Eating long life noodles on my birthday or for someone else’s birthday is probably one of my favorite Chinese traditions. No matter where I am or what I’m doing on my birthday, I have to have my long life noodles. It doesn’t matter if it’s Chinese noodles, Japanese, Thai, or Italian—I just have to have long noodles. Otherwise, I get superstitious about it and I feel like I’m going to have bad luck for the year. I also eat long life noodles on the birthdays of my loved ones, even if I’m not with them. It’s my way of celebrating them, and wishing them a long life and good health.

But my favorite noodles to have on my birthday, is zha jiang mian…

I waited four months for these hand-woven tatami chairs and poufs to arrive from China, and they were so worth the wait. I discovered this shop on Etsy and their story really spoke to me, so I wanted to share it here. It's a bit of history, cultural insights, and appreciation for artisan crafts. And above all else, it's the strength of women woven through centuries.

I read somewhere that the Year of the Ox (this last year) was all about recognizing our responsibilities and putting in the work, while the Year of the Tiger is about putting that work into drive and really making things happen. So let's find out who the Tiger is, the Tiger's lucky and unlucky signs, and what to expect in the Year of the Tiger. (Anyone else suddenly bust out singing "Eye of the Tiger" whenever they say "Year of the Tiger" 🐅?)