Alexander Wang Leather Vest

Hi everyone,
I hope you all are doing well. It was slow updating my blog last week because I was under the weather. It wasn't fun to have a bad cold, but I feel much better now. A big thank you to everyone for your continuing support and comments. It really makes my day delightful. I feel bad that I haven't recently visited your sites as often as I would like. I hope you all understand that I have a busy schedule with my family, and I try my best to update my blog. Thank you so much for your understanding ;-)
In this post, I'd like to share with you some pictures were taken before my cold. It's so exciting that I bought this Alexander Wang leather vest at a big sale at Barney's online, a couple of weeks ago.

Wearing with Club Monaco black turtle neck top, Row leather leggings, Sam Edelman boots, Isabel Marant necklace, no brand leather cuffs.

Wearing with DIY skirt.

You've probably seen me wearing this DIY skirt before that I made sometime ago. I really love and enjoy wearing this skirt. I have many DIY design-clothing projects but I'm so lazy to make it happen. Sewing requires time and patience, especially if you are not great at sewing. Well, I hope to make it happen some day and share it here with you.

Design of this skirt is in two layers, but I just wore one outer layer for this look.

Jose & Maria Barrera necklace.

The skull gold leather cuff is by Candice Marks. I'm fastinated with The Woods bracelet because of its charms.

Burberry studded shoes.

This is what the skirt looks like with two layers. Click here for tutoring.
Thank you for reading. Wishing you all a wonderful day!!!

Big hugs...Hanh;-)

Italy -- Kosher dining in Rome

A kosher cafe in Rome. Photo (c) Ruth Ellen Gruber

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

The Forward newspaper runs a piece by food columnist Leah Koenig on kosher dining in Rome, particularly in the old Ghetto area. In the past few years, the Ghetto has undergone considerable development. The main street, via Portico D'Ottavia, is a pedestrian area, the Jewish grade school has moved into the neighborhood, and many new kosher eateries have opened. (Also Judaica stores).

Koenig mentions several places that I myself have recently sampled. The famous kosher pastry shop is a popular attraction -- it produces the best pastries in town, including a unique type of biscotto that combines spices and nuts.

Non-Jewish friends of mine recently introduced me to the newish restaurant Ba' Ghetto, a meat restaurant whose menu includes Sephardic, Ashkenazic and typically Roman Jewish dishes. When we dined there a few weeks ago, we started with appetizers that included a Roman-style torte of endive and anchovies, plus a Middle East platter of Humus and baba ghanoosh, plus a type of Yemenite puff bread. Two of us went on to cous-cous, while the third chose goulash. (The waiter also brought us a sample of excellent grilled steak.) Wine? We chose a kosher Italian red - but I can't remember which....

We reminisced with the waiter about the time, years ago, when there were no kosher restaurants in the Ghetto -- and only one in all of Rome, a Middle Eastern place called Da Lisa that was near the main train station. I don't think it exists anymore. But the family that runs Ba' Ghetto also has a place near piazza Bologna, outside the city center.

Earlier this month, when I was in the Ghetto to cover the pope's visit to the main synagogue, I grabbed a piece of pizza Romana (a sort of focaccia) stuffed with a little turkey mortadella at the Kosher Bistrot mentioned in Koenig's column. It was OK, but I was astounded at the price -- 5 euro, nearly twice what I expected to pay. The woman at the cash desk was unapologetic. "What do you expect," she told me. "It's all kosher, all controlled."

After the papal visit, I went with a friend to grab a slice at a kosher pizzeria a few doors down from the Bistrot -- it wax excellent pizza and only cost 1.5 euro.

Two In One Travel

«Рекогнастировка на местности...» на Яндекс.Фотках

This post is a suggestion how to invent your next travel.

Imagine that you desire to have this or that object. We take a binocular as examle. You find information about different types of binoculars and think, one of them has to be very best for your aims. So, you visit the site of the main producer to find resellers of your zone and... understand you've never been in this country and in this city.

1 -We can imagine, the prices in the shop of the manufacturer have to be not so high as those of the resellers.
2 -if you have a wish to look for a last minute ticket, you can find great deals in internet.
3 -a weekend trip with 1-2 nights in that place can be not very expensive because you can find right prices in internet

Conclusion:
with the same money you have to pay for the object you desire not far from your home you can organize a trip in a place you did not see else and buy the object of your desires.

Two In One Travel, my friends. And I'm the rightful author of this invention. :0)))


«Через бинокль.» на Яндекс.Фотках

Budapest -- Bob Cohen leads an audio culinary tour

 Me in Froelich's pastry shop in December.

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

I've pointed out a lot of Bob Cohen's wonderful blog posts about food, travel and music and link to his blog, Dumneazu.

But now you can hear him -- Tablet Magazine's audio "Vox Tablet" runs a wonderful 10-minute visit with Bob to two of Budapest's most famous Jewish (or Jewish-style) eateries -- the tiny little Kadar lunchroom on Klauzal ter, and Froelich's kosher pastry shop on Dob utca.

Both are favorites with locals (and a five-minute walk from my apartment).

I vividly remember my first visit to Kadar, back in about 1990 or 1991. I was taken there by the  Peter Wirth, an architect who has carried out restoration work on several synagogues in Hungary and also produced a photographic book on Jewish cemeteries in northeast Hungary. (He won the Europa Nostra award for his restorations of the synagogues in Apostag, in the 1980s, and in Mad, in 2004.)

With Peter that first time, I remember I ordered the solet -- cholent -- with goose leg, a specialty. Kadar is not kosher and even serves sholet with pork. But for many local Jews it is a ritual to go there to eat solet on Saturday. One Saturday lunchtime my brother Sam and I shared a table with a man and his son eating solet -- and we then ran into him later at the Rabbinical Seminary synagogue, where he was the gabbai...

Black-Classic

Black is classic, elegant, modern, chic, edgy, tough, timeless color and it's never out of season. I love black! I have many favorite black outfits... All black outfit is not boring to me, and I know many of you love black as much as I do ;-)

My little girl is in kindergarten. She came home and told me about her science experiment of black in her class. She explored what makes up the color black, and this experiment will be displayed at science night on this Thursday night. I can't wait for her to show me how she did it. She also told me that she just like black for Halloween, her favorite color is purple;-)

Wearing: Rebbeca Taylor ruffle-sleeves sweater, AA black bodysuit, Alaia skirt, Fallon necklaces. Christian Louboutin shoes.

My little Princess

She and her big sister (she didn't want to be in picture, this time) love to play dress-up as princesses. It's lovely to see them have a fun time. Sweet!

Thank you everyone for your continuing support, your love and your comments. I gracefully appreciate it as always. Wishing you all a wonderful day!!!

Big hugs...Hanh;-)

Poland -- new visual resources

Tomek Wisniewski has set up a YouTube channel where he has been posting both current and  pre-WW2 images of Jewish sites, both photographic and film.  (He also shows some non-Jewish sites.)

Edginess of Black

Wearing: Rick Owens jacket, Jil Sander over knees boots, F21 dress which I bought so long ago. I'm wearing it for the very first time and also like to wear it backwards for this look.

I don't really like my face expression but I like other elements in this picture. Necklace by Annie Costello Brown.

Zipped up.

A few people have asked me for tips for packing and traveling. I always like to take advantage of mix-and-match clothing as much as I can. Here are some things to think of when you pack clothing for your trip:

• What is the country or city that you are going to? Paris, New York, Cancun, Hawaii, Amarillo or some places in deep countryside in Vietnam?
• What is the season?
• Your trip will be casual or fancy or both?
• What are your activities on the trip?
• Shoes: I usually bring one comfy pair for walking, one fancy pair for dining out, one pair that you can dress up or dress down. Make sure the shoes you bring can pair with your outfits that you brought along with you.
• Make-up: limit things in this area because it could make your bag heavy. Just bring things that you really need such as 1 lipstick, 1 small eye-shadow case, blush, a small sample of foundation., etc...
• Skin care : I just bring a small sample of face lotion and eye-cream and face cleanser.

I hope this will help some of you that want to know some tips for packing. It's okay to repeat your outfit on your trip ;-)

Wish you all a joyful weekend with family and friends!!! Thank you for your reading and your comments!! Big hugs...Hanh;-)

PS: click here and here to see more of my styling for this Rick Owens jacket.

Places Remembering Giordano Bruno

With this post I want to continue to follow the pathes of very important characters of the human history.

Here I begin with Giordano Bruno, a rebel monk. He teached different ideas that were against the doctrine of the church. First of all, he thought, the Earth turns around the Sun and not contrary. He thought, there are many planets similar to our Sun and the Universe is very big (Read this post too: What We Are In The Universe? )

The life of Bruno beginns not far from the place I live, near Nola, a not very big town behind Vesuv.

He studied at the monastery in Naples and 17 years old entered the Dominican Order. He did not want to follow the philosophy of the church and had his own point of view. For this heresy he had to run away from the church all his life. He changed many places but finished his life in Rome, where was burned at the stake by Roman Inquisition after 7 years of the prison.

Here you see the view on the zone where he was born with Vesuv in the background.

«Vesuvio» на Яндекс.Фотках

And this is the palace of the Inquisition in Rome, piazza dei Fiori, where Bruno was prosecuted. He was burned here too. The statue you see over here is situated in the same square too.

Посмотреть на Яндекс.Фотках

Greece -- Arrests in Hania Crete Synaogogue Arson attacks

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

The BBC reports that arrests have been made in the two arson attacks this month that serious damaged the historic Etz Hayyim synagogue in Hania, Crete. In custody are a Greek man and two British men -- waiters in local restaurants -- and two Americans are sought.

The BBC's Malcolm Brabant in Athens said [that], according to the police, the men are aged 23 and 33 and are nightclub waiters in the seaside town. Police said they were arrested after a 24-year-old Greek man confessed, our correspondent added. The British men have been offered assistance by consul staff on the island.

Read full story HERE

Meanwhile, the synagogue blog continues to carry updates, including some reflective pieces by Tony Lerman.

Eastern Europe -- Initiative to protect mass grave sites

Marker at the site of mass execution/mass grave in Kremenets, Ukraine. Photo (c) Ruth Ellen Gruber

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

A international initiative to mark, document and protect sites of Holocaust mass execution and burial is under way, and at a conference in Berlin this week groups taking part urged the German government to become involved.

The American Jewish Committee news release announcing this was not very clear about just what this was about, but one of the participants said that specifically, there is an initiative to persuade the German government through its war graves commission to pay for in general memorializing mass graves and in particular sealing the mass graves opened during research carried out by the French priest Patrick Desbois. Agence France Presse, in its article about the initiative, said Desbois's group Yahad-In Unum ("together" in Hebrew and Latin) already receives about 500,000 euros ($700,000) in funding each year from the German government.

Philip Carmel, the director of Lo-Tishkach, an organization tasked with documentive Jewish cemeteries and mass grave, took part in the conference. He told me that

“There is no better way to combat Holocaust denial and to learn the tragic lessons of the past than to physically mark the last reminders in all these thousands of towns and villages across eastern Europe that they all had living and vibrant Jewish communities and that they didn’t just disappear without reason. This in some way would mark an appropriate act of closure of our direct duty to the victims of the Holocaust.”

Here's the American Jewish Committee press release:

January 20, 2010 – Berlin – An international initiative spearheaded by AJC called today on the German government to join efforts to seal and memorialize mass graves in eastern Europe. The appeal came at a news conference hosted by AJC’s Lawrence and Lee Ramer Institute on German-Jewish Relations in Berlin.

“It is time to seal the graves.  It is time to commemorate the victims. It is time to rescue wherever possible the histories and memories of those whose lives were brutally extinguished,” said Deidre Berger, Director of AJC’s Berlin Office. She added that time is running out to solve the issue before the last witnesses and survivors die. The news conference took place one week before the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

A coalition of Jewish and non-Jewish NGO leaders outlined the incomplete level of information on Jewish mass gravesites, pointing to the lack of protection for thousands of sites in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. The difficulties of the local Jewish communities in addressing the issue were described by Rabbi Pinhas Goldschmidt, Chief Rabbi of Moscow, and Rabbi Yaacov Bleich, Chief Rabbi of Ukraine.

Rabbi Andrew Baker, AJC’s Director of International Jewish Affairs, urged the creation of a German government-led task force to survey the problem and create a comprehensive approach to seal, protect and memorialize the gravesites.

Participants at the news conference stressed the important work of Father Patrick Desbois, President of the Paris-based Yahad in Unum, in documenting the sites and bringing the issue into public focus in recent years. Father Desbois has collected testimony and documented more than 400 locations in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine where German death squads shot and killed primarily Jewish victims. Romas and Soviet communists also were victims.

Father Desbois said that a war does not end until all the dead are buried, calling it an imperative to bury the Jewish Holocaust victims in Europe. He added that it is difficult for Europeans to have credibility solving international conflicts if it can not find means to bury its own dead.

Stephan Kramer, Secretary General of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, underlined the importance of cross-national reconciliation and education in working on solutions for memorializing the mass gravesites.  In talks with Ukrainian government representatives, Kramer said they indicated a willingness to create the necessary legal framework to deal with the issue of mass graves.

The President of the German War Graves Commission, Reinhard Fuehrer, stressed the moral responsibility of Germany to address the issue of the neglected grave sites, indicating the commission will take a role if it is given funds and a mandate by the German government.

Phil Carmel, Executive Director of the Brussels-based Lo Tishkach, responsible for mapping Jewish cemeteries and grave sites in Europe, said it is urgent to address the issue before the remaining markers and clues are lost completely. The best protection against Holocaust denial, he said, is visible graves and gravesites.

At the news conference, support for the initiative also was voiced by Christian Kennedy, U.S. Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues; Jiri Cistecky, of the European Shoah Legacy Foundation; Kathrin Meyer, Executive Secretary of the International Holocaust Task Force on Education, Remembrance and Responsibility; and Paul Shapiro, Director of the Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Nikko, Japan

Nikko, Japan.

One time long ago in late winter, we visited a city called Nikko in Japan. It was cold and the city was covered with thick white snow...magically beautiful!..The city is located in the mountains of Tochigi Prefecture, Japan, and approximately 140 km north of Tokyo. It is the third-largest city (by area) in Japan, and a popular destination for Japanese and international tourists. There are also many famous hot springs in the area. Elevations range from 200 to 2,000m. The mountains west of the main city are part of Nikko National Park where you can see some of the country's most spectacular waterfalls, such as Kegon Falls, Lake Chuzenji, which also has scenic trails. The fastest and most convenient way to access Nikko is on the private Tobu Nikko Line from Tokyo's Tobu-Asakusa station.

Lake Chuzenji is a marvelously scenic lake in Nikko National Park, its elevation at the surface is (4,124 ft) 1,269 m. The view from our hotel room.
There are about 48 waterfalls around the Nikko area, and Kegon Falls is one of the three famous high waterfalls in Japan (97 meters high). It's located near lake Chuzenji and has long been a favorite place for young Japanese lovers-as well as for people committing suicide. But apart from that, the falls are frequented by tourist buses and has lots of souvenir shops outside. Because we visited Nikko in late winter, Kegon falls was partially frozen and covered with snow..It's truly beautiful. The photo doesn't do it justice.
This photo below is from google, I just wanted to show you the Kegon Falls without snow.
Misao Fujimura (1886-1903) wrote a suicide poem (click here for his poem) on a trunk of a tree in Kegon Falls. After finishing his death poem, he jumped. This place becomes an ill-famed spot for sorrowed and desperate young people, mostly to those who are brokenhearted.
The picture below is of a female God that was created after many deaths to protect people from committing suicide.
Just pretty snow in Nikko National Park.
There are many historical sites in Nikko that attracts tourists, including Futarasan-jinji Shrine, Nikko Toshogu Shrine, Taiyu-in Shrine which dates to the year 767, and these are UNESCO World Heritage sites. Unlike most Japanese shrines, the buildings here are extremely ornate, with multicolored carvings and plenty of gold leaf that show heavy Chinese influence.

The Five-story Pagoda, Nikko Toshogu Shrine. It's the burial place of the dynasty founder Tokugawa Leyasu, and the most extravagant of them all.
Yomeimon Gate, Nikko Toshogu Shrine, is known as one of the most beautiful gates in Japan. It's decorated with detailed carving of mythical creatures.
At the Nikko Toshogu Shrine, the Kairou buildings are decorated with colorful carving of flowers and birds. Taiyu-in Shrine is the mausoleum of Lemitsu-byo Taiyu-in, Tokugawa Leyasu's grandson.
Bell Tower at Taiyu-in Shrine.


Sweet-Look of Moschino.
I've have so many sweet memories about this dress; wearing it so many times for dates with my hubby when we just had our first child, the time that we were so new at parenting. Now, looking back, we are much more mature in this area ;-). Feeling like wearing this outfit last week. Marni fur vest.Also, my first owned Jimmy Choo shoes.

Casual-Look Of Forever 21
Wearing: Pierre Hardy shoes, Club Monaco tank, and my newest purchase from Forever 21: F21 jacket, scarves, leggings.
Thank you all for reading. Wishing everyone a wonderful day!!!

Hugs...Hanh ;-)

Up-date: Unfortunately, another earthquake has hit Haiti :-( just hope they can rebuild and get back on track. So please, everyone help and donate, click here. Again, wishing you a blessed day!