Thanksgiving is an interesting holiday for us. Neither of us grew up in the states so we don’t have much of the sentiment and anticipation everyone around us seems to have yet it’s one of the few American holidays that we can genuinely take a part of… (who wouldn’t love the day to be thankful for friends and families:)
In last minute, we decided to get together at my parents’ house. My parents are…funny? In recent years I came to realize that they are really clumsy with their words. On our wedding day, both of them dropped a few words that were not appropriate at all right before I walked down the aisle. When we first told them about the baby a few weeks ago, of course they really did not know how to react to the news either.
So when we arrived at their home on Thanksgiving day, I was touched to see my mom cooking “osekihan” along with other homemade dish. We spent the night and hang out with parents and my two younger sisters (plus a boyfriend) all next day.
It was simply… nice.
We practiced golf together (mostly my dad and my little sister were giving Frido tips), had a lovely lunch made by my sis’s boyfriend on the little family boat (I had funny feeling about him but he proves to be a good guy… I mean, he cooks for her. can’t ask for more). We took a long evening walk with three dogs…
They still said few questionable things in between…like “you can visit us with the baby but don’t think you can leave the baby behind like you do with Shep”. But there were few nice moments like my dad saying, “I would like to get to know Frido better. Maybe you can visit us more often?”
We will probably never become the touchy-feely kind of family who gives hugs and calls each other every single day but I am thankful for my family just the way they are. Maybe I am getting old enough to pick up the subtle nuances between their words and our culture…or I simply got used to the way they are. Either way, I felt so comfortable it was hard for me to leave their house.
cheers:)
Few weeks ago, we found out that we are having a baby (!!!) in the near future (June 2010 to be precise). It came as a little surprise. We knew we would love to grow our family someday but did not realize it was happening next year! But as the news settled in our stomach (more on mine than his, as you could imagine), we have been filled with the happiness and the thrill of being newly parents. Being pregnant so far has been mostly fantastic! I feel a lot more synchronized with my internal voice. Nowadays when I get tired, I am really tired. This is quite an eye opening experience for slightly ADD multi-tasking kind of gal I am. I am learning how to slow down and live the life in the pace that is right for me and my body.
Along the way we quickly made a few executive decisions to make the experience as healthy as possible. One of the big decisions we made was for me to come home from Seattle. We thought about other options but it was so sweet of Frido to tell me that he would like to see me grow and give us (me+baby) as much support as possible. Well… who can say no to that?
These days, our motto is “Just because I can do it does not mean I should do it”. I think it’s super important to remember… all these technologies really empower us to do things in the way that we could not imagine 5 or 10 years ago… but that doesn’t mean our body has gained the super power to keep up with it and adopt the super lifestyle. So moving forward with the bumps in our life…something to remember and think about.
Today I would like to thank all my friends and families who are always there for us and with us (virtually and physically).
I am also very thankful for the happy bumps in our life. I can’t wait to start all the mini projects for the little one! Currently the baby blanket is work in progress:)
Happy thanksgiving everyone!
So I have this amazing friends Jane+Dale who just designed and produced their first design baby THE PUNCH CARD!
I’ve known of them for a long time. We started our Art Center life together. She was my bridesmaid. Frido and I traveled to Japan with them last December! We love having them as guests for our annual goose dinner… and let’s not forget they have beautiful twin babies now:)
…and what they say on their “about” page is so true. When Frido and I were visiting their house in San Diego two or three years ago, they showed us all the gifts they had exchanged for many many birthdays and other special occasions. These gifts (and yes! many of them were cards…) were impeccably designed, intricate and full of meanings, they were true treasure of their lives. We even teased them that Dale should go into the business of helping other men in the world who just don’t know how to give special gifts to their girlfriends and wives.
So when we received the first Punch Card about a month ago, I was thrilled! They come in super eye catchy colors, they are fun to play with (you get to punch your own letters) and challenges your creative juice to come up with how to say something meaningful in 3 letters!
If you haven’t figured out your holiday cards, these might be fun alternatives! Something different to add a new twist to the “card giving” rituals:)
I almost forgot about this! I woke up around 2am after having this dream…then I thought to my self, “I should write about it” and almost entirely forgot that I even had a dream when I woke up this morning. Glad it came back to me.
The dream was about our expectations and happiness. How we expect so much for everything in our life and as a result we end up experiencing a series of disappointments.
Perfect holidays, really funny TV shows, amazing dinner, one of the kind vacation, dream family… and on and on and on.
Yes, of course. These are awesome to come around but not to be taken as granted…as if they were expected. The dream ended with me feeling okay with things being simple…being happy with normal.
Reflecting my dream, few things I want to remember for next few weeks:
- Don’t try to be perfect. It’s okay to take it easy sometimes.
- Being happy with what I already have is totally acceptable:)
- Things don’t have to be great for everyone else. They just need to be right for us.
- Let go…
These were all I could think of right now but If you have something else to add, let me know. Now I am back to my work area cleaning. Simplify, simplify…
Hope you are enjoying your weekend.
I took a long walk through the canyon last weekend with Shep. This canyon is a special place for us. Even before I met Frido and moved to (literally) right behind the canyon (I was so lucky to have met a guy who had lived next to my favorite canyon), Shep and I had always taken a walk there. We’ve seen one day start with a dewy air and another day end with a crisp wind. Over the years we found our secret spots, favorite trees and a perfect lumber to sit down.
I think it’s super important for everyone to have a special place nearby… somewhere accessible. To me… this canyon takes me in and embrace me no matter how my day is going and I always feel million times better when I come out it. We’re now looking for a house to buy so we will probably have to move away from this canyon… I hope Shep and I will find our next special place nearby our future home… It will be different but we will make it special:)
p.s. Right now we’re going through quite bit of transition that is inspiring and also super exhausting all at the same time. There are so many words and thoughts coming out but I am waiting for the dust to settle down… I am hoping to get back to the regular pace of posting in a week or two… stay tuned:)
There is so much happiness in the house…
I haven’t written much this week partially because I left my camera cable in Seattle (therefore no photos can be uploaded from my good camera) and partially I’ve been under the weather in the whirlpool of the world. I’m doing better now. I guess I needed a good dose of sleep and healthy food at home.
We have a lot going on in our life right now so we’re in the observation and refection mode more than documentation mode. It’s important to have these moments, don’t you think? Time to incubate future ideas and thoughts. Sometimes working from home feels little too quiet but I think I need this to find balance.
More to come soon…
Photos from Lisa’s wedding is up on Erin Hearts Court’s blog! They came out lovely and more! Here are some pics from their blog with some back story.
When we went shopping at Flower Market in downtown, we absolutely fell in love with dahlia especially in vintage rustic colors. So our flower arrangement and bouquet naturally evolved around them.
She was such a pretty bride. Here is the pic with the bouquet I was talking about a while ago. We made it proportionally vertical to match with the silhouette of her dress. Her dad was so happy when he saw the bouquet finished a day before. He told me that “it looks like French bouquet”. I took it as a compliment:)
At the entrance of the backyard reception. The wooden sign was designed and made by a Japanese graphic designer Lisa is working in Tokyo. We accompanied the sign with more jars and flowers.
Here are the little gift jars as favors. I think it’s such a nice way to encapsulate the experience… After the wedding Frido and I came home with jar in each hand with our names on them:) We have them displayed in the living room.
We had so many jars. Some of them were tiny!!! They became nice small details on the table.
More on the tablescape. I can still smell all these flowers in my hand.
The lighting worked out quite nicely too. Combination of white Chinese lanterns and Christmas lights. Yoshi (the groom) called the lines of Christmas lights “shooting stars”. So cute!
All photos from Erin Hearts Court. Thanks Erin & Courtney for taking such wonderful photos! I love them and if you are interested, there are more here! You guys are a rock star couple.
After two weeks of adventure in Seattle, San Francisco and Portland…, I am finally back at home. I can’t wait to spend this coming week working from our L.A. home. We have one more big weekend coming up to facilitate a creative strategy workshop for Opportunity Green conference (well, this is mainly Frido’s gig. I am here to support) then we should be able to cruise and enjoy the fall.
Last few days in Portland was fun! Working with young and up-coming Art Center designers who are so talented… along with Frido and other Art Center faculties. I love being in the creative environment and I definitely had a full injection of that.
I know that the rest of the world tonight is all about Halloween… we’re going to hang out at home wearing matching bunny ears. It’s absolutely perfect.
p.s. I would like thank Marta of m.writes to mention STORY-OF on her blog. I look forward to reading her blog so it was lovely to be a part of her story!
I spent last two days in San Francisco to attend a design education related conference. (I blogged about it here). It was a great experience and I met some very smart people but I missed out on my regular weekend where I go home to recharge my energy. I am back to work tomorrow then head south to Portland on Tuesday afternoon to facilitate a design workshop with Frido and the team for the rest of week.
I love having a variety of responsibility and tasks. I also think it’s great to be able to work from so many different locations. Change of pace and scenery always energize my creativity and productivity. But recently I am starting to wonder about the threshold of how much inconsistency is too much and how the constant change in my life is affecting my internal system.
This morning in S.F. I came to realize… that’s probably why I have difficulty sleeping through the night. (at least one of the many reasons). I never paid attention to how irregular my bed time has been. Sometimes I am writing a blog until way after midnight… sometimes I am totally out by 9. I never realized it because I am going back and fourth between two homes. I am like a nomad who don’t follow any set of house rules.
So I am in the mission of getting my 8 hour sleep back! I need to regain a new routine, re-educate my system and stick with it… no matter where I am at.
Life is meant to change consistently. So I need to check in with myself time to time to continuously adopt healthy routines and cultivate rituals with friends and families so that the life stays rich and meaningful.
Did I mention that my roommate Suzanne has been baking biscotti every weekend? Where am I going to find another roommate like you? Seriouly.
something change and others remain constant.
I am trying to embrace the autumn even though it seems to quickly change its color into a long winter. How are you doing with the change? Any tips you can share to get through some of those gray days?
In a week or so, I am celebrating my 1 year anniversary of living part-time in Seattle. I can’t help to feel slightly wowed by the effect of 365 days. I remember not knowing anything about Seattle. I remember not having a car and walking to Trader Joe’s in the cold evening (took me an hour and my paper bag broke on the way home). I remember feeling very uncertain. I remember being overwhelmed to adapt a totally new lifestyle.
Hey, but time goes on and we figure things out as we go.
I know it’s not really a magic because I remember overcoming all these things. It wasn’t like I woke up one day and everything became perfect.
But still… I think time does resolve a lot things…
I’m looking forward to the next 365 days as I am certain that they will not be boring and I know that I will feel much more changes to come within our life.
We enjoyed hosting a raclette dinner yesterday with friends who took us to the Burning Man. I love this dish. So easy with a maximum effect! We keep reinventing the ingredients every time we do this. This time we introduced potato chips for the first time!!! Potato chips grilled with raclette cheese… yum…
I was totally cheesed out at the end. It’s so tasty and I must admit that I usually try to convince myself that most of the stuff I ate was vegetables not cheese - which is a total lie.
We’re starting to plan our annual goose dinner too. (This is our 5th!) Currently the invite list is getting put together… I have few thoughts about little gifts to give to our guests. This must be the funnest part of the holiday. Getting together with friends and cooking and sharing meals with them.
Shep and I took a morning walk through the canyon. We have a heatwave here in LA! I am not complaining:)
