Crystal Ball Event at the International Market Square for New Year's Eve

Over-priced and underwhelmed. This event was called the Crystal Ball event...but there was no crystal ball. Am I foolish to assume there would be? It should have been called the confetti event in my opinion.

As usually, I would rather stay at home and have a Die Hard marathon, but I ended up going out this year since it was the BF and my first New Year's Eve together. Aww. I know.

We almost had to stay in because my tenant's side had no heat...luckily...only on the first floor. But after spending $130 some dollars on our general admission tickets which was only for an entry fee - no free booze not even a class of champagne for the toast - I was determined to go out.

We arrived there around 9 pm...a little too early for there to be a crowd. There was a $4 coat check and the coat check attendants were only allowed to take $4 exactly (I overheard). Luckily we had exactly $4 otherwise, I'd shit bricks. Also...longest wait was for the coat.

One of the pros of the event...it didn't take us that long at all to get a drink and plenty of bathrooms so no super long wait.

To each his or her own in regards to how you prefer to ring in the New Year...would not go to this event again...although the headliner was what reeled me in. Dessa who I have learned of from the Tiny Desk Concert Youtube video. I think she gave a decent performance...but either the sound system sucked or I was to drunk to really understand her lyrics and songs clearly.

Where were you on NYE? Were you at this event? What was your perspective?

Bombay Bistro Food Review

I've almost tried every Indian restaurant in the Twin Cities area or at least it feels like I have This time my boyfriend was craving Indian buffet. Yes, we are fat!

Bombay Bistro was our destination this time. They offer free parking during dinner and weekends if you hate paying for parking like I do. There was good variety of North and South Indian cuisine. We arrived there promptly at 12 pm and not everything was set out yet, but it was nice and fresh. I think is one of the largest Indian buffets that I've been to in this area.

They also had two sides: one of vegetarian dishes and the other for meat entrees as well. There's something for everyone there, and it was reasonably priced.

Have you been to Bombay Bistro before? Any favorite dishes?

Downtown Philadelphia Restaurants Review

I haven't been on the East Coast in a long time. Luckily, I had some PTO days to use or lose, and a sister who travels for work.

I tagged along for my sister's business trip to Philadelphia for a conference. It was a business growth opportunity and a chance to travel. Finding a cheap flight was more difficult than expected. The cheapest flight I got was to Trenton-Mercer airport in New Jersey which was $144.00 which didn't include the price of $30 for a carry-on item and $25 for a check-in bag including only one personal item. This would then involve a Uber taxi ride from the airport to Trenton Transit Center for about $20. Since, it was a weekend the Septa train was $9 to Center City. Once making one of the last stops in Center City it was one block walk to my destination at Philadelphia DT Marriot.

So far still cheaper than a $500 flight from MSP to PHL. However, it is more time consuming and inconvenient.

First night, we ate at a delicious place called Original Dim Sum Garden.
We ate light Queens. Stuffing our faces with seaweed salad, scallions pancakes, shredded pork cabbage and noddles, hot and spicy soup, and chicken dumplings. We ate our dishes with their dumpling sauce and tried their ginger sauce as well. The dumpling sauce was good and sweet; however, the ginger sauce was too sour for our liking. We both typically do enjoy more sour sauces and flavors.

The seaweed salad, scallions pancakes, and chicken dumplings were very good. However, the hot and spicy soup was very bland. I wasn't a big fan of the shredded pork and cabbage and noodles. It didn't have much meat in it more my liking, but the flavor was good. This was the best place we ate at during our stay. It was also very reasonably priced.

Hot and Sour Soup, Chicken Dumplings, Scallion Pancakes, and Shredded Pork Noodles

Whenever, I travel I like to do some of the typically touristy things such as visiting the Liberty Bell, Brotherly Love sculpture, and eating a Philly Cheese sandwich.

In picking a place to try our sandwich, we went with proximity. We ordered The Works at Campo's Deli. It was disappointing and no different from anything you'd find in the Midwest. I thought perhaps they cooked the meat differently, and it was more tender. But I could have just been looking for some sort of positive of us walking in the cold and myself with a torn ligament for this sandwich.

The Works Philly Cheesesteak

However, there was a perk to our walk for an "authentic" Philly Cheesesteak. We stopped in for some warmth and hot cider at an adorable coffee shop called Menageri Coffee.

Later that night, we ate at a restaurant super close to our hotel, Hard Rock Cafe. Nothing too exciting there, since you can find that in pretty much in every big city in the US. Although, I do regret not trying the Salted Caramel Cafe drink. It looked delicious!

The following night, since I want to try somewhere different we went to Vietnam Palace even though my sister had wanted Thai, but suggested this Vietnamese restaurant. She's crazy...sometimes...is my point.

Not gonna lie...it was kinda disappointing especially, since we had our mind on Thai food. We ordered the papaya salad with beef jerky, beef pho, and salt and pepper seafood. I think I was most disappointed with the papaya salad since I'm used to Thai/Lao style papaya salad. Also, I wished the beef jerky was in bigger pieces, but the basil on top was a nice touch. The portion of the salt and pepper seafood was smaller than we would have liked, and we had to order rice separate. They were generous enough to bring us some complimentary Hot Tea though. Overall, it was a decent place, but compared to the Original Dim Sum Garden it was lacking.

Papaya Salad with Beef Jerky

Have you been to Philadelphia? What are some of the must try restaurants in the Downtown area?

Quantum Riveting Red Color Replenishing Shampoo and Conditioner

As mentioned in an earlier post, my hair stylist suggested I get shampoo with red in it.

I went to Sally Beauty Supply, and the only option they had was Quantum Riveting Reds Color Replenishing Shampoo . Since, it was reasonably priced and the ONLY option I went with it.

So far...I'm not in love...I hate the texture since it doesn't lather and smells weird. It also gets red every where. I can't say it does the trick as I do use other shampoos as well, but week 2 of getting my hair dyed the color is still fairly vibrant. We'll see how if fairs after a month or 3...

Have you dyed your hair red before or any color? What types of shampoo or conditioner did you use?

Ghost Oil Hair Product Review

WTF is ghost oil? Does it keep the evil spirits away? Not exactly...

I was first introduced to this product when I dyed my hair earlier this month and the hairstylist used it in my hair. It was super light and smelled amazing.

"Ghost oil is a weightless blend of argan + moringa oils. It's a vanishing daily restorative that revitalizes and repairs the hair. The integrated blend of oils enriches the hair shaft with essential nutrients that naturally smooth frizz and promote radiant shine for all hair types."

The weightlessness of it is where the name comes from. On top of it giving you healthier and shinier hair. It smells amazing.

I don't use this product every day, but I think it does everything that is advertise. I think it's worth purchasing if you want smoother and shinier hair.

Let me know if you've tried this before and what you think about it. Do you have any other hair product suggestions?

2014 Iron Fork

This is a foodie's dream! It was a fundraising event to feed the hungry and all proceeds went towards the cause.

I kept on telling my boyfriend how happy I was. I mean what was their not to love. You walk around sample food and booze?! Plus as Chopped fanatics there's a chef and bartender competition?

We got there super early, because I thought they were starting the competitions immediately, and we were able to try the different foods and drinks that the competitors would created. WRONG! Also for general admission there was no seating. So I worried some giant (or average-sized person) would be standing in front of this shorty (I'm barely 5'1'').

There was about 26 different venders there:
-A Cupcake Social & Pipeline Cookie Company
-Ames Farm Limited
-Mattie's On Main
-Caves of Faribault
-Erte & The Peacock Lounge
-Rusty Taco
-Sea Salt Eatery
-Tiny Diner
-The Third Bird
-Lunds and Byerly's
-Yum! Kitchen & Bakery
-Barrel Butter
-Pizza Luce
-Filfillah
-B.T. McElrath Chocolatier
-Signature Cafe
-Pour Wine Bar & Bistro
-And more.

You were able to walk around and try decent sized samples for the various venders. It was a fun and exhausting event. I think the least fun was the actual competition. It seemed to take forever. I also don't think the MCs were that great as they were not knowledgable on bar-tending or cooking.

It was still a fun event though, although our feet killed from lack of seating. We were also super thirsty since the cash bar line was super long.

I'd definitely go again next year with more comfortable shoes and a water bottle in my purse. Also, we won a $150 gift basket and a $10 gift card to Lunds. Nothing wrong with that!

Red Hair. Don't Care.

I love red hair, and I've been thinking about dying my hair for years.

I finally took the plunge at Stellar Hair Co.  As a faithful and loyal patron of Star Sisters from Eau Claire, WI finding a new salon to be loyal to has been an anxious feat. I googled "hair dye in Minneapolis" and Stella Hair Co. popped up first on the search. They received 4 out of 5 stars and rave reviews. It's also super close to my place which was another plus. Salon decision made. Thanks Google!

I had three different hair colors in mind.

I'm Asian and of course have super dark brown, thick and long hair which is harder to dye from my understanding. I needed to go for a consultation to see just how much this is going to cost me. The Stellar Hair Co. website was easy to navigate and see the general pricing. It was also super easy to schedule a consultation.

I had no clue which stylist to meet with but I figured those with dyed hair should know how to dye hair right? I chose Petra for my hair consultation. She was nice and enthusiastic about my hair dye and called Katie (the owner) to talk things through. They calmed my nervousness about the change, but when it came to booking an appointment Petra was booked for 3 weeks (well for the times I was available). I couldn't wait. I had an idea in my head and wanted to execute immediately. She understood and set me up with Alaina. The time worked with me.

In retrospect, I would have preferred not to go with Alaina. She did a good enough job, but she had only been working at Stella Hair Co. for about a month. Also she was specialized on men's hair.

When I met with her I told her I was contemplating the last two hair colors. We decided to go with a shade in between the two copper reds. This was exactly what I wanted. I didn't want anything too bold and loud as the second image, but I thought the last image was too safe and normal. As most hair stylist, she was nice and friendly. However, this being my first time fully dying my hair I wish she would have walked me through the process more. For example, I had no clue my scalp would itch so much. It was pretty bad, and I was ready to just stop the whole process and rinse my hair off. But, I suffered through silently. Also, she should have told me all the chemicals she used for the dye. Luckily she said she used some sort of protein nutrient which would help combat the dye and provide my hair some nutrients.

Also, she got some dye on my white sweater. I know bad move on my behalf on wearing white but still. It would have been nice to know so we could have washed it immediately. Luckily, when I got home I washed it out immediately, and it came out easily. However, I think she was gave good advice for getting a shampoo and condition which had red in it. This would help the red color stay in my hair longer as she informed me that red was one of the colors that faded the fastest. She also used this awesome ghost oil in my hair which I immediately ordered within the next few days. I liked that she didn't try to push of their products on to me to purchase.

I regret giving her 20% though. If I had known she got dye on my hair,  I wouldn't have given her that much.

I think I'd give this place another chance, but I'm not going to go to Alaina again.

Below is my red copper hair. It's a more subtle color so it's harder to tell. I like it, but I'm not in love with it.

Do you have a favorite stylist or salon in the Twin Cities? Please share in the comment section.