For our sixth wedding anniversary, Ethan got me this very cool vintage doctor’s travel case from etsy for my seed collection. It  is so neat! The leather case opens up into two sides with 20 slots for glass vials. Three original vials are missing and hopefully, I will come across them in my future thrifting ventures.

Earlier on, I photographed my seed collection this year and have been keeping them in tiny glass bottles. This case comes in so handy. It transforms my seed collection into a beautiful mini portable seed library. Today, I finally have some time to type out little title strips and inserted them in each vial as label to identify the seeds.

Thank you mimo! This is so lovely.

Yippee it is Friday!

Got a day off today. It is nice to have the luxury of making my thrift store shopping on Friday.

Started early and went to Happy Dragon in Los Gatos downtown. The storekeepers are so nice there. When I got there five people were in line already. I chatted with a lady who has been going to that thrift store for 30 years. She told me she hated the malls and would try her best to avoid them. Same here.

After that, I went hiking in Montalvo Arts Center and met Ethan for lunch. It’s still pretty hot today, but it was nice to hike in the redwoods. You can see a picture of our hike here.

After lunch hike, I headed toward Echo Shop of St Andrews Church in Saratoga downtown. They were two ladies there who were very helpful and friendly. I found my wooden shelf there.

On my way home, I decided to make a final stop at Thrift Box in Willow Glen. Embarrass to say that I left the store with a bag full of treasures! The lady at the cashier was very happy with my purchase though. She said “Oh this is great. We like it when people buy a lot!” It is always nice to visit this store. It is mostly run by volunteers and they keep the store very clean and organized. The volunteers are always friendly and helpful.

Happy Friday & long Labor Day weekend!

Mostly inspired by my friend Shannon’s blog.

Other inspiration:
Recently, bid farewell to Twitter and focus mainly on Flickr now. Have been very happy to meet some very talented and inspiring friends there. What connects us: background, aesthetic and interest such as cooking, thrifting and so on.

This post is dedicated to our encounters and sharing.

Alicia Lim
Alicia’s photos of still life and street scenes, mostly taken in Malaysia and other neighboring South East Asia countries through her travels, are captivating and poetic. Her images often reminded me of some of my favorite movies by Hong Kong Director Wong Kar-Wai. They speak to me like a story… feeling from fleeting moments… provocative. Alicia and I share the same cultural background. It is funny that we never got to meet each other in our home country, but instead on Flickr.

Below are some of my favorite images from Alicia:

Title: On my way
This particular image reminds me of “Days of Being Wild：阿非正专”

 
Title: manicure

Title: Ticking Away

 
Title: Joy.Rain.U  欢乐。雨。你
This image reminds me of “In the mood for love: 花样年华”

redcipolla
An artful chef with talent in photography. Steven put a lot of attention in capturing and presenting his masterful cooking. Steven’s photos resemble Dutch still life paintings. I love the way he brings in plant materials into his composition which gives the overall image a certain rawness and earthiness. Besides making me drool at all the dishes he makes, I also enjoy his travel photos. Steven and I also share the same cultural background. It is such a small world indeed. Click here to see some of Steven’s images.

Title: Raw Ingredients

Title: Winter Baking

Title: What’s Around me now…

Grace Light
My most recent connection on Flickr is with Grace Light. I was first drawn to a photo (a repurposed tin planter) posted by Grace in a Flickr group called “The Unpretentious Garden.” After exchanging comments on our photos, I realized that we are both collectors of antique and vintage items, enjoy gardening and love the idea of repurposing. Grace is a talented professional photo  stylist. She also has a blog (Poetic Home) that talks about vintage inspirations/treasures and antique ideas/DIY tips. Besides that, she is also a member of the Etsy Vintage Street Team. Below is a photo by Grace and an antique fan that I dream to have someday.