Casablanca
African Queen
Love Story
Dirty Dancing
Ghost
Sleepless in Seattle
Jerry Maguire
Titanic
Love Actually
The Notebook
Monday, February 14, 2011
Happy Valentine's Day!
Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I hope you are spending this special holiday that celebrates love with your loved ones. If you are staying in and not hitting up the restaurants for a fancy dinner, you might be at home snuggling up in front of a fireplace with your beau, watching a movie together. For that I have found the top 10 romantic movies for today! Enjoy :)!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Flowers and Valentine's Day
Flower wreaths in the shape of hearts have always been the symbollic gift choice for Valentine's Day. We have found some pictures to share to you. Hopefully these pictures can inspire you to find or make something nice for you valentine this year!
OR..if flower wreaths are out of your budget and your valentine prefers handmade gifts than store bought items, you can consider making a paper heart wreath!
What you'll need:
- 9" dinner plate or paper plate
- Recycled cereal box or other thin cardboard
- Pencil
- Scissors
- Heart pattern
- Construction paper: pink, purple, red, and blue
- Markers, crayons or paint pens
- Glue sticks
- Yarn for hanger (optional)
- Pattern
How to make it:
- Trace around the 9" plate onto the cardboard.
- Use your pen or pencil to draw another circle inside that one, about an inch away from the outside circle.
- Cut out the circle and the center of the circle to create a cardboard wreath base.
- Fold a piece of scrap paper in half. Using the heart pattern line up the fold line of the scrap paper with the dotted line of the pattern. Cut out the shape so that when you open it, you have a heart shape.
- Fold the short end of a piece of construction paper up about 3 inches. Place the folded heart around the folded paper and trace the half heart shape into the paper. You should be able to fit three hearts on the paper. Repeat this step for each colored piece of paper; you will have a total of 12 hearts.
- Cut out all the hearts and flatten out the creases so that the hearts lay flat. Using markers, crayons, or paint pens, you can choose to write conversation candy phrases on the hearts such as "LOVE", "HUBBA HUBBA", "SWEET", "LOVE", "BE MINE", "KISS" and "PAL", or leave it the way it is!
- Arrange your hearts on top of the cardboard wreath shape without gluing them down. Once you have them where you want them, use the glue stick to attach each one.
- You can hang the wreath as is or attach a piece of looped yarn to the back as a hanger.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Show your love through crafts: Perfect jewelry box
Valentine's Day is happening in exactly a week! We know that you must have prepared a gift for your Valentine, but do you have a pretty box to put it in yet? Whether it is homemade chocolates, jewelry, cards, candies, or any other Valentine's Day related presents, this simple and classy jewelry box is perfect for anything and it is cheap too!
- Two 3 1/4-by-5 1/4 inch cardboard jewelry boxes with accompanying batting, from containerstore.com
- Decorative faux-lizard paper, from katespaperie.com
- Craft knife
- Bone folder
- Ruler
- Paste-style glue, such as Yes Paste
- Foam craft brush
- Red art board (a heavier weight than card stock)
- Satin fabric
- Tape
- Gold banding border and gold paper, from blumchen.com
- Gem candies
Customize Box
Separate the box halves; you'll use the bottoms and 1 piece of batting to make the box. Print box template; cut out. Trace template twice onto decorative paper; cut out pieces. Using bone folder and ruler, crease papers, following the dotted lines on template. Apply glue to the back of 1 box half using brush; center it on back of paper. Using glue and following the guidelines on template, cover box half in paper. Repeat to cover second box half.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Chinese New Year sayings
It is the year of the Rabbit soon!
For those of you who are going to celebrate Chinese New Year on February 3th, we have a treat for you! In case you forgot or completely do not know any of the Chinese New Year greetings in Mandarin, we have found some phrases for you to practice to show your friends and family how cultured and prepared you are for the wonderful Chinese New Year festivities! Join us in learning a little bit of Chinese.
Happy New Year - xīn nián kuài lè - 新年快樂
Happy New Year (another saying) - gōng hè xīn xǐ - 恭賀新禧
Congratulations and Prosper - gōng xǐ fā cái - 恭喜發財
Wishing you prosperity every year - nián nián yǒu yú - 年年有餘
(Said if something breaks to ward off bad luck) - suì suì ping ān - 歲歲平安
Replace the old with the new - chú jiù bù xīn - 除舊佈新
Good luck for the year - nián xíng dà yùn - 年行大運
Friday, January 14, 2011
What is your Chinese Zodiac sign?
In the west, we have horoscopes. In the east, they have Chinese zodiac signs. The idea of these zodiac signs are similar to horoscopes, except horoscopes are monthly in a year whereas Chinese zodiac signs each takes up an entire year. Therefore a whole cycle of these zodiac signs would be 12 years as horoscopes cycle in 12 months. Have you ever wondered which Zodiac sign you are? We have provided you a chart right below! Find the year you were born and match it to the "animal" that corresponds it. Share this with your friends and family members and see which animal they are and if you are compatible with each other with the graph right under it. Have fun!
| Rat | 1924 | 1936 | 1948 | 1960 | 1972 | 1984 | 1996 | 2008 |
| Ox | 1925 | 1937 | 1949 | 1961 | 1973 | 1985 | 1997 | 2009 |
| Tiger | 1926 | 1938 | 1950 | 1962 | 1974 | 1986 | 1998 | 2010 |
| Rabbit | 1927 | 1939 | 1951 | 1963 | 1975 | 1987 | 1999 | 2011 |
| Dragon | 1928 | 1940 | 1952 | 1964 | 1976 | 1988 | 2000 | 2012 |
| Snake | 1929 | 1941 | 1953 | 1965 | 1977 | 1989 | 2001 | 2013 |
| Horse | 1930 | 1942 | 1954 | 1966 | 1978 | 1990 | 2002 | 2014 |
| Sheep | 1931 | 1943 | 1955 | 1967 | 1979 | 1991 | 2003 | 2015 |
| Monkey | 1932 | 1944 | 1956 | 1968 | 1980 | 1992 | 2004 | 2016 |
| Rooster | 1933 | 1945 | 1957 | 1969 | 1981 | 1993 | 2005 | 2017 |
| Dog | 1934 | 1946 | 1958 | 1970 | 1982 | 1994 | 2006 | 2018 |
| Pig | 1935 | 1947 | 1959 | 1971 | 1983 | 1995 | 2007 | 2019 |
The 3 animals which are evenly spaced from one another in the zodiac circle are generally considered to be good matches. Rat, Dragon and Monkey ; Ox, Snake and Rooster ; Tiger and Horse and Dog ; Rabbit, Sheep and Pig are suitable for one another. Matching symbols on the Zodiac chart indicate compatible signs.
The signs that are opposite each other in the Zodiac Circle chart are poor matches. Generally a Rat and Horse; Ox and Goat; Tiger and Monkey; Rabbit and Rooster; Dragon and Dog; Snake and Pig will not get along with each other. These signs make poor partners in love and in business. Family members who have opposite signs may experience friction and disharmony in the home.
Each person is a combination of the sign of the year they are born in as well as influences of the time of day and the larger cycles of the zodiac. You may find that even though a person was born in a year that would seem to make you a poor match, the other influences that you share balance the ill effects of incompatible signs and make for a very good relationship — or cause problems in even the most compatible signs!
This year is the year of the Rabbit. Is this your sign?
via Chiff.com
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Origin of Chinese New Year
Do you know how Chinese New Year came about? We weren't quite sure ourselves, so we performed a small research to find out all there is about this holiday.
Dragon and Lion dancing is another tradition of Chinese New Year. Traditionally, two people wear a huge lion or dragon costume and dance. The lion dance dates back to the Han Dynasty (205 B.C. to 220 A.D). It is an important tradition in China. Usually the dance is part of festivities like the Chinese New Year, grand openings of businesses, and weddings. If well-performed, the lion dance is believed to bring luck and happiness. Let your children jump, bounce, hop and leap with a lion dance costume to help bring happiness and luck. Also, the lion head makes a unique Chinese New Year's decoration.
The Origin
Chinese New Year is the first day of the lunar calendar, so it is also called the Lunar New Year. And it is also referred to as the Spring Festival since it is the beginning of the Spring term, which is the first term of the 24 terms on the lunar calendar.
It was recorded that Chinese started to celebrate Chinese New Year from about 2000 BC, though the celebrations were held on different times under different emperors. They started to celebrate Chinese New Year on the first day of the lunar calendar based on Emperor Wu Di's almanac of the Han Dynasty.
Legend says the celebrations of Chinese New Year may be related to a beast known as Nian. The beast Nian came out to eat people on new years until an old man found a way to conquer it. Then people started to observe and celebrate Chinese New Year. The word "Nian" now has the same meaning as Chinese New Year, which is used as commonly as Chinese New Year. And people often use the term "Guo Nian", which may originally mean "passed or survived the Nian". Now everyone loves Guo Nian.
The lunar calendar is represented by twelve animals. Each year is represented by one animal. The twelve animals in order are: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, ram, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. The Chinese zodiac is also based on the 12 animals.
Traditions and Activities
Preparation
Usually the preparation starts a month before the new year. The preparation includes thoroughly cleaning and decorating the house, buying new clothes, preparing enough food for at least two weeks. The decorations are highly symbolic with a lot of lucky words, printed paintings and red colors everywhere. Kids are busy in shopping for different kinds of firecrackers. Everyone gets a haircut before the new year. So everything and everyone looks new and fresh on the new year.
New Year' Eve
The New Year's Eve is the time for families. The New Year Eve's dinner is the biggest dinner of the year, much like Thanksgiving dinner in the United States. The dinner is full of symbolic meaning, such as Chinese dumplings implying wealth since they have the shape of ancient Chinese gold or silver ingots. Everyone, even children, drinks a little Jiu (usually hard liquor), which symbolizes longevity since Jiu has the same pronunciation as longevity in Chinese. Then the family chats while watching national TV shows or listening to radio together until the coming of the new year. In China, the national TV shows have been prepared for a few months by a group of famous entertainers.
Chinese New Year is the first day of the lunar calendar, so it is also called the Lunar New Year. And it is also referred to as the Spring Festival since it is the beginning of the Spring term, which is the first term of the 24 terms on the lunar calendar.
It was recorded that Chinese started to celebrate Chinese New Year from about 2000 BC, though the celebrations were held on different times under different emperors. They started to celebrate Chinese New Year on the first day of the lunar calendar based on Emperor Wu Di's almanac of the Han Dynasty.
Legend says the celebrations of Chinese New Year may be related to a beast known as Nian. The beast Nian came out to eat people on new years until an old man found a way to conquer it. Then people started to observe and celebrate Chinese New Year. The word "Nian" now has the same meaning as Chinese New Year, which is used as commonly as Chinese New Year. And people often use the term "Guo Nian", which may originally mean "passed or survived the Nian". Now everyone loves Guo Nian.
The lunar calendar is represented by twelve animals. Each year is represented by one animal. The twelve animals in order are: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, ram, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. The Chinese zodiac is also based on the 12 animals.
Traditions and Activities
Preparation
Usually the preparation starts a month before the new year. The preparation includes thoroughly cleaning and decorating the house, buying new clothes, preparing enough food for at least two weeks. The decorations are highly symbolic with a lot of lucky words, printed paintings and red colors everywhere. Kids are busy in shopping for different kinds of firecrackers. Everyone gets a haircut before the new year. So everything and everyone looks new and fresh on the new year.
New Year' Eve
The New Year's Eve is the time for families. The New Year Eve's dinner is the biggest dinner of the year, much like Thanksgiving dinner in the United States. The dinner is full of symbolic meaning, such as Chinese dumplings implying wealth since they have the shape of ancient Chinese gold or silver ingots. Everyone, even children, drinks a little Jiu (usually hard liquor), which symbolizes longevity since Jiu has the same pronunciation as longevity in Chinese. Then the family chats while watching national TV shows or listening to radio together until the coming of the new year. In China, the national TV shows have been prepared for a few months by a group of famous entertainers.
Firecrackers
Firecrackers are set off as soon as the new year arrives. You can hear or see firecrackers everywhere and this usually lasts for a few hours. Some people will continue to play firecrackers occasionally through out the first half of the first month. Traditionally fireworks are the sign of getting rid of the old and welcoming the new. Fireworks are now banned in China, so this tradition is history.
Firecrackers are set off as soon as the new year arrives. You can hear or see firecrackers everywhere and this usually lasts for a few hours. Some people will continue to play firecrackers occasionally through out the first half of the first month. Traditionally fireworks are the sign of getting rid of the old and welcoming the new. Fireworks are now banned in China, so this tradition is history.
Red Packets
Giving Hongbao or red packets during Chinese new year is another tradition. A Red packet is simply a red envelope with money in it, which symbolizes luck and wealth. Red packets are typically handed out to the younger generation by their parents, grand parents, relatives, and even close neighbors and friends.
Giving Hongbao or red packets during Chinese new year is another tradition. A Red packet is simply a red envelope with money in it, which symbolizes luck and wealth. Red packets are typically handed out to the younger generation by their parents, grand parents, relatives, and even close neighbors and friends.
Dragon and Lion Dancing
Dragon and Lion dancing is another tradition of Chinese New Year. Traditionally, two people wear a huge lion or dragon costume and dance. The lion dance dates back to the Han Dynasty (205 B.C. to 220 A.D). It is an important tradition in China. Usually the dance is part of festivities like the Chinese New Year, grand openings of businesses, and weddings. If well-performed, the lion dance is believed to bring luck and happiness. Let your children jump, bounce, hop and leap with a lion dance costume to help bring happiness and luck. Also, the lion head makes a unique Chinese New Year's decoration. via Party Details
Saturday, January 1, 2011
H A P P Y 2 0 1 1 !!!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!! I hope everyone had a blast last night during New Year's Eve and did not drive home intoxicated! I had a lot of fun myself and am so blessed to be around all my great friends and my family. Goodbye 2010, it has taken us on a lot of journey, through ups and downs. We welcome 2011, a new year that will give us new hope and renewed resolutions that we can hopefully stick by! May this year be as great as it can be for all of you. I wish you all the best!
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