Lemons and Chambray by Winavie

Fall boots 2015 and Tokyo

2015-11-11T17:29:00.000-08:00

Happy 11/11!

A change of scenery, I'm writing from the 33rd floor in a hotel in Shibuya today. The view from up here is just spectacular. It's taken me almost 20 years to come back to Tokyo and until I arrived I had no idea how much I missed it. To me, it's really not the city itself that I missed, it's the people. My very special friends with whom I got to spend a very important part of my life. And now, 20 years later, we've all changed. We've grown older and wiser, we have real life responsibilities, we are parents. But we share the same memories from two decades ago when we were young, fearless, and adventurous. I'm so thankful that I get to spend some time with these friends who will always have a special place in my heart.

Thank you husband for making me come to Tokyo with you. We're already half way through our visit here and yes I'm nostalgic. I don't have much to say about Fall boots this time. Life is so much more.

Wait, maybe I do. Can't help it.

I walked around Shibuya yesterday and saw a Aigle store. I had to stop. Tried on these rain boots that are just perfect in every way. The heel height is great and the removable straps break up the bulkiness of a rain boot. The color I tried on was eggplant with pink stripe on top. Perfection!

Miss Julie by Aigle

More on Tokyo later but here's a little taste of it. :)

Neighbor Pat

2015-10-14T23:22:00.001-07:00

Last Thursday was like every Thursday, I went from one thing to the next non-stop, all day long. No, actually, last Thursday was busier than a typical Thursday. Husband was out of town, I had a board meeting in the morning, and taught Art in Action in Zebu's class, in addition to all the standard after-school activities. Somehow I didn't have time to squeeze in breakfast and lunch. I'm used to it though, so I thought.

6:45 p.m. and we're finally home. While putting the bikes away and trying to figure out what to make for dinner, I heard a voice: "Hey Winnie, look at the sky!" It was neighbor Pat. My immediate thought was: "ugh, I don't really have time for this." It's almost 7:00 p.m. and I hadn't made dinner. I managed to force a smile, turned around, then walked towards Pat and said, "Hi, what did you say?"

"Look at the sky. It's beautiful tonight." Pat replied.

I looked up and sure enough it was beautiful. I took a deep breath, smiled, and thanked Pat for pointing that out. I realized at that moment how much I needed to slow down. I was so lost in the day-to-day madness and forgot to "smell the roses."

I walked back in the house, gave the boys big hugs and kisses, and made the simplest yet most appreciated dinner!

婆婆(grandma) egg noodles with 合掌瓜 (chayote), pot stickers, peas, and tofu puff

To wrap up the day, we received the cutest Halloween card in the mail from Yeye and Nano!

If you're like me and feel like your life has taken over, slow down, look at the sky, and feel the moment. It only takes a few seconds but it really puts you in a better mood. It worked for me.

Fall Boots 2014

2014-11-11T23:51:00.001-08:00

Happy 11/11!

I was looking through my old posts and this Fall Boots post from 11/11/2012 stood out. Two years later, I'm still obsessed with boots. At the two year anniversary of the post, what good timing to update the most favorite Fall boots for 2014!

Topping the list is still the Stuart Weitzman 50/50. This Over-The-Knee boot is getting as much attention this year as it did in 2012! In fact, I find that OTK boots are more popular this year. Comparable to the 50/50, this Tory Burch's Simone in rich brown is simply gorgeous.

Another OTK boot is Aquatalia's Gilead, again in a beautiful Fall brown "caramel suede."

Then there's the Nina by top model Inga Savits.

This next pair is called Blondo Evan. They resemble the 50/50 but are less than half the price and are water-proof. I have not tried them on but according to reviews they're very comfortable.

Next up is this knee-high boot Aquatalia Rhumba. A favorite of Kate Middleton's, these are comfortable, water-proof and absolutely stunning.

Let's look at the mid-calf boots. I bought the Paul Green Nobu last year in jean color and love them. They are the most comfortable boots I've ever worn. They are the perfect boots for traveling to places where you know you'd do a lot of walking, like London!

Replacing the Nobu this year is the Paul Green Adison. They're equally beautiful! The color shown here is called Anthracite Suede. I really want these too!

Then the booties. Now that the iconic Isabel Marant's Dickers are pretty much sold out everywhere, I'm not having much luck finding the perfect pair. I do like these Paul Green Riley.

Isabel Marant Dickers

Paul Green Riley

That's all for now. Hopefully you don't have to wait two years for the next Fall boots post.

Awfully Good Waffles, and London

2014-10-28T12:58:00.001-07:00

London, ah, what a wonderful place. It had been a good ten years since we last stepped foot on this beautiful city. This time, we traveled there with children. Yes, quite a bit of a change actually but we were ready! And this was the very first time Gebu and B went to this continent.

We were there for merely eight days but we did so much.

The hotel was perfect. Husband got a great deal at a hotel on the river walking distance to the London Eye. We were in a nice big suite!

The Tower of London tour was one of the highlights of the trip. Do you see the raven?

Tower of London

Buckingham Palace is one of the must-see places. It was so crowded that it almost didn't worth the trip there but now we can say "we've been there."

Buckingham Palace

It's important to keep the children interested when traveling abroad so this time we had a quest, or two. Gebu and B have always loved the Mr. Men and Little Miss books. Our quest for this trip was to find the special ones with design on the spine. When the books are in the correct order, they show "My Mr Men Library" written across the spines. So, we visited every single bookshop we walked by from the small W.H. Smith bookshops at the Underground stations to big flagship bookshops such as Foyles and Waterstone.

Foyle's

London Eye - oh yeah, the boys had to ride in the London Eye after the High Roller experience in Las Vegas in the Spring. That was our other quest: to ride in all the gigantic ferris wheels.

Through the London Eye

On our last day in London, husband found this restaurant named The Breakfast Club on Yelp (or @thebrekkyclub on Twitter) that has amazing reviews and they serve American breakfast! When we got there we saw this massive queue which normally would turn us away but we decided to stick around. One hour later, we were finally seated. When the food arrived we realized it was well worth the wait.

The Breakfast Club

But what does our London trip have to do with waffles you ask. Well, this is how. Our first weekend back, I decided to make waffles from scratch. Most people have a go-to recipe but I don't. I look it up on my tablet every time. And this time, my tablet wasn't charged, I went to my phone instead. My phone, being in London for over a week, like me, is having a hard time adjusting back to the Silicon Valley life style. It pulled up a recipe from BBC Good Food. I must say this is by far the best waffle recipe I've tried. The batter has a much thinner consistency than what I'm used to. I did reduce the salt from 5g to a pinch and sugar from 20g to 12g. Yes, the measurements are in grams and mls. It is important to weigh all dry ingredients. The waffles are very light, fluffy and just simply yummy! They also freeze well. Next time, I'm going to have to double the recipe!

Ingredients

250g Flour (plain)

7g Baking powder

12g Caster sugar

1 pinch of Salt

475ml Milk

2 Eggs

30ml Vegetable oil

Method

1. Weigh all the dry ingredients, place in a large mixing bowl. Break the eggs into the milk and beat the mixture.

2. Add the egg and milk mixture to the dry ingredients. Add the oil and mix all ingredients together until all the large lumps have been broken up. Do not over mix otherwise the waffles will be heavy when cooked.

3. Preheat the waffle maker and spray with oil.

4. Pour 3/4 of a cup of batter into the waffle maker and cook for 3-4 mins or until golden brown and crispy on the outside.

5. Serve hot with maple syrup. Also good served with sliced banana or blueberries.

6. Cooked waffles can be frozen and heated up in the toaster. Unused batter mixture can be kept in a container in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Awfully Good Waffles

Did you see my new favorite thing? The porcelain egg crate for my fresh eggs! Thank you Jen!

Summer Lovin'

2014-06-25T06:52:00.002-07:00

I was so ready for school to be over and to start our summer vacation. Not to waste any time, we got on the airplane two days after school was out. Here we are in the beautiful city of Hong Kong once again.

I've always enjoyed Goodwill hunting for June. I found this LeSportsac Deluxe Everyday Bag for $3.99 at Savers. I've never owned a LeSportsac product before but thought this would be nice for our summer travels. It's light and has plenty of compartments. A brand new one costs between $82 and $102, depending on the print.

Headed to check out, I saw this brand new tote+able water tote for $3.99, originally at $19. It's so cute and just perfect for all these hiking trips husband has planned for the summer.

Let's check out what lili found for June.

May Flowers

2014-05-12T23:34:00.000-07:00

My garden is a little behind schedule this year. My tulips are usually blooming beautifully by now but they're still just barely peeking out from the ground. My hydrangeas are leafy and looking healthy but no blooms yet. The only flowers I have are these beautiful red ones from the pomegranate tree and the alyssums.

Months ago during the holiday break, I found this dress from Nano's Salvation Army. It's been hung in my closet ever since. I knew I was going to use it for May's post because in my memory, it was a floral print dress. Then I took it out of my closet to take photos and realized it really isn't floral. Oh well. It'll have to do. It is "free people" and I do remember it being a really good deal. But of course I had forgotten how much I paid.

Can't wait to check out what lili found for May.

Next month, Summer Lovin'.

April Showers

2014-04-30T23:34:00.000-07:00

April shower has always been a tough one for me. Ideally, I'd like to find a raincoat like the one lili found a couple of year ago. I was jealous.

Those good finds don't come easy so I had to be creative. Since I've been on this homesteading mode lately and April is typically an important month for gardeners, I thought it's not too much of a stretch to find something about gardening for this month's theme April Showers. At The Shop one day, I saw this book on Kids Gardening for $2.

like my white picket fence?

the graphics are so cute

The boys and I planted the beans together. Beans are such a fool proof choice if you're planting with kids. They sprout easily and grow quickly. It's very satisfying.

Peas are another wonderful choice. I planted the seeds directly in the ground about 2 months ago and harvested our first peas this week. The leaves are edible too. I roasted the leaves on a lightly oiled skillet until they turn dry and crispy. Kids love them!

Let's check out what lili found for April Showers. Next month, May Flowers.

Earth Day and chickens

2014-04-22T00:10:00.001-07:00

Happy Earth Day everyone!

To honor this year's Earth Day, we decided to raise some chickens. A month ago on a sunny Saturday, we brought home a chicken coop from Costco. The boys worked nicely together and assembled it.

A quick snapshot of the lemon tree, I had to.

The next day, the chickens arrived in the cutest delivery truck from Dare to Dream Farms.

Owner Jeremy gave us a quick lesson on raising chickens.

This is a big step towards my home-steading dream. Happy Earth Day!

It ain't easy to be green

2014-03-31T23:59:00.001-07:00

That's right. It wasn't easy but I found this green windbreaker at Savers. Priced at $30 but with green tag half off, took it home for $15! I've never heard of the brand, Ariat, so I did some research. It makes high quality footwear and apparel for equestrian athletes. The quality of this windbreaker was what attracted my attention. It's a bit pricey for Savers standard but the jacket looks new. It's also a very nice, versatile green. It's a good find!

Looks like lili found something in the same category! Great minds!

Next month, April Showers.

Love is in the air

2014-02-17T19:28:00.000-08:00

Valentine's day was a few days ago but love is still in the air.

I spent part of the morning at Savers and found a new heart-shaped baking dish and a book about the hill towns of Italy. The dish had a green tag which meant half price that day. For $0.99, I took it home. Maybe I'll make a tiny molten lava cake for our upcoming anniversary. The book was $2.99. Some day husband and I will make a trip out there. How romantic would that be.

After the hunt at Savers, I went to a nominating committee meeting for the District Council and then to the boys' classroom parties. Gebu started working on his valentines goodies days before the big day. He decorated some cellophane bags with heart-shaped stickers, put a See's Candy lollipop in each, twist-tied them closed, then stapled a handmade heart-shaped card on the bag. He carefully hand-wrote each card and couldn't wait to give them to his friends. He definitely took this seriously. B, on the other hand, decided he was not going to give out valentines this year. Maybe after a certain age, for boys, it's no longer cool.

I must mention this side story. The night before Valentine's day, yeye and nano arrived, a day earlier than planned. We decided to surprise the boys. We were on Google hangout with them as they knocked on the door. Gebu had this confused stare still trying to process what was going on while B got it right away and couldn't stop laughing. Their reactions were priceless.

For dinner, the six of us went to Umami Burger. They do have the best burgers in the world. It may not be romantic but I sure had a great meal and a great day.

Hope you had a sweet Valentine's day. Let's see what lili found. Next month, It ain't easy to be green.

New Year Resolution

2014-01-12T23:30:00.000-08:00

Happy new year!

While I was scratching my head, literally (long story), and tried to decide on what my new year resolution was this year, I looked at last year's resolution and realized I didn't do much with resolution #2: up-cycle. I did cut off a T-shirt and made an infinity scarf that I never wore. I also cut off the toes of husband's sock and used the tube part to make a "donut" for my sock bun. Although these simple projects are technically up-cycle projects, this year I want to make something a little more advanced.

I love tote bags. It's an obsession. I can never have too many of them. When I saw this Abercrombie shirt from Nano's Salvation Army 49 cents stash, a vision came to me. I didn't take a photo of the shirt before it was taken apart but you can see from the photos below that it has two flap pockets in the front and an embossed pattern on the back. The bottom piece was a sleeve.

My initial design was to simply turn the front of the shirt into the front of the tote. I thought it was the easiest way although I typically don't like bags that look like a shirt. I'm not a big fan of recycled jeans bags either. Totes shouldn't look like shirts or pants. Period.

So after putting in some Googling efforts and in talking to my sister-in-law, I decided to turn the shirt into a knitter's tote. Inspired by Spotted Stones, here's what we ended up with. I say "we" but it was all Nano.

It looks nothing like a shirt but we used every part of the shirt to make this tote. The top pocket in the front of the tote was once the shirt placket.

The back of the shirt is the back of the tote.

The front flap pockets of the shirt are now in the inside of the tote.

Oh, forgot to mention the beautiful chandelier in the sewing room.

I'm so excited about this tote. Hopefully, I'll knit more and sew more this year.

Let's see what lili found this month.

Next month, Valentine's Day.

Merry Christmas

2013-12-24T14:34:00.002-08:00

Merry Christmas, everyone!

We're back home in Kansas for the holidays. It was over 50 degrees when we got in, which was disappointing. We want snow! Then 2 days later, we got about 2 inches. It was beautiful and just perfect for the boys to get their "snow fix." Then today, it's only been about 6 degrees all day. Now that's a bit too cold.

I went with my mom and mother-in-law to hunt for good deals at Salvation Army.

We found a wooden nativity set for $2.99. I've always wanted one so this is perfect.

Then I saw these wooden santa stocking holders for $2.99 also. They're so cute. I had to have them.

The question is, how am I going to take these back to CA?

My mother-in-law found this quilt table runner for $3.50. How beautiful.

Let's see what lili found for Christmas. Next month, New Year Resolution!

Oh, one more thing, I just want to share that I've been working on this for Vilynx. So fun.

"2013 has been a significant year for Vilynx. We cannot wait to unveil all the exciting things we've been working on. But today, we just want to wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. From our families to yours." Vilynx

Video powered by Vilynx

Thankful!

2013-11-27T21:30:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving! This year, I'm thankful that my mom is here to spend this very special time of the year with us. We decided to go to LA to visit some close friends. I've spent many holidays here in LA during my univ years. This trip certainly brings back some beautiful memories.

These photos are probably too summer-y for Thanksgiving but they'll have to do. I found these vintage glasswares at the Thrift Shop late summer when my lemon tree was in full bloom. I had to take the photos then because my lemons look so perfect in the beautiful green bowl. The green bowl was $6.99 and the yellow glasses were $1.00 each.

Happy Thanksgiving, lili! Next month, Holidays!

Goodwill Hunting: Happy Halloween

2013-10-31T19:51:00.002-07:00

Happy Halloween!

The leaves have started falling and with the strong wind we've had in the last couple of days our front porch is looking a lot like Autumn. Husband has been really busy lately so there's nothing high tech added to our Halloween decoration this year. We did get some decorating help from yeye and nano during their recent visit. And of course we have to thank our dear neighbor boy who helped us with the spider web. I think it turned out pretty nicely!

For this Goodwill Hunting post, I had to cheat a little. Went shopping at the Thrift Shop with a friend and she found this perfect Halloween T-shirt by Old Navy for $2.50. It's in great condition and it's just the perfect T-shirt for the occasion. I had to borrow it for the post.

Happy Halloween! Let's see what kind of deals lili found.

Next month, Thankful.

Wait... at the very last minute, Husband made time to surprise the kids. This was projected on a window in the front of the house. I think it scared away some trick-or-treaters. Double-click to play the whole video.

video powered by Vilynx

A beautiful video of Hong Kong

2013-10-12T22:40:00.000-07:00

Lately, I've spent a lot of time curating videos using the Vilynx PRO player, a brand new video chaptering technology. Yes, curating! I tastefully (and logically) select scenes from a video I feel that are most aesthetically pleasing (and relevant) and then display them in a grid format so that the viewers can quickly get a sneak peek into the video. It's fun! While browsing for a video to play with using this new toy, I stumbled upon this beautiful video of Hong Kong. It's only been a couple of months since we were there but I'm already home sick. This fast-paced, unique, and spectacular Pearl of the East has a very special place in my heart.

Video powered by Vilynx PRO

Original video can be found here. Special thanks to Zuzana Mullerova.

Back to school

2013-09-26T16:50:00.005-07:00

Back-to-school to us means back to the crazy schedule of activities. Among swimming, soccer, flag football, drama, and Mandarin, I could almost put myself in the "Tiger Mom" category. Well, almost, not quite. I think you have to have some kind of musical instrument. And truly, I don't fundamentally agree with the Tiger Mom method of raising kids. That's a whole other topic though.

We just started taking futbol seriously. Our weekends now mean driving all over the place for practice sessions and games. It's worth it though, I keep telling myself. The boys enjoy it. If nothing else, they do get some exercise and learn about team sports, right? With that, they need the appropriate wardrobe. We bought some soccer shirts from a local soccer supplies shop. Then I decided to check out Savers for soccer shorts and successfully found these.

Gebu being the picky dresser even approves. In fact, he was so happy that he gave me a hug and said how I'm the best mommy in the world. These were $2.99 each at 50% off. So I took them both home for $3.00 total!

Check out what lili found!

Next month, Happy Halloween!

Beauty and the Beach

2013-08-28T21:35:00.002-07:00

We had our annual Hong Kong trip but this year we didn't go to the beach. I really wanted it to be a tradition to go to the beach in Hong Kong but it just didn't work out this year. It rained almost every day while we were there.

My friend saw this Willi Smith skirt for $5.99 from a local thrift store and thought I should try it on. I hesitated. It's perfect for this month's theme but it's not something I would wear. I tried it on anyway and it actually looked cute. I could wear this to a beach-themed party. I was still indecisive until we remembered that white tags were half price that day. It came home with me.

Let's see what lili found for Beauty and the Beach.

Next month: Back to school.

Pomegranate update

2013-08-15T10:54:00.003-07:00

I've been checking on the pomegranate tree every day. Today, I got worried. I only saw 2 pomegranates at first. I looked and looked and found this. The weight has pulled it down lower and it was hiding behind some branches. In just a few days, this pomegranate has more than doubled in size. Is that even possible? I wonder when it's ready to be harvested.

Aug 15, 2013

Aug 12, 2013

Garden update

2013-08-12T13:43:00.000-07:00

We just came back from our trip to Hong Kong. It's nice to be back but it was also hard to leave. The boys were starting to speak Cantonese more. Jebu started to use complete sentences towards the end of the trip and I could tell B could understand some complex conversations. It was pretty amazing to see that they can learn so quickly but it's sad we had to leave when they're just getting used to the language. But now, we must get back to practicing our Spanish!

One thing I missed while away was my garden. I moved some bell pepper outside before we left for Hong Kong. To my surprise, we came back to these healthy bell pepper plants ready to fruit. They were planted from seeds on the window sill. The seeds are from some organic bell peppers I got from Trader Joes!

Even more of a surprise, our 2 1/2 year old dwarf pomegranate tree has 3 baby pomegranates!

I'm now more motivated than ever. Next thing I think I'll plant is some Asian greens.

Goodwill Hunting: Hail to the Red, White and Blue

2013-07-09T00:21:00.002-07:00

I haven't been the most organized this year. I didn't even dress us in red, white and blue for the 4th. I guess I'll blame it on how busy this summer has been. We did have a fun-filled 4th of July weekend though.

I haven't done much shopping lately but I did manage to find a few things I bought a while ago for this month's Goodwill hunting.

Red: here's an Fair Isle yoke cardigan I found at half off for $2.00. Not sure if I would ever wear this but I saw the refashion potential. Now I can't remember what that potential was.

White and Blue: I'm not sure why I bought these. They make a super cute outfit for a baby girl and they were half off. The off-white cardigan ($2.00) and jeans ($1.00) are by Janie and Jack.

I love the details of this hooded cardigan.

Check out what lili found this year.

Next month, Beauty and the Beach.

Hope you had a good 4th!

4th of July weekend

2013-07-09T00:01:00.001-07:00

We had quite an eventful 4th of July weekend this year.

On the 4th, we went with my sister's family to Monterrey Bay Aquarium.

Photo of B by Yee-yee

Photo of Gebu by Yee-yee

B took my phone for a while and I ended up with a bunch of interesting photos and videos.

Jelly fish, Photo by B

Find the fish, Photo by B

That night, we went to see fireworks at the Palo Alto Baylands Park. What a great spot. We were able to see fireworks from all the cities along the Bay.

Friday, husband had a day off and the boys had summer camp. We rode our bikes and dropped off the boys at camp and then went on to breakfast at our favorite cafe. The four-hour kidless morning was precious and we made the most of it.

Saturday, we went camping at Mount Diablo State Park. This was our first time camping by ourselves and everything turned out great.

The boys enjoyed climbing through these amazing rock formations at Rock City.

The views are breathtaking.

Zion Peak rock quarry

We did some hiking.

Watch out for Poison Oak. They were everywhere!

Back at our campsite. See that plant in the middle of the photo? That's Poison Oak.

And then the million dollar sunset.

Summer Lovin'

2013-06-28T21:21:00.000-07:00

Hope you're having a great summer so far. We're done a little bit of traveling and reunion with husband's family. It's such a blessing to be with family but always hard to say goodbye.

I had help with this month's challenge. My good friend Bee saw two of the same blouses in different colors at The Shop for $5 each so she bought both and gave me the white one. Perfect! We're both Anthropologie fans and this shirt is by Edme and Esyllte which is a brand Anthropologie carries. I don't know how much this costs originally but did find a pre-owned one on eBay for $28!

I don't wear blouses very often but I've been drawn to them lately. It might have something to do with lili's May Flower post last month! I found this pretty white blouse with satin ruffles at Savers for $3.99. It's a Target cross-over by Behnaz Sarafpour.

Find out what lili found this month.

Next month, Hail to the red, white & blue.

Last day of school

2013-06-12T23:54:00.002-07:00

Tomorrow is the last day of school which means it is my baby's last day in Kindergarten. Earlier today my friend was saying how she's feeling a little sad that her little one is finishing up Kindergarden. It didn't really hit me. I mean, I heard her but it didn't hit me emotionally, until tonight.

Tonight, we had the most amazing end-of-the-year class party where we honored the teacher and celebrated a wonderful year. There were some funny stories told, many laughters, and a few tears shed. We received a beautiful year book that was put together by our home room parent and an individualized, month-by-month photo/work journal from the teacher. It's so much fun to see the transformation, from the handwritings to the drawings to their faces. Things could really change so much in a short year.

The kindergarten year is special. Kinders are still babies. They're cuddly, they adore their parents, they make the cutest sound of giggles, they may still have those chubby cheeks, and some, like Gebu, even have all their baby teeth in tact. And, they do give the best hugs! In 1st grade, it's quite a different story. They're officially in grade school and have started their journey to becoming independent.

Looking back, I'm most thankful that I got to spend the time I did in class with the children. They grow up too fast. It has truly been a great year. I feel very lucky to be part of this wonderful class.

What is so special about June?

2013-06-04T14:12:00.000-07:00

June is the beginning of summer and end of school year. June is for weddings. In June we celebrate Dads. In June we celebrate Grads.

A lot of marketing campaigns use the catchy phrase "Celebrate Dads and Grads with this and that", because it rhymes. I thought it was cute too so when we decided to run a contest at Vilynx I thought I could steal that idea. I sat down to write an announcement for the contest and I started with "Celebrate Dads and Grads with Vilynx..." And that was it. I was stuck. I had to walk away from it. And then at the 11th hour, I thought, what about the June brides and grooms? What about summer?

My fingers started working away and came up with the intro:

"The month of June is full of video taking opportunities. There's Father's Day in most countries, graduations, and it is traditionally a popular month for weddings. At Vilynx, we want to help you preserve these beautiful moments, forever."...

I sent it to Michelle, my social media expert (she has over 1000 friends on Facebook!) to ask her opinion and she suggested to add "Summer is here!" So simple and so brilliant!

Then I worked with our resident graphic design genius, Helder, to put the whole thing together. And just like that, the contest is ready to go! And I named it The Vilynx June Challenge. Find out more here.

May Flowers

2013-05-29T20:24:00.000-07:00

May is almost over. It's been a very busy month. I can't wait till summer.

As it should be, flowers are blooming everywhere right now. I just looked up my May post from last year and realized I did something very similar. I took photos of flowers around town and posted them. This year, I took photos in my own front yard! Inspired by husband, B & I played with the built-in photo editor on my Android phone to beautify the photos. Here are the before and after photos.

These are calla lilies from bulbs I planted a couple of years ago.

Before

I used the "instant" effect and added border.

After

Then my new calla lilies in a pot from Mother's Day.

original pic before editing

I used the "punch" effect and added a black border.

Here are alyssum from Mother's Day. They smell so good.

I used "bleach" effect and added border.

Gerbera daisies from Mother's Day. I used several effects here.

This is called "vintage". I had to try it but not impressed.

Black and white. I think it looks really interesting with the details.

Then there's "punch". Striking! Love it.

My strawberries this year are almost as pretty as my flowers so I had to show them off here.

I used "punch" here again and added border. Like it?

So back to Goodwill hunting. I went to Savers again for this month and like last year, I found a purse. I've actually been looking for a small cross-body that's just big enough for my keys, phone and a couple other small things. I found a Vera Bradley cross-body in floral print for $4.99.

It may not be the ideal cross-body but it'll do for now, especially for $4.99!

Let's see if lili found any deals this month for May Flowers. Next month, Summer Lovin'.