congratulations ami!

my sister's friend ami graduated from SJSU and we celebrated at ami's parents place.  i've known ami since she was a tiny little thing.  now she's all grown up and ready to go out in the world and make it a better place.  :)  she just got a paid internship offer at tivo - woo-hoo!  congratulations ami!

thanhha, ami, moi

lianne, pierce, thanhha

you like my new tattoo?  just kidding.  the tattoo belong to ami and yes, it's real!  the tattoo represents her parents family crest. 

bird house treasure

look what i found at tj maxx and sharon got it for me.  :)  thank you sharon.  i love yellow and i love bird houses - so of course, it had to go home with me.  i might put a little green plant in there, but haven't found one that i love yet. 

isn't it adorable?  it's actually a jewelry holder - see the hooks on the outside?

backyard project #1

this one area in our backyard where our trash cans go had bark on it and each time when we would roll out the cans, the bark would go everywhere.  aaron was thinking of putting stepping stones instead of bark, but when he read what how much work was involved on how to get the stepping stones even, we decided to put little rocks instead.  :)  no more bark mess!

before

after

soccer game

every friday we take emma and dexter on a field trip after dinner.  we took them to las palmas park in sunnyvale and the last time we were there was right before we moved.  emma went crazy - she was like the ball in the pinball machine - couldn't decide where to go first, so she went everywhere all at once!  that's why i had dexter because he's the calm one.  :)

emma stopped chasing the birds to watch a soccer game

sectional

we got our couch!  i didn't think it was going to come until the end of june because they said it would take 4-5 weeks.  i think it only took them 3-1/2 weeks.  the material we got is microfiber, which i read is easiest to clean if you have pets.  i got bench seating style cushions because i saw it in a magazine and thought it was a great idea.   

when they delivered the couch, i was "holy crap, it's huge!"  i think it was because i was so used to our other couch.  i love how we all could sit on the couch together.  :)  only thing is it has the new smell, which is not too bad when i have the windows open.  hopefully the smell will go away soon. 

before

i think the table looks great with the couch :)

mr. dex

mr. dex is what we call him - i love how his leg hangs on the chair :)

favorite thing to do

one of their favorite things to do - enjoying the sunshine in the backyard.

french cottage guest bedroom

i didn't mean to make the theme in the guest bedroom a french one, but everything just came together and one of my friend called it a french cottage room, so why not?  i like the name of it and i love the colors in the room. 

the paris map is actually gift wrapping paper and i found the frame at ikea and it fits perfectly!

built-in bookshelves

i saw this picture of the built-in bookshelves and i thought it would look great in our living room.  only problem is how do i build them?  i am not handy and neither is my hubby.  never fear, i found a solution at ikea.  billy bookshelves!  i am planning to put a row of bookshelves in the back of the living room and put the couch in front of it.  this will give the room a focal point and some architectural appeal.  i can't wait to get started on this and see the finished product.  i am calling the living room our "library / game room."

no, this is not our living room.  i wish!  this is what i would like it eventually to look like, or at least somewhat close to it.

the billy bookshelves at ikea.  not built-in, but hey, i still think it will look nice  :)

fruity dogs

emma and dexter love eating apples, pears, and watermelon.  here they are waiting for aaron to give them some apple slices.