Rickshaw

chaunguyen — Fri, 18 May 2012 02:02:26 +0000

summer colors

plants plant plants

chaunguyen — Mon, 14 May 2012 18:00:49 +0000

Guys, I am no plant expert and I have the opposite of a green thumb, but I’m sort of proud that I have kept more than one plant alive! I even snipped off a bud (or whatever that is called) from one plant and repotted it in another container. There have been obstacles though. Aphids have attacked my old basil plant and it seems like my new one has downy mildew. I only know this because I’ve been googling images and reading through forums.

Our balcony is a major eye sore, so I’m hoping to get more plants soon to mask the cage like feel. The hanging planter was easy peasy , and I got the directions from 3191 Quarterly.

around the web

chaunguyen — Sun, 13 May 2012 22:54:20 +0000

Last night before bed we watched this Spike Jonze Tell Them Anything You Want: a Portrait of Maurice Sendak. It got emotional a parts, especially when he was reflecting on death and the highlights of his life. I’m not too familiar with all of his work, but I liked hearing him talk about not shying away from the darker side of childhood in his books. If you have a bit of time, it’s worth watching.The segment where he shows off the toys he and his brother made has to be one of my favorites.

***

Looking forward to seeing Mav’s Beauty and Use Collection. In her words …

we don’t want to put more “stuff” out into the world. We want to share our loves and our visions, and in the case of our Collections, our creations, but we want the impact to be gentle … handmade and small … simple … beautiful & useful.

chaunguyen — Sun, 13 May 2012 15:30:56 +0000

me & my mom

the little things

chaunguyen — Wed, 09 May 2012 04:07:56 +0000

The little things: finished my first weaving project, catching up on 3191 Quarterly, and eating lots of Texas peaches.

Happy Teacher Appreciation Day to all my teachers especially my RISD peeps, Tuey, and Megan!

skyspace

chaunguyen — Tue, 08 May 2012 12:23:06 +0000

Looking forward to seeing the James Turrell’s Skyspace at Rice.

photos by © Michelle Watson/CatchLightGroup.com via Culturemap

you belong to me

chaunguyen — Tue, 01 May 2012 01:37:54 +0000

BJ and I saw The Deep Blue Sea over the weekend. The pace was slow and natural, the sweet scenes were super tender making the dark ones even darker, and I thought this one of the few movies that examined love in a different light. Rachel Weisz was beautiful as always. If you see it, I would love to hear what you think.

One of my favorite scenes played You Belong To Me by Jo Stafford. And it’s one of the few youtube comment sections worth reading.

photo by Liam Daniel. Music Box Films

chaunguyen — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 23:17:20 +0000

When things get a little crazy around here, we tend to eat out, load up on sweets (mainly me), and just get frazzled – it’s just not good all around. So last week, I took a little break to regroup, tidy up our place, hang some pictures, eat lots of fresh fruit, cook simple meals, visit my mom and Igby several times – and take home new plants she potted for us. Friday night, I decided what the heck, let’s go to Austin for the weekend. So BJ, my sister Tam, and I left everything behind for a relaxing couple of days. It was just what we needed.

It’s mainly been quiet around here with my teaching and work ing on the store. I’ve been picking up a few vintage pieces here and there to furnish the space. Just as we were leaving Uncommon Objects, BJ spotted the fold out mirror pictured below. Lately, I’ve been obsessed with mirrors – especially old shaving mirrors- even though we really don’t need more. So I said – Hey, if the store doesn’t need it, I’ll buy it for our place. Said the same thing goes for that rug. (I promise the M&S gets first dibs though!) We’ll start posting more often here, if you want to keep up with our progress.

chaunguyen — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 21:39:29 +0000

muted colors and patterns

sidelined

chaunguyen — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 18:00:25 +0000

Personal projects have been sidelined a bit as I try to wrap up the school year, work on the store, and start making our place more lived in (still got moving boxes out. yikes.). I’ve had ideas brewing for some paintings for a while now, and I need to make time. But you know me, if I neglect creating for too long – even doodling – I can be a grump. That’s why taking pictures and working on smaller, shorter projects have been nice and more manageable.

Above, a photo of my uncle’s garden from our trip last summer and below, a photo of the water along the docks in Brooklyn from last month.
Watercolor painting of our favorite Houston food trucks and half way finished painted beads from Texas Art Asylum.