Congrats to May Kou & Xwm on their nuptials the other weekend. We’re so happy & excited for the lucky couple. Kou is my best friend Maysee’s older sister, so I couldn’t refuse when she asked for help with her wedding flowers. Kou is such a sweetheart and had complete trust in me even though I don’t have a lot of experience. Her colors were pink & brown, and her flowers were hydrangeas, roses, calla lilies, and asiatic lilies. Stunning combination. Can you believe 250 of the roses are Sam’s Club roses? Best deal ever.  Just let them open up two days before your event & they will look amazing.

Also a big thanks to my sister May who helped make the boutonnieres & prep the flowers. I couldn’t have pulled this off without your help, May. We stayed up all night working on 5 table arrangements, 6 bouquets, 2 corsages,  and 30 boutonnieres. We were only able to squeeze in 3 hours of sleep, but it was so worth it because the bride was happy with how everything turned out.

The gorgeous bride & bridemaids
L to R: Jade, Sam, May Kou, Chloe, May & Maysee

The arrangement in the white urn is my favorite and is much bigger in person. At least 4 feet tall if you count the curly willow branches sticking out on top. I love the green amaranthus drooping off the arrangement. So romantic. There were two of these & I was so relieved when they made it from the church to the reception intact.

I love weddings and all the details, so while I don’t know if I have it in me to do this as a living, I know that I absolutely love making weddings beautiful & memorable.

Hope you all had a good J4.

MayKou’s Bachelorette Party & Kindbeats @ Epic on Friday
Watched my sister play football @ the soccer tournament
Watched UFC @ our place with some friends
Food & fireworks at my sisters
Drinks with my little brother & his buddies

It was a fun filled weekend.

It has been a while since my last post. What have we been up to?

+ T-ball & swimming has started, and Max is slowly getting the gist of things. It’s funny to watch little kids learn how to play a sport.

+ I am slowing down on the home improvement stuff. Last on the list: gutters, deck & hardwood floors and that will be it for a while.

+ Watched The Cove last night. It was a good movie, but heartbreaking. I don’t think I can support zoos anymore.

+ The hubby, Max & I are all obsessed with the iPhone app Plants vs Zombies. Mike’s old iPhone died a month ago, so we had to take turns on my iPhone playing it.

+ Speaking of the iPhone, we were able to score the new iPhone 4 without waiting in line thanks to the hubby spending hours hitting the refresh button. Lol. Very nice compared to last time. Verdict: pretty amazing. The screen is really nice & it’s super fast. I want to get the white one when it comes out, and then we can utilize the face time feature.

+ Started teaching Max math last month. We’re working on addition right now. When he passes multiplication & division, I am handing it over to his Daddy since math is not my forte.

+ I am helping with my best friend’s sister’s wedding flowers next month. Want it to be perfect for her, so hope I can pull it off.

+ See my curtains I made for my mudroom? It’s the same fabric that I was talking about in this post. And I didn’t have to sew one stitch. Used hemming tape. Mike’s Grandma gave me her Husqvarna sewing machine, but I’m not ready to use it yet. I need some sewing lessons first. Anyway, this project was super easy & cost me less than $30 for everything. Love saving $$.

+ Signed Max up for tee-ball & swimming this summer. He needs work on his gross motor skills, so t-ball should help & also be something fun to do this summer. We might take him to a Twins game this weekend to get him familiar with the game.

+ Know what I’m super excited about? My new chair. The hubby bought me an Eames molded plywood lounge chair last week. Herman Miller’s having a 15% off sale right now. I have been coveting this chair for a while now. It’s like a piece of art, so if you come over to my house, you can’t sit in it. It’s only to be looked at. Alright, I’m just kidding… Kind of.

+ I am thinking about getting one of those GPS trackers for Max to wear when he’s out of the house. What do you guys think? I mean, he’s with me most of the time, but he does run outside a lot to play with the neighbor kids. It just scares me so much when I read about child abductions.

+ Max’s last day of preschool was last Thursday. We went to his graduation ceremony & he said his goodbyes to his classmates. It was sweet. I can’t believe my kid’s gonna be in kindergarten this fall. He’s gonna love waiting for the bus with his neighbor buddies.

+ Max & I spent the day with my girlfriend Mitsu & her nephew yesterday. Love hanging out with my girlfriends & just eat & gossip chat all day. It was a fun Monday.

[click on images to enlarge]

As promised, here are the results of the mini-makeover of my kitchen. This is what it looked like before. We had the perimeter cabinets enameled to match the trim/interior doors. I also replaced all the hardware. The pulls are the Asbury line from Restoration Hardware in satin nickel. To save money, I ended up buying the knobs from Home Depot instead of RH. Saved about $150. Replaced the island pendant light fixtures. And had new backsplash installed. Overall, I think our kitchen looks a lot bigger & brighter. I am contemplating if I should have the island stained darker, but it’ll do for now.

This weekend was pretty busy. On Saturday, we went to a birthday party, a graduation party, and a housewarming. Ate way too much. Then on Sunday was my best friend Maysee’s little girl Rylee’s birthday, so we stopped by & stuffed our faces more yummy food. All in all, a weekend filled with food. Love food, but not good if I want to fit in my dresses this summer.

This week, I hope to have more things done around the house. In the meantime, keep cool everyone.

Recent buys
1: Enzo Angiolini wedge sandals
2: Fuschia peep toe flats from Aldo
3: Talika lash conditioner (seems to be working so far)
4: Tory Burch Miller logo sandals in black (my mother’s day gift)
5: Urn planter (for my front porch–gonna spray paint it black)

What I’m listening to
1: Rob Thomas - Ever the Same
2: Adele - Hometown Glory
3: Emma Burgess - Your Love

Shows I’m watching
1: Lost
2: Real Housewives of NY (Kelly = kookoo)
3: The City

Dinner @ Restaurant Alma for the hubby’s 32nd birthday. Their chef/owner recently won a James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Midwest. Overall impression: great food & service. Click on images to enlarge.
1st Course :
Black Cod - (forgot the description)
Spring Vegetable & Herb Salad - citrus dressing, fresh mozzarella, toasted sesame
2nd Course:
Crispy Soft Cooked Egg - aromatic mushrooms, basil, ginger, shallot & rice
Lightly Smoked Prawns - citrus butter, pineapple, fennel
3rd Course:
Duck Breast & Confit - honey glazed carrots, cilantro, spiced yogurt
Gently Cooked Salmon - snap peas, miso mustard, potato puree, horseradish

Dinkytown McDonalds roof line

Hit up McD’s right before heading to Alma. Max chose that place for his dinner since we knew he wouldn’t eat anything at Alma.

Max’s little tail is growing longer, and I find myself unable to cut it off. I know it’s just hair & it’ll grow back, but I just can’t do it yet. It’s so fun to see my Dad’s face when he sees it. He hates it, but since it’s not his kid, he just mumbles under his breath.

Mother’s Day was good. We had lunch with my Mom and then took her to get a mani & pedi. While driving there, I happen to glance at my Mom’s hands, and I am reminded how hard she works. She didn’t think her manicure would last, but it was fine with me. I wanted to her to enjoy having pretty hands & feet, at least for one day.

The black & white is of my girlfriends Mitsu & Maysee. I cut myself out since my head looked too big. Max was right.

Just bought summer clothes for Max & me. Lots of shopping these last few weeks. I bought like 11 dresses. Only dresses for me this summer. Dresses & wedges. Wish the weather would cooperate & be nice already. Been so icky lately.

Look Ma! Purple sticky rice! Made purple sticky rice for the first time last week. I think next time, I will only use the excess water from the black rice instead of mixing the two. The black rice was too crunchy. The hubby & Boo-Boo love purple sticky rice.

I have a huge list of things to do around the house & errands to run. Gotta register Max for a sport this summer (teeball or soccer), in addition to swimming. Might be putting him in summer school as well. Trying to keep him–and me–busy this summer.

My little boy brought this home for me from school along with a potted flower.

Me: “Which one am I?”
Max: (points to the one on the right)
Me: “Why do I have such a big head?”
Max: “Because you do.”

At least he didn’t draw me with a big belly or something. And I wish I was 20.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the Moms out there. I love you Mom!

Dinner @ Broders the other night with my sisters.
+ zucchina fritti - batter fried zucchini with lemon mayonnaise
+ spring caprese salad - asparagus & mozzarella di bufala with lemon-oil dressing
+ fettuccine con aragosta - housemade pasta with lobster, tomatoes, lemon, herbs & cream