One Lovely Blog Award

I was so honored to have this blog nominated by Angela of The Texpat Starling for the One Lovely Blog Award!

Here are the rules of acceptance:

  • Thank the person/people who nominated you and link back to them in your post.
  • Share seven possibly unknown things about yourself.
  • Nominate fifteen or so bloggers you admire.
  • Contact the chosen bloggers to let them know and link back to them.

Thank you, Angela, for nominating my blog! This is such a surprise for someone who just started blogging five months ago.

7 Possibly Unknown Things About Me:

  1. I am addicted to pens.
  2. My favorite place to visit while growing up in Taipei, Taiwan was my father’s friend’s eraser showroom. Every time we visited, my brother and I each was handed a small bag, and we would tour the display cases and point to what we wanted to have in our bags. The erasers came in all shapes: a set of markers, a miniature book, a cookie, a razor,… etc. Our absolute favorite was the set of carts with circus animals on them. Unfortunately, that was for display only.
  3. I have donated to ‘Locks of Love‘ five times since 2000.
  4. I wanted to be a race car driver when I was little. But once I learned how to drive, I find driving stressful.
  5. I always have makeup on if I am to be seen outside my home. This includes going to the mailbox.
  6. I refused to have an engagement ring. I wanted just one simple wedding ring (sapphire set in platinum) that I can wear everyday.

Rings

7. I handmade the navy blue bridal veil.

Bride with Blue Veil

I am nominating these blogs for the One Lovely Blog Award:

I don’t read enough blogs to nominate 15. (I did not list the non-English blogs that I enjoy.) But I promise all the blogs listed above were carefully selected. Some of the blogs have already been nominated for the award, but they deserved my nomination. Thank you for reading, and please visit these blogs. I hope you will enjoy them as much as I do.

‘Switch Rooms’ at Shibuya Hikarie

I happened to watch ‘Tokyo Eye‘ this morning, and the restrooms at Shibuya Hikarie just blew me away.

Shibuya Hikarie is a new shopping and entertainment complex. It caters to women in their 20s to 40s. The ladies’ rooms here are called ‘Switch Rooms’. According to the official Shibuya Hikarie directory guide, a switch room is is “a multi-purpose room that is much more than than the standard restroom“. Those rooms allow women to ‘switch’ their moods. The Switch Rooms on each floor has a unique concept. All the switch rooms have WiFi access and surround sound music.

5F – RELAX STAGE

Shibuya Hikarie - 5F Switch Room

4F – Accent STAGE

Shibuya Hikarie - 4F Switch Room

3F – Style Up Stage

Shibuya Hikarie - 3F Switch Room

B1F – Beauty Presentation STAGE

Shibuya Hikarie - B1F Switch Room

B2F – Mammy’s STAGE

Shibuya Hikarie - B2F Switch Room

B3F – Open STAGE

Shibuya Hikarie - B3F Switch Room

You can take a virtual tour of the Switch Rooms on Shibuya Hikarie’s website.

You can see more photos and read more about the Switch Rooms on Rocket News 24.

Beitou Hot Spring Museum 北投溫泉博物館

After visiting the Beitou Library, I walked across the park to Beitou Hot Spring Museum.

Looking to the Beitou Hot Spring Museum from the Beitou Library
Beitou Hot Spring Museum
Beitou Hot Spring Museum

Beitou District is the northernmost end of Taipei City and is best known for the hot springs here. The museum was a public bath house built in 1913 by the Japanese Colonial Government. It became deserted until discovered by a group of teachers and students from Beitou Elementary School in 1994. In 1997, the building was designated as a third-grade historical site and was transformed into the Beitou Hot Spring Museum after renovation.

Museum Entrance

The entrance to the museum is located on the second floor. All visitors need to take off their shoes and put on the indoor slippers the museum provides.

The main part of the second floor is the Tatami Lobby.

Beitou Hot Spring Library - Tatami Lobby
Tatami Lobby
Beitou Hot Spring Museum - Tatami Lobby
Tatami Lobby

First floor was where the bathing took place. Originally there were changing rooms and separate baths for men and women. There were individual bathrooms and a rest area for the VIPs.

The Big Bath is surrounded by arches and columns.

Beitou Hot Spring Museum - Big Bath
Big Bath
Beitou Hot Spring Museum - Big Bath
Big Bath
Beitou Hot Spring Museum - Big Bath
Big Bath
Beitou Hot Spring Museum - Stained Glass Panels by the Big Bath
Stained Glass Panels by the Big Bath
Beitou Hot Spring Museum - Stained Glass Panels by the Big Bath
Close Up of Stained Glass Panels by the Big Bath

The Beitou Hot Spring Museum is such a beautiful building. The exterior of the building is in the Victorian style with brick and wood. There is a little amphitheater in the back.

Beitou Hot Spring Museum - Amphitheater
Amphitheater

If you find yourself in Taipei, spend a relaxing day in Beitou. There are many hotels in the area to enjoy the hot springs.

Beitou Library 北投圖書館

I was excited to see Taipei Public Library, Beitou Branch chosen by Flavorwire as one of ‘The 25 Most Beautiful Public Libraries in the World‘. I had to visit the library in person when I was in Taiwan last month.

Taipei Public Library, Beitou Branch opened in 2006 and is the first certified green building library in Taiwan. It has a large collection dedicated to ecological conservation.

It was raining hard the day I visited. As I walked towards the building, I could see all the people in there reading quietly. It was a beautiful and peaceful view with the library standing in the rain in the wide open park.

Beitou Library in Taipei, Taiwan      Beitou Library in Taipei, Taiwan

Once I was inside, I felt surrounded by nature as the furniture and most of the interior surfaces were wood. Bookshelves were below eye-level to create the openness of the space. All the windows were open. There are tables and chairs on the balcony for reading.

(All interior photos below are from Taipei Public Library website.)

Periodicals Area
Stairs to B1
2nd Floor
2nd Floor
Outdoor Reading Area

I spent a couple of hours reading at the library. It was very pleasant morning.

Here is a video explaining why this library is ‘Green’:

 

[added Jul. 13, 2012] This is a video about the library in English:

‘Breaking Ground: Chinese American Architects in Los Angeles (1945 – 1980)’

Over the weekend, I happened to watch ‘Tsou LA’, a local Mandarin TV program, introducing the exhibit ‘Breaking Ground: Chinese American Architects in Los Angeles (1945 – 1980)‘ at Chinese American Museum.

I was surprised to find some major landmarks such as LAX were designed by Chinese American Architects. One of four architects was a female. Architect Helen Liu Fong. She designed many restaurants and coffee shops including Norms Restaurants. Here is an article in L.A. Time about Helen Liu Fong when she passed away in 2005: http://articles.latimes.com/2005/apr/26/local/me-fong26.

As an Asian designer and a Los Angeles resident, I am going to see the exhibit before it closes. How am I going to get there? Metro! Of course!