Country Chic

My newest addition to the pillow line is this sweet little number.

Lori & Mike - Malibu

I loved this location. Lori and Mike rented a Malibu estate with its on PRIVATE beach. I felt like I was in Maui. When I do get married, I want it here. It's perfect in every way!

All photos courtesy of Lynn Dao Photography. For all the AZ brides, contact her now! She is amazing, and so sweet!

I'm such a tease!

I'll give you a hint - Busy Buttons has been B-U-S-Y. Hehe...

The Unnamed Zebra

A week ago, I had lunch with my dear friend Janna, who of course brought along her little girl Annika. I loooooove Annika. I was never a big fan of kids until I met her, and she is seriously the cutest little girl ever! She was such a sweetheart, she gave me her butterfly drawing and a giant good-bye hug. Well, the hug inspired me to embark on a new adventure to create an awesome puppet for her new puppet house.

Widdle zebra ears



A zebra says whaaaat?

A few of my favorite things...

Although I've taken a 6 month (and counting!) hiatus from canvas painting, here are a couple of oldies but goodies. Forgive the poor picture quality, it's embarrassing; I wasn't expecting to post them to the public.

A special gift for one of my best friends to brighten up her cubicle.

This was my first true original piece for a dedicated Mario Bros. fan.

Given all the new projects I'm handling right now, in addition to my full-time job, this form of painting has taken a back seat. I'm also experiencing artist's block. Boo!

Server Problems

Unfortunately, the server for The Bride Concierge is down right now. Thus I am cut off from my beloved website, this blog's background looks all funky and I HAVE NO E-MAILS. =(

All I have to entertain ya'll with is this blog. This naturally means it's story time!! I thought I'd spend a little time explaining to you how I got to be The Bride Concierge and the soon-to-be launched Busy Buttons store.

A year ago, I was just a boring accountant working at your typical public accounting firm. Well, boring to most people, because I personally am a geek who enjoys learning about tax law. I was taking an online course at SMC to get the units I'd need to apply for my CPA license, all the while dreaming of becoming an event coordinator. The lifestyle seemed so much more glamorous than my late nights trapped inside my cubicle. I had made attempts to transition into an event management firm or to a non-profit, but who's going to hire a tax accountant to put together a soiree? As fate would have it, I met a DOC in my online course. Prior to this, I'd never even heard of a DOC. From there, I realized that if I wanted to make this new part of my life happen, I'd have to do it for myself. You can't just sit around complaining about how no one will hire you without experience. You have to make the experience happen for yourself. Well, seven weddings later, here I am. I love every wedding that I do, and I keep those memories close to my heart. I love being a part of a special day that will be remembered for years to come.

Without revealing too much before the grand unveiling of Busy Buttons brought to you via Etsy, let's just say it will be my outlet to share my art with the world. I've got a few product lines coming out, all handmade of course. The name itself stems from the nickname dubbed by the bf. I have a tendency to over push buttons, namely car alarm buttons. There's also the pillow button I chewed off in my sleeping state, but I was young..and oh, I digress! I've spent my holidays in major work mode to build up inventory. The grand unveiling will come once my pictures get past edit mode. I am so excited and proud to start this new chapter in life.

Jenn & Adam - Marvimon House

This weekend I had the great pleasure of working with Jenn & Adam to make their big day really pop at the Marvimon House in the heart of LA.

Thanks to help from the wonderful Jeff of Tact Mngt, we were able to pull through the night and create a great celebration.

For now, ya'll will just have to deal with my amateur shots on my PAS. Enjoy!

I managed to snap a few shots before the guests arrived for the ceremony (aka things got busy!).

The overall vibe was a casual, play-it-by-ear wedding. Jenn & Adam chose to forego the escort card route, welcoming guests with a simple announcement of the night's events.

Centerpieces of mason jars filled with candles and orchids lit up the reception room.

Guests got to take home a piece of my favorite wedding feature - the candy buffet!

Day 13 - (Sun)Shine Cafe, Morro Bay

Looks can be deceiving at the Shine (aka Sunshine) Cafe. If you're used to the monstrous super stores of LA (i.e. Costco, Target and even some Whole Foods locations), you're going to be shocked when you walk into this small store. The Sunshine Health Food Store in the quaint town of Morro Bay is about the size of a 7-Eleven, but it's packed full of nutritious goodies. Tucked away in the back is a small cafe/take-out kitchen that won't disappoint.

415 Morro Bay Blvd

Morro Bay, CA 93442

Parking: Plenty of street parking and no one to fight with you for it

Ambience: Not exactly romantic, given its inside a market, but there are several wooden tables for you to sit while getting your munch on.

Reservations: Who needs 'em!

The Food: Fresh. Every bite is filled with the natural taste of each ingredient.

I ordered the tempeh "taco," which is really more like a giant salad sitting on top of a wee little grain tortilla. The carb lover in me really wanted to enjoy the tortilla, but that was the only disappointment of my meal. I loved the organic mixed greens, avocado and salsa, and the occassional burst of sesame seed flavor. The dressing was creamy, but vegan. How they do it? I don't know! As I may have mentioned before, I hate fake meat. Tempeh always tasted like cardboard, the crappy kind. Shine Cafe's tempeh is more like a combination of veggies like carrots, broccoli, etc. sauteed with quinoa into a cake. The flavor was great, but not stale and chewy like you'd expect tempeh to feel.

The bf got the black bean tostada, which came complete with a creamy, homemade chipotle dressing (again, vegan). The dressing had a rich mesquite aroma that gave my tempeh taco's dressing a drop-kick in the you-know-where. I still stand by my tempeh though!