vitaminA

sketchbook series: inspiration collage

2012-01-17T21:21:00.000-08:00

one of my favorite sketchbook series to add to: inspiration collages. i find random images that inspire me from mags, catalogs, packaging, anywhere really, and mingle them together to create a certain vibe of sorts or into something that makes total sense, at least in my mind anyway. here i wanted to show the juxtaposition of Edward Scissorhands' cold rigid exterior with soft blooming flowers, reflecting the warm, gentle character of his inside. charming he is :) Some inspiration collages i've posted in the past: Storming of the Brain, Notice, Ahead of the Game. More to come!

love from seattle

2012-01-09T22:27:00.000-08:00

we had a lovely time hosting tae's childhood friend, alex (a post here of when he last visited us), and his fiance, kelli, over the holidays. alex is from ny and kelli is from minnesota, they now live together in seattle and soon moving to minnesota, where they'll be wed. lots of moving around! every time we speak to alex, he's living in a new city. the ones i mentioned above are only a few of the many different places. can't keep up! anyhow, soon after he proposed, he called tae and asked him to be the best man (alex was tae's best man at our wedding. sweet**). so we'll be heading over to minnesota later this year to celebrate with them. we all wanted to meet each other before the wedding and i'm so glad we did. luke warmed up to them really fast! good times spent getting to know each other (kelli is a triathlete!), figuring out where minnesota was (??) and laughing together, mostly while hearing stories about alex as tae reenacted scenes from their past (oh how some things change and how some things never change!). after they got back to seattle, they sent us a box of these goodies. chocolate and coffee, an adorable seattle tee for luke and a handwritten card, i love!!! see you two soon :)

have a cozy christmas!

2011-12-24T09:33:00.001-08:00

from top to bottom : simple holiday decorations i put up in our apt with our potted little christmas tree (yay!), a tiny delicate star necklace from my girlfriend in ny (love love!), another girlfriend sent luke an ornament making kit and i had a great time making 3 mini ornaments out of it. i used the tin cap from a cigar packaging to cut out small circle shapes for the ornaments, then i used individual stamp letters to spell out the words. hope you like! lastly, my happy growing little guy :) enjoy this holiday season cozy-ing up with loved ones! merry christmas!!! xoxo

at home

2011-12-02T20:50:00.000-08:00

veggin' out in our pjs :)

squeaky toy attack!

2011-11-18T09:42:00.001-08:00

nosh, nosh, nosh...attack attack! :)

happy 1st halloween!

2011-10-31T13:57:00.000-07:00

i knit this costume for Luke's First Halloween! my little monster...he is very d-ddangerous, look at those scary claws :P And when does a mommy have the time to make such things, you ask?? oh, right after baby goes down for the night and during any naptimes! squeezing in time whenever you find it, a little bit here, a little bit there :) Happy Halloween all!! xoxo

Bruxie

2011-10-26T15:48:00.000-07:00

we went to check out all the hype of Bruxie, a gourmet waffle sandwich shop in Old Town Orange, a few nights ago with our friends (pictured above).Today is Bruxie's 1 year anniversary! and they've been getting rave reviews from the start. It's definitely worth the wait in line. service is fast and whether savory or sweet, these waffle sammies are amazing! Tae and I thought this place looked oddly familiar. Then we remembered that it was this Korean bbq/burger joint a few years ago that I happened to post about here. Bruxie was definitely smart to pick this place up. Pictured above (top to bottom) we had : an ice cold Root Beer, the Buttermilk Fried Chicken and Waffle (x2) with a side of maple syrup, Waffle Fries, Mint Chocolate Shake, Smoked Salmon & Dill Cream Cheese Waffle and Creme Brulee Waffle. (I'm getting hungry all over again posting this!) The waffle itself was super crispy + fluffy, not sweet or heavy, perfect! The Buttermilk Fried Chicken and Waffle is the best one! Tae and Thinh inhaled the food like they've been starving for months! The four of us adults (sorry Luke!) were SO happy. The sweet aroma of all the food had Luke searching here and there, wondering when he would get a bite. Couldn't get him to look into the camera this time. :P (side note: Tae and I went back the next day to try some new ones: The Bruxie Burger + The Lemon Cream and Berries with, of course, an order of The Buttermilk Chicken Waffle. Burger was good, the Lemon Cream was delish but The Buttermilk Chicken wins again!)

this guy makes me happy

2011-10-24T21:23:00.000-07:00

"please ohh please...~"

2011-10-18T20:47:00.000-07:00

"may i have some real food, mama?" We had lunch today with my girlfriend Jean and Luke was salivating all over our food. Seems like he's already a foodie and wants to put his little hands in everyone's dish. He's in a very curious stage right now. Everything peaks his interest, with food being on the top of his list! Had an awesome time catching up over delicious Taiwanese food at Yami Teahouse in Torrance :) Thanks for taking us there and taking this shot Jean! xoxo

This just in! Jean sent over 2 more shots (above) this morning! Luke happy as can be (he's doing his *punch punch*) and Mama happy as can be (ooh~ i *squeEEeeze* u).

chilly days?

2011-10-11T16:54:00.000-07:00

chilly days are heading our way...slowly. still sunny but with cool breezes. here's luke trying out daddy's slouchy beanie :)

these little guys

2011-10-09T17:41:00.000-07:00

my friend Carol and I had mommie bonding time this weekend, while our little guys had their boy bonding time, well sort of :) Nate stared at Luke while Luke had no clue what was going on, then they took turns having fussy moments, eventually both falling asleep in their strollers. Good times! Thanks to Carol for snapping these shots with her iphone! (nate on left 6 1/2 mths, luke on right 4 mths) oh these boys melt my heart...

Mad Mac!!!

2011-09-29T21:28:00.000-07:00

Mad Mac has been featured today on GILT Taste, check them out! I am so excited because Mad Mac macarons are my absolute favorite macarons and Ludo (pictured above) also happens to be a very good friend of ours. I'm always amazed at how Florian and Ludo could make such delicate little creations to perfection. Their macarons make me the happiest person :) I savor each bite of these and am very sad when I've eaten them all :*( Try them and be happy too! (images from: www.gilttaste.com)

Lukey + Mommy

2011-09-12T21:57:00.000-07:00

A quiet afternoon spent with the loves of my life...had a delicious lunch over at FreeSoulCaffe where we spent hours enjoying quality time with each other. photos taken by tae :)

a day in the city

2011-09-06T10:37:00.000-07:00

since we didn't make it out to NY last weekend, the three of us spent Tae's vacation week relaxing at cafes, catching up with friends, enjoying every bit of luke and making our way out to LA to roam city streets. here are photos of our day in LA going from one place to another. Luke loved being out and about, soaking in the whole experience :) above was our first stop : Korea Town. no other place beats LA korean food, surprisingly not even NY. korean food is always on our list when going to LA. Yu Chun Chic Naeng Myun has the best Cold Buckwheat Noodles. They really get the broth right with the crushed ice and all the flavoring. Very refreshing on a hot summer day! Their Homemade Kimchi Dumplings are also a must there. We went there twice this week!

picked up the September Issue while passing by the newstand on Melrose.

Urth Cafe on Melrose was packed! So we stopped by Coffee Bean instead to feed this hungry little guy...

i love finding random street art :)

Discovered this cozy hidden cafe, The Daily Dose, in an alley way between two brick buildings in downtown LA and so glad we did! We were talking to the owner and they've only been open for 6 weeks now. The menu changes daily, according to the fresh local ingredients and produce available that day. We ordered Artisan coffee, a fresh smoothie with blueberries yogurt honey + kick of chili pepper, The Farmers Daughter Sandwich (roasted potatoes, kobucho squash, fried eggplant + cauliflower on homemade wheat bread with house dressing..SO SO delish!!) and quinoa with peach slaw. They brought out watermelon sandwiches for us on the house and i thought it was an interesting way to use watermelon. there was also a very thin piece of some kind of fresh peppered cheese in between. it was surprisingly really delicious, sweet and salty. The ambiance was very relaxing. we stayed until the sun was starting to set. This is a place we would like to visit often. :)

on the same street as the cafe, we came across this wine place, Swill Automatic, where you choose any wine from the shelves, pour yourself as much as you like and drink to your heart's content. tae wants to go back and try it out sometime. and walking along some more we spotted this adorable vw car.

We ended our day with my favorite dessert : macarons! pistachio, earl grey, lavender, chocolate ganache, strawberry and mocha. afterwards, tae picked up a cream puff from Beard Papa's too. We had a great day~ And Luke was so chills the whole time :)

see you next time...

2011-08-28T10:48:00.000-07:00

we were scheduled to fly home for a visit to NY this morning but with Irene paying a visit and 900 jetblue flights cancelled, the three of us are laying low. i was looking forward to this trip for a while now, excited for family and friends to finally meet luke. my dad especially was counting down the days. we'll have to start planning for the next visit out. but i'm thankful that everyone is safe out there. although no one I spoke to, whether friends or family, seemed to be worried about the storm. new yorkers. see you next time... (photo i took at Gantry Park last year around this time with two random strangers in the mix...oh hello!)

cOOkies!

2011-08-23T17:47:00.000-07:00

Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies! I had a chance to bake these today for some friends while Luke was taking a nap! My sweet tooth : satisfied :)

a message from luke

2011-08-15T20:57:00.000-07:00

janet is a fashion designer in SF and also one of the most talented illustrators i know. a pen is always handy and at any given moment, illustrations come to life on the pages of her tightly packed sketchbook, where no negative space is left unfilled. i am awestruck by her limitless imagination! there were many memorable days we would sit around and fabricate random stories that made total sense to us. i continue to be hopeful that one day she'll even publish her very own children's book (she really needs to start a blog too)! but i know in the meantime, she's been working on some big things and we couldn't be more excited for her. **we are so proud of you!!** <3

Luke at 1 month

2011-08-04T23:51:00.000-07:00

It's been too long since I've updated! Ah! This little guy keeps me quite busy. He wants all of momma's attention. :P These were photos I took of him when he was 1 month old. Now he's already 2 months old as of yesterday and is so much bigger! Oh how time flies. I adore this sweet guy. It's been challenging being a momma but amazing at the same time. He recently started cooing, smiling and laughing. His smiles melt my heart~~

Happy 1st Father's Day!

2011-06-20T11:52:00.000-07:00

Whether it was to celebrate the Dads in your life, remember them or if you yourself are a soon-to-be Dad, I hope you all had a good one! It was Tae's First Father's Day and yesterday was also my first day stepping out of the apt! It felt great to get some fresh air and take photos of my two favorite guys, my big and little. I'm still recovering but feeling better everyday. Luke's belly is growing and he's doing well. I love being a mommy. :) Will try to update more often!

Luke has arrived!

2011-06-08T19:04:00.000-07:00

Baby Luke arrived on June 3rd. been crazy around here, will update when i can with the birth story and hopefully more photos. :)

Tae's New Website

2011-06-02T18:53:00.000-07:00

Tae and I feel like we've already given birth. Birth to his new website that is. It has been an intense month for us as we've experienced building something special together, working for endless hours each day in hopes to reveal a huge part of Tae's life, being a Tennis coach and player. It isn't only about the knowledge that he has about tennis, but more about the life experiences associated with tennis that have molded and shaped who he is today, a coach, a player, a husband, a son, a brother, a friend and soon-to-be father. I was always amazed at his determination and passion, something that grabbed me from the start. He definitely pursues things with all his heart, no matter how hard the struggle, making sure he sees things through from start to finish, without ever giving up. He often mentions how thankful he is of all the different people he's met along his journey through life, especially those who were father figures for him, encouraging, loving and caring for him.

Building this website brought back a lot of emotional tennis memories for Tae, winning, losing, celebrating, the training, the talks with his coach, lacking confidence to gaining confidence, his passion for the game and more. We've had full work days this past month but at the same time, it's been awesome for me to hear all his stories. There's always more to learn about a person. It's quite incredible and fun.

My mother-in-law definitely played a huge role in Tae's life, being a single mom with two boys. She supported Tae and his passion for tennis. My mother-in-law is truly Tae's #1 fan forever.

I'm so proud of him too. Now that our project is complete, I feel ready to give birth to another baby, our little son, Luke.

A BIG thanks to David Breitkopf (Tae's Coach), Tim Chan (our website tech support and at times, emotional support) and Eric Truong (assisting in all the filming with so much patience).

Check out Tae's site and please read his Bio Page to get to know more about him. :)
Also please spread the word. Enjoy!

website: www.lockandrolltennis.com
also find him at: www.youtube.com + www.facebook.com (search for Lock and Roll Tennis)

week 39

2011-06-02T15:48:00.000-07:00

Moving right along! Luke is continuing to grow and gain weight! I read that boys tend to be heavier than girls (oh boy!). He weighs a bit over 7 pounds like a mini watermelon (thank goodness a MINI watermelon). About 20" long from head to heel. I can't imagine my belly getting any bigger than it is! One more week left, I can't believe it. Any day now! Pregnancy waddle is in full effect too. I had a pelvic exam this week and I'm about 1 cm dilated and 40% effaced. That's not that much but it's some progress :) I had a sudden burst of energy yesterday and had the urge to clean like a mad woman and re-organize all that I'd already organized. I guess some call that nesting, but I can't tell since I love to clean regardless and tend to constantly clean. I was like a little addict yesterday looking for something and anything to re-organize. Tae worries about my ocd tendencies. I will definitely be posting here once labor begins! So stay tuned...

berries jubilee!

2011-06-01T20:28:00.000-07:00

sweet ripe berries + anthropologie's new catalog, yippee!

POEM TOOTIN' TUESDAY!

2011-05-31T11:57:00.000-07:00

by Shel Silverstein. nice tattoo, mr. giraffe.

fresh air

2011-05-30T16:50:00.000-07:00

week 38

2011-05-26T17:20:00.000-07:00

Leek this week! Luke is as long as a leek! He has a firm grasp and his organs have matured, ready for life outside the womb, according to babycenter (where i've been getting all my weekly info, btw). He weighs almost 7 pounds and more than 19 1/2" head to heel. These days, it's been physically challenging to sit or stand for too long. Walking around helps, although at times it feels as if little Luke is dropping further down with each step. :P This week definitely flew by! Luke will be here in no time! I feel pretty calm about labor and birth so far. Everyday I'm mentally preparing myself for labor day. I'm sure I'll be a lot more nervous as time draws nearer. But no need to fret about it yet! Yesterday I took a longgg nap which was really nice. And tonight, I'm looking forward to relaxing on the couch while watching the premiere of "So You Think You Can Dance"!!! It's my all time favorite show. I've been waiting for this premiere and was worried I might go into labor beforehand. I'm glad I made it til today! I love dance shows :)

animal friends

2011-05-25T15:00:00.000-07:00

a penguin + a bear heart beanie i knit for my mommie friends' babies :)

POEM TOOTIN' TUESDAY!

2011-05-24T15:21:00.000-07:00

by Shel Silverstein. watch out for that snail!

prints for luke

2011-05-23T16:50:00.000-07:00

new prints I created to go on the wall above luke's crib :) the blk and white chevron print will hopefully help with luke's visual development too!

more from the library

2011-05-20T10:13:00.000-07:00

these are the other set of books i borrowed from the library. I love all the different styles that these illustrators have. They're unique and distinctive to each artist. I could look through these books over and over again. They never get old! Here, I chose my favorites from each book. The top book is "Fashion Illustration by Fashion Designers", Laird Borrelli. Illustrators (top to bttm) : Molly Grad (my personal favorite), Hall Ohara and Alena Akhmadullina. Second book is "100 Years of Fashion Illustration", Cally Blackman. Illustrators (left to right, row by row) : A.E. Marty for Paul Poiret 1922, Helen Dryden for the cover of American Vogue 1922, George Wolfe Plank for the cover of American Vogue February 1927, Erte for the cover of Harper's Bazaar May 1933, Rene Gruau for Dior perfume ad 1967-1968, David Downton for Jean-Paul Gaultier 1999, Rene Gruau for Dior 1953 (left) + Givenchy 1953 (right), Rene Gruau for Christian Dior 1949, Robert Passantino for Women's Wear Daily 1970, Julie Verhoeven for Dazed and Confused 2001.

week 37

2011-05-19T11:57:00.000-07:00

Luke is now full term! wowzers! He is as lofty and long as a stalk of swiss chard. weighing 6 1/3 pounds, a bit over 19" head to heel. I can't believe we're only 3 weeks away from meeting him! i'm definitely feeling Braxton Hicks contractions more often now. They're not painful, just a bit uncomfortable. They're prepping my body for labor day so i don't mind them. These days i envision what labor day will be like and wonder how much pain i'll be able to endure since I want to go the au naturale route. But I told myself it's more than ok if I can't make it through naturally and need the meds. As long as Luke is safe and healthy, i'll be happy. For some reason, more and more snacks are making their way into our hospital bag. :P you never know how hungry we'll be before and after delivery! gotta be prepared. I've been having tons of dreams lately. Last night I had about 8 dreams, one every time i woke up and went back to sleep. i can't remember them all except for one. In this dream, I was watching my mom in labor, ready to give birth to me! That was really odd and interesting. I didn't get to see myself being born, but just a few minutes of my mom in intense labor. She looked like she was in a lot of pain but also looked really beautiful. well we'll see in a few weeks how my birth story unfolds. exciting :)

the library

2011-05-18T17:14:00.000-07:00

I love books, especially books that have great photos! i picked up some books the other day from the library. One of them being this awesome knit book, "Men's Knits" by Erika Knight. I'm one of those who often judges a book by its cover (i can't help it!). Knitting books rarely interest me. Many of them seem so outdated and their photos don't have that **WHaM-BaM** effect to draw me in. This cover immediately caught my eye and i knew there were bound to be surprises inside. Erika Knight's knits are so modern and amazing. i was drooling over all the cozy pieces, wondering if I could tackle any one of these projects on my own. But I'll definitely give it try! I'll post more photos of the other books I borrowed later this week!

POEM TOOTIN' TUESDAY!

2011-05-17T10:21:00.000-07:00

by Shel Silverstein. oh dear! minnow minnie!

night lights

2011-05-16T17:38:00.000-07:00

i love suspended night lights :)

week 36

2011-05-13T15:47:00.000-07:00

the blogger site has been down all of yesterday and this morning :( so i didnt get to post yesterday. but here it is, Luke is the size of a crenshaw melon, almost 6 pounds and more than 18 1/2" long. definitely in the home stretch now with only 4 more weeks to go! i'm breathing a bit better these days, less shortness of breath, since he's dropping lower into my pelvis. i've packed our hospital bag already. I definitely don't want to worry about that once labor starts. :) Enjoying my last remaining weeks, spending them with friends and with Tae.

for my sleepy lil guy

2011-05-11T15:32:00.000-07:00

one of my girlfriends back home asked me to send her photos of Luke's nursery/room. we don't quite have a nursery since we live in a one bedroom apt. :P but here are photos of Luke's little crib where he'll drift off to dreamland. i love minimal design and i thought this IKEA Sniglar crib was perfect. (The crib was a surprise gift from our friends, even more awesome!) And my bro and sil got us the Dwell Studio Owl fitted sheet, SO cute (Dwell Studio has the best modern patterns)! I bought the polka dot sheet from Target way before i even found out the gender of our baby since it was on clearance. I was and still am super obsessed with polka dots, so i had to get it before it was gone. We'll definitely need more than one crib sheet for when those accidents happen. :) The lonely little elephant awaits Lukey's arrival.

POEM TOOTIN' TUESDAY!

2011-05-10T16:59:00.000-07:00

by Shel Silverstein. how adorable is this poem?! "teardrop of a crying ant", "crumb of cake". hehehe

roaming around

2011-05-09T17:01:00.000-07:00

photos i took a while ago while strolling through Laguna Beach with a friend. I miss roaming around taking photos of random things. hope to do some more of that in the next few weeks! the last 2 photos are what we ate that day on a picnic table overlooking the ocean : brie prosciutto pesto toasted sandwich with salad and mushroom sun-dried tomato pesto pizza. :)

Happy Mother's Day Weekend!!

2011-05-06T16:45:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day Weekend to all the Mommas out there and soon-to-be Mommas! I wanted to share the Mother's Day cards I made for my mom, MIL and SIL. I exacto-ed these patterns, initially thinking it wouldn't be too hard (especially since I have a large pack of super sharp exacto blades). They definitely look "handmade". heh heh. not perfect but I tried! The top photo is of my momma and i on my wedding day, 4 years ago. Our photographer was a friend of ours and I'm so glad he captured this moment for me to remember. It may just look like a sweet hug and kiss but lots more behind it. there was so much drama within the entire 3 months Tae and I were engaged, up until the night of our wedding. My mom and dad were not planning on attending our big day for many reasons. And to make a very long, emotional journey short, my mom called me while I was getting my hair done, on the day of, to inform me that she and my dad decided to be there for our wedding. I couldn't have been a happier bride and daughter, for my dad to walk me down the aisle and my mom to celebrate with me on such a special day. My mom and I are very outwardly affectionate people (here's the photo i posted last mother's day of me + my momma) and i definitely had to plant a big kiss on her and hug her tight that night. What would a mom + daughter relationship be without all the arguments and drama? I only feel that much closer to her now, through all those many moments we've had. momma's unconditional love. cant wait to see her after i give birth. Happy Mother's Day, Umma. I love you.

week 35

2011-05-05T19:23:00.000-07:00

Luke is the size of a honeydew! He's about 5 1/4 pounds and more than 18" head to heel. Not much room to move about anymore so he's nudging and pushing around. he can sense our touch! he pushes his foot out right underneath the spot where we place our hands. it's so sweet. then i try to massage his foot while he keeps it there. but that only lasts about a second. oh, my little honey doo-doo. i'm starting to go down my to-do list for the few remaining weeks!

POEM TOOTIN' TUESDAY!

2011-05-03T10:22:00.000-07:00

by Shel Silverstein. gotta watch out for those tight hats! :)

my niece in her bow beanie!

2011-05-02T15:48:00.000-07:00

my sister-in-law received the bow beanie i knit for my niece this past weekend. how cute does it look on her?!! the color matches her pink little lips! what a cutie :) i was also informed that Korean Children's Day is this week on the 5th. great timing without even realizing! photos taken by my SIL.

OLIVE & COCOA

2011-04-29T12:00:00.000-07:00

i received this catalog in the mail this week and was pleasantly surprised. I haven't heard of Olive & Cocoa before and with the first look of the whimsy cover, was curious of the content inside. I'm not a flower person, but these floral arrangements are gorgeous!! Their packaging design is rustic and minimal, caught my attention right away. Packaging design is one of the first things i notice about a product. i'm a real sucker for it. yes, i must confess that i do buy things for the way they are presented. They also have gourmet yummy treats, jewelry, home decor items and more! Some of my favs are the Emmeline florals, Tastes for Everyone, Emma Cupcake Stands, Love Bird Coir Mat, Bloom Jewelry Bowl, Yellow Dots Bib & Bath Set (just to name a few!). A lot of these items would be wonderful Mother's Day gifts! Check them out on their site : Olive & Cocoa.

week 34

2011-04-28T17:33:00.000-07:00

Luke is the size of a cantaloupe :) About 4 3/4 pounds + almost 18" from head to heel. I had a dr's appt yesterday and the doc said Luke is developing well. I asked if she could tell what position he was in and she felt his little head below my belly and his feet and legs up top. We're hoping he stays in this head-down position til birth! About 6 more weeks to go!

POEM TOOTIN' TUESDAY!

2011-04-26T12:11:00.000-07:00

by Shel Silverstein. oh jane, i hope it rains! soon!

little girls and bows

2011-04-25T12:20:00.000-07:00

i'm hoping my sister-in-law doesn't stop by my blog for the next couple of days :P i knit this bow beanie for my little niece and wanted to send it as a surprise. i wish they lived closer so i could hand deliver it to them and see it on her! she is starting to talk and can say "gomo" when referring to me (which in korean means auntie: dad's sister). oh i miss her!

our 4th anniversary!

2011-04-22T11:33:00.000-07:00

yesterday Tae and I celebrated our 4 yr anniversary. we ate at our fav local sushi spot that we stumbled upon randomly last summer. Tae had some cold draft beer as I stuck to water with lemon. We shared the Hawaiian roll, Spider roll, Baked Salmon roll and Baked Scallop roll. The names are not so fancy but the taste is so super fancy. The cooked rolls are so good that i forget about how much i miss raw sushi. Looking back to our four years together, I can say I fall more in love with him as the years go by. I still get excited to wake up next to him every morning knowing I get to snuggle with him for a while before starting our day (yes, even now with my big belly! he says i can bring Lukey over too). I love his hugs when he comes home from work. And it boggles my mind how funny he is, it almost comes way too naturally for him. It's definitely fun being married to him. I simply adore him!!

week 33

2011-04-21T11:36:00.000-07:00

Luke is the size of a pineapple! his kicks are getting much stronger, i feel like he is growing so much. yesterday was our last lamaze class session out of the 5 weeks. luke was kicking and rolling around almost the entire class, non-stop action in there! this morning i woke up to him stretching his legs and a small bump was visible on my belly where he was pushing out his tiny foot. can't wait to play with his little toes.

EGG-stra fancy!

2011-04-20T16:44:00.000-07:00

wanted to create an egg-stra fancy egg for this easter! i hope you like! now there is glitter sparkling everywhere in our apt. :)

teddy hat

2011-04-19T11:49:00.000-07:00

"From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere" Dr. Seuss.
i knit luke a teddy beanie! this is the very first beanie i've ever knit and watched some youtube videos to learn how to knit on circular needles. of course Tae saw me knitting Luke's beanie and wanted one too. so for the past week, it's been a knitting factory here. i'll post Tae wearing his new cozy things soon!

POEM TOOTIN' TUESDAY!

2011-04-19T11:02:00.000-07:00

by Shel Silverstein.

week 32...countdown begins!

2011-04-14T16:15:00.000-07:00

i'll be counting down the weeks til birth every thursday here on the blog! (each new week of pregnancy starts on a thursday for me) i have about 8 more weeks until we get to meet Luke! physically i feel more pressure in my lower belly and walk slower, also not as straight :P but other than that, i'm pretty excited and Luke is more active than ever!! so he's about the size of a jicama, approx 3.75 lbs + 16.75" long. am i the only one who doesn't know what a jicama is? if not, read about it here : what is a jicama?

my retro baby

2011-04-13T15:04:00.000-07:00

received these adorable outfits from another one of Lukey's aunties back on the east coast. i love the modern elephant patterned linen pants with matching bib! and the onesies, ohh snap, how cute are they! they're from http://myretrobaby.com if you want to check it out. will definitely post Luke wearing these. thank you! :)

POEM TOOTIN' TUESDAY!

2011-04-12T16:03:00.000-07:00

by Shel Silverstein. though i missed a few, poems are back! :)

me + belly + hubby

2011-04-05T18:56:00.000-07:00

photographed this past w/e by tae, me and the help of a tripod :) friends and family have been asking to see my growing belly. these are the first and only belly photos we took so far. at least now we have some memories!

Another project coming up!

2011-03-31T16:40:00.000-07:00

starting another knit project for Luke! let's see how this turns out :) As of today, I am 30 weeks. 10 more weeks to go til we meet our little guy. can't wait!

Blogger's New Dynamic Views!

2011-03-31T16:33:00.000-07:00

I am excited about Blogger's New Dynamic Views feature that will soon be available! What I like about it most is that all my posts will be visible on one page. There are several different views to choose from such as, Flipcard, Mosaic (which is the ex. above), Sidebar, Snapshot and Timeslide. Read more about it here : http://buzz.blogger.com.

tissue paper POM POMS!

2011-03-30T16:01:00.000-07:00

made these tissue paper pom poms for a friend's baby shower this past weekend! they were a lot easier to make than i had imagined. the more layers of tissue you have per pom pom, the fluffier they get. i used 10 layers for the large ones and 8 for the smaller ones. i cut round edges for these but round or pointy edges are up to you! here are the detailed instructions on "how to" from Martha Stewart, of course. http://www.marthastewart.com/how-to/tissue-paper-pom-poms-how-to

lovely paper goods

2011-03-23T15:37:00.000-07:00

picked these cards up at Borders the other day, huge sale. they're closing the store and a few others in the area :( i sure love heavy weight paper goods! especially when they're pretty like these and when they're letterpressed like the chandelier one :)

POEM TOOTIN' TUESDAY!

2011-03-22T14:39:00.000-07:00

TREE HOUSE

A tree house, a free house,
A secret you and me house,
A high up in the leafy branches
Cozy as can be house.

A street house, a neat house,
Be sure to wipe your feet house
Is not my kind of house at all--
Let's go live in a tree house.

Shel Silverstein

catalog love

2011-03-17T16:20:00.000-07:00

these are two catalogs I eagerly wait for in the mail each season, Anthropologie and Toast. both have matte pages which I love! glares on glossy pages are no fun. not only are the clothing and products amazing, but the photography is what i love most about them. they are truly little books of art!

for Japan with Love...

2011-03-16T15:44:00.000-07:00

vitaminA is participating in the Bloggers Day of Silence by refraining from posting any entries this Friday. Visit www.ever-ours.com, www.utterlyengaged.com and www.forjapanwithlove.com for more details. Spread the word + join in friends <3

Morning Light

2011-03-16T09:11:00.000-07:00

thought i'd post one of my newer illustrations. I did a few of these as a series to print as cards + art prints in the future. :)

POEM TOOTIN' TUESDAY!

2011-03-15T16:37:00.000-07:00

Shel Silverstein imagination and fun can take you anywhere <3

prayers + love

2011-03-12T12:50:00.000-08:00

just heard word from Kimy (Ada) over at Nom & Ada that Rie (Nom) is safe and with her family in Tokyo. thinking and praying for you, along with all the family + friends affected <3

my bro and me

2011-03-11T14:56:00.000-08:00

happy friday! thought I'd share some photos i found. my bro in the striped shirt and me in the red jumpsuit :)

vitaminA's Top 5 Daily Essentials

2011-03-09T12:34:00.000-08:00

The Essentials tag is making it's way through blogs and vitaminA was tagged by Nom & Ada! These are my Top 5 Daily Essentials:

(clockwise)
1. Ray Ban Sunglasses (a gift from Dad and also a must to shield from cali sun)
2. Vermont thrift store necklaces found for $1 each (usually worn together doubled up as bracelets, so that counts as one essential not two, right? :)
3. Prenatal Vitamin : for a healthy baby Luke <3
4. Starburst Metal Wallet : slim and compact, esp on days I don't want to carry a bag
5. Rosebud Salve Lip Balm : absorbs and moisturizes really well for me, with added shine!

* i tag : Beyond Creative, fish + cake and BabyChin! post and pass it along :)
and don't forget to check out my dear friends over at www.nomandada.com + http://nomandada.blogspot.com!!! Their stylish and well thought out shoe line just launched on Valentine's Day. So proud and happy for them! <3

POEM TOOTIN' TUESDAY!

2011-03-08T16:01:00.000-08:00

by Shel Silverstein. hats are fun!

Trust by Candida

2011-03-05T16:13:00.000-08:00

This illustration is special to me and have kept it for many years. It was painted for me by Candida, who was like a second mom to my brother and I. Our families were very close and their kids were brothers to us. My brother and I would stay over at their house in Long Island (Amityville, muahaha) for entire summer vacations! Most of my fondest childhood memories were with them, building a tree house, rescuing a stream (well, sort of, more like cleaning up the piled rocks so the water would flow better, this took multiple summers), going on long long long bike rides in the woods, burying pet birds in the backyard when they didn't make it another day through life, building ginormous forts, endless hours of swimming and monopoly...the list goes on. Candida is Puerto Rican and Jose (our 2nd dad) is Spanish. They ingrained in us so much of their culture from dance, language to food. My fav meal til this day is rice and beans! Jose is a Spanish teacher and artist (who also taught me how to ride a bike and swim). Candida is a dancer and dance instructor. A dance studio was built into their house where Candida would teach ballroom and ballet. I would sit on the staircase nearby and watch her for hours. Amazing talent. I also remember her closet FULL of fancy colorful flamenco and dance dresses that I looked through in awe. Since she had two boys and no girl, I was like her adopted korean daughter. We would do lots of girly things together like paint our nails, do our hair and most of all, draw + paint together. She was someone who always nurtured my artsy side. Her signature style of painting was to use nail polish as her medium. So nail polish always reminds me of her! This painting above was done in nail polish and the two birds are of their pets, Sunny and Icy. (Also the two birds we ended up burying in their backyard years + years later.) I am so thankful to have experienced all that with them! Love you and miss you.

POEM TOOTIN' TUESDAY!

2011-03-01T18:27:00.000-08:00

by Shel Silverstein. thrifted items are real treasures!

sneak peek

2011-02-27T14:14:00.000-08:00

Finally getting around to editing my photos from our Thailand trip! Lots to sort through! Here is a sneak peek into what's to come. Fried egg on rice with chicken basil. We ate veryyy well. :D

FREESOULCAFFE

2011-02-25T15:00:00.000-08:00

recently checked out Freesoulcaffe in Old Town Tustin with two of my girlfriends + one tiny baby girl. It was such a cute and cozy cafe located inside a brick building. I really love everything about old town tustin. Ange had the matcha latte, Julie had tomato basil soup w/ sourdough baguette, I had spiced carrot lentil soup w/ sourdough baguette (sooo yummy!). we shared the peanut butter torte which was SUPER rich and thick, def have to wash that one down with a latte or coffee. And little baby Noelle slept through it all :) can't wait to go back and try other things on the menu.

POEM TOOTIN' TUESDAY! (a day late...but here!)

2011-02-23T16:24:00.000-08:00

by Shel Silverstein
had some lower back pain yesterday. :( was bummed i didnt get to post this sooner.

spare parts

2011-02-21T17:08:00.000-08:00

i enjoy finding random buttons, especially when they have a certain character about them. it would thrill me to sort through my mom's button collections in the younger days, choosing ones that came alive to me. but it would leave me to wonder what item of clothing these special buttons once belonged to. above are some of the buttons i have currently, living amongst each other in a tin can and below are the few items they have not yet lost bonds with. :)

POEM TOOTIN' TUESDAY!

2011-02-15T20:20:00.000-08:00

by Shel Silverstein. hugs are nice. i like hugs.

happy valentine's day!

2011-02-14T12:31:00.000-08:00

enjoy today with someone you adore and love! hugs ;)

black bowtie affair

2011-02-11T16:54:00.000-08:00

Took a lil while to get the booties just right, but now, Luke's knit outfit is complete! tiny black bowtie, grey diapers and black buttoned booties for a little night out...or playtime at home. :) I'm on a knitting frenzy! so many ideas to knit but i must take a mini break! Happy Friday! xoxo

a name

2011-02-10T16:44:00.000-08:00

baby boy's name has been chosen : Luke :)

blanket

2011-02-09T16:53:00.000-08:00

the baby blanket is ready to snuggle :)
and almost done with my next project. will post that real soon!

POEM TOOTIN' TUESDAY!

2011-02-08T16:38:00.000-08:00

browsing around at the thrift store yesterday, i found 2 Shel Silverstein books! purchased them for $2 each :) thought it'd be nice to start a Poem Tootin' Tuesday series where i'll share a poem from "Where the Sidewalk Ends" every week until I deliver this baby. i love all the illustrations that go with the clever little poems. This first one LOVE will kick off the series for Valentine's Day. enjoy!

LOVE

Ricky was "L" but he's home with the flu,
Lizzie, our "O" had some homework to do,
Mitchell, "E" prob'ly got lost on the way,
So I'm all of love that could make it today.

FLIP OUT!

2011-02-07T18:50:00.000-08:00

lots of surprises arriving at my doorstep these past weeks! i received this awesome Flip Slide camcorder from a dear friend with whom i go way back. it came wrapped in her daughter's lovely drawing as an added bonus! (i'm sure those cute blue boots are coming in handy with all the snow over there :*) i remember the day she gave birth and the first time i got to hold her tiny daughter. it was such an exciting time which was already years ago. as i saw the two of them together, i wondered when i would also hold one of my own...and finally, soon i'll get to. we will record lots of memories with this. i'll have baby boy wave hello on video to auntie S, since we are far across the country. thank you so much. hugs~

miniMAN magnets

2011-02-03T20:34:00.000-08:00

oh how I love simple modern design! these Mini Man magnets were sent to me as a gift by Beyond Creative a little while back. they came in a sweet petite white box and when opened, the color of citrus orange jumped out to greet me. i squealed with excitement and now have them climbing on my fridge door. *thank you**

monkey beanie

2011-02-01T12:35:00.000-08:00

I received this adorable monkey beanie in the mail yesterday from a sweet friend! I've been eying this for a while now, thinking how cute it would look on baby boy. I had mentioned it in passing and to my surprise, it arrived at my doorstep! Can't wait to see him wear it. *thank you, he'll love it* And of course Tae had to model it for us all. He said, "the future of what's to come". so silly.

SNUGGLE

2011-01-28T11:36:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday everyone! Knitting my little guy a bright and cozy blanket. A few more knitting projects are in my thoughts too. :) I'll hopefully post the finished blanket soon!

A BOY!!!

2011-01-14T15:01:00.000-08:00

We're so excited about our lil guy! those tiny hands and feet are so so cute. I love him! Now begins the search for a name...

which one, this lil baby?

2011-01-11T11:56:00.000-08:00

I can not wait and have been so so curious! :)

PLAY! PLAY!

2011-01-10T20:05:00.000-08:00

My brother, sil and niece were here for the holidays! It was really great spending time with them and showing them around Cali. My niece and I got pretty attached to each other during their short stay here. :) I wish they had stayed longer! Can't wait for our kids to meet and play together!

JEAN + ANDREW+ I DO

2011-01-06T21:34:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to my readers!!! I'm finally making my way back to my blog! Jean and Andrew's wedding photos are here, like I promised to post! Long awaited but I got to them. :)

Putting together this post reminded me of their enchanting New York night of "I dos", warmth, smiles of familiar faces, cries, laughs and best of all dancing! The ceremony took place at The Park Avenue Church. Jean looked absolutely beautiful in her dream Oscar de la Renta dress walking towards Andrew, the handsome bow-tied groom. After the short and sweet exchanging of vows, they made their get-away in an antique NY cab. So chic. They rented NYC tour buses to transport guests from the church to the loft with their personalized digital message on the front! We celebrated and partied at the Studio 450 loft with lots of sparkling candlelight under the starry night. Melissa of Beyond Creative was my lovely date and we danced away like old times. It was perfect and just as I imagined Jean's wedding would be.

The photo of Jean + Andrew on the Vespas was one I took of them the day after Andrew proposed. I'm glad to have been there for that one. And as requested by the bride, I was honored to have painted the guest sign-in poster. I enjoyed creating it.

I love you Jean + Andrew!

MY GUMMY BEAR

2010-12-07T14:30:00.000-08:00

Yup! this is our new baby! came as a surprise and as a result of our Asia trip! The first trimester challenges like nausea and fatigue (tons of sleeping) have kept me from updating this blog. No worries, I didn't disappear! :) This was the first photo of our little one at 7 weeks + 6 days. looks like a gummy bear! Tae and I got to see the heart beating on the monitor and it was amazing. Now, I'm almost 14 weeks! We'll find out the gender of the baby in mid-January, so stay tuned!

OLD AND NEW

2010-10-14T19:20:00.000-07:00

My short trip to NY. the gorgeous view from my dear friends' LIC apt. great company, made me feel at home.<3

The next morning : headed over to Communitea of course! one of my fav cafes. quality is still the same. makes me happy. R had a breakfast sandwich, M shared a curry chicken sammie with me and i shared my favvv sammie, the hummus avocado.

then we walked over to a new-to-me cafe the breadbox. used to be a gas station, an old one. i like the exterior (rolling pins) and interior (industrial). I got an assortment of bagels. I've had better bagels but ambiance is worth another shot :)

SWEET CUPCAKE

2010-10-01T15:02:00.000-07:00

my sweet niece is growing up so fast! she is constantly on the go, exploring around, moving objects from one place to another, figuring out remote controls, very busy this one.

ASIA : PART ONE : INDONESIA

2010-09-28T16:33:00.000-07:00

our first meal upon arrival in Surabaya, Indonesia. awesome seafood restaurant with bamboo dining huts built on top of a lake. we had crab, sweet and spicy shrimp on skewers, squid on skewers, crispy fish, morning glory veggies, coconut juice, avocado smoothie. so tasty. Culturally, they eat with their hands. They taught us how to "scoop" the rice with our hands. i have to say it got pretty messy for Tae and I. :P but luckily there was a bamboo faucet attached to the hut with soap provided in a mesh stocking.

the dessert street vendor. such a simple setup : one stove and cutting table. this place only makes these crepe-like desserts. one is thin and crispy with chocolate and cheese filling. the other is deep dish with chocolate and crushed peanuts. i liked the thin ones. they were so crispy and chewy at the same time. i didnt think i would like the chocolate and cheese combo but surprisingly i did. the cheese was mild and it added a kick of salty to the sweetness.

the super duper hole in the wall, must-have, fried egg place. Stephen raved and raved that this was the best fried egg place ever. he did add a side note that the reason it was soooo delish was because of the "oil" they use. supposedly, they never change their oil and so the oil has become darkkk brown, on the verge of black. yum. that was the "secret ingredient". when our food came out, Tae asked where the egg was. Stephen pointed to it. we seriously did not recognize it was an egg cuz it was so brown. he mentioned that our stomachs would probably hate us the next day but to eat it anyway. So we did. we added lots of chili sauce and kecap (this sweet soy sauce, mega condiment in Indo, really good actually). It did taste good when I didnt think about the oil it was fried in, nor focus on the mosquitoes tearing up my legs. :) our stomachs were fine the next day too. Stephen told us afterwards that not even his cousin (a native Indonesian) would eat at that place. awesome.

the top photos are of these crispy fried dough half moons with sugar crystals embellished on top. it was really good and fun to eat, breaking apart each piece, similar to breaking up a piece of a kit kat bar. we ate with it, intestine (everything cow parts) soup. i wasnt crazy about that one i have to say.

picking up fresh coconut juice on the side of the road, chopped open right there for you. next, a tuk tuk (a 3 wheeler cab) driver waiting for customers. main mode of transportation are these motorbikes. at times they ride with an entire family onboard plus luggage! small children, 2 or 3 yrs old chillin in the front or back too.

Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population and we were there during Ramadan (the month of fasting, click on link for full description). They fast from dawn to sunset everyday for the entire month. They held a Ramadan street festival for people to enjoy with food to eat after the sun has set. We got to browse around all the vendors. we bought a piece of cake only made during Ramadan.

a view behind all the festivities. children floating along down the river in a wooden canoe.

we flew into Banjarmasin, another island in Indo. 5am the next morning, we were up and ready to go on a boat ride on the river. yes, that early! the floating market happens from 5-7am. the water looked nice during those hours since daylight hadn't peeked out yet. slowly the sky got brighter as the water looked browner. there were small houses all along the river where the residents utilized the river in multiple ways. some ways i'd rather not say. :P the floating market was really cool to experience. i loved all the bright colors of garments that complimented the fresh fruit. we bought watermelon, pineapple, bananas and berries.

we sailed along and reached the monkey island. ive never seen so many monkeys in one place before. there were hundreds. they were waiting in this area to be fed by boat passengers. they knew we were coming and so we tossed them a bunch of bananas. things got wild.

alongside a hot food boat with all sorts of fritters, donuts, packaged spicy chicken with rice and hot tea. the man on the food boat handed us a long stick with a metal toothpick-like thing on the end to grab the food with and dip into the sauce. pretty handy. below, our boat driver stopping by a floating gas station to fill up on.

tuk tuk going uphill

back in Surabaya. our last meal in Indo before heading out to Bangkok. a plate of corn fritters, eggplant, veggies, egg. and on the right, a plate of steaming hot fried tofu. there were a few other meals that i did not photograph during the trip because i couldnt stomach them. like turtle satay, frog, and rotisserie pigeon. new yorkers don't eat pigeon, is all i have to say about that one. Stephen has turtle pets so i asked him how that works out. His response was easy peasy: "it's all ok. my turtles are the cute ones and the ones i eat are the ugly ones". that didnt make things any better.

off to Bangkok! view of Surabaya from the sky. It was great to really experience the culture there and great to see good friends. Opened my eyes to a whole different way of living. thx Stephen and Sally! Bangkok photos to come! Just got back from NY as well. lots to blog. :)

subliminal message?

2010-09-13T15:48:00.000-07:00

havent blogged in a while! we were in the midst of packing, moving, unpacking, traveling to asia, unpacking again, getting over jet lag...took this shot right after we settled into our new place, taking a breather over some wine and cheese. tae chose this wine specifically for the packaging...hmm...i like it! :) i'll be posting photos of our asia trip soon!

happy that some things never change

2010-07-30T14:16:00.000-07:00

with very little change, keeping things original at Philippe, one of the oldest grub spots for French dipped sandwiches in LA. my fav was the 0.09 cents coffee! the taste wasn't the finest but 0.09 cents coffee?!!! psychologically it tasted great! the strawberry icecream was super creamy and tasty. not to forget that the counter ladies were too adorable! the upstairs seating was in little classrooms! at the end of our sugar + caffeine fix, i couldnt help but add my cousin, Yuj, and i to the brick wall. :) you can read more about their history here : http://www.philippes.com/

OLVERA STREET

2010-07-27T12:05:00.000-07:00

ALL SORTS OF FUN

2010-07-24T15:22:00.000-07:00

these window illustrations were so eye catching. i couldnt resist walking in the movie shop full of all sorts of fun. the categorized plastic signs were hand written and hand drawn too! it's these personal touches that make me want to be a regular. Only if it were closer!

side update: has been a while since i wrote a post! i've been busy these days with a new project that im really excited about. i hope to share it with you all by the end of this year! ;) i'll try to post regularly here again!

FLYINGGG SAUCERSSS

2010-07-07T12:10:00.001-07:00

found a cute spot to chillax in santa monica: Flying Saucers, high on caffeine and sweets. jumpy jittery! walls of art for sale in the cafe, i like that. (last photo: thought the floor tiles were interesting for some reason. looks like a silhouette of a bearded guy with dreads, attacked by paintballs. it is so..)

handmade goodness

2010-06-29T08:44:00.000-07:00

Wax Tailor feat. Charlie Winston " I Own You" from SoLab on Vimeo.

THIS JUST ABOUT BLEW MY MIND! I AM IN LOVE WITH THIS MUSIC VIDEO. SO CREATIVE AND REFRESHING! tons of details to take note of. the door bell is my fav. love. must watch the making of video below! amazing.

Making of - Wax Tailor feat. Charlie Winston "I own you" from SoLab on Vimeo.

dark + bold SPIKE OF ENERGY

2010-06-25T17:09:00.000-07:00

strong coffee, me like. decadent cookie, double me likes...chillin in LA with my cousin, Yuj.

you're still my cool dad

2010-06-20T21:33:00.000-07:00

taken by Umma (momma) in Central Park, where i would draw on the grass all day with Appa (dad). Passionate about art + photography, you lead the way. the more i get to know you, the cooler you get. i love hearing your stories. miss you!