Ella Candids

Sweet potatoe is YUMMY. Gimme mo'

Nappy Time

Happy Buddha with Grandma

Silly Wabbit

Little village girl

Ella inherited a little traditional Chinese coat, mien aow, from cousin Katie. She looks really adorable wearing it. I couldn't resist making her a little village style coat using Katie's coat as a template. Tim helped to pick out the most country bumpkin prints for this little project. Since the overall styling was "little village girl," we picked up the gold medallion from our wedding from the safe deposit and VOILA!


This was definitely a challenging project. Although it turned out OK, but the coat is a little too stiff and the sleeves could be shorter and wider for comfort and would fit her better. Lessons learned. The next one should turn out much better.

New bedding for Ella's crib

I bought a bunch of fabric two years ago in Beijing not knowing what I'd use them for. I knew I would use them someday for something. They were all just so pretty and CHEAP. A couple of weeks ago, I made some new bedding for Ella's crib, and they match her room really well.

A walk in the park

I've been getting to work at 7am on some days. Although it's really difficult to get up so early, but I really enjoy the time I get to spend with my family after work in the mid-afternoon. We went for a walk in Golden Gate Park yesterday. It was just gorgeous all around! Can't wait to do it again tomorrow.

Ella at almost 5 months

It's been a while since the last Ella posting. Time for more chubby baby!



Thanks Emily for this cute little bolster pillow that echos all the little owls in her room.


Ella is posing for a Renaissance portrait of a little lady.


Ella's mouth may look tiny, but she can still fit almost her entire hand inside!

Rose bouquets

We've planted roses in both of the brick planters flanking the front of the house. They've really taken off and are doing very well this year. I have bought all of my roses from Reagan Nursery in Fremont. They have the largest and best selection of all varieties of roses. It's always lots of fun and not enough money when we go there. They also have a large selection of Peonies, Camelias, and Azaleas. Here are a few of my roses.

This is the only rose I got from Home Depot. It's really beautiful when this rose begins to bloom. The new blooms have a bright pink color and becomes peachy after a few days. Finally, it becomes a pale pink right before it wilts. The multi-petals resemble a Peony.


This Hot Cocoa never was a strong plant and never did really well until we replanted it with new Rose Soil. It went from a weakling with fingernail size leaves to a robust thriver with healthy sized leaves and stalks. The color is just so RICH! One drawback are the sharp and large thorns which cover the entire stalk.


This has to be our favorite of all, the Eden Climber. I was skeptical of whether it can adapt to the SF weather and bloom. So far, it's never disappointed. Every year it'd have flushes of these tightly clustered blooms. The color gradation contrasts especially well with the new house color!
We bought another Eden Climber for the planter on the other side of the house, but in a cream color.


The 8 rose bushes we have supply me with plenty of fragrant rose bouquets to enjoy throughout the summer. I especially love them in the bathroom.

The Young Farm

We've been wanting to grow our own vegetables for a while, and have not been very good at farming. So far this year, we've only had some tomatoes and sweet peas.

Here's the vegetable box at the beginning of the season.


Aunt Jo has been supplying us with seedlings of tomatoes, and zuchinis.



We grew some sweet peas from seeds.



Strawberries from the Bitner Farm


We'll have to elevate the boxes and supplement the soil with more manure for next season. Hopefully our harvest will be better next year.