2 Real Wedding: Jiyan & Jonathan in Maui

Hello! Whew! Just came back from one of the best vacations. It was a little short in length, but not short of fun-filled activities. The main event being our friends Jonathan & Jiyan's wedding at one of the most beautiful venues I've ever been to, on the island of Maui, Hawaii. Just going to share some photos from that magical day. (Forgive that they were taken with a phone, we decided to pack light and not bring our bulky camera on this trip).


We had misty rain on and off all morning but when it was time for the ceremony the sky cleared! Program fans (from my shop) with a sea turtle design were placed on every seat so guests could cool down. Jiyan chose the turtle design because she says Jonathan is always slow like a turtle, haha! Anyways, turns out it wasn't as hot that day (as you'd guess Hawaii would be) so we didn't use them much for cooling down, but the printed ceremony agenda and Thank You message were a big hit with the guests. 


The venue is called Haiku Mill on Maui island. Every corner of this place was so pretty that I wanted to take photos of everything, I loved the strings of crystals dangling with the vines and the grand chandeliers at the entrance. I adored the signature cocktails - one was The Succulent and the other was the Violet Fizz - a plant in my drink? Sure! It was also super awesome during the cocktail hour that one of the guests stepped up for an impromptu opera performance with the musicians. Way to get in the spirit and have fun!


Drinks and hors d'oeuvres flowed, which meant a quick visit to the ladies' room. Couldn't help but to snap a quick photo of the decor and loooveeeelyyy tiles in the washroom =)


The ceremony space was transformed quickly into this jaw-dropping dinner reception that had me keep thinking "I'm at a wedding that I see in magazines!"


It was a beautiful evening with good laughs, great speeches, delicious food - celebrating the union of two friends. Jonathan and Jiyan's wedding made our trip to Hawaii really unforgettable. All the attention to details for the day made each guest feel like a real VIP =). Thank you for having us be a part of your big day!!


Photo credits: Betty Trieu

3 CAMERA BAG

Ola!

Just wanted to stop in and share with you one of my other finds at the thrift store last week (same time I got this basket).


It was actually the first thing I saw and held onto before I got to the basket section. I'm not really a photographer, not like I carry my camera out with me much on a regular basis, usually we just snap pics with our phones these days right. But sometimes for special occasions (weddings, birthdays) I do bring the DSLR with me. We already have a camera bag, but I think this one suits me much better! Isn't it so cute and stylish?


With our current camera bag, I feel forced to bring it just to protect the camera, but it's a bulky bag and whenever I have a chance to put it down, I do. But with this one, it's just like a purse that I think I'd want to carry all the time =D


It's was $9.99! Can't say no to that. I am seeing other Marsand camera bags on Etsy and Ebay for around $15-25. This one is in excellent condition, almost like new. I love the light blue velvety texture on the shoulder pad a it's lined entirely inside in that same blue. Cute right?

0 DIY: PAINT DIPPED BASKET

Yesterday I popped into a Value Village on my way home from brunch. The only section I look at is home decor, like if I can find a nice vase or box or cool frame. So yesterday I scored a few things, one of which was this little woven basket.


Actually I wouldn't consider this one a 'score', it was $2.99, which in my opinion could have been $1-$2 instead only because of it's size and compared the other baskets that were there. But I got it anyway because I liked the shape. 

Immediately I knew I wanted to paint it. And didn't think I'd ever film a crafting video, but I did! I'm no film editor so it's not a fancy video with effects and music, just me yapping away on what I was doing. Enjoy!


And here it is for now in the living room. Fresh flowers would make such a huge difference though.


My thought is since I didn't spend a lot of money on the item, it was more ok to just play around with it and also ok if I screwed up in any way or it didn't end up looking perfect. I am enjoying the quick 5-10 minute makeovers of things, I'm able to just do it and move on to my next thought (but occasionally I do still like the bigger projects). How about you? Do you like bigger projects or the quick and easy ones?