my lunar new year

It's the year of the TIGER! The day has come, and the past few years, I've taken on the role of mom during new years. I clean the house, decorate, and then throw a huge bash to ring in the new year. Last year's was big, but this year was huge. I made pho, Michelle made tofu and pork with eggs, and Carmen made fried rice. With communal effort, we had the gang over and it was a great shindig. They brought significant others and long time friends, all of which make me so happy.

Here are the pics from the last half of the evening, when we actually played in the studio. After that, the party and food pics. I'll kick it off here with my hoa dao [cherry blossom] that I bought from the flower mart in Little Saigon. I hung li xi [red envelopes] on it and I found this deco as well. So pretty!

I have no idea why the fedora made it into the shoot.
I couldn't find another rice hat so I guess it will just have to do.


I love this hat.






I have hot friends





yea that's right. I can squat like no other.

These are from my dlsr. I'm still working out the kinks so I had it on the tripod. We were posing for the G10, but someone turned on this camera from the tripod and took some from a different angle. I just found them, and I love when that happens! This shot is my favorite of the bunch. It was Michelle's idea but Tam's face makes me want to die of laughter.

goooood times

I guess this is the best outfit shot of the night, but it's uncomplete without the most comfortable pair of heels I own. I couldn't put them on because its carpet, and the last time I wore heels, it punctured a hole in my background paper =/

Somehow, through all the laughter, we end up on the floor. Tam made us do a frog toes shot. Tam has major frog toes. Let me explain. Viets have a problem with frog toes from the slippers and flip flops we wear. It's mostly between the big toe and second toe, and some of us are special and can spread all 5! Tam's feet are naturally wide set apart, but as we see here, the rest of us can spread em pretty wide too!

and the food...I made pho. This pot simmered since 10 am til 8 pm. By then, it was just plain DELICIOUS.


the holy trinity for pho: star anise, nutmeg, and cinnamon


bowls of noooodles


finished product sans msg

I bought 2 durian for the party. Some LOVE it, some HATE it. I spared the haters the pain somewhat by buying the frozen one [spared my wallet too], but once that baby was open, the smell permeated throughout the house. yummm

Samar baked this all by herself!


cheeers! soju bombs with the boys


loving the peace signs. so asian


Bo Cua Ca Cop: Viet gambling on the floor. Cause we do it og style


my partners in crime


Tam must have her pork rimes. Since the meal did not require this, I just bought a bag...just for Tam. She ate the whole thing by herself. ^_^

Half an outfit. I bought this shirt at Forever 21 when they were going through their Asian phase a few years back. Although most of the dresses and shirts were not well done, this one was perfect. The bodice is black and the sleeves are so flirty and fun. I paired it with some comfy tights so I can eat!

The other half of my outfit. I have no idea who took this shot, but I had to laugh. They're doing my outfit shots without even knowing! I love these shoes. I can wear them to a club, dance all night, and still be able to walk to the car after. Now that's something since I wear heels for shoots and to dinners where I don't have to stand more than 10 minutes. These are by Celine, and they were made in Italy. The price was quite hefty for shoes in my opinion, but DSW had an insane sale, and I gleefully left with these for under $100 bucks. Score.