April 2015 – Tiana Feng

A Month of Being Mindful

April 30, 201530 Day Challenge, LifeLeave a Comment

Happiness is this Oreo Iced Capp at Timmies

Today is officially the last day of my 30 days of no complaining challenge. While it was literally impossible to eliminate all complaining the month taught me to be more mindful of other people as well as play a more active role in solving problems. Honestly, I don’t know if it was the climb out of winter depression or this exercise but I had a very happy month of April.

I had less worries, but as a person that has suffered from anxiety/depression, being worry-free is simply impossible. I just focused my energy into getting things done or allowing myself more time to relax when needed. There was less of that in between period of pondering to myself or someone else whether I should or should not be doing something. Relevant to this, I read the following phrase in Amy Poehler’s Yes Please and instantly fell in love:

“The talking about the thing isn’t the thing. The thing is the thing.”

It’s the best because it implies dealing with the problem head on rather than complaining. It’s a phrase I need to write on a piece of wood and hang on the wall.

This was a great exercise to have for a month, but I am unsure if I am going to continue the same way. I will for sure be mindful and determined to find solutions but the occasional bout of unloading is not only satisfying, I believe it’s healthy. It’s day 30 and I am having the biggest tension headache and I think the biggest cause is not being able to actively off-load some negative emotions for an entire month. I’m sure I can sleep it off and tomorrow will be a new month and mark the challenge’s end!

Anyways, I tried that ridiculous Microsoft thing and I got 20 so no complaints here…

3 Different Cultures @ The People’s Eatery

April 29, 2015May 24, 2015Food, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a Comment

After a meetup, a couple friends and I hit up The People’s Eatery. It’s an interesting restaurant that has Jewish and Asian foods on the same menu. We opted to share a couple of dishes. In the picture above was the Indian Buffet Platter which had butter lamb, saag paneer, rice, pickled carrots, and more. I especially liked the lamb and paneer because they were very flavourful.

On the snack menu were these latkes with trout, sour cream and salmon roe. They were light and fresh.

Also from the snack menu were these sticky General Tso Fu which were a fun vegetarian take on General Tao Chicken.

The main star was the Peking Duck which was served “3 ways”. At first only what was in the above picture showed up so I was confused as to where the third duck preparation was. The lettuce wraps were lovely and I enjoyed their fried noodles. Their spin on traditional Peking Duck wraps were also interesting opting for pear instead of the traditional cucumber, carrot, onion mixture. Their “hoisin” sauce was also a little different, kind of like a black bean paste.

The miss on the “trio” was the consumé which was served separately. It reminded me of the soups my mom makes occasionally and tells me would heal my blood. This didn’t really float well with my non-Chinese friends because of it’s dark flavour.

Generally, I was quite pleased with the meal and it’s a perfect place to bring friends who are indecisive on what to eat. Here you can have a bit of different cultures!

Video Round-Up: Ipsy, Adventure Time Boots & Magic Mugs

April 28, 2015VlogsLeave a Comment

In this video round-up first we have the April Ipsy unboxing

Then I bought the coolest boots

Lastly, I show you my Origrami prints and new mugs!

Birchbox: April 2015 Edition

April 27, 2015BeautyLeave a Comment

I had gifted my little sister with a 3 month subscription to Birchbox, but I recently decided to get my own.

There was a bit of a shipping error but the customer service was awesome and fixed it right away and gave me a free box next month for the trouble.
Everyone who ordered April’s box received a Beauty Blender ($18) and a liquid cleaner for the brush. This alone was worth the Birchbox as it’s a must-have in every beauty aficionado’s collection.

I don’t like fragrance’s but Birchbox has an option to receive them only a few times a year. This Harvey Prince one had cute spring packaging though!

I’m excited to try this 12 Benefits Instant Healthy Hair Treatment that is an all-in-one and detangles, hydrates, protects and repairs past damage.

This delicious cream from Perlier was the next item in the box.

I thought this was a bottle of nail polish but it’s actually a full-sized version of Jelly Pong Pong’s Glow Getter highlighter ($16.50). It’s not for nails at all but for giving skin a pearlescent shimmer. Perfect for parties!

I’m pretty excited to try all these quality Birchbox products and can’t wait for my complimentary box next month. To get your own use my referral code here: https://www.birchbox.ca/invite/b38rd

Hello Kitty x The Simpsons

April 26, 2015Fashion, Shopping1 Comment

Ever since I first saw someone where this poncho sweater thing on an American friend’s Instagram, I wanted it badly! I found out that it was an exclusive piece from Japan LA.

It is part of an official collaboration between Hello Kitty and The Simpsons. I couldn’t get over how adorable the chibi versions of the Simpsons’ cast were.

The poncho is one size-fits all and despite being loose is a shape that works with all bodies. It’s also super soft and comfy!

It’s seriously one of my favourite new wardrobe pieces!

View this post on Instagram

Ahhhh this is my fav new sweater that I discovered through @eyemusing #japanla

A post shared by Tiana Feng (@tianafeng) on Apr 14, 2015 at 3:54pm PDT

Dinner With Friends @ The Comrade

April 25, 2015Food, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a Comment

Before a show at The Opera House, my friends and I had dinner at The Comrade. We ended up here by chance. Our original restaurant pick was too full but this one had a nice casual atmosphere about it. I ordered the Hanger Steak ($19). It was a PEI grass-fed beef with roasted vegetables. The steak had a lovely butteriness to it.

To drink, I had one of their lovely cocktails, Gilded Radner, which was Tanqueray gin, Fernet Branca, Peychaud bitters, lemon juice, ginger syrup, cucumber and egg whites.

If you’re expecting a meal, this is not really the place to be. The Comrade is more about having drinks and sharing food with friends.

Adventure Time x Dr. Martens

April 24, 2015Fashion, ShoppingLeave a Comment

I couldn’t resist getting these awesome Adventure Time Dr. Martens. I believe they are Men’s sizes, so I sized down one when I bought one to a Size 6. There are three designs in total so far but I found this particular one the most practical, and somehow the least likely to clash with outfits.

Adventure Time teamed up with Dr. Martens for their “What do I stand for?” campaign. There’s a video for it on their official website that is adorable.

Apparently some of the designs only have around 1400 pairs worldwide. So these could be a totally exclusive and limited pair. Many of the adult sizes are already sold out in store and online.

I’ve been thinking about them since I saw the first announcement and I totally have no regrets about buying them!

Prints from Origrami

April 23, 2015Life, Shopping, Social Media, Technology4 Comments

As much as I love the ease of digital photography, I still love the feeling of holding a photograph so I printed some of my Instagram photos through Australian site, Origrami.

They were delivered rather quickly by mail (considering I live in Canada). The photos came in an adorable camera shaped box with a branded tag inside.

I ordered the Squareprintswhich were $22.95 AUD for 36 photos. The back of the photos had either a map (if a location was tagged) or a colourful camera logo along with your Instagram likes and comments. I really loved that idea as a backside since it provided a way to make my digital memories analog!

Tetris Mug

April 22, 2015Shopping, Video GamesLeave a Comment

I picked up this cool Tetris mug that changes when hot liquid is poured in it.

It looks empty when there is nothing in it. It’s still a safe game of Tetris. You can see a faint outline of where the pieces will appear when something warmer is is poured in the mug.

I used it with my Keurig machine and it was fun to see the colours slowly fade their way in. When the cup is full of hot liquid the Tetris board is now much fuller and has a higher score of 11,000!

This is 1 of 2 heat-activated mugs (I’ll show you the other one later) but now my morning coffee just got 100x more fun!

Ipsy Glam Bag – April 2015

April 21, 2015April 21, 2015Beauty, ShoppingLeave a Comment

I was undecided whether to stay with Ipsy after my first bag but since I was too on unsubscribing I received the April glam bag. This month’s theme was Beautifully Bohemian. The products came in a cute straw-like bag.

Like last time, I’ve never heard of most of these brands. I am excited to try the Hikari blush which I received a full size of and retails around $15 according to their website. That alone was worth the Ipsy bag.

I received a Jorel Parker fragrance. I was really disappointed to receive this since I am sensitive to fragrances and occasionally allergic to them. There’s actually nowhere on the Ipsy profile page where you can specify your distaste for fragrances. Birchbox at least has an option to limit the amount of fragrances you receive.

I am excited to try this sample of Starlooks lipgloss which is supposed to be non-sticky and long lasting.

I also received this Hey Honey Good Morning honey silk facial serum. It’s like a light cream that goes under makeup.

Lastly was this Nude Dude eyeshadow from The Balm Cosmetics. I thought the packaging was rather hilarious!

Besides the fragrance, I was happy with the rest of my Ipsy items this month. I also subscribed to Birchbox for April but haven’t received it yet. I’m excited to compare the two in the same month.

Use my referral link: https://www.ipsy.com/r/tv6b8 to earn a extra 200 points towards free products when you sign up!