rediscovering gold.

as i am getting older {yes, 29 can be old to some}, i am starting to appreciate classic jewelry more.  i still love the wild leather/brass bracelets that are in fashion these days... but i am more in love with these.

they were gifts from my mom when she was a jeweler back in the day - precious stones, diamonds, & gold.  i wish i knew the beauty of gold and didn't have eyes only for her silver collections!  these accompanied my outfit for a recent wedding i attended.  since my über talented hubby was hired to be the photographer, i am left with this sad post-4-glasses-of-wine-crazy-hair-no-makeup photo.

congrats nate & grace!

the only problem is that gold is quite pricey these days.  i wonder how i can find unique pieces without breaking my piggy bank...?

sound of music birthday.

after a heartbreaking morning in the last few hours of my 24-hour shift - i witnessed my first pediatric death on a 3-year-old - i went to a celebration of a 3-year-old's life.  strange how life works, huh?

* * * *

the theme of the party was the sound of music, the birthday girl's favorite movie.  it was an intimate gathering for her adorable friend, colette, & i'm so happy i was able to witness kaila having a blast!

genius idea, no?!  a ball pit in a pack-n-play!

K & C having a ball.

delicious cupcakes made by her friend! i had to drag K away every 5 min from eating all of these.

happy 3 colette!

K was in heaven.  eyes closed and all.

hair pieces to match the sound of music. :)

K wore this for maybe 30 seconds.

and decided to put it on top of ava's cute head.

watched a part of the classic while eating lunch.

at the end of the party, i found K like this.  i guess she was ready to go!

K then threw a temper tantrum at home demanding she sleep with her goody bag, the cookie bag, the balloon, & her blankie, of course.  i wish i had taken a picture - it was a sight to see.  haha. 

my ballerina.

i'm a little sad our K didn't get to join dance class this winter/spring since her interest seems to be at a peak & anything to keep her entertained during the gloomy winter days would have been lovely.  i blame the class title of "mommy & me" at a local dance studio.  perhaps that was the reason daddy forgot to sign K up for dance class?  but why is a class called mommy & me when there are so many non-mommy caregivers? hmphh...  at least we had fun dancing at home in her tutu! i truly believe she felt like a little princess ballerina.

on K: leotard & ballet flats - old navy, tutu - gift

quick snapshot with our fujifilm instax camera

pure princess joy.

 i absolutely adore her love for dance.  her moves are definitely better than mine.

my 1st benefit dinner.

a lovely friend of mine invited us to join her at a benefit dinner for hanul family alliance.  it's a local non-profit organization that mainly serves seniors in the korean american community here in chicago.  the program included a heartfelt talk by euna lee about her unimaginable experience as a captive in north korea, a ridiculously hilarious comedic show by paul kim, & an energetic i-want-to-be-her-best-friend type of emcee by ellee pai hong.

we definitely enjoyed our night - unlimited EtOH can make parents who have a babysitter all night very happy.  but the company was even better.  we couldn't get enough of each other we ended up at denny's talking til the wee hours - gotta love that!

the lovely girls.

the happy boys.

i tried to get hubby to do an "outfit" picture with me, but we failed.

on hubby: shirt & suit - hugo boss, tie - bcbg. on me: dress - cass guy, earrings - palen

i was thinking about buying a new dress for this event, but decided to be frugal and pick at my closet.  this was my 4th time wearing this dress to a function.  am i the only one who continues to reuse her dresses?

to be an aunt.

i will be adding the title auntie to my name.  mommy, wifey, daughter, doctor, & auntie!  and i found out recently that i'm going to have a niece! i guess my sister & i were made to have girls {sorry hubby}.
i was trying to brainstorm a baby shower idea, & came across a sweet theme at the sweetest occasion.  cute as a button.  how cute is that? and i'm loving the shades of blue & yellow.

and then i found this creative DIY button idea at kara's party ideas.

this could work for a baby girl shower, right?

the second wifey.

second wifey? yep, you heard me right.  my hubby really loves his 2nd wifey... stares at her all day long, talks to her, plays with her, holds her, adores her.  --  who is she??  hubby's iPhone.  and she was the center of attention last night.

kaila hosted an epic {the word hubby chose - yay!} bowling birthday bash for her daddy's BIG 3-0 birthday yesterday.  it was hard to keep K quiet from spoiling the surprise, but hubby sure was surprised! 30 friends, unlimited pizza & soda, a game of bowling (with an amazing prize dangling in front of them), and a cake from his 2nd wifey made it a memorable night.  hubby = happy --> happy wifey.  2nd wifey was happy as well.  here she is in all her glory.

some of hubby's favorite apps.

thanks to Luscious Layers for another stunning & delicious cake!

happy 30th birthday hubby.  we love you.  all 3 of us.  ;)

a girl. and a goat.

did i tell you how much i love my hubby's monthly event - nel cielo?
a night of giggling with friends & friends of friends, tasting new chicago finds, & just being me without toddler distractions was absolutely. . . delightful.

this month's destination:  girl and the goat.  (Top Chef's Stephanie Izard's restaurant)
after much anticipation, we finally conquered this restaurant! with 10 friends & a total of 27 dishes to share {yes, you heard me right - 27 dishes!} we filled our bellies with bubblies & lots of scrumptious food.  for some reason though, i was feeling peculiarly self-conscious taking photos & am left with these.

the girl and the goat. i get it. but a little disturbing, no?

pig face. that's all i have to say.

seafood fideo.  this + the seppia, green beans, chickpeas = a few of our favorites.

 4 girls. 6 boys. we ruled the table. :)

can't wait til our next one! but where?

scaredy cat, scaredy cat.

my kaila is a BIG scaredy cat.
her greatest fear you ask? kids & noise.
as she gets older, her fear seems to be growing.  how do i help her?

we were at a birthday party this saturday, and it took a good 20 minutes to get her to stand by herself without clinging to me like static!  then when a guy was giving instructions to run across the field, she was the only one standing there screaming her brains out!  the other kids younger and older were all happily running back and forth.  should i be worried? {okay, to be honest, we are...}

and of course, the last 10 minutes of the party, she decided to have fun in the bouncy house like a normal toddler... the joys of parenthood, right?

alone with kaila.

kaila was all mine on saturday.
and i LOVED every minute of it!  just don't tell daddy. 
from crazy work hours to daddy being a sahd {stay-at-home-daddy}, it is very rare to have mommy-daughter days... even hours.  and i was peeing in my pants from excitement. why? with a sick mommy these past few weeks, she has been glued to daddy & i was oddly jumping for joy to pry her little hands away from daddy's legs.  but don't you worry - we had a blast!

* * * *

i was getting ready as fast as i could {how do you other moms look so fabulous with a toddler next to you?} and i notice K wasn't next to me & it was quiet.  not a good combo.  i went to every room in the house, came back to our bedroom, and saw this peculiar shadow.

so i sneak inside the curtains and find her putting on makeup! as soon as she realized she was discovered, she runs to pull the curtains! i guess i invaded her privacy...! she cracks me up.

i am definitely going to plan more of these days....
love you kaila.

photoshop 101.

ok. maybe it should be photoshop -001.
i always fancy all the work my hubby does with his photos so i decided to give photoshop a real try.
but why are there a million options??? and a hundred little tools that all look the same? fairy duster, tear drop, lasso?
thanks to sydney from the daybook, i followed her mini tutorial with a photo of my K.

K is giving the "paparazzi" in LA the STANK eye.

what do you think?
maybe i should use my free time dabbling in something else...
yep!  FREE time.  the chicago snowstorm might give me a snow day from the hospital tomorrow.
how crazy is that?! yippee!!
snuggling with kaila watching a movie and munching on popcorn sounds like the perfect plan, don't you think? 

can we go back in time...please?

this weekend was one of the longest weekends i have ever experienced...
and not a "great-i-did-so-many-fun-things" long weekend, but a "terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad" long weekend.
our miss k is sick.
fevers that won't break, a terrifying cough where her insides feel like they are coming up, and sleepless nights filled with crying is just a taste of our lives these last few days...
why is it so heartbreaking to see your little one in pain that all you want to do is take away her germs and smear it all over your body to make the little buggies go away?

it may seem like all i do is complain... but i promise you i can be a very happy person!
this is what i wish we could be doing right this minute.

enjoying our maui pool...

go away black clouds.

it has been a loooong time since i have posted....
after a week of sun in LA & Maui, the family is back to its old routine.
and it is kicking me in the butt!
i can barely keep my eyes open from pure exhaustion.
it has been discouraging... one moment i'm enjoying life with all the guilty pleasures of doing absolutely nothing but have the warm sun on my face and then BAM!  back to the real world with 24 hour shifts & long days... days where nothing is going right.

when i see this pic though, i can't help but giggle.

the countdown begins...

FIVE more days of work & here we come LA & Maui!!!
is it just me or is time really flying by these days?
how is the weekend already over!?

we spent part of saturday at kaila's 3rd cousin's 1st birthday party.
joelle, the adorable birthday girl, is the daughter of the daughter of the mom who is kaila's grandpa's cousin... confusing, huh? haha.

the birthday girl in her fabulous korean hanbok.  she is TOO cute for words!!

here's K with her favorite toy.  on K: Janie & Jack sweater, Gap gray jeggings, Ugg Boo boots

the party happened to be right when K is supposed to be snoring away for 2 hours.
to prevent major meltdowns, the iphone was her best friend... and ours.
how do other parents keep their kids entertained when they are out dining??
it's still a mystery to me...

type it into a cake

after being asked about our wedding details recently by a bride-to-be friend, it reminded me of the wedding cake.  yes, i'm being snooty & talking about our wedding cake. :)
gorgeous on the outside, but also insanely delicious on the inside - guests were licking their plates clean! layers of banana bread cake, peanut butter filling, chocolate fudge cake, creme brulee...mmmm.
thank you to take the cake in chicago!

but the thing that won my heart was the typography we had copied onto the cake.
scott si, an über talented typographer who has done amazing work for coca cola, nike, and tiffany & co was willing to turn our names into art... which then appeared all over our wedding, including the cake.
here's the beauty...

i don't have the original image, but here's the design in reverse - hubby's doing.

 a taste of scott si's intricate work...

you have to check out his other pieces here.
who knew typography could be so beautiful?

my last twenty...

today i turn 29.
and my goal is to really live this year like i'm still in my twenties! HA.
the last 2 years it has been work-baby-work-baby-work-baby... but no more!

more date nights with hubby in "feel-sexy-who-cares-if-i-can't-breathe-dresses"

more "laugh-until-you-pee-in-your-pants" girls nights!  with girly drinks, please. ;)

more "stop-and-just-breathe" moments...  (and enjoy the view!)

more time with Him.

more "be-silly-who-cares-if-you-look-ridiculous" moments.

more "get-my-pale-body-in-the-sun-to-get-a-great-tan" time.  and maybe come up with better couple poses.  ;)

 here i go twenties...