Today, a Look Back

Every year for every birthday, my Dad always makes our family (and whoever also happens to be apart of the celebration) go around and share something about the birthday person. In return, the birthday person shares what their top highlights were from the past year of their life. In honor of that, here are mine today, on my 32nd birthday!

#1. Wedding planning with my sister. 

Seriously, if you ever are getting married, I highly recommend going through the planning process with someone who not only loves you, but totally gets you too. It was unplanned, but completely a bonus that my sister and I got to plan our weddings together this year. It made all the wedding frenzy that much more fun and I loved every minute of it.

 #2. Being in J's wedding party.

I had such a great time being a part of J's wedding. Everything from being asked last Christmas to planning the shower, to the bachelorette to the panty party to sleeping in our apartment the night before the wedding together...being in her wedding was an honor and a blast for me.

 #3. Seeing the fam twice in one year. 

J and I were so blessed that our Aunties, Uncle and our Gram on our Mom's side made it a point to be at both of our weddings. We know that it cost a lot for them to come twice in a matter of just six months, but they gladly did it. Having them around always makes things more fun and although they aren't close by physically, J and I both feel close to all of them in our hearts. 

#4. My best friend's 30th.

Meliss is my oldest friend and every year J and I have fun celebrating her birthday in a big way. This year she turned 30 and in honor of that I made the biggest celebratory cake ever! Haha. It actually wasn't planned-but it just turned out that way. We had a memorable evening with all of Meliss' favorite people at her parent's house. I enjoy seeing her so happy :).

#5. Serving with these people at camp.

I have directed one of the youth programs at camp every year for the past six years and this year was extra special because it was the first year that the majority of the directors were my age/generation. Our meetings were fun, it was inspiring to hear each person's vision and new ideas for their respective programs and camp, I believe, was one of the best its ever been.

 #6. Buying our first home.

Blane and I were blessed to be able to purchase our first home this year. I can't tell you how much I enjoy making our house a home. It is my sanctuary and I love being here. I love decorating, cooking, even cleaning (I know, stop your gasping now ;) and I've become quite the domestic housekeeper. It's been fun finding furniture that fits too and bit by bit it's coming together. 

#7. Our Wedding, duh.

Blane and I had the most perfect wedding ever. I mean seriously, we could not have asked for more. The day was filled with so much love, faith, our friends and family and the best wedding party that a bride and groom could ask for. If I could relive that day, I would, again and again. It was one of the best days of my life and at the end of it all I was married to my best friend. It doesn't get any better than that. :)

#8. Our Honeymoon in New Zealand.

If you've been reading my recaps, you know that we had an incredible time on our honeymoon. Blane is ready to go back at the drop of a hat, that's how much fun he had and how great he thought the country was. The best part was having two whole weeks with no responsibility other than to have a great time together exploring a new country. It was a blast and definitely a highlight of this year.

#9. Family.

It's no secret that I love my family but this year my family expanded. I married into Blane's family and they have wholeheartedly accepted me and made me a part of their inner circle, complete with my own Christmas stocking on the mantle and my name on the annual Christmas card. I am thankful for amazing in-laws and for my own parents who continue to show me what real love and faith is all about.

These have been the biggest blessings of my 31st year. I am looking forward to seeing what God has next up his sleeve for me, for Blane and for our life together. 

I want to give a special shout out to Blane, Bub, Josh, Mom & Dad, Mom & Dad, Meliss, Quid, Dawn, Jdawg, Blake, Pat, Derek, Aunties Ruth, Jo & Trish, Gram, Grandma & Grandpa, Uncle Mark, No, Court, Syd (and the rest of the H Family), Linda, John & Celia, Den, Le, Lala and Erika. Each of YOU contributed to my life throughout this past year in some way and I am so grateful. I am a better person because of each of you!

Wrinkle cream and achy bones, here I come ;)

Aim

FFBTR, Day Two

While Day One was jam-packed full of fun and new experiences, Day Two was the perfect counterbalance. We started the day with a glorious sleep! I think being able to sleep in is one of the top 10 luxuries in life, most definitely! 

Once we finally got ourselves out of bed, we made our way to the nearest caffeine station, a definite must for any "morning." ;)

Here we are closing the "door" of our Venice pad. 

The place came with two beach cruisers so we wanted to give them a go. The problem was that there were four of us and only two of them. Hence the following hilariousness:

Quid and I attempted many ways at writing tandem. She's so little that she fits just about anywhere...

Bub was on the other cruiser and Pap was on her rollerblades. The girl can still work a self-portrait though. Incredible!

On to coffee we were...which ended up being just down the block. Haha! I don't think we would've made it that much farther though so good thing it was :)

Groundwork Coffee Company is a Venice Beach hippie's paradise. There were so many characters in there! I think the four of us stood out like sore thumbs :). The coffee was strong and good and they serve breakfast until 1pm on weekends-the breakfast burrito was delish!

Later that night the girls had a special potluck dinner planned back at the Venice pad. 

 Pap and her mad kitchen skills created thyme butter and salt/pepper salmon as well as a peppery lemon chicken, both of which she cooked fresh on the grill outside!

 The girls brought yummies such as honey fried chicken wings, tofu salad, chinese chicken salad, spinach salad, chicken tortilla soup and of course, rice which made up the rest of the spread. There was so much food! Here is the table with everyone getting their grub on!

As a special surprise, the girls had a masseuse come in house for the evening and everyone got a massage! One of the lovely ladies from our conference, Kaoru, is an amazing masseuse and she came with her table and gave each one of us a wonderful massage during the evening. There were also a few presents that I had to open that shall remain in their boxes. Sorry! Not for blog-eyes to see ;)

 Also on the agenda that night was a "movie under the stars" outside on our private patio. We watched the movie "Bridesmaids" and laughed our heads off at this sometimes crude, but also incredible hilarious movie. Perfect timing too because it just came out on DVD in time for this evening!

 Here's the gang at the end of the evening. It was also Kaoru's birthday the next day so we stuck some candles into the cake and sang to her too. Great fun with all the ladies! I am thankful for each one <3

To Pap, DD, Quid and Bub~THANK YOU for the best-for-me Bachelorette that a girl could have asked for. You know me so well! I enjoyed so much all that we did, but most of all, I enjoyed just being with the four of you. Thanks for finding the cool Venice pad, for organizing an incredible dinner with friends, for fun times in Malibu and for the late night talks too! 

Here's to the bridesmaids of the century! <3

Aim

Final Fling Before the Ring, Day One

This past weekend my lovely bridesmaids treated me to a "Final Fling Before the Ring" as the Evite suggested. My sister found a cute little guesthouse to rent out in Venice and we holed up there for a few days. We did many things, but overall the weekend was relaxing, fun, restful (kind of :), and full of many fun and new experiences with my nearest and dearest group of girlfriends.

Day One began with brunch at the Huckleberry Cafe in Santa Monica. We thought we would be unassuming customers but lo and behold we ended up being filmed for The Cooking Channel who were there that day featuring the restaurant for their show, Unique Sweets. Look for us on television sometime in December! 

We filmed for about an hour so you can imagine how many bites of pastry that each of us had to take! I don't know that any of us will ever want to eat another Huckleberry pastry again, but it was a super-fun experience! Here I am exclaiming how delicious my Huckleberry Cornbread is to Ilene and the Unique Sweets crew. Each of us had to eat our pastry and talk about its texture and taste, one at a time. 

The real star of the day though was Pap who stole the show! She talked the longest and we all awarded her the Academy Award for best on camera. It's funny because we often joke that Pap should have her own show on the Food Network because she loves to cook and be creative in the kitchen. Here was her big moment! She was flawless in front of the mic-as if she does it everyday.

We were so full from eating all the "camera sweets" that we hardly touched our main meals which were delicious, by the way. I highly recommend this place for breakfast. It's kinda chic-chic but the quality of ingredients are really good and it's a cute little place on Wilshire Blvd. Check it out sometime! 

Next it was off to beautify our toes! Yipppeeeee :D I was so excited because my toes haven't been touched in awhile and they were in dire need of some lovin'. Especially because we're coming off of summer and I have gross summer-heels! Ewww. I disgust myself! 

A pedicure was just what the doctor ordered.

Then it was off to Malibu for some shopping and food-buying. The Malibu Country Mart has a really chic J.Crew that carries all of their Collection line so it's always fun to stop in there and touch/see all of their more expensive stuff that we can't afford. Here Dawn and I are trying on some of their sale necklaces just for fun. We also hit up our gal Tory and came away with a special surprise for someone's upcoming 30th birthday. (but we'll leave the details for a later post ;)

We also tasted some delicious chocolate balls and truffles at a fancy chocolate shop, saw and purchased my rehearsal dinner dress (check!), tried on some really cool rings, bought food for dinner and pretended we belonged in the swank of Malibu. Good times, good times!

Then we were off to a glorious little spot high in the Malibu mountains for a grown-up picnic dinner. It was so nice! Here we all are at our picnic table. Mad props to Pap for her amazing self-portrait skillz!

The grounds were really pretty and we enjoyed taking some photos in the last few minutes before sunset.

Once nightfall hit, the lights were turned on and the music began...they had a full big band and it was amazing! Dawn attempted to teach me to swing dance in the back while lots of other guests joined the band in the front for dancing. It was so chill and nice and people were having a great time. It was the perfect evening. 

Day One-check! We got back to the Venice house and sacked out-tired, full and happy. It was so wonderful to be able to spend one-on-one time with my bridal party without any "wedding to-do's" lingering over our heads. When you get married, don't forget to take the time to just be with your girls-it's so important! A wedding is only one day, but good friendships last a lifetime. 

I'd say Day One was a huge success :D wouldn't you?

More to come tomorrow~

Aim

A Lovely Afternoon

A couple weeks ago I was honored to be thrown a shower by my wonderful bridesmaids.

These guys were the hostesses with the mostest!

The shower was held at an awesome restaurant in their private room-the Tin Roof Bistro in Manhattan Beach. I had eaten there before but had no idea that this room existed until I showed up for the shower. It was large, but not too cavernous, had tons of unique details and best of all, it was air conditioned! :)

The guest list was a mixture of old and new friends and family. My future MIL works on Saturdays but took this one off to be at the shower. I'm so glad she did! Here I am with my Mom (on my left) and my soon-to-be Mom (on my right). I hope that I can be the kind of wife and mother that these two have been  and I am blessed to have their guidance as I move into married life.

Another guest who has been with me since birth is this dear lady. Kiku and her husband were power-houses at our church even before I was born and Kiku continues to serve and be involved to this day. Her husband passed away over a decade ago, but her love for him has never faded. Kiku is one person who has been praying for me since I was born and every year I know that I will get a birthday card and an advent calendar at Christmas from this special lady.

After a brief welcome and prayer by my Matron of Honor and dear sister, Bub, and best friend for life, Pap, we sat down to eat. Boy, was that food delish! (sorry, I don't have pics of the food!)

Then, the "Game Master" Quid lead us all in an "Aimee or Blane Bingo" game. She asked a question that corresponded to a number and everyone had to hold up who they thought was the right answer, either me or Blane. There were questions like, "Who is more stubborn?" and "Who says sorry first?" and others like that. It was hilarious and super fun. Apparently Quid has a hidden game talent that she likes to keep under the radar. 

Hmmm..... ;)

Pap also lead us in a game that elicited some...interesting...responses (!!!) but was also a great crowd-pleaser and it poked good fun at B and I. Note my future MIL's expression in this pic-haha!

Then it was on to the gift-opening portion of the afternoon. Here's my sister with the biggest present we've ever seen, courtesy of my crazy MIL. :)

 I got some practical stuff and some other gifts that were totally impractical, but I'll leave that up to your imagination since this is a PG-rated blog!

My dear Quid recorded everything for me and sat by me, which helped me not to feel so "in the spotlight" which I abhor ;) (look it up Quiddie!)

Afterwards we had a time of prayer which was really special despite what my sister may have written on her blog. 

-___-

Here's the whole gang! Each of these women have touched my life in some way. 

I am grateful for each one :).

Some other pics from the day that make me smile...

This is Michelle. She is the secretary at our church and a dear person to me. Every time she started crying throughout the shower she would put on her sunglasses to "hide" that she was having a moment. She cracks me up! *note that her glasses are on in the group pic above too!

This is Mads. She is my college roommate and the only person that I keep in touch with from that era of my life. We don't see eachother often, though we live just 2 miles apart! I was so happy that she was able to make it to the shower. And, even though she knows practically no one, she has the kind of personality that just fits right in, and that she did!

And my dear Auntie. She is my Dad's only sister and she has been with Bub and I from the beginning. I am so thankful for her faithfulness, her steadiness and her willingness to step outside of her comfort zone and come to things like my shower. I love her very much. 

*added bonus-she brought my Uncle's delicious homemade cookies with her!

And finally, this blog post wouldn't be complete without a mention of the incredible favors. I know it was a team effort, but special recognition must go to Pap who put her heart into making my favorite macarons (yes, that is really how you spell it-I looked it up!) just for the shower. They were amazing!

To my girls-Bub, Pap, Quid and DD-THANK YOU for making this shower so special for me. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect afternoon! I know you put many long hours (Pap+your macarons!, Bub+organizing everyone!, Quid+game!, DD+restaurant investigating!) into making it so wonderful and I was so overwhelmed (in a good way) by it all. I love each one of you very much <3

Mary-Kate+Ashley-out!

Aim

P.S. A special shout-out to Big Fun, who came early in the day to beautify my hair and face in preparation for the shower. She's a master of the cosmetological tools! 

I wouldn't have looked so nice without you Le! <3