Circle Scarf

Leave it to American Apparel to do what they do best: create desirable basics. I was surfing their site and found this amazing piece: The Unisex Circle Scarf. One item that does it all. Can't wait to check it out in person.

Lego love

Jean-Charles de Castelbajac has collaborated with The Lego Group to create a virtual fashion show.

The four-minute show, for spring/summer 3001, features a rainbow catwalk and Lego figures dressed in the latest De Castelbajac collection, and even features a Lego Anna Wintour and Kanye West-a-like, replete with baseball cap and shutter shades, in the audience.

The animated short was directed by Fabrice Pathier, with sound design by Laetitia Batut and music by The Aspirins for My Children. It previewed during Paris Fashion Week. Check it out at www.jc-de-castelbajac.com.

Real men wear PINK.

Pink on guys is nothing new, but pink on guys playing sport is rare and pink shoes on the soccer field!?!?!? Check out the new Nike Mercurial Vapor Rosa worn by a European soccer player and the fun video on nikefootball.com.

What time is it??

I've never worn a watch. I don't know if it's because I don't want to be a slave to time or if it just doesn't look right to me on my wrist. Well, go figure, but after seeing this LED watch from Hiranao Tsuboi of 100% at design tide, I would start wearing one.

Nike Remix

Thanks Sarah Illenberger for your remix of the Nike shoe. Always refreshing to look at something you see everyday in a new light.

Beautiful design work from the Netherlands

A colleague of mine from Europe got to see the IJM studio in person and passed on this gorgeous website. I love that each photo is designed through the use of color. If you have time, click through their beautiful images and prepare to be inspired.

Blowing it up

I've been fascinated lately with Chinese artists. I ran across Cai Guo-Qiang's art and was truly inspired by his large works of art where he "draws" with gunpowder. If you have time, check out his video and read more about his work in the NY Times Magazine in an article called the Pyrotechnic Imagination. There's a type of energy in his work that is unique to his technique. If I were an art collector, I would definitely invest in a piece of his work.

Late Halloween Post

I love dressing up. Any excuse and I'm there. This year I was inspired by my Paris trip and went as a 20s flapper and dressed Jason up too. We found his outfit for $10 at the yearly Caitlin Gable rummage sale. I love historic clothing and how clothing can define a time period. Did you know that the term flapper referred to a "new breed" of young women who were seen as rebels in their time? Random knowledge for you.  Anyway, I'm also considering wearing more red lipstick now that I had to buy a tube of it. 

Don't forget you can click on all the pictures to see it better.

Super creative : Barbie Jewelry

I've never really been a Barbie girl, but here's an interesting way of looking at Barbie. There have been a fair about of posts on some of my favorite design blogs about this, but incase you haven't seen this I thought I'd share. I love how she repurposes ordinary objects into something truly unique.  Okay, at first it's a little creepy, but the more I look at them, I think it's just hilarious. 

 

Check out Margaux Lange's portfolio and let me know what you think.

TAGGED

Thanks Melissa for tagging me. I don't even know 7 people with blogs, so does that mean I'll have bad luck the rest of my life??

7 Random Facts:

1. I was named after Winnie the Pooh, my parents didn't know any good English names I guess.
2. My great-great grandfather was the first emperor of the Republic of China, Yuan ShiKai
3. I'm the 1st generation born in the US
4. One regret I have is not living in NYC
5. I love bar games: darts, foosball, pool
6. I can't stand other people's feet
7. I've bungy jumped 3 times and skydived once, all within a week span in New Zealand.

Hope you learned a few new things about me.

Now it's your turn: Kate, Tiff, Martha, Kayko, Kristin!!

Check it out.

This website is a good way to release some creativity and to simply play.

http://thisissand.com/

It looks like the web is inactive, but click on the tiny grey box on the upper left hand corner to active the fun!

I love wrought iron!!!!

In London, I got the chance to check out the V&A museum. I was obsessed with the wrought iron. I've never seen it in any other museum I've been to and I guess we just don't have a lot of it in the states. I love the textures, patterns, movement and craftsmanship of all the pieces.

Modern take...

Okay, I apologize for the delayed post on my European trip. I was in London, Paris and Amsterdam for 10 days on a marketing trip for work. Yes, it sounds pretty glamorous, but I promise you that I did work. My favorite part of the trip was Paris, probably because I got to spend the most time there, the food and drinks were fab, the people were super chic, and the sun was shining. The above was a really cool building I walked by in Paris that was super inspiring to me. At first I thought the metal was scaffolding, but after inspection the metal is actually decorative. I love that they keep the integrity of the original design and gave it a modern face-lift. Also, the fact that you can see both original and modern at the same time is a nice touch.



Classic Notre Dame doesn't get old either. The detail and craftsmanship is breathtaking!

Another year.....

This weekend I celebrated another birthday. Without the pressure of a milestone birthday, this day turned out to be one of the best. Only God could have orchestrated the perfect fall weather we had this weekend. We hosted brunch at our house where Jason and I cooked up a storm because that's the way we like to do things....frittata, scones, banana bread, mimosas, coffee and irish cream, and of course a birthday wouldn't be complete without cake. Jason really out did himself this year with what he called the mile-high Mexican cake, which was 4 layers of chocolate cake with Mexican chocolate buttercream ganache frosting homemade with love. With another year come and gone, I have to reflect at how great a year I had and how very blessed I am with all the people who love and support me who live near and far. Thank you to all the cards, phone calls and facebook posts on my special day. Here's to another great year.

Another reason I love Portland....

Killer Vintage Shops. For those of you who know me, you know that I love to shop! Everywhere I go and travel, shopping is a MUST. I've recently decided to be a little more green by trying to purchase reused clothing before I buy new. Portland is the home to vintage shopping and I definitely have my faves, but this store takes the cake. It's well merchandised, clean, the owner is super nice, the prices aren't ridiculous and the selection is one of the best I've ever seen for a vintage clothing shop. I stumbled across this gem last night while out with my friend Alaina hopping between Doug Fir and Ronton's on East Burnside. Yes, we were drinking and that could have added to my excitement as well. So, if you get the chance to check it out go to Rock and Rose http://www.rocknroseinc.comand let me know what you think.

You say tomatoes.....

Jason, my husband, has a green thumb that I will never have. This is the results of his dedication to the garden, from planting, watering, nurturing and loving, we have heirloom tomatoes coming out of our ears. The names of the tomatoes are Jersey Devil, Green Zebra, Marble Stripe, Cherokee Purple, and Black Plum....who knew. We (as in Jason), harvested and canned until we couldn't can anymore. I'm sure we will enjoy them for the rest of the year. If you are interested, I'll hook you up with some wonderful salsa or pickles. Even better, if you have recipe ideas, let me know.

Home Sweet Home

I am finally home for a while after a whirlwind of trips all over the world. I don't deny that I am a lucky girl! All trips were equally gratifying in its own way. You read all about Mexico in my previous post, then I was off to "exotic" Florida to visit my inlaws. It was nice that the whole family could get together again after 3 years and also great to get to know my nephew Nicklas better. I love being called Aunt Winnie. Here's a picture of my favorite little man.

Then I was off on a work trip to Europe. Sounds pretty glamorous, but I swear I worked during those 10 days....London, Paris and Amsterdam. I learned more about the business I work for and it was great to talk to the consumers, buyers and retailers that actually buy the product I work on. Nice change of pace from the office environment.

Now that the travels are all said and done, I'm looking forward to fall: celebrating a lot of birthdays, including mine and Jason's, cooking and baking more and just being here at home.

I love Herve Leger

So most of you who know me, I love wearing dresses. The best fashion advice I read was "if you don't want people to know the circumference of your thighs, wear a skirt or dress." I love this motto and it makes getting dressed so much easier since you don't really have to think about separates when you slip on a dress. Needless to say, I cannot coordinate separates now.

Anyway, I was checking out all the NY Fashion week images and designers and ran into Herve Leger. I went to the website and found some really beautiful dresses. I love the lines, colors and the ready-to-wear factor of these dresses. If I had a few grand to spend, I think I would buy one of these dresses. But where in Portland would I wear something this fabulous?

It starts with a few....

So here I am in Florida on the 2008 Callough summer vacation, which included a stop to magical Disney World. I've been a few times before and every time I'm amazed at how well Disney transcends all boundaries: age, race and religion. After a full day of rides and shows, we head to the amphitheater for Fantasma, one of the most popular shows at Disney. We were there about 45 minutes early to get good seats and as we waited for the show to start, I was impressed that there were 2 boys about the age of 12 that were trying to get the whole audience to do the "wave." I thought, no way this is going to work, I would have given up by now; but these boys were persistent. After about 10 minutes, enough people had caught on to what was going on and it was amazing to see the whole crowd (about 1000+ strong) doing the waves caused by 2 young boys sitting in front of us. Made me think. It doesn't take many to make a difference.

Perfect Summer Weekend

Cabin on the river + 3 days + good friends + sun + good music + no agenda = the perfect summer weekend. I'm gonna bottle this up and open it in February.

It's not too late to make a difference

Now that I'm back from Mexico, I've learned that donations are critical in helping the people in Oaxaca. If you're still thinking about supporting me in Mission Oaxaca, it's not too late to donate.

Donations can be done 3 ways and they'll send you a tax deductible receipt.

1. You can give it to me in person.
2. Online at www.centerforsharing.org/makeadonation.htm with my name in the subject line.
3. Snail Mail: Mission Oaxaca c/o Center for Sharing, 723 W. Clark Street, Pasco, Washington 99301. Please make sure that my name is in the subject line.

Thanks for giving me this opportunity to share with you my wonderful experience in Mexico. I know I'll be going back there soon.

Portraits of Mexico

Just when you think you don't have room in your life for another relationship...you meet more incredible people. Here are some photos of some of the wonderful people I met in Mexico, even if it was for a small moment in time.

This is Pastor Beny. He's only 24 and his whole family is in ministry. He was a gracious host.

This is Lucie. She came up from Jichitan to help us build pisos. Her family lives in really a rural area where there is no schooling so she lives at Casa Isabel (http://casaisabel.org/) while she attends school.

Carlito and his grandpa. He is the cutest kid. I love this shot. There is no doubt they are related.

These kids were running after the truck when we were leaving the house.

This is a native Zaportec woman in Jichitan. She is selling her goods at the market.

These kids lived at the first house we did the pisos. When we showed up the little boy didn't have pants on. They helped haul buckets of water for the cement mixer.

These girls have a really sad story. I met them at church on Sunday. Their mom is a single parent and left for Mexico City in search of work, leaving the older sister who is 11 to care for her younger siblings.

Gorge (Jichitan local), Beny (pastor from Oaxaca), Clay (sponsor from Oregon) and Brea (teacher in Woodburn) in Juchitan all sharing the same heart to serve others in Mexico.

Kids at Pimpollo. These were the kids that were couldn't understand that I was Chinese and American. We tried to tell them that I was in the gold medal Olympic swimmer. We had a lot of fun hanging out that afternoon.

This kid was helping his father deliver water to houses in the community.

My love for food

Everyone by now knows I love food. That's probably why I married a chef and probably why I'm sick right now. But I will try almost anything once....though I did pass on the grasshoppers. This post is dedicated to Mexican food.

flan

oaxacan chocolate icecream

Lis is excited about eating the mole, which is typical Oaxacan food.

limes in the market

mole

the ladies making homemade tortillas over a wood burning stove

tortillas with the famous Oaxacan cheese

this lady is making chiles rellenos, the best I've ever had