craft: autumn wreath

here is the finished product of my autumn wreath!! it took a while to make but that was because of all the coffee filter dying i needed to do and make each individual flower. other than that, it was pretty inexpensive to make. being my first wreath, i will make changes to it next year but for now, i think it looks pretty lovely on our front door.

autumn wreath 2011

F A I L

i failed miserably on the 10 day challenge. but here are my excuses:

: our computer revealed the blue screen of death and so i was without a computer

: we went on 2 trips. one down to san diego to meet our new niece juniper wang and to chicago to visit our other cousins...olivia and luca. this will conclude our travelling for the year 2011. this includes husband too {thank goodness}

now that i am reconnected to the online world via computer i will continue on with this 10 day challenge which is turning into a 90 day one...

so far...

so far this is what i have for my fall wreath...

at this rate, my fall wreath will be ready for fall 2015 {sigh}. i chose to use a green, red, orange and yellow paint. i also picked up some fall colored berries to add on...couldn't find acorns anywhere. i'm already envisioning my holiday wreath that i want to make...again, i don't have much hope in finishing either of them but i love my crafting time. it's good me time. i'll keep posting progress if any is made.

8 fears

just to let you know, i won't be finding pictures of my eight fears...because...well...they're my fears and there is no need in seeing them constantly on the blog...

1) i fear...spiders, all shapes and sizes. anything that's creepy crawly is not good for this chica's health. and i'm not a "let's save the spiders life and put it outside our door" because i know for a fact that the same one will make its way back into our house. oh, and a not so funny story...when we lived in our apartment right after scott and i got married...it was probably one of the most stressful weeks of my life and i noticed a little fuzzy blob in the corner of our bedroom. i just didn't feel right about it and i woke up in the middle of the night to find out that the fuzzy little blob was a spider egg sac. yup. almost passed out that night.

2) i fear...all the creepers of this world. i won't watch a dateline or 20/20 by myself but man, those stories are scary crazy. i am amazed at how common it is to hear about these heartless people and how they are taking lives that are not theirs to take.

3) i fear...the world jacob will grow up in. i thought about this question long ago even before i was even married because it terrifies me. i can only pray that jacob will grow up loving his Jesus and then i'll know everything will be ok.

4) i fear...the unexpected. i get super anxious about things. i'm not great at transitions...i adapt pretty well after but it's the anticipation. it's crazy...i literally feel knots in my stomach when it gets really bad.

5) i fear...sharks. yet i still watch shark week when it's on...

6) i fear...losing the people i love so so much.

7) i fear...illness. it has hit my family and the people i love hard in recent years.

8) i fear...needles. i've gotten poked by needles from this first pregnancy to last me a lifetime.

9 loves

1) i love...my sweet husband, my bundle of joy jacob & my crazy charlie. they are my world and couldn't picture life without them...

2) i love...our community. this includes my family, friends, yl and everyone that is a part of my life. in some way shape or form, the people that are and have been in my life have shaped and molded me into the woman that i am today...and for that i am forever thankful...{i love this picture because on this day, we had everyone that we loved in one place...we felt so blessed!}

3) i love...shopping. everyone has hobbies and for the longest time i would tell myself how shallow this sounded but i don't think so anymore. i love looking, trying on things and finding great deals!

{via}

4) i love...oregon. i moved up here when i was 12 and it took some time to getting used to but i have fallen head over heels about this amazing place. i consider it home and couldn't imagine living anywhere else.

5) i love...cooking. i'd say this a more recent love. i really started cooking when i started dating scott back in 2005. i love the challenge and also the fellowship of having our family and friends over to share a meal. scott is a huge support in this love of mine...it also helps that he isn't a picky eater either.

6) i love...the beach. it doesn't matter what beach but i love everything about it. the smell, the sounds, the sand in between my toes. cannon is a favorite of ours but wouldn't mind going back to cozumel.

7) i love...music. it moves me in so many different ways. my most favorite artist is james morrison. my *sister introduced me to him and i can't put into words how much i adore his music. listen to his rendition of "man in the mirror." amazing.

{via} & http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pn3_c3vD900

8) i love...laughing. it seems strange to put that as one of my 9 loves but it's true. i love the i-want-to-pee-in-my-pants-my-mascara-is-running-and-i-don't-care kind of laughing. i believe it heals the soul and lightens your spirit. i do this kind of laughing the most with my *sisters*. i can be in the same room and if one of us starts without even saying a word - guaranteed the three of us will be on the floor rolling and wiping away the tears. scott is a witness to this...

9) i love...last and certainly not least, Jesus. He is the reason i live and survive each day. without His strength and love for me, i'd be nothing.

{via}

tissue & coffee filter flowers

i finally got another kick of motivation to start another project. after seeing this beautiful fall wreath off of this beautiful blog, i decided to go after it. i wanted to see if i could even make a decent looking flower so i grabbed leftover pottery barn kids tissue paper and tried it out. they turned out pretty darn cute...and i really like the different prints of tissue paper... {i traced the tissue papers with one of our plates...}

{the start of the rolling process...}

{one finished!!}

{my sample flowers}

{these are the coffee filters dipped in the same green i painted for jacob's initials for his shadow box}

{my green ones...i need to get the natural colored coffee filters for my fall wreath but these would look so pretty for the spring!!}

challenge: 10 secrets

{via}

i'm linking up with my sweet little hannah and doing the "10 day you challenge." i love reading about hers and feel like i'm getting to know her better. so here goes my 10 secrets:

1) i've always secretly wanted to be a back up dancer. to be one for beyonce, jt...or someone of that sort would be A-MAZING. {side note: as i'm writing these, i'm laughing my head off...feel free to do so too.}

2) when i run, i tend to pick up the pace when i know people are watching.

3) i have many "joey" moments, especially when it comes to jokes.

4) i go back and forth with this one: there are times i boldly claim my shameful love of reality television and other times i deny this love. i guess now the secret's out.

5) i'm a bit ocd.

6) i never knew what fml was until right now. {i just googled it}

7) i bawl my eyes dry for certain movies. to name a few: armageddon, father of the bride, the holiday.

8) i get these things called tonsil stones. it is so so gross. there, i said it.

9) i like all things southern. is it weird that i'm 100% asian on the outside and like this?

10) i laugh out loud by myself a lot when i see a funny commercial, read a funny tweet or facebook post. {btw, where has justin nelson been on fb? i'd always get a good chuckly from his posts...}

coffee filters

{via}

how GORGEOUS is this?! it's made out of COFFEE FILTERS. a-mazing. i am going to learn how to do this and i'll probably go crazy with it but my goodness...i love it. anyone interested in having a coffee filter flower making party??

p. t. update

friday, september 9:

jacob had a list of goals to meet the last time we were at physical therapy and he met and exceeded all of them...HOORAY!! he is on the verge of crawling and it makes my heart ache with joy when i see how proud he looks. time and time again i hear, "they grow up so fast..." and it's true. of course there are days when it seems to drag on...but seriously, the past almost 9 months have gone by so fast. i sit and think about how desperately and quickly we want our little ones to become independent but i also want to bottle up my sweet baby boy up because he's at such a fun season of life. i've been wanting to do this for a while and so i guess better late than never...

{jacob @ 8+ months}

jacob, at 8 months...you:

* are revving up to crawl! you can get up on all fours and i just know you'll be crawling in no time!!

* think mama's toes are hilarious...like big, hearty laughing hilarious. it truly is the best sound in the world...

* are eating solids 3 times a day and just started eating yogurt. you are a good eater...

* have been on 2 trips. once down to palm springs and just recently down to san diego and you were AWESOME on both flights.

* get shy when it's a new place or meet new faces. you rest your head on mama's shoulder and i love that you feel safe when i hold you.

* are taking two solid naps during the day...a BIG thank you for that.

i know there are so many more things that i adore about you but that's all i have time for today...mama is so proud of you!!

{yogurt face}

wants & wishes

from: nordstrom

w & w: marc by marc jacobs "preppy hayley" tote

this picture doesn't do justice but it's BEAUTIFUL. i saw this when we were down in san diego and it just felt so right to sling it over my shoulder...

upstairs bathroom wish list

the very hungry caterpillar collection from pottery barn kids:

{via: potterybarnkids}

IF i had twins i'd get this:

{via: potterybarnkids}

this isn't the usual janice but there is just something about this collection that i adore...maybe because i'm a teacher and this is just such a classic children's story book...i don't know. whatever it is, i think it's darling!

robert b. lee

better known as bobby lee. happy birthday to my big brother. he is one of a kind and one of THE most generous people i know. he works hard and plays hard. he is so incredibly loyal to his family...he moved all the way from reno to be close to us. he adores jacob and is great with kiddos. we are so very thankful for bobby...we love you so much!!

{jacob & uncle bobby}

{bobby & cindy unee}

{celebrating bobby at ringside}

happy birthday big brother!!

2011 family fun day

2011 nike family fun day

WOW. this set up was amazing...it was a lot to take in for us, so not sure what was going through jacob's head. it was a bit overwhelming at times for him but he did better than i expected. we are excited for next year when jacob will be a little over a year and a half and will be running around at this event. thanks nike!!

{dad & jacob...jacob was trying to take all of this awesome craziness in!!}

{halmohnee, jacob & mama...halmohnee was the most excited to be there with her grandson}

{this picture doesn't even show the magnitude of how nike went all out for this event. we're already excited for next year!}

{this was taken as we were leaving...jacob was so tired he rested his eyes for a moment on my shoulder & then fell asleep... ~ best

ta-da!!

our little jacob will be turning 8 months in just two days...and though it has indeed been a long time, there are days that seem to drag on forever and others that slip away and all of a sudden your baby is turning 8 months old. i am proud and slightly embarrassed to say that i finished his shadow box. {a little self praise..yay me!!} this has been on my list to do for a while now. and now, it has been completed. part of the process entailed a vision, commitment to a theme of colors and finding the perfect pieces. i also waited patiently for sales to happen at various places to purchase the few things i wanted. so here are a few photos of the process and end product! hoping jacob will love it as he grows up...

{finally found a shadow box i liked at michaels. i also found his initials, double sided velcro stickies, paint & paint brushes there too. i fell in love with the martha stewart line of paper and mini tissue pom poms - also found at michaels. the things that went into the shadow box were two of his teeny tiny preemie onesies. i also saved the hospital hat he came home in and the hospital bracelets that belonged to me, scott and jacob. i had a really good copy made of his footprints and added it in too...and i didn't add it in the picture above but i also saved the original piece of information they put on the bassinet telling the world of your new bundle of joy with all of his stats...}

{i pieced it all together to see my 'rough' draft. i added a few more details in the end...}

{i really liked these letters. committing to a paint color was torture but in the end...i really liked how it turned out. the brand of acrylic paint is craft smart and the color: lush foliage. i put two coats on...}

{and ta ~ da...here is the end product!!}