The Senakams: Corgi + 2

Brunch with Bryson and Gang

It's been such a hectic week, I can't believe it's only Wednesday! Let's see what's going on...

I'm getting ready for a work trip to Chicago next week; trying to communicate (emphasis on the "trying" part) with my family which is scattered around the world in Seattle/ Hong Kong/ Boston about a family trip to Maine in October; and re-embracing my creative life, by signing up (finally!) for the Gocco swap among other projects that seem to have sprung up all at once at the same time from out of nowhere. Whew! I feel tired just typing it all out.

So, looking back at these photos from last weekend when things were all fun and relaxed, it somehow feels like centuries ago.

This past Saturday there was a fund-raiser for an animal adoption agency, so my friends and I thought it'd be great to take our pooches (plus Picasso, who was staying with us) to grab some brunch and go do some good deed for the less fortunate pooches. Yes, that's 3 chicks + 4 dogs that want to go in 4 different directions simutaneously.

In the end, we were able to get them under control, and actually ended up enjoying a great day out, doing lots of eating and shopping (and a little bit of fund-raising- oops, got a little carried away). I'm already in need of the next weekend :)

Sit for your treat (and no stealing, Xena)! 

I may seem like a psycho sometimes (especially when the car stops moving), but I do have a tender, loving, adorable side :D

We're starving! Where's our eggs benedict and mimosas?!

I miss my friends...

Check out our Flickr album for more photos of the day.

New Lens! Test Photos

I finally plunked down the cold hard cash (uh hmm) and got myself the 50mm f1.8 portrait lens!

Backtracking a bit (rewind, rewind...). Ever since I got my first SLR last year, I've been contemplating "upgrading" to a more specialized lens. But then I was shocked to find that there are as many choices on the market as there are riders on a Japanese rush-hour bullet train. And they're advertised with all different kinds of bells and whistles with big price tags to match. I've since gone into a analysis-to-paralysis state.

But recently talking to someone in the know, who has also kindly let me play with his 50mm lens (a f1.4 one) which yielded photos like this one, I'm instantly sold! (The $85 price tag of the one I got didn't hurt either)

And now I got this hot little piece of lens in my hands, we got to try it out today! I obviously still have a lot of learnings to do and adjustments to make (e.g. realizing that you have to constantly move back and forth with a lens that doesn't zoom, which I have conveniently forgotten about).

And even though photography has gotten a bit more aerobic for me, judging from these preliminary results, I'm ecstatic :D

 

Check out our Flickr album for more test photos!

Field Trip: a Berkeley Print Shop

You probably know that I'm still taking my weekly letterpress class, even though I'm not horribly productive lately due to my grim prognosis from Blackberry-itis.

So, I was relieved that for last weekend's class, instead of having to call in sick again since I can barely hold a pen, that we're going on a "field trip" to one of our teacher's fellow printers in Berkeley.

But since I've missed so many classes, I have no idea where we're going, except that this is also where our film (for our photopolymer plates) come from.

And there I thought, Great, we're going to watch someone make film in a dark room for 3 hours... whoopie doo...

So, imagine what a pleasant surprise it was when I realized our destination is this lively printing studio with 30+ years of colorful Berkeley-an history; and right at the door greeting us were owners and printing world celebrities, David Goines (of Saint Hieronymus Press) and Richard Seibert (of Letterpress)!

Geez, do I feel stupid now thinking we're going to watch film dry...

And as soon as we stepped in, our excitement continued to bubble as we laid eyes on the studio lined with all sorts of working presses and printing paraphernalia, smelling fondly of paper and ink and grease, and packed to the gills with the most fantastic lithographs and printed work as far as the eye can see. 

 

David and Richard are the most gracious hosts, taking us gaggle of students all around the studio, explaining their artistic approach and their preferred printing process (David does mostly lithograph, whereas Richard does mainly letterpress), and answering our endless questions patiently. They've only resorted to an ever slightly menacing tone when asked how their apprentice program works (well, suffice to say I'll never be accepted here, ever).

 

We were fasincated by the work produced through the years here, many of which are immediately recognizable, including posters/art work for the internationally acclaimed "Mother of Californian Cuisine", Chez Panisse, the logotype of Acme Bread, Ravenswood Winery, and business cards and logos for countless businesses big and small that share the common theme of having their roots here in the San Francisco Bay Area. 

We had such a wonderful time that we didn't even realize we're at the end of our visit till we had our hands shaken and were kindly shown the way out. But not before we were each handed our own goodie bag, packed with parting gifts and wisdom from Richard and David!

What? You got a goodie bag?! You lucky bastard!! What's in it? Uh hmm. Can't tell you, or you'll die with jealousy! *evil chuckle*

I'll just say that what we've received today will enrich and inspire our printing endeavors for many years to come.

P.S. Oh, and yes, we did get to watch film being processed. And yes, it would have been painful if we had to watch that for 3 hours.

For more photos of this fantastic field trip, visit my Flickr album.

Gocco Swap

OK, I'm feeling like a total uninspired slacker now. I haven't done anything creative since this project. My craft table is gathering dust. My etsy store is sporting cobwebs.

My right brain is practically atrophy-ing as we speak. Bleh.

I partly blame that on this nagging tendonitis on my wrist. It started a month ago when one morning I was awaken by this intense pain in my wrist, followed by a realization that I couldn barely move my thumb at all. In other words, I've been inflicted with this common ailment known as Blackberry-itis.

There are days I have to resort to wearing geriatric-ish elastic waist pants coz zipping up my jeans just gets too darn hard. Yes, I'm pretty pathetic.

Well, you may ask "What the hell are you doing typing this when you could have saved your wrist, you dummy?!" The answer is compared to the amount of typing and powerpointing I do for work, this is really nothing. And writing the blog helps me decompress after long work days. So there really isn't a choice.

So imagine my mixed emotions when 2 of my blog friends invited me to join in on this Gocco love fest, aka the Art of the Note Gocco Swap?

(Remember, my cautious little gocco experiment on New Year's Day?)

I really like the idea of promoting the art of the handwritten note, practically a lost art these days.

How the swap works is that each participant will be paired up with 10-12 other Gocco-enthusiasts, and each member will Gocco a set of note cards, then send each other 4-8 of their own cards and in turn receive these goodies from their swap-mates.

I am torn if I should join.

First, there is the tendonitis. Then, there's this this fear that those who're unfortunate enough to be paired up with me will feel totally jipped!

I mean, just look at the quality of some of the work produced during the last round of the Mid-Winter Swap! These are beautiful work and clearly not produced by rookies like me. Remember this is what I've done (smudges and all):

OK, maybe it doesn't look that bad, it's just not as "clean" as I'd like them to be. Maybe I just need to read the darn manual one more time.

Or, maybe I just need to get over that eerily perfectionistic over-achiever altered ego coupled with an insane insecurity complex and just give it a try.

But heck, I can totally blame that on being Chinese and therefore bred with over-achievism in my blood. In our family, you're either an over-achiever (aka "barely OK" according to your mom and dad) or a complete loser. (Family: you can totally attest to this one)

Anyway, that's a totally different topic that I can go on about for hours. But for now, I'm gonna rest my wrist, in case there's some gocco'ing to do in the near future.

Lazy 4th Weekend

Hope everyone had a good 4th of July weekend! We had all kinds of big plans, but with the crazy work schedule last week, we ended up abadoning all ambitions and just had a lazy (but even better) one.

For Friday and Saturday, me and my girlfriends were supposed to have a movie/spa/slumber party. But by Thursday, we realized we were kidding ourserlves to think that we'd have the energy to plan for anything (other than the slumber part, perhaps). So what did we do?

We shopped till we dropped (look at these shoes!), ate spicy Korean Tofu soup (yummm), drank a few bottles of good wine, chatted till we were incoherent, and fell into a deep slumber. Woke up the next morning still buzzed, nursed that with some strong coffee and greasy breakfast, and shopped some more. In other words, we had a perfect 2-day girlfriend get-together.

So glad I found these this weekend at Jeremy's! Aren't these the cutest and funkiest shoes ever? Reminds me of an old bathroom mat we used to have when I was a kid.

Then, on Sunday, Hubby and I got an invitation to take the 45-min drive out to Half Moon Bay to hang out with Brian, Rita and Picasso, who're spending some R&R time at this picturesque coastal town (which you may be familiar with if (a) you've seen American Pie 3, that's where Jimbo and Michelle got married at, or (b) you're a surfer and know what the Mavericks is).

We had a grand ole time at the Miramar Beach (near Half Moon Bay), where the dogs could run around the beach and play in the surf. I don't think this beach is officially an off-leash beach, but seeing that most every dog is sans leash, we figured we have safety in numbers (or we can run away really fast).

 

Crazy cross-eyed Bryson- life is tough when your mommy's luring you to pose for treats while the surf is looming dangerously close!

 
Bryson and Picasso in a mid-surf hug, just in case the other got swept away. "Duuuude, I'll miss you..."

(For more photos of the beach boys, check out our Flickr album)

After frolicking at the beach, we headed over to the famous Half Moon Bay Brewery for a microbrew and beach food. By this time the fog finally burnt off, so we could hang out on the sunny patio and not freeze our tushies off. This place is super laid-back and dog-friendly (think surfer-chic), there're probably at least two or more dogs under each and every table. We stuffed our face with ceviche and fish stew, and washed it down with pints of the most delicious amber ale. *BURRRP* 

Abadoning earler plans to continue down the coast to Santa Cruz after lunch, we made a sharp U-turn, drove our lazy asses home, and took a looong nap. Life is good.

Test Your Travel IQ!

I've been glued to my laptop this whole week, slaving away at project after project; but thanks God I have the case of red wine we got last week (there're still a few bottles left, I swear), plus this awesome Travel IQ test on tripadvisor I just discovered to keep me sane! (Yes, it's great to work from home, hmm...)

Click on this link or the screenshot below to launch your own test and you can see if you're as savvy a traveler as you think you are!

But don't say I didn't warn you, this is highly addictive and may cause drowsiness (after you've spent half a day trying to set and break new records while competing with your spouse who just won't admit you're the smarter spouse, har har!).

Do come back and tell me what your Travel IQ is! Can't wait to see if you know where Timbuktu is... :D

Wine Tasting with the Boys!

As promised in the last post, here's a recap of the fantastic wine tasting trip we went on with Brian, Rita, and the boys last weekend where we all had such a blast (and buzz).

Before making the 40-minute drive to the Livermore Valley wine country, the smaller and lesser-known little cousin to the famous Napa Valley 1.5 hr to the north, Rita hands out treats to Bryson and Picasso in exchange for good behavior when we get to the wineries (don't wanna ruin it for all the future canine visitors!). We're not huge wine snobs, just psyched that we can take these guys along to these dog-friendly wineries so close to home!

Livermore Valley Cellar was the first winery we hit. They're in a tiny little shack in the middle of a housing development, kinda a strange place for a winery. But they more than make up for it by making some damn good big-ass zin's. Check out their appropriately-named "Derriere Series" with names like "caboose" and "weigh behind". Cute. We also got their arcanum (a cab/merlot/syrah blend) and syrah, both are super yummy. Just thinking about them now make me crave a filet mignon or lamb chop, hmm... (*salivating*).

**At last check, LVC's website is loaded with viruses! Visitors beware**

Anyway, back to our wine-tasting day last weekend. It was a super hot day and LVC just wasn't big enough to accomodate all of us + Bryson and Picasso (all squeezed inside for the free A/C, of course), so we headed over to Tenuta Winery a few minutes away.

Brian and Rita told us the best thing about this winery (apart from being dog-friendly, as is LVC) is that they do barrel tasting. We've never done it before, and we're very happy to learn that this is how you get "first dips" at a good deal. Basically, you taste the wine when it's still in the barrels, then buy them as "futures" if you like them (i.e. paying a discounted price now and pick up when they're commercially released, usually a few months later).

And that's just what we did when we got there. We got to taste a really awesome primativo (essentially same thing as a zin, as I understand it), which we got for 30% (+ another 20% off since we got a case) off the final retail price. The down side of course is that we'll be thinking about it every day till we can actually get our hands on it when it's released this fall. *sigh*

 

The picture above on the left is the public tasting room, and the one to the right is our "private tour" to the barrel room in the back, which the boys enjoyed very much, being able to sniff out all the weird smells of fermenting grapes and wet oak barrels (they probably wonder why we like such foul-smelling stuff, just like we wonder why they like to roll in poop, ha ha).

And I have to say being taken "back stage" to the barrel room by the very patient and friendly Rich, seeing the inner workings of a small family-owned winery, tasting wines straight out of the barrel, and doing all that with our dogs by our side was a pretty unique experience. 

They've also invited us back during harvest season to process grapes with them- no stomping grapes I-Love-Lucy-style though (how disappointing!), but we'll be working the machines that pick grapes, and learn how they're pressed and processed. In turn we'll get a couple bottle of wines as our "wages" for the day. How fun is that?! (Fellow Bay Area residents- wanna bring your pooches and come join us? :>)

And below is Bryson before and after a nice glass of primativo. ("Nice buzz...")

Check out our Flickr album for more photos from this fantastic day!

And Then There was Sun

I came back from a short business trip to Phoenix yesterday (where it was a balmy 113 F), and found the much anticipated Flor sample box laying neatly at my door step...

I threw my luggage aside and ripped into the box with breath abated... And voila! The samples turn out to be the exact, vibrant-hued mini-suns that I sooooo hoped they would be! Yay!!

Aren't they gorgeous? Ooh, I'm in love.

I'm completely exhausted from my trip, but I have so much I want to write about besides these adorable little things...

Here's a short list, and I promise I'll fill these in once I dig myself out of this pile of work I'm buried in:

(1) Bye bye, Corgi Artist

Last week we said goodbye to one of the world's greatest children's book author, Tasha Tudor, who penned a series of the most beautiful and imagative illustrated stories about corgis (yes, corgis!), e.g. Corgiville Fair. You can read more about her story on this blog post by Cathy Santasiero, another most respected corgi illustrator/lover.

(2) Picasso and Bryson went "Sideways"

The duo went wine-tasting last weekend! No kidding! Brian and Rita (Picasso's people) found these 2 small wineries in Livermore, CA that has the greatest wines AND also allow dogs in their wineries. We had such a great time, more photos to come.

(3) I have a Genetic Match in... Singapore? 

I submitted my DNA to the National Geographic's Genographic Project just for fun, and I got some surprising results back- there is ONE perfect match- someone who resides in Singapore. They even sent me her name and e-mail. Apparently we are related through a common ancestor thousands of years ago. I have no idea who she is, but I'll write her and find out. More to follow. 

And if you don't know what the Genographic Project is, read about it from the link above. It's potentially one of the most significant piece of work being done with the human genome that'll hopefully answer once and for all the question where we all came from- and you can contribute by sending in your own DNA. Most fascinating stuff.

"Your Dog Terrifies Me"

I've just had one of the weirdest encounters with a neighbor about Bryson, I feel obliged to share.

This neighbor in question lives down the hall (a renter who moved in recently), who told us once to our face "your dog terrifies me".

We totally thought she was joking. I mean, FEROCIOUS Bryson? The Bryson's who's spooked by a falling piece of lettuce, and stays 1000 yards away from the barking chihuahua? Sure, he has his "ferocious" moments with food (just look at that scary, scary picture of him). We really thought she was joking.

So, we didn't think much of it until...

Today, being unusually hot, we left our door ajar, and Bryson slipped outside to sit in the hallway where it's cooler. We've always thought that's cool coz all our neighbors adore him and constantly want to pet and hug him...

Well, apparently, all except for one. And today, with the aid of the soaring temperatures, things got to a boiling point...

8 p.m. ("knock knock" on our front door)

Me: Coming! (thinking it was our other neighbor wanting to ask us for opinion on his remodeling job, a common and most welcomed occurence these days)

Terrified neighbor (clutching a shopping bag with white knuckles, shows up outside our door and appearing about to either cry or throw up or both): Excuse me, but I think it's WRONG that your dog is out here by itself when you're not here.

Me: Huh?! Come again? (OK, I didn't say come again even though I wanted to). But he wasn't doing anything! (pointing at Bryson, who's half asleep with one eye open, checking out to see what the commotion was about)

Terrified neighbor: I'm afraid your dog might jump me. You shouldn't leave your dog unsupervised, ever! (inching closer to her unit, still clutching bag with white knuckles)

Me: Er, but I just went in to get a glass of water (untrue, I was kicking my legs up watching "Who's Wedding is it Anyway?" on Tivo).

Terrified neighbor (desperately trying to get to her door while staying at least 15 feet from Bryson, who's lazily scratching his ear, which sends her flinching): No you're not, I've been standing out here for the last 5 minutes.

Me (trying very hard to stifle a giggle): What?.... why have you been standing...? Anyway, I'm sorry you're afraid..... Errr... (the nice part of me wanted to suggest she sees a shrink, while the evil part of me thought perhaps I should toss a treat her way, just to see what happens...)

Terrified neighbor (made a mad dash to her door, threw us one last furtive look and slammed the door shut)

OK, I guess she's not kidding when she said she was terrified of Bryson. And I get it, phobias are hard to overcome, and they're sometimes irrational and out of the person's control (I'm really trying to be kind here).

But all that aggressive energy thrown at us (on a particularly hot day, mind you) for nothing in particular that we have done is just a bit much.

So, when I see her next, should I (a) suggest group counseling with Bryson on her lap? (b) hide a treat in the hem of her pants?

"I didn't do it. I swear. Just look into my eyes."

FLOR & Alexander Girard

Buried deep in the massive pile of junk mail we got when we returned from Seattle was this little treasure that I almost tossed out- a catalog from FLOR.

I know, you're thinking, Gimme a break, just another FLOR catalog, geez... You've seen these ubiquitous removable carpet tiles a thousand times on just about every home improvement show, so What's the big deal, eh??

Well, this FLOR catalog immediately grabbed my eye, coz this time there's something new and noteworthy (not that the concept of removable carpet tile is old and stale, but their own designs are just a tad... well, for a lack of better word, suburban at times). 

But this time, they totally hit the mark- they've partnered with the iconic Alexander Girard, the legendary American textile designer that popularize that graphic/folk-art style that we've come to associate with the 50's and 60's.

And the result is just splendid. Just look at these fun and quirky La Fonda del Sol tiles, how can you not be happy staring at a floor like this? Even I who am not a huge mid-century mod fan have to give my nod of approval.

They're a bit pricey at $159.99 for 6 rugs (each is 19" x 19"), but with the intense color you probably want to use it as an area rug rather than covering an entire room anyway, and you can mix and match it with other solid colors for a more variegated look while staying cost efficient. I'm already thinking where these would go in our home... hmm....

And you know what's even better than these tiles? I found out that they sell mini versions (6" x 6") of these tiles as sample swatches, for a reasonable price of $6 for 6!

I immediately plunked down this whopping chunk of cyber cash and purchased myself a set of these lovely sun-faces. I hope to hang them as mini wall art to spruce up my home office that is screaming out for more life and vibrancy.

The online UPS tracker tells me my package is inching its way on Ground service all the way across the country from Georgia, and I should be expecting them in a week (I just checked and they're in Hodgkins, IL as of 5:50 a.m. today, woo hoo!).

I just hope they will be what I expect (a mini-sun vs a-quarter-of-a-sun...) and worth the wait. Will post them once I receive them in the mail. Keep you fingers crossed for me!

In Need of R&R

I've had such a hellacious week. Where should I begin...

Well, it all started last weekend in Seattle. At my friend's fantabulous big fat Vietnamese-Jewish wedding, after a few drinks (and maybe a few too many), I was encouraged to join the hora, which (to my horror), was a ghastly mistake. I came home and realized I had a twisted and swollen knee the following morning (I swear I wasn't that drunk).  

We got home to San Francisco OK (coz hubby was carrying every piece of luggage), but the following morning, I couldn't walk. If that's not bad enough, I have to cover a medical conference that starts at 7:30 that morning. Argghh... I hobbled all over the sprawling convention center all day- in crutches.

And later that afternoon, my throat started feeling scratchy. Uh oh. I knew it! I forgot my Airborne on the way back coz I was so preoccupied with my knee. And the one time I forget, I get slammed with a nasty cold (not that I necessarily believe in this stuff, maybe it's all in my head but somehow it does work).

All I can say is bummed knee + raging infection + over-air-conditioned conference hall = hell.

Somehow I managed to survive the week, and actually started feeling better on Friday. Which was important coz Bryson has a playdate with Wally today :) We hung out at Los Gatos (just south of San Jose), and spent a balmy afternoon having brunch, drinking coffee at a streetside cafe, sampling yummy sorbet/gelato, and visiting this gargatuan candy store (puts Willy Wonka to shame, you have to see it to believe it). 

Yes, in summary, we ate continuously, all afternoon. A perfect way to provide some R&R (recuperation and recovery) to my ailing body. I feel much better now :)

Oh, and I forgot to bring my camera's memory stick. Duh. Photos courtesy of mrjoro will follow shortly. (Thanks in advance!)

And since I am lame and don't have photos from today, I'll resort to cheating and post some old photos of Bryson and Picasso (figure this duo could never disappoint!).

The one above was when Picasso was staying with us last time. These two would not leave Jacques' side when he was cooking. The entire time he probably dropped one flake of onion skin and a piece of cilantro. But that was enough to get them back the next time.

Here's them in a rare tug-o-war (Bryson usually couldn't bother with games that don't involve food):

Added 6/18: Click on the photo below to see more pix by mrjoro on Flickr from our outing:

Make Your Own Book!

Hubby recently picked up a new magazine, called Everywhere.

On the surface, it looks like any good ol' travel magazine, with one notable exception- it doesn't have the traditional set of editors and contributors- everything is written by travelers (supposedly everyday janes and joes like you and me), who just happened to have written their own travelogue (or a blog), submitted them, and those that are accepted now have their stories printed on glossies and distributed around the world!

And while I was flipping through this issue, I secretly imagine snippets of our blog appearing somewhere on page 72... ("hmm, our little wine country trip with Bryson will fit right in here...") 

And people at Everywhere must have anticipated that- coz on the very next page, I found an ad for something that addresses precisely that little dream of mine- it's appropriately named Blurb, a web-based service that invite you to "be a part of the modern photoraphy book movement".

Yes! You can print your own coffee table book!

Imagine, just your own photos and musings (that you can arrange in a thousand different ways on its many templates), it can even transform your entire blog into a Blog Book, all printed on glossy paper in a hard-bound volume. Whoa...

And if you're already drooling (like me when I first read about it), think about this: it starts from $19.95/copy, even if you only print one for yourself (price goes up with fancier covers and increasing # of pages, of course). Just think about all the Christmas/birthday/annivesary presents potential here... Suh-weeeet.....

This is a screenshot of a "Travel Blog Book" idea I'm toying with.

Warning: this will suck away all your free time. 

(P.S. JuLo- now you can do your scrapbook AND a Blog Book! *evil chuckle* :D)

A Cherry Blossom Wedding in Seattle

Hello from Seattle!

Yep, we're in the Land of Perpetual Drizzle, my old stomping ground while attending college. We got here yesterday jetting through that familiar, grayish sky.

I don't know why, but the weather is invariably warm and sunny here whenever my Californian friends come up to visit, which of course never happens when a one-time native like myself is here. This has caused my friends to accuse me of  "always exaggerating about the foul weather here". Someone who lives in Seattle (uh hmm): please help me explain this conundrum!

Anyway, we're here to attend an old college friend's wedding in Bothell later on today (Sat), and since I've mentioned the Thank You cards I was letterpressing for this friend previously, thought I'd post some pictures of the finished product here.

By the way, these pristine cards travelled with me under my watchful eye all the way from San Francisco to Seattle (it just doesn't seem to make sense to mail them since I'll be flying up here, plus this way I can watch them like a hawk).

But of course, the perfect plan is never perfect. When we got to the security checkpoint at SFO, the X-ray lady had to practically pry them from my protective arms- and really, can you blame me, for the second she got it from me, she somehow felt the need to shake the darn box!

It wasn't until my husband stepped up to her, leaned slightly forward with that apologetic look, and whispered to her, "it's WEDDING stationary", with a sideway glance at his neurotic wife as if to say "if you don't give it back, she will explode into a tirade that will make us regret ever having this encounter", that the security person gave the slightest nod of understanding, and let my box go.

So, without further ado, here they are:

(1) Fresh off the letterpress. These are printed on the beautiful Italian pearlescent paper, Stardream, in opal. The raspberry color is chosen to compliment the red/gold theme in her invite, and to match the color of her gorgeous ao dai (Vietnamese gown) in the photo (see last photo).

 

(2) Putting all the elements together (note: the separate "thank you"s are also letterpressed, these on a matte paper, then torn into little pieces, then affixed to the letterpressed body with a gold acrylic medium).

(3) Ta da! All done! Oh by the way, the cherry blossom is my sketch, and the photo is adapted from an original by Mind Castle Studios. All copyrighted stuff, of course. Feel free to contact me if you'd like your own cherry-blossom themed wedding stationary!

OK, gotta go get ready now so we can actually attend this wedding. By the way, the sky's still gray. Oh well, ciao!

Sex and the City Movie- it's Here!

This past few weeks we've seen some historic moments- same-sex marriage is finally legal in California, the spacecraft Phoenix found ice on Mars, the Democratic party presidential candidate race is coming to an end, but...

Who on earth cares?! After a 4-year hiatus from the HBO show and months of anticipation, the Sex and the City Movie is finally here!!

I swear that the universe ground to a screeching halt this weekend, so me and my girlfriends (along with just about every woman who lives on this continent) could drop everything we were going, grab a cosmo, and head to the movie theater and indulge in a couple of hours of unadulterated SATC porn.

And boy, was it delicious. We laughed, we shrieked, we cried, and we shared napkins to dab away those tears that we knew we needn't feel embarrass about.

I know, those of you who aren't familiar with the show (i.e. men, the emotionally-challenged, or those who don't own a TV set) are probably thinking Gimme a break... 

What's the big deal, right? You know why it's a big deal? 

It's a big deal coz women of our generation "grew up" in our adulthood with this foursome. 

When the show first aired in 1998, I was in my twenties, and I have yet to meet my husband. Through the years, we've watched these 4 women experience lives in eerily familiar (well, and slightly exaggerated) ways mirror our own:

We watch each others fall in (and out of) love.

We talk about our men. And then we talk some more about men.

We spend inordinate amount of time and energy juggling career, family, friends, responsibilities- only to spend just as much time contemplating if we've done the right thing afterwards.

We go shopping for things we probably don't need, then complain our closets aren't big enough.

We debate which side of the bridge to live on (different bridge, same idea).

We have brunch on weekends and chat until the cows come home.

And, at a moment's notice, we will drop everything and go to a friend's rescue just so there's a shoulder to cry on.

Yep, that's about it. Oh, but also it doesn't hurt to live vicariously through others once in a while, watching Carrie and Co. wear thousand-dollar shoes, sip fancy cocktails and flirt with devlishly handsome men when you're home alone with a sea mud facial mask and curlers in your hair.

Oh, and this last photo is one of my favorite moments in the movie- any woman who can use a bouquet as a weapon while wearing a blue bird in her hair AND do so with such grace is my idol any day.

Memorial Day Extravaganza!

For some reason, 3-day weekends always feel shorter than a normal one.

I think it's because we always start out being overly ambitious, planning to do too much that at the end, we completely exhaust ourselves and feel like we didn't even have any time off.

Such is the case this Memorial Day weekend (some people just never learn). To recount events, we'll have to start from that gloomy Saturday morning...

It had rained all night and the morning was still sprinkly. We were disappointed coz we thought we might have to cancel plans to meet up at Point Isabel with Bryson's corgi half-brother, Wally.

Oh no, you forgot? It's Wally! Recall that we met this handsome boy at the SF corgi meet up last year, and one look told us him and Bryson are related- and upon chatting with his people, we realized they are indeed half-brothers, sharing the same mommy and probably just one litter apart! Remember this?

Anyway, the day eventually cleared up, and we were able to hang out and let the brothers reunite. You can tell from the photos (all taken by the very talented mrjoro) that they had a fantastic time!

It's pretty funny that even though Wally is younger and smaller, he's the more outgoing one that often end up "protecting" Bryson when doggie brawls break out around them. What a great brother!

And you won't believe who we ran into halfway into the walk... Picasso! The day just keeps getting better :)

We ended our day with a yummy brunch at Sunnyside Cafe on Solano in Albany. Their breakfast sampler menu changes every week, and they give you 1/2-orders of 4 of their specials + 2 mimosas + fruit cup for 2 to share, AND they're uber dog-friendly. You don't get a breakfast place better than this :)

 
Left: Peanut butter caramelized banana french toast, yummmmm!!
Right: Wally or Bryson waiting for scraps? (Try to resist clicking on it and cheat...)

And after laboring for 5 hours at the letterpress studio on Sunday, we headed out for another short day trip to old town Benicia on Monday. 

Benicia is small town fairly close to us (30 min. to the northeast), but for some reason, we never head that way and thus have never been there. But after reading a few articles about this charming little town, we decided it's time to hop into the car with Bryson and go check it out.

And Benicia is just as advertised- quaint, historic, and smells like the ocean.

We greatly enjoy a stroll on the main drag- First Street, having lunch at a streetside cafe, browsing the ubiquitous antique shop (some closed due to the holiday though), and snapping some pix of our boy (these Benicia photos are taken by moi).

And that's what we love about where we live, it doesn't matter how long we've lived here, there always seems to be an unlimited supply of little coastal towns waiting for us to discover- and plenty of unspoiled hydrants for Bryson to lift his leg at.

  

See our Flickr album for more pictures from our Benicia day.

The 80's Rock!!

Watching this last week's American Idol finale, I was shocked to see an almost-elderly George Michael perform... But... but wait... George Michael should always look like he did in Wake Me Up Before You Go Go! Was the 80's really that long ago?

The sad truth is, of course, it really was THAT long ago. Big round glasses, high-waisted tapered-leg pants are out- AND back in again.

When you see a trend in a magazine that makes you go "Hey, look, I used to wear that when I was in high school!"- you know you're officially OLD.

Sigh. Guess I might as well embrace it. To start, this is a picture of me "graduating" from my Outward Bound class in the summer of 1989. I hate to admit that nerdy, discheveled, disproportionate chick with zero fashion sense was me. But alas, it was.

And now, to celebrate my teenage years (LATE 80's/early 90's, may I clarify), I've put together this mixed tape (kudos to Heather Future) as a tribute to the years when you were allowed to and often do completely reckless and stupid things that you'll later regret. (You know you and I are in the same age group if you recognize any of these songs!)

And here are some more snap shots from these carefree yet moronic years:

 
Above left: Contrary to the photographer's intent, I was not picking my nose, uh hmm. This is our classroom in our secondary school, SPCC in Hong Kong. We just came back from lunch and waiting for class to resume. I haven't even changed out of my sneakers (our basketball team practiced during lunch). It is a funny combo with our traditional Chinese dress (cheung sam) uniform. But somehow we thought it was cool then.

Above right: Our Form 5 (equivalent to 11th grade) graduation. It was a big deal, coz having spent every school hour (in Hong Kong you stick to the same group of people for every single class) together for 2 whole years, some of us will be leaving to study abroad, and this would be the last day some of us would ever be standing together in a photo (but I'm very glad to say that 4 of these folks were at our wedding just a few years ago :>).

 
Every summer, our group of friends would ride an inter-island ferry and go "camping" (staying in a rental village cottage) in the "countryside" for a week or so. We relished these days away from our parents, when we'd play poker until 2 in the morning, then rise at the crack of dawn and ride our rental bikes out to watch the sun rise at the beach and lay there all morning.

OK, I have to admit, for each photo I posted here, there're probably 100 more that's too embarrassing to let in the public domain. For those of you who knew me back then and possess some of these black-mail material- well... Try me :P

Graduating Magna Cum Laude is...

Bryson in his advanced beginning agility class this past weekend. Woohoo!

Here's a video of his graduating run:

He's still at the slow-and-steady-wins-the-race stage as you can see, and at this early stage, he's taught to pause at the end of each contact equipment (teeter, a-frame and dog walk) as we're still practicing "contact" (touching his nose to the ground and getting a treat for it). The purpose is so that he'll know to finish off the equipment till the end, and not to jump off mid-way and risk getting hurt.

We mostly just enjoy watching his butts wiggle :D

Paper Elixir = Luxury Goods

Does "4" in the editorial spread below look familiar to you?

Yep! It's my black feather card! I was so psyched to see the card being featured on the uber-chic tha Hotness blog (for the second time), this time as a "perfect thank you gift for your bridesmaid and maid of honor". (Thanks, My!)

I like the Louis Vuitton Change Holder strategically positioned above my card. They do look like they go together, don't they?

In fact, I think I'm going to send this to LV's headquarter, and propose that they consider giving one of these cards out as a complimentary gift to every customer who purchased this change holder. Of course I'll give Louis a bulk discount for purchasing a bizillion of my cards. I hate to gloat but somtimes I'm such a marketing genius.

Joe Cool

I felt soooo lazy today... I couldn barely raise one finger after another to type right now, coz that will generate so much body heat I might just melt like a tub o' lard.

This unusual heat wave hit the Bay Area yesterday on a May day that should have been nice and springy. I think the news says that we reached a high of 96 today. 96!! And we live right by the Bay! Something's wrong with the world's thermostat...

All we could do was to dust off the fan, jack it all the way up to "HI", aim it straight at ourselves, sprawl all out on the cool concrete floor to maximize heat transfer, and try to stay as motionless as possible and get into reverse hibernation.

Bryson and Picasso seem to think they have better ideas on how to stay cooool