month-, quarter-, half-end

being month-, quarter-, and half-end (june 30th), today was a ridiculously busy day at work. i couldn't catch a break anywhere, and 7 large cap companies were issuing spin-off distributions while another handful of deals were all closing simultaneously. 

kevin took the train down to DC this afternoon for dinner with friends and to work out of the VA office tomorrow, so i heated up leftovers which have been marinating since sunday night (!!!) and feasted in the company of prison women in my living room.

here is a photo of our second niece, who is almost three months old now! hello, mini-eric :p

i heart ingrid

today was the nicest day in a few weeks. temperatures were in the 60-70s and humidity was LOW. my mommy friends, elyse and susan, took the night off from their usual weeknight duties and we watched the ingrid michaelson performance at summerstage. 

it was a super relaxing, fun night, and as expected, ingrid, originally from staten island, charmed the crowd with her light-hearted childlike humor and touched us with stories about her family and celebrated with the momentous supreme court ruling from last week!

love wins

this weekend, specifically friday, june 26, 2015, will go down in history as the supreme court ruled 5-4 that same sex marriage is a right guaranteed by the US constitution.

even though i am personally little affected by this ruling, just thinking about it brings tears to my eyes. as great as the US is, in some ways, we are a large slow dinosaur. in my opinion, no one should be able to or has the right to tell you who to love. 

don't even get me started on the mental and physical unfairness of not being able to marry the person of your choice. prior to this ruling, same sex couples could not enjoy the same federal advantages that we heterosexual couple have enjoyed, including benefits, rights, and privileges regarding property rights, benefits, and taxation. it's taken a long time to get here, but what an amazing feat it is to see the US effect change, even if it is super freaking slow.

a review of some significant dates in US history:

jan  1, 1863    emancipiation proclamation frees slaves

jun  4, 1919    19th amendment grants women the right to vote

jul   2, 1964    civil rights act bans discrim. based on race, color, religion, or nat'l origin

jun 16, 2015   supreme court rules same-sex marriage is a right

anyways, today we celebrated with a huge box of donuts from the doughnut plant, including a limited edition raspberry yeast triangle donut :)

i spent the afternoon preparing a nice dinner, something i really haven't done in a while, since we had kris and jessica over! i was running a bit late, so i didn't get a photo (sad!), but with the wine and desserts they brought over, i think it was a pretty fun and tasty night. there's something really easy and non-stressful about having neighbors over. or maybe it's the actual neighbors themselves that leave you feeling relaxed. 

the menu included: 

kinpira gobo

swamp morning glory (aka convovulus aka water spinach)

bittermelon with ground pork

shrimp with edamama

stewed beef with tofu skin

chawanmushi

haiga + white rice

i was a little worried that they wouldn't like the bittermelon, one of our favorite dishes due to its flavor and ease to prepare, but i think our non-asian guest was actually a fan! 

a fun way to finish off the weekend and thank goodness for our handy bosch dishwasher.

pride run

ran our first pride run today! :) weather was a bit on the warmer and humid side, but it was an amazing morning to be running!

we must have given it pretty much our "all", because both kevin and i were exhausted and tried to stay off our feet for the rest of the day. with the exception of a fun brunch at almond in the neighborhood with kevin's nephew (yes, his 44 year old nephew!), we spent a nice few hours lounging on the couch and ordered in korean for dinner.

it's still hard for me to believe that a couple of relatively "fit" (so i thought) people like us would be so exhausted from a 5 mile race 12 hours earlier. haha ... old age is catching up!

baby calvin!

today was russell recon day. it was pretty exciting to watch different parts of the trade throughout the day, but thank goodness it's over.

jaime, david, and baby calvin met us after work at the apartment! we had a nice dinner in the garden at trestle on tenth, a nice way to end the busy work week. one more week of madness (month/quarter-end), and hopefully in july things will get slower :)

japan journey: famous woodblock prints

japanese woodblock prints have been a topic of curiosity for me for some time now. i love the matte tones of the prints, the japanese subjects and landscapes, and most of all, the stories behind the prints. 

one of the most unexpected places where we saw japanese woodblock prints was at frank lloyd wright's fallingwater last april 2014. fallingwater is a home built partly over a waterfall that wright designed for the kaufman family in 1935 forty-five miles outside of pittsburgh. little did i know, but it turns out that wright was a dealer in the japanese art, and during his insolvent periods, including the time he was designing the imperial hotel in tokyo, his japanese art side business helped save his architecture practice during its less solvent periods, and practically financed taliesins 1 & 2.

so i decided to do a little digging online and recently finished andreas marks' japan journeys: famous woodblock prints of culture sights in japan.

the earliest surviving examples of woodblock prints from china date back to 200, when it was used as a method of printing on cloth. however, in japan, the earliest known woodblock printing dates from 764 when an empress commissioned one million small pagodas containing short printed scrolls to be distributed to temples. 

ukiyo-e (浮世絵), which literally translates to "pictures of the floating world", is a genre of woodblock prints and paintings that flourished in japan from the 17th through 19th centuries. among the most popular depictions were beautiful women, kabuki actors and sumor wrestlers, travel scenes and landscapes, and flora and fauna.

through the introductions and prints in marks' book, i was able to learn a little bit more about the culture and history of japan. as many of the subjects of the woodblock print makers are often major cities and sites in japan, it felt very much like i was quickly reliving some of my adventures in japan, in woodblock print.

here is a photo of perhaps one of the most iconic woodblock prints by katsushika hokusai, the great wave off kanagawa.

and through a little research online, i also happily learned that the brooklyn art museum has an extensive collection of utagawa hiroshige's one hundred famous views of edo.

to apple, love taylor

on june 21, 2015, a twenty-six year old pop star's tumblr post resulted in the largest public company in the to cave. very impressive, taylor.

To Apple, Love Taylor

I write this to explain why I’ll be holding back my album, 1989, from the new streaming service, Apple Music. I feel this deserves an explanation because Apple has been and will continue to be one of my best partners in selling music and creating ways for me to connect with my fans. I respect the company and the truly ingenious minds that have created a legacy based on innovation and pushing the right boundaries.

I’m sure you are aware that Apple Music will be offering a free 3 month trial to anyone who signs up for the service. I’m not sure you know that Apple Music will not be paying writers, producers, or artists for those three months. I find it to be shocking, disappointing, and completely unlike this historically progressive and generous company. 

This is not about me. Thankfully I am on my fifth album and can support myself, my band, crew, and entire management team by playing live shows. This is about the new artist or band that has just released their first single and will not be paid for its success. This is about the young songwriter who just got his or her first cut and thought that the royalties from that would get them out of debt. This is about the producer who works tirelessly to innovate and create, just like the innovators and creators at Apple are pioneering in their field…but will not get paid for a quarter of a year’s worth of plays on his or her songs.

These are not the complaints of a spoiled, petulant child. These are the echoed sentiments of every artist, writer and producer in my social circles who are afraid to speak up publicly because we admire and respect Apple so much. We simply do not respect this particular call.
I realize that Apple is working towards a goal of paid streaming. I think that is beautiful progress. We know how astronomically successful Apple has been and we know that this incredible company has the money to pay artists, writers and producers for the 3 month trial period… even if it is free for the fans trying it out.

Three months is a long time to go unpaid, and it is unfair to ask anyone to work for nothing. I say this with love, reverence, and admiration for everything else Apple has done. I hope that soon I can join them in the progression towards a streaming model that seems fair to those who create this music. I think this could be the platform that gets it right.

But I say to Apple with all due respect, it’s not too late to change this policy and change the minds of those in the music industry who will be deeply and gravely affected by this. We don’t ask you for free iPhones. Please don’t ask us to provide you with our music for no compensation.

santen mori

our fridge has been filled with all types of cold side dishes for the last two weeks, and we finally put the goodies to good use.

vietnamese weekend

this weekend, the weather was quite volatile, the clouds dark and heavy, appearing as if they could burst at any moment. the sun barely peeking through the canopy of clouds until late sunday afternoon.

we were thinking of making 牛肉面, but that would have required a trip to chinatown to pick up ingredients required for the broth seasoning and the long multi-hour process of making stock. while we were wandering around wholefoods' ethnic foods aisle, i saw it - summer roll wrappers! :) i had made plenty of these in college - they were tasty, healthy, and fun to make together. then i recalled having summer rolls the previous night at pho sure, and the delicious lemongrass porkchops which followed. i have always wanted to learn to make that at home!

and that's how we decided to spend the afternoon rolling up our sleeves and getting in the thick of things making lemongrass pork chops, summer rolls with wild-caught prawn, peanut dipping sauce, nuoc mam cham, and one day later, a banh mi for lunch, bread from sullivan street bakery.

it rained quite heavily overnight and into the morning, so our nyrr queens 10k was was postponed by an hour for a 9am start. the course was narrow and filled with potholes and messy puddles, and the majority of it was through corona park in queens, which is basically along the queens expressway (not super pretty).

it was 80F and 90% humidity when we crossed the start line and oh those were two really fun first two miles, as i clocked myself going 7:20 pace, shocked at how great i felt ... or so i thought. perhaps it was the recent speed workouts at central park, but i was out of the gates way too fast for that distance, and i was crushed for the next four miles, including the last 200 meters. so glad that race is done and i will probably never sign up for it again ...

yoko ono: one woman show

yoko ono is well-known to most as beattle's john lennon's wife, but i learned on saturday that she was actually a well-respected artist and musician as well at the moma yoko ono: one woman show exhibit.

every one of her works felt abstract to me, and forced me to expand my mind in order to even grasp at the concepts she was trying to speak through her art. she has the mind of a true creative! without a care in the world for how she may be perceived.

here are two of the exhibits i enjoyed ~ "half a room" where every object is shown just as one half of its original structure, and "to see the sky". her love for the sky began as a child when she was growing up in japan during world war ii and would look up at the sky. it's interesting how your environment can shape you.

for brunch, kevin and gil's friend, matt, joined us for some delicious chorizon, mushroom, and spinach omelets, and banana pancakes at the national, just a few blocks away. props to kevin for finding such a tasty brunch spot for the seven of us in the neighborhood with just a moment's notice!

look! we're on a bench :)

tedeschi trucks band

since i heard "everybody's talkin'" by tedeschi trucks band a few months back, i have been loving their music! they're a husband and wife duo, derek trucks and susan tedeschi, who write and perform original works which combine some rock, blues, and jazz. susan's voice is deep, rich, and slightly raspy, leaving you wanting more when the song ends. seriously smooth like buttah ... and derek's guitar solos are amazing ... 

one day, though not this fall at one of their four concerts at the beacon, i hope to be able to catch them live. here's a little preview ...

100th st loop repeats

yay ~ my hubby is back from virginia! :) just in time for running class!

with temperatures around 69F and a humidity of 80%, the weather was almost perfect for our NYRR running class tonight. it was definitely the coolest it's been for weeks, which was a nice change.

for tonight's workout, coach glover had us do 6 x 650m repeats around a small loop at 100th street on the east side of central park. i started and stayed within the second group (7-8 min 5k'ers), and kevin ran with group one, though rotating into group two to keep me company for one loop.

the course is really nice! the are small rollers, and some interesting curves along the route, to keep the run entertaining. it was the first time i felt distracted by the other runners in the class though, and particularly, their varying running forms and gaits. oh well.

it was fun exploring a new part of central park for me! it's a quiet part of the park (except for the sweaty running messes) where there are no cars or bikes, and manageable for an evening stroll :)

orange is the new black

after a long day at work and a 2.5 hour design committee meeting, i started this tonight ...

the plunge

tonight, we took the plunge.

three blocks south of us on seventh avenue between 21st and 22nd street lies il bastardo, a daytime club on the weekends for the presumably b&t crowd, where for $39, you can get a brunch entree and a liter of alcohol. this place is always bumpin, and when i say always, i am in no way making the slightest of exaggerations. morning, noon, and night, you name it, there are scantily clad women and their accompanying men lining up outside of il bastardo.

so it came to our surprise when our sweet, hilarious neighbors, dan and bevin, suggested il bastardo as our dinner venue tonight. they assured us despite the club-like nature on the weekends, the food was good (and surprisingly reasonably-priced). and as it turns out, the food was great! we shared the grilled octopus with arugula and lemon juice, and grape tomato salad, and both were DELICIOUS. for our entrees, kevin had the capellini bolognese with peas and mushrooms, and i had the pacherri with tomato sauce, which was pretty tasty as well (except that they left out the pancetta and proscuitto from mine).

the crazy part was that the entrees were equally or lesser priced than a glass of wine ($10)! yes, this is in central chelsea!

it was a relaxing, fun night, finally getting to know the people living on the other side of the wall! and it turns out i am bevin's first and only female friend in finance! sadly, we are bonding over their upcoming renovation of their riverside drive home, so that means they will be moving out of chelsea eventually. the silver lining is that it sounds like it will be an extensive, gut renovation so they'll be around for another year.

hopefully next time we can have them over, with baby william too. i am really enjoying getting to know our neighbors, in seattle and nyc ~ it definitely feels a bit more like home when you get to know the people around you.

my sunshine

the sunshine to my day!

el quinto pino

lately it seems like all i've been writing about is food and lofts. well, this entry is no different ...

jessica may have started her monday night with a glass of champagne, but the rest of us joined in with a pitcher of sangria at el quinto pino.

el quinto pino is a neighborhood restaurant that we have passed dozens of times on our way to the west side highway, and finally tried tonight for the first time. the menu is spanish tapas style, and the restaurant space is rustic, yet modern. the windows are high above eye level, and so you can walk by this restaurant on the sidewalk without ever realizing it exists.

we shared everything, starting with the neustras bravas, serrano ham croquettes, tortilla espanola, gambas al ajillo, fried chickpeas, and queso fundido (not on their menu online, but it was one of my favorites). and i couldn't forget the torreznos (aka "bag of bacon"), pork sandwich, and eggplant <~~ yum! for dessert, we shared the dark chocolate with catalan olive oil and sea salt on toast.

i love that the restaurant was on the smaller side and with a very private feeling! and best of all, no raving reviews on social media sites or large parties. i guess i'm getting older and a little over the group scenes.

after dinner, we got a tour of their renovated loft and met suki, their adorable yorkshire terrier, for the first time. i was floored by the transformation! 

what was once a piecemeal living room and kitchen, constructed with the sporadic additions of cabinetry, soffits, and walls by its previous owner, was now a seamlessly finished open loft with soft recessed lighting, a beautiful repositioned grey kitchen, and two lovely bedrooms. above all, the closets and the laundry room (!!).

suki was enjoying the new space too, as demonstrated by her mini laps around the living room furniture :) can't wait for the housewarming and kris's kansas city ribs!

saltie's olive oil cake

every part of my body was sore this morning when i finally dragged my sad self out of bed! and it was still miserably hot and humid outside. kevin and i made our way to dimsum in chinatown, but hurried back after we realized we were both exhausted from saturday's run and the heat.

what do we do on a day like this?

kevin set up a time-lapse of our fiddle leaf fig tree, which is growing three new leaves, took a couple naps, and spent most of the evening working on some pet project which involves pythons, pandas, and data structures. hahaha ... i love how quirky computer-related stuff can be.

i ... was very random. after finishing the series finale of gossip girls (6 seasons x 22 shows/season = 130 episodes ahhh), i caught up on a recently acquired book about famous woodblock prints, and got cracking in the kitchen. we made one batch of granola and used the last burdock root with carrots to make kinpira gobo.

lastly, i was craving a big slice of rhubarb pie or something to stuff my face with, so i decided to try out the saltie recipe for olive oil cake. their OOC is super tasty because it has anise seeds, a crunchy outer crust, and unexpected bursts of kosher salt! i've tried making olive oil cake a few times, but it never comes out as tasty as i'd like, or as tasty as saltie's. their recipe is interesting because it includes unequal amounts of egg whites and yolks (more yolks than whites), anise seed, and lemon zest (instead of orange zest/liquor).

bon appetit! i will post the recipe tonight!

rockefeller state park preserve

the alarm went off the stroke of 6am and we were at grand central on the 6:43am metronorth hudson line on our way to tarrytown to meet our friend and wedding officiant, ken, for a run at rockefeller state park preserve. 

the hudson line runs on a beautiful route, following the southern coastline of the bronx and north along the east side of the hudson river. if you snag a seat on the left side of the northbound train, you get an exquisite view of inwood hill park along the harlem river and palisades park along the hudson river.

for our run, ken took us through the rockefeller state preserve park. it was 75F with a humidity of 75%, but slightly overcast and parts of the route were protected by the coverage of the park canopy. we started running around swan lake, running right up and along the edge of blue hill stone barns, lots of private areas marked "no trespassing", and part of the rockwood trail at sleepyhollow. ken was the most amazing tour guide, not to mention, an amazing runner.

the first few miles were truly painful, as we started the first half mile of the run with an ascension, and i realized i had no idea how far we were planning to run that morning. saw lots of cows and recently sheared lambs marked with giant black X's around stone barns. around mile 4, i thought i saw the road again, and breathed a sign of relief as i imagined returning to the car (my pace hastened as well ha), but nope, it was just a tease. more hills. around mile 7, i think kevin started feeling the pain as well and politely asked ken - how much you think we have left? i don't recall ken's reply, but he did not indicate that the end of in sight. ha.

with that said, miles 8 & 9 were stunning, and not too hilly either. we were at an elevation of about 150 feet just overlooking the hudson! around this point, kev had to step off to take care of some business, and ken assured me we had just a couple miles left. those couple miles turned out to be 3.5 more as we made a slightly wrong turn and ended up doing an extra loop, but when we finished, it felt SO GOOD!!

moral of the story: we need more hills practice more often!

the big apple bbq was in town again so we stopped by madison square park  for some spare ribs and beans at memphis bbq and pappy's. LOVE LOVE the pappy's!!!

travel booked

after a year of pining for the lululemon seawheeze half marathon which is held in vancouver every august, i finally got in this year and convinced kevin to do it with me. yay! vancouver is the where we went for our first weeklong vacation together back in the summer of 2012, and we loved the area, especially going for runs around stanley park and the night market in richmond!

up until tonight, the trip was not confirmed, but now that we've booked our flights ~~ we are set for august 14-17! fingers crossed for a cool, breezy, and overcast morning so i don't sweat like a big pig :p

this is the lululemon seawheeze marketing video from 2014's race ~~ every time i watch and listen to it, i get so jazzed!!!

ps. we also booked our new zealand trip for sep-oct! it will be our first two-week holiday since our honeymoon in 2013, and i am looking forward to reading more about the south and north islands!

rana

sometimes it's those spontaneous get-togethers that work out best! 

today i received an email from my friend, emily, around 2pm about how she was going to be meeting her husband in the city tonight after work and if we'd be up for dinner. while initially this week had looked a bit treacherous after coming off a monday morning red-eye flight and commitments wednesday through friday nights, but around 2pm when i read the email, a spontaneous double date seemed perfect. not to mention, cuong, emily's husband, works near chelsea market which right in the neighborhood, and we had been wanting to introduce the guys in a more intimate setting.

the food was superb! and the service was wonderful. we've passed by rana half a million times, often times on our way back from runs on the west side highway, and we've always enjoyed their free samples only :p tonight we shared the burrata and i had the linguine with spicy dungeness crab. my entree was huge and so so tasty ... there were large chunks of the dungeness crab meat and the jalapenos gave it a great kick!

so definitely going back ...

sister-sister time

jess and ben were in nyc this past weekend! bummer that we didn't get to see them, but as things worked out, jess was back in the city today for meetings and a client dinner. she stayed the night so that we could catch up a little (YAY!!), but since her dinner ran late and i was suffering from the previous night's red-eye flight, we only had about an hour to ourselves before the sandman came.

still, it was really nice to have a little sister-sister time :) and she left a nearly entire filet mignon in our fridge. lol. fried rice time?

a loft transformed

another morning, another run! my MIL suggested for us to check out weowna park, a wooded forest with soft trails for walking, running, and hiking, just west of lake sammamish. after passing the kelsey creek blueberry farm driving on 148th ave and a really nice paved (and shaded!! :D) path along the north side of southeast 16th street, we parked the car at a trailhead around 168th ave southeast and southeast 19th street.

the "run" was really fun and almost entirely (99.999%) shaded! it was hot and humid out, but at least we were shaded and protected by cooler temperatures of the forest. the hills were humbling in the first half of the run, and miserably cruel in the second half, but to get a peek of lake sammamish was totally worth it! when we reached the northmost point of the run, we realized that the car key was missing, and retraced our steps (ahhhhh) in search of the key.  to no luck.

luckily, a quick call to the family 911 line and my MIL and nephew were at the park in no time, with an extra set of keys for us. i think this is the third time we've had some sort of car issue in the seattle area in the last four years, and second time we needed to call kevin's parents for help. yes, for some reason i keep track of random stats like that :p

in the afternoon, we piled into doughzone for a seriously delicious taiwanese breakfast, and stopped by the loft to see how the work was going. mike and his guys had prepped, primed, and started painting the south side of the loft, and the north side was being prepped. just a fresh coat of white primer resulted in such a transformation in the loft! i hope one day we can do a full renovation of the place!

it was a beautiful day and we wanted to get to know our area a little bit better, so we walked around occidental ave and first ave to scope out some of the restaurants, bars, and shops we've been reading about online. here are the must try's in pioneer square: 

• bar sajor
• salumi
• the london plane
• dry goods designs
• damn the weather
• kraken congee
• intrigue chocolate
• pizza gabbiano
• good bar
• elm coffee roasters

finally, liam bid us farewell with this adorable line-up. these are all the legos "he built all by himself with uncle kevin, auntie jen, mom, and ah-gong" this weekend :)

smith tower

with the time difference on our side, we woke before the rest of the family and went for a quick run around green lake, which is just a 15 minute drive from my in-laws'. the lakeside parking lot was full when we arrived at 7am and there were lots of people walking their dogs, pushing their baby strollers, and jogging along the lakefront path. seems like folks in the PNW get up earlier, or maybe they just wanted to take full advantage of the beautiful sunny weekend ahead!

this is smith tower in downtown seattle. completed in 1914, it was once the tallest building west of the mississippi until the space needle overtook it in 1962. it's still one of the most iconic structures in downtown seattle, and i love its neoclassical design and detailed terracotta finishes.

for lunch, jen and i met with my childhood friend, julia, and her mother, for soup dumplings and other goodies at the bellevue square DTF. i am so glad julia and jen now have another friend in each other in the pnw! my world's are colliding, in a great way <3 

ohayou, seattle!

today was the first day of our three day trip to seattle! and it was also the second time for us to visit the new loft in the historical pioneer square. 

first things first in the city where american coffee culture was born: we stopped by elm coffee roasters, the recently opened roastery and coffee shop in the neighborhood, and visited the loft! all the furniture was cleared out, including the grand piano (doh), but the walls were still warm shades of wine, mustard, and evergreen. what were these people thinking??

we spent a little time taking inventory of the apartment's condition and fixtures, figured out how to access the parking garage (secret batmobile like entrance along the railroad tracks, check!), and made a little to do list. later in the afternoon, mike, the handyman, visited the loft with us and estimated it would take 3-4 days to prime and paint the place. exciting! below are a couple photos of the current walls (yuck), and us choosing between a couple different shades of white. we went with the one behind kevin, which is a creamier white, which will hopefully complement the original brick walls. 

love love love the brick walls and open views and neighborhood, even if it is shady. i already want to live here !!!!!!

and on this fine day, we found the yummiest taiwanese cafe in the international district of downtown seattle: hard wok cafe. even though we were at least double the age of all the other patrons, we had an unforgettable dining experience! i don't think i've ever seen 蚵仔煎 (oyster omelette), 擔仔麵 (danzai noodles), 大腸包小腸 ("big sausage wrapped around small sausage"), or 台南米糕 (tainan bucket rice) on a menu in the US and this place had them all, and more! my favorites were the 肉燥 (braised diced pork belly over rice) and 割包 (gua bao)! definitely one of our best finds (thanks to my MIL) in the PNW yet.

more food to come: jen, kevin, and i managed to get away for a nice evening out in capitol hill, with dinner at the korean bbq-inspired restaurant, trove, and mudpie parfaits from the food truck out front. the weather was really nice,  in the high 60s with the sun setting over the city, and the conversation was intimate.

when we got home, uncle kevin made more legos with liam :)

happy wedding day!

today is my friend, yvonne's, wedding day! :) since she is here in nyc without most of her family and friends, i wanted to do my best to make her wedding day special, even if it's not her official wedding with all the fancy food and decor.

yvonne requested a bouquet of light pink peonies, and i was at to the task. i took the day off and when kevin headed to the office, i set off for the floral district, just a few blocks north.

it's always an exhilarating experience to go to the floral district, but especially invigorating in the early morning when the flowers are being delivered to the wholesale shops. i made my way to "the shop with the cat", which is one door down from my usual shop. they opened at 5am and my head was spinning as my creative juices started flowing at the sight of all the beautiful flowers! after much perusal, i left the shop happily with my three bouquets: light pink peonies, peachy pink juliet roses, and ivory patient roses!

it was actually quite easy to make the bridal bouquet! and the supplies required are few: 

2 bouquets of larger flowers
1 bouquet of  smaller flowers
floral sheers
floral tape
vases with water
ribbon
pin

after unbundling all of my flowers, i immediately snipped the ends on an angle and put them into water so they could hydrate. then i removed all of the leaves and placed them in a pile to use later. next i picked the three flowers with the most open petals and taped them together with floral tape. i continued to add on flowers, from most open to least open buds, and periodically alternating the flowers and arranging them in a round shape. for this bouquet, i used about 25 flowers, but this will depend on the size of the flowers used. when the bouquet felt just about right, i added some of the leaves as accent, and wrapped the stems with an ivory ribbon secured by a pin. i think you can get very creative when it comes to bouquets and dress them up or down, but i tried to go with the look i envisioned when thinking of my friend.

and to keep the bouquet fresh, i place it in a vase with water in the fridge until her ceremony. from what i've read, flowers can stay fresh for 6-7 days without drooping if you keep them refrigerated at nights!

here's the final product :) 

congratulations, yvonne & gerry!!!! gorgeous bride and handsome groom!