A wedding filled weekend...

This weekend was a busy one.. Mainly because of weddings. Friday I had two rehearsals.. on in SF for Sunday's wedding, and then one in Baypoint for Justin and Danielle's wedding. Justin is friends of ours... I met him at Going to the Game about 10 years ago. When he decided to get married last year I offered to help with his wedding. They were one of many couples who got married on 7*7*07. The wedding was at their church in baypoint with the reception in Walnut Creek. Saturday morning I got up early and went to decorate from about 9-12pm with Justin and the groomsmen putting together centerpieces and all. The guys did a good job. Then ran home and got ready, and Keith and I went to the ceremony. After that to the reception where we had a good time, dancing and hanging out.

Sunday we went to do a full coordination wedding of mine on Treasure Island. I loved the way it turned out! All the ideas we had came together really well, and the couple was very nice. I got mainly detail shots of what we helped set up and I designed ... I will get pictures of the lovely couple soon. The cake was amazing from there I dream of Cake. Here are some pictures of both weddings.

Danielle and Justin 7*7*07:

The bride getting a something new, and something blue gift from the groom:
The bride meeting her Dad to go up the aisle..

The Vows Sealing the deal...


The new Mr. and Mrs...

Denise and Samuel 7*8*07:

THE CAKE: so cool the way this turned out (you can click to make it larger), The bottom tier is a Louie Vutton suitcase to symbolize their love of travel, the next tier is the books, one for law because Samuel is an attorney, and the next medical because Denise is a Doctor, the next tier up is a duffel bag for the US marine corps where Samuel is a Lieutenant , the final top tier is a Chinese take out box to symbolize their favorite food and Denise's Chinese background.. it also has the double happiness sign on it which is symbolic of a happy marriage in the Chinese culture. The accessories: The ducks, a Korean nod to Samuel's background where ducks are symbols of a long marriage because ducks choose only one mate in life, the Tiffany box is where Denise's wedding ring came from. It was so much fun designing this cake, and it taste amazing too.

Take a guess at how much per slice this cake is.. it was 130 guest..

This is the box for the cards that was made of flowers by the florist:

Outside lounge area for cocktail hour :

Inside some centerpieces and skyline of Sf in the background, this is at my favorite site Treasure Island Casa De La Vista.

Short centerpieces, we mixed short and tall to give the room depth.

Tall ones, you can't see it here but there were tiny candles hanging from the branches Tulips at the base.

View of room with ocean in the background..

I have more from this wedding but have to upload them later..

.....Monterey Pictures ...

Monterey Pictures as promised...


A not so friendly looking shark ..


Happy Feet ?



Jelly fish... so pretty at the aquarium.. and a really really good dessert.. and the Mr. with his stunner shades :)

Plaza hotel..

Plaza hotel where we had lunch right on the ocean.. we saw a whale while we were eating lunch

Here is the fountain at The Plaza hotel:

More weddings...

Here are some pictures for a wedding we did in May '07. This wedding was A LOT OF WORK! A LOT is an understatement. They had 3 different events, Vietnamese Ceremony, Church Ceremony and then reception. We worked from 10 am till 12am did not get home till after 1 am. The bride was very thankful on the wedding day, after turned into a bridezilla. I am sure it is because I told her no to taking all the florals back to the florist after the event, a month and a half before her wedding. Brides hate being told no, but the florist would have charged and I couldn't make them all fit in my car and she was upset but said it was okay. She left me a below avg. grade on a wedding website, with no reason. All she did was thank us so I don't know what she was upset about ... needless to say it was disappointing to work so hard and have that outcome. None the less I will post the pics here because so many details were done by us pew bows, prayer candles, setting out programs, bubbles, and decorating the entire reception site. The florals are by my favorite florist Nicole ... so enjoy even though the bride was not so nice after she looks lovely in pictures.. at least look at the reception photos (around pic 120) because the florals and setting looked amazing. These are at a Winery in the south bay.

http://www.hystudio.com/slideshow/lienbinh/

Today is FRIDAY!!

It is nice to have a Friday in the middle of the week, can't really complain about that!!!! Tonight I think we are going to try and go see a movie or something since it is a Friday and we can! We just got back from a weekend in Monterey, we had a really good time. I will post pictures sometimes this week. We got down there on Saturday and had a nice lunch, then went to the aquarium to walk around and look at the cool Jelly fish. Then we went to relax and hang out, till we went to dinner that night. The wedding Sunday went really well, and we drove over to Carmel after. It was so nice to get away and take a break from things, and just hang out! I will try and get pictures soon.

Other than that last night Keith got to feel the baby kick for the first time, it was fun to see his reaction. He has been trying to see if he can feel him but the timing never works out. So as we were watching "Making of the band 4" last night :) the baby was kicking in one spot over and over, so I put Keith's hand there and bam! The little one kicked very hard, most likely trying to say "MOVE" but it was really cute.

Today is Keith's Mom's surgery to get a thing put in her shoulder to give her chemo through so they don't have to do an IV over and over, hopefully all goes well and she will be at home resting soon.

Tomorrow for the 4th we have nothing planned right now, I was not in the mood to have a BBQ or anything I just want to relax. Keith's is getting food caterered from Memphis, yes you just read that right ...Memphis. I guess the home of the best BBQ. His Mom's friend was picking it up yesterday and since she works at fed ex (as everyone who lives in Memphis does) she is shipping it to us today. I will let you know how it turns out! Other than that I may work up energy to go see fireworks, but at this point I don't think so... I hate dealing with the crowds after when trying to leave.

Finally here are some pictures from a wedding we did in April, I am working on getting more up soon to share. This wedding was in San Jose.

http://www.jenniferskogphotography.com/darkroom/share/?client/wenlebron

Have a happy and safe 4th of July... The Thornton's!

Moving and grovin'

I am starting to feel our little guy moving, it is a pretty fun and weird feeling. I am feeling him more and more, and he is starting to react more to outside sounds (Keith's voice, and music). It isn't to the point yet when Keith can feel him, but someday soon. I try to explain to him what it feels like, sometimes I wish he could feel it to...but that isn't possible :). I am 23 weeks and a day, time is going by so fast.

We had our follow up 3D ultrasound last night. Keith's first words were "wow" because he has grown so much in the past 3 weeks, he is starting to look like a baby more and more..

I get email updates on what is going on week to week with our baby and here is where he is at this week:

How your baby's growing: Your baby is more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound. His skin is red and wrinkled. Blood vessels in his lungs are developing to prepare him for breathing. He can swallow.. Loud noises heard often in utero — such as your dog barking or the roar of a vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze your baby when he hears them outside the womb.

He was better last night in working with the tech. He still kept his hands up close to his face and wouldn't turn right to the camera. He is going to have to get used to it because I already have his first photo shoot in the real world scheduled, hahaha.

The tech commented a few times that he had Keith's this and Keith's that, he did look more like Keith this time from what we can tell. It made Keith very happy and proud, which was cute.

Here are some pictures.. we go back in on July 11th to the Dr. ultrasound that they finally rescheduled. We will have another 3D one with was the original plan but not until 35 weeks or so..

(YOU CAN CLICK ON ANY OF THE IMAGES TO MAKE THEM LARGER)

Hands up to his face as always...

Where does the time go???

I can't quite believe it is almost July.. it seems like this year is flying by so fast!!! Keith and I have finished 10 weddings so far this year and we have quite a few more to go. June has been pretty easy on us though, and not too busy for weddings at least.

Keith had a good first father's day, he milked it for everything he could in true Keith fashion. He got a wallet and card from me, gifts from my mom, cake, and dinner. I told him to enjoy the quite time because I couldn't promise next year would be as quiet. The rest of the month was spent going to dinner with friends and family.. Devyn and I spent one Sat. getting pedicures at a place in SF that were very relaxing, and driving around trying to figure out where to have lunch. Last night I got together with Sofia and Nicole in Berkeley for some Indian food (I SO needed Indian food), it was nice to get together talk and catch up... we need to do it more often. On my way home I was thinking I am very lucky to have so many girlfriends in my life that have been there for over 10 years... my Dad used to say if I could have one good friend in my life then you are lucky (him and his best friend have been friends for more than 30 years), and that friendships are important.. I can't help but feel like I am very lucky to have more than one.

This weekend Keith and I are running away for a weekend and going to Carmel/Monterey. We have a wedding Sunday, but we are free to play until then and Sunday's wedding seems like it will be pretty easy on us which is nice. I am for sure going to take lots of pictures and I will post them here! I had to go down to meet with the clients this past weekend and my Mom was nice enough to ride with me down and back to Carmel. We stopped for lunch in Monterey and enjoyed the PERFECT weather they had, it was very relaxing. I was so tired after I took a nap, my Mom freshened up and went onto her next party.. I was amazed at the energy level.

Keith and I are still searching for the perfect nursery.. if you know Keith and I we don't like anything short of modern in design. I think this has been hard for us in so many ways. No matter what we were buying, living room sets, tables, and anything else it is hard to find a modern store nearby to get things we like at. We are having the same problem with nursery sets.. decor, and cribs.. but we are working on it. In the endless searching I found some really cool websites...

http://www.coochicoos.com/ baby design for modern parents.. it is a blog that has new items for modern parents like ourselves, we have found some really cool stuff on here and ideas. They even had an expo in LA for modern nurseries and put some of the pictures on here which was nice.

AND

http://www.hostessblog.com/ this is more for the planner in me, and the parties I like to have, a blog called the hostess with the mostess (Tina if you are reading this it reminds me of you!) that gives great ideas and products for Com temporary entertaining (modern). I keep saying I am going to throw another party like I did at Christmas time.. just haven't found an open weekend yet but I am working on it! Check it out they have great ideas, and the first entry on there right now is about a photographer I work with all the time Jen Skog, her work is AMAZING, and so was her bridal shower. I am going to steal these color ideas for my party when I have it (afterall they were stolen from a bridal show we did together!).. anyhow enjoy!

Baby Boy Rooms round two..

So Keith designer that he is didn't really love the baby bedding from before, he thinks they may be a little too busy. We are still staying with the same color scheme, but may be changing the bedding so it has more chocolate brown. Keith has come up with an idea on how to paint the room but is not telling me what that idea is.. so that will be a surprise.

These will just be the bedding, not the cribs or how the room is painted.

Here are some more choices let me know what you think:

(these are in no order, I am leaning towards number two)

IT's A BOYYYYYYYYYYYY!

Yesterday Keith and I celebrated 4 years of happy and successful years of marriage. It has been quite a ride overall.. we are also coming up on 10 years together total. We have accomplished many of the goals we set for ourselves, and worked through lots of surprises along the way. We often talk about how proud we are to make it so far together, both personally and as a couple.. it is not an easy task but one we have enjoyed doing. I think more even more than four years ago we see ourselves as more of a team than anything else.

SO as a anniversary gift to us my Mom got us a chance to see our child in a whole new light, 3D. WE also got to find out that we are expecting a little boy! Our baby is stubborn, (guess who he got that from) and he does not like his picture taken (he's in trouble because he hasn't met his Mom yet, and I have my new camera to play with) so she did the best she could, and got some neat shots. The cool part is she still gave us a DVD, some pictures and we are going back at the end of the month for free when the baby will be bigger and not able to run as much (or swim). It was a much nicer experience than the one at the drs. office because they have a tv set up for us to watch the baby on.. not just a small screen the tech gets to look at.

After the ultrasound we went to dinner at Gary Danko in San Francisco. We had originally planned on going to Auberge again, but with Keith's Mom being in the hospital it just wasn't going to give us enough time to do so. We lucked out because Gary Danko books two months in advance (as they tell you on their voicemail), and we got on a waiting list earlier in the week. So on Wednesday they called and said that they had an opening last night so we took it. This place has won the "Oscar" of restaurants, as the best of the best. It is SF's top rated place to eat. The food was wonderful, the service was amazing. http://www.garydanko.com/. It was a great way to celebrate a great day, and the news that we are bringing a son into this world.

Here are some pictures of our son:

Here he is with his hand up to his head

More of his hand up to his head
trying to hide...5 fingers
boy shot... :)
More of a front profile of his face.

Some pictures from Keith's fam's visit....

Keith's family came into town the other weekend, primarly to visit my mother-in-law and give her support while she goes through treatment for breast cancer. Keith and I had a wedding on Saturday, so they spent most of the time just visting at my mother-in-laws house. On Sunday I took our nephews, my sister-in-law , and Joscelyn (Jason's gfriend) to SF for some tourist stuff.

Here are some pictures from that trip.

Jason got some flowers for Keith's Mom, I took the opportunity to take flowers (love my camera):

We always end up the candy store on pier 39
Devan in San Francisco
Devan
Jason
Jason and Joscelyn
Fish at the rain forest cafe
Rose at flower sto

The long weekend...

Keith and I had a good long weekend. We had weddings on Friday and Saturday that lasted ALL day both days. The first one was in three different locations, the parents home for the first ceremony, St. Joesph's church for the second, and Mt. Winery in Mountain View for the reception. The next day we had one at the Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay, it was really really nice although the couple and all the guest are New Yorkers with Irish/Scottish background and once the drinks started to take affect I don't think I have ever heard the "f" work used so much in common sentences. The staff at the Ritz were wonderful to work with, and Keith really helped out a lot he did most of the set up of everything. I will try and get pictures soon and share them here.

By Sunday we were pretty beat so we just relaxed at home, crashed really. That evening we bbq'd and then put our new outdoor firebowl to use. I got some pictures that I wanted to share here...

The new patio at night :



Roasting marshmallows



Another look :

Monday I went to Berkeley to meet up with Devyn and have lunch and walk around Telegraph. Then went home just relaxed, it was a nice long weekend.

Getting Ready for Summer

Summer is coming, and we are getting ready. We decided to decorate our other patio as sort of a lounge area. The area off the living room has the bbq and the patio furniture already, I think I am going to add some pillows to that area. We decided to get a lounge sofa to put on the other side, and a firebowl so we can create a outdoor area to relax and hang out in. Keith also added some new plants, bark, and solar lights, and a wind chime. I am looking forward to sitting out there and reading a book. I am going to try and get pictures together soon ,but until then here are some of the things we have purchased from different places to get the feel going! Everyone will have to come over soon and have smores.

Here is the firebowl we purchased:

Here is the sofa that we got to put out there.

pictures as promised...

So Keith got me a very nice camera for my bday, and I have been taking lots of pictures with it, but not sharing very many. Here are some I uploaded today. There are a lot here. ....

They cover my bday, Valentines' Day, Natalie's visit, Jana's band , Sofia and band at the bottom of the hill... and much more like st pattys and easter.. I hope to update more often so it won't be so many at once!

Enjoy!

http://tinyurl.com/249u5g

http://tinyurl.com/yuze6t

http://tinyurl.com/28x37e

http://tinyurl.com/2h25og

http://tinyurl.com/2bd89n

WE HAVE A ...

Shy baby! We still don't know if we have a boy or a girl on our hands. We had the big ultrasound for about an hour and a half this morning, and the entire time we tried to see what s/he was the baby would turn their back to the camera!! There was no way it was going to give up the answer to what color we should paint the room. At one point the stenographer thought it might be a boy but said he could not say for certain, and it could be the umbilical cord.

Otherwise we got to see the legs, arms, feet. The one thing we do know about this baby is it is active! Keith got to see more than me but both him and the stenographer said the baby was flipping around, kicking, and moving it's arms. When I got to take a peak the baby had it's legs stretched out, and another thing we learned the baby likes to lay on it's tummy which makes it hard to see. The heartbeat was going strong, and everything else looked okay.

We have another follow up appointment in a few weeks where they will take another look, they hope that since the baby will be bigger it will not be able to move as much. We will have to be patient until then. It was fun to get to see so much of the baby.... and watch what it is doing inside of me. The hardest part was drinking 40 oz. of fluid and not being able to go the bathroom!!! That was the hardest part until he said he wanted me to empty out "some". Ever had to go the bathroom really bad, then get to go, have to stop half way through and let someone push on your bladder... not fun!! Hopefully in 3 weeks it will be easier and we will know what color to paint the room!

...In need of comfy shoes...

We had a pretty good weekend. Friday I had a rehearsal and then met up with some friends from Unisource for dinner in Pleasanton. It was nice to get together and talk. Now that I don't drive to Pleasanton every day the drive out there seems like forever, but it really only took about 30 mins.

Saturday we went to go see my Dad in the morning and then I went home to relax before the wedding. I knew it was going to be a long day. I had to get there at 2pm and wouldn't be done until almost 12am. The wedding thankfully was just in Walnut Creek which was nice since I did not have to drive far. The wedding went well, the couple seemed really happy. The groom is a set designer in La and they used fabric left over from the golden globes it was really pretty. There was a lot of set up to be done, and I am thankful Keith was there to help. By 5pm my feet were killing me and the ceremony was just starting. By 8pm my back and legs were cramping. I believe it was my shoes, and I am need of some really comfy shoes. Everyone has told me about these shoes called "crocs" that nurses and professionals who have to stand all day wear. I have seen them but they are not really that "cute" so I never got any. I am going to breakdown and get a pair now for the weddings. Here is a look at the pair I think I will get in black:

Other than that on Sunday I went with Keith's family to SF. It was Jason, Joscelyn, Devan, Ashlei and myself. We walked sound union square, and then went to Pier 39 for lunch. It was nice to get out and spend some time. Keith and I went to take Devan to the airport, it seems like his visit went by so fast. I guess it is because I really didn't see him at all other than Sunday. Hopefully they will be back to visit another time soon! I will post pictures soon I promise!

Tomorrow is our big appointment... I will post on here after any results we have as to if we are having a boy or a girl if we can see.

....Some favorites....

Last night I had an appointment and Keith came with so we could leave to go to Ikea right after. We were going to pick up more hardwood flooring to put down in what will be the babies room. Keith REALLY wants hardwood in there, I have a fear that the child will never learn to walk because their socks will slip all over the place. However much like the rest of the house I have caved, because in the end Keith usually knows best when it comes to these things.

So we ran to Ikea and got the hardwood and I had to EAT, it was 8:30 and I was starving. We decided to go to Angelina's Kitchen. http:///angelineskitchen.com/ . I went here with Sofia and Nicole about two weeks ago, and the food was wonderful !! Although the service was horrible just really slow, really really slow. I brought Keith a slice of Banana bread pudding, which I don't even like but loved the taste of theirs. As soon as he tried it he wanted to go back and get some, he went one evening and got take out. Since we were in the area he wanted to go back again. They have Boudin which is a favorite of Keith's from his days in Louisiana and he was amazed to find a place here that had it. He talked for a while with the owner who said they have been very busy and Keith told him he was sitting on a gold mine... because there is nothing like it around really. It isn't soul food, but just really really good Cajun food. Last night I had the Voo Doo shrimp and sweet tea which is now a new favorite of mine, and Keith had the Shrimp Po' Boy' Sandwich which he kept saying was REALLY good. It was a nice night. I recommend everyone go there and try the food.

But back to baby rooms.. here are some ideas I have about the babies room, actually I am pretty set on them. I know I want chocolate brown and pink or baby blue as the colors and a beige in there too. Here are some crib sets I love!!

This would be for a boys room, but we wouldn't do all the walls just the back wall that the crib would be against. I would also use more chocolate brown in the paint somewhere.

I also like this for a boys room, but I think that it would need some blue so I am not sold on it.

And then for girl rooms... I really love this one, but I don't think we would do the circles cause they look pretty hard, again it would be one back wall, and I think we might do these colors in squares like the first one.

Some others that I like that are pretty neutral I think...

This one is nice, but our living room has similar colors and I don't know if that would be overkill, I think it would be. I do like the circles on the wall and that might be a way to get the circles in on the first one
And we can maybe do the circles like this in the pink and chocolate brown stripes on the wall for the first one, I really like this one too.

A New Adventure ...

This has proven to be a year of change in the Thornton household. First it was a new job, then it was Keith's Mom's diagnosis for breast cancer, then it was a positive pregnancy test!! Well not really in that order the test came before the news about Keith's Mom. We found out how much life would be changing on Feb. 17th, and since then it has been an exciting adventure. Keith and I are happy to be adding to the family, well to be starting one really. At first it was pure shock, and worry but so far things have worked out.

I have told my job, and friends, and now we are just waiting for the little one. Everything (knock on wood) is falling into place or so it seems. I am about 16 weeks along and the estimated due date is 10/23/07.

So far I have had no morning sickness, and feel great. I did have some days where I was very very tired but that has since gone away. I am not showing yet, although we can feel the change in my tummy starting to happen. I am just hoping this child will be as nice to me when it gets into the world.

So far we have done four ultrasounds, heard the babies heartbeat, seen it sucking it's thumb and kicking. We have the BIG ultrasound on May 22nd and we are hoping all is okay when we see the baby then. This is the hardest part of being pregnant is the constant wonder and worry if everything is okay.

Other than that things have been great, I have started wedding season. So far I have done 3, and Keith has been a great big help. I recently celebrated Niki's birthday on Cinco De Mayo and that was a lot of fun.. I keep promising I will upload all the fun pictures from my many outings but I am having a hard time doing so... I will get to it though!