The Sweet Spot

I’m taking a big risk with this post, but I feel like I owe it to all of you who’ve faced a similar problem with a roommate or significant other. Normally, I have my husband proofread my writings before they go live to not only check for grammatical errors, but also to approve content that may be potentially embarrassing. Luckily, he’s good-natured and thick-skinned enough that it’s been a breeze to get his ok, but I can’t this time. Because once he discovers my secret, I’ll have to figure out a new defensive plan for the dilemma regarding..

WHERE TO HIDE THE GIRL SCOUT COOKIES.

The phrase, “Do you realize I only had ONE?!” has been heard often enough by Graham that he’s joked it should become my trademarked catchphrase (battle cry may be more accurate) and has been applied towards cases of ginger ale, ice cream bars, bags of gummi bears, etc. Can you tell my husband has a sweet tooth? Of course, I’ve never had to use the rhetorical question regarding foods that contain “organic,” “natural,” “whole-grain,” “gluten-free,” or “vegan” in the label. I’m betting I’ll never have to yell, “You ate all the Organic Kashi Cereal!” No. There’s been a box of Kashi Organic Promise Sweet Potato Sunshine (a double-Graham deterrent since it’s organic AND contains sweet potato) sitting in the cupboard for almost 3 months.

To be fair, it’s not his fault. Growing up in a house of males, he’s been conditioned to take the “You snooze, you lose” philosophy to heart. It’s really hard for me to keep up since I hoard in order to savor. For instance, it takes me months to finish a pint of ice cream, if I ever end up finishing it at all. Luckily, with ice cream, he hates all the flavors I love (rum raisin, green tea, all frozen yogurt) so they sit unmolested by him in the freezer until I forget their existence and have to throw out their freezer-burned remains. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.It’s not a big deal when replenishing the plundered sweets involve a quick trip to the store.. but I draw the line when it comes to Girl Scout cookies. YOU DO NOT PILLAGE GIRL SCOUT COOKIES!!! THESE ONLY COME ONCE A YEAR!!! DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO FIND DEALERS CONNECTIONS FOR GIRL SCOUT COOKIES?! When you don’t have kids or a regular job where your co-workers taunt you with their daughters’ order forms, it’s near impossible to have a stable supply chain. Ooh suuuure, you can stock up when you see a table set up in front of your local grocery store and hyperventilate from happy delight, but that excitement is quickly superseded by disappointment when two inevitable things happen:

  1. You don’t have enough cash to load your arms with all your favorites (seriously, who carries cash these days?).
  2. They are ALWAYS sold out of Samoas/Caramel deLites, Thin Mints, or Tagalongs/Peanut Butter Patties or have limited boxes on hand.

Anyhow, I discovered this defensive maneuver after my most successful hiding place of 2 years was discovered.. that being a carry-on roller travel bag layered with winter clothes stored in the basement. The bag in the basement provided me with the ability to enjoy cookies all-year-round, conservatively rationing them out to my husband. Unfortunately, it was found out while we were getting ready for our move from Graduate Hospital to Mount Airy. I winced when, as I was packing up the dining room, I heard Graham gleefully call from the basement, “Hooooon-neeeeyyyy…. I found the Girl Scout Cookies!”

Face palm.

That’s ok. Changes in environment and predatory behavior just means you learn to adapt.

Predatory behavior.

That’s when I began thinking.. where would Graham never, ever look..?

The answer was simple:Secret StashWith only one box of Girl Scout Cookies left, it only solves the problem for now, but that’s okay. I have a plan for hiding next year’s reserves.20160601_134502And if I can’t manage to chug all that coconut water in time, there’s always my other back-up plan. I found these on Amazon.

Happy hoarding!

Stacy

A PSA About The Color Conspiracy

My husband accuses me of making things up at least twice a week. It usually goes something like:

Me: While you’re out, can you pick up a bouquet of peonies? Preferably in coral.. melon or blush would be all right too.. but I like coral best.

Graham: What are you talking about? None of those are colors!

Me: Orange then. Just find the closest you can to ORANGE.

Things got ridiculous when we went over paint colors for the house. I’d hold up a paint swatch against the wall to ask his opinion for comparison.

Me: Ultra Pure White.

Graham: Ok.

Me: Bit of Sugar.

Graham: Ok..

Me: Nightblooming Jasmine

Graham: Ok

Me: Bakery Box.

Graham: You do realize these are all white?I’m sure you’ve been there before with someone… when they can see the differences between shades, tints, and tones, but don’t see the point in descriptive differentiation. Graham’s given me a hard time about this over the years we’ve been together. However, the other night, I managed to get him to see color from my point of view.

Disclaimer: This logic usually works best with programmers.

I waited one night about five minutes after Graham fell asleep and then promptly woke him up (when he’s too tired to debate me).

Me: Hey!

Graham: Silence.

Me: Hey!

Graham: What?

Me: You know how you think it’s stupid that some of us like to differentiate between small differences in color?

Graham: Yeah.

Me: Well, what the hell do you think is the point of hex notation for colors?!??

Graham: (long silence)

Me: Well?!?

Graham: Go to sleep.*

He no longer complains. In fact, while picking out dining room chairs, I hovered over “orange” as a choice. He replied, “Okay.. as long as it isn’t traffic cone orange.”

We went with “White”.. as in #FFFFFF.

 

* My editor insisted that I change this from “Shut up” because he insists what actually was said was “Go to sleep.”**

** My editor is Graham so take it with a grain of salt.

 

 

Surprise Wedding – What To Expect When You’re Planning The Unexpected

WideEyedStudiosStacyGrahamWFinalHigh-770When Graham and I were mapping out our surprise wedding last year, there were only a limited number of articles and blog posts about what goes into planning one. It’s changed a bit since then as more and more couples are opting to go this route, but we wanted to share our own experiences to help others out there know what to expect.

Your families might not understand. Mothers often imagine what their daughter’s wedding will be like from the day they’re born. My mother though, knew me well enough to know that the only thing traditional about a wedding I’d want would be that it would fall into the tradition of me doing the exact opposite of what she wanted. She’s often referred to me as “the disobedient frog,” a character in a Korean folktale. We didn’t receive much pushback from her. I think a small part of the lack of resistance also had something to do with the fact that she was grateful that I FINALLY wanted to be married (She’s always been a traditionalist for the most part), and a large part also came from the fact that she was going to be traveling to Korea for 2 months during the wedding planning that she was pre-occupied with so many things that I was able to stealthily slide in wedding details that got lost in chaos. Of course, when she got back and had a chance to process exactly what was going on, it was too late =DWideEyedStudiosStacyGrahamWFinalHigh-38Seeing how happy Graham and I were that day, though, in spite her initial misgivings, my mother was glad she suppressed her opposition. In fact, almost a year later, she still gushes over how much fun she had.

It’s difficult to keep from letting the secret slip. Both Graham’s mom and mine are people-persons. Being states away, my mother had the advantage of not having to bear the burden of keeping our plans under wraps. I commend my mother-in-law; the lady deserves a medal for not only successfully carrying confidentiality through to the very end, but for also enduring our constant “Are you SURE you haven’t told ANYONE? Not even Aunt Flossie?” questions at least 3 times a week.

Double-check yourself as well. Are there any posts about “surprise weddings” on that Pinterest board? Have you been over-posting handmade wedding decor on Instagram?WideEyedStudiosStacyGrahamWFinalHigh-6You’re also going to start questioning every look and comment in interactions with friends and family members who aren’t supposed to know. It’s a lot like being in junior high and over-analyzing every pause and word choice in a 4 second exchange you might have had with your crush. Just remember that if a few people do figure it out, it’s not the end of the world.

Choosing a good cover and making sure your guests arrive on time. We oscillated between ideas and thought an engagement party made the most sense. It was 4 months after our engagement, and also provided an excuse for us to have our photographers there (“We just finished up our engagement shoot and wanted them to get a bit of the party”). As mentioned in the previous post, we told everyone that we were including a “traditional Korean wine engagement ceremony” (there’s actually no such thing, so it was convenient that most of our guests were unfamiliar with Korean culture) which was to start a half hour after cocktails. This way, we could do our best to make sure everyone would be present when we made our announcement.WideEyedStudiosStacyGrahamWFinalHigh-213Help with the wedding might be limited. If you don’t have a wedding planner at your disposal, then you really have to rely on the small number of individuals who may be in on the secret. We did all the decorating, program printing, ceremony details, a part of the catering, gardening, etc ourselves (our immediate families). Most of it was done the day before the wedding.. only one day after our families had met! While my sister Rosemary and future brother-in-law Warren and I were untangling garlands of origami cranes, she made the comment. “There’s no better way to get to know the in-laws than through a handmade wedding boot camp!” The most important lesson we learned from our wedding is to ask for help when you need it, and TAKE IT when it’s offered. Seriously, Warren and Rose kept the rest of us sane by taking the lead when everyone’s anxiety radiated in multiple directions.My younger sister was both my rock of sanity during the wedding and matron of honor. Photo by Ashley LaBonde of Wide Eyed StudiosHire outside help where you can. Graham’s mother is THE BEST hostess when it comes to parties. So wonderful that we knew she couldn’t be trusted to not attempt ensuring the comfort of our guests at the expense of her own. During the wedding and reception, we wanted to make sure our families (and ourselves for that matter), could relax a bit and not have to worry about running more appetizers from the kitchen or playing bartender. We hired a few servers, a cost we hadn’t factored into our original budget, but it was well worth it to minimize distractions. The wedding isn’t just for you, but your friends and family as well.

You might not get a bridal shower and/or bachelor/bachelorette party. Okay, so this was more of a pro for myself since I didn’t feel the need to have a singles rumspringa to say goodbye to pre-married life or a night/day of girlie bonding since the majority of those I’m closest to were either family members or friends living out of state. But, if you’re into the pre-wedding parties, it might be difficult to orchestrate while keeping your surprise wedding a secret.

You might not get to register for wedding gifts. You could let your guests know where you’re registered after the wedding, but Graham and I chose not to do it at all. Weddings can be financially stressful, not just on the bride(s)/groom(s) and their families, but also on the wedding party and guests. It sounds cheesy, but the gift we wanted most was for our guests to be there without having to deal with the pressure of registry etiquette. We were surprised that a number of guests brought engagement gifts, and we were also amazed that after the wedding, a lot of our friends and family sent wedding gifts anyway whether they had attended or not. Both were unexpected gestures, and we were extremely touched.

Have enough for your guests to do between the announcement and the ceremony. We kept the booze flowing freely throughout, so that helped! My mother-in-law set up various lawn games like bocce ball and a cornhole bean bag toss along with toys for guests who brought little ones. We also had a basket of water guns and created a Scavenger Hunt that also worked as an icebreaker. WideEyedStudiosStacyGrahamWFinalHigh-201Not everyone will be there. We knew this was a risk we were taking. We let anyone who would have to come in from out-of-state know in advance of the “official” invitations so they could make travel plans. Still, we did have a few people unable to make it for various reasons.. both out-of-state and in town.. which brings me to the next section..WideEyedStudiosStacyGrahamWFinalHigh-843You risk hurting feelings. Those who end up not attending, may feel hurt they weren’t told in advance that they would be missing our wedding if they weren’t there. We did have 1 or 2 who responded as such, and the only answer we could give them was that the surprise was what we had wanted.. that telling people in advance would have ruined the purpose.. that it wouldn’t have been fair for the other guests who chose to be there that day to support us or fair to us to let the secret out. Other responses from people who missed our wedding was a lot more positive than we expected, “Oh my god! I can’t believe I missed it! I wish I had been there! Congratulations!” without the “you should have told me,” or “if I had known, I would have been there.” We did have a few guests who said they’d wished they had been in on the secret, but once we explained we’d only told our immediate family and out-of-towners, they didn’t seem to mind much, and were really just happy to be a part of the day.WideEyedStudiosStacyGrahamWFinalHigh-881Last words. I think this goes for any wedding, surprise or not.. things will go off-script. In the moment, you might feel like it’s a make/break moment. It won’t be. I know it won’t seem like it at the time, but trust me, if you focus on all the little things that go wrong, you won’t appreciate all the things that are right. A few people might figure out the secret, it might rain, your intended may misplace their wedding vows (the last one actually happened, but Graham found them at the last moment!).. Just accept everything with a laugh. You have to. The photographer will be capturing EVERY SECOND. Actually, one of my favorite moments from the day involved a flub in the ceremony..WideEyedStudiosStacyGrahamWFinalHigh-598WideEyedStudiosStacyGrahamWFinalHigh-595The wine (bourbon) ceremony had been forgotten altogether, and the recessional began playing. “Nooooo! We’re not done yet!” I whispered loudly like a 3rd grader onstage in an elementary school play berating a castmate for forgetting a line. The music stopped, and we had to backtrack. We were so jumbled – Warren shrugged a melodramatic “Oops!”, a confused Graham (as depicted by the photo above) intensely searched his brain for what had been missed – that I lost it with laughter.. which is how we still react to the memory today.WideEyedStudiosStacyGrahamWFinalHigh-682Have fun!

Stacy

If you have questions or would like to share about your own experience with surprise weddings whether as a guest or the planner(s), leave a comment; I’d love to hear about it!

All images in this post are by Wide Eyed Studios.

Surprise Wedding – The Why and How We Unveiled Our Wedding

Photo by Ashley LaBonde of Wide Eyed StudiosI’m not a wedding person. I always assumed that if I ever got married, there would be an elopement or a small excursion to city hall.. and really, when your city hall is as gorgeous as Philadelphia’s, the latter is extremely enticing. picking your flowers, wedding party, dress, cake-tasting (oh, who am I kidding, I have a sweet tooth.. that’s probably one of the best parts of planning your wedding), etc. seemed way too stressful for a one day production number.. not to mention the bridal shower / rehearsal dinner / bachelor(ette) parties that lead up to it. Of course, I never really thought deciding how to get married would ever be something I’d have to face. for the longest time, I wasn’t sure if I even wanted to be married.After coming back from our DC / Blue Ridge Mountains / Baltimore road trip, I can’t say I was surprised being engaged to Graham. All doubts I ever had about marriage had long since vanished during the year and a half we’d been together However, I’m sure as those of you who have been on the “Just Engaged!” train know, the wedding interrogations began.

Have you picked (fill in the blank with any of the below)?

  • a date
  • your colors
  • a venue
  • your photographer
  • your dress
  • your maid of honor / bridesmaids
  • a theme

The same questions.. from friends, family, acquaintances (I was even cornered by one of the ladies who works at our favorite banh mi shop).. in that cliche good cop / bad cop fashion.. it started to feel as though the pressure of questions were being pummeled at us to secure that “Aha!” moment when people could ensnare an opportunity to give their 2 cents. I’m sounding cynical. I’m sure that wasn’t the intention of everyone who had been curious enough to ask about our plans (or lack thereof). To be fair, I did take some advice to heart.. like opting to find a photographer rather than go without (this insight came from one of my hair stylists.. I told you EVERYONE had advice).. but I had definitely been sweltering underneath the intense interrogation lamps.

I was looking forward to marriage.. but every passing opinion/advice filled day made a wedding seem less like a celebration of a union and more like a chore, to eventually, the 13th labor of Hercules or a punishment devised for an inner circle of Dante’s “Inferno.” Unfortunately, the prospect of an elopement was looking less likely as we agonized over the thought of hurting the feelings of our friends and families. Our wedding day and marriage would be about us.. but ‘us’ included our families with whom we had extremely strong ties and the friends who had supported us as singles.. as individuals in other relationships.. and finally as “us” in a happy twosome. A lot of wedding articles advise that this day should be about “you” (the couple), and to do what you want. Honestly, I couldn’t handle the pressure of opinions to just easily ignore other people’s expectations. Friends and family just before the ceremony. Photo by Ashley LaBonde of Wide Eyed StudiosOne evening, about a month after being engaged, Graham and I were sitting on the stoop of our home in Graduate Hospital, people-watching the playground across the street when I asked him about whether he remembered a certain indie flick I’d dragged him to the summer before. I won’t let on the title to keep the film spoiler-free, but it featured two characters who tied the knot with a surprise wedding under the guise of an engagement party. After seeing the film, we’d joked about how great it would be to pull off something like it, but never really talked about it again. That night, I asked him if he thought he’d be open to the idea.. he didn’t even hesitate, “Let’s do it!”WideEyedStudiosStacyGrahamWFinalHigh-127Right away, as we turned a wedding with a party into a party that just happened to include a wedding, excitement ensued. There was still a certain amount of stress involved, but it was.. “stressfully entertaining” as we set about figuring out the best venue, logistics, and disguise for the wedding to keep things hush-hush.

We DID get some pushback from my future mother-in-law who initially thought Graham and I were nuts. “I don’t understand all this. Why wouldn’t you want to tell people?” I was worried we’d disappointed her. The days following our announcement to her left me apprehensive, but Graham reassured me she would eventually come around once the idea had some time to marinate. Hah! In a week or so, that little time to marinate burst into a full enthusiasm flambe on her side. I couldn’t have been more relieved or grateful for her open-mindedness and thoughtfulness as she began combing my Pinterest page to figure out ways to help. With my own mother continents away, she provided me a lot of the support and insight I needed at critical times.My two moms. Photo by Wide Eyed StudiosWe had about 3 months to plan. A lot of engaged couples have done it in less than that.. and honestly, I’m convinced they’re super-humans. During those 3 months, we still got the frenzy of typical wedding questions, but whenever anyone would ask, we used the excuse that my mother was still visiting Korea so we wouldn’t be able to make any real decisions until she returned… especially finalizing the wedding date. We no longer had expectations to meet except our own.

We sent out invitations for our “engagement party” (which became the guise for our wedding) in June, 2 months before the big day. We kept it relatively small with about 70 people, and the majority of them RSVPed “Yes.” To keep things inconspicuous, we had it in the backyard of Graham’s family home rather than anywhere else that would require a booking. Besides, having our wedding there had personal meaning for us since not only did Graham grow up there, but his parents had built the house.

MIL had the foresight to rent a tent in case of rain or too much shine. Photo by Wide Eyed Studios

Two of my beloved Seattle crew who flew in specially. Photo by Wide Eyed Studios

WideEyedStudiosStacyGrahamWFinalHigh-276Once everyone had arrived and had had a few cocktails, we nervously took our place in front of our guests, giving them the impression that we wanted to extend a formal greeting.WideEyedStudiosStacyGrahamWFinalHigh-302We thanked everyone for coming, and Graham added that we had FINALLY picked a wedding date. “WHEN?!” came the syncopated question from our friends and family. “In half an hour!” replied Graham.

Let me just say.. THESE were our favorite photos from the day!WideEyedStudiosStacyGrahamWFinalHigh-296WideEyedStudiosStacyGrahamWFinalHigh-297WideEyedStudiosStacyGrahamWFinalHigh-294Seriously, we loved the reactions! When our photographer Ashley from Wide Eyed Studios sent us the full resolution images, Graham and I had an awesome time zooming in everyone’s faces – shocks of electric happiness!

The whirlwind of costume change, ceremony prepping, makeup refreshing, and a “First Look” shoot took some time (oh, and in spite of my best attempts, I did go a bit neurotic bridezilla – sorry to our families behind the scenes!), but our guests were thankfully busy with their cocktails, appetizers, and interrogating EACH OTHER about who knew about the surprise. WideEyedStudiosStacyGrahamWFinalHigh-523WideEyedStudiosStacyGrahamWFinalHigh-564Before Graham and I had made the decision to have a surprise wedding, we struggled over cherry-picking traditions and also adding our own personal touches that might have seemed out of place to some people. We didn’t want people walking away with a confused, “What the heck kind of a wedding was that?” We wanted them walking away thinking, “That was a heck of a wedding!” By upsetting the applecart of expectations from the very beginning, the tone was set from the start – “Anything goes!” whether that meant a water gun fight (a shoutout to our engagement shoot), a ridiculous “Wig In A Box” dance, doing bourbon shots during the ceremony (our own take on the traditional Korean wedding ceremony), or pummeling a Nyan Cat pinata at the end of the night. WideEyedStudiosStacyGrahamWFinalHigh-823WideEyedStudiosStacyGrahamWFinalHigh-869WideEyedStudiosStacyGrahamWFinalHigh-882Admittedly, in the days leading up to the event, there were moments when I had misgivings about not eloping.. but that night.. neither Graham nor I had regrets with choosing to have a wedding. It might not have been traditional to most people, but in a way, we stuck with the playful silliness and sentiments of affection that had become our relationship’s own traditions.

It’s funny… now, whenever people ask us about our wedding, Graham and I both smile as we reminisce about the details, and instead of criticism, we hear, “WHAT?! Sounds like it was fun!” Maybe it’s because once the deed is done, there’s not much anyone can say after the fact but give positive feedback.. even so, we finally felt the way we should have from the beginning, it shouldn’t have mattered whether people thought we were doing the “right” thing.. but we knew it was “right” for us.WideEyedStudiosStacyGrahamWFinalHigh-632With the exception of the Shenandoah Valley waterfall pic, all photos are courtesy of Wide Eyed Studios.

Stacy

PS. For anyone planning to go a similar route, I’ll be adding a follow-up post about what to expect and some advice from our own experiences.. because y’know.. now that we’ve crossed that threshold, we get to put in our own two cents to the engaged.

 

Philly Love: Spruce Street Harbor Park

Disclaimer: The photos below are all from July 2015.

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Spruce Street Harbor Park Photo by Ashley LaBonde of Wide Eyed Studios

There’s two things Graham and I look forward to when it comes to summer in Philly: Spruce Street Harbor Park (SSHP) and Night Market. Both kicked off the season this month, but unfortunately, as I mentioned in the previous post, an injury leaving me with a herniated disc has kept me within a 6-foot radius of the house.

Hopefully, I’ll be better by next month’s Night Market, but knowing that Spruce Street Harbor’s pop-up park is basking in the warm sunshine and dripping in rainbow lights, lazy hammocks, and seasonal florals.. complete with food trucks.. I find myself a lot more peevish about being house-confined.

Hammock garden. Photo by Ashley LaBonde of Wide Eyed Studios
Hammock garden. Photo by Ashley LaBonde of Wide Eyed Studios

I’d seen “Coming Soon” signs for the pop-up park during my springtime jogs back in 2014, but it wasn’t until our fellow Greyhound parents Kim and Dave raved about their visit that we decided to make a stop. We missed out during its first year, but since we were on the lookout for a place to shoot our engagement photos and thought we’d add it to our list of possibilities.

 

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The eco-friendly floating / beer garden from my cell phone.. thankfully, I’ve upgraded since.

Enchanted by the colors and all the fun activities like the arcade (in shipping containers!), gigantic Connect Four, shuffleboard, etc. we knew it was the right place for our photo shoot within a few seconds. The whole park is basically a gigantic playground! In fact, the sights and sounds gave me the idea to secretly email our photographer Ashley to conspire a water gun assault on Graham during our shoot. Totally paid off as can be seen by Exhibit A below:

Pre-emptive strike! Photos by Ashley LaBonde of Wide Eyed Studios
Pre-emptive strike! Photos by Ashley LaBonde of Wide Eyed Studios

We also wrangled a hammock! It was the first and only time since that we got to do that. Good news though, this year, SSHP added hammock lounges that takes reservations! Smart move! No more vulture-eyeing occupied hammocks from the picnic tables and anxiously trying to outrace (but you know, not look like you’re making an aggressively desperate attempt) other park goers when it looks like a hammock has even the merest potential of becoming vacant. It kinda made me feel like a 1st grader in a game of musical chairs.. I always lost then too. Luckily, Ashley and her assistant Rebecca were more eagle-eyed and pounced into action.

Those transition lights are at their best at sunset. Photo by Ashley LaBonde of Wide Eyed Studios
Those transition lights are at their best at sunset. Photo by Ashley LaBonde of Wide Eyed Studios

The park is definitely less crowded during the week, but a warning to the foodies, not all the food trucks are necessarily opened then. For anyone wanting to try out Franklin Fountain in Old City but have been intimidated by the lines, they do have a stand in SSHP, but I think the menu might be limited. Apologies for not having more info, but whenever Graham and I are there and in the mood for something sweet, we make a beeline for Port FedNuts (Federal Donuts).. YES, they’re there too!

The Independence Seaport Museum is basically right next door, both Race Street and Morgan’s Piers are up the block, AND Old City’s Ritz theaters are nearby, so you can basically spend the entire day in the area.

When my parents visited us for the first time last year, we took them straight to Spruce Street Harbor Park from the airport. Talk about a great first impression for Philly! My mother, ever the avid gardener, fell in love with what I think was New York Ironweed growing by the boardwalk, a flower she’d never seen before. She was so smitten, she actually started collecting the seeds – much to the embarrassment of my father. I did my best to keep a lookout.. because that’s what a good daughter does. She smuggled them into my shoulder bag, and by the end of the day, it looked like there’d been a party in my purse complete with organic electric magenta confetti. I am STILL finding stray seeds to this day.

A handful more of the photos from our engagement shoot below. All images are by Wide Eyed Studios.

With SSHP being open until Sept. 25 this year, I’ll hopefully have enough time to recuperate and be ready to beat Graham in a Skee-Ball rematch. You can find more information about the park on their website.

Oversized chair.. now Graham understands how the world feel to 5' me. Photo by Ashley LaBonde of Wide Eyed Studios
Oversized chair.. now Graham understands how the world feel to 5′ me. Photo by Ashley LaBonde of Wide Eyed Studios

And of course, any photo shoot involving me has to include the stereotypical Asian “V” sign.

Stacy

An Almost Accurate Depiction Of A Nightstand For A Woman In Her Late 30s

It’s been awhile since my last post since, between then and now, Graham and I have moved into our new home, have done a lot of renovating and decorating, and also hosted my sister’s family for an all too brief visit. Whenever my sister and I get together and reminisce while trying to keep up with my toddler nephew, I’m reminded of growing older.. or rather OLDER.

I’ve come to terms with being on the verge of turning 38 this year. At least I think I’m turning 38. I’ve found that after I turned 34, I find myself having to do the math to figure out how old I’m going to be each year. My brain is so bad when it comes to my own age that for almost an entire year, I kept saying I was 36 when I was actually 35. It was a nice little surprise when I realized I was a year younger than I thought I was. I had time traveled to both the future and the past! I realized yesterday, that my nightstand is starting to betray my age.20160518_174200

Here you have…

  • Ibuprofren
  • Living Proof Pre-Treatment Shampoo from their “Timeless” line. Let me explain the “Timeless” collection. It’s actually for “old hair” which came recommended after taking their hair diagnostic test where I provided my age. Yes, I had to subtract my birth year from today to remember. I tested it again, leaving the same hair concerns but using a younger age, and got a different product recommendation for a shampoo and a conditioner. So, the breakdown is: “Timeless” = Code for “Old.”
  • Tums… LOTS of Tums
  • Clinique Smart Custom Repair Serum.If you’re wondering this does.. here’s the description from Clinique’s website.IMG_20160518_181909

I love how it’s “for all ages,” but when you look at the targets, it seems a bit biased towards “more mature” skin. Anyway, continuing on..

  • First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream for dry hands
  • Clinique Repairwear Anti-Gravity Eye Cream. In other words, wrinkle cream for those crow’s feet perched around the eyes.
  • Icy Hot – Extra Strength
  • Vaseline Lip Therapy
  • Glasses

As I mentioned in this post’s title, it’s “almost accurate.” I neglected to take a snapshot of the medication for the sciatica from my herniated disc. Since Graham’s been having to take care of me, I keep apologizing that I wasn’t anticipating this sort of assistance for at least another 20 years. “I’m sorry you chose to marry an old lady,” I joke about both our age difference and my health issues.

I think the 5 Stages of Grief can also apply to your youth. I’m in acceptance, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t TRY to do what I can to age gracefully. If I end up looking half as naturally good as Diane Keaton in my 60s or Dame Judi Dench at 80 (I should live so long.. AND likewise still be a cougar with my husband on my arm), I think I’ll be able to add a 6th stage – pride.

Stacy

Winter Seaweed Soup

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There’s definitely no shortage of chilis, beef stews, meatloaf, root veggies, and all the other typical winter comfort foods at our house when the temperature drops, but more than anything else, there tends to be an increase in Korean dishes simmering on the stove. Usually, it’s all about the kimchi or miso-based stews, but lately, I’d found myself wanting Korean seaweed soup (miyeok guk).

I’d always left the making of this soup from scratch to the expert (aka Mom), or, if I had a sudden craving, normally, the instant packets of wakame soup from Kikkoman would usually do in a pinch. Last week though, those packets weren’t going to cut it, and with my mom 3 states away, I figured I’d try tackle the challenge of furthering my Korean domestication.seaweedpackageNowadays, you can find freeze dried seaweed at your neighborhood Whole Foods, which is surreal for me. I remember my family having to drive an hour away from home in our grey Winnebago a few times a month to pick up ingredients at the nearest Korean market in Kansas. It’s great to have easy access, but there’s limitations on varieties and brands. Now, Graham and I look for any excuse to make the quick trip to H-Mart located in the Korean strip mall in Elkins Park. It’s just easier for me to know exactly what I’m buying when I can read Korean labels on the products. There’s less chance that I’ll inadvertently pick up the “wrong” kind of seaweed by mistake (for this soup, koreans use “sea mustard”). presoakseaweedStraight out of the package, not the prettiest ingredient.. the texture’s similar to kale chips… but, let it soak in water for about 20 minutes and…seaweedsoupit unfurls into some really beautiful, pillowy greens. I love the sheen!

As far as the recipe goes, I started off using one from Korean Bapsang, but as the soup was finishing up on the stove, a quick taste test determined that, although good, it didn’t quite taste like the kind my mother makes. I did a little comparison googling and deferred to Maangchi’s recipe, since I’d often used her site for deciphering the flavors in korean dishes in the past and gotten some luck. I added a bit of fish sauce… it was perfect =)seaweedsouptopviewI definitely felt like i earned my “Korean cred” when I texted a photo to both my parents  and they both messaged back that it made them hungry.. ok.. so it helped that I’d sent them the photo around lunchtime and neither of them had eaten yet.

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It was a simple once I had the right ingredients, but that doesn’t mean that I’m going to give up those Kikkoman instant wakame soup packages in the pantry anytime soon =) Hooray for laziness!

Stacy

Hello 2016

Some important milestones from 2015:

engagementring
On Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park, VA
  • We took our first real road trip together
  • We got engaged
  • My younger sister and her family moved to the East Coast, meaning for the first time in almost 20 years, we’d only be a few hours apart
  • We had a surprise wedding complete with a food truck <3
Florence, Italy
Florence, Italy
  • My sister convinced me that we should both start Etsy shops (it’s in the works.. I swear! I know I’ve been saying that since November.. but really!)
  • We went on our honeymoon in Italy (Venice, Florence, Rome) which meant..
  • I got to travel to Europe for the very first time
  • I created a volunteer hours tracking database for WHYY, the NPR and PBS affiliate for Philadelphia which meant I spent all those days in the same building as Terry Gross.
  • We had an offer accepted on a house in Mount Airy, which means we’ll be leaving the Graduate Hospital neighborhood.. or, the G-Ho as some of us like to call it.

2015 was definitely our year.. but with the settlement date on the house coming up in just under a week, I think I can safely say that 2016 might be just as promising.

Stacy