Lance Bass: I'm Gay

hmmm...like we didn't know and does it really matter. or is this just to drum up some publicity for his possible new sitcom? hmmm....

first off...yes, i am addicted to the show...now leave me alone :)

on to epsisode 2...
challenge: evening gown for Miss USA Tara Conner for the Miss Universe Pagent. and to work in teams of 2.
so obviously, there is one designer who had an edge on the rest of the group...Kayne. his whole niche is pagent gowns...so he paired up with robert, and they worked fabulously together. the most annoying person...angela...hands down! and i so think she should have been out! a) she didn't even do a sketch or prepare a presentation, which was part one one of the task. b) she obviously knew that kayne had a bit of an advantage and kept pestering him to pick her instead of working on her own design. c) once she got assigned to someone...oops i mean picked...last...she complained the whole time and would not execute the designers vision just because it wasn't hers (and it was a pretty dress, might i add). which was probably a good thing since she didn't have a vision to begin with. the model would have been wearing nothing if they followed her vision! unfortunately, even with out crazy nina garcia, they still didn't out the lazy one. side bar: she wasn't the only dysfunctional one...her partner in crime vincent was a nut case too...so two crazies do not equal sanity. instead malan went home. although i feel he is creepy and a bit cocky, i think he is so much more talented than angela. so all in all, there were 3 really beautiful dresses, but only one that was truly a pagent worthy gown. of course kayne and robert won...which they deserved. I watched the end of the Miss Universe Pagent last night and Tara made it into the top 5. the dress looked amazing on her...i would have never guessed it to have only cost $300.
if i were to choose one to wear, it would have been uli's. love how flowy and beautiful the back of the gown was. So until wednesday...

bonus point: vera wang was guest judge...too cool...

Vegetables to get Olympic identity codes
is this really necessary? and how will the number each veggie? i see the importance of not eating certain chemicals...i wouldn't want to either. but 1.3 billion people live there and no big epidemic has occurred. i understand w/a cabbage or potato there's enough room to tag it, but a pea pod? green bean? cherry tomato? will each kernel of corn get ids or will it just be the whole cobb? what if the kernel falls off the cobb and no one knows where it came from?

first, thanks to top hostess Amy for a fab dinner for e-night. there's nothing like a night of good bonding with great gals, food, drink and dessert! i brought the libations for the evening and decided to try making sangria. found a great recipe on epicurious for a peach sangria and it was a hit! it may even become a signature drink for e-nights! here's the low down...

White Peach Sangria2 firm-ripe white peaches, cut into thin wedges
1/2 cup peach schnapps
1/3 cup superfine granulated sugar3
cups chilled rosé wine (750-ml bottle)
2 cups chilled sparkling water
Stir together peaches, schnapps, and sugar in a large pitcher until sugar is dissolved and let stand 1 hour.
Stir in wine, sparkling water, and some ice.

sooo easy and great for a hot summer night (or day!). i know i'll make this over and over again!

I also found a couple other recipes i will try another time...they were more time consuming and used more ingrediants that i didn't have at home. i will have to try it some other time.

PEACH WHITE-WINE SANGRIA
1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves plus 8 to 10 sprigs
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 cans peach nectar (23 fl oz total)
1 (750-ml) bottle chilled dry white wine
1 large peach (peeled if desired), diced
Put basil leaves, sugar, and lemon juice into a small saucepan and bruise leaves by mashing with a wooden spoon. Add 1 can nectar and bring just to a simmer, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes, then pour through a medium-mesh sieve into a heatproof pitcher, discarding basil leaves. Stir in wine, peach, remaining can nectar, and basil sprigs. Chill, covered, at least 1 hour and up to 24. Serve over ice.

STRAWBERRY AND PEACH SANGRIA
1 750-ml bottle dry white wine
1 1/2 cups Essensia (orange Muscat, a sweet dessert wine)
1 1/2 cups sliced strawberries
1 cup peach liqueur
3 peaches, each cut into 12 slices
1 large orange, cut crosswise into 6 slices
1 large lemon, cut crosswise into 6 slices
1/4 cup strawberry syrup (optional)
3 to 4 cups ice cubes
Mix white wine, Essensia, strawberries, peach liqueur, peaches, orange slices, lemon slices, and strawberry syrup in large pitcher, smashing citrus slices slightly. Let stand at room temperature at least 2 hours or chill up to 4 hours. Serve sangria over ice. Shopping tip: Strawberry syrup can be found near the maple syrup at some supermarkets and specialty foods stores.

this last one is def more on the wild side....but sounds interesting...i'll let you know how it taste after i make it!

CUCUMBER, GINGER, AND SAKE SANGRIA
1 large (1-lb) seedless cucumber (usually plastic-wrapped)
2 cups water
2/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, or to taste
1 (720-ml) bottle chilled dry sake
2 tablespoons finely chopped crystallized ginger (optional)
Cut cucumber crosswise into three equal pieces. Peel and chop 2 pieces, then put into a blender. Peel 4 lengthwise strips from remaining piece, leaving stripes of green, then halve piece lengthwise and core. Thinly slice crosswise. Add water, sugar, fresh ginger, and lemon juice to blender and purée until smooth. Pour through a medium-mesh sieve into a pitcher, then stir in sake, crystallized ginger if using, and cucumber slices. Chill, covered, until ready to serve, up to 2 hours. Serve over ice.

enjoy! hopefully this will help make the extremely hot summer more bearable!

i need a weekend to recover from my weekend! it was another busy weekend for me and b. we celebrated bchan's birthday friday night after driving in (happy birthday!!!). saturday morning was dimsum with mom and grandma. then if was off to take care of tuxedos for the wedding at anna's bridal. then it was off to go meet my sister at her sister-in-law's house. said hi to all the family and the off to the jewelry show. we went to order our wedding bands...3.5 hours later we were FINALLY done. then it was time for dinner...my fav...korean BBQ at Sam Bo Jung. After we stuffed ourselves, we went and got shaved ice...nicholas' favorite thing. then it was off to see bchan's new digs. sunday there was church, classes, then back to mom's place to pack, have dinner and leave. and of course, whenever there was freetime i spent bonding with nicholas...he almost can say my name. he's almost learned b's name too. although most of the time he just calls brian "b", just like most people. all in all for being in h-town for less than 48 hrs, we did a heck of a lot of stuff.

I also finally replaced my phone. i had purchased the hot pink RAZR from T-Mobile and i really wanted to love it. but it kept acting up...turning off in the middle of conversations, screen going black for no reason at all, insert SIM card messages when SIM card was already in, not charging. for having it for just 1 month, it had too many issues for me to keep it. T-Mobile was really great. No hassels on processing the exchange and i got my new phone in 2 days! So far i like it. let's just hope this one won't have any problems.

I also finally sent out my save-the-date for my wedding. woohoo! now i'm tackling my invites...which i have hit a snag. so i'm in troubleshooting mode. i obviously have unique taste. the paper i want to use can only be purchased by the carton....that equals enough paper for me to print invites, reply cards, programs, table cards and place cards for about 1000 people. that is WAY too much paper. so back to square one for me :) Wedding favors are in too...they are currently on a plane with my daddy on the way back from hong kong. i cannot wait! we also blocked off rooms for guest for the wedding at the Magnolia Hotel in downtown houston. b and i will also be staying there that night. (to get the discounted rate please let them know it is for the wong/liau wedding) we want our friends to come hang out with us at the hotel bar after the reception if they are up to it. besides, they serve milk and cookies every night...yum! thanks judy & wai for letting us copy you guys. so the big shindig is coming along...i can't wait!

so i think that's all that happened. if i can think of anything else i'll add :) whoo...what a long blog...i need a nap now...

here's a couple photos of nicholas too...

Good news: pet shop boys are coming to austin @ the backyard.

Bad news: the concert is on october 21...same day as my wedding.

*sigh* not only did i miss the erasure earlier this year...i'm gonna miss the pet shop boys too. not a good year for concerts.

btw...how old are the lads now???

IT'S BACK!!!! i cannot believe how addicted to this series i am! i have loyal watched the first two season and have followed a couple of the winners and designers closely. i'm proud to say last year's winner chole dao is from h-town and her shop lot 8 is in the rice village. all these years i have driven past it so many times and never set foot in.

so this year looks like another interesting season...def a bunch of crazys in the bunch. but also a lot of talent. some of these people can sew. they are innovative, creative, ambitious, and genius. As much as love fashion, i would love to have 1/10th of the talent these people have. I would be happy just tailoring my own clothes so i don't have to ask my mom to do it every time i buy a pair of pants.

So the first episode was, as always, about innovation and creativity. they were required to make their outfit from whatever was in their hotel room. that is, anything that came with the hotel room and as long as they could fit it in a laundry bag. one of the guys made his dress out of coffee filters...and it was amazing. I don't think the winner, kevin, should have won. his dress was nice...i just didn't think he was innovative. (he's also an asshole...really cocky.) Stacey was given the auf wiedersehen...just a little out of her league.

so there seems to be a lot of drama this year so i can't wait! so until next week...

photos, images, vector art, flash design...i wish i was so talented to be able to create my own. but since my skills are not there yet, i've turned to stock photo or stock art. The only problem was that images were so expensive to purchase or have commissioned. Until I stubbled upon www.istockphoto.com. It is a royalty free stock photography community. Not only can you find images you need for as cheap as $1, you can upload and participate too. If you have the skills or just some great photos that people would like, you should check this out.

it looks like austin is going big time. no longer is is a sleep little weird college town with quirky stores and a whole street dedicated to drinking and partying. downtown austin is going to become...new york city?? well, yes that is a bit of an exaggeration but the mayor has set the goal of having 25,000 people living in downtown austin by 2015. that's a whole lot of people...you add in the 50,000+ UT students you we have our own small 3rd world counrty :)

The Austin Chronicle: News: Downtown's Tall Order