Tanglewood Vacation

Just realized I haven't process and upload pictures from our vacation a month ago! Well, I have my excuses, exhausted from the trip, busy preparing for little caterpillar's big party, working hard on getting perfect portraits of her, etc. Anyway, now that I have a little bit time, I decided to tackle it. I have to do it quickly, so I will have time for apple picking, pumpkin picking, hay ride, foliage sighting, .... So many great outdoor activities in next month, I can hardly wait. That also means tons of new pictures will be taken. OK, enough of this. Now drum roll please!

Here are some pictures we took at Tanglewood at a family friendly concert, on a rainy day! We got there 5min before the concert started, and because of the rain, there were not many people there, and they allowed babies inside the shed! Even though we could only sit at the back row, it was already much better than sitting on the wet grass. Little caterpillar loves music. So, no surprise to us, she decided to 'sing' along in the middle of it. *v* You have to be there to see how fast we reacted. We didn't want to disturb the musicians and bother other audience. Stubborn quickly got up, jumped over the seat to the outside, and I unbuckled little caterpillar, took her out of the stroller, and handed (definitely no throwing) her over to Stubborn, and he walked as fast as he could into the yard. We were such a great team. Maybe we should enter some of those game shows. Hmmm, maybe not. Anyway, it was cold and windy, and we forgot to take her jacket out of the car. So, Stubborn, being a great daddy he always is, took off his own and wrapped it around her. During the break, I put little caterpillar in the stroller and pushed her around, so Stubborn can enjoy the concert. I have to say, the view was amazing, the music was fantastic, plus the drizzling rain, everything seemed more mysterious. Of course, I had to take as many pictures as I could. Only this time, little caterpillar was not the star. Sorry baby!


The whole summer was hot and dry, then it just had to rain on our vacation. But we didn't mind that at all. Our vacation has always been relaxing, we just aren't those fun chasing couple. We got to enjoy the facilities at the resort (a timeshare resort). We played lots of games inside, swam everyday in the indoor pool, played mini golf many times, and most importantly enjoyed lots of family time in our apartment.


The last day we were there, it was sunny and very nice. We visited Tanglewood one last time, listened to their rehearsal, toured the field. Then we stopped by some small local towns,
and a botanical garden.

OK, this post is getting too long. To see the more pictures of our trip, please jump to my flickr. I will posting more pictures after processing them tonight.

Special Pictures

Have been planning this for a while. I used to take some staged pictures for little caterpillar when she was, well, not mobile yet. They all came out pretty good. But as soon as she can move around, it's a totally different story. She is too big to sit still, yet too little to follow commands or pose for the camera. Now that she is ONE, we want to take some good ones again. It was really hot on Sat, I had to clip some sheer (my gorgeous curtain fabric that my mom bought all the way from China, and it's the only piece big enough for this) to the temporary posts (left from her big party decor) to create some shade for the baby and filter the strong sunshine. Even with that, we were all sweating. But the pictures came out really nice. I put a blanket on the deck, and lots of her toys around.
Little caterpillar had such a great time, she even danced a little. Wish I could show you more, but Stubborn has this rule that I cannot post any personal pictures here. Sorry, guys!

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival

Yesterday was our Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival. All Chinese (maybe some other Asian countries as well) people around the world celebrate it the traditional way, well, as much as we can. We didn't have time to go to Chinatown, since it's the middle of the week, so we have no idea whether they had those gorgeous Chinese lantern displays or some of the traditional games. But we did get the moon cakes for last night. It was quite cloudy last night, I couldn't get a clear picture of the bright full moon. To know more about this festival and the moon cake, read this and this.

Loving The 'New' Playarea

It's not really new, but new to little caterpillar. There were always too many kids in there, some teenagers sometimes, which is totally inapproprate, since all the toys and games are designed for little ones. Anyway, I was not comfortable enough to put her in there with all the possible dangers, she could be kicked down by running kids while crawling, or be stepped on her hand while trying to climb the stairs to the slide. Now she is cruising nicely, and almost ready to walk, we thought it's time! What can I say! She loves it, and we have been going to that playarea (in our local mall) every weekend ever since.

My Baby Is One!

Time does fly fast! I cannot even remember what my little caterpillar looked like when she was just born! Interestingly, she woke up in the middle of the night right around the time she was born last year, crying, like she remembers. Well, she might be just hungry. But I couldn't get back to sleep, lying in bed, trying to remember what was going on right at this moment a year ago. I heard an old Chinese saying before, "after your scare heals, you forget the pain"! I tried as hard as I could, I just cannot remember the contractions and the pain! By pain, I meant it. I didn't have time to get epidural! Whatever I had been through, it was worth it! Now we have the perfect baby we were dreaming for. She is beautiful, smart, and funny, very loving as well. At the end of the day, as soon as you see her little face at the front door, all your stress and exhaustion just melt away. You open your arms and heart willingly, to all the laughing, screaming, even crying. My baby is one now! She already saying several words besides 'baba' (daddy in Chinese) and 'mama', she crawls really fast, cruises around the house holding onto furniture, and right before her big party, she made her first step! We were all so excited, just couldn't get it on tape. To us, all her little achievements and milestones are so precious, we try to memorize them by all ways possible.

For now, I just want to look at all these party pictures, and think about the fun we had. Stubborn thought the only reason I put up all the decoration is to show off, to get the words ("Wow, so beautiful! You are so talented! kind of words) from our guests. But what he couldn't understand is, all this is for my little caterpillar. For her to look back to when she is little bit older. She will see how much her parents loved her! Also, if I don't make it happen as I have been dreaming of and planning for for the past 2 months, I know I won't get a good night sleep, and I could have this huge stone on my chest and won't be able to breathe freely until her next birthday. So, even if I had to work extra hard and go to bed late, I had to do it. At the end, we had the perfect party! All our guests had a great time. Stubborn and I cooked several dishes, including two new ones I just learned from our friend, and I also prepared all sorts of games for the older kids and the babies. There were lots of laughters, tips sharings, and tons of pictures. At the end, there were almost no leftovers! All the games were played! And lots of memories were made. Here is just some of the pictures I took after the party. I recruited one of our friends to be the photographer of the day, and still waiting for the pictures. Between two of us, I think we took more than 400 pictures! Wondering how many scrapbook pages I will need to make. =)

Thrifted Kids Play Table Set

Score! I spotted this set right after it was dropped off at my local Salvation Army! So, without second thought, I grabbed it. I know there are only 3 chairs, missing that piglet one, but com'on, how can I pass on such a cute set, especially when it looks almost like new. I have been looking for some kid's play table set for the playroom (aka. the living room) and the nursery. Since all our rooms are small, I have to try even harder to find something fits the scale. The day before I bought this gorgeous set, I picked up another set on the curb! Yeah, I do pick up other people's trash once a while. They were even smaller than this pooh set, with princess design. But the finish was really badly damaged, and some pieces are loosen. So, they are in process of being fixed and refinished. I will show you the before and after of that set once I am done with it. That set will go into the nursery, since it's smaller and has just 2 chairs. Meanwhile, little caterpillar and her stuffed animal friends are enjoying this 'brand new' set. And I got it right in time for her bday party. The older kids (5yr old) can eat at this table! PERFECT! And it's just the right size for that tiny corner of the living room. I used to put my Norfolk Pine tree there over winter, but since we need space for little caterpillar's toys, it has to go. I am so glad someone came and picked it up, along with several other house plants I left on the curb. Here is how this 'new' table set looks with alphebet art I made her, and some of the bday decor. I will show you the rest of the decor after the big party.

First Refashion Attempt

Hey there, I have been quiet for a week. Sorry, just too tired. This is the refashion project I meant to show you all last week. I bought 3 tops from Talbot outlet on clearance recently for refashion purpose. I didn't plan this, just happened to stop by there and saw the big sale. The cashier actually asked me whether I tried them on, since everything was final sale. =) I didn't want to tell her my plan, so I had to say they are for a friend. Of course she had to ask, I am a size M and all 3 tops were XL and larger! Anyway, I got them really cheap, and fully intended to make some cuties out of them. Stubborn couldn't understand why I didn't just buy something my size, instead I have to work on them. Well, he is not handy crafty type, so he doesn't understand in general how satisfied one can be after making something with their own hands. OK, enough talking about him. Here is my first refashion project.

It started with a XXXL top, with very cute neck line. I like the neutral (creamy) color, but don't like the shape. Of course, it's wayyyyyyy too big. Sorry about the lighting, it was night and the living/play room was very dark even with the floor lamp on.

So, I turned it inside out, put one of my shirts that fit pretty well on top of it, and traced around it.

Then I cut the extra off, leaving 1/2" seam allowance.

And I added sleeves made with cut off fabric. There was not enough fabric to make longer sleeves, so I made them very short and cute. I think the end result is looking pretty good. Sorry, I didn't take a picture of me wearing it. Maybe later, it's still in the dryer. Yeah, lazy me!

There you have it. My very first refashion project. Not too bad, huh?

My Dream Closet Workstation

While reading my favorite blog Centsational Girl this morning, I spotted a oh so pretty closet workstation, created by Jen from I Heart Organizing. It's almost identical to my situation, but way more organized and fashionable! I just love the wallpaper, the amazingly cute white baskets, and the fact you cannot see any messy wires! Love love that transparent chair! It makes the space looks very clean and open, love it not blocking the wallpaper. And how awesome is that swing arm lamp! We need one for the nursery, and this one could be a perfect fit. My space is so messy now, I have to dig for what I want. And stuffs are spilled out to the room, covering the floor and futon! I need to act fast, before it drives my poor DH crazy!