Happy halloween!

eerie photo taken by me on one spooky night three weeks ago

When I was younger, halloween equated to two things: candy + costumes. Who's to say this can no longer hold true? I believe I was trick-or-treating 'til I was about 17 years old! In recent years, halloween has taken on a new meaning. Halloween happens to be the birthday of my maternal grandfather. In the last 5 years or so, he has made it a point to spend his birthday here in the US with family. This year will be no different and I look forward to celebrating another year of his life with him tomorrow. I thought about showing up to the family affair in full costume but have not had the time to plan one out. With my face being so annoyingly rough right now, I'm sure I could pass for a "teenager" as a costume. : )

Whether you'll be partying it up, carving a pumpkin or trick-or-treating with the little ones, I wish you all a happy halloween and a happy weekend!

The day RENT was due

This past weekend, I took Marc to watch one of my favorite Broadway musicals of all time, Rent. We saw it together in 2006 but not with the same cast. In a span of 6 months, I've seen it twice with the same cast and was tempted to go a third time on the same day. :) Each time I go, I fall in love with it even more. Sunday afternoon's performance was top-notch and I could tell because the audience was deeply moved as I heard sniffles now and then and watched friends pass the Kleenex around. The show concluded with an auction for an AIDS Charity. The last item for bid was a backstage tour plus a chance to eat cake with the birthday boy, Adam Pascal. Too bad I didn't have $2,000 on me! Furthermore, the cast was spread throughout the theater to collect more funds. It was such a great experience to be able to greet them without all the hustle and bustle. Nonetheless, I still took part in the usual 'stage door' exit. It wasn't as chaotic as the LA crowds I'm used to which made it a pleasant experience for us.

Rent is such a powerful musical. It encompasses such strong values of love, celebrating friendship and living life to the fullest despite all obstacles that may come your way.

with Nicolette Hart in the lobby

Not the most flattering picture of us but this is Marc post-surgery; he can't smile just yet. :)

Waiting @ the stage door

Anthony Rapp signing autographs
and here she is again, the amazing Nicolette Hart!
'Til next tour (really hoping this isn't the last)!

Half-Year Mark

I can't believe it has been since 6 months since this photo was taken. Time sure flies! Married life has been one fun adventure so far! I love waking up in the morning next to my loving husband and I love making meals together on the weekends. It has been tough trying to find the hours in a day to spend quality time together with our opposing schedules. But I'm hoping that changes soon.

It's nice to have someone by your side at all times to make help make plans , evaluate decisions and keep you grounded through trying times. Things keep changing and we anticipate more change in the near future as we both plan our move to _____. More on that for another post!

Happy half-year anniversary Marc! Here's to many more adventures in our married life together! I love you!

Patchwork in the OC

Double the craft fair=double the joy!

Day Off

Yesterday, I took a (mandatory) day off from work. Despite feeling a bit under-the-weather earlier in the day, I managed to sleep in, bake some goodies and hit up the tide pools with my hubby. I wish I could spend most of my days like yesterday. Today, he undergoes oral surgery for a gum graft. Praying and hoping for a speedy recovery!

Iris and Light

Jana + Billy Engagement
from IRIS AND LIGHT on Vimeo.

My dear cousin Claudine was heartbroken when she found out that her photographer/videographer of choice was not available on her wedding date. A few moments ago, I got an e-mail from her saying that she changed her wedding date just so she could have Iris and Light on her wedding day. I am so happy for her! The girls and I have been crushing on the work of this dynamic creative team for weeks now. You have no idea how many times we've watched this video. Check it out for yourself, it is just darling and I just have to share it with you!

A day at the flea market

Old adding machine

This past weekend, I joined Claudine and Samantha on an expedition to the Long Beach Antique Flea Market. We went there in search of vintage goodies for Claudine's upcoming Godfather-40's-Vintage themed wedding. I had been hearing about this flea market for quite awhile now and I have to say, it did not disappoint! We spent hours walking through various vendors while trying to restrain from purchasing everything in sight. The variety of goods sold was astounding and I could have snapped pictures all day. Needless to say, the treasure hunt was a success. We left with a birdcage and 2 pieces of vintage luggage-all for under $30. Oh and I also managed to snag a '70's YSL purse for $15 with my 'silent' haggling skills. I literally just had to stand there as the seller lowered the price from $35....$5 at a time. It was awesome!

Multi-colored jars: a feast of color for your eyes

If i saved all my bottles, I could sell them for $12 a pop too....in about 2 decades. :)

$250 for this ancient typewriter

First purchase-$5 bird cage

Who doesn't love an old Polaroid?

It was hard not to buy all of these buttons!

My steal of the day!

After "Yelping" for a place to eat, we ended the day with a food trip to Jongewaard's. I must say, Yelp failed us this time. If anything, I give this place 2 stars-1 for excellent service and another for great ambiance. Food=terrible! All in all, it was a great day to spend with my ladies. Next on our agenda is the Rose Bowl Flea Market!

Recycled Fashion

When I still lived at my parents' house, I had the largest room and therefore the largest closet. After the master bedroom, of course. My younger sister now takes pride in occupying the space I once inhabited and takes full advantage of that closet. I went home two weeks ago to find that thing overflowing with clothes. I was somewhat shocked as I could only manage to fill half of that closet. Well, I figured I should learn from her because keeping all your clothes can actually be a wise idea.

The truth is:
1. I get bored of things too quickly
2. I can't stand clutter
3. I buy things because: it's on sale or i like it (not necessarily LOVE) or because i just want to buy something!
4. I clean out my closet every month and give things away

Strangely enough, I find myself buying the same things every year. Sweaters and jackets in the winter and tank tops in the summer. Now that it's getting cold, I can't help but wish for that black coat I gave away when winter ended last year. I did so with the intent of making more space in my closet. I gave up on trying to make money from my clothes because Buffalo Exchange is so darn picky! If you know of any other consignment places for clothes, let me know!

With fashion recycling itself every few years, it may be a wise idea to stash some clothes away in a box when seasons end. It would be like opening a fashion time capsule later on! That way, I won't have to go out and 're-buy' everything each year. Anything to save money in this recession, right?

Not to forget, there is an "up-cycling" trend going on so why not up-cycle clothing and get new looks out of your old garments! What a brilliant idea!

A Wonderful Fall Weekend

For Marc and I, this weekend was full of great company, music and pleasant weather. So far, it has been one of the best fall weekends yet. On Friday night, we drove half a mile down the street to The District to watch our friend Mike Isberto and Kaleo perform.  Despite the cold outside, it was a wonderful performance. Not to mention, we saw a lot of our friends from Loma Linda there. After the show, we all [except Ken :( ] went to Lee's Sandwiches at UCI and had some good laughs and good food! It was great reuniting with familiar faces.

The "MI Band" as they're known

@ Lee's Sandwiches with my best friend Jane & her hubby David

With the performers Kaleo (left) and Mike (right)

Jordan: Guitarist

Chad: Bassist (my brother!)

On Saturday morning, Marc and I met up with our friends Ella and Shelby at our favorite breakfast place, Bonjour Cafe. I absolutely adore this cafe and have not found any place like it. When we still lived at home (Inland Empire), Marc and I would make it a point to trek out to Dana Point at least once a quarter to indulge in such delicious French breakfast delicacies.

Every time I've gone here, I've forgotten my camera. Not this time! My breakfast is the one on the top right. Fluffy scrambled eggs with goat cheese and chives inside a flaky pastry with mornay sauce on top-can it get any better?

Following breakfast, we took a short walk to a cliff overlooking the harbor. Not to mention, it was a gorgeous day! We had such a beautiful view, especially of the paddle boarders. We drove down there to check out prices on lessons and rentals and before we knew it, Ella and Shelby were up SUP Boarding (Stand-up Paddle Boarding) in no time. Marc and I were not dressed appropriately for the beach so we took off to the breakers, sat on a rock and enjoyed the cool ocean breeze. We all ended up at our place afterwards to hang out before stuffing ourselves at Ruby's Diner for a late lunch. All in all, it was a fabulous day. Thanks partner-in-crime for coming down. Please visit again soon!

This morning, I got in line at OCPAC with The Guilty Ones to purchase our on-stage seating tickets for Spring Awakening. I am now even more excited now as I have my tickets! While I was there, I got tickets to see Rent for Marc and I. I just went to see it in March but Marc hasn't seen it with  the original cast yet (no, i'm not just using him as an excuse, I promise) so it will be EPIC! I hope that I get to meet Anthony Rapp this time around!

I ended the weekend by baking a quarter batch of chocolate chip cookies. Yes, you read that correctly-a quarter. The reason I don't bake so much is because I end up devouring everything myself.  I couldn't find the usual recipe that I make so I settled for a recipe I found here.  Yum yum yum! Once I got the oven going, I didn't turn it off 'til about 4 hours later. Baked salmon, baked mac 'n cheese and baked potatoes followed after the cookies. Oh how I love the weekends and having the time to do fun stuff like making food! Here's to another week!

My cookies & milk

Broken Film

This is what my film from my first round of Chaika shots looked like. Actually, it was much worse as Marc wasn't paying attention as he wound the film. I dropped it off and when I went back to pick up the photos, I was told that they could not be developed. That's fine because when I looked at the half-eaten strip, only about 10 pictures came out. So, now I'm onto roll #2 and will need to snap 72 more shots of randomness to see if "The Russian" (as my friends have labeled it) really works. At least, now I know, it half-works. = )

Craftiness

I received these books as a birthday gift from my partner-in-crime, Ella. (Thank you, friend!) It only took me about 2 days to read through all of the material. These are great references for both business and non-business savvy people who are looking to start a business. It doesn't have to be a craft-related business but any business in general. While reading these books, I asked myself why our textbooks in business school were not written in such a clear and understandable manner. People have been telling me that I need to start my own Etsy store but I keep coming up with multiple excuses not to. One of them being, "I'm not creative enough." I have to say that these books have inspired me to at least dream it up and try, some way or another. I highly recommend these books and you can read more on the author here.

Here's to long-term business planning!

Are you a Guilty One?

Last night, I attended the Guilty Ones kick-off party at the Orange County Performing Arts Center (OCPAC). I had such a great time meeting all the other fans of Spring Awakening, who were just as crazy (if not, crazier) musical-theater-going people as I. Together, we ate, played games and socialized. One of the guys there had seen the musical 7 times as he has been following the tour here on the West Coast. That's dedication and not to mention, a lot of hard-earned cash! I'm beyond excited to see this show and I'm 210 points away from scoring stage seats. Almost there! During the event, Spamalot had just rolled in and started to take over the stage. For me, seeing that show once is enough. However, I did find out Rent is coming in 2 weeks, with the original cast. Who wants to be my date as I watch this for the 3rd time? : ) I <3 Broadway Musicals!

Beach Days

Sandcastle Contest @ Corona del Mar

As strange as it sounds, my favorite time for beach-going would be the fall/winter. There is definitely less of a crowd and I love wearing layers of clothing and wrapping myself in blankets while sitting on the sand and feeling the cold wind on my face. Best feeling ever! Throw in a bonfire and some smores and that my friends is my ideal beach scene! Yesterday, Marc and I went to Corona del Mar to witness the annual Sandcastle Contest. I brought my camera but when I took it out to snap photos, I realized that I had left my battery at home. It was such a fun treat to watch people build enormous sculptures out of sand especially in the freezing cold. At the conclusion of the contest, we watched everyone pack into their cars which left a deserted beach. We weren't ready to leave just yet so we sat on the rocks, listened to the waves and had a peaceful time together.

In the last 8 days, we have gone to beach 4 times. I think I went to the beach a total of 4 times during the summer. More beach trips to come soon!

Happy Birthday Dad

my dad & i-Christmas 2007

Today is my Dad's birthday and tonight, Marc and I will be going home to celebrate the occasion with the family. I have to say that my Dad is quite a character. He likes to embarrass us in public with his weird antics and outbursts. Just a few weeks ago during my brother's birthday lunch, he jokingly told my sister's new boyfriend that he would kill him if he hurt my sister. There's always some sort of awkward tension when my Dad is around simply because, we never know what kind of crazy, witty phrase he'll utter next. But looking back, we always get a kick out of it and up laughing on the floor!

Dad, there's never a dull moment when you're around. I know you like it when my friends ask if you're my brother. I have to say that you deserve it because you work hard to stay fit and you laugh away life's troubles to prevent wrinkles from forming on your face. Thanks for being who you are and for teaching us one of life's most valuable lessons:

"You need to give up something, to get something."

Happy birthday, Dad! I love you!

Natural Calamities

Great Samoan Earthquake 9.29.09

aftermath of the Indonesian Tsunami 10.01.09

Typhoon Ondoy-Manila, Philippines 9.26.09

To save money, Marc and I gave up our cable in April. Thankfully, we still have the Internet and are not totally disconnected. It's hard to believe some of the news topics that have been popping up on our desktops. The headlining international news in the last few days have been nothing but natural disasters striking Asia and the South Pacific one right after the other. Beginning with Typhoon Ondoy in the Philippines to the great earthquake in Samoa and now the tsunami in Indonesia, it just never seems to end. My heart feels so heavy as I try to imagine what the victims of these disasters are going through. Displaced families, lost homes and shortage of food supply. We may not be super heroes but we can at least say a prayer for those affected by such unfortunate events.