Carpe Diem

I've always been intrigued by the phrase "Carpe Diem", or "Seize the Day". It was the theme from one of my fav movies, The Dead Poet's Society. So today I decided to abide by the theme and live the day to the fullest.

First, on my way out, I stopped to smell the flowers.

Hmmm..lavender

The scent was sweetly mild, like the fragrance of a steeping cup of tea. Speaking of tea, I was tempted by bubble tea again, this time in the Chinatown suburb of East Broadway. It was a more neighborhood Chinatown than the real thing, which is good because the people there are nicer (not like the ones I sat beside on my subway ride over who upon entering the car started screaming in Chinese). Plus the shops are cheaper too - I got a large cup of papaya bubble tea for only $2.

Papaya bubble tea

Ok, I admit it. It was my lunch. That and a banana. But thoroughly satisfying, like a trip down to the tropics. It was sweet, but not too sweet, and the bubbles were soft and chewy. Plus the girl at the counter was really nice and took the time to actually make the bubble tea properly.

On my way to meet my friend, I passed by an indiscriminate Chinese restaurant selling dumplings and fish ball and steamed buns for less than $2. I really wanted to buy some but didn't want to carry it all.
Then I passed by another dumpling and xiao long bao restaurant and just had to snap a picture of the buffet-style takeout food.

I think I was attracted by it because although it is probably greasy and made in sub-par conditions, it reminded me a lot of home cooked meals, especially the tomato and eggs and Chinese onion bread with green beans.

So back to the theme - I found my wedding dress today! That's the reason why I met with my friend who is a wedding consultant. I actually found it before she arrived and fell in love with it right away. I also got a qi pao, a traditional Chinese dress with embroidered phoenix over it.

Then when I got home with a gleeful grin, I decided to bring back some of those childhood memories (and get rid of my left-overs) with fried rice. I chopped up some green onions, and cracked an egg onto the pan.

Green n Gold

Then I stirred in the left-over rice, some chicken from another meal, and some frozen peas and carrots.

A dose of good ole' sesame sauce and some ketchup does the trick.

Then mix, mix, mix, making sure not to drop a single rice outside the pan (it's considered taboo if you didn't finish even a single drop of rice in your bowl).

Chow-time

Actually, I didn't get a chance to eat it for dinner (even though it has no additional oil than the original contents), because of my pre-wedding diet. I don't really mind eating yogurt with cereal though, still pretty good. At least I'll have lunch for hubby and myself for the next day =)