This post is archived under Hobbies, Plants

As Monday blues settle in, I thought I would post a throwback to Saturday morning at the bustling Lincoln Park Farmer's Market. A wonderful selection of fresh vegetables, potted herbs, and flower bouquets were available, along with local honey, apple cider, and cider donuts!

Bottom right is "The Jake" from Gayle's Best Ever Grilled Cheese. It is filled with gouda cheese, ham, and apple butter. It felt like a great welcome to the fall seasonal foods, even if it was 80 degrees outside!

This post is archived under Chicago, Food, Hobbies

Absolutely love this new addition to our plant family. Schefflera arboricola is a dwarf umbrella tree, native to Taiwan! It is a medium light plant and fairly tolerant of neglect so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will stay in its vibrant and healthy green state permanently.

This post is archived under Hobbies, Plants

Original basil plant, purchased from Trader Joe's

I've been keeping an eye on my basil plant for while because as it has grown wonderfully leafy and bushy, it has also been looking very crowded. New stems have sprouted out of the soil and there appears to be around 20-30 stems all growing within my small to medium sized pot. Some foliage are completely obstructed or overlapping with neighboring leaves and receiving little sunlight as a result. When I discovered at cute white planter pot for $5.99 at Marshalls, I decided it was a great opportunity to split my overcrowded basil plant!

I started by pulling out the bunch of basil stems and root ball from the original pot. I could see roots beginning to surround the mass of dirt. I tugged the plants into 4 separate bunches, being as gentle as possible on the roots. I teased out a couple weaker/thinner stems that looked less healthy and did not replant those. I then put 2 bunches of basil into each pot, trying to leave as much distance between them as possible and added soil, followed by a generous watering.
As you can see, the basil plant on the right is still looking plentiful and crowded so it will likely need a larger pot in the future. However, hopefully the plants will flourish more now with the additional space and fresh soil. I have also ordered some balanced fertilizer which may help with healthy growth and deeper coloring of the leaves.

This post is archived under Hobbies, Plants

The Renegade Craft Fair on Division St. is one of my favorite festival type events that takes place in Chicago. They have a fantastic variety of food trucks available along with hundreds of vendors for handmade jewelry, ceramics and pots, home decor and accessories, candles, artwork and prints, perfume, honey and various sauces, and Chicago themed goods such as coasters, tote bags, cutting boards, and more.

Food Highlights

Boo Coo Roux Cajun Centric Cuisine, Food Truck

This post is archived under Chicago, Food, Shopping

"Why wait another day, when a day won't change a thing..."
Lying in bed early morning on the weekends always feels so soothing and is one of my favorite moments of the day. As I was lounging in bed and browsing old favorites on my playlists, I came across this gem.

This post is archived under Music

About 2-3 weeks ago, while examining one of my potted plants, I noticed a little stem with a pair of leaves poking out of the dirt beside the potted palm. It did not resemble new growth from a palm at all so I assumed that the neighboring potted mint with its extended stems and leaves had somehow invaded the soil of the palm. I plucked the little growth out and gave it a small container of its own along with fresh soil.

The photos below show the development after about 7 days and then 14 days. It doesn't look a darn thing like mint! We are completely mystified by this new plant and our new theory is that it is some sort of common weed that got into the soil while the plant was in its nursery or perhaps at the store.

This post is archived under Hobbies, Plants

This post is a record of my current attempt to grow a new orange mint plant from cuttings of our original one. I am not sure whether I let the mint plant grow too large and leggy prior to harvesting but lately, the flavor and scent of the orange mint leaves has been quite lacking. Instead of the large flavorful leaves it once had, the original mint plant has been growing lots of tiny sprouts of leaves without much aroma. Despite a heavy trim, it is still growing back rapidly with the tiny flavorless leaves. Hence, the new project of growing mint from cuttings!

Original minty Medusa plant

I took several cuttings (about 6 or 7) from the original plant by cutting right below the nodes of leaves. I then gently picked off all the lower leaves and left only the top one or two pairs of leaves at the top of each stem. I placed them in glasses of water on the bright sunny window ledge, making sure that the nodes were all submerged in water but not the top foliage.
New root growth was noticeable at about day 3. I had also ordered the Root Boost brand rooting hormone powder from Amazon but as it turns out, this was completely unnecessary. After 6 days, the stems had already sprouted pretty substantial roots! At this point, I decided to move these cuttings into a ceramic pot with regular potting soil.

This post is archived under Hobbies, Plants

As I was scrolling through photos on my camera roll this morning and trying to delete photos to make more space on my phone, I came across pictures from a few travel experiences this year that I would really love to document before the memories become too fuzzy or fade completely. One such experience was a 3-day weekend trip to Denver and Boulder in early April of this year.

HC and I flew together to Denver on an early morning flight and we checked in to our Airbnb prior to noon on Saturday. We stayed in a budget friendly but chic and tastefully decorated room in a shared house with the host. The mattress was the most luxurious one that I've slept on in any Airbnb rental and felt like thick memory foam, making it a terrific place to relax after long days of walking. There was a polaroid camera available for guests to capture a selfie and then sign their names and leave a message, a unique guestbook of some sorts. We browsed through the stack of polaroid printouts of other guests from various regions around the globe which was a pretty interesting activity.

Airbnb rental, hosted by Andy


Day 1, Downtown and Arts District on Santa Fe
Shortly after checking in to our Airbnb rental, we made our way downtown and walked around Capitol Hill and the Golden Triangle. The weather was phenomenal with clear blue skies and a light breeze. Denver Art Museum, Firefighter's Museum and other small galleries are located around this area. After giving ourselves a walking tour of the neighborhood, we went up to Peaks lounge at Hyatt Regency to get a bird's eye view of the city. As you can see, the sun was beginning to set and dip below the mountains surrounding the city in the distance.

We enjoyed a couple drinks and a slice of cake as we watched the sky changing colors and slowly dimming.
                               Peaks Lounge, Hyatt Regency

In the evening, we hopped on an Uber and ate dinner at a hippy and colorful casual fast food Indian restaurant. The menu options were simple but tasty and nutritious. According to the servers, the cuisine and cooking style originates from southern India which is the home of the owner, Biju Thomas.

Biju's Little Curry Shop
We opted for the coconut chicken curry combo bowl as well as the spicy vindaloo chicken. We noticed that this little restaurant closes by 9PM most days and 8PM on Sundays so be sure to plan for that if you intend to grab a bite here!

We chose a cinnamon roll flavored crepe and had a seat at the outdoor patio beside the neighboring establishment, Zephyr Brewery. Live music drifted out from inside the brewery and created a very mellow but cheerful atmosphere. There was also a fun selection of board games and word games available for patrons. We engaged briefly in a low key game of Boggle, while a group of college students played a game of giant Jenga which was also supplied by the brewery. It was hysterical and entertaining to watch!

Day 2, Excursion to Boulder
Boulder is conveniently accessible from Denver even without a rental vehicle because there is an express bus on a fairly frequent schedule that travels between these two cities.
It was not difficult to find several hiking trails nearby after getting off the bus. The trails were easy to walk with mild incline and after an hour climb, we had a nice view of the peaceful city. By the time we made it back down, we had worked up significant appetites and finding something to fill our stomaches became the next essential mission.
Mountain Sun Pub & Brewery
At the recommendation from a local, we stopped at Mountain Sun and ate an immensely satisfying meal of deli sandwiches, fries, and cocktails. Sometimes the simplest things are also the most fulfilling! After the late lunch, we explored the stretch of shops on Pearl St. These included artisan crafts, coffee shops, ice cream parlors, second hand clothing stores, bookstores, and other miscellaneous shops. My favorite was Boulder Bookstore, which had a great selection to browse through. A laid back afternoon, overall!


Day 3, Red Rocks Amphitheater and back to the airport
Red Rocks Amphitheater is about 10 miles west of Denver and worth a visit even if no concert performance is scheduled. It features an impressive open-air stage surrounded by huge boulders and rocks on mountainous terrain. There are also some trails in the vicinity for interested hikers.
Several individuals seemed to be regular locals who were engaged in intense workouts such as running up and down the steps or jogging around the amphitheater. It was truly a phenomenal landscape to take in and felt like a powerful reminder of how insignificant our individual problems might be in comparison to the majestic earth.
Additionally, located at the visitor's center of the Red Rocks Amphitheater is a Performers' Hall of Fame which is free admission. Inside, you can take a self-guided tour of the history of the Amphitheater and all the renowned musicians who have performed there through the decades.

The venue was a fantastic last stop to wrap up our weekend vacation and left us wanting to return to explore additional trails of the glorious landscape!

This post is archived under Food, Travel

Lately, I have developed a fondness for indoor plants which then progressed into a bit of an obsession. This is a pretty big deal for someone who killed a roomful of my grandmother's houseplants in Toronto when she asked me to care for them for a month while she travelled to Taiwan. I either completely forgot they existed or my mind did not acknowledge the fact that these were living things - either way, I did not remember to water them or check on them at all for several weeks. She came home to wilted and shriveled brown plants and did not appear all that surprised.

Luckily, I do remember to check on my own beautiful houseplants now, almost 10 years later. In fact, my plants are probably suffering from a case of over-attention and indulgence. I've been trying my best not to hover over them, constantly check their leaves/dirt, and water them too often. I also purchased a moisture meter to stop myself from wanting to water them unnecessarily.

Left, lovely bushy basil.          Right, minty Medusa.

One of the reasons I have finally been able to add houseplants to our indoor space is that we moved over the summer and now have an apartment that has large windows with ample bright light and plenty of window ledge space.

This post is archived under Hobbies, Plants

I spent some time tonight re-reading translated poetry by Hafiz, a Persian lyric poet who is just magical with his words and always has a special message to convey. The translator who does this amazing work is Daniel Ladinsky. These are a couple of my favorites:

"I caught the happy virus last night
When I was singing beneath the stars.
It is remarkably contagious -
So kiss me."

"Ever since happiness
heard your name,
it has been running
through the streets
trying to find you." 

This post is archived under Education, Poetry, Random thoughts