thanksgiving

this is a picture of us at thanksgiving. my eyes look like i'm squinting, but it shows my new haircut, and baby P!

indians

Kai is getting bigger and learning how to be an Indian out there in Hong Kong.

idea

Caroline & I keep complaining about the distance between us. It's hard being separated from your longest running roommate, especially when she's baking up a storm. And Nozomi is now taking occasional trips to Utah to go snowboarding, and my family goes there....I could go on and on. Using my 5 second skills in photoshop, I put this proposition together. What do you think?

a new take on jam

i'm going to try this this weekend - i'll post pics if it's a keeper.

D.I.Y. Cranberry Jam - about 1 cup of jam
12 ounces of cranberries (1 bag)
1 1/4 cups sugar
Peel of 1 orange
1 cinnamon stick
3/4 cup water

Run the cranberries through a food processor until they are finely shredded. If you like a chunky jam, leave them whole or process them less. Put the cranberries and the rest of the ingredients in a 2-quart pan. Let sit for about 10 minutes, then bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Turn the heat to low and let the jam simmer for about 25 minutes, or until it hits a temperature of 220ºF. Remove from the heat and let cool, then put in the refrigerator.

{courtesy of Apartment Therapy}

Happy Thanksgiving!! We are heading up to Detroit to spend it with Eunnie & Paul & PJ, and her family and will return Sunday evening. We're in charge of the pumpkin pie and are packed and ready!

{photo from Martha Stewart}

paint-a-licious

Holly & I are throwing a party in a few weeks. A chance to re-work some thrift store art, eat, drink and mingle. These are some selected parts of her invitation. I wish some of you were closer to join us! I think the final results are going to be hilarous. (they will of course be posted)

add this to your christmas list

Rick & Alicia (brother & sis-in-law) started a non-profit called Help One Future a few years ago to help underprivelaged children in the Philippines have the supplies needed to receive an education. I went down w/them a few years ago to take some pictures, hand out supplies, and help with the cause. It's a wonderful thing to see the intensity in kids that want to learn - the eagerness in them, regardless of their location. Most of the school rooms had no electricity, no air conditioning, and many of the desks were made by their parents.

This year, if you are looking for a way to help those in need, please donate to this cause. 100% of all proceeds go to help try to end this cycle of poverty. Rick & Alicia are spending their Christmas handing out the supplies that your donations provide.

Here is part of their objective: We request only that recipients of aid from Help One Future, upon achieving success in their life, consequently reach out a hand to help others in similar situations in order to perpetuate a cycle of helping each other.

Please visit them at : Help One Future

up on the wall

Now that this is up, I can't decide if I like that they're blue, (a nice soft color that's not too much contrast on our white walls) or if I'd rather go to the original choice of black. My decision against black was only based on me not being able to find one sheet of black card stock at home or at the store - walmart only had a pack of 250, and we do NOT need that many silhouettes of us. Anyways, here's the final product.

yowzas

When someone invented the word 'finally', they were talking about me.

I finally have wedding pics to share. FINALLY!! So go ahead, watch the slideshow, bask in my beauty, and cry when your photo is not in there because it's temporarily lost. We're going to hunt through this place again this weekend.

THE GREATEST WEDDING ever

(password: marin)

Thanks to everyone who made this day happen. We're almost to month #4.

guess who

i made silouettes of jan and i last week. then i printed them on blue paper, cut them out and framed them. i'll post a pic of the finale this weekend. this is the illustrator version. i like the simplicity of this too.