thoughts of the day

from the notebook doodles

source unknown

Can't you tell that I am a bit all over the place nowadays? Things will only get better from today forward....I am holding on to my hopes and dreams!

Fun Trip To The Factory!

Last night I decided to go to The Cheesecake Factory with the babe and my friend Karen with her baby, Henry. I don't go there that often (in fact, I think it was over a year ago when i went last time), so it was a nice treat for both Audrey and I.

New Orleans Shrimp. Oh so good!
Red Velvet Cheesecake! So, so, so good!

i love you, Anthropologie....

Today's post is dedicated to the most exciting shop in the world: Anthropologie.
If I had one wish, I'd wish for my entire house to look like Anthro's shop.
Everything you see today can be purchased at Anthropologie.com

These are my faves for today (umm, I love bags...in case you're wondering why I listed 3 here...):

Do I need to really explain why I love this....

Because a little tartan plaid is what we need....

The most delicious looking red bag!

The shoes I'd wear with my picnic dress...

If I were going on a picnic tomorrow, this is the dress I'd wear.

once upon a time...

It seems like forever ago I last posted something here.
I don't know where to begin this new post.

Once upon a time I found love but that love is now gone. The love I thought was going to last a lifetime. Soon as I found out my love was gone, I went through a period of sadness beyond words could ever describe. I yelled, screamed, cursed, threatened people, destroyed things, sent nasty emails, cried, stopped eating, stopped sleeping, felt depressed, blamed myself, blamed the world, wanted to drown myself in the river, went crazy.... Then one day... one day... I calmed down. Just like that. One morning I woke up and realized that there were some things I could never change. And I decided my life was too short to fix every problem that was not mine. I snapped back to life.

Fast forward today, I am feeling better. Much better. Not always easy if I have to be honest. I've decided to keep the good memories and toss out the bad. Eight years is a long time to be with someone. I have no regrets. In fact, I'd like to thank him for giving me a beautiful daughter---the love of my life. I am glad we crossed paths.

My life is going to change forever. I believe better things are ahead of me. I have a new life to live! I have a daughter who is going to look up to me. I have to show her the world and all the good things that are in store for her! And I am excited. I truly cannot wait to explore all the adventures that are coming into my life. I hope you'll stick around cause I have more stories to tell!

part 2: handmade birthday party for the baby

We did it! After days of planning, we celebrated Audrey's 1st birthday party with friends. Birthday girl had a blast!! Still can't believe she is one now. Seems like it was just yesterday when I welcomed her into this world. She's been the greatest joy of my life. I love her with my heart and soul. Ok enough with the sappy opening, here are some pictures from the party!

My precious birthday girl with her own cake! She wasn't sure of what to do with the cake at first. Then she started smushing it and ate the icing!

Birthday cake! No, I didn't make it myself. I was going to but I was afraid I'd ran out of time so I ordered from a local bakery. They did a fabulous job! It was vanilla with raspberry filling and cream cheese frosting. Surprisingly delicious and super soft!!! Everyone enjoyed it! I am not kidding.

Some sweet treats that I served. Most I made myself.

This is what the finished invitation looked like. Handmade! and no, they didn't look like 1st bday party invitation but I loved the look.

This is what the invitation looked like. The paper bunting was sewn on the card. I was going to order the invitation through Etsy but decided to make them on my own. I was happy with the result. Didn't take long to make at all.

Overall, I was really happy with how the celebration turned out. Audrey might not remember it but she will learn through pictures and stories that I will tell her one day. I promise myself that we'll celebrate our birthday each year on its own special way. Doesn't need to always throw a party but I want it to always be memorable. I, for example, like to take a day off from work on my birthday every year. My birthday is my personal holiday. The most important day of the year for me. The celebration of the time I arrived in this world. It is such a happy day.

part 1: handmade birthday party for the baby

{image belongs to sweets indeed}

Audrey is turning a year old next month. I can't believe my baby is going to be one! For a while, I had been going back and forth with the plan of whether to throw her a birthday party or not. Now I am certain that I am going to host a lovely birthday party for her. Audrey's family in NY/NJ will be throwing her a Korean birthday bash in NY --- it's a Korean tradition to have a huge 1st birthday party. Well, certainly, I am not going to throw another Korean birthday party here. I want to do something different (of course!!). Audrey is going to have a sweet and lovely handmade birthday party. It'll be a small birthday party. We'll invite close friends. Hopefully it'll be something that everyone can remember for years to come.

vintage inspiration

I came accross that lovely pic above while browsing around apartment therapy's site. Don't you love it? I love the "handmade" side table. I might just have to copy that look for my own bedroom. I happen to have a vintage suitcase (ivory) that I can use.

Gosh now I want to revamp my place. But I am on a budget. I still need to find 2 white bookshelves and a white dining table (to serve as large work area) for my sewing studio. I did find a super cool white dining table from overstock a while back but then it sold out a week later. I am still kicking myself in the butt for waiting too long to purchase it. Such a great price too ($168 + free shipping!!). I might hit my favorite vintage shop in town next weekend. Who knows I might find a cool one there.

Also, few weeks back, I bought a couch from Craigslist. It is a lovely light blue couch. Came from a good home. I am happy with the purchase. I love the couch but not the pillowcases that came with it--such boring plain pillowcases. So, my hands are itching to make some handmade pillowcases for my lovely blue couch. Will post the before and after pics once I am done. For now, I have some zipper pouches to make!!