Saturday, April 30, 2011

Like Grace Kelly With Wings...

On Friday night (NZ time) I giddily watched the royal wedding with the billions of others around the world. I do know there are lots of tragic things going on in the world right now and am fully aware of America's history and independence from Great Britain (I remember the lessons from school). It was a different time back then; politics, world leaders etc etc. And times are obviously very different now! But ANYWAY, it was so nice to have a break from all of the doom and gloom and enjoy a glamourous, regal wedding with two people who obviously really love each other. Most girls dream of being a princess one day.

Let's start with the dress! I loved it! I LOVED IT. It was designed by Sarah Burton for the late Alexander McQueen. It was a beautiful twist of modern and classic. Like Grace Kelly with wings. :)

(True fact: My parents met on the famous Kelly Drive in Philadelphia.)
(True fact: I always refer to it as Grace Kelly Drive.)
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with a 1936 Cartier tiara – on loan from Queen Elizabeth

I suppose it's gotten mixed responses. Kate may not have been directly inspired by Philadelphia-debutante-turned-Princess Grace Kelly, but I don't think you can go wrong with the timeless classics. When I look at my prom dress, I feel a bit embarrassed for all that poof-i-ness! And I DID NOT want that same feeling looking back at my wedding dress.


When I picked my wedding dress, I wanted it to be Audrey Hepburn inspired. Like this Givenchy gown from "Sabrina."
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My dress looks nothing like this, but the I choose my dress specifically because of the gold embroidered detailing. I knew that I didn't want an actual white, white dress. The colour just doesn't suit my skin tone. I also wanted a dress that had some colour in it! I still love my dress, and hope I do forever :)
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How adorable is this?! Congrats to the newlyweds!

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Friendster 2003 - 2004

I just found out that I have one month to save my Friendster profile! I can't believe it! It's fun to look back at what a nerd I am. I've dug up my old photos from 2003/2004.

True fact: I told Dave & Mark from The Killers to make a Friendster profile, and they did :) This was in their very early demo days, playing shows at Sasha's.
This is the first social networking website (see here) they made for the band back in 2003!
I'll have to blog about those good old fun days another time, but I'm obviously out of touch with those guys.


Here are my Friendster photos:
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I'm on 13th street in Philadelphia, PA at a gelato shop with Philly Mark.
He took me there on a scooter! This is one of my most favourite vintage dresses (purchased in Brooklyn), and I still have it and wear it!


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I'm visiting Boston here and used to have really short hair! This is just off of Newbury St.



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Enids in Brooklyn, NY with Ted & Melissa 2004! I spent this really amazing summer in Philly and New York the semester before I graduated. It was the best decision I ever made since I worked for a solid 3.5 years after that!



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downtown Las Vegas, admiring the vintage neon signs



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And here I am with blogger Doug from Sixties Soul Blog, Christina and Joe from Lipstick and Cigarettes! :) We're at Club Underground in Los Angeles, and it was my most favourite place to go dancing. Sixties soul, indie, punk and brit pop music = the best.

(And here's the rest of my profile)
Interested In:
Friends, Activity Partners

Member Since:
Mar 2003

Hometown:
Philly // Las Vegas

Occupation:
journo

What I enjoy doing:
dance partner remington. YOUR VESPA. bon bon. paul weller. michael blessed nesmith. traveling. philadelphia. los angeles. oldies. the british invasion. hipsters. fash f+cks. mods. beatniks. swankers. punks. rockers.

Favorite Music:
exploding hearts. the rutles. the kinks. the beatles. the adored. the monkees. beulah. gang of four. pulp. the police. morrissey.

Favorite TV Shows:
the monkees!!!!!!

Zodiac Sign:
Scorpio

About Me:
in the South Pacific (this was obviously updated last year!)

Who I Want to Meet:
Nice people.


I'll miss you Friendster, 2003 and 2004!

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

WIW: Taupo, New Zealand

Over the long holiday weekend we went to Taupo for a quick day trip! For those who don't know, Taupo rests near the massive lake in the middle of the North Island in New Zealand. I've been begging Chris to take me there!

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vintage plaid houndstooth dress- Retrostar Vintage in Melbourne (Australia!!!) | thrifted belt | Cotton On shoes | F21 sunglasses | Coach purse

I fell in love with this coat/dress when we went to Melbourne, Australia just about a year ago!

Anyway, it was a beautiful cloudy/sunny day. Chris & I enjoyed the autumn scenery, went thrifting, had sushi, went to the Taupo museum, took photos and had a pint at the pub with a gorgeous view of the lake. This is what I live for! I need to soak up as much New Zealand travel I can get! (before we leave for the mother country one day)

Here are more photos from our trip...
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LOL! Chris is wearing...
Hoodie from Heritage 1981
Coat from Dangerfield in Melbourne, OZ
Pants from TopMan in Singapore
Shoes by Vans



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Thursday, April 21, 2011

Bloglovin

Follow my blog with Bloglovin


I've signed up with Bloglovin! This will only fuel my blog addiction and after-work habits!

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Wedding Recap: January 8, 2011 (Photo overload)

So here's a wedding recap for far away family and friends (& lovely brides to be) before I forget! I'll post more details, photos and talk about what happened in each part of the day, but here's a start:

Please do not take these photos without crediting.

Hamish and Ally made our invitations! We loved how they turned out. :) Funny fact, Hamish used to be in this amazing Kiwi band called the Electric Confectionaires. I saw their music video on Youtube and was blown away. See here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSNy1zTDZxo
The song is a bit indie, jazzy and funk sounding.

We made our wedding website with Ewedding.com
Since we've lived together for years we decided a Honeymoon Registry would be perfect for our trip to Singapore & Cebu, Philippines. Our honeymoon registry is HERE. We did it at www.buy-our-honeymoon.com/ Don't worry, you get to choose your website URL, and no one can see the horribly tacky name. (A word of caution, when you're requesting items for your honeymoon registry, don't ask for ridiculous things like money for shopping or any freeloading items.)


Kristen, Leslie and I stayed at the Hilton Hotel on the viaduct the night before the wedding. Obviously Chris & I stayed there on the night of our wedding. Thanks to Regan's extremely thoughtful and generous wedding gift to us. It was such a beautiful hotel and had excellent service! We had a deluxe harbour view. :)
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Photo by Kristen K.



Of course our little sweetie Build-A-Bears we made for each other were going to be included! We got their cute outfits at Build-A-Bear in the States! (Dre gave me the small bear when I visited Channel 13 some two years ago.) We originally wanted to have them sitting on a chair at the wedding reception, but we were worried they would have been drooled on, ruined or just stolen. :(
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Photo by CG.Wing Creations


Our flowers were made by florist and landscape artist D. Booth from the church.
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Photos by CG.Wing Creations and Carmen G.


My shoes were actually brand new given to me by my boss' boss! Her sister never wore them and nobody else had the right shoe size to take them. It truly worked out for me :)
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Photo by CG.Wing Creations


My Dress and veil: by Vinka Design
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Photo by CG.Wing Creations
The dress was couture, basically one of a kind, and it was a miracle that it fit me! It was actually the first dress I even looked at, and I noticed it all the way across the room. I knew it was the one! Too bad wedding planning wasn't that easy. :)

My beautiful bridesmaids came from overseas! Seattle, USA/Seminole, Florida and Scotland, UK
What an amazing effort! Photo by CG.Wing Creations
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Dresses and shoes were by David's Bridal in USA.
A floral jacquard champagne coloured dress! David's Bridal have a selection of colours, and they can even dye any pair of shoes to match the colour scheme. I just told the girls to wear their hair however they would like. For bridal gifts, I gave them gift cards to Cotton On and a bottle of red NZ wine!


Chris' nieces Jodi and Caitlin and (my friend from work) Carmen's daughter Mia were cute adorable flower girls. The dresses were from Farmers. And the shoes were from #1Shoe Warehouse. Carmen bought the cute flower headbands for the girls! Our florist David made the cute flower baskets.
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Photo by Carmen G.

Our groomsmen were also international :)
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Photo by CG.Wing Creations
Chris' brother is a Kiwi currently living Melbourne, Australia. Two are Americans living in NZ and one South African also living in NZ. Our wedding party was so fun! We rented classic suits from Frank Casey. They wore skinny ties. We bought them their Dan Carter shirts from Farmers and shoes from #1 Shoes as gifts.


Limo service from Hollywood Limo picked us up in front of the Hilton
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Photo by CG.Wing Creations



At the church...
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Photo by CG.Wing Creations



Chris anxiously waiting at the front :)
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Photos by CG.Wing Creations


My brother gave me away
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Photo by Melissa S.


Our vows
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wedding party
Photo by CG.Wing Creations


We did it!
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Photos by CG.Wing Creations


We had photos in front of the church
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Photos by CG.Wing Creations



And then we took our wedding party photos at Bastion Point
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HAHAHAHA, Phil cannot defy gravity
Photos by CG.Wing Creations



"You and me, equality..."
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Photo by CG.Wing Creations


Cute candid of Caitlin
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Photo by CG.Wing Creations


We had our reception party at the Tamaki Yacht Club! The venue was on the water, and it was exactly what we were looking for. We couldn't believe what a beautiful day it was! It was raining everyday before it!
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Photo by Gabby B.

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Photo by Jeremy P.

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Photo by Gabby B.
On the inside, each side of the room had a seaside view. :)

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Rangitoto
Photo by Steph T.

Our entrance
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Photo by CG.Wing Creations


Tricia introduced us and emcee'd at the start
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Photo by Jeremy P.

Matt, Phil and Jeff emcee'd :)
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Photo by CG.Wing Creations



Our decorations...
We had fairy lights installed, and bought tons of candles at shops and on TradeMe, Melissa graciously provided us with tons more candles and candle holders.
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Photos by CG.Wing Creations


The yellow rose petals are from Forever Petals in Auckland.
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Photo by Jeremy P.



Chris' sister Andrea said grace
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Regan's speech made me cry. LOL! It was so sweet...and when he started talking about welcoming me into the family...and how hard it's been missing my family/friends, that totally got me.
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All of the groomsmen spoke too, which was really touching!
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This is Phil


Kristen's lovely speech
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And Chris also did a speech thanking our family and friends, and the Flight of the Conchords and the internet. HAHAHA, it was so funny. I have a copy of the speech, here, so perhaps I'll post it for good times and memories sake.
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Photos above from CG.Wing Creations
It made me cry a little. AH, why is everybody being too sweet to me?



Our cake was made by Eve's Pantry
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Photo by Jeremy P.


cake topper and photo by TogetherForever on Etsy
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Amazingly, I told Sarah at TogetherForever to find sunshine yellow for the cake ribbon. And we also told Eve's a bright yellow...and thankfully it all matched! We did not know until wedding day that it would. LOL!

Cupcakes and photo by Jess Bell
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I cut up paper hearts on fancy brocade paper and we also had paper hearts on the walls



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Photo by Gabby B.
Jess made these pretty cupcakes with her sister Elesha in record 3 hours. Aren't they so talented?!


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Cake cutting photo by CG.Wing Creations


Food
On arrival: Avocado and salmon canapé, Crumbed prawns with sweet chilli and lime
Mini vegetarian spring rolls and samosas with dipping sauce

Dinner:
Seafood dishes- Fresh New Zealand salmon darnes and dill mayo, Lightly battered fish with tartare sauce
Carvery- Glazed ham on the bone with mustards and pineapple salsa
Mains- Chicken cacciatore – chicken and mushrooms in a wine sauce, vegetarian lasagna, Chef’s selection of summer vegetables, Button mushrooms in a cream sauce, Gourmet jacket potatoes with green herb and red capsicum sour cream, Steamed white and wild rice pilaf
Salad- Baby spinach leaves , feta, bacon, pinenuts and garlic croutons with a citrus vinaigrette, Chargrilled vegetables salad of peppers, onions, eggplant, and zucchini
Baskets of assorted breads and rolls
Dessert- Kiwi Pavlovas with passionfruit topping, Fresh fruit salad or strawberries in season
Citrus cheesecake with cream, Freshly brewed coffee and tea

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Photo by CG.Wing Creations


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Photo by Bee P.
OMG THE FOOD WAS SO GOOD. :)


I made goodybags for the girls filled with toys, colouring books, crayons etc. It was so adorable seeing the girls playing together!
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Photo by Melissa S.
Mia & Jodi colouring
Later that night Jodi told her mum it was the best day of her life. AWWWWWWW <3


Goody Bags
And we also made goodybags for our guests filled with chocolate bells, Reese's peanut butter cups and personalised M&Ms! They were placed on the tables also as part of the decorations.
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Photos by Jesse E. and Steph T.



Bee, Tricia, Jason and Jeremy surprised me with an amazing acoustic singing performance of "Fools Rush In" by Elvis Presley.
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I was so touched by it, I tried not to cry. HAHAHA. :)



Jess caught the bouquet!
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Photos above by CG.Wing Creations


Tricia's husband Tui dj'd and the music was perfect. We made a mix and Tui played all kinds of dance, soul and good oldies inbetween.
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Photo by Bee P.
We also asked for him to play a few of our favourites like Bob Dylan "Man In Me"
Sam Cooke "Cupid"
I'll post a few mixes we made for the wedding playlist later!


We took photos at sunset
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Photos by CG.Wing Creations

Our first dance/song was to Jim Sturgess, "All My Loving" a Beatles cover from the Across The Universe film. I'll post video of the dance later!
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Photo by Bee P.

The song we dedicated to bridal party was Taio Cruz "Dynamite"
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We spent the rest of the night hanging out and dancing
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I'm dancing with my new father-in-law :)



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Photos by CG.Wing Creations



It was such a beautiful day, filled with so much love. I loved looking across the room seeing all our family and friends smiling. Especially my mum, brothers and cousin, who've never been to New Zealand before. LOVE!
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Our mums enjoying the night :)

Thanks to everybody who helped us plan this special day together. It was an amazing effort, and we are so thrilled that it all came together. I have such wonderful memories, and I had SO MUCH FUN!

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