When I was living away from home, I always looked forward to the handmade cards my sister and brother sent. These are recent cards by Ky, my only brother. Where does he get these ideas?! I think he should start an online comic.Check out his flickr.
Aladdin + Yao Ming B-day card
LOTR Christmas comic
We celebrated my youngest sister Thuy’s birthday a few days ago. She’s been working up a storm to get ready for her second year at SCAD and I’m excited to see what she has in store for us.
Wrapping up this week and then we’re heading out to Brooklyn for the weekend. Of course, we still haven’t done laundry, purchased a washer and dryer, or packed. It’s going to be a busy night!
My plans for the weekend included plenty of grading and lesson-planning, but things worked out differently. (And Monday has been relatively stress-free, so it was worth it.) Saturday, we played volleyball at the park with our cousins, watched several episodes of Mad Men, ate sushi, celebrated Tuey’s birthday with delcious mojitos at Anvil, and, on Sunday, we spent the day at the lake playing some more volleyball and jet-skiing.
Multitasking: Grading and relaxing
She was super-concerned when anyone was in the water
We also really enjoyed driving around with Trang and Ben through the smaller streets around our neighborhood. All the homes were pretty old, well kept up, and small but beautiful. It’s funny how we grew up in Houston, yet we rarely ever got to explore down here. (I’m a late bloomer—I got my license at 22!)
I can’t wait for this weekend! We’re going on a quick trip to Brooklyn for our dear friends’ wedding. Unfortunately it’s only for two nights, but we’re looking forward seeing fellow Domers and visiting places we missed on our last trip like Cog and Pearl.
all pictures taken from family’s phone camera
Whoooeeeee!
My little sister’s illustrations.
A few weekends ago, we got a text really late at night asking if we wanted  to take a trip to Austin in the morning. duh! For some reason BJ and I decided to start roasting a chicken around midnight, instead of packing and resting for the trip. So we only got a little bit of sleep before, we met up with 26 other cousins (more or less, I loss count) and caravanned to Lake Austin. Some of us only had 10 minutes notice to pack, but I’m so happy so many people could go. We jet skied, played volleyball with strangers, grilled, swam, got tangled in seaweed multiple times, and squeezed everyone into 4 hotel rooms at the end of the night. We ended the trip with a finger lickin’ meal at Salt Lick. Mmm, summer.
We are overwhelmed with all the love, friends, laughter, family, dancing, food, and joy surrounding these last few days and feel so fortunate to have so many people celebrate and support us. THANK YOU. More pictures to come- we’re off to spend more time with everyone who is still here especially these kiddos. Cute overload.
I might have mentioned it before, but I was so relieved to get the dress out of the way early on. Luckily, the first one I tried on was just right. And I’m open to many different styles, but the vintage designs always caught my eye—especially the lace gowns below.
hat tip (clockwise) 1, 2, 3, 4
Anyway, I thought I was done but there was an issue about having my shoulders covered for the ceremony (one of the many different rules the church had). Although I’m probably not sneaky enough or would have wussed out, I thought I might wear my dress and try to bypass the rule by having my hair down. Well, I went to Neiman Marcus Last Call over the weekend and found an awesome lace dress by Marc Bouwer for a steal! Now I’m set for a ceremony dress. It sort of reminds me of the 60s and it’s in the exact style as the dress below but in cream with a light pink undertone. My mom wishes it were longer and I think it may surprise some of the older folks with how casual it is, but I really love it and it’ll work well with the hot hot weather in July. So everything surprisingly worked out and now I can concentrate on the many other items on our to do list. No more brainstorming for tear off shoulder covers!
Happy Valentine’s Day and Happy Lunar New Year!
c + b
I’ve been slowly making fabric flowers since the summer. Very slow. I tend to get too sentimental and attached to each object. They have a story, travelled with me to different cities, and/or were given to me by someone close. I was nervous to bring all the details together, but it all worked out in the end.
Lately, I’ve been reminded that it’s time to kick it into gear, to plan for The Big Day. And although there are too many ways to get overwhelmed, too many wedding related blogs to read, too many people to please, too many traditions to uphold, these are our real wishes: to show our friends and families how much we love and appreciate them, to craft a day that is meaningful and authentic to us, and to enjoy our day and our friends even if it means fewer DIY projects or less sleep.
And I am so happy that BJ and I have collaborated every step of the way. He is really the best.
Off I go. Om Om Om.
Monday, BJ, my sisters, and I went downtown to work. At the end of the day, we stopped by the Menil, but they were closed until Wednesday. (Why does this always happen to me?!) All was not lost: it was a beautiful day, so we walked around and Thuy and I couldn’t resist jumping in the huge pile of leaves in front of the Twombly gallery. As a special treat, we ate at Oporto Cafe and ordered the usual: baked brie and portobello mushroom. Mmmm MMM.
I’m going to miss having everyone under one roof. I think it’s starting to sink in . . . tomorrow, BJ and I head to D.C. for the wedding. We can’t wait to see our friends before going back to work again.
Bon voyage!
