Thank you, 2012!

Thank you, everyone, for making my 2012 a very special one!  Looking forward to new adventures in 2013.  Wishing you all the best!!

xo, b

September 2012

September turned out to be one of my busiest months – 1) shot my last two weddings of the year, 2) first time to Chicago, 3) catalog shoot with The Land of Nod, 4) commercial shoots and… 5) helping my little 3rd grader with math (yikes!).  While the past month was challenging, both mentally and physically, I wouldn’t change a thing because I feel so fulfilled.

*image source: by Bonnie Tsang with iPhone, processed with VSCO FILM’s vscocam app and posted on Instagram

August 2012

With my little girl back to school and I had to travel for work, August was a month of “living in consciousness” – work hard, but always remember to be there for my family and for myself.

*image source: by Bonnie Tsang with iPhone, processed with VSCO FILM’s vscocam app and posted on Instagram

July 2012

Oh, July, you went by so fast…

*image source: by Bonnie Tsang with iPhone, processed with VSCO FILM’s vscocam app and posted on Instagram

[travel] Road Trip, June 2012 // Day 7-10

Continue from Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 and Day 4-7…

On the way to Jacksonville, we stopped by Chief’s Wild Wings in a small town called Coburg for lunch.  Coburg is a cute little town with quite a bit of antique stores.  We arrived to Jacksonville in the late afternoon and we spent a night at Jacksonville’s Magnolia Inn (really awesome of Hotels.com for providing the room!).  Next day, we drove to Napa and spent a night at the beautiful Carneros Inn (courtesy of Hotels.com).  Our road trip ended in San Francisco and we spent few days with our good friend, Victoria (Thanks for hosting us, V!).

This road trip taught me a lot.  After visited all those small towns and met a lot of people, I learned that life can be so simple.  People living in those small towns seem to have no worries.  You can sense their peacefulness, which got me thinking about my life – What am I living for?  What am I running after?  Everyday felt like a battle to me, but now I just want to be at peace.

Places visited -

Chief’s Wild Wings
91115 N Willamette St
Coburg, OR 97408
(541) 342-3828
*Fried Mac-n-Cheese, must try!

Jacksonville’s Magnolia Inn
245 N 5th St
Jacksonville, OR 97530
(541) 899-0255
*This is a cute bed and breakfast with very friendly staff.  By the entryway, there’s a popcorn machine and candy station.  Upstairs, there’s a whole wall of videos and board games.  This place is definitely great for families.

Umi Sushi
100 California St
Jacksonville, OR 97530
(541) 702-2258
*Sushi was fresh and food was great!  I miss it.

Mustard Seed Cafe
130 N 5th St
Jacksonville, OR 97530
(541) 899-2977
*We came here for breakfast.  This is a cute family owned diner where everyone knows each other, it’s exactly how I imagine living in a small town.

The Carneros Inn
4048 Sonoma Hwy
Napa, CA 94559
(707) 299-4900
*Instead of bedrooms, guests stay in small cottages.  Each cottage has its own little backyard with outdoor shower.  Most memorable: outdoor shower (of course), heated bathroom floor, room service (we ordered pizzas and mini doughnuts with chocolate dipping sauce) and pool time!

Bouchon Bakery
6528 Washington St
Yountville, CA 94599
(707) 944-2253
*Wish I can start my day with some Bouchon pastries everyday!

Three Dog Bakery
526 Broadway Ave
Sonoma, CA 95476
(707) 933-9780
*This bakery makes cookies and cupcakes for dogs!

Crisp Bake Shop
720 West Napa St
Sonoma, CA 95476<
(707) 933-9999
*Everything was really good, but I HIGHLY recommend their homemade marshmallows!

*Special thanks to Hotels.com for providing an evening stay at Jacksonville’s Magnolia Inn and The Carneros Inn for Miss V and I!  Although the hotel rooms were provided by Hotels.com, please note that all opinions are strictly mine and I wouldn’t rave about anything that I don’t enjoy.

**All images photographed by Bonnie Tsang with Canon 5D

[travel] Road Trip, June 2012 / Day 4-7

Continue from Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3…

This is a complete Portland series.  We were there for four days.  The main reason we were there was because our dear friend, Joke, and her family were moving to Shanghai.  Ever since I met Joke and Sally, Portland has became my second home.  For this trip, we didn’t do much, we just wanted to relax and spend as much time with our friends as possible.

Places visited in Portland -

The Original Pancake House
8601 SW 24th Ave
Portland, OR 97201
(503) 246-9007
*When you go out with more than two kids, if they want pancakes you give them pancakes!  This place was an eye opener for me, I’ve never seen so many kids in one place.  Service was wonderful, the wait staff is definitely good with chaos and customer who can’t decide what to order.  I wanted to try Hawaiian Pancakes, but also wanted the Bacon one.  Our waitress surprised me with half and half.  Wow, I love her!

Salt & Straw
836 NW 23rd Ave
Portland, OR 97210
(971) 271-8168
*Joke and I shared two tasting flights.  Sadly, we couldn’t figure out what was what. Ha!

Little Big Burger
122 NW 10th Ave
Portland, OR 97209
(503) 274-9008

Sterling Coffee Roaster
2120 NW Glisan St
Portland, OR 97210
*Must get the hot chocolate and be sure to ask for kid’s hot chocolate (sweeter than the adult one).  I ended up “stealing” my daughter’s drink.  It was so smooth and creamy, almost like drinking melted marshmallow.  Highly addictive.

Fried Egg I’m In Love (food truck)
SE 32nd & Hawthorne
Portland, OR 97214

Pok Pok
3226 SE Division St
Portland, OR 97202
(503) 232-1387

Scoop Handmade Ice Cream
North Station Food Cart Pod
2730 N Killingsworth St
Portland, OR 97217
(503) 928-2796

Broder
2508 SE Clinton St
Portland, OR 97255
(503) 736-3333
*My FAVORITE breakfast place!

St. Jack
2039 SE Clinton St
Portland, OR 97202
(503) 360-1281
*We went for the freshly baked madeleines, Joke wanted us to have some for the road. SO GOOD!

Beckel Canvas Products
2232 SE Clinton Street
Portland, OR 97202
(503) 232-3362
*I love this place!  They make some pretty good canvas bags in every size imaginable.  Best of all, they are affordable!

Oui Presse
1740 SE Hawthorne Blvd
Portland, OR 97214
(503) 384-2160

Enchanted Forest
8462 Enchanted Way Southeast
Turner, OR 97392
(503) 363-3060
*I spotted their sign by accident and thought I’d make a pit stop to check it out.  So happy we stopped by because Miss V had so much fun (well, I did too!).  Highly recommend for all families.

More tomorrow!

*All images photographed by Bonnie Tsang with Canon 5D

[travel] Road Trip, June 2012 // Day 3

Continue from Day 1 and Day 2…

Day 3 Itinerary -
09:30am Breakfast at TouVelle House
12:00pm Exploring Jacksonville, OR.
02:00pm Leave Jacksonville, OR. for Portland, OR.

Places visited in Jacksonville -

TouVelle House (courtesy of Hotels.com)
455 N Oregon St
Jacksonville, OR 97530
(541) 899-8938
*Gary and Tim are such great hosts.  Miss V loved hanging out with those guys and they even let her play with their puppies!  Thanks, Gary and Tim!

Scheffel’s Toys
180 West California Street
Jacksonville, OR 97530
(541) 899-7421

The Candy Shoppe
235 E California St
Jacksonville, OR 97530
(541) 890-1170

Jacksonville Barn Company
150 S Oregon St
Jacksonville, OR 97530
(541) 702-0307

Jacksonville Mercantile
120 E California St
Jacksonville, OR 97530
(541) 899-1047

Farmhouse Treasures (go for the fudge, best ever!)
120 W California St
Jacksonville, OR 97530
(541) 899-8614

Back Porch BBQ
605 N 5th St
Jacksonville, OR 97530
(541) 899-8821

*Special thanks to Hotels.com for providing an evening stay at TouVelle House for Miss V and I!  Although the hotel room was provided by Hotels.com, please note that all opinions are strictly mine and I wouldn’t rave about anything that I don’t enjoy.

**All images photographed by Bonnie Tsang

[travel] Road Trip, June 2012 / Day 2

Continue from Day 1…

Day 2 Itinerary -
09:30am Breakfast at Mama’s
03:00pm Avenue of the Giants
10:00pm Jacksonville, OR.

After a good night sleep at Omni Hotel, Miss V and I started the morning at Mama’s with Erin for breakfast.  I always wanted to go to Mama’s, but the line would scare me off.  Happy that Erin braved the line with us (thanks, Erin!).  I ordered the Pan Dore, which is slices of Sour French Baguette with Sauteed Apples in Lemon Butter Sauce.  mmm… It was really good!

Around 11am, we made a quick stop at Hamilton, CA. for gas and picked up some pastries for the road at La Boulange Bakery before headed to Avenue of the Giants.  The drive was about 4+ hours, in between we made a stop at The Peg House Grill in Leggett, CA. for lunch.  By the time we arrived to Avenue of the Giants it was already 3pm.  Originally, we didn’t plan to stay long, but the magic of nature and being surrounded by the “giants” had us wandered longer than expected and dropped the plan to visit a small town, Ferndale.

When we arrived to Jacksonville it was 10pm and we were dead tired.  Thankfully, TouVelle House, which was provided by Hotels.com, took good care of us and we were able to go straight to bed for some much needed rest.

More tomorrow!

Resources -

Mama’s
1701 Stockton St
San Francisco, CA 94133
(415) 362-6421

La Boulange Bakery de Hamilton
5800 Nave Dr
Novato, CA 94949
(415) 382-8594

The Peg House
69501 Hwy 101
Leggett, CA 95585
(707) 925-6444

Avenue of the Giants
Avenue of the Giants Highway
Weott, CA 95571

City of Ferndale (we didn’t get to visit)

TouVelle House
455 N Oregon St
Jacksonville, OR 97530
(541) 899-8938

*Special thanks to Hotels.com for providing an evening stay at TouVelle House for Miss V and I!  Although the hotel room was provided by Hotels.com, please note that all opinions are strictly mine and I wouldn’t rave about anything that I don’t enjoy.

**All images photographed by Bonnie Tsang with Canon 5D and iPhone