lilacmoon studio: blog

Week #43

2011-11-03T05:34:00.000-07:00

view of Mission Dolores on my walk home

I didn't take many pictures last week, even with the new iPhone. My mind is completely occupied with my upcoming trip to Tokyo and Seoul. So many things to take care of before leaving and so many things to do there!

Serenity now.

Week #42

2011-10-27T05:11:00.000-07:00

Big change last week was that I finally got me an iPhone. I'm ridin' the wave of the future, folks! And these are what's being left behind in the dust. (not pictured: Samsung Uproar. Darn, where did I hide it?)

No more "Can I use your iPhone real quick? I wanna instagram" requests to Mr. Lilacmoon. He might be happier than I am right now.

Week #41

2011-10-26T19:26:00.000-07:00

I went to see "Poetry in Clay" exhibit at Asian Art Museum:

Translated Vases by Yee Sookyung

These vases by Meekyoung Shin are not made out of clay! Had me fooled. :)

Week #40

2011-10-09T23:11:00.000-07:00

This past week I learned that I could be quite emotional about someone I never knew personally. And how I have to work on clarity in my life.

Instead of boring you with my experience with Apple all these years or how Steve Jobs has affected me, I'd like to direct you to: Steve Jobs didn't by Horace Dediu.

[ ✄ ] New Again

2011-09-27T05:13:00.000-07:00

I live in cardigans. Layers really are the key to surviving SF weather. I have many that are getting kinda boring. And thin. This is a really old one that came with ugly, matchy matchy grey buttons. And I refuse to throw it out.

So I replaced its buttons with black buttons from another cardigan, and now it feels new again. Almost.

The black cardigan that sacrificed its buttons? It's renewed, too, with shiny, gold buttons. The cream one (my favorite!) came with really cheap looking buttons, too, so BAM.

I'm trying to resist spending hours on eBay for vintage buttons. Hold me back, folks! Hold me back!!

(I got the inspiration from here. How to sew buttons here)

Week #38

2011-09-24T05:34:00.000-07:00

Not many exciting things happened this week except I got these cute glasses from the local thrift store. More glassware? Yup. How could I resist the scallop edge or the little handles?

I think I'll use them first to drink the wonderful coffee I was gifted recently. Looking forward to all the color and light they'll help me appreciate. :)

[ ❂ ] San Diego

2011-09-23T05:25:00.000-07:00

Coronado Beach, La Jolla, Sunset Cliffs, and of course, fish tacos ♥

Week #37

2011-09-17T05:33:00.000-07:00

Things I want to remember this week.

On Tuesday, I returned from a quick trip to San Diego. More pictures on this later. Hee.

I visited the Museum of Craft and Folk Art to see the "Wrapping Traditions: Korean Textiles Now" exhibit. Check it out if you're in San Francisco! These are some of my favorite bojagi (traditional wrapping cloths) and bojagi inspired pieces from the exhibit.

Mr. Lilacmoon's freshly laundered socks.

And his apron of choice.

Week #36

2011-09-10T15:38:00.000-07:00

This week, I started making bracelets with embroidery floss using this tutorial. It's amazing how I'd completely forgotten how to make these since high school (or was it junior high?). I got major backache and shoulder ache by the time I finished this one. Signs of age? I don't remember this being a painful hobby.. but I digress.

This is what happened when Mr. Lilacmoon saw my finished piece above.

Mr. Lilacmoon: Hey, that looks nice!
Me: ..
Mr. Lilacmoon: Make me one, too!
Me: Really?!?
Mr. Lilacmoon: Yeah!
Me: ... okay.

So there you have it. One for me, one for him. No rhinestone chain for him, though.

[ ❡ ] Kikan Salvia

2011-09-08T05:09:00.000-07:00

When my good friend offered to bring something back for me from Japan, I immediately thought of Kikan Salvia, or "Quarterly Salvia" by one of my favorite designers, Yurio Seki. To my surprise (and delight), he found the magazine, not only the very latest issue but also back numbers, too. I am a lucky duck.

... .. ... .. ..... .. .... . ......
Beautiful images and graphics are all good but I am going to need a dictionary.

Week #35

2011-09-03T05:01:00.000-07:00

This picture pretty much sums up my week. Lots of time spent in bed with tea and the Internet, thanks to a very tenacious cold. I'm feeling much better now. And look! I managed to finally add a title to my Dry Transfer Edition Field Notes. "Happy Notes" for jotting, well, happy thoughts. A little exercise notebook for a pessimist like me. ♥

Have a wonderful, healthy Labor Day weekend!

Week #34

2011-08-26T14:15:00.000-07:00

Sunday I stopped by Photobooth SF.

Monday, Mr. Lilacmoon's long-awaited Steepster Select's August teas arrived. One of the three teas are from our favorite, Red Blossom. Yay!

Tuesday's breakfast was made special with my new favorite, Kouign-Aman, from B. Patisserie.

Wednesday, I had the most awesome shioyaki I've ever tasted (ayu at Sebo).

Thurday at work, Rebecca once again proved to be very difficult to take pictures of. God, I love her.

Hope you all have a good weekend.

[ ❂ ] Mission Dolores

2011-08-24T05:29:00.000-07:00

My long absence can only mean a huge backlog of pictures! Thanks to Mr. Lilacmoon's family who came to town for a visit, I finally went Mission Dolores. I only had his iPhone at my disposal but it came through. This place is full of amazing details and definitely deserves another visit with more time and a Polaroid camera. And how many times have I walked past it?

[ ✄ ] A New Way to Enjoy Polaroids

2011-07-28T05:45:00.000-07:00

There was a corner in the living room with this framed San Francisco map (actually a wrapping paper). Boring.

Woot! Look at that.

A new way to enjoy Polaroids! New to me at least. Remember how I made necklace organizers with cup hooks? And how I wanted to use the hooks everywhere for no reason? Well, I found a reason.

Some of the other ways I've enjoyed Polaroids:

'Till Next Week

2011-07-22T19:03:00.000-07:00

Just dropping by to say a quick hello and to wish you a good weekend ♥. I just came back from a wedding in the Midwest. Boy was it HOT! I really can't complain about the weather here.

Keep it real, you guys.

'Roid Week 2011

2011-07-15T05:27:00.000-07:00

Today is the last day of 'Roid Week 2011. Have you noticed all the new Polaroids at my Flickr stream? ^^

Most of my recent Polaroids have been Spectras (because I have way more Spectra film than 600 film) but 'Roid Week inspired me to bust out the SLR680 and shoot something new. It took me awhile to warm up (as evidenced above) but it felt good! 'Roid Week is good like that, you see.

Not to mention all the wonderful work you get to see from fellow Polaroid lovers! This is when everyone pulls out their best shots and shine.. I love it. If you haven't, you should check out the 'Roid Week Flickr pool. I'm sure you'll find some new people to follow. :) My favorites can be seen here.

Paper-Ya Goodies

2011-07-01T05:14:00.000-07:00

These are some stationery goodies I picked up at Paper-Ya in Vancouver. Everything in that store was drool-worthy, especially their selection of notebooks. And this mustache guy was hard to ignore. It's a letter card set by jstory, a Korean brand I've never seen before, and Mr. Mustache has a name. Mr. Babba. According to the website, he's always busy ("babba" in Korean can mean "busy"), and the one thing that will make him pause and enjoy is a cup of coffee. Ha! I wonder if he'll pause to read my letter if I send this to him.

PS: My Flickr photostream is updated with a few Polaroids I shot in Vancouver. :)

iro iro #4

2011-06-24T05:45:00.000-07:00

Vancouver: Culinary Highlights

2011-06-23T05:19:00.000-07:00

Continuing with the Vancouver theme, I present to you the culinary highlights from the trip:

Waffle sandwich at Miura Waffle Milk Bar. I had to get the bulgogi version with egg and kimchi. I demand they establish another location in my neighborhood.
Almond tofu at Kingyo, one of several Japanese izakayas in downtown. Some beef ribs we were recommended were really good, too. Like melt-in-your-mouth good. Darn, their menu was too big for us to try everything.
Yes, my friends. That is Nissin Cup Noodle you're looking at. In SEAFOOD flavor. Sadly, my local stores stopped carrying this years ago. Who knew I would find it at Konbiniya, all the way in Canada? I rarely eat instant ramen but if I had to, I would choose this and top it with Kewpie mayonnaise. Don't judge.
Combo lunch set consisting of salmon rice and shiyo ramen at Ramen Santouka. Our main goal of the trip was to get good ramen, and this place came through. We really wanted to come back here, or at least try another ramen place but decided against it for variety's sake. But we really should have because the rest of the places we tried (I won't name names) were mediocre at best. But hey, at least we tried!

If any of you are Vancouver locals or have been there, what are your favorite places? We probably just barely scratched the surface, so any recommendations would be appreciated for our next time. Oh yes, there will be next time.

Wrapping Fun #2

2011-06-22T05:47:00.000-07:00

A gift for Mr. Lilacmoon's birthday recently. It's not always possible but I try to match the wrapping with what's inside, in color, theme or mood. Inside this gift was a tea tray (he loves drinking green tea), and luckily I had a wrapping paper with a leaf pattern. No round tag this time; instead a few folds at the top, with solid masking tapes tucked slightly inside to accentuate the folds. Those masking tapes sure are versatile!

I Made: Embroidered Drawstring Pouches

2011-06-20T05:07:00.000-07:00

Do you keep old clothes in case you want to use them as fabric for sewing projects? I do, even though I rarely do any sewing. The other day while cleaning, I found a heap of old white shirts and forced myself to do something about them. To either discard them or cut them into pieces for sewing projects. Oh my god, such a big step, right. But I saw great possibilities in them at some point, and it was finally time to take them to the next level.

I cut the clothes, and this got me really excited about sewing. Easy sewing, that is. So I decided to make drawstring pouches with simple embroidery. My last embroidery project was this pillow. The patterns are from the same book, with the left one being Salvia's design and the right two being traditional Japanese patterns. I'm quite pleased with the result.. And valuable lesson learned: if saving a piece of clothing for future fabric use, I should have it cut into pieces first. Turn them from possibilities into actual materials ready to go.

Anyway, it feels good to have turned something old into something new that is pretty and functional. I will master making drawing pouches.. Fabric scraps, I haz them.

Iro Iro #3 (in Instagram)

2011-06-03T06:03:00.000-07:00

1. I've been playing Scrabble a lot these days, with my iPod Touch. It was good to play an analog game, for a change though. I managed to add "ING" to "TWIRL" in this game.

2. A cute camera bag on display at Kate Spade. Wishlisted.

3. Tea service at Palace Hotel, thanks to a friend. I planned to take lots of pictures with the Klasse W but it acted up again. So I hijacked Mr. Lilacmoon's iPhone 4.

(Yes, I'm on Instagram, too. My username is lilacmoon. :) I prefer the design and the controls in Camera+ but there's a filter in Instagram I really like. There's also Magic Hour, where you can make your own filters. Oh, the possibilities!)

Vancouver: Part Two

2011-05-28T05:45:00.000-07:00

We got entirely too many chocolates on this trip, like these Wish You Were Here chocolates from Mink Chocolates, dark chocolate Kit Kat, Japanese melon-flavored white chocolate, etc, etc. That was the majority of our shopping in Vancouver. I don't think the Customs folks quite understood why you'd cross the border to get just.. chocolates. *shrug*

Is there any category of things you make sure to shop for when you travel?

Vancouver: Part One

2011-05-27T05:47:00.000-07:00

Last month, Mr. Lilacmoon and I went to Vancouver for a short weekend trip. He wanted a replacement trip for the Japan trip we had to cancel, and I welcomed the idea as a getaway from it all, after Fifi's death.

It was my second time to Vancouver (first time here) and we still both really like it there. It's small enough to explore on foot, and the selection of Asian restaurants there are better than in San Francisco, in my opinion.

Mr. Lilacmoon called the short building in this picture the Chinese takeout building because of the shape of its top. I still get a kick out of it. ^^

You can see these pics in my Flickr photostream too. More to come. Hope you have a wonderful weekend! ♥

A Farewell

2011-05-19T13:07:00.000-07:00

I never saw Fifi as a puppy; I wish I could have. She was almost 14 years old when my family had to say goodbye to her. She was the love of our lives, the glue that held us together. I hope she knew that even as she was closing her eyes for the last time.

When my sister brought her home 11 years ago, my first impression was, what a funny looking dog! But I liked her immediately. She was shy at first and followed my sister around the house. It didn't take long before she warmed up to the rest of the family though. She was extremely smart, gentle, and cute to boot. We liked to describe her paws as four white socks and loved kissing her on the spot on top of her head.

It's been exactly 49 days. I'm still sorting my feelings. All this time, I wondered if I should write about the reason why I was gone for so long but I decided she deserved a tribute of some sort. The world needs to know what a good dog she was! ^^;; This probably won't be the last post on Fifi, even though I'm saying goodbye to her now. There are so many memories and pictures of her that I want to share. It will be a way for me move on, celebrate her life if you will, instead of mourning. That is why I chose this picture out of thousands. Doesn't she look like she's smiling? This is how I want to remember her.

Rest in peace, Fifi.

A Small Celebration

2011-05-18T05:55:00.000-07:00

A birthday present for a friend this week. It was a present from both me and Mr. Lilacmoon. Whenever we do joint presents, he leaves the wrapping to me because he knows how I love wrapping. This time I used a garland instead, which seems to be very popular these days.. I can see why, it's so easy to make! I made a whole bunch of circles with a whole puncher and joined them in a straight line with a sewing machine. I wrapped it twice around the present and secured it here and there with some double-sided tape. I think it came out pretty appropriate for a guy, no?

And what's a birthday without a cake? ;)

I also like these garland ideas:

Asterisk heart garland at How About Orange
Crafty cake toppers at 100 Layer Cake
DIY garland with glittered letters at Creature Comforts
Garland as a headboard at Design*Sponge (scroll down)

Back

2011-05-17T18:24:00.000-07:00

So sorry I was gone for a such a long time. Lots of thing happened since the last time.. But here I am now, almost ready to get back into things. I'm finally taking more pictures, with film cameras and Mr. Lilacmoon's iPhone Camera+. So many different tools these days! The above pictures were processed using this app called Flare from Iconfactory (love these guys). I'm still figuring out my work flow with it. You will see more of my experiments with it from now on..

As for my shop, it is on hiatus until I figure out what I want to focus on. I didn't want to dwell on the older projects, so I cleared the shop. I was already having a hard time moving forward, so that's what I decided on. I wish I had some new stuff to announce right now but I have to be honest and tell it like it is, no?

If you're wondering what that snack is, it is a chestnut pastry called kurizutsumi, my new favorite from Minamoto Kitchoan ♥. I tried pairing it with the chestnut tea from Lupicia. The tea smells better than it tastes but I still like it. Hope you all have a relaxing, peaceful day.

Japan

2011-03-16T06:20:00.000-07:00

Like many of you, Japan has been on my mind the last few days. I may come from a country that has very painful history with Japan, but Japan will always have a special place in my heart. It is where I experienced and learned so many things, made friends, including Mr. Lilacmoon... It pains me to see all the unbelievable pictures and videos that made it to the internet. I think I will have to force myself to step away from the computer.

But before I do, I'd like to urge you to help in any way you can. You can donate to Red Cross through iTunes, Google, etc.

For shoppers who want more creative ways to help:
Weiden + Kennedy's Help Japan posters (via sfgirlbybay)
Yokomono's lavender sachets (via unruly things)
Rare Device's online shop
Hilda Grahnat's Help Japan Shop
Hello Sandwich's Gift Wrapping Zine PDF
I'm sure there are so many more out there.

頑張れ日本！
(The above pictures were taken in Osaka, Fukuoka and Kyoto in 2008. My trip to Japan later this month will have to wait..)

Iro Iro #2

2011-02-24T05:53:00.000-08:00

1. A new bag. A new ♥. And, um, that's moi.

2. Hello Sandwich's Tokyo Guide in PDF, all printed and bound with gold strings. Yup, Japan is on my mind yet again. And I'm going there soon! There's a stack of guide books I have to go through but I figure one more couldn't hurt. How could it when it's this cute?

3. Crochet hand warmers. Clearly, I was inspired by Sandra Juto's wrist worms. My hands (and feet) are always cold, and I hate how the side of my right hand has to rest on the cold surface of my Wacom tablet all the time. I've been using a leather glove but it's been rather cumbersome to put it on and off for intermittent typing. So after several failed attempts, I made these. I've been wearing them inside and outside the house; so cold these days! And it might even snow here in SF this weekend! That's just crazy talk.

Stay warm, my friends, and don't forget! The 20% off sale at my Etsy shop is still going.

I Made: necklaces + organizer

2011-02-18T05:21:00.000-08:00

This project was all about using what I already had.
It started with a cheap, multi-strand necklace that I never reached for. It had this pink theme going, and I was like, what the heck. Why did I buy this. So, I separated the strands out into separate necklaces, using chains and clasps I had saved from who knows what. One of them, on the right above, now has a crochet string made from a pattern in my favorite crochet book (featured in one of my older posts here).

You'll recognize my old cell phone strap mentioned in the same old post, turned into a necklace charm, on the far left above. The strap part finally broke after years of use and I couldn't throw it out.

All these had to go somewhere, and then I remembered this diy jewelry shadowboxes project over at Design*Sponge. I got a pack of tiny cup hooks at a local hardware store and attached them to the bottom of three wooden frames that I wasn't using.

Voilà. That was super simple and easy.
Now I want to put cup hooks on all the frames in the house for no good reason, heh.

How do you keep your necklaces?

PS: "Just start" was inspired by Elise Joy (via seasaw) and this papernstich dry erase board tutorial. I love it because it reminds me of the Korean saying that roughly translates to "to start is to be half way done."

Recent Culinary Adventures

2011-02-16T05:47:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite meals recently was the weekend brunch at Nopa on Divisadero St. I recommend the butter-basted farm eggs with maitake mushrooms, potatoes and crispy polenta. Check out the cool art on the wall by Brian Barneclo and this video of him painting it!

And there was Peko Peko (previously blogged) at Bar Tartine, where I had the most amazing dashimaki eggs. Too bad pop-up restaurants tend to have very slow service.

Last but not least, a trio of crème brûlée at Swell. From left to right, espresso, ginger, and miso. The winner? Miso. I kid you not. :)

Iro Iro #1

2011-02-11T07:18:00.000-08:00

1. An unusual cardboard box for mini Essie nail polish bottles. The nerd in me got a kick out of unfolding it and folding it back together. I know, I am easily amused.

2. Loose-leaf tea from Lupicia's fukubukuro. We got two boxes of these mystery sets, one with flavored black teas and one with green tea. Mr. Lilacmoon and I don't usually drink flavored teas, so we thought it would be an interesting way to try something different. And it was! It was like opening Christmas presents in January. I haven't tried all of them yet (it will be awhile) but I like the chestnut one a lot so far.

Speaking of tea, I can't wait to try this tea app, and I don't even have an iPhone (well, I use iPod Touch). Looks promising, doesn't it? It's great to see more people interested in tea (and apps for them!) because that means cafés and restaurants will start carrying more teas and brew them at the right temperatures. Hopefully.

Have a great weekend, my readers!

PS: iro iro means "various" in Japanese, one of my favorite words. I think I will use it more often here. :)

Last Chance Sale

2011-02-05T06:14:00.000-08:00

In time for Valentine's Day, everything at my Etsy shop is on sale.
Just enter the code LASTCHANCE20 when you check out to get 20% off. It's valid through February 28th.

This will be your last chance to get the 2011 Poladoodles Calendar (shown above), as well as all the Poladoodle prints you see in the shop because after February is over, I am giving my shop a clean start. That's right, everything in the shop now will no longer be available for sale after February 28th. If you've been eyeing something in the shop, now would be the time. :)

http://lilacmoonstudio.etsy.com/

Website Redesign

2011-01-13T06:00:00.000-08:00

My first post of 2011!

I won't bore you with my new year resolutions or anything like that. There are too many. What I do want to talk about is my website redesign. Have you noticed it? The redesign actually happened late last year but I never announced it because I was afraid to make a big deal out of it. But darn it, one of my new year's resolutions is to be fearless (that's right!), and I'm going to do a bit of bragging on my own blog if I deem it necessary from now on.

So! I present to you the new Lilacmoon Studio website. Version 2.0, if you will.

Please take a look around and let me know what you think about the change. I even snuck in a picture of myself somewhere on the site. Now, that's fearless!

-_-;;

Also, the Poladoodles site poladoodles.com will now forward to the redesigned site; it is no longer a stand-alone site but a part of the new site (here). If you are reading this post through a news reader, this blog has a new template, too. It now looks like the rest of the main site. My Tumblr has a new header as well, and a new page where you can ask me anything. Really, anything. Like, my shoe size.

Hope you have fun browsing and happy New Year! :)

(Many thanks to Mr. Lilacmoon for all the coding and dealing with the Blogger template)

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-24T17:08:00.000-08:00

(last minute holiday decorations with paper cones and lights)

I wish you all a merry little Christmas and a happy holiday weekend!

I Made: Paper Christmas Trees

2010-12-17T05:24:00.000-08:00

The only holiday decorations I have up currently are my take on these paper trees over at Martha Stewart. Instead of wooden spools, I used empty film canisters as tree trunks. Trying to use what I already have. :)

Back from Thanksgiving

2010-12-09T09:26:00.001-08:00

Hello, my readers! I know you are out there! How was your Thanksgiving?
I came back from Chicago about a week ago but I am still readjusting and feeling the post-vacation blues. Usually, my trip to Chicago doesn't feel like a vacation but thanks to Mr. Lilacmoon's brilliant idea, our last couple trips have been sort of like mini vacations. You see, after spending some time with our families, we would chill by ourselves in Chicago downtown and explore on our own. Awesome. And this time, we celebrated my birthday! I turned 33. Or was it 32? Oh, who cares.

Some highlights:

Mr. Lilacmoon treated me to a fabilis birthday dinner at a restaurant called Sepia, and these scallops with hazelnuts were fabilis.

I visited the new Anthropologie store on Chicago St. and found several things I could use my birthday offer on. That store is just too cute! And spacious.

These churros from XOCO were so good. We ate them on two separate occasions.

Pigeons huddled around a fire pit at Daley Plaza. We saw them as we were leaving the Christkindlmarket and wished we could get as close as they could (it was fenced) because it was freaking cold. Smart, you guys.

This was a CTA train we saw on the way to the airport. All decked out with Christmas decorations! Could I see a Muni Metro train like this, please?

Shop Update: 2011 Poladoodles Calendar

2010-11-16T17:05:00.000-08:00

Say hello to my first ever Poladoodles calendar! It's been done for about a week but I wanted to spend more time finalizing the packaging details. And I'm very happy with how it all came together. So please check it out at my Etsy shop! It even comes gift-wrapped for the holidays. You know how much I like wrapping.. I couldn't resist. ^^

Total of 6 different images, two months per sheet.

If you cut along the dotted line on the back..

You get Polaroid prints that are the same size as the original Polaroid Spectras.

I chose to use Hahnemuehle 308 for its nice, thick weight. See how stiff that is!

Packaged in a glassine bag and sealed with a sticker that's hand-stamped in champagne ink (I had to incorporate rubber stamping somewhere, right?)

Finally, everything goes into this envelope, ready to go to a new home. Voilà!

I'm glad I finally made a calendar, which I've always thought about. It made a very indecisive person like me make millions of decisions along the way (like, to perforate or not? That is the question) but I think it was better to have made it than to not even have attempted at all. I learned a ton along the way and this will not be the last time I make a calendar.

Anyway.
Now, go check it out! (:

A Preview

2010-11-13T13:04:00.000-08:00

After days of squinting my eyes at the computer screen and color testing over and over again, I think it's almost ready. A shop update! Please stay tuned.

At Asian Art Museum

2010-11-10T06:07:00.000-08:00

These days, I've been busy with various things, one of which you'll see very soon. I'm cooking something up! In the meantime, I would like to share with you an exhibit I saw at Asian Art Museum here in San Francisco. Beyond Golden Clouds: Five Centuries of Japanese Screens! Unfortunately, photography was not allowed inside, so I can't show you the actual screens but I can tell you about the design of the exhibit.

I really liked all the signage.

Clear, big signs to the three rooms into which the exhibit is divided. Is that Falstaff I see?

I recommend you watch this video out in the hall before you start! It was about a restoration project headed by an expert in Japanese screens. Fascinating process.

This is a diagram by the first room that shows you how the exhibit is laid out. Something a lot of museums fail to do.

Near this diagram were big, laminated guides on how to appreciate the screens (digital versions found here). I usually skip these types of guides at museums but I'm glad I didn't at this exhibit. What was special about these guides was that they included little icons that correspond to different screen formats, materials used and subject matters to look out for. And when you walk around the exhibit, you found those icons next to each screen! Maybe this was all for kids but I thought it was really ingenious and helpful. It was like, duh! Why don't other museums do this?

In the end, I left feeling very satisfied. Usually when I go to special exhibits, I leave feeling very tired and wondering if I missed anything. But this wasn't big at all, and thanks to that diagram, I knew exactly where to go and how much more to expect next. And the icons really saved me time. I didn't have to stand there, reading every description posted next to each piece. I do that at every museum.

Long story short, it was a very well-designed, visitor-friendly, hyphen-inducing exhibit. As for the content of the exhibit, I really enjoyed it. There were some spectacular screens, one of which was only exhibited once before!

Paper Quilt Project

2010-10-07T06:37:00.000-07:00

Hello, my dear readers. I kinda fell off the face of the earth, didn't I? I am slowly climbing back up though.. ^^

Here's something I worked on while I was away, a collage for the Paper Quilt Project. It will become part of a paper quilt and I'm very excited I was able to participate. (Please do look at all the other participants' submissions right here!)

This is what I started with, a lovely package from Dawbis:

I did lots of sketches on the project's theme, which was "A Day in My Life". I knew I wanted to work with the theme of being positive (because I can be quite negative) but I didn't like any of the sketches. I was already being too negative about my progress. Finally, I decided I was thinking too hard and let my hands do the work, cutting papers into strips and then making little +'s.

And there you have it. My daily struggle to stay +, illustrated. :)

And they were gone

2010-08-03T06:02:00.000-07:00

Um.. yeah. Just like that, Mr. and Mrs. P both left on Saturday, with the egg.

It still boggles my mind. But at least it's not a sad ending..?

Last week, Mr. P had been increasingly absent, forcing Mrs. P to leave the egg unattended longer and longer. In one of those frustrating times, I took a better look at the the egg; it was not looking good.

And then on Saturday, they just... disappeared. No sight of them since. I last saw Mrs. P in the nest, kinda twitching in a weird way but still looking half asleep, then 30 minutes later she was gone with the egg. No fragments of the egg anywhere. I can't exactly climb out there to check if it fell off the ledge either.

I don't know what to make of this, readers! I'd like to think that Mrs. P somehow tucked the egg in her body and flew away to a better nest, so I can't snoop on them anymore. That's why Mr. P had been absent, because he was building a nest at a less conspicuous spot! He did come back for a very brief moment before I saw Mrs. P for the last time. He must have come back to let her know... It all makes sense now!

I can hope, no? If not, let us leave it as a mystery.

Bye-bye, Mr. and Mrs. P. This is how I'll remember you guys:

I Made: floral tapes

2010-07-29T06:09:00.000-07:00

Inspired by the Merci x Liberty of London collection, I made some decorative tapes with floral paper scraps. After cutting the papers into 1.5 cm wide strips, I ran them through my Xyron sticker maker. I know, unlike the mt masking tapes, these stickers are permanent and it's not as hassle-free as tearing a piece of a roll of tape in any length you want, any time you want. But you can make a bunch of these with just a small piece of paper and stash them for future use. I tore the strips in random lengths, between 1-3 inches, so I can use them on envelopes whenever I'm sending cards or letters.

Oh, and did you see this security envelopes stationery set over at A Little Hut? Hot!

A Report

2010-07-22T06:25:00.000-07:00

(taken late last week)

The most exciting thing about my last week was the discovery of this pigeon nest. I originally planned a happy report on Mr. P and Mrs. P (as I'd like to call them) for today. But right now, I'm not so sure..

Can an egg like this still hatch?

Please say yes.

Based on my observation (and I did a lot of it), the pigeons take turns incubating the egg. They don't stay together very long; when Mr. P returns around noon, Mrs. P leaves. Mr. P doesn't stay for long though, maybe a couple hours at most. In fact, on Sunday, he never showed up for his shift! It's Mrs. P who stays with the egg every night. Anyway, they have not been leaving the egg unattended very much. There was a time late last week when both of them left the nest and I freaked out (and took that top picture) but they came right back after a few minutes.

But yesterday was different. I came back from lunch and did my usual peek out the window for a quick check. To my surprise, the egg was completely alone and it looked strange.. like it was dented.

I was heart broken. I thought, oh gawd, something happened and Mr. P deserted the nest. Maybe Mrs. P came back and found out what happened too and left for good. I was convinced that the egg was not going to hatch.

But then, she came back. After a good 2.5 hours. The longest I've seen the egg alone. What does this mean? Could it be Mrs. P doesn't know what's wrong and is just sitting on it? And eventually desert it when nothing happens? That would be just heart breaking..

Well, Mrs. P stayed with the egg overnight, and Mr. P came back this afternoon but only for a short while. He left the egg unattended again, long enough for me to get a better look at the egg and take that second picture. But now he's back, fidgety and moving about as usual, even while he's sitting on the egg. Could it be that he sat on it too hard and I haven't noticed it until yesterday? I thought the egg needed some more twigs underneath..

It's not looking good, does it. I'm too emotionally invested in this. It's been an emotional roller coaster ride. And it doesn't help that a few nights ago, I dreamed that a pair of tigers came and attacked them..

I guess only time will tell.

Want! Paul & Joe Cat Lipsticks

2010-07-21T06:08:00.000-07:00

(image source: britishbeautyblogger.com)

Yay or nay? I say, why not!

I first saw Paul & Joe cosmetics in Japanese magazines and instantly fell in love with their pretty designs. So different from the ubiquitous, black boxy stuff you see in other cosmetics brands. I don't buy much cosmetics but when I do, I choose ones that are unique in design because that will get me excited whenever I use them. Well, they'll have to work well on me, too, of course. Anyway, I've been following Paul & Joe's releases, and when I saw these cat lipsticks, my jaw dropped. Check out their color palettes from the same collection, too, here. They're all so pretty!

I Made: a small Polaroid album

2010-07-20T06:59:00.000-07:00

I went through many, many Polaroids of our family dog, Fifi, and finally put the best ones in a nice small album with photo corners.

(a rare smiling shot for the last page!)

I haven't archived photos like this since I made my Japan travel albums almost a year ago.. Which is really a shame because your favorite Polaroids shouldn't be stuck in some boxes! :P

Anyway, how do you store your pictures, especially Polaroids? Any recommendations on affordable, archival photo albums with 3.5"x5" sleeves? I'm looking for albums with sleeves because I really don't want to use scrapbook style albums + photo corners for ALL my Polaroids.. that would be too tedious. And 3.5"x5" would be the perfect size for 600 films! When I was growing up (ha ha), that was the standard size but not so anymore, it seems. Aieee~

Florals

2010-07-19T07:18:00.000-07:00

A couple of floral things I'm enjoying these days: Rifle Paper Co. cards + Paul & Joe Beauté's Alice in Wonderland lip treatment.

Oh, I wanted to ask, do any of you use Tumblr? After a long hiatus, I started "tumbling" again recently. If you'd like, come take a look and follow me at mini lilacmoon. :) It's like a supplement to this blog, where you'll find some interesting links as well as videos and photos.

What to eat in Portland

2010-07-15T06:45:00.000-07:00

Now that I'm done posting film shots from my last Portland trip (Oregon, that is), I'd like to talk about food. These are some of my favorite places in PDX that I make sure to visit every time.

Blueplate
Blueplate is open only on weekdays, so timing can be a bit tricky. I like these Northwest Sliders the best. You have to save room for their ice cream floats or milkshakes, which come served in ginormous cups on top of blue plates.

BeWon

(gu-jeol-pan as part of the prix fixe menu)

The han-jung-shik at BeWon is very tasty AND a bargain. The first time I visited, I wondered if their family was from the same region as my grandmother because everything suited my taste so well. I'm Korean and I approve. You won't hear me say that for many Korean restaurants.

Yuzu

Located at a strip mall far from downtown Portland, Yuzu is really out of the way (and the Google map is wrong!). But M and I managed to eat here twice with the help of Zipcar. If you are like me and lament the lack of good ramen in San Francisco, then you'll really enjoy a bowl of kakuni ramen here. Seriously, I enjoyed this more than a bowl I had in Fukuoka. 'Nuff said.

Broder

(Aebleskiver, Danish pancakes)

After two brunches at this cute little Swedish place called Broder, I'm ready to try their dinner menu. Hopefully, there is a next time. The wait was very long on both times but worth it for the unique experience. I really liked these round pancakes, as well as the trout hash and the breakfast bord. Love the white & blue checker thingies.

Pearl Bakery

I have no idea what their other breads are like at Pearl Bakery but I really enjoyed this flower-shaped Valrhona white chocolate shortbread. Twice. Perfect after window-shopping in Pearl District.

Cacao

Right around the corner from Ace Hotel, is Cacao, where you can find all sorts of fancy chocolates. And this shot of spicy drinking chocolate. Mmm.. so rich.

Yes, I'm still burning off these calories.

Want! Apple Pot & Memos

2010-07-14T07:15:00.000-07:00

Some of the things on my wishlist that have an apple theme going..

(image from Anthropologie)

Isn't this little jar so cute? It is by ttyokzk ceramic design; you can see more pictures here. I love how the spoon peeks out of the lid.

(image from kok-design.jp)

I saw these kudamono ("fruit" in Japanese) memos called Kudamemo by d-bros about a year ago but I have not forgotten about them! There is a US retailer online that carries what look like these memos but after reading the designer's warning about many imitations being sold online, I'm hesitant to buy them before checking them out in person. It's really too bad.. 'cause I want to hoard them! And not use them! *shakes head*

New Neighbors

2010-07-12T06:26:00.000-07:00

This explain why it's been so noisy outside the windows. New, unexpected neighbors.. Somehow these guys settled in the tight space between the two buildings and got busy. I'm going to be monitoring these two. It's quite fascinating, actually. They take turns bringing in twigs and nesting. Aw.. and I don't even like pigeons.

Portland -Part 2-

2010-07-08T07:58:00.000-07:00

More pictures from the Ace Hotel in Portland..

Inside the elevator. Quite true, unless you are me.

If you do walk up the stairs, you'll see that every floor is clearly marked..

This is what you'll be treated with if you walk up all the way.

Wall art by Evan B. Harris.

Want! Strangebeautiful Nail Polish

2010-07-07T08:15:00.000-07:00

(by Strangebeautiful Library of Color; All images from Anthropologie)

Um, I seem to have developed an unhealthy obsession with nail polishes. Don't these look so strangely beautiful? I'm definitely a sucker for unique product design and packaging, so these are going straight to my wishlist. :P

Portland -Part 1-

2010-07-06T06:25:00.000-07:00

How was your 4th of July weekend?
I didn't do anything special, just spent some time catching up with things :) Like finally processing the roll of film from my trip to Portland. As you'll see, I stayed at Ace Hotel..

Too bad it rained constantly while I was there, so a lot of my shots are from indoors at the hotel. The wide angle of Klasse W really helped! Other than chilling at the hotel, I really didn't do much else.. This was not my first trip to Portland, so I skipped all the tourist attractions and just relaxed as much as I could. I took walks in the rain, window shopped a lot, and ate good food.. Oh, and TV! I don't have a TV at home, so it was quite a treat to watch TV in the hotel room. Silly me, I know. ^_^

I Made: pastel wooden clips

2010-06-21T06:19:00.000-07:00

Big wooden clips from Daiso + mt masking tapes = clips to organize things

I forgot I had these clips! They're just a tad wider than the masking tapes but I rather like the result. Good thing the tapes can be removed easily.. When I get sick of these (it will happen for sure), I will be able to dress them up again in different colors. :)

(Inspired by Suzy Jack's decorative clips)

Film Shots from Klasse W

2010-06-17T08:07:00.000-07:00

Eggs + Asparagus sandwich at Local Mission Eatery

Café au Lait and Tres Leches Cake at Tartine Bakery

Open faced deviled egg sandwich and Brussel sprouts chips at Marlowe

Various homey Japanese dishes at Kappou Gomi

Pani Puri at Dosa

I finally got around to scanning the latest 35mm rolls I shot with Fujifilm Klasse W. If you know me from Flickr, you might remember that this Klasse W is the newest member of my camera family. As you can see, I ended up taking lots of pictures of yummy foods at my favorite restaurants. ^^ After shooting 4 rolls with it, I have to say, the camera is really fun to carry around. Light, compact and sexy to boot. The wide angle came in handy while taking these pictures at local restaurants, too. I just had to make sure to use the smaller rectangular guide in the viewfinder, not the whole viewfinder, for the close-up shots. I'm no photography expert, so I can't say much about the image quality but the lens does seem to be quite contrasty. And I think the camera handled low-light situations better than I expected.

Um, I'm getting hungry. How about you?

Masking Tapes + Travel Journal

2010-06-10T07:06:00.000-07:00

More masking tapes! I got them on a recent trip to Portland, OR. I know I don't really NEED them but I'm glad I found a use for them right away. They came in handy for adding little souvenirs to my travel journal, like ticket stubs and business cards.

I Made: a jersey scarf

2010-05-14T06:08:00.000-07:00

I've been a very bad blogger. T_T
I haven't been that busy, really.. I was gone on a trip but that's not a good excuse. I've just been uninspired. Generally feeling LOST everyday. Unsure of where I'm going with this blog, with my creative endeavors, with my life. Yup, it's not a great feeling.

BUT!
I have a good news.
I made a scarf.

After seeing Sally at Shim and Sons (here) and Sarah at The Small Object (here) whipping jersey scarves, I had to try it myself. I got one yard of this starry fabric at Jo-Ann Fabrics, cut it into two strips, and hand-stitched the ends of each strip together to loops. Oh, I lied. I made TWO scarves. Not too shabby for less than $5! And I love how these infinite loopy scarves don't fall off your neck. Brilliant. Just loop it!

As much as I resent the Internet, I do benefit from it. So thanks for all the inspiration, Internet! I think as long as you are there, I will keep on blogging. :)

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Weekend Snaps: Easter Eggs

2010-04-05T06:08:00.000-07:00

I spent a good chunk of yesterday making Easter eggs (inspiration here). Believe it or not, this was my second time dyeing eggs. Last year, I accidentally bought brown eggs.. Heh. This time, I think they turned out better. But I still found timing and controlling the dye concentration a bit of a challenge. I think I cracked at least 3 or 4 eggs, too.. Next year, I want to try using big alphabet letters like this. Hope you all had a good weekend! :)

I Made: a pair of shorts

2010-03-25T05:59:00.000-07:00

Actually, two pairs. This brown pair and a black pair. ♥

I wanted to buy some shorts after looking at way too many spring clothing catalogs but then I realized, I can make them! I just cut these pinstripe wide-leg pants that have been hibernating in my closet, sewed, and voila! Well, it took longer than it sounds because I'm not so skilled in sewing but it was theoretically very simple.

Speaking of reusing, check this site called reknit (via idsgn). You send an old sweater and it gets unraveled and reknit into a new item like a hat. Cool!

I'm going to try to continue this series of "I Made" posts so that I use what I already have and spend less money on shopping. Now, what's next?? *standing in front the closet with a pair of scissors* OMG!

I'm such a dork #2

2010-03-19T06:44:00.000-07:00

Have you checked out the Liberty of London for Target collection?
Like many of you, I was terribly excited and counted the days until the release date. I actually stayed up late on Saturday night to place an order. But after splurging on things I don't really need and haven't received yet, I'm drooling over yet even more Liberty stuff. Yup, told you I was a dork.

Have you seen the Merci x Liberty collection? In addition to pretty suitcases and envelopes, they have washi masking tapes in floral prints, made by the familiar brand, mt. Masking tapes!! *faints*

(images from liberty.co.uk)

But most of these are out of stock online. Tragic, right? They were available a couple days ago, and I had put them in the shopping cart. Oh yeah, I checked the international shipping rate. About $40 USD. Each tape about $7. Crazy, I know, but I was entertaining the idea.

Um, can anyone hook me up? Please?

Better yet, I think it'd be awesome if mt did a collection with Liberty directly and have them available in the US, too. ;) At the rate at which Liberty is collaborating with other companies these days, I don't think it's a bad idea. In fact, with the popularity of masking tapes rising and many Liberty fans all over, especially in Japan, it'd be a huge success. It's like, duh, why didn't we think of this combination before?

What, me? Desperate? No...

I Made: a ribbon necklace

2010-03-01T05:28:00.000-08:00

Materials I used

A piece of ribbon
A crown charm from a broken cell phone strap
An old necklace chain

Inspiration

Do you wear lots of necklaces? Or make your own? I don't plan on adding jewelry making to my growing list of hobbies but this was fun. :)

Weekend Snaps: Sandbox Bakery

2010-02-18T05:28:00.000-08:00

Some pics from my little weekend trip to a yummy bakery called Sandbox Bakery in Bernal Heights.

curry pan

negi-miso pan

I've never been to this neighborhood, so it was quite an adventure. Citrusboy and I took a bus there, and it took lots of turns up the hill. My sense of direction was totally gone when I got off.

We got some savory breads like curry, negi-miso and apple+bacon. Oh hohoho.. they were really good. I was reminded of all the bakeries we visited in Japan.. Why doesn't my neighborhood have a bakery like this? Oh wait, there's Tartine.. I really shouldn't complain. But I want my negi-miso pan every day!

Ok, I will stop now.

Valentine's Day Dinner

2010-02-16T06:01:00.000-08:00

What a delicious weekend.

I did some more baking, and on Sunday, citrusboy and I went to a yummy bakery in a new neighborhood (which I'll blog about next), and then we had an awesome dinner at Frances for Valentine's Day.

Surprise!

We started with a calamari appetizer, beet salad, and parsnip soup.

My entrée of Lacinato kale and crêpe cannelloni with maitake mushrooms

Desserts were fantastic as well. Citrusboy had the "lumberjack" cake with d'anjou pears and dates, and I had the panna cotta with winter citrus and shortbread cookies (pictured above). Everything we ordered was so good.

Mm.. what can I say? He knows the sure way to my heart. ♥ ♥

Weekend Snaps

2010-02-10T06:45:00.000-08:00

Breakfast with camera-shy citrusboy in his Tea Time t-shirt.

Some baking for Valentine's Day, which I took Polaroids of and made a mini print set with. The tweezers came in real handy for decorating the dark chocolate cupcakes with tiny hearts. Hooray, tweezers!

It's only Wednesday but I can't wait for the weekend to come! :)

Shop Update

2010-02-09T18:21:00.000-08:00

This is a quick post to announce that my Etsy shop has been updated with a new Polaroid mini set (here). A yummy Valentine's Day theme! It was really difficult taking pictures of cookies and cupcakes and cleaning up afterward. Oh yeah. ;)

I'm still participating in Papernstitch, so come on over and take a look around~
Some lovely goodies that I found at Papernstitch:

Tourist for a day

2010-02-03T06:56:00.000-08:00

After I don't know how many years of living in SF, I finally went to the Cable Car Museum. I wanted to show the city around to a friend from Japan, so I used that as an excuse to finally make the visit. It was a neat little museum! Free, too! These rows of wheels actually move all the cable cars in the city, and each row is labeled above with the name of the line it moves. The Powell St. line was the only one not moving (not pictured) because it was out of order. It was cool to see the reason why we couldn't ride the cable car all the way to the museum.

Then we saw Lombard Street and walked around the Ghirardelli Square, Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf, etc.. I know, very touristy things to do but we were in the area. I'm glad we did because that is where we met this cat, at a dock. It was totally chill.

Love napping cats who don't care that you're just an inch away.

Maybe I should be a tourist in my own city more often. And take more pictures. ^^

Weekend Snaps: Peko Peko

2010-01-21T08:35:00.000-08:00

Being Japanese food lovers that we are, Citrusboy and I couldn't miss the opportunity to get some good izakaya food over the weekend. There was a one-night event in Berkeley hosted by Peko Peko, and we had to go. The wait was long and service slow but we were still glad that we made the trip.

We didn't have any leftovers.

Papernstitch + Small Shop Update

2010-01-19T12:05:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to announce that I just started participating in Papernstitch :)
(Ooh, that is my Poladoodle print of pencils on the front page)

I also added a new mini Polaroid set to my shop in time for the Papernstitch update.

The previous mini sets are also available again. So please come visit my online table at Papernstitch right here and I hope you have fun browsing~

I'm such a dork #1

2010-01-11T06:51:00.000-08:00

I get excited by things like the limited edition colors of Sharpies. Sad, I know.

But I love me some Hibiscus Tea (far left) and Earl Grey (far right) ♥ ♥

A New Year

2010-01-08T06:33:00.000-08:00

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season! The year 2009 went so incredibly fast for me. Where did it go?

Into my stomach? If it did, it tasted pretty good.

Goodbye 2009 and hello 2010!

Happy Holidays! (More Wrapping)

2009-12-24T06:43:00.000-08:00

More fun with the round holiday stickers and my new snowflake craft punch. I think I used about 15 snowflakes for the top one. Punch, punch, punch, punch, punch, punch.. It's pretty addictive. And hypnotizing. 0_o

For the light blue tag, I used a washi tape that I've been itching to use. Did you know they sell rolls of them individually at Maido? Sure, it's pricier that way but I get to choose the ones I really like. Sweet.

Later today, I'll be on my way to see my family. I'm excited and worried because my flight is obviously overbooked. Holiday traveling, mmmm boy. Anyway, I'm leaving my shop open while I am gone since the sale is good till the end of the year (hint hint). I won't be able to do any shipping until I come back on the 5th though. Wait, that's.. that's next year. Holy!

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and if you're traveling, safe travels! See you next year! ^_^

Wrapping Fun

2009-12-18T07:00:00.000-08:00

Whenever I have to wrap (which I love to do), I try to think of a new, creative way to do it. But I always end up using round tags or stickers.

I guess you can't go wrong with a metallic string + round sticker. :)

For this one, I got fancy and used a new snowflake punch I recently got. I punched four snowflakes and overlapped them below the scallop-edged tag. The initials are from here. I've never used transfers before, and these came out very clean.

I finally got a ticket to visit my family, and I'm wondering what I should do for the presents I'm bringing with me. I can't wrap them beforehand.. :( I used to pack just the basics, like gift bags or wrapping papers cut to size but I want to do more than that. Hm.. sounds like I'll have to do some serious planning before I pack.

How are your holiday preparations going? Any wrapping ideas you always end up using?

Holiday Sale!

2009-12-08T07:23:00.000-08:00

Hello, it's SALE time!
All my Poladoodle prints are now 20% off. You can check them out right here.

You may have noticed that the mini Polaroid prints are not there in the shop. With the new computer came some technical challenges, so until I have the proper tools to print them, they will not be available. This is also the reason why I keep delaying the next shop update.. T_T

Okay, I need to cheer up. Thus the holiday sale! w00t! AND if you want to get free shipping, enter LILACBLOG in the Note to Seller section when you check out. Yup, free shipping code, just for you, my dear blog readers! Once you check out and make the payment, I will refund you the shipping fee. Please note, this code only applies to purchases with US shipping addresses.

Speaking of the holidays.. are you all excited? Busy shopping? This year, I had an early start and I'm feeling good about it. Oh yeah. I even have a couple presents all wrapped up real pretty. I'm even shopping for myself! (uh oh) Maybe I should get a plane ticket to go see my family first.. Yeah, I think that would be kinda important.. But why are they so expensive? T_T

Ok, enough rambling from me. Don't forget to check the sale at my Etsy shop! ;)

EDIT: Ah, I forgot to mention, the free shipping offer will end at the end of 2009.

Brenda's

2009-11-13T09:18:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday, Citrusboy and I had the day off for Veteran's Day, so we decided to try Brenda's French Soul Food for brunch. We did try on a weekend some time ago but gave up because the line was so long. The line wasn't too bad this time but we still had to wait a good 30-40 minutes. Playing some games on the iPod Touch helped.

We ended up ordering too much food! I highly recommend the crawfish beignets, with cayenne, scallions and cheddar. They were not pictured because we devoured them. Next time, I think I'll just get the beignets and some biscuits. :) Like the Brenda's t-shirt said, I have to "eat responsibly".

Hope you are having a good week, my readers. :)
I leave you with some links you might find interesting:

The Beatles, flowcharted
Beautiful letterpress goods by simplesong designs
Fun writing paper projects by Brooke Reynolds of inchmark.

I'm Well On My Way

2009-11-11T07:07:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty sure you have to practice and make same things over and over to become a crochet master. Oh yeah, I'm well on my way, then.

(Ha!)

Some more coasters I made while I was sick. I realized that's the best time to get crafty. :)

Speaking of which, look at all the crochet yumminess by emma lamb (via sfgirlbybay).

Catching Up

2009-10-31T07:48:00.000-07:00

I am feeling better now but I am behind on everything, including the shop update. I think I will aim for mid November instead and make it even better.

Oh, this computer? It is my new helper, except that it's not helping me catch up. ;) Now all my files from the previous computer and my external hard drive fit comfortably in the new hard drive. I'll still have to spend many more hours consolidating and sorting the files but at least they're all together finally. I'll also need to research and test-drive more wallet-friendly alternatives to Photoshop because my CS2 is refusing to install on the new computer. Apparently, CS2 is not supported on Snow Leopard, and I can't take advantage of the upgrade pricing because you can't upgrade from the suite to just one app. Boo. Anyway, so far in this search for another photo-editing app, I'm learning that I've been spoiled. Very spoiled. *sigh* I miss my workflow in Photoshop.

Here are some links I'd like to share with you for the weekend:

2010 letterpress and screenprint 2010 calendar by ilee papergoods: I saw these in person at a local store and they're awesome.
Six ways to turn desire into success: Something I need to work on.
The Daily Figure Blog via the wonderful Pikaland

and last but not least,
Top 5 Alternatives to Photoshop for Mac

Hope you have a wonderful weekend and Happy Halloween!

Weekend Plan

2009-10-24T10:16:00.000-07:00

W.E.E.K.E.N.D., it's weekend~ ♪♪

No big weekend plans for me; I'm going to rest at home because what started has a nasty sore throat has become a cold. I hope it's just a cold. Whatever it is, I'll be spending some quality time with the couch this weekend. I am, in fact, doing just that while Totoro is staring at me.

Here are some links I found noteworthy lately:

The Fun Theory, an ad campaign for Volkswagen Sweden
How a Sewing Machine Works (via swissmiss)
Sleepy King's plushies (via Paper'n'Stitch)
Target at the Metreon? As long as it's in the city, I'll take what I can even if it's going to be crazy. It's going to be AWESOME.

Hope you all have a good, healthy weekend!

Slow Week

2009-10-21T08:13:00.000-07:00

Monday's rain was quite something.. It caused flooding in many streets and a subway station had to be be closed. Luckily, I was home most of the day and observed the pouring rain at the back of the house.

I've been editing some Polaroid scans for a mini shop update at the end of this month. The color matching is nearly impossible but it is a necessary step that I have to be patient with. I can easily spend hours on it.. With the strange weather and all, this week has been kinda slow, for sure.

I hope you are having a good, dry week.

Crafty Ideas from Anthro

2009-10-19T07:15:00.000-07:00

I spotted this whimsical wall clock (similar here) at Anthropologie while shopping there over the weekend. How fun! I wonder if those strings below can be pulled..

If the store wasn't such a zoo, I would have taken my time and explored all the interior decorations because Anthropologie always seems to have the most interesting ideas. Like this:

Sorry for the cell phone camera quality but this was taken almost two years ago at an Anthropologie in either Seattle or Chicago, I do not remember. I wanted to use this idea for my own interior decorating but I haven't tried it yet. I should, though, with something like "Please take off your shoes". Except I'm worried about myself bumping into the pins all the time. Ouch.

Did you see anything interesting over the weekend?

Gloomy Days Mean Gaming

2009-10-16T14:09:00.000-07:00

It is finally sunny and clear today here in San Francisco but most of this week was very gloomy and wet. Boo.. But rainy season means staying indoors and playing games a lot. ^^

Instead of board games like last time, my friends and I played some fun card games like Land Unter and Dominion. In case you haven't noticed, I like games a lot, all kinds of them. I play to win. :P

And what's gaming without some snacks?

I admit I picked this up at Nijiya just because it had a cute illustration of happy cheese balls. How can you resist? I expected them to taste like Cheetos because the packaging had the Frito Lay logo but they tasted cheesier in a weird way. It was a fun snack to try just once.

And sweet Lola who came to hang out while we played games.. Doesn't she look so cute in my chicken hat?

Crochet, crochet

2009-10-13T07:00:00.000-07:00

I have too many interests. Like crochet, knitting, embroidery, stamping, etc, so I end up not spending enough time on any of them. So the other week, I decided to dedicate my hobby time to only crochet. Like my mom told me in Korean, dig only one well at a time. (Is there a similar saying in English?)

I tried a couple cute patterns from this crochet book that has been just sitting pretty on my bookshelf. I learned a few new stitches that I wasn't familiar with and even tried modifying the clover pattern to my liking with some success. w00t!

I should really try more from this book because I don't think I've been getting my money's worth. ^^ Craft books are pretty to look at and all but you don't know if you'll like the patterns until you try them, right?

This is from some time ago but I made a strap for my cell phone using one of the motifs from this book. It is one of the most beautiful crochet books I have, and I'm going to try more ideas from it for sure.

I wonder when I'll be able to crochet things in shapes I want, without any help from patterns? When will I be a crochet master? Hee.. for sure, it will take more than a week.

Japan Trip Albums

2009-10-07T07:00:00.000-07:00

Citrusboy and I finally finished a couple of photo albums for our Japan trip pictures. A very luxurious, green scrapbook for the best of my Polaroid shots and a sleek, small black album for his digital shots. A very small fraction of the digital shots; that only covered Ohara and Mt. Koya. And we didn't even include my film shots! We'll need many, many more albums for the rest of the trip, no doubt.

Although it was really hard to select the pictures to include, it felt good to get the them out of the computer (or boxes in Polaroids' case) and into something physical and more presentable. I hope to finish more before the end of the year.

Can you tell that food was a very important part of our trip? ;)

Rainbow Heart

2009-08-23T15:08:00.001-07:00

Here is the mini Polaroid project I mentioned in my previous post. I was inspired by other Polaroid lovers who did similar things with their Polaroids. I wish I can remember where I saw them!

It was citrusboy's idea to do the rainbow effect. It took some planning on a grid paper, and lots of shuffling but it was a lot of fun. Not a bad way to use the other 85% of Polaroids, no? ;)

Looking back

2009-08-21T22:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I spent a good amount of time sorting through my boxes of Polaroids and pulled out some to use on a decorating project (which I'll share soon). While going through them all, I realized, I really love Polaroids!

Duh.. of course. It's just that, I was reminded how much I am not enjoying Polaroids lately.. Going through all 1023 of them (yes! 629 Spectras + 394 600s) renewed my love for them, I guess.

Looking back, I also realized, I've made a lot of mistakes! Probably, only 15% of them are any good. You'd think that after all these years, I'd be an expert but nope. I still can't predict how each image will turn out. But you know, I don't think I'll look back years from now and regret that I made all those mistakes (and spent so much money). I'm certainly not now. Darn it, I'm going to keep shooting, and every single shot will be AWESOME.

;)

Recipes

2009-08-02T20:16:00.000-07:00

Finally, I'm done with recipe organizing!
I originally planned to make some cute recipe cards using Gocco and blank index cards but I realized that they wouldn't be that practical for me. I like to see the directions on a bigger page! Now I just zerox copy favorite recipes from magazines and cook books and insert them into this binder with lots of clear inserts. And when it's cooking time, I just prop it up with the acrylic stand I received as a gift:

Easy! A bit sad I didn't get to use Gocco for this little project but this solution will save me a lot of time. And I'll still get to see the beautiful photography that come with some of the recipes, all in one place.

By the the way, the oatmeal cookies above were made with this recipe from Martha Stewart Living. Baked with apricots and white chocolate instead of raisins! Very yummy.

Speaking of organizing, this is a brilliant idea I'd like to try next:
Business card inserts + extra buttons/threads by simple + pretty

Hope you all have a wonderful week ^_^

White Frames

2009-06-26T10:31:00.000-07:00

On my last trip to Ikea, I got a whole bunch of white frames for all the art prints and posters that have been sitting in storage too long and to update my Poladoodle prints. They were in black frames so far, and while they worked for some images, I felt they could look better if they were all in white.

I'm happy with the way they look in the new frames, despite the slight-yet-more-noticeable-than-others blue tint in the glasses. Are all Ikea frames like that? Anyway, San Francisco map in the big frame is a wrapping paper from Cavallini & Co, and I'm so glad it's finally framed after, oh I don't know, 2 years? There are plenty more to frame, and you'll see them here soon. Unless I make the frames wait 2 years, too. No, I will not let that happen! ^^

Happy weekend everyone~

Weekend

2009-06-23T21:29:00.000-07:00

Sunday I enjoyed some card games with my good friends. Citadels and Mystery Rummy, which I've never played before:
Poor Jill the Ripper. Her cards were discarded throughout most of the game. No one thought she could be the killer!

I baked some snickerdoodles for us to snack on while playing games:
I don't think there were many left before we even finished explaining the game rules.

Some great Japanese food at Mission Street Food by Peko-Peko:
Buta no kakuni - braised pork belly with daikon

Ochazuke - rice with green tea and salmon

And a Father's Day card to my dad in Chicago :)

More small changes..

2009-06-19T14:09:00.000-07:00

First of all, here is the inspiration for the small changes I've made to the bedroom.

This image from Domino Magazine convinced me that I must get some task lamps for the bedside tables. And it got me lusting after the Archimoon table lamps at Room & Board, which look awfully like the ones pictured here. But since I can't afford them ($464! Each!), I've opted for the Antifoni table lamps from Ikea.
Not as beautiful as the Archimoon but it will do, right?

I also added more color to the room by making gingham cushion covers to match the bedding, with fabric from Etsy seller cottonblue. Now, some artwork above the bed and the room will be pretty much done!

And have you seen the sneak peek of Office over at Design*Sponge? Love.

Few changes..

2009-06-16T21:35:00.000-07:00

Lately, I've been spending a lot of time trying to improve how things look around the apartment. Like browsing many catalogs and sites like Apartment Therapy, rearranging furniture, taking a rare trip to Ikea.. I even got some archival boards (finally!) to cut some custom mats for all the wonderful prints I've collected so far.

Here are some of the small changes I've made recently:
I replaced the polaroids hanging on the wire with some Chihiro Iwasaki postcards I bought on my last trip to Tokyo. She is one of my favorite illustrators.

A mirror with key hooks for the entryway from CB2. It fits perfectly in the narrow wall and is very convenient for a quick check before I step out.

What I would really like to do is paint all the walls some non-white colors but the landlord won't allow it. Oh well.

More changes to come.. :)

Back at Papernstitch + Shop Update

2009-06-03T14:51:00.000-07:00

Hello! I have a few updates I'm excited to announce :)
As you can see from the screenshot, I'm back at Papernstitch this month! You can find my virtual table here. Maybe while you are there, you can give me some love by clicking on the pink heart next to my shop name? ^^

And I just updated my shop with a couple Poladoodle prints that were previously sold out at Etsy (see the red arrows above). Yes, my best sellers are back! They were available at Copacetique before but now that it's on hiatus (come back soon!), they're back at my Etsy shop. So hurry and check them out if you missed them before.

Oui

2009-05-20T15:31:00.000-07:00

I don't usually go crazy over necklaces, or jewelry for that matter, but this "oui" necklace took my breath away when I first saw it on lovely Mika Nakashima (here). I had to find out where it's from but I should've known. If it's on a famous celebrity, it's probably very expensive. Sure enough, I found out that it's made by Dior. Yup, that Dior. Doh.

Better start saving!
(Imge from eluxury)

New teacups

2009-05-18T17:30:00.000-07:00

Recently, I visited the Heath Ceramics factory store in Sausalito to check out their annual sale. It was my second time there for the sale, and it was another pleasant shopping experience. There were lots of people there, and I saw many of them grabbing the bud vases.
How can they not? They look so pretty grouped together.

Citrusboy and I grabbed these celadon Dosa cups as soon as we saw them, and we are more than happy with them. I'm sure some of you have heard good things about Heath Ceramics but they really do feel nice in your hands, especially these teacups. They are the right size and shape for drinking tea. We got the same cups in dark color (here) last time but these celadon ones are proving to be better for green tea because you can see the color of the tea better in them. Plus the beautiful color reminds me of Korean celadon pottery. :)

Hope you all have a good week! Don't forget, my shop over at Papernstitch is still going! ^_^

Poladoodles featured in Dujour Mag

2009-05-12T17:55:00.000-07:00

Hello!
My Poladoodles are featured in the latest issue of Dujour magazine. It is full of pretty, vintage-inspired photos and art, so I hope you do check them out. :)

Thanks, Dujour!

Mother's Day card + masking tapes

2009-05-12T00:15:00.000-07:00

Hope you all had a good weekend!
My weekend was quite relaxed.. I got to visit Heath Ceramics at Sausalito to take advantage of their sale and played lots of Ratchet & Clank. I did not spend Sunday with my mom because I'm living very far from my family. :(

But now that Mother's Day has passed, I can share this photo of the card I made for her. I love shopping for cards but this Mother's Day, I didn't find any that I thought she would like, so I just made one. And I know she appreciates handmade cards because last time I sent her a fancy card, she was slightly disappointed that I didn't hand make it.. Oh, Mom.

And yes, that's masking tape. ^^;; I've been itching to use them, so this was a good, very simple project to start with. I'll have to come up with other projects soon. ^^

These three I got at a cool photo store in Tokyo last year, called Monogram (I'm sure I'll talk about this store at another time because it was so nice). Good thing there are many online stores that carry these tapes now, like this one and this one. And if you're in San Francisco area, Kinokuniya Stationery store in Japantown carries some mt brand tapes, too. Awesome.

I'll be back tomorrow with an exciting piece of news I've been keeping a secret. ^^

Rie fu's CD Jackets

2009-04-30T17:09:00.000-07:00

Just found this awesome CD jacket that reminded me of both Rob Ryan and Jessica Hische. I'm really loving the curly font + drop shadows. I'm not sure who the designer is or if it's really paper-cut. Could be entirely digital.

The album is by a Japanese singer named Rie fu. Her previous two singles are also done in the same style.

So pretty! As for the music itself, the album is pretty enjoyable. Any jpop fans out there? ^_^;; I'm liking "Romantic" so far; it is produced by Taku Takahashi of m-flo, my first jpop love.

(Images are from amazon.co.jp)

Papernstitch

2009-04-28T13:09:00.000-07:00

I am very excited to announce that beginning this week, I am participating in an online exhibition called Papernstitch. It is a very neat site, and you can find my space right here. Just in time for this exhibit, a new set of mini Polaroid prints has been added to my Etsy shop. First set with Spectras!

Hope you come and visit me there! I see lots of talented folks, too, so I'm sure you'll have fun browsing. My favorites so far include Dr Kennedy Jones, Nancy Tobin, and Yellowgoat. See you soon! Oh, and it'd be awfully nice of you if you can click on the heart and give me some love at my table. ;)

stationery love: o-check

2009-04-23T21:50:00.000-07:00

Last weekend in the unusually hot weather, I stopped by my favorite shop Rare Device and treated myself to some stationery love.

A nifty diamond notebook and a roll of grid tape (top one)! They are both by o-check design graphics, from Korea, my native country. Sweet.. Love seeing Korean products at Rare Device. Before it was mmmg, now o-check. Awesome. Clever names, too. o-check can be read "gong-chaek" in Korean, meaning blank (zero or in this case "o") book or notebook.

The pages inside the notebook have a very good, smooth texture. Not too thick, not too thin.

Funny coincidence, I realized that another roll of decorative tape I have (pictured below the red grid tape) is also by o-check. That one I purchased at an interior goods store in Daikanyama last year; it has a white lace design. Darn, I wish I could go to Korea right now to raid this brand. If you couldn't tell, I love stationery goods. The only stationery company I knew growing up in Korea was Barunson, and one of my earliest memories of shopping was at a Barunson store, buying little erasers and pencils adorned with cute characters. Imagine how much variety would be there now! Okay, my next shopping destination: Korea. Oh boy.

If you can read Korean or want some eye candies, here is a Vogue Girl Korea feature on several Korean stationery companies, including o-check, with pictures of their products and their workspaces.

Fun with envelopes

2009-04-12T23:04:00.000-07:00

I hope you all had a great weekend! I was able to enjoy the beautiful weather and relax, maybe too much, because I finally finished my taxes. I've been procrastinating it until the beginning of this month, and it was not fun going through all the receipts and calculating inventory. I spent many many hours crunching numbers in Excel and setting up spreadsheets for the next year's taxes. Oh yeah, I'm totally ready for the next one.

Right.. Anyway, doing the taxes got me in the organizing mood, and this is what I did over the weekend:

Envelopes + cork board!
The board was starting to look too cluttered, and my desk was getting messy with random notes I jotted down on small pieces of paper. Apparently, I take that after my dad. I recently found this out from my mom. She said it drives her nuts that he leaves pieces of paper everywhere. Heh.

Pretty borders on the flaps with edge punches from Martha Stewart + printed labels. Love it. I'm thoroughly enjoying these and also finding them very useful.
The idea of using envelopes came about after seeing this envelope book by Derek and Lauren of Curiosity Shoppe. It's so simple. Why didn't I think of this before? Maybe many people out there do the same thing already. I feel so.. behind. ^_^;;

Spring Update at Etsy

2009-03-19T13:26:00.000-07:00

I just updated my Etsy store with two new sets of Polaroid prints! This time, the prints are smaller, with the size as same as actual Polaroid films. I thought it would be fun to make prints that you can easily hold in your hand and display more casually. Like on your refrigerator.

Each set has a theme but you can make your own set by choosing any 3 images that you like. :) I'm very excited about this update because I think the prints capture the spririt of Polaroids quite well. I have a couple more sets in mind but I'll see how these go first. As always, any feedback you have would be much appreciated!

More Orla..

2009-03-17T23:51:00.000-07:00

Yes, more Orla.. :)
I returned from a trip to Chicago (family event) last week with loads of Orla Kiely for Target stuff. I was sad many of the items I wanted were already gone online but my sister was kind enough to find most of them for me in the Chicago area, including this tray. It's not too big or too small.. I'm really enjoying it.

Fifi, my family's boston terrier, was very curious about what was in the reusable bag. :)

PS: I've been planning a shop update.. I'm so excited! It will be done before the end of this week.