the making of bánh bột lọc

We made authentic Vietnamese dishes over the Christmas weekend with family.
Bánh bột lọc. Yummy.
Hope your holiday celebration was as delicious and joyous.

bits & pieces from chicago

Although this was my 3rd time in Chicago, this city never fails to charm me each time.

I was here this time for a 4-day conference which pretty much lasted all day everyday. I didn't pack my SLR, knowing that I wasn't going to have much time to see the rest of the city. But photography has made me appreciate my surroundings, even if it was a place like a convention center that I would have thought of as "boring" in the past. Here are some images I took with my handy iPhone.

I love the light that comes in through the huge windows (almost floor-to-ceiling).
A trivia that I just picked up: McCormick Place is the largest convention center in the U.S.!

We had a couple of hours to explore Millennium Park. For whatever reason, I always get so excited to see the Bean, ha!

Another gem is the Chicago Cultural Center which houses the world's largest Tiffany glass dome.

This last one was my favorite of the city - taken from a large window by the elevator in my hotel :)

{photos processed with ShakeIt and Lo-Mob apps}
Check out my SLR version of the city from last year here.

container kitteh

Finding Pokey in some sort of a container is a common occurrence. It doesn't matter how small it is or if it's already filled with something else, she will still sit in it like it's the most comfortable place.

Her favorite is jumping into a warm load of laundry that has just come out from the dryer.





Don't know how she got into my purse...



If there was a kitty modeling contest, I think she would totally win it (she also has the diva attitude to go with her looks!).

happy mother's day!

I've been told by mothers that having a child will throw your life upside down, but that nothing is as amazing as motherhood. I hope that one day I will get to experience it. Happy mother's day to all you amazing moms out there!!!


My mom was pregnant with me at the time. The little one is my sister, who's also a mother now.

joshua tree national park

Hubby and I went on this lovely 2-day trip earlier this week. We were pleasantly surprised to get into the park for free because it was National Park Week (I didn't even know it existed 'til now!). The landscape is unlike anything I've seen before. Here are some of my iPhone snaps.

This set was processed with ShakeIt app:

We stayed at a recently-renovated motel. You can read more about it here.

Images from this set were processed with various apps: Hipstamatic, PictureShow, and Instagram.

Skull Rock - isn't that just so cool?!!? :) Another cool part was the Cholla Cactus Garden. I will have to post my dSLR images of that garden at another time.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

happy 2011

2010 was a year of major transitions for me, and a year in which I have grown tremendously. I truly feel blessed to be where I am now and very optimistic about what 2011 will bring.

Thank you all for visiting my blog and supporting my photography endeavor. I wish all of you a wonderful year ahead!



These are some of my favorite iPhone images taken in 2010. There are images from my various trips last year {Chicago, Portland, Astoria, Alaska, Atlanta} and a few from my neighborhood. You can view them larger here.

happy holidays!

Wishing all of you a joyous time with family and friends!

xoxo,
Karleen