Friday Favorites

The house has felt so empty after my parents have left. And the void is magnified especially because the husband and brother are at work all day. But I have been reminding myself of how wonderful these past few weeks have been with my family and have been trying to be purposeful in finding the beauty in the little things - whether it be an email thread with a friend, a good book, or the feeling of accomplishment after cleaning the house, doing the laundry and cooking a meal. 

Happy Friday and cheers to the weekend! 

Emerald, better known as Emmy sometimes joins me for a [brief] snuggle. This photo was taken after she had been making herself into a burrito with the comforter. 

Selfie with mamabear at the High Line

Iced tea break @thinkcoffee during our epic day in New York 

A slice of New York pizza for dinner before watching Wicked (also during our epic day in New York) 

The beauty in the small things. A midday pick-me-up: Fruit-infused water. Fresh flowers. Dried lavender. 

Traditions and The Small Things

Sometimes I am asked what I miss most when my parents are far far away in Korea. Obviously what I miss most is them and their presence. But I often daydream of enjoying the small things together with them- the day-to-day "mundane" things, like making a run to the grocery store together, eating dinner together. The waking up and walking downstairs to see my parents sitting in our living room having their morning coffee and joining them. My dad's almost-daily bagel runs, which means a warm bagel waiting for me. All of us squished into our sofa watching korean shows together. 

It's those things that I miss the most and it's those things that I cherish the most. And my family has made a few traditions out of these "small things". 

Maybe that's why I've become quite a lover of traditions. There's something quite comforting about the predictability of them and something quite exciting about the anticipation of them. 

This visit from my parents was filled with respecting traditions, building new ones and a bit of spontaneity mixed in between. 

My dad and I have made a tradition of playing at least one round of golf together. And plenty of tennis. 

Beautiful Farmstead Golf & Country Club. Brought back memories of when I used to play there in high school. 

Tradition of watching Wimbledon in the morning and playing tennis with dad afterwards. 

This year, my dad and I played together in our church's co-ed tennis tournament for the first time! 

Going to a Yankees game has become a tradition we've continued on this summer.

My parents and I have made a tradition out of going to garage sales and used bookstores, searching far and wide for the "diamonds in the rough" and reveling in finding treasures together.

We enjoyed a town-wide garage sale and found treasures. I snagged three books ($1 a piece) and my mom found more toys and figurines for her sandplay therapy. 

There were spontaneous evening outings to the golf range and batting cages. 

There may have even been a spontaneous golf lesson that happened in our very own backyard. 

Father-in-law & son-in-law impromptu golf lesson

We enjoyed spontaneous trips for some froyo. 

Yup. My mom and I are twinning while taking a break from shopping in the scorching heat. 

An impromptu photo opportunity after grocery shopping

We even cherished a moment outside bathing the pup. 

My parents left this morning to return to Korea. I remember the "twice a year" dropping off of my dad at Rodeo Plaza. He would then take the Asiana Airlines shuttle bus to JFK airport to return to Korea alone. I remember thinking, "I'm sure this will get easier as I get older".  It has been 15 years of practicing visits to the airport, saying "goodbye" and parting ways. Yet saying goodbye never gets easier. If anything, it has only gotten harder, as I am reminded of the many many previous goodbyes.

But a family tradition has been to have a mini family worship service before saying goodbye. My dad started this tradition, where we would end our visit together in prayer and worship. In more recent times, he has asked us to say a few words to each other. This is always (always) a tearful event but I believe it helps us all grieve each other's absence and cherish the moments shared together. 

And now I'm thankful that this blog has become a place where I can hold these precious memories. 

Mom's Birthday

It has become a recent tradition for my parents to visit and stay with us during the summer. (It is always a dream come true to have them here in our house and I love the hustle and bustle of the full house.) And the best part has been that my mom's birthday has fallen during their time here with us. 

(This entry is going to have a ton of pictures. Don't say I didn't warn you.) 

This past weekend was full of celebrating Mama Bear, starting with a weekend BBQ with old family friends, a lot of reminiscing, a plethora of cupcakes and three birthday cakes! 

cake number one - tart filled with fruity goodness

cake number two - a fluffy, delicious blueberry cake. cake number three (not pictured) was a yummy green tea cake! 

the birthday girl 

cake-cutting ceremony: they're the cutest

Monday was a jam-packed day spent gallivanting in the city - exploring nooks and crannies and ending the night with a bang watching "Wicked". (It was such a great show we've been talking about it nonstop since.) 

9/11 ground zero memorial

St. Paul's Cathedral: unity 

Trinity Church

took my parents to one of our favorite places to explore: chelsea market

lunch was numpang for mommy & hubby, and mokbar ramen for daddy and me

(p.s. hubby is being paparazzi)

i learn my ways from my parents - mandatory coffee break 

inside the elevator up to the high line

Wicked! 

Selfie with hubby! 

Tuesday was my mom's actual birthday. We went snooping around in a local TJ Maxx, one of my mom's favorites. We followed that up with each of us (mom, dad, me) taking delicious naps and when the brother and husband returned from work, we feasted at a local Colombian restaurant. It was a beautiful dinner. I declared during dinner that it may just be my new favorite restaurant. It's a no frills, no fuss, just good food (period) restaurant. We talked about the monstrous proportions and the homey environment. And the husband suggested we play a "how well do you know mama kim?" game. It was a good time. 

Happy Birthday, Mommy! We love you! 

Friday Favorites

I have been relishing my time with my family. (Hence last week's Friday Favorites entry is MIA). Though it's hard living so far apart from my parents, in some ways, it's a blessing in disguise: when we do get together, I get to spend every waking moment with them. 

This weekend's plans are: going on a search throughout the town for garage sales with mom, dinner at a yakitori restaurant, church, BBQ with family friends. 

Happy weekend!

What are your weekend plans? 

My sweet little cousin in Korea wrote me notes and made me origami boats. She gave them to my parents to bring to me. 

Kimbap my mother-in-law made for us during our visit to Virginia. Colorful mosaic. 

Pickles my mom made herself and brought from Korea. That's a mom's love. Food for the soul. 

My dad says he craves black olives and cheese when he's in Korea. A platter I made for dad and brother. 

This precious pup. 

#TBT with Tim

Confession: I have never posted a #tbt #throwbackthursday on any form of social media. 

But today is a special occasion. So let's all cheer!!! 

I have only one sibling and he's a special one. His name is Tim. His name is Tim Kim. 

In recent times, he has definitely boosted my "cool factor" with my middle school students and has helped me connect with particularly the boys by teaching me things about Air Jordans (I still dream of owning my own pair of "Breds" thanks to my brother introducing me to them), the NBA, using hashtags in conversations, social media (he always finds and shows me the funniest, quirkiest, most inspirational videos - more on that in another post). He patiently tries to explain jargon that "the kids use these days" and exposes me to music that they refer to. 

When we were younger, we had our share of differences. We would bicker, argue, fight about almost anything: what fast-food restaurant to go to, what channel to watch on tv, who got to use the computer. He used to practice his WWF moves on me. He even once miraculously got a remote-control car knotted in my hair (my mom had to cut a few strands off). I would have to drive him around to practices, Kumon or hakwon and somehow, miraculously he would always always fall asleep. Without fail. It didn't matter if it was a 10 minute ride or a 40 minute ride. 

But to be fair, I used him as my little sidekick. I would boss him around and make him retrieve things from the farthest points in the house, I would convince him that "This piece of candy is the better one, you should have it" while I would eat real tastier one. 

And yet over the years, I've become his sidekick. Because he's definitely the cooler, smarter, wittier, funnier, more creative, far more talented one. He keeps me in check. He's not afraid to tell me when I'm being ridiculous. He has taught me to be a bit more spontaneous and to not be so afraid to take risks in life. 

He inspires me. 

After graduating from college, he went back to school to pursue his dreams in music. He received a degree in Audio Engineering, worked an internship, made connections and now has started his own business! (All before he was 25!) Not only is it amazing witnessing him out his dreams, but it's doubly amazing seeing him help others realize their dreams through music. 

It has been an exciting journey to share with him. While I was working on launching this blog, he was working on his website and the other day was his website, TimKimMusic.com's soft-launch and I couldn't be more proud. (He even has a blog portion of his website! Love that he and I are now blogging buddies so go check it out from time to time and enjoy!)

So there's my shameless plug for my brother, his website, his business. Because I'm his number one fan.