San Diego Eats

I recently spent a week in San Diego as a "graduation trip". My friends took me to eat all sorts of food in the area, and we covered all the great spots and different types of food. Honestly, I was almost just as blown away by the decor of the restaurants as I was by the food!

Amazing pasta in San Diego's Little Italy on India Street...

Incredible gelato (the almond flavor was delicious!) at Gelateria Frizzante, which had the most gorgeous-colored walls and photographs, right by the cove in La Jolla...

Carne asada tacos at Lucha Libre... they had the most awesome decorations and a table "reserved for champions"...

Extraordinary Desserts, where every dessert was a masterpiece...

One of the cutest brunch places ever, Mission Coffee Cup. The mural on the wall was adorable. :) As for the food, I'd have to recommend Snooze instead. Get the pancakes! Try every single one!

Happy eating!
- christine

Eat, Play, Love: March and April

Clearly I've been neglecting this blog for a while (I blame schoolwork!), but here's a quick recap of some highlights from the last two months.

EAT: My friend from California came to visit and I took him to North End (the Little Italy of Boston) for some pasta. Though we couldn't get into the famed Giacomo's, we wandered over next door and had some wonderful pear, mascarpone, and cheese pasta that I definitely won't be forgetting for a while.

PLAY: I really wish I had been more proactive earlier in the year about putting myself out there in terms of photography (well in terms of life, really). In the past two months I've had some amazing photography experiences and got to shoot signed models for the first time!

LOVE: On April 15th, during my last Marathon Monday, the Boston bombings took place less than a mile from where I was. The rest of that week was filled with fear, sadness, and disbelief. But the city quickly got back on its feet, proving how strong and together this city truly is, and making me fall in love with Boston all over again.

- christine

Wise Words: John Green

I didn't attend my own graduation, so I've been reading other universities' commencement speeches in hopes for some guidance on how to live the rest of my life...

Tumblr worships John Green, and though I haven't read any of his books yet (I'll get to that soon, I promise!!), that means that by default I worship him as well. Green posted the commencement speech he gave to the graduating class at Butler University on his tumblr, and I've included a few quotes that stood out to me and that I want to keep in mind as a recent college graduate...

"...You are probably going to be a nobody for a while. You are going to make that journey from strength to weakness, and while it won't be an easy trip, it is a heroic one. For in learning how to be a nobody, you will learn how not to be a jerk. And for the rest of your life, if you are able to remember your hero's journey from college grad to underling, you will be less of a jerk. You will tip well. You will empathize. You will be a mentor, and a generous one.

Let me submit to you that this is the actual definition of a good life. You want to be the kind of person who other people-- people who may not even be born yet-- will think about in their own silences years from now at their own commencements.

You will always be stuck inside of your body, with your consciousness, seeing the world through your own eyes, but the gift and challenge of your education is to see others as they see themselves, to grapple with this mean and crazy and beautiful world in all its baffling complexity."

Check out the rest of his speech here.

- christine

(original image source unknown)

Sayaka

My last shoot in Boston was with Sayaka, who is an incredible model. We shot in a tiny woodsy area near Fenway Park, and despite the sweltering heat, Sayaka was absolutely gorgeous. Though I won't miss the crazy humidity of Boston, I'll definitely miss working with the amazing community of photographers and models in the area.

- christine

Model: Sayaka

Photographer: Christine Chen Photography

HMUA: Ashleigh Taylor Makeup

Beyond the Horizon

I have officially graduated from Boston University, and it still hasn't completely hit me yet that I'm done with school and a big chapter of my life. I am twenty years old, and it's time to really start figuring out who I am and what I want to do. I'm looking out beyond the horizon of my life and I don't know what's there, but whatever it is, I think I'm ready to face it.

- christine

(Image sources: unknown / unknown / 3 / unknown / 5 / unknown)

Cherry Blossoms

Yesterday I spent an hour walking around in search of every cherry blossom tree in my neighborhood...

- christine

Good Eats in LA

Los Angeles always has the greatest food spots. Here are a few tasty highlights from last week:

Blueberry Crumble Ice Cream Sandwich from Milk

Left: Mint Mocha from Urth Caffe

Right: Honey Green Tea with Pink Boba from AU79

 Chicken Pesto Sandwich from Urth Caffe

Mac and Cheese from Milk

I'm pretty sure I gained 10 pounds in the span of those few days in LA! If you're in the area make sure to try all these unique places, they're definitely worth the extra calories. :)

- christine

Home Sweet Home

My spring break is nearing its end, and I'm dreading going back to school and the cold, cold weather. I love spending time at home alone with my two adorable cats, with sunlight streaming through the windows and a good book in my lap. :)

- christine

Fragile Beauties

I still can't bring myself to throw away these rainbow roses that I got for Valentine's Day. They still look so beautiful and colorful even though they're completely dead and dry!

- christine

Demoiselle Jewels Lookbook

Last weekend I shot the Spring/Summer lookbook for Demoiselle Jewels with the amazingly talented Hello, Emy, another photographer! We shot these at the gorgeous Bradley Estate in Quincy. You can check out the rest on my Facebook page!

Wise Words: Udo Spreitzenbarth

This weekend I was lucky enough to have the amazing opportunity to assist international fashion photographer Udo Spreitzenbarth on a two-day shoot. Udo has worked with top magazines like Vogue and Elle, as well as with celebrities such as Tyra Banks and Cindy Crawford, and he came to Boston for the weekend to shoot photos for a modeling agency.

Besides learning an incredible amount about in-studio photography techniques, Udo also taught me several valuable things about life. I expressed to him my nervousness about graduating, pursuing a passion, being young, and making the right decisions.

At age twenty, I feel young and old. I feel young enough to make mistakes, but too old to risk making them. 

Udo told me that your twenties is the right time to experience change to figure out what you want to do. You're not supposed to know right away what you want to do, and you have to ignore all the distractions in your life-- including your friends and family. Though they have your best interests at heart, "in the end, it's your life, and only yours."

When I asked him how he'd become so successful in such a competitive industry, he answered, "Those who are truly passionate about what they do will make it. If you really are passionate, it will happen for you." It isn't always about being the best-- those who are passionate will be the ones who work until the end and don't give up when the going gets hard. The decision to pursue what you're passionate about is a scary one... but what if it really makes you happy?

The thing that Udo told me that stuck with me the most was this: regret is the worst feeling in the world. 

A lot of what Udo said were things that I'd heard very often, but it wasn't until I heard these words coming from the mouth of a man who'd uprooted his life in Germany to live in a completely new country (and in the crazy New York City, too) to pursue what he was truly passionate about--  did they really strike me as words I wanted to live by. 

"People told me I was crazy to move to New York," he said. "What made me finally decide to move was when I told myself that I didn't want to look back ten years from now and wonder what would have happened if I'd gone to New York." 

Regret is the worst feeling in the world. 

And if you fail, you can always go back and start again.

- christine

Eat, Play, Love: January

I just finished Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert last week. I'll admit it-- I didn't want to like it, but I did. A lot. So I'm starting a section where I reminisce about three great things every month. Something good that I ate, something fun that I did (as someone who isn't really religious, I traded the "play" for "pray"), and something or someone that I love.

Three wonderful things from last January...

EAT: Alex and I were the last two people at home over winter break, which meant we had a lot of free time together. We went to Downtown San Jose just to try the famous Philz Coffee's mint mojito latte, which tasted as interesting and delicious as it sounds.
PLAY: The very first day of 2013, my family and I made a random trip to Tiburon, California, a tiny city outside of San Francisco. We did a bit of sight-seeing, chocolate-eating, and decided to order breakfast at the cutest diner even though it was 3pm. Yeah, it was pretty crazy.
LOVE: I love my parents. They are the most intelligent, supportive, generous, talented, and caring people that I know. Despite finding out some things about me last month that are enough to shake any parent, they were literally everything I needed when I needed them the most. I love you Mom and Dad!

- christine

Rainbow Roses

The boyfriend sent me some beautiful roses for Valentine's Day! I don't really like plain red roses, so I loved this colorful bunch. I didn't do a very good job of arranging them, but just looking at them really makes my day. :)

- christine

Fighting Nemo

Whose idea was it to name last week's storm Nemo? Whoever it was, I approve. I love the incredible amount of snow and camaraderie that comes along with a blizzard, and my favorite part is always the aftermath-- everyone is outside, there are barely any cars, everything in the city seems fresh, clean, and new.

- christine