myretroperspective

Today marks our first Easter together in the US and it's been great celebrating. J's been down for the weekend. So last night we had burgers on the grill by J & R on our front porch- the weather was perfect! We ended the night with a Chinese movie called "Beijing Bicycle". It was incredibly sad but really good too- wonderful insight into the injustices of life in that big city. This morning we woke up to Easter Bread -which showed up on our doorstep yesterday via priority mail! We really enjoyed the bread, bacon and some cuties along with home-roasted coffee, of course! After an energetic Easter Sunday worship service at Westside, we came home to a ham, german potato salad and roasted asparagus. Everything turned out as planned and we survived our first holiday meal! Granted cooking for 3 is pretty easy and both guys were great helps in the kitchen so I had little worry about it. We definitely miss all of our friends and family all over the US and the world ...

R thanks to his siblings has always appreciated good coffee. In fact he had a .pdf explaining step by step instructions for using a french press. When we lived in Asia, R was first introduced to coffee roasting by a good friend who with the absence of decent fresh coffee took it upon himself to provide for himself and his family. While on the employment search in the fall R embarked on this new hobby and our household has been ever so blessed by it- not to mention those who engage in gift exchanges or do us favors (we tend to bring mason jars of coffee beans as gifts now). This weekend R's brother J is in town for Easter and yesterday I got some great pictures of them roasting. J has also started roasting in his college dorm. green coffee beans before being roasted J measuring out green beans to take back to school He buys green beans from a website called Sweet Maria's- they go all over the world building relationships with coffee bean farmers, purchase their crop and then ...

Spending an afternoon with fellow beauty enthusiasts is as much fun as one could hope for in a single day. I was one of a handful of beauty writers, influencers and trend-setters who turned out at the Renaissance Hotel in Midtown Atlanta to meet Mac Cosmetics’ Assistant Manager of Global Communications Mary Beth Donohue during her visit last weekend. Tammie Reed of Talking with Tammie played host for our meet-up and connected us all. During our conversations, Mary Beth shared tips on blogging about Mac Cosmetics as well as insider-secrets about what’s Haute for fall 2011. Like most girls, I use a variety of beauty products, but one that I cannot live without is my Mac NC-45 concealer! I use it every day and my skin looks “cute-ifyingly” flawless as a result. So what’s your fave Mac Cosmetics beauty essential?

When Ryan and I moved to the Atlanta area we landed in a temporary living situation that gave us the chance to feel out the city for ourselves and figure out where we'd like to live. Ryan always thought he'd find a job, then we'd find somewhere to live conveniently between my office and his and then we'd find a church we liked. Strangely enough it worked backwards. We felt absolutely at home and at the same time challenged to believe the gospel in our day to day lives when we worshipped at Atlanta Westside Presbyterian (affectionately called "Westside"). As it turned out they are passionately missional about the neighborhoods on the Westside- inside the perimeter West of 75/85 & midtown, North of I-20 which led to our renting a house in one of these neighborhoods. We love being just a little over a mile away from our church in a metropolis like Atlanta. What's more- many of the involved church members live in our neighborhood or nearby ones which...

This past weekend we decided to make the hour trip north to the city of Jinhae, on the southern coastline, with our friends Mike and Alissa. The town is best known for the estimated 340,000 cherry blossom trees that bloom for only a few short weeks each spring. At the beginning of those weeks the city holds the annual Jinhae Gunhangjae Festival, this year marking the 49th year. in 1952 a statue of Korea's greatest naval hero was erected in the city's center, and since 1963, the festival has been held annually in honor of him. Each year these trees that are thought to be native to Korea attract over 1 million visitors. I apologize ahead of time for the overwhelming amount of photos that are sure to make you jealous. Our first stop was to romance bridge. It spreads 1.5 km long with cherry blossom trees arching over the stream on both sides. Our good friends Mike and Alissa who we went with Jeremy loves making friends with the locals. The owner of a small snack cart that makes r...

I have found my favorite Korean meal! it's called Shabu Shabu. Basically they put a huge pot in the middle of the table and fill it with some sort of broth soup, they then add mixed veggies and let it cook. They then bring out raw meat and rice on lettuce. You swirl the meat in the broth and within seconds the meat is completely cooked. put it on the rice, dip in horseradish sauce and eat! At the end you can eat the veggies and broth as a soup.   the plate of raw meat and rice so much food!

We went to Okpo and decided that we would try and find an abandoned amusement park that some friends told us about. Apparently it's a big attraction for local foreigners and high school students. Rumor has it that it was shut down some time ago because a little girl died on one of the rides. You can still see the cart hanging from the rail where she supposedly fell out. Others say that the owner simply ran out of money and it shut down...I like to think it was the first reason just to add a little more thrill. While we were there a huge fire broke out on one of the ships in the shipyard. We heard sirens from every direction and very loud announcements being made The ride that the girl supposedly died on It felt a little like we were walking around the set of a horror film, very creepy and yet you want to keep walking and see more (makes me understand those girls in the movies that instead of leaving, like we all yell and the screen and tell her to do, keeps walking deeper into the ...

 It was my pleasure to attend the 10th Annual Michael Jordan Celebrity Invitational in Las Vegas... where Jordan and Toni Kukoc once again walked away winners. Each took home $20,000 for the charity of their choice. The tournament called the Aria Resort and Casino its new home after years in the Bahamas. The game was played at the beautiful Shadow Creek golf courses. This year’s tournament allowed the public access to the renowned Shadow Creek reportedly for the very first time.   Jordan didn’t disappoint he brought out the big stars from the world of entertainment, sports and business. Each foursome was paired with a different celebrity. Since the tournament’s inception, it has raised over $5 million for a variety of worthy causes. This year, MJCI raised money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the James R. Jordan Foundation, Cats Care and the Nevada Cancer Institute. Celebrities spotted on the course… Model Gabriel Aubry, Actress Salli Richardson, The Dream, Actor Hill Har...

Poolside parties are the best way to hang out with old and new acquaintances. I love Liquid Lounge at Aria because it comes with a DJ and cabana! My weekend trip to Las Vegas was so much fun! I ended up handing Jamie Foxx my cell phone to chat with a mutual friend (who had not spoken with him in 10 years because they lost touch) and became the subject of a rap song with Chris “Kid” Reid from Kid N Play. He said that my brightly colored green dress reminded him of a bag of skittles! We spent the afternoon just grooving to the music, talking about all kinds of things including relationship dynamics with Jamie and Chris suggested that bring I bring my Haute Travels to Los Angles. I really loved the company and can’t wait to catch up with this crew again. So who else was in the Michael Jordan cabana on Saturday? Christina Milian, Shanice, Flex Alexander and Comedian Craig Robinson were some of the coolest, most down to earth people that I’ve met. If you’re shopping around for a haute hotel...