A Crepe and A Blessing

Sometimes blessings come from the most unexpected places at the most unexpected times.

Last week, Quid and I went to brunch at a crepe place close by. I had seen La Petite Creperie on Yelp and was curious to try it out. 

The place itself is really cute-very French, on the smallish side, but quaint in a good way. The menu is actually quite large, but since we were at a creperie, we decided to go with crepes! Duh haha.

We decided on one savory crepe (chicken and mushrooms with some kind of cream sauce on a whole wheat crepe) and one sweet crepe (a lemon citron). They were both really yummy!

As we sat and ate and chatted, one of the workers walked up to our table and told us that "the lady who just left took care of your bill." WHAT?!? We were shocked. The crazy thing is that this "lady" that he was referring to was this woman whom both of us had noticed because she had a huge colorful tattoo on her leg and she was kind of gruff-looking. Definitely not someone whom we would've thought would have been so kind and gracious like that.

It was a reminder to us not to judge a book-or a person-by their cover. This gruff-looking, tattooed up woman certainly blessed our socks off, and for no reason either-she doesn't even know us!

I'm totally wanting to pay it forward now~simply because to be the recipient of something like this is so special. And besides, it's something Jesus would do-treat others as you would want to be treated :)

Merci!

Aimee

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

For Quiddie

Grace turns 22 today everybody! In honor of that, I've dedicated this blog post to all things Quiddie.

Q. Quid.

This has been my nickname for Grace since she was in Middle School. We bonded over a Harry Potter board game and if you know HP, then you know that the game they play is called, "Quidditch." So I started calling her Quidditch, which then was shortened to Quiddie, and finally to Quid. Sometimes it even goes to just "Q" depending on my mood :). If I've given you a nickname it's because I hold you dear. I don't call anyone in my inner circle by their actual name-I think it's special when just you have a name to call someone. Right Quid? 

Quid goes to camp, circa 1999

U. Understated.

When Grace first came to America back when she was seven years old, she was a mute. The first time I remember meeting her she hid behind her Mom and barely uttered a "hi" and only because her Mom made her. Nowadays things have changed and although people on the outside might think she is still quiet, insiders know better. Bring your earplugs people, it can get that loud ;)

Quid rides the Shotgun Bouncer, 2009

I. Intelligent.

Grace has a mind like no other-her memory is one of the very best around. She is especially adept at memorizing numbers of any kind. For example-the girl knows my driver's license #, my SSN, the plates on my car and every address I've lived at in the past decade or so. The girl is a whiz I tell you-it's scary sometimes. If I ever am fuzzy on a detail of something we've done, she always knows. She also is super observant and knows far more about the people in her world (and even some who aren't) than you would even guess she does. Tricky, that one.

 Quid in her High School Senior Portrait, 2008

D. Dark.

I think this one goes without saying, but the girl has melatone up the wazoo! We are always joking that I want some of her skin color, and she can have some of my paleness. For my wedding, J, Dawn and I had to get spray tans because we all know that the darker you are, the slimmer and more pretty you are ;). Grace, on the other hand, didn't need to fork over the $$ and stand buck naked in front of a spraying stranger because she already had the color, thank you very much!

 The closest we've ever been in skin color-and this is after I had four layers of spray tan applied!, 2011

D. Dude.

I mean this in a lot of ways. Don't get me wrong here-Grace is a gal through and through-she just happens to have some "dude-esque" qualitites in her. Nothing wrong with that right? ;) First of all, she loves basketball, more particularily the NBA and the Lakers. She knows more stats than probably my cousin No and he's a stat King. (He'd probably dispute this claim but whatevs ;) If I ever am on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" and I need a lifeline for a sports question, I'm calling Grace, no doubt. Secondly, the girl can burp like no other. We're known for earthquakes here in California, and shake the walls she can! It's pretty amazing actually. We're working on getting that out of her system in front of cute boys so we'll see if this continues. ;) Thirdly, she says the word "dude" a lot. Which is originally where this "D. Dude" came from. If she hasn't said "dude!" or called you "DUDE" then you haven't talked to Grace like ever.

Walking down the aisle at our wedding in October

Doesn't she look stunning? No dude here! :)

I. Insider.

For me, there are very few people that are inside my inner circle. I'm just private that way. Grace is one of my "insider" people. Somehow, she went from that mute 7 year-old to one of my greatest friends as a 22 year-old. She is my little little sister and I love her greatly. You know she's close when she celebrates every Christmas at my house! (That's right-don't you dare break the tradition! Grrrr)

Our annual Christmas at Starbucks drinks, 2010

 Helping me go over my vows before the ceremony, Oct. 2011

E. Every person's friend.

Grace has a lot of friends. She doesn't think so, but she really does. I think it's because she is loyal, keeps secrets like no other (she's a vault), and she's not critical or mean. Basically, she's the anti-girl in this department and I mean that as a compliment. Girls can be harsh, Grace just isn't. I know that her being a bridesmaid in my wedding is only the beginning to her standing up for a lot of her friends in their future weddings. (sorry Quid :)-I'll make sure you look good though!) She's as good a friend as they come, and if you don't have one like her, then her # is...haha, just kidding. She's all mine people! :D

These two are "best friends" and they love bantering with eachother like brother and sister. Blane even took Grace engagement ring shopping before he proposed and they tried on diamonds together. Haha. They are funny and I know they both love eachother even though I don't think they've ever said it to one another ;)

Quiddie, you are beautiful, through and through. My prayer for you today is that you feel loved, celebrated and recognized for the incredible person that God has made you to be. I look forward to seeing what journey God will take you on in this next year of life~for the many challenges, but also for the many victories and joys that He is going to bring to you. Trust in Him and you will never fail. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

I love you!

4Life,

Aim :)

Amidst the Madness

Today a delightful afternoon surprise lunch with my dear Quid. I didn't know it at the time, but I think God must have planned that she wouldn't have class this afternoon and that we'd end up grabbing lunch. She was a much-needed breather for me and it was nice to catch up and just have girl talk over some yummy eats at our local 

Metro Cafe. Don't be deceived by its presence in a Travelodge on Washington Place. It's actually quite good! We found out today that the chef Roberto makes all his own sauces by hand-even the mayo! Quite impressive indeed. 

Quid and I a couple weeks ago at my bachelorette attempting to tandem ride a beach cruiser :D

Thanks for lunch today Quiddie!

<3 you,

Ate

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