Kel. 28. Lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. Graduated from UC Berkeley 2001. Has a small obsession with TV. Enjoys chick lit and teen movies. Major shopaholic. Blogging since January 17, 2002.

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Date/Time: Fri, Jan 04 @ 11:13pm
Reading: Wicked by Gregory Maguire
Listening: No One, Alicia Keys

 Alyson.  Barry.  Emma.  Kelly.  Kate.  Linda.  Marieke.  Marina.  Reen.  Robyn.

• labor day weekend
• diesel picture post
• wedding dress shopping
• overdue music post
• hsm2

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August 30, 2007

Mmmm... I started my super awesome five-day weekend today. YAY for Labor Day.

Rob and I are taking Diesel and we're driving to Southern CA for the weekend. We're going to visit our families and friends and also do some wedding "stuff." We have 8 appointments with various vendors (3 photographers, 3 coordinators, and 2 florists). It's going to be a busy (but fun) weekend!

Hope everyone has a good one. :)

Posted by Kel at 04:42 PM | Comments (1)

August 28, 2007

Diesel has been getting so big (and furry!) since the last time I posted a picture of him so... :D

 

 

(Click to see bigger pictures).

HE'SSOCUTE.

Posted by Kel at 09:19 PM | Comments (4)

August 24, 2007

I had another Summer Friday today (yay for days off!) and I went... wedding dress shopping.

SQUEE.

(This will probably be a long entry. You have been warned).

I visited 2 salons -- My first stop was Marina Morrison where I got absolutely impeccable service. I tried on 7 dresses and out of my 3 favorites in the end, 2 were chosen by my consultant, Rebecca. She was amazing! She listened to what I wanted, made suggestions, and was incredibly patient and respectful of my budget. She was so great that I would be pleased if I ended up choosing my gown from here. LOVE. My second stop was The Unique Bride where I had a subpar consultant. She rushed me (I tried on 9 dresses in 30 minutes!) and didn't really have any helpful answers to my questions. She did make some great recommendations, though, so I'll give her that. And I found 2 dresses (and 1 bridesmaid dress!) that are definitely contendors so it wasn't a completely horrible experience.

Anyway, I learned a few things:
1. I *really* need to get my arms into shape. Most of the dresses I love are strapless and my huge, flabby arms just won't cut it.
2. Speaking of my arms, I have scars on the back of them (above my elbows) from a bad rash I had a few years back. I rarely wear tank tops because of the weather here so I've never really bothered to pick up Mederma to minimize the scars. Now I can't wait to go to the drugstore.
3. I need to work on walking in high heels. Granted, all the sample dresses I tried on were loooooong cause I'm vertically challenged. But there's no 2 ways about it. I'm pretty klutzy in heels. Can you imagine if I fell on my face walking down the aisle?!? Nightmare.
4. I'm going to go over my dress budget. At least I have time until I absolutely have to get a dress ordered (roughly Jan/Feb) so I can save some extra money for the purchase.
5. You absolutely cannot be self-conscious. The bridal consultant is in the dressing room with you and you are in nothing but a bustier and underwear. I was prepared and wore modest undergarments but I was still uncomfortable at times. (I have body issues).
6. Try on a variety of dresses, cause you just never know. The ones you love might look horrible (this happened to me) and ones you wouldn't have chosen for yourself end up being the most flattering.

Anyone want to see some pics? Not on me, though, as I forgot to take pictures. :/ (Rob, this is the part where you stop reading).

A few Dresses I Tried On (And Ruled Out)

Judd Waddell. Not sure what material this is but it has a lace overlay on the sides. Horrible. It made me look wide.

Reem Acra. Beaded strapless top with a ball gown skirt. I have always, always envisioned myself wearing a strapless ball gown. I saw this on the rack and HAD TO try it on. But it looked awful. There was too much dress. It was overwhelming on my short frame.

Monique Lhuillier (my favorite bridal designer). A-line dress with a really elongated lace top. Since I'm short-waisted, this didn't work. There was fabric bunching up around my hips. Not pretty. (According to my consultant, the top could not be shortened so it would sit on my actual waist).

Alvina Valenta. Strapless lace top with A-line skirt and sash. LOVE the sash but it felt like a very "safe" dress. Not enough oomph.

Alvina Valenta. Lace v-neck top with a wrap style A-line skirt. I didn't think I'd like the way the skirt gathers at the top and falls into layers at the bottom, but WOW. I really liked it. I just liked others more.

The Top 5 Dresses I Tried On Today

Reem Acra. Beaded strapless top with A-line skirt. Mmmm. I'm learning that the A-line skirt is what works for me. The skirt is full without being over the top. Yet it still has the feel of a ball gown.

Monique Lhuillier. You'll have to imagine this without the bolero. It's a gorgeous beaded/embroidered/lace strapless top with a gathered skirt. Lovely. But waaaayyyy out of my price range. I'm not going to get this but I still love it.

Reem Acra. Beaded v-neck empire top with an A-line skirt. This was one I didn't pick for myself. I don't know how comfortable I would be with suck a low v-neck but I loved the way it skimmed my body. It made me look and feel taller.

Monique Lhuillier. Lace strapless top with tulle A-line skirt. This one took my breath away. I think the tulle is what did it. It took me back to my ballet dancing days. I felt like a ballerina again. LOVE.

 

Carolina Herrera. Eyelet taffeta strapless dress with a trumpet-style skirt. This is the very first dress I tried on! Another LOVE. You can't really see the eyelet detailing in the pictures but it's beautiful. I like this dress because it's different and unexpected. And it hugged my curves perfectly. Plus, the ribbon is customizable and they happen to have a lovely shade of pink.

The last 2 are my favorites. :D All in all, not a bad first round of shopping. It was even kind of fun! I'll probably hit a few more salons and take some friends next time around.

Posted by Kel at 11:00 PM | Comments (5)

August 21, 2007

Countdown to Rob and Kel's Wedding

HEE. I couldn't help it!

Anyway, I really wanted to blog tonight (I'm trying to blog more often... we'll see if I can keep it up) but nothing particularly blog-worthy is going on. So I thought it was high time for another music post! It's just a mish-mash of stuff I'm loving right now.

Right click, save as...
username: cookie
password: monster

Dashboard Confessional - Stolen
Rihanna - Shut Up and Drive (I really like this song -- I hope it doesn't get played out in the same way that Umbrella did).
Rihanna - Hate That I Love You (featuring Ne-Yo)
Linkin Park - What I've Done
John Legend - Save Room
Avril Lavigne - When You're Gone
Gwen Stefani - The Sweet Escape

If there's anything you guys are listening to that you think I should be too, let me know in the comments! I'm always looking for recs. :)

Posted by Kel at 11:34 PM | Comments (2)

August 19, 2007

I just finished watching High School Musical 2.

I know, I know. BUT I LOVE IT, OK?

Lucas Grabeel as Ryan totally made the movie for me. Actually, both he and Ashley Tisdale as Sharpay were awesome. And I have to admit that yes, I still loved Troy and Gabriella (Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens, respectively) even though their storyline pretty much sucked. But they finally kissed! So that's some consolation, hehe.

(I can hear you all laughing... don't laugh!)

Now excuse me while I go download the soundtrack from iTunes. :D

Posted by Kel at 10:26 PM | Comments (3)

August 18, 2007

Lately I've been thinking about what color scheme to use to frame our wedding. I think I've finally decided (with Rob's approval, of course :P) but damn, if I'm not the most indecisive person. EVER.

I *love* pink. I can't help it. I know it's girly and feminine but it's one of my favorite colors and I really wanted to include it somehow. The hard part was coming up with other colors to complement it and make it less "Barbie" looking.

So I first thought of partnering pink with red and cream.

I like it a lot but feel like it screams "Valentine's Day." I really want a soft, intimate, yet whimsical feel to the wedding and this combination definitely doesn't feel soft.

Then I thought of using shades of pink along with a deep chocolate brown. Mmmm.

*sigh* I love it. This satisfies my pink obsession and also feels romantic without being overly so.

But of course, I can't make it easy for myself... I have to consider more options and make myself crazy. :D I was checking out the gallery at Brides.com and these aqua and orange images jumped out at me.

It's so unexpected and different yet fresh and fun! I just don't think it's quite "us." It's so gorgeous, though.

Lastly, I thought about pairing yellow and white. It's such a simple palette but the color yellow is just so happy! It makes me smile. Plus, my mom and dad's wedding was yellow-themed and it would be a nice way for my mom to be there in spirit (*sniff*).

Yellow might be a bit too bright and sunshine-y, I think. I'm not exactly what you would call a "cheerful" person, lol.

As you've probably guessed, we're going to go with shades of pink and chocolate brown. YAY! What do you guys think? Rob wasn't too crazy about the pink at first but he came around when I suggested that the groomsmen should wear pink boutonnieres. He seemed to like that. :D

Posted by Kel at 01:24 AM | Comments (7)

August 13, 2007

It's Rob's birthday today. So he wasn't too happy when I hijacked the TV and watched The Hills premiere. HEE.

I'm so addicted to this show. I CAN'T HELP IT. It's a total guilty pleasure. Such drama... Lauren versus Heidi! (I'm so Team Lauren, by the way). Lauren doesn't like Audrina's new boy! Spencer proposes to Heidi! I love my show. :P

Posted by Kel at 11:23 PM | Comments (2)

August 10, 2007

So. Again with the Harry Potter. Sorry guys!

I've been in a "post-Potter state of depression" (tm Sarah) since finishing the last book. It seems so silly but I'm incredibly sad. :( It's been a great ride for me... I didn't start reading the books until the summer of 2001, right after college graduation. I was a "late bloomer," as they say, hehe. One of my college roommates recommended them to me after she read the first 4 books during our senior year. I remember wondering why in the world she was reading children's books. Little did I know. :D Fast forward to the summer when I had no job (no full-time job anyway) and lots of free time to do nothing. It sounds fun but doing nothing all day gets old pretty quickly. I used to pick up books from the Borders across the street regularly and one day, I finally broke down and bought the first HP book. After reading the first few pages, I was hooked. And I raced through the next 3 books that same week.

The HP world has been a part of my life since then. That's 6 years of re-reading the series, speculation and discussion, impatient anticipation for the next installments and midnight release parties. It just doesn't seem real that Harry's story is over. Well, at least there's always the last 2 movies! They're not nearly as good as the books but I love them just the same.

I feel so lucky to have been a part of the HP phenomenon. As soon as I got home with Deathly Hallows, I knew that millions of people around the world were doing the exact same thing I was. I find that freaking incredible, you know? Anyway, I sat down to type up my thoughts on DH and I've totally went off on a random tangent, lol.

Here goes.

I loved it. But you knew that. :) It was an absolutely engaging story from beginning to end...

Things I Didn't Care For
1. Draco's story. It was a little disappointing. I've always found him to be a fascinating character. I never thought he was actually evil... he was certainly taught to be but I don't believe that he shared the same conviction as his parents. After HBP, I felt like he was going to make a choice for one side or the other. Or at least he had the set up to do so. But nothing really happened to him. He's not entirely good but not entirely evil. Meh.
2. Ginny. I used to like her just fine but the H/H shipper in me has developed irrational hate. Sorry. :/ Plus, I kinda think she's a little *too* perfect.
3. Snape's redemption. Now don't get me wrong, I actually really loved his backstory but I think it came too late for me to feel bad for him or to really dwell on the impact of his sacrifices.
4. Inter-house unity theme being dropped at the end. That was an important thread running through the book and it was seemingly squashed in the epilogue. UGH.
5. Aaahhh, the epilogue. Yeah, I could have done without it. I would have at least liked to find out what the other characters were up to (Luna, Dean, the Professors at Hogwarts, the other Weasleys, etc). Plus, I feel like the final chapter was so intense and powerful that the epilogue just felt tacked on. It just didn't pack the same emotional punch. For me, anyway. I guess I'll have to settle for JKR's post-HP interviews like this one to find out what happened to everyone.

Deaths :(
1. Hedwig. UGH. Stab to the heart right from the start. (I rhymed!)
2. Dobby. *sob* I've always been a bit indifferent to Dobby (he was so annoying in CoS though I loved his devotion to Harry). But OMG... his death made me unbelievably sad. And Harry burying him just about killed me.
3. Fred. I had a feeling one of the Weasleys was going to die. I just wish it wasn't one of the twins. :/ Percy would have been okay. Oh, just kidding.
4. The 3 above were the ones that really pained me... the deaths of Mad-Eye, Tonks, and Lupin, while still sad, didn't really affect me the same as the others. I guess I almost expected their deaths. Maybe not the exact characters, per say, but I knew going in that there would be a fair amount of deaths in DH. Plus, I just don't really have the same emotional connection to them. Well, maybe Lupin. He's a big reason why I love PoA so much.
5. Snape. I think he's an absolutely intriguing character. And I love him for that. But I can't reconcile his actions with his motivations. I know he was working with Dumbledore because of his love for Lily but it just doesn't seem enough to explain away the horrible things he's done and how he's made Harry feel during the series. I'm not surprised by his death, though, and I think it was necessary for his sacrifices to really mean anything.
6. The Baddies -- Wormtail, Bellatrix, and Voldemort. Their deaths were just a matter of time so nothing unexpected there. I did like the circumstances surrounding each of their deaths, though. Very appropriate for each of them. Sounds horrible but it's true.

Moments/Things I Loved
1. Anything Harry-related. He's my favorite character in the series and he was seriously inspirational in this book.
2. Dudley thanking Harry for saving his life.
3. Neville's always kind of flown under the radar for me until these last few books... he's really become a brave, confident young man and I'm so glad he had the chance to play an important role in the battle. I loved when he pulled Gryffindor's sword out of the Sorting Hat and then killed Nagini. I do have to admit that a small part of me wanted him to finish off Bellatrix. Molly killing her was just as sweet, though,
4. Potterwatch! That was awesome.
5. Snape's relationship with Dumbledore.
6. Kreacher making treacle tart for Harry and later, rallying the house elves for the Battle. YAY Kreacher!
7. Pansy Parkinson pointing out Harry when Voldemort demands his surrender and all the other houses come to his defense.
8. The Marauders (+ Lily) walking with Harry to face Voldemort. This gave me chills.
9. Narcissa covering up for Harry after asking about Draco.

But probably my favorite moment was the following...
Hermione had taken his hand again and was gripping it tightly. He could not look at her, but returned the pressure, now taking deep, sharp gulps of the night air, trying to steady himself, trying to regain control. He should have brought something to give them, but he had not thought of it, and every plant in the graveyard was leafless and frozen. But Hermione raised her wand, moved it in a circle through the air, and a wreath of Christmas roses blossomed before them. Harry caught it and laid it on his parents' grave.

As soon as he stood up he wanted to leave: He did not think he could stand another moment there. He put his arm around Hermione's shoulders and she put hers around his waist, and they turned in silence and walked away through the snow, past Dumbledore's mother and sister, back toward the dark church and the out-of-sight kissing gate.

Yes, it's shippy -- SORRY! I love them so.

I think I'm going to do a re-read. :D

Posted by Kel at 09:38 PM | Comments (2)

August 3, 2007

Rob and I finally put our deposit down for our reception venue on Thursday. GULP. So much money.

BUT. This means... we have a wedding date! This is HUGE!

:D

Well, technically we have a reception date. The church for the ceremony is still TBD until we have a face to face meeting with the pastor of the parish. We're going to be down in Southern CA for Labor Day weekend in a few weeks so I'm hoping that'll fall into place then.

Anyway, our reception will be held on a Saturday evening in August 2008 at the Grand Newport Plaza in Costa Mesa, CA. SQUEE. I just adore it.

I only have a good photograph of the front entrance. All the pictures I took of the ballroom are blurry. :/

Now we have about a million other things to get started on! EEK.

Posted by Kel at 11:05 PM | Comments (4)