Birth month...

I turned 35 on December 15th. In the midst of the busiest month for the shop and attending holiday markets... the day felt like it was inhaled by a giant tsunami wave. I loved the day with my family after coming home from San Francisco and second half of the day spent at the shop... but personally I didn't have a chance to truly reflect on the occasion. So I told myself that it's okay that I would mark a birth month instead of a birthday... 

The funny thing is that the focus and the reason to recognize our birth seems to shift as we get older. Few days before my birthday, my dad told me that it's not all about celebration anymore... I am sure he meant in a good way to teach me something. Now I look back the entire month... it really has been a month of contemplation. About who I have become... and whom I want to grow into. About the bright moments from my childhood memory but also the dark parts that do not get discussed often but has been becoming more obvious in how it's affecting me today. About life... which is at the end of the day... the accumulation of what happens everyday. 

I don't have any conclusion or haven't had much of aha moments... even though the month is nearing to the end. What I am glad about is that I had a chance to think about things that matter... because life is important... and that's the spirit I would like to carry over to the new year. 

Wrapping up 2013... the year of "expansion".

At the beginning of each year we pick a verb that projects our hopes and dreams for the year. At the beginning of this year... we picked the word "expand".  We knew we were expecting our sweet baby #2... and the word felt veery fitting. Well... 2013 has been truly the year of expansion for us... not only in the number of littles ones we hold in our arms but so much more.

The year really has expanded my heart to nurture as much as my patience (comes with ups and downs of parenting...). It has also really stretched my comfort zone, allowed to reach for what I am capable of... as well as tested my limitation in resources (time, sleep, strength... and yeah... patience).

In Summer we completely closed Baum-kuchen for little more than a month (first time in three years!!) to welcome Coco into our world.... then kind of surprised everyone by opening a shop/studio in September... We were little surprised too but it was a part of our "dynamic prototyping" for Baum-kuchen and we are so thrilled to see how it might evolve in 2014. I am happy that we are designing and making more and I got to really collaborate with Frido, my amazing German other half.

Everyday I am so happy to watch our girls grow to be whom they become. No... our home is not perfect all the time... there have been tantrums (terrible three?), melt downs, crying from multiple directions at the same time... and a struggle for everyone in the family to grown into new roles. At the same time, the bond of sisterhood has been beautiful to witness. My girls are my two sunshines... and I am thankful for them to let me be their mother.

This year... I do have a lot of things I wish to have done differently... but then I am grateful for the amazing opportunity I have gained... to grow and expand myself as a person... as a wife, a mother, a friend, a sister, a daughter... and Baum-kuchen's shop & brand curator.

If you would like, scroll down to see some of my favorite personal moments from the year in a chronological order.

Thank YOU so much for always being there and sending warm thoughts towards our way. We are grateful to have you in our lives through our adventures... and yes... you can expect more to come from our way in 2014!

xoxo

-wakako

Christmas... means a little bit more.

We just came home from an overnight celebration hosted at my parents' house. The word "thankful" comes to my mind tonight...

Thankful for getting through the busiest month of the shop as one. Thankful for all the cheers and merry we received throughout the season from our loved ones. Thankful for our family. Thankful for the special holidays that bring a lot of moments to pause and be present. Thankful for making it "little bit more" just because... (thanks for the special quote, Susan!)

I am looking forward to the rest of this year to gather thoughts and reflect, cleanse and prepare to welcome new year and spend time with my family.

Sending very warm thoughts to our friends near and far...

xoxo

-wakako

p.s. Our studio/shop is not officially opened until January but I will be fulfilling orders as usual as I am also looking forward to spending time there and giving a deep cleaning to our Baum-kuchen space!

24 hours in San Francisco

I can't believe it only has been a week since I was in San Francisco to attend Remodelista holiday market. It was a bit of crazy gig I pulled out of my pocket... I left Friday late afternoon with two overweight suitcases full of Baum-kuchen goodies (these two suitcases weighted more than me!!), crushed at my sister Yuko's apartment, woke up to do an all day pop-up at Heath Ceramics in San Francisco (one of the busiest market I have ever taken a part of!!), celebrated the day with Yuko over beer and Yakitori after the show was over..., then flew back to LA arriving home at 1am on Sunday...

Now that we have a brick & mortar and a baby #2... it takes a lot of effort to take a part of pop-up market like this but receiving direct feedback about our brand... and products we curate and make and meeting our customers in person means so much to us. Our new item, Napkin Sketchbook was a bit of hit for creatives in San Francisco as well as Traveler's Notebook. I came home with one nearly empty suitcase topped with two very special dolls from Jess Brown.

Thank you so much Remodelista for inviting us to take a part of two amazing holiday markets (LA & SF). Thank you Yuko for being the ground zero support in San Francisco. (How have I done this without your help??)

AND thank you Frido for holding the fort for two consecutive weekends with our girls at home.

Six months - what a difference it makes in life...

I am sometimes brown away how much "six month" means to us...

Yesterday we happened to be at The Highland Cafe where we spent one of our last outings as a family of three few days before Coco was born in June. Yesterday was our first time going back there for a laid back brunch.

We lost quite bit of sleep in those six months but have grown so much as a family... I wouldn't say that it has been all rosy to make everything happen with limited amount of resources we have but it has definitely been an adventure of lifetime.

first picture with Roo 6 months ago... second picture with Roo and Coco over yesterday's breakfast. How much Roo loves Coco melts my heart everyday.

A rainy day off...

Yesterday was our very first day off as a family... in a long time. Not one of those half day off... but the entire day! I had a grand plan to take Roo to the beach but the weather turned from 80 degree sunny to 50 degree rainy so it became all about staying in and making it nice at home.  

We all needed this day so much... 

Resting our mind and reconnecting with each other.