Birthday Week Celebrations!

Birthday Girl!

What a great week full of birthday celebrations, expected and unexpected celebrations!

At our holiday team lunch at Locanda Verde, my very sweet boss celebrated my birthday early with yummy chocolate cake and a birthday candle for dessert!

I was shocked!

At work the following week, my team surprised me with a birthday party in the office - they really got me! My colleague Joe and I were going to get coffee to catch up on some topics, but he had forgot his phone in one of the rooms. There were some of our teammates in the room, so I did not want to go and interrupt their meeting, eventually he got me to go in and it turns out it was for me! They really had me surprised - well played team!

Lunch at Tim Ho Wan

As for the actual day - I started off the day with lunch at Tim Ho Wan with my friend Michelle, it was nice to catch up and celebrate with some yummy dim sum! Michelle was one of the first people and friends I made on the Kabbage team!

I was taking it easy and decided to pamper myself and got my nails done at local nail salon a few blocks over. I decided to do glittery pink nails for the occasion! When I went to pay they gave me a holiday gift card for $10 off my next visit, what a nice surprise!

I also arrived home to find the rose quartz I ordered, hoping it brings me some love this year!

Every year I stress over what to do for my birthday and end up planning something last minute. Surprise, surprise, this year was no different.

This year I planned a at Salinas in Chelsea with a few friends. The food at Salinas was delicious (mmm steak!) and the cheesecake at the end was a perfect way to end the meal!

For those of you who know me, you MUST have some form of cake or something for your birthday!

Afterward we headed to Jungle Bird, where a few more friends met up with us for drinks, including some from holiday cocktails!

I feel truly loved and grateful for all the amazing people in my life and can’t wait to see what this year will bring.

Thanks for everyone who came out to celebrate with me!

Happy Pi Day

For those of you wo do not know, π Day is TODAY!

Pi Day is celebrated on March 14, in honor of the mathematic constant π, which is the ratio used to represent a circle’s circumference to its diameter. π is an irrational number beginning with 3.14, which is why it is celebrated on March 14.

This year I celebrated Pi Day with a visit to Little Pie Company in Hell’s Kitchen. My favorite classic pie to get is the Sour Cream Apple Walnut Pie!

Check out my adventure to the Little Pie Company here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CbHO2q-g-uP/

Chinese New Year Traditions

Happy Lunar New Year!

This year is the year of the TIGER! 🐯

Happy Year of the Tiger!

Chinese New Year is the most important holiday in the Chinese culture, so I thought I would share some of the Chinese New Year traditions!

Chinese Zodiac 🐅

There are 12 Chinese zodiac signs: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig.

The tiger represents courage and bravery, therefor this year could be a year of resiliency and bravery.

People born in the year of the tiger are brave, competitive, unpredictable, and confident. They are also quick-witted, resourceful and well liked, however can sometimes be stubborn as well.

Traditional Greetings

Chinese New Year Sweets

Some of the most popular Chinese New Year traditional greetings are:

  • 新年快乐 - Happy New Year!

  • 恭喜发财 - Wishing you happiness and prosperity!

  • 身体健康 - Wising you good health!

Red Envelopes 🧧

Chinese New Year Red Envelope

One tradition during Chinese New Year is to give out red envelopes. Traditionally children wish their parents and grandparents well wishes (see above) and in return they receive red envelopes with “lucky” money for the new year.

The envelopes should contain new, crisp bills and not be in a denomination of an unlucky number, such as 4, which sounds like the word for death in Chinese.

Traditional Lucky Food

Similar to many holidays, there are traditional foods that are eaten to bring you luck, happiness and prosperity into the new year.

Chinese New Year Dinner

Chinese New Year Dinner

Here are a few of the dishes and what they represent:

  • Fish 🐟 - Abundance

  • Shrimp 🦐 - Laughter

  • Noodles 🍜 - Longevity

  • A whole soy sauce chicken (head and feet) 🐓 - Togetherness

  • Lettuce 🥬 - Wealth

  • Prosperity Cakes (fa gao) 🥠 - steamed rice flour cakes

  • Oranges & Tangerines 🍊- wealth, success & good luck

It is also a tradition to have an excess of food and to have the leftovers the next day, this is to represent that you are bountiful and not going hungry into the new year. My family and I try to have 8 dishes since 8 is a lucky number in the Chinese culture.

These are just a few of the many traditions for Chinese New Year!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Lunar New Year with your loved ones!

恭喜发财!

Happy π Day

π (Pi) Day is one of my favorite holidays to celebrate and brings out the inner math enthusiast in me! I love math and a math minor in college, I was only a math minor because I could not double major across the business school and the arts & sciences school at my college.

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Pi Day is celebrated on March 14, 3-14, representing the first 3 digits of Pi. Pi is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter.

To celebrate π day today, I had some circle shaped foods (pies), including:

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  • Blueberry Pancake Pie from Vikings & Goddesses Pie Company
    The pie is a buttermilk chess with blueberries and lemon zest in an all-butter pie crust

  • Chicken Alfredo Pizza from Red Rabbit
    The pizza garlic cream sauce, grilled chicken, bacon, charred scallions, sun dried tomatoes

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It is crazy to think last year I was celebrating Pi Day with some friends in Brooklyn at Four & Twenty Blackbirds. Who would have known that was one of the last days of normality before the global pandemic really hit NYC and the US.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Happy Valentine’s Day! 💕

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Thank you to the sweetest valentine for these gorgeous roses that won’t die on me - you know me too well! I love you Daniel Kurkowski! ❤️

These are preserved roses that should last for a few years! I don’t have a green thumb, so these are perfect for me!

Happy π Day!!!

 
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Happy π Day!!!

Today some friends and I ventured to Four & Twenty Blackbirds in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, NY. They had some delicious pies, including a Caramel Crumble Apple Pie, Birch Beer Pie and Matcha Custard Pie!

Happy International Women’s Day!

Happy International Women’s Day! 💜

I am so excited to be part of The Ambition Project. Only 3 in 10 women are proud to call themselves ambitious. Let’s change the way we talk about ambition.

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To me ambition means not being afraid to go for what you want! What does ambition mean to you? 👊

Giving Tuesday 2019

This year for GivingTuesday, I donated toys to Marine Toys for Tots Foundation to give to children during the holidays! 🎁

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Giving Tuesday was created in 2012 as a day to encourage people to do good, celebrated the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.

Toys for Tots is a non profit organization run by the US Marines that collects and delivers toys to less fortunate children.

Dia de Muertos in Mexico City

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I had the amazing pleasure of taking part in some festivities for Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) in Mexico City this year!

Dia de los Muertos is a Mexican holiday to celebrate and remember those who have passed away. This holiday is celebrated on October 31 to November 2nd.

Candy Skeleton & Pan de Muerto

Candy Skeleton & Pan de Muerto

For Dia de los Muertos, families will create an ofrenda, which is kind of similar to an alter/shrine created for those who have passed away. The ofrendas feature a photo of the deceased and includes the 4 elements, water, wind, earth and fire in the form of papel picado, flowers, sugar skulls and candles.

Catrina is the skeleton figure that is often associated with Dia de Muertos, who honors and protects those who have passed away.

Check out some of the amazing ofrendas designed by my team in Mexico City this year!