Autumn Fest 02 (Maddie)

Posted on November 11, 2012 by Maddie

With my newfound photo blog obsession, I was MORE than ready for day 2! I have a feeling Rachel knew that I would love completing this activity!

To me all the pictures above scream JESSIE. From the beautiful lace shirt, to the Twinings tea box, these photos totally encompass Jessie’s personality.

For example, the first picture, “there’s no other like you” reminds me of how confident Jessie is and how she’ll defend her ideals to the very end (no matter how strange :). This attribute urges me to stop doubting and start living OUT LOUD! The photo of Iced Coffee comes from our Latte dates in our favorite Cafe & Bakery, Paris Baguette. These five pictures only just begin to describe the sweet, positive, and encouraging sister Jessie is. Thanks for being unique. <3

As for Rachel’s 5 pictures, I had a hard time finding the right ones, but I finally picked a few that really impersonate her character in my eyes…

Rachel has always been the “calm” half of us and I really appreciated that aspect of her. Though she doesn’t respond too well to my LOUD laughter and MASSIVE hugs, I know she will be there for me in other ways 🙂

The Anne of Green Gables shot above is one of my favorites, this movie never gets old for Rachel and I! While in the process of tumblr searching, I had this Starbucks image in the back of my mind… where would Rachel be without her Starbucks runs?! It amazes me how much time she can spend sitting in a Coffee shop; reading, working, or chatting 🙂 Rachel, you’ve always been able to encourage and love me when things are rough, your peaceful spirit is a true blessing in my life. I love you!

Autumn Fest 02 (Jessie)

Posted on November 11, 2012 by Jessie

This particular day is especially fun for me because now-a-day I don’t get the luxury of browsing pictures online. I had so much fun finding these photos and collaging them into pinterest-like boards for you two!

1. Maddie, this looks like a place where you would travel — I can imagine you (with a rich husband 😉 driving around Europe in this vintage, blue BMW Bug.
2. When I found this picture I instantly thought that these feathers, in a clip or headband, would look fabulous in your short hair!
3. I imagine this as the view from your future city penthouse — very elegant.
4. This is definitely the Asian version of you! I can totally see you biking through a city in this outfit!
5. You may not be a big fan of cookies, but this cookie dough is so you; it completely encompasses your PINK style. I can imagine you making a whole bowl of this dough and eating “raw.”

1. I debated including this photo in the top 5 at first, but now I’m confident that this photo illustrates your style to the max 😉
2. This collection would not be complete without a picture of coffee! Alas – the good old days when we drank tea together are gone ~
3. This is your dream home – it has everything you desire for a country home: a white victorian-style house (with plenty of kitchen space I’m sure ;), lots of GREEN land, and horses!
4. This photo represents your love of Hong Kong and family vacations — How can we ever forget those late nights in Hong Kong sitting around chatting with HKwaffles and bubble tea in hand?
5. Your love of photography and Asian kids are combined in this photo – adorable!

Love you two (and this challenge)!

Autumn Fest 02 (Rachel)

Posted on November 11, 2012 by Rae

Activity for Day Two: “each person must find five photos which remind them of the other [in my case 2] group members.”

What an amazing way to illustrate (literally!) how I view my sisters. At first it seems obvious… of course they know how I see them- we’ve slept in the same room for how many years now? But its not always that simple. Sometimes the way we view ourselves is much different than the way others see us from the outside.

That’s what made this activity so interesting.

I searched around ~~several hours trying in vain not to get distracted~~ for a while on tumblr blogs until I pinned down just “five” pictures that impersonated Jessie and Maddie in my mind.

Maddie, you were so much more difficult to find pictures for than I expected! In the end I chose photos that I was positive you’d like (sorry no risks there). Believe it or not, you are a mystery to me. For example, when I think you’ll love what I bake, you end up politely eating a few bites before handing it off to Megan. When I’m positive that you’ll absolutely hate a dessert, you love it! Seriously, what’s up with that?!

Though there are some aspects of your person that baffle me (and I’m planning on taking you out for a LONG explanation of this), I am certain about a few things. For one, you are THE most amusing yet laid back person I’ve met. My life would be boring and uneventful without your (often foreign-accented) jokes, randomly executed back hugs, and queer obsession with fried rice in the mornings. Thanks for being so uniquely awesome.

Jessie, you have such an adventurous attitude matched with great sensitivity. For that reason (and for the fact that spending time with you is one of my “favorite” past times), I chose images of places that I want to visit with you. A rustic cabin in the mountains, a lovely picnic on a trip to France, coffee and tiramisu in a coffee shop in Korea- I can’t think of anyone besides you who I’d ask to be my world traveling buddy! Some day it will happen 🙂

I love you two! <3 Rachel

Enjoy Friendship. Enjoy the Season.

Posted on November 10, 2012 by Rae

We are preparing to embark on an Autumn adventure filled with festivities, fellowship, and happy memories.

How it began…
I was incredibly blessed this year to take an extended amount of vacation time from fixed responsibilities and accustomed busyness. You see, I decided to stay in China for one more year to seek direction in my life. This year’s blessing has been two-fold; not only do I have the opportunity to discover my dreams for the future, but I’ve been given the chance to create lasting memories with my sisters before I leave home. I’m determined to take full advantage of this.

So, I created a 20 day challenge for us to complete during the month of November. Everyday there is a different activity which we will complete together, both to enjoy the holiday season, and each other. As we make our way through this Fall bucket list, I will be posting about our adventures.

But the story doesn’t stop here. The purpose of the Autumn challenge isn’t just for connecting4, it’s for you to enjoy the precious relationships in your life as well. My hope is that you would ask a couple of friends to join you in making the most of this season together. Gather great ideas for fall spirit below and make tons of awesome memories!

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I’m Lovin’… Gold

Posted on November 8, 2012 by Maddie

My third post from the collection, I’m Lovin’ Colors, is here! This week I went bold and picked GOLD! The color gold always seems to make me smile and that is exactly why I picked the color.

I don’t know about you guys but I just get excited when I see things that are gold like this dress. I think one reason I adore the color gold is because its so different, it can glitter, sparkle and gleam and never seems to get old to me. Just think about it, what is gold that isn’t amazing? I can’t help but feel somehow exhilarated when I see that perfect Gold dress, necklace, or iPhone case laying in front of me.

What color excites you?

This post is a part of the collection I’m Lovin’… Colors, check out my others I’m Lovin’… Turquoise & I’m Lovin’… Yellow.

Sources: { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5}

Air Quality Monitoring

Posted on October 21, 2012 by Jessie

Michael and Rachel:

Maddie and I have been hard at work on our air quality monitor! Our goal is to use an Arduino board and low-cost gas sensors to monitor the quality of our air. We definitely met challenges with the technical part of this project; and lets not even get started on calibrating the sensors! After it all, however, we have made some interesting “discoveries” and our hard work is really seeming to pay off!

Take a look at this magazine of all our research!

Take a Look: Engineering Notebook!

Posted on October 21, 2012 by Jessie

Michael, Rachel, and Maddie:

A huge part of this semester for me has been this course in Robotics! Among all the construction of our actual robot, we are also expected to keep an engineering notebook. We were taught that every “true” engineer keeps a notebook to protect their ideas. I have really taken advantage of this notebook to express my artistic side.

Hope you like how my notebook is turning out so far!

Climbing Higher

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Rae

I’ve decided to bring my baking passion to a new level by starting a small cake business here in 天津. Our kitchen is prepping for a whole new dimension of baking and, honestly, I can’t wait to get started! I’ve been working on a simple brochure (below) advertising various cakes which will be sold. Enjoy!

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Tumblr Finds #2

Posted on October 13, 2012 by Maddie

So I was feeling inspired to share a post and thought to myself, why not just make a 2nd collection of tumblr finds? And guess what I can.

Hey, you can never have too many inspirational photos to look at right? So here you have it tumblr finds #2 enjoy.

P.S. Don’t forget to keep visiting my tumblr blog, Tall Buildings!

This post is a part of a collection called Tumblr Finds, check out my other post here.

Cake Challenge: August

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Rae

Remembering what a hit January’s cake was, I decided to try it again but this time with a simple chocolate cake accompanied by smooth vanilla buttercream filling.

This particular cake was a surprise Birthday dessert for our good friends, the Gohs. A couple of weeks ago, Mr. Goh emailed my Mom about joining their family for Thai food at an eclectic restaurant in downtown Tianjin to celebrate Mrs. Goh’s Birthday. Of course Mom (the courteous mother she is) felt compelled to bring something along to the dinner. So she replied asking if we could provide the B-day cake for Mrs. Goh. Mrs. Goh has always been a very encouraging supporter of my baking passion and she herself is a queen of creative scrapbooking so I definitely wanted to bake something special for her. This cake was the result…

our family met them at the restaurant and enjoyed a lovely dinner and (an even lovelier) cake. ~Unfortunately the Gohs arrived at the restaurant before we did and seeing 11 seats at their reserved table, Mrs. Goh soon guessed who would be joining them for dinner.

In the end, I have to say my favorite part of baking cakes are the memories I hold with those I share them with.

Other Cake Challenge Posts:
January
February
March
April
May
June

MAKE YOURSELF:

Swiss Meringue Buttercream Filling: find a thorough set of instructions here.

Espresso Drizzle: find recipe in the Cake Challenge: January post.

Click on this post to see recipe for Chocolate Cake (scroll to the bottom).

C4

Category Archives: Connecting4