We did it!!

I am officially a Mrs. now and Mark is finally got his ring on his finger to mark his married-hood. Wow.

The big day went by so fast. The 3 hours of sleep we had over 3 days total before the wedding most likely helped contribute to the fuzziness of it all. But it was so beautiful and SUCH a blast. Thank goodness for our last-minute decision to have our friends capture some of the moments of the day on the 2 Flip cameras we had. Seeing the day unfold through the eyes of our friends reminded us again of how lucky we are to be surrounded by such amazing people in our lives who were able to all come together to celebrate this adventure called life with us.

As I sit here on the couch blogging, I realized that I have two choices: 1) to continue writing this entry and finish it as if it's the last entry to our "wedding planning" blog, or 2) figure out how to continue the life of our blog by, for example, announcing the extension of our "wedding planning" blog to "life as a Mr. & Mrs." blog, or something that's worth contemplating over. My post-honeymoon-pre-work-brain is too tired to figure out if #2 is the way to go, but it knows that killing the blog is not quite the way to go. That just seems, for some reason, too morose as Mark and I begin our new life together! More to come on exactly what will happen to this blog for those who may happen to be reading this.

In the mean time, I am going to fix the Mr. and myself an early dinner to feed our still-on-Portugal-time-stomachs and figure out how to get rid of all these empty boxes from Crate and Barrel that have overtaken our apartment.

Yeah - we DID it!! And can't wait to start our lives together as husband and wife.

Counting Down

Wow - can't believe we are getting married in 6 days!! This morning, we cooked in for some home-made frittata and reminisced about the good old days when we had time to just sit around and relax. Yup - life has been pretty insane, but it's all going to be worth it. We are totally looking forward to seeing all of our friends and families who are coming into town for our big day!! And off to Portugal we go the Monday after our wedding!! Let us know if you want us to bring you back some port wine from Portugal! :)

Hope to see you out on Friday (8.7) night for some pre-wedding wine at The District in San Francisco!!

xoxo,
m&a

Bachelor party vs. Bachelorette party

Mark is away this weekend at his bachelor party with his posse in Chicago. I hope he is having some good fun esp. since how hard he has been working and helping out with wedding planning! Like I told him and his friends, "Have a blast and get it out of your system! What happens in Chi-Town stays in Chi-Town." :b

It occurred to me some time ago that my philosophy on bachelor parties isn't shared by many other women. Also, men and women seem to have different perceptions of the respective gender's bye-bye-singlehood party. For example, how many times have you heard of brides getting upset at the groom for misbehavin' at the bachelor party? I seem to have heard quite a few, which is unfortunate. On the other hand, I don't think I have ever heard of grooms getting into fights with brides because of what they have done at the bachelorette party.

OK, so I am a sample size of one, but as I talk to friends and gather my information, it seems that guys do in fact get into trouble more than girls do with their significant others post these parties.

So, say this phenomenon is true, let's diagnose why this may be happening:

1. Men do crazy things (e.g. where scantily clad women may be involved) more so than women do at bachelor/bachelorette parties.

2. Men in close contact with other women (e.g. lap dancing) is considered unacceptable but women being in close contact with other men is not.

3. Women get upset at men more than men do with women.

I actually think that all three of these are possibilities and probably work together to result in the "phenomenon" explained above. With regards to point #1 above, as society agrees that guys tend to be more physical vs. women being emotional, it makes sense to me that there would be more "meat on display" at a men's party vs. women's party. As for #2, related to #1, my assumption is that there is a belief held by some that when men are in close contact with other women, more things can go wrong, whereas with a woman being in close contact with other men (e.g. lap dancer), there is more embarrassment and laughter as opposed to "what may happen...". As for #3, I hate to admit it, but it's probably true that women get mad at men more than men at women. Of course this is a generalization, but since women tend to nag more than men, I get the feeling that ends up translating to getting upset.

What does this all mean? As we continue the tradition of bachelor and bachelorette parties, how can we ensure that at the end of the day, more fun is had than fights taking place between the couple? Not that anyone is asking for my tips, but here is what I would think about:

1. Have fun! Parties are meant to be fun. Bachelor and bachelerette parties are a once-in-a-life-time thing where people of the opposite sex are involved. Let men be men and women be women so that fun can be had by all. And be appreciative of the work your bridal party has put into planning this gathering!

2. Gotta trust. Without trust, a marriage breaks down. I don't know what Mark is doing in Chicago (I don't think he did either before leaving), but I know that he is not going to do anything that he thinks would not be right to do or hurtful to me.

3. Give each other freedom. As two get together in a marriage, you are in each other's business a lot. It's ok to ask for personal space and not have to know everything that's happening in the other person's life. Guess that's related to the trust piece above.

Wow - I am starting to feel like "Dear Abby". Now, I can't wait to see what my girls have planned for me for my bachelorette party on July 11!! Looking forward to a fun weekend with the ladies (and scantily clad men - ha!)!!

Memorial Day wknd wedding planning?!?!

Mark and I decided to stay in town this Memorial Day weekend to make some progress on our wedding planning. And thus far, the weekend has turned into a weekend of eating... and relationship bonding, of course, over what else but our love for food. :)

Friday night: Checked out fancy French food served out of old taco truck.


Saturday: Ate our way through Bodega Bay, including amazing organic sourdough cheese bread and the best roasted chicken (served in truffle oil juis) and apple crisp.



Sunday: Started our day with delicious doughnuts of novel flavors, including bacon apple maple and chocolate rosemary almond.
Life is good. Happiness is when your stomach is satisfied (and you are with your loved one). :)

What's happening now?

Some of you have been asking us how wedding planning is going and if we have any updates. Well, here they are!


1. We are eating. Doing lots of eating. One of the nice things about wedding planning is the tastings you get to do. I don't understand how to-be-brides can lose weight with all of the opportunities of eating.

2. I am trying to figure out what to do with the flowers. A trip to the San Francisco Flower Mart totally overwhelmed me. Yup. Plus I found these really strange feather balls..


3. We have excuses to go to Napa. Gotta get wine for the guests! Our last trip ended with us carrying 4 cases of wine back in our car trunk. :)

Wedding Planning Exposé!!!

Three more months to go till the big day - wow! I finally understand what people mean when they say "you can plan for a wedding as long as you want!" and which the advice of "so make the engagement period as short as it can be!" often follows.... Ah ha....

As I look back on my wedding planning experience, I realized that somewhere down the road, I have decided to keep a list of "Did you know's" (which will maybe one day go into my book titled Wedding Planning Exposé) as far as wedding planning is concerned to help all future brides. Yeah, think of it as the wedding industry's version of Fast Food Nation.

Here are some starters:

1. Who says it has to be white? Did you know that the tradition of the bride wearing a fancy white wedding gown to her wedding was the creation of Queen Victoria (see photo below of her wedding) back in 1840 to boost the textile industry in the UK??? Before then, it was very common to simply wear your favorite dress to your wedding. Just imagine - had it not been for her, Vera Wang probably would not be who she is right now!! And who knows - I probably would have been ok wearing a polka dot (my fave!!) patterned dress to my own wedding!

1. JPG" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/aa/Queen_Victoria_Albert_1854.JPG/462px-Queen_Victoria_Albert_1854.JPG" border="0">

2. Flowers flowers everywhere. Did you know that many florists often require a minimum of a few thousand dollars to even work on a wedding (and talk to you further)? Between the center pieces on every guest table and the floral decorations throughout the ceremony and reception, the amount of flowers used (and thrown away the day after) is incredible as well as extremely wasteful. But why ARE flowers used? Why does there HAVE to be flowers everywhere? I would bet $20 that this was probably the creation of the likes of queen Victoria for white fancy wedding dresses and DeBeers for diamond rings.

3. "Just add it to the registry!" Did you know that when you start a bridal registry, you are highly encouraged to add as many things to it as you can (the logic being that "you can always take it off")? While I don't have the facts on this, I would, again, bet $20 that a large portion of the money retailers in the registry business make is from the gifts on the registry that are NOT fulfilled by the guests. Now, instead of trying to get you into the store to do more shopping the rest of your life, they simply have to send you a 10% off coupon that applies to the unfulfilled items to get you to open up your wallet. I mean, we all want to save money, right?

The point is - I've realized that with wedding planning, as it is with many things in the world, when you ask "why?" you can sometimes be surprised by the answers you get. Sometimes, traditions are not what you think traditions are. Like I have always said, it always goes back to marketing...

Meeting the extended family in motherland Taiwan!

Good genes live in the Hwang and Hsiao families. Mark and I just returned from Taiwan where we celebrated Mark's grandma's 100th birthday. Yup - 100!!! Pretty amazing! We also visited my grandma who is 93 and still has some black hair!! Yes, miracles do happen. :) It was great that we got to do what our friends have been calling "pre-wedding meet and greet" with all of our relatives in Taiwan. I think I met nearly 100 relatives from Mark's family - incredible! It's a good thing in the Chinses family, you only have to remember their role in the family tree (e.g. oldest aunt from mom's side, youngest uncle from dad's side) as opposed to actual names. Yes, the hierarchy helps one show respect! I am also glad that Mark got to meet my brother and family, including nephew Wesley in Taiwan finally! Can't wait for the big party gathering in August!!

Now back to being j..e..t..lagged!!! zzzzz.....

The ultimate shopping trip - a.k.a. wedding registry.

This whole wedding planning experience has been very interesting in many ways, one of which is the coming together of two very different cultures. Having grown up in Taiwan and moving to the US as a teenager, I grew up with very Chinese traditions. What Mark and I had envisioned for our wedding is one that blends our Chinese heritage with the Western traditions. Throughout this process, we learned that some things are definitely easier than others, which leads us to the dreaded registry experience vs. the Chinese tradition of red envelopes with monetary gifts inside.

Truth be told, given the size of our San Francisco apartment and our (hopeful) move to a house (if we can ever find a piece of property we are capable of buying that we like!), we can't imagine having even more boxes than we do today around us. It never ceases to amaze me how many "things" we own - since when has our lives become so supported by material goods? Guess it also doesn't help that I am some what of a pack rat, finding it hard to let go of old things with sentimental value.... In any case, all the more reason for us to follow the Chinese red envelope tradition.

We are mindful of the Western tradition of registry, however, and want to make sure that we provide our guests less familiar or comfortable with the Chinese red envelope tradition with some registry options. As a newly minted bride, for some reason, I have only heard of scary things about wedding registries (along the lines of "pain in the arse", " overwhelming!!!", etc.) Guess there was no way out of the scary registry experience after all! :)

Since Mark and I are headed to Hong Kong and Taiwan in less than a week, we figured we needed to crack the nut on the registry this weekend. Well, we all know how much Mark loves to shop... ;b NOT! Well, as it turned out, Mark hurt his big toe (we still have to look into what's going on when the doctor is available on Monday) and by Saturday morning, was immobile and has been on crutches ever since. Well, if Mark ever needed an excuse to get out of doing a registry, this was it. So, off to registering I went.

My first stop was at Bloomingdale's, given its convenient location to where we live and having heard from multiple other brides the great registry experience and the flexibility it offers. My intent was to have been there for one hour so I can hit up a couple of other stores - well, that is not the way things work with registering. Four hours later, I found my "registry consultant" telling me the importance of placemats and linens - these being the essential accents one must have multiple sets of to dramatically change the look of your table setting, without having to change the actual dishware. He convinced me that I needed one for the everyday, the fancy occasion, and then there is the holidays. I told him I was tired. By then, even my crutch-ridden fiance made his way to Bloomies to check in on me and rescue me from it all. Thank goodness for the Nespresso demo counter offering free coffee at Bloomies - I needed the caffeine boost major time.

Four and half hours later, we walked out of Bloomies with a "gift bag" filled with marketing material from every single manufacturer you can imagine and somewhat of a headache, but feeling good (at least we were told we should) about what we have"accomplished" on this ultimate shopping trip. I was happy to part with the scanner I had been walking around the store with zapping random items I wanted on the registry (I actually lost the scanner at one point). At the very least, we did very much like what we had picked out for our table setting. Whether we actually end up with those items or not, who knows, but at least we put a check mark next to that registry box.

For all the shopaholics out there, if you ever have the urge to shop, but don't have the money to buy, you may want to consider starting a registry (even if you are not engaged!)! Trust me, the registry experience will zap every desire to shop out of you. It's retail therapy in a twisted form.

Recession-Proof Valentine's Day Celebration!

Celebrating Valentine's Day as an engaged couple is a funny thing. In Mark's own words, "We've kinda been on a Valentine's Day high for the last 4 months since engagement!" I thought - very true. Perhaps that was Mark's way of getting out of a V day celebration... Hmmm... Fine by me! In any case, we decided that we would cook in instead to respect the recession we are in, as well as save money for the big day. Plus, cooking together is more fun anyways. So the plan was set...

We woke up on Valentine's Day wondering what we were going to make from the French Laundry cookbook he had gotten me for Xmas (I still can't believe that The FL doesn't take reservations even if you physically walk in. It's out of respect for the international clientele who can't be there in person, they say. Ridiculous!!!). However, Mark ended up craving the amazing pulled pork sandwich at Universal Cafe. So, we thought, let's go eat brunch there and look through the cookbook to see what we would make for dinner. Again, the plan was set...

Just as we were about to reach the Cafe, we received a call from Diana and Roger announcing that they would like to join the PhoNATICS club Mark and I had initiated (details in January blog posting) and invited us to a pho outing. Of course we couldn't turn down prospective members!!! The solution? We decided to eat our round 1 brunch at Universal cafe as planned, warming up our stomach for the pho. Sounds crazy? Maybe so. The huckleberry donut (photo on left) with lemon curd cream was as "life changing" as the waitress promised. And the fried chicken (our fave!!!) sandwich was pretty good too. Now onto round 2: Pho Tan Hoa, here we come!

We were excited to learn the authenticity of new PhoNATICS members Roger and Diana. Roger actually claims that his favorite food is pho. What a statement! The best part is that he actually L-O-V-E-S tendon in the pho, just like Mark and I!! Mark and I actually had a big debate about whether Mark's nickname in the club should be Tendon or Sriracha, which he ultimately went with given his obsession with this amazing sauce. It looks like Tendon is now taken by Roger - congrats Rog, very deserving. Diana went with Bean Sprouts, Sprouts for short.

Tenderloin's Pho Tan Hoa is bright and spacious. To sum it up, Pho Tan Hoa had: 1. amazing tender tendon (one of the best I have ever had), 2. fantastic thinly-sliced steak pink and rare (the pho photo outside the restaurant was no false advertisement - see photo on right for actual pinkness of meat), 3. great noodles (coming from the self-claimed noodles expert in the club - I am not nicknamed Noodles for nothing!), and 4. awesome portions (I assure you that it is impossible to walk out w/o feeling stuffed, esp. if you order the large size that comes in a HUGE bowl). The thing that bothered me, however, was the broth. Perhaps I am too used to the rich broth pho usually is in. The lighter broth at this place, albeit healthy, just didn't quite do it for me.

Here is our collective ratings (as shown by the # of chopsticks in the photo) - who needs stars when you can have chopsticks anyways?!?!




#1 Mark Sriracha: 3 chopsticks
#2 Amy Noodles: 3 1/2 chopsticks
#3 Roger Tendon: 4 chopsticks
#4 Diana Sprouts: 4 chopsticks

Looks like our newcomers were a little more generous with their chopsticks.

Overall, our first official San Francisco PhoNATICS outing was a huge success. Everyone left happy and full, but managed to squeeze in some Humphry Slocombe ice cream afterwards for some extra happiness and fullness. Life was good. So was our didn't-go-quite-as-planned Valentine's. But, we did manage to cook. Again, while we had planned to make lobster and clams linquine, the not-so-planned-food-sold-out part resulted in dover sole on asparagus and seared scallops on brussel sprouts instead. And lots of champagne - which always makes a Valentine's Day celebration end on a good note! Happy Valentine's Day!!!!

Wedding Planning via the Clorox Marketing Lens

It is now February. According to the wedding planning timeline in the latest issue of Real Simple Wedding Edition, I am supposed to have nailed down my photographer, DJ, florist, priest, guest list, caterer, videographer, entertainment, dress, hotels, website, bridesmaid dresses, and save-the-date/invitation. Yes, what a short to-do list!!! And there is now a possibility of us having a wedding banquet in Taiwan in the spring as well. Oh so much to do and so little time!!

Sitting in a "Wedding DJ showcase" put on by a company called Dennon & Doyle yesterday made me realize that as a potential bride, I am the target consumer of the wedding industry. Walking into the "showcase", I felt like Mark and I were a part of something bigger. We were part of a large herd of couples with huge dollar signs hanging over our heads and holding our wallets screaming "rob me, rob me"!!!

At Clorox, we talk about the consumer "aperture", which is the moment when the potential consumer is open to hearing about new products and making consumption decisions. I guess I am living an "aperture" period now with all of the vendor selection I am going through, except that as a marketer, I refuse to be "marketed" to!!! Please, if I receive another piece of mail about wedding-related stuff, I will have to call TheKnot.com and ensure they take me off of their list and not release my info to anyone else. Wow, I realize I am starting to sound like an angry bride. Maybe this is how brides turn into bridezillas! ;b

Also, conversation with Dusty, the manager of my reception facility Terra on Friday, about how integrated he wants to make sure that the different elements of my wedding are coming together reminded me of what I do at work - leading "Integrated Marketing Plans". I asked myself, what is the BIG IDEA we are integrating around? Is it Mark and Amy - the urban SF couple with our passion for modern art? Or is it M&A foodies who can never say no to yummy food esp. ice cream? This is when I also realized that wow, perhaps I have consumed too much of the Clorox Koolaid, perhaps in the form of Clorox bleach, Pine-Sol, or Brita filtered water.

Yes, marketing, it is everywhere.

Now, back to more wedding planning. I swear, I think I might puke if I have to look at another wedding photo, but you did not hear that from me.

Shall We (Sun)Dance?

Just to note... Amy picked the title of this particular blog. I wanted "S-A-F-E-T-Y (Sun)Dance". I'm back from my blogging hiatus. Amy and I just got back from the wonderful Sundance Film Festival. We both accomplished personal records for most movies watched in one day in a theater (3)! Sundance was a nice diversion to wedding planning. Amy and I made a pact to reinvigorate our wedding planning once we got back. I hope we keep our promise (or our wedding will be really really lame)!

We were very impressed by the quality of all the films selected for the festival. You really do leave with the feeling that you could see them all. We saw quite a few documentaries, Burma VJ in particular was very moving. Burma VJ chronicles a network of rogue videographers who captured the September 2007 Burmese government crack down on protests. This crackdown was of particular significance as the military brutally disbanded Buddhist monks protesting a government issued hike on gasoline prices.

Later that day... we took our puffy eyes to see the world premier of The Greatest, a Susan Sarandon and Pierce Brosnan tearjerker (see Susan, speaking at the podium, and Pierce, standing right behind her, in picture below). While the rest of the audience wept I held strong. This film will likely reach wide distribution. Truly a great film.. slow and methodical in its disection of grief. Well I think I've bored you enough.. passing over to Amy now!
I have always wanted to go to the Sundance. Mark and I both love movies - for the stories told, voices heard, and the truths revealed. It was great that we got to go together and I really walked away from the Festival feeling that I have fallen in love with movies again, especially with Sundance, for its ability to gather an incredible selection of films and giving the audience fresh perspectives on the new AND the old topics around.

One of my personal favorites was Cold Souls. Besides being a big fan of Paul Giamatti, who is just hilarious, I loved the question the film asks - should we unburden ourselves with the weight of our soul... and lock them up in storage so we can get a respite from it? I've always said that no matter how one is, it is important to have a soul. Watching the movie made me question myself - what exactly is one's soul? According to Wikipedia, the answer to 99.9% of all questions out there, "the soul is the immaterial part of a person. It is usually thought to consist of one's thoughts and personality, and can be synonymous with the spirit, mind or self." I think of soul as the life that lives underneath our physical being - it's what makes us who we are. It's not perfect and it weighs us down, but that's just part of the package. It's the type of thing that artificial intelligence scientists cannot create with programming. I find myself drawn to people whom I feel have souls and are conscious of their souls. When I first met Mark, that's exactly how I felt. This guy has inner depth, I had told myself. Hopefully he hasn't stored his soul away anywhere. And hopefully our marriage will help make his soul bigger (esp. if his is the size of a chickpea like Paul Giamatti's in the movie!).

PS. Other films from the Festival we recommend include: Afghan Star (Afghan's version of American Idol, except that women contestants get death threats for dancing on stage) and Mary and Max (an Australian claymation that will make you cry, laugh, and scratch your head multiple times).

PPS. Yes, Sundance is filled with celebrities. We saw: Robert Redford, Tom Arnold, Christie Brinkley, Paul Giamatti, Susan Sarandon, Pierce Brosnan, Amy Puller, Rachel Dratch, Andie McDowell, and those you recognize but don't know the name of. Apparently Paris Hilton was spotted at an Axe Party we had passed up on. The thing is, celebrities are people too. And then you realize that some people just need a little too much attention and think of themselves as a little too important. Wonder what they have done with their souls...

We HAVE A DATE!!!

We have a date!!! Mark your calendars - August 8, 2009, will go down in history as the date when Mark and I tie the knot! We hope you'll be able to join us on our special day here in San Francisco!! Let the rest of wedding planning begin - we are ready for ya (or as much as we can be)!

xoxo,
m&a

Growing old together... with Wii?

The Wii was supposedly one of the most gifted items this past holiday season. That was certainly the case in the Hwang/Hsiao household. Mark's parents and my parents BOTH ended up getting us a set of Wii (+ extra games) and Mark had gotten me the Wii Fit game as part of my present as well (hinting that I should work out more...). So, of course, Mark and I have been pretty obsessed with this ingenious entertainment for the last couple of weeks (it's a great distraction from wedding planning). Sometimes we stay up till the wee (no pun intended) hours of the night playing ping pong (Wii Sports game) against each other; other times we race each other collecting coins in race cars (Mario Super Kart game - I suck at this game).

The most addictive one to-date, though, has been the Wii Fit game. First and foremost, it pronounces my Wii Fit age as an impressive 48, thanks to my lack of coordination and balance. Apparently, Mark is my junior at age 41. Sadness. With ages comparable to those a generation above us, we decided it was time to get fit, via Wii Fit. So, we battle it out in balance games like soccer (I recently passed the 300 pt mark!!), table tilting (you have to see it to get it), and exercises like the yoga tree pose.

Is this what Mark and I are going to be doing up until we get very very old? As a marketer, the beauty of the Wii is the amazing number of new "category" users the game has brought, from the traditional young kids to old seniors who host Wii Tennis tournaments in senior homes! And yes, I can see Mark and I continuing to compete against each other in Wii games (I continue to kick his a*s in boxing while he slaughters me in tennis) until we are in our 80s.

That's the thing about marriage. With the engagement, the future between us seemed to have extended to the far, far distant. It was no longer a 6-month or 1-year view forward; we started looking at our plans in the next 3-5 years, 10 years, 20 years. Most of it are, of course, unknowns, but there is something comforting in knowing that there is someone you love so much that you will grow grey hair with. Maybe I will continue to kick his a*s in boxing and he with me in tennis when we are 85. Or maybe not.

"PHO"NATICS!

Taking a break from wedding planning blogging, I thought I would update everyone on our latest project - founding the "PHO"NATICS, an organization of people "pho"natic (get it?) about Vietnamese pho. Yes, read on. :)

So, as it goes, Mark's life-long dream has been to start such an organization. As part of his Christmas present this year, I took him to My Trick Pony http://www.mytrickpony.com, a custom t-shirt company located in the Castro in SF, to help him bring his vision to life. Since my Illustrator skills are embarrassing, I knew I needed to solicit the help of professional graphic designers at My Trick Pony to help design our organization logo. After an hour plus of working together, she did an amazing job in bringing OUR vision of the PhoNATICS logo to life, complete with a bowl of pho in the name. Then, we got the t-shirt printed, with Mark as Phonatic "player" #1, nicknamed "Sriracha" and myself as #2 "Noodles", named after our favorite ingredients in pho. Check out my photos on Flickr for details.

During the holidays while we were in San Diego, we were taken to supposedly the best pho restaurant in San Diego. And we were NOT disappointed. While one could argue that being the best pho house in San Diego may not be the most impressive title in the grand scheme of things, let me tell you, the pho was pretty impressive. Again, check out my Flickr for details.

Mark and I are soliciting new members to PhoNATICs and planning on organizing pho outings here in San Francisco shortly. We are hoping to start m&a style pho restaurant reviews as well (more to come on that later). Let us know if you would like to join or if you would like to start your own chapter in the city you reside!

Phonatic about pho,
m&a

We survived the meeting of the parents!

Quick blog today and Mark and I are TIRED!!! The meeting of the parents went well -- they got along great and we have their blessings to get married! Yeepee! It helped that R&G Lounge's food didn't disappoint! So our tummies were happy too. Nitey nite!

xoox,
m&a

Wedding planning in the new year!

Happy new year! Gosh, I can't believe my last post was back during Thanksgiving! December was a total blur. I now understand the need for a professional wedding planner when a bride-to-be has a full-time job. For some reason, my work load triples during December (based on the sample size of 2 years I've been at Clorox). Wedding planning took a siesta when I was getting no siestas myself. It also didn't help that the vendors weren't calling us back. Yeah, what's up with that? The whole vendor-managing thing is a whole experience in itself. I mean, shouldn't they want our $$s??? Anyways, now that we are in January, Mark and I are ready to refocus again on wedding planning. We are now looking at getting married at a chapel in the Presidio in San Francisco, followed by a wedding reception at a gallery in the SOMA neighborhood of San Francisco. Wedding date wise, we are focused on a few Saturdays in August. Fingers crossed our meeting next Wednesday with the gallery goes well and that we walk away with a deal and a date available.

In the mean time, the parents are meeting each other in 2 days. Mark's parents are driving up from LA, where they have been the last few days visiting relatives (they live in DC), to do a formal meet and green with my parents. Mark and I believe good food is the answer to all questions and we are taking them to R&G Lounge http://www.yelp.com/biz/r-and-g-lounge-san-francisco in San Francisco to let those famous crabs do the trick. :) Since some relatives and close family friends will be joining as well, a banquet meal is in the works - yum! The funny this is that we actually have a wedding banquet to go to at Koi Palace Dublin tonight - I am definitely starting the new year the right way with two banquet meals in 3 days! Wedding dress fitting - here I come!!

Here is to a fantastic new year filled with love, happiness, laughters, and many of life's surprises!!

Thankful for the 4 Fs

Mark here. We are thankful for so much this year. Family (now including AMY!), friends (our friends and any random people reading this), food (lots of it in our tummies), and Pho (we really like pho and there will be more details to come on that). Amy is making a monster chilean seabass with miso glaze. It's been marinating really hard. Her parents are cooking a turkey and chinese sticky rice. Also there will be a pumkin cheesecake (made by Amy as well) to feast on. We are bringing over an early xmas present for Amy's parents in the form of a Nintendo Wii! We are looking forward to burning off the 4000 consumed calories by playing Wii golf and bowling. I'll be using the Wii for periodic exercise to work off my man boobs for the big day! Passing the baton to Amy now!

Hello! Yeah - it's Thanksgiving - one of my favorite holidays! Mark and I took some break from wedding planning the last few days to catch up with our lives. I must say, it was quite refreshing to not have to think about it for a few days!! :) Did I mention I've bought my dress already? Yes - very excited about that. And yes, we don't have a site or date picked out yet, but as it turned out, the dress has been purchased. :) If I may say so myself, it's a beautiful dress by Monique Lhuillier that I am in love with. Apparently, when a dress starts haunting you, it means it's THE dress. Having tried it on 3 separate times, the dress is tried and true and meant to be THE dress for me. We are down to a couple of options for the wedding site - Berkeley faculty club vs. San Francisco gallery Terra (with a ceremony site TBD). We'll have to do some spreadsheet work this weekend to nail down the place and move on with wedding planning! Alright, gonna rest up before the big meal. This is Mark's first Thanksgiving with me and my family. The Wii battle should be a fun addition to this family gathering!! Hope you are enjoying this turkey/tofurkey/toducken day!

PS. Did anyone notice how Mark spelled "marinade"? How is it possible that "marinaTe" is a correct spelling of "marinade" when the spelling reminds one of "urinaTe"??? Alas, according to the WWW, both are acceptable. So, I didn't win or lose that bet.

xoxo,
m&a

Our first post!!

Wow - I've always wanted a blog. It's weird to be starting one finally. I decided there is no better time to start than today, than the start of my wedding planning with Mark. We got engaged on 10/10/08. It seems so long ago that Mark popped the question, but really, it's only been a bit over a month ago that he popped THE question. My heart still tingles thinking about that fateful night. :) All of our friends advised us to enjoy the engagement as long as we can before we begin the wedding planning. So, now, here we are, in the midst of wedding planning and starting our blog post!

Since this is technically OUR blog, Mark and I will be popping in and out. Who knows, maybe we'll write one together one of these days. :)

Tata!