Style-ish Designs: From us to you

You don't really think that Thank You cards are that hard to write until you actually sit down and write them. Grammar and spelling seem to leave my mind when I've got a pen in my hand and you certainly can't give someone a thank you card with crossed out and misspelled words can you? I've written and rewritten so many cards, I am so happy that they are finally out.

My very talented husband designed the entire card suite and we had them printed by a printer that he frequently uses for his graphic design jobs. They turned out gorgeous and even more so in person.

The entire suite

I absolutely love the silhouette he created of us and used throughout the cards. The design is modern, classy and so us. J's designs never fail to impress me. I have never not loved something that he's designed. A few years back before we got so busy with our regular jobs we had a small design business where he designed wedding invitations and other wedding stationary. It was our first foray in the "wedding world" and made me even more excited to get married.

The front and the back

The Inside

We included a small note to our family and friends printed in the card and then we had a separate notecard (that's the white card you see in front on the above picture) to hand write our individual thank you's.

The note inside says:

After angry skies calmed
and gray skies cleared...
We were married,
standing beneath the bluest skies,
above sparkling water,
and surrounded by those we love.

Thank you for our families for
being there and to all
the warm wishes we've received
from those who weren't.

I created a photobook of the pictures that Kevin took for us and this is the cover that J designed for it using the same silhoutte.

The back of the photobook. That was the date we took the pictures.

I wish I could show you all the actual book. It looks gorgeous with the cover and all the beautiful pictures that Kevin took inside. It is one of my favorite photobooks that I've created.

This is the photo where the silhoutte is from

photo by KVW photo

I am so lucky to have such talented people in my life.

And to all of you, since I can't send a card to each and every one of you, I wanted to give you this!

all photos by style.ish unless otherwise noted

Tags and Awards

I'm so sorry that I am so behind on my tags and awards but wanted to thank the bloggers that gave them to me! This is like information overload on random stuff about me, but here goes!

I got tagged by the lovely JGeb of Dashboard Obsessions to share 10 things:

10 Things I love:
(besides my husband, family and doggies of course!)
1. skinny jeans
2. taking pictures
3. pivot tables (I am an Excel nerd!)
4. getting my hair cut
5. wine and cheese nights with my husband
6. girly cocktail nights with my girls
7. my Pilates Reformer class
8. my wedding videos
9. looking at pictures of when my babies were just puppies

10. Traveling and shopping (at the same time)

A pic from our Paris trip in 2007, where I bought that LV bag.

Harrod's in London - taken from my little point and shoot camera!

10 things I loathe:
1. People that drop the F bomb every other word in normal conversation
2. Waiting in lines
3. This show that J watches where men just yell at each other about sports. I think it's called Sportscenter or something like that.
4. Walking behind people that are smoking
5. Grates in the sidewalk that catch onto my heels.
6. Driving. I don't ever drive, I'm lucky to have my very own "chauffeur" aka husband
7. The need to check my work email on my iPhone before I go to bed. (it's a bad habit, I need to stop)
8. Slow walking tourists at Pike Place Market (I know, I know, they are tourists but I'm just trying to get some lunch and they are always in my way!)
9. Snow (I'm done with you, go away already!)
10. Going to the dentist

Thank you to Kaitlyn at Upturned Barbie who gave me this award:

The rules:

1) Choose a minimum of 5 blogs that you find brilliant in content or design.

2) Show the 5 winners names and links on your blog, and leave a comment informing them that they were prized with "Honest Scrap." Well, there's no prize, but they can keep the nifty icon.

3) List at least 10 honest things about yourself.

1. I love singing in the car. My new favorite one to sing is "That's not my name" by The Ting Tings
2. I talk to my dogs a lot. Like I ask them what they want to eat for dinner and I also say "bless you" when they sneeze.
3. I have tiny hands and tiny feet. My ring finger is a size 3.5 and my shoe size is a 5. Good thing I'm not a guy. ;)
4. I was a very shy little girl. So much that my mom was worried I'd never make friends. Even though I was on the dance team and cheer squad in high school I was still pretty shy. I didn't really gain self confidence until later in college.
5. I was in a sorority for all four years of college but I did not truly enjoy it. I didn't hate it but I'm not one of those girls that gushes about her sorority.
6. I speak Taiwanese fluently and Mandarin conversationally.
7. When my parents bought me my first car when I was 16 they had it wrapped with a big red bow like you see in the movies. It was pretty awesome :)
8. My dad is my hero and my mom is the best shopping partner ever.
9. I fear getting older. I think I'm gonna have a crisis when I turn 30. I'm not kidding here, I really do fear it.
10. As a kid I took dance, tennis, swimming, piano and violin lessons and also went to Chinese school on the weekends. It's no wonder why as an adult I'm constantly busy as I was so active as a child!

Mizz J at Being High Maintenance, not Bitchy tagged me:

1. Go to the 4th folder in your computer where you store your pictures.

2. Pick the 4th picture in that folder.

3. Explain the picture.

4. Tag 4 people to do the same!

Me and my girls at my Bachelorette party in Vegas!

Thank you to Savvy Mode for this award:

And Pretty Damn Fabulous for this one

The award states "This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

Thank you ALL of you wonderful bloggers! I'm afraid that I can't choose who gets what so please consider all of these tags and awards to all of you! If you feel like doing one, feel free to put it on your blog and let me know so I can link to you.

Wedding Day: Behind the Scenes

Like I mentioned before, J had brought his camera with him and either he or his dad were taking pictures along the way. It was kind of neat as it seemed like the professional pictures were like the "movie" and our pictures were like the "behind the scenes" so it was fun to have everything documented.

Just a random selection from our camera:

The wedding coordinator at Tensing Pen had set aside this cottage for us to rest and keep our stuff in. I loved this doorway, it looks like it belongs in a fairytale. J snapped this picture of me before the ceremony started when we had a quiet moment together.

The view of where the ceremony took place. Those black rocks right in front had been completely submerged in water the days before.

Our awesome photographers in action! Punam and her husband Andrew.

The scary bridge that you can see on our video. It was really super scary during the hurricane as the water would be coming up to it but I was brave enough to try it out on the sunny day, even in my wedding dress!

This was taken during the time we were taking these pictures.

Oh goodness, my dress! I had to hold it up or else I would trip. It was so tiring lifting up all those layers. I finally just let go of it at the end of the night and it got completely soaked at the bottom (it had rained at the end of the night). It was gross and dirty when I brought it home but I didn't care, I definitely got good use out of it.

I decided not to do a really long review of all my vendors so here is my quick summary:

I highly recommend Tensing Pen as a venue for a destination wedding. The property is beyond amazing and the staff is fabulous as well. Planning is a bit hard because communication is not the easiest working with them but once you are there, they make sure you are taken care of. Food was awesome and every meal there was fantastic. They took care of every detail that I had asked for even down to the flowers on the cake.

I used Tai Floral (Tensing Pen's recommended florist) and they were a bit hard to work with but in the end I got what I wanted. I was disappointed in my bouquet (if you notice in my pictures, it rarely makes an appearance) but it was probably my fault that I wasn't that clear with them. The reception flowers were beautiful and they did a great job with my direction on them. They were pretty pricey, I certainly wished I hadn't spend a couple hundred for my bouquet that I barely carried but I don't regret using them.

The minister that Tensing Pen hired for us was fabulous! He was kind enough to stand to the side of us while performing the ceremony to keep the focus on just us which I thought was nice of him to think about. We officially got married in September but we wanted to have a nice ceremony while in Jamaica too. It didn't save us that much money as we still had to pay for the minister's services but it was definitely worth it.

photo by Punam Bean

We used Tensing Pen's recommended transportation for all of our trips outside the resort and the drivers were always great and friendly. Just be sure to negotiate the rate before you get in the car. Sometimes they will charge by person which can make it pretty pricey for just a short ride.

For those of you have read through my wedding day posts I think you all know how much I love my pictures so highly recommend Punam Bean Photography for destination weddings. We could not have asked for anyone better to photograph our wedding. Everyone in my family is just in awe of all the great pictures we have of all of us.

Previously on the Wedding Day Series:
Part 1: The Venue
Part 2: The Drama
Part 3: The Morning of
Part 4: The "Day After" Shoot
Part 5: The Damage
Part 6: Family Time
Part 7: The Ceremony
Part 8: The Reception
Part 9: T+J
Part 10: In Motion

all pictures by style-ish unless otherwise noted

Lookbook: Pink Polka Dots

I love these suede boots but since the weather has been so terrible here I haven't been to wear them that much this season. It finally stopped raining one day so I was excited to pull them out to wear them for the first time this winter.

What I'm Wearing:
Cardigan: Banana Republic
Shirt: Forever 21
Leggings: Forever 21
Boots: Jimmy Choo

The boots are four inch heels and they don't look as comfortable as they really are. My mom is always asking, "How can you walk in those?!" I can walk around and go shopping in these all day long and they don't hurt one bit. They were a tad on the pricey side (ok who am I kidding, they were more than I've ever spent on shoes before) but they have been worth every penny. The way they fit to my legs are just perfection and the suede is beautiful in person.

Almost every outfit I wear is made up of high end items with cheap pieces mixed in. The key for me to buying cheap things are fit and style. This top I'm wearing is flowy so the fit doesn't matter. I also know that in a year I will be sick of it and not wear it again so I can give it away and not regret paying a lot of money for it. I know that I have an excessive amount of clothes so I do a quarterly clean of my closet and if it did not get worn that season, I donate it. My friends are happy to take it off my hands as is Goodwill and then I have more space in my closet so everyone is a winner! I don't believe in holding onto clothes for a "just in case". Because when that "in case" comes along, I will most likely not even remember that I have it. Also, when you live in a small space like we do I don't really have a choice as to where to store it! I can say that all the stuff in my closet and shoes included are less than 2 years old. I rarely hang on to anything longer than that.

I straightened my hair so that it just had a hint of a wave to it and then I twisted a section of my hair from the front and clipped it back with a bobby pin. It was an easy and unfussy hairstyle which went with the outfit.

For those who requested a how-to for my hair from this lookbook, we don't have a video camera so I won't be able to a do a how-to video, but I've asked J to take pictures so you will get a photo tutorial. Also, I'm working on putting together a makeup/eyelash tutorial so stay tuned for that!

Happy Chinese New Year!!

Take a Peek: Makeup Kit

I always think it's fun to peek into my friends makeup kits so I thought I'd share some of mine with you!

If there is one thing about me, I absolutely love makeup. I have since I was I was about 6 years old and discovered my mom's hot pink lipstick! I think a lot of you can understand how easy it is to collect makeup as all the pretty colors and cute packaging is so hard to resist! I used to be obsessed with lip gloss and am now addicted to eyeshadow. Here is part of my shadow collection that I keep in one of my drawers in our bathroom. The rest of my makeup collection is kept in train cases or on shelves in our bathroom.

Above are Stila kits, Smashbox and Bare Minerals single eye shadows

As you can tell, I'm a fan of neutrals. I do have some bright colors but these are the ones I wear most often.

My makeup brushes

The ones on the left are my "face" brushes and the ones on the right are my "eye" brushes.

Aren't the brush holders gorgeous? J brought them home from work because they were extra samples that the firm had gotten (perk of working for an interior design firm!) And when I spotted them, I immediately claimed them for to be my brush holders.

I love all my brushes. It is amazing how many different kind of brushes there are and how each one creates a different look.

It's a mixture of Stila, MAC and Bare Escentuals brushes

And a DIY that J came up with!

I was running out of room and I hate having loose makeup in my drawers so J found a genius idea to take one of our ordinary candle holders to turn into my makeup holder.

We had these Method candles from Target, that we buy pretty often. They smell so good and are nice looking yet don't cost nearly as much as designer candles. We had so many but once it burned down it seemed like such a waste to throw away the container.

J's DIY instructions to create candle holders into instant anything holders:

• When there is no more candle to burn, there will be about an inch or less of candle wax left in the container
• Boil about an inch or so of water in a pot
• Put the candle holder in the boiling water to melt the wax
• Once melted, pick up the candle holder using oven mitts (make sure to do this, it will be hot!)
  
• Pour the melted wax out into the trash
• Wash the container clean
• Peel the sticker off
• Voila! Pretty cup to hold your things! We use them to hold pens and pencils, loose change and other odds and ends as well.

I put my shadow sticks and highlighters in one and look how perfectly it fits!

Having all these containers really help me with my makeup routine as I'm not rummaging around my drawers trying to find that one color or whatever I'm looking for. I do have a thing for organizing and I am happiest when everything has their own place.

Hope you liked the peek! Do you wanna see the rest of it? :)

all pictures by style-ish

Color my shoes

I had just posted about adding bright colors to my wardrobe and I'm now needing the same for my shoes. If you've taken a peek at my shoe collection, you will see that I have quite the collection of black shoes. I'm always saying "I need some bright shoes" whenever I look at my closet, but when it comes to buying them, I automatically just buy black. I've bought brightly colored shoes before only for them to just sit in my closet unworn. I have decided that I am going to invest in a pair and do a better job of incorporating them in my wardrobe.

I'm not adventurous enough to try ALL colors so I have limited it to pink or red. Here are some of the ones I found.

Pinks and Reds by love_savvy

The pink platform Louboutins on the top are the front runners at this point but I think I will continue looking. While I was on Polyvore, I put together a couple of outfits that I would wear with my brightly colored shoes. Now I really want to get a pair to put together some real outfits.

splash of pink by love_savvy

Little Red Shoes by love_savvy

And one of my favorite celeb looks

I heart Lindsay Price ever since Lipstick Jungle. She is too darn cute.
The Phillip Lim dress is adorable and the red shoes are the perfect touch.
Just my kind of outfit.

So the hunt continues...
Will report back when I find them!

Lindsay Price photo via Fabsugar

Wedding Day: in motion

As I mentioned previously my brother had accompanied us on our "day after" photo shoot with his video camera and also shot the ceremony. Here is the beautiful video that he created and edited for us. There are no words to express how much I love this video. It shows the hurricane (you will have to wait until the end to see the good stuff) and the love and joy that we felt that day. Pictures are one thing but watching this video easily brings me back to how much love I felt that day. It truly was the happiest day of my life.

Enjoy!


My Sister & Jared's Full Wedding Video - All Redrock M2 Wedding from Billy is my real name on Vimeo.

It was no easy feat for him to film all of this, check out the humongous tripod that he lugged around everywhere!

He is available for hire! Email me for details.

Previously on the Wedding Day Series:
Part 1: The Venue
Part 2: The Drama
Part 3: The Morning of
Part 4: The "Day After" Shoot
Part 5: The Damage
Part 6: Family Time
Part 7: The Ceremony
Part 8: The Reception
Part 9: T+J

Lookbook: Winter Blues

I hardly ever wear blue, it just has never been my color nor have I ever really been attracted to it. However, I have been trying to incorporate more color into my closet, especially for the winter as I always find myself in gray, black or white.

What I'm Wearing:
Blouse: Podoll (from here on sale!)
Blazer: LaRok (also seen in this lookbook)
Jeans: Rag and Bone
Shoes: Bally (also seen here)
Watch: Diesel

It's still too cold to just wear the blouse so I put on one of my many blazers to keep me warm. I'm not the biggest fan of how flouncy the blouse is at the waist, I probably could have tugged it down a little lower, but I liked the color on me. It was a good change of pace.

The best part of the ensemble that day was my hair. I had watched "The City" the night before and fell in love with Olivia Palermo's hair. I mean gorgeous right? The show on a whole is so BO-ring but I will watch it just to see her hair. She is my new hair icon.

So with her fabulous locks in mind...

>

I tried to style mine similarly

The half smile/smirk may work for those richie rich PYT's,
but I think I shall stick with my smile.

I was needing the perfect accessory to go with my outfit but couldn't figure out what and I said to J that I needed a black watch. He said, "Why don't you wear mine?" And what do you know? It was perfect!

It was big so I wore it more like a bangle than a watch but I really liked the way it looked on my little wrist.

A very Tiffany outfit with a touch of J included equals perfection in my book! Hmmm... now what else of his can I borrow?

If you are wondering, I'm wearing OPI Black Cherry Chutney on my nails. Hands down my favorite nail polish color ever.

Oh and Miss Palermo?
I do envy your big eyes with those eyelids that I will never have.

But those lashes, I can do too!

Wedding Day: T+J

We made sure to take some time before and after the ceremony to take pictures around Tensing Pen. The sparkling water and the blue sky made for the perfect backdrop.

Here are a sprinkling of my favorites:

Photos by who? Punam Bean, of course!


Previously on the Wedding Day Series:
Part 1: The Venue
Part 2: The Drama
Part 3: The Morning of
Part 4: The "Day After" Shoot
Part 5: The Damage
Part 6: Family Time
Part 7: The Ceremony
Part 8: The Reception

Tagged

I think I've done this tag before, but the lovely Kate of Pretty Damn Fabulous tagged me so here we go with 6 more random facts about yours truly.

1. Link to the person that tagged you
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself
4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs
5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.
6. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

My six:
1. I am always cold yet I hate sleeping with a lot of clothes on. I usually sleep in something like this:

(however I do not look as good this VS model)

and then try to pile on as many blankets on top of our down comforter to keep me warm.

2. I am not on Facebook. I think I am the only one out of my friends to not have one. Every time I see them they tell me to get on. Even my sister was convincing me to get on!

3. I love sugary sweet kids cereal. Lucky Charms are my favorite!

4. I like hello kitty band-aids better than regular skin color band-aids. I buy boxes of them at Target.

5. I am great at doing my make up but I am horrible at painting my nails.

6. Food always, without fail, gets stuck in between my teeth. I always carry toothpicks with me.

And my 6. Darlings, please share, what are your random things...

• The Stiletto Effect
• Being High Maintenance, not Bitchy
• Dashboard Obsessions
• Song of Style
• The Spotted Ottoman
• Fashion Therapist