Craven's Estate

Craven's Estate was my first choice (well.... first choice AFTER Ambassador Mansions+Gardens was a no-go), and I just found out that I wouldn't have been able to have my wedding there anyway! 

Backstory: We were going to wait for two months for Craven's Estate to get some kind of event license through the city of Pasadena, but that would be cutting it close--especially if the license didn't go through.  I decided to nix Craven's Estate because I couldn't wait any longer to book a venue, and we went with Calamigos @ the L.A. Equestrian Center. 

If I waited any longer, we would have been screwed!!  We booked Calamigos around a year before our wedding date, and we would have had to wait for Craven's around early October.  All of the good places would have probably been booked if we waited til October, only to hear that Craven's couldn't have events due to noise ordinances!

Phew.  Everything happens for a reason :)

30 before 30

Even though I'm only 25, I feel like this whole list will be hard to accomplish in 5 years, haha.  Well, more like 4 years and 4.5 months.

I know some people have super meaningful 30 before 30 lists (go on a medical mission, read the entire bible, etc)... sorry this one is NOT.


30 before 30

{ 01 } Complete a 30 day yoga challenge.

{ 02 } Buy a house!

{ 03 } Go on an all-inclusive vacation - cruise? resort?

{ 04 } Go snowboarding.

{ 05 } Buy a pair of Louboutins.

{ 06 } Take a kickboxing class.

{ 07 } Move to Pasadena :)

{ 08 } Take a cooking class.

{ 09 } Go to an NBA playoff game.

{ 10 } Go to a Lakers game (again.)

{ 11 } Go to a Clippers game.

{ 12 } Change a baby's diaper (safer than saying "have a baby!")

{ 13 } Watch in person as UCLA wins an NCAA Championship (basketball, PLEASE!)

{ 14 } This goes hand-in-hand: Go to an NCAA basketball final four.

{ 15 } Go to Paris.

{ 16 } Go wine tasting in Napa (again).

{ 17 } Run a 5k (no walking!)

{ 18 } Eat at French Laundry (or any Michelin star restaurant)

{ 19 } Get tenured at a school district.  MUST do this before buying a house or having a baby!

{ 20 } Go to a day spa!

{ 21 } Eat vegetarian for an entire month.  This will be quite the challenge living with Darryl...

{ 22 } Learn how to make sourdough bread.

{ 23 } Help a friend with her wedding! -- this is mostly because I know how stressful it can be.

{ 24 } Go to Japan (again)

{ 25 } Go to NYC (again)

{ 26 } Go to Chicago

{ 27 } See Adele sing live

{ 28} Learn how to shoot a gun.

{ 29 } Watch all of the movies nominated for Best Picture one year (JUST for one year.. not every single one ever, haha).

{ 30 } Make it a point to get together frequently with the important people in my life -- I'm super anti-social, so this is a challenge.

Fake calligraphy

Wedding preparation has been in FULL swing lately!

1. Been doing the Insanity workouts to get in shape - lost 5% body fat, but have not lost weight... thanks for growing, muscles?

2. Making escort cards.

3. Addressing the wedding invitations.

4. Setting up meetings with wedding vendors.

5. Finishing up the menu and program design so I can get it printed.

All of this wedding preparation stuff has made me want to become a "fake" calligrapher (I don't know how to do legit calligraphy cause I don't want to spend money on the good pens) or something for a side business... will it happen?  Maybe..

Productivity

I've been working on wedding stuff the past couple days, just because I actually have time to spend on such "frivolous" things.

Here is a preview of some of the computer work I've done:

 

Still a work in progress.

Must figure out better fonts (for the wedding program) and colors and create a design element at the top for the Guest Libs.

Next: I plan on tackling arts and crafts!  Glue gun, ribbon, styrofoam balls, tissue paper--here I come.

Pictures to come... (hopefully on Tuesday)

I love wedding registry shopping...

someone needs to buy this off our Macys registry while it's like $380 cheaper than the original price!!!

Wedding Envy

When I originally got engaged (well, even before that!) I had an idea of my dream wedding:

• Amazing catering - preferably Heirloom LA or a fun food truck
• Amazing dessert bar by Sweet and Saucy OR catering by Coolhaus
• Outdoor ceremony
• Under a big tree
• Very rustic seating (hay with cloth over it)
• Outdoor reception
• Twinkling lights
• Mason jars
• Long rectangular tables
• Preferably at a winery in Malibu
• Tons of peonies
• My bouquet - PEONIES!
• My dress - Vera or Monique
• Bridesmaids - mismatched, chic dresses in different tones of gray
• Groom + Groomsmen - in gray suits

Well, obviously things don't always turn out the way you hope for them to be, as guests of my wedding will learn in 5 months. But, I've learned that it doesn't mean you have to be sad!!

I don't think anyone's wedding is their DREAM wedding unless they have boatloads of money, and even then, I'm sure something isn't exactly right.  Flowers aren't in season, their fiance is an asshole, their bridal party is too big and their bridesmaids aren't getting along, they have a mother-in-law from hell, it RAINS!, it's too hot... you get the picture.

I got pretty jealous this past weekend when one of my Facebook friends posted a picture of them eating Coolhaus at their uncle's wedding.  SO, so, so JEALOUS!  BUT, I had to be realistic.  I had to remember that I am still having a beautiful wedding.  I get to marry the man of my dreams and eat yummy cake from Porto's.  Still super awesome :)

Update #2: Oil cleansing method

OCM is a complete FAILURE!!

It worked for like 5 days... and then all these pimples just popped up!

I've never had acne before.... and now I do.... ugh.

My suggestion: If your skin was fine using store-brought, chemical-filled products (sulfates and whatnot), just keep doing it!!! The natural route is not always the best route.

Update: Oil cleansing method

Sigh, I'm getting new pimples on my cheeks :(

I'm tempted to stop the oil cleansing method, but I'm not sure whether it's the increased workouts (I've been working out daily vs. 2 weeks ago where I wasn't working out at all), OR the oil cleansing method.

AND, I've been using an old powder blush the past 3 days. I usually use Benefit's Posie tint, but it was a little too pink on my winter pale cheeks.  The old blush is probably from 4 years ago.....

As an "experiment" I'm going to stop using the new blush (old powder blush cannot be good for the pores), but continue working out and using the oil cleansing method.

Let's hope it works!!!!.... ugh.

New beauty regimen..

After seeing multiple people "pin" about the oil cleansing method I decided to try it out since my skin has been acting up lately. I don't have problems with acne, but I had weird dry patches and nothing was working!  Not even my eczema medicine!  I figured that unnatural chemicals CAN'T be good for my skin.

I used this website as my guide, but used a substitute of grapeseed oil mentioned by this blog.  I also purchased my oils from Amazon. I have fairly normal skin with some oily patches and dry patches, so I used the 80% grapeseed to 20% castor oil mix.
 
Here's the routine:
1. Put a quarter-sized drop of your oil mix into your palms. Rub in palms to warm the oil up.
2. Massage your face for ~3 minutes with the oil.  You can even use it to remove eye makeup!
3. Next is the steaming portion: I run a washcloth under hot water, wring it out, and keep it on my face until the washcloth feels "cool."
4. Wipe face gently with washcloth and then rinse it out.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you feel that the oil is pretty much gone.

It's the third day since I started, and I'm amazed that I don't need ANY moisturizer or have any new breakouts *knock on wood*, PLUS my dry patches are gone!  I have problems with blackheads and large pores on my nose, and they appear to be shrinking and clearing out more and more each day.

Although I've read some mixed reviews about the method, I hope I can be one of the positive reviews. Thankfully I haven't had the "oil slicks" that other women experience as the pores "empty out." We'll see how my skin is in 2 more weeks!

OH, and since it is recommended that you don't do this EVERY day... I used honey+baking soda as an exfoliant today.  It felt good!

It's been a long time...

Wow, I haven't touched this blog in a while.

Lots has happened since then.  No worries, I'm still getting married haha.  Just that lots of planning, school stuff, etc., has happened!

Darryl and I pretty much have the whole wedding planned.  We've booked all important vendors: photog, videographer, got the cake picked out, dress, florist, DJ, VENUE!, etc.  All that's left are the guys' clothing (tuxes, suits?), the favors, and the paper goods (menu, programs, invites, etc).

Now I'm starting my "diet."  I'm going to try writing down what I'm eating so I keep track of my calories.  I'm going to attempt to eat around 1500 per day!  I'm pretty sure that my normal calorie intake is like 2200 (which isn't BAD...... just not good for weight loss).

Maybe I'll try and keep track of it here too?  Keep me accountable!  Today I consumed around 1290 calories.  If I don't eat before I sleep, it should stay that way...

I went to two really nice weddings (one for friends and one for family) since the last time I made a post.  I'll post some pictures of the friends' wedding since I was actually in that one and got some professional photos back!

Bridesmaids

Bridal party!

 With the bride

 Candid!

With the handsome fiance

 ...and guess who caught the bouquet?

Hopefully one of my bridesmaids catches MY bouquet!!!!!  That'd be fun :)

Wedding plans

Once again, I'm posting blog stuff late at night, right before a big test....

Wedding plans have been going very well lately, but I realize that I still have a TON of stuff to do.  It's really all the little things that add up (guestbook table plans, favors, going to tastings, figuring out how to do my programs, finding the perfect invitation, etc).

Here are some things I'm thinking about tackling as DIYs (some are definite, some are maybes):

Wedding tree - Definite YES! Finally making use of my artistic ability.

 Fabric streamer backdrop for the ceremony (on the right) - Maybe, but those are my wedding colors so it is verrrrry tempting!

 Signs pointing guests in the right direction - Definitely doing signs, just not sure whether I will be the maker.

DIY painted mason jars to make them look aqua tinted - YES!

 Cake toppers - YES! Another use for all those years of art classes.

Table numbers - YES!  So easy - Ikea frames, pretty paper, house numbers (probably from Home Depot)

Wedding wine

* Whole Foods has a reputation for being pricey but they're actually great for large quantities of wine because they give you a case discount of 20%. AND, if the wine is on sale, the case discount normally still applies.

"THIS IS IT!!"

I found the dress :)

Since Darryl stumbles upon this blog every once in a while I can't reveal anything, but it is beautiful.  It makes my butt look good, too.  HAH!

Big thanks to my mom, Marthie, and the Ivory Suite bridal boutique in South Pas!

Nailed down some wedding things...

SUPER EXCITED!

1. I haven't officially hired her yet, but I think I have my wedding coordinator :)  SO excited to meet Jane.

2. Going dress shopping (again) with one of my newly asked/accepted bridesmaids!  :)  (I still need to ask two of my friends to be future bridesmaids, but so far four have accepted.  WOOT!)

3. Scheduled appointments at (hopefully) the final venue choices. I hope it works out so that I can nail down my venue on August 5th.  By the way, we're pretty set on having our wedding on August 11, 2012.  Save the date!

4. Got some more quotes for wedding photography and videography.  Slowly narrowing down the choices...

The one disappointment?

Catering is going to be SO expensive.

Wedding Planning

I knew that planning a wedding would be overwhelming, but I thought that having a larger budget than I originally expected would help!  It doesn't, haha.

So far, food is going to take up almost half of my budget.  It's totally my fault for wanting AMAZING food at my wedding, but I also want my guests to enjoy their day with Darryl and me.  Looking at a couple being sappy can only be cute for so long, ya know?  :)  The food and alcohol has to satisfy them the rest of the time!

I'm trying to get ALL of my planning for the big stuff out of the way before Fall 2011 starts.  That quarter is going to be hell, but since I'm going to be doing part-time school externships, I should have less stress during Winter and Spring 2012.

Darryl and I decided we're only going to look at a couple more venues, and if those don't work out, we're going to stick with the Ambassador Mansions and Gardens.  I'm totally happy with that, but it doesn't hurt to check out some other options :)

I'm also glad that wedding planning has not ruined my academics this summer. Late nights spent surfing the web will just hurt the bags under my eyes--not my grades.

Future Venue Searches...

On the list of future venue hunting trips... I'm hoping we don't have to go to all of them!

Pasadena:

• Ambassador Mansions and Gardens (again) - just in case we can't find anything else...

Santa Fe Springs:

• Clarke Estate - $3900 venue rental
• Heritage Park - $2900 venue rental

Los Angeles:

• Los Angeles River Center and Gardens

 Orange County:

• Muckenthaler Mansion - Fullerton, CA
• Red Horse Barn (I love barn weddings!!!) - Huntington Beach, CA ($2700 venue rental, shuttle fee $1000 - BYO everything else)
• Strawberry Farms Golf Course + Barn (BARN!!) - Irvine, CA

Hyatt - Valencia, CA (Darryl's hometown. Hehe)
Temescal Gateway Park - Pacific Palisades, CA

Castle Green - Venue search #2

So.... this place looked VERY promising online.

Boy were Darryl and I disappointed when we went there!  I understand that it's a historic place, and the outdoor area is very nice, but the indoor area was just depressing.  It was extremely dark, jewel-toned, and ancient, and I felt like the little kid from the Shining and crazy Jack Nicholson were going to come down the stairs screaming any second. I realize now that I need a more modern (or at least neutral toned) interior for my reception.

Also, the outdoor area is nicely manicured and has a beautiful fountain, but it's way too close to the street.  Cars are honking and making loud noises literally feet away from where you'll be having your ceremony.  The facility director's comments about my concerns regarding the traffic were, "It gets quieter between 3:30 and 5 when your ceremony should take place because it's right before the dinner rush!" Despite her "reassuring" comments, I still couldn't help but dislike the lack of tranquility.

Another negative?  (They just keep on coming!) There is literally a 10 square foot size space for the bride and her bridesmaids to get ready. It was dark, awkwardly shaped, and creepy looking. I guess I wouldn't mind getting ready at my house and driving over to the venue, but I had hoped for a large, brightly lit, carpeted room for my ladies and myself to drink some mimosas, chat, laugh, and listen to music in while gettin' our hair and makeup DID!

The unsurprising verdict? PLEASE show me the next place!

Venue-hunting is not as easy as I thought it would be :(

Ambassador Mansions and Gardens - Venue Search #1

LOVED IT!

Well, there are multiple mansions and gardens on this campus (the Ambassador Campus), and I loved the Terrace Villa, Fowler Garden, and Great Lawn.

Merritt Mansion interior

Italian Garden

The Merritt Mansion and Italian Garden were definitely not my favorites!  The Italian Garden itself isn't too bad, but it's flanked on both sides by two dated and ugly buildings that do not go with the garden (the Fine Arts Hall and something else related to the campus). The Merritt Mansion is also too dark, brown, and ancient. Don't get me wrong, I love dark wood floors and details, but this was just depressing and does NOT go with my potential color schemes.

 Fowler Garden

 Terrace Villa interior - upstairs.

 Another view of the Fowler Garden.

Now, on the other hand, the Terrace Villa was light, airy, and gorgeous. It had a more Italian feel to it versus an old Colonial feel at the Merritt Mansion.

Once I stepped into the Fowler Garden, I could imagine Darryl and myself getting married in front of what they call the "gazebo" (the building with three archways) with our guests seated on the grass and walkways. Also, parking is super convenient and cheap for us to provide for our guests. It's a short walk from the Fowler Garden, and only costs $250 for 299 stalls.

The only negatives?  Well...

• The indoor seating capacity does NOT work with my number of guests.  We're going to have around 170-200, and the Villa only holds about 100.  We could potentially seat guests outdoors as well, but we don't want our guests to be so far apart.  
• On the other hand, we could skip the Terrace Villa completely and do an outdoor reception on the Great Lawn (sorry, no pictures), but I'm not sure if we want that since bathrooms are far away and we kind of wanted to have an outdoor ceremony and an indoor reception :( 
• Also, the sound restriction that's in place by the city states that our DJ can play music up to 65 decibels. From what I've learned in audiology class, that's like loud conversation! I want the music pumping for the dancing that's going to be going on!

Verdict? On to the next one!

It happened!

So, some big news....

I'm ENGAGED!

I'm so excited to start the real planning process.  Enough with this "future" wedding business.  It's HERE!

Darryl and myself celebrating at Libertine in Hollywood with some of our friends.

I can't wait to start my life with this man. He's my favorite person in the world :)

I'm also in love with that sequin top -- I have to wear it a lot to get my money's worth, haha!

Tank: Ladakh "Burlesque" sequin tank
Skirt: H&M (you can't see it, but it's hot pink)
Bra: Victoria's Secret
 

Engagement Rings

Darryl and I have been casually shopping for engagement rings and took a trip to a smaller store (Single Stone in San Marino) that specializes in vintage style custom designs (which I LOVE!)

Everything was beautiful, but what surprised me were the yellow gold engagement rings!  I rarely see yellow gold engagement rings, and when I do they are hideous.  However, these were NOT!  Darryl didn't like them because he thought they looked too "costume-y" (boo).

Sigh...

My favorite yellow gold rings weren't on their website but here are some rings that we saw:

And my favorite platinum ring.....

A 2 carat platinum ring with a knife edge band.  LOVED the knife edge... too bad 2 carats is too big!