VintageJeannie

oh my

2012-01-19T15:16:00.000-05:00

so painfully pretty.

full calendar, full life

2012-01-10T17:37:00.003-05:00

i just double checked my calendar and a sense of dread hit my stomach -- not a single night free for myself? really??

and then i took a closer look. "dinner with mary." oh fun! and, "jenny's prenatal appt." i seriously can't wait for that. "breakfast with kierra." be still my heart, can we please do that right now?

and on and on. and that's when i realized, "full calendar, full life." and now i'm excited for the next 8 days!

video of joshua tree

2012-01-10T09:35:00.002-05:00

i thought i'd share this short video of the drive through joshua tree with you -- this is just a raw video file, no music or anything, so I recommend watching it without sound (it has a blaring wind track because i filmed it with the windows open) and watching it in HD.

my goal is to take some of my footage from driving in all sorts of places (new york, wadi rum desert in jordan, flying overhead the colorado rockies, joshua tree) and putting it together in a fun video for you all. that's the goal, anyway!

for now, please enjoy :)

Driving Through Joshua Tree National Park from Jeannie Choi on Vimeo.

making dreams happen

2012-01-09T00:34:00.002-05:00

sometimes i think about an event in the horizon and start to feel really tired. it's enough to make me want to give up, and a lot of times I do! I already have one big regret going into this year and it happened on new year's eve. Chris and I were coming home from dinner and he said, let's get in a cab, go down to the mall, and take a walk on new year's eve! But it made me tired thinking about it, so I said, naaah, let's just go to your apartment, watch internet tv, and eat snacks.

I REGRET THAT DECISION SO MUCH! I mean, we basically do that every regular old night of the week. But how fun would a walk on the mall have been? What a memory we could've made!

Instead, after watching some tv, I fell asleep on Chris's couch, and he had to wrestle me awake so we could watch the ball drop. LAME!

lesson learned, my friends. It's so important to put in some effort to make those memorable events happen -- to take that trip over the weekend; to change out of your jammies and go downtown when your friends call you out; to take a flight home to see your parents on a random weekend. in short, life is for the living!

one experience i will truly treasure is our family trip to Joshua Tree over the Christmas holiday. It's been a dream of mine to go to Joshua Tree national park, ever since I saw a photo of a Joshua Tree on U2's album cover. we made an attempt to go last year but it was raining so hard that we ended up in palm springs instead. i'm so glad we made the effort to try again. so so glad.

my sister is the words-with-friends king!

mama and sister looking fly

are they not the most stunning trees?

miss this girl every day

desert calm

uno the photog

mom on a rock overlooking the san andreas fault

me and dad down below

daddy surveying the fault line

aren't we cute? :)

thankful that my parents are so in love
after 30 years of marriage! what a blessing!

lesson learned: make the effort to make beautiful things happen.

dear jeannie, wtf?

2012-01-05T10:32:00.000-05:00

dear jeannie,
what is up with the radio silence?
sincerely,
the concerned reader of your imagination

dear CROYI,
i have no idea! i think i lost my blogging mojo. but i'll do my best to start up again.
with regret (and hope),
jeannie

hey there ;)

2011-12-30T15:51:00.006-05:00

so profesh

2011-12-19T15:37:00.000-05:00

I started a quick professional blog here. i'll be updating it with excerpts of my current work as a journalist and editor, as well as my thoughts on news events.

but this blog right here will stay fun and frivolous, as always.

more thanksgiving photos

2011-12-10T18:12:00.000-05:00

thanksgiving for me was a lot of traveling: flying home to california, driving out to arizona, driving back from arizona, flying back to DC. Despite being totally exhausting, I had a great time seeing family.

me, sister, dad

uno showing her attitude

the next generation of cousins. so cute!

dads and uncles behind a mountain of food

creeper!

family photo booth

2011-11-28T17:12:00.002-05:00

needless to say, thanksgiving was great!

bluegrass baby

2011-11-22T17:37:00.000-05:00

put together a quick little video from my cousins' son's birthday party! happy first birthday granty-poo!
They held the party at a cute little farm -- so of course bluegrass was necessary :)

the rule of thirds

2011-11-14T23:39:00.003-05:00

this past weekend I took a short photography class (thanks to Chris). it was just a brief 3-hour session, but it was pretty fun! We spent the entire class period walking around Georgetown trying to apply the rule of thirds. After the class was over, Chris and I hopped a train to New York to spend the rest of the weekend seeing friends and eating ourselves sick.

It was fun to try and apply the little bit I learned in this photo class to the photos I took in New York -- usually, I'm just snapping away, not really paying attention, but this time I tried to be a little more intentional with my framing. Obviously, I'm far from pro-status, but here are some of my best photos from the class and the weekend.

our photography class met a random artist in georgetown

he was a little eccentric, but he let us into his studio

he had a lot of random knick knacks

the artist at work

i realize this is a recycling bin, but the shot is not bad, right?

madame geneva's in new york, LES

chris and his two good friends elliot and dan

some serious besties: joanna, niloo, me

fifth ave. at dusk

nonchalant cyclists

the gang

me! taken by Chris

heading back to DC

I've never really considered myself an artistic person, but it's fun to learn a new form of narrative expression. I'm learning that a photo is really about getting a story across in one image. Just like a written story, each photo has a protagonist -- the subject of the photo. And your job as a photographer is to frame that protagonist in some way that gets a story across. It can be a sad story, a joyous story, a complicated story. But that's your job -- to get the viewer to have a sense of the story in one glance.

With that in mind, I'm starting to think I could really get into this form of artistry.

pretty rings

2011-11-11T18:03:00.001-05:00

this stack of tiny, thin rings from catbird made me smile.

if only i were as cute

2011-11-11T13:01:00.000-05:00

i laughed OUT LOUD at work when I saw Allison's pinterest post:

it's mini @Jeannie Choi!!

oh my goodness woman, if only I was as cute as this girl. so stylin'!

flying v

2011-11-11T08:03:00.000-05:00

do you know which neckline looks best on you? I look terrible in crewnecks ... i think because I have narrow shoulders and a weirdly large head. vnecks suit me better, so here is my little roundup of vneck sweaters for your pleasure :)

love the buttons on the shoulders

stripes, pockets, heather grey. nuff said.

good price in a good color

so preppy

they know me so well

2011-11-09T08:29:00.000-05:00

chris gathered some of my greatest friends for a little post-birthday, birthday celebration and it was such a wonderful surprise! I couldn't believe so many folks were willing to come out to celebrate with me. thanks to you all!

weird thing is we didn't get a single photo from the night, so maybe I am making this all up for blogger world? :) heehee, i guess you'll never know unless you were there.

but just like sand in your pockets after you wake from a dream that you've been to the beach, here are some signs that this really really happened.

the most delicious snickerdoodle cupcake for breakfast the next morning :)

beautiful tulips from gillian

do my friends know me or what?

29 memories

2011-11-02T18:01:00.002-04:00

29 memories for you, to commemorate my 29 years-o-living.

1. even though my childhood was sort of bad, there were some really good moments here and there.

2. most of my happy moments involve my sister.

3. i wrote a play in 5th grade about a knight who betrayed his king by stabbing him in the back, literally.

4. middle school was the worst. wracked with self-doubt, if i reached a dial tone when i called a friend, i'd immediately dial all of my other friends' numbers. if any of their numbers were also busy, i'd convince myself they were talking about me.

5. i lived in korea with my grandparents when i was 3 years old because my parents were both in grad school and couldn't take care of me. my grandpa and i would go on long drives while singing old korean folk songs.

6. the fist time i was alone with a boy was in 7th grade. we went to a mcdonald's across the street from our church. i was so nervous i ordered small fries and a sprite. he paid.

7. years later, that same boy and i made a pact to marry each other if we were still single by 27. we're both a couple years past 27 now, but he lives in korea and hasn't contacted me in a long time, so i guess that's that.

8. one time in college i wrote my friend gillian into a story for a creative writing class and depicted her as a complete southern hick. problem is she's from charlotte, north carolina, does not have a southern accent, and has yankee parents. so, yeah, i'm basically racist.

9. another time i asked my black friend tommy if i could borrow his clothes for halloween because i wanted to be a gangster. yeah. really freaking racist!

10. i was only allowed to listen to praise music growing up so i don't have any knowledge of music pre-2000, which is when i left for college and made friends with Dan Ra, who is a walking music library. he's also a total music nazi and will jump down your throat if you express the slightest affection for pop music. needless to say, he gave me a pretty good music education.

11. college was amazing. period.

12. the first time i saw chris was in an intro to newswriting class. he was standoffish and i was eager. he never spoke in class, while i raised my hand constantly and made weird comparisons between class content and woody harrelson in the thin red line.

13. in college, chris and i wrote a long feature article about our university opening a sister campus in Doha, Qatar for the school paper. we have a photo of our joint byline somewhere. (where is that photo?)

14. my mom never says i love you out loud, but she recently started writing it in emails. it makes me smile.

15. one day after class in grad school, i stopped by a park on my walk home and fell asleep on a bench while reading my Bible. i woke up to a child asking her mom if i was homeless.

16. wheaton college (where i went to grad school) serves fish on fridays -- an odd ritual for an evangelical school that terminates professors who convert to catholicism. but the fish really is delicious.

17. i'm happy to take after my dad -- for his cheeky nature and his penchant for storytelling.

18. my sister and I are so different that she often tells me we probably wouldn't be friends if we weren't sisters.

19. i want to be more like my sister.

20. i never baked a single thing until i became an RA in college and had access to our dorm oven. the oven in my home broke when i was in elementary school and my parents never got it fixed.

21. at my first job i misfired an email disparaging my boss ... to my boss. yeah. that really happened.

22. I won a first prize writing award in college and made $250! my mother said it was too little. I called Gillian and we celebrated on the phone together.

23. i once passed out at a bar after drinking a midori sour. it was really embarrassing, but pretty hilarious too.

24. my dad often ends our conversations with, i'll love you no matter what. but i'm afraid to test the limits of his love.

25. fiona apple's song paper bag is timeless and beautiful.

26. i hated new york the first few times i visited -- so tiring, dirty, gross, expensive, crowded. but i love it now. i once cried on a subway train at the sight of the brooklyn bridge, such a beautiful structure.

27. in california, i was in this wonderful book club. most of the members really read every single page of every single book we selected. one of my best memories was meeting to discuss one of the books at the beach. we discussed the book as the sun set. we snacked on brie, crackers, and grapes.

28. in high school, fourth of july was always spent at the beach with church friends. one year, my friend chris and i snuck away and, for whatever reason, slow danced in the ocean, out of view of our friends, to spanish music from someone's radio which was left playing on the beach. it was totally innocent, meaningful, and perfect.

29. on that park bench in grad school, when i fell asleep looking like a homeless person, God asked me in my dream if I could be alone with God for the rest of my life. who can lie to God? crestfallen, I said no. God, no. I can't. I need people. I need love. I would forsake you if I had to be alone. I felt so saddened by this weakness. But God said it was OK. that this was how I was built. to need people in my life, to need love.

to need you, dear friend.

so thank you! thank you for being a part of my life!

adventures of late

2011-10-26T15:40:00.003-04:00

some of our latest adventures, in instagram form :)

we went to see les miserables last night!
I was happy as a clam, though chris had some
harsh critiques :) the musical kept me thinking
of the arab spring movement and how people
will do anything to be free.

our dear friends, erica and ryan. aren't they the cutest?

chris and i showed up to the kennedy center in matching gingham! haha!

what is it about gelato that gets my heart racing?

my new bracelet courtesy of minjoy! thanks guys :)

chris concentrates on his second love, Siri, at Teaism in Dupont Circle

an early birthday brats and beer cruise from Chris. it was a happy occasion!

chris stuffs his face

pretty bikes

my new hippo friend, brought back from a
colleague who visited Africa. I think this is a
Tanzanian hippo :)

love

2011-10-21T18:17:00.001-04:00

adams morgan by night

2011-10-21T13:26:00.003-04:00

Here's another 8mm app video for you all! As you can tell, I love this app. I shot this while waiting to meet Chris for dinner last night in his neighborhood, Adams Morgan, which is equal parts seedy and lively, as you can tell in this clip. Enjoy!

8mm

2011-10-20T17:35:00.006-04:00

so i got my iphone last week and it is truly amazing. I shake my head over having gone with the droid first.

i should've realized that I have NEVER been a hardware person. sure, some people can hack into their droids and make them into really efficient little machines, and I respect that. but i like my computer to function as it should -- simply.

but i love good software, so i should have known that the iphone was for me, because while a droid is nice, the iphone is better supported by the app community. (especially publications! So many pubs/media organizations have iphone apps but not droid apps. when I found out NPR didn't have a droid app, i was SO disappointed.)

my first app purchase was 8mm ($1.99). think of it as hipstamatic for your video camera. here's my first video shot with the app: my new office space! can you imagine if i'd had this app at joy's wedding?? omg.

anyways, hope you enjoy!

want!

2011-10-20T17:16:00.004-04:00

this dress is the epitome of easy fall style. long sleeved black shirt underneath with some tights and ankle boots, or a warm, wolly grey cardigan over with knee high socks and tall boots. so pretty, don't you think?

ht: campcomfort

mo wilco

2011-10-19T16:59:00.002-04:00

we all need mo wilco in our lives

solarrific

2011-10-17T18:48:00.000-04:00

christopher's former roommate mel was part of a team of architecture students from parsons who built a house to enter into the department of energy's solar decathalon. the 19 finalists get to build and display their homes on the washington national mall. even though it was freezing cold, raining, and grey, we headed down there to check it out and i'm so glad we did. the innovative and beautiful designs were a pleasure to see :)

brooklynites reunited in DC. unfortunately i got
horrible pictures of the inside of the house mel built,
so this is from the outside.

wood can be so pretty

cool light in the new zealand house

the new zealand house was totally awesome

view of the new zealand house from the outside

long live good design.

Friday Fun: Ira. Necklaces. A Wedding Video.

2011-10-15T14:07:00.001-04:00

once again I was delinquent on my friday links last week. so sorry to all 4 readers of my blog (me, chris, and then me, and then chris again). here are some good ones for you today.

ira ... is that you?

i'm really into necklaces these days.

i'm less suspicious of occupy wall street than I am of large advocacy groups trying to co-opt the movement to grow their email lists. regardless, this video is great (even if it IS from moveon)

so i'm trying to tweet more, but it's still a mystery to me. FB is definitely more my style (longform, visual, interactive).

maggie gyllenhaal looking so fresh and pretty

lastly, here's a little video i put together of joy's wedding reception using my heart-shaped lens :) enjoy!

so emo

2011-10-14T13:33:00.003-04:00

not gonna lie, i sort of teared up watching this. maybe i'm just being emo, but there's something about watching people play the hell out of a kazoo in the face of all the crap this world slings at you that is so moving.

praise the lord.

Les Pascals | Nohara | A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

the best worst day

2011-10-10T13:27:00.004-04:00

here's a lesson I have to keep relearning throughout my life: sometimes saving a few dollars on your plane fare isn't worth killing yourself. Case in point: This weekend, Chris and I travelled to memphis to see my lovely friends Joy and Minsu get married. When it came to finding a flight, however, I decided the cost of the flight was priority numero uno. As a result, we both wanted to die the entire time.

Here was our schedule:

Saturday

2:15 a.m.: catch a cab to union station

3:15 a.m.: catch a train to BWI airport

5:30 a.m.: catch a plane to Charlotte, NC for a 2 hour layover.

9:30 a.m.: catch a second plane to Memphis, TN

10:30 a.m.: arrive in Memphis, get a rental car and drive to Corky's for a quick, AMAZING lunch.

12:30 p.m.: get to chapel so Jeannie could practice the song she will sing during the wedding ceremony

2:00 p.m.: check in at hotel and sleep for 2 hours

4:00 p.m.: get up and get ready for the wedding

5:15 p.m.: arrive at chapel to do one last sound check

6:30 p.m.: watch the most BEAUTIFUL BRIDE EVER get married.

7:30-10:30 p.m.: celebrate the wonderful couple with delicious food and merriment.

11:00 p.m.: sleep in a semi-comatose state.

OK, i'll spare you the details of Sunday which required a lot more travel. basically we were in motion almost all weekend and it was exhausting and i've learned my lesson. Pay more. travel comfortably. Enjoy your life. Some costs are worth coughing up.

But seriously, the weekend was totally awesome and WORTH IT because Joy and Minsu's wedding was beautiful. Here's a big photo dump.

I think this was BWI? Or Charlotte airport? I can't remember.

Corky's! Famous for Memphis barbeque

THE sweetest, tastiest glass of sweet tea. The whole time I was drinking it,
I thought about Rick Bragg and his ever-present sweaty glass of sweet tea.

Chris is happy to get some good food in his belly.
Sorry dude for all the torture this weekend.

we WILL be back

On our way to the wedding after an emergency trip to Target
for forgotten essentials! Him: a belt. Her: accessories

playing air piano as I practiced my song during the car ride to the church

pulling in to Joy's home church where her dad is the pastor.

cute and simple program

she looked STUNNING. her dad officiated the ceremony

i loved the bridesmaid dresses: navy strapless

the reception hall was beautiful and the food was amazing: Korean buffet, baby!

I was like, Chris let's take a picture, and he was like, OK after this one bite.

There he is.

Joy in her traditional korean garb. I LOVE YOU JOY!

the handsome groom and me.
I am grinning because he wears pink so well!

Yay for MinJoy!

the dessert table! yummers

our name-tags were hole-punched with a heart shape,
so i put the heart over my camera lens and took some photos.
they turned out cute, right? :)

bahahahaha! don't kill me Joy! some childhood photos
were displayed around the reception area. SO CUTE!

twas a lovely affair

the end/the beginning!

bye Anne

2011-10-03T11:54:00.003-04:00

My roommate Anne moved out last night. We sang one last song together. Despite the odd lyrics in the verses, I think Anne and I would both agree with the general sentiments in the chorus: let's live rich and full lives filled with fun, family, generosity, love, and laughs. Thanks, Anne, for sharing your last year of singledom with me. I hate Dan for stealing you away from me, but wish you the happiest marriage.

ritual

2011-10-01T20:25:00.002-04:00

my friend elizabeth and I have a standing breakfast date every other friday morning before work. we meet at an adorable cafe downtown, right in the middle of our commutes. i treasure the ritual and the fellowship :)

this last meeting was on a particularly beautiful fall morning

americano, baguette, pastries, happiness

elizabeth is such a lady

yay!

thanks for the lovely mornings elizabeth! it's not as good as sharing coffee with you at work every morning, but it's almost as nice :)

all gone

2011-09-25T23:37:00.002-04:00

i'll never grow my hair out this long, or cut it this short again :)

before

after! all gone

sort of random, but wanted to share photos
from this tennis thing we went to with a bunch
of old school tennis pros: this here is
michael chang and pete sampras. chang won!

agassi!

Friday Fun: Bomblardy

2011-09-23T16:40:00.001-04:00

here are some weird but brilliant (according to me) ideas i've had in the last 24 hours:

1. i would like to get one of those mortar and pestal contraptions that people use to make tableside guacamole at restaurants ... you know what i'm talking about?
2. i am going to write a poem entitled, "I am a Liberal ... Sort Of"
3. i would like to start a tumblr entitled "Free Bag Fetish" in which I take surreptitious photos of all the free conference bags I see people carrying around on the metro
4. i should just send terry gross and email and be like, hey terry, i am your biggest fan, want to hang out?
5. i'm going to get a minicouper zipcar just to ride around in it! I want to know what it feels like to drive one of those cutie pies!

what do you guys think? am i a) insane; b) brilliant; c) in need of counseling?

I don't have a full links round up for you because I have only one link to share, but I think this link might change your life. I admit, I am prone to hyperbole. But this ... I am not exaggerating the importance of listening to this beautiful, heartbreaking interview with Maurice Sendak, the children's author who most famously wrote Where the Wild Things Are. This interview is astounding.

I hope you will listen.

the big chop

2011-09-22T12:34:00.001-04:00

i did it you guys. I cut off all my hair. Usually I'm not that disturbed by drastic haircuts, but this time I am a little shocked every time i look in a mirror. it's shorter than I thought it would be ... I guess I thought I'd grown it out more than I had, so I was sort of expecting this mid-neck bob. Also, I asked for "not an a-line" but I think my hairdresser thought I said, "an a-line" ....

it's not ... TERRIBLE. but it's not what I pictured.

I'll post a photo soon enough, but for now, let's just think happy thoughts about other things.

i tried these on in new york and they were awesome,
but so was their price. awesomely inflated.

this is the best nail polish color ever.

the office premiers tonight!

Lastly, I got the best email today from my friend Joanna. When we met up in New York, I gave her a satchel of lavendar that I'd picked up at a random farmer's market on my way to meet her for brunch. today she wrote:

That's what it's all about, folks :)

mister rogers

2011-09-19T11:00:00.004-04:00

when mister rogers died, i was a student in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania -- which was, literally, mister rogers' neighborhood. He was often seen walking around shadyside, or on campus, and it was not unusual to hear of mister rogers sightings from classmates.

the day he died, i couldn't stop crying. In fact, i met up with Chris for a game of squash (we were just friends at the time) and i couldn't stop crying, even though i was really embarrassed to be crying in front of him. i think a lot of us who grew up watching mister rogers didn't realize how much he mattered.

andrew sullivan linked to this profile of mister rogers today. the writing is a little bizarre and disjointed, but this story stood out to me.

"He had already won his third Daytime Emmy, and now he went onstage to accept Emmy's Lifetime Achievement Award, and there, in front of all the soap-opera stars and talk-show sinceratrons, in front of all the jutting man-tanned jaws and jutting saltwater bosoms, he made his small bow and said into the microphone, 'All of us have special ones who have loved us into being. Would you just take, along with me, ten seconds to think of the people who have helped you become who you are ... Ten seconds of silence.' And then he lifted his wrist, and looked at the audience, and looked at his watch, and said softly, 'I'll watch the time,' and there was, at first, a small whoop from the crowd, a giddy, strangled hiccup of laughter, as people realized that he wasn't kidding, that Mister Rogers was not some convenient eunuch but rather a man, an authority figure who actually expected them to do what he asked … and so they did. One second, two seconds, three seconds … and now the jaws clenched, and the bosoms heaved, and the mascara ran, and the tears fell upon the beglittered gathering like rain leaking down a crystal chandelier, and Mister Rogers finally looked up from his watch and said, 'May God be with you' to all his vanquished children."

watch the video of the speech here.

Friday Fun: Reading Rainbow. Robots. Rain Jackets.

2011-09-16T12:25:00.009-04:00

Thank the good lord it's Friday, am I right? I missed my Friday links round up last week -- so sorry folks. Here it is a little early today so you can enjoy it while you are NOT working :) (everyone knows friday at work is a wash anyways.)

Can it really be? Reading Rainbow is coming back!

I really loved this NYTimes story and video about a reporter who moved his family from New York to Russia. Makes you appreciate what immigrants (my parents!) go through.

This video really broke my heart for the church. There is no love here.

Terry Gross does it again in this compelling interview with Ali Soufan, former FBI agent and interrogator.

Robot wallpaper? Yes, please :)

These photos are helping fan the flames of my love for Seattle.

so many conversations with friends about work has convinced me that conan o'brien was right all along.

makeup psa: get this product for your face right now. it makes everything prettier. (pretti-ER because you are pretty already)

tonight i will dine with friends on lobster!

this rain jacket has changed my life (on sale, of course). did you know it is possible to walk through a rainstorm without an umbrella and stay dry? i do now!

it would please me immensely if you read some of my work at the Bread Blog.

missing these ladies today

a belated post: new york

2011-09-15T01:02:00.005-04:00

these photos are long overdue. truth be told, my life has been a little hectic these days while trying to get settled into my new job. It's like getting a new pair of shoes: really uncomfortable at first, but exciting, takes a while to get used to, etc. i've almost broken in my new job, so i'm getting there folks. soon, everything will be hunky dory, but until then, the posts might be sporadic.

labor day weekend was spent in new york -- we planned on going to the us open, but that actually didn't work out (sad!). here's some of what we did instead :)

ate a lot of awesome gelato! at this place,
each flavor is a flower petal, and you can
get as many petals as you want!

visited the freedom tower

ate delicious soup dumplings!

went to the beach

ate pizza and chicken parmesan subs by the sea :)

Peace

2011-09-09T11:16:00.000-04:00

Peace is not the product of terror or fear.
Peace is not the silence of cemeteries.
Peace is not the silent result of violent repression.
Peace is the generous, tranquil contribution of all
to the good of all.
Peace is dynamism. Peace is generosity.
It is right and it is duty.

-Oscar Romero

fire island feet

2011-09-09T00:01:00.003-04:00

chris and i went to fire island in new york this past weekend. it was just for a few hours, but it was a lot of fun. being from california, i don't have much experience with east coast beaches. the sand was crazy soft, much softer than i can ever remember california beaches having, so i liked to dig my feet into the sand a lot. here's video proving this fact.

(susan, don't watch!) (<-- my friend susan is disgusted by feet)

best part of the video is at 0:09

gaby moreno

2011-09-07T17:20:00.001-04:00

Friday Fun: Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Rings. Animals.

2011-09-02T18:48:00.002-04:00

Lots of fun stuff for you this Friday. Hope you enjoy :)

Are you a manic pixie dreamgirl?

Just received these beautiful rings from elephantine. Love them! (Uno, which one do you want? silver or gold? i got them as sister rings!)

Really fascinating essay written by a chinese-american woman about falling for a white guy.

Remember my obsession with Mr. Bittman? Apparently he likes me back!

Ever wonder where the Windows XP wallpaper comes from? (HT: Chris)

Got 2 weddings coming up ... thinking of going to both with a messy chignon.

TED Talk: education ruins creativity. Not sure I agree, quite frankly.

How did animals at the national zoo react to the earthquake last week in D.C.? (The best is the account of the pandas: "According to keepers, the giant pandas did not appear to respond to the earthquake.")

Speaking of hair, the big cut is coming up soon, my friends! I think I'm leaning this way.

grant and I say have a good weekend!

sara bareilles

2011-09-02T10:09:00.001-04:00

i'd never gotten too excited by sara bareilles before, but this single is so lush, substantial, heartbreaking. i'm going to have to get her new record. enjoy!

Basket Case --- Sara Bareilles by justatitch

feisty feistyness

2011-09-01T12:01:00.003-04:00

the new album drops Oct. 4! here's the first single, "how come you never go there."

How Come You Never Go There by Feist

fall thoughts

2011-08-30T23:52:00.000-04:00

fall is in the air in D.C. -- you can feel it in the slight chill each morning. I can't tell you how excited this makes me.

i am imagining long bike rides along the potomac, jogs around the mall, lunches in the botanical gardens, cable knit sweaters, summer dresses over tights and desert boots, cotton jackets with bright scarves, warm cider and the new yorker on saturday mornings.

here are some fall images from the blogosphere to get you inspired along with me :)

yes to it all

i can drink coffee again!

something so pretty about this

apple picking, a fall must

if i could, i'd spend half my pay on rent and the other half here

this really happens ya'll!

embrace this color palette

Friday Fun: Public Pools. K'Naan. Your Mint Hole.

2011-08-26T15:53:00.003-04:00

I used to do weekly Friday links round ups at my old job -- I thought I'd keep up the tradition here.

Ever wonder if you'll look like your mom or dad when you get older? Here is some shocking evidence that you DEFINITELY WILL.
The 10 best public pools in the world.
Great conference call on the situation in the Horn of Africa with K'Naan, Cindy McCain, and Dikembe Mutombo.
Who is K'Naan, you ask?
My first post at my new gig.
An '80s cell phone case for your iPhone. (Made me smile.)
I'm on the hunt for the perfect leather work bag. My aesthetic is simple, clean, classic. I hate logos. I hate too much metal hardware. any ideas? I ordered this (on ebay for way cheaper!), but am keeping my eyes open.
Chris and I will see a movie tonight. We're thinking of seeing either The Help, One Day, or Our Idiot Brother.
Should I be afraid of Irene?

have a lovely weekend, stay dry, and stay safe.

thought i'd share a funny photo with you all:
the new greeting when you open your altoid tin

ukulele fest

2011-08-26T00:25:00.002-04:00

wednesday night Chris and I went to a ukulele festival in Maryland. the goal? to beat the world record for most people playing ukulele at the same time. the previous record was around 800 folks -- and we beat it with 944! it was a really fun event. lots of people out on picnic blankets, folks of all ages with their ukes out, cookout food, a ben and jerry's ice cream truck, etc.

so i spent all last night excited that i was going to be in the guinness book of world records only to find out this morning that the SWEDES held a 3,000-person ukulele festival! BLERRRRRRGH!!!!!

it's ok. it's ok. it's ok. it's all for the experience, right? and the memories, which are captured, in part, via my camera :) enjoy

my makshift ukulele case, haha!

look at that crowd! such a beautiful evening

yes, we are dorks. but we embrace it

chris practising

i was number 844!

the shoe shot

we all held up our ukuleles before we started playing!

so we didn't make a world record. that's ok! we had fun anyway.

summer tradition

2011-08-22T23:35:00.004-04:00

no summer in the life of jeannie is complete without a trip down the potomac on kayak! I try to do this once every year, at least. problem is it's a little tough to find people to do this with me. i remember dragging my friend gillian kayaking many years ago. i feel so bad in retrospect, considering she was wearing a nice denim skirt and cardigan twinset. she probably anticipated a classy lunch al fresco, with salmon salads and white wine or something. instead, she was sweating it out on the river.

this saturday, chris spontaneously decided that we would ride our bikes down to georgetown and get ourselves into some kayaks. i was all for it until i made the stupid decision to bring my camera with me onto the water. suddenly, the kayak didn't feel so stable anymore. the water seemed ominous and the wakes from passing motorboats became intolerable. i clutched my bag closer to my chest and started to panic, yelling at chris to "slow down for goodness' sake!" as i swayed from side to side.

and it was right there, dear friend, on a bright orange kayak in the middle of the potomac river that i was reminded of walter brueggemann. i've been reading his slim little text, Journey to the Common Good. In it he says this of Pharoah:

Pharoah is an example and an embodiment of a complex system of monopoly that, along with the wealth that it produces, produces anxiety that affects every dimension of the system.

In other words, Pharoah's crazy dreams and genocidal tendencies stem from the anxiety produced by his obscene greed and wealth -- wealth that he obtained by exploiting the Israelite slaves.

and it was anxiety produced by my devotion to my "stuff" that left me at a standstill on the water, oar lying flat across my lap, bag clutched to my chest as i scowled at the sky.

when will I ever learn?

i managed to take a photo, but as you can see on my face, this is not a real smile

*sigh* It was only after I saw chris's diminishing spirits that I realized I needed to pull it together. I tried to have fun, you guys, I really did.

hello darkness

2011-08-17T23:22:00.002-04:00

the one thing i've craved most during this cleanse is coffee. I am DYING for a cup of sweet, milky, delicious, dark coffee. Alas, caffeine is a big no no on the cleanse so I'm doing my best to resist -- never mind the fact that any glimpse of coffee-related paraphernalia -- the coffee tins at whole foods; photos of dark beans -- or the whiff of fresh grounds while walking past the open door of a coffee-shop sends me spiraling into despair.

since I can't enjoy my favorite summer treat, cold-brewed iced coffee, I thought I'd share this simple recipe with you. I even took photos to demonstrate, cause I'm nice like that. you're welcome.

take 1/3 cup of delicious beautiful coffee grounds.

pour grounds into 1 1/2 cups of cold water

stir slowly, just enough to incorporate
the grounds with the water. don't overstir.

like so

cover with saran wrap and let stand overnight

the next day, strain through a coffee filter. add ice, milk, and sweetener (i prefer agave nectar). ENJOY. PLEASE FOR MY SAKE ENJOY IT.

how to change your life in 15 days

2011-08-17T22:18:00.004-04:00

1. hit a wall. "a wall" is generally exhibited through depression; unhealthy explosions of frustration; seething anger at people you used to call friends; overeating; watching endless hours of tv due to your inability to cope with the rest of your life; retail therapy at every hard bump in the road while telling yourself, 'this-and-this is so bad, i deserve this!' Nay, dear friend. You deserve MORE than a new sweater!
2. identify your unhappiness (in my case, not doing what I loved, overworking, not feeling good about my health, feeling confused about my future, etc.)
3. ask for help. Call everyone you trust, tell them about your unhappiness, ask for advice. LISTEN and learn.
4. believe you deserve more! better! and go after it, whatever IT might be. go after the health. go after the new job. go after the renewed relationships. go after it with all you've got.
5. go through the painful process of change. this might be the worst, most laborious step. change is the pits. change means discomfort, which means vulnerability, which means potential humiliation. but if you come out of the other side of change, you'll start to reap the benefits -- the benefits of adventure. excitement. challenge. inspiration. growth. and so much more.
6. enjoy the process. life is a weird, funky, absurd, blessed, happy road. I am thankful to be walking it.

recent signs of change (and life!) these past 15 days:

the cleanse diet continues to challenge me, but I have
certainly had some wonderful meals these past few weeks. Here
is a photo of a delicious spring salad with a simple
olive oil, lemon juice, agave nectar dressing. I added some
roasted cashews for crunch.

A complete cleanse-friendly meal: quinoa pasta with
pesto, broiled mahi mahi, and the spring salad.

the biggest change of all: I left my job. It
was a tough decision, but ultimately I think it was
a good move for me. I was sad to leave
my dear friends and colleagues (and my beautiful office!), but
I am ready for the next challenge :)

my new office this week! I have the week off
and it has been glorious. I've gone to a water
park, sleept in, and read at coffee shops.
praise the lord for vacation!

I'd been eyeing a watch like this for a while,
and was so excited to find it for super cheap!

chris and I traded in my old bike (too heavy!)
for this one. Isn't she a beaut? I love it and feel liberated to ride
anywhere I want.

oh delicious vacation

2011-08-15T09:48:00.000-04:00

braid. swimsuit. hoody.

happy monday!

family circus

2011-08-11T15:41:00.000-04:00

Here are some notes from my family that I wanted to share with you.

From my dad:

Congratulations , Jeannie!
I pray that your new job bring you good changes toward Jesus Christ.
I pray that you meet people of God there.
Please raise the flag of J.C. right on.

From my sister:

Hi Unny,
This is Uno, appah is forcing me to write to you. he says we are having a good time, we are not fighting anymore. he is not as obnoxious as before, he's pretty cool now. he's memorizing Numbers 6:24-26 in Hebrew. mom and dad are very happy that you are coming thanksgiving, I'll do my best to be home for thanksgiving, we'll see. CONGRATS!

Aren't they great? I love my fam bam. And I guess this is a good time to tell you all that I'm starting a new job soon! I have this next week off and then it's day one as an associate editor. here's to new adventures!

eat

2011-08-08T16:50:00.001-04:00

maybe it's because i'm on this cleanse, maybe it's because this video is just so beautiful ... whatever it is, i cannot stop watching this. it's on loop!

EAT from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

p.s. definitely watch the other two videos in this series too: Move. Learn.

simple, clean

2011-08-04T11:44:00.001-04:00

you get older and life gets more complicated. I have had to make some big life-change decisions lately and it's been tough, I'm not gonna lie! Sometimes I wake up and wonder, did I make a mistake? Am I making bad decisions? Am I ruining my life, one bad choice after another?

i've been longing for more simple pleasures these days. maybe it's a coping mechanism, but i've found solace in limiting my options, taking time for myself, taking time to have conversations with people, and seeing beyond the complex decisions of the day/week/month, and living in the present.

i've also been challenged to start a detox called "the Clean diet" with a friend of mine. this month-long challenge basically eliminates all complex/processed foods and limits you to eating simple, fresh meals every single day. i'm on day 4 and it's been pretty fun so far! I still have a long way to go, so i'll keep you updated on my progress. i feel really good, and i don't feel bloated or weighed down. i've also been battling some eczema lately so i'm hoping that this helps my skin clear up too. finger's crossed!

today's outfit, simple enough!

my snacks a few days ago: raw cashews, crispy kale, nectarine, green tea.

the simplest, truest joy: baby grant!

dispatches

2011-08-02T14:59:00.000-04:00

"and your laughs, your jokes - all the myriad and wonderful details of you - are like those small birds we saw, startling and lovely as they played in the new morning light."

community

2011-08-01T14:37:00.001-04:00

these days I'm realizing the importance of community. recently, chris coaxed me into giving the harry potter movies/books another try. I haven't been able to get into the books yet, but the movies were really great fun, and also very moving. My favorite movie in the series is harry potter 5: order of the phoenix. In it, Harry learns that his greatest weapon against evil is the power of love -- love he receives from his family and friends.

I need to put more effort into maintaining relationships because I need them. I need my friends and family to keep me strong, and i'm blessed to have such good people in my life. Cheers to friends and family and everyone in between!

my cousin helen with her nephew grant. so cute!

helen and me before "the incident" (there be the infamous glass!)

my coworkers: rachel, kierra, leslie. they are so stylish!

it's all in the details: tribal chic!

sweet ruching, and look at that ring!

so much awesomeness going on here. loves it

uno's totoro puzzle

2011-07-25T16:02:00.001-04:00

any miyazaki fans out there? my sister and I basically grew up watching all of his films: my neighbor totoro, kiki's mail delivery service, princess mononoke, spirited away, howl's moving castle, etc. you should definitely check out his films if you haven't already.

my sister is hanging out at home with my parents for a couple weeks and found time to make this great video. love it. love her.

the good things

2011-07-21T12:20:00.003-04:00

you know why family is the best? because they don't kill you when your flailing hand motions while telling a story end up knocking an entire glass of red wine (correction: YOUR entire glass of red wine) all over their beautiful clothes. instead, they scream, "i've been shot!" and laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh.

that's why family's the best.

(my cousins helen and jennifer after i *shot* them)

it's hair time

2011-07-20T17:43:00.000-04:00

hello readers! please forgive me for neglecting this blog of mine. It's been a very insane few weeks and I haven't really had much energy to post here. I've also been a little inspiration-less these days. I think when your work life takes over, it's hard to think about anything else. Wouldn't you agree?

The only other thing stressing me out more than my work stuff is thinking about my hair. For those who don't know, I am growing my hair out to donate. this is my second time doing it. It's fun, easy, and something i feel good about committing to.

but when it gets close to being long enough to donate, i start to go a little insane inside. deep down, i'm a short hair girl, and as much as i admire people's beautiful long locks, i can't really manage my own. i am dyyyyying to cut it. so lets brainstorm some ideas.

thoughts? opinions?

in hiding

2011-07-13T07:58:00.004-04:00

i've been in hiding these days due to a few things: sheer exhaustion, the crazy heat in D.C. (101 yesterday!), lack of party planning funds, and etc. Ever notice how expensive it is to go out and have fun? Thus I've taken to staying home in my AC and reading or watching shows online or cooking, which means no new posts for you people.

to make it up to you, here's a cute photo of Eli and some puppies (which he adorably calls "uppies").

july fourths past and present

2011-07-06T08:45:00.002-04:00

[jeannie's note: if you click on the photos, they will zoom big for you. try it!]

last year my sister was in town for the july fourth festivities so, while I had a lot of fun this year, i found myself thinking longingly about painting, kebab-ing, and lounging with uno. miss you sister!

chris and i putzed around town all weekend. but it was so hot that i really only enjoyed swimming at the ymca on saturday. i've recently started swimming for exercise and it's been pretty life changing. i used to run a lot and basically hated every second of it. but i can swim for hours, get a really good workout, and throughly enjoy it -- and that, i think, is the key to exercise. you have to find what works for you, what you enjoy. if you run and you love it, great! keep doing it. if you hate it, move on and find something you do like.

i'm thinking about maybe taking a few private swimming lessons to improve my form so i can get the maximum workout from my swim sessions. first thing i want to learn is that cool flippy thing that swimmers do at the end of their lap to keep going without stopping. i am still sort of anxious about getting water up my nose, so i haven't been able to do it. but soon! soon.

and now you're saying, enough of this random nonsensical shit. get to the pictures!

first: jazz in the garden at the national art gallery,
an event where all of dc crams into one small park to listen
to jazz and have a picnic in 90 degree heat with 80% humidity.
it is both fun and ridiculous ... cheers!

the crowds

second: we went to the Nats vs. Cubs game. Chris was so
determined to get a free patriotic Nats cap that he made
us come 2 hours before the game began!

the prized possession

afterwards we went to my place and made a
meal of japanese potato salad, corn, steak
kebabs, and roasted peppers: my kind of food

after dinner we made brownies and watched harry potter II until the fireworks started. (we are trying to make our way through the entire harry potter series in anticipation of the final movie which comes out next week)

the view of the fireworks from my apartment is pretty spectacular, only because you get a good panorama view of all the shows in the city. but i guess it's a toss up between seeing one really good show up close or seeing all of them at once from a distance. in any case, here's a video for you!

have a great weekend

2011-07-01T16:04:00.004-04:00

fourth of july, 1954 (life via formeforyou)

more junip for you

2011-06-30T17:22:00.000-04:00

there's something really sultry about this song ... sort of weird to describe a man singing as sultry, but it's more the music than his voice.

new friends

2011-06-30T15:06:00.005-04:00

had dinner last night with some new friends. it's been a while since i've done that and i found myself pretty exhilerated by the conversation. it's fun to make new friends.

i also randomly met this lovely woman who's blog i've long admired.

but my most favorite new friend? monsieur grasshopper (at least I think he is a grasshopper). spotted him chillin' outside my office window for a good few hours.

i'm not much of a bug person, but i like him.

say hello to my little friends

2011-06-27T16:13:00.003-04:00

mini anything makes me pretty happy these days. first, i long admired monsieur elephant and finally he is where he belongs, hanging off my neck. Also, my petite and beautiful blossoms finally bloomed on my lovely succulent.

hello mr. elephant

finally, they've bloomed!

morgan spurlock is shocked
by how fast my plant has grown.

photo of the year

2011-06-22T23:22:00.002-04:00

so amazing

jose gonzalez/junip

2011-06-22T23:10:00.003-04:00

the jose gonzalez/junip show this past saturday was off the chizzain, minus one very large, obnoxious dancing woman standing next to chris and me for half the show. seriously ... i couldn't stand seeing her so i hid behind chris, using his body to block my view, and tried to keep my eyes on the stage. after a few songs i couldn't deal with it anymore and we decided to ditch our primo spot at the front of the crowd to move to the back. this proved to be a wise decision.

what's my drink you ask? black cherry soda of course.

jose, rockin' the fro ... rockin' the house

i think i'm slowly warming up to concerts again ... i just want to go to more and more and more

bon iver, holocene

2011-06-22T12:12:00.003-04:00

beauty beauty beauty. wrap yourself in it.

lunch

2011-06-16T14:37:00.000-04:00

what did you eat today?

covergirl!

2011-06-15T23:23:00.002-04:00

no, not that kind. i wrote the cover story for my magazine's July issue on the methods, tactics, and tales of online organizing. if this interests you at all, click on over!

i asked my colleague to take this photo of me
so i could send it to my family :) so cheesy! haha.

ohana

2011-06-15T23:14:00.001-04:00

when all seems lost, turn to family, and it's not.

me and the cousins. we be tight.

oh the babies!

intruded on a couple's romance time, but isn't the potomac so lovely?

so pretty i could cry

2011-06-13T17:00:00.004-04:00

(ht: andrew sullivan)

babies

2011-06-13T16:40:00.001-04:00

i spent all weekend with babies. honestly, babies are really cute and all, but they are sort of manic, bipolar, carnal little animals. you parents are really amazing. good job just making it through the day. seriously.

i was constantly, CONSTANTLY reminded of this video as i watched these babies eat, scream, cry, poop, laugh, roll, whimper, etc. etc. etc., wash, rinse, repeat.

watch part II

2011-06-11T19:21:00.001-04:00

hey did you know that there is this amazing place called the "suburb" where there are these big air conditioned buildings with stores in them called "malls" and in these "malls" there are these, like, carts that sell things, sort of like what we city folk call "food trucks," except these "trucks" sell stuff like face soap and hair straighteners and .... watch straps!

and these magical "carts" that sell these watch straps have amazing watch-wizards who can give you brand new leather straps for your poor cheapy target watch and they can install them within seconds!

did you know this?

i sure didn't, but thank God I have cousins who do.

the target watch good as new

renew, reuse, and recycle kids. that's the moral of the story.

watch out

2011-06-10T00:03:00.008-04:00

i am watch obsessed these days. i bought this cheesy, fake brown leather watch at target before i left for jordan many moons ago because i needed to know the time without my cell phone. it is so cheap that the brown paint on the strap is coming off to reveal that it is not, in fact, leather, but some weird synthetic fabric. regardless, i wear this thing every day because i love wearing a watch!

one day, my old target watch will sputter and die. when that day comes ... what kind of watch should i get?

i was originally drawn to the mod-aesthetic of Swatch watches, but now I might be leaning more towards a classic Timex.

i like

so pretty. thoughts? i sort of like the one on the far left with brown leather and the middle with sage green ... hmmmmm ...

when i was a kid i wanted ....

2011-06-08T12:06:00.003-04:00

... a lite brite, my little pony, and the maui barbie (because she had black hair and looked like me). I wanted to please my parents. A lot of these toys were kept from me because I didn't accomplish something that they wanted, like straight A's or passing a piano song or reading a book fast enough. I also wanted to hang out with friends more or attend sleepovers but couldn't. I wanted to be accepted by my schoolmates which was difficult because I was often forcibly kept at bay. I also wanted to be a journalist from the beginning. I originally wanted to be an anchorwoman, but thought I wasn't pretty enough so I went into writing.

i wrote this at work where we were led in a community-building exercise. We were given three writing prompts:

when I was a kid i wanted ....
when i think of the place i call home i ...
when i think about my name i ....

we were to choose one of these prompts and write stream-of-consciousness style for 3 mins. Then we shared them with our groupmates. it was such a great exercise that I came home, invited Chris over for dinner, and did the same thing with him, just the two of us. you think you know someone after so many years, but we learned new things about each other through these little stories! now i want to do this with pretty much everyone in my life ... haha! so next time you and I hang out, be warned because I'm gonna bust out two sheets of paper, two pens, and a stopwatch ...

ok ... now i understand why i'm never invited to parties.

me on the left. how cute is uno's little mohawk!? haha.

present tense

2011-06-06T16:42:00.003-04:00

chris and i spent the weekend in new york and i'm both glad and regretful. the city did not disappoint and i was pretty sad after coming back home. i'm sure i'll readjust and appreciate dc for what it is, but new york's siren song continues to tug at my heart. i look at chris and feel so sorry that he doesn't live there any more, but also so thankful that he was willing to leave all that new york has to offer to give our relationship a chance.

i took almost zero pictures, which is a good thing for me (maybe not for you, since this post will be mostly me rambling).

last thursday i went to a small book talk with brian mclaren where he was asked to share how he prays. he prays through a series of 12 words, with the first word being "here." as in, here i am. here is where i am right now. not 1 hour from now, or 10 years from now, but right now. here. he prays it to center himself in the present, to become aware of his surroundings and his current reality.

this was so provocative to me. i have spent my life ignoring the present while dwelling in the past and future, reminiscing about how things were and wishing for things to be different. but when am I ever just here?

walking around new york, I found myself praying over the word "here" all day long. here I am, walking down broadway. here I am getting a pedicure with joanna, laughing about our mutual misadventures. here I am sitting in a park with Chris. here I am eating the best damn bowl of ramen ever.

here. here. here.

so you can see why I didn't take any photos and came away happier for it.

the one photo i took of chris and me on the bus ride home

taken today: totally forgot about the existence of taffy
until a coworker offered me a piece. so good!

boy/girl

2011-06-03T10:59:00.002-04:00

been stealing christophers' belt a lot these days

daily arsenal: coffee, ginger thins, strawberry gum, revlon lipgloss,
mcmc perfume in maui, bobbi brown concealer, revlon cream shadow,
all natural insect repellent from AZ, rosebud salve, hi tec c pen.

memorial day weekend

2011-05-31T21:13:00.001-04:00

the holiday weekend was well spent with a lot of good outdoor activity, as well as quality alone time. I was thankful for the long weekend and was finally (finally!) able to completely unplug from work for the first time in a while.

here's a little recap:

made pretzels for the first time

played some scrabble

the pretzels turned out lovely!

saturday found us at Great Falls National Park!
can you believe this is only 30 mins from Washington, DC?!

amazing!

apparently a lot of people die

there are beachy areas with shells

and foresty areas with moss!

sweaty and happy

monday found us at the other air and space museum! planes are beautiful

enterprise space shuttle! WHOA!!!!

what did you do?

fight or flight?

2011-05-24T22:48:00.004-04:00

this saturday, chris and i went on a long bike ride through the city and ended up at the air and space museum. one of the best things about living in DC is that most of the parks and museums are completely free so you can easily stop in at a museum for a few hours without worrying about maximizing your ticket cost.

at the museum we found the original plane that the wright brothers used for their first successful flight in kittyhawk, north carolina. chris enthusiastically lectured me on all the little placards along the wall. he is totally one of those people who reads every single thing at a museum, which i was a little annoyed by. I prefer to breeze through exhibits without really learning anything.

well it's a good thing i have chris bc i left the exhibit pretty inspired by the wright brother's adventure, creativity, and determination. they would not stop until they figured out how to fly, even going so far as to create their own plane engine when they couldn't find engineers who could make what they needed.

at the end of the exhibit, you can watch these cheesy animations of what the first few flights might have looked like. i can't emphasize how cheesy these animations were. and yet, when you saw that airplane finally take its longest flight (57 seconds!) it was hard not to marvel at the significance of that event. people were no longer gravity bound. people could fly.

at a different exhibit on that same floor of the museum are aircraft of the modern era, with technological sophistication that the wright brothers would not have been able to comprehend: drones. every time i visit the museum, i take a little walk down to the drones display and pray a brief prayer for peace. this time around, i felt a mix of anger and sorrow. how could something as beautiful and simple as that first airplane be turned into something so destructive as a predator drone? not to get too political on this trifle of a blog of mine, but the juxtaposition was too obvious to ignore.

i hope and pray that one day the tool of flight can be limited to simple, beautiful things like travel, adventure, joy. i hope and pray for peace on earth.

yes folks, that's the real thing! get thee to DC and see for yourself!

make peace, not drones.

this made me laugh: a quote from Orville about life in kittyhawk.
Oh Orville, I feel ya!

in front of some space thing?
i dunno ... chris will tell you what it is.

more food

2011-05-24T21:51:00.002-04:00

over the top meat buffets aside, i've had some pretty great meals lately. it's just inevitable because with spring comes good food -- everything is fresh, colorful, and delicious.

tacos for lunch last friday at pica taco

delicious! pork and fish

lunch another day: avocado, tomato, apple. sort of random, but super good.

made this over the weekend, go jeannie!

I'm also putting Alice Waters' books to good use and thought i'd recap her tips for the perfect salad for you all. (these directions are adapted from her "in the green kitchen" book.)

1. purchase local, organically grown leafy greens.
i bought arugula and mesclun salad mix at my
local farmer's market.

2. soak several handfuls of greens in a bowl full of cold water.
swish the greens around with your hands and then let them sit
until the dirt settles to the bottom of the bowl.

3. skim the leaves off the top of the water and put into
a salad spinner (or colander). whatever you use
(salad spinner, paper towels) get the leaves as dry as you can.
(the dressing won't stick to wet lettuce.)

4. once leaves are completely dry, dress them with a homemade dressing.
Alice recommends you use your hands so you don't crush
the leaves and so you can intuitively feel when you've used enough dressing.

et voila! super yummy and super simple. I love salad.

what have you been eating lately?

buffet club

2011-05-19T11:09:00.001-04:00

some churches have running clubs, crafting clubs, book clubs ... my church has a buffet club.

the most recent place we patronized was a korean barbeque buffet in annandale where $16 per person will get you unlimited plates of raw beef. at first i was pretty into it. i am a beef girl through and through -- it's how i was raised -- so the thought of all you can eat beef really got my heart rate up (in a good way). I didn't eat much earlier in the day anticipating this glorious event.

but just 3 plates in, i swear i felt my arteries actively clogging. my breathing became heavier. i began to sweat. my head swam with the smells and images of roasting beef.

i had to set my chopsticks down.
i had to give up.

my fellow members looked disappointed. i'm really nervous about my membership status right now so, to make up for my weak attempt, here are some photos documenting the fun.

raw beauty

youngwoo, our grill master. this kid ate 7 plates.

salivating yet?

meat+soju=crazy fob behavior

edison and his shabu shabu

on a different day, chris and I found
the BEST ramen in DC -- it was awesome.

i'm a fatty. so sue me.

dear buffet club, i promise i will try and eat as much as possible at our next outing. please don't kick me out.

trends

2011-05-17T19:36:00.003-04:00

**first, i should say that several people have expressed concern for me because of my blog post from the weekend (the best was a text from my sister: "i read your blog. it was emo. you ok?") I assure you that despite the "emo" nature of my words, I was trying to end on a happy note. all is well in jeannie world! but thanks for your concern :)

So, on to my trivial question of the day: Do you fall prey to trends? I do -- like this whole coral craze. I have fully bought into it. friends who read my blog are constantly pointing out the coral I'm wearing, which is really funny because I was TRYING to subtly integrate the color into my day to day, but I guess posting about wearing coral and then wearing it is not such a subtle move.

what I canNOT pull off is the whole lipstick thing. everyone's like, ooooh try red lipstick! and i do and I look terrible. It might be because my lips are ridiculously small. When I'm not talking or smiling or eating, my lips look like a little blotch of pinkish flesh at the bottom of my face. Now imagine that blotch colored red, or burgundy, or muave. It doesn't work, right? RIGHT.

if you have this same problem, i have good news for you! I found a great colored Revlon lipgloss while I waited for Chris at a CVS before the Adele show. the trick with lip gloss is you have to find one that is pigmented enough so that it doesnt just end up clear when you apply it. I'd been burned by lip glosses before so I hesitated to purchase it, but it was on sale so I thought I'd give it a try and was pretty happy with the results.

and that, my friends, is my second most boring blog post ever. (here's the first)
to make this slightly more interesting, here are some photos for you.

my new spring sandals and my wide korean feet,
perfect for working in the fields, not so perfect for
wearing slim, strappy sandal.

the lipgloss in "coral reef" -- highly recommend it!

some semblance of color, yes?

brief adele clip

2011-05-16T14:23:00.007-04:00

for your listening pleasure.

the weekend

2011-05-15T23:42:00.001-04:00

i was alone almost all weekend. it was GREAT.

i indulged in a lot of TV. writing. perfect lattes. and a mani/pedi.

3 cheers for R&R!

back to work tomorrow. here we go ...

peace

2011-05-15T16:06:00.005-04:00

in a moment of great distress this past week, with my head ringing, plagued by a grey, chaotic cloud of what ifs? hows? and whys? I decided to surrender all my concerns in prayer. i prayed perhaps the most desperate, broken, ridiculous prayer I've prayed in a long long time. it was shamefully elementary and consisted of just three words: god. help. please.

in that moment i felt the peace of god that transcends all understanding settle in the depths of my chaos and suddenly, the stormy waters stopped churning. the rain stopped. the winds ceased.

i reveled in the calm, silenced by the abrupt change.

there was nothing left to say but thank you.
thank you.
thank you.

for the first time

2011-05-14T20:10:00.003-04:00

for some reason, this spring i am allergy free for the first time since moving to DC! i am still waiting for the other shoe to drop. I fully expect to wake up one morning with my eyes crusted over and my nasal passages completely blocked -- but until that fateful day, i am living it up!

these days, I just love being outdoors walking or biking, and i'm really enjoying the flowers and blossoming trees. I know I seem like a crazy plant lady, but here are some of the lovely flowers/plants i've seen lately.

my office succulent is blooming! i bought this
plant from a random guy on the street in philly.

i'll never use "pansy" as an insult again!
these are gorgeous (seen in someone's yard)

not sure what kind of flowers these are but they are pretty

my new succulent planter. I was not sure if I should buy it but i'm glad I did.

so pretty

the end. no more plant/flower posts. I promise.

seeing adele: an epic of epic epicness

2011-05-13T17:32:00.003-04:00

Chris and I went to the Adele concert at the 9:30 club in Washington, D.C. yesterday and, indeed, it was everything I hoped it would be. Which is to say that I hoped Adele would be amazing and she was amazing.

In the middle of her set, I turned to Chris and said, It's so effortless for her! And Chris was like, I was thinking the SAME THING! Afterwards he said it's as if all other pop singers are walking on the ground, but Adele just floats on air. There's no friction. Singing for her is as natural and easy as talking.

I hope you get to see her when she comes to your neck of the woods.

waiting in line to get in. i tried to channel adele's retro style

his/hers

the civil wars opened, fun!

finally! adele!

looks fun to be part of her band

love her

ouch

2011-05-11T17:25:00.001-04:00

my throat hurts.
my head hurts.
my heart hurts.

in need of some healing

ice cream.
dialogue.
prayer.

choi clan, june 2010, new mexico.

flying

2011-05-07T11:41:00.002-04:00

Flying a Kite with Uno from Jeannie Choi on Vimeo.

sisters > lovers

2011-05-06T17:04:00.000-04:00

weekend in flagstaff, arizona with the sister. photo dump!

reunited and it feels so good!

went hiking in sedona

uno, hikemaster

jeannie: wannabe hikemaster

oh just meditating on a cliff

pretty alien plant

walking around downtown flagstaff

uno modeling

flying a kite

the southwest agrees with my hair

we also went to the beach

and the moon!

the end. sadly.

i like ...

2011-05-03T12:27:00.002-04:00

my sister and wildflowers

my sister and in n out

the first outing of the year for my dusty purcells :)

had a lovely time in flagstaff this past weekend with my sister ... photos to come soon. now i've fallen into a deep depression in which i daydream about living with my family in a made up city called temecuflagdc ... we are all just a one-hour drive apart and happy as clams.

brain allergies

2011-04-26T13:27:00.003-04:00

what could my friend be talking about?

DUDE,

u would HATE IT

it feels like u are on a merry go round

and u just want to eat a bunchof cheetos

and then u pass out

and u wake up 4 hours later and your brain feels like it has crazy allergies

gold granny shoes

2011-04-24T18:24:00.001-04:00

how do you feel about my gold granny shoes?

p.s. notice the nifty little photo zoom function on the blog? fun, right? kudos to Chris for that one.

epiphany

2011-04-21T10:56:00.010-04:00

last week, after a nice long fight to two squash victories (and one loss, but let's not talk about that), i had an epiphany. Chris and I were waiting for the bus talking about work and random stuff when Chris asked me, What is your dream job? And I blurted out: To replace Terry Gross as the host of Fresh Air after she retires!

suddenly the storm clouds parted and it was as if Wisdom herself was shining down on me.

hahaha. just kidding.

This doesn't mean that I am gunning for Terry's job (as if! she is the master), or that I am going to make a switch to radio broadcasting, but it reinforced for me three things:

1. How much I love and admire Terry Gross. I've renewed my commitment to listening to her every day. She is one of the best interviewers out there (Charlie Rose and Tavis Smiley are also tops).

2. My commitment to good, powerful, effective story telling

3. How lucky I am to get to do what I love!

for the truly sublime, check out the fresh air interview with Tracy Morgan. how she maintains her composure and continues to probe Tracy with insightful questions in the midst of his jokes, tears, and run on sentences is beyond me. one winning line from that interview:

"That little 17-year-old boy — he's grown up. He's a man now. And when I was angry, when I was younger, I was in a cocoon. Now I'm a beautiful, black butterfly."

cilantro = win!

2011-04-18T15:50:00.001-04:00

yes i am that crazy person who grows cilantro in her office windowsill

spring and cycling

2011-04-15T13:20:00.003-04:00

yesterday chris and i went for a bike ride. the air still had that spring chill and the streets of mt. pleasant were nice and quiet. just perfect.

in other news, i see my sister in less than two weeks. watch out flagstaff ... the sisters choi are about to hit your town.

yes, rayban, yes

2011-04-14T10:02:00.004-04:00

so fun.

learn more about La Tomatina

bahahaha kids are dumb

2011-04-13T12:54:00.003-04:00

but that's OK because they are SO CUTE! his little voice: aqui! si! si!
i die.

packing lunch

2011-04-13T12:31:00.000-04:00

too cutesy for the office?
i think not.

(snow peas, rice with toasted sesame, portobello mushrooms)

god bless koreans and their ingenius tupperware.

wowzers

2011-04-11T14:41:00.001-04:00

(via formeforyou)

going veggie

2011-04-11T09:59:00.000-04:00

this weekend was one big huge meatfest, with every meal culminating in some obscene amount of beef, chicken, or pork. i did not feel right yesterday after finishing up a nice lunch of meatloaf and potatoes at church.

so i'm going veggie this week to cleanse my system a little bit ... meanwhile, I'll be dreaming of this galbee, which I ate Saturday night. *drooooool*

opening day

2011-04-11T08:26:00.003-04:00

we went to the nationals' opening day a few weeks ago. unfortunately, it was freezing cold, but there was nothing like skipping work in the middle of the day to go to a baseball game and eat a ben's chili dog with chris.

they played the braves, chris' least favorite team

the weather was terrible

the view

scoreboard!

the grey haziness contrasting with the bright primary colors of the field actually made for some really lovely photos. chris got me a package of tickets for Christmas so we've got a few more games this season, including a game on July 4 against the Cubs!

go baseball!

oh the joy of dating a nonkorean

2011-04-08T17:11:00.003-04:00

chris: how do you say butt in korean?

me: goongdang

goongdangee, if you want to be cute