My First Ever Wedding Inspiration Mood Board

As part of my 2nd interview with a Wedding Planner, I was challenged to create a wedding inspiration mood board. At first I kind of panicked because I didn't know which direction I wanted to go. The possibilities were endless but my resources were limited. I didn't have a working printer let alone ink, limited time to work on it (I had a busy week)... but what I did have were a lot of fashion magazines (thanks Amy!) and a Scotties tissue box for the flowers you'll see on the board.

I was happy with the results and surprised how everything came together rather organically. Felt like I was doing arts and crafts again back in elementary school! I had a lot of fun with it and I couldn't have gotten it done without the extra fuel - thanks to sis who got us take-out Serissa drinks. Yup, I got my usual again ٩(^‿^)۶

My theme was Rustic Glam, Vintage Elegance. It's not perfect, but it's a start. Hope you guys enjoy! ^.^

I decided that I would make it look like a present, so that I could make a more dramatic presention when I showed them the board.

I explained that I was inspired by Ralph Lauren's perfume, Romance. You can actually lift that flap up (where it says 'Romance') and smell the scent.

If you are interested in reading the script that I prepared for the presentation, please follow below. I hope I've inspired some of you to create your own wedding boards some day, or perhaps to try to do more DIY crafts when you have the time.

We are all creative in one way or another and you may be surprised at what you come up with!

ᵔᴥᵔ ᵔᴥᵔ ᵔᴥᵔ

{ Presentation of the Mood Board }

Note: It's hard to make out the words on the board, but aside from 'ROMANCE', there's also ' Open your eyes to endless possibilities...', 'Luxuriously' and 'A Love Story.'

The theme for my wedding inspiration board is ‘Rustic Glam and Vintage Romance.’ I chose this theme because it is perfect for Spring/Summer Weddings and when I become a bride myself, I definitely would love to celebrate my wedding in either of these 2 seasons. Even Fall weddings in Toronto are a bit too chilly for my liking!

One of my inspirations for this theme came from Ralph Lauren’s ‘Romance’ perfume. It is luxurious, with an understated elegance and not at all overwhelming – just like the theme for this wedding. This wedding theme tells a love story between a couple who loves to travel together, enjoys nature and values the classic and quality-made over the trendy and super flashy.

Venue: The ceremony is outside in the woods, with a lot of natural light. The arch will be decorated with a lot of greenery (moss, fern, etc.) with shots of coral, red and pink. Wedding takes place in an old barn, with a large open space. Large chandeliers made of wooden twigs will provide ambient glow to the room. Small dangling lamps will be interspersed throughout.

Reception décor: The colour palette is a blush pink, light green, silver and robin egg’s blue. You will see all these colours on the cake, the table and chair linen, burlap napkins, runners, etc. Tables are wooden, chair covers are robin egg’s blue. Thoughtful rustic embellishments such as hourglasses, birdcages, pocket watches, compasses and perfume bottles will be decorated on each table.

Floral arrangements: While the overall colours are soft and wooden, the flowers will stand out in bright shades of coral, pink and red, with shots of green from the leaves and stems. There will be red roses (black roses) and mixed varieties. There are 7 long tables in total for about 130 guests including the bridal party. Tables will have alternating shorter and taller floral arrangements (which will be at a height that does not block the guests as they converse throughout dinner).

Food: It will be a formal, sit-down dinner. Soup of French Onion, Warm bread and butter/ olive oil and vinaigrette/ hummus and tapenade, Organic grain fed chicken served with roasted potatoes and vegetable medley, a mango-pecan salad, grapefruit sorbet, tea-infused gelato with light cheesecake. Red and white wines served, Signature cocktails for the bride (blushing bellini – peach, banana, strawberry) and groom (gin and spiked tonic) and Open Bar for all!

Music and Entertainment: Violinist and Pianist playing a duet in the woods – Pachabel’s Canon in D Soothing music throughout the reception, Party music with live DJ spinning at the after party

Okay, definitely got carried away on the food part... but you get my drift!

Thanks for reading! ✌♫♪˙❤‿❤˙♫♪✌

The Vain Blog

I changed the blog's description from 'An Open Look Book ...into this girly girl's life' to 'THE VAIN BLOG where it's all about me me me me ME' because when I started to read back on the entries I've written so far... all I talked about was 'Me.' So why not. I have a food blog where I talk all about food, so why can't I have a me blog? (The food blog does beter in terms of traffic, by the way, but hey, that's ok! It's not like there's a competition and even if there were, it's just between me and myself)!

The food blog is very focused on the one topic, whereas my mind is all over the place when it comes to writing in here. I can get a lot deeper with my thoughts with this blog which may or may not appeal to everybody. I am geuinely excited about food and you can probably catch on that when you follow my food blog. But here is where the other sides of my personality surface. The raw, more emotional and sometimes dramatic, comes into play.

I am currently working on a 'Wedding Mood Board' as a component to a second interview that I have with a wedding planner. It is only for an internship position. I should be able to learn quite a lot from her, but there are also other options that I am considering. My main concern is that the internship is unpaid and I really need to decide if earning money is more important right now or gaining experience without pay for 8 months. I could definitely still work part-time while I am doing the ineternship, even full-time if I manage my time well, but I need to know the specifics of what is expected of me in order to better allocate my time around things. Perhaps I should get the interview over with before I even start worrying about everything else. I would love to show you guys what I whipped up today! I am very surprised that it all came together in a several hours' work... almost organically. It was such a strange feeling. I did not work non-stop and definitely took too many breaks; eating breakfast, snacking on sushi and bingeing on my Black Diamond Green Tea Red Bean Slush from Serissa (thanks to sis for getting take-out for me!)... but I did it!! Now, I just have to come up with a story on how I came about this theme.

At the same time, I am trying to quickly fix up my beautifully edited resume (thank you to EW for doing such a great job on it. I love it. And I owe you so much when I get my full-time position, whatever it may be)! And then off I send it to JS who is going to forward it to his contacts. He has helped me in the past when I was in dire need to get to work on time that one day... Thinking back, I am so ashamed that someone could be as irresponsible as I was to not take things as seriously as I should. Yes, I am still habitually late when I meet my friends, with the odd occasion that I am not. I know I need to change that about myself, trust me, I know. I don't like waiting on people and they shouldn't have to wait on me either. To this day I haven't forgotten how JS drove me from the supermarket where I was picking up last minute supplies for the work shift that was to start in less than an hour all the way to my work location which was at least a 1/2 hour drive away. I could have never made it on time if I took public transit. Sometimes it is the most unexpected people who end up being the one who helps you out when you are in a crutch. I have JS to thank for that. I am definitely inspired to be that friend for somebody else. I may not be the first one you think of, but I will do what is in my power to not let you down.

On Ambition, Goals & Dreams.

When I was a little girl, I wanted to be an elementary school teacher. I dreamed of marking papers and giving my students stickers and stamps for a job well done.

I also wanted to be crowned a winner in those Chinese beauty pageants that I grew up watching. I wanted to dress up, look pretty and prance around on stage, but not have to answer terrifying questions wearing a skimpy bikini.

And then I also wanted to be an actress because of all the shows I enjoyed watching and all the characters I felt that I could relate to. A model, and even a singer. In short, I had wanted to be a celebrity-something, an adored-by-many performer.

If you ask me now what I want to be?

I want to be less of a dreamer. I will always be one, but being a dreamer won't be what makes my dreams actually come true. I want to be more practical in my ambition and goals.

I really like what Mark Cuban said on Finding motivation as an entrepreneur:
I daydreamed for motivation. I didn't lie to myself and talk about my passions and how if I was passionate enough about something I could be successful at it.
I was lucky. I grew up knowing that hard work and smart work has a greater impact on results than being passionate about something.

For the rest of the article, click here.

I need to internalize the part about hard work and smart work versus simply being passionate about something. It took a really long time, but I think I finally know exactly what I want to be. And I want to share it to the world, because I want to hold myself accountable. I want to document how I am going to achieve this goal and make productive use of the free time I currently have. I need to make it count.

I will work toward the ambition of becoming The Ultimate Travelling Stylist. I want to be the go-to person to style dessert tables, design wedding and event venues, decorate interiors of home & small commercial spaces, style photo shoots for engagement sessions and models for magazine spreads. Basically, I want to be a one-stop-shop for style, aesthetics, visual & merchandising arts & design and creative direction. It's quite a handful and I know I cannot do this on my own. I want to work alongside like-minded, creative and ambitious individuals who can bring a fresh and different aesthetic, each appreciating the different style forté of the other. My goal is to operate this kind of boutique styling business, surround myself with amazing people and be able to work for clients all over the world.

That is my ambition.

I also have a dream to become a super successful blogger! I want to be able to run and manage a beautiful, visually-appealing, content-rich website (with photography and graphic design skills that I am aiming to master) and be able to share my journey with interested readers, aspiring entrepreneurs and other like-minded individuals. I want to get into the journalistic part of me! I want to be able to support brands I love, attend interesting events and interview some pretty amazing people. The latter is a very appealing perk to me. I would listen intently to their stories, explore how success came about for them and have them impart a little knowledge and wisdom to a wide-eyed sponge like myself. I want to also discover up-and-coming creative individuals and help them build their presence and brand. My website/blog would give me the platform where I can then share and exchange information, thoughts and ideas, with interested and curious individuals. These are valuable opportunities and connections I would probably otherwise never chance upon if I worked a 9-5 mundane office job my entire life, where the only thing I looked forward to, was the weekend.

Did I mention that I want to open a small cafe when I am 40 or so? Lead an active, healthy lifestyle and use my lifetime to {try} to master yoga? Live in Tokyo while I am still young and not yet 30? Be, look, feel and do everything that I can/ want/ am meant to?

Of course, a girl can still dream. But if it is feasible, why not turn that dream into a concrete reality? My first goal is to get out there and start styling. The travelling, one-stop-shop boutique and other things will follow. I want to take this opportunity to thank the people who openly expressed that they believed in me. You have no idea how much this means to me, especially at a time when it is just so easy to throw in the towel, convince yourself that great things just maybe don't happen to everyone and go on to live a stable, unfulfilled life.

Thank you for giving me the encouragement to move forward. It's a bit of pressure to not let anyone (myself, especially) down, but good pressure. To all those that aspire to be something great, let's Go. Up, and Onward.

My theory on Creative/Successful People.

I once read somewhere that successful people write messy.
So this explains why my writing is only legible! It simply takes way more time and effort than it's worth for me to write as neat as most of the girls (and a few guys) that I know do!

The below quote which I have written with much care for a dear friend's birthday back in December, reads 'The only person you should try to be better than, is the person you were yesterday.'

Creative people tend to be messy even if we crave for things to be neat, tidy and orderly.
This, I didn't read from anywhere and is simply my POV. Our brains can be scattered and all over the place. We are constantly thinking. And in overdrive.

As it currently stands, I am neither as creative or as successful as I should like to be... but I am going to strive to be more and do more with each passing day.

This was my computer arrangement when my desk top crapped out in November:

For those of us who don't know how to cook, we can still make a gourmet snack and make do with whatever we can find that doesn't cooking skills. Presenting...

Exhibit A:
Strawberries Drizzled in (Admittedly, Not Enough) Nutella!
I am a firm believer that more things should come in smaller packets because I can never finish the individual bottles. Where to buy in Toronto?? I snatched a few of these packets from our cruise vacation and still wishing I had more!

Exhibit B:
Unexpectedly Yummy Avocado Apple Sandwich!
You only need half an avocado, sliced and a small red apple, also sliced (substitute with granny smith if available), sandwiched between 2 slices of whole wheat (emphasis on the whole wheat part) bread. The flavours mix together pretty well, if I do say so myself! Throw in a boiled egg, chopped, if available.

I could've used a toaster for the bread, which would've made for a nice warm bite. But I didn't bother to go look for our missing toaster. That we never use. That in it, I found a dead bug. You absolutely should though, if you have easy access to one!

I have extremely low expectations when it coms to making my own food. If I can put it in my stomach, I am already very proud of myself. Psh, I can totally live on my own! In fact, I might be able to lose some of this tummy bulge and thigh fat if I did! OK, the move-out, make-food-for-self challenge is ON!

iogo yoghurt goodness

My absolute favourite yoghurt (which converted me into a yoghurt lover) is Yoplait's Apricot flavour. I was first introduced to it by my host family when I was in Tours, France, but I have searched far and wide and have been unable to find it anywhere in Canadian supermarkets. So that's where my next favourites, of Peach and of Blueberry, come into play. It didn't matter if it was Yoplait anymore, these two flavours became my go-to flavours. If there is one flavour of yoghurt I do not like, it's got to be Strawberry. I don't know why, but I've always left those behind while I greedily devoured the others in the variety pack.

My mom has been crazy about yoghurt since hearing all the good stuff about it on the radio and in the newspapers (she's the crazy lady that tells us if we don't poop for a day, that's equivalent to smoking 3 packs of cigaretttes!!), so we are almost always stocked. We have tried every brand of yoghurt that the supermarket has to offer. One day at Food Basics, we decided to give this new one a try...

Introducing: iogo probio yoghurt!

I've had mixed flavours before... but even though I never liked strawberry flavoured yoghurt, somehow they made them so yummy I couldn't resist. The flavours that came in this variety box include: Strawberry-Banana / Raspberry-Cranberry / Blackberry-Blueberry / Peach-Mango ...and they were all very creamy, refreshing and delectable to my taste buds. The first time I came across this brand was on a billboard near the highway entrance, downtown, and what caught my attention were colours, font and the fresh-looking fruits. I am so glad we decided to try something new, because when I'm in Toronto, trying new things tend to yield disappointing outcomes and I am more often than not left with feeling that the tried-and-tested tastes so much better. But iogo's was unexpectedly really, really, good! And this is coming from someone who is uber picky about what she claims to be worthy of a compliment :P

Check out all of iogo's wide variety of interesting and yummy flavours and products on their website and give them a try today!

Happy 2013!

No more excuses... must make this the best year ever!!!

Happy New Year, everyone! :)

Feeling powerful atm. Here's some motivation to keep it going!

“Never give up on what you really want to do. The person with big dreams is more powerful than one with all the facts.” - Unknown

“When the world says, ‘Give up,’ Hope whispers, ‘Try it one more time.’” - Unknown

“Fall down seven times, get up eight.” - Japanese Proverb

“Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“Never Give Up! Never, never, never, never give up. Never!” - Winston Churchill