January 2011
4 posts
4 tags
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...
4 tags
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,...
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A 3rd Birthday Present
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...
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...
May 2010
2 posts
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.
First night on our own bed in the new house.
This was very much...
3 tags
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…)
Then there was this:
And this:
And this:
(yes,...
March 2010
9 posts
3 tags
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...
6 tags
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...
1 tag
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...
4 tags
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.
Compiled by the folks from America’s Test Kitchen (they’re also the folks behind Cooks...
5 tags
First Dinner at Home in NYC
“Home” being our NYC apartment, that is. Tonight I decided that it was time I tried out our little kitchen here in NYC. Those of you who know Joe must also know that he is an excellent cook. Joe’s the type of cook who whips things together based on what’s in the pantry or what he’s thought up on his own. It’s always delicious. His cooking prowess is something...
4 tags
Pantry Warming
One of the major perks of, and dare I say reason for our stint in NYC is being able to hang out with my dear friend Miriam. You’ve met Miriam before, when she was slaving away over engagement party invitations, here. Miriam and I have known each other since we were hysterical teenagers attending the 7th grade at Taipei American School. We’ve grown up a bit since then, but still enjoy...
Temmaland
Welcome! Actually, you are NOT welcome.
I can’t quite recall if I’ve disclosed a dubious distinction that was, like all things good and bad in a relationship, initially mine, but has become ours. We have 3 cats. It’s a bit of a long story… short version is: I wanted two so that they wouldn’t be lonely when I was away. A friend ended up giving me hers, who was from...
NYC Livin'
Joe and I are settling into our little apartment here in the Upper West Side.
While we have unpacked our bags and begun to get organized, our kitchen is sadly untouched and unstocked. Despite my vow to Joe that we would try to minimize eating out and that I would retry my hand at cooking, so far the fantastic Italian, Peruvian, Thai, Ethiopian, Cuban-Chinese and Indian food nearby has proven too...
7 tags
The Characters We Met
During our accidental extended stay in upstate New York, we ran into quite a few characters. At least our delay wasn’t dull!
(The ~foot of snow, snowbanks and relentless snowflakes are missing from this pic)
Photo credit: Glenn Wells, http://www.roadsidefans.com/hudsonvalley.html
First, there were the folks at the diner. The Martindale Chief Diner is a classic roadside diner. It’s...
February 2010
3 posts
12 tags
8 Lessons Learned
There were many. This little snowbound adventure of ours has reminded us of/taught us a few things.
If you’re a mom, specifically one of ours, please stop reading.
Or… read the following knowing that we are usually very trustworthy, prudent, responsible beings. And please don’t worry - we learn lessons every day and are now better equipped to go about the world in a(n even...
8 tags
Home Is Where The Heart Is...
… so, New York City, Williamstown, Craryville NY, Hudson NY and now Albany International (oh yes, that one flight to Canada qualifies us!) Airport. Tonight: the Doubletree Hotel by Chicago O’Hare… and tomorrow, Palo Alto again, we hope!
(photo courtesy of the Albany Times Union readers, www.timesunion.com)
Boy have we had an adventurous few days! Where do I begin? For those...
New Beginnings
Today was my last day at work. In fact, I’m posting this from my office computer; it’s a ploy to delay packing up my things and having to head home just yet. Don’t get me wrong, I’m looking forward to not having to set an alarm and rush to the office in the morning next week. But I am also very sad, because I love this company and my colleagues a whole lot. It’s been...
January 2010
5 posts
2 tags
Save The Dates!
So! Save the dates!
Let’s get the acronym out of the way, yes, it’s STDs. Tee hee hee, ha ha ha. Okay! So now that we’ve gotten that out of our systems, we can use it without further incidence, yes? We sent our STDs out to our closest friends and relatives. (Okay, I couldn’t pass over that one. Smirk.) Since this was the first official item we were sending out for our Big...
3 tags
Fabric Envelope Liners
To slightly dress up our simple Save The Dates, we decided to line the envelopes in which they were sent.
I knew that colored paper liners can be made or bought, but wondered whether we could make them out of fabric. Joe had been poking around online (what, Joe, really?) and read about this nifty little machine, the Xyron. How the Xyron works (we have the 900 model, they’re available in...
6 tags
囍 Stickers
We wanted to find a way to seal the envelopes in a way that would prevent recipients from having to use letter openers because of the way we lined the envelopes with fabric (more on that here). So we made stickers.
We made little stickers of the character 囍 - a ubiquitous presence at all Chinese weddings. It’s made up of two copies of the Chinese character for happiness 喜(xi, pronounced...
3 tags
Our Font, Dearest
One of the most fun (funnest?) aspects of designing our STD (what!? It’s the acronym, I can’t help it!) was choosing a font. Joe and I decided to splurge and purchase a font online. Among many interests in common (e.g. cornbread with kernels of corn, woodworking, cheesy 80s music), learning more about fonts is one of them. Joe’s probably more well-read than I about this, but we...
2 tags
This is it!
2010!! Happy New Year!
2010?? How did this happen? Time flies when you’re having fun! And, more importantly, This is It! (No, not the MJ movie.) We’re getting married THIS year. A wedding “in the fall next year” had seemed so far away. I have to drop the “next year” part now. Truth be told, I’m pretty happy about that :)
Joe and I are slowly getting back...
November 2009
5 posts
4 tags
Crafty Invites
The entire California contingent of my extended family compound just returned late last night from San Diego. We flew down there for our big annual industry conference; and James and I were lucky that our significant others and Maia were able to join us for the weekend. It was a tiring but fulfilling weekend of standing on our feet and talking to teachers, and it’s great to be home -...
14 tags
Old Habits Die Hard...
Fear not, dear reader! (I mean, at this point… let’s be honest…) I’m still here! It’s been a slightly busy week at work and alas, blogging has taken a back seat. However, I do want to keep you apprised of how things are coming along…
Humor me, for a moment, as I do the meta thing again - what’s happening with the process of wedding planning? The...
4 tags
The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Arts, aka...
What’s all the fuss about this MASSMoCA place, anyway? I’ve been throwing the term out there without really going into any detail. Any time you catch me doing something Williams- or Berkshires-centric like that, call me out and smack me upside the head. If nothing else, that should elicit some sort of explanation from my end.
Since we’ve just officially booked the space for our...
Palo Alto party pics
Now that it’s November and chilly (you know, only mid-70s) here in Palo Alto, it’s fun to go back and look at pics from our engagement party when the weather was warmer (high-70s) back in good ol’ October. Know what I mean? Perhaps not… You know, on a weather tangent… everyone who lives in California has a hard time imagining how the rest of the country survives,...
Acton Party photos
I really, really don’t want this to become a blog about how I should be posting more entries. So I will avoid that topic, even if it reflects the truth! Perhaps not having an engagement party this weekend made me depressed and not feel like writing too much. Or perhaps I’ve been trying to catch up on some work. You get to choose your favorite answer. (Remember...
October 2009
11 posts
2 tags
Food Worth Engaging For ...Guest Post!
You may be able to tell that blogging isn’t my day job. Sadly - because it is FUN! But that may be a good thing or else I’d be über prolific about posting and would simply overwhelm you, dear readers, with my constant and amazing insights on life and hand-crafting save-the-date cards, etc.
Luckily for you, however, I do have friends in high places and BridesmaidBloggerHSFriend...
Engagement Parties Galore!
It’s been a whirlwind of fun for us this past week! In the span of 6 short days we’ve had 2 fantabulously fun engagement parties. I promise to upload pics and jot down some thoughts shortly, but just wanted to say stay tuned! for that.
In the meantime here’s a photo from our party at Joe’s parents’ place last Sunday. Happiness :)
Comments
8 tags
What've We Learned So Far?
Since this is purportedly a wedding planning blog, at least a blog documenting a wedding being planned, I shall try to do some summarizing and reflecting from time to time. Wish me luck!
So, what have we learned from The Venue Hunt? Many of these points should go without saying, I’m sure, so humor me if I state the obvious.
First: Where In The World?
In this globalized era of Destination...
5 tags
A Perfect 10
Visiting the Park McCullough House gave us hope that there are some indoors spaces in the area that can accommodate a party the size we’re anticipating. So that was encouraging. But on the drive down, I didn’t feel like it was quite right. I decided to call some of the places we’d written off because of pesky things like policies and rules. So I called MASSMoCA. Remember, they...
7 tags
Don't Touch the Carriages
(Note: it may become apparent that I’ve finally figured out how to embed pictures into posts, and am quite excited about it.)
Tents, installed floors and portapotties seem like a lot of effort and cost for questionable results. Especially if the weather is unpredictable. Like Erica (hi!!!), I’ve been to a fair number of events with portapotties nicer than my own bathroom at home. But...
3 tags
7 tags
Ahhh, Williamstown
…land of the bucolic pastures, autumn splendor, oblivious college student crossing the street without looking, nonagenarian leafpeeping grand marquis driver, the world’s best pad thai (ok fine, america’s, for the eph palette), ridiculous private estates and freezing temperatures.
So we had a relatively productive day today. We drove in around lunchtime, behind the aforementioned...
3 tags
Privacy, Purity and Precipitance
So sleeping the entire way from SFO to BOS was probably a bad idea yesterday; as was having a cup of DD’s coffee as soon as I arrived. It’s that damn stall in the baggage claim area - it’s impossible to bypass after being DD-less on the West Coast. It must be the smell they pipe in somehow. I will say that I am proud of myself for forgoing the Maple Glazed Donut, despite it being...
2 tags
But I *live* for comments!!!
Aaack! I was just eyeing the little stack of comments on fb (so what if they’re only from 3 people, myself included), looking forward to receiving comments on this here blog…. when the lovely Katharina M. pointed out to me that it’s currently impossible to comment here!! WTF?? I’m doing some research to solve it but apparently the...
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On your marks...
So I landed at BOS earlier this evening and am now sitting here at my FILs’ (Future-In-Laws’) place writing my first wedding planning blog entry! In fact, (as may become painfully obvious to some of you shortly) this is my first EVER blog. Let’s just say I never felt as though I had an excuse to begin blogging: an organizing theme perhaps, a take, tack, vision or particularly...