CowParade in Taipei

What better time to welcome the CowParade to Taipei than the Year of the Boar!! The CowParade, the world's largest public art event, is currently also going on in Hong Kong, and Madrid. CowParade first debuted in 1999 in Chicago (I was there, too :-) which is why I'm so glad it's finally coming to Taipei) Over 50 cities worldwide has hosted the event since.






The cows on display are created by local city/country artists. It's amazing seeing how the locally created cows reflect the different culture, histories of their respective cities.






Below is a close-up of a cow appropriately named "night market cow". The Taipei CowParade runs Feb 03 - March 31.

Cosplay Photo Shoot

I had never witnessed cosplay in person, so I was thrilled to join hubby on this particular photo shoot. This time I was asked to help Wendy, our cosplay model, with her makeup. The photo shoot took place outdoor in a park. I'm surprised how dreamy Wendy looks in the photos. Can you guess which character she was trying to emulate?

Outdoor Photo Shoot and Mini Dress

I love tagging along on hubby's photo projects, especially one that I could put my style savvy to use - helping dress the client. Jessica and her boyfriend, Jake, both still high school seniors, wanted to do an outdoor couple's photo shoot. Hubby asked me to help dress/accessorize Jessica for this shoot. Jessica is very young, with an outgoing personality so I picked out a sporty cobalt blue mini sweater dress for her. The shoot took place at an old wine refinery factory, thus giving the photos their beautiful color and interesting mood. I am loving how the photos turn out. What do you all think of the photos?

Night Market Continued: Tan Sui Fisherman's Wharf

After the "Shih-Lin" night market, We arrived at our destination, Tan Sui, late at night. We checked into a hotel that we previously looked up on the Internet. The next morning, we wasted no time packing up again and leaving the hotel behind for a full day of sightseeing.



The hotel is just 5 min away from the Tan Sui coast:



It was a gloomy-weather day with strong winds. (The winds remind me of San Francisco Bay.) All the photos look a bit gray :-( This is a shot of Tan Sui Fisherman's Wharf, complete with the block of pedestrian stores and the shoreline right behind it. This is the place where the river of Tan Sui meets the Pacific Ocean.







We strolled along the river of Tan Sui.



Boats ferry tourists across the river and back.



Where there are tourists, there will be no shortage of snack vendors. A little girl is selling glazed cherry tomato w/ plum.





A trip to Tan Sui is not complete with a taste of its local specialty - Tan Tofu, Fish Ball Soup, and Steamed Pork Buns.



Turkish immigrants also set up shops along the river.





Wow..what's with the long line? Let's get a closer look....



Huge sweet potatos hang on the mobil mini cart. How cool is that!



Yummy!

Night Market

Late last month, hubby took me on a trip north for a weekend getaway. This trip was my long-awaited holiday because hubby was so busy we had to skip doing anything for Valentine's Day and the Lunar New Year. We wanted to visit Tan-Sui, the northern tip of Taiwan. On our way there, we stopped by the famous Shih-Lin night market - an ideal place for grabbing a bite to eat after driving almost 3 hours. Shih-Lin night market is the best known night market on the island of Taiwan, and it's THE place to sample real authentic Taiwanese snacks. The place houses many Taiwanese food/snacks vendors selling traditional staples as well as new inventions. Tourists from the US, Japan, and mailand China crowd the night market to get a taste of the real "Bubble Tea", "Stinky Tofu", and much more. I've had most of the snacks when I was young, but after being absent for so many years living in Chicago, I got to experience a few items for the first time like a tourist which is a lot of fun!



The vendors and the bustling crowd at Shih-Lin night market:







Super Large Fried Chicken Fillet, could be as big as 9 inches long!!



Deep Fried Bread:



Jumbo Grilled Sausage:



Tea stands like this one greet you at every corner of Shih-Lin market, if not at all streets of Taipei. A tea stand offers everything from Bubble Tea to a glass of freshly squeezed fruit juice.




A snap shot of the mass transit system in Taipei. The transit is the best way to get to Shih-Lin market, or any place in downtown Taipei.

Dumpling House

Dear all,


It's been a crazy few weeks for me, and it took a while to get my life back in order. Gosh I have so much I'd like to share, but first let's have a feast for our eyes. Hubby and I celebrated the Chinese New Year early last month at the city's most renowned dumpling house. Only a couple of streets away from our apartment, this place serves nothing fancy but the most basic Taiwanese dishes. Their best is the Steamed Dumplings served in a bamboo steamer (pictured here with chopped chilies, soy sauce, and fresh ginger slices).




Holiday atmosphere plus a table full of hot, delicious, family style Chinese meal:



Ham & Egg Fried Rice:



Sea Cucumber Salad:



Stir Fried Cabbage:



Hot & Sour Soup Noodle:

On a Final Note

As some of you may have noticed, we haven’t been blogging much lately.

We started blogging back in 2004, when we began college. We wanted a simple girly website where we can share our thoughts on fashion with other fashion lovers. We finally settled on blogspot, because we were both technically challenged and it was easy. It was really exciting at first. We religiously stalked our blog and our heart would skip a beat whenever we get a comment. It gave us a warm and fuzzy feeling each time.

We just graduated last summer and since then, we’ve been struggling to carry our blog into the ‘real world’ with us. When you’re a student, you’re surrounded by inspirations and you have all the time in the world to take it in and read up on the latest styles and celebrity trends. In the real world, you get so caught up with life that you barely have time to stop and admire your surroundings and be inspired and excited by it. Now don’t get us wrong, we still love to drool over gorgeous dresses and new bags and debate over the merits of the latest trends- just not as often anymore. Blogging started to become a chore instead of something we loved doing. That was when we knew that it was time to move on, even though it took us a few months of thinking and debating with ourselves and each other to realize it, and another few months overcoming self denial to act on it. It’s not easy to give up something we’ve been doing for the last four years, knowing that once we stop, there is no going back.

A little over 4 years ago, we had no idea what blogs were, and we certainly didn’t know fashion blogs will become such a big phenomenon. We didn’t really know where we were heading when we started I am Fashion, but it became something we loved. We considered taking I am Fashion further, developing it into something bigger as so many other fashion blogs have done. But alas, as hard as we racked our brains, we couldn’t come up with a vision of where it can go. And so, we've decided that it was time to make a graceful exit and let I am Fashion go.

We’d like to thank all the readers who have stuck with us throughout the last four years. It was your comments, emails and continued presence that have kept us going for so long. We’d also like to thank our guest blogger E, who has helped us immensely in the last few months through this difficult transition period. It’s been an unexpectedly rewarding experience, which will always have a special place in our hearts.

Find us at our NEW BLOGs:

Tea with BG -http://teawithbg.com/

BG’s new personal blog, where she will continue to explore fashion, with a sprinkle of finance, travel, dining and other random musings on life.

Coffee with HG -http://www.lifestyleasia.com/coffeewithhg

HG’s new fashion blog, where she will blog about fashion, beauty and all girly things. And yes, she will continue to self-debate endlessly on whether to buy something as affordable as a pair of Zara shoes, or something as wallet-breaking as a Balenciaga bag.

XOXO

BG and HG