This Week

1. Michael and I watched a penis documentary on Netflix called 'Unhung Hero.' It was actually really interesting.

2. I'm currently addicted to CNN's Crimes of the Century (also on Netflix).

3. I reconnected with a close college friend and couldn't be more thankful for our friendship.

4. Reading through my November 2012 - February 2013 journal, when I was 21 and finishing my last two quarters of University, to get some perspective.

5. Yesterday, Michael pointed out that there's not enough Blaire photos on my blog, to which I replied, "I don't want to be a crazy cat blogger." Nonetheless, here are some more photos of the Blaire Bear.

 

 

6. Though we said we would lay off sushi for awhile, Michael and I are having our date night at Tamura tonight (It's just so damn good!).

7. Starting next week I'm working 4 ten hour shifts so I can get Fridays off for the summer, whooo! Friday = writing date with my manuscript at the cafe

8. Yesterday during my YA Workshop, we talked about publishing, and I don't know why, but I get so giddy thinking about it (though it'll be awhile until that time comes).

9. Today is Friday and there will be Sun in Seattle this weekend :)

Curry Butternut Squash Soup and Extreme Weight Loss

Starting work on a Tuesday really throws me off. I'm tired, lazy, and can't really seem to function. Though the Monday holiday was worth it, don't get me wrong! I just feel like I have holiday hangover!

Over the weekend Michael and I talked about being healthier (we really do eat out way too much). This week we're off to a great start. Since it was my turn to cook yesterday I made a curry butternut squash soup topped with some greek yogurt paired with roasted rainbow carrots! Obviously, from my enthusiasm, you can tell that I am quite proud of myself! It tasted better than I had hoped!

Yesterday, I also caught the first episode of season 4's Extreme Weight Loss. I love Chris and Heidi Powell, but I have to admit I like the previous seasons better where it focused on just one contestant instead of two. You were able to see their transformation more when Chris lived with the contestant for three months. However, it's understandable that they changed it considering his booming family. Nonetheless, I always enjoy EWL better than the Biggest Loser because it's more inspirational to me.

Memorial Day Weekend

Photo Cred: Cristine

Last year during Memorial Day Weekend, Michael and I were in California for my sister's wedding. This year, we stayed in Seattle. Michael's parents invited us over for a barbeque Saturday, which is always a pleasure for us. Luckily, it didn't rain and the weather ended up turning out pretty nice.

Sunday, however, was a rainy day for us! Nonetheless Michael and I went to brunch, this week at Cafe Flora! Michael loved his traveler's chai and green tea and ginger waffle. I enjoyed coffee and a scramble!

 

After brunch we did our weekly grocery shopping and cleaned up the entire apartment. Afterwards we rewarded ourselves with some lunch and wine at Bottlehouse.

 

The rest of the weekend we took it easy. I finished proofing the second part of M2 so that It's ready to send to my beta readers and so that I can finally start writing the ending! My YA workshop will be done in two weeks, so I definitely won't have that to use as an excuse for not finishing. Also, almost done with the Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy. Review to come!

Tango

For the past few weeks, Michael and I's date nights have consisted of sushi (we have a problem, we know), but we decided to go back to trying new things. This past friday Michael took me to Tango's near downtown Seattle for Spanish Tapas! It was oh so good, and we'll definitely make a trip back. They have a great menu, excellent service, and a neat ambiance.

Boquerone Toasts

Albondigas

Wild Mushrooms

Calamares

Cana de Oveja

Pastel de Limon

 My favorite plate was the Calamares! Best ones I've had in Seattle so far.

A genuinely happy Michael!

After Tango,  I took Michael to watch Godzilla. He loves anything with big giant monsters so we watched in 3D. Needless to say, he loved it.

Putting the Pressure on M2

So for a long while, I didn't want anyone to read M2, until it was fleshed out and nearly there, hoping I could impress my beta readers.

But you know what? I really need help. I need feedback for some guidance. Almost done with my workshop course, I realized that I needed more fresh eyes to spot the gaping holes of my manuscript, and also to put pressure on me to finish the last third of my rewrites.

So I'm letting go of my ego and calling in my beta readers for reinforcement. I just sent them the first third of M2 and I'm kind of holding my breath.

I always perceived writing to be a lonesome endeavor, and it is for the majority part of it, but I realized now that it's a collaborative effort to improve my writing by listening and learning from others. Not to mention it's the support and encouragement from others that keep me going.

Like a writing group where I can discuss whatever I want, which has led to some great writing blogger friends, and a class full of YA enthusiasts who get why I truy love YA so much. Not to mention friends and family, who continue to believe in me, even when I hardly believe in myself.

These are things I should always keep in mind when writing, but rarely do, so as I reminder to myself, I wrote this blog post.

Hopefully with the pressure, I can squeeze a diamond out of M2.

How I feel about my WIP

 This stare probably says it all. Slightly narrowed eyes with an eyebrow arched as I look at my WIP wondering how I fell so in love with it only to become so sick of it...

Okay so not really. This picture was just me goofing off as my boyfriend Michael snapped a picture of me last weekend while we attended his brother-in-law's graduation, but I felt like it was appropriate to my topic: my feelings about my WIP.

It's been awhile since I've written a 'personal' blog post. Lately, I've kinda just posted about my current reads. I'm a binge reader when writing gets tough as you can tell. In a way when I read books I really enjoy and get lost in, it usually inspires me to get writing again having my cause in mind: to get others lost in my story.

However in the past month, I've dropped the ball on M2. Two thirds done of my third draft, but somehow I lost my fuel and I'm stranded on a road, passing the time reading books in hopes that someone will drive by and help with refueling.

I suppose that's what my YA workshop class is for... and I think it's getting me there. Luckily, I have an awesome critique partner who really has an eye for editing and is sharp to spot the little holes in my story. So maybe with all the collective notes from the end of class, it'll be enough to fuel me up to continue the long, long, journey.

Currently though, M2 is like that amazing song I've put on repeat, listening to it over and over, until I know all the words, but the one I eventually get sick of so I change the station on my radio everytime it comes on. In the end I hope with enough space and time, it'll become the song I'm fond of, always bringing me back to a memory relived everytime I hear it.

But for now, Blaire's expression will suffice in conveying my emotions.

I'm also currently a part of an online writer's group where we meet online and discuss 'writing topics' and I conveyed my feelings to them. They had great ideas for me to make it through my hurdle: get lost on a tangent that can lead to another project, just take a break, push yourself, and just words of encouragment that really help.

So, if you are in a similar place as I in your WIP, I hope this post was a somewhat source of comfort to show that you are not alone.

Best of luck to you and your writing endeavors!

Book Review: Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor

I rated it 5 out of 5 stars.

 

Overview: Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a world free of bloodshed and war.

This is not that world.

Art student and monster's apprentice Karou finally has the answers she has always sought. She knows who she is—and what she is. But with this knowledge comes another truth she would give anything to undo: She loved the enemy and he betrayed her, and a world suffered for it.

In this stunning sequel to the highly acclaimed Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Karou must decide how far she'll go to avenge her people. Filled with heartbreak and beauty, secrets and impossible choices, Days of Blood & Starlight finds Karou and Akiva on opposing sides as an age-old war stirs back to life.

While Karou and her allies build a monstrous army in a land of dust and starlight, Akiva wages a different sort of battle: a battle for redemption. For hope.

But can any hope be salvaged from the ashes of their broken dream?

Review: I really love it when I catch on to a series where I don't have to wait for the next installment! Why, you ask? Because it allows me to binge read in bed all day long! I love lazy reading days. That's what I did on Sunday. I finished the second installement of the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy.

Let me just say, sequels kind of scare me, just because sequels have always been kind of a let down (except the second installment in the Hunger Games, I thought that was the best in the series), but Taylor seriously does not disappoint! I will say that Days of Blood & Starlight is definitely darker, more grim, filled with pain, and man I just f e e l for Karou, you know? You just keep thinking, things can't get any worse, but they do, and you're just clutching this story in your hands holding your breath, just hoping and waiting things will get better.

But of course, they don't.
Which just makes you read on.

Taylor does a good job with tension in her books and the second installment is an excellent example of it. Her talent with characterization is very impressive. Each character is unique and brings something to the story that really makes it come to life.

I don't want to spoil anything, but I rated it 5 out of 5 so just read it, kay? If you love YA fantasy/paranormal with a tragic romance, than this one's for you.

Book Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

I rated it 5 out of 5 stars.

Overview: Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real, she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands", she speaks many languages - not all of them human - and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When beautiful, haunted Akiva fixes fiery eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

Review: So remember how I said I was reading this book on this week's RTW post? Well, I literally just finished it like 5 minutes ago during my lunch break, and you can bet your hiney that I'm going to buy the second installment of the series after I post this.

First off, the writing was absolutely amazing and the world-building was just fantastic! It sucked me in right away and I was catapulted into this world figuring out my way just like the main character. The narrative structure was also unique. I didn't feel like the flashbacks were flashbacks, but a parallel story-I was entranced by both.

This story definitely takes everything you think you know about myth, lore, love, and hope and just revamps it in a way that suprises you, but you get completely. It's like Romeo and Juliet as angels and demons, but the demons aren't really demons, and the lore is just so refreshing, and oh my gosh, the characters.

It was a grand time reading it, well except when I came to the ending and my jaw just completely dropped (I guess you gotta readi it to get what I mean).

Laini Taylor, you kind of broke my heart.

RTW: What are you reading right now?

In response to YA Highway's question, I am currently reading Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Just one fourth in, I have a feeling that I'm going to love it. My YA Workshop critique partner suggested the book to me after reading a few chapters of my manuscript. She thought that I would appreciate Taylor's writing style, since it is somewhat similar to my own. Ha! I can only hope I can do as well as Taylor. Her writing is phenomenal! Not to mention her world building!

Can't wait to finish it. Book review to follow!

What are you currently reading? Post your answer on your blog/social media.

My blog is not dead!

I can't believe it's been almost two weeks since my last post, for that I apologize. I just haven't felt quite like myself. Ever go through that? Ever feel like that?

May has been b u s y. It's the busy season at work, which means after I get off I'm pretty much wiped out for the rest of the day. Too wiped out to post, too wiped out to read, and just too wiped out to write.

Which is bad, because May is the start to my YA Workshop classes! A month has gone by without me being remotely involved in my story. I feel a major disconnection, but it's okay. I think I need time away from it and just to get feedback before I dive back in (or at least, that's what I'm telling myself). Overall, this workshop has been quite a different experience compared to my collegiate workshop courses. Still undecided on my opinion of it, though it's interesting to read other people's work; it makes me feel not so alone in my endeavor.

Also, mother's day was yesterday: Cyber love to all the mother's out there! My first time being away from my mother this year :/ so if you're lucky enough to be close to your mom, don't take each day for granted.

The sun is also back in Seattle, so maybe once I soak in some more vitamin D, I'll start feeling like little old California me.

I hope this post cleared up that I am in fact alive, and that my blog is not dead! To make up for my lack of posting, I threw in a Blaire photo. Happy Monday! More posts to come!

Book Review: Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin

I rated it 5 out of 5 stars.

Overview: If Naomi had picked tails, she would have won the coin toss. She wouldn’t have had to go back for the yearbook camera, and she wouldn’t have hit her head on the steps. She wouldn’t have woken up in an ambulance with amnesia. She certainly would have remembered her boyfriend, Ace. She might even have remembered why she fell in love with him in the first place. She would understand why her best friend, Will, keeps calling her “Chief.” She’d know about her mom’s new family. She’d know about her dad’s fiancée. She never would have met James, the boy with the questionable past and the even fuzzier future, who tells her he once wanted to kiss her. She wouldn’t have wanted to kiss him back.

But Naomi picked heads.

Review: This was a reread of one of my high school faves that survived my move to Seattle (I gave away almost about all of my books). Even about 5-6 years later, I still loved this one. I was shocked when I looked it up on Goodreads. How could the rating be 3.71? It was 5 all the way for me.

Here's the thing, you don't know what to expect when you pick up the book. You don't really know how the story's going to turn out. Because of that, I enjoyed it immensely. You get to know this main character as she discovers herself which I found really interesting. Zevin also does an amazing job at characterization and illustrating their flaws. Especially with James. I have to say, he was the pivotal point of the novel for me, even though he was only in one third of the book (Zevin, you should do a book with James as a MC, I'm curious to know how he'd end up).

I didn't agree with the ending, but then again it isn't my story. I still respected the writing and saw the logic of how it came to be. The pacing throughout was excellent. I read it all in one sitting (both times I read it), and I wouldn't mind reading it all over again.

Seattle Japanese Garden Weekend

This past weekend Michael and I kept to ourselves, since the weekend before we were with my family. We spent the weekend doing our favorite things. Brunch on Saturday morning at Tallulah's, then a walk at the Seattle Japanese Gardens. The garden was a first for Michael and I, and it was such a treat! Who knew we had such a gem just less than a mile from our apartment? The garden was so peaceful and relaxing that I could imagine Michael writing poems there.

After, we had to do some gift shopping so we went to the University Village. We ended up having lunch and some afternoon cocktails there too and ended up talking for more than two hours. I love the fact that even though Michael and I spend a lot of time together, we never run out fo things to talk about. He's become a best friend and so much more.

For dinner we went to Nishino for sushi and ended up in some interesting conversations with other customers at the bar. Apparently Michael has such a welcoming aura because anytime someone sat down next to him they would strike up a conversation.

We ended Saturday night with my favorite movie: Moulin Rouge. I couldn't believe it when Michael told me he had never seen it before! I fixed that quickly and he ended up loving it. I still have the songs from the movie stuck in my head.

On Sunday we went to Miro in Ballard for some tea and breakfast crepes then went to the Ballard farmer's market. We ended up at Whole Foods after to finish the rest of our grocery shopping. For the rest of the day we took it easy. Michael had to do a little work and I delved into one of my favorite books that I hadn't read for a long while, Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac (I'll post my review sometime this week!).

For dinner I made butternut squash soup to go along with the baguette we bought and watched Game of Thrones and Silicon Valley.

It was a perfectly relaxing weekend.

Writing Process Blog Chain

Today I am participating in the Writing Process Blog Chain, where writers answer four questions on their writing process, then tag a friend to keep the chain going.

A big thanks to the lovely Karla Gomez for tagging me (click on her name/link to see her part)! Karla is a fellow blogger and graduated with a B.A. in Literature and Writing. She obtained an internship with the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency and shortly thereafter started working at law offices and as a freelance developmental editor for a boutique publishing house. She is currently working on her WIP which she hopes to self-pub later this year.

Alright, now my answers...

1. What am I currently working on?

I'm currently working on a YA fantasy/romance that I've been referring to as M2 on this blog. I've been working on it since the end of October last year and am currently 2/3 done with my third draft. In May I will be sending it out to beta readers and getting feedback via a YA workshop. After that, I'll get my fourth draft of revisions done and start line-edits.

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

What differentiates writers from each other are the unique perspectives we all have. My work differs from others of my genre because of the perspective I have and the experiences I have been through; all of that translates into my imagination and I project it in my words, my stories, and above all, my characters. My work is different because it comes from my mind and my heart. That's my unique stamp on it, and there's no duplicating or imitating it, because we as people are all different, and we as writers, write different things. Sure their might be common denominators in our stories, but that's just like life, isn't it? We as people share common interests, may have similar backgrounds, but when it comes down to it, we all look different, we have differnt thumbprints. And words for writers and how we shape them are our own unique thumbprint. Our own unique perspective.

3. Why do I write what I do?

I keep the young adult genre close to my heart because it's shaped who I am. The books were my friends in solitude, the characters showed me it was okay to be different, and the writers that created them made it okay for me to feel instead of hide.

As a child traversing through the unknown, you need something to anchor you. Books were that for me. It gave me an escape when I needed one, but it also kept me grounded. I don't know if that makes sense to you, but that felt like magic to me.

I write young adult, because I think of the little girl that used to be me: scared but brave, hopeful but pessimistic, a romantic yet a cynic, and more than anything I want to reach out to her and say that it's okay. Everything will be alright. Get lost in my story and maybe when you surface things will start to look different.

The thing is, their are probably a lot of young adults who have felt the way I've felt, so writing is really a way of giving back. Like the writers before me, I want to give young adults a place to escape, a place to love, and make them dream up the impossible so that the chain of unexplicaple magic that books give us, continues.

4. How does my writing process work?

There's one quote by Ira Glass that I found extrememly helpful and agree with immensely:

I think I'm still figuring out how my writing process works. I've tried outlines, detailed notes, character and setting sheets, but I never really stick to them. I do, however, keep a notebook just for story ideas and jot them down, list ideas for scenes, and somehow when I've collected my ideas I arrange and rearrange them until a story forms and I just keep writing. And writing. And writing.

Then I revise, and revise, and revise. After, I edit, and edit, and edit (you get the idea, right?).

I highly recommend Scrivener to those working on a large volume of work. It makes it easier to organize your story and jump from one place to the next quickly instead of scrolling through a large document.

I hope you found my answers helpful and interesting. Happy writing all!

I'm passing this chain onto my friend and fellow blogger Monica Mansfield. Tune into her blog next Monday to see her answers!

Monica Mansfield writes for young adults. Her stories lean toward (or submerge themselves shamelessly in) the mythical, magical and otherworldly. She also has a degree in mathematics which she puts to use counting words, calculating discounts, and every week at her day job. She balances her love of words and numbers in and around Boston.

ghd eclipse & fruit-infused water

Two things I am currently obsessed with: ghd eclipse and fruit-infused water.

So yesterday during my lunch break, I got the holy grail of all stylers:

Isn't that a beauty? It was a pretty penny, but so worth it. Here's the thing. I've been looking like a slob at work lately because it takes too long to get ready everyday. With my old curling and straightening irons, my hair would just take too long for me to even care about my self presentation. I knew I had to do something so I decided to purchase the ghd eclipse, and oh my gosh, it's amazing. Cuts my hair time in half to just 10 to 15 minutes at most! Not to mention the patented technology lets you style your hair guilt-free because it uses optimal heat at the lower spectrum to keep your hair healthy, shiny, and soft!

 

The other thing I love? Fruit-infused water inspired by Blogilates! Check out Cassey Ho's website. She plans out fun workouts for you via the workout calendar so you don't have to! I just purchased her water bottle the other day and am finally drinking enough water to keep my hydrated.

 

 



Happy Thursday everyone :) The weekend is coming!!!

RTW: What was your favorite book as a child?

In response to the 'Road Trip Wednesday' topic of the week posted by ya highway, my answer is Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen.

I've always been an avid reader as a child, but Flipped was the book that made me fall in love with reading and the young adult genre. It's a stand-alone teen romance in a he-said she-said style with two protagonists sharing their view points on shared events. What hooked me was the characterization and the themes of the book. I cried with Juli when she lost her tree, I rooted for Bryce when he tried to make amends, and when I finished the book, I started to see things as well as people differently.

To me, the change in one's self after reading a great book is magic that can only be found in words within pages. It sparked the writer in me, making me want to create that magic for a young child/adult like myself.

I can still remember myself at twelve years old, reading this book in my bed, with tears on my face (it's not a sad book in the slightest, but it struck something in twelve-year-old me), and everytime I reread it, I can feel myself being transported into my younger self.

If you haven't already, check it out. Then watch the movie, because it's just the cutest thing.

                        

Changing California

This past weekend, Michael and I took a four day trip to visit my family in California. The trip went way too quickly for me. I'm already missing my family, the heat, and the familiarity of it all. The last time I went home was in December for my mother's Birthday, so I was over due for some family time.

Normally, I'm pretty good at taking photos so that I can put them up on my blog, but during this trip I was really in the moment and enjoying my time there that I completely forgot, and now I regret it since I don't see my family much. Luckily, Michael took a few photos for me, so the photocred in this post goes to him (including the blurry ones :P).

We flew in on Wednesday night and had some cheese and wine after quickly catching up with the fam. On Thursday I grabbed coffee with a friend to catch up then went to Davis so Michael and I could grab lunch with my little and grand little from my college fraternity. It was strange, but neat to be in Davis a year after graduating. It was kind of surreal. I showed Michael my favorite cafe, Mishka's, and then grabbed some gelato before driving home. After we relaxed a bit before having a home cooked meal at my mom's with the whole family. Oh boy do I miss my mom's food!

On Friday morning Michael and I shipped my last remaining boxes to Seattle then grabbed coffee and took a morning walk before meeting up with my best friend for lunch at in-n-out. The last time I saw her was last summer before my move! Can you believe it? Nonetheless, we can always pick up where we left off!

After, we met up with my sisters, brother-in-laws, and cousins for some food fun in South Sacramento then went to the movies in Folsom.

Michael snapped this photo because during the trip I was really obsessed with Hay Day,
a game my mother introduced me to.

Saturday was a pretty packed day. Michael and I went to Temple Coffee, one of my fave coffee shops, where I spent a lot of time writing M1. After we went to Scandia with the fam for some mini golf, batting cages, and air hockey! Then it was off to the Cafeteria for dinner and drinks and dancing at the Park Ultra Lounge!

Tran Sisters minus one! We didn't intentionally coordinate our clothing :P

The Husbands and Boyfriend!



Group photo at The Park (sorry for the blurriness!)

This was Michael's first time experiencing the night life in Sac, and I think we showed him a grand time!

Sunday was family day as well as Easter (although we do not celebrate it), so we did brunch in Old Sac and a barbeque in the evening.

Ma mere et moi!

 It was rough to leave home again after such a short trip. Poor Michael had to hold me as I cried the night before my flight (I'm a tad emotional). So many changes have happened in the last two years with my family that it makes it extremely difficult to be away from them. This trip was the last time I would see the house I've lived in for the past seven years. It's not a spectacular house by any means, but it was a place filled with so many memories that it's strange to think I would never get the chance to step inside it again.

 

The next time I'll be heading back will be for Thanksgiving in November, so it'll be interesting to see what else will change!

 









Love, in the city of Paris...

Once upon a time in the summer of 2012, a young woman and a young man went to Paris. Both had gone for vacation with their respective families. She was a bookworm and still a student. He was a tea enthusiast and owned his own business. Through divine intervention (mostly by the random chance of their sisters meeting at a California Wedding two weeks prior to the vacation), they found themselves sitting side by side at Cafe Rousillon meeting for the first time.

They had less than a two hour conversation that consisted mostly about books and writing since she was completing her BA in English and he had already received his a few years ago. They talked about how much they loved the city of Paris, The Sun Also Rises, and The Great Gatsby. He loved poetry, T.S. Elliot was a favorite poet of his. And she told him about her crazy dream of being a writer one day.

Then as the sun started to set on the city of love, they departed, never knowing if they'd ever see each other again.

The young woman, however, was somewhat of a hopeless romantic (although she wouldn't admit it then), and sent him a message (oh the wonders, of Facebook), and he replied by giving her his e-mail address.

When the two returned to the States, she in California and he in Washington, the two began exchanging letters. The letters went on and as they started to get to know one another, the letters held promise. Without realizing it, they fell for one another.

The letters went on all fall and all winter until he asked her to be his Valentine. She accepted, though they were unable to see one another. The letters soon stopped after that, but the conversations went on through phone and video calls. After she received her degree, they made plans to finally meet again and celebrate a late Valentine's date on April 14, 2013.

That day she flew from Sacramento to Seattle with luggage in hand to stay for two weeks. She could hardly breathe the whole plane ride over. When she did arrive, she found the young man waiting for her at the gate, with purple irises in hand.

Later that night, they finally had their date at The Pink Door in Seattle and have been dating ever since.



April 14, 2013

April 14, 2014

The End

(for now)

 

Yesterday marked Michael and I's one year anniversary. We celebrated not just for ourselves, but in celebration of our amazing families and friends who supported us and helped us get to where we are now. Love is never an easy endeavor, so we thank you all for pushing us and believing in us. We are forever indebt to you all, and of course, the city of love, for bringing us together. May we have many, many, years hereafter.

Below are some photos of our date last night! We recreated our first date by grabbing pre-dinner drinks at The Tasting Room, dinner at The Pink Door, and a night cap at Liberty Bar.

The Tasting Room in 2013

The Tasting Room in 2014



Apz! At The Pink Door while watching the trapeze artist (not pictured)

Cioppino for Michael

The most amazing piece of lasagna ever, for myself!

Our Desserts!

Opening gifts :)

Opening gifts :)



 

Nightcap at Liberty



Irises from 2013

Four amethst stone bracelet
for the four seasons we've been together!
2014

 

*Fun Facts:

-Michael went to Cafe Rousillon with his sister Cristine to meet my sister Dao (I tagged along :P)

-Michael and I met the couple who got married at the wedding where Cristine and Dao met, about a year later at Cristine and Tim's wedding.

-Michael and I's first movie date was Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby
-All of our letters are bounded into a private book that I gave to Michael as a gift
-Michael was my date for my sister's wedding and I was his date for his sister's wedding (both weddings occurred in the summer of 2013)

-If you haven't noticed, our names are the masculine and feminine forms of the same name
-I am the youngest sibling in my family, he is the oldest in his
-Our age differs by 4 years, our birthdays by 4 months, and it also took 4 months from our first date for me to move to Seattle