diary of a bicoastalite

elf yourself!

2007-12-03T21:51:00.000-05:00

this is a hilarious website from officemax! you can personalize the adobe flash with your own face (and others, up to 4) and see the cute elves DANCE!! everytime i look at this, i can't help but have a big smile on my face!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1155569351

happy holidays!

snow day!

2007-12-02T18:55:00.000-05:00

hooray! first real snow day of the year!! and my friend from san francisco was visiting. how perfect.

kate spade monarch

2007-11-29T11:29:00.000-05:00

now that i have a dress, i've been thinking about SHOES. yes, wedding shoes. it's one of those things for me where it's not *that* important in the grand scheme of wedding planning. it's not like i'm going to wear keds or anything, although there's nothing wrong with that. but, hello, they're going to be covered by the dress anyway! so in my random web surfing and link hunting, i came across this beautiful pair on kate spade! beautiful, dainty and feminine! not quite the shoes that i would have picked but somehow... it seems to fit! it's elegant and simple, kinda like my wedding dress. :-)

the only thing is, i'm having a garden wedding. i don't really feel like airing the grounds with the heels! what to do??

step up!

2007-11-29T10:33:00.001-05:00

i went to a volunteer networking (and also membership drive) event last night at the madison in the flatiron district with a couple of friends. i wasn't quite sure what to expect and didn't even know that much about the organization. what i did find out was that step up women's network is an amazing group of dedicated volunteers and programs for women and teenage girls. i just checked out their website and am really impressed with their mission:

"Step Up Women's Network is a national non-profit membership organization dedicated to strengthening community resources for women and girls. Through teen empowerment programs for underserved girls, women's health education and advocacy, professional mentorship and social networking opportunities, we educate and activate our members to ensure that women and girls have the tools they need to create a better future."

the rest is here....

not surprisingly, the girls/women that i met last night were cool! most importantly, i really agree with their mission and what they stand for. so i joined! now i'm a member! can't wait to get started...

blog envy

2007-11-27T15:29:00.001-05:00

omg. true bride confessions, this website is a guilty pleasure! i looove it!

and here some fantastic blogs i found today:

cupcake blog
daisy chain
a $10000 wedding
brooklyn bride
sf girl by bay

back in new york city

2007-11-27T13:35:00.000-05:00

after 5 gluttonous and glorious days in the bay area i didn't want to come back to new york. i wanted to stay with my fiancee, friend and family. to mom's yummy cooking. because you know, new york is COLD, wet and low-carb food. well, it'd be back on the low-carb diet! back in california, people WANT to feed me, serve me seconds and tell me i look thin. (well, which is a good thing.) in new york, it means the treadmill, eliptical machine and even possibly a spin class or two. but, after my 2nd day of my usual routine, i love new york again!! i love living in new york city, the people, the craziness of life in the big apple, the commute up metro north to tarrytown and well... being in the "center of the universe"! what am i going to do? i'm getting married next august. i'm gonna have to move back at some point. that's what d and i have decided. me moving back. why does this seem so unfair???

flower hair pins

2007-11-26T14:24:00.000-05:00

it's time to be realistic... i honestly don't think i can spend $300 on the e rin cole organza hair pins that i have fallen in love with. *sigh* but i think i've found great alternatives on ebay. i've bid and won these two flower/feather hair pins last week! (feather flower not shown...) they are less than $10 each from a great ebay seller called "pampered bride". it's such a good deal. they arrived while i was away for thanksgiving and found them in the mail when i got home this morning! they are SO cute. i think i may need another organza flower because it's beautiful... i am already envisioning two of these flowers at lower right side of my hair (which i think will be put up in a loose romantic bun of some sort...)!

my wedding dress!

2007-11-25T21:10:00.000-05:00

i bought a wedding dress this past weekend!!! (i even wrote a review on yelp about my buying experience!) i can't believe i have a bridal gown. it's surreal. the dress is perfect. it's absolutely beautiful. so simple and elegant! i knew it as soon as i put it on. i absolutely love how i look in it! it's a maggie sottero dress, called "vernice" from their fall 2007 collection. it's not quite the alison dress from the previous post but it's pretty close!

here's the description of the dress on the website:

"One-piece, corset, strapless gown with sweetheart neckline, sweep train, and slim A-line skirt. The elegant draping on the bodice creates a slender waist and the diagonal back ruching a slimming effect. The elegance of the clean lines is stunning. "

i can't agree more. now, i only have to wait til april 2008 to get the dress! *sigh*

quest for THE dress

2007-11-18T10:43:00.000-05:00

i am in LOVE with this bridal gown. it's made by berketex and the style is called alison. it's so gorgeous, simple and elegant, perfect for my garden wedding! the problem is, you can only get it in great britain. they don't sell internationally, apparently. :-( here's my dilemma:
1. should i fly to great britain to buy this dress? i have to think about the cost of the flight, lodging, food and the actual dress. that busts my dress budget!
2. i can get this dress custom made... i've contacted two dressmakers. one dressmaker in san francisco quoted me $500 more than the actual dress cost. but she does fabulous custom made dresses! the other (who i found on cragislist) quoted me HALF the cost of the dress but it'll be farmed out to bolivia and i won't see it until it's complete. i've seen samples of their work but how do i know the 2nd dressmaker is legit?

i'm doing more research and asking lots of questions.

in the meanwhile, i am going to the bridal garden in new york city and also sak's fifth bridal sample sale next week! when i'm in san francisco next week for thanksgiving, i plan to hit up glamour closet!!!! so excited. (a few weeks ago, when i was in the bay area, i went to trudy's brides but didn't really find anything that i loved...)

getting reacquainted

2007-11-16T10:23:00.000-05:00

hello again! goodness, it's been a long time since i've posted. so much has happened since my last update. i'll give a brief update: i got engaged! officially! my fiancee (boyfriend at the time, heh) took a week long trip to paris and florence and he popped the question on this bridge at sunset! it's called 'ponte vecchio' and literally it means old bridge. which is true because it's the oldest bridge in florence! it's been about two months now and i've been busy researching and planning for the wedding. i must have bought every wedding magazine in the industry. i'm just clipping away! that's about it, though. i haven't done a whole lot, i have to say. but it's been wonderful, though. half the time, i'm too busy staring at my ring! :-) we're still doing the bicoastal thing, which has been tough but we survived over a year doing this long distance. i am definitely planning on moving back to the bay area right now... not sure exactly when but i am making this sacrifice to be with the man i love! i sure am going to miss new york city.

wedding paper divas

2007-08-01T00:23:00.001-04:00

i ordered my sister's bridal shower invitations from wedding paper divas and i am tickled pink at how well it turned out. the proofing process was really easy and PROMPT! and paper stock was better than i expected. the colors were on-the-dot... and they even gave me a coupon for 10% off for my next order. the site utilizes various designers, which is why they have such a great selection and designs! of course, i'm eyeing their affordable wedding invitations, too!

clipped from www.weddingpaperdivas.com

love at first sight

2007-06-26T15:54:00.000-04:00

i am in LOVE with this ring. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. i first saw it inside the cover page of the elegant bride magazine (current summer edition) and couldn't stop staring at the simplicity of the ring. it's so beautiful. it's part of the de beers bridal collection but not sure what it's called... and it sure does look expensive!

daphne

2007-06-20T15:14:00.000-04:00

ok, i know i posted a few weeks ago about my dream wedding gown but i take that back! i think i've found a new one. it's absolutely perfect. very dreamy and perfect for a garden wedding! the dress is called "daphne" and created by alice padrul, a designer from chicago. i love this dress. it's whimsical and not too serious.

palmdale estates on 08/08/08

2007-06-15T17:00:00.000-04:00

i fell in love with palmdale estates the moment i laid my eyes on the photos that were posted on augie chang's blog. (augie is a friend who also is a wedding and baby photographer. let me just say he is an amazing photographer and he's going to be my wedding photographer next year!) photo on the left is a sample from the palmdale's website. i've been dreaming of a garden wedding in the sf bay area and this is just the place. as a matter of fact, a week ago, when i was in the bay area, d and i made an appt to go see palmdale estates. i love the grand palm trees on the premises, the quaint tudor mansion, the beautiful gardens and the entire ambience of the venue! it's exactly what i'm looking for. as soon as i stepped on the sunken garden (or starr garden) i knew it was absolutely perfect. we're thinking august 8, 2008! too bad it's on a friday but it coudln't get any better than 08/08/08. it's as if destiny planned it. :-)

erin cole organza flower hairpins

2007-06-15T16:43:00.000-04:00

i am in love with these beautiful erin cole organza flower hairpins! very romantic, soft and chic. these cost a pretty penny at perfect details but they might be just the hair accessory that i am looking for!

the nantucket sun hat

2007-06-04T17:38:00.000-04:00

this hat really deserves it's own post. really, it's gorgeous. sure it's $60 but it is worth it. hello, sun protection! not only that, it does frame my face rather well... can't wait to use it at the beach!

i got the white hat with the navy blue piping! i didn't see the green one at the store but that's also a lovely color.

one night in san francisco

2007-06-04T17:26:00.000-04:00

i love street festivals! and union street festival in san francisco is definitely my favorite street fair. beer gardens, street barbeques, unique vendors from all over the bay area and lots of people watching! what more could you ask for? i stopped by the fair yesterday and it sure didn't disappoint. the fair itself seemed smaller than previous years but there were still great vendors (from all kinds of fashion accessories to wood carvings to eclectic handmade stuff) and delicious food. i had lunch at park chow in the sunset district right before so i wasn't that hungry but i did end up at the "killer brownie" booth. i sampled a few brownie chunks and also shared their triple chocolate heaven ice cream. it was gone in 5 seconds flat. (that is, after it thawed a bit.) i also got soaps and a really beautiful sun hat (with a wide brim, perfectly called the nantucket sun hat) at jest jewels for my martha's vineyard vacation in july. apparently, this hat was featured in oprah's mag as one of her favorite things.

the weather was great! i was happy to escape the heat and humidity of new york city for a short weekend. san francisco, as usual, had the cool summer fog and the weather was bordering chilly. but i loved it. on saturday night, d and i went to my favorite thai restaurant in the east bay: sabuy sabuy in oakland. this understated, quaint, almost-hole-in-the-wall thai restaurant serves the best chicken laab salad and pad thai. it was soooo good. i miss this this place so much!

dream wedding dress

2007-06-01T10:02:00.001-04:00

omigosh, i think i found my dream wedding dress! it's by monique lhuillier (i can barely spell her name) from her fall 2007 collection! i love the modern feel of the dress, the ruffels by the neckline and the belt detail. wow... if i could, i would wear this in a hearbeat! more views of the bridal gown here.

TGIF

2007-06-01T08:52:00.000-04:00

i don't even know where to begin. first of all, can't believe it's friday already. thank goodness for short work weeks! my parents came and gone this past weekend and we had a blast. our whirl-wind new york tour was fabulous. niagara falls was magnificient and all the touristy things in nyc left us enthralled but extremely tired. i think d and i slept a total of maybe 8 hours over 3 days. i was exhausted back at work on tuesday and had boat-loads of work and major project deadlines yesterday. needless to say, i am so happy it's the weekend again.

tonight, i fly out again back to sf. it's another 3 weekender treats where we get to see each other 3 weekends in a row. maybe it was poor planning on our part but you don't see me complaining!

yesterday, i tried to make birthday dinner reservations for d on july 4th. his birthday is on the 6th but since we'll be in martha's vineyard that weekend we won't be able to celebrate in nyc, which is what i want to do. i called nobu, one if by land two if by sea, among few other "nice" restaurants and apparently they are not open on Independence Day. Oh well. I got lucky and tried per se by chance and got a table at 10pm! woohoo. yeah, it's late but we can go after we catch some fireworks or something. :-)

i love d

2007-05-21T21:39:00.000-04:00

sometimes, i am so amazed at how easy things are with d. this has been the easiest relationship i have ever been in. i mean, no doubts, no questions, no struggles. i am absolutely sure of how he feels about me and where we're going. we have been in the same place and understanding every step of the way. today marks 7 months that we've been dating. albeit long distance but it has been the happiest 7 months of my life. i think about him and my heart gets warm. i think my temperature rises a bit and my heart feels full. i know this sounds cheesy but i feel like every love song and romantic comedy was made for me and d. i know, barf, right?? we talk for hours at a time sometimes and i don't want to hang up. and as soon as i say good bye to him i want to pick up the phone and call him back. i want to talk to him while i do the most mundane things during the day because i want him to be a part of my life, in every aspect. for the rest of my life. because when i'm with him, i feel like i can get lost in him and everything disappears. i have never felt this way before. this kind of electricity, chemistry, love and happiness.

summer vacation

2007-05-18T17:20:00.000-04:00

d and i have been thinking about doing a new england roadtrip/vacation over the 4th of july holiday. i'm thinking we should drive through newport conneticut, martha's vineyard (yes, a ferry involved), boston and making our way up to maine. i've always wanted to go to maine. it seems to epitomize what new england is and seems pure. of course, i've never been there and i hope i'm not too wrong. i've asked some of my co-workers and they all seem to recommend martha's vineyard... very highly! it's time to do some research!

parents visit

2007-05-18T17:16:00.001-04:00

my parents are coming to visit over the memorial day weekend, which i've been planning for several weeks now. i'm very excited that they are coming to visit and also because it's been a long time since they have taken a vacation outside the state of california! they said there are few things that they must see and do. which are: statue of liberty, empire state building and the niagara falls. NIAGARA FALLS?!!?! i told them it's about 8 hours by car, which they can't afford to do because they are only in new york for about 2.5 days! after a brief discussion between me, myself and i, i decided that it's worth their happiness for me to fly there and back. so i did. i booked their trip over 2 months ago and i'm really excited that they are finally coming out next week! now, i'm debating if i should get the day pass for $65 or try to get the tix individually. with the 1-day new york pass we can go to empire state building, statue of liberty, many many museums that they're probably not interested in (they're not the museum going types), nbc studio tour, united nations tour and etc! there's no way we could do all of these in one day, and hitting 3 spots might be pushing it but it might be worth it. since d is coming back out again next weekend, it'll be a double date weekend. yay!

hello national hamburger month!

2007-05-15T10:37:00.000-04:00

this has to be my favorite month long celebration!! (better than "national grilled cheese sandwich month", even though i do love a good grilled cheese sandwich) a month of hamburger celebration, why didn't i think of that??

i love this hamburger blog: a hamburger blog

any website dedicated to exploring the world of hamburgers is a great website in my book.

in honor of hamburger month, here's a list of my favorite hamburgers, in no particular order:
1. mcdonald's cheeseburger
2. in & out animal style cheeseburger
3. shake shack's "shack burger"
4. cheeseburger from the burger joint

that's all i can think of right now...

but, click HERE for a list of "20 hamburgers you must eat before you die" link created by men.style.com... and a list of best of best hamburgers in NYC: the list!

groan

2007-05-14T10:56:00.001-04:00

i just re-read my post from earlier this morning... my god, i really over did it this weekend. yikes.

another over-indulgent weekend

2007-05-14T09:58:00.000-04:00

so the bf has come and gone again. this weeekend was no exception to our usual gluttony. i don't know we manage to eat so much in one weekend. and usually right around this time monday morning, i feel like i don't need to eat for a few days. that's how i feel right now but i'm sure i'll be hungry in an hour or so.

saturday - went to dinner at beppe's in grammercy park for a friend's going-away dinner. (another one moving back to the sf bay area in less than 2 months!) the decor was simple but very welcoming and so was the wait staff. the hostess and host were very friendly and sat us right away. we did have reservations but that doesn't seem like much these days. (for example, with our reservations at kittichai, my friend and i still waited over 45 minutes!) we had tuscan fries and pork belly to start... and i had their butcher's spaghetti. which promised lots of tidbits of pork. by the time the my pasta arrived, i was too full to complain about the smaller portion. (i was barely able to finish it!) but it was indeed delicious. the spaghetti was cooked just right and the meat sauce... oh how i can go on about the meat sauce! i'm a sucker for meat sauce and if i am craving for spaghetti again, beppe it shall be. i was pretty full at this point but there's always room for dessert! so we ordered the pannacotta and vanilla/chocolate chip cannoli. i loved both desserts, although i think i liked the chocolate chip cannoli the best. really enjoyed dinner. d and i were going to walk to billy's bakery but it started raining and since we didn't have an umbrella, we ended up going home instead. the rain was probably a blessing in disguise.

sunday - our full intentions yesterday was to have lunch at mary's fish camp or pearl's oyster bar for their lobster rolls but i belatedly found out that they are both closed on sunday! :-( we meandered towards midtown and after wandering about the west side and the street fair and after trying the mozzarepa snack, chocolate/chocolate cannoli, and the hot dog/sausage monstrocity, we decided to walk to billy's bakery. (mind you, that was 40+ blocks) of course, we were side tracked by a cheesecake bakery (d'auito's on 8th avenue)... so we had to try the blueberry cheesecake! granted, we only had about 2 bites each... very large bites. and after what felt like miles and miles, we finally reached our destination. billy's bakery in chelsea!! the sunny bakery was cute and totally quaint. i don't even bake but as soon as i walked into the bakery, i wanted to open my own bakery! of course, the small bakery was packed with people! after browsing every single item on display, we ordered what we came for: 1 slice of ice box cake, 1 slice of the banana cream pie, 1 daisy cupcake with chocalate frosting and 1 chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting. i have to admit the cupcakes were divine and might be better than magnolia's... but the ice box cake wasn't as good as magnolia's. although d liked it better because it wasn't as sweet but i love the ice box cake from magnolia! it's my absolute favorite. oh the banana cream pie wasn't bad, either. :-) even though we said we were only going to eat just a bite from each item, we finished our cupcakes and most of the the ice box cake and the banana cream pie. we were feeling very guilty after the sugar overload and decided to walk to union square. (to kill some time until dinner, that is.) after a few hours at the barnes and noble, feeling the ups & downs of our sugar overload, we walked over to momofuku noodle bar around 8pm-ish. i was so excited, i'd been over to the ssam bar but have been dying to come to the noodle bar for weeks! especially since i hard that the noodle bar is planning on expanding to another location! i had to go try the original momofuku noodle bar. even before i go into the meal itself, i have to say one thing: it was phenomenal!! so far, my favorite restaurant to date. i can't go on about how much i love this place. again, the decor of the restaurant is simple but warm. of course, the people waiting inside and outside to eat there gave the whole place even more excitement! we waited about half an hour before we were seated but it was worth the wait. let me list of our dinner... we started off with the berkshire pork steamed buns, roasted rice cakes, curry fried pork belly. for main entree, d and i shared the momofuku ramen, which was absolutely perfect. first, the steam buns were heavenly! the pork was juicy and tender, the pancake so soft! the curry pork belly, which was deep fried and it just melted in my mouth. the crispy skin of the pork and the belly fat. what more can you ask for?? well, i also think the roasted rice cake is one of their yummiest appetizers! the rice cakes are toasted before so it’s nice and chewy. the chili sauce is simply amazing! momofuku ramen, which is larger and had more goodies than the regular pork ramen on the menu. i was so full, i think i had to be rolled outta the restaurant.

so there you have it. i am thinking i need to go to the gym tonight for at least 3 hours to just undo some damage. that might be just enough to burn off the chocolate cupcake, though...

It's 4pm... Do you know where your Blackberry is?

2007-05-11T16:02:00.000-04:00

I hope so. I think mine is sitting atop my bedside table, fully juiced up and ready to go... That's where I last saw it as I was rushing to get out of the house. It's one thing to leave the house with my keys (which I do on a regular basis) but to leave my precious Blackberry?? *sigh* It's been a rough day.

I've been text msg'ing with D on my regular phone, mostly one liners. It takes forever to text on those things. I'm pretty much done with my day and I can't wait to get back to my baby. (That would be my Blackberry!) I wonder how many text messages and phone calls I missed??

Thank goodness D gets in tonight. Although it says his flight is an hour delayed...

behold the new blackberry curve

2007-05-11T09:47:00.000-04:00

i forgot my umbrella *and* my blackberry this morning. :-( without my crackberry, i feel utterly lost and feel out of touch with my world. i have another phone, that i use for work... a mere samsung flip-phone (one of the newer ones) but it's a regular cell phone with the regular number keypads. eeek, not as easy to send text msgs on these! i can't remember my life before my blackberry!

as i was looking for blackberry images on google this morning (to lament about my blackbery-less existence), i came across THIS! as a self-proclaimed gadget junkie, i couldn't help but drool over this sleek new device!! when is this new blackberry available to the general public and the most important question: WILL verizon carry this phone??

where is the nearest kohl's around here???

2007-05-10T09:44:00.000-04:00

apparently, vera wang is going the ways of isaac mizrahi and martha stewart! kohl's department store is bringing the bridal powerhouse designer into their mix! vera wang is launching her more economically priced clothingline to kohl's!! which is very very exciting!!

a $60 vera wang dress? hello, i'm so there!! read the blurb here!

bridal bar blog

2007-05-09T13:13:00.000-04:00

bridal bar blog... what a great wedding blog, if you live in the great los angeles area!! i love the name, too. bridal bar blog. ;-) i want to know why there isn't any good wedding blogs in and around san francisco! someone please point one to me please! when i googled bridal/wedding blogs in sf, all i get are ads for photographers and wedding planning. which is great but that's not quite what i'm looking for...

away from her

2007-05-09T12:16:00.000-04:00

i really want to go see this movie! away from her is a "beautifully moving love story that deals with memory and the circuitous, unnamable paths of a long marriage." you can read the rest of the synopsis here at moviefone.com.

what really got me was the tagline of the movie poster: sometimes you have to let go of what you can't live without.

that line really moved me. hello, why would i want to let go of something that i can't live without? and what would push me to let it go?? i get choked up just thinking about this. letting go of someone in my family, my boyfriend or who knows what else?? that got me thinking and wanting to see this movie. the husband, out of his sheer love for his wife (who's suffering from alzheimer's disease) "embarks of the greatest act of self-sacrifice of his life as a means to attaining his wife’s final happiness". wow, i'm really curious how that movie plays out. what does this "great act of self-sacrifice" look like??

i'm going to drag d go to see this move this saturday....

winners of james beard

2007-05-08T11:55:00.000-04:00

hello! james beard awards have been handed out! and the winner are listed here! a good article from eater.com dishes out the 411 on the award ceremony. and according to the website, here are the new york city winners:

"New York award winners were David Chang (Rising Star), L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon (Best New Restaurant), Michael Laskonis of Le Bernardin (Outstanding Pastry Chef) and in the NYC regional best chef category, David Waltuck upset heavies Terrance Brennan, Wylie Dufresne, Floyd Cardoz, and Gabriel Kreuther."

and i'm proud to note that thomas keller from french laundry took an award home for outstanding restauranteur category. and i love momofuku!

weekend update

2007-05-08T10:49:00.000-04:00

i went home this past weekend to support d's basketball tournament in sacramento. (very last minute booking, $200 round trip, a steal!) which meant i flew out late friday night and arrived past midnight in sfo. then, we (d, myself and his parents) got up at crack of dawn to drive up to sacramento for his two tournament games. first one was at 9:30am and the second one was at 4:30pm. since we had a big gap of time to kill, we spent some time re-visiting's d's old haunts. his alma mater was sac-state. we went to osaka-ya, first. where they had delicious japanese teacakes (manju), other japanese snacks, snow cones (shave-ice) and my favorite frozen treats called "gunther's freeze". d got a snow-cone and i got the gunther's fruit freeze (pineapple). this tiny place has all sorts of yummy treats and i wish they were closer to the bay area! sacramento is a bit out of the way from san francisco!

afterwards, we roamed around the state capitol... thank goodness the weather was so nice! but the darn pollen had my allergies going. but i was thankful for the time i got to spend with d and his family.

after the 2nd game, we went to go see the rivercats at the raley field. rivercats are apparently oakland a's minor league basketball team. the first 7 innings were boring but the last 2 inning was very exciting. on top of that we sat in the vip seating which made the first several innings much more bearable! the rivercats won and to top it off because it was cinco de mayo, they ended the night with a fabulous fireworks.

sunday, we went on a 9 mile run in the 90 degree heat and i think i was on the verge of heatstroke! after that, we drove down to san jose to have dinner with my parents! return home sunday night via red-eye really sucked, though. the funny thing about this weekend is that i didn't tell any of my friends that i was going back this weekend. considering i was home 2 weekends ago, i decided i need some uninterrupted time with d and his family. and what do you know, turns out, out of his basketball teammate's girlfriend is one of my sorority sisters from college! and she was like, oh i'm going to have to tell so-and-so that i ran into you here! i'm thinking: d'oh!

bridesmaid's dress

2007-05-03T09:36:00.000-04:00

my little sister is getting married in september of this year. we finally picked our bridesmaid's dress! it's a bari jay dress, made of starlet taffeta and empire a-line skirt style. the photo i posted here shows in golden brown and gold sash but my sister's sash color will be a light blue. which are her wedding colors. very fall, don't you think?

granted, it's not a dress i could wear again but at least it's flattering. this one will go in the closet with 6 other bridesmaid dresses. i should really think about donating these or something...

note to self: start dieting now!

saving for a wedding

2007-04-30T14:43:00.000-04:00

not MY wedding! at least, not yet, anyway...

lacey stopped by my blog a few days ago and left me a comment... so i thought i'd check out her blog, too. and found the a neat blog dedicated to her wedding money-raising! her and her fiancee have a fundraiser-meter to show their progress, too. lacey and her fiancee plan to get married in vegas for less than $5000 (honeymoon, too)! i am impressed by their planning and wow, $5k is a deal. (although, it is only for 17 people...) here's their blog:

saving for a wedding

they blog about fundraising ideas and other money saving tips, that are really practical and good. it's been about 3 days since their first post (and they already have several posts to their name) and have raised about $60!

i'm almost positive lacey is the only person who's ever even been on my blog so i don't know how much this will help but... i guess you never know!

dessert overload

2007-04-30T11:47:00.000-04:00

my bf and i were literally all over the city this weekend. on saturday afternoon, we went on a 13 mile run starting in the upper east side, across central park and w 100 street, down the west side, around battery park and ended somewhere on the e 34th street. we had to take the subway home because walking (or rather moving) wasn't an option. we're training for the san francisco marathon at the end of july. it'll be my third marathon and his first. we did 12 miles in san francisco last weekend. even with the hills in sf, the 12 mile run seemed much easier. maybe because i'm much more familiar with the route and terrain there.

i may have done 2 marathons already but training is always a killer. i can barely walk today! my legs are sore has hell right now. especially after yesterday, when we decided to WALK to magnolia bakery. um, ok, i don't know what we were thinking. hello, i live in the UPPER east side! we only made it to about 31st street, where we had to take a rest at the affinia hotel kitty corner from madison square garden. ghetto as this may sound, we took a wee nap on their comfy sofa in the lobby. thank goodness no one bothered us! afterwards, we went to woorijip (our house, in english), a "fast food" korean restaurant where i got some side dishes. dinner was at kunjip (big house, i think?), which was really really good. we got korean bbq, hot pot fried rice and spicy rice cakes, which i looooove. dinner was topped off by going next door to pinkberry, where we both said, "ok, just a few bites to see what it tastes like." we got the 8oz with 3 toppings (banana, kiwi and strawberry... YUMMY) and ate more than half! i really liked the interesting yogurt flavor!

then we took the subway to magnolia. of course, even at 10pm on a sunday night, there's a line out the door. fortunately, we only waited 10 minutes. i have waited 30+ minutes in the past!

we must have thought running 13 miles allowed us to eat whatever we wanted because even with our full bellies, we went to magnolia bakery and ordered the following: 3 cupcakes, 1 crispy cherry cobbler thingie, 1 slice of ice box cake (my absolute favorite) and 1 small banana pudding. we walked over to the park right across from the marc jacobs store and proceeded to eat a quarter of everything that we bought. the rest are sitting in my refrigerator right now and i can't wait to dig into them after work!

but, back to last night... i literally felt sick on our way home from magnolia. i'm sure he did, too!

after we got back home, we watched the nba playoffs (warriors vs mavericks) totally comatose from our food and dessert overload. but it was a really exciting game! goooooo warrriors! (i know, i'm a total fair-weather fan. but hello, they went from losing practically every game to leading 3-1 in the playoffs against the dallas mavericks?? go golden state warriors! need more info, check out this fab blog on gs warriors.)

did i mention on saturday night, after our dinner at orsay, we went to payard and got 5 desserts! (we actaully only ordered 3 things but one of the servers has a crush on me and brought us 2 extras! it was closing time, too, however...) my roommate was there but still... i feel really fat today.

the promise ring

2007-04-27T14:18:00.000-04:00

so this is the promise ring that my boyfriend gave me on valentine's day. i just realized how dry my hands were that day! but the ring itself is gorgeous! i sometimes stare at it, shake my hand a little to see how the light bounces and stretch out my hand for the full effect. (this is actually the first one that he gave me that was 3 sizes too big! i guess he thought i had fat fingers. anyway, we got it resized and now it fits perfectly. at least he knows what size to get for the engagement ring! this photo was taken with the original ring on the middle finger, instead of ring finger...)

the NOVO

2007-04-26T09:04:00.000-04:00

i told my boyfriend last night that i found the most perfect ring EVER. i saw the ads on the new yorker and also on the new issue of martha stewart wedding magazine. i didn't have the guts to tell him that it's from tiffany's. i just told him the name of the ring, NOVO. i hope he's smart enough to google "the perfect ring" and see what it is. it'd be nice to get this ring from him but i'm happy to have find that there is something different out there besides the usual briliant round cut. thanks for brightening my day tiffany!

styledash put it perfectly:
"The Tiffany Novo is a solitaire set in four prongs. The center stone is a slightly squared cushion cut with a unique faceting to give it an updated look. The platinum shank is also laden with small pavé diamonds. As one of the posters on the Purse Forum board mentioned the diamond cut looks to be the same cut as the Square H & A. It's a nice compromise between a round brilliant and the princess cut which has sharper edges and can lack the fire of a round."

also, i found this on the wedding bee:
"What differentiates Tiffany Novo from typical cushion cuts is that it is brilliant versus modified brilliant. Tiffany worked at great length to create a cushion cut diamond that features the standard round brilliant facet arrangement. It’s been cut to maximum brilliance, ie. same number of facets as a round brilliant cut. The shank is bead set with 16 round melee diamonds."

one can only dream! (i also told d that i'd be happy with anything he gave me. i trust his good judgement but really, i'd be happy with anything!)

oh so pretty blog

2007-04-25T20:43:00.000-04:00

ooh, i love the new skin on my blog! it's so pretty! i can't stop looking at it. maybe this means i'll blog more. thank you finalsense.com!

makings of a bridezilla

2007-04-25T10:19:00.000-04:00

the strangest thing happened today. i woke this morning late. hit the snooze button like 4 times. so by the time i bolted out of bed, i was running late, obviously. when i got to the train station at harlem-125th st, i was able to catch the 6:50am train! which thankfully was about 10 minutes late. the strange thing is, when i try to catch the 6:50am train, i have to get up at 5:30am to get there in time. so, did i get ready in record time to make it somewhat on time? or was there some sort of time shift that i was luckily part of? or was i just so disoriented this morning that i got up way too early (thinking that i was late) and stressed out for nothing? i didn't think i was going to get to work til 9am. but to the contrary, i was an hour earlier than expected. so strange. i still can't figure it out...

anyway, the other good news is that i received my first two wedding magazines in the mail! no, i'm not officially engaged, YET. but i expect it to happen VERY soon. some people might called this a bit obsessive or even getting ahead of myself. but, i'm just PLANNING early. to be prepared! i don't want to rush. i have a feeling it will be a short engagement so i might as do all the legwork NOW. right??? at least, i told myself, no wedding binder til the actual engagement ring is presented! i know, i could potentially be a bridezilla in the making.

now i have to really think about where to have my sister's bridal shower in august.... i know it's still 4 months away but i know it'll creep up on me!

met the parents for the first time

2007-04-23T20:47:00.000-04:00

finally, after six month's i met d's parents. with my residence in new york city and his parents traveling back and forth from southern california, it has been difficult to arrange a time to meet. this past weekend, we finally met face to face. i have to confess, i was a bit nervous about meeting his parents! i mean, this is the guy that i'm going to spend the rest of my life with. (at least, i want to and plan to.) their approval and opinion will mean the world. d kept telling me not to worry that they're going to love me. and i kept thinking, "of course, they're going to like me!" but on the other hand, i had this nagging thought, "what if they don't???"

it was a sprinkling rain a bit but i suppose it added to the anticipation. when d and i got to his parents' house, i had to make a dash to their porch. and apparently, they'd been expecting us because as soon as i hopped on their porch, they opened the front door. i felt like a deer caught in the headlight! but his mom was really sweet, she opened the front door and gave me a hug to welcome me. which made me relax, quite a bit. it was as if she had already made up her mind to like me. d did tell me yesterday that his parents did indeed like me. they thought i was cute, nice and sincere. the first two words are just ok but i like that they think i'm sincere! that's quite a compliment.

the drive to the restaurant (japanese) and dinner went smoothly. there was little bit of bantering going on through the dinner and the dinner itself was quite delicious! afterwards, we went back to his parents' for dessert and pouring over baby photos. my boyfriend was really a cute baby! well, that would explain the good looking man that i'm dating. :-) as tired as i was, i had a really wonderful time looking over the old and odd shaped photos (my bf is 40+ years old) and the custard cream puff the size of my face was utterly heavenly. i'm craving it right now as i'm typing this!

meeting his parents felt like a rite of passage and a momentous occassion. the fact that he also gave me a key to his house also felt like confirmation to our relationship. a key to his house is so symbolic! i'm sure the two events had nothing to do with each but those two events made me feel that this relationship is really serious. that we are going to be together forever. ok, so he didn't propose but this past weekend was just as meaningful. (besides, i do have the beautiful eternity band that he gave me as a promise ring on valentine's day this past february.)

*sigh* i'm so happy.

a bouquet of roses

2007-04-18T14:46:00.000-04:00

in a few days, it'll mark 6 months that my bf and i have been dating... long distance! to commemorate the occassion (i think), he surprised me with these gorgeous roses! contributing to 1-800-FLOWERS, yet again. the whole gesture is so damn sweet! and he really is that cheesy and romantic. *sigh* he makes me so happy.

damn, he's good, isn't he?

long weekends are the best

2007-04-11T10:19:00.000-04:00

alas... with the boyfriend gone it's back to the grind. back to reality. back to eating oatmeal, salads and other diet food. gone are sleeping in, indulging in desserts and late night snacks. *sigh*

we did have a great time this past weekend. he flew in early friday morning and left early tuesday morning. some of the highlights from the weekend are:

friday late night dinner at momofuku: wow, their ssam (korean version of the burrito) and rice cake thingie (forget the official name but it like dduck-bok-ki meets the italian sausage pasta) and their sparking shiraz. oh yes, i'm going back and taking others with me. happy that i finally got to go!

saturday dinner at pylos: "rustic greek cooking" is what they advertise on their website! not only is their decor fabulous but the food, too! every appetizer and entree we ordered was exquisite. we had 4 bottles of cabernet among 5 people. yes, i was hung over the next day.

sunday: easter sunday evening service - yes, i actually want to church! and surprisingly enjoyed it.

monday night: knicks vs pistons at the madison square garden. so-so game (knicks lost) but at least their footlong hotdogs are still yum-yum (we got the "works"- cheese, sauerkrat and chili) and kracker jacks, along with cotton candy were readily available.

another great weekend with the bf... i really miss him.

james beard nominations!!!

2007-04-05T10:03:00.000-04:00

The James Beard Nominations are out! I don't know why I'm more excited about this foodie-lovers' award than the Oscars. Maybe because I feel like I have a personal involvement with these restaurants, cookbooks and cooking shows? I guess it can be compared to checking to see which nominated films I've seen... checking to see which nominated restaurants I've been to and where I need to go next!

Of course, my favorite section begins at page 7 (YES, there 10 pages of nominations in different categories) where the best restaurants and chefs categories begin! I'm ecstatic to see that Thomas Keller for The French Laundry have been nominated for Outstanding Restauranteur Award! Looove anything associated with Thomas Keller. And as usual, many of the restaurant and chef categories are dominated by New York or San Francisco. Spotted with places and people from Chicago in between. Which is my other favorite city. It also makes me realize that I have not been to many of the "great" restaurants in NYC while I've been here. I need to change that pronto!

Some of the restaurants that I really want to hit up in NYC:

Momofuku Ssäm Bar

A Voce

Craft

I've only been to Jardiniére in San Francisco and totally regret that I was not able to go to La Folie... although, i used to live 2 blocks away from there on Polk Street!

Man, I get SO excited about food!

champagne brunch cruise

2007-04-04T13:13:00.000-04:00

when my boyfriend was in town this past weekend, we went on a champagne brunch cruise around manhattan on a almost-new luxury yacht appropriately named the "manhattan".

even the weather was overcast and a bit on the chilly side, it was still a beautiful ride. we pushed off from pier 60 in the huge complex of chelsea piers around 11am with about 20 other people. the yacht is pretty new (a year old or so, i think) and it is beautiful. the brunch was way better than described on the website. it sounded like it was going to be a continental breakfast mostly but turned out there was a waffle maker (the waffles were quite tasty), honeyed ham and quiche among the bagels, cold cuts, pastries and etc. and aboard the manhattan is a small but efficient bar! hello, i love drinking on a boat. good thing i don't get seasick! we headed southerly from the chelsea pier down to battery park, got a close view of the statue of the liberty, up the east river, went under the brooklyn bridge, went around the top portion of manhattan (i was able get a glimpse of my apartment building on 95th st) and down the hudson river. it was quite romantic! oh especially since there was a proposal made aboard the yacht! i actually didn't know what happened but next thing i knew, people were clapping and i heard people say, "they just got engaged" and "he proposed on the deck"! i had to nudge my boyfriend and make sure he heard what happened. *wink*

i found this great deal on goldstarevents.com, which i refer to on a regular basis. (it's one of my "daily browsings"!) originally, this brunch cruise is usually $75 but at the time of purchase it was only $40! I think this could have been a one time deal, but i did see a different cruise which is even cheaper (without the food, unfortunately) for $25! still a great deal, considering this sunset cruise sells for $50.

it's a brand new day!

2007-04-04T08:29:00.000-04:00

it's either pms was really kicking in or i was really homesick yesterday. it's more than the usual: *sigh* i wish i was in san francisco... kinda missing. i was down-in-the-dumps kind of homesickness. maybe it's the weather. or the familiarity of the bay area. or my family? or the fact that my boyfriend gets to see friends that i don't get to see???

well, this morning, i boarded the metro-north with a raisin bagel with cream cheese, regular coffee and my amny morning paper. and as i was looking out on the hudson, all seemed good again. i was happy to be in new york. not proper new york city at the moment (since i'm at my office in westchester) but still happy for the experience!

* * * * * * * *

dammit... i can't believe i'm going to miss this...
The 5th Annual Big Apple BBQ Block Party

and only because i'm heading home to san francisco that weekend!!!! of course, that is a good thing BUT, because i'll be on the plane, i'm going to miss THIS event, too!
An Evening with Khaled Hosseini

you had me at halal....

2007-04-02T16:02:00.000-04:00

i have been to some really nice restaurants in new york city... but time and time again, i keep going back to this place:
www.53rdand6th.com

yes, it really is a food cart... halal food, to be exact. and yes, the website is fan based! i love new york city.

seriously, it's worth the 20 minute wait in the freezing cold. there's always a line at this place. hmmm... seems to be a pattern here with me waiting for food. which is usually not the case. but, for $5 the chicken and lamb combo plate is worth every bite. the savory chicken and seasoned lamb over rice, salad and wedges of pita are absolutely heavenly. oh and don't forget the "white sauce"... no one seems to know what it is but it is damn good. i like to mix some of the hot sauce into the white sauce and pour it over my platter. YUM YUM YUM. their gyro is yummy, tooooo!

i went there last night with my BF and wow... i was impressed, yet again! (we actually like to take our food to the rockefeller plaza basement and usually watch the skaters. but last night, maybe due to the rain, no one was out.)

my bicoastal disorder

2007-03-27T10:14:00.000-04:00

i never thought i'd entoil myself in a long distance relationship... but i'm in one. a serious one. it's really ironic how we started dating AFTER i moved to new york. we met a few months before i moved and we didn't go exclusive until a month after i moved. well, considering my move to nyc happened so unexpectedly it was really by chance that we started dating. we reconnected at my going away party! i had met him only once before that.

maybe my bicoastal disorder is fueled even more by the fact that i miss my boyfriend so much. that i long to be with him every moment... although, even if we lived and worked in the same town, we wouldn't be able to see each other during the day because of work! but i do miss san francisco and surrounding areas, my friends and family... and my boyfriend, of course.

he's coming out this weekend so i'm looking forward to doing our usual new york city stuff... we have a broadway show planned, a nice restaurant and probably a run around central park. but i wonder how long am i really going to be here. we have discussed me moving back or him moving out to new york. but i'm not quite ready to move back... although, at times, i feel like i've had enough of the big apple and ready to back to the foggy city!

i'm so torn...

the shake shack

2007-03-25T20:34:00.000-04:00

so i waited 45 minutes in line today for the shake shack burger, fries and diet coke. i guess it's better than your average hamburger but still... 45 minutes? and after i paid for the cheese fries, the guy at the counter who handed my food told me that their cheese isn't coming out quite right so no cheese for me. ugh! i was highly eager to chow down on my cheese fries and i was severely disappointed. and my friend who got paid her food at the same time i did was told that they were out of cheese. not that i want my .50 cents back but the whole thing was kind of annoying. their fries weren't all that either, gimme mcdonald's fries anyday!

granted, the idea of having burgers in madison square park is rather appealing. and of course, the electricity at the shack is powered by wind... and i've been told that they do have the most off-the-hook shakes and frozen custard. which i didn't try today. maybe because i was starving by the time i got my food, i have say my shack burger was delicious. it was smaller than expected but then, what was i expecting? a whopper? fries were just ok. even though they were trans-fat free and made from organic potatoes.

shake shack is owned and operated by the same people who run the union square cafe and grammercy tavern so you know the food is going to be good. overall, my $9 lunch was pretty good and filling. but, i don't think i ever want to stand in that line ever again...

from the metro-north

2007-03-23T13:44:00.000-04:00

i missed my train this morning. i don't know how that happened exactly... considering i pressed the snooze button only once and woke up at a decent time. i blame my 6 train... it didn't come at 7:35am like it normally does. it came 5 minutes late. which in turn made me miss my hudson line. but it gave me an excuse to go grab a breakfast sandwich at frank's papaya (no, not grey's... but frank's) on the corner of 125th and lex. for $1.75 it's a pretty good deal. big and tasty. yum. i needed to wash it down with something so i grabbed a coffee from the little snack shop at the harlem-125th station but sheesh, it was bad bad coffee. watered down and bitter. i suppose i should have bought one from the cart outside where they boast the sign "best coffee since 2001" or something close.

i can't believe i've been in new york for 6 months already. 6 months! it seems like just yesterday i packed up my stuff from san francisco to new york. i must say the russian-hill-to-the-upper-east-side transition was pretty smooth. considering the job offer to the move date was exactly 3 weeks. and i wasn't even planning on moving. i've had a long love affair with san francisco but really.... maybe my true love is new york city. like those delta airline advertisements that line the walls of the subways. it says something like "cheat on new york... we know your true love is new york city but..." and so forth. sure i can cheat on new york. i do it every other week. i was just in san francisco this past weekend as a matter of fact. with a job that gets me out of the office once a month, a boyfriend back in the sf bay area and planned (and none planned) vacations, i've been in and out of airports every other week!well, here's to my first post on blogger! :-)