A Birthday Tea Party…

By in Family and Friends, Seasonal Celebrations Tags: , , , ,

On Sunday, my best friend Debbie organized a gathering with some of my dearest girlfriends to celebrate my 30th birthday at Zen Tara Tea in Bethesday. She reserved a private tea room for us and we had a lovely, intimate tea time together with just us girls! Dan watched Mio at home so that I could have a couple hours of relaxed fun with everyone. (Thanks hubby!) Debbie did such an amazing job selecting a lovely location and preparing lots of treats and goodies for us to take home, and had encouraged several of my friends to donate to my charity: water campaign — I was so moved by all the thought and effort she put into it, and it made for a 30th birthday celebration I’ll never forget!

The private room at Zen Tara Tea
The private room for our group at Zen Tara Tea

 

Lovely holiday decor
Lovely holiday decor ♥

 

The ladies ordering tea
The ladies ordering tea

 

Cute manekineko mugs - I had to get one!
The cutest manekineko mugs – I had to get one!

 

Debbie got me some cherry blossom white tea
Debbie ordered me some cherry blossom white tea. 🙂

 

Debbie got me macarons from Macaron Bee
The bestest had also bought these macarons from Macaron Bee for us all to share!

 

A lovely time catching up with the ladies
Lots of laughters, smiles, and girl talk!

 

Spreading holiday cheer
I always have so much fun with these girls. 🙂

 

Thank you to my wonderful girlfriends! ♥
Thank you to my wonderful girlfriends for making my 30th so memorable! ♥

 

Cake pops and other treats from Debbie
Debbie even prepared these homemade cake pops (green tea and azuki-flavored) and Japanese snacks for everyone to take home! She was so generous and put so much thought into everything… 🙂

 

Thank you for planning such a lovely gathering, Debbie!
Thank you for planning such a lovely tea party, Debbie! ♥

 

Secret Santa Holiday Party

By in Family and Friends, Seasonal Celebrations Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Last Saturday, we went to a holiday potluck party with friends. Everyone brought such delicious food, and we also had a Secret Santa gift exchange. It was great seeing a lot of my high school girlfriends again, even some I hadn’t seen in years! Special thanks to Lucy for hosting the fun gathering at her lovely home.

By the Christmas tree
My best friend Debbie and I in front of the Christmas tree. 🙂

 

Holiday party at Lucy's
Enjoying delicious food and chatting with friends

 

Calming down in Daddy's arms
Mio was anxious and overwhelmed by all the people at first, and wanted to be held for the first half of the party.

 

Opening Secret Santa Gifts
Beginning the Secret Santa gift exchange! It was fun to find out who each person’s gifter was!

 

High school friends reunited
The girls opening presents. I was Yonmi’s Secret Santa!

 

Mimi opening her gift

 

I got the Naked palette! Thanks Ploi. :)
My Secret Santa was Ploi, and she got me the Naked palette from Urban Decay! I was so surprised! I’ve heard so much about the Naked palette, and was so delighted to receive it. Thank you Ploi ♥

 

Revealing each other's Secret Santas
Revealing each other’s Secret Santas

 

Admiring the palette with Mio
Mio was really curious about my gift.

 

Mio checking out the Naked palette
Already a fan of makeup, she grabbed the box and wouldn’t let it go.

 

...trying to eat it.
…and then she tried to eat it.

 

Mio checking out the Christmas ornaments
Mio warmed up to everyone a lot more after a while, and started checking out the Christmas ornaments and running up to everyone.

 

I was so surprised when in the middle of the party, my friends turned off some of the lights and started singing “Happy Birthday,” bringing over a birthday pie lit with candles! I was so touched. :’)

Getting surprised by a birthday pie!
A sweet surprise!

 

Thank you everyone! Special thanks to Debbie for the pie.
Thank you everyone! Special thanks to Debbie for buying the pie from Pie Sisters – it was so delicious!

 

So much good food at the holiday party!
There was so much good food at the holiday party!

 

We're both moms now!
I hadn’t seen Yonmi since college! We’re both moms now. 🙂

 

A family picture. :)
A family picture!

 

We had a wonderful time at the holiday party, and it didn’t go too late so we were able to get back in time for Mio’s bedtime!

Mio and Mama before bedtime
My nightly routine of reading a few books to Mio before bedtime.

 

Reading together
Reading together ♥ One of my favorite moments together.

 

Gingerbread House Time-Lapse

By in Creative Corner, Seasonal Celebrations, Videos Tags: , , , , , ,

Miwa and I working on our gingerbread house.

My sister and I built a gingerbread house last night! We had made one last year for the first time in years, and it was so much fun that we had to do it again. This year, we decided to make a time-lapse video to document the process, because we had so much fun making the tree-trimming time-lapse the other week.

We bought the gingerbread house kit from Trader Joe’s, and we really liked it for its unique look, all the materials it came with, and its unbeatable price — only $7.99! It’s imported from Germany, and while we have yet to eat it, the gingerbread was pretty soft and thick coming out of the box, compared to the rock-hard gingerbread you find in most other kits. It looks and smells delicious! I just love everything Trader Joe’s sells, especially during the holidays!

Here is the time-lapse video of us assembling and decorating the gingerbread house! Special thanks to Dan for setting the camera up and editing the video for us. 🙂


 

Some additional photos…

Decorating the gingerbread
Decorating the gingerbread house

 

gingerbread house
The completed gingerbread house!

 

Love the little people and dog!
Love the little people and dog!

 

Our completed gingerbread house!
Miwa and I with our completed creation!

 

And Mio’s reaction to the gingerbread house? She saw it this morning during breakfast and broke out into a huge smile!

Mio seeing the gingerbread house

 

Pointing at the people
Curiously pointing at the people and the dog.

 

Maybe next year, Mio will be able to help build one with us! 🙂

Mio and the Quadcopter

By in Mio, Videos Tags: , ,

Among Dan’s birthday gifts was a remote control quadcopter, and he’s been having fun playing with it all weekend. For me, it’s more fun watching Mio’s reaction to it — a mixture of uncertainty, curiosity, and apprehension with a hint of excitement. She likes to chase where it goes, but maintains a safe distance and at times gets scared and runs away from it, towards me.

Roll Call

By in Mio, Videos Tags: , ,

One of Mio’s favorite things to do these days is a “roll call,” in which she calls “Mama” and “Dadoo” to which we respond “Hai!” (Japanese for “here!” or “yes”), and then she waits for us to call her name and she responds “hai” back. She will often repeatedly do this for five rounds or so. I’ve tried to capture it on video, but she gets camera-shy every time. Here’s an old video from almost a month ago that we took on Thanksgiving Day — it’s usually a lot more enthusiastic, but she is a bit reluctant here. Still fun to watch, though! 🙂

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