Lensplaying

I recently bought myself a Canon 50mm prime lens and have been having so much fun with the new toy. I thought that it would be limiting to work with a fixed lens but it's been a learning experience to work with the limitations and learn to be creative in order to get the desired shot. It's a fast lens, perfect for the price (less than a hundred for a Canon lens!) and works really nicely with low light. It doesn't have the best bokeh (like my other favorite 70-200mm lens but that's heavy to always carry around) but it works for me and my playing. Of course, it's only just playing but it's been a lot of fun building up the mad camera skills. There are a few more camera lenses that I'm looking into getting but for now, I'll just keep playing with this lens!

• happy bokeh •

• sitting by the fire? •

• holiday lights •

• two in one holidays •

new itty bitty second cousin!

My mother has a very small family: one older sister who lives in California nearby and a younger brother who lives Vietnam. My mom's sister has no children and her brother has three boys and one girl. We don't get to see our cousins often but every time we are in Vietnam, it feels like there is no distance between us. The middle boy was married earlier this year and just had a baby (the first, second cousin of our family) so it was a great surprise to find that they had named their first baby girl, KimMai! What a wonderful surprise it was to hear that she was named after myself and little sister! We are looking forward to meeting her in June next year!

• introducing the new lil' cousin •

• nguyen thi kimmai - i can't wait to pinch her cheeks! •

Finding the Holiday Spirit

Last year, I couldn't muster up any holiday spirit but I am happy to have the holiday spirit this year! We're throwing a Sinter Klaas holiday party for our friends this weekend and will give them a little taste of a Dutch holiday. For Christmas, instead of dealing with the traffic of heading down to L.A., my parents and sister are actually coming up here so we are also going to host our first Christmas. It's quite exciting to be throwing these holiday celebrations because I think that it gives me the holiday spirit. Now I just have to figure out what to cook!

• our christmas/fourth of july holiday sparkles •

• finding the holiday spirit •

• christmas lights swirls •

• swirling joy •

• model husband •

• holiday lighted angel •

Biker Chick?!!!

That's right, I will soon be a biker chick. Marijn and I are taking our first motorcycle lessons so instead of always riding bitch with my family, we can finally ride alongside them. I'm a little nervous but also excited about being able to finally ride a motorcycle and don't worry, we won't go for the crotch rocket when we start motorcycle shopping. I am partial to getting a Vespa but Marijn is a tad hesitant about riding around on a "girlie" bike.

• this mug will finally be a true biker chick mug •

• my dad's triumph although it might be too large for me •

The Joys of Halloween

Pumpkin carving, haunted houses, spooky amusement park rides, horror movies and creative costumes makes Halloween one of my favorites.

• my albino vampire pumpkin •

• great america's halloween haunt •

One of the best things to witness each year is watching Marijn's outfits get more complicated and unique each year especially since the first time he celebrated Halloween was in 2006. I think that he just has a lot of catching up to do!

• 2006 - Army Man •

• 2007 - Park Ranger •

• 2008 - Pinhead and he successfully scared people •

• 2009: zombie clown with high creepy factor •

• He wandered the streets of Pacific solo, following people and freaking them out.
He even made a little girl cry which was quite priceless •

• zombies in love •