Oof, this no-dairy for 6 weeks thing is rough. I went to The Meatball Shop for brunch thinking I could get their “Balls Benedict,” but they changed their menu a few months ago! So, now there was only a lobster benedict and so many things with dairy (milk, cream, cheese) in them!

I wanted their buttery mashed potatoes with chicken meatballs and marinara…but it came with cheese on top and these was cream in the potatoes!? Ugh. So, what was I left with? Rigatoni, chicken meatballs and marinara. It didn’t taste bad, but it wasn’t what I was craving.

At first, I was going to skip the December monthly dumpling from Mimi Cheng’s…then I went to pick up my DUMPLINGS sweatshirt and changed my mind. After all, how could I pass up a partnership with Danny Bowien from Mission Chinese Food!?

The dumpling wrappers were made from spinach and filled with pea leaves & bamboo shoots. Then the dumplings were served in a kabocha squash broath with tingling granola (a little spicy), chili vinegar and topped with edible flowers. They were a bit spicy for my mild tastes, but I’m glad that I tried them!

My friend, Phil, sent me a photo of these Hello Kitty buns at Dynasty Dim Sum near Kips Bay, so I knew where we were going for our next brunch date!

After getting our fill of char siu pork buns, dumplings, shui mai, etc. Phil ordered us a set of these custard-filled Hello Kitty buns! Served warmed, they were oozing with custard and pretty tasty (even if Hello Kitty’s nose was a a little too high on her face)!

Taking a much needed break from the office, Brynn & I found a new place to grab lunch at; The Wooly Public. Still on my non-dairy kick, I was debating between the veggie sloppy joe and this vegan taco quinoa bowl. Well, without hesitation, our server said the taco bowl was the way to go and he didn’t disappoint!

I might have to rethink my beliefs around vegan food, because this salad was fire! Made of veggie taco mix, arugula, romaine, tomatoes, corn & black bean salsa, taco strips, avocado, goddess dressing and guajillo, I quickly joined the “clean plate club!”

I’ll definitely have to go back again soon!

When I got the chance to take a work trip to Chicago, of course I couldn’t miss an opportunity to see “HAMILTON”, again! So, right after I explored the convention center expo, I ran back to my hotel and found a nearby restaurant to grab dinner at before heading to the show.

I wound up at The Hampton Social in Streeterville and found this delicious scallop risotto! Some pan seared scallops on top of cauliflower coconut risotto with mushrooms, Brussels sprouts and an umami glaze; a great amount of crunch and savory flavor.

You could tell that this restaurant was made for the Instagram set, with the neon lights, table decorations and the in house live music, but I still had a good time. If I lived in Chicago, I would definitely come back again and again.

OMG. Just typing this blog entry is making my mouth drool thinking about how tasty this eggs benedict was! Before my friend got married, her sister & mom threw a bridal shower brunch at The Smith near Lincoln Center. There was a limited menu, but still so many great choices to get to eat!

Called “The Smith Eggs Benedict”, a ciabatta English muffin with black forest ham, poached eggs, Hollandaise and home fries; it seems so simple and like almost any other eggs benedict.

However, there was something about the crispiness of that ciabatta English muffin that did it for me! The thinly sliced ham, the crispy potatoes…I wish I had this right now!

Since my friend, Andre, is on a year-long no-meat diet, I thought taking him to Ramen Hood at Chefs Club Counter was a great idea for a lunch spot. Started by Top Chef alumni, Ilan Hall and Rahul Khopkar brought together a bunch of vegan-friendly ramen and snacks to the rotating restaurant in Nolita.

I really wanted the garlic ramen, but it was out of stock. At the server’s recommendation, I went with the smokey ramen and it didn’t disappoint. Made with smoked onion broth, ramen noodles, scallions, a vegan egg, bok choy, king oyster mushrooms and topped with nori & chili threads.

While Jim was at the gym, I went to the breakfast buffet (naturally)! The day before I only saw 1 of the 4 buffets and opted to order some salmon eggs benedict; big mistake!

For day two, I made sure to get my money’s worth at the buffet! Here’s plate one: a slice of cinnamon French toast, cheese bagel, chilaquiles, banana bread and some fresh orange juice.

Not pictured: my custom omlette, cereal with lactose free milk, another serving of eggs…

When my bestie wanted to get away from the cold weather, my only stipulation was that I needed to be able to pay for my flight with my JetBue points…so, off to Mexico!

It was my first time traveling to Mexico and the flight to Cancun was easy. He arranged a pick up at the airport and we drove about an hour South to Playa del Carmen.

Growing up, I hardly ever stayed in nice hotels, so to be at the Grand Hyatt resort was a MAJOR luxury. With several infinity pools (and very little children), it was easy to relax, read a book and soak up the sun. But…where was my coconut? No sooner than I asked about it, a server appeared with one on a tray! Talk about anticipating your needs!

Another weekend hanging with Diane, as we made our way to Forest Hills Stadium in Queens for EEEEEatsCon!

As one of the sponsors, Bailey’s had a cool pop-up with hot chocolate! You could choose a few different toppings and everything was prepared while you wait. I got whipped cream, rainbow sprinkles and a chocolate straw.

It was perfect!

What’s a girl to do when two of her favorite NYC-based resturants make a limited time collaboration!? Why, buy a ticket to EEEEEatsCon and immediately head to their booth!

A partnership between Shake Shack and Pizza Loves Emily, this burger was everything! A Shake Shack Pat LaFrieda burger with cheese, caramelized onions and Pizza Loves Emily’s signature Emmy Burger sauce!

I also couldn’t pass up the dessert from the stand, a Nilla wafer whoopie pie with banana marshmallow frozen custard. Good thing I had an eating buddy to share all of these treats with!

It’s been a long time since I had a sort of lazy Sunday. My friend, Diane and I wanted to go see a movie, but needed a little nourishment first.

Since she lives on the Upper East Side and we were heading to Kips Bay for our movie, I found Midwinter Kitchen on Yelp and made a reservation.

The struggle is alwys real for me with brunch // breakfast, since I love sweet and savory. I ended up going with these tasty cornmeal pancakes with fresh raspberries and maple syrup.

A lilac bubble tea!? A summer limited edition treat from Boba Guys at the Canal Street Market. Although I usually opt for a chai or matcha something, this one sounded too good to pass up!

A little ube with coconut milk and those “Grade A Balls”!? Thanks Boba Guys for making my day of running errands that much better.

While our team Director was traveling, the rest of us headed to Eataly for a team pasta lunch TB! While the wait wasn’t too bad, the pasta took awhile to come out…but I’d say mine was totally worth it!

Just look at that agnolotti in a beef reduction sauces with parsley!? Perfectly al dente, I could have eaten another bowl or two.

It’s nice to get out of the office for lunch a few times a week and Hudson Eats at Brookfield Place is a nice escape. Up until today, I'd mostly ordered dumplings at Northern Tiger…but today the char siu pork bowl looked too good.

BBQ char siu pork with a fried egg, napa cabbage and a delicious ginger scallion sauce over rice. Next time, I’ll be sure and order it on Ritual, so I can just pick it up and not have to wait in line!

Well, I guess I didn’t eat anything photo worthy for a few weeks…I found myself back at Mimi Cheng’s for the September #dumpsofthemonth!

Mac & cheese dumplings from a partnership with Kat O’Dell - 3 cheeses with garlic breadcrumbs (glad they were back) and a side of creamy CBD oil sauce.

I wasn’t particularly fond of the sauce…and I didn’t know what CBD oil was before this meal, but the dumplings were delicious!

I’ve been to Cha Cha Matcha numerous times, but this was the first time that their soft serve ice cream machine wasn’t broken or sold out!

That sweet matcha green tea swirled with vanilla soft serve hit the spot on this humid NYC afternoon for sure! (Yes, plenty of Lactaid was taken.)

I convinced my coworkers to hit up Mimi Cheng’s with me, so I wouldn’t miss the August #dumpsofthemonth!

This month, it was a chicken parmigana dumpling with basil, mozzarella, garlic bread crumbs and a side of marinara sauce.

Let me just say those breadcrumbs hit the spot!

I think this was right after my Dad & I got into a fight, where he told me to “shut up,” but at least the cake was delicious.

I wish I had another slice RN.

It’s hard for me to believe that my cousin’s son is already in middle school and that he’s going to the same school that I did in 1994-1996. Where did the time go?

So, when I told him that I was going to Runza with some of the other Chen cousins, he was quick to ask to come along. I drove across town, picked him up and we caught up over lunch.

Even just looking at this photo, I can’t wait to be back in Lincoln again for one of these meals…

Another stop at Goldenrod Pastries when I was back home in Lincoln, NE. This time, it was for my Dad’s 70th Birthday and I specially ordered a cake for his milestone year.

Granted, the trip was spoiled with an surprise guest…the treats were still good!

As soon as I landed in Chicago, I saw that a college friend of mine was also in town. (She had gone to HAMILTON the night before and I was going that night.) So, through the miracle of social media, I met up with her for lunch at Velvet Taco.

While our conversation might have been awkward at first (we hadn’t seen each other in person since 2004), we quickly found enough to chat about.

I knew I had to get one of the brunch tacos (I’d been thinking about them since the last time I was in Chicago), so I got the #19: bacon, an egg frittata, crisp tots, chili butter, smoked cheddar, ranchero salsa and micro greens in a corn tortilla. I added a side of their tots, topped with a fried egg. It might have been too much food, but when you’re only in town for a few days, some sacrifices have to be made!

For my last day in Boston, I found a nice bakery near the hotel that had lots of press & good looking food. As soon as we walked into the restaurant, I spotted Sonya Tayeh (from So You Think You Can Dance fame & the choreographer for Moulin Rouge, which was having it’s out of town, pre-Broadway tryout in Boston), sitting at a table with her girlfriend, Jo Lampert (Joan of Arc: Into the Fire and Orange Is The New Black)!

Of course, Jim ha no idea of who either of them were…but was happy, because I was happy, I guess…we were both happy when our food arrived.

I picked Tatte’s Jerusalem Bagel Egg-in-a-Hole. A large bagel, covered in sesame seeds with two baked eggs, a chopped salad and added Vermont Ham. Although it was a little hard to cut into, it was still delicious.

I made my first trip up to Boston to visit my bestie, who was in town for work. While our first meal was seafood-based, his next request was to go to Chinatown and get dim sum. After a little Yelp research, we settled on Hei Lah Moon and plucked our first few dishes from the metal carts.

Here’s a photo of round two: pork buns, taro cake and shrimp & pork shu mai. I’m drooling just thinking about all the deliciousness of this meal!

When Dad said that he wanted to get pasta for his Father’s Day Dinner, I found a great place in Little Italy, Aunt Jake’s, that had a variety of pasta types and sauces for you to create a dish. So, after taking in the matinee of The Book of Mormon (in which, Dad fell asleep and we were in the third row), we headed down to dinner.

I got cavatelli with carbonara, but little did I know that the meal would take a turn when I asked him about his current “lady friend.” Turns out, maybe he wasn’t ready to share that information with me and kept telling me how he should have married a Chinese woman instead of my Mom; so great.

Needless to say, the pasta was great, but I found myself with a little appetite to eat.

One of the best parts about working in Tribeca is walking by the Balloon Saloon storefront daily. They always have amusing and interesting displays outside.

You can’t help but smile (or stop and take a photo) when your nearby.

I’m almost embarrassed to admit that I had not seen Angels in America before the revival came to Broadway this summer. I remember hearing about the play and reading reviews of the HBO miniseries years ago, so I knew I had to get tickets when it finally came to NYC from London.

After almost being late for the first night, I left work with plenty of time for night two. I was also able to find the neon wings in the basement and found a nice stranger to take some photos for me. And yes, I wore a red & blue striped t-shirt to coordinate with the marketing for this show.

I admit that I do not know as much about K-Pop as I should. At least I knew about Line Friends before their store opened in Times Square, just below the old MTV TRL studio!

So, when the boys of BTS worked with Line Friends to make their own character collection, I had a hard time figuring out what I wanted to buy from all the adorable products.

I settled for the bunny notebook and some stickers. This wall and neon signage of all the characters was too cute to not take a photo of.

Before a Dr. appointment, I walked by P!Q at Rockefeller Center and saw this Yummy World plush display! There were so many new plush characters that I had never seen before and they all wanted me to take them home, right?

I was mostly temped by the “onion ring toss” and little basket of onion rings. However, since I already had the large “cheese puffs,” I only purchase a few vinyl toys and the mini grilled cheese plush. Yes, I have some self-control!

The walk from 6th Avenue to 7th Avenue on the L train can be kinda gross. So, it was a pleasant surprise on Valentine’s Day to see that someone set up all these photos for the “Love Tunnel” and was letting people take a random photo home with them.

I get the sentiment, but I can’t help but be a little bitter on Valentine’s Day. It’s such an arbitrary holiday.

I don't think that was the theme of the Bergdorf windows this season, but I was particularly attracted to this window because of all the colors. 

Each Holiday season, I get soup dumplings with my friend, Whitney, and then we walk down 5th Avenue and look at all the window displays. This time around, we invited Deirdre, and made a great evening of it.

As you know, I'm in Times Square/The Theatre District a lot. I love nothing more than a good musical and "Dear Evan Hansen" has quickly become one of those that I go back to again and again.

I loved getting off the train and seeing the subway station wrapped in DEH ads. From the turnstyles to the card readers, the signature blue was everywhere at 42nd Street.

After completing more than 18 collections with the “Bucket Brigade” for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS (BCEFA), I was able to attend the first night of the Gypsy of the Year benefit for free!

And…I even got my name in a Playbill!

On a Saturday afternoon, I trekked up to Corona Park in Flushing to see a holiday dance performance of Ellie’s dance school classmates. Called “That 70’s Nutcracker,” it was loosely based on the story of “The Nutcracker” and was performed in various 70’s-themed costumes. The show was fun, but I had to leave early to make it into the city for a Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS bucket brigade shift.

While walking back to the 7 train, I passed by this new public art installation next to the Unisphere and had to stop and take a look. Entitled “Good Fences Make Good Neighbors” and designed by Ai Wei Wei was part of NYC’s Public Art Fund installations.

Gentrification is a weird thing. While I'm sad to see my neighbors displaced over the last 8+ years, I do appreciate Twin Suns Deli that opened less than 2 blocks from my apartment.

Their breakfast sandwiches on brioche buns and their breakfast burrito! Oof. I would eat them every day...if my stomach could handle it. 

A little wink to the graffiti in the bathroom at Clem's. Also, since I don't work at Madewell anymore, I get some perks. One being free overnight shipping on order and another being free gifts, like this denim tote.

Back for my 2nd season of "red bucket" collections with Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS! 

One of my first collection was for Wicked, where I was quick to find Ashley Parker Angel's name on the board and ask for an extra Playbill for safekeeping/boyband memories.

If you know me, you know my dream job was to be a VJ on TRL! Well, this new reincarnation isn't exactly what I thought it would be, but I still appreciate that MTV is trying to stay relevant.

I saw this poster in Shubert Alley and couldn't resist taking a photo. Who knew that when I was in high school & college and taping TRL on a VHS tape each day, that one day I could walk by 1515 Broadway any time I wanted to?

Even since I saw an exhibit of Dale Chihuly's work in high school, I've made an effort to see more of his exhibitions when they're in the city or if I'm in a place that has one.

I almost didn't make it to his installation at the New York Botanical Gardens, but I was able to snag a ticket for one of the last "Chihuly Nights," where all of his sculptures were illuminated for the evening. 

Of course, this neon abstract piece was my favorite.

You would hardly know that a few years ago, this was Toys 'R Us and there was a ferris wheel inside the store! 

We got a special treat and got to shop in the new Old Navy and Gap stores in Times Square before they were open to the public. It's spectacular to see how the spaces were transformed for each brand, although setting up all the stations at the base of the elevator wasn't the smartest idea...I had a grand time and got some great new clothes!

The best part about cat sitting for my friends, might be this view from their private deck. I didn't edit this photo, but the sun was shining perfectly on this weekend afternoon.

Even if cat food smells gross & their chubbier cat has the worst smelling poops; this makes up for it all.

Growing up, Margaret Cho, was the first Asian-American I saw in media that reminded me of myself. More "American" than "Asian," and not typically small and submissive, I sat in front of the TV every Tuesday night to watch All-American Girl on ABC through the good and the bad.

In college, I helped UNL's University Program Council (UPC) out with spreading the news about her show and received a free table for my help! I got to speak with her briefly, where I blurted something out like "My Dad sounds just like your Mom, I'm Korean and I"m a HUGE fag hag!" To which she kindly replied "You ARE like a younger version of me!" and I could have died.

So, whenever she has a show in the NYC area, I will be there! In fact, the last time she was at the Gramercy Theater, her performance was filmed for Netflix and it's called "PsyCHO" and I was in that audience!

When I was walking back to the office, I noticed this balloon sculpture/installation in front of Maman in Tribeca. I'm not sure what it was for, but it was too pretty to not stop and take a photo of.

Mostly, I was "doin' it for the 'gram" as the Millenials might say...but I never posted this to Instagram.

If you're ever needing some great home inspiration or just to get out of the office for a bit, a stroll through the housewares department at the fairly new Anthropologie downtown is just the fix.

While I probably won't be hanging up any light fixtures in my apartment any time soon, I loved this "bubble" chandelier and it's rainbow effect.

It'd been a few months since I had caught up with my college BFF, Phil, so we decided to meet up for brunch at B Bar in NoHo to catch up.

The weather was perfect, so we were able to dine al fresco, which would have been more enjoyable without the teenagers behind us running around and shouting for part of the meal. (How old am I sounding right now?)

It might be my Nebraska roots, but I will always be a Pepsi girl. Never a Coca-Cola/Coke girl. 

When I was growing up, Pepsi Co. acquired the contract for all University of Nebraska events and campus. Thus, not a Coke product in sight on the campus or at any home football game.

This also meant that we were  great test market for Pepsi Products and were among the first markets to get Mountain Dew Code Red in the early 00's.

So, when I was in Long Island City with Tempestt & her family, of course, I had to stop and take this photo (and it was in an episode of "SMASH," too).

If you're ever walking through the West Village, take a stroll near W. 12th Street and stop to see the New York City AIDS Memorial. A stunning sculpture and right next to St. Vincent's, where the onset of the AIDS Crisis was first treated in the 1980's.

After a long week of meeting planning at work, we all gathered near the office at The Bennett for a little Happy Hour and to celebrate Mariel's upcoming wedding.

We posted up on the long benches against the wall and were shown the call buttons to grab the attention of our servers when we needed anything. The best part: the buttons would light up a number on the mirrored panels behind the bar! (We might have played around with them for a bit, too...)

Yes, I purposely wore a red & blue striped t-shirt for the second night of "Angels in America" on Broadway. I made sure to leave the office in plenty of time to get settled, find the neon angel wings and have a snack before the 4-hour run time of part 2 of the play.

I found a nice couple who was also taking photos near the wings and asked them to take my photo. This was my favorite of the bunch.

When my high school friend, Nan, invited me to his oceanside wedding in Rancho Palo Verdes, CA, how could I say no? I got to leave behind the cold and snow in NYC and spend several blissful days in the California sunshine.

While he told me the ceremony was "business casual," clearly I had the wrong idea of what that meant. Oh well. My friend, Courtney, provided me with a place to stay in Los Angeles and came with me for the festivities.

I found a blush pink "eyelash" skirt from Banana Republic at a bargain for around $25 (originally priced at almost $200) and paired it with my floral embroidered over-sized Madewell jean jacket, an Old Navy top and some Stan Smith's and my little Alexander Wang bag.

Yes, I might have been a tad under-dressed, but at least I was comfortable for the ceremony, dancing and meal that followed.

I'd been wanting to go to a Brooklyn Nets game at Barclays Center for years, so "Chinese Heritage Night" seemed like the perfect time to go. I think partially due to Jeremy Lin and partially due to Chinese New Year, the marketing team put this together. 

So, I headed off to the game after work with my friend, Andre, and we went to pick up our free scarves, grab some food and drinks and find our seats.

Granted, the venue was not crowded, so we were able to stretch out in our seats and enjoy the pre-game; including a hype man who announced all the players names and numbers in Mandarin. We watched the game (mostly) and just had a great time reliving great phrases from basketball video games and enjoying the atmosphere.

One perk of no longer working at Madewell is getting to take advantage of all the benefits in the "Insider" program. Of course, I have now achieved VIP status, which comes with shopping perks and free items.

I went to my old store for an Insider shopping party and got this free denim tote. Then, while out for Caitlin's birthday, I couldn't resist taking a photo of how it contrasted with the graffiti-ed wall in the restroom.

A Louis Vuitton and MTV fanny pack from the "Is Fashion Modern" exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art. Besides a Patagonia fleece pullover, a pair of high top Chuck Taylors and pins from Pintrill; these fanny packs were some of my favorite pieces from this exhibit.

Fashion is so cyclical, I love seeing what comes back around. Although, this 90's fashion revival seems weird, since I don't feel like it was that long ago that I lived through it. It's hard for me to fathom that I work with kids who were born in the 90's and that they are in their 20's already. (Aren't I still in my 20's!?)

I love when you can find people who "nerd out" over the same things that you do! Luckily, I found two kindred souls at work who are also big Broadway fans!

So, for our office's Halloween party, we went with a Broadway theme: I was Joan from Fun Home, Barbara was a Newsie and Matthew was Evan from Dear Evan Hansen.

I lent Barbara my Newsies bag that I got at the BCEFA Broadway Flea Market and found the pieces for my Joan costume already in my own closet.

Another "twinning" moment for Deirdre & me. Somehow, at the Grand Opening of the new Times Square Gap store, we ended up in the fitting room with the same shirt.

We couldn't resist another photo opp!

My friend's daughter, Ellie, loves calling me "Chenny." So, after not seeing her or her family for a few months, I was worried that she would forget who I was.

It only took a few minutes before she remembered and warmed up to me. And behold! We had matching shoes on too! Her dad jokingly calls me their "Asian Nanny," which I consider a term of endearment, especially when their kids are so cute!

For Election Day, in a nod to Rosie the Riveter, I donned a chambray jumpsuit with a red bandana to vote. 

One day at a time. We're halfway to those important Mid-term elections in 2018 and hopefully, we can turn this country around.

In that sweet spot of Fall before it's too cold to wear shorts and maybe too warm to wear pants; but somehow my buddy, Deirdre and I managed to match at work 

A little bit Gap, a little bit Old Navy; but both white shirts and denim overalls. Perfection.

And, yes, I was wearing all my pins recently acquired from RuPaul's DragCon.

Undoubtedly, Thorgy Thor, was one of my favorite drag queens on RuPaul's Drag Race. As soon as I saw her brightly colored booth at RuPaul's DragCon, I knew I had to get in line to meet her.

I'd been to several of her shows at Metropolitan Bar in Williamsburg, but never had a chance to chat with her and Ragamuffin. She was super friendly and appreciated by Care Bears dress by Ichiban. After all, two rainbow souls deserve each other, right?

For my birthday, my friends, Caitlin & Emily, got me a ticket to a Mets game! While I'm not the biggest baseball fan, I love the atmosphere of sporting events; not to mention the food.

Of course, I had to rock my A.Ham hat from Hamilton, but I also was able to find a great Mets tank top at Old Navy for the occasion. 

And a little blue and orange never hurt anyone.

Happy Summer Fridays! I decided to take advantage of the shorter workday and head over to the Brooklyn Museum and see the Georgia O'Keeffe exhibit before it closed.

I didn't know much about O'Keeffe other than her flower paintings, so the exhibit was very informative. I really enjoyed seeing the various garments and pieces that she inspired. One of my favorites was this robe with the rainbow colored stripe.

Sometimes it's annoying setting up tons of work events, but never getting to reap the benefits of them. But this time, I knew I wanted to partake in the 4th of July treats and it was another excuse for theme dressing!

I broke out my new RSVLTS shirt (featuring rocket pops and the State of Liberty) with my Old Navy short overalls and some more themed enamel pins. The mini corn on the cobs and a borrowed beer for this photo opportunity, were the best accessories!

Well, I guess you can see how much the color has faded since my last post of my purple hair! The front is almost a plum color, while the back is still a vivid purple.

Of course when Boy Meets Girl announced that they were going to have a Care Bears collaboration, I knew I had to get something. I chose this Share Bear tank top, as she was always one of my favorites and she's purple! 

On a little work field trip, I found this camo denim jacket at Anthropologie and although I hadn't purchased anything from Anthro in forever, their "Mother's Day" discount made it an easy decision. And, I'm glad I tried it on, (since I hate trying things on) because I only needed a small!

For the last several years, I've always taken my birthday off of work and visited the Met Museum to see the Costume Institute Exhibit. The first Monday in May is always when the collection premieres with the Met Ball, so it's a perfect time to visit.

I've been a fan of Comme des Garcons for awhile, but seeing so many pieces of Rei Kawakubo's work in person is an experience in itself. There were so many intricately constructed dresses, jackets and garments, it was hard to not take photos of everything.

This look is one of my favorites. Not practical at all to wear, but the colors with the red wig caught my eye.

Every other year, Nebraska alumni, fellow former Nebraskans and friends gather at the Husker Bar near Penn Station for the "Taste of Nebraska!" 

I knew I wanted to be a little "festive," as my Mom raised me to appreciate a good theme to dress up for. I found a new red & white striped t-shirt from Madewell (naturally), and paired it with some Gap overalls. I had to add a few enamel pins: a vintage Nebraska pin, an emoji corn cob and my Waitress pie slice with a Nebraska baseball cap. I think I did a good job, don't you?

After finally changing jobs, I knew I wanted to color my hair for the first time in over 5 years! I did some research, (thanks, Pinterest!) and found some great shades of purple to show my stylist. 

I was really happy with the way the color was looking this day, so I snapped this photo in my new cactus print Courier shirt from Madewell and one of my favorite pieces of Madewell jewelry.

I can't take credit for this pun, but once I saw it on Bow & Drape, I knew it was the t-shirt for me! I personalized it with the food emojis, but I knew my love of carbs and bad reality TV made this the perfect purchase.

I broke it out at work and it got lots of great responses! 

For a little winter break, I got my team tickets to visit the Taylor Swift Experience when the Grammy Museum brought it to the South Street Seaport. I knew I had to wear my sequin bomber jacket, since I remembered Taylor wearing one during the "1989 Tour" and wouldn't you know; it was there!?

Here I am wearing my jacket, a Chance the Rapper "MALIA" t-shirt and standing infront of Taylor's costumes from the tour.

I took a short vacation from NYC to visit my friend, Jonelle, in Columbus, OH. Since she said to work, I took some time to visit the Columbus Art Museum and was very impressed by their collection. I happend upon an Isabel Marant installation and it was amazing!

Here's a sampling of some of her pieces that were on display. I really want that pink layered top in the lower left corner...

I can't seem to quit my Madewell addiction. My all black Transport Tote was looking a little worn, so I went to find a new one. I decided to get the Burgundy one and then head to the Meatpacking Store to get it monogrammed. And, yes, I'll always be "CHEN."

It's a nice deal when your Company has a Holiday Pop-Up Shop within walking distance from the office! I went with Brynn to check out the store in Soho, just a few days before it closed.

Of course, these days, everything needs to be Instagram fodder. This lightbox was filled with light bulbs and Gap logos, perfect for those square photos.

My friend, Whitney, and I have started our own holiday tradition of spending an afternoon or evening each year strolling the holiday windows on upper 5th Avenue. (This year's viewing was only slightly impeded by the barricades out of Trump Tower.)

My favorite window of this year's displays was at Bergdorf Goodman, where this Roberto Cavalli clad mannequin was posed upon a giant rabbit and surrounded by oversize cactus plants. That multi-colored fur jacket!

As of late, I've been really impressed with the designs at Coach. I got my first Coach bag at my high school graduation from one of my Dad's business partners and I didn't know the importance of that saddlebag at the time.

Now, as they partner with Colette for their "Rexy" dinosaur collection, I was just browsing around when I saw these boots. Super soft leather and suede patches, Chelsea-style pull-on and actually comfortable; I knew that they had to be mine.

The salesgirl was very friendly, and offered to let me know when the Oxfords in a similar style went on sale. I can't wait to break these puppies in!

A little piece of flair for my jacket for Election Day! You can feel the excitement/anxiousness in the air...could we have our first female President of the United States?

Since it was also my second to last day at work, I had to pair with a little bit dressed down look: a camouflage HAMILTON/NYC t-shirt, my Madewell jean jacket and topped off with my new Monsieur Coat.