shimandsons

happy 4th of july!!

[july 2008 :: oregon berries]

alphabet man

:: first day of summer vacation :: rainy day ::

:: the boys stayed in their pajamas all day long ::

:: had fun with the label maker :: created the "alphabet man" ::

cozy lunch

We survived the last week of school! Phew! It has been very busy around here lately with Baby J's birthday party, end-of-the-school-year activities, sprained arm [Big J], tackling a long list of birthday/farewell gifts [8 down, 15 more to go...no joke!], dealing with some unexpected changes and preparing for new adventures this summer.

So in the midst of a hectic week it was really refreshing to take time out to share a meal with some wonderful friends. My dear friend Sarah invited six of us over to her apartment for lunch. Sarah is an amazing cook [she makes THE best salads ever], wife, mother and artist. And she really knows how to set a beautiful table.

She is also one of the most thoughtful people I know. Sarah gifted me with one of her custom fiber art pieces and I couldn't be more happy!

I love all the details in her work. She uses beautiful hanbok [traditional Korean dress] fabric and adds texture via machine stitching and embroidery. And of course she already knows me so well, do you see all the grey?

I love the fact that this piece will always be a reminder of our friendship--a Norwegian-American from Norway and a Korean-American from the U.S. who met in beautiful Busan, South Korea.

happy father's day, appah!

+ from your two favorite mateys +

[p.s. Apparently I have no concept of time and thought Father's Day was LAST weekend! Anyways, we celebrated today with a yummy sushi lunch + some nice r+r at home + homemade calzones for dinner. Happy Father's Day!]

beach day

 

:: celebrating the last week of school with classmates ::

:: enjoying the sun and cool breeze ::

:: at songjeong beach ::

happy father's day

Appah :: 3 years old :: Seoul, South Korea

hello, mr. four-year-old!

gijang :: south korea :: part two

After lunch at the duck restaurant we headed next door to a local greenhouse.

There were so many beautiful flowers and plants on display.

I love the small delicate ones...

...and this grouping of mini plants.

But my favorite thing to see was this traditional clay village.

See the halmuhni [grandmother] chopping up the radish? Too cute!

gijang :: south korea

Last week I had lunch with some school mums at a traditional duck restaurant in Gijang, a 1/2-hour drive from Busan.

The restaurant consists of a main eating room along with several individual rooms and traditional clay huts.

We had a lovely meal of duck, served two different ways--one was roasted in a pumpkin and the other was served in a clay pot with different grains.

The duck was accompanied with a spicy salad of fresh greens and mushrooms.

But I have to say the highlight of the experience was walking around the grounds after the meal.

There was so many things...

...to enjoy...

...and see...

...like beautiful stone pots filled with homemade soy sauce and bean curd...

...and antique yellow school chairs...

...the perfect place to sit while enjoying a treat from one of the school mums...

...after hopping around the grounds.

thank you

:: I'm in love with our local bookstore :: I find all sorts of cute things there like this red grid tape ::

:: and this rolling alphabet stamp ::

:: one of the mums at school let me borrow a stack of ku:nel + come home! magazines :: I've been in japanese magazine heaven! ::

:: and they came in this beautiful drawstring bag ::

:: I stick a handmade thank you card in the bag when I return it to her every week ::

:: and she brings me a new stack of magazines ::

:: we have a nice system going :: and it has reminds how everyone loves a good old fashioned thank you card ::