Spring in Seattle, at Greenlake via Instagram.

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Wow. Excuse me while I dust off the cobwebs around here. It's been a while.

So many things have happened lately, so much I want to share, yet so much that I don't know what to share. Do you ever get that feeling?

Life has been going at a pretty fast pace for me. I'm running along with it, and it's great, but at the same time trying to find little breaks here and there to catch my breath.

Speaking of running, a few of my friends and I participated in the Nordstrom Beat the Bridge this past weekend. It's a run that fund-raises money to help the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). The event has several different courses (1 mile fun-run, 4 mile walk, and 8K race), and this was my second year running the 8K (4.9 miles). What I like most about this run is that you have approximately 20 minutes to "beat the bridge" at the 2-mile mark before it goes up. The first time I did this, I was a few minutes too late and had to wait on the "left behind" side for the bridge to go back down. Sad, I know. This year, my goal was to both beat the bridge, and run under one hour. Beat the bridge I did, and finished the race with a time of 55:57. Most likely the highlight of my weekend, muscle aches and all. 

How's May going for everyone?

Happy May Day everyone! How is the weather in your neck of the woods? Seattle's been on this wet-on-weekdays, dry-on-weekends pattern lately. I'm not complaining too much, but I'm looking forward to more consistent sunshine that's for sure.

I snapped these photos years ago (circa 2008), when I acquired my first DSLR. My old college campus has rows of cherry blossoms along The Quad, and every spring when the flowers bloom, it's one of the most prettiest sites on campus. (See more lovely shots of UW from Rachel here and here.)

Since I can remember, I've always been surrounded by sewing. My mother is an excellent seamstress. Growing up, I've watched (and helped) her turn yards of fabric into dresses, jackets, pants, bags, and even stuffed animals.

This summer, I am determined to learn this trade from her. And would love to own these shears and thread cutter in the process.

I told her that I want to take up sewing and she needs to teach me. Her response:

"Before you learn how to sew, you must first learn how to fix."

Via Instagram.

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Have you ever looked around your bedroom and noticed the little things that make your room, well, you? They could be something big and bright, or small and subtle. Either way, they're the things that make your room feel comfortable and familiar.

My room is pretty much all white. White walls, white furniture, white bedding, white curtains. It's a simple color and easy to pair with other colors. But what I love most about a white palette is that it allows all the ordinary, or semingly mundane, things to stand out.

My sheets and duvet cover are white, but the edge of my pillow covers have gray leaves. An empty mobile hangs from a corner of my ceiling, always subtly swaying and spinning to the room's natural airflow. The collection of W magazines that I've yet to read, stacked next to vintage Fortune magazines that I've yet to look through. And the warm presence of Charlie next to me as I reluctantly wake up every morning.

A few weeks ago, a couple of my friends and I spent a glorious and sun-filled weekend in San Francisco. I had been keeping a small stash of original Polaroid film in my fridge since the day I found out they were no longer in production, and promised myself that I would use these precious packs of film sparingly. Well, after three plus years, I was finally down to my last two packs (just 20 exposures!) and decided to splurge.

One of my favorite things about San Francisco is that they have a huge food scene. I mean, don't get me wrong, Seattle is pretty up there with eateries, but it's more of a slow and steady culture. SF kind of engulfs you right off the bat and gives it to you in one big blow. So you can pretty much guess what my friends and I did all weekend. We ate (Fisherman's Wharf)...and ate (Ferry Plaza Farmers Market)...and ate (Smitten Ice Cream). I also got to meet the lovely Mindy, and we bonded over lunch at The Slanted Door.

We rented a car and drove quite a bit. It wasn't fun being stuck in traffic, or having to pay toll, but hey, it sure made us feel like locals. And I have to say, these photos are a little bittersweet to look at. Bitter because it means no more 10-pack, original Polaroid instant film, but sweet because I couldn't have thought of a better trip to use it on.

Gasworks Park overlooking Lake Union and Seattle, May 2008.

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I bought a lounge shirt a while back because this was printed on it:

A kiss is a lovely trick, designed by nature, to stop speech when words become superfluous.

And today, found out through a random link on Merriam-Webster that it was spoken by the lovely Ingrid Bergman. This quote is listed as #1 on the site's Top 10 Favorite Quotations About Words. Pretty darn cool.

So, I'm sending all you lovely readers e-kisses to wish you a late-but-better-than-never wonderful new year! Muah!

One of my favorite prints from Abby Powell Thompson, purchased at Little Winter 2010.

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I don't know what it is, but around this time of year, I always feel like I'm on autopilot. Maybe because all the activities and busyness that come with the fall season slowly drain and suck the energy out of me, leaving me to feel more passive about my surroundings. Which is how I've been feeling lately. My body is still here, doing the normal things that I'm accustomed to, but my mind is in a bit of a wandering state, neither here nor there. Not exactly dead, but certainly not sparkling either. Like it desperately wants to find something that will make it feel alive again, but it's unsure of what. Maybe it's one of those things that will make sense and click once it sees it. And by it, I mean me.

Any tips for getting rid of the pre-winter blues?

This photo was taken during my 5th birthday. (You can't really tell, but there's another candle behind the pink one.) It's one of a few that I have from the only birthday that I remember before coming to the states. We didn't have much back then, but I think my parents knew that we weren't going to stay in Vietnam much longer, so that's probably why they threw me such a memorable birthday. It's now one of my most cherished photos. I remember that yellow dress (my favorite at the time), those cute bangles that every little girl wanted to wear, all the pretty wrapping paper, and, oh my, that ridiculously gigantic pink bow clip on my head that I wore with no shame. Definitely a mark of the late 80s.

I'm 27 now, so to celebrate, I hope you all don't hold back on any sweets. Enjoy and have a great Tuesday!

...fog and gloomy clouds are dominating early mornings. The trees aren't quite this bare, but that's only a matter of time. I'm hoping for a quick winter this year, considering how last winter stretched through spring and early summer.

So much stuff has been happening around the country lately. I'm not exactly sure how to comprehend it all. Makes everything feel just a bit uncertain.

And, oh, I did a little revamp to my blog design. I told myself I wasn't going to change it for a while. I mean, I was pretty content with the old look—it was clean, simple, and to the point. But then I started getting fidgety after doing my rounds of blog reading, and you know what happens when designers get fidgety. We start messing with stuff. And more stuff. And even more stuff. Anyway, I hope you like it, and let me know if something isn't working right. 

Lastly, have a great Friday and weekend guys!

Springtime in Cairns, Australia. Circa August 2010.

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Isn't that cool? The word "Aloha," that is. It means "Hello" and "Goodbye," among many other things, in Hawaii.

And that's where I'm headed to right now. I'm joining a couple of friends who are already there to experience the island life for the first time. I have no set agenda, which means no time line to adhere to, which means anything can happen. As long as sun, sand, and waves are in the picture, I am a happy gal.

While I'm gone, I don't want my blog to collect any more dust than it already has, so I've prepared some vacation posts. Hope you guys enjoy, and have a fantastic week. Aloha!