Update

It seems like November has flown by! I can't believe that Thanksgiving is only a few days away! Dearest and I are hosting a massive Christmas dinner (okay, it's technically a post-Christmas dinner) for 14 people! On the menu- turkey, stuffing, my aunt's candies yams (oh so tasty), ham, mashed potatoes, and much more. I've never made a turkey before, so we're having a dry run to see how it turns out... So far the stuffing is amazing!!! And that was just the leftover part that didn't fit into the turkey. I told Dearest that after discovering this wonderful stuffing, I'll probably make it once a month and stuff a chicken or something. :)

I'm so excited for Christmas! I really want to start putting decorations up, but Dearest says we have to wait til after Thanksgiving. This is the first year we're able to put up lights on the house, since we've always lived in an apartment building. You can bet that our house will be the brightest on the block. Lol. I get a bit carried away with holiday decor. :)

New Year's is sure to be fun, too. We're going to Disneyland for a few days, including New Year's Eve, with my family. I've never been during the holidays and I've heard it's so magical and special. I'm super excited! Plus it means I'll be able to buy all those mickey antenna balls I've seen this year. Hehe.

Dearest and I began our marathon training, but about a week into it, we both got sick. It's been two weeks and we both still have a cough. There were times during the massive headaches of the cold that I had the strong urge to knock myself out with a bat so I could get some sleep. Thankfully we're both well onto the road to recovery. Training starts again tomorrow!

I hope all of you are doing well! I can't wait to see my friends during the holidays!

Too Ambitious?

Somehow I ended up adding something very odd to my bucket list. I want to run a marathon. Yes, me who only started to seriously exercise in the past couple of years. I don't think I can run a full marathon, it's over 26 miles! My goal is for a half marathon. Maybe Disneyland's half marathon? Nothing like running through the happiest place on earth to keep your spirits high. :) Dearest wants to find one that's a month or so before the wedding so we can use the training to whip us into shape for the wedding as well. Two birds with one stone sort of plan. I think he's nuts. :)

Waiting Game...

At this point, the wedding has now become a waiting game. I just booked the florist, which was the last of the vendors to nail down. The next thing on our list of things to do is to taste the food and decide on the menu... which doesn't happen until January. In the meantime, I'm still working on our invitations. It's a ton of stamping, but I still have quite a while before they need to be done.

Other than that, we're gearing up for the holiday season. I busted out the Christmas music a couple weeks ago. :) We're planning on hosting a Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner, so that'll be tons of fun. And of course the Christmas tree and shopping for gifts!

Wedding Update

A few updates with the wedding- we booked our DJ! They always say, the music can make or break a wedding... so we went with a well known and highly rated company. Their customer service thus far has been amazing! We couldn't make it out to their showcase of DJs, so they mailed us a DVD recording to watch with a bag of popcorn! Very nice touch. Dearest and I are still, well I should say Dearest, is still deciding on our music. He has an idea for our first dance, but we'll see. :)

Aloha honeymoon! We're going to Hawaii for our honeymoon! Sadly our road trip wasn't feasible (too many days to take off, etc). Dearest has never been to Hawaii, so he's really excited. I'm sure we'll have a great time kayaking, snorkeling and hiking. Oh, and eating delicious food! MMmmm I can taste the fresh fish already...

Our Ultimate Marriage Test

For our honeymoon, instead of going somewhere tropical like Hawaii or somewhere romantic like Paris or somewhere just down right fun like Australia, we've opted to go on what I like to call The Ultimate Marriage Test. It's going to be 2000 miles, 2 countries, 4 states and 18 days of 24/7 togetherness. The road trip of a lifetime... to Canada! :) We were going to go on a mini-moon to Disneyland, but Dearest wanted to go somewhere new and we're going to Disneyland for New Years Eve anyway. It's not set in stone, but it seems like what we're leaning towards.

Since we're also taking Italian this semester (yes, I'm going back to school, but this time for fun) we are planning to go to Italy for our 1 year anniversary. We figure it'll give us over a year to become fluent.

Speaking of Hawaii, I'm going in a couple days! Yay! Maybe all that swimming and running on the beach will whip me into shape. I'm trying to lose that last 5 lbs! And I'm sure eating chips and all that cake tasting didn't help. :D

Delicious Cake!

We went cake tasting this past week and boy was it yummy! I never knew there were so many different varieties of wedding cake. There was chocolate with chocolate mousse, vanilla with strawberry preserves, lemon with lemon cream, chocolate with raspberry mousse... I could go on for a while. After tasting enough cake to consitute a meal, we decided on the flavors we're going to go with. Each tier will be a different flavor, so be sure to look out for the variety! :) We're scheduling a later appointment to figure out the design and look of the cake.

Didn't Make The Cut

I thought I'd give ya'll a little taste of my wedding dress shopping experiences. Here is a dress that didn't make the cut. :) This was my #1 choice until I found THE dress. I love the detail on the top. Doesn't it make me look super skinny? :D

Engagement Pictures... Check!

A couple days ago, we had our engagement pictures taken by our amazing photographer. Even just viewing a few of the shots on the small screen of her Canon (yay for brand power!), I knew that we had gotten the best photographer for our big day. She's so fun and easy going about things, making what could have been a seriously awkward 3 hours into a fun time with friends. The pictures wont be done for a few weeks and I am SO excited to see them and share a few with you!

And if you're looking for a great photographer at a very low price, let me know! :)

New Job

I started my new job a few days ago and I'm really enjoying it. It's a small team of only 7 people, including me, so it's a tight knit group. Lots of inside jokes that I'm slowly picking up on. ;) Training is going pretty well. I have to admit that the work is pretty basic compared to what I've done before. Just a lot of steps to memorize and products to learn.

In other wedding news, Dearest and I are taking our engagement pictures today! I'm really excited! I'm definitely excited to showcase my shoes. :D We've been waiting to send out 3/4ths of our Save-the-Dates because we want to use one of the photos from our engagement session, so they should be going out by the end of the month. Stay tuned for more news. :)

The Handsome Men

Being a woman and having never worn a tuxedo, I stopped in at Men's Wearhouse to poke around and see what sorts of styles and colors were available. The sales associate was really helpful in explaining the different styles of tuxes (the fit, number of buttons, lapel styles, etc) and colors/patterns. Here's a tux I like.

My main goal was to find a shade of pink that I liked. Pink, our accent color, can come in many many many shades and normally brides bring in their bridesmaid dresses to match the color. I on the other hand, decided to go backwards. I found a shade of pink at Men's Wearhouse and then I'll match everything else to that. Much easier, in my opinion. :)

With the help of my mom, we were able to get an idea of what Dearest and his groomsmen would wear. I know the guys aren't so fond of wearing pink, so I just wanted a pink tie, which matches quite well with a black vest, yet the color really pops. Dearest doesn't like to wear white, so he'll be wearing a silver vest and tie.

She's Here!

I ordered my dress in May and she wasn't set to arrive until early September- smack in the middle of my Hawaiian vacation. I called yesterday to check on the status of the dress and to my surprise, it had already arrived! My mom and I picked it up today and I love it! I had tried it on in ivory, but ordered white and it's beautiful. I can't wait to wear it on our wedding day. Dearest always asks if I want to get a second dress for the reception, but no way! I want to wear it as long as possible! I may even shorten it after the wedding so I can wear it on our anniversaries. :) The wedding seems more and more real now that I have my dress.

Mid-year Reflection

We've crossed the mid-year point, so it seems like a nice moment to reflect upon the first 7 months of the year. I made some resolutions, none if which were unattainable (what's the point of unattainable goals??).

~Finish School: I definitely finished school and 6 months earlier than I had originally planned. If you do the math of actual class time, it took me 10 weeks less than most of my fellow graduates. ;)

~ Finish a book or screenplay: I finished two screenplays! One full length and one short. I have to admit that I'm more proud of my short script, mostly because I felt I invested a lot of time and effort, even if it was only 12 pages.

~ Save some dough: Saving has gone... no where. We're debt free (aside from that 40" HDTV...), which is nice. We've got a lot of upcoming expenses, most of them wedding related.

~ Try a new recipe every week: I'd say everything even out to a new one each week. Some weeks we try 3 or 4 new things, other busy weeks I stick to something simple and familiar. One of my favorites so far: "shake and bake" chicken.

~ Make my skinny jeans my everyday jeans: I'm doing a lot better. Not necessarily losing pounds, but I'm still thinning out. There's this ad at 24 Hr Fitness of a woman and her personal trainer. The quote over her head explaining her reason for hitting the gym: "To fit into my wedding dress." 'Nuff said.

~ Move: We moved! I'm pretty sure I've written about this before, since I love love love the place. :)

It's been an eventful 7 months!

Aquarium/2 yr Celebration

In honor of our two year anniversary, we went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I have this strange attraction to sea horses- maybe it's because the males give birth- and they debuted a new sea horse exhibit this summer. Although Dearest says he had a good time, I think he was just enjoying it because I enjoyed it. Hmm... I suppose aquariums aren't for everyone, but he's such a good sport! How did I ever get so lucky?! :)
There were tons of different sea horses. Some leafy, some mini. Overall it was just fun to spend a full day with Dearest, which is hard to come by these days, what with my 3 jobs. Dearest has taken full advantage of his summer break by indulging in all the mind-numbing games he can get his paws on.

Yummy Yummy Cake!

For me, one of the most important things about the wedding is the cake. Only once in your life can you go all out with a cake- like a 5 tier, fondant covered, sugar flower embellished, decadent triple chocolate cake. :) I orginally wanted to have cupcakes because well, cupcakes are so much more delicious than regular cake! But they are pretty impractical for a 250+ reception. There would be cupcakes on the tables, on top of speakers, as "floral" arrangements, coming out of peoples' pockets... So we've decided on a classic cake with a personal twist. Here are a few of my inspirations:

New Chapter

It's time to begin a new chapter in my life! I am now officially done with college, so it's time to move on to the next big event: our wedding! Planning has been thrown in full swing and we've taken care of most of the big things. We're planning to taste cakes sometime in August and hopefully find a DJ. We sent out some of our Save-the-Dates. We still have to order more, so don't worry, there are still more to come in the mail. :) Supposedly we're going to take our engagement pictures next week, but I'm having a hard time getting in contact with our photographer. I know she's super busy seeing as summer is wedding season. Hopefully I'll be able to get in contact with her.

2 years and going strong! Dearest and I had our 2 year anniversary this past weekend. Sad to say, neither of us really remembered. :O We were up in the city, so we spent the day visiting friends. We're going to go to the Monterrey Bay Aquarium in the next couple of weeks as our celebration. I'm excited! I love the aquarium!

I'm Done!

Yup! I'm done with college! Well, technically not until Monday. I still have a paper to write that's due after the weekend. And yes, I have contemplated not writing it... But I promise I will! :) I won't get my grades for another week or so and probably won't get my diploma for a while. I'm just glad to be done with classes!

Though I'm not entirely done. In the fall, I'm taking Italian with Dearest at the community college down here. It's just a fun little something we can do together in preparation for our upcoming trip to Italy. Dearest wants to be fluent when we go, which won't be for at least two years. We're going to try and speak only Italian around the house. I sense a lot of "bene" and "pizza" and "si."

Strangely, I'm not as excited about school being over and I thought I would be. I've been waiting for this day since I started college and now that it's here... I guess I expected there to be more jumping off the walls in excitement. Maybe it's because I still have a paper to write. I best get on that.

The End is Near

The end is near.... of school, that is. I am officially 13 days (and just 4 days of classes) away from being a college graduate. I applied for graduation last week- apparently you have to inform the school that you'd like to stop paying unreasonably high tuition and just get your degree. My last day of class is July 23rd, so if you try and get in contact with me I probably won't answer til oh, the 26th? ;) I'm taking two classes: a lit class and screenwriting. I'm finding that if I can keep up with the assignments, I should be home free.

I also started a new job. Yes, in the middle of the most important quarter of school, I decided to pick up a second job. It's only part-time, maybe 20 hours a week, of being a hostess at a local Japanese restaurant. It doesn't pay much right now, but I'm advancing to Lunch Coordinator now and hopefully a server once I'm done with school. I didn't want the task of learning the menu and basically another language all while juggling classes. I enjoy the atmosphere of working in a restaurant again and the people are fun.

Wedding planning has come to a near stand still. I think we have the guest list finalized, just a few tweaks here and there as the day gets closer. Dearest and I will be taking engagement pictures in early August and I'm really excited about them. I absolutely love our photographer and can't wait to see more of her amazing work. I'm really envious of her- writer and photographer? She's really got it all.

As for Dearest and I... We're doing really well. We've been trying out a new recipe almost every night: some good, others bad. We're just enjoying our new place and both trying to make it through these last few weeks of summer school alive.

Hope you're all doing well! Next time I write, it'll probably be as a college grad!

Made me realize...

Hard and tragic times have fallen upon a few people who are closest to Dearest, and therefore people very important to me. While I won't get into any details, it's really put my trival complaints into perspective and made me appreciate everything I have. It's made me appreciate the little things in life, to take the time to tell Dearest how much I love him, to basically stop and smell the roses (which I literally did today).

My message to you: life is short, so live it up. Be kind to everyone, apologize even if you feel you shouldn't, enjoy the small things in life, and just be appreciative for what you have.

"Happiness is wanting what you have."

Happy -1 Anniversary!

This past week Dearest and I celebrated our -1 year anniversary of marriage! (Okay, okay, I might have been the only one celebrating.) We threw a house warming bbq last weekend because... you guessed it! We moved! After being rejected from the last apartment we applied for, we got a better place! There's so much more space and it's so sunny and bright that you can't really ever be in a bad mood here. Plus we're literally a block away from the beach. It's surfer town out here, so we're thinking about learning. The kitchen is so much bigger- Dearest and I can cook together now! We've been settling in nicely with our new furniture- another couch and a sweet dining table we found on craigslist. If you didn't make it down for the bbq, you are always more than welcome and we'd love to see you!

As far as the wedding goes, everything seems to be falling into place. Now that the one year mark has passed, I feel as though I need to get moving on other details. My current task- flowers. Who knew there were so many different options?!

School is.. almost over! I have exactly ten, yes count 'em, t.e.n. days of college classes left. Ever. And Dearest is very jealous. :) I've paid my dues and I'm so ready to be done! I'm going out by taking two classes that I'm excited about: travel writing and screen writing! We'll see if I'm still excited about all the writing I'll have...

To Move or Not To Move...

That is the question... We didn't get the brand new place we were looking at. And I think it's for the best. She was being really pokey about getting back to us and we were having qualms about the smaller space and possible parking problems. So it's back to the drawing board. We've got 5 places lined up to view this week so far. Hopefully one of them will be our new home. If not, I guess we have enough to buy a new table and other furniture.

School is going well. I just finished up probably the busiest week of school I've had in my 4 years of college. Taking 20 units is really starting to get to me. But the good news is I only have 3 weeks left! Then a two week break and the 5 weeks of summer school starts. I'll be done on July 24th. Lots for Dearest and I to celebrate that weekend- it's our 2 year anniversary the next day!

The wedding has been put on the back burner for now. We've done all the major things that needed to be booked, etc. For now we're focusing on finishing up school. I think we'll take our engagement photos sometime in August, during Dearest's summer break.

One Year Older...

Dearest somewhat organized a little b-day thing for me. Very last minute, but at least he tried. Still, I had a great time seeing all my friends- even the ones from SF. :) I feel old. 22 was always a milestone age in my mind- graduating from college, finding a job, being independent. So I'm mostly there, but it's still freaking me out a bit. It's sort of a wake up call- Hey, you're not a kid anymore. You're about to graduate, you've got two to support (no, not a baby- me and Dearest!), and you're getting married soon. Crazy!

Classes have been... going. Five weeks left of this quarter and then five weeks of summer school. July 24th, here I come! Funny, Dearest and I will be celebrating our 2 year anniversary the next day. I can't believe that 2 years have gone by already. Hopefully the next 4 years of Dearest's school will go by just as fast. Hopefully.

In other news, come July I'll have to quit my nanny job to find a full time job (gotta pay the bills somehow). So if anyone is up for watching an adorable 2.5 year old about 3 times a week in the afternoon, let me know. She's incredibly cute and fun to play with. She's a bit loud and adventurous, but she'll really make you love your job.

We're currently looking at a new place to live. It's a bit smaller than our current space, but everything is BRAND NEW! Brand new carpet, paint, whirlpool tub, "his/her" double sinks... The best part is the amazing kitchen with granite counter tops, new stove- finally gas again! There's a huge wrap around deck that's ideal for BBQs and entertaining. We're not sure if we'll get the place yet, though. I just can't wait to be out of construction hell. :(

Engaged!

So, lots has happened! First off, Dearest and I got engaged! We just started the planning process and it's quite fun. We've found our ceremony and reception venue, but all i'll say is that it's beautiful! Hey, I have to leave something a surprise. :P

I'm almost done with school- just this quarter and then 5 weeks of summer school! I'm SO excited! Possibly more about this than getting married, but don't tell Dearest. ;) It seems surreal that I'm going to be a college grad soon!

3 months to go- til we move! We love this apartment and it's really a great place to live, but we can't stand the construction that's going on and the parking situation. Hopefully our next place will be a lot better!

Some Munchies...

Okay, so I've slacked off... Dearest and I have tried a bunch of new recipes in the past few weeks. Here's a quick glimpse:

Chicken Tikka Masala- There's this great Indian place in the City that we like to go to whenever we can and this is pretty similar, but still different.





Hot Wings! Always a fan of hot wings, this was my attempt to recreate KFC's original hot wings. Didn't quite make the flavor, but the texture was pretty close. I got the recipe from the Neely's on The Food Network.




Chicken Marsala- This was our "romantic" Valentine's day dinner. Dearest was going to make it all by himself, but we went out during the day and by the time we got home both of us were starving. It was agreed that I'd cook so we'd be able to eat faster. He still did most of the prep work though. :)

Stir-fry

I'm asian, so I figure I should at least attempt to make decent stir-fry. I took a blend of almost every asian spice/ingredient I had at home, cooked it with some chicken and broccoli, and served it over rice. After about five attempts, I came up with something pretty good. We probably won't be having it again anytime soon though; Dearest got tired of it after the third night. :)

Act 1 done!

Well, the first draft of Act 1 is done. It's due on Tuesday, so I decided to give myself plenty of time to revise it. I was aiming for 30 pages, but it's only 23. Still, I think the movie will come out to about an hour and a half. Or hopefully 80 pages.

Yorkshire Pudding

a.k.a. the stuff you get at the House of Prime Rib. (My mouth is watering just thinking about prime rib... Mmmm...) Dearest loves, and I mean LOVES, the bread pudding that comes with the meal. My aunt recently gave me a recipe for Yorkshire Pudding, which is about the same thing. It's super easy to make and tastes delicious! Nice and crispy on the outside, yet warm and moist on the inside.

Yorkshire Pudding

• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• Pam baking spray
  

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Mix flour and salt in a medium bowl. In another bowl, beat eggs, then add milk and stir. Pour into flour and mix until well blended (should be liquidy). Spray muffin tin with Pam and fill each cup 2/3 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Enjoy!

Story of a girl...

I've been putting this off for a while, mostly because I know it's going to take a while, but bear with me. As I've mentioned before, I'm writing a love story for my script writing class. So far we've gotten several drafts of our treatments done (like a short story version) and have handed in outlines. Next step is to write Act 1, which is about 30 pages or a page per minute of movie. Sounds like a lot, but it's actually not.

Anyway, on to the story. It's about a woman (aren't they all?) in her late twenties who's had a pretty tragic past- she was once engaged, but her fiance died- and it's been keeping her from opening up to love again. The film follows her struggle to open up to love again and find her Prince Charming. Along the way, she encounters funny situations (like trying to date a gay guy or getting proposed to and saying no), but in the end, her perfect guy turns out to be who she least expected.

I have a lot more details and about half of the first act done, but I'm thinking that posting it here isn't a great idea. It'd be too long and out of format, but hopefully I'll be able to keep you all updated on the progress and maybe a short summary of what's going on. :)

p.s. Burn Notice is on tonight at 10pm on USA. I'm making cupcakes for our premiere party! hehe :)

Apple Muffins

I'm on a muffin kick and these definitely topped the banana ones! "Pieces of tender apples appear in every bite of these pretty muffins that are the perfect treat to share with afternoon coffee." Forget afternoon coffee, these guys are good anytime of day! They were wonderfully moist and the sweet crunchy top made the whole thing melt in your mouth. A must try! Here's the recipe:

Muffins:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup (8 oz) sour cream
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups tart apples, peeled and chopped

Topping:

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons cold butter

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.
In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. In another bowl, beat the eggs, sour cream and butter. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in apples. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full.
For topping. combine sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle a rounded teaspoonful over each muffin.
Bake for 18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Serve warm.

Banana Crunch Muffins

First off, I love to bake, so there's always some tasty little treat hanging around to be munched on. Whenever Dearest and I eat around 7th & Irving back home, we stop at this little bakery called Tart to Tart. They've got the best muffins, especially the banana ones. Combined with Dearest's love for them and the overly ripe bananas hanging out at home, I whipped some up. The crunchy top was delicious, but the actual muffin was quite dry. Maybe substituting olive oil for the butter next time will make it more moist?

Mini Pavlova

One of my culinary adventures: Mini Pavlova
Pavlova is basically a large meringue cookie- crisp on the outside, soft (I think) on the inside. I've tried this recipe twice now; the first time bombed because of a temperature confusion. The second time was better, but not perfect since I tried to scale down the size to make them mini pavlovas. I topped them with whipped cream and fresh fruit. Bon Appétit!

Attacking My Baby

Classes started a few days ago and my script writing class is... "interesting" to say the least. Its the smallest class I've EVER been in; there's just nine of us- 5 gals, 4 guys. Our assignment for the class is to write a love story. (I feel bad for the guys who were looking forward to their slasher/horror flick.) I thought I'd be okay with the story idea I presented when applying for the class, but I thought wrong. We got our treatments back, the two page idea of our scripts, and I wasn't so pleased with the comments I got. My romantic comedy with a dash of action adventure didn't cut it because according to my Professor, I can't do both. I have to pick one (namely the romatic comedy aspect). Now I'm faced with the daunting task of butchering my baby, the story I've been working on/slaving away/creating for the past year and a half or so. To me, that's like telling Da Vinci that he needs to pick a side- Mona Lisa either has to be smiling or not, she can't have this ambiguous look. Okay, okay, that's a dramatic comparison. In any case, I'm disappointed and worried my movie won't be what it could have been...

New Year's Optimism

With the beginning of a new year comes newfound optimism complete with plans, ideas, and overall excitement. Which is why I like to make resolutions. Not to force myself to do something by the years end, but mostly to encourage myself to do something I've always wanted to. These have been floating around in my head for a while and I'm pretty realistic about things. (No need to resolve to buy a house in the next year. =P)

~ Finish school: If all goes as planned I'll be throwing myself a "yay-im-FINALLY-done-with-school" party on Dec 11th. And you're all invited. Seriously. =)

~ Finish a book or screenplay: I got into that script writing class and I couldn't be more thrilled and excited and scared. I'll probably post updates on how its going; maybe a summarized verison.

~ Save some dough: As I'm thinking more and more about my future with Dearest, I'm trying to brace for the rough financial times ahead. =/

~ Try a new recipe every week: This is my vow to keep expanding my culinary skills. I'll post some of the awesome recipes I encounter.

~ Make my skinny jeans my everyday jeans: Cliche, but true. Going to the gym gets super boring, but in the end the results are completely worth it!

~ Move: I know I know... We weren't planning on moving again until Dearest transfers, but we really want to get a dog, which isn't possible in our current place. Plus the parking here is horrendus. Moving brings about a lot of stress and extra purchases, such as a bed and washer/dryer. (We've vowed never to go back to apartment style laundrymats....) But I think it'll be a fun time for us.

All in all, I'm super psyched for the new year and all the fun changes it'll bring!