Vintage Broadway

Hope and Fear

2011-07-21T17:52:00.000-07:00

I was just thinking last night, why do we hope? Why do we hope and pray and dream of better outcome for our situations? The answer is plainly, because we fear. Would there be a need for hope if we do not fear? Would we still pray if we do not hope?

Hope and fear go together. Inseparable. Hand in hand.

But what is life without hope? *deepthoughtsmodeon.

30 reasons why I love you...

2011-05-19T22:50:00.000-07:00

1 You work out to keep looking HOT

2 You don't force me to work out

3 You like my cooking, no matter how bad they are

4 You say "I love you" every day, no matter what

5 You still take the trash out even though you come home late

6 You wash the dishes after I cook

7 You do the laundry when you have time

8 You don't force me to do laundry

9 You play with Pixie like he's a real human

10 You entertain my crazy emo moments

11 You aways listen to my rants about school or life in general

12 You love my family like they are your own

13 My family loves you so much

14 You put up with my obsession with ghost adventurer

15 and my obsession with reality show

16 You're always supportive of my work and studies

17 I love how much care you put into your hair

18 I love how savvy you are with finances

19 You're so diligent in taking care of our house

20 You don't mind waking up in the middle of the night to get me a glass of water

21 You remind me to keep up with our faith

22 You don't force me to cook everyday

23 I love how you're so into basketball and take the time to explain the rules to me

24 I love how unselfish you are

25 I love how you never forgot to put the toilet seat down

26 I love how efficient and prepared you are in everythig you do

27 I love how you smell after you shave

28 I love how you kiss me good night

29 I love that it only took me 5 minutes to create this list. That just shows how absolutely wonderful and lovely you are, and…

30 I love you because baby, you're a firework!

Happy birthday, darling.

Wonderful Quote

2011-04-29T20:49:00.000-07:00

I remember reading this quote a long time ago.... so touching and empowering.

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.' We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." (A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles", Harper Collins, 1992. From Chapter 7, Section 3])

A.I.

2011-04-23T15:30:00.000-07:00

Have you guys been keeping up with American Idol?

I haven't been watching it since I've been busy with school, but for my husband, AI is a must see show. I sometimes "watch" it with him on DVR. And by watching, I meant working on a school paper on my laptop next to him, in front of the TV. But last night, something broke my concentration: Haley Reinhart. Wow, that voice... and that song! Uuuu.. and that dress! Ok, now I'm hooked :)

Speaking of that dress, did you see how beautiful she looked? Oh and the dress... the dress! It's vintage and retro and looks really cool on her. I read that you can get it from StopStaring.com

Haley Reinhart. Photo courtesy of Fox.

Haley is my fave in the show because she looks kinda like the character Angela from TV Series Bones.... but her performance last week was really great. Yep.... I guess I'll be watching the show more closely now. Go Haley!!! You got my vote :)

Busy busy busy

2011-04-04T20:29:00.000-07:00

Have you ever felt like the more time you have, the less time you have for anything? It's like when you go on an extended vacation, you have all the things that you did not do while you were on your time off, and suddenly you realize that there are so many things to do?

I don't know if that makes sense. Maybe it's the result of procrastinating.

Anyway, I do feel overwhelmed lately with school, work, family, friends, and household chores. Especially with the tax season coming to a close! However, I found that as long as you make a list of things and just tackle it one by one, you'll be ok.

Cake

2011-03-09T19:45:00.000-08:00

I suddenly have this urge to eat cake. Not just any cake.... but a small, beautiful, colorful cake without the calorie. Is there such a thing in this world?

Of course I turn to foodgawker to feast my eyes on the delicious pictures of cakes. The pictures on that blog are so pretty that sometimes I have to resist the temptation to lick the icing out of those pictures they post in there.

I wish I can make and decorate pretty cakes like these...

(source)

source

Yummy yum yum! :)

Bouquet Crush

2011-03-09T19:36:00.000-08:00

How gorgeous is this bouquet from dWeddings? Yellow, green, and smears of white. Simple, romantic, and so sweet.

Source

This and that

2011-03-08T10:39:00.000-08:00

Wow, school is super busy. Who knew that studying MBA can be so challenging and exhausting? It's taking so much of my time and energy that I really haven't had the time to write in this blog for the past three months.

Anyway, what's new? The weather has been kinda weird lately, which is causing many people to fall sick. Also, spring is coming up. So excited that the flowers are going to bloom and nature is going to regain its brilliant color. I can't wait to see the jacaranda trees with its gorgeous violet color decorating the streets again, especially along the 5 freeway along Santa Ana. It's pretty cool.

Daylight savings is coming up this week. Wow, time sure flies!

Anniversary

2011-01-13T15:50:00.000-08:00

Last January 9th was my 6th anniversary of dating Mr.B exclusively. In a few months (in June) we will be celebrating our 2nd wedding anniversary. I know it's still 5 months to go, but I love the idea of making this cute "little stitched Love Note":

Traditionally, the 2nd anniversary gift is cotton. So how perfect would this love note be for the 2nd anniversary gift? You can find the DIY tutorial from Beverly's Flamingo Toes blog. I love all her tutorials. Beverly is so talented and generous with her ideas. This tutorial is so simple yet beautiful...

Persistent

2011-01-07T16:26:00.000-08:00

per·sist·ent/pərˈsistənt/Adjective

1. Continuing firmly or obstinately in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition.

2. Characterized by a specified habitual behavior pattern, esp. a dishonest or undesirable one.

Whether we realize it or not, life offers us countless opportunities to be successful. It is the hard work that we put in that prepares us to take that opportunity and turn it into something of value. Without hard work and preparation, the opportunities will go to waste.

Persistence. A word that used to terrify me for fear of being found too aggressive. Me? Aggressive? More like passive aggressive. I'm very much a people-pleaser, so when someone says 'no', I usually say 'ok' and walk away. But how is that going to help me get what I want? So my sister encourages me (ok, it was more like a demand) to be persistent in my approach. Don't take no, and just keep finding a way to get what I need to get. So far I'm still getting a 'no', but I feel that things are starting to change. So... hopefully.... hopefully my persistence will pay off.

New Year, New Beginning, New Crossroads.

2011-01-03T15:58:00.000-08:00

Time passes by so quickly. Suddenly it is already the 3rd day of the new year. As always, the end of a year prompts many people to make new resolution for the new year. My resolution is to be more healthy. In particular, I'm going to try to got on board with the "meatless mondays" program that everyone's talking about. Not sure if I'll also do the "tofu thursday" yet. I guess we'll see :)

What other good new year resolutions out there? My friend Cindy has a good one: she tries to master one new skill per year. I remember a few years ago she took up drumming, which is pretty cool. I think she said this year she wants to learn to play the violin. Hmm... I think my resolution for 2010 was master playing the guitar, but that didn't happen quite yet, so I guess I still need to push myself to do that. Yep, time to put away all the holiday decorations, and dust off the guitar that I stashed away in the far corners of my room, and start strumming again. So that's my second resolution. The third one is kinda hard. I really want to stop wasting time. Time is so precious. There's so much to do and so little time, so this year, I will manage my time better and be more productive. So there you have it. My three new year resolutions.

By the way, here's a very inspiring article from one of my favorite writers, Paolo Coelho about.... life and living it your way.

Manual for conserving paths

1] The path begins with a crossroads. There you can stop and think what direction to follow. But don’t spend too much time thinking or you’ll never leave the spot. Reflect a lot on the choices that lie ahead, but once you have taken the first step, forget the crossroads for ever or else you will always torture yourself with the useless question: “did I take the right path?”
2] The path doesn’t last for ever. It is a blessing to travel the path for some time, but one day it will come to an end, so always be prepared to take leave of it at any moment. However enraptured you may be at certain landscapes, or scared whenever you have to make a great effort to go ahead, don’t get too used to anything. Neither to the hours of euphoria, nor to the endless days when everything seems so difficult and progress is so slow. Don’t forget that sooner or later an angel will appear and your journey will reach an end.
3] Honor your path. It was your choice, your decision, and just as you respect the ground you step on, that ground will respect your feet. Always do what is best to conserve and keep your path and it will do the same for you.
4] Be well equipped. Carry a small rake, a spade, a penknife. Understand that penknives are no use for dry leaves, and rakes are useless for herbs that are deep-rooted. Know also what tool to use at each moment. And take care of them, because they are your best allies.
5] The path goes forward and backward. At times you have to go back because something was lost, or else a message to be delivered was forgotten in your pocket. A well tended path enables you to go back without any great problems.
6] Take care of the path before you take care of what is around you. Attention and concentration are fundamental. Don’t be distracted by the dry leaves at the edges or by the way that others are looking after their paths. Use your energy to tend and conserve the ground that accepts your steps.
7] Be patient. Sometimes the same tasks have to be repeated, like tearing up weeds or closing holes that appear after unexpected rain. Don’t let that annoy you – that is part of the journey. Even though you are tired, even though certain tasks are repeated so often, be patient.
8] Paths cross. People can tell what the weather is like. Listen to advice, and make your own decisions. You alone are responsible for the path that was entrusted to you.
9] Nature follows its own rules. In this way, you have to be prepared for sudden changes in the fall, slippery ice in winter, the temptations of flowers in spring, thirst and showers in the summer. Make the most of each of these seasons, and don’t complain about their characteristics.
10] Make your path a mirror of yourself. By no means let yourself be influenced by the way that others care for their paths. You have your soul to listen to, and the birds to tell what your soul is saying. Let your stories be beautiful and pleasant to everything around you. Above all, let the stories that your soul tells during the journey be echoed at each and every second of the path.
11] Love your path. Without this, nothing makes any sense.

So let's start 2011 with positive attitude and a smile, for we all know that when we smile, the world smiles with us.

End of year rituals

2010-12-31T21:14:00.000-08:00

In my family, we have a tradition to go to the beach and watch the last sunset of the year on December 31st. It's a wonderful way to reflect on all the things that had happened throughout the year, and a nice opportunity to kinda finalize the new year's resolution list.

Here's what the last sunset of 2010 looked like from Huntington Beach :)

Amazing, isn't it?

The rain and the wind and the confession.

2010-12-20T21:35:00.000-08:00

I went to confession tonight, and the priest said that I don't need to do penance because I came despite having to brave the rain and wind. What more can I ask from the Lord who has forgiven my sin and not making me pay for anything in return? Such unconditional love, such merciful God. I feel as though a load of weight has been lifted off my shoulders. It's been about 3 years since I went to confession. Even though I felt queasy and nauseous before the confession, I felt a wave of relief and at peace after the whole thing is done. Needless to say, I promised to be a better person and to not do all those bad things that I did before.

It's 5 days before Christmas, and I feel like I'm finally ready to welcome baby Jesus into my heart.

Now I Know

2010-12-20T10:00:00.000-08:00

School is out, work is enjoyable, life is wonderful and God is good.

I woke up this morning with no worry in my mind for the first time. I'm done with the finals, and for some reason, I can accept that I have done my best and whatever the outcome, I'll be alright with it. I don't have a full-time job, but that's ok. My partnership with my sister is going good. She's so smart and professional. I need to do a better job in helping her out. My relationship with family and friends is warm and comforting. Even though I don't own a lot, I feel so blessed with countless, invaluable, immaterial things that only can be found if you just let go of your worries and just live.

I remember six years ago, crying my eyes out while saying goodbye to the life I knew back in college. Pursuing the 'American dream', I packed my two suitcases and three boxes and drove from Indiana to LA. I didn't have a place to live yet at the time, but my parents (who were along for the journey and very supportive) were optimistic and very supportive. With lots of prayers and luck, my friend found me a place to live when we were just a day away from arriving in LA. Six years later, here I am. I am still pursuing the dream, but slowly I'm realizing that I am actually already living the dream. Who would've thought that the unsure, scared 21 year old girl, would end up like this? With time I realize that the best things in life is indeed free: the smell of pine trees in the woods after a weekend of non-stop rain, the good morning kiss from a person who loves you unconditionally, even if you don't have a job. Stuff like this, you know?

This Christmas season, I would like to wish you all the true peace and joy that Christmas means to bring. Live life to the fullest. Give without expecting anything back. Love earnestly.

daylight savings

2010-11-17T09:40:00.000-08:00

Daylight savings time ended about 2 weeks ago. Every year, this is the one day that we get an extra hour to sleep. I love it. Not only you get to stay in bed longer, but you also feel so refreshed and eager to start your day. I really do wish I can wake up early everyday. I can definitely get more stuff done in the morning since I used to be a morning person.

The only thing that I don't like from the end of daylight savings time is how dark and cold it gets at 5pm. I"m posting this blog entry while waiting for my bus in front of the campus. It's great to be able to post this entry using blackberry, but the cold wind is making my thumbs moving slower and slower... At times like this (and especially when it's raining), I wish I don't have to use the bus to go to school. It's only November, so I'm sure it'll get colder soon. I guess it's time to bring extra jacket and shawl. Another problem is.. my bus is not very punctual. I really have to wait 15 minutes before it's scheduled to arrive because (like this morning) they might come early and you won't even know that they've left. Other times, they are late for 15 minutes and you have to wait in the cold for 30 minutes total. Hmm... I guess I just have to be thankful that there is a bus in the first place. I'm quite lucky in this aspect. Anyways.. I hope my bus comes soon. I've been waiting for 20 minutes!

Monterpiece

2010-11-15T12:57:00.000-08:00

So, the Clippers lost on Friday. Despite everything, I think this team is definitely a lot better than they were last year. They still need to work on their defense and calm-under-pressure mentality, but at least they put up a very good fight against the Pistons, even extending the game into overtime. All of the fans were standing up during the last 5 minutes of the 4th quarter, and you can feel that the crowd was really rooting for them to win it. That was the first time I see Clippers fan excited about a game!

Anyways, today is Monday again, and it's time to feature the Monterpiece of the week. I used to post Monterpiece (Monday Centerpiece) series regularly. I think it's time to bring out the tradition again, don't you think?

Let's see.... it's November, the leaves are starting to change colors, and Thanksgiving is coming up. Here's what I have in mind for today's featured centerpiece:

Source: Al.com

Instead of using pears and roses, you can use pumpkins, apples, persimmons, branches of red leaves from your backyard, and add feathers as accents into the arrangements. I love persimmons because of their brilliant orange colors that always reminds me of Autumn, but you can mix and match the colors yourselves. I like to add the red dragonfruits too if I can, but they are so expensive here...

Pics from clipers vs. pistons game

2010-11-12T21:07:00.001-08:00

Can you tell this is us?

clippers nation, rise up!

2010-11-12T20:58:00.001-08:00

Do you ever feel like a higher power is telling you that you're supposed to do something for unknown some reason? Well, last week my friend offered to guve me some tickets to go see the clippers. Well, apparently I responded late to her email and she ended up giving the tix to someone else. We were kinda bummed out, but the next day, Mr. B's boss suddenly gave him 2 tix to watch the same game. So here we are, right this minute, row 7 seat 3 and 4 on the clippers vs. Pistons game. I hope clippers can win this one. They've been doing much better this season compared to last season.

Oh! Btw, we got caught on the kiss cam!!! That was pretty cool :)

Rose Bakery

2010-11-12T15:21:00.000-08:00

This post is a little late, but better be late than never, right?

Last Saturday, Mr. B and I went to Laguna Beach for our morning bikram yoga session. After burning about 800-1000 calories, we got pretty hungry and decided to venture out to find a new breakfast place. We're pretty big fan of breakfast and brunch (especially on the weekends), so we were pretty excited to find Rose Bakery Cafe that's rated 4 stars on Yelp.

Sure enough, the place was packed at 10am! We didn't have to wait for too long though. I think we were able to get our orders placed in 10 minutes, and the food came out about 15 minutes later. Mr.B tried the deluxe breakfast burrito, and I got the eggs benedict. Overall, the food was delicious and affordable. I didn't like the eggs benedict so much, but maybe that was my guilt talking. I really shouldn't be eating like that right after yoga... Anyway, I read that the donuts are really good, but I didn't feel like eating them, so... maybe next time.

Glee!

2010-10-28T13:17:00.000-07:00

I love, love, love Glee :) Apparently I'm not the only one. Here are two creative Gleeks taking their passion for Glee into product of love:

Glee Cookies by Susan S

And... don't you just love how the character Emma Pillsbury dresses on the show? I think she looks adorable in her cardigans and matching accessories. Here's a blog that lists where you can find the majority of the stuff she wears :)

Garden mums

2010-10-22T16:42:00.001-07:00

Gardening time!!! I got these flowers from Lowe's this morning. Aren't they just swell?

Is It Too Early For Christmas Shopping?

2010-10-14T16:01:00.000-07:00

The youth group coordinator for my church was trying to sell some Christmas Wreath for their group fundraising last weekend. She said "as we all know, Christmas is just around the corner". I was kind of falling a sleep, but those words really woke me up. Suddenly I thought of putting up the Christmas tree and cleaning up the house and getting ready for the new year. It's actually only October. Is it really necessary to rush things like this? After all, there's Halloween and Thanksgiving that we should enjoy first. Sometimes life just fly past by you when you think too far in advance.

Anyway, that didn't stop me from sticking my nose and lick this little doll from etsy through my screen... Wouldn't it be the perfect Christmas gift for dear friends with eclectic taste?

Find it at MonsterEtc Shop on Etsy!

Bikram Yoga

2010-10-09T20:54:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, Mr.B and I started going to a bikram yoga class in Laguna Beach. It's a really good way to exercise 'coz it's actually just a bunch of stretching exercise that can be practiced by anyone, at any level of difficulty. I'm so out of shape but it makes me feel really good. Sweaty and a little stinky, but it's all good. I must say that it also helps me eat better and strive to live healthier too. Mostly because the instructors and the advanced students there all look so lean and hot! It's quite inspiring, actually. I hope I can be just as lean :)

I think I'm adding "being able to touch my forehead to my knees without bending the knees" into one of my bucket list.

Phantom of the Opera

2010-10-04T13:24:00.000-07:00

I finally got the chance to watch the original broadway on tour production of Phantom of the Opera. Wowwww.... all I can say is that it's one of the most magical and beautiful musical I've ever seen. The characters, the music, the stage... everything was perfect. I can't stop thinking about it the whole week. It's just..... amazing.

Bad Heat, Good Heat

2010-09-29T13:08:00.000-07:00

Last Monday, time seem to stand still between 10am and 6pm. The air was heavy and hot and dry, and all in a bad way. What little breeze that blew through the window felt even hotter with a scent of crackling pavement heat. Can you feel the threats in the air? Surely there will be another wildfire starting soon with the bad combination of dry air, hot sun, and merciless wind.

People say California is the best place to live due to the perfect weather. Isn't that why we are paying the high cost of living around here? Speaking of which, I'm still debating if I should turn the air conditioner on or not. Well, not much further thought is needed. It's 100F outside. Yup, Heat 1, Me 0 on this battle.

Speaking of heat, my friend Domo was raving about Bikram Yoga for months now. So when a deal came up on Groupon, I didn't hesitate to grab it. It's such a great deal. It normally costs about $15-$20 to go to a class, but this deal allows you to attend 10 @90 minutes sessions for *drumroll please* $25! That's like $2.50 per class! The only downside is the class is about 30-45 minutes away from my house, but what do you expect? We live in OC anyway... 30 minutes to any destination is considered close :)

So, anyway, we attended the first class last Saturday, and I must say.... it was really fun. Exhausting, but fun. Bikram Yoga is a series of 26 poses done in a heated 90-105F room. Yikes! I don't think I ever sweat that much in my life. Seriously. But man.... after I got over the feeling of "save me... I can't go on any longer", it was actually pretty cool. I can definitely get used to this. I looked at the scale, and I actually dropped 3lbs. It's probably all the water weight from sweating that much, but it made me feel like I've accomplished something. Needless to say, we're going again this weekend. I'm hoping to make this a routine and hopefully I'll be a better healthier version of myself :)

Happy Friday!

2010-09-24T09:20:00.000-07:00

My mom just told me a cute story yesterday. She babysits for my sister's 15 month old baby on weekdays while my sister works. It's funny how babies grows so fast. Especially when you're not looking! The last time I saw baby Liv was in February, and she was barely standing up. Now, 7 months later, they're telling me how fast she is running around the house and how they were teaching her to pray before eating her meals. The way they do it is: before meals, they would ask her to look at the cross, put her tiny hands together, and say "Amen". Well, anyway, my mom was telling me that baby Liv is very picky with her food lately. They spend a lot of time around the dinner table to coax her to eat her meals. She would ask for her favorite food: yogurt, noodles, etc. One time, after the prayer, they started feeding her some noodles. Immediately after the first bite, she put her hands together, looked at the cross, and say "thank you, Amen! OMG... how cute is that? I wonder how she were able to thank God instead of thanking the ones who were feeding her :)

Can't help it

2010-09-18T09:49:00.001-07:00

This face is too cute to not be posted here :P

trying to post a new posting from mini opera on bb.

2010-08-12T12:57:00.001-07:00

Will it work? So far it seem pretty good!

Testing testing :)

Back to school y'all!

2010-08-05T23:09:00.000-07:00

Officially a student again!

I got home yesterday with a migraine, but lo and behold, a letter was waiting for me from CSU, congratulating my acceptance to the school. I'm quite excited!! :)

Growing out of the terrible two

2010-07-27T08:22:00.000-07:00

My little darling puppy is growing out of the terrible two stage and is finally legal (3 human years = 21 doggie years, right?) We celebrate it properly with an actual birthday cake and candles this time. I think we were more excited about the cake than Pix... but Nina and I both had a feeling that while we were baking the cake, Pix knew exactly that the cake has his name written all over it :)

Happy birthday, Pix :)

I got the recipe from one of the websites.... just type in "peanut butter delight" doggie birthday cake and you should have quite a few results pop up. It's actually very very easy to make. The ingredients are just 1 cup of wheat flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/4 cup peanut butter, 1/4 cup veggie oil, 1 cup shredded carrot, 1/3 cup honey, and 1 egg. Bake at 350F for 40 minutes. I mixed some lite cream cheese and peanut butter for the icing. Yummyyyy

What I've been up to

2010-07-27T08:11:00.000-07:00

1. Enjoying summer
2. Stressing out over work
3. Wrapping up things at work as I end my 4 years journey there
4. Applying for full time MBA school
5. Trying to find out other way of making moola

It's such an exciting time in my life. In a way, I feel like I'm at that intersection where my decision will change everything. I think I'm making the right decision because I don't feel sad, but feel energized and excited. I'm so lucky to have such supportive friends, family and husband that supports my decision and gives me invaluable advice.

Anyway, so I thought it was funny that right after I gave my 2 weeks notice, I get this from my fortune cookie:

Movies

2010-07-27T07:59:00.000-07:00

I can't seem to stop talking about the movie Inception that came out a couple weeks ago. Wow, what a great concept! I think it's the best movie of the year so far.

Definitely must buy. In blue ray if possible :)

Rock Band

2010-07-20T13:34:00.000-07:00

New Post! Yay! It's been... how long?

Anyways, today I feel like posting about PS3's rock band game. My friend Ivan introduced me to this game 2 weeks ago, and i can't stop thinking about it. Once in a while I will be in the car or about to go to sleep and the thought of playing the rock band drums just pops up in my head.

Mr.B probably have had enough of me whining about buying the rockband game, so with his usual savvy deal-finder skill, found a great deal for the game. Needless to say... I'm on the edge of my seat, waiting impatiently until that package arrives at home. Hopefully it will arrive by the end of the week so I have the weekend to work on being a real rocker :)

june six twenty-oh-ten

2010-06-10T11:16:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, Mr.B and I celebrated our one year anniversary. It's an important date to us, and I'm glad we get to celebrate it properly, even with all the drama and problems we have in our lives.
We went to see Chorus Line for the first time at Broadway LA. It was very interesting. The show was about 2 hours long with no intermission, and yet, when it was all over, I felt like I want more! To me, that's a sign of a good musical. Definitely in my top 10 favorites.

After the musical, we went to this place called "The Hobbit" in Orange. It's a small, quaint house 7 minutes away from our house that serves french food with a fixed menu for the day. Long story short, they basically serve a fixed fine dining menu: 7 course served over 3 hours with intermission and option for wine pairing. Needless to say, everything was very delicious and well presented. There were only 7 couples that made reservation that day, and all but one couple were celebrating their anniversaries. 2 first year anniversary, and the rest were celebrating their 26th, 29th, 35th, 46th anniversaries! What I love most about this place is not the food... nor the wine... but the atmosphere. It was our first time there, and everyone was just so nice. You can tell that they love their jobs and they want to create a really sweet dining experience for each person that goes there.

Anyway, you can read all about the hobbit at their website. For me, I'll let the pictures do the talking below:

The pics are a touch dark, but they all still look yummy, right? I'm drooling again just thinking about them...

So, since the dinner was a little long, we had so much time to stare into each others' eyes... until the food comes for us to gobble up, that is. Really, when the food comes we're just like two malnourished children of third world country, devouring the deliciousness in a blink of an eye... During the intermission, we also got a chance to relax and just take a few moment to talk without interruption. We don't get a chance to do that a lot these days. Most of the times, we're always eating our meals in a rush... or having diner in front of TV or something. I know it sounds corny, but it truly is a one of a kind romantic dinner. It kinda felt like a royal retreat. A few moments throughout the night, Mr.B would say thing that brought tears of joy to my eyes... he's just such a wonderful husband. Happy anniversary, darling! Here's to many more years of "for better and for worse" :)

2010-06-03T09:03:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I last blog. I guess I've been having a writer's block.

Anyway, the number one thing in my mind right now is: problems. What are the problems in our lives that we can find solution for? I'm subscribed to the Entrepreneur magazine, and just a few days ago, I read an article about the top 100 entrepreneurial ideas of 2009. One particular idea/company that caught my interest is this company that delivers customized toiletries straight to your hotel room. This company allows you to pick and choose your personal care products from a wide range of brands selection. Furthermore, you can order it when you check in at the airport, and your order will be waiting in your room when you check in to your hotel. Amazing, isn't it? Way to turn a problem into a solution. At around $10 for your fave shampoo, soap, toothpaste, deodorant, and razor (already includes tax and shipping), it's pretty affordable for such a convenience.

Check it out here: http://suitearrival.com/index.php

IMG00314-20100523-1053.jpg

2010-05-23T10:55:00.001-07:00

Cigarette machine at ruby's... Hasn't worked since 1947 :)

Conquering your fear at disney

2010-05-23T10:10:00.001-07:00

All year long, from May '09 to '10, I've been maximizing the use of my disney annual pass.. But out of all the rides they have, there was ONE ride that just.. Scares me with a capital S. Yup, capital Scared of the capital Splash Mountain. Well... I avoided it at all cost. But... Since it was the last day before my pass expires, I forced myself to look past the height, the speed, the angle of the dip, and all the splash.. And just go for it. Turns out, it's not that bad! I actually quite enjoyed it!

Multi Function Glasses

2010-05-20T13:06:00.000-07:00

I know it's not Monday, but I stumbled into this image from a DIY Baltimore Zoo wedding recently, and I just need to post it here :)

source

It's funny 'coz my roommate, Nina just 'inherited' these lovely crystal glasses from her friend. It looks exactly like the one in the picture, but in different brilliant color: green, blue, yellow, and red.

So if you like these kind of centerpieces, make sure to stop by your local thrift stores to look for great bargains on crystal glasses. Or you can also find some in Amazon if you like brand new ones.

Search Amazon.com for crystal glasses

2010 Weddings

2010-05-18T22:57:00.000-07:00

I think definitely this year's popular theme for wedding includes: green (both color and lifestyle), and birds! I'm really liking it.

That little house

2010-05-11T13:28:00.000-07:00

My friend Dhee and I were walking down the Orange Circle a few weeks ago, hunting for treasures among the many antique stores around the Circle. Somehow we started talking about the Little House on the Prairie that we both read when we were children. Dhee just told me that they apparently have more than the Laura Ingalls' stories! Apparently there's the Caroline books, Rose books, etc etc. Wow, what a wonderful way to discover a little bit about America's past and history.

Some of the best things in life is $3.50

2010-05-04T18:51:00.001-07:00

Like this churros in disneyand :)

End of an era...

2010-05-04T08:15:00.000-07:00

I just realized yesterday that my first ever disneyland deluxe pass is expiring on cinco de mayo.... so we went to disneyland yesterday and we're planning to go again today... it's really too bad that we haven't used the pass as much as we could. But I think so far we've went there for 10+ times, so it's still well worth it.

I love disney.... :) should I renew the pass?

Speaking of Disney, this book has a lot of insider information that all disney lover should know:

Loquat

2010-04-28T13:56:00.000-07:00

Wow, I didn't know that there are so much resource in the internet about things you can do using Loquat fruit:

http://lalunchbox.com/content.php?cid=2&aid=53
http://food.lizsteinberg.com/tag/loquat/
http://www.tipsytexan.com/2008/06/loquat_feast.html

yummyyy

http://food.lizsteinberg.com/tag/loquat/

Bacon and Eggs!

2010-04-28T13:25:00.000-07:00

I spy... a bed, comforter, pillows, body pillows..... two sleepy eyes and a wet nose..

2010-04-27T14:32:00.001-07:00

Can you see the little cutie pie sleeping on my white bed? :)

Pj abbey's

2010-04-23T10:21:00.001-07:00

And these, my friends, are the actual yummy pictures from the oh-so-comfy pj abbey's in orange. This is how you do brunch right :) I was very happy with my smoked salmon eggs benedict :) it's soooo good!! We went there last Saturday. You can see my previous wishful post about pj abbey's here.I'm so glad we get to go there finally.

While we were there, there was a group of round 15-20 ladies with pearl necklaces and fancy Easter dresses... it turns out to be the Ladies of Orange association! Boy do they know how to have fun!

Roses are not just red!

2010-04-23T10:16:00.001-07:00

One of the good things that came up from the kitchen sink fiasco last week is that I found a square vase under the sink that I forgot I had.. All the roses were blooming so beautifully in the garden, so I thought I'll try making a multi-color arrangement to celebrate the earth day :)

Island Clutters

2010-04-19T14:01:00.000-07:00

I felt really good this weekend! I overcame my laziness and finally got around to do some serious cleaning around the house. I'm still kinda recovering from my flu, so I tried not to get out so much... I think the spring wind does not have quite a positive effect with my health... but I mopped the floors, cleaned some counters, and scrubbed the bathrooms. Clean house feels so good.

But.... on the downside, the kitchen sink was clogged. again. Boy, the plumber must've not done a not so good job! Plus, when I called them up again, they said that there's no warranty with the service that they did on Friday. So that means that they will charge extra for coming back to re-fix the sink. Oh... these are just some of the joy of owning a house, right?

Good thing we still have some loquats on the trees to sweeten the bitterness of paying extra $120 for re-fixing a sink. Pictures and stories about loquat coming soon :)

Anywayyyy.. originally I wanted to post about the 3 tiers servers that I wanted to purchase for the kitchen island. Here's some that I'm seriously considering to buy:

Source

source

I kinda like the bamboo one better.... but... the 2nd one is so vintage that I can't help but to swoon all over it...

One of those days

2010-04-16T10:21:00.000-07:00

This is one of those days where everything is just not going so well...
The kitchen sink that I just cleaned on Wednesday got clogged, couldn't wake up this morning, and got into a minor accident on my way to work. Nothing major, thank God! Just some scratches on the back bumper... but still enough to kinda ruin my Friday. Got to work late because of the accident. Have to make up the 30 minutes of lateness by having a short lunch. Didn't bring lunch. Hungry and cranky and sad and mad at the whole situation.

So, the best thing to do? Plan for a nice Saturday brunch and hope things will go better from now. I had so many plans for this weekend... Disneyland tonight maybe... brunch tomorrow at PJ Abbey's.... go to a friend's baby shower... and go to the pet expo on Sunday.

I found some pictures here from PJ Abbey.... looks delicious, right? Hmm... brunch... I feel better already. :)

I can't wait!

Power clean

2010-04-13T20:15:00.001-07:00

My stove never looked this good since my mom left last June!! I had to enlist the help of Mr.B to scrub the toughest spots coz I couldn't do it no more, but boy... The satisfaction of having a nearly new stove again is endless :)

April Fools!

2010-04-01T07:53:00.000-07:00

I'm loving Google's serious take on April Fools' day :)

"topeka"

"ran out of vowels"

2010-03-31T13:19:00.000-07:00

Still on the topic of breakfast, I just found this new recipe for ricotta filled pancakes with blueberry sauce...

yummy! Can't wait to try making these at home :)

Breakfast

2010-03-30T16:31:00.000-07:00

I must confess.... I don't eat breakfast on a regular basis. In fact, I skip breakfast 99% of the time on weekdays. However, there's just something special about making breakfast for my husband or being served breakfast on the weekends... Something special enough that makes me *choose* to get out of bed early in the weekend instead of sleeping in. Well, maybe not every weekend, but.. you get the point. :)

I don't know what it is about having breakfast on weekends that fascinates me so much. Is it the fact that you get away with substituting a full meal with a dessert? (Come on, let's be real here... "chocolate chip pancake with maple syrup and strawberry whipped cream" does not exactly fall into the "normal meal" category.) Or is it the reminiscence of your childhood memories, where you're transformed back to those lazy Sunday mornings in your Mom's kitchen, watching her mix the pancake batter?

Either way, I just thought today I'll share some pictures of the breakfast feast that I've made recently:

Animal style choco-bacon pancake

Can you believe that someone actually came up with the idea of introducing bits of bacon *inside* the chocolate chips? Genius, I tell you!

Here's a picture of my new favorite breakfast recipe:

It's poached eggs on toast with grilled muenster cheese, topped with pesto basil sauce. Asparagus and bacon is tagging along 'coz that's what they do in the weekend.

Yummyyyy :)

I really want to try this recipe next. http://willowbirdbaking.wordpress.com/2010/03/30/carrot-cake-waffles/ Anyone wants in?

Spring bloom

2010-03-24T18:05:00.001-07:00

Proudly presenting the first spring bloom from the garden, featuring queen tulip :)

Woohoo!!!

2010-03-24T13:52:00.001-07:00

I'm so excited that finally I can blog on the go using my blackberry!! Technology just keeps on amaze me..
Here's another picture that I took on my last vacation in Bali... It reminds me of the movie stardust (starring Claire Danes) it's actually a kite that the locals were selling.

I have so many more pics that I hope to upload soon :)

Bali trip

2010-03-24T13:32:00.001-07:00

I just miss Bali so much... The only place in the world where modern western life does not affect the local traditions at all..

Monday Centerpiece Series

2010-03-15T13:55:00.000-07:00

And we're back with the 2nd ever Monday Centerpiece Series (or as I like to say it: Monterpiece).

Here's an awesome idea from Dog n' Bird Artful Wedding: a single bloom under an upside down wine glass, topped with a candle. Simple and creative. I like :)

What's a rooster, a pig, a tiger, and.... flamingo doing in the same room?

2010-03-12T09:56:00.000-08:00

They're all hanging out on my kitchen wall, that's what! :)

We just put up the sand paintings that we bought from Bali on our last vacation. It was quite a mission to put all 9 animals up there. Somehow the flamingo doesn't want to stand straight (it's probably hard to do it with one leg in the first place), and the penguin kept on bickering with the horse. Finally after adjusting and readjusting the position of the animals, everyone was happy with their assigned post and agreed to be on their best behavior.

Here's Mareebelle the cow. She got the honor of being the first one strutting her stuff on my wall.
Just look at the color of the wall for a second. We got so lucky that the previous owner of this house had good taste in choosing their color palette. I love how cozy and inviting my kitchen looks with 3 shades of yellow. Actually the color on this wall is warm yellow. Not quite as orange as it looks on the picture above, but more like a deeper version of the yellow on the next picture. Sorry if the pics looks kinda blurry. I just used my blackberry to take the pictures...

Here's Mr.B trying to get everybody lined up... It was my brilliant idea to get these paintings, but he ends up being the one doing the dirty work. Isn't married life a bliss? He's so lucky to have me to boss him around; "more to the left, dear. that a little too low, bring it up a little bit. no, not that one... the one next to it.. no, no... here, let me do it." :) Sorry Mr. B... I hope I wasn't too much of a pain :P

I have to say, with Mr.B's hard work and my *ahem* good taste, the kitchen wall looks amazing. Good job, us! *pat ourselves on the back.

It's.... drumroll FRIDAY!!!!

2010-03-12T08:08:00.000-08:00

How ecstatic am I to realize that today is Friday? v.e.r.y m.u.c.h! :D

There's a natural food expo going on this weekend in Anaheim. I've been going to this show every year for the past 3 years now, and it's such a great opportunity to meet new people, see what new product is coming out and what's the trend going to be like in the organic market.

Plus, they always give out awesome samples :)

Wish me luck!

Random

2010-03-11T11:20:00.000-08:00

I'm posting stuff rather far and few in between nowadays... my friend, Feli, says "from my experience, lack of blogging is a sign of an exciting life on its own. " what a wise lady, and what a great friend. Miss you, Fel!

Happy Long Valentine / President's Day Weekend!

2010-02-12T16:05:00.001-08:00

A friend forwarded me this image of the sky in Bhutan, Himalaya... what a wonderful phenomenon! They say that the sky looks like this only on holy days... I am definitely adding this place in my bucket list. Maybe I'll get lucky enough to see such a spectacular sky too!

Happy Valentine's day to all!

Monday Centerpiece Series

2010-02-08T10:10:00.000-08:00

Monday. Some of my Mondays are good. But some are bad. Some Mondays, I just need a really bad dose of Monday Blues cure. So, what's better than to start a Monday with looking at pretty centerpieces? I think I'm gonna start off the week with Monday centerpiece alternative from now on. So, make sure you tune in every Monday :)

Here's the first one for the series that I found on Southern Living. My goodness, what a difference a nice centerpiece brings to the dinner table. A good centerpiece can be a conversation starter at an awkward dinner table, an eye pleaser for a sore Monday, an appetite enhancer for a hangover, and mood booster for just about everything else...

I have a small garden at home. I have begonias, roses, gerber daisy, wildflowers, and other kinds of flowers that I don't know the name of. I like to bring them in when they bloom, but they don't always look good as a centerpiece because sometimes I'd only have one single rose that bloomed. What a great idea to stick the odd flowers into the colorful Oasis Rainbow Foam. I'm definitely gonna try to make them... someday. someday but soon! :)

Chalk Board

2010-02-02T12:33:00.000-08:00

I must say, I've been soooo obsessed with chalkboards lately... Did you know there's a spray pain that you can buy that transforms most hard surfaces to chalkboard? There's plenty of selection out there, but here's one in particular that I had my eyes on: magnamagic

Wouldn't it be super cool to have a kitchen like this?

Source: re-nest.com

Is it too early to start my Christmas wish list?

2010-01-28T14:27:00.000-08:00

source: gather and nest

2010-01-28T11:11:00.000-08:00

How cute are these vintage-inspired wall decor? Those peeps over at Design Sponge are amazing! Total cost $10? 45 minutes estimated time investment? Lets do this!

Source: Design*Sponge

Wall Decor

2010-01-27T12:45:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to do something to the wall above the entryway bench at home. I love the bright yellow color of the wall, but I really want to spice it up and make it look more interesting.... so today, while stumbling through the 'net, I found several awesome ideas from the lotus haus

Apparently you can do it yourself! Even better for a weekend project! :)

2010-01-27T11:05:00.000-08:00

Oh my goodness! Time really flies! It's been so long since I posted anything on this blog. I've been thinking what to make out of this blog since I'm no longer obsessed about a vintage broadway wedding. And... as much as I love all things vintage and broadway, a vintage broadway life seem a bit far fetched for my kind of lifestyle. Those who know me probably know what a slacker I am inside. I don't like going out so much. I love staying at home and I love spending time with my close friends, but not so much going to parties with a lot of people. So, I think I'll just post my random recipes and design ideas and whatever stuff that comes up to mind going forward. Yup. That's all :)

2009-11-13T22:44:00.000-08:00

um... so, i just deleted my wedding stuff bookmarks from my mozilla browser. very liberating. it's almost like deleting your ex's phone number from your cell. :D

Halloween

2009-10-30T12:08:00.000-07:00

It's that time of the year again, where you dress up and go crazy with chocolate and candies.

What's your Halloween costume this year? Mine is gonna be.... mardi gras girl :) I know, I know.. not the most original idea, but it's easy and it's an available resource to me.

100

2009-10-16T13:17:00.001-07:00

Wow! As if Friday's not a good enough reason to celebrate and run after work to the nearest and bestest happy hour place, it turns out that this is my 100th post on this blog :) Yayy!

By the way, would you ever consider decorating your wedding cake the impressionist style? I think it's pretty cool...

Source

To Sell or Not To Sell?

2009-10-15T12:53:00.001-07:00

That is truly the question. When I first bought my wedding dress, I was so determined to sell it after the wedding is done. I mean, it's not like I'm ever going to wear the dress again, right? And if I were to pass it down to the next generation.... who's to say it'll still be in style, or whether it'll be the right size? So I was thinking, no big deal. It'll be easy to sell my dress since it's so beautiful. I didn't realize that I would have a hard time parting with it. Is that bad? It's crazy how attached I've become to this dress. So perhaps I won't be selling it in the end. We'll see :)

Swoon me like no other :)

2009-10-13T10:23:00.001-07:00

10 things I love about you:
1. you bring pix out in the morning
2. you eat everything i make, even if they don't taste good at all
3. you don't mind that i like to sleep in the middle of the bed
4. you almost never forget to put the toilet seat down
5. you made my car look like new again :)
6. you don't mind if i bake cookies instead of making 'real' food
7. you always make time to listen to me even if lakers game is on.
8. you get me those books that i like
9. you made me a flower garden and an herb garden
10. i never ever felt so loved by anyone before.

Daisies

2009-10-12T08:57:00.000-07:00

My flowers for the wedding was mostly soft coral pink / off white gerber daisies, hydrangea, and roses. Shortly after the wedding, we were gardening and we planted some coral daisies, almost exactly like the ones we had at our wedding.

With Mr. B's green thumbs tending the garden, we now have not one, but two gorgeous coral daisies blooming in the middle of Fall. I know it's not much, but I can't help smiling and thinking back about our wedding every time I look at them.

Red

2009-10-08T09:54:00.000-07:00

I'm finding out that I love Red on almost anything nowadays... red shoes.. red lipstick.. red nail polish... Wearing red lipstick somehow makes me feel retro and sophisticate right away. Plus, here's a secret... red lipstick makes your pearly whites look even whiter :P

Happy Thursday, everyone. One day closer to the weekend!! :)

Steal

2009-10-06T11:27:00.001-07:00

I guess the dress that I liked from Reem Acra is too expensive, but what do you think about this dress from Cachet? Similar... and on sale :)

Found at Nordstrom

Reception Dress Hunting

2009-10-05T10:23:00.000-07:00

I love, love, love shopping for wedding gown. Thank God my friend was generously patient enough to go with me while I tried on about 40 different dresses :) I think wedding dress shopping was the most fun part of the planning process...

Anyway, we're now happily married for 4 months. Can you believe it? 4 months already! It was a wonderful wedding, but the sad part was that many of our family couldn't make it since most of our family lives overseas. Well, the good part is that we will get a chance to celebrate our marriage again in January with the rest of the family, as my husband's parents are organizing a modest wedding-like dinner reception. It's kind of like a 2nd dinner reception, I guess, but I was told that the white poofy dress is not necessary.

Wonderful, right? I don't need to plan nor worry for anything else. I pretty much just need to show up and celebrate. The best thing about this is meeting Mr.B's family, and the next best thing that comes to mind is: more reason to go shopping for pretty dress. :) *ding ding ding ding!!

I'm thinking something like this would be nice:

Olivia Wilde (House) in Reem Acra.

So pretty... :) But I probably need something more modest and covered. Any suggestion?

47minutesand15seconds

2009-09-30T10:05:00.000-07:00

I went to Susan G Komen Race for Breast Cancer 5k walk/run thingy last Sunday.
Oh.My.Goodness.... I pretty much ran for the first 1.25 miles... then I walked (fast). then i got tired and just walked casually. then i thought to myself... man, this is taking forever!! so I started walking faster. Then... suddenly I realized that I'm .75 miles away from the finish line. so I forced myself to run, and I ran all the way to the finish line.

Wow, I what a sense of accomplishment it was just to cross the finish line. Although it took me 47 minutes, it was still a good race for a good cause. But my goodness....... the fatigue..... well, time to get back in shape, I guess. :)

Almost 4 Months

2009-09-25T14:11:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it? Time just flies so fast. Suddenly I realized that I haven't updated this blog for a really really long time. I guess I got carried away after going on my honeymoon and catching up with work stuff etc.

So, during my 1 month hiatus, I've been working working working. Then I went to Florida for honeymoon for about 10 days. Then I worked worked worked again, then went on a mini vacation to Las Vegas, and then resume life as usual again.

The honeymoon was awesome. I love Florida seas, and I can't wait to go back there again to swim with the fishies again :)

Ahh... the joy of honeymoon. and the joy of being newlywed. The honeymoon high don't last forever, I can tell you that much. But life's too short to be on honeymoon the whole time. You want to have a complete and whole life experience with your spouse. The good and the bad. Hmm... this reminds me of that scene from sex and the city...

Samantha Jones: Relationships aren't just about being happy. I mean, how often are you happy in your relationship?
Charlotte York: Every day.
Samantha Jones: Every day?
Charlotte York: Well, not all day every day but yes, every day.

Well, it's Friday! So... happy weekend to all :)

Video

2009-08-18T08:17:00.000-07:00

I just got my wedding video on Saturday :) it's so wonderful to be able to look back on the day with such clarity. I'm so glad we got the wedding video. This company we hired was really good and captured all the emotions on that day.

Lollipop

2009-08-04T10:10:00.000-07:00

I stumbled through this pretty DIY project at Martha Stewart's site this morning and I think it'll be an awesome new trend we'll be seeing in weddings in the coming years...

Inexpensive, Easy, Cool, and can be made way ahead of time. Sounds like my kind of DIY project :)

Here's the instruction straight from Martha Stewart Wedding's website:

Cheree Berry's delightful display of suckers from her wedding is easy to make yourself, but you can also buy one from her website.

Tools and Materials
Styrofoam cone from Baisch & Skinner

Floral spray paint (choose a color that will match your ribbon)

Extra-wide flat washers (these will add weight to the bottom of the cone and keep it steady; to get a heavy-enough weight, Cheree used 2 and hot-glued them together. The more surface of the base that the washer covers, the steadier the cone will be; so, if you can find a "Large OD" washer that's 8 millimeters or wider from a plumbing-supply store, that would be best)

Hot-glue gun

8 yards of 5/8-inch-wide ribbon (use 1-inch-wide ribbon for a 24-inch-tall cone; Baisch & Skinner)

Gold-topped boutonniere pins (about 30)

Lollipops (some of our favorite sources include Ju-C Suckers, Hammond's Candies, CandyDirect.com, and Sugar Shack)

Flag template (download template here)

Slim wooden dowel (for flag)

Craft glue

Lollipop Stand How-To

1. Spray paint cone with floral spray paint, and let dry. Hot-glue the flat washer to the bottom of the cone, and let set.

2. Cut the ribbon into graduated lengths so each wraps once around the cone, with extra for overlap; the shortest piece (for the top of the cone) will be about 5 inches. You will need 25 pieces of ribbon for 16-inch cone, 28 pieces of ribbon for 18-inch cone, and 27 pieces of ribbon (of 1-inch-wide ribbon) for 24-inch cone.

3. Cover cone with ribbon, starting from the top. Wrap the first ribbon snugly around the cone (you will need to wrap the ribbon at a slight angle so that it lays flat on the conical surface). Fold the end under to hide the raw edge, and use a pin to secure. Continue down the cone, overlapping the ribbons only slightly.

4. Insert your favorite lollipops into the cone, slipping the sticks between the ribbons and angling them down. We used rock-candy swizzle sticks, so we used scissors to cut off the balls on the ends of the wooden sticks.

5. Stick a sign into the top of the cone, or insert a single lollipop instead. To use Cheree's flag, download her template and print it out, then use a craft knife and a metal straight edge to cut the flag just inside the lines. Glue it to a slim wooden dowel; if you like, cut a second sheet of paper and glue it to the back of the flag to cover the dowel.

First Published: Martha Stewart Weddings - Summer 2009

Youtube

2009-08-03T09:20:00.000-07:00

This weekend, I learned so much about photoshop.... from Youtube! Who knew????

It started out with just trying to find out what kind of setting wedding photographers / editors use to make their images so soft and romantic.... it ended up being a full on photoshop crash course, which I think is very useful and interesting and fun. The things you can do to those photos..... like making the blue sky in the photo below bluer.... I like it. A lot! :)

*swoon....

Tying the knot

2009-07-28T10:12:00.000-07:00

So, I was telling you about the "walk to remember" and the nuptial mass.... the music was one of the highlights in my opinion... We had a pianist, two cantors, and a harpist. Listening to the harp always make me wonder if this is what you hear when you go to heaven.....

But the real highlight was of course the part where we said our

I Do!

No word can properly express how happy we were to have reached that moment in our life, but perhaps a picture can caught a glimpse of the moment?

And... here's my absolute favorite picture that my friend, Daniel Tan, who just started his own photography company took right after we exited the church... check out more of his work here.

We're happily married!

Something Old....

2009-07-21T16:09:00.000-07:00

I need to have a special post for this lovely "something old" from my mom.

These were the very gloves that my mom wore on her wedding day. My mom originally thought she had lost these gloves forever, but somehow she found them when she was moving things around the house last December when she was preparing for my engagement party. These gloves are so very dear to me..... I love them so much..... It means so much that I get to wear it on my wedding, 32 years after they got married. Somehow the color and style and everything works out perfectly with my dress! Having my parents putting on these gloves is definitely one of my favorite part of the getting ready part.

Hopefully I can keep it in its current pristine condition and pass it to my daughter someday :)

Wedding Day Recap Part Two

2009-07-21T14:35:00.000-07:00

OK.... well it has been 45 days (according to my website at ewedding.com) since the wedding. I guess I really better write down all the things while I can still remember.

So, where was I last time?

....

Right. So, yes, we took lots and lots of pictures of me getting ready and me with the girls and me with the parents and brothers. Throughout the entire time, somehow my veil was very problematic. It kept sliding back and basically not staying where it needs to be.

You see, the veil I always wanted was a combination of a cathedral length (which is long and prone to being stepped on by unsuspecting bystanders that's stepping by too closely) and a mantilla and a little bit of a fingertip blusher (is that what it's called?) so that Mr. B can "unveil" me later during the ceremony. So my mom's dressmaker in Indo was able to custom make one for me. Exactly the way I wanted it to be. But... at a cost: it won't stay on!

Well, thankfully my mom and bridesmaids are experts in taking care of these kinds of emergencies, and they had extra hair pin etc. I'm not sure what exactly they did in the end, but the veil ended up staying put until the wedding ceremony is over :) *phew!

So, after taking the pictures for what felt like a short period of time, the photographer suddenly looked at the time and said, "I better get to the church and start setting things up there". Off he went and we were suddenly left just standing around, waiting for the limo. The cold sweat returned to my forehead immediately as I begin to realize that the limo IS actually running late! By that time, my bridesmaids were already on to my fear of being late and they did a good job of keeping me away any type of clock or watches. Not that anyone was wearing any watch... We waited for a few more minutes outside for the limo, but the wind was too strong that we decided to go wait inside the hotel lobby. Right at that moment, the limo finally showed up and we rushed back out and got on the limo. I caught a glimpse of the time then on the radio clock and guess what time it was? 1:53pm. The ceremony's supposed to start at 2pm, so I knew we were going to be late for sure. Thankfully, the church is pretty near. We ended up arriving at 2:02. 9 minutes travel time exactly. Boy I could feel the butterflies right now as I'm writing this down, just remembering that particular moment... but we ended up NOT being too late.... right? 2 minutes is forgiveable :) and another 3 minutes to get everyone ready and there I was, my father by my side, holding his arm, and walking me down the aisle.

As I walked down the aisle, I was so nervous and I felt like my heart was exploding. There's no feeling like it. I guess it was a mixture between nervous, amazed, worried, happy, touched, sad (when looking into my father's eyes, realizing that he's in a way losing his baby girl), expectant, and so much more emotion that I can't figure out the words for. My eyes began to feel warm and I was very sure I would start crying right away. But as I walked by my father's side, I started noticing things. Like.... wow my dad walks kinda fast *gotta keep up*. Uuu... my friend D and his family is here *how cute is his new baby!*. wow, there are a lot of people! and lots of camera. Then I realized, they are all here for ME! just for me (and Mr.B, of course!). I didn't feel like crying anymore.... I felt like soaking it all in. That very moment, I felt like time just stopped and you can see everything so clearly for the very first time. I prayed to God that I can always remember that moment no matter how much time has passed....

The walk down the aisle took probably 30 seconds, but to me it felt like a lifetime. When I finally was able to caught up with time, I looked past the people and saw the one face I have been waiting to see the whole day.... Mr. B.

Doesn't he look handsome? Do you see why I was the happiest lady in the whole world at that moment? It didn't matter that the limo was late. Or that the veil kept sliding back. Or that the ceremony would last 30 minutes longer than it was supposed to be. Or the fact that the pastor pretty much 'shooed' us away and forbid us from taking pictures on the altar after the ceremony (the ceremony was too long and they were supposed to have confessions). None of it matter. Right that very moment, I was taking it all in. I was the happiest, luckiest, most blessed person breathing in the whole world, and nothing else really matter.

Anyway our Nuptial Mass was beautiful beyond my imagination. I'm not gonna go into details since there were so many elements in the mass, as it was a Catholic mass. I truly thank God for everything He has done for the two of us. Two people. Different world. Different lives. How in the world could we have been lucky enough to meet if not because of Him?

Photos

2009-07-20T08:55:00.000-07:00

I just got my photos from the photographer last week and boy are they gorgeous :) *narcissist mode on!*

This photo from our wedding just makes my day every morning now, so I thought I'll share it with you guys...

07.14.2009

2009-07-14T07:47:00.000-07:00

This is one of those days, that even with ALL the problems that are going on in my life, I still feel that life is a series of celebrations. Indeed, what a blessed year it has been.

Happy birthday to me :)

One short long week

2009-07-10T10:28:00.000-07:00

Wow, ever had your identity stolen? Hopefully not. It's so not fun. I've been kicking myself in the head for being in this situation. Although it is said that there is a higher percentage of being an identity theft victimg if you're a young adult living in California / LA area (0.125% if i'm not mistaken?) Anyway, what does this have to do with vintage or broadway? Nothing, really... but I just thought everyone should know the importance of protecting your identity and reviewing your credits regularly to avoid such inconvenience, not to mention financial loss.

grr.... i'm still so mad!

Yay to us!

2009-07-06T13:08:00.000-07:00

One full month of simple wedded bliss :)

Tonight, we're gonna celebrate by eating the top tier of our musical cake. Yes, the same cake that we're supposed (and planned to) to keep frozen for a year. Why not, right?

Dahlia

2009-07-02T14:34:00.000-07:00

Inspired by Meg's post this week about Dahlias, I thought I'd share a picture of the lovely dahlia hairpin that I made for my bridesmaids.

It was actually really really easy to make them. Even on my first try, it only took me about 5 minutes to make one. The key is to making these lovelies is only one: glue gun. Just glue, glue, glue them all together, and let it dry. That's all.... Well, maybe not too much glue, but you know what I mean, right?

They look pretty, don't they? :) Since these were the first ones I ever made, the inside part that's glued to the prongs do not look very pretty, but... hey! As long as it works :)

Lagging behind...

2009-07-02T10:54:00.000-07:00

Wow has it been more than a week since my last post? Time sure flies...

So I haven't done my thank you cards yet.... you know me... always procrastinating. It seems that after the wedding is done, the to-do list still continues but suddenly I don't have time anymore. Or, I don't want to do them anymore. That's pretty bad, huh? It's just like not wanting to clean the dishes after eating the buffet? kind of? Hehe.. OK. Time to snap out of this lazy mode and get with the program :)

Actually, I have created my thank you card using photoshop a long time ago, but I wasn't sure how I was going to transfer it to the actual cards. I know I want it to be a photo greeting card type of thank you cards and I know I want to put meaningful verse from one of my fave musical at the back of the card. So the questions remain..... Do I send it somewhere to print? Do I print it myself? What kind of paper do I use? What kind of envelope goes with it? Arrghh..

After thinking about it for... oh almost 4 weeks now... (woops!) and after doing all my research, I decided to go with costco.com photo center. Wow, for eighty cents a piece including envelopes, I think it's a great deal! Other websites that I looked at charge at least twice that amount! And the nice thing is, you can actually customize the writing at the back like what I wanted. Perfecto!

I'm actually also waiting for my group table photos from the photographer so that I can print them out and send them to my guests along with the thank you card so they have a copy of the photos too..... hopefully I'll get the photos soon?

Buzz around the internet

2009-06-24T14:44:00.001-07:00

read this post from the East Side Bride

so.true!

I was beginning to feel a tiny twinge of guilt after going over budget on my wedding... especially knowing that so many beautiful people out there like 10,000+ and the budget savvy bride who had awesome weddings on a budget! And especially now that we bought a house and all the house expense are starting to pile up. I can't help but to look back and think "hmm... maybe I shouldn't have spent so much on the flowers... I could've saved that money and bought myself a nice couch instead."

But.... after reading this post from the East Side Bride... I feel much, much better. My wedding was indeed the most wonderful celebration of our love that I could ever hoped/planned for, and it was definitely, definitely worth every penny. So what if I went overboard a little? It's once in a lifetime after all :)

budget budget budget.... I've now come to term with my defeat.

Good Luck

2009-06-23T12:33:00.000-07:00

luck (lk)

1. The chance happening of fortunate or adverse events; fortune: They met one day out of pure luck.

2. Good fortune or prosperity; success: We wish you luck.

3. One's personal fate or lot: It was just my luck to win a trip I couldn't take.

I don't know..... I just don't really like it when people say 'good luck with your marriage'..... it's almost as if they have underlying, more cynical meaning behind it. Perhaps I'm being to sensitive about the whole thing? (I'm not gonna lie.. I am known to be very sensitive at times). Sure divorce rate is high. Sure it takes a lot to be married. But is luck gonna help people with their marriage? I don't think so.... What we really need is love, lots of patience, lots of tolerance, and lots of 'night out with just the two of us'... and basically... lots of hard work and never giving up on each other. But that's a given, right? Who in their right mind would marry without fully understanding the intense commitment that entails with the state of being married?

A.I Wedding

2009-06-20T19:51:00.000-07:00

I just got back from a friend's lovely sunflower theme wedding.... the bride? unbelievably gorgeous. the groom? handsome. the guest? very excited!

Just the way these two look at each other almost make you wanna giggle and say 'awwww.... Seriously... they're just TOO cute. it's so obvious that the look in their eyes will stay the same even after 30, 40, or even more than 50 years to come. Congrats you two! Mr. B and I are very honored to witness such an amazing union of love. :)

By the way, that wedding cake that they had? It's gotta be THE best wedding cake I have ever tasted in my whole life. It's sooooooo good!!

Too bad I don't have pictures to show..... I guess I'll get some pics from my friends' camera on Monday from facebook? :)

*swoon....

2009-06-19T12:18:00.000-07:00

how cute is this....
very vintage and very broadway if I may say.... $24 from Urban Outfitters!

Wedding Day Recap Part One

2009-06-17T13:37:00.000-07:00

So, it's been a little over a week since Mr. B and I got hitched... It seems that time just pass by so quickly these days! Both of our parents are still in town, so we've been spending as much time with them. Plus we are slowly and surely unpacking our stuff, trying to settle down - which is kinda hard to do when you have visitors, and by the time you look at the time it's already late and you have a really, really comfy bed calling your name... yea... time flies...

You know.... since I still remember the wedding as if it was only yesterday, I figure I'd write it down... just so I can remember when I'm 90 years old. You don't mind do you?

Ah yes... the wedding day.... Gosh, where to begin? I could go on and on about how the day was! The first thing I can say about it is..... It was wonderful. Can I say that? Wonderful. It's not perfect (c'mon, is there a perfect wedding?) But it was truly wonderful. *Of course not everything went perfectly, but lets save that for another day, shall we?*

Wonderful. Thus we begin...

The Morning Of !
Woke up at 5:30am! Wow..... had breakfast, wore my special 'get ready dress' that my mom found for me randomly at a consignment shop next to the salon. this dress deserve special mention because we were desperate on time, and my mom really wanted to get a 'get ready dress' for me. the dress had to be strapless and white. guess what? the day (about a week prior to the wedding) that we were supposed to go shopping was a mess, and we didn't have time to go to the mall :( so randomly, because my hairdresser was running late, we went next door, and there it was. white, strapless, size Ms. B exactly, and cheap. thirteen moolah total. Coincidence? I think not.

It's not a really clear picture of the dress... but i guess it'll have to do :)
Anyway, so.... got ready, went to the salon to get the hair done, went back to the hotel to get the makeup done, and voila. It was quite chaotic actually because we were really short on time, and we ended up being late because of the limo driver, but that's a story for another day.

So, at around noon, my brilliant photographer, Lawrence arrived at the hotel and started shooting the getting ready shots. By that time, I was all ready, and all my ladies were all dolled up. So, *phew!! We're ready right on time! I have to tell ya... I was really glad to have the day finally 'started'! All this getting ready process was quite unnerving for me coz I keep on checking what time it was and my fear of being late was starting to consume me. And you know you really shouldn't rush your hairdresser or your makeup artist at all! They need to really get down to the details and those things do take time. And so, I got into the gown with no problem, took lots of lots of pictures with the family, with the bridesmaids, and by myself too, of course :) It was all fun, and I forgot about my fear of being late for a second...

(to be continued)

2009-06-16T14:03:00.000-07:00

So, I've been married for about a week now, and everything's quite fantastic. :)

loving married life more and more.

Wedding Jacket

2009-06-11T12:34:00.000-07:00

Just 2 days before the wedding, after reading the -rather- pessimistic weather forecast, I decided to look for a wedding jacket to wear at the reception. You know me, I get cold easily... Especially at night, in that dress, and especially since the reception is outdoors, I really, really needed to have some source of warmth, and this time maybe Mr.B won't suffice since he'll be busy greeting the guests etc the whole time.

So, I thought long and hard.... where, oh where can I find a nice enough jacket to wear over my gorgeous dress - FAST - ??? Something warm, nonrestrictive, but still have the vintage / sweet / broadway look that I wanted? Vintage! *dingdingding.... a bell rang in my head. There's this place at downtown Fullerton that sell vintage clothing at a decent price! So, off I go to the American Vintage store. OMG, that place is pure vintage heaven! I dig through the stuff they sell (very well organized store by the way), and at the last rack at the very back, there she was. My beautiful sweet vintage broadway jacket..... Wow. what a find :) The color matches perfectly, the fabric, the lightness of the material, the warmth it provided.... the look?! And the timing too! Perfect timing. It was the only one they have in the store.

Curious what she looks like? Here she is in action....

At twenty-five bucks, she seriously made me feel like a million dollars :) Thank God!

FB

2009-06-11T09:23:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how many pictures of my wedding is uploaded by my friends on facebook. I'm having so much fun looking at them all 'coz I get to see how the guests are enjoying themselves :) Here is my fave picture from my friend's camera:

On a side note.... how cute is this wedding cake? The inspiration for this cake came from our first date. We went to see The Phantom of The Opera, and so the cake decoration (the cream) is actually music notes from the song "All I Ask Of You". Awww... :) :) Plus, it's definitely one of the tastiest wedding cake I've ever had :)

I'm....

2009-06-09T08:09:00.001-07:00

M.A.R.R.I.E.D!

woohooo!!

The wedding was so much fun I want to do it all over again :D

We said our I Do's, took lots of lots of pictures, danced until we can't dance anymore, and just.... really enjoy the day. I think everyone had a lot of fun, but the one thing everyone complemented on was the photo booth! Seriously, out of all the photo booth company out there that we researched on, Red Carpet Photo Booth takes the cake, and everyone agrees with me on this. You can check out their blog at: http://www.redcarpetphotobooth.com/

Wedding Day Hairsyle

2009-05-21T12:57:00.001-07:00

*drool :)

so pretty.... my hairstyle for the day is kinda similar to the above, so now I'm looking for the perfect haircomb/pin :) downtown LA... here I come :)

Images by Stacey Hannan Design

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