Our Wedding!

So we tied the knot last weekend (June 27th)... after months and months of planning! I wasn't sure if I wanted to blog about our wedding.. but I wanted to give a huuuuge shout out to every single person involved in making our special day a reality.... so, here goes!!

We had our ceremony, reception, dinner and post dinner festivities at Shangri-La Vancouver. From the moment we got in touch with Stephanie (Events Manager) to plan our wedding to the second we checked out of the hotel the day after the wedding, the service we received was A+. Seriously, everyone was so accommodating and kind! We truly felt like royalty! Everything went smoothly (minus my brother almost arriving late for the ceremony!!!). The staff did such a wonderful job! The night before our wedding, they sent us some sparkly wine and chocolate covered strawberries to enjoy... and they included craft beer for Bobby (because they knew that Bobby does not just drink any beer!!). I would definitely recommend holding your event at Shangri-La Vancouver :)

Before walking down the aisle...

Back in January, the minute we secured our venue and paid our deposit, the first thing I did was book a hair and make up consult/appointment. I am so terrible at both of these things and knew I would need to recruit some professional help... a quick google search led me to Beauty Calls, a mobile hair and make up service. Here I met Alysia Hamilton (super sweet owner) and Lily Ling (super awesome hair and make up artist). Both Alysia and Lily are so sweet... and Lily is AMAZING!!!! She did such a wonderful job! I looked and felt so great at my wedding! :) Seriously, book Lily now for your hair and make up needs!!! You will not regret it.

Photo credit: Lily Ling

The second appointment I made was cake tasting! This was a no brainer. When we lived in Yaletown, we frequented Ganache Patisserie. We sat down with Peter and he helped us decide on a custom flavor and cake design. Our guests were impressed and there was no cake left at the end of the night!

Single tier hazelnut chocolate with mango filling... with strawberry macarons... mmm

We had a very small ceremony (15 guests total) and my plan was to wear a plain white dress. This upset my mother greatly and I realized that not taking her wedding dress shopping/wearing a "traditional" wedding dress was robbing her of her mother of the bride experience! So we went to The Bridal Gallery and Debbie helped me pick THE dress ;) Bobby custom made his suit from Indochino.

Photo Credit: John Miguel
Dress: Mori Lee 6794
Flowers and pineapple boutonniere: V&J Plantshop

And last, but most certainly not least, photography was done by Dora and Alex from 21 Mpix Photography and they did such a great job! We've only seen a few pictures and cannot wait to see the rest! Random story: I met Dora through Lily (my hair and make up artist!! You can read more about our meeting here). Make sure to contact Dora if you need a photographer for your upcoming event!

Huuuuge thanks to all for making our wedding a reality! Special shout out to Peter and his crew at V&J Plantshop for custom making Bobby's pineapple boutonniere :)

Blogmas Day 13 - 12/13/14

Ok, so yesterday was my family Christmas dinner (since we are all going to be in San Fran starting next week!!)... so I spent most of the morning running around getting presents/wrapping presents so I missed yesterday's blog.

But anyway, 12/13/14 was spent like this:

Bobby got a couple of Christmas balls

Wrapped presents.. ps: I love wrapping presents!!

Bobby's Christmas look

Lovely none home made food ;)

All in all, had fun with the fam (minus my brother who had another dinner, went to the hockey game.

Thanksgiving 2014

We had our family Thanksgiving at our apartment today. No turkey this year. Bobby made his specialty (pizza) and I made mine (pulled pork). My parents and my cousin and his family all brought other dishes and dessert. We managed to squeeze in 8 people around our table meant for 6, and we dined and laughed and dined some more. 

My super easy pulled pork recipe:

Pork shoulder, seasoning salt and barbecue sauce. Placed in the crock pot and cook on low until tender (usually 8 hours for a 1.5kg+ shoulder). 

Since smelly Kiwi was expecting company... I gave her a bath today. After her bath she was so pissed off she sat like this for a while. Normally, she runs home when given the chance, but not earlier today!!

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving with their family and friends. Only one more day off until back to work ;)

The True North Strong and Free

Happy birthday, Canada!!!

I had a great time celebrating Canada Day at Buntzen Lake yesterday. I hadn't been to Buntzen Lake in years but we are like 15 minutes or so away from it now and it's a great lake! You can rent canoes or kayaks, there are hiking trails and there's even an enclosed dog beach area! Lots of picnic tables for bbqs (but you have to get there early!) and the lake is huuuge.

So we bbq'd with my family. Bobby and I also went canoeing and hiking. My body is a little sore, but a good kind of sore. It's the "I didn't sit around all day and I feel very accomplished kind of sore". It was really hot though. It was about 30 degrees, but it probably felt like 32/33 degrees. We were at the lake though, so we got the occasional breeze. Bobby and I went to the fireworks at Lafarge Lake at night, and wow, I am impressed with the soiree the City of Coquitlam put together. The fireworks were pretty impressive. Plus we were able to walk home.

Now, a little side note on why I love this country:

I moved to Canada as a 4 year old. My parents left our somewhat comfortable life (my dad had a job he loved, and my mom worked part time - she spent most of her time taking care of my brother and I, but she also worked part time with friends who my parents still keep in touch with today) in the Philippines and moved to Canada, this wonderful free country where dreams really do come true. We left pretty much everything behind. Everything. I remember being told I could not bring my tambourine on our move because it would not fit in any of our luggage. We moved to a country where I did not speak the language at all (my parents and my brother spoke English but not perfectly). My parents both had to start over career-wise, and they both took on whatever job they could to help provide for our family.

I never truly realized how lucky I was to live in this country until I went back to the Philippines in 2009. It was a real eye opener for me because when you grow up in a country where education is free, and the opportunities are seemingly endless, you tend to take things for granted. I am forever grateful that my parents made the decision to relocate our family. They seriously gave up so much for my brother and me that I am seriously getting teary eyed just writing this blog.

Happy 147th birthday, Canada!

Saluting all of the wonderful mothers out there!

Day 29

Happy happy happy mothers day to all the wonderful mothers out there! 

The plan was to hang out in the old stomping grounds (Coquitlam) to visit my mother for mother's day. But first, 49th Parallel/Lucky's Donuts for brunch! We recently discovered 49th Parallel in Kits but then our friends told us about how the one on Main St. is even better because of their donuts! We had to check it out today!

Bobby and his tiramisu donut and mocha

I heard that the Property Brothers were in Coquitlam today so I had to see them! I love their show and I love their work. Also, they are super nice in person. And super tall! Or am I super short?!

Jonathan, me, Bobby and Drew

We headed further east to a pet store near my parents home. Bobby accidentally threw Kiwi's faux grass away when he was cleaning their cage one day. Kiwi is obsessed with that grass so we had to get her more. 

At the pet store, Bobby met a cat also named Bobby.

Mother's Day dinner!

Happy mothers day to my wonderful mother! She was my first best friend ever and she's still one of my closest friends today! I am so thankful to have her in my life :)

Aaand, I can't forget the other mother in my life! Happy 2nd mother's day to Chaos! Chaos loses her shit over wet cat food which I don't let her have very often because its not good for her. However, she can't get enough of it. Kiwi doesn't care for wet cat food at all so here's Chaos enjoying her Whiskas (aka, special Mother's Day dinner) and Kiwi eating a cat treat.