baby shower... more like WEDDING!

so for a few months, christalyn's mom and i planned out the theme and decor for her baby shower. it was kind of stressful considering it was only the two of us planning, but we made it happen. now we joke about how maybe we should start our own event planning business. NOT. i don't think i could handle the pressure. i definitely pushed my creative buttons for this one. we chose yellow and orange as the colors because no one knows the sex of the baby. we used doilies for some femininity and i think the clubhouse colors gave it more of a masculine feel.

the following photos are off my iphone 4s. i've been patiently waiting for our friend michelle(the professional photographers)photos from the shower, but i decided to just go ahead and post my photos anyway. once i get the professional photos i'll share those as well. (click on photos for a bigger version)

burlap welcome baby banner markena made and the pool table covered in gifts 

wishing tree tags being made and cute photo baby collage of iam and christalyn in a frame i made.

the shower was held in our friend jason's neighborhood clubhouse. it was a huge space and great for the 40+ people that came.

we gathered tons of different glass jars and bottles and made beautiful bouquets in them. 

 grape, lemon, lime, and mint icecubes for the punch that mani and i made.

onesies :) 

sundae bar and cute water bottle labels markena made

 the wishing tree table :) 

and the beautiful preggo :)

overall the shower turned out to be so much fun and was beautiful. we got a lot of compliments on how it was the best baby shower anyones been to before :) i'm glad. 2 more months and that baby will be here... can't wait!

praha

i miss prague.

and it makes me really, really sad.

super fresh salad

after my workout this morning, all i wanted was something healthy and fresh... with some protein. i wasn't feeling in the breakfast mood whatsoever, so i threw together this mostly all organic salad in about 10 minutes;

• mixed greens
• arugula 
• sunflower sprouts 
• white beans
• cucumbers
• tomatoes
• fresh dill
• feta cheese
• hardboiled egg

dressing:

• olive oil
• tamari
• balsamic
• lemon juice
• celery salt, pepper, garlic powder
• fresh dill
• pressed garlic juice

                                                                  

happy birthday blog

dear blog, 


happy 2 years old! :) 

international delight

i could tell you right now, my top foods are as follows, in no particular order...

• mussels and frites(BELGIUM)
• udon soup(JAPAN)
• sushi(JAPAN)
• thom ka gai soup(THAILAND)
• pho(VIETNAM) 

i had the pleasure of spending some quality food time with scotty's(mani's boyfriend) parents this past week. they were down in florida during my sister's visit, and i got invited along to enjoy the tastings by maria. she came over to my moms on mothers day, went out on the porch and starting frying up homemade eggrolls, grilling up some korean bbq bulgogi, and brought over 2 big jars of marinated kimchee. after scarfing down 2 of the hot as hell eggrolls, and taking seconds of the bulgogi and kimchee.... i realized i needed to learn how to cook these different cuisines. 

i was lucky enough to have been invited over to have some pho with mani and scotty... not once, but twice! 

let. me. tell. you. 

zing! amazing. this woman loves to feed you. there's just nothing better to me than a big bowl of soup filled with rice noodles and meat topped with fresh herbs, scallions, bean sprouts, and siracha. maria invited me to come up to visit her so she can teach me her skills. :) i am so excited!

bean sprouts

rice noodles

basil

hoison sauce and siracha 

amazing eggrolls

cilantro, scallions, onions, lime

bulgogi- korean bbq

fuhhhhhh :) 

scotty with his mom and dad :) 

business card stamp

fab.com was having a sale from maemae paperie on stamps. i decided to customize one for my business cards. i got the idea a while back from my friend, sierra, who did the same for herself. i recently got the stamp in the mail and figured i'd try it out on a few different types of paper with 3 different ink colors. i've come up with a few i like... mind you, these are rough copies and i'll be using a paper cutter and all the right tools once i find my favorite types of paper(s) to use. 

the one with the design is obviously gong to be to hard to make out, so i'll just use the back of it instead. (the one on the far left is the back) 

i'm really happy the way the stamped turned it. it's really simple and a creative way to go about it. suits me well. i definitely love the idea of being able to stamp them myself and never having to run out of cards and waiting on and order. 

manija rose

my sister mani was in florida for 10 days... i took a week off of work and just had a lot of family time. i could sit here and write all that we did, but instead i'll narrate with photos. as per usual. 

we checked out the new sandbar(bostons on the beach)

we got a couple beach days in, but most of the time it just rained, rained, rained...

ate at dada

tried out hibachi

my mom, sister and i seem to sit the same way

before our litle surprise to take them on a 2 hr steel drum cruise tour

the cute men

(eruch, scotty, iam, matt)

i miss her!

our group photo 

baby shower for christalyn.... preview... post to come!

sisters with mom on mothers day

pickin mangoes off eruch's tree

mani and scotty snuggle time with sadie, eruch's new boxer

last nite out dinner with the family cheesecake factory. 

cheers to blueberry mojitos!