Maddie

April 21, 2013 by Maddie Leave a Comment

With the end of school coming up, there is so much to be done: finals to study for, friends to say goodbye to, and the summer to prepare for! Also, with Rachel getting ready to head off to college so much is on my mind (I don’t want you to go, Rachel!). I’m sure Michael would also agree things are getting crazy. Right Now he is finishing up his final project before the end of school in about three weeks. In all this craziness, weekends are so precious; they provide so much rest refuge from life. All that to say it’s no surprise that I am so not ready for school tomorrow! Fingers-crossed that this week will go by fast!

Filed Under: Connect

Dirty, Dirty Blog Office

April 20, 2013 by Maddie Leave a Comment

A week has passed since the hectic consecutive three week birthday celebrations (Megan’s birthday on March 31, and a week later my birthday on April 6th, then a week later Jessie’s birthday). Let me tell you, decorations, cake, and presents three weeks in a row has left us tired, fat and broke! I’m so very thankful though for Rachel and the Blog Office who were partners in crime (more like partners in success) while planning and preparing for all these birthdays – I ♥ you, Rachel!

All this partying has left a lot of clean up in their wake though! While cleaning up and organising the blog office I was inspired (yes, inspired by cleaning). How could I not be inspired by, what looked like, an explosion of ribbons, paper, glitter, and streamers surrounding me?! Tidying up was actually a lot of fun, and I’d do again any day. I think we can all agree that reorganising and tidying may be hard business, but it is so refreshing and exciting to step back and see the finished project!

P.S. Stay tuned for birthday party posts!

Filed Under: Connect Tagged With: birthdays, blog office, blog office clean up, connecting four, connecting4.com, dirty blog office, glitter, Pictures

Rachel, We Miss You!

April 18, 2013 by Maddie 1 Comment

To my dearest sister who is in America on the search for colleges:
How’s the sweet smell of American air?! We are so jealous of you – Grrr… (Not to mention we are missing you like CRAZY!) With Jessie studying for all the AP exams coming up, I’m so lonely over here. I do hope y0u are having fun though; enjoy every moment you have reuniting with friends and family! …. And Come back soon (*cough* with some goodies *cough*). We’re praying for you!

P.S. I hope you find that dream school you’re looking for (*fingers crossed*).

Photo Source

Filed Under: Connect Tagged With: <3, connecting four, love you, missing, Rachel

Korean Cravings

April 8, 2013 by Maddie Leave a Comment

Having recently moved to a new district in Tianjin, we are now a 10 minute walk from several Korean food restaurants. I love Korean food so much that I can’t help but go once, twice, or even three times a month : ) Korean style complimentary appetizers are a highlight of my meal… you see, shortly after being seated, you are served a variety of taste-testers before the meal *no waiting idly while my stomach growls uncontrollably!* If you’ve never tried Korean food, I highly recommend it, check out a few of my favorite dishes below!

My ultimate favorite dish is 냉면; translated “cold noodles.” Yes, I know it sounds odd but trust me, its “oh-so-yummy!”

Filed Under: Consume Tagged With: asian, cold noodles, cuisine, food, korea, korean, koreanfood, lunch, rice, Yummy

I’m Lovin’… Food Gawker

February 14, 2013 by Maddie 4 Comments

First and foremost I’d like to repent of beging terribly MIA on Connecting4 lately.

It’s a new year and I am super excited for all the new that is coming my way. Finally I can start a fresh with all my goals, ideas, and planning… Also, *fun fact* this is about the time we first started connecting four so… happy birthday Connecting Four!

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Anyways… Food Gawker is always the place to go when you’re either bored out of your mind, or when you’re searching for “that perfect” recipe. Below are five recipes that are officially on my “upcoming-cooking-adventure” list. Of course, Rachel will be helping me in this particular field of expertise, since the kitchen and I don’t particularly see eye-to-eye.

As you can probably tell from the selection above I am a very traditional yet snacky type of person when it comes to eatables. I couldn’t help but include a funnel cake recipe, although it may be on the unhealthy side, the thrill and excitement of its traditional environment <AMUSEMENT PARKS!> rubs off on me. The spinach pesto sauce is my second favorite… I am reminded of late night dinners which consist of sprawling out on the couch with a huge bowl of basil covered pasta, while watching A Cinderella Story with my sisters.

I think it’s safe to say that food gawker is perfect for food lovers- whether or not the kitchen is your playground!

Sources/*recipes*: {one, two, three, four, five}

Filed Under: Consume Tagged With: baking, brownies, cooking, cream sauce, delicous, food, food gawker, funnel cake, noodles, perfect, pesto, pull-apart bread, recipes, Yummy

Merry Christmas!

December 24, 2012 by Maddie Leave a Comment

Just stopping by to wish all of you a very merry christmas! Life has been hectic having to finish up this semester of school and go christmas shopping but somehow I think everything worked out perfectly. No matter how much stress comes with the christmas season I still love it anyway!

I hope all you guys’ christmas day turn out great.

Filed Under: Connect Tagged With: christmas, christmas cookies, holly, jolly, merry christmas, merry merry, snowy

Preparing for Thanksgiving

November 23, 2012 by Maddie Leave a Comment

This year we are celebrating Thanksgiving a couple days late because Jessie was in Singapore on Thursday attending a Model United Nations (MUN) conference. We simply could not celebrate Thanksgiving without her so while everyone else is getting out their christmas trees and listening to favorite, holiday music, we are still seasoning our Turkey. Although I’m not crazy about cooking I enjoy being around the bustle and hustle of meal preparations. I love the ambiance created when the fragrance of baking pumpkin pie drifts through the house, when Rachel and Mom tie their aprons to begin our feast, and when Megan and I can snuggle up with pumpkin lattes to watch a movie. What would Thanksgiving be without these?

Stuffing, devilled Eggs, and roasted turkey only comes once a year and I am determined to enjoy every bit of it!

Filed Under: Connect Tagged With: autumn, Celebrate, Connect, connecting four, connecting4, connecting4.com, fall, feast, love, oranges, thanksgiving, yum

Autumn Fest 03

November 17, 2012 by Maddie Leave a Comment

Activity for day three: “Share thanks with each other!”

Rachel: Over the past couple of weeks I have received much encouragement and motivation from friends and family- I am so grateful for the people who daily impact my life!

Maddie: Today I’m so very thankful for my little sister, Megan. I could not due without her warm cuddles, sweet laughter, and cheerful spirit :)

Jessie: I am so thankful for God’s gift of smiles each day; whether it be from friends, family, or a little Chinese girl heading to school – smiles bring joy to my day!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Autumn Fest 02 (Maddie)

November 11, 2012 by Maddie 2 Comments

With my newfound photo blog obsession, I was MORE than ready for day 2! I have a feeling Rachel knew that I would love completing this activity!

To me all the pictures above scream JESSIE. From the beautiful lace shirt, to the Twinings tea box, these photos totally encompass Jessie’s personality.

For example, the first picture, “there’s no other like you” reminds me of how confident Jessie is and how she’ll defend her ideals to the very end (no matter how strange :). This attribute urges me to stop doubting and start living OUT LOUD! The photo of Iced Coffee comes from our Latte dates in our favorite Cafe & Bakery, Paris Baguette. These five pictures only just begin to describe the sweet, positive, and encouraging sister Jessie is. Thanks for being unique. <3

As for Rachel’s 5 pictures, I had a hard time finding the right ones, but I finally picked a few that really impersonate her character in my eyes…

Rachel has always been the “calm” half of us and I really appreciated that aspect of her. Though she doesn’t respond too well to my LOUD laughter and MASSIVE hugs, I know she will be there for me in other ways :)

The Anne of Green Gables shot above is one of my favorites, this movie never gets old for Rachel and I! While in the process of tumblr searching, I had this Starbucks image in the back of my mind… where would Rachel be without her Starbucks runs?! It amazes me how much time she can spend sitting in a Coffee shop; reading, working, or chatting :) Rachel, you’ve always been able to encourage and love me when things are rough, your peaceful spirit is a true blessing in my life. I love you!

Filed Under: Connect Tagged With: <3, autumn challenge, Jessie, love, Rachel, sister love, there is no other like you

I’m Lovin’… Gold

November 8, 2012 by Maddie 2 Comments

My third post from the collection, I’m Lovin’ Colors, is here! This week I went bold and picked GOLD! The color gold always seems to make me smile and that is exactly why I picked the color.

I don’t know about you guys but I just get excited when I see things that are gold like this dress. I think one reason I adore the color gold is because its so different, it can glitter, sparkle and gleam and never seems to get old to me. Just think about it, what is gold that isn’t amazing? I can’t help but feel somehow exhilarated when I see that perfect Gold dress, necklace, or iPhone case laying in front of me.

What color excites you?

This post is a part of the collection I’m Lovin’… Colors, check out my others I’m Lovin’… Turquoise & I’m Lovin’… Yellow.

Sources: { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5}