Live Laugh L♥ve

11.07.11 House Updates

2011-11-07T17:04:00.000-08:00

A lot of exciting things have been happening around here lately. First off we've been working our bums off all weekend to get the kitchen backsplash done. So far have most of the tile up and just a few pieces left to go. Planning on maybe even starting the grouting today, and hopefully have the range hood up by Friday!!!

In other news, our family room is finally starting to come together ... well at least in my mind. We haven't actually purchased any new furniture yet, but we did put in an order on saturday for this leather studded bad boy

We had to take a drive down all the way to the Room Service Store in SF, but it was well worth the drive considering we'll probably have our custom sofa sometime at the end of this month. I am in l-o-v-e with all of their furniture, which btw can be custom made to fit any room! Can't wait to get my sofa and finally order some fun winter pillows that I've been eyeing for quite some time now. The great thing about this sofa is that it's very deep and comfortable so the more pillows the better!

Here's a few rooms that I've been inspired by lately!

Love how white and airy this room is except for the bright pillows and lamps!

And here's a few more pictures from Nuevo Estillo. Love the soft grey colors with black and gold accents!

And a little more ... been trying to figure out the furniture placement for the family room so will be needing all the inspiration I can get!

Visits from the Mailmain

2011-11-04T12:28:00.000-07:00

The mailman had a special delivery for us last week, and not just 1 but 2 very special deliveries. We started off the week with a fabulous Crema Marfil Trellis gracing our kitchen backsplash. As soon as the FedEx guy left, I rushed to rip the boxes apart and throw together a sneak peak of what the tiles will potentially look like once installed.

I know I went back and forth with the backsplash decision for more months than I want to count ... but once it was ordered, I never looked back. I'm glad that I went with a big statement that hopefully I can love for many more years to come!

And to finish off this productive week, FedEx decided to stop by again ... this time with a gorgeous black Bertazzoni range hood!

This wasn't my original choice & I was totally freaked out at the thought of ordering a breakin-my-bank range hood just from a single picture I've seen online... But no regrets here whatsoever!

The backsplash is going up tonight so hopefully more pics to come!

Vintage Finds

2011-09-30T18:11:00.000-07:00

I have been doing a lot of craigslist/estate sale/consignment store shopping lately ... and have been finding quite a variety of interesting treasures. I just bought this adorable vintage tea cart from a lady on craiglist, she was moving out of state and wanted to get rid of it for only $20! Lately I have seen many similar carts for $150-$250 so I think I got a pretty awesome deal ... just need to spend a little more time accessorizing and deciding where it's going to stay. Tea/bar carts are very versatile and can pretty much work in any room ... I'm considering using it as extra storage in my office, or maybe a side table in the family room if it doesn't work out in the dining room.

Just last week I discovered an amazing consignment store in my area ... I know I must have drove past it at least 100 times without ever thinking to stop by but last Friday driving home after a doctor's appointment just seemed like the right time ... I found so many interesting options but nothing really jumped out at me. The only thing I ended up buying was an art deco/hollywood regency magazine stand, which at a $25 price tag I just couldn't resist. And again with this piece too, I think it's pretty versatile and can look good in any setting ... as of right now I just threw together a couple of accessories and left it in our living room.

I'm thinking to do some estate sale shopping tomorrow morning, so hopefully I can score a few more interesting pieces and come back with some house updates and pictures from our Hawaii vacation!

State Fair

2011-08-05T12:03:00.000-07:00

Going to the state fair has become an annual tradition for us .. and this year was no exception! We went with our friends Tim and Alena and had a blast checking out the animal exhibits, braving the state fair rides, and getting a little exotic with the food!

Although I was not really impressed with the fried Snickers and oreos ... I am completely in LOVE with their baked potatoes ... haha I must sound like a big fatty ... but actually I've been really good for the past maybe month and 1/2 and lost 7 lbs! I haven't been doing any crazy dieting or exercising daily ... Just been trying to make smarter food choices, eating smaller portions, and doing 2-3 jogs a week. Hopefully I can keep it up, because with all the stress of remodeling a house, working 40 hours, and trying to fit everything else in between ... I've been gaining and need to finally get back in control!

Backsplash Bold?

2011-07-24T16:04:00.000-07:00

I've been having a dilemma over our kitchen backsplash for over 2 months now and I'm here to admit that I still haven't decided on anything for sure. Incase you forgot, this is what my kitchen currently looks like .... It's very white, clean and airy ... which is not necessarily bad, but I do want to add a little more interest and pattern to the mix. Recently we added some grey stripes to our breakfast nook and will eventually be adding either brown or black bench seating around the window. We sort of decided on our hood and will probably going with this viking range hood.

Now the last major thing left and probably the biggest statement piece in our kitchen is the backsplash!

I originally wanted to go with all Calcutta marble so that the counters would continue into the backsplash like these inspiration pics. I love that the marble is both very graphic and calming at the same time, but it just seemed a little too overdone for our kitchen and would probably end up more expensive than planned.

The second option that I really considered was a herringbone pattern ... something that always makes me happy when I see it in design! I was especially inspired by these images from deco pad that look very sophisticated and well traveled.

While browsing at many tile stores, I have seen various versions of the herringbone pattern, but nothing exactly like this. The color and beautiful texture is exactly what was missing from my kitchen. So on a late Saturday afternoon, hours and hours into my quest to find the perfect herringbone, I found long limestone strips that are usually used for exteriors and decided to buy a 1 sq ft sample.

I knew it would be loooooooooong and agonizing process to create a herringbone pattern with these tiles, but I was willing to do whatever it took to get the look that I was going for. After all the trouble it took to temporarily tape these suckers to my kitchen wall, I think I am a little over them. They are very textured, maybe a little more than I'd like, and just seem way too rustic for my kitchen. Maybe I am wrong ... I am open to suggestions.

Currently the tile that I am stuck on is a very patterned and bold trellis pattern.

I know that the trellis pattern is very overdone in the blogging community and may just become a trend that will be over in a few years. To me however, it seems like a classic, beautifully symmetric lines that will never go out of style.

Mission Stone Tile

Personally, I have never seen the trellis pattern in a REAL home, so I think it will definitely be the wow factor in my kitchen and will hopefully make me smile every time I walk by. I still haven't decided whether I prefer the cream and white or the brown and white for my kitchen. I know that my hubby likes the toned down cream version, which if we go with, I will probably have to pair with a dark maybe faux wood wallpaper in the open cabinetry to add a little contrast. The brown will add a ton of contrast and extra interest to our kitchen, but I don't know if it will be soo much that I will get tired of it in a few years. Please help, any suggestions welcome!

Cabana Summer

2011-07-01T17:07:00.000-07:00

We've been having beautiful weather for the past few days ... making me wish that summer lasted forever! I'm especially enjoying the extra sunshine in our secret garden-esque backyard - which seems like it was perfectly designed for those long lazy summer days! From our sparkling pool to the serene atmosphere of lush bushes and trees ... it's almost perfect expect for the small eye sore of a spot around the corner of the left side of our house.

Our house came with quite a surprise - a built-in wooden pergola with an above ground spa jacuzzi hidden inside ... what's wrong with that you may say ... I guess not much other than a probably disease infected 15 year old jacuzzi and a rotting deck underneath ... Once removed, it's actually the perfect spot for my dream cabana oasis!

All of our resources are 100% dedicated to the interior of our home ... so for now a little dreaming will have to go a long way ....

Can you think of a more perfect way to spend a summer afternoon than taking a mid-day nap underneath a whimsical canopy? ... did I mention warm fuzzy kittens included?

What could be more fun that having brunch or some afternoon drinks with your favorite people in this ultra sexy coral oasis!

Although these rainbow cabanas are breath taking ... I think I would prefer the simple sophistication of white and black for my own backyard!

In particular, I've had my eye on this bold black & white stripped beauty from ZGallerie -although the pattern is very in your face ... it's still very classic and would go well with any color palette.

Tulips & Lions

2011-06-26T12:55:00.000-07:00

Lately I'm inspired by so many things and have so much on my mind .. but I can't seem to get anything straightened out enough to actually get any work done around the house. After finally finishing the touch ups in our stripped eating nook ... I've been stuck trying to figure out what to tackle next. At this point there seems to be too much to do and I need to just settle down and concentrate on a couple of major things instead of trying to do everything at once!

So instead of tackling the big things I keep distracting myself with cute little treasures that I seem to be finding so easily. Like these vintage tulip bowls I found at an antique store ... which by the way pier 1 now carries almost an exact version of.

And these adorable lions head soup bowls that I found at Home Goods for a steal

I really wanted to get at least 6 of these but sadly with Home Goods every thing is in limited supply and unless you get there 1st you end up getting the left overs. Luckily after a little research, I was able to find almost identical bowls at shopko.com and ordered 4 more ... they should be arriving sometime early this week so fingers crossed that they'll be a match!

Stripped Sophistication

2011-06-12T09:59:00.000-07:00

I knew I wanted to add beautiful bold but still sophisticated stripes somewhere in my new house ... just a little something to make me smile every time I walked by. My choice for white & grey stripes in our kitchen nook became obvious after falling in L-O-V-E with these gorgeously understated inspiration pics quite some time ago

These stripes are the super start of the room for me and create a really interesting layer in the room! And then the dilemma began ... should I do horizontal or vertical stripes?

Should I go for a bright bold color ....

Or create a neutral relaxing palette to which I can later add bold colors and fun patterns!

Overtime I noticed that I really gravitated more towards the grey stripes for everyday home living ... especially in the kitchen ... I room that I frequent the most often in our house .. so here is my creation {with the help of my wonderful hubby and a new laser projector from home depot of course}

This project has been in the works since at least we purchased our house in December so glad we finally got it accomplished {still need to do a few touch-ups here and there, but you get the overall picture} Ohh and by the way we got this beauty of a chandelier from craiglist ... I happen to LOVE capiz chandeliers and can't wait to order a huge 6-footer from the Philippines for our entry way!

Now I definitely need to go a little more industrial with our pendant lighting in the kitchen ... otherwise the space seems a little too feminine and polished ... open to suggestions ... we've been looking but haven't found the right pieces yet!

Gold & White

2011-06-02T22:21:00.000-07:00

I may or may have not went shopping after work and my hubby may or may not be mad when he checks our bank account today {which by the way he has an iphone app for & checks like its second nature to him}

I guess I'm willing to face the consequences cuz today I walked off with a shopping cart full of gorgeous goodies from HomeGoods ...

 Seriously that store is messing with my budget ... yeah I know it's supposed to be great design accessories for bargain prices, but that's exactly the issue that I have with this place... everything looks great and everything is a super good bargain!

...Like these white quatrefoil vases ... they're neutral in color while screaming of gorgeousness in design ... how can you take just one, why not two?  and at $30 a piece how can I wait until next week or until I know for sure I will use them ... somebody will snatch them up within a day if I don't buy them.

...or these Gold garden stools ... I was planning to wait on accessories until I bought all of my larger scale items first ... but how can I resist and at such great prices?

And of course what else is a girl to do when she comes home with tons of fabulous accessories ....

These books by the way I bought at an estate sale for 50 cents each ... I was completely intrigued by the beautiful hard covers.

After having so much luck the 1st time, I am tempted to start a colorful vintage book collection ... just imagine the possibilities!

I'm happy that my lonely Lucite table finally found some friends ... although the look is not complete and still lacking some art work ... I'm thinking it looks pretty good so far ... by the way the orange tulips were an accident, but I'm starting to really like it there now ... maybe I just need a little inspiration for my orange console table...

Either way I'm in no hurry to finish my foyer, so this will have to do for now!

raspberry mango lemonade

2011-05-24T06:34:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day came and went very fast this year, but the memories of gorgeous spring flowers will last forever! I went with a raspberry mango lemonade theme this year ... Loved those couple of days right before Mother's Day ... when every corner of my house was filled with colorful spring flowers {by the way I volunteered to buy flowers for all the mothers at our church this year so I had over 100 roses scattered throughout my house}

And of course my hubby knows about my love affair with spring roses ... & has learned after 3 wonderful years of marriage exactly what will make me happy on a random spring afternoon!

5.23.11

2011-05-22T07:24:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy month ... I'd say a little too busy for my liking ...This whole month just feels like a big blur ... time keeps flying away and we're still so behind on our remodel! Just been feeling so tired lately and wish I could just take a whole week off from everything and concentrate on our house and nothing else ... Just imagine ....

not waking up at 5am every morning

not driving 35-55 min {depending on traffic} to work and back everyday

not working overtime for the next 2 months to save enough money for a professional new camera

not coming home tired and cooking dinner at 4pm

no church events or family obligations in the evening

and definitely not trying to be in bed by 10pm {while still somehow dragging it out till at least 12am}

ok so I think that was more than enough venting for one blog post ... now back to what's really important ... the kitchen remodel ... I think that's probably the only room we've really been concentrating on and its definitely the closest one to completion. I even finally got around to taking some updated pics

As you can tell we're still missing a vent hood .. and the backsplash is no where to be found

I love how our extra chunky moldings turned out ... it took 3 separate molding pieces to accomplish this look ... it originally started as a diy project but after hours and hours of suffering with the baseboards, we decided it would be much more cost effective to hire someone who actually knew what they were doing and could knock the project out in a day!

When we first started our kitchen remodel I didn't really think a pot filler was needed ... plus it would probably be in the way of my backsplash tiles and mess with my design .... or so I thought

I'm glad my hubby has been persistent, and we still ended up ordering one online from Lowes ... we just got it a few days ago and it should be going in today ... although the sink is not extremely far away from the stove, I know it will save me a lot of time and potential disasters in the future :)

Now if only I could decide whether I want it exactly in the middle or maybe a little more to the right and so on ... decisions decisions .. so tired of them ... And speaking of decisions ... we still haven't decided on the cabinet color size or anything else for the matter regarding the built-in seating we will be doing in front of our window ... I have a ton of inspiration pics that I'll be posting soon so hopefully that'll help me make up my mind faster.

la vintage

2011-04-26T23:55:00.000-07:00

Our home remodel has lately been taking a huge toll on my blogging and I definitely have been slacking more than usual. We finally moved into our new house a few weeks back {which by the way doesn't necessarily mean we are anywhere close to being done with the remodel} We still have so much left to do, but it's definitely starting to at least feel somewhat like a home now.

Our kitchen is the closest to being done at this point, with only the 1. backsplash 2. knobs & handles 3. vent hood and 4. built-in banquet left to do ... we are at least 80% done at this point or so it seems. I'm waiting for a good sunny day to take updated pictures and will post as soon as possible!

On another note, last week we went on a much needed vacation to Los Angeles ... nothing particularly special planned, just a week of beach football, tanning, and eating out!

and the fun continued with a large dose of antique shopping ... I went a little crazy with the accessories and bought this adorable vintage gold-rimmed mirror platter to display all of my perfumes on

I really wasn't too sure about these lamps when I first spotted them... but at only $7 a piece, I couldn't pass these lovelies up ... Navy blue makes my heart flutter & with a pair of new drum lampshades these babies will sparkle in no time!

Some additional vintage finds and a couple of not-so-antique accessories found at an awesome lamp store!

Now on to some of the bigger finds ... & by bigger I really do mean BIGGER .. .big enough to have to rent a Uhaul truck and drive it all of the way from LA to Sacramento

I'm mostly referring to this amazing Victorian mantel we found on Craigslist which I absolutely had to have despite the additional $350 we had to pay in hauling fees just to get it home! It's not in perfect condition since it was originally removed from an older Victorian home, but with a few touch-ups from a pro it will be restored to its original glory!

I purchased this unique Lucite X base console from a local LA interior decorator {also off Craigslist} ... he had an amazing home full of beautifully unique furniture and accessories!

And finally my last Craigslist purchase of the week was a pair of early 1920s or 30s antique armchairs! The frame itself is in excellent condition, but the upholstering can definitely use a little help! I have big plans for these chairs once I actually settle on a pattern and color.

And that was the end of my relaxing vacation ... now back to reality and back to a full 40 hour work week ...

23

2011-03-12T00:29:00.000-08:00

I celebrated my birthday with my favorite person in the world ... although the weather outside was storming ... we decided to brave the rain and head to San Francisco.

Our day started out with some gorgeous - in your face architecture

… and some antique shopping {note that I use that word lightly since many of the antiques we saw were worth more than our yearly income!!!} … yet still so gorgeous and would look sooo PERFECT in our entrance … Love vintage chandeliers, but think we are going with something a little more modern in our foyer.

Next stop … the beach … we made friends with the seagulls & had a lovely picnic in our car since it was too wet to eat at the beach.

By the time we finally made it to the Pier, it was really starting to rain, but definitely didn’t stop us from taking some pics and exploring all the old ships & boats!

Our day ended with some delish crab pasta at Francisco’s and lovely presents including a new Iphone 4G from the hubby {finally! My screen has been cracked for far too long} … a couple of cute PINK outfits and nude stilettos from my sisters and beautiful vases & a gorgeous white fur rug from my mommas!

Had such a blessed day & can’t wait to see what else this new year brings!

Beautiful Time

2011-03-10T00:52:00.000-08:00

One lazy afternoon, one yellow convertible mustang, and two mountain bikes later ... two very lucky sisters spent a beautiful moment having an improv photo shoot in the middle of a bike trail.

Lunch Time

2011-03-02T18:11:00.000-08:00

I had an interesting lunch yesterday ... instead of my usual chicken salad, chocolate oatmeal bar, and fruit punch Capri Sun ... I had a large order of beautiful white Calcutta and a side of glamorous shell mosaics!

With all the bad weather that we've been having lately, we didn't get a chance to pick up our slabs till yesterday afternoon ... but now that they're paid for and off to the fabricator ... I'm anxiously awaiting their arrival in our kitchen!

The fabricator stopped by our house last night to make final measurements & templates ... he ended up tweaking our bar a little bit, but other than that everything seems perfect and ready to go with the countertops! This gave us a chance to dry fit our extra large, extra perfect ;) farmhouse sink, which I'm absolutely lovin'! {incase you can't tell by now} Everything is coming together so beautifully and I'm finally starting to see the full picture {even though there's still plenty to do in the kitchen before it's fully complete}

Now lets play a little game of "what's the big freakin difference"! Here's a pic of our kitchen from last week & one from yesterday {and NO the bad photo quality is not the only difference}

As you can see, hopefully quite clearly, we finally got the doors on our upper cabinets up ... unfortunately this process was a lot more complicated and pain-staking than we originally planned for ... it all started when we first picked out our creamy white cabinets from a long line of kitchen cabinets in various shades and styles ... Once we had our vision planned out to the very last drawer ... we realized that our specific cabinet style only comes with one type of glass door....

Not to say that this is a bad choice, but it was definintely a little more "country" than we were willing to go ... Lucky for me ... I have a very handy hubby who was able to take a solid door and cut it out ever so perfectly to get it ready for custom glass installation! As you can see from our kitchen picture above ... one of the doors got damaged in the process {a first attempt} but now that he got the technique down it should be smooth sailing from here.

We still have no clue what we are doing for the back splash, but spotted these beautiful shell mosaic tiles while waiting for my fabricator at the tile place.

My plan is to wait until after the marble is in ... so it can "speak" to me ... funny yeah I know ... I think I need to find some back splash inspirations to share later, but for now off to the house to finish grouting in the master shower!

inspirations to get me through the day...

2011-02-23T20:58:00.000-08:00

It's only been 6 short months since its happened, but boy did I fall hard ... fell hard in L-O-V-E that is ... I feel like it's grade school all over again ... my first crush & that anxious, sweaty all over feeling just doesn't seem to want to go away ... spending sleepless nights & lazy afternoons daydreaming and making plans ... is it just me or am i crazy in love with marble?

Hahaha yeah me & my insane marble talk again ... it's finally happening ... we went marble shopping today and officially put 3 GORGEOUS, beautifully veined, white Calcutta Oro marble slabs on hold! Now that we're finally moving along in the process, I'm starting to get serious doubts and that scary, twisted, butterflies in your tummy feeling ... Why is it always like that, as soon as you get something that you want ... you're not sure if you want it anymore ... Don't get me wrong, I can't get enough of marble in my house but I think all those warnings and lectures that we've been getting from our manufacturer, sales clerks, friends & family, and online forums are finally getting to me ... But you know what, I gotta stay consistent with my last post and just go with it!

After months & months of research I think we're ready to handle anything these countertops throw at us lol ... so here's some pretties from our shopping trip. Won't tell you which one we chose, but it's definintely one of these ... or maybe I'm just indecisive and waiting to actually pay for and pick them up before knowing that they're officially ours ... either way, we'll see on Saturday!

And as always ... what is a post about marble without gorgeous eye candy to get me through the day ...

Love the gray shelving and cabinets with the white marble ... but too late now ... already got my white cabinets installed ... either way white is more classic and never goes out of style so it's a win-win situation!

Is it ok to admit that I have a huge crush on these barstools?

A little too modern for my taste but still ohh so gorgeous ... that view ... don't get me started!

The perfect inspiration for my open shelving ... not necessarily lovin' the color for my kitchen in particular ... but definintely the concept is amazing! I would love to get my hands on some funky wall paper to put inside my cabinets ... and white dishware ... yes please!

Hopefully I'll have time this week to actually bring my camera during the day to take some real pictures of our progress ... we're soo close that I can taste it ... 2 more weeks and we'll hopefully be in!

02.21.11

2011-02-21T22:41:00.000-08:00

This quote by Benjamin Franklin {currently hanging in my cube at work} is quickly turning into my new life motto ... in more ways than one!

Lets start with the most obvious ... On Monday I just randomly decided to dye all my hair back to brunette {turned out a little darker than expected ... looks almost black!} Don't know what I was thinking .. but I guess just been itching for a change and it was time to try something new. Can't really say that I hate it ... but definintely been missing the blond. Still getting weird looks in the halls at work lol ... so hopefully this week everyone will finally get over it!

Both hubby & I have been sick on and off again all last week so not too much remodeling progress to speak of ... we pretty much took most of the week off, which gave me tons of time to reflect on everything we've done up until now! I've realized just how much of an influence different people have been in our design choices throughout the house ... & I think it's time to quit my indecisiveness and stand by my decisions {even if sometimes they do end up being failures}

I know our friends and family only have our best interest at heart but they are not US and definintely won't be the ones living in OUR house ... So who cares if I want a glass staircase, or marble countertops in the kitchen, or the white leather couch that I'm still thinking about. My point is ... all the compromises that I've made so far, left me with regrets ... so from now on, as long as the hubster is on board ... we're going all out and being as "different" as we want to be!

{sweet} surprises

2011-02-13T23:12:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day came a little early this year ... and what a sweet chocolate covered surprise it was!

My hubby and a bunch of our guy friends have been planning a Valentine's Day surprise for the wifeys since New Years ... they rented a restaurant ... decorated their hearts out ... & gave us the sweetest compliments ever. It turned out great and we all had a ton of fun ... so glad we all have such amazing hubbys & so much to be thankful for!

Some pics from our night out ...

Just got this cute skirt from Forever 21 ... I am totally in LOVE with flowery prints right now ... makes me feel so summery ... although the forecast for tomorrow is rain & more rain for the rest of the week ... sooo tired of cold weather and can't wait to finally be able to wear shorts and minis every day! Hopefully this will be the last storm for the season ... although winter went by way too quickly this year ... with all of this house work, we haven't even had a chance to go to the snow this year {secretly hoping I can talk my hubby into a quick getaway to Tahoe this week}

Visions in {white}

2011-01-27T19:10:00.000-08:00

Visions of glamorous bathrooms have been dancing around in my head for far too long & I think its time to finally get some concrete ideas down in writing. Our master bathroom remodel is well on its way & I hate to brag but so far its looking GORGEOUS! I'm using tons and tons of marble ... everything from beautiful white Carrara marble in the shower, bath, and countertops to the lovely Bianco Luna on the floors. So far we only have the bath and shower done, but it should be smooth sailing from here since that was the hardest & most time consuming part.

Don't want to give away too much until it's a little closer to completion, but heres a little sneak peek of the bathtub as of right now ...

and on to the inspirations ... this image is absolutely my favorite ... this bathroom looks so elegant with the clean white lines, silver accents, & vintage chandelier, but the beautiful teal pop of color is what really makes this space so unique and inviting.

This freestanding bathtub is absolute eye candy ... too bad we already have a perfectly working bathtub so no excuse to buy a new one ...

Love the BOLD black & white stripes ... but maybe a little too much drama for me in the bathroom...

I think these white & gray stripes a little more my style ... I Love stripes as accents so you will definintely be seeing more of these in my new home!

Now this is something a little more relaxing ... I think I could practically live in this bathroom!

Love the beautiful white sinks ... I want something similar in our master, but maybe not as high.

Now here's something that speaks a little more to my high fashion side ... I adore the framed Chanel ad & the feminine white, pink, & silver accents!

Still not 100% sure whether I want to go with a white or dark vanity, but as of right now I'm leaning a little more towards the chocolate vanities ...

Beautiful vanity, but not too sure about the wallpaper ... might be a little too busy for our master, since it's already going to full of beautiful patterns from all of the different marble ;)

& finally I want to finish off with a little sparkly, glittery, & ohh so glamorous icing on the cake!

Now off to the house to check on the progress ... the hubby was supposed to start laying down the hardwood floors today ... so hopefully everything is going to plans!

fly away home

2011-01-26T22:53:00.000-08:00

These past 2 weeks have flown by faster than I ever imagined they would. I've been busier than ever trying to manage whatever little remodeling we were able to finish while the hubby was gone in addition to exploring the new neighborhood, getting back to a somewhat normal workout routine, & spending time with my favorite sis!

The weather has finally been getting slightly warmer so had a chance to go bike riding in the neighborhood. We even had some time to a do a quick weekend getaway to SF, but didn't do much there other than play some racquetball, go to the beach, and stop by for some yummy baked goods at our fav Russian Bakery. It's been a roller coaster but definintely loved every moment. Now that the hubs is back its all down to business in order to get the house complete enough to finally move in.

... and speaking of the hubby, he got back safe and sound looking cuter than I remember. It was a challenge but he absolutely fell in love with the people and they are already planning to go back again next year. Hopefully I can tag along on the next trip ... although I doubt I'll be much of a help with my lack of medical experience. I guess that's it for now, will be back with remodeling updates and hopefully some pics from the Philippenes!

tears today to bring smiles tomorrow

2011-01-13T21:17:00.000-08:00

It was an early morning, not uncommon for us ... but it felt a little different this time, knowing that I wouldn't be seeing my hubby for another 10 days after today. This trip has been planned since roughly around January of last year, but never in my wildest dreams did I think it would come this soon.

I may have mentioned this before, but my hubby is a surgical tech and was given an amazing opportunity to be part of an even more amazing organization, Faces of Tomorrow (FOT). They travel to 3rd world countries every year to give children with various facial deformities a second chance at happiness and a new beginning.

This is Larry's second trip and this year they will be flying to the Philippines. It's a 14 hour trip and I'm very nervous for him ... I know it hasn't even been a full day yet and I'm already going crazy missing him. Just thinking about it brings me to tears ... luckily I wasn't a complete emotional wreck when I dropped him off today ... I tried to hold it in as much as possible and have stayed composed until now. At night everything always sets in .... unfortunately that includes emotions too ... so I'm going to try to do my best holding down the fort while he's gone and praying for his safe return.

a kitchen in progress

2011-01-11T21:46:00.000-08:00

Ohh how I long for the day our kitchen will look as breath taking as one of these inspiration photos. I am in L-O-V-E with beautiful white cabinets and gorgeous marble countertops. We already bought our cabinets and are in the process of installing ... however no tiles or countertops yet ... I know picking out the perfect marble slab takes forever so really need to get out there and start looking ... I haven't even officially decided on whether I want Carrara or Calacatta yet ... I think I prefer the look of Calacatta but need to make sure I can afford it before we make any big decisions...

I love the thickness of the marble on the island ... especially the contrast between the dark cabinets and the rest of the creamy white Kitchen. Too bad we don't have room in our kitchen for an island ... otherwise I would have totally went with 2 colors for the cabinets.

Farmhouse sinks always make me smile ... can't wait to get ours! Love how pronounced the veining on the marble island is.

I like how with a neutral kitchen any color you add will absolutely just pop ..

Gorgeous calacatta veining ... makes my heart skip a beat ;)

We decided to go with dark hardwood floors throughout the house including the kitchen ... I think it'll be a nice contrast against our all white kitchen.

We have a peninsula in our kitchen so I'm really considering halving the marble go all the way down the side like in these pics ... I think it'll look really unique and give my kitchen that extra modern edge

I guess that's enough rambling for now ... I'll post more kitchen inspirations later on, but for now here's an idea of what stage our kitchen is currently in...

Not much to see yet .. but trust me there's progress and I'll be updating soon!

the presents are wrapped ...

2010-12-23T20:14:00.000-08:00

... but there's no tree to put them under!

Thank goodness we're doing Secret Santa this year because there's no way I'd be able to find the time & strength to go shopping for everyone this year. To give you a little idea of how bad its been ... instead of Christmas decorations, we have boxes and packing material in every nook and cranny ... we don't even have a Christmas Tree this year! I knew we'd be spending the last couple of weeks packing and fixing up our condo so having a tree would just be an extra headache and more things to pack. Yeah it's pretty sad ... but lets just say I have BIG plans for next year ... can't wait for after Christmas sales ... I'll be stocking up for sure!

I'll be home for Christmas...

2010-12-23T17:17:00.000-08:00

... If only in my dreams ;)

I am soo excited to announce that we finally got the keys to our long awaited dream home! {and by "long awaited" I really do mean Looooooong ... it took us almost 2 years to find a keeper}

It's actually a really interesting story ... we first saw this house in fall 09 and totally and completely fell in love with the gorgeous windows, tall ceilings, and fabulous pool in the backyard ... so obviously we put in an offer over the asking price ... however we still got outbid ... we were completely devastated, well mostly me cuz I really had my heart set on it ... for months and months after I would still go online and check the status of the sale... hoping and praying for a miracle, that somehow things wouldn't work out with the other buyer ... I know funny huh? ... well that miracle came in September when magically the house went back on the market! I contacted the listing agent early the next morning ... it took months of negotiating back and forth with the banks but our real estate agent has been really great and made it work ... so here we are 3 months later with a brand new home!

Our house was in good condition and move in ready when we bought it ... notice how I'm using "was" in the past tense, because right now it's completely unlivable. We still had a month left in our condo and have been saving for a while so we naively decided to do a complete overhaul to really make the house our own. Right now it feels like a big mistake since we only have a week left in our condo and this is what our house currently looks like...

Actually I'm lying, because the staircase is not there anymore... I have big plans for that staircase and will have to share more once we actually have some progress. I gotta keep telling myself that it'll all be worth it in the end to keep myself from going insane ... but at this point it's still kind of hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The painters started today so hopefully by Monday I'll have an update!

Baby if I've got you I don't need a {parachute}

2010-11-27T12:59:00.000-08:00

I don't need a parachute
Baby, if I've got you
Baby, if I've got you
I don't need a parachute
You're gonna catch me
You're gonna catch if I fall
Down, down, down

These aren't just the lyrics to my new favorite song ... I actually went sky diving in Las Vegas for our 3 year anniversary!!! Yes you heard me right SKY DIVING ... something I've always wanted to do but never thought I'd have the chance!

It was the best experience of my life and definitely will be one of the most memorable. We went up to 15,000 ft in the air before taking the plunge and free falling for almost a whole minute. It felt like everything was in slow motion while we were falling, and honestly it felt more like flying even at speeds of 130 mph! Once the parachute deployed, I finally had a change to get a look at the beautiful view while gliding through the vast Nevada desert ... a feeling that's definitely priceless!

Two Birds of a Feather

2010-10-14T08:17:00.000-07:00

As promised, I am finally posting pictures from my cousin Julie's wedding so get ready for a long picture tour! She had a peacock inspired wedding so to keep with the theme I decided to start off the tour with a foto of these GORGEOUS peacock napkins ... hand-made by non other than Moi {& at least 6 helpers from the wedding party}

Now on to something SWEET ... you guessed it ... heading straight for the cake table ... Looks pretty elegant with the fresh flowers and hand-cut fondant daisies, but believe me it tasted even better than it looks ... if that's even possible!

The next stop is the head table, I wish I had a full view picture but I was seriously pushed for time & didn't get a chance to take one. The room had gorgeous full length windows so nothing was even needed in the background except the beautiful auburn scenery and a few columns with flower centerpieces.

Speaking of flowers ... there was a ton covering every square inch of tables, bars, & anywhere else where they would fit ... I stuck with a large variety of yellow roses, white & yellow mums, hydrangeas, stocks, and orchids!

This little guy was somewhat an after thought but obviously he fits right in.

The centerpieces turned out exactly as planned {very similar to the ones Julie had at her bridal shower} There was 15 tables to be exact so let's just say I started my Saturday very early but thankfully with the help of my wonderful hubby and the groom's family I got everything done on time.

Kinda hard to tell from the picture but the vases actually had these amazing teal lights inside that reflected against the crystal rocks at the bottom.

I guess I'm kinda doing everything backwards but it's always funner to start with the reception & decor and then get to the sentimental stuff. It was a very long and somewhat steep walk down the aisle, so lets just say Julie was really a trooper.

It was perfect weather for an outside ceremony .... not a single rain cloud in sight, cuz by this time of year you never know.

She had three bridesmaids, starting from the left my cousin Nelli and my 2 sisters Kristina & Alla {all of whom looked quite ravishing if I might add} ;)

And here we are finally, surprisingly I still had time to get ready and look pretty decent after slaving the whole morning

And many more pics with the bridesmaids...

2010-09-29T15:46:00.000-07:00

We celebrated my niece's 3rd birthday last Saturday with a costume themed party! The kids LOVED it! It was all girly with lots of PINK and black & white polka dots everywhere!

It was soo cute and surprisingly not a single kid came in the same costume! We saw all sorts of magical fairies, enchanting princesses, and graceful ballerinas! Even a scary dragon, a buzzing bumblebee, and a funny clown showed up! It was too hilarious ... my nephew was Spiderman and all of the little kids were scared of him ... he totally enjoyed the attention and went out of his way to make sure that every little kid cried at least once! lol

My sis-in-law made a gorgeous cake with ballerina slippers on top ... she is soo creative and her cakes always turn out amazingly delicious!

Here's my hubby and I {and NO I'm not wearing a costume ... although I really wish I did .. it would have been totally fun to dress up}

2010-09-26T00:29:00.000-07:00

Not everything is black & white in life and the chic bridal shower that we threw my cousin is definitely no exception. We started off with 2 classic colors {black & white} and decided to add a little sunshine with a bright yellow.

This is my 1st official attempt at a table centerpiece {great practice since I'm designing all of the flowers for Julie's wedding} I started off with a tall clear vase and filled it to the top with lemons. For the top I used white stock, black calla lilies, and yellow roses. We ordered these adorable white lanterns on ebay and finished off the theme with matching dinner plates.

Something Blue

2010-09-02T19:39:00.000-07:00

One of my childhood friends got married last month and I had the pleasure of decorating his wedding. I've never done centerpieces for a wedding before so naturally I was little unsure if I could even pull it off ... But overall I think they turned out pretty good & I can't wait for my next project {which is actually coming up in a couple of weeks so stay tuned}

Their wedding colors were blue and ivory so I decided to go with all creams and whites for the flowers.

The {Bride & Grooom} Headtable

I used long-stemmed glass candle holders and filled them with water {I added light blue food coloring to try to incorporate both of the wedding colors} I used simple floating candles in a couple of the glasses and filled the rest with various flowers and greenery.

For this glass I only used Lillies and hanging green Amaranthus. I stringed diamonds amongst the greenery to reflect off the LED lights insides of the glasses.

For the tallest glasses I used white roses, white Albatross Mums, white double stocks, & the hanging green Amaranthus.

I also incorporated gold spray-painted limes to build a pyramid-shaped centerpiece with flowers!

The blue origami flower napkins were somewhat of a last minute idea. The napkins that the bride ordered ended up being the wrong shade of blue so we had to get creative with paper napkins. I found a DIY on youtube for folding napkins and the rest was history. The bright blue definitely gave the table settings an extra pop of color.

When all was said and done, I finally had some time to relax and have a lil fun! The wedding went great ... really entertaining & definitely lots of great memories!

Hubby is matching the wedding .. me not so much {except for my bright blue shoes} I decided to go for a ballerina inspired mini instead!

{Don't even ask lol}

Welcome to my {Closet}

2010-08-31T17:03:00.000-07:00

I haven't been around for a while, but work has been soo busy {definitely still not used to working a full 40 hr schedule} It feels like my whole day is gone by the time I get home. But enough complaining ... I'm back so lets get to business!

My sweet hubby decided to finally get our closet organized ... we've been living in our condo for about 3 years and the clutter has only been getting worse .... so instead of paying tons of money to get professional organizers, we found a really cheap and highly effective solution. Walmart was having a clearance sale on white shelving units that came with separate accessories {dividers, shelves, cabinets} I ended up buying 5 units and paired them with 10 dividers for a grand total of 40 shoe cubbies! Now all my shoes are so neatly organized, that it would take a lot of effort to mess it up again!

Baby girl decided to test out the weight limitations on my shoe storage!

They DO

2010-06-09T17:30:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago we attending a wedding for two of our very good friends Stand & Irina and to be completely honest I have never had this much fun at a wedding before.

The wedding took place in a beautiful winery with gorgeous scenery and breath taking views. But what really made this wedding special was the LOVE that I could feel and see not only between the happy couple but also through all the wonderful friends and family that came to share this special day with them. There were soo many heart-felt wishes and toasts along with beautiful songs and musical numbers that their friends performed for them. The groom is actually part of a famous Christian choir so it was no surprise at how gifted and talented the guest list ended up being. Overall I had a blast eating good food, sharing many laughs, and enjoying the company of all of our good friends!

Here are some pics from the event that the talented Andrey Perepelitsa took:

{The Gorgeous Bride & Groom}

{The Happy Couple}

{The best of friends}

{My hubby & I with the Bride & Groom}

{Elegant Centerpieces}

A Busy Moment

2010-05-29T17:19:00.000-07:00

I haven't been around much ... but I have a perfectly good excuse ... I promise .... I finally started my new job as a tax auditor and just haven't gotten used to working a full time job yet!

I'm sooo excited about starting this new chapter in my life and finally watching all of my hard work and late nights of studying pay off. I've even already gotten my first pay check ... & yes I admit it I did go on a teeny tiny shopping spree, but overall I'm trying to be good and have even already started paying off my student loans!

It's not going to be easy and I know that I still have months and months of training ahead of me but at the moment I'm content and satisfied with what I have accomplished and how far I've come in the past few years!

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T00:30:00.000-07:00

I was inspired by a DIY that I found on Southern Living to create my own speckled Robins Eggs just in time for Easter! The project was fairly easy and turned out looking fabulous!

He is Risen!
Happy Easter & have a beautifuL weekend!

2010-04-01T17:47:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been completely obsessed with the color Green & moss in particular as house decor!

I decided to freshen up my focal wall in the dining room by adding a little more green to the mix with a couple of new vases and some moss balls that I found at the Dollar Store!

Here's a few more Green inspirations that I found while browsing blogs! Living with Lidsay & Ruffled have fabulous DIY posts that are easy to follow and will brighten up any room! I can't wait to try to them out!

{www.Ruffledblog.com}

{www.goodhousekeeping.com}

{www.livingwithlindsay.com}

Birthdays, Seafood, & more Birthdays!

2010-04-01T17:03:00.000-07:00

March has got to be the busiest month for birthdays ... well at least in my circle of friends and family! Everyone, including myself, my hubby, sister, brother, niece, & at least 4 friends share a birthday this month ... pretty much had a birthday party to attend every day of this month!

Since my hubby's b-day is only 1 day apart from my sister's ... we decided to celebrate together and just go out to McCormick & Schmick's Seafood restaurant together ... they had the best food and even made personalized menus for us to keep as souvenirs.

Here's me and the Birthday Boy ... after many attempts to get him to smile for the pic!

And finally the whole crew

First Sign of Spring

2010-03-24T09:34:00.000-07:00

I'm finally back after 2 months of not posting ... and no I haven't been sick or anything like that ... just been having a sort of writers block and just no desire to write whatsoever.

So here's the update on my life ... I finally got a job offer to work for the state and have another interview for a better position coming up on April 6th ... yay! And in even better news ... I am going to Cancun, Mexico with my hubby for 1 week right before I start my new job to celebrate! Last month I also turned 22 and celebrated with my hubby in Tahoe ... made me realize how fast time is going and gave me to motivation to start going to the gym and making healthier choices with my eating habits ... ohhh how I dread working out ... but already lost 5lbs and on my way to a new bikini body!!!

Since I haven't been working yet and college is a thing of the past for me ... I've been spending a lot more time outside taking walks with Bella ... we have this gorgeous trail just a couple of minutes from my house and that's of course where I picked those beautiful purple flowers from ... they make my house smell so fresh and Spring-y! Makes me one to go shopping and buy new Spring decor for my home ... but my hubby constantly has to keep reminding me that we're looking for a new house and that I should wait ... I never thought it would be this hard for find a good house that we both love ... but honestly we haven't been having much luck with that yet, but still hoping and praying that God will send us something soon :)

That's pretty much it I guess ... My goal for now is to post more often and quit being sooo lazy about writing.

Look Who's 1 Today

2010-01-15T17:36:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to my Baby Girl Bella!

Tahoe Retreat

2010-01-14T21:47:00.000-08:00

This past week our youth leaders organized a week-long retreat for us in a beautiful Tahoe cabin with the most AMAZING view! Imagine waking up to this every morning ...

I don't know about you but I can definitely get used to this!

It has been such an inspiring week with soo many uplifting sermons and amazing words of wisdom! I feel that it really helped our youth and brought us soo much closer together!

Unfortunately my hubby had to work most of the week and was only able to come over the 1st and last days but we still had a blast while he was there! Here's a pic with the whole family on the way there ;)

My poor baby Bella had no clue what was going on ... I think she was more interested in looking at the cars than taking a pic with me ...

We did tons of walking and exploring during the trip & of course a lot of sledding, tubing, and even snowboarding {don't ask ... my butt still hurts xexe} But all in all it was a wonderful way to spend my time getting closer to my brothers and sisters in Christ and admiring the beauty that God has created for us to enjoy!

Some RandoMness

2010-01-14T20:57:00.000-08:00

I don't what's been happening lately, but haven't really gotten around to blogging much this past month ... Now with school done and over I have new problems with finding a job. I just took a test for a potential employer yesterday so still waiting to hear back, and I really need to get over my laziness and start taking state tests to hopefully land a Fed or Government job ... I think I'm just enjoying staying at home with my puppy all day a little too much!

On another note, we're still house hunting {yes I know it's been almost a year, but what can I say we're a little picky} Hopefully it will all come to an end very soon because we found a perfect house and put in a hefty offer today ;) ... guess we'll find out soon enough. Ughh just can't wait to get my hands on a new house to decorate ... I think I've been patient enough!

And finally I'll end my random chattering with this lil' baby...

Yep you guessed it a "Best Blog Award" for MOI from the lovely Miss Katie @ Life in the Fulmer Lane ... Thanks Katie I definitely {heart} your blog too! So in order for me to accept my award I gotta spread a lil' love to few other gorgeous ladies {technically 15 but who's counting?} Not all of these blogs are new to me, but they might be to you so check these ladies out...

Angie @ Angelica Grace Designs
Holly @ Life in the Fun Lane
Kelly @ Fabulous K
Annie @ Chapters of Our Life
Aubrey @ Made You Blush
Lacey @ Lacey in Love
Kim @ Endless Possibilities
Brooke @ Oofa Luffa Le
Tara @ The J. Crew
Kace @ Calling Him Krew
Summer @ Le Musing of Moi
Kelly Ann @ Kelly Ann Studio Blog
Kerry @ My Life, My Loves

Beginning of a New Chapter

2009-12-19T15:55:00.000-08:00

I've been a student for the past 16 years of my life & I still can't believe that this chapter of my life is officially over!

It's the end of...

... Late night cram sessions

... Long weekends of group projects

... Last minute homework assignments at 5 am

... Ever rising tuition and book fees

And ... hours & hours of tedious lectures and note-taking!

Today I graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Business-Accountancy from Sac State University & so far it's been a bitter-sweet experience for me. I'm sooo happy & proud of myself for finally finishing and graduating with honors, but I know I'll miss those carefree days of being a student and having the flexibility to make my own schedule ... real world here I come!

All of my closest family came to the ceremony to celebrate my accomplishment & I seriously felt like I was some kind of celebrity with all the paparazzi shots that my family was trying to take xexe but I'm happy I got tons of great shots!

{My friend Yuliya & I before the ceremony}

{My bestie Marina & I ... I'm sooo going to miss our late night calls and non-stop texting xexe ... She was my biggest support and college would have be so dull without her}

{My hubby & I ... He's soo happy I'm done! ... poor guy had to put up with so much while I was in school}

{My mommy & Daddy ... they're so proud to have such a smart daughter ;)}

{My Grammy & Gpa ... so glad that they came to support me}

{My baby brother & I}

{All of my sexy girls!}

{My baby sisters and I}

After the ceremony we all went out to one our favorite Asian restaurants to celebrate ... usually it's so hard to get a good group picture with my family, but somehow it all worked out this time!

I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful and caring family to support me through both the good and bad in my life ... I don't know what I would do without them & I'm just thankful that I have them all!

Bangin' New Do

2009-12-17T15:13:00.000-08:00

Ok so I finally took the plunge and got BANGS! {Which by the way I've been wanting since summer but haven't had the guts to get} Ohh how I LOVE my hairstylist ... she reads my mind perfectly!

Here's the results:

Our Peacock Christmas Tree

2009-12-05T04:11:00.000-08:00

"Its the most WONDERFUL time of the year..." Not only am I in L-O-V-E with Christmas but I think I might actually be a little obsessed with it! I wait all year long for twinkling Christmas lights... gorgeous Christmas decor... beautifully lit Christmas trees... & of course all the lovely presents underneath xexe

I've been fascinated with the magic of Christmas ever since I can remember ... It brings so much JOY to my life & makes me realize how blessed I truly am to have such wonderful family and friends to spend it with!

Although I do love a traditional Christmas ... I decided to go with something a little different for my Christmas Tree. It all started last year when I decided to add a few peacock feathers and birds to my tree and now its a full blown theme.

I really Love the idea of a White Christmas Tree, but I refuse to buy a fake one ... sooo instead we got extra extra flocking on ours to give it that more modern look! I also Love decorating my tree with birds, butterflies, and feathers so of course I had to add a few new ones to the collection this year.

A few weeks ago I found this gorgeous Peacock tree topper which matches my theme perfectly and some purple birds & ornaments to give it that extra pop of color!

My hubby bought me this turquoise butterfly last week & its probably one of my favorites ... I Love how bright and sparkly it looks. We also got a new black & White table runner and these gorgeous crystal candle holders to add to our Christmas decor!

And finally here's our little {present} sitting underneath the Christmas Tree looking cute as a button!

Fab K's Holiday {Give}away

2009-12-02T10:48:00.000-08:00

Although I don't really need the extra competition ... I decided to share anyways {Only becuause I Luv you guys so much }

Fabulous K is having an awesome Holiday Giveaway ... & let me tell you, her name don't lie ... this is serious the most FABULOUS giveaway I have ever seen ... sooo many great sponsors but sooo little time ... so head over their now!!!

My Munchikins

2009-12-02T10:34:00.000-08:00

My Sunday School class performed at church this week!

I'm so proud of them ... they all learned their poems and songs perfectly & sounded like lil angels from up above ... ok maybe I'm exaggerating a little ... or maybe a lot xexe, but common on what teacher wouldn't be proud?

We've been doing a lot of fun Christmas crafts with them for the past couple of weeks and decorated our class tree last week {Hopefully pictures will come soon} ... Next Sunday we're making Christmas cookies!!! Can't wait :)

Autumn Inspired

2009-12-02T09:56:00.000-08:00

On Saturday I helped my friend Ella throw a surprise B-day party for her hubby's 25th Birthday! ... Well it started out as a surprise anyways... but by the time Thanksgiving came around ... our cover was blown ... & by none other than the father-in-law ... ughhh how I luv parents and their keen inability to keep secrets LoL

Although he knew about the surprise ... I doubt he ever imaged such a fabulous party in honor of his birthday!

The decor was amazing ... all autumn inspired and simply gorgeous ... I especially Luved the berry cake ... mmmm my fav!!!

My hubby was in charge of the program and all the games ... he did sooo good ... there was over 50 peole and I doubt anyone left without a smile on their face!

{Thanks}giving

2009-11-27T09:18:00.000-08:00

Another FabuLous idea from Fabulous K ...

I have sooo many things to be thankful for this year ... and this includes YOU ... yes You ... the one reading my blog!!!

I want to thank all of you for following and leaving me super sweet comments all year long! You really make my day and I would L-O-V-E to hear from you and hopefully get to know you better!

If you read my blog or simply stopped by to say hello ... please leave me a comment and share the Love!

Also feel free to stop by Kelly's Blog so you too can get a "Holiday Hello" graphic for your blog...

Miss Russian California

2009-11-24T11:43:00.000-08:00

Pageants ... that's definitely not something I ever saw myself doing ... but guess there's a 1st for everything!

A couple of months ago my good friend Nata invited me to participate in a pageant that her company was hosting. I didn't think much of it but decided to give a try anyways. At that time I didn't know what I was getting myself into ... but I sure did find out real fast!

After 3-4 grueling practices for 5 weeks straight I found out exactly what it takes to prepare for a pageant ... and ppl let me tell you it's a lot of hard work! With everything I had going on with school, church, Beta Alpha Psi, and the pageant ... I barely survived the past couple of months LoL

The pageant consisted of 3 parts: Personal Outfit, Wedding Gown, and Evening Dress ... I probably had the hardest time with the personal outfit ... That's the outfit we wore for our opening number and didn't have too much guidelines in choosing it except that we had to be able to dance in it. Sooo here's what I came up with.....

The wedding gowns and evening dresses were a lil easier ... Diamond Bridal Salon handpicked a wedding gown and evening dress for every contestant to model during the pageant.

I L-O-V-E-D my Wedding Gown ... it had a tail so I had tons of fun learning how to be flirty with it and toss it behind me during the pageant walk ;) LoL

We wore our Evening Gowns for the last part of the pageant and had to do our own 1 1/2 minutes routine while our personal video was playing on the screen {I wanted to post it on here but still trying to figure it out} ... Here's my hubby and I taking a quick pic after the event!

To top the night off ... we had an after party with all the girls at Scott's Seafood! ... After sucha long day we barely had enough energy to eat ... & that's not normal cuz the food was D-licious!

Even with all that work, I still didn't win 1st place ... but after everything was said and done I realized that it wasn't even about that ... I had the best time of my life and this experience and the friendships that I made will last forever!!!

{Gray} is the new bLack

2009-11-06T23:16:00.000-08:00

I'm sooo in L-U-V with gray this faLL ... And simply can't get enough of it! Seriously if you check out my closet, a 1/3 of my stuff is either gray or a variation of gray/siLver. It's the perfect color and goes great with everything ...

... so to add to my collection ... I went shopping last week and bought this gorgeous military style jacket & super cute pencil skirt from express!

1. High-Waist Pencil Skirt {Express}
2. Military Jacket {Express}

Sweet Baby {aLyssa}

2009-11-04T14:38:00.000-08:00

My sis-in-law gave birth to beautiful baby girl last week!

We didn't get a chance to visit them in the hospital, but came over to the house a couple of days later. She looks just like her older sister, just check out that doll face ... too cute for words!

Of course we couldn't go empty handed ... I ordered her this cute personalized onesie on Etsy ... they always have the best stuff!

harVest

2009-10-28T12:16:00.000-07:00

{Harvest Celebration}
Bethel Baptist Church 2009

The Fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness,
Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control.
Galatians 5:22

Does time Fly or what?

2009-10-28T10:47:00.000-07:00

My hubby and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary this month and I still can't believe that it's been this long ... it's been a wonderful 2 years and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with my gorgeous hubby LoL

Somehow in the middle of all my school craziness we actually had time to take a few days off to celebrate ... we stayed at a gorgeous resort in Palm Desert and did nothing but relax 24/7

We too a zillion pictures but when we went to use our camera on the 2nd day we got an error message saying that our memory card was screwed up ... to make a long story short, we lost all the pictures we took the 1st couple of days but lucky for us I had an extra card stored in my wallet! ... so here's more pictures for your viewing pleasure LoL

On the actual day of our anniversary, we headed to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway for the beautiful views of the whole city! Here's us inside of the tram car!

In the evening we took a boat ride to one of the restaurants at the resort called Mikados ... and had a quick photo shoot before going {my hubby hated it but I know he'll thank me 1 day for all these fun memories}

There was white swans everywhere we went ... sooo beautiful that I couldn't resist taking a few snaps!

I've never been to this type of restaurant before, where they cook in front of you and put on a show while you eat ... but I Luved it, especially our chef Mike! Here he is getting a little Dangerous with fire!

The food wasn't that great, or at least to my taste {I'm definitely someone you would call a "picky eater"} but the Green tea ice cream was definitely a HIT!

Our vacation definitely ended too fast, but we had the time of our life so that's all that matters right? LoL ... well anyways I'll just leave it with this cute sign that we happened to see ... {that was us exactly 2 yrs ago}

That Girl!

2009-10-26T16:51:00.000-07:00

Sooo I haven't posted in a while but school has been super crazy for the past few weeks ... I barely have time to breathe, let alone time to post lol

This has been the hardest semester I have ever had with school ... I'm taking my typical 15 units, but it's just not the same this time around ...

Yeah I have to admit that I might be getting a case of senioritis ... LoL but it's more serious than that ... seems that my professors have plotted against me and made all the tests and projects due on the same day ... in addition to that I have hW due every time & almost for every class ... my poor hubby has been suffering more than me cuz we barely get time to hang out.

To add to all the drama I am also currently recruiting with tons of accounting firms and been going to one interview after the other ... I just had my 2nd interview with a downtown firm so praying that I get it so I can have a job waiting for me in January!

Ohh and who can forget about all of the things that I've be doing with church and Beta Alpha Psi ... that all adds up a little too quickly to my busy schedule.

And ... I nvr mentioned but I'm also participating in a beauty pageant on Nov. 12th! It's my 1st one so I'm super excited but all the rehearsals that we've been having are making me go craZy LoL

Despite all this drama ... I still wanna be That Girl ... yeah the one in the picture ... the one still smiling no matter what happens ... I can definitely be that girl ... Ohh wait I am That Girl!

Baby Blue w/ a Splash of Orange

2009-09-29T16:41:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to taking pictures of my newly remodeled Sunday School classroom ... So here's the final result!

1 & 3: Picture Frames {Dollar Store} Striped Fabric {IKEA}
2: White Ceramic Piggy Bank {Michael's}
4: Curtains {IKEA}
5: Set of 5 white vases {IKEA} Single Orange Flowers {Dollar Store}
6: White Lamp {IKEA}

I decided to go with a light blue paint color for the walls to create a bright, open space with a relaxed feel. The baby blue makes the black frames really stand out against the wall.

The orange accents really pop-out against the light colored walls, including these vases with single orange flowers that I arranged in a row on the top shelf of my bookcase.

I used old frames that I had laying around the house to create borders for both my Birthday Calendar and the Attendance Board. I used scrap booking paper for the background and the letters, and I decided to go with a birdie theme. There's 12 birds {each representing a month of the year} I still need to write in the month and the kids' birthdays in each bird.

And here's the complete shelving unit. I got all of these storage boxes and file folders from IKEA. They are so convenient and make my shelved look ohhh so neat! Plus they come a variety of colors so it'll work with any design. I'm definitely getting some more for our office at home!

This project took 2 whole days, even with my hubs helping out! Our room looked so horrible before ... with dirty walls and floors, broken shelves and cabinets, holes in the walls, cracks in the floor... and the list continues Lol

I'm so ecstatic that it's finally done! Yay I can actually look forward to coming to class now, and so can the kids!!!

{T.G.I.F}

2009-09-25T22:03:00.000-07:00

Ohh how I'm happy the weekend has finally come... Let me tell you its been a crazy busy week for me, and I'm just glad it's finally over and I can actually breath now!

1st of all since it's my last semester of college, all of my classes have been super hard and this week was probably the worse of it all. Here's a quick overview of all the "fun" things I did this week....

...Do tons of HW for 5 classes

...Study for and take 3 accounting tests

...Complete 2 grueling school projects

...and Prepare for and interview for an internship position with the company of my dreams!

I'm so excited about the interview... I felt I did very well, but then again there was also a lot of other very well-qualified candidates who also applied. It would be such a great opportunity for me to get this position and I've been praying about it for a very long time... It's all in God's hands now and I know he knows what's going to be best for me in the long run :)

Well enough of all my blabbing... here's some cutie pics of Bella!
{she got all dressed up for a quick photo shoot on my balcony}

Isn't this the cutest doggie shirt or what? My sweet friend Nata gave it to me as a gift :) Apparently diamonds get around... Not only are they a girl's best friend, but I guess my dog's bestie also!

She was such a good model for me today... usually it's quite opposite, and I can't get her to sit still even for a quick second.

My Lil ChickLets

2009-09-18T00:26:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again, not only am I back to school, but I'm also back to teaching Sunday School!

Ohh those late Saturday nights ... getting lesson plans ready

And those early Sunday mornings ... rushing to get to church on time {without lookin' like a complete mess}

And who can forget those painful afternoons ... still recovering from the headache of dealing with 6-9 yr olds

...But I wouldn't change it for the world!!!

Here's all my kiddos on the first day of class, got a lot of new faces this year and I'm probably getting a few more next week!

My boys are so adorable ... Just look at them trying to impress the girls with their guns of steel!

Still wanna take pics of my newly remodeled classroom, but the 1st day was kinda hectic and didn't get a chance ... so maybe next time.

Texting in Style

2009-09-12T16:11:00.000-07:00

Yay! I finally got my new Iphone 3G! And ohhh how I L-O-V-E it!

I've had the 1st generation Iphone for the past 2 yrs and that baby was waaay overdue for retirement.

It's kinda sad though ... we've been through so much together and believe me, that phone suffered through too many mishaps and accidentals on my part {ooops}

Sooo to keep this one safe, I ordered myself some super cute Iphone covers off ebay ... they're being shipped all the way from Hong Kong so still at least another week before I'll get to enjoy them but I'm sure they'll be worth the wait!

SchooL is in Session

2009-09-07T22:12:00.000-07:00

You might have noticed that I haven't been blogging for a while... well I definitely have a legitimate excuse.

Now that I'm back in college, my time is spent doing homework, studying, and extracurricular activities... In addition to job hunting and long tedious application processes. Since it is my last semester at Sac State I gotta make sure and be on top of all things school related, so I might be posting less in the next few months.

In other news, I finally redecorated my Sunday School class at church! I've been meaning to do it for a whole year and just got around to doing it last week. It's turning out so cute! I'll probably be putting the finishing touches on it tomorrow, so I'll post pictures as soon as I get them.

Zing Zang Zoom

2009-09-07T21:25:00.000-07:00

My sweet hubby surprised me by secretly buying tickets and taking me to the Circus Saturday night. Ohh how I luved it, it was so much FUN!

My family used to go almost every year when we were growing up, so it's nice to continue this tradition with my husband and our future kids {whenever that may be xexe}

We made sure to take lots of pictures for memories, I'm sure our neighbors hated us but ohh well they didn't complain.

Here's my hubby and I at half-time.

Trying to get a view of the whole arena... had to make it quick though cuz people kept walking up and down the stairs.

Watching the elephants was probably my favorite part... It must have took years to train them!

The tigers were pretty scary, they were definitely not having it and kept snapping at the trainer pretty much throughout the whole show.

By the way incase you haven't noticed, I finally figured out how to make my photos larger through photobucket. Yay I'm so excited! I think large photos make blogs so much more interesting and visually appealing :)

Baby Showers Galore

2009-08-24T18:46:00.001-07:00

We had Vicky's {my sis-in-law} baby shower this past Friday so I decided to join in all the fun at Kelly's Korner and share some pictures and baby shower ideas!

She's having a 2nd little girl named Alyssa, so decided to make her this adorable, all-pink gift basket! I'm quite the perfectionist so I spent days at different stores finding all the cutest stuff to put this gift together... & I definitely L-U-V how it turned out!!!

Here's me & my lovely sister Kristina taking a quick pic before the start of the shower

All the yummy goodies that we had to eat...

And finally the momma-to-be herself ... all ready to open her gifts!

My sweet friend Katie is also pregnant so a few of us girls got together and threw her a surprise baby shower a few weeks ago! She's due in 3 weeks and I can't wait to see her baby girl!

My sis-in-law Kristina makes the most delicious cakes... she made this one in the shape of a little girl for the shower!

One of the girls made this adorable diaper cake for her

Hope this will give you some creative new ideas for your next baby shower!

BLack & White

2009-08-24T18:13:00.000-07:00

KeLLy at Fabulous K has done it again... another happy customer and a gorgeous new blog design!

I couldn't be any more happier with how my blog turned out, and it's all thanks to her... she's very talented, creative, and an overall great person to work with. If your blog is looking Blaaah you should definitely check her out and update your blog!

Let me know what you think of the new Look!

Summer Giveaway Fun

2009-07-30T11:14:00.000-07:00

Fabulous K is having the most Fabulous Summer Giveaway Week on her blog! She will be doing 2 giveaways each day for the whole week! She has tons of great stuff so don't miss out on your chance to win!

2 Birds with 1 Stone

2009-07-27T22:41:00.000-07:00

We desperately needed a new transmission for our Saab, which hasn't really been working properly for the past 2 years {but who's counting}! My hubby called all the auto shops in Sacramento and no one seemed to have what we needed, so we ended up traveling to Los Angeles to get the parts.

The quicky trip to LA ended up being beneficial in more than one way, not only did we buy a good transmission but we also enjoyed a few days of relaxation at the beach! Now that's what I call "Killing 2 birds with 1 stone"!

Our Hotel was so beautiful and modern, right next to the water! This is the view that we had breakfast to each morning... ohh how I want to go back again!

Birthday Kisses

2009-07-25T21:52:00.000-07:00

Birthday Kisses from me to you on your 15th Birthday!

My sweet cousin Nelli celebrated her Birthday by taking all of us girls out to BJ's on Friday Night! She's our youngest cousin and has grown up so fast... I can't believe that she's already 15!

We had so much fun just hanging out with the girls, we really should do it more often! Here we attempted to take a few pictures of ourselves... 1st without Julie...

Then without Alla...

Until finally towards the end we had the waiter take a pic of us all together!

{Alla, Me, Kristina, Nelli, and Julie}

Beating the Rain

2009-07-23T11:59:00.000-07:00

A couple of Saturday's ago we decided to go on a day-long hiking trip in Lake Tahoe. So we put on our hiking boots, packed our lunches, & with Bella in tow set out on our adventure!

We don't go hiking too often so this sign definitely scared me a little bit right at the beginning...

Even though we set out fairly late in the afternoon we were still hoping to hike all the way to the top to see the beautiful waterfall and have a small picnic on the rocks. The views were amazing and we took tons of pictures.

There were rows of trees with different inscriptions {we wish we could have left our mark too but had no time to waste}

We probably got 3/4ths of the way there before realizing that the weather was swiftly changing from a warm sunny day to a dark cloudy sky. There were many large flat rocks by the water so we ended up having our picnic right there and just in time before it started to rain.

We ended up pretty much running down the mountain side to try to beat the rain, but by the time we got to the car we were all soaked anyways!

Poor Bella tried to tuck her head in the bag the whole way down, but even she couldn't hide from the rain!

Sushi Night

2009-07-21T11:30:00.000-07:00

I met up with Lina {one of my best friends from high school} last friday night and had the best girl time ever. She is the coolest person and we had so much fun catching up and remembering all the good times from back when!

She went through a really tough family situation last year, but has stayed strong and true to herself. Just a few days ago she also left on a missionary trip along with her younger sister, and cousin. I am so proud of them all and wish them a safe trip and many blessings. Please keep them in your prayers for the next couple of weeks, I know they will need it.

Summer Camp

2009-07-11T23:00:00.000-07:00

Every year our church hosts a summer camp for the kids at Rollins Lake and this year was no different. My hubby and I are both very involved in church, especially with kids, so of course we both volunteered {I as craft teacher, and Larry as counselor for the boys group}

This year the theme was all of the different nationalities of the world. There were 6 different groups, which included the French, Irish, Hawaiians, Greeks, Chinese, and Scottish.

The youngest girl group aKa Le French Ladies

The beautiful Hawaiian girls {both of which are my former sunday school students}

And finally the crazy Greek boys {my hubby's group}

Here they are performing their theme song and play for the whole camp. They were sooo good and actually won 1st place and a trip to Sun Splash!

Wheww... I'm finally back!

2009-07-11T22:44:00.000-07:00

I decided to take a quick break from blogging, but I never imagined that it would last a whole month! Time sure does fly... especially during lazy summer days :D

Well now that I'm back I'm going to try to blog more often instead of doing a whole bunch of posts all at once {like I usually do}. I haven't been too busy these past few weeks, it's just that the laziness is kicking in. Mostly we've been concentrating on checking out houses, because we're hoping to move out of our condo sometime this summer before my last semester at Sac State begins.

All this house hunting is driving me crazy... my hubby and I can't agree on anything, so no offers yet. I'm hoping we'll find the perfect house when we'll least expect it, but maybe I'm asking for too much... I don't know, we'll see! LoL

I'm Officially a BLonde!

2009-06-10T17:08:00.001-07:00

I've had the same hairstyle in like forever and I was in serious need of a trim, so I finally decided to take the plunge and go bLonde!

I actually got it done last week, but pretty much hated it at first. After a few trips to the shower I think I'm finally getting used to it. I Luved my dark hair but been itchin' for a change for some time now and I think blonde looks cuter in the summer anyways!

What do you think?

☼ Summer Wish List ☼

2009-05-27T12:40:00.000-07:00

Now that summer has officially started... I'm in serious need of a new bathing suit!

I've been sort of browsing but haven't found anything that I really like or something that's within my budget {hoping to buy 2-3 new ones this year, so they gotta be affordable}

Been checking out Victoria's Secret Online, so maybe will order a couple from there, but I'm always scared of ordering the wrong size... Ugghhh

I really like this "Yellow Anchors" but not too sure about the string bottoms {they always make me look fat}

Also like this Coral bathing suit... so feminine and cute!

Definitely luvin' the sexy pink stripes...

And what girl can live without some cute polka dots in her life?

I definitely need some advice and fast!

Visit from a Good Friend

2009-05-27T12:29:00.000-07:00

Decided to sleep in yesterday, since we got home pretty late after Bodega Beach...

After a looong and restful sleep, I met up with one of my best friends Marina for some lunch and a day of catching up. We've both been sooo busy with school that we haven't really had a chance to hang out lately. She also went back to work today after her maternity leave, so this was perfect timing.

Here she is with her adorable lil' pumpkin, Matthew

{Memorial Day Memories}

2009-05-27T11:51:00.000-07:00

My weekend has been a crazy one... going from one party to the next, but gladly it's all over and I'm still in one piece... whew

We visited Bodega Bay with our youth on Monday! The trip was originally supposed to only take 2 hrs, but with 9 cars, over 40 people, and a bad sense of direction, it took twice as long!

The weather was freezing when we first got there, but by around 3 pm it finally started to warm up. It was nice to finally get all of our youth together and just spend the whole day relaxing on the beach.

Volleyball is definitely BIG around here, so most of our time was spend playing, watching, and cheering for our fav teams!

The guys ended up going fishing for part of the time {along with the veterans, like this guy}

I spend the day taking random pictures...

And the people who had nothing better to do... got buried alive!

My Rollin' Ball of Fluff

2009-05-27T11:27:00.000-07:00

Bella is doing a lot better since she's gotten her cast, and even a broken paw couldn't stop her from being the adorable & playful puppy that she is.

She has her check-up and shot appointment tomorrow, so hopefully everything will be A-Ok! Her pretty pink cast has gotten so dirty from playing in the backyard at my mom's house, and she definitely needs a bath real bad! Ugghh I can't wait to get it off, but it'll probably be at least another month.

Just one of those days...

2009-05-21T21:56:00.000-07:00

Today is my last day of finals, before a long summer of pretty much doing nothing other than relaxing!

I should be out celebrating right now, but instead I'm stuck at home with a box of tissues and a bottle of NyQuil... yeah, out of all days I had to get sick today.

It all started off with allergies, and now I'm stuck with a horrible cold and a pounding headache.

Guess it's just one of those days... I had sooo many plans for the weekend, like going over-night fishing tomorrow with a bunch of friends... which will most likely be canceled for me unless I miraculously feel better tomorrow.

On Saturday I'm going to a barbecue with some of my hubby's friends from work... Sunday I'm hosting a pool party at my place for the kids in my Sunday school class... And Monday we're going to the beach with our youth to play volleyball and just hang out with our friends!

I'm definitely looking forward to all of these things, so taking plenty of meds and getting some rest tonight!

Starfish, FLowers & More

2009-05-17T00:26:00.000-07:00

I've decided to do a little project with the starfish that my hubby caught me! After soaking it in rubbing alcohol, and letting it dry in the sun for a couple of days, I attached it to the reed diffuser on my living room shelving. I think it turned out pretty good, and gives it a little something extra!

I've also visited my grandma a couple of days ago and she has the most beautifuL garden! She spends all of her time out there, constantly planting more flowers, fruit trees, vegetables, & anything else you could possibly think of.

She definitely knows what she's doing when it comes to gardening, and gave me these gorgeous roses as I was leaving.

Mmmmm... they smell so delicious, I just Luv fresh fLowers!

Puppy Drama

2009-05-16T23:57:00.000-07:00

Got some horrible news...

My 4 month old puppy, BeLLa fell off our bed at 3 in the morning on Friday. I woke up to the sound of her whimpering and quickly jumped out of bed to find her on the floor with her front paw sort of hanging in the air.

After taking her to the vet, the doc confirmed that she broke her paw and would need to wear a cast for 6-8 weeks. Since she's still a puppy, the bones should heal perfectly with no long-term effects.

It was so devastating to watch my poor baby try to walk at first, the cast is so heavy compared to her tiny body that she kept falling.

Thankfully she's doing a lot better now and doesn't seem to be in any pain. She's still as cute and playful as she always was, and she looks super adorable with her little pink cast.

More Fun in LA!

2009-05-16T22:05:00.001-07:00

So obvious just hanging out at the beach was not good enough for us, so we decided to drive an hour to Six Flags Magic Mountain... bad idea!

About 30 min into the drive, our car started making a horrible scrapping sound... definitely bad news. Apparently one of the bolts for the support underneath our car got loose and started scrapping the ground. There was really no where to pull over, so we quickly got out of the car and started walking so there would be less weight, while my hubby continued to drive to try to exit.

Let me remind you again that this was all happening while we were on the freeway, and we definitely caused some major traffic. It only took about 5 min before the freeway tow truck showed up along with a couple of cops. They were really nice and towed our car for free and gave us a ride to the gas station.

Luckily my husband is super great at fixing cars, so he quickly borrowed some tools from the gas station and fixed the car with Ilya all in time for us to still make it to Six Flags!

Fun in the *Sun

2009-05-16T21:27:00.000-07:00

We went to LA this past weekend and had a great time just reLaxing in the Sand!

It actually wasn't even planned, but since my hubby and I have been working sooo hard lately we decided that we needed a vacation. My sis aLLa and her Bf Ilya just decided to tag along too LoL!

We didn't really do anything too special, just spent most of the days going to the beach. The weather was a little cloudy and the water was freezing, but we still had to go splashing in the waves and got pretty nice tans {except for my hubby & Ilya, who ended up looking like crabs}

Speaking of crabs... My hubby {the explorer that he is Lol} spend much of his time catching crabs and looking for starfish.

There was so many of them but they were really hard to get!

Here's my hubby risking his Life and trying to beat the crashing waves to get a starfish for me... Awww how sweet ;)

Of course I had to get a couple of pics too...

Nothing more reLaxing than having your toes in the sand and the fresh breeze running through your hair... ahhhh this is the Life!

Doing A Victory Dance!

2009-05-16T19:09:00.000-07:00

Yay! I'm sooo ecstatic right now, I just found out that I won a bLog makeover from Kelly at Fabulous K!

I've definitely been needing one for a while now, and I'm sooo excited that I'm finally getting one.

She is definitely the best and creates the kooLest designs I have ever seen. She is simply fabuLous so definitely check her out!

Thanx again KeLLy, Luv u Lots ;)

I've been really behind with posting cuz I just came home from my trip to LA, but I'll definitely be back with more updates!

{AdorabLe BLog Award}

2009-05-07T07:15:00.001-07:00

Last week I received this LoveLy award:
from this beautifuL girL, {Brooke}!

Awww I feeL so speciaL (wink, wink) Thanks hun, I appreciate the Luv!

Le Pink SandaLs

2009-05-05T17:12:00.000-07:00

Went shopping for Mother's Day on Friday and again on Monday, but ended up buying more stuff for myself than my mom... Yes I know how selfish!

I did manage to buy my mom-in-Law a super cute white Kathy Van Zeeland Purse... It's the perfect gift for her because she's been looking for a good white purse for a while now. My mom on the other hand should have been easier to shop for, but I still can't figure out what to get her.

...She already has tons of purses in every color

...I'm not allowed to buy her any clothes, because I always buy the wrong size and style

...She's picky about jewelry

...I already bought her tons of make-up, body lotions, and hair products

...She has a lot of picture frames and albums

...Ughhhh I'm stuck and I would definitely appreciate any suggestions!

At least I didn't leave the mall empty handed... I ended up buying myself a pair of very cute & elegant earrings.

Bath and Body wall plug-ins {Sweet Pea, my fav}
And the most adorable pink Sandals!

And of course I had to try them out right away {Even though it was raining}

Show Us Where You Live Friday!

2009-05-04T00:03:00.000-07:00

Kelly at Kelly's Korner is Hosting Show Us Where You Live Friday {Kitchen Edition} and although I'm a little late with my post, I decided to do it anyways! So I finally made the time to kind of get my kitchen in order and take some pics. Since we rent our condo and can't change the wall color or make too many holes LoL, its not exactly my dream kitchen but its fine for now. We moved in right after our wedding about 1 1/2 years ago and have been living here ever since. Right now we are in the process of looking to buy our first home, but until there this is what we call Home Sweet Home.

Entrance to the Kitchen {View from our Living Room}

A closer look...

My spice rack, which hardly ever gets used

I always thought these bottles looked pretty kooL

I usually have tons of plants all over my house, especially orchids, they're my fav

My dinning room

Our dinnerware {Wedding gift from my mom in law}

{Bath Time}

2009-04-27T20:59:00.000-07:00

I gave Bella her first bath, and let's just say that it took 3 ppl to get it done! 1 person holding her down, 1 shampooing, and 1 taking pictures ;) Since she's so small, I decided to do it in the bathroom sink where she can actually stand. It was a sight to see, she was so scared and kept trying to climb out. She got the full treatment with blow drying, grooming, and the works!

Today we also had an appointment to get her 3rd puppy shot. The vet gave her another exam and everything looks perfect! She still only weighs about 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 lbs even though I feel that she got bigger since her last appointment.

I just luv her adorable puppy eyes and check out her new hairdo LOL

CeLebrating G-Pa's 80th Birthday!

2009-04-27T20:44:00.000-07:00

On Sunday we went out to The Golden Dragon to celebrate my grandpa's 80th Birthday. He's been so sick lately, so it was nice for him to be able to get out and spend some quality time with the family. I am sooo lucky to still have both of my grandparents and I want to enjoy every moment of it, because with their health nothing is ever certain.

We had a great time just talking and enjoying each others company, as you can see from all of these fun pics!

~The whole gang at the table!~

~Gotta Luv the cake the lil' cake they made for him~

We barely have any pics with our grandparents, so this is definitely a keeper ;)

The Spring Fling Giveaway!

2009-04-27T20:25:00.000-07:00

Kelly at Fabulous K creative is having a Spring Fling Giveaway! She will be giving away a standard picture blog re-design, so come check out her Fabulous designs for a chance to win!

My blog definitely needs some help, and I would love to get a spring make-over. I got my fingers crossed!

Night Out at the Fountains

2009-04-19T00:47:00.000-07:00

After the wedding, we took Bella to the fountains for the first time. It's a very popular place for people to do some shopping, get a bite to eat, and just take a relaxing stroll, so as you can image it's usually very busy and crowded. Today was no different, and we pretty much saw almost everyone we know there, including old friends that I haven't seen in ages.

Bella was so scared of everyone at first and I could barely get her to walk on her leash; however, she got the hang of it towards the end. She was definitely the center of attention everywhere we went. Everyone loved her and wanted to pet and hold her, especially the kids. Poor baby was sooo worn out, she's definitely going to be sleeping good tonight!

Spring Wedding!

2009-04-19T00:07:00.000-07:00

Today our good friends Anna and Roman got married! I couldn't be happier for them, and wish them all of the happiness, love, and God's blessings in the world!

My poor hubby was working all night on Friday so as soon as he came home Saturday morning, he passed out on the bed. I on the other hand spent all morning with my mom and aunt creating fruit arrangements for Anna's wedding. We've done them before for my engagement party and wedding and they turned out really nice, so she asked us to make 2 to put on her wedding table. I think our effort payed off, as you can see they turned out really cute.

The wedding was beautiful and Anna looked gorgeous ;) I especially loved all the food, soo yummy, and the program they had was very humorous and entertaining. I even sang a song for the bride and groom along with my sisters and friend Julie. Their mics weren't working that great, but either way it turned out pretty good. It was such a blessed day, I don't think they could have asked for anything better!

Taking a quick pic with the bride and groom!

Me and my gorgeous sisters, they were both bridesmaids at the wedding.

Looks like my hubby found himself a new girlfriend ;)

Me and my cuzin Jules just chillin' at our table.

My mommy and auntie at the reception.

Too bad I'm already married, bouquet tosses are sooo fun!

I luv the way the decorated the fruit table, so cute.

The New Cake Diet!

2009-04-18T23:45:00.000-07:00

I've had a long week at school, with everything due at the same time, and I'm glad that it's all finally over for now. After spending the whole Friday relaxing in my pjs, I randomly decided to bake my hubby's favorite cake. It turned out delicious as always ;)

I definitely need to go on a diet and start working out more, I gained like 5 lbs in the last month and seriously need to lose it before summer! I think it's probably from all the stress that I've been having from school. I'm hoping to start a new diet and exercise routine on Monday, but we'll see how that goes.

BAP Family Picnic

2009-04-15T07:26:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I took Bella to the park for the first time where we had our Beta Alpha Psi family picnic. It was so much fun and I finally got to introduce my hubby to all of my school friends. Everyone brought their kids and families and we even had a few alumni come. We spent the day eating barbecue, listening to music, and playing games like sumi wrestling, musical chairs and the water balloon toss. Everyone loved Bella and couldn't get enough of her. Poor baby she was so worn out after the picnic, that she slept the whole way home!

Happy Easter!!!

2009-04-13T09:16:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a beautiful Easter Sunday filled with many blessings, I know I definitely did!!! We started off the morning with an Easter Egg Hunt for my sunday school class. I never knew they were so competitive! They were sliding up and down the grass, and pushing anyone who was in the way just to collect the most eggs and win the "grand prize" chocolate bunny. They were too funny to watch. The grass was still slightly wet from the morning dew and some of the kids had a little too much fun in the dirt (I hope the parents won't be too mad ).

We had a huge Easter Lunch at my parents house, with all of our friends and relatives there. I took Bella with me and dressed her up in the cutest Easter dress ever, let me say nobody could get their hands off her. My poor baby, she was so worn out from everyone trying to pet her, take pictures, and play with her.

The service tonight was wonderful and very close to the heart. We had some amazing preachers, with great words of wisdom. Our worship group sang beautifully and my choir sounded phenomenal. You could tell we all worked really hard to make this the best Easter Service ever, and it really showed!

♥I'll leave with a couple of cutie pics of Bella ♥

My Baby BeLLa

2009-04-11T03:09:00.001-07:00

I've been devastated ever since my puppy passed away last year, and I've waited quite a while before deciding that it was finally time to get another one. I was soo attached to him and it was hard to let go and start over with a new puppy. Once my hubby and I decided for sure, I started researching immediately. I was on Spring break the whole week, so it was the perfect timing! I found a breeder and probably called her like a million times to make sure that we were making the right choice and knew what we were getting into. I arranged to meet with the breeder at the vet, and anxiously waited for a couple of days to finally meet her.

When I first saw her, I could barely believe it, she was sooo tiny. She was only 1.6lbs and looked more like a fluffy little squirrel than a dog xexe.

Ever since then, Bella has been such a joy. You can't look at her adorable little face without smiling :) She's very smart and already knows how to use her potty box. She loves to cuddle with me and follows me around the house where every I go!

Been trying to take some pics of her, but can't get her to stay still. Here are some that I got from the breeder and a few that I managed to actually take.

Only a puppy, and already all blinged out ... What do you expect, she's a girl ;)

Larry's 25th Birthday

2009-04-11T02:19:00.000-07:00

My hubby turned 25 on March 30th and I've been planning a surprise B-day party for him for the past 2-3 weeks. Its been sooo hard cuz he's always really sneaky and finds out everything before I even get a chance. Especially since I'm really bad at keeping secrets, so he usually gets it out of me anyways.

But this time it was different, I kept my mouth shut and he totally had no clue what was going on when I brought him to the hotel. I told him that we had to pick up some tickets from my dad and he completely fell for it xexe.

Everything went great just as I planned it! The decorations and table setting were beautiful, the food was delicious, and the company was hilarious. We all had so much fun playing games, and telling good stories about Larry (he obviously didn't like that too much).

The one thing I forgot to do was to charge my camera, so that explains the lack of pictures in this post :( Looks like I'm going to have to hunt down the guests for some more pics to post later!

Vegas Day 2 & 3

2009-04-11T01:35:00.000-07:00

Vegas was so fun!!! After the initial bad day everything definitely started getting better. There was so much to do and so many places to see that we didn't even know where to start. We must have walked the strip up and down like 10 times LoL I went gambling the first time ever and won $65!!! ... Not bad for an inexperienced gambler like myself. We watched a couple of shows and ate at a few kool restaurants. Everywhere we went there was something new so we took tons and tons of pics for memories. It was great but I don't know we're going to be coming back anytime soon. Too much smokers and drunks all over the place, not really my kinda crowd!

Anyways... Here are a few pics from our trip (And by a few I mean a lot). Thanks again to my hubby for this wonderful surprise ... you're the best ;)

They had the coolest fountain show... This pic doesn't do it justice!

Looks just like the real thing ;)

My hubby attempting to hold up the Eiffel Tower :D

B-Day in Vegas!!!

2009-04-05T00:47:00.000-07:00

We had a really early flight on Friday, and since we were doing last minute packing, we only got about 2-3 hrs of sleep. I usually don't do too well when I don't get enough sleep, so what do you know... I got sick in the morning. I felt nauseous the whole way to the airport and had to throw up when I got there. Everyone keeps asking ... but NO I'm not prego, not anytime soon! After that I was fine the rest of the day. We got to the hotel around noon and rested a couple of hours before going out to explore. We were supposed to go on the Stratosphere Tower rides, but after the day I was having we decided it would be better if I kept my lunch in the rest of the time :)

The Stratosphere Tower

My 21st B-day!

2009-04-04T23:48:00.001-07:00

On March 10th I finally turned 21!!! While I was still sleeping, my hubby woke up really early, like 5 am to buy me some flowers and a card in the morning before leaving to work. Although I woke up to an empty house, it was still really sweet of him... I couldn't really do anything special that day, because it was on Tuesday and I had school. Any other day I would have just skipped, but I had tons of tests coming up and a lot of homework due that week :( In the evening we went out to dinner at Fats with my sisters and Ilya. I got a lot of great stuff from my family...new clothes, shoes, make-up, gift cards, and of course money...what more can a girl ask for? Well I'll tell you what ... A trip to VEGAS ... yep that's the surprise that my hubby was planning for my b-day. Right before dinner he gave me an envelope with plane tickets and an itinerary in it. I've never been to Vegas before so I was super excited, especially since I was now old enough to do everything ;)

Here are a few pics from the restaurant.

Yummm ... My b-day cake!

SiLent Charity Auction at Meet the Firms

2009-03-04T10:31:00.000-08:00

This semester, I am the Fundraising Director of Beta Alpha Psi, a national honorary accounting society, and one of my responsibilities is to organize a silent auction at an event called Meet the Firms. Well we just had it last friday on February 27, 2009 and it was a great success. We were able to raise $1,124 for the Birthday Wishes Program of the Volunteer Center of Sacramento. They are such a great charity and provide personalized birthday parties for children living in local homeless shelters. They use the money to buy birthday presents for the children based on things they want and need, and party supplies so that they can invite the rest of the children for a big celebration. Organizing the auction was a tough task, but I had a group of excellent volunteers to help me get through it. I am very proud of myself and how everything turned out!

Yummy Surprise

2009-02-23T23:47:00.001-08:00

My hubby is a sweetheart :) Today he came home from work with Tulips and a miniature cake with the inscription "I Love You My Dear" written on it. I love the random little things he does for me, he's soo cute. I'm so busy balancing school, house work, choir, sunday school, and planning a fundraising event right now that I forget to take the time and notice the simple things that make me happy. I'm so glad that I have my hubby to remind me!

ReLaxing Day at the Spa

2009-02-23T10:54:00.000-08:00

My Lovely hubby got me a day day at the spa for my Valentine's present, so I spent the whole Monday relaxing and getting pampered. It started off with a full body massage at Massage Envy. It was so nice that I practically dozed off a couple of times. Then I headed over to Bellagio Salon, which is practically next door to Massage Envy, and got their deluxe pedicure. My hubby also got me a mani, but since my nails have been chipping lately, I decided to get acrylic ones instead. I really like how they do nails there, they turn out so natural. I'm definitely coming back very soon;) After the salon, I picked up my hubby and we went out to lunch together and just spent the rest of the day hanging out. I've been so stressed out these past couple of weeks, but my sweety knows just how to make it all better.

♥VaLentine's Day in Tahoe♥

2009-02-22T00:41:00.000-08:00

My hubby decided to surprise me for VaLentine's Day and take me to a cabin in Tahoe for the weekend. It was snowing for most of the time we were there, and the view was so gorgeous from our room. We sled down the hill all the way to the shore and played in the snow, but it was freezing so we didn't stay out too long. On Saturday Alla and Ilya stopped by and we all went out for dinner. Originally, my husband had a surprise dinner planned for me in South Lake Tahoe; however, the highway was closed due to avalanche danger and we couldn't make it there :( Instead we just drove up to Tahoe city and tried to find a restaurant there. Being as it was Valentines, all the nice restaurants were completely full. We ended up going to a small Chinese restaurant, and to this day I regret going there. The food there was horrible...I ordered sushi and it seriously felt like I was eating rocks. Yes believe me, it was that bad... really hard and tasteless :( eckkkkkkkk.....
Other than that, we had a great time! I bought my hubby a super cute watch...he really needed a nice one for church, cuz his other one broke. He surprised me with a day at the spa, something I've been needing for a long time now... We stayed there until Sunday night and then headed home. Of course with the type of weather we've been having, there had to be an accident on the way home and the road was blocked for about an hour. We took this opportunity to grab some dinner and continued on our way.

Me and my baby using this opportunity to take some pics in front of the beautiful scenery

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