Let see what we have for Black Friday ^.*
A new kind of Wedding Cake Topper!
So whose wedding that inspired me?
It's the "Whimsical Wedding Ideas" posted by Emily Newman from Once Wed. This DIY wedding of Kim and Zak was photographed by Brooke Schwab from Brooke Schwab Photography.
The couple is so sweet...
The custom-made love birds are so adorable and the "groom-bird" resemble the look of the groom, Zak (with glasses) ^.*
(On the left top) Fabric Wedding Birds with Alencon Lace from Sue Beehb's Shop $138, (bottom left) Custom Order Love Birds Wedding Cake Topper from Rain's End Shop $120, Hawaiian Wedding Love Birds Cake Topper from Rain's End Shop $120, (On the right top) Custom Order Love Birds in Nest Cake Topper from Rain's End Shop $100, Tweets in Love White Birds with Red Rose Wedding Cake Topper from ThreeMoonBabies's Shop $30
Renee & Bob's Fall Wedding in Charlottesville, VAPhotographed by A Bryan Photo
Who introduced me to A Bryan Photo?
She is Kathryn from Snippet and Ink Daily Wedding Inspiration Blog. Reading her blog has became one of my daily routine ^.* Love it! I was captured by one of her many real wedding postings back in October (Mia and Christian's Wedding by A Bryan Photo). Thanks Kathryn!
Heard of the name of GoDaddy.com (because my office email is hosted by this company), but I had never seen the founder and CEO of the company. So when was the first time I "met" him? It was during his wedding in Charlottesville which photographed by A Bryan Photo.
Professionals:
Event Planner: Kristin Newman Designs from South Carolina
Cakes: Ace of Cakes, a reality television show airing on the Food Network. The show focuses on the daily operations of Duff Goldman's custom cake shop, Charm City Cakes, in Baltimore, Maryland.
Please join me to the "photo show" of beautiful wedding dresses, wedding details, and impressive wedding cakes below.
Flower girls are so adorable, their dresses are so nice with the big bow at the back!
Gorgeous gown with beaded bodice and ruffle A-line skirt. Pretty!
Look at her gorgeous dress (see the right most picture)!
I love the idea of having the lounge area at wedding reception. And this is simple and nice!
The CEO of GoDaddy.com not forget to "advertise" the company at his wedding ^.*
Their initials monogram, beautiful! 
Wow factor...a mini photo gallery of the couple on the CAKE!
The couple incorporated their initials monogram in the napkins as well as their signature chocolate treat. What a way to personalize your wedding!
Outstanding tented reception with draping and chandeliers.
Motorcycle in the wedding???
Looks real...
Seriously...the motorcycle reviewed a few seconds ago is actually a REAL CAKE! Good job, Ace of Cakes!
Thanks again Kathryn from Snippet and Ink for introducing me to A Bryan Photo! I will definitely keep an eye on their beautiful works in future.
What's HOT Now?
(I can't wait to show you this fantastic "coming-back" trend in dresses until Fashionista Monday; therefore, I am showing you on Thanksgiving Day instead!)
Jacquard/Brocade/Damask Dresses are making their way back in the modern world!
According to Fashion-Era.com, brocade has always been associated with luxury and opulence. It has been used both for clothing and for furnishings.
Today, we are featuring our First Lady Michelle Obama's hand-made strapless gown by Indian-American fashion designer Naeem Khan during the first state dinner hosted by our President of the United States, Mr. Barack Obama and his administration on Tuesday (11/24/09).
InStyle.com tells us more about the accessories, hairdo, and make-up contributed to the stunning look of our First Lady. "Mrs. O accessorized her gown with glamorous rose cut, amber and tourmaline pear-shaped Bochic earrings and stacks of gold and diamond bangles. Her demure updo, pink lips and airy nude chiffon wrap were the perfect finishing touches to what is sure to be an iconic White House style moment."And here are some dresses I found on Bloomingdales.com that look gorgeous, and most importantly, they offer reasonable price without breaking the bank to be stylish (BELOW $100)!
AQUA Brocade Combo Dress, $98
AQUA Sequined Brocade Combo Dress, $98
AQUA Brocade Combo Dress, $98
AQUA Sleeveless Sequined Brocade Combo Dress, $98
SALES!
(Left) AQUA Brocade Combo Dress, Original $98, SALE $58.80
(Right) AQUA Brocade Combo Dress, Original $98, SALE $58.80
The two dresses by Aqua shown above are on sales. You are going to get it for below $60, what a deal!
Hope you enjoy the Thanksgiving Feast with family and friends, and getting ready for the Madness After-Thanksgiving Sales starting midnight 11/27/09!
Today, I am going to share with you a beautiful Thanksgiving Friends Gathering at my home. (Kind of like a day off from all-thing-wedding-issue today, however, there are some decor ideas that can inspire you for your intimate rehearsal dinner or after-wedding brunch!)
Last Saturday, I am so thankful and glad to have given the honor to host the Thanksgiving Dinner at my apartment for my dear friends in NYC. The dinner was planned since two weeks ago. I wanted something special and different than just putting every dish on the table for all my friends. My first thought was to have a really long "table" made up of empty cartons, cover with a bold red cloth, adorn with fresh flowers, and dinnerware. I thought ... wow ... that would be nice and homy! However, I was not able to execute the plan I had, due to limited space in my apartment. (Sigh...sorry my dear friends, I promised we will have a proper long table Thanksgiving dinner next year!)
One of my friends, Kien Lup, he has unlimited creativity and stories to share with; be it fashion, hairstyle, foods, decorations, and many more which I am still learning from this great friend of mine! He persuaded me to go from family-style sit-down to buffet-style dinner ^.*
Now, move on to the food we are going to prepare for the day and also the decor for the party! Since we have our friends, Sofie & Pei Jia, to prepare the turkey, we thought of doing something lighter and something sweet. We decided on mashed sweet potatoes, green salad, guacamole on crackers appetizer, and a homemade apple pie. We love the freshness of vegetables and fruits offered by farmers market, therefore, we decided to make a trip to Union Square Farmers Market on Saturday afternoon.
We got:
Apples (thought of making the pie...but in the end, we decided to buy one from farmers market instead.)
Pears (for decoration as well as eating purposes)
Mid-size Pumpkin for decoration purpose (to create Thanksgiving/Fall festive mood)
Sweet Potatoes
4 Packs of Green Salad Mix
Bell Peppers (red, orange, and yellow)
Grape Tomatoes
Avocados
Olives
Lemons
Ham
As soon as we done with the shopping, we went home and get ready to set up the table and prepare the food. Can't wait to put everything together!
So I got a big red cloth and Kien Lup brought a red/black ombre cloth and some candles. Unlike flowers, we go greener by having fresh fruits all around. (no more waste food, everything is edible ^.*) Also, we made full use of the apples we bought for making the apple pie. We incorporated the apples into our buffet table centerpiece decor. I love the color combo so much!
Here we go...the result of combining our fresh fruits centerpiece with candles around. Isn't lovely? 
When dinner time is approaching, more food are coming in (hmm...yummy!).
Our menu: American, Asian & Mexican
Here is the list...
1. 20-pound Big Turkey (A huge bird!)
2. Stuffing
3. Cranberry sauce
4. Mushroom gravy
5. Carrots
6. Green salad
7. Mashed sweet potatoes
8. Guacamole on crackers
9. Bon Chon Chicken from Terence
10. Fried mihun from Tina
11. Roasted pork from Ian
12. Korean Kimbap
13. Spicy pork with squid
14. Pandan chiffon cake from Ying Thing
15. Apple pie bought from farmers market
16. Magnolia cup cakes brought by Tina
(Items 1-5 prepared by Sofie and Pei Jia)
(Items 6-8 prepared by Kien Lup and Me)
(Items 12 & 13 prepared by Tim and Paris)
Hands down to all delicious food from my friends! Thank you!
My greatest thanks to my friends for taking your time and efforts to prepare or buy us the delicious meal! I love you all!
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!
Happy Happy Thanksgiving!
I am so into the holiday mood and would like to share with you some of my favorite fall-inspired (Thanksgiving) Centerpieces and Decor today. If you have not shopped your decor elements for Thanksgiving celebration, you may take clue from these beautiful pictures too! "" Dried" Elements
Top (from left to right): Dried Flower Arrangement from Better Homes & Gardens (BHG), Showcase Memories from BHG, Wheat Centerpieces from BHGBottom: Forest Scenes from BHG, Autumn Branch Centerpiece from BHG, Greeting Tree from BHGPumpkin-inspired Decor
Top (from left to right): Drilled Pumpkins from Better Homes & Gardens (BHG), Pumpkin Candles Fall Centerpieces from BHG, Gourds on a Shelf from BHG
Bottom: Fall Pumpkin Decoration from Martha Stewart, Pumpkin Candles Fall Centerpieces from Martha Stewart, Pumpkin with Leaves and Tendrills from BHG, Pumpkin Candle Centerpiece from BHG
Fruity
Rooms-inspired Decor
Rooms-inspired Decor
Enjoy ~
The couple is so sweet... 
(On the left top) Fabric Wedding Birds with Alencon Lace from Sue Beehb's Shop $138, (bottom left) Custom Order Love Birds Wedding Cake Topper from Rain's End Shop $120, Hawaiian Wedding Love Birds Cake Topper from Rain's End Shop $120, (On the right top) Custom Order Love Birds in Nest Cake Topper from Rain's End Shop $100, Tweets in Love White Birds with Red Rose Wedding Cake Topper from ThreeMoonBabies's Shop $30 
(From left to right): Small Hand-painted Love Birds with Nest from RedLightStudio's Shop $60, Winter Love Birds Wedding Cake Topper from Myko Bocek Studios $130, Penguin Wedding Couple from Fliepsiebiep's Shop $40
(Left) Custom Polymer Clay from Blue Butterfly Design's Shop $35, (Right, top) Gold Bird Wedding Cake Topper from Sugar Rush Cake's Shop $39, (Right, bottom) Silver Bird Wedding Cake Topper from Sugar Rush Cake's Shop $39
Flower girls are so adorable, their dresses are so nice with the big bow at the back!
Gorgeous gown with beaded bodice and ruffle A-line skirt. Pretty!
Look at her gorgeous dress (see the right most picture)!
I love the idea of having the lounge area at wedding reception. And this is simple and nice!
The CEO of GoDaddy.com not forget to "advertise" the company at his wedding ^.*
Their initials monogram, beautiful! 
Wow factor...a mini photo gallery of the couple on the CAKE!
The couple incorporated their initials monogram in the napkins as well as their signature chocolate treat. What a way to personalize your wedding!
Outstanding tented reception with draping and chandeliers.
Motorcycle in the wedding???
Looks real...
Seriously...the motorcycle reviewed a few seconds ago is actually a REAL CAKE! Good job, Ace of Cakes!
AQUA Brocade Combo Dress, $98
AQUA Sequined Brocade Combo Dress, $98
(Left) AQUA Brocade Combo Dress, Original $98, SALE $58.80
Top (from left to right): Dried Flower Arrangement from Better Homes & Gardens (BHG), Showcase Memories from BHG, Wheat Centerpieces from BHG
Top (from left to right): Drilled Pumpkins from Better Homes & Gardens (BHG), Pumpkin Candles Fall Centerpieces from BHG, Gourds on a Shelf from BHG
From left to right: Basket Centerpiece from Martha Stewart, Go for Green from Better Homes & Gardens, A Harvest Table from Martha Stewart
