draw together for a whole day. The experience allowed people not only to connect, but to also share and compare others’ thoughts, individual takes on the surroundings, details and sensibilities. There’s also a forum for everyone to post their sketches.

The first SketchCrawl! in Hong Kong will be hosted on December 9th, 2006. Itinerary to be confirmed. Everyone is welcomed. For more information please check out the SketchCrawl forum www.sketchrawl.com/forum. To sign up, simply go to the “The next one” section on the forum, and post in the Hong Kong thread, or email Christine at chrissy.t@gmail.com .

Perfume bottles in watercolor

2006-10-26T17:35:00.000+08:00

Come on watercolor I can conquer you!!! More practice. =D
I use moleskine watercolor notebook and Winsor & Newton watercolors.

Portable dogs

2006-10-22T19:17:00.000+08:00

These dogs look so adorable! Oh wait...wtf they aren't real dogs?! These are actually dog purses that you can carry around and stuff you junks just like a regular purse. Each purse is 12" long with a 19" strap, matching collar, plus an engraveable dog tag. The purses are made with 100% faux fur polyester. I normally don't like pug but when I saw these purses I knew I had to get the pug purse!!!! Where to buy you ask? Right here. Now you can carry your own dog around as an accessory just like any celebrity. Someone get that girl a Chihuahua purse.

I am back

2006-10-19T23:13:00.000+08:00

Haven't updated my blog for a while coz I've been going out a lot lately. Ended up in the hospital from too much drinking couple weeks ago. My stomach hurt like hell it made me wanted to cry. Here's a recent picture of me and M. I am still alive haha.

Sketch 9.26.06

2006-09-27T21:17:00.000+08:00

Starry Night by Van Gogh

2006-09-22T00:41:00.000+08:00

Can someone snatch it for me at MOMA? Pleeeeease? :P

Saybia

2006-09-21T21:32:00.000+08:00

I've never heard of the band "Saybia" until today. The song "The second you sleep" from the 2002 debut album under the same title is awesome. Saybia was started in 1993 in the central Denmark port of Nyborg. With the addition of a new guitarist and a keyboard player at the end of 1998, Saybia completed its structure and style. In 2002, their debut album became the first Danish rock debut to hit the top slot on the Danish sales chart. Their songs are full of emotions: longing, searching, and beauty. You can listen to their music here.

The second you sleep

You close your eyes
and leave me naked by your side
You close the door so I can't see
The love you keep inside
The love you keep for me

It fills me up
It feels like living in a dream
It fills me up so I can't see
The love you keep inside
The love you keep for me

I stay to watch you fade away
I dream of you tonight
Tomorrow you'll be gone
It gives me time to stay
to watch you fade away
I dream of you tonight
Tomorrow you'll be gone
I wish by God you'd stay

I stay awake
I stay awake and watch you breathe
I stay awake and watch you fly
away into the night
Escaping through a dream

I stay to watch you fade away
I dream of you tonight
Tomorrow you'll be gone
It gives me time to stay
to watch you fade away
I dream of you tonight
Tomorrow you'll be gone

I wish by God you'd stay

My new tools

2006-09-19T15:12:00.000+08:00

Soooooo happy to see a package sitting on top of my desk, when I came home last night!!!! It must be the package from this online art supply store, and yes it was!!! Got my Winsor & Newton watercolor tubes, this fabulous Fabriano journal and a compact watercolor kit. LOVE THEM!!! I'll be carrying this journal and watercolor kit with me whenever I go out hehe.

Alone in my room

2006-09-15T04:07:00.000+08:00

Nothing beats taking silly pictures in my room when I am alone. ^^

Sketch 9/8/2006

2006-09-09T01:29:00.000+08:00

My first people sketch off a photo.

Sketch...again...

2006-09-03T18:59:00.000+08:00

I ordered some paints online last night and was shocked when I had a glimpse of the clock....wtf 3am already?! Really felt like sketching again so I did a sketch on one of my fav Picasso paintings called "child holding a dove".

Beginner's sketch

2006-08-30T23:43:00.000+08:00

It was 3am when I wanted to sketch something out of the blue. I looked around my room and there she was...my doll! sitting on the bedside table. I spent about 20 mins on this sketch and she turned out scary looking. If there was a toy story 3 she'd fit right in. Anyway I am happy with the way it turned out, though my skill sucks hehe.

Flavor of the month

2006-08-23T18:41:00.000+08:00

Well I was browsing aimlessly at this little mall in TST, when I spotted this tiny shop called muse selling accessories. It caught my eyes coz their designs were very nice especially when compared to the crappy stuff people were selling at the mall. The sales girl was very friendly and chatty so I asked her who designed these items, and she pointed me to the other girl standing behind the cashier. Her name was Zeni, a friendly girl with nice smile. I was quite impressed with the materials she used and the price was definitely more than reasonable. She told me they sourced all the materials from Japan. I then asked if she would be willing to lend some of the stuff for photo shoot and she gave me a positive answer. oh and I bought couple items from the shop. I'd definitely go back for more.

The most important question

2006-08-20T23:50:00.000+08:00

You should always ask yourself this question.... "WHY NOT?"

Irina Lazareanu

2006-08-20T23:32:00.000+08:00

Who makes what?

2006-08-19T17:54:00.000+08:00

The must-have accessory for fashion designers isn't a bag or a shoe or a watch. It's a factory. -Time magazine

Have you ever wondered who actually made products for different brands?

GIBO: Hussein Chalayan, Alexander McQueen, Marc Jacobs, John Galliano Homme, Viktor&Rolf
STAFF: Martin Margiela, DSquared*, Vivienne Westwood Mens, Costume National Homme
AEFFE: Jean-Paul Gaultier, Pollini, Alberta Ferretti, Philosophy, Sinha-Stanic, Basso&Brooks, Narciso Rodriguez, Moschino
CIT: Armani Collezioni, Bagutta, Basile, Eley Kishimoto, Baindouche
ITTIERRE: D&G, Exte, Versace Jeans Couture, Versus, Just Cavalli, CNC, Anna Sui
GYSEMANS: Raf Simons, Berhard Wilhelm

SHOES
BUTTERO: Dior Homme, Martin Margiela, Number (N)ine

* DSquared might have moved its production to China.

Mark Ryden

2006-08-11T00:47:00.000+08:00

Thanks to Joop I found the website of Mark Ryden who painted surreal and weird looking art. He was able to combine sweet characters with weird circumstances, which made his art interesting to look at. There are several of his works posted on his website, and you could read about the ideas behind his works in the bio section. Ryden's work is inspired both by recent history and also the works of masters such as Bosch, Bruegel, and Ingres.

Big bear and little bear

2006-08-05T02:01:00.000+08:00

I bought the large bear head in Tokyo, and saw a little one for dog in Hong Kong. Needless to say I grabbed it right away!! The dog in this pic is my toy poodle named bubble. He actually let me have my way with him muahahha, but as your can see he wasn't too thrilled about it. <3 you bubble!

Coldplay in Hong Kong

2006-07-14T03:23:00.000+08:00

What a great concert!!! I <3>

Fashion shoot

2006-07-12T21:26:00.000+08:00

Did a photo shoot at CK's studio. I painted Eva's lips super red and gave her eyes more definition with a wash of brown eyeshadow. Kept the rest of her face clean to balance the red lips. I've always enjoyed working with CK and Adele. Tavin will get some love if he gave me back my jacket!

People rating

2006-07-12T19:00:00.000+08:00

How do you rate someone? Well I give plus or minus points to a person on things he does. No one is really consistent, meaning even angel slips once in a while to piss me off. Never met someone who constantly scored plus points all the time. Guess what? I just gave some idiot a fucking big minus. Better do some really nice shit to make up for that.

Painting lesson

2006-07-11T22:52:00.001+08:00

Finally took my first lesson last friday. The teacher said I should start with sketching so I'll be doing that for the next few lessons. Pretty fun and it trains my patience. I spent 3 hours drawing apple and pear haha. Fun fun. Will move on to watercolor once I am done with sketching and I've already started shopping for a watercolor kit. I have my eyes on a Winsor & Newton Artist's watercolor field box set but couldn't find it in Hong Kong. Problly will have to order online. And yes I know I don't NEED an artist's set as a beginner but I really WANT it. :P

SO-EN - not out of the cookie cutter

2006-05-18T00:54:00.000+08:00

Did you ever get the feeling that you were reading the same shit from last year when you flipped through the newest issue of Vogue, or HB (well I enjoy reading them but they rarely give me any surprise). So-EN however, covers not just mainstream fashion, but interesting/not-so-well-known designers as well. New designers from Japan, a tiny jewelry workshop in some part of the world. I love it.

Food for thoughts

2006-05-17T00:50:00.000+08:00

"When people go to a museum and say, 'Ah, beautiful, look at the art,' they have no idea what happens in the dirty underbelly of the art world before it arrives in a plush museum," said Dutch antiquities dealer Michel van Rijn, a former forger and smuggler who is now an "art sleuth" and often works with the cops.

Comments?

Puppy with sad eyes

2006-05-17T00:09:00.000+08:00

oh puppy why do you look so sad? Who took your lollipop?

Craving for cucumber

2006-05-16T19:20:00.000+08:00

Apivita? What is it? Well I had no idea until couple days ago when I happened to walk by their counter at Harbour City. They sell skin care products w/ natural ingredients. I asked the sales girl what their popular product was, and she showed me these wonderful masks in nice packaging. They come in a box with individual package for each use. Tried the cucumber when I got home and my skin felt good after one use.

Michel who?

2006-05-16T19:09:00.000+08:00

This guy Michel Van Rijn has an awesome website. If you liked Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code MVR's site has the right stuff for you. Shady deals in the art world, smuggling of antiquities...you name it, he's got it. Headline today talks about the director of the Getty musuem in LA, who's expected to meet the full force of the Greek government. Bottom line, the Greeks want their stolen artifacts back!

http://www.michelvanrijn.nl/artnews/artnws.htm

Converse: definitely not for walking

2006-05-11T01:51:00.000+08:00

My legs hurt like hell after this trip to Shanghai...too much walking. I actually begged to go for a massage which was out of character coz I don't really enjoy getting a massage. I was surprised when the lady ran her hands over my chest. DId she think I was a guy?! @@ After 1.5 hour of torture my shoulders felt lighter but my legs still hurt! grrrrrrrr...Didn't know I'd have to walk that much or I'd put on proper runners instead of wearing Converse.

It was raining the day I left Shanghai. Before leaving for the airport I decided to grab a cup of coffee @ Starbucks, which was a 3 mins walk from M's apartment. I didn't have an umbrella but it wasn't raining heavily UNTIL I BOUGHT THE COFFEE! Bleh the moment I walked out of the shop I saw heavy rain pouring down and was thinking "shit!!!". No choice but to run back coz we had a flight to catch. I was soaking wet and felt like throwing that bag of coffee onto the wall. Arrived at the airport around 2pm and was lucky enough to catch an earlier flight back to HK.