I love this dress. It’s a vintage Guatamelan dress from Erin’s instagram shop (she’s always stocking it with pretty things), and it’s an outfit I just want to wear it everyday. I think all the pieces you have should be things you want to wear everyday because otherwise, it probably is a waste of money. It’s interesting to see how everyone’s style evolves; I think the silhouette I wear has changed a lot. I used to really like the ‘50s cut, but I think my body changed after having Glow, that I prefer shift and looser styles.

One thing that has remained the same is that I much prefer to purchase vintage or thrift my clothes. I definitely do love stores like Anthropologie, Everlane, Madewell, Zara, and Gap (Ben and I met there so it’s kind of a special place to us). I just don’t like that a lot of clothes are all polyestery, and kind of pricey for what it is. I have a hard time paying $80 for a polyester dress or top. That’s just me though. I did recently get a cotton shirt from the Gap and some pants from Zara (when it finally went on sale); pants and t-shirts are things I don’t sew, so I will purchase them.

There are also plenty of indie designers I will occasionally splurge on, like Rachel Comey (she’s my ultimate fave!), or cool shops like Need Supply and Frances May. I love internet window shopping at all those places, but I make a mental note of things I like from them, then try to find it at the thrift store or from vintage sellers. I’ll also stalk things I like at regular price, and patiently wait for them to go on sale. With that method, sometimes I end up not wanting them anymore when they do go on sale, but there is one dress from Zara that I really wish I did scoop up when it went on sale. Oh well. To prevent an unnecessary amount of things in my closet, when I bring something in, I move something out.

on me: dress, shop calivintage (vintage here, new there). shoes, vintage way long ago (vintage here, new there). bag, a market in singapore.

This week’s learned, links, and thankfulness…

I got rid of my blonde ombre, and since my sister wanted to ease me back into the dark-haired club, she did an ashy-brown. Soul said, “Mommy, you don’t look like you anymore. I like the yellow hair.”

Strawberry Caprese with Pistachio Pesto looks like the perfect thing to snack on once that summer heat sets in.

I think this space is gorgeous!

I love the embroidery on this dress.

This 1930’s toddler dress is absolutely sweet.

We have some summer plans, but nothing major going on unlike last summer when we went to Singapore and Williamsburg. We have lots of garden things we are working on, so that’s where we are putting our pennies towards right now.

Thankful for how God uses my daughters to teach me grace and the gospel. Grace and gospel is the most important thing I can ever teach them, but it seems that the teaching and learning is a two way street between children and parents.

I have lots of things on my current prayer list, and there are some things God has said no to, but there are other things that are being answered. It’s always in His time, isn’t it?!

I can’t believe it’s been one year since the release of my book, Let’s Sew Together! I’m still very thankful for the opportunity to have written a book, and it’s kind of strange to think I’m an author (even if it’s been out for a year). Still weird. I think the hardest part of having written a book is the self promotion that comes along with it. Like I said, blogs are kind of narcissistic already, but then to keep having to remind people that you wrote a book and that they should buy it, that’s kind of tough for me. The whole business aspect of my creative job doesn’t come natural to me.

Since, we are on the topic of my book (duh!), and if you do want to learn how to sew and make some projects for and with the little ones in your life, I think you’ll really like my book! The projects in the book are totally new and have never been shared step-by-step on my blog, so you aren’t just buying blog material that is given here for free (in case you’re wondering). In the past, some of you have asked for a tutorial for my world map quilt and giant dollhouse pillows, and those are both in my book.

The photos above were from the book release party, which was a year ago. I’m totally lame because I’m way so late in sharing this. After the book party, summer happened, off we went to Singapore, then Williamsburg, and then life kept happening, so it just never got shared. Also, I was waiting for the edited pictures from my friend, Reese, and the video from my sister. Here we are a year later and I’m finally sharing it. Better late than never, right?!

Thank you to all those who attended and showed their support! It was so lovely to meet so many of you and it’s so strange for me to sign books. Sorry if I wrote all messy because when I’m nervous, my penmanship is atrocious. I remember I even spelled a simple word wrong! Oh goodness. You all (and all my friends and family who were there too) were so awesome! The whole book thing was such a dream, with the most amazing editor & publisher (shout out to my editor Caitlin over at Potter Craft/Penguin Random House), and I’m just filled with gratitude for it all. While it was an amazing thing to accomplish, I still learned that even an accomplishment like that never fully satisfies, only Jesus can fill my empty hole.

A special thanks to Danni & Oh, Hello Friend for hosting the party at their shop, also to my favorite dynamic duo, Me & Mr. Cassidy, for serenading the crowd. Thank you to Reese Tibayan for your photography skills, and to Reinna Cruz for putting together such a fun video! Also, thank you to my mother for making all the delicious desserts and drinks! Another round of thanks goes to these sponsors and their wonderful gifts that were given to the guests at the party: Totes from Hello Apparel, pillar stud earrings from Lisa Leonard, soaps from SQ Apothecary, craft kits from  Treehouse Kid & Craft, craft supplies from Oriental Trading Company, fabric bundles from Ann Kelle, and accessories from Burdees.

Here’s the first post I ever did about my book (I kept it a secret for so long!), and if you want to see the video we made for release day last year, check it out here. Happy May 20th friends!

One of our favorite dishes in Singapore was Hainanese Chicken Rice. My friend Abby, who also was our tour guide when we were there, has been learning from her grandmother how to make this delectable and aromatic dish, so she came over to teach us.

She also taught us how to make chicken rice balls, and the girls loved getting in on the action. It looks like the simplest dish, but it is really so flavorful. It’s not really a colorful meal, but what it lacks in color, it makes up for it with the magic that happens in every bite. You eat the chicken with the rice, seriously the best rice ever, a little bit of chili sauce, ginger sauce, and dark soy sauce. It’s an amazing dish! Even as I type out this post, I’m craving it. Maybe I should change this week’s meal plan to include chicken rice.

Abby created a film about her grandmother and how to make chicken rice. The film is actually more than that; it also weaves the story of her grandmother’s making of chicken rice with Singapore’s language policies and its changes. I had the honor of being able to see Abby’s film and it was so beautifully done. You see this older woman passing a priceless gift to her granddaughter. Sure, she’s just teaching her how to cook, but there’s so much depth in it, she is passing down a part of her cultural heritage, part of her story. Now, Abby gets to take that story and mold it into her own. It made me want to go spend more time with my grandparents. In college, I recorded both of my grandparents telling me how they grew up and met, so I’m somewhat familiar with some of their stories, but I’m sure there is so much more I’m missing out on too. I need to find that cassette and keep it in a safe place, so my kids can listen to it one day.

In the film, Abby tells her grandmother, “You taught me how to cook chicken rice. This is my inheritance. This is an inheritance money cannot buy.” How precious is that inheritance indeed!

I’ve had this fabric for several years now and have vacillated on what to do with it. Initially, I wanted to make it like the tie style dress I made here, but then didn’t. Later, I thought it would be a cool romper for one of the girls, but that never happened. A few weeks ago, as I was internet browsing, I happened upon this dress and thought, “Oh that dress and fabric looks fun”, and then remembered I had similar colorful fabric, so I set out to recreate it.

It’s a trapeze dress and I did make the slits on the sides of the dress to slip a matching sash to tie around the waist if I wanted to. Here’s a sketch of the dress shape if you wanted to try your hand at making your own. I didn’t follow that, but what I did was similar. You can’t tell due to the busy pattern of the fabric, but I sewed bust darts.

It’s such a nice lightweight cotton and with it being over 90 degrees on Saturday, it was the perfect thing to wear out. The bag is a souvenir I brought home from my trip to Singapore. It’s a tote of the MRT (public transport) routes, and I tell you, it was so easy to use. I love looking at my bag and remembering all my favorite stops, which then reminds me of all the delicious food we indulged in while there.

on me: dress, handmade. black clogs, c/o lotta from stockholm. bag, from singapore.

I told Ben he could buy himself a tree for Valentine’s Day. Really though, he would have bought it anyway, silly holiday or not. Well, he wanted a Wax Jambu (water apple), and he found a seller out in Orange County, so we had to make a trip out there to pick it up. By the way, this fruit was one of the many we tried when we were in Singapore, and we loved it so much, we wanted to grow it.

Back to the story… This is on a Sunday afternoon, and usually, we don’t really do much except go to church and finish other house things at home on Sundays, but when the gentleman who had the tree called to confirm he had it, we all quickly loaded in the car and left. This was as spontaneous as we get! Of course, Ben knew that Snow Monster (we first tried it on my birthday) was really close by, so he said earlier in the day, “Wanna go pick up my tree and get ice cream?” Of course, I said yes. I’ll always say yes to ice cream.

We picked up his tree and then we got ice cream. The girls were very happy to get a large taro and mango shaved ice, and I was especially delighted to get a pistachio macaron and Thai tea ice cream all to myself. We all came home quite elated with our Sunday evening adventure.