Please drink responsibly

In lieu of New Year's fesivities I thought it would be fun to find a signature cocktail to be served at Breaha, Heather, and my wedding (not that any of us will be opting to serve signature cocktails, sorry to disappoint)

Breaha's signature cocktail - The Charleston

A classic, this elegant cocktail gives a nod to the swing dance lesson that Beaha and Zach will hopefully be having at their reception.

Heather's signature cocktail - Berry BlushWith a wedding dated for 7/11 a fruity, slushy drink is a must. Maybe even serve them in Big Gulp cups!

Our signature cocktail - Lime 'n' Lemon HourWho wouldn't like a refreshing citrus cocktail for an outdoor summer wedding? We could even set up the bar to look like an old fashioned lemonade stand.

Merry Christmas!

To my family in Arizona who we miss every day that they're away from home.
To my beautiful Nicole in beautiful France.
To Whitney who's spending her winter break in Europe.
To Josh's family who have taken me in for the 4th Christmas now and make everything so merry and bright.
To Will and Kory who spent a whole day after-Christmas shopping with us.
To Sarah for rocking out with me to 80's music.
To TJ and Uriah, congratulations on your Christmas engagement!
To everyone in our lives near and far, thanks for making this Holiday season such a special one! Hope it was the best for you and yours.
Love, Josh and Sheila

Heather's Inspiration Board

To my wonderful Heather. I hope this inspiration board aids you in convincing Tom that a pink and black wedding can be elegant and classy, which it most certainly can.


A couple thoughts to share with you:

4th photo in the top row shows a bride with an adorable blusher. I had the idea to suggest a blusher to Heather after seeing this pink and black headpiece on Etsy. I think this would be so fun for her to wear for the reception.

On the bottom row, the 3rd and 4th are some ideas for a pink and black candy bar. I think a candy bar screams Heather because it fits her personality so well. Everyone knows that Heather loves her snacks, I'm sure she would have a blast picking out sweets for her big day. And it would be great for incorporating her wedding colors in a fun way.

Merry Christmas Heather and Tom!

my wonderful fiance

I have come very close to losing my mind lately. Thanks to Josh, who's been cooking meals, doing all the household chores, answering my studio phone and booking appointments for me, I haven't lost it yet. And I'm proud to announce that because of his efforts, we have officially crossed two items off our list of necessities for our wedding day! (the two most important necessities in my opinion)

The caterer: Spartan Hall of Fame Cafe -managed by a good friend of my dad's, Ricka Tien

and

The toilets: Royal Restrooms; a regal portable restroom experience - recommended by a fellow Habibi and newly-wed, Molly.

Thank you for all your help and support Baby.

Breaha's Inspiration Board

A Christmas present to my lovely sister...my and plum and ivory vision for her big day.


I have two elements in this board I want to share:

2nd photo on the top row are these adorable hair pins I found on Etsy. The set was a bridal party package and included 3 bridesmaid hair pins and 1 hair vine for the bride. She does custom work, so even though they're already sold out you can put in a request for the same set or keep an eye out for similar items at other retail locations.

Love, love, love these lavender seating cards from Martha Stewart Weddings. 2nd photo, 2nd row shows these seating cards which are made by tying paper with the guest's name and the table number printed on them.

It's going to be an elegant and romantic gala affair...I just know it!

Life goes on

What have I been doing with myself? One might ask after noticing how infrequently I've been posting on here.

#1 Belly dancingThe Habibi Dancers had a show at the Riverwalk theater on November 22nd, and 23rd. Beyond the Borders was amazing and I am so thrilled to have been a part of it. We performed many peices that were outside our normal spectrum of traditional Middle-Eastern dance. The picture above is from a fusion bellydance/African number.

#2 ThanksgivingMy future sister-in-law and bridesmaid Breaha invited the family up to her place for Thanksgiving this year. We shared the weekend with her fiancee's family, and I thoroughly enjoyed the time we all spent together. Games, swimming, movies, talking about vampries (see note below) shopping and of course great food. I truly hopes this becomes a long time tradition for our families.

#3 More belly dancingA local Middle-Eastern restaurant, Aladdin's, has troupe members perform during dinner hours on the 1st and 3rd Friday of the month. Yesterday I danced there for the first time and had a blast! I felt nervous and clumsy but loved every minute of it, cant wait to do it again. My beautiful bra and belt set was hand made by the mother-in-law of another woman in our troupe, and that was the first time I've gotten to wear it. Isn't it gorgeous?

*note: I also have not been able to put down Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. So a lot, if not all, of my free time as been spent reading these books. I've had vampires on the brain for two weeks now. If you know me, you know that I don't enjoy reading books (the last one I read was 3 years ago and before that was required reading for a high school Lit. class) see my bridesmaid Heather's blog entry regarding these books.

some lovely green dresses

Some dress options for my bridesmaids.

zappos.com (1st dress)
overstock.com
overstock.com (2nd dress)
bluefly.com
target (bottom dress)
amazon.com

I can see Nicole in this one.