Christmas At Home

This Christmas, we had our family over for a traditional Taiwanese hotpot dinner, Secret Santa, and a nice stroll around the neighborhood to enjoy the holiday lights. 

 J was the chef of the night!  The rest of us just filled our tummies.  =)

Fish balls, corn, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, ribeye, dumplings and shrimp!

 

 Opening our Christmas gifts

 Merry Christmas!

Here's to holiday hearts filled with gratitude and a new year full of blessings!

Holiday Spirit

I always knew that I loved the neighborhood we moved into because of the residential spirit, but little did I know this little community has holiday spirit too!  Apparently, people come up to our area to view Christmas lights every year, so some people go all out with their outdoor decorations.  We are starting out slow, with warm lights outlining the home, big ornaments hanging off the tree in the front lawn, and a wreath.  Here are some snapshots I took while taking a stroll around the neighborhood with Echo today.

Honeymoon

For our honeymoon, J and I went to the Big Island and then to Oahu.  Our first week as hubby and wifey passed by way too quickly.  It was super relaxing on the big island and a little hustling and bustling in Waikiki.  We snorkeled, sampled shrimp trucks and shaved ice, checked out a number of waterfalls, ate a ton, and more!  Time to start planning for our one year anniversary trip!

 I was terrified, but we went "swimming" with the manta rays on the Big Island.  Seeing them with their huge mouths swim toward you, and then barreling right underneath your belly was so scary!  I kept screaming and failed miserably at floating all the while J kept yelling at me "Stay calm!  You need to calm down!", lol.

We rented a Jeep wrangler and had to make good use of it by taking it off-roading!  Note to self, it is no fun.  Talk about whiplash and headache!

 My horse was super old and didn't want to walk the trail.  I felt so bad "forcing" it to hike to a waterfall that was not very impressive.

 This was my first time down a water slide, believe it or not!  Super fun!

Woohoo!  J braved the cliff and jumped at Waimea Bay!  (see him halfway down?)

Yummy dinner at Alan Wong's to end our trip!

Wedding DIY - Part Deux

Since we love to travel, we continued our destinations theme by collecting our gifts in a vintage like suitcase.  I painted GIFTS on the burlap (yes, I made very good use out of the burlap!) and hung it across the suitcase.

I also designed and printed out a banner to hang on our sweetheart table. 

That's the extent of my DIY projects for our wedding.  Simple!

Wedding DIY - Table Cards

Chalkboards.  Movie Names.  White wooden frames.  Regular table numbers.

How should we designate and identify each table?

Attempting to stay true to the rustic/romantic theme, I decided on a DIY project which was inspired by perusing Joann Fabric, Michael's, and Aaron Bros. over and over again.  I had a roll of burlap, loved lace, and didn't want to spend a lot of money.  

 Here are the materials I started with

 We decided to go with destinations, each table representing a place we have visited together.  I loved the texture the cardboard brought to the overall card and aimed for the rustic feel using burlap and the romance feel through the use of lace.

 Voila!  The finished product proudly displayed on an easel.

Jar of Appreciation

Since J and I got engaged, there have been many new beginnings..  From selling my condo, to buying a new home, to new careers, to wedding planning...there has not been a dull moment!  I have learned that it is often too easy to focus on the next tasks at hand rather than taking a moment to take everything in and appreciate each other and our blessed lives!  So, I decided to start a new tradition in our household.  I created a jar of appreciation.  When either of us feels a sense of gratitude, we will jot it down and drop it into the jar.  At the end of each month, we'll take all the little thank you's and share them over a fancy dinner date.  I hope that this tradition will help remind us to focus on the positives and become something that we look forward to every month!

 

Throwback Thursdays

For one of my wedding DIY projects, I was looking through some old photos of yours truly.  Here are some of my favorites!

 My Mom and I at the Griffith Park Observatory

Here I am with my favorite bear and yes, I still have it and I still sleep with it.  During my teething stage, I managed to chew off a lot of the fur, so my parents went back to the zoo to get me a new one.  My Mom said I kicked that one to the curb and kept my original one.  I used to walk around the house all night with my thumb in my mouth searching for this bear because I could not sleep without it.  I have a funny story about how I lost it one time on a business trip and had a $400 reward for whoever found it.  Maybe I'll tell that story one day.

 I always notice that little kids like to cross their feet.  I guess I was no exception.

 

I think my facial expression here says it all.  My parents had it coming.  I was one rebellious child - and still am!

 

 Here is one of J.  It cracks me up every time I look at it.  He was so fat, lol!

And here's a photo of my DIY project.  Instead of a slideshow, I decided to build a collage full of great memories!

Salt and Pepper

This past weekend, I was blessed to take care of a sweet Morkie named Pepper for a few days while her parents were vacationing in Hawaii.  Dogsitting this little gal was a piece of cake!  She and Echo got along so well that when she left, I found Echo staring at the door for a while.  Sad.  Truth be told, I didn't want her to leave either!  I loved waking up and coming home to these two sweet little faces, tails wagging and all!  Echo (and I) can't wait until they are reunited again in a couple weeks!

The Fall Season

I found something that makes me really happy - shopping for holiday goodies!  Now that we have a house, I am inspired to decorate and bring in the holiday spirit.  Michael's was having a sale (though I missed their additional 20% off sale this past weekend *sad face*), so I decided to pick up a few things.  Here's a tiny peek at what I have put together so far.  Next stop, Target to add to my fall collection!

Sneak Peek - E-session Photos

Niky

We lost our beloved family dog Niky tonight.  After being with us for over 15 years, it is truly difficult to say good-bye.

I remember visiting the animal shelter and meeting Niky for the first time.  She calmly wandered around the room, sniffing each of us one by one.  Little did we know she was a little rambunctious rascal after settling in at home. 

Niky was full of personality.  She'd run up and down the stairs pausing momentarily in between to poke her head through the railing to check in on us to see what we were doing.  Usually, we were watching TV so when it came time for her walk, she'd sit right in your line of sight so that she knew you'd see her.  She would obediently run to the bathroom where she slept when we told her to go to bed and would jump as high as the door knob in anticipation of her daily walks when we grabbed her leash. 

There is so much more to how special Niky is to me and to my family, but I am at a loss for words right now.  She was a blessing...she was God sent.

Thank you Niky, for being my best friend when I felt alone.  For greeting me with your wagging tail and big smile every time I came home.  For making us laugh with your idiosyncrasies and bubbly personality.  For loving me whenever you saw that I was in tears.  For listening to me when no one else would listen.  And most importantly, for being in our lives and a part of our family for so many blessed years.

I love you, Niky and there will not be a day that goes by when I do not miss you or think of you.  You will always have a special place in my heart.  May you rest in peace.

My Bridal Shower

This past weekend, my bridal party threw me a beautiful bridal shower.  Everything was perfect which is a testament to what an amazing job they did considering how particular I can be!  The girls did an amazing job capturing the rustic and romantic feel that I wanted the shower to have.  I loved every bit of it down to the very last detail.  I am so grateful for my girlfriends who took time out of their busy schedules to celebrate with lil' ole me.  There were great conversations all around and my girls honored my wish to not play any silly games or make me the center of attention by having everyone watch me opening presents.  Just a casual brunch with great friends - exactly what I wanted!

Absolutely perfect centerpieces!

Delicious brunch menu

The girls who made it all happen (minus D :( )! xoxo