Tag Archives: connecting4.com

I’m Lovin’…Yellow

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Summer is flying by pretty fast yet as the days shorten and cold months crawl in, the color yellow remains vivid in my mind. The thoughts of lemonade, the big bright sun, and playful yellow finch’s come to my mind alongside memories of my summer in America. I miss Crab Hunting with cousins, Family dinners at grandpa and grandmas, late night conversations with my favorite aunts, and most of all, all the loving  hugs I got from the most important people. Returning home to visit family and friends was such a blessing and I will cherish the times I spent with them. I miss you guys!

I’ve decided to start a Color Collection starting with (obviously) yellow.

sources: 1: crown, 2: horse, bright side, grapefruit, 3: yellow dress, 4: Rain Boots, Lace Pumps

Dream House #2

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I was browsing over the blog this week and came across my previous Dream House post and decided to create another…

My family moved earlier this year during spring break and although moving over a vacation is never appealing, at least it inspired me to write this post! I found it very difficult to have a relaxing break when boxes lay strewn across the ground, cleaning had to be done, and tasks of organization awaited us around every corner. However the memories Jessie and I made during this time are priceless. Although even now 5 months later we are still hanging pictures and finding places for “stuff” to go, I believe we had a successful move this year and I am quite proud of our efforts. I used the same resources as last time (fresh home) but this time I decided to pick a theme for the “dream house”. Doesn’t “scenic rural dream” sound enticing?! Check out these two houses that I combined keeping this theme in mind.

I love how the floors of both houses are so gorgeous, they match the rural theme so well.

look at those gorgeous windows!

The furniture in the picture above really pulls together the thought of a countryside house.

 

The Barn

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I remember going down to my grandparent’s barn to clean out the horse’s stalls and although it was a dirty job I loved being around the horses and the country feeling. Everywhere you look is a story, from the Exxon sign to the hanging horse shoes. As the years have gone by the barn has grown older and dirtier but I will never grow tired of this beautiful place. I hope the memories of this place never fade away!

Finals Week

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The dreaded week of final exams has begun. Final Exams week is almost here and I’m sure everyone will agree that the weekend before the “battle” is always the worst. I woke up somewhat late this Saturday morning and started studying. The only thing that keeps me going is the thought that I only have to get past these 4 days of torture and then I’ll be on my way to America! Family, good food, green grass, outdoor swimming pools… the list is endless! There are no words to express just how excited I am to see my relatives as well.  But for now, I better stop thinking about that and start focusing on school work… Wish me luck on my finals!

Sources: From Ignant

I’m Lovin’… Sunglasses

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Sunglasses add a whole new aspect to an outfit that are not only useful but can be totally stylish if you wear them right. Unfortunately, last week on my Spring Trip I didn’t have any sunglasses (pictures of my adventures coming soon!) and I will admit it did get a little sunny at times. So with the summer season around the corner, shopping for some new sunglasses isn’t a bad idea. Although sometimes they can get pricey, sunglasses can be your best friend! Personally, I adore the Red Apple Sunglasses from Mod Cloth (#4) because they are so creative – and to tell you the truth I am not one for small lensed sunglasses – so these are perfect for me! Hope you’re summer is starting off fabulously with beautiful a pair of sunglasses!

Sources: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight

 

iphone Pictures/Spring Trips!

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Here are some pictures of what’s been happening lately.

Each spring our school provides a class trip to different parts of China, on these trip we sight see, experience Chinese culture, and eat a ton of Chinese traditional foods. The time has come once again for each class to head out on their Spring Trip. So, to make sure I am fully prepared, I went shopping today for some of my favorite snacks to bring along – as a back up, if you know what I mean!  Snacks are a definite must when going on spring trip – to quote myself, “a trip is not a trip without food”. I am so excited to have the oppertunity to visit NanJing, a city in China regarded as one of the most famous cities in China because of it’s extensive history.  This ancient city was actually the Northern capital of China and later was attacked by the Japanese in WWII. I’m anxious to discover the adventures NanJing holds for me. Wish me luck on my travels!

As of Late…

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Thought I would share a bit about what’s happening in my life this week…

– Celebrating Jessie’s “sweet 16th”  Birthday was spactacular  (view the post about it here!)

– Deciding what to do about my habit of watching TV/a movie every night… uh oh

– Just started “stumbling” on Stumble Upon – its an awesome way to discover new blogs like this, this, and this one!

– No school on Friday! I’m planning on spending my day making smoothies, taking walks, and chatting with friends.

– Inspired by this video.

– Can’t stop thinking about our trip home (to America) this summer to visit friends and family! The first thing I want to eat when I get there is Chili’s Buffalo Wings (YUM!)

– Thankful that my relatives send packages full of Easter goodies every year! I love you guys <3

– Random Question: Right now would you rather be on a beach sun bathing or in a mall shopping?

Cake Challenge: March

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Vanilla cake, swiss meringue butter cream, whipped cream and strawberries were the building materials for this cake. I “almost” slacked on my goal this month because I was SUPER busy finishing school work before spring break while at the same time getting ready for (guess what?!) a trip to Hong Kong! YES, I am visiting Michael in Hong Kong over the vacation! I’ve been looking forward to this for weeks, and finally I’m here (arrived this afternoon). I will be posting pictures of our adventures this week as Michael gives me a glimpse of his life here at HKU.

Anyway, back to the cake. It was Megan’s Birthday yesterday and I really wanted to make something special for her. That, and the goal that I made for myself this year was persuasion enough for me to stay up until 2:30 am Thursday night baking this cake. I was exhausted Friday and although I don’t know how that affected my performance on the 3 exams I had that day, in the end I felt quite “accomplished.” You can find the recipe for both the cake and icing at sweetapolita, an amazing cake baker’s blog (I substituted the white chocolate icing for swiss meringue buttercream but you can find recipes for both on this blog).

I experimented with photoshop for a while, toying with these photos, so don’t be surprised if there are different styles of editing below!

<Cake Challenge Series: is a collection of posts which document the cakes I bake each month. More specifically, I have a goal this year to bake at least one (hopefully spectacular) layer cake each month, and photograph/post them here. I hope you enjoy this collection as much as I enjoy baking these delicious desserts!>

Check out January and February’s cakes too!


Spring Break is Finally HERE!

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Over on this side of the planet Spring Break is finally here! I was planning to relax, but we’re moving, yes I said we’re moving. It was very short notice but the lease for our apartment is up and in a matter of a month we had to find a new apartment (not as easy as it sounds). This week will probably consist of more packing and less relaxing, but hey, at least the new, bigger apartment is worth it!  To add to this craziness, this Friday is my BIRTHDAY (yay!).  I love the date of my birthday because it always falls on some sort of holiday: spring break, easter weekend, teacher work days; it’s definitely nice to have a vacation on my special day.

 

Today Rachel leaves to visit Michael in Hong Kong, and even though I’m sad I couldn’t join her the fact that they are both coming back to TianJin on Thursday definitely makes up for it!   The best part of it all is that Michael will be here for my Birthday (Looking forward to those HK presents!)!

All that said I think this week will be a complete mess, but somehow I’ll find a way to have fun in the process :] Have an awesome weekend!

 

Dream House Anyone?

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I was thinking about what my dream house might look like after reading many posts from Smile and Wave and her moving experiences over the past few weeks. So I decided to go searching for some houses that would be…well dreamy. I found an interesting  interior design and architecture web-site called Fresh Home, perfect for home styling inspiration. So without further ado my dream home…

I love this view of the kitchen.. it is so bright and full of color!