berkshiresbliss

Introducing Ali!

A big, exciting change occurred in our lives this past weekend. A few days ago, I filled out an application after finding an adorable pup via petfinder.com. Lo and behold (we’ve done this several times before to no avail), we were called back by the lady who runs the shelter, who referred us to the foster mom for the dog we’d seen. Fast forward two nights, many questions about our family, lifestyle, home setup etc. and a drive down to Westfield, MA later and we were allowed to bring our new puppy Ali home.

Hipster Sisters

I’ll be the first to admit that I probably talk as though I am older than I actually am, particularly around my younger sisters. They’re 8 and 10 years younger than I am. A veritable generation younger. Sometimes I feel like Dr. Evil: “I’m hip, I’m cool. I’m with it,” - though I try to use reverse psychology: “I’m not hip, I’m not cool, I’m definitely not with it.” Then I wait, expectantly, for them to reassure me: “no, no! You ARE cool and with it!” Which we all know is a lie.

A 3rd Birthday Present

Teddy Bear

M. turns three on Monday. How time flies! Of course, she’s quite the little girl these days, instead of a toddler.

When I was in California a few weeks ago, I was sitting on the couch knitting fingerless gloves for my sisters. M asked me: “Yiyi [“auntie” in Chinese] what are you sewing?”

Me: “I’m not sewing, I’m knitting. In sewing you use just one tiny needle, in knitting you use these bigger needles, see?”

Her: “Yiyi, what are you knee-ting?”

Tap tap tap… is this thing still on?

So we’ve been gone for a little while. A little 8 month while. I was surprised to come back to find that tumblr hasn’t deactivated this account, after my having let it… “lie fallow,” shall we say, for so long! A new year, a new resolution: post just a little more often in the next 8 months than I did in the last 8! Doable. Just the way I like my resolutions!

To be fair, I did warn anyone listening early on that I might be capable of this kind of start-off-strong-but-drop-off-badly behavior. Nonetheless, my guilty conscience wants to explain a bit about what we have been up to in the interim that has kept us somewhat otherwise occupied…

post wedding exhaustion

A Coupla Firsts

Now that our furniture has arrived, we get to slowly unpack. I can’t decide what I like less - packing or unpacking. Probably packing… at least with unpacking we get to take our time. We have piles of boxes like this in most rooms of the house. Fun.

But with the arrival of our things, a few firsts were enabled.

We’ve Moved!

It’s been a busy few weeks but we’ve landed in our new home. I’ve started a new job. We’ve acquired a new car. And a new house. More details to come… but for now, a quick glance at how it happened.

First there was this:

(Joe attempting to work while I slowly close in on him with moving boxes…)

Dress Shopping Tips

Here are just a couple of tips for dress shopping, based on my experience:

Make appointments on week days if at all possible. My cousin said she tried to go to Kleinfeld but they were booked for months on weekends. I was able to make an appointment the night before I went, since I went on a Tuesday
Bring a few friends with you. Not too many. Bring friends whose opinion you trust, who will also share their opinion and be thoughtful about this being a dress for you, not them
Have at least one person go to all the stores with you. For the sake of consistency
Sleep on any decision you might make
Ask if you can take pictures, and take pictures if allowed. Take notes otherwise, as soon as you get a chance. Otherwise things will blur. And you can’t always find your actual design online (I haven’t been able to find a pic of my dress online)
Try a variety of styles, go in with an open mind, you might be surprised as to what you like on your own body versus what you’ve seen elsewhere
At the same time, have an idea of what you might like. Consultants will ask you what you’re thinking, so be able to articulate your vision and style
If you’re not finding what you like, change tactics. I was lucky and tried on at the most 30 dresses, and the second one I ever tried on was the one I went back to
Something my Wise Big Sister Clarissa said afterwards, when I was feeling a bit guilty for having spent more than I’d initially hoped (when I thought, Perhaps I’ll learn how to sew well and make myself a dress <— clearly delusional): “as long as you love it enough for the cost. everyone will value different things in weddings and budgets. not worth it if you go down the path of what it should cost, etc.”
Make the most of each trip and enjoy the social time you have with your friends!

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I Said “YES” to the Dress

(Photo from nydailynews.com, click on the pic for a fun flashback to the wedding dress photo shoot from the Sex and the City movie. So my experience wasn’t quite like that, but I had my own girls with me; oh, and it was real.)

Soon after Joe and I got engaged back in September last year, people began asking me about our plans for the wedding. And, often, specifically, if I’d gotten a dress yet. To be perfectly honest, a dress was the furthest thing from my mind. There are many aspects of the wedding about which I am very excited, and first and foremost I wanted to plan the event, the gathering, the party, the coming together of friends and family. What I wear to said gathering seemed to be irrelevant. As with proms, graduations, dinner dances etc. in the past, my outfits are often picked randomly on the day before rather than carefully planned over the course of preceding weeks, let alone months. (I tried to find pictures to prove this often unfortunate and embarrassing tactic, but alas, I couldn’t find any old pictures on this computer.)

Temmaland No More

Quick update before I head to bed. In case any of you were wondering, and I know all 2 of you out there reading this blog have probably already been updated in person or via email or the phone… but, all seems to be well again in the world of the Shen-Bergeron felines. It took a little less than a week… but the growling, hissing and angriness have ended. Hallelujah!! As amusing as it is to see a tiny 7lb cat think she’s tough and emit bizarre growling sounds, it was getting to be irritating.

Everyone is friends again. Phew!

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Cooking For Two

I really like this new cookbook! It’s just what I need as a safety blanket as I reacquaint myself with the art of preparing meals. That it features recipes tailored specifically for two is a huge plus - no more figuring out how to scale down recipes that ask for only one egg, for example.