sisters via misters

last weekend i had the pleasure of journeying to the hot hot heat valley for the bridal shower of my future sis-in-law. her besties put together such a cute backyard garden party and my deep sadness over forgetting my camera was quickly appeased with yummies from porto's bakery, homemade desserts and the fun photo booth with props galore.

i'm so excited for their upcoming wedding (always love a good excuse to browse through wedding websites again) and to be gaining a sweet and most hilarious new sister. here i am with bride-to-be connie and our other sis-in-law susie. joe's brothers got excellent taste, ay?

california love, part 2

i couldn't have asked for a better 1[.07] year anniversary celebration than the mini-vacay up to the monterey bay we took last weekend. we persevered through some nasty la traffic and enjoyed the long and scenic route up the central coast where we were wow-ed at each turn by the ocean, mountains, huge trees, sheep?! -- such a far cry from life as we know it in orange county.

turns out one of the biggest motorcycle events in the world, ever (or something like that) was happening the same weekend but luckily it didn't keep us from enjoying our stay at the charming normandy inn (found via sfgirlbybay) and everything else on our jam-packed itinerary.

road trip to do's:
1. hike the north shore trail at point lobos state natural reserve


2. find pretty fishies at monterey bay aquarium


3. eat yummy fishies at old fisherman's wharf


4. get a fat slab of prime rib at clint eastwood's mission ranch restaurant


5. stop by to say hello to clint's sheep


6. play peekaboo at pfeiffer big sur state park


7. dig into delicious dishes at big sur bakery and restaurant


8. take a gazillion pictures with new camera


9. spend quality time with the dearest husband and thank him for being my america's next top model for half of the gazillion pictures


whew, is it just me, or does anyone else feel like they need a vacation after a vacation? traveling is fun but i could totally go for a veg day right about now to just watch tv and eat chocolate chip cookies, yummm...

{eye} try : strawberry brown butter bettys

i'd been eagerly waiting to try this recipe for strawberry brown butter bettys found at smitten kitchen, but never had a loaf of white bread around the house. enter coupon for free loaf of white bread from the local target and wah-lah, happy birthday husband!

we celebrated sunday night with a low-key dinner for two at home featuring flavorful braised short ribs and miyuk gook, the traditional korean birthday soup, followed by these bettys topped with softly whipped cream. the good part was that it was a quiet and intimate evening. the bad part was that if one person gets caught up taking pictures, the other person ends up lighting his own birthday candles...haha, oops!

take me out to the ballgame

one of my favorite things about this time of year is baseball season. there's just something so warm & fuzzy and at the same time thrilling about watching your team rally through a game on a cool summer night. i used to hope it would be what marriage is like, and in some ways i still think it is...

everybody won't always come out and play to your expectations, your heart will sink every time someone makes a silly fielding error, we may end up with the worst record in our division, and sometimes it'll be hard to stick it out through all 9 innings. but even when they're down 7-2 in the bottom of the 8th, you still get out of your seat and do the wave whole-heartedly for your team. and every now and then they'll deliver one of those goosebump-rendering homeruns as a sweet reminder of how much you love this game.

my boss recently gave us tickets to the classic dodgers vs yankees game. they were nicer seats than we've ever payed for ourselves, but i have to admit, i kind of missed our rowdier friends over in the left and right field pavilions. can't wait to go again!

i've recently been introduced to and browsing around flickr thanks to poppytalk's summer colours week and here a few faves from fellow fans.

[ 1 ][ 2 ][ 3 ][ 4 ]

(good job NL on winning the all star game last night! and good save joe, when we got to the boba shop after the game and it was closed, taking me to vons instead for some ice-cold sugarful refreshments aka orange crush soda!)

look what i found!

after searching near and far, passing on several $80 and even $25 versions at various flea markets, i finally found a wire jar/bottle carrier for $6 at the local salvation army, score!

and in case you were wondering, the above photo was taken from another new acquisition...our canon rebel t1i digital camera! we had considered and put off getting a dslr a little while ago, but joe pleasantly surprised me by suggesting we get it for our anniverary as a way to remember our first year as we capture the many more years to come. i'm guessing he was also getting sick of me sending him to pick up the rolls of film i was getting developed hehe, but either way, score! :)

happy cool hooray!

i love when you're sorting through the mail - your bills, the multiple macy's ads, the oil change coupons, someone else's bills that came to the wrong address - and you spot something pretty and personal that you open and finish reading even before you make it back to your front door.

i used to send snail mail, just because, more often but sadly i've gotten so lazy in the age of text messages and emails. goal #13: send more snail mail. goal #12: don't be lazy.

here are some postcards for summer to get me started. it's funny, i don't have summer break and we don't have any big vacations planned, but i'm still so super stoked it's summer!

you can catch them over at the etsy shop.

it doesn't have to be this hard:

snippets of summer

yumminess at the czech missions bake sale fundraiser and an afternoon stop at the fabric store on my mission to find the perfect piece for a new table runner. tried to convince myself to go with the fun pom-pommy one, but left empty-handed to write my 5-page essay first. does anybody have any linenspiration to share?

happy 1st day of year two!

one year ago today i was on a plane to maui because one year ago yesterday joe and i put on some fancy clothes, strung up some lights, said our "i do's," and became husband and wife!

photo by bonnie tsang

with any major celebrations put on hold, we started our day with a sweet breakfast at cream pan japanese bakery before church, spent all day surrounded by dear friends, and ended the night in prayer thanking god for each other and our first wonderful year together.

[insert photos sitting on undeveloped rolls of film, torturing me with their probable blurriness and possible awesomeness]

year one // top five
- having belly-aching laughs and catching, when i can bear to open my eyes, joe laughing just as heartily next to me. love that split second of realization of how happy we are together.
- seeing my real, unfiltered, ugly self previously seen by only my immediate family exposed and hearing joe tell me he still loves me, even more than before. what in the world?!
- waking up at 10am on a wedding-less, shower-less, sports-less saturday and enjoying breakfast in our pajamas with faces fat from plentiful sleep.
- joe carefully saving any dessert that he gets at work, whether it be a slice of birthday cake, a box of crackerjacks, or once even an entire tray of cupcakes, to bring home to me as a surprise treat.
- being amazed at how after years of hoping, wondering, letting go, waiting, i made it to the right team and got the best teammate who i can run alongside and root for (unless he is beating me in settlers or monopoly).

dear joe...ILYSM! love, rosie

summer lovin'

dear summer,

welcome back! we have been enjoying your 8pm sunsets and cleared out traffic by the schools in the morning. hope this year you'll bring some exciting baseball games, ice cream sandwiches, watermelons with spoons and no bowls, whiffle ball on driveways, lazy days at the beach and lots of bbqs with our favorite friends. if i could make one request, please don't let the weddings without air conditioning fall on the hottest days ever. people seem to remember the suffering more than any of the pretty stuff.

love,
rosie

ps - here's a pic from your first day back

world's best dad

whether he's lecturing about finance in the university hall or singing happy birthday in a small family dinner setting, he does it in earnest, every time with 100% genuine gusto. even when he's going through the toughest trial and i know his heart is breaking, no...broken, he tells me with unwavering faith "life sucks. but god is good." he has a passion for sharing the gospel and taking the free blood pressure tests at walmart. he loves people. he treasures my mom. he's the world's best dad.

kitchen reverie

when i first saw jen johner's kitchen on apartment therapy, i totally did a double take. it was like the imaginary kitchen i have filed away in the back of my mind coming to life in the form of jpgs i can now keep saved in [virtually] real folders!

love the colors, love the simple details, the chalkboard, the light pouring through the window.

as fun as it is to dream, there are many things that make me cherish the here and now [insert luther vandross lyrics here (sorry i'm in a cheesy music funk this week)]. top five reasons why i'm lovin the fabulous apartment life...
1. the far mailbox calls for nice evening strolls with best roomie
2. close proximity with neighbors gives world cup and lakers games a nice stadium effect
3. easy access to tennis court, pool, fitness center we will surely take advantage of "one of these days"
4. provides the much-needed reminder of how temporary the material things in life are and to be thankful for all we do have that is in abundance and way more than we deserve
5. and my fave, less square footage = less cleaning :)

taking it back to the old school

after ordering my re-sealing kit from ebay weeks ago...

after searching store after store to find denatured alcohol for cleaning...

after spending hours at night to carefully replace the disintegrating foam in the body...

after finding out the battery chamber is busted and the camera will only function and focus manually by eyeing it...

after googling all that i could for a crash course in aperture, shutter speed and ISO...

after stopping by three rite-aids (resisting the call of three thrifty ice cream cones) and a costco to find a good and cheap place that can process film...

these photos from my first roll of film had me waving my hands in the air and shaking my deriere to some tag team music in full effect - whoomp there it is! (in my mind (mostly.)) i'm not sure how much more i can hang with the process before getting a DSLR, but here are a few photos shot on my nikon FM 35mm camera from the also much-anticipated rose bowl flea market this past sunday.

vintage houseware in pretty colors

loving sailboats for the summer [insert salt n pepa rap here]

also loving future sis-in-law connie and the radio flyer wagon we found for the upcoming wedding

ps - father's day cards are finally up on etsy!

goal #11: don't get featured on regretsy

did you know there is a site dedicated to all those weird things you stumble across amidst all the heart-worthy delights on etsy? i hate to be critical of someone else's work, but i'll admit there have been some postings that really make me scratch my head in wonder. so when i came across this site via remarks from sparks, i had myself a nice little chuckle.

it's refreshing to be reminded not to take all of life so seriously - especially the things i'm given by grace to just enjoy! so my new goal is to simply enjoy what i do, without feeling pressure to wow the world, without becoming puffed up with pride at my accomplishments, to just create something some lovely person might be inspired to pick up...without any regretsy. 

here's some postage to send you to the shop! (now i just have to figure out how to get this thing up there /`).

ps - father's day cards are done and needing to be photographed...hopefully will have them up by tomorrow!

bunting for baby elias

somehow joe's and my weekend schedule often ends up including a babysitting gig for the people we love. but no complaints from me - i think i may have more fun than the kids, especially when we get to bust out the crayolas for some arts and crafts time. i love watching them scribble scrabble their hearts away as they put their all into making something so sincere and sweet. here's the sign i made with the girlies we babysat this weekend to welcome home their new baby brother.

as cute as they are with all the ridiculous and funny things they say and do, i secretly think the cutest is joe, who goes all out playing games with them, telling them silly stories, and trying really hard to explain to them why they shouldn't eat too much candy. can't wait to have our own little bunch some day, lord-willing! :)

some scribble scrabble of my own for the new baby boy...

(card set available on etsy).

crossroads fashion photo contest

it started with brunch a couple saturdays ago at the now-closed omelette parlor followed by a trip to crossroads trading co. to sell a few articles of clothing that ended up paying for the meal (score!) where a certain photo contest poster caught our eye. the result? a scramble to goodwill and urban outfitters followed by our eleventh-hour fashion photo shoot at a nearby park.

we had a blast reliving some of our crazier days, reminiscent of way back in the day when we used to get super-judged for our secondhand styles (some would actually rummage through my closet for halloween costumes! haha). here are a couple of my favorites from our adventure...

happy birthday karean, my fearless friend! even if we don't win the big bucks, and even if we get too tired and old to follow the popular trends, you'll always be a winner in my book! (and if all else fails, we can always meet up at forever21).

ps - you can find us and give us five stars here!

hot off the letterpress

there was a big hurrah last week with all the big season and series finales - [spoiler alert] nicole scherzinger was the best dancer, lee beat crystal, everybody died on lost,  jack bauer became the new dark knight on the run...and over in my little world, the final class of introductory letterpress at irvine fine arts center came to a significantly less-dramatic end.

i found out about this class randomly through a gal who bought some of our wedding decorations from the weddingbee classifieds and after being wait-listed once, finally got to take the class along with ampersandity-cathie.

i didn't quite know what to expect but found it to be such a delight to be removed from the fast-paced, "ctrl-P" world of instant gratification for a few hours a week to become acquainted with gutenburg and the old-school art of letterpress.


our first project was a simple one-graphic/one-line card using movable metal type.


and the finale was our own set of business cards which we designed through illustrator and got converted to a polymer plate to be run through the letterpress machine.

the best part is now we have access to the letterpress studio to continue working on our own projects. i'm already looking forward to season two! :)

best lunch ever! cards

what, it's thursday already?! it's been such a busy week that seems to have flown by without any notice, to which i have no complaints considering it leads into the long holiday weekend. woo hoo! this morning as i was leaving for work, joe called out to me not to forget to eat a real lunch. seems like a weird request at first, but it's because he knows too well on days i don't pack our lunches i will easily opt for my favorite kind of brown bag lunch...


the flavor of the moment at sprinkles happens to be salted caramel right now - so delicious (and dangerous)! goal #20: find a salted caramel cupcake recipe with slightly less sweet butteriness so yellow kitchenaid standing mixer will know it's loved for more than just its good looks.

but in the meantime, here are some yummy cards inspired by the cupcake with milk i wish i was eating right now.

have a sweet day!

farewell address to a dress

dear wedding dress,

thank you for being such a perfect dress - simple and elegant in your beautiful silk organza, tulle and satin layers. i was really nervous about taking you apart to make crafts, but it ended up being such a fun experience and now everyone who was there can forever be a part of the sisterhood of the trashed wedding dress, like that movie with the jeans...sort of. so now commending you to my fondest memories, i bid you affectionate farewell!

love,
rosie

ps- here are some photos from our trash the dress crafty party.




the first cut // bags for your loot // supplies!


janice working on her apron


angie models her hairpin // a scrapalicious mess // my necklace

paper love

i've been seeing lots of pretty posts and pics from the national stationery show in ny this week and imagining how awesome it would be to be there, surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of oh so beautiful paper stations. anywhere that dedicates square footage to a "pen pavilion" is a place i know i'd like to be.

maybe i'll get a chance to visit one of these days, but for now i'm filling up on secondhand admiration and cruising the web in search of the oodles of other paper people out there.

one that made me smile recently - the future mrs. darcy - creates wedding invitations inspired by famous fictional couples. love it!


pam + jim of the office


ginny weasley + harry potter


sloane peterson + ferris bueller

i hope there's one for anne shirley and gilbert blythe (swoon~) in the works!

which fictional couple is tops in your books?

sunday's bests

sundays are always such a treat, with solid preaching at church (where i usually also score a nice donut) and refreshing times with friends. yesterday the latter took place at the long beach flea market where a whole gang of us went and scoured through the maze of booths in search of the items on our wish lists.

nautical clock and bottle carrier, unfortunately both out of my price range

another wire carrier, also out of my price range...i may need to start collecting clothes hangers and make this a DIY project haha...

what a relief to find this sign at one of my stops! and i did find myself a globe (goal #36) by day's end, as did cathie.

afterwards a few of us went over to the gym to watch our guys play ball. one by one everyone left and i was the last cheerleader in the bleachers, pooped and in major need of a pedicure (eek!), but happy :)

to market, to market

super excited for the flea market with some of my fav friends this weekend! i'm one of those impossible shoppers who mentally formulates a pro/con list accompanied by 5-page essay before committing to a purchase, whether it be a new car or a napkin holder. sometimes it's good because i'm not impulsive but most of the time it's just annoying. i know.

so i thought it'd be helpful to think through a few things to look for in advance. here's my flea market shopping list...

milk jugs & glass bottles. usually love mason jars too but find at times the mouth is too wide for smaller flower arrangements. this photo display is a cool idea too.

wire jar/bottle carrier. love everything about this centerpiece!

accent chair for small desk in living room. something charming and colorful to replace the dingy burgundy spinning office chair sorely missing its matching college student somewhere.

here's hoping! have a great weekend!