A few weeks ago, I shared that I was on the brink of going manic. I’m happy to report that by increasing my medication, I was able to stop the runaway train! Things are back to normal which is wonderful. Though I like being hypomanic, with the sudden burst of energy that comes with it, I suffer from a loss of concentration, which I can’t stand.
That being said, last weekend we went to Balboa Park in San Diego. We hit up the train museum and enjoyed lunch at the Japanese restaurant. Here are my top 10 moments of the week.
Above, I snapped this portrait of Parker in front of some red bougainvillea. I love how spring has sprung!
This was taken in front of the train museum. I like the contrasting colors of Parker’s blue shirt to the orange cable car.
Parker checking out the miniature train scenes. He loves pointing and showing me what he sees.
We always eat at the Japanese restaurant inside Balboa Park. The food is surprisingly good and they sell our family’s favorite drink, Sangaria Ramune grape soda.
This week, I brought some of my favorite knick knacks to my office. They include an owl planter (which I use as a pencil holder), a heart jewelry plate, an asymmetric cup, and one of my favorite candles.
Logan loves to jump on top of our living room coffee table. Charlie always manages to sneak into my shots. He’s the ultimate photo bomber.
I shot this portrait of Logan on the fly. I think I edited it a little too much. With that creamy skin and that shaggy hair, he looks like a mini Korean pop star.
One of our neighbors keeps all of her toy cars in a plastic bin. She lets all of the kids play around with them. Here’s Logan digging in.
This was shot right off the ground. I like the perspective in this photo. The two boys look hard at play.
I was going to put this post up last Friday but I got into an accident with a motorcycle. Everything is fine, the motorcyclist ran a red and turned wide into my lane. He got a few scratches and so did my car. What’s life without a few crazy moments like this?
In any case, here are last week’s top 10 moments of the week. The photo, above, shows Parker picking out his ice cream from our neighborhood ice cream truck. Of course, I had to get my favorite, Strawberry Shortcake.
I caught this moment of Parker excited to see Sam come home. With those outstretched arms, he just can’t contain his excitement.
Parker has been riding his bike during our walks. Here he stopped to see what was beyond the fence.
This is a picture of my nephew, Riverton, eating an orange.
Parker and Riverton were checking out some bugs on the ground.
Parker taking a break during gym class.
Logan cradled in our nanny, Cindy’s, arms. He had just woken up from a nap so he was a bit discombobulated.
Logan sporting his “English teacher” jacket. He almost looks like he’s striking a pose.
The two boys at the mall riding a fake sports car. Remember when these used to be a quarter?
The inevitable falls. I always tell Parker that we all fall down in life, the important thing to remember is to always get up.
Ok, so it’s been exactly month since I first declared to the world (that’s the five people reading this blog) that I want to become a photographer. I thought, “I’ve finally found my true calling!” Well, then yesterday, I was walking around Target with Sam and I was explaining to him that I just don’t know how I’m ever going to get to the level of those I follow. Could I ever get so good that people would actually pay me to take pictures of them? Will my photos ever be considered fine art? Will someone ever hang a picture I took on their wall? Discouraged, I asked Sam if he would give me a pep talk. (He’s good at those.)
He reminded me of how far I had come with My Modern Met. Seven years of my life was poured into that site and I saw it rise from zero visitors to millions. Online, I helped lead the art movement. I co-authored a book. I spoke at Alt Summit and Dwell on Design. Heck, I did all of this while having two kids! I should be proud of my accomplishments, plus I’m only a month into this gig. Some people take years if not decades to get proficient. Could I be patient enough to last?
I was lucky enough to look at and curate art, design and photography for the last seven years. That counts for something, right? I know I have an eye for photography but I feel lost when it comes to finding my own, unique style. That will come in time, he says. I just have to be patient, plug away at this, work my a** off, and one day I’ll be there. I feel like this girl, closing her eyes, wishing to see a whole new, bright and colorful world.
Today, I read this quote from, The Paper Deer Photography that I liked: “This business is tough and there are times when it feels like nothing is going your way but if you put your head down and hustle, it will come.”
With my recent foray into photography, I’ve decided to start a new series called Life Unfolding: Top 10 Moments of the Week. I found this quote from Charles Bukowski that resonated with me in regards to photography: “My dear, Find what you love and let it kill you. Let it drain you of your all. Let it cling onto your back and weigh you down into eventual nothingness. Let it kill you and let it devour your remains. For all things will kill you, both slowly and fastly, but it’s much better to be killed by a lover.”
Now that I’ve found my true calling, I’ve been diving head first into it; watching Skillshare videos, practicing post-processing in Lightroom, shooting every evening, reading countless articles. I know it’s going to take a while before I feel confident enough to share my photos, let alone have actual clients (gasp!), I’m working hard at the craft and, to my surprise, enjoying every minute.
We’ve been visiting Santa Rosa Plateau often, it’s such a beautifully pristine area, a photographer’s dream. This past weekend, my sisters came over with their kids and we all went on a hike to the vernal pools. Kids and adults alike were blown away by such breathtaking scenery.
For practice, every day, I’ve been taking photos of my kids. Hope you enjoy these shots. In the photo above, Parker and Fozzie put their heads side by side. Don’t they look alike?
This is Riverton, my sister Carol’s youngest son. This fearless tyke ran way ahead of his parents, which you can see as small figures in the distance. This photo reminds me of just how independent this kid is and how my sister and her husband give him so much trust and freedom.
This is my niece Berry with my nephew Evan. They’re the two oldest kids in our family. Here they’re on the boardwalk of the vernal pools. As kids do, they’re dipping some leaves into the pools, causing ripples in the water. Since this was sunset, the sky was very dramatic.
Parker has a special bond with my niece Berry. They adore each other. When Berry comes over she sleeps right next to Parker and they play fun games like telephone, as you can see here.
Though Logan can usually be found hanging over Sam’s left shoulder, when Sam’s not around, Logan’s asking me to pick him up. (He’s not a fan of walking.) Here he is pleading with me to give him a ride.
This is a rare shot of the two boys hugging. It was taken in front of our garage. I wish I could have taken this in front of a cleaner background. This is Parker’s fake smile, his eyes get super squinty, which is cute.
A few years ago, Sammy bought me this rainbow umbrella from the MOMA store. Logan loves picking it up and twirling it around.
Sam loves horsing around with the boys. Lately, Logan has been jumping on his daddy’s back, and this time, Charlie climbed onto the bed to see what all the commotion was about.
Yesterday, at Santa Rosa Plateau, we hiked a different path. This one was more rocky and narrow. Here, I was playing around with negative space; I called upon my inner “Max Wanger.”
On our hikes, Parker likes to stop every so often to play with the leaves and dirt. Here, he let me take a quick portrait. I like how he’s not fake smiling at me. Rather, he’s just naturally looking towards the camera. I wanted to capture that wide-eyed wonder only kids have.
If you have a few moments today, may I suggest watching this TED talk about teaching girls to be brave. In February, at a TEDx event in Vancouver, Reshma Saujani took to the stage to give a rousing speech that ended in a standing ovation. Saujani is the founder of Girls Who Code, a nonprofit that aims to initiate young women into the tech world and to close the gender gap in tech. This year, her nonprofit will teach 40,000 girls in all 50 states how to learn to code.
She began her speech by talking about her own failed attempt at running for Congress. Pollsters warned that she didn’t have a chance to win but she tried anyway. In the end, she only received 19% of the votes. She ends that story by saying that “this is not a talk about the importance of failure. Nor is it about leaning in. I tell you the story of how I ran for Congress because I was 33 years old and it was the first time in my entire life that I had done something that was truly brave, where I didn’t worry about being perfect.”
Then, she talks about how we’re teaching our girls to be perfect and we’re raising our boys to be brave. There’s a bravery deficit among women, and it needs to be fixed for women—and our country—to reach their full potential. She ends her speech by saying, “And so I need each of you to tell every young woman you know — your sister, your niece, your employee, your colleague — to be comfortable with imperfection, because when we teach girls to be imperfect, and we help them leverage it, we will build a movement of young women who are brave and who will build a better world for themselves and for each and every one of us.”
Though I’m not directly working in tech, coding that is, I took from Saujani’s speech that I need to be more brave.
For months, I’ve been working in the dark, telling only my siblings, a few friends and my husband about this new site I’ve created. After leaving My Modern Met, I decided I wanted to be the next Cup of Jo or the new Oh Joy! What I learned, however, is that my true calling is to be a fine art photographer of my family. They say to shoot what you love and I couldn’t love my husband or two sons more. I know it’ll take a long time to refine my skills but showing my first photos of “Appa” and “Baby, Don’t Cry” is a huge step for me on the path to being more brave and showing my work.
Some day I’ll announce to all of my friends that I’ve started this new site and that I’m beginning a new career. Until then, however, I’ll keep watch inspiring videos like this to help propel me forward. Let’s be brave!
Have you watched the latest Carpool Karaoke starring Coldplay’s Chris Martin? I didn’t think I would sit through the whole 15 minutes but did and loved every minute of it. Though I know I could have saved the link for tomorrow’s Fun Links of the Week post, it brought me so much joy that I just had to share it. From the pitch perfect harmonizing between James Cordon and Chris Martin to the “sweet” stop for lemonade, the whole set-up couldn’t have been more perfect. Not only do you get to go back in time and remember Coldplay’s greatest hits, you get to know Chris’ fun and exuberant sense of humor.
Entertainment Weekly just put out an article titled Carpool Karaoke: Inside James Corden’s sing-along sensation where they provide some of the secrets behind the hit series. Did you know that musicians spend anywhere from 45 minutes to a couple of hours driving around with Corden? Or that set lists of the artists’ hits are sent to them in advance, but the producers also add in an element of surprise during the filming? I’m constantly surprised by the breath and depth of Cordon’s knowledge of song lyrics but I learned that he practices in his car for a week or so. (Now that’s some dedication.)
Corden’s famous passengers — such as Martin, whose road-trip to the Super Bowl involved a motel sleep-over — seem to enjoy playing along with these sing-alongs. “After every song he was like, ‘Oh, I haven’t heard that for ages!’ Or, ‘It brings me back to where I wrote this!” he recalls. “It’s actually quite a lovely thing for them to reminisce; they hear their whole career in eight songs.”
Codon’s wish list includes Kanye West, Aretha Franklin, Bruce Springsteen, and Taylor Swift. Next up? Elton John!
Though we may share the same cultural background (Korean) and though we both went to the same undergraduate college and received the same degree (UCLA, degree in economics), I have no personal affiliation with Anthony Yom. The Lincoln High school teacher was thrust from virtual obscurity to fame when news surfaced that one of his students was among only 12 in the world to pass the Advanced Placement Calculus exam with a perfect score. Even more amazing is that all 21 of Yom’s AP Calculus students passed the grueling test.
Yom stated humbly, “Most of the credit should go to the kids.”
This LA Times article tells the story about how Yom became a calculus teacher at Lincoln High, a school that challenged him to the core. It talks about how Yom took advice from more experienced teachers, how he turned his youth (he’s currently 35 but has been teaching at Lincoln since 24) into an asset, and how he went above and beyond his call of duty.
He got to know his students better, called their homes in the evening if they needed extra help, and, on his own time, offered tutoring at Lincoln on weekends and during vacations. He still does.
Inspirational teachers like this give me hope for the world.
Here’s my favorite part of the article:
Yom says he keeps getting asked if there’s some secret recipe for getting students to perform at their highest potential.
“This may sound corny, but you really have to love them,” Yom says. “You build this trust, and at that point, whatever you ask them to do, they’ll go the extra mile. The recipe is love.”
What a year it’s been! 2015 was the year of change. I separated from the company I founded, My Modern Met, and started this new site. I went to my first Coachella (finally, I know), got into mindfulness and meditation, started appreciating hiking, went on my first Portland trip, and experienced The Infinity Room by Yayoi Kusama. I bought both the Fitbit and the Apple Watch (I’m still trying to decide on which one I’ll use in 2016) and I delved into Korean cooking, thanks to the help of my nanny.
Let’s take a quick look back through some photos.
As Deluxe season passport holders, we had our fair share of Disneyland trips. Parker was pretty psyched to meet Buzz.
As a three-year-old, Parker started becoming a lot more verbal and a lot more excited about things. He also found neighborhood friends to play with.
My sweet one-year-old, Logan, got a lot more curious about the world around him.
Here’s Logan first experience in a pool. This was shot at Pelican Hill, where we spent the weekend for his and his cousin’s birthdays.
We went back to Pelican Hill to celebrate my father-in-law’s birthday. They have such beautiful grounds.
I became the proud owner of a FitBit Charge HR while Sam got his own smartwatch from a friend.
In April, I experienced my first Coachella. I loved the overall vibe and plan on coming back next year.
2015 was the year our whole family took up hiking. We took short drives to the Santa Rosa Plateau to just be in the midst of nature.
We also started camping this year, with the kids. At first I thought it was going to be hard to all sleep in a tent but it worked out just fine. Bring on the camping in 2016!
Sam and I took some day trips to La Jolla where we across some interesting art and photographs.
Parker learned about life and death as he saw a monarch butterfly struggling on the ground.
I got into photography more. I shot this photo of a man reflecting on life while sitting by a lake.
I love the shadows this unique bridge makes on the ground.
At the Long Beach Aquarium, Parker had a close encounter with a sea otter.
Got schooled on social media by a Portland donut store.
I learned that a superhero can save the world while still sucking on his thumb.
Finally got to experience Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Room. It’s now at the Broad Museum in downtown LA. You must go!
Korean cooking isn’t as hard as it seems.
Though they’ve always been brothers, this is the year they became friends.
I discovered some of the things I’ll need for this next chapter in my life.
I learned more about mindfulness, appreciating the here and now.
So what will 2016 bring? Let’s make a quick list of goals, that way we can reflect back on this post next year and see what we accomplished.
1. Attend more art shows and provide up-to-the-minute coverage. Did you see Colossal’s post on Banksy’s Dismaland? Yes, something like that.
2. Lose 50 lbs. I know this seems ambitious but better to just put it all out there. This is for health reasons and so that I can fit into my pre-pregnancy clothes. I finally hit the gym for the first time in 6 months yesterday. The good news is…I survived!
3. Read one book per week. Did you hear about how Mark Zuckerberg reads one book every two weeks? Here’s his list from 2015.
4. Get better at photography. Take classes, shoot more on my DSLR than my cellphone, find photo projects.
5. Make things with my hands more. Take on DIY projects like this floral tree by Bri Emery at DesignLoveFest.
Finally, I leave you in 2015 with this amazing rendition of A Natural Woman by Aretha Franklin during the Kennedy Center Honors. (Was President Obama crying?) I got chills. See you in 2016!
How was your Christmas? It’s been a fun filled week over here in the Yoo house. We went on our second trip to Lake Arrowhead this year where we rented a modern cabin from Airbnb, then we celebrated Christmas day at my older sister Grace’s house, and finally had a bake sale at my sister Carol’s house. It was non-stop action and I can’t wait to share all the pics!
Logan hanging over Sam’s shoulder, his favorite place. It was around 40 degrees up in Lake Arrowhead so we bundled the little ones up in ski jackets.
We walked around the lake and fed the ducks. That was a highlight of the trip for Parker.
We took a guided tour of Lake Arrowhead by boat. It’s called Arrowhead Queen Tour Boat. You learn a lot about the lakes’ history. During our 50 minutes, I found out that 90% of the cabins in Lake Arrowhead are vacation homes and that there a lot of celebrities who own or owned property right on the lake, like rocker Sammy Hagar, actor Patrick Swayze, Beach Boy’s Brian Wilson, and ice skater Michelle Kwan. Overall, it was well worth the money.
Parker and grandma enjoying the views from the cruise. For a few minutes, Parker got to steer the ship but I was so nervous for him I didn’t get a photo of that.
This is a picture of the inside of our Lake Arrowhead home, called the Modern Architectural Mountain Home or the Ferber house. It was designed in 1967 by Palm Springs architect Michael Black and was featured in Time magazine. (You won’t find a wooden sculpture of a bear or duck here.) The three story home has over 100 windows which made it kind of chilly at night (but they had a Nest so we cranked up the heat).
The house wasn’t an ideal place for kids but it had interesting furniture like mid-century modern chairs. Logan climbed all over those.
Parker explored the house with a flashlight in hand. As you can see in the background, the second floor had all wood floors which made it feel very Dwell-like.
On the second floor, they had a cozy side room with a fireplace. Here’s Parker and his grandpa starting up a fire.
Though it took a little getting used to, we warmed up to the place and enjoyed all the interesting design touches. Parker is chatting it up with his grandparents here.
Since this is a three story house there were a lot of stairs and some slits where the kids could fall through. We had to be extra careful. Would I rent this place again? Yes, if we didn’t bring the kids. This place is ideal for couples without kids who appreciate modern and mid-century modern design.
On to Christmas morning! Parker and Logan opened their gifts from Santa, his grandparents and me and Sammy. Parker got Hungry Hungry Hippo, a classic right?
Parker also got this fishing game, which he first spotted inside of a cabin during our first Lake Arrowhead trip. Remember this one, too? He asked our Elf on the Shelf to tell Santa he really wanted this game.
Sam bought Parker and Logan these remote control tanks. Only bad thing is that you have to charge the batteries 4 to 5 hours for every 15 minutes of play. Overall, Parker loved it though.
Later that day, we went to my sister’s house for our official family Christmas party. We had to all wear ugly Christmas sweaters. Couldn’t find anything in Logan’s size so he just sported this bright Christmas pj ensemble.
The kids hanging by the presents just moments before they started tearing them open.
All the mayhem that comes with opening Christmas presents. Controlled chaos is what I like to call it.
We played this awesome game that my sister Carol brought called Pie Face. Basically, you put whip cream on the “hand” and then center your face in front of it. You spin a wheel with numbers on it and then click the pie splatting contraption’s handles that many times. The hand can splatter whip cream on your face during any click. All of us got creamed. So fun!
My brother Eugene, his wife Annie, and all the kids..including a flying Logan.
Now for the ugly Christmas sweaters. Here was Sammy’s, Parker’s and mine. Eugene, my brother, and his wife wore these robot ones. Grace’s husband Keith got the Hotline Bling sweater that I love while my brother-in-law Burt took home first prize with the crocodile sweater. (Yes, we’re all tried and true Amazon shoppers.)
The day after Christmas, we went to my other sister’s and had a bake sale right around the corner from her house. By selling homemade desserts for 50 cents each, we had a goal of making $10. After an hour and a half, we surpassed that!
The goods. Snowmen cake pops (they have earmuffs on), gingerbread men and reindeer cookies, and frosted cupcakes.
Yes, it was a long week. During the bake sale, Parker went into meltdown mode.
Luckily, because we achieved our bake sale goal, we got to eat up all the extra inventory. Cupcakes never tasted so good!
Hello, I’m Alice Yoo! I’m founder and CEO of Skylar Yoo, a company dedicated to inspiring and empowering women to be bold. We sell apparel, art prints and accessories to the modern feminist.
In my former life, I was editor-in-chief of the art and culture blog My Modern Met, which I founded back in 2007. I curated and wrote about art, design and photography for more than seven years. (In fact, I published over 7,000 articles which were seen by millions of people worldwide.) I’m also co-author of a book called For Love: 25 Heartwarming Celebrations of Humanity, which is on Amazon and wherever books are sold.
I live in southern California along with my husband and my two toddler boys.
This blog is about what I love, the tough experiences that I’ve learned from, and my journey as a second time entrepreneur. Right now, I’m in the midst of a 365 day challenge, to read one book a day. If you share my passions or want to learn some cool new facts, come along for the ride. I hope to inspire, educate and entertain you!
