Who are the Yoos?

Hello and welcome to Adventures of Yoo! I’m Alice, you may already know me as the founder and former editor-in-chief of My Modern Metropolis, an art and culture blog I started back in 2008. It’s been seven years since its launch and a lot has transpired during that time. For one, I’ve been blessed with two boys, Parker, who is 3 1/2 years old and Logan, who’s 1 1/2. They’re a handful but, like most parents will tell you, they’re the light of my life. Being a parent completely changes your outlook on life, making you reassess what’s important.

Surprise wedding dance we performed. See it, here. (1.3 million views!)

Wedding party. Our closest friends and family.

My favorite wedding photo.

Parker grabbing Sam’s finger. A heartfelt reminder that they don’t stay that small for very long.

Fozzie cuddling up next to Parker, the first day we brought Parker home.

Parker, our little tiger.

Logan in his favorite place, a ball pit.

I started this new lifestyle blog as not only a way to journal the trials and tribulations of parenthood, but for many other reasons as well. First, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder last year, a mental illness that my mother endured. It took me a while to come to terms with the fact that I’m always dangerously close to having a manic attack, spiraling down into an uncontrollable mental state where my mind makes a chaotic cacophony of connections. On the bright side, having this illness has made me more mindful, appreciating the present and being grateful for all that I have. I hope that, through this site, I can help others discover the little joys in life, the everyday moments that often go unnoticed.

I also started this blog to give readers good book recommendations, Korean and non-Korean cooking recipes, and travel tips. Finally, I’m still going to post on new and upcoming artists, designers and photographers. My first love is art, and there’s nothing greater than sharing the talent of others. On My Modern Met, I wrote over 6,000 blog posts and the ones that gave me the most joy were the ones where I positively impacted the lives of others, whether that meant shining the light on an unknown artist or making readers smile or cry over a true and authentic story.

Family photo taken at Lake Arrowhead. Elmo hitched a ride.

At Parker’s dol, or one year old party. Can you tell by the cake what our theme was?

To give you the quick background of who I am, I was born in Los Angeles (yes I’m O.G.) and I’m the third of four children, I have two older sisters, Grace and Carol, and one younger brother named Eugene. Eugene was my business partner at My Modern Met for seven years and he’s now the editor-in-chief of that site. I’m incredibly close to my family so you’ll see them popping up all over the posts. I attended UCLA, where I received my undergraduate degree, and then UCR, where I got my MBA. For the next four years I worked at MTV Networks, in advertising sales, and then I spent two years managing a staff at Outdoor Channel (yes, think hunting, not my cup particular cup of tea). After leaving the ad sales world, I took a trip to Italy and Greece, where I was inspired by all the art to start up a blog dedicated to modern day experiences, which included art, design and photography. I’m proud to say that we were one of the first ones to start an art and culture blog, as many soon followed.

Sammy snuggling up to Parker for the very first time.

At Mammoth, on one of our many fishing trips.

At Yosemite, one of the rare photos of us together. (Sorry it’s grainy.)

Recent family photo taken at Alt Summit, a blog conference in Salt Lake City, Utah.

I’ve been married to my husband Sam, for the last eight years, but we started dating our first year in college, which was in 1994. (Yup, that’s 21 years!) Like any couple, we’ve had our share of ups and downs but we’ve only come out stronger in the end. He’s my partner and I could not imagine my life without him.

Charlie, when he was just a young puppy.

Charlie and Fozzie, brothers from another mother.

Now, here’s my quick list of things I love. I love traveling, hiking or just being outdoors. I consider myself an entrepreneur at heart and I love reading business books, think Steve Jobs, Howard Schultz, Elon Musk. Being a mom, I don’t have time to watch much television but I’ll make the time to catch a good series (really digging Aziz Ansari’s new show, Master of None). I’m not a great cook but I’m lucky enough to have a Korean nanny who teaches me how to prepare family friendly meals. (I can’t wait to share these with you.) I have two dogs that are like my children, Charlie and Fozzie, they’re unbelievably cute and cuddly Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. I’m not particularly stylish, I don’t succumb to the latest fashion trends but I can appreciate a well styled outfit. I dream about building my own custom house one day, think any home you see in Dwell.

Here are the blogs I follow daily, they’re in my A-list bookmark folder: A Cup of Jo, Bleubird, Design Love Fest, SF Girl By Bay, Cupcakes and Cashmere, Design*Sponge, The House that Lars Built, decor8, Love Taza, Oh Joy!, Emily Henderson, The Pioneer Woman, and Design Mom. The ladies behind these blogs have really inspired me to start this site.

O.K. Think we’re ready now to dive in. Oh, wait one last thing. The pictures you see above of me and my husband were mostly taken in 2007, around our wedding time. Two kids and fifty extra pounds later, I’m not too excited about being in photos but, being that this is a personal blog, I’ll do my best to swallow my pride and be in some of them anyway. Now, away we go!