A Trip to Stockholm

Last week, I spent a few days with a friend sightseeing in Stockholm, Sweden. I have to admit I wasn't expecting much because I don't hear a lot of stories about travelling in Northern Europe from my friends. But Stockholm turned out to be seriously gorgeous and so comfortable.

The weather was absolutely perfect -it was cool, breezy and sunny. The weather definitely made the whole experience more comfortable and relaxing. Not to mention it made the sky and sea look especially blue for photos!

We first went to the Nobel Museum. Admittingly the exhibition was very short and there wasn't much to see. But there is a video room that plays short videos of past Nobel prize winners (mainly old interview footages.) You can sit there for hours and just watch -the videos are mostly pretty interesting. Coincidentally, we got the timing just right -we went there after 5pm on Tuesday so it was free entrance!

The next day we went to the Vasa Museum. It's basically a display of the old, sunk ship with many supporting displays of the old sailor days. It was definitely interesting to see such an old, authentic ship up close. After seeing the exhibition, we were very grateful we weren't sailors (despite our love for the nautical trend)! Afterwards we went to the Nordic Museum, which was frankly boring and not worth the visit.

Afterwards, we went to the Moderna Museet (Museum of Modern Art). The art there was actually fun and interesting to look at as it was modern and made up of artwork of a variety of medium, such as photography, sculptures and paintings. It's a nice change from looking at old paintings.

On the third day, we ventured out to see the Millesgarden, which is used to be the house of an architect. It's basically an exhibition of an amazing garden, his house and collected art pieces. I loved his garden! The fountain at the centre was absolutely gorgeous -especially with the amazing view behind it. It was so nice and relaxing to just sit there and feel the breeze!

Afterwards we went shopping, or at least we tried to. It turns out that the clothes in Stockholm were expensive, even more so than in London. We checked out NK, one of Stockholm's big department stores and were not impressed by the range of clothes or by how messy the sale was. So we ended up chilling at a park nearby, where a band was performing.

On the last day, we went to the Royal Palace, which is one of those must-see sightseeing spots. It was not a very grand palace (compared to the French or some other European ones) but it was still fun to walk in and around it.

Overall, I think it was just the weather and whole chilled out atmosphere of Stockholm that made it such a fabulous holiday! Seriously, look at the view!

Image Credit: My camera

A homily on commitment

Click here to listen to this sermon, preached on 29 June 2008.

The commitment of a Christian is total commitment. That’s the kind of faith we see in St Alban. And that’s the kind of faith we heard about last Sunday.

Today’s gospel (which is actually the gospel for St Alban’s day) continues what some call Jesus’ “missionary discourse,” which is Matthew 10. But before we get too comfortable with the thought that Jesus’ words here are only for “professional” Christian missionaries, let me remind you that this passage is addressed to all of us.

Jesus has a word here for every Christian believer. We all have the vocation of Christian discipleship, and discipleship includes glorifying Christ before others, by living holy lives and sharing the gospel (i.e., by being disciples who make disciples).

Jesus begins this missionary discourse in Matthew with the calling of the Twelve. Before he sent them out, Jesus gathered his disciples close to him. Gathering close to Jesus is an act of empowerment—that’s what we do in church on Sunday mornings. Perhaps you have felt powerless to do some of the things that you feel that God has called you to do. Maybe you feel that way because you set out too soon. Perhaps God wanted more personal time to shape and mold you. Remember, it took forty years to shape Moses for God’s work.

After Jesus calls his disciples close, then he sends them out. He gives them instructions for how to carry out their mission. We also have instructions for carrying out our mission. We can turn to the holy Bible for unfailing guidance on the moral and theological questions that may come up. We have the Holy Spirit to guide and lead us, to show us the way and unveil God’s will.

We also have the Church to lead and guide us. We are surrounded by a family of brothers and sister in Christ to encourage us and help us find our way. We have those whom God has empowered in apostolic ministry. We have a godly bishop—the one entrusted to oversee God’s flock. It is his duty to guard the faith, to be the chief teacher, and to nourish the people in Word and Sacraments. The priests are his co-workers in this ministry. The priests are among the people as ambassadors of Christ. They are there to listen and give counsel, and to preach and teach and absolve in the Lord’s name.

This is part of the pattern of the church’s life—the life of a family. People come into this fellowship; they are born into the mystical Body. Once people are born in a family, they are raised up. We raise them through sharing our spiritual traditions. We pray together and read Scripture together. We learn together in thing like Sunday School, VBS, youth group, and Bible studies. When we grow up, we begin to move out. Some of us move out to start new churches or serve in new ministries. Some of us move out by getting involved in ministries that make a difference inside and outside our church.

Of course, moving out in God’s mission is not without problems. Last Sunday, Jesus said persecutions might await you when you go out there. But do not be afraid of any hostility that may come along. Your job is not to arrest the hostility that comes from the world; your job is to remain faithful in spite of any hostility.

Today, we pick up with some words about discipleship from our blessed Lord that might seem shocking to us, but need to shape our perspective. Jesus says, “Forget those Christmas carols for a moment. Don’t think that I have come to bring peace on earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.”

Now, if that was all Jesus had said, we would be gravely mislead. Jesus is rightfully trying to get our attention here. Jesus is trying to tell us that what he’s doing will shake things up. Sometimes we need to be shaken up, because while we are well able to recognize the hostility from without, we are often less able to recognize the hostility within.

Jesus warns us that in some cases, his radical call of discipleship will bring hostility within the closest of bonds—the human family. He says, “I have come to divide such close relations as a man and his father, or a mother and daughter. And if you can’t choose me over them, then you are not good enough for me.” Ouch.

These kinds of passages are what we call the "hard sayings" of Jesus. They seem to clash with our expectations so abrasively, we can scarcely believe it was really spoken by Jesus. Jesus goes on to say something a bit more familiar, “Whoever does not take up his cross and follow me, is not worthy of me.”

I believe Jesus is speaking here of the stark reality of priorities—what is most important? When faced with tough choices, one turns to his or her priorities. Often that’s how we first find out what our real priorities are. That’s why people say that conflict reveals character. That is, it is only when we make these tough decisions under real pressure that we discover what is truly important to a person.

Jesus is warning his disciples. “Before you go out there, before you face a hostile world, before things get messy in your own life, you need to set your priorities in order." That's why Jesus first drew them close. "And in case you miss it," Jesus tells us, "I am your number one priority.” Our main commitment as Christian disciples is that Jesus is our number one priority. It is what we mean when we say that Jesus is Lord.

We have many things that are meaningful and important and even crucial to us. But what is your highest priority? Food? Water? Shelter? Time? Let me suggest that your highest priority is not your job, your home, or your possessions; it is not your country nor your ethnic or family heritage; it is not your mother or father, nor your children, it is not even your husband or your wife or yourself. Your highest priority is Jesus Christ.

Who is this Jesus who claims such prominence? Our faith has a rich heritage of answers to that question: He is the Second Person of the Trinity, the Lord most high. He is the Savior and Redeemer of the world. Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega. He is the only-begotten Son. He is the Bread of Life and the Captain of Salvation. Jesus is the Cornerstone and he is the Desire of Nations. He is the Light of the world, and the Dayspring from on high. He is the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of peace.

Jesus is the glory and power and wisdom of the Lord God Almighty. He is like the Ancient of Days, and the Head of the Church. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the Good Shepherd. He is our great High Priest. He is the Holy One of Israel. Jesus is Immanuel—“God with us.” He is the perfect icon of the Father. He is the Lamb of God. He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah. He is the Man of Sorrows, the Mediator of a New Covenant. Jesus is the bright Morning Star. He is the Rose of Sharon. He is the Fairest of ten thousand. He is the Bishop of our souls. He is the Resurrection and the Life. He is the Root of David. Jesus is the Sun of Righteousness. He is the Seed of the woman. He is the True Light, the True Vine. He is the Truth. He is the incarnate Word of God.

I could go on, but I think you get the picture. Yet we must remember that each of those titles begins with the first confession we find in the early church: the confession that Jesus is Lord. If Jesus is not Lord in your heart, none of those others will matter.

One thing and one thing alone should have final command over every catholic believing heart—Jesus Christ as Lord. He is the measure of all things. He gives true perspective. He puts everything else in its proper order. Jesus lays an absolute claim on his church. He should rightfully be our highest priority. And that priority is not without its reward.

Jesus reminds us that welcoming the Son is the equivalent of welcoming the Father. He invokes the Jewish concept of shaliah, which regards the king’s emissary as if he were the king himself. And so the blessing moves on down the line: Welcoming the prophet earns the host a prophet’s reward. Welcoming the righteous person earns the host a righteous person’s reward. (Here, the righteous person might be said to be a mature Christian, what we would refer to as a strong believer or a living saint.) Finally, he said there will be great reward even for those who are good to these little ones because they are disciples. The little ones here are possibly children or new Christians. Each segment in the church’s life cycle is represented: those who are newborns, those who have grown up, and those who have been sent out.

Jesus’ note about reward here underscores the idea that the worthiness of a disciple is related to the priority of Jesus in their lives. It’s Jesus’ way of saying, “You can’t go wrong with me.” Just as persecutions await those who go out into the world in my name, so blessing will abound through those who go out into the world in my name. He doesn’t say what the rewards are—he only says they are certain.

Let us pray. Heavenly Father, giver of every good and perfect gift: empower us to make Jesus the top priority in our hearts, that as committed disciples, we may share the blessings of Christ with all those we bring to him; through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

Window Shopping at US Urban Outfitters Online

Last month I online window shopped the UK Urban Outfitters (-no, I didn't end up getting any of those items,) so I decided to do the same for the US site. Boy I tell you, the US UO has a way better selection of clothes at very decent prices. I'll try not to rant too much about the much cheaper prices in the States compared to the UKs.

I love this dress, especially the pink and teal-coloured ones. It's not exactly unique and it really reminds me of the early Rory Becca and Lauren Conrad designs but that's why I love it. It's simple, colourful and looks very versatile. I imagine it would be fantastic for many occasions in the summer. Plus, it's made of chiffon and looks like it's worth the 48usd price tag.

Even I think this dress is boring, but if I still had to go to school everyday, then this would be a great throwing-it-on-in-a-hurry piece. And judging from the photos, the dress provides a good canvas for the accessories to liven up the outfit if you feel like it.

I really liked this dress when I first saw the photo although now that I stare at it more, I'm liking it less. Maybe it's because the design's actually more interesting than the plain dress above. But anyhow, it looks like a fun dress to wear during daytime. And it somehow reminds me of Lauren Conrad too. Oh gosh, why does everything remind me of her?

Even though this dress is really not my style, it just looked too pretty for me not to post it. I can imagine Peyton wearing it in One Tree Hill.

Barneys Girl recently emailed me about this shirt and I love it! It's got small flowers all over the pattern but it's nice in that it doesn't look fussy. The design is clean cut and looks easy to wear. I find it so hard to find pretty blouses like this because most of the high street designs are there are either too boring or has too much detail on them. But this one is just right. I want a red one!

I've always related Urban Outfitters to graphic tees -that was one of the sources for its original success right? Anyhow, I'm a fan of most white tees that have simple or black and white designs on them and these fit the bill. I especially like the scribbled tee -it's all about the designed messiness!

I've been looking for a mid-waisted, structured mini dress for ages. There are loads of black minis out in shops now but they're usually not structured or skintight. The slight A-line silhouette this skirt has is so much more flattering.

I've been looking for simple, long necklaces in the UK Urban Outfitters and found nothing. This necklace (from US UO) is exactly what I'm looking for, and it's so affordable at 18usd (although I would probably wait for it to go on sale.)

All this imaginery shopping is making me want to go to the States just for UO!

Image Credit: www.urbanoutfitter.com

Juicy Couture: Something Looks Familiar

Whenever I go shopping, I can't help but say things like, 'This Zara top looks very Prada,' or 'Hmm, this shop is filled with Marni-esque stuff.' (Although I have been trying to voice it out loud less.) This year, while browsing through Juicy Couture accessories online, I can't help but see the similarities between the Juicy bags and bags by other designers. Now I'm not saying Juicy copied other designers. There are just elements of the bags that remind me of other bags.
The first thing I thought was, this looks like a Goyard bag. But after staring at the bag closely for awhile, it occured to me the print is of little puppies. And after staring at it for even longer, it starts to remind me of LAMB bags, which I didn't think was totally original either. What a web! (Or maybe just a triangle.)
The Gucci one is too cutesy for me and the Juicy one is too preppy and seems to be made of terry cloth (-says it all.) While the two technically have very different designs, they superficially look similar to me.
Reminds me of a Gucci F/W07 bag. I think it may even have been featured in an ad. Does anyone remember it and think so, or did I just imagine it?

It doesn't look exactly like a Gucci bag but that gold, circle metal piece in the middle is like the metal piece on a lot of the Gucci 08 bags.

Again, it's the metal plate on this Juicy bag that reminds me of another designer's bags. Can anyone guess?
I love this type of gold hardware that looks like a lock on handbags. The designer bag that has a lot of gold fake locks is by... it starts with the same letter as the one above.
This one is sort of obvious. One is by Dior and one is by Juicy. One is super expensive and one is relatively affordable. To be fair, both are equally cute, though not exactly my style.

Note that I am not saying Juicy copied the other designers. Nowadays with so many choices and designers out there, designers just seem to be inspired by other designers' designs or elements of the designs a lot. It reminds me of Derek Lam saying "There's no such thing as original design...... In a way, that's what fashion's about." Afterall, it's why certain designers are held higher than others, and why some designer collections are considered 'directional' in terms of trend. Anyway, it was fun just to look at the bunch of Juicy accessories together like this, wasn't it?

Image Credit: http://www.saksfifthavenue.com/, http://www.shopbop.com/, http://www.eluxury.com/

SS08 Trend- Bronze and Blue Hues

One of my absolute favourite things to do every season is to scout out the latest eye shadow palettes. They are almost always drool worthy, making me want a piece of everything, even though I already have more make-up than I need.
This season the consensus for eye shadow seems to be bronze and blue hues. This look above from Sephora is the epitome of these two shades.
Smashbox calls it Desert Chic, with these Heat Wave (left) and Oasis (right) palettes.
Stila (left) just calls it their limited edition summer palette, while Lancome (right) calls it the Brazilian colors.
Shu Uemura has something similar with their Fleur de Rose (left) and Fleur de Source (right) palettes from their 25th Boutique Birthday Make-up Collection. I tried out the look for the Fleur de Rose palette, and besides bronze they also seem to favor a tinge of pink/red. The colors go on really strongly. The pink/red doesn't exactly make me look like somebody punched me (I asked), but let's just say that pink/red, dark purple and bronze (the suggested combo) is not exactly the most flattering colors for my fair skin tone. I think this Fleur de Rose palette has potential though, if you use only one or two colors at a time.
Other brands favouring the metallic bronze trend are Bobbi Brown and Laura Mercier. Bobbi Brown also has a pink tinge, with their Bronzed Pink Look using the Bronze Pink metallic shade above (left). Laura Mercier has these really cute eye color pots (right) for their Gold Digger collection (they come up with all sorts of names for bronze....), that has an eye shadow shade AND a complimenting shade of their loose powder. I tried it and combined together, they go on extremely strongly. This is not for the faint heart. As much as I liked the double decker combo, it was definitely not my style.

To be honest, none of these bronze and blue palettes are really my style. Perhaps with the exception of the Fleur de Rose, none of the colors in these palettes seem to go together really well. Maybe it is just me, but despite the "look" shown above from Sephora, I just cannot imagine what I would do with these colors. It is a sad day indeed when this season's eye make-up palettes fail to excite me.

Image Source: Sephora, Shu Uemura, Bobbi Brown and Laura Mercier

Tauberbischofsheim

Word from Robert:

I can´t say much right now, other than that Coca-Cola Fantours are fun. I know you don´t know what those are. I might explain later, but it does involve football and beer.
That was Mörbisch.
Bayern had beer. My host family in Hirschau owns a brewery. I did have beer. It wasn´t bad. Interesting flavor.
I´m in Tauberbischofsheim right now. I went swimming earlier today. That was fun.
Right now I feel really elated, and I´m not sure why. My host family does have a fantastic view from their balconies, though.
All of our concerts are going well. Even better now that we have all of our music. We still don´t have our xylophone, though. It might be in Portugal. It´s impossible to know.
I have a concert tomorrow, on Thursday I have time with my host family and Thursday night I depart for France.
I´m still very excited.

Just Admiring the Resort 09 Collections: Stella McCartney

While I was looking for more to blog for about the Resort 09 collections, I've suddenly come to realise that with so many collections a year, the whole 'flipping through style.com' thing really isn't as fun or exciting as before now. While the clothes are still pretty, I just can't get through all the looks for the very long Resort collections, like Chanel, Dior and DvF. And honestly, none of the collections completely grabbed my attention -that is until I saw Stella McCartney's collection.

Admittedly, I was surprised I liked it so much since I usually feel so-and-so about her designs, but there's just something I really liked about this collection. Maybe because her presentation was so refreshing -it wasn't on a typical runway, and it was set outdoors without the usual overdone glam and setup. Everything looked so natural. You can really imagine through the park and in the city in these clothes. They have just the right touch of put-together casualness and stylishness.


The double-breasted jacket with skinny pants combo is nothing new but it looks young and super sleek here. And I'm usually not a fan of jumpsuits but it looks oddly cool and glamorous and again, sleek.


These two dresses are so cute and look so easy to wear. I like how the designs are special enough to make the person to look different but not too out-there. Plus the colours are so sharp.


One of the key elements to the effortless casual and sleek look: neutral colours. Ok, so most of us out here can't actually fit into those tight Capri or carry off those loose, tight-at-the-ankles pants, but they look so cool on the models. And I love the androgynous of the tops.


Imagine walking in the city in these outfits next summer (or if you can replicate them, this summer) -uber-stylishness! I've got to figure out a way to imitate the outfit on the right -it's such an amazing combination of girliness -the loose, bow tie blouse -and androgynous -the long blazer.


What did you think of the Stella McCartney collection? Which Resort collection was your favourite?


Image Credit: www.style.com

The Chippewa at night

Click here to play the video.
I seem to have spent a lot of time wetting myself recently.
My assignment this time: Take a kayak down the Chippewa River - again - only this time, in the dark.
Really.
Buckley's Mountainside Canoes has begun offering moonlight canoe trips, and a few friends of the livery - and, of course, the press - was invited along. I seem to be the river guy, so I got to do the story.
Ryan Evon shot some great stills and video, and I put them together into a nice package for TheMorningSun.com. The story's here.
The experience bordered on the mystical, with a hint of danger and the unknown. Very, very cool.
But I left out the part where the kayaker who came into the landing first slipped getting out of her boat, fell into the water and doused me.

The fridge dancers slide show

This is an experiment - using PicassaWeb, a free service, I've added captions to the Fridge Dancers images from last and tried to turn this into a slide show.

Looks like it works!

S/S08 Trend: The Luella Way

So I've been meaning to write about this ever since this look started appearing around London back in early March (-yes, that's early March or maybe even late February. Girls actually willingly wear skirts in the cold just so they look fashionable.) And maybe this post is coming too late but oh well, it's only June. You can still wear this look for another few months.

High street stores have really supported making the Luella look into the street look of the season. The easiest stores to find those cutsey floral skirts are Top Shop and Urban Outfitters.

The Luella skirt is of the tiny flower printed on ra ra skirts. The left skirt is by Top Shop and the right one is by Miss Selfridge.

For something that are less obviously Luella-wannabes and more 'individual', there are other cute options by Top Shop. The one of the left has that found-in-a-thrift-store look to it, and the one the right gives off a rock chic vibe.

If you're wearing a floral top then make your skirt a solid-coloured one. A mid-waisted, A-line skirt that ends above the knees is the way to go.

If you want to adhere to Leulla's Superheroes theme, choose a superhero-themed t-shirt. The two shirts in the image are from Urban Outfitters UK. But really, any t-shirt will do. Just make sure it is solid-coloured and the graphic have solid colours too.

Sneakers (normal or high-heeled) will make your outfit hip and unfussy.

The key to this look is making sure that the floral skirt or top is the only fussy item in your outfit. The other items should be solid and tough-looking, like a leather jacket and patent leather booties. Your hair and accessories shouldn't be overly girly either. Take note of the messy, imperfect hairstyles, the very natural makeup and if you can carry them off, the oh-so-trendy nerd glasses. (This image is by the Urban Outfitters UK website from awhile ago. Just more styling ideas for you!)

Have you been wearing the Luella look this spring? Thoughts?

Image Credits: http://www.style.com/, http://www.urbanoutfitters.co.uk, www.topshop.com, www.aldoshoes.com

Sweet 16.5

Katherine's birthday!
Well, sort of.
Katherine has been planning and hoping for a Sweet 16 party since, well, since she first heard of such things back when her age was reckoned in single digits.
But Katherine was born just before Christmas, and her birthday often gets buried in the other massively celebrated birthday around that time. Last year, especially, was not a great time. We were in the middle of moving - it looked at one point we might move right on the girl's birthday - so she decided to move the whole event to June, and celebrate Sweet 16.5.




She did it up right - right from the custom-made invitations (she knows this guy who teaches graphics at Central) to borrowing a friend's pool to make it a pool party.

Christiana and Jani had a great time!

Patterson, whose pool was used, offers a choice of implements to cut the ice cream cake.

Ya know, these $6 pizzas from Little Caesar's aren't too bad, especially when you're wet and hungry!


And of course, the Drummer is close by, making sure everything is just perfect.

More conference photos

Well, that wraps up the third St Michael's Youth Conference, Southwest. It was a great session. Physically, I feel worn out, but I'm all pumped up spiritually. Here are some more photos. Click on the photo for a larger version.

Our Lord and the angels and saints were watching over us this week.

At the trivia game, one team looses and has to form a pyramid as a penalty.

Fr Foster taught the Bible classes, worth the price of admission alone.

Our Lady watches over the clergy at Davies Lodge.

Fr Brown was a mads driver on the golf cart.

Friday was a votive of the Holy Cross.

The red vestments were ones I had made for my diaconal ordination.

Here is the smoky blessing at the end of Mass.

Fr Will Brown with yours truly.

A great faculty helped make it one of the best conferences ever.

Fr Jones gives the final faculty talk after Evensong.

We assemble for a group photo in the chapel.

The boys march together. Onward Christian soldiers!

Fr Perkins and other boys join in on the push ups.

One of the annual highlights is the impersonations of the clergy at the talent show. This year, Fr Perkins was played by his son (first on left) and Fr Yost was played by his son (third from left).

Emma Doremus practices sketching me as her entry in the talent show.

Holy Hour in the chapel, when about two third of our Michaelites made their confession.

We had great boys serving as acolytes all week.

Our choir was absolutely fantastic. The music was glorious.

Fr Director puts on incense at the closing Mass on Saturday.

It was a votive of St Michael and All Angels.

A teary good-bye ends the conference. The next reunion will be on Sunday, 28 September at St Mark's in Arlington, TX.

For Fr Whitfield's photos, click here.
For Fr Brown's photos, click here.