leap year:

(image by Johanna Billow via the sweetest occasion)

Happy Leap Year everyone! Kind of a cool we get an extra day out of the month - it seems like time is never enough so I'm all for a 'freebie' day! So this day only comes every 4 years which got me to thinking - where am I going to be in 4 years?? That seems like such a long time from now! I have goals and 'dreams' but who knows what time + life will bring. I hope to have kids, own a house, have my own stationery line, things like that ;) I actually realized I started my blog 4 years ago, and I've been blessed over this time. It's been a fun journey and I am excited to see what another 4 years will bring.

What about you? Any goals/hopes/dreams you hope

to achieve or accomplish in the next 4 years?

ps: If you're in the OC/LA area and don't have plans for leap year tonight, why not go to a fabulous party? My sweet friends Lucia & Henny from Utterly Engaged are partying it up tonight in Pasadena & I have no doubt it will be lovely. Tickets are still available - click here for more information!

weekend trip to the hospital:

*pics posted with my husband's consent ;) he's so cute!

You know how I was supposed to go to Renegade SF last weekend? If you follow my twitter, you may have known that didn't end up happening. What did happen was around 1am on Friday, well, technically Saturday - Nick started getting bad pains in his stomach and so we decided to go to the ER.

Our original plan was to leave for SF at around 8pm, get there by 4am and sleep for a couple hours. Instead, we came up with a weird/crazy plan of going to sleep early at 8pm, waking up at 2am and driving to SF to arrive in time to set up for the show. The 2nd plan was crazy but I know the Lord was really watching over us through it. If we had left at 8, we would have been on the road when Nick's stomach started hurting. and I wouldn't have known where to take him!

Anyway, they released us from the ER at around 4am and Nick said he was feeling better and that we should still go to SF. I really wanted to go but I was concerned about him. We prayed about it and I just felt like we needed to stay. At 7am, Nick's stomach pains were back and they were worse. We went back to the ER and they gave him a CT. It turned out he had a bowel obstruction. I hear these are quite common but his pain was really awful. He was throwing up and it seemed like the pain would never end.

We were praying praying praying. I asked friends + family for prayers. Praying for Nick to feel better, praying that he didn't need surgery. By Sunday he was feeling better and they kept us in for observation. We got discharged yesterday afternoon and I was so glad for my husband to be home.

So we thought we were going to have an adventure in SF, we ended up having a hospital adventure instead. It was a long hard weekend. But I am grateful Nick is better. I've never seen him in so much pain before. Thank you to friends + family who prayed for him. The Lord is good and I believe He really watched over us through this entire situation. Sorry to anyone who came out to Renegade, I got some emails + tweets about it. I was bummed about not being able to make it to SF but of course my husband's health comes first. My aunt said that there will be many craft shows, but I only have 1 Nick ;) so true.

chemo treatment:

photo from here

image source unknown.

please comment if you know it.

2 days ago my mom turned 59! one week ago from today she started her first chemo treatment. we were so blessed that it worked out that we were up north, and were able to end up staying with her through the 6-hour session. (for those of you who may be new to the blog, i wrote about my mom getting diagnosed with cancer back in may)

we're not sure how she'll react to the chemo. she said she's nauseous and her bones are aching. she'll loose her hair in another week or so.

i would have postponed the wedding and waited till she was back to good health but she wouldn't let me. sometimes i want to just break down and cry and have a pity party. actually, on monday i did have a bit of a breakdown. but i'm not the one going through it, she is. i just get really sad at the thought of my beautiful lovely mom being sick. i need my mom. she is a capable mom. she takes charge, she gets things done. and i need her in the coming weeks before the wedding. i know, it's totally selfish.

i guess these 2 photos are what i am feeling right now. sometimes peace. sometimes feeling like i can't do it. at the end of the day i know that i can only do this through His strength. i will trust that everything is in His perfect timing. i am filled with joy that she is and will be okay and feel blessed that they caught the cancer before it spread.

anyway, just wanted to give you all an update. i was so touched by all your comments, messages, and emails from when we found out - thank you. her next chemo session will be august 25th and i am hoping to go up and be there with her again. having my mom go through chemo while planning the wedding is totally doable, right? i say yes.

25 today:

hello and welcome -- it is my birthday today!

please enter in to my party! ;) it's going to be lots of fun!

(image source unknown, please message if you know it)

first on the agenda: in the morning we will spend time in the fields..

(image source unknown, please message if you know it)

have a lovely picnic breakfast,

swing on swings under the trees,

and feed the baby elephants! ;)

(image source unknown, please message if you know it)

later in the afternoon, we'll take a bike ride,

(oh, and since this is an imaginary party, we'll teleport over

to ride our bikes on the streets of paris, hehe.)

we'll take some time to gaze into the sky and daydream,

because daydreaming is always fun ;)

(image source unknown, please message if you know it)

and stop in at a lovely candy store for some sweets.

then we'll watch the sun set, eating lots more

dessert at our beautiful farmhouse...

with lots of sweet cupcakes + scrumptious macaroons.

and everyone will take home a beautiful party favor.

what a wonderful birthday it has been.

hope you had fun today - thanks for sharing in all the festivities ;)

26 today:

via fourty sixth at grace

found via the haystack needle

here

a lovely meetup:

you all remember cathie from ampersandity - she did a guest post last week with a collection of some lovely cabinets. i mentioned that i met her a few weeks ago and so i wanted to follow up on that :) i don't even remember how i came across cathie's blog, but i was so excited when i read that she was local in orange county. i immediately emailed her to chat and we decided to do a meet up! here are some pics i snapped of the tea shop we met up at:

we met at a lovely little place in costa mesa: milk + honey, dont you just love the name? it's a charming tea shop with succulents and a really sweet outdoor patio area. we chatted about blog-ish things and Jesus and life :) she treated me to a strawberry shaved ice, she is so sweet. (and i might add, i am totally obsessed with this japanese dessert as of late, its so good! i've taken nick to have shaved ice a dozen times since) cathie blogged about it here too!

meeting a blog friend is so much fun, cathie and i chatted for a couple hours and i felt like we had been long time friends. i totally encourage you to do a meet up if there are local bloggers in your area :)

happy happy friday:

mother's day, 2010

hello there! i apologize i've been absent for so long.. i wanted to update you about my mom. it a happy post so don't worry :) she ended up having a radical hysterectomy because the cancer was spreading so quickly. after the surgery, we thought it may have spread deeper based on what the doctors said - placing her at a possible stage 2 or 3. last friday we got the test results back and found out that the cancer did not spread beyond her uterus and was for the most part contained! i sat there in the doctor's office totally dazed and in disbelief as he told us she was okay. she is stage 1a-b (i guess they use letters now in the stages of cancer) and that is the best we could have hoped for!

our Lord delights in healing, and is ever so capable of miracles. He is a compassionate and loving God, He kept the cancer from spreading and healed my dear mom! our hearts rejoiced and we are so grateful. we celebrated a lovely mother's day: i gave her a bunch of yellow things ;) and we took her to her favorite restaurant.

i just want to thank this community of friends and bloggers: for all the messages, the emails, the comments, the willingness to step in and do a guest post for my blog (shout out to rose who made my mom a sweet get well card and grace who stopped by with a bunny!) there was such an amazing amount of support which really kept me encouraged throughout the crazy 2 weeks from when we found out, to the surgery, to getting the test results. your positivity kept me positive and gave me hope for my mom. i wish i could give all of you a great big hug. it is amazing how close i feel to this blog community without having even met you. so from the bottom most deepest part of my heart: thank you dear friends.

see you next week :)

diagnosis:

2008: taken in china at the village where her parents were from.

last week we got news that my mom has cancer. the news was deeply devastating. the cancer is in her uterus. she had surgery on saturday, we were at the hospital with her from 4am till 6pm. she had full hysterectomy where they removed her uterus. we prayed and prayed for a safe surgery, which i was most anxious about. the surgery went well and our prayers were answered. unfortunately after the surgery, the doctor said the cancer looked deeper than what they thought, but we must wait for the tests this coming friday to reveal what stage of cancer it is. we don't want it deeper in the lymph nodes. of course we hoped they could remove all the cancer, and she wouldn't have to go through chemo. but it looks like she will have to. and so we enter into a new journey of life together.

3 random facts about my mom: she has great faith, she always looks for the closest parking spot, and she loves the color yellow. she will always wear something yellow and her friends call her anna banana. she is doing well, i guess as well as she can be doing. but she is so so sweet and fragile to us. it's hard to watch her get poked with needles, and see her in pain. she has said at times she's at peace, and other times she cries. she is so strong, and i think she is trying to be strong for us but i just want to be strong for her. she is a real example of living faith. she had many friends visit her in the hospital, some even wore yellow for her ;)

i know God brings us through trials to draw us closer to Him. the Word has never been so real to me before. friends and relatives sent encouraging verses, and the tears just kept coming as i was reading about comfort in the psalms. His love reaches to the heavens, and his faithfulness to the skies. my faith is so weak. how can i not trust that He will take care of my mom?

to be honest, i'm scared. i can't even begin to think about the thought of loosing my mom. our faith is truly being tested and i am challenged to surrender everything and place my hope in Him. i read some articles online about uterus cancer (which the doctors say not to do, read things online) and it says it is a quite common cancer and chances of survival are good. while i want to remain hopeful, i also do not want to be underestimating of this. i had a very dear friend/roommate pass away a few years ago from liver cancer. i had no idea how bad it was, and assumed she'd start chemo right away and get better. i was naive. she passed a week later and i still think of her to this day. you can't forget something so tragic.

blogging has become such a big part of my life and i am beyond blessed with supportive readers and friends, so i wanted to let you know what was going on. last week was very fortunate because i already had the letterpress posts prescheduled... when you're hit with such a big life reality, nothing else seems to matter. i also had some guest posts scheduled for this week because i was going to be selling in irvine, and it really has worked out now that i will be spending time with my mom this week, leading up to mother's day. so guest posts will be prescheduled and go up in the next couple days.

i am not sure when i will be back blogging but if anyone is interested in submitting a guest post or two, i would deeply and greatly appreciate it. anything would be lovely: a tutorial/diy, inspiration, tours of your house/work space - whatever you think would be appropriate while keeping in style of this blog. the images on this blog are posted at 500 pixels wide, if you'd like to submit a feature please email me with text and images. images pre-linked on your flickr/photobucket would be even more helpful. i dont know that i'll be able to answer any questions but if i am able to post the feature, i will do so in the coming days when i have time.

anyway, with all that said, does anyone know someone who has had this type of cancer? any stories you can share or things that can be expected in the weeks and months to come? i have no experience with cancer, other than the story i shared above. i want to be a support to my mom in any way i can.

thanks for your support friends. this was a long post, but if you got through everything - thank you for taking the time to read. if you think of it, please lift up a prayer for my sweet mom for the results this friday: i would be forever grateful.

ps: i updated this post a bit this morning and already want to thank you for all the comments and emails. your support is overwhelming. your words and stories of loss and survival are all so encouraging. we will definitely stay positive through this, i do believe she can survive. thank you friends.

linda's bridal shower:

it was a beautiful sunny saturday afternoon when i attended a lovely bridal shower for a dear friend linda. (remember we did her invites?) it was hosted by her sisters and rubyellen provided the sweet decor and favors.

a pinata. and linda's cute mom, covering little soul's face from the wind.

the beautiful bride to be, playing the underwear game.

the shower was held at linda's mom's house, in her pretty garden. her garden was so legit - totally blogworthy ;) she had about persimmons, avocados, lemons, oranges, apples, grapefruit, and several other fruits and vegetables. i said she should start a garden blog!

this was the prettiest pinata you ever did see. made by ruby, it was layered with vintage book pages. there were some issues breaking it open, so jenny gave it a try too, while linda held it. hilarious.

beautiful little soul. she hardly made one peep!

i hope my kids are as good as her.

sweet friends.

sweet sisters. i wish i had sisters!

there was a fish table in linda's house, it was so awesome!

fish inside a glass table: how cool is that? hehe.

yum! red velvet cupcakes in a jar. my favorite!

it's friday:

( image by honeypieliving )

nicholas lost his job on tuesday. so today is not so happy. he was really bummed out about it. my initial reaction: total excitement! now we get to spend lots and lots of time together! ;) i really feel a peace about it though. we're trying not to worry about our finances, we're both excited that life (aka jesus) has given nick some 'lemons' -- he is going to work on his portfolio and apply for new jobs. maybe we'll move... seattle! portland! england! (okay, im just listing my favorite cities that i'd love to live in, hehe) it's open! and we're just trusting.

anyway, i am sure many of you are familiar with this situation whether it was you or someone you know. and it's encouraging to see so many friends who have overcome what has unfortunately become an all too common thing. hope you all have a most wonderful weekend, dear friends. xo.

flea market trip:

flea markets are one of my favorite things in the whole world. if i could, i would take a thrift/flea market road trip and travel the country stopping through markets and swap meets and thrift stores ;) here are some images from a trip to the rose bowl flea market.

my nicholas. he is such a sweetheart. he's not the biggest fan of flea markets but he goes cause he knows i love it. he doesn't ever complain or get grumpy, he says he just wants to be with me.

my finds. a few things from the dollar pile. some pretty handkerchiefs that i will tie together for a simple flag banner for wedding decor. old keys. a special jewelry box. and my favorite green suitcase.

what i've been up to / happy friday:

hi friends! friday is here! it has been a long week, i've been selling all week at uc irvine and tomorrow morning at 8am i will head out to LA for unique los angeles... it's going to be a great event :) i thought i'd post some random photos of things i've been up to recently.

firstly, with lots of help from nicholas, i've re-arranged my work room! hurray! poor nick. i am not really good at visualizing the space: i need to place the items in the actual spot to see if it works... he was such a dear and moved all those tables from one side of the room to the other for me while i made up my mind. finally we came to a great set up that we both just felt worked really well. arranging furniture is no easy task! can you guess what will go on the blue table? it's a mess right now, so i am organizing and everything. more to come :)

wedding venue searching!! ahh. this is also no easy task. my favorite was the smog shoppe in culver city. ah, it is just what i am looking for. something different and unique. but of course, it's the most expensive. :( but isn't it cool? heh. so we will see.

letterpress class! who knew they offered one right here in orange county? i've taken a class before with some friends, that was fun. but i thought i'd take this one for a refresher - plus nicholas agreed to take it with me! (in exchange for playing world of warcraft with him, hehe.) our teacher is really cool and helpful.

i hope you all have a really wonderful weekend! have you started your christmas shopping yet? i really need to .. i'll probably put it off and then really stress myself out, heh. well see you monday! xo.