Orange County: Keeping it classy

Year of the Snake 2013

The Year of the Snake (1965- 1977- 1989 - 2001- 2013) is slithering just around the corner.  If born under this Chinese zodiac sign you are known for being

• Private
• Intelligent
• Materialistic
• Unusually stressed
• Jealous, even obsessive
• Elegant
• Good with complex problem solving
• Desiring an orderly home life

New year serpent ornament by feltmates on Etsy!

Ajumma calls out the good thangs

Elastic waist lines--not just for summer anymore

Festive steel cow holiday ornaments by Iowa artist Valerie Miller:  I've got two hanging on my Christmas tree!

Vintage Christian Fletcher, Andy Irons, and Nathan via Christian Fletcher Surf

Nordic Gummy Fish: How did I go 36 years without discovering these soft, fruity bits of happiness? Via Candyality

I've seen hundreds of Asian horror movies. The documentary The House of Suh is exponentially sadder and more disturbing than any fictitious ghost story. This engrossing film re-examines the 1993 murder by Andrew Suh of his older sister's boyfriend whom he killed at her request.  

Now that NBC's Community is off the air, my favorite television character has become nurse Morgan Tookers on FOX's The Mindy Project.  As the no-way-but-loose nursing juggernaut, played by Ike Barinholtz (formerly of MadTV), Morgan cranks it up and whips it out of the ballpark each episode accidentally smashing a car window here and a lamp post there. He had me at his interview when he asked to be called "Ransom" on the job.

Rebecca's blog post on xoJane about her quest to get a pixie haircut.  You go girl!

Let's hear it for the Ghost Boy

I watched the perfect ghost movie last night.  귀 鬼 (Gwi) is a 2010 Korean horror film featuring four chapters by four different directors.  Each chapter revolves around students chasing attention from their crushes via a devious tarot card fortune spell.

My favorite of the shorts is Ghost Boy by director Joachim Yeo. Ghost Boy is about a high school student (sympathetically and humorously played by Minho Lee) who can see spirits, including young Seo-Hee. Within the 15 minutes of this story, I shrieked (this movie includes the 2nd freakiest ghost I've ever seen in Asian Horror), I cheered, and I laughed out loud. At the end of Ghost Boy I actually cried. I haven't experienced a horror movie this entertaining and well-rounded in years, even if it was a short film.  You can watch Ghost Boy on Youtube (starting at 3:38) or on Roku's Asian Crush channel.

Pics via Gonin Movie Blog

Frank talk from Kidada and Rashida

Kidada and Rashida Jones (daughters of music producer Quincy Jones and actress Peggy Lipton) talk openly about race, identity, and sisterhood in a  2005 Glamour magazine article.

Via Bossip and Uproxx

Bruce Lee in specs

When I met my husband's brother and sisters in 1997, they were living in a high rise apartment. The only art in their sparsely decorated living room was an framed 8' x 11' photo of Bruce Lee. It hung high above their sofa. It reminded me of images you see of Jesus, Mao or Kim Jong-il's portrait displayed in homes in National Geographic magazine.(Sorry to put Jesus in the company of Mao and Kim Jong-il, but that is seriously what it looked like.)

Here's Bruce Lee back in the day sporting his infamous black rimmed glasses.  When I tried to find a photo of him wearing these specs in February 2011 there was nothing on the web. The closest I got was Aarif Lee.

Photos via Seattlepi and Fark

* Day of the Dead * cookies

These Day of the Dead (November 2) cookies are almost too beautiful to eat. SweetTweets Online sells their frosted sugar skull cookies on Etsy and ships them from (clap! clap! clap! clap!) deep in the heart of Texas.

Why mess with awesomeness?

File this post under "Handsome Men Who Looked Awesome Before Their Plastic Surgery, and Probably Didn't Need to Go Under the Knife in the First Place."

1) Japanese SMAP member (and prolific drama star) Takuya Kimura (39) was the epitome of cute before his double eyelid procedure and nose job.  This old school photo of Kimura 君 warms my heart!

2)  Red Cliff, House of Flying Daggers, and 神様、もう少しだけ actor Takeshi Kaneshiro (39) has had surgery on his eyelids. Maybe if the Taiwanese-Japanese star were coming onto the scene today instead of the 1990s he'd keep his original eyelids like Korean thespian Yoo Ah In.

Photos via Freewebs and Hey-Ai

Patchwork pillows

I see Korean bojagi when looking at these colorful pillows in the Corcovado collection by Dransfield and Ross.

More bojagi at The Pad

Me gusta

Photos via DSYR, Smosh, Dramabeans and me

A hint: It's not Patrick Swayze

Guess who this young man calls dad.

Koreans like it hot, hot, hot!

Ajumma's Car Wash Mix

Grab your denim cut-offs, soap and hose because it's car wash time! Here are my favorite jams for scrubbing my car:

Don’t Lose My Number by Phil Collins

Pour Some Sugar on Me by Def Leppard

Love Song by Tesla

More than a Feeling by Boston
Home Alone by R. Kelly
Jump by Van Halen

 Jessie’s Girl by Rick Springfield

Anyway You Want It by Journey

Down on the Corner by Creedence Clearwater Revival

Pics via Giselle, Conan O'Brien, Jessica Alba Parvesh Cheena, Drew Barrymore

Forever in our hearts: Spencer (2005-2012)

Men on leather sofas

Sean Patrick Flanery (who starred as young Indiana Jones in the 1992-1993 television series) may not be the most famous actor from the 1990s, but he was one of the most handsome.

Evan Peters!  Evan took horror fans and Emo girls on one hell of a coaster ride as psychotic Tate on last season of FX's American Horror Story.

To me Clive Owen will always be the steady handed, speak little but drive a mean stick hired gun from the 2001-2002 BMW short film series.  And he can even rock pleated pants.

Photos via Towin and Topiat

Ajumma hearts Brooke Shields' home

Things that make me giddy about Brooke Shields' renovated Greenwich Village townhome:

• Its dark grey walls (who would have thought it?)  
• Its playful punches of colors
• Its classic furniture mixed with modern art pieces (like pop art by Keith Haring and a portrait by Malcolm Liepke)
• The light that pours into every room
• It's personalized but not to the point where you want to barf

You can see more photos of Brooke's renovated residence at Architectural Digest (March 2012).

Twins rock out to dad's guitar

Does it get any better than two dancing, smiling babies?

Vote to adopt

If you are considering adding a four legged member to your family, I encourage you to adopt from an animal shelter or start your search on Petfinder.

Pic via Animal Humane Society

Cheryl Burke looks fresh faced

If you're a fan of Dancing with the Stars or the Lawrence brothers (as in Joey, Matthew and Andy) you are likely aware that Matthew Lawrence and Cheryl Burke used to date. (I discovered this ten minutes ago.) Matthew looks mighty good these days, but I am actually posting about his ex, Cheryl.  I understand that as a performer she must wear heavy makeup that is visible off the dance floor.  But how cute is Cheryl Burke without her raccoon eyeliner and pancake blush?  She looks fresh-faced and ten years younger than usual!

I don't know if homegirl has single fold eyelids or what, but I can tell you I've practically given up on eye makeup.  Eyeliner and mascara get smudged on my eyelids, and I have no place to put eye shadow. When I see Cheryl without makeup I am reminded how a natural face can outshine a made up one.

Pics via lastheplace.com and Zimbio

I'd totally live here: Hong Kong

I could make myself very comfortable in this 560 square foot apartment in Hong Kong.  The one bedroom, one bath rental costs $26,000 Hong Kong Dollars per calendar month.  I believe the conversion amounts to about $3352 U.S. dollars monthly.

Thumbs up to the white walls and floors, windows on both sides of the flat, and the deep window sills.  They would be perfect for plants.  I'd likely upgrade to a larger fridge, though.

Looking at the small scale furniture staged in these wide angle photos, I can tell this apartment is TINY.  But I lived with my husband and three guinea pigs in an apartment this size, so I know it can be done.

I'd lose the bulky black bookcase and replace it with a colorful Eames coat rack.

How nice to have a washer in the unit.  True to Asia, there's no dryer though, which means renters will see a lot of their drying rack. Also, there's no oven in the kitchen. This did not affect my life one bit when I lived in Korea, but it may be disappointing to avid bakers.

This apartment has a spacious flow, unlike choppy, segmented apartments in traditional Asian high rises.

The beige bathroom leaves me feeling blah, but I like the ceramic fixtures.  The window in the shower is a nice touch, too.  I'd switch out the mirror to something cleaner-looking right away.

Why does the decor suddenly go from modern to Country French in the bedroom?  I think an armoire like this Ikea unit is more suitable for the space.

The only major drawback to this apartment is there are no trees or signs of nature visible from the windows.  I love big cities, but not seeing any trees or plants makes me feel boxed in and cut off from nature, especially if living 30 stories off of the ground.

In the big picture, real estate in Hong Kong is tight and mega expensive.  If I were to live in a flat under 600 feet in I'd want it to be a clean, blank slate like this Hong Kong apartment.  To see the listing for this (rented!) apartment, visit Home Net.