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Punta Cana, Dominican Republic - sneak preview

2010-06-05T11:35:00.004-04:00

I almost forgot how to log into this blog. That's how long it's been. Just a quick note that yes, we're still around. I just have been taking some downtime with kiddies. Before I run off to a wedding this evening, here's what I've been wanting to share from our recent trip to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic where we stayed at the Barcelo Bavaro Palace Deluxe. Might I say, I never have good luck with vacation. But rare moments with family are still cherish-able moments. If you want to hear the story about this resort, stay tuned. Until then, here are some sneak preview:

I bet you can't tell from these rare happy moments that these two were constantly in a quarrel almost the whole time together:

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Jennifer and Miguel's wedding

2010-02-07T11:43:00.031-05:00

Our MD/DC/VA area has been hit by a snow storm which now is a tie to a previous record storm of 1922! It all began on Friday February 5th at 11am and continued until Saturday afternoon. We are drowned with anywhere from 24inches to some area with 40 inches. Ever since the winter storm we had in Dec. 19, TT had decided to purchase an electrical snow thrower which we didn't know that we'll actually put it to good use until this weekend. TT had been very diligent and got out there every 2 hours since friday night or so to fight the snow. If we let the snow get too high up, the machine would be of no use. So, that's how we tackle this one historic snow storm. I lost track of how many times he's been out there, but at least 8 times by now. The snow has been INSANE.

With that being said, I had a little time, to spend with the kids, to watch omg wucha call it 'movies' on 'tv' and to update this blog, all before I quickly have to begin another wedding book. In addition, we are also doing '09 file cleanup, archival, storage, purchasing more external drives etc and other yummy goodness that we've been waiting for so long, which I'll share in later posts.

On with Photos Photos! Here is a wedding TT captured for Jennifer and Miguel back in November for Daniel of Glamour Photo. Again, there are just so many pictures that I love, so here we go:

Getting ready at home:

Bridal portraits before the ceremony:

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Sang & Chi's Wedding

2010-01-23T16:06:00.005-05:00

Congratulations Sang & Chi!!! Today is the day they share their vows and love for each other and we're happy to be a part of! The weather worked out very nicely for Sang and Chi since it was just yesterday that we still had some wintery mixes so definitely yayy for that! Sang and Chi didn't want to waste one minute of their day so their preparation and event started as early as 6am this morning! This kicks off our first 2010 wedding and now I will be rushing out to come join TT to document the rest of their day!

P.S. I'm starting to forget about this blog since I haven't had time to update this! Here are a few photos to share for now!!

Ref: our website for more photos

Heather & Nathan's Wedding at Baltimore Tremont Grand

2009-12-27T18:41:00.009-05:00

A friend of TT referred Heather and Nathan to us and we got to meet this beautiful couple back in February. We couldn't be more delighted to be able to share this fabulous day with this cute, cool, laid-back and genuinely kind people.

Heather loves Christmas and you can guess that's the reason why December was chosen! Having the happiness of the holiday season definitely brought love into the air as friends and families joined in celebrating their love that started 7 years ago.

Their wedding was held at the absolutely beautiful Baltimore's Tremont Grand. The Ceremony took place in the amazing Edinburgh Hall with a design modeled after a famous church in Scotland and the Reception took place right next doors in the Mirror Room.

The day was coordinated by Lauren of Tremont Grand who we thought did an amazing job ironing out all the details in making the day go as smoothly as possible. Flowers were by Bella Fiori and DJ by Donald Peterson of Bialek's Music kept people blasting through the night.

On to the photos- Most of the photos from below are kept in their pristine version with almost straight out of the camera (sooc) except for the dual-tone looks. We might have to consider splitting the photos into two blog posts. Or better yet, I'm just going to break any kind of reasons why a blog should be shorter than this and you might see why:

Are we talking gorgeous!

Another of TT's Favorites!

Here comes the rest of the wedding:

Look at their cool side...I love !

I love the reaction of the cake tasting, the face and the thumb up!

Nathan's oopsie :)

We hope you both are having a wonderful time on your Honeymoon and we sincerely thank you for sharing your beautiful day with us!

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Happy Holidays 2009

2009-12-25T10:10:00.009-05:00

Embrace Photo team would like to send our warmest wishes to you and your family this joyous season and may love, health and happiness stay with you through the New Year!
!!!!!!!HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!!!!!
To share the spirit of the holidays, here are some snapshots of Thanh+Duy's Baby Santa in making their holiday cards this year. Hope you ENJOY!

Behold as you scroll down some more:

Whoooo!!! I Love my baby Santa! He practically smiled the whole session, that's him! The most memorable moment was he LOVED the rocking chair!

Have a safe and wonderful holiday season everyone!!

Love, the TT's

Urban Decay Friends and Family Sale Nov 9th - Nov. 20th

2009-11-10T22:15:00.010-05:00

It's been way too long since I last spoke about makeup and I miss talking about it! Yep, I'm still a makeup junkie with a flat wallet. But this sale is hard to pass up because I recently heard about the buzz on the Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliners. I swatched them at a sephora store and omg, the colors are just gorgeous! They are one of UD's best-selling products, so take advantage of this sale and try them yourself!! Eye pencils have the tendency to not last, they smudge and smear especially if you have oily lids, so I'm hoping these will be better than most. I am definitely putting these 24/7 sets in my shopping cart and move them right along to checkout. I want to try them on my oily lids and see how well they hold up. I will post my review on these once I received them. But before I do, I want to pass on the sale code "FNFW1" effective Nov 9 - 20th on Urban Decay so you guys won't miss out! With the holidays coming up, these would make greatttt presents, so take advantage of this:

Along with these 24/7 sets, I'm also getting the Urban Deday Book of Shadows Vol II.
I also swatched a few of the colors and fell head over heels screaming in excitement. Check them out at your nearest store to see in person or just head straight to Urban Decay for the sales! Did I mention it's Free Shipping over $50!
Aside from this sale, I have received my order of the Decade of Glamour Beauty Wardrobe Makeup Collection from Sephora and one quick review at first glance. I haven't tried it yet since I just received it a couple of days ago, but from looking at the kit with the size, this is definitely worth the bucks for $19.50! I was expecting a much smaller size, but it turned out better than expected. You could slip this in your handbag when you're on the go and have most of what you'd need. You can't go wrong with this, so check it out!
Hope this will brighten up your day!

--12/18/2009 Update:
Ok, here is my review on the Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliners after wearing it for almost a month: THEY'RE GORGEOUS and WORK FABULOUS!!! AMAZING by far!
1) I love the colors, bold and pigmented.
2) I love how they glide on nicely and smoothly! (Assuming you have an eyeshadow primer on already ;) When I tried at the store, I didn't have on the base, so they didn't glide on nicely.
3) Most IMPORTANTLY now is: THEY LAST!!!! I have very oily lids, and I am amazed at how well these 24/7 pencils last. They don't smudge and they stay on from the morning to evening. I would say a good 10 hours.
4) Would I recommend? TOTALLY!!! YESSS! what else could anyone ask for? They got beautiful colors and they last without smudging!!
5) So go out there and get yourself some pretty 24/7 liners and enjoy!!

Meadowlark Garden Family Photos of Baby Nathan

2009-10-07T20:03:00.002-04:00

I'm going back to catch up with some long overdue family photos of baby Nathan at Meadowlark Botanical Garden. The last session we had with baby Nathan was when he was 6 months old, laying on his tummy. So when he started to walk, photos had to be taken to document this big milestone. I still find it hard to accept that kids do grow up after all and I'm glad I have a bucket load of photos of my little ones and baby photos of myself ;) to look back over and over again:

Straight out of camera (sooc) with some sharpening:

There were a lot of ducklings:

Aww look at the kiddies pointing to the pond

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First trip to the DC Zoo

2009-09-14T19:10:00.005-04:00

I feel like I should take advantage of being a Washingtonian. I haven't - until I finally decided to take a mini break end of last month to take kiddos to the zoo. It had been a year since I last said I would take them, so when I finally did, it made me feel better. However, there are a ton of museums I should look into and well, I promised myself I will explore one by one with my little pals.

The zoo trip wasn't planned, it was a random Sunday that we weren't busy so I proposed TT in taking the kids out and he agreed. So we hopped onto the metro, kiddos' first metro ride. TT decided to get off at Cleveland Park stop so the walk would be downhill instead of the Woodley Park stop which is uphill (which we took to go back). Even with that decision, when we got off of the station we had to walk what seemed at the time a really long walk, partly because walking anywhere more than 2 blocks with 2 kids seemed longer than it really was. After like 10 minutes of walking, the kids said their legs are getting tired and we didn't even get to the zoo yet! We convinced them we'll soon see tigers and lions which kept them excited and continued our stroll. While at the zoo, we got busy carrying them so we only took a few photos.

Here are a few photos as we took 'walking breaks' from the metro station to the zoo! How hilarious is that.

While waiting for the crossing light, we took the following series and yes people in the car waiting for the lights were watching and smiling at them being themselves:

We didn't bring a stroller, so when TT isn't behind the lens, TT is their stroller.

Note: Yes, I have released the new look and feel of the website/blog and have been doing a little testing. I'll announce that again b/c I want to dedicate that blog post by itself. So stay tuned.

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Sneak Peek on a pre-wedding outdoors

2009-08-10T17:27:00.001-04:00

I've been really behind on updating this blog. That's because I'm being a super mom and super multitasking. I'm working on the new look of our website (release date is TBD) plus I'm designing albums plus I'm spicing up a ton of images. I have a lot in the pipe to share, so in the meantime, here is a teasing sneak peek of an outdoor session from several weeks ago:

There are so many of my favorites from this delightful couple, so here is one:

Ref: our blog for more photos

Diem & Trinh's Wedding

2009-07-27T12:01:00.001-04:00

Congratulations to Diem & Trinh! Their wedding was held on Saturday and that morning we got out of the house by 7am to begin the day! They had a traditional Vietnamese wedding, starting at the groom's home for the getting ready of the family and the red gift trays, then off to the bride's home for the giving away ceremony, then back to groom's home for the acceptance ceremony. The day was very punctual with no big delay, which was a big plus for everyone. The morning ceremonies were followed by a light lunch before heading to church for a church ceremony. TT had known the groom and his family a long long time back, way before my time. I found from my first time meeting them that both the groom and bride are very friendly and super sociable. They prepared a big yummy dinner and we didn't know until we arrived! It was fun talking, eating, and exchanging information on our first meet and thus phone conversations during the planning process.

Here are some photos from the pre-wedding photo shoot in DC a few weeks after that downpour. I will post photos from the day of the wedding sometime this week!
Congratulations to Diem and Trinh once again and we're very happy to have shared your special special day!

A little update from us, I've been busily continuing the effort for the new look of the homepage/blog. So hang in there!

Ref: our blog for more photos

A mini vacation

2009-07-16T22:06:00.026-04:00

Where have we been? VA Beach! Yes, we came back from a mini vacation last week and I am still on vacation mode. I'm trying to get myself back to reality here and it's taking a longer time than expected :) Yeah, go ahead and pinch me !

Unbelievably, I can't remember the last time I've sandstepped on VABeach. It must have been at least more than 10 years! And same as TT. The only memory I had of VAB from the first experience was the warm water and the longer drive (in comparison to Ocean City which my family try to go every year). TT has a friend down there so this year we decided to go VABeach. We had reserved an oceanfront suite but TT's friend has an empty house at the time so she kindly offered us the space thus we canceled the suites. And if you don't know by now, TT and I have the best luck with the beach weather. The sunday drive there- it was raining cats&dogs! TT and I just looked at each other and laugh. Urgh! When we arrived there, we called it a day and our friends took us to a local buffet. The house where we stayed was a 9 mile drive to the beach but an advantage was knowing the good local seafood restaurants which saved from spending like a tourist ;)

Did I mention that it was a family-oriented vacation? Imagine 3 families - 14 people. We went with TT's sister and her family, TT's brother, and Daniel and his family. And the house was perfect, had 3 separate rooms and their own 3 bathrooms. We arrived first under the rain and our other family/friend arrived on the following day. I think TT and I had some luck of the others that's why the sun decided to slowly shine on the day that they arrived! Thanks to them, we at least had 2 good days on the beach out of our 4-day mini vacation ! Which was another reason why we didn't want to go by ourselves ;) !!!

Altogether, it was very relaxing, pleasant and most importantly we had a great time!

Here are a few snapshots from my G10. Some were processed, some were almost SOOC:

We took a stroll the second night, it was cloudy and we didn't swim that day. This was very cute and made a scene- bboy was mimicking his cousin. We told him it was ok, that the water won't wet his shorts, but he insisted to follow his natural instinct- an instinct we hold to adulthood:

The fathers capturing kiddies' moments and yeah I'm all in their way :)

Bbgirl brought her tea set and had a tea party:

Bboy didn't like the wave much, but bgirl totally had a blast. She told daddy to stay out there with her in the wave until there's no more wave!

Headed to the amusement park nightlife. The kids loved the rides and almost all of the rides the parents are allowed to tag along. They kept on wanting to go again and again. But I tried to stay away from anything that spins round and round. Those things make me dizzy. I liked the slider and hated the ferris wheel. The ferris wheel made me feel uncomfortable at the top, especially when the kids couldn't sit still and it made it shake. OMG! I could see their fair skin started to tan up:

Skycraper- Daniel took it for a spin! holy cow, his wife had the camcorder to record but as soon as it started to spin, she was in disbelief and freaking out and didn't even record Daniel until I noticed and started screaming. She immediately handed it over to us to take over and she continued to shiver all over.

I'll leave this last photo for you, the moon was so close yet so far away. This is the feeling I often have in life:

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Happy 234th Birthday America!

2009-07-03T22:14:00.004-04:00

Here is a flashback of some 4th of July memories from last year:

Yay Annie!!!

Sammie, Chef Jane, Me & Annie:

Aww memories!
Hope everyone have a safe holiday!!

Ref: Our blog for more photos

A weekend outdoors

2009-06-18T08:45:00.011-04:00

This past weekend we met up with a familiar family to this blog for a mini outdoors session (their photos will be coming soon). We were going to sleep over at our VA family so we arranged to meet up at Meadowlark Garden on our way. So, of course we had our little ones with us. Here are a few photos I captured with my G10 and a few TT captured along the way.

You might notice a little thing beside babyboy's right eye. That's because 3 weeks ago, he was playing with a blanket and tripped/fell onto a glass coffee table. It split his skin and as a mom that I am, the thought of scarring has always been my #1 enemy. That night, I had a hard time sleeping, thinking of ways to heal the wound, and it was still slightly bleeding. Growing up, I've been very familiar with Turmeric which is used to help with lightening the scars on skin. With kids in the house, I always have a few fresh turmerics in my freezer. Ok, so I definitely was going to use that. (I was told to scrape the turmeric, use the little bits of juice that comes out and apply that on the skin- btw, this is the reason the fingers that I use to hold the turmeric extract are dyed with the orange color- I don't want to go through the hassle of wearing gloves each time- but the colors come off eventually). Anyways, I also was seeking other ways in addition to using turmeric. Somewhere in my mind, I thought of Aloe Vera. I googled and found that it too has wound healing properties that speeds up the healing process. Exellent! Knowing a friend of ours in the neighborhood has a nice big aloe vera plant, I came to her place and she cut me a piece for babyT. Her mom told me how to use it. It's simple as scraping out the gelatin juice extracts from the plant and apply that on the wound. (I put the aloe back to the fridge in a zip lock and was able to use it for a couple of weeks). I also try to air-dry the wound as much as I can, but when babyT goes to school, I slightly place a bandaid cut-to-fit the wound. Also it's important to not peal off the blood clot once it starts to itch. I told babyT don't scratch it else it'll bleed like before. He's such a good boy and listened to that. Everyday for two weeks, I routinely use turmeric and aloe vera gel to apply on babyT, in the morning and evening. I stopped using aloe vera after a couple of weeks. Before typing this section, I had just applied turmeric on him while he's sleeping, I can continue to do this until I feel I can stop. I just wanted to share my first (small) open wound experience now that it healed pretty nicely. Hopefully it won't leave something too noticeable :) I love turmeric and I also need to go get an aloe vera plant to grow in my house too. Not only it looks nice, but it serves as first-aid, yay to that!

Ref: our blog for more photos

Baby Lucas

2009-06-17T19:26:00.007-04:00

I need to do some catch up on photos I haven't posted yet. A few months ago, a friend of mine welcomed Lucas to the world. I came by to visit at the hospital and he was soooo adorable! They had a one month celebration with the family for the baby and we came by and captured a few photos. Congratulations to you..proud mommy and daddy Thanh & Duy!

I'm saying this again, how adorable is this...they're so lucky, eat/sleep/cry & other stuff...but most importantly they always find someone there with them.

Why babies get all the attention!! Cuz they're ADORABLE little GEMS!

This photo reminds me that MY BABY is growing up...I'm trying to hold them but they're just dangling on me and not within my arms:

I'm currently still working on the website...making albums, processing photos...Stay tuned for more baby photos...

Ref: our blog for more photos

Diem & Trinh's Pre-wedding preview

2009-06-05T17:30:00.002-04:00

Here is Diem and Trinh's Pre-wedding preview from the memorial day weekend. For some odd reasons, I'm realizing that the place where we went always struck us with rain. The sun was shining so bright one minute and the next, we were in the Japanese Teahouse at Brookside Garden listening to the "rhythm of the falling rain"! When we were there 4 years ago, it poured on us too. So I knew it was my luck. But look on the bright side, rain is good luck and a sign of wealth for our culture ;) Not to worry, we will pick up another photo session with them this weekend, and the weather looks like it might love us. Here are a few for your viewing:

Ref: our blog for more photos

Hang & Thanh's Wedding

2009-05-31T21:18:00.018-04:00

Travis and Daniel Bui aka Dung Bui of Glamour Photo have known each other for almost 10 years and they are in constant contact. If you haven't already seen Daniel's work, definitely check him out here. He's been in the industry forEVER and has built himself a reputable name BEYOND our metro are. Every so often, TT reaches out to help several of his photog friends, and Daniel is one of them. Several weeks ago, TT traveled with D to York, PA to capture Hang and Thanh tying a knot. After seeing the photos, I wanted to share these with you. Hope you enjoy SOME of the happenings as much as I did when processing these:

Hang and Thanh had a traditional Vietnamese tea ceremony. The groom's family comes over to the bride's family to obtain permission for the hands in marriage with the witness of both sides of the families and ancestors. The groom also brings over the flowers. One cannot resist the vibrant colors in all of the cultural wedding ceremonies:

Jewelries, are the traditional gifts from the mother/grandmother of either sides, can consist of any of the following: bracelets, earings, and/or necklace

Can the colors of the Ao Dai be any more gorgeous:

Then they headed to church for the ceremony:

Then to Reception:

Hang and Thanh had their cake and first dance prior to greeting the guests:

The bridesmaids made a toast:

I would get teary too if I were there:

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Jin & Jack's Wedding

2009-05-10T23:25:00.048-04:00

Heyyy!!! I'm back. I took several days of sick leave from EP ;) trying to recover from the colds. Even though I haven't been well, I still do a lot of organizing (in my head) and continuing the effort for the new look n feel of the homepage. It's not done yet, it's still being worked on. So hang in there :)

I know you all have been waiting for one of our infamous couple Jin & Jack's photos. I'm trying not to disappoint you and thanks so much for your patience!!! Be sure to scroll all the way down for something beautiful...

About the bride... I know her for a brief period of time during High School. I still remember a group picture in front of the Twin Tower. Then a year ago, we reunited through Chef Jane's gatherings, she was also one of Jin's bridesmaids. Then we were asked to do their engagement session, which we're still happy whenever we see their photos. Then followed by their destination wedding held in Cancun Mexico with an intimate number of families and friends attending. Although we weren't able to attend, but we were happy to be able to capture their reception here! On the day of reception, we had planned to spend a few hours for a DC shoot but because the weather was quite uncomfortable, Jin had requested we do the shoot later after the wedding. And so we will, it's scheduled in the coming days.

Without further delay, here are some of the ones I took out to share with you. Since there wasn't a dedicated time to shoot their formal portraits, anytime while waiting for guests to arrive, we snapped the shots here and there. Hope you enjoy!

Some of the careful details:

Jack and his father. Can you see there's something about this shot that makes me smile. I adore his father's expression. I wonder if that's how tt will look when he gives little t away too. That's the squint of all loving fathers:

The restaurant was on the second floor, and there was an escalator, so...quickly to these. LOVE:

Jin, you look AMAZING!

And this is ohhh sooo Jack. You make me laugh so hard whenever I look at this!

The girls (whenever I look at the blog, I remember Annie)

Note: The bridesmaids could wear anything they wanted that evening, while in Cancun they had on blue dresses:

Here is Jack's parents:

Changing of outfits to toast with friends and families around the tables. How beautiful is this, with both mothers:

Are you ready for some family portraits. Some you might not have seen before at reception:

Group portrait of Jack's parents friends:

A big family photo:

On to toasting with friends:

Aww, her college friend from California:

Chef Jane, who couldn't make it to cancun made a speech and toast:

The cake looked beautiful. But let's see how good it tasted....

Love!

Yep, it tasted delicious according to this:

Remember Jack's expression, here's another sequel of the one you've already seen last week!

As the night brings closure, their "second" dance (the first being the one in cancun ;)

And I'm going to leave you with two things, a beautiful kiss....and a slideshow...

Here's one of the slideshows I've been working on while missing in action. If you haven't seen their engagement photos, no need to look for them because here they are. I love love love. These ALWAYS make me SMILE! Hope you ENJOY as much as I do:

You bet Jin and Jack will be seen again on this blog ;)

Ref: Our Blog for more photos

Jin & Jack's Wedding Reception

2009-05-01T09:40:00.003-04:00

April 18th, 2009 - YAY!! Jin & Jack walked to their vows under the beautiful blue skies of Cancun!

April 26th, 2009 - Their wedding reception was held at China Garden for everyone to come and celebrate, especially those couldn't make it to Cancun. Including US!

Here is a sneak peek at their Reception held at China Garden and wow, isn't she GORGEOUS!!

Ref: Our blog for more photos

Gordana & John's wedding

2009-04-19T09:29:00.024-04:00

Thanks to our wonderful friend Thanh whom referred this lovely couple to us. When we opened the door the night Gordie came to see us, she surprised us by having our friends with her! Which was nice because that put the first meet and greet at total ease! We got to know a little about each other and that's exactly how we'll be able to capture them on their big day. As always, I had chosen some of my favorite photos for this blog but an exception is I have too many favorites so I had to narrow down what to put here.

Be sure to read what I have at the end because I won't narrate as much as I usually do through these photos and there's a reason. So without further delay, here they are. Hope you enjoy:

John's mother:

I adore this:

Love this:

The reception was held at Dutch's Daughter in Frederick. And I must say, the place looks beautiful and also the food was extraordinary! It really was! Thanks Gordie and John for the wonderful dinner! If anyone is interested in a reception location in Frederick, I would definitely recommend them looking into this restaurant. This restaurant can accommodate up to 300 guests believe it or not! You'll see for yourself why this place is beautiful:

I love this:

Now, for the future brides out there, did you notice something a little different? I'm so proud of Gordie for having pulled herself together for the ceremony because there was a mishap. Sadly, the floral arrangements didn't arrive on time for the ceremony. And any bride would know that's probably the last thing a bride would want to happen on her big day. And although Gordie must have felt terrible, she had her mother, sister and friends at her comfort. Even Father Mike had came to comfort her and said those things happen but reminded that God Loves Us. So if you scroll back up, Gordie walked down the aisle without her bouquet. And guess what, after they had exchanged their vows and lit the candles, the floral arrived and delivered right up to them. Father Mike then reminded God Loves Us which made everyone broke out smiling. The reason I didn't narrate is, the show goes on. And if I didn't mention Gordie didn't have her bouquet when she walked down the aisle, some of us might not even notice. Mishaps might happen on your big day, but don't let it ruin your day. We have even been through a wedding when one of the bridesmaids didn't show up on time for the ceremony. So Gordie, don't feel bad. Brides, just pull yourself together and enjoy every moment at your present. There's not a second to waste. Everything will work out in the end. With that being said, Thank YOU for having us shared the memorable day with you! To Gordie and John, Congratulations to you and may love surround you from this day forward!

Love, Anna & Travis

Ref: Our blog for more photos

Gordana & John - sneak peek

2009-04-07T12:25:00.005-04:00

April 4, 2009 - Congratulations to Gordana & John!!

Here is a sneak peek of the beautiful special day:

Ref: Our blog for more photos

Postage Stamps Increase Effective May 11, 2009

2009-04-07T11:09:00.004-04:00

For those of you who are not yet aware, postage stamps will be increased on May 11, 2009 from 42¢ to 44¢.

So why does this interest you? Because, if you're planning to send out your wedding invitations, this is the time for you to run out there and purchase those "Forever Stamps" which can be used for your wedding RSVP cards. So even after the price change, you can still use these Forever Stamps to mail 1-ounce letters, without the need for additional postage!

What can you do now?
First, weigh your invitation. If it's 1-ounce or less, purchase the Forever Stamps now.
Second, if your invitation is more than 1-ounce, well then use those Forever Stamps for your RSVP cards instead :)

So take advantage !

Visit the USPS site for more details

Bridal Shower for Jin

2009-03-30T14:28:00.016-04:00

Just a note: the photos from this set are straight out of the camera (SOOC) from my new G10.
Chef Jane did it once again. I arrived later so I didn't get to taste her food. But I did get a big bite at the yummylicious cupcake. I also hauled a couple home for my kiddos.
Here are the games that the girls played at the bridal shower:
1) How well does the bride know the groom? There were some tough questions!
2) Who makes the best wedding dress with toilet paper? Jackie won
3) Who melts the ice cube with the ring inside the fastest? not sure who won since we started to cheat (:
Oh, and I lost a sticker to my old pal Sammie the very second Jin gave me the description of one of the other game. Oh so disappointed @ myself. It was nice, I saw a couple of familiar faces and realized it had been some ancient time.

A sneak peak at the Bridal Party:

The winner of the dress contest:

Check out the rest of the photos here and we can't wait for your wedding day J&J !

Jin's Bridal Shower

Ref: Our Blog for more photos

Will You Fly With Me?

2009-03-25T22:21:00.018-04:00

I never want to miss a special moment that happens in my daily life. In trying to keep those memories, I always have a camera with me (the only time I would forget is because I had uploaded the photos the night before). But since I always have it, each time I took it out to use, I felt so glad to have had it 24/7! I have been very disappointed with my Sony Cybershot. It has a nice look and feel, easy to carry around (that was the reason I got it), but it definitely didn't do a nice job for indoors shooting. Recently someone had asked for it, and we've decided to give it away. In replacement, TT ordered me another point-and-shoot - the Canon G10. I can shoot manual with it and it's soooo powerful!! Just the fact that it can shoot in RAW format, is an awesome feature, but I haven't tried that yet. So my new awesomeness arrived just in time for the first day of Spring. We both welcomed Spring with the following, hope you enjoy for now:

Can you see what is in the skies? How COOL is that?

Does Trident "splash" need a junior model?

Ref: Our Blog for more photos

Anh & Uh's Wedding Album

2009-03-05T21:21:00.024-05:00

Lately, I gave myself another small project. I've been gathering my thoughts in trying to update the look/feel of my homepage, so I'm still working on putting all of that together. I'm learning as I go, from Dreamweaver to Illustrator, to recently some Fireworks! I have wonderful help from people surrounding me, giving me tips and tutorials, so I'm a very lucky lady and appreciate everyone of them! In the meantime, bare with me. I know my homepage needs a makeover!
With that update, a couple of months ago, I wanted to sample a new type of album that came out and I received the book some weeks ago. I do oh so love it. Here are some of its features:
1) It's coffee-table type of book
2) Lays flat when open
3) Panoramic full spread binding (no cuts in the middle!!!)
4) Prints on photographic paper (not magazine type of prints)
5) Holds up to 100 pages
6) Comes in Leather, Faux Fabric, Faux Carbon Fiber
7) Quality is GREAT!!
7) Did I mention an amazing turn-around time? means you'll have your book in no time!

I am adding it on to my collection of books and excited to make it available to my future clients. I'll have some pictures taken of the album and share in the updated website. For now, I'll share with you some pages of Anh&Uh's wedding photos that I used for that book (from this blog post). Hope you Enjoy!

Ref: our blog for more photos

Long & Anh's Wedding cont.

2009-02-16T22:17:00.008-05:00

A lot has been going on, one of which is the fact that our computer has been cleaned up to get ready for 2009! It was a tough decision between spending days wiping out everything or buying a brand new computer just for my own use - and that MAC PRO desktop was looking awfully good on that shelf). So all of the credit went to TT for his extra determination. He had spent days transferring files out of our computer, uninstalling, re-installing all of the programs, the whole way!! I can't imagine myself doing that because I'm one of those who likes to keep EVERYTHING. So I'm glad he was the stronger one to remove 'my' rarely used files, even some of my older .psd files that I still kept which took an unbelievable amount of space. I'll just have to bite it. I'm also trying to learn to maintain a clean working space. Which means I only keep the files that I'm currently working on in the hard-drive, and everything else off and out to external drives. I needed my computer to run as fast as I can. A new year, a new computer space!!! Let's see how well I can maintain this!

Here are a few album spreads of Long & Anh's Wedding (which came from external drives..woohooo for that)! Hope you enjoy!

ref: our blog for more photos

Đêm Nhạc Thiền - Tôi Đang Lắng Nghe

2009-01-14T16:46:00.011-05:00

Happy New Year to all! I've been taking some time off to relax, rest and believe it or not, I dived into a couple of hongkong movie series that for so long I've tried to stay away from. I really enjoyed that mini break. Those of you who has watched those movies before, they are on your list of #1 addiction enemy, so try to stay away. Now back to photo work!

We started our New Year with a meditation session with Thay Minh Niem. It's been so long I haven't been to the sessions and it felt like home to come back to listen to his lecture with old and new faces. This meditation session had a twist for something different, it was formulated through a theme of musical lyrics interpretation. Đêm Nhạc Thiền với tựa đề, "Tôi Đang Lắng Nghe" - translated Meditate via Musical Lyrics to achieve the state of "Listening Deeply."

One of the greatest Vietnamese composer, musician, painter and singer-songwriter was Trinh Cong Son. Our teacher has chosen his songs, and lyrics to elaborate and study for this evening. With songs such as, "Mỗi Ngày Tôi Chọn Một Niềm Vui" (I seek one happiness each day), to "Tôi Ơi, Đừng Tuyệt Vọng" (Oh Dear I shall not lose hope), etc. All of these songs remind us of the fact that if we can Feel and see then we are living in the presence. Yet, we must not allow our sight to overpower our listening, because simply seeing will cause us to overlook the deep meaning.

How many times do we try to listen to others? It may not sound too surprising since I think we more likely find in ourselves a greater inability to listen. How many times have we mis-communicated simply because we didn't listen carefully? How many times have we judged a person before we actually engaged in a conversation and afterward found ourselves living with wrong perceptions and interpretations toward the person. Listening is an art and by practicing it, we will help people release their worries, fear, and misery.

So next time when you feel you are not being heard, patiently ask, "Have you listened to me deeply?"

This session was the first to be held at a place where our Cherry Blossom sangha friends greatly contributed their time and effort to renovate and have it turned to the center to hold more sessions to come.

Here are some photos of Thiền Đường Tĩnh Lặng, translated as "Still Meditation Hall".

Everyone had complimented the way everything is laid out, the color coordination, the paint color on the wall, together bring the mood we should achieve. Every little details was put together by Thay and the sangha. Notice the photo and the writing on the wall:

Entertainment group who sang the songs we studied on:

There was even a skit that's related to our studies:

A group photos of those who stayed for a post-event discussion session:

There is another event to celebrate the Lunar New Year so please contact us for details if you're interested.
Ref: Our Blog for more photos

Long & Anh's Wedding

2008-12-21T16:21:00.004-05:00

Congratulations to Tuan and Anh!
A sneak peek at their wedding in the winter weather:

Ref: Our Blog for more photos

Cousinly Love

2008-12-15T21:25:00.004-05:00

I've been totally missing for the past couple of weeks. And listen to this lame excuse...that's because I've misplaced my eyeglasses! So once I take out my contacts in the evening, I didn't want to put them back on for computer work ...so...now after 2 weeks, I have finally found the glasses. I was taking out kids' toys from under the sofa and found something that looked like my glasses, so yay! Anyways, let me do some catch up here:

Last month, my niece turned sweet 4, and had some portraits taken at our studio.

These are some of the album photo pages of my adorable niece who has such a soft-spoken voice (just like her mom's) that I wish my bbgirl could learn.

My niece and my bbgirl were playing dress up and found a halloween costume in bbgirl's closet that was too long for her but fitted my niece perfectly. My niece insisted on wearing that as her second change of outfit. And being a kid, she softly asked if she could borrow and take the dress home. Of course I couldn't say no to that! (when she outgrows it, she can pass it back to bbgirl ;)

While taking her photos, our little boy jumped in during my niece's switch of outfits time. Here he is, my little boy doing his own thing by himself and insisted TT to take his pictures:

I want to remember this: when bboy found I was going through these pictures, he pointed at himself on the monitor and identified which ones he was happy in and which ones he was sad in. My little boy is all grown up!

And of course, I can't possibly leave bbgirl out from the cousinly love:

Ref: Our blog for more photos

Month of November

2008-11-27T08:44:00.004-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving everybody! So here is a long post for you to read before you stuffed yourself and can hardly walk =)
In this season, I'm thankful to be able to see these beautiful colors and
couldn't help but capture them. I wanted to share with you what I saw and what I enjoyed that lasted a little more than one week:

All of the following untouched photos were taken from my Sony Cybershot =)

To recap what has happened around here. On November 4th, 2008 the BIG Election Day which made US history. I arrived to my polling place at 10am and waited for 40 minutes. I wanted to remember this day so of course I took a picture when I was waiting in line:

Laugh away, but this is ME ME ME, a proud citizen...I VOTED:

Then that weekend, we went to our brother-in-law's surprise BD in Virginia:

Our bboy was the center of attention, all the waitress adored him and gave him chair-rides around the restaurant!

The following day was my friend Thanh's BD, where once again, my bboy captured all the attention by the cake and taken into adoption by the birthday girl (jk):

Then the following weekend, we attended our niece Torie's 5th Birthday at Chuck E Cheese:
(check out the awesome shirt mama dressed him in, it's so cool-looking that she wore it for him twice w/o knowing!)

Babygirl was loving the tickets:

Our nephew redeemed the tickets:

Chuck E Cheese, where 'adult' can be a kid:

On November 19th, it was bbgirl's FIRST DENTIST APPOINTMENT!!
She was shy the whole time, but she listened and behaved well. Here's her shy 'morning' face:

The dentist, Dr. Poursaeid, a pediatric dentist of Metropolitan Dental Specialist was very nice and good with kids. I was able to bring bboy along to be there with bbgirl. Bboy seemed interested and next thing you know, the dentist said at his age, he could be seen too! So woohoo...he was such a breeze to work with and didn't give one second of a hard time. As a matter of fact, he seemed to be enjoying himself. He paid attention, opened his mouth when asked, and when given the dinosaur floss, he took it and tried to floss it himself. The dentist and I were AMAZED (I even used my camera and videoclipped it). I wouldn't miss videoclipping that, I captured to re-live those memories with my kiddos anytime I want!

To wrap up the month of November, we celebrated another girlfriend's bday! Nhan turned how old?? yayy!! Chef Jane hosted a Thanksgiving dinner/Nhan's BD party, and of course, I WAS once again STUFFED with DELICIOUS FOOD! Everything was made from scratch, even all the birthday cakes:

Chef Jane holding the dish of smoked salmon on top of cheese and cracker:

And birthday girl, Nhan:

More pictures from the party, click here
Last weekend, we also went to Adams Morgan and celebrated her birthday. I haven't been out with my girls for YEARS ok, and oh boy, it was SO GREAT to be spending time with them. Oh and it happened to be the night where I left my camera at home, for ONCE, so..until I snatched some pictures from the girls, I wouldn't have any to share. It's usually so hard to get out of the house to have some downtime, but this time, I managed to escape and spent some good time with my good friends. I cannot wait for the next hang-out! Oh and Chloe Lounge, you spinned such such great music, that kept my feet on the floor the whole night, so I'm coming there again w/o a doubt!

Ref: Our Blog for more photos

Nathan turned 6-month

2008-11-16T23:02:00.006-05:00

Two years ago, we captured Trang and Vu's wedding, one of TT's good friends:

Last month, their first babyboy turned 6-month and they came to our studio for their baby's photo session. I wanted to process this particular baby photo session with DUAL-TONE so check out this adorable babyboy:

First, one of the photos that featured on the banner of this blog up there, was when Nate was two month:

Here he is at 6-month:

This always makes me smile, the lines on Nate's forehead, makes me think of 'ong cu non' aka 'little old man':

One of my favorites!!!

What's in a baby photo session without some butt-cheeks!

Can't get enough of his smile, sooo cute:

One is a baby when: finger-nail scratches are everywhere...how about on his legs:

And finally, photos around this time of the year can turn into great holiday greeting cards for family and friends:

If anyone is interested in a portrait session and have the photos made into greeting cards, then Email us for the holiday portrait special soon and we'll try to squeeze it in as we don't have too many days left before the holidays!

Ref: Our Blog for more photos

Trick or Treat at Villages of Urbana 2008

2008-11-02T20:16:00.019-05:00

Two years in a row, the weather was FABULOUS for trick or treating, thus seemed like out came even more spirits and devils than the year before.
My barbie had been waiting for the day to go trick or treat and she enjoyed herself with her bucket of pumpkin. Even more so, she was enjoying after the fact with all the goodies. Her first dentist appointment is in two weeks, we'll see how she does!
Last year, we set up our cameras and took photos of trick or treaters in our neighborhood. This year we weren't planning on doing so because we both came down with a cold. But after opening our door for a few times to pass out the candies, we were surprised to find this group of trick or treater that remembered us from last year and asked us if we were taking pictures this year! We said we weren't planning on doing so, but since they had asked, lifted our sickness, and TT told them alrity, hang on, he certainly can do that again! They waited and had their pictures taken! If it wasn't for them, we wouldn't have captured the spirits of the night. And we glad we did!

So our Barbie and penguin were hanging out with their baby cousins and when they came back, Barbie didn't look happy b/c I ended up not going with her, I stayed back to pass out the candies while TT took photos. Barbie even asked how come I didn't go with her. I know!

Here she is, disguised in her rarely seen 'unhappy' Barbie costume:

And my penguin, who doesn't care for anything except for the yummy goodies:

Neighbor and friends, your kids' photos can be found here: Click here for Villages of Urbana 2008 Halloween photos

For those that might wonder why we do this, because as parents ourselves, we try to capture everything that our kids do. We thought we would be able to do this for our neighbors so everyone can enjoy saving the memories! It was nice to see everyone, and with your support, we'll try to continue providing this fun service! Please spread the words to your neighbors so we can see more faces next year!

If you're interested in a printable version of the photos, please email us embrace@embracephoto.net

Click here for 2007's Halloween Night for Villages of Urbana

Ref: our blog

Birthday Party for Babygirl

2008-10-28T22:50:00.013-04:00

We celebrated bbgirl's birthday this past weekend with our family and friends. She was waiting for it the whole week long and kept on asking why it wasn't the weekend yet for the party. Of course along..came the weekend. She sure had A Whole LOT of fun, the girl didn't go to sleep until almost midnight! Thank you everyone for coming out to our place to celebrate it with our family and made it memorable for babygirl!! Also, thank you for helping with the wonderful food we had! We appreciate all of your thoughts and wishes. When we see the kids having a blast, that's the best feeling. Babygirl definitely was thrilled with her pile of new clothes and TOYS!! xoxo

Here are some photos of her getting the pinata ready the night before--all by herself (with a little of her brother's help) as I was doing some other random preparation. Taken from my Sony cybershot camera :)

Testing how heavy it was after it's filled with goodies:

I figured that since babygirl now understands the concept of dressing up for Halloween and trick-or-treating, that I decided we would do a Halloween theme party. All of the kids were dressed up and even some adults had a little bit of fun. (The photos are as is, I didn't do any color enhancements except for one). Enjoy:

How cute are these Mickey and Minnie:

My nephew...My tiger:

My nephew...My turtle:

Batgirl

The witch and beer keg guy:

A cute Native American:

Little Red Riding Hood:

When the cats are not home, the mice come out to play:

Cake time. My two loving munchkins:

The moment they've been waiting for--Pinata time:

More photos:
Click here for Slideshow 1
Click here for Slideshow 2

The album version:

Trianna_BD

The album version:

Trianna 4th BD

Ref: Our Blog for more photos

My Little bbgirl is 4 today!

2008-10-22T22:19:00.020-04:00

When I held bbgirl this morning, her legs are dangling onto my knees. I realized she's almost my height (but boo, that's b/c I'm a shortie, I hope she doesn't carry my short genes though). Time flies. I sang happy birthday to her in the morning, and she was still sound asleep, but she knew I was singing to her, so while keeping her eyes closed, her face was grinning with a smile. And that's all it really matter to the little kiddos. They're happy, they don't care what goes on around them, they just want to be happy, and stay happy. It's a domino effect, as long as I smile at them, they'll smile back. And when they smile, I start to smile. Smiles are contagious. Oh, also having those Cinderella Princesses costumes for Halloween would make her happier!

This morning we received a call from babygirl's auntie in Vietnam wishing her a happy birthday. Then followed by wishes from Vietnam in yahoomessenger from other aunties. And of course last but not least, grandparents from Vietnam called over. She is one blessed child with beautiful families and friends.

Babygirl when she was at the tender of 3 days young:

2007:

2008:
When she completed her circle, of the "other" shot:

Growing up with her babybrother isn't all so bad =) They have their moments:

More of the unforgettable faces:

Truly my best friend. She's always there when I turn around. My little helper, even in the kitchen. I won't forget these little fingers that insists on lending me a hand:

On the day of her birthday, we went to Monocacy Crossing Restaurant to celebrate bbgirl's bd!
Dessert was on them for birthday girl. They brought out a tray of different desserts so we can choose. Birthday girl looked through scanning each one and pointed to this one (those strawberries did it!)
She was singing Happy Bday to herself!!

Aww, making a wish:

All of us:

...to be continued...

Ref: Our Blog

Anh & Uh's Wedding

2008-10-09T22:49:00.025-04:00

Oct-4, 2008 Anh & Uh's Wedding Reception:

It was a pleasure capturing your laughter, your joy, and all the wonderful moments you both shared on this very special day. From viewing all the photos from the party, I found that there was not one second where Anh didn't have a laughter on her face! People will know in a bit what I mean! The wedding reception was held at Panache Restaurant in Tysons Corner. Since I wasn't there with TT, I can't really tell you much about the restaurant for the the soon-to-be brides out there that are looking for a neat location. (I might ask Anh for some feedback on the service and the food.) If you're a guest at Anh and Uh's Wedding Party, please feel free to leave a feedback on the comment section of this entry! But from the photos, it looks like it's a perfect place to accomodate up to 200 people!! Check out the bar too!

The dress

Getting Ready:

The groom, a glimpse of the Falls wedding theme (his tie):

BLinG!!

A few ShoTs =) before reception:

Simply adorable:

Panache Restaurant in McLean. Anh's choice of the colors is of course perfect for the Autumn season. Simple and elegant.

Cupcakes! Yum!!

First Dance:

Intro of families:

The Party begins:

Yumm continues:

Party continues:
You look Gorgeous Anh! ~

Anh often made sure her parents and grandparents were comfortable..aww:

Anh having a fabulous time:

Which is why this couple couldn't help it:

Dancing the night away:

Absolutely adorable:

Here are the wedding albums from the day (click on "slideshow" for another method of viewing):

Anh+Uh Wedding - Getting Ready

Anh+Uh Wedding Reception - Guests

Anh+Uh Wedding Reception - Intro and First Dance

Anh+Uh Wedding Reception Party

Again, Embrace Photo Congratulates you - Anh and Uh and wishes you both a happily ever after!!!! Thanks for having us captured your special day!

Ref: Our Blog for more photos

The New and Improved Embrace Photo Blog!

2008-10-07T17:15:00.005-04:00

Yay....I'm VERY EXCITED!!! Supperrrr excited. Finally...our blog got a make-over! Back in July, I was gathering my ideas and thoughts because I wanted my blog to get a new look for its one year-anniversary (per se). So, after we did the group photo shoot with the ladies in June (from this session blog post), I got to know Annie! I never really knew Annie, she was a close friend of one of my girls, we'd go out together..but didn't get a chance to talk much. Well, that's one reasons why we love to do what we do because from our photo sessions, we gain friendships. Not only she is this gorgeous model on our shoot, holding a full time job, party-on when it's time, but in her spare times, she has helped several friends with their web projects! From our talks, she was willing to lend us a hand to make updates to our blog in her free time. On the other hand, whenever she feels like looking good on the camera, she knows who to come to! You betcha! This was her first Blogger project, and it turned out amazing! After she came back from her vacation recently, she pulled all the loose ends together and got this out of the door within a week! Thanks for being so patient with me Annie, it was new for the both of us...she was learning how blogger works and I was learning how to put the pieces of my ideas together...slowly one at a time. For example, I never took advantage of the labelling of each blog post. When I played around with it, I realized, that's how we can catogorize things! Simple things as that...that I never used before. And I finally also learned something about myself. Interestingly enough, I have realized that the time when I usually figure out how to put pieces of the puzzle together, it usually happens when I can't fall asleep and just roll around on my bed. So Annie, when you see ideas on the emails, they're from my half asleep dreams. It was indeed an interesting project for me. I hope it was a fun experience for you too =) It is when I'm seeing what I'm seeing right now! Thanks so much for your help...and you know who to holler when you want some rockin' photos!

New look and feel of Embrace Photo blog coming up soon...

2008-10-06T09:54:00.003-04:00

Very excited...I just want to let you all know that we're in the process of re-vamping this blog and you'll be seeing the new and improved blog soon enough. I'll provide more details on this. If you're experiencing any problems, please hang in there!!

Stages of Life

2008-10-02T17:34:00.004-04:00

Often times we forget... the truth of life...

The innocence look on this baby's face embraced by the many experiences of life on Great-grandma's hands.

I've only lived one quarter of the way and already an unmeasurable life difficulties. The elderly makes me WOW at how much they have overcome and the many years we haven't experienced.

(this picture, taken from my sony cybershot)

Babygirl LinhVy turned 1 on Sep 29th! The adorable baby of our friend. Look at the few strands of hair she has, so cute.

By the way, just so you know that we are aware that our website's Portfolio section is down. We are in the process of updating it. So please hang in there. Please email us with any questions.

ref: Blog

Embrace Photo gets ready for 2009 photo sessions

2008-09-27T20:29:00.013-04:00

As 2009 is sneaking up, I wanted to give you a heads up of what's going on! Here we go!

2009 calendar is officially open for all photography services!!!

*WEDDING*
*Engagement*
*Boudoir*
*Glamour*
*Maternity*
*Children*
*Baby*
*Senior class*
*Birthday*
*Holiday*

That's just a quick list of the types of photo services we provide.
***Now, make sure you read this***::: As an appreciation to the ones that hear of us from your friends, the ones that simply stumble onto our webpage and blog from your internet searches, the ones that often come back to see our work (thank you!), or the ones that want to contact us and haven't done so...we are offering this to YOU YOU YOU,(past, current, future clients): we are offering a special 10% off of a total package for your 2009 event!! (including any of the above services that I had mentioned!!) This offer is good when you schedule with us from now until the end of this year! ON TOP OF THAT 10% off offer..check this out, for wedding couples, we welcome you back one year after your wedding at NO-CHARGE for a family portrait session (perfect for your maternity pictures!! value at $250). If you are reading this, please mention EmbracePhotoBlog Code!!! Feel free to let your friends and families know! Wedding couples, you could literally be saving anywhere from $300 to as much as $700 (or even more depending on what you want!)!!! So don't hesitate to call us to take advantage of what I had mentioned.
(please contact us for details. Offer expires 12/31/2008)

Some information you might be interested in:

Holiday - Before wrapping up 2008, the holiday season is really just around the corner. Contact us to schedule your family session. We can turn the photos to Greeting Cards so you can have those sent out to family and friends! Please email for '08 Holiday Specials.

Engagement or Pre-wedding session - a studio or outdoor session is included for all wedding packages when booked together. Or it can be available by itself. If you are having a SPRING season Wedding, NOW is the time to get yourself together for an engagement session so you can prepare those save-the-date materials! It is suggested to send out your save-the-date 6 months in advance so that guests can prepare their calendars. We offer a variety of save-the-date materials, such as postcards, or magnets, so the couples wouldn't have to worry about chasing down what to do!

Boudoir - hot and sexy photos of you that you want to embrace forever! If you're looking for that perfect gift for your fiance, consider this as an option! Turn the photos into a 15-20-page matte or glossy photobook. Or even if you just want some boudoir images for keepsake, here's your chance to look beautiful! (Guess what, Makeup service is included!!) FYI: The session is kept confidential.

If you're interested in any of the offers I had mentioned or if you have any other questions, please feel free to contact us via phone or email.

We look forward to having a wonderful 2009 and meeting all of the loving people out there!!

Embrace Photo
Anna

ref: Blog

Allure Spa Beauty Box

2008-09-23T12:34:00.007-04:00

And I thought the Beauty Box from Allure's May issue was the only one. This is something new starting this year I guess. A friend of mine, of course, the one and only beauty special agent (Jin) again passed me the awesome deal that Allure magazine is giving.
Starting Sept. 23rd at 12:01 pm EST Allure will have the Spa beauty box available for $35. Retail value of $255.

**Note** It is now SOLD OUT...
Click here to go to order yours, http://www.allure.com/go/spabeautybox

For pictures of the box, click here scroll down to Wiki Community Board

• Alterna CAVIAR Anti-Aging Moisture Shampoo

• ARCONA Triad Pads

• Becca Cosmetics Line & Pore Corrector available at Makeup.com*

• Borghese Rejuvenata Cuticle Oil

• Borghese CuraForte Moisture Intensifier available at Makeup.com*

• Colorscience® Achromatherapy Gem Spritzer in Be Still (Travel)

• jane iredale — The Skin Care Makeup® — Cherry Sparkle PureGloss™ for Lips

• Kinara Eye Cream firming and hydrating for all skin types

• La Bella Donna Lip Pencil in Beaujolais

• L'Oréal Professionnel Texture Expert Expansion

• SUKI Triple Cream Eye Definer available at Makeup.com

*Each Beauty Box will feature one product from either Becca, Borghese, or SUKI.

I will post pictures of the box when it received it!
----updated:
I have received my package on the 10th, so it took a little over two weeks to receive this. Ok, here's the thing, this time the box came by FEDEXGround and they requested Signature! That's something I'm never thrilled about! I had to stay home and wait for this package after 2 door notes. Back in May, the package arrived safe and sound through regular USPS. So I was VERY SURPRISED when I received the FedEx door notes. I didn't know who was the sender, so I called Fedex to ask who was the package from and they said "Log On". I was like what? I didn't order anything from Log On! But whatever, I stayed home and signed off on the package and when I signed off, I asked who was the sender, and the delivery guy said "Allure". To my very surprise...
Here are a few snapshots of the package:

The one I ordered this pass May is this, click here to see pictures

"Hush a bye baby"

2008-09-17T22:01:00.002-04:00

Hush a bye baby, on the tree top,
When the wind blows, the cradle will rock;
When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall,
Down will come baby, cradle and all.

Kings Dominion welcomes Booz | Allen | Hamilton

2008-09-17T08:33:00.001-04:00

Finally, Booz Allen Hamilton held its annual theme park family day at Paramount's Kings Dominion this year. Previous years, it had been at Six Flags America, click here for the post from last year. I don't think I can forget this day, it was ONE HOT AND HUMID day to spend outdoors! It was 92 degrees with a record high for the area of 93 degrees. So you can imagine how crazy it was. There was even a heat advisory announcement. Well it was too late, we were already there with 4 kids. The park opened at 10am, we got there at 10:30am and stayed until 5pm. Oh boy, it was one killer experience. And looking back, our family seem to be loving killer experience!
We let the kiddos tried the kiddie rides, only to have the lady stop after a minute the ride started to take out bboy!! They were fine and loving it when we sat them down, but bboy started crying when he found we weren't riding with him. So we had to apologize and asked the lady to stop the ride and we took him out. Bbgirl stuck through that ride but she was frowning the whole time and didn't even look at me when I waved at her! She was mad. Poor thing. I did give them another chance at the another ride, but no luck there either. So we gave up trying to convince them.

By 11:30, we were starving, and headed to the area where lunch was being served by BAH. After that we hit the Water Works area and totally stayed there until we left. We couldn't walk around any longer, it was too hot and steamy!

Here are some photos from my sony cybershot:

It was that crowded:

Had to get a double stroller else we wouldn't stand a chance:

aww

My baby:

When we first sat them down:

See how sad she is after we took bboy off:

Lunch Time:

Hit the pool:

Enjoying the Tidal Wave Bay:

Labor Day weekend at the Baltimore Aquarium

2008-09-16T18:34:00.002-04:00

It was the first time the kiddos get to see that much fishes. The closest place to enjoy such things is the Baltimore Aquarium. I think bbgirl was old enough to enjoy her time but bboy- what a handful, all he wanted to do was climb the escalators. I don't think he's ready for this kind of day-out until he's at least a couple of years older! Yes, so we learned our lessons.

We chose the package with the dolphin show and it was a nice way to spend our holiday weekend. I love going out of town, so we made it an out-of-town trip. On Sunday, we attended a kiddo birthday party in Baltimore, we slept over and karaoke till 2:30 am (at least), then the following Labor Day was spent at the aquarium. Luckily, our kids love being away from home once in a while too, so we rarely have any problems with them adjusting to where they sleep.

Here are a few snapshots from my sony cybershot:

Before:

After:

Where are the fishes:

Here they are:

Another one, can u see, it's a dark one:

So where is bboy? This is the only one i got of him actually enjoying what he is seeing though it's not all that clear:

Our friend, lol:

where have we been?

2008-09-16T15:28:00.002-04:00

hey all...I've been missing! yes! That's because I was working on wedding albums and various other family/friends activities!
So to catch up, I'll be posting the events in random order:
These were taken with my sony cybershot:

First up, a surprise birthday party for Sammie. And no one spilled the surprise! yay!
Of course the fabulous food prepared by Chef Jane, believe it or not, we almost finished up everything she had there! Again, call her, email her, facebook her to book her for your next event. No kidding, that cake she made was omg, sooo good! I thought I was just going to have half a piece, but I ended up gulping up the whole piece!

The birthday girl Sammie, she was ready to eat as soon as she walked in the house. Check out the video clip I got of her on Lynn's blog (click here).

The wonderful CHEF Jane, you should call her~!

aww, she's ready to serve:

And last but not least, the group shot:
this is not the most flattering pic of me! but wurever!

September 11, 2008

2008-09-11T10:43:00.003-04:00

Another year, another flashback. Our hearts and prayers are once again, with the families as we're marking the 7th September 11 memorial. A few week back there was a movie on this tragedy and I dropped my nightly chores to watched it. I got swept away and could not imagine the ones being in that tragedy. The way people were coughing up the storm because they couldn't breathe the smoky air. I was once again reminded of how fortunate I was at that moment to be able to breathe such fresh air. I was just a TV viewer and already vivid memories of the movies remained in my mind. I could not imagine the feelings of those that survived and worst of all, the feeling of lost in hope as one man gave up the fight and sat at the staircase as he watched people running down pass him. We can never understand their feelings, but what you and I should start practicing now is how we can live this life with no regrets.

My rule of thumb: if there is a sender, there's a receiver.

May God Bless You.

A message from mommy

2008-08-22T00:02:00.016-04:00

By day, watching you grow with this laughter on your face makes my heart complete.
By night, while mommy has to work late, you carry your blanket over to stay in my sight. I simply adore you.
What's even more wonderful is when you say, "Mommy, mommy, I love you."
What makes mommy think more is when you say, "Will you not work tonight?"

**dreams do come true. I love you too sweetie. xoxo. mommy**

Jin + Jack Engagement session

2008-08-16T19:31:00.010-04:00

A few weeks back, Jin emailed and said she needs some save-the-date materials and photos for their wedding website...and well...'asap'! Because how awesome is this, they've decided to "ditch the city and get married on a beautiful beach in Mexico!"
Due to their wedding being a destination wedding, arrangements had to be made extra early for their friends and family, so we worked together on getting their favorites photos post-processed and onto their wedding site within a week after the session. More of their favorites were done the second week and on their plates now, so we hope everything is on schedule for you guys! Woohoo!

I asked what she wanted, and she said something like the windy small roads. It doesn't have to be too far to have that for her... how about right around the corner?

Here are some of our favorites combined with their favorites that will make the palm trees in mexico dance =)

Let's get to it! We started with a studio session, lasts almost an hour and here are only a fewwww of what we loved:

First up, what started it all...the bling accepted on 01/01/2008:

They're a beautiful couple:

This is really them and they're so in love- Love this!

We asked her what was the cause of attraction, and she responded, "HE CAN RAP"
How about this, a combo of rap and romance...I said, he should definitely rap for your first dance. (Considering?? =) This is really how he is, a fun guy! So very cute:

Lights off, let's get exotic. I'll share with you the same pose that's used in-studio and outdoors and how they're different in mood!

First one, in-studio...where romance can spice up:

Second one, outdoors...where the fun begins:

Isn't it Gorgeous! (a proud A's captures!)

Love hands-holding and walking...a sign of carefree and life-loving:
Good choice of color for this session!

The following: cameras, photographers, who cares:

Casually them:

There's more................

Jin's favorite:

Jin, awww:

The sun was setting, and we played with some shadows, very cool...
From this:

To this:

" 'Cause I'm not, leaving you behind"

'Til the end of the road, we stick together:

Congratulations again Jin & Jack!!! We hope you found your first 'professional' photo session super pleasant! There's always a first time =) for everything. You make a beautiful couple!! Thank you for being such good sports!!

Le Vu Lan 2008

2008-08-15T13:30:00.005-04:00

Le Vu Lan, a popular Buddhist holiday is actually HERE TODAY! On the ride home quite late last night, the kids looked out the car window and exclaimed, "Lookie at the moon, it's following us!" Very cute, I quickly gazed up and observed the perfectly round moon shining in the sky, yet I felt something missing, my moon was a little faded on the edges. Without my parents in town this holiday, my moon isn't shining as bright. I miss them as they're on the other side of the globe. For every holiday, my parents would do the preparation on the altar with fresh flowers and fresh fruits. Actually, it's year round in our family to have those items on the altar. Then on the weekend, we would go to the pagoda together and sit down for a reading. I recall, this reading gets very teary and very emotional, we would all come out in red eyes and puffy nose. It describes the responsibilities of parenting, its difficulties, the endurance parents face to provide the life for their youngsters. Something one would only understand when one becomes parents. (I would already started crying by this point). It also has a story explaining Ngay Muc Kien Lien, loves his mother dearly that when he became enlightened, he was able to see the suffering his mother was enduring in Hell for her wrong doings when she was alive. He wanted to help her. From this love and inspiration, the 15th day of the 7th month of the Lunar Calendar became a traditional Mother's Day for Vietnamese. I found an article explaining more on this, you can read it here: Muc Kien Lien

I have received a lot of visits to our blog on the story I wrote on Le Vu Lan of 2007. Thanks again for your visits. Out of this, I received an email from one reader back in late June, asking if she could quote my piece of writing to an article she was invited to submit for Asia Trend Magazine, a magazine in Orlando, FL. I happily accepted her request and I just wanted to take a moment and thank you everyone worldwide for reading and acknowledging the source. The web has so much info that it's nice to honor the references. So yay to that! From there, I had made some modifications to my writing and added a last minute collage. After the magazine publication, she offered to send me through snail mail a few copies of the magazines and provided the link to the article on the web for Asia Trend Magazine. What an honor! It was our first public article that doesn't require the mouse clicking, although this blog here is already public -But you know what I mean. It was fun =)

Although it's a July Issue, it's never too late to pass it on to you to view it =)

Click on this link
Click on the white search box for Page 26 & 27
There is our article!

And here is a snapshot of it:

Better yet, you can just simply go back to my blog post and read it =)
Le Vu Lan 2007

To those that are celebrating Le Vu Lan this weekend, hope you are enjoying your time and may you find yourself living in mindfulness. Although my parents aren't here, I will carry on the tradition and be the bridge between the old and new, I will take the little ones to the pagoda to allow the first generation in America to enjoy the tradition we had all grown up with.

"Be aware and awake to the present moment. To be truly alive, present and at one with those around you and with what you are doing."

"Tho*? va`o tho*? ra" "Breathe in breathe out".

---AP---

August 8, 2008

2008-08-08T12:30:00.007-04:00

It's August 08, 2008 today!!! 8-8-8, stands for lots of fortune! The Olympics 2008 Grand Opening is today 08-08-08 and guess at what time ...8pm.

On the same note, it's TT's mom's birthday today! I have placed a flower basket from this Florist shop Vuon Xinh (http://www.vuonxinh.info/home/) in Binh Thanh VietNam and got it delivered to mommy. If you're looking for flowers to deliver in Vietnam for ANY occasions, contact them!!

That's not all the birthdays...there's also Linh! Happy Birthday be' An (from this maternity session!!!

Here is the flower basket delivered to mommy!

our little ballerina

2008-08-04T22:41:00.008-04:00

Lately, the little girl starts to do some tip-toeing like a ballerina. She must be watching too much Barbie. She constantly remembers that she has access to the studio anytime, so one July weekend, she puts on her favorite dress and she INSISTED that daddy take out the camera to shoot some portraits for her!
"Yes" to her order, here is what bbgirl came up with, totally her idea, I'm sure TT didn't need to guide her.

to be cont.

Cheesecake

2008-08-01T12:52:00.008-04:00

Two days ago, Cheesecake Factory was offering every slice of its cheesecake for $1.50/slice in celebration of 30 years of serving the best cheesecake around!!! It's for dine-in orders only and one per person. Well, guess what, I WENT w/a colleague just for the experience of how crazy that day would be!!! And it was ridiculously insanely crowded!! When we walked in and asked for a table for 2, they said it would be a 20-40 minutes wait. Well, ok, so we walked out and I thought why not sit at the bar, so we walked back in to see if seatings at the bar was available. How clever was that!! Luckily, there were a few potential seats open which took us 10 minutes to finally get situated. Took us another 10 minutes IN ORDER to place our 2 orders of cheesecake and a dish of fries. We thought going off-peak hours would help, but we were wrong. Yep, we're there for cheesecake only! The server warned us that it will take at least 20 minutes for the cheesecake to be ready. WOOOORRRZZZZ!!! We weren't in a rush, we just nodded at him, acknowledged that we can tell how busy and behind they are in serving just cheesecake. Since we were sitting near the bar and next to the soda refill machine, we overheard how crazy the day had been.

One story was: a meal and cheesecake order was placed, people finished their meals and yet took another 15 minutes for the cheesecake to come out!

We asked how had tipping been for them since regular price cheesecake would cost $8, but now only $1.50. Well, they said, some would tip on the regular price but some would tip on the $1.50 price. So, imagine getting .30cents for each slice of cheesecake. Aww, we felt bad for them.

After some time had passed, our orders of yummy looking goodies arrived. I blindly ordered a Dulce De Leche Caramel and my colleague ordered Lemon Raspberry Cream. It was amazingly delicious!!! I have never ordered dessert there since I never had room for one. So this was my first Cheesecake Factory dine-in cheesecake. W.o.w. Smooth, creamy, rich and subtle in caramel taste!!! Maybe I'll take TT there just for dessert so we'll have plenty of room for it!

Seems like Black Friday all over.
An experience not to miss, but would not repeat =) I think I would pass the next time there is this kind of deal!
Our bill came out to be under $7 and we left $5 behind =)

Of course I had to take a pic of my slice of cheesecake - from my camera phone though. Oh how yummy it was:

Life

2008-07-29T10:28:00.008-04:00

I was going through some pictures from 2007's New Year lecture with Thay Thich Minh Niem in MD/DC/VA and found this group picture that has one of my friend's parents whose dad passed away one year ago. These things reminds us of how fragile life really is. One day you see someone, the next day you might not. And it's a tragedy everyone has to go through. So, yesterday, during a conversation with a friend, he pictured l.i.f.e. simply as this:

"Live It Fully Everyday"

Asian Festival 2008 Virginia

2008-07-22T10:03:00.002-04:00

In promoting a greater understanding of Asian countries and culture:

What: 5th Annual Asian Festival

When: Saturday August 9, 2008 (10 am- 9 pm) Sunday August 10, 2008 (11 am - 7 pm)

Where: Off-Site Parking Lot (Reston Association Building)
1930 Isaac Newton Square
Reston, VA 20190-5093

So come! See you there!!!

Miss Universe 2008, Don't miss it!

2008-07-11T16:25:00.009-04:00

What: Miss Universe 2008
When: Sunday July 13, 2008
9-11PM Eastern on NBC
Where: Airing live from NHA TRANG, Khanh Hoa, VIETNAM

Very exciting, and CANNOT WAIT to catch the clips of this beautiful city!!!
Catch it, don't miss it!
Set your cell phone alarm!

Cannot wait to re-live our Nha Trang memories. Flashback- Vietnam vacation at the beginning of this year. Photos from Nha Trang:

Nha Trang 1- a ride around Nha Trang
Nha Trang 2 -Vinpearl Land
Nha Trang 3 - Vinpearl Land

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Updated 07/15/08 - I didn't miss this show! I watched it live. Ok, so we all heard it by now, Miss USA 2008 fell again second time in a row in the Miss Universe pageant. Yes, Miss USA 2007 fell last year. It's in YouTube and as soon as the live show was over (11pm eastern), the magazines and news got the stories printed already. We were reading it 20 mins later after we got home. It must be so hard for her. Well, just wish next year's better luck and maybe practice walking in the shoes in the gown the week before the competition.

Let's Get together with Chef Jane

2008-07-11T12:55:00.002-04:00

Jane, is a sweet and as faithful as can be, who is there whenever we need a shoulder to lean on. Call her anytime of the day, and she is there for you.

Jane is a private chef serving MD/DC/VA. She is available to serve your parties, so call her and try out her samples. She is specialized in French culinary with a twist of her own. I had a chance to try some of dishes and let me tell you, it's amazing. Not to even mention her desserts and pastries. Holaa wow! Her website will be coming soon so behold. Here comes a sneak peek of Chef Jane and her warm and pleasant personality:

Relaxing photos of Jane:

Let's get together with Annie

2008-07-08T08:14:00.004-04:00

Here are some photos of the girls when we had a studio session a couple of weeks ago.

When working in the studio, it actually requires a lot of work, both the models and photographer, working together to achieve the perfect facial expressions and body language for each shot. Everything else is under the photographer's control, the lens and lights, Studio photos capture every little details without the distractions of background, landscape and birds chirping as we know for outdoors session. The model herself/himself has to deliver the specified messages with natural perfections. One message could take many many shots to achieve. Yes, imagine the pros, it's in their nature. On the other hand, the photographer has to connect with the models as well. In addition to having the models feel comfortable in front of the lens, and the short distance to the model, he has a fraction of a moment to capture that message without their realize that they are still getting photographed.

As for you: How would you deliver expressions such as 'frown', 'mysterious', 'lovable', 'alluring', 'happy', just to name a few..? Each model delivers differently and that's what makes it interesting! And that's what makes us love our jobs.

When the rest of the girls arrived, we took a few of these:

Having some fun times:

In addition to playing with 4th of July theme, from the last post, we also put on some sexy masks:

**************************************************************************************
Then after the group shots, we went to individual portraits:

I will keep each girl on individual blog posts, so first, Annie.
Annie is adorable. Her smile is amazing which made our jobs easier to capture that natural smile. She's known to her friends as having a bubbly personality and I totally could see that during the session.

I always tell my models, the first 15 minutes are just Warm-Up sessions. But Annie was a NATURAL, here are the warm-up shots, even before the group shots were done!

Since Annie just graduated and received her MASTERS, yay Annie, congratulations again! I had told her to bring her graduation gown and capture a few for memories:

Did I say she's a natural, I'll say it again, what a natural, GORGEOUS, one of my faves:

Things getting warmer:

Mysterious:

Sexy:

Flirtatious:

Really cooking up, wowzieee, stunning!

WOW

I think those just call for many more sessions in the future! Annie, it was nice hanging out in the studio and munching on the party tray you brought over, thank you, that really helped! You did an awesome job ~!! LoveLove

P.S. TT- Fantastic JOB!

Stay tuned for photos of Sammie and Jane!!

Prayers to the Tran family

2008-07-07T14:00:00.004-04:00

We're deeply saddened to have received the news of 6-yr-old Scott Tran, a son of a family friend, passed away on July 3rd. It was just last month that our kids played with his three children and to receive this news is heart-broken. Our prayers and thoughts are going to the Tran family as they overcome this tremendously difficult time. Please send your prayers daily to families all over the world who has to overcome the loss of a family member.

Happy 233rd Birthday America

2008-07-03T18:24:00.009-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, me and the girls got together for a fun studio session. We really had a blast, and the pictures couldn't be more irresistible!!! A few of the girls couldn't make it at the last minute, we sure missed them let's see what the future holds.

First though, here are some to celebrate the 4th of July 2008:
hope everyone has a safe and sound holiday weekend!!!

Save the best for last:
The 2008 embracephoto's version of .............see for yourself:

(AUNTIE SAM!!!)
WOOHOOO!!! Totally irresistible, I told ya!!! You're soooo cute!!!
Whose idea? TT's of course!!!

Stick around for more to come!!! So excited~!!

K&N's tied the knot!

2008-06-20T09:29:00.015-04:00

It could not have been a more beautiful day for them. It was on the first day of June, under beautiful blue skies, Khuong & Nhi became husband and wife. Everybody looked gorgeous and being a meticulous person that the bride is, all of her details shined through. Her decision on the wedding theme colors, the outfits, from the traditional Ao Dai to the gown cannot be more perfect. What was even more amazing is how crafty the bride really is-and I mean really. Some of the florals was done by the bride herself and that includes one of her bouquets! Yes, she had TWO bouquets! I was gazing into the florals that she did while processing the pictures and I was wondering how in the world did she find time to accomplish that on top of all the final last minutes items to do. So she did and that didn't take away the energy she still preserved for the special day. Now, some of you might not know this, the Vietnamese wedding preparation for the bridal party really does start literally at the peak of dawn. I'm not exaggerating when I say, ummm 4-5AM! With the ceremony being in the morning, the adrenaline already started kicking by midnight while a million things run through your mind, one of which is the hope that everybody will remember what they're tasked to do. There's really no point of sleeping but forced to rest those eyes while waiting for those few hours to rush by.

TT had a wonderful of pleasure of documenting the most important day of their lives. TT showed up on the groom's side with the videographer by 7am. And that's just the beginning of the day with a 3 hours break before reception which pulled onto midnight or even later depending on how rough the crowd wanted to be (this is true in THIS CASE). The morning ceremony tradition goes as this: The party comes from the groom's side to the bride's side for the ceremony, then escorting the bride back to to groom's house for another short ceremony. In one sentence, the tradition means of the bride's parents giving her away to the acceptance and welcoming of the bride to the groom's family under the blessing of God, ancestors and families of both sides.

Since I was delayed in posting some of these pictures, I will make up for that by putting more than expected!

That was a long intro, so...

without further ado, here are some photos and scroll down at the end for the two slideshows for the morning ceremony and the bridal fun session on their wedding day. The reception part will be coming later...

Remember I said "what a bunch" on my previous post...here's why:

What are these ladies screaming at:

What did I SAY???

*Click Here* Wedding Ceremony slideshow

*Click Here* Some fun times with Bridal Party slideshow

What a bunch!

2008-06-16T09:29:00.009-04:00

Soon enough, you'll find a massive amount of photos from this wedding couple. I had a hard time narrowing down which ones for the blog, because each one made me giggle! So, that's ok, I know you won't mind seeing them all and all the fun time! This couple's personality and their bridal party's is a perfect combo. Must I say, their bridal party is a wild bunch! So stay tuned =)

Can you already tell from this look:

Let the summertime bath begin

2008-06-15T10:14:00.004-04:00

Summer time is when we make the most use of this tub. Who doesn't love the tubby? I haven't gotten them a kiddy bubble bath, so they have been using my Victoria's Secret bath bubbles. Water+Bubbles= an awful lot of fun. The kids love it and they always ask to spend time in there before dinner time. Bbgirl's toys are left in there for tubby time, include cooking sets and tea sets. Always a good 20 minutes of fun. But always leave mama to clean up the water spills on the floor afterwards :P
Let me also document that our bboy finally calls out "mommy oi". He had already called TT months ago without knowing how to call mommy. He is such a daddy's boy. But I think he's re-considering that and to love his mommy as well.
To get myself back to pictures mode, here are some to share:

Have a Happy Father's Day!

coming up...

2008-06-11T08:15:00.001-04:00

Hey so sorry all, I haven't had my hands on my computer for a while. You could say I was hiding from it for the past days, re-charging myself for this hot summer that we're already feeling on the east coast. I can run but I can't hide.... So behold, the following will be coming up:

* H & N's wedding
* K & N's wedding
Looking ahead this hot hot HOT Summer:
* Group portraits
* Lifestyle sessions
* Glamour sessions

Excited!!

I wish

2008-06-04T10:19:00.004-04:00

Keeping the natural laws and the laws of physics. However, within my imagination goes something like this:

I wish a day consists of 30 hours which follows nicely as this:

8.5 hours at work,
2.5 hours for commute,
2 hours in the kitchen,
1 hour to clean (pick up dust, flat surface noises, laundry, folding)
1 hour to groom & night skin care...etc.
30 mins for TV entertainment,
2 hours for quality time (read books, play with kids)
30 min just to rest the eyes before:
3 hours of computer work (surfing...)
1 hour of meditation,
8 hours of sleep

I wish my weekend consists of:

10 hours of sleep!
1 hour to watch the kids eat breakfast
30 min for the weekend newspaper
1 hour of around the house chores
1 hour at the temple
1 hour to visit family
2 hours for a lunch dine out
2 hours of afternoon nap!
3 hours on the computer
2 hours for going to the grocery
3 hours for a dinner dine out
1 hour of quality time
1 hour to groom, facial care, etc.
30 min to cool down
1 hour of meditation

How about yourself?

'morning owl'

2008-05-30T05:05:00.014-04:00

My little angel woke me up and I wasn't able to fall back asleep. That's either a sign of old aging or I had enough sleep for the night. But whatever it is, I'm here, and I'm feeling like producing some work. So if you're a morning owl just like me, stick around...I'll have something up in a bit...yay!!!

I'm BACK:::
There is something about this photo that pulled me into it...making it one of my top fav...whenever I flip through the folder of these photos, I had to stop and look at this at least twice...so, sharing my fav to you:

Love Love the look on her face:

I mentioned that I had this dress made the way I want right, well, I haven't worn it myself. So this weekend, I'll be sweating in this, can't wait! This color looks lovely and goes well with this open field.

Beautiful blue skies that day. Adore the look on their faces:

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The moment you take the leap of understanding to realize you are not photographing a subject but are photographing light is when you have control over the medium. - Alberta (2004)

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Open Green Field cont.

2008-05-20T12:49:00.005-04:00

LWith only a few steps to walk to this open field, yes a few steps it's ridiculous (it's still a mystery)! The weather was superb- sunny skies with some frequent clouds floated by. I was assisting TT on the field, one hand holding the reflector, another hand holding my camera, however, I managed to capture a few of my own. And here are a couple of shots of Long n Vy for now...

What a beautiful day

2008-05-17T19:03:00.010-04:00

Today, Long and Vy wanted a session in the studio and some outdoors but to stay local, we came up with this. There's a lot more so...Enjoy!!

by the way, check out the ao dai, it's one of my designs!!!

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Simply look with perceptive eyes at the world about you, and trust to your own reactions and convictions. Ask yourself: "Does this subject move me to feel, think and dream? Can I visualize a print - my own personal statement of what I feel and want to convey - from the subject before me? - Ansel Adams, The Best of Popular Photography by Harvey V. Fondiller , ISBN: 0871650371 , Page: 280
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K&N cont. part 2

2008-05-08T08:52:00.015-04:00

So we've done the second part of the photo reviewing process. Which was to have the couple filter out which pictures they wanted to go into the album. They went through un-edited photos and drop into their favorite folder. Still very massive!! :P
Now, as I take a look at this folder, this photo totally caught my attention and I just want to share a few for now with you:

Check out the texture in the background, the winding tree trunks and the full leaves. This tree caught my eyes (did I say that already, who cares, saying it again)! TT sees sparkles in the tree. The whole composition is a "WOW" to me! Go TT! (of course these are post-processed versions)

I wanted to put a note on this one. On the original version of this picture, TT's lighting on the couple's face was amazing. As I recalled, we took these in a very shady area, of course with the big old tree. But the lighting was perfect. (I haven't given him my opinion, he can read it off of here!)

How about one of my shots, also one of their favorites:)

There's plenty more...I'll try to share as I make progress in going through these :P
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As I have practiced it, photography produces pleasure by simplicity, I see something special and show it to the camera. A picture is produced. The moment is held until someone sees it. Then it is theirs. Photography, alone of the arts, seems perfected to serve the desire humans have for a moment -- this very moment -- to stay. - Sam Abell, Stay This Moment : The Photographs of Sam Abell by Sam Abell (Photographer), Robert E. Gilka , ISBN: 0934738726
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Mother's Day May 11!!!

2008-05-06T22:05:00.005-04:00

If you're still haunting for that perfect Mother's Day Gift and if you're living in MD/DC/VA, check this out. Little Oasis Spa is offering a great Mother's Day special!!

(shh...) I treated myself to Little Oassis Spa a couple of weeks ago, and all I need to tell you is that I nearly fell asleep from the relaxation! I haven't gotten a chance to blog about it b/c I didn't upload my pictures from that day, but before I do so, at least this post got the flyer so it won't feel too empty :P

Hope you all enjoy!!

Pre-wedding K&N

2008-05-01T21:27:00.020-04:00

Pre-wedding sessions are photo sessions taken prior to the wedding, similar to the idea of engagement-session, the only difference is, the couple get to 'choose' to wear her wedding gown and he gets to wear his tux! This is 'the norm' for Vietnamese wedding couples especially since they ultimately will choose from the session a few pictures to enlarge and for keep. Plus, I'm sure the bride wants to make the most use out of her white gown since on the day of the wedding, she gets to wear a Vietnamese traditional dress Ao Dai as well. So there you have it, a little background of what pre-wedding sessions are.

So, back to K&N. I'm at the beginning of editing the pre-wedding session we had with Timmy and Nhi over the weekend, and wow, must I tell you, if you find me giggling through the pictures while editing, you must know I had a blast. When booking them, we know that we're in for big time shooting. The Bride- Nhi had warned us that as long as we have the energy to be behind the lens, she's got the strength to be in front of them! And that was proven on the day when we went to shoot in DC! They had chosen the landmark where they fell in love, the capital of the US! So, off we went! We got there around 11am and after 3 hours of shooting, the bride didn't seem to look tired at all!! They were just 'warming' up!! So, guess what, we roamed the streets of DC the whole DAY!! While it was cloudy, windy, felt like it would pour any second, but we took the most out of what mother nature had to offer. It really did go by fast because when we're done with the session and in the car to grab something for dinner, we asked each other what time it was and couldn't believe it was 5:30pm! This was around the time the rain shower started, so we got lucked out!

I had fun being behind the lens too and will share what I had captured!
Of course, I always have a lot to talk about, but enough said, I wanted to share with you SOME of what I had picked out from our session.

Changing into something more comfy:

Check out this awesome energy:

And last but def. not least, my captures:

'R you kidding me, To be cont...
I'm still working on more pictures, so expect something in the next few days!!

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But there is more to a fine photograph than information. We are also seeking to present an image that arouses the curiosity of the viewer or that, best of all, provokes the viewer to think--to ask a question or simply to gaze in thoughtful wonder. We know that photographs inform people. We also know that photographs move people. The photograph that does both is the one we want to see and make. It is the kind of picture that makes you want to pick up your own camera again and go to work. - Sam Abell, Seeing and Shooting Straight by Sam Abell
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My April MAC Haul !!

2008-04-25T08:52:00.021-04:00

My Wishlist

This is the list that I will use to keep track of all the makeup items that I really really want to get. But this list is about 3 weeks outdated because I've done some MAC shopping over the past weekend!! Is that an "ALRIGHT!!" or "EEKSS" I don't know! But I'm happy, and that's all it matters right?

1) A rolling makeup Traincase!!! YES, a must- I'm dying to get a cute, girly one. Laff away, but that's how I am! I was thinking of a pink or the ones with a nice brand...like LV? LOL...jk..I can't even afford a LV handbag! I'm saving the greens for more MAC and makeup. Back to earth, ok so far, I only found pink. So I'm still truly debating!!! If anyone stumbles onto a cute one, please DO share!!!
As of today: I currently have one that I've recently purchased. And it's not a regular makeup traincase. It got wheels alright, but I've taken a spin with it. I don't want to give off the details since I'm planning that one of these days, I'll do a video of it! It does exactly what I like or at least for now!

2) I'll start with the primers, most of which are highly regarded by my MA idols, Pursebuzz and Enkore:
a) ~~cream color base LUNA = $16.50~~
b) ~~Bare Canvas MAC paint = $16.50~~
c) MAC Stilife Paint = $16.50
d) Smashbox Photo Finish - very nice for photography purposes!
e) ~~Prep + Prime MAC = $22-$26.50~~
f) ~~Prep + Prime Lash MAC = $13.50~~
g) ~~Prep + Prime Eye = $16~~
g) Lip erasure MAC - neutralize color of lips esp for dark lips and give it more of a flesh tone.
Damage: ? woahh

3) For the eyes: Pigments/eyeshadows/highlighters:
a) ~~Vanilla Pigment = $19.50~~
b) Lumene Eyeshadow base
c) Shilaq by Benefit
d) ~~MAC Naked Lunch = $14~~
e) Blanc Type = $14
f) ~~Naked Pigment=$19.50~~
g) ~~Nylon = $14~~
h) ~~Shroom = $14~~
i) for oily lids: Lumene eyeshadow base
j) List to be continued...MAC MAC MAC
Damage: ? woahh

4) ~~Fix+ = $15~~ and its uses are (thanks Enkore!!)
a) sets makeup after everything has been applied
b) as refresher - imagining it would be great for the brides
c) Moisturizing Toner
d) as Mixing medium
Damage: not bad

5) For the face: Contouring - If you're a model, you know how popular cheekbones are. But if you don't have one then Contouring is the way to go. Believe it or not Tyra Banks mentioned in one of her talkshows that she didn't have cheekbones, she said it's the contour that makes it look like she does...Now that's ART!!!
a) Sculpt / Accentuate dual
b) Nose contour - contour darker shade on the sides of the nose and a lighter
shade on top
c) Bronzer - gives that 'sunkist' look for the winter time = $20
d) Skin Finish Natural - good for males, has no shimmer = $24.50
e) ~~Emote blush = $17.50~~
f) List to be continued...
Damage: not bad

Here comes the Brushes...Until I have a full wallet to get myself a set of MAC brushes, these will do for me...highly recommended set for on the budget. I'm dying to get my hands on a complete set of MAC brushes though, so, I just have to be patient and hope that someone will hear my prayers and mail it to my home as a surprise gift :P

6) Brushes- Enkore did a wonderful job at comparing MAC brushes with one of the top painter's brushes Loew Cornell (LC). So per Enkore, if you asked a makeup artist what brush brand is good, they would say MAC, while if you asked a painter then Loew Cornell is one big brand:
a) MAC 150 => ~~LC XXL~~
b) MAC 129 => L-round
c) MAC 136, 134 => ~~LC Maxine 1"~~
d) MAC 239 => ~~LC 3/8"~~
e) MAC 208 angled => ~~LC 1/8" angled~~
f) MAC 266 => ~~LC 1/4"~~
g) MAC 269 => ~~LC 3/8"~~
h) MAC 194 => LC Filbert #8
i) MAC 228 => ~~LC 1/4" maxine mop~~
j) MAC 190 => LC 1" Filbert
K) MAC 242 => LC 1/2" Filbert

I can't leave this blog naked without a picture. It feels like Christmas time! I was one excited little girl. Before I opened and depotted them, I took several pictures as soon as I got home - like 10pm? I should have waited for the daytime to take these but I don't care I had to put them in my palettes ! So here is my April MAC collection:

As of now, these have been transferred to its MAC palettes so, YAYA, they're
sitting comfortably in their shadow/blush palettes.

Sephora Sun Safety Kit

2008-04-23T14:35:00.005-04:00

Ok, so Allure package is really sold out. But if you missed it, Sephora is having a kit as well, check it out, for $25 Sephora Sun Safety Kit

The only thing is, the Sephora kit contain SAMPLES size, versus Allure which actually are full sized products. I hope this would help with some disappointments!

(from Sephora's site: 100 percent of the net profits (that's $21.55 from every kit sold!) will benefit The Skin Cancer Foundation. Sephora will make a total donation of up to $430,000.00 before 12/31/08. Supplies of the kit are limited and will be available from April through June 2008 or while supplies last.) I'm sure this will make you feel better!

Awesome Allure beauty box 2008

2008-04-22T14:39:00.010-04:00

I just wanted to share with you what makes me happy right now:

A friend of mine passed me this awesome deal (Thanks Jin!) that is from the May issue of Allure magazine. The Beauty Box starts 4/22 12:01 PM EST. After two hours of trying to beat this rush traffic to place the order, we finally got through! I got my share and I wanted to post this up asap, but it's too late now because as soon as I placed my ONE order, my friend told me they're out of stock now. So, sorry!!! Guess those that missed out, just have to wait for next year's beauty box!! And we do hear that a lot of these are actually FULL SIZE products. So, this might be the best deal I have ordered so far!!! I can't wait till the package arrives and I'll let you know how good of the deal actually was! http://www.allure.com/magazine/2008/04/beautybox
From one of the forums, someone has the breakdown of all the products and its price. Can't believe I actually got my hands onto one of them. Super exciting! For your information, delivery of this beauty box is 4-6 weeks!!!

From May issue of Allure:

To order the Play Safe in the Sun Beauty Box, visit http://allure.com/go/beautybox08 starting April 22 at 12:01 P.M EST

This exclusive offer, a $255 value, is yours for $29.99 and includes 17 beauty must-haves from some of your favorite brands:

*Anastasia Brow Highlighting Pencil in Matte Buff $21
*AVEENO Continuous Protection Sunblock Lotion SPF 45 $8.99
*BIOLAGE scalptherapie Cooling Mint Shampoo $13
*Biore Pore Unclogging Scrub $6.29
*BLUE LIZARD Austrialian Sunscreen Daily Moisturizer Face SPF 30+ (probably a sample)
*Coolibar Quality Sun Protection – UPF 50+ Reversible Cotton Hat $30
*Garnier Nutritioniste Skin Renew Anti-Sun-Damage Daily Moisture Lotion SPF 28 $11.69
*jane iredale – The Skin Care Makeup Powder-Me SPF $44
*Jergens natural glow express Body Moisturizer $7.49
*Lancaster 365 Cellular Elixir $95
*Neutrogena Mineral Sheers Powder Foundation $11.99
*Neutrogena MoisturShine Lip Smoother $6.99
*NIA 24 Niacin Powered Skin Therapy Introductory Regimen Kit for Moderate to Severe Skin Damage $?
* Physicians Formula Organic wear 100% Natural Origin Bronzer $14
*Redken Color Extend Total Recharge $16
*Sephora UV Exposure Indicator Card
*Skin Effects Sun Effects Continuous Spray SPF 45 Active Sunscreen $10.39

------
05/09/2008: Hey guys, I got this box last night!!! I took pictures and will put it up soon so you all can see the actual product size. So it actually only took 2 1/2 weeks for me. So if you're waiting for it...expect it coming soon!!
05/18/2008: Sorry I took a white to upload the pictures from my small sony camera. But, here are the pictures:
Opening this box is like opening presents at Christmas time.

To go back to our blog, click here

My Ao Dai, 1st style

2008-04-20T22:18:00.010-04:00

I have learned that Visiting Vietnam during Tet New Year can have its positives and negatives. Positives can be the festivals, the lion dances, the temples filled with visitors etc. But since I love fashion, and being a girl that I am, I love customizing my outfits and traditional dresses called Ao Dai, so it wasn't such good timing for me. The reason is due to the tailor's practice of closing their shops and stopped providing services for a good one to two weeks to celebrate Tet, so I wasn't in for a treat! It's cultural that everybody prepares to celebrate Tet by wearing new outfits, the concept of tossing away the old, and bringing on the new. So, even before Tet, I wasn't able to compete with the lines to get anything made since there were tons of people ahead of me. So I had to wait until they re-opened their business to get some dresses made. So, after I had gone shopping for the fabrics, I sat down and drew out designs, and did my homework. In Binh Duong, there is a very famous tailor so my sister-in-law/TT's sister, took me to her. I presented the 7 fabric pieces and 7 designs I had in mind and asked her to have them done asap. The designs I presented were not ordinary designs for Ao Dai, so she was in for a surprise! I definitely modernized the ao dai into my taste and personality! She was able to make 3 ready for me before I left Vietnam, and the rest would be done in time for my other relatives to bring over for me, which was one week after.

Those that know me, I've been forever in love with wearing ao dai, so I will share with you a few of what I'm proud to say "my-style-of-fashion", but here is the first one, my personal favorite. It really calls out my name!! And that's what I LOVE about it!

I'll have more Ao dai coming up...I'm in the process of making my own jewelry to go with the others so, yayy!!

Until then, I want to share with you these. While I was busy taking my early evening nap, yes, early evening nap- meaning from 4ish to like 9pm :P When I came up to the computer, I found these: I couldn't believe my eyes, adorable bbgirl, She didn't need me there to know what to do in front of the camera...she really does know how to do it herself! Check out the different umbrellas in these frames.

can't get enough...

Love Love Love!

Now, if you weren't able to see this...
Check out me and my twin:

See any similarity? wahhahha...LOVE! Check us back later for more pics...

To go back to our Blog, click here

April's Girls-Night Out

2008-04-16T22:32:00.007-04:00

For the month of April, the girls decided to have dinner at our place, so while busy being the host and running around in the kitchen, here are some random pictures captured either by myself or our TT:

Our entree, 8-seafood stew and mussels in diced tomato sauce, made by our new graduate from the French Culinary School. By the way, if you need a personal chef for your gatherings, events, you know who to reserve! Chef Jane:

Someone winking at the photographer? lol!

Nhan homemade this gelatin, it's organic! Can you tell bgirl is totally digging it:

A quick group shot even though we were missing a couple of ladies who had to leave early:

Anytime you ladies want to have dinner at our place, you're more than welcome to! I love not having to cook dinner for the night but most importantly, I love to eat GOOD FOOD! Thanks Jane for putting together our dinner! TT asked if can we do this more often!

Been missing... I know

2008-04-15T12:30:00.003-04:00

I guess you probably can figure that out that I've haven't been BLOGGING! ehehe. Well, truth is, I'm catching up with my jewelry and beads making on the weekends and too tired on the weeknights to do any blogging. So just wanted to let you know that. But I do have a lot to blog about, so hang in there. What's coming up:
1-Some images from my girls night out at our place
2-I would never leave Vietnam without making customized traditional dresses called Ao Dai!! That's so not me. But you'll see, they're not too traditional, I put down the designs and had the tailor made them the way I like it.
3-Photos and more photos...

So hang on...

Ao Dai Fashion Show cont.

2008-04-01T22:26:00.016-04:00

Hey guys, I didn't want to keep you waiting any longer, so, I did not do any post-processing whatsoever. Here are my selective shots of TT's captures for the fashion show. The two Picasa albums will contain all of the happenings on the runway.

Ao Dai collection

The 2nd collection:

How about these:

He got me!!!

Here are the Picasa Albums, Enjoy !!!

P.S. A note from me to those that are curious! If you are reaching this page, obviously you had searched the web for Calvin Hiep's collection. And if you had search for it, then I knew that you are hoping to find something about his collection. I'm proud to post these to spread the words about successful Vietnamese designers that made it in the US and that we had the privilege to have captured one of his shows. So if this isn't what you are looking for, then please feel free to leave my blog. This is definitely not the blog you should be in. These pictures are for those who are searching for CH's for inspiration! I welcome you! Please feel free to leave a comment! I love you, those that are supporting the spread of successes, both the art of fashion and the art of photography!
His dream is to have his designs be incorporated into an outfit that would be worn by Hollywood superstars, to such events as the Oscars. I have all the CONFIDENCE that his dream will come true after watching Dvd Paris By Night 84 In Atlanta Âm Nhạc Và Thời Trang!! I truly admire his work! You can't imagine how many times I've watched that video over and over. So Calvin, I wish you lots of success!!
Those that want to see some more of him, check this out: Click here Lanie Nguyen show clothing designer Calvin Hiep

To go back to Our Blog, click here

Ao dai fashion show

2008-04-01T08:30:00.015-04:00

Happy April's Fool everyone!!!
Nah, but I wasn't tripping when I said Calvin Hiep...
So...IT IS Calvin Hiep folks:::::

Calvin Hiep, the infamous designer especially known worldwide for his ao dai collection, was invited to our metro area!!! I truly really love all of his collection that he had done for Paris By Night for the Vietnamese language Entertainment which is distributed throughout North America, Europe and Autralia.

There's also something special that night, I was behind the camera shooting too!! Yes, I had decided to be a part of the fun by capturing these beautiful models. I'm going to share "some" of what I have. The following photos you can say straight from my camera, minor post-processing, so here you have it. (I didn't do any touchups on the models' faces either, with the beautiful makeup, I thought they looked flawless, unless you want to justify it differently). I wanted you to see these right away!! I still have to put together TT's capture, which I won't go through the post-processing either. So be around for the next post which will have more up-close-n-personal photos of the models. I'm sure this will be a ride...Until then, I hope you all enjoy:

Tanya, The AWESOME (can't emphasize that enough) hairstylist that has years years of experience. I'm sure you'll hear this name more and more often especially for this kind of events:

Nha Yen, the makeup artist

Strike a pose:

This model was peeking out the window to see the happenings outside, I gotcha:

A few on stage for your enjoying pleasure:
This is my personal FAVORITE!!

The 2nd part of the show: I captured this backstage as one of the models practices her stage act

The 3rd part of the show, HOT HOT:

Here is Calvin sending his thanks to the audience:

That's all for now folks, stay tuned for more...
More of his collection on this blog: click here to continue

P.S. A note from me to those that are curious! If you are reaching this page, obviously you had searched the web for Calvin Hiep's collection. And if you had search for it, then I knew that you are hoping to find something about his collection. I'm proud to post these to spread the words about successful Vietnamese designers that made it in the US and that we had the privilege to have captured one of his shows. So if this isn't what you are looking for, then please feel free to leave my blog. This is definitely not the blog you should be in. These pictures are for those who are searching for CH's for inspiration! I welcome you! Please feel free to leave a comment! I love you, those that are supporting the spread of successes, both the art of fashion and the art of photography!
His dream is to have his designs be incorporated into an outfit that would be worn by Hollywood superstars, to such events as the Oscars. I have all the CONFIDENCE that his dream will come true after watching Dvd Paris By Night 84 In Atlanta Âm Nhạc Và Thời Trang!! I truly admire his work! You can't imagine how many times I've watched that video over and over. So Calvin, I wish you lots of success!!

Those that want to see some more of him, check this out: Click here Lanie Nguyen show clothing designer Calvin Hiep

To go back to our blog for pictures, click here

If we lived on a farm...

2008-03-27T08:57:00.008-04:00

bWe would get our kids real horses. But for now, I guess she can ride this one. TT's horse and this horse is set on the coffee table :P

Untouched, straight from TT's camera.
Title: Babygirl on a farm

(she's just missing a cowgirl hat, I'll make sure she has that on for her future horse riding experience)

Our second beach trip- to Mui Ne in Phan Thiet

2008-03-22T15:03:00.006-04:00

I know you all are not yet bored with my Viet Nam blogs...email me if you are! In the meantime, here we go...some more of it!

So, we couldn't totally leave the little ones at home while we enjoyed the beach! We took them two days after our Nha Trang weekend getaway, and yes we survived the day/night out with them. But I think it was because we had a lot of friends with us who helped looking out for them. We learned traveling with little ones is really tough. From the air-plane to the ground scooter, and finally...to the water. But if there are families and friends that tag along, they can be such a big help!

Yes, believe it or not, we 'tong 3' meaning we had three people on the jet ski. We took turns taking each one. Bgirl was very scared, I'm sure she is dramatized from the beach by now (LONG STORY!) And we also took Bboy for a short spin, and surprisingly he wasn't too scared. The only problem was the life vest was too big for him, so he was hidden under the life vest.

This is Bboy testing out the jet ski before he lets his parents take a spin!

The following 5/6 photos are un-touched from my small Sony Cybershot:
My two monkeys playing at sunset, they would climb up the walls if they can!

Check out his sandy feet:

Peeka

Boo!!

This is how my babygirl relaxed the following morning...on a tree!

Aww, and at the end...they still love each other:

The local people in Phan Thiet

2008-03-18T22:22:00.007-04:00

While some people are enjoying their vacations, others are concentrating on their thing everyday for a living...

Taken in Mui Ne beach, Binh Thuan province.

Thanks to them, we had wonderful FRESH DELICIOUS seafood dishes (I'm talking super fresh, off of the 'boat' that day- no frozen section, no ice, no mess)!

Monday

2008-03-17T08:25:00.008-04:00

Happy St.Patty's Day everyone...

So, to get my Monday morning started...our BabyDoll:

Some memories about the barbie she's holding onto: Whenever our babygirlT has her hair tied up during the day, at night we would take it off for her before bedtime and we would tell her that it's bedtime, let's take off the ties. So, in Viet Nam, she was holding onto this barbie which had braids. At night before bedtime, I saw her being silent and occupied so I looked over to see what she was up to, she was UNBRAIDing the barbie! I questioned why did she do that, and she said, it's bedtime, barbie needs to have her braids taken off! I was laughing hysterically. That's our Babydoll.

By the way, I'm looking for a few good spots with some architectural designs to take some nice classy wedding photos, if anyone in the MD/DC/VA knows of any, please please send me some ideas!! If you visit any place that's cool, keep it in mind for me too!! I know there has got to be good spots in DC, afterall, it's DC!! Does anyone know whether the museums in DC allowed photography?? How about Baltimore?

Hope to hear some of your favorite spots!!! Thanks in advance!

The many places you can go in one morning...

2008-03-13T17:27:00.007-04:00

What do people on vacation do: eat, travel, party and sleep. So, one day, by 8am we were out of the house. This time with a large group of friends, we headed for breakfast, to this famous place for some authentic and delicious food...Banh Beo

Untouched pictures from my small Sony cybershot...this is authentic Banh Beo
f9

Then we were Cafe hopping.

If you're ever in Binh Duong province, you have to stop by this Cafe called Hoang Cung Quan, Palace Cafe. It's deja-vu seating in here, if you've ever seen those many Hong Kong movies. The landscape and architecture was unbelievable. Imagine sitting here with friends anytime in the day for tea or coffee and surrounded by this atmosphere. It's amazing:

The entrance:

The landscape that resembles the Eastern Palaces:

If you have ever seen and recall those Hong Kong movies, this is that kind of drink. This stuff is really hard to drink, it has the smell and taste similar to Chinese herbal medicines. Some hard core stuff!

How do you enjoy this tea, here are two ways our beloved b-i-l was caught in:

Here comes the beautiful thing......be prepared....
.
.
.
.
.

The signature tea, we were shocked when they brought this one, unbelievably breathtaking both the look and taste:

If you're not careful, this was how HOT the tea was:

I wanted to purchase those pretty signature tea but unfortunately the manager who said we could purchase the other day, wasn't there that day so the servers didn't know whether we can buy them or not. Guess it was an unusual thing to do so they weren't familiar with that.

So after we were done with one cafe, we headed on out to the next!!! We had lots of time on our hands...woohoo.. So, just 5 minutes away from this place, there was another Cafe called Wind and Water. In a second you'll see why...

This is the refreshing towelettes that can be found at almost all restaurants:

The Cafe is called Wind and Water because you can have your cafe and be seated on the water, using these round glass frames. We didn't try it because we had a too many people with us...
I love the many outdoors cafe available...

The crew from the States- all of us came to Viet Nam at different time. But we all hung together, recognize the faces?

Is someone checking me outzz? hah!

So yes, that was a blast!! We came home only to prepare for babyboy's birthday party.

So to be continued...

MIA part 3c continued, Nha Trang

2008-03-08T06:28:00.001-05:00

Asia's best kept tropical secret continued...

Ok, so we had some weather imperfections for a beach getaway. But we still managed to enjoy our time in Nha Trang, since we were lucky enough to take a short break from the little ones. Yes, we were brave parents, we had left them at home with TT's parents for 2 nights and 3 days. You can call us bad, but we bit our tongues and went for it. We could tell you all the excuses, hassles of the flight, tour with the kids is difficult, allowing the grandparents spend quality time with them before we go back to the States, robots needed time to recharge, etc..etc.. but we won't. So there you have it. We simply had left them back and took on this adventure ourselves. We'll make up for it once we get back ^.* booo.

Our first day there:
Here I am enjoying my time on the beach later in the day when the dark clouds moved off:

TT found his niche with an Australian group of friends:

While watching TT played ball, I caught someone doing the parasailing, one of the many activities available at the resort!

Nightlife, we took a stroll around the island and got this beautiful night view of the city:

I love Viet Nam's coconuts:

Our second day there:
Complimentary breakfast buffet in Lotus Restaurant, very delicioussss (TT sat the camera at a table across)

Fruits that I sure will MISS, that pink fruit, my fave - called Thanh Long

Our very first 60-min spa experience at Vinpear's Shiseido Salon & Spa, we took the room for couple's. I got the Signature and TT got the Thai massage

Enjoying our 5pm 'lunch' after our 3pm spa, with an ocean view the night before we leave:

By the way, don't get this size of a coconut, it doesn't taste good:

This is the amphitheater with 5000 seats and a moving stage where the a variety of shows, beauty pageants including Miss Vietnam 2006 take place. We were here to enjoy a 20-min entertainment show of the Musical Dancing Water Fountain and Laser show (have you seen Las Vegas's Bellagio's?)

And as we walked away from Nha Trang and said g'bye to Vinpearl:

The longest cable car across the sea in the world, we didn't try it though. The nine pillars on the sea and ground have the shape and structure like the Eiffel Tower. This takes you from the mainland to the Vinpearl Resort, which is on an island. Instead of the cable rail, we took the speed boat:

There are a lot of tours we could have taken, for example, snorkeling in clear blue water...but due to the rain showers, we just stayed and do the activities in the resort. We also enjoyed some time in the Water Park, (perfect for kids too). I wish we could have done a lot more. But all in all, it was a fantastic weekend getaway. Next time we go to Viet Nam, we would try Phu Quoc, another on-a-rise vacation spot!

MIA part 3b continued, Nha Trang City

2008-03-07T00:04:00.008-05:00

Weekend in Nha Trang City cont.

So to make up for all of the loss and struggle for sunshine, luckily we had reserved a 5-star hotel called Vinpearl Land aka Hon Ngoc Viet. After the Cancun honeymoon disaster, no matter what we think, even with the intention of needing a place to crash for the night, a neat and beautiful hotel room is our NUMBER ONE priority this time! We decided to go for a 5-star, the #1 rated hotel in Nha Trang City. Again, remember to watch Miss Universe 2008 this year to see this beautiful city!

Overlooking from our hotel room, gorgeous view, love it (untouched from Sony cybershot):

Night view:

Our Room:

A girl always love a clean bathroom:

As we roamed the hotel, overlooking the lobby:

Gone shopping:

There was a section displaying embroidery work of art, and for sell. Very Remarkably Beautiful, TT and I wish we had some money to own one. We still remember the pieces one of which had a mother, of old aging, the embroidery draws the wrinkles and fine details of the forehead and around the mouth, and she was looking down holding a picture of her son in an army suit. It brought tears to my eyes. It was truly remarkable. You'd have to see it to believe it. It was just like a photograph!

Love it...since the weather messed up our tour plans, we decided to participate in the activities within the resort for the most part.

Nha Trang to be continued...

MIA part 3a, our second honeymoon in Nha Trang

2008-03-06T22:33:00.009-05:00

Ok friends. For those that know me well, know that we had horrible luck on our honeymoon to Cancun. Well, well, well, that horrible luck didn't end there! On our last week there in Viet Nam, we decided to try our luck once more and go to Nha Trang Bay with just the two of us for its beautiful beach. Nha Trang Bay has been recognized as one of 29 most beautiful bays in the word since 2003. With its mild temperature, clean sand and clear sea water, it's a popular tourist attraction. And guess what, this is where Miss Universe 2008 will take place. Be sure to watch out for it! Diamond Bay Resort, known as Vinpearl Land is exactly the location for it!!! (spinning, dancing)...wooohoooo...

Anyways, back to my luck. HAHA, you guessed it, as we get off of the plane to get to the airport shuttle, it was raining cats and dogs! Self-acknowledging our luck, all we did was look at each other and smiled! No complaints. During the 40 minutes ride on the taxi to the hotel, we had asked the taxi driver why the rain and he responded...it just started raining TODAY! And it's actually VERY RARE to get rain this time of the year in this beautiful city. TT and I looked at each other and simply smiled with an almost laughing tears.

When we were making airplane and hotel reservations for the weekend in Nha Trang, we absolutely did not think that we needed to check the forecast, that's how confident we were! I tried to ask the driver how the forecast was for the next few days and he said, the rain will stick around! I then whispered to TT that I bet the day we leave, the skies will clear up and the sun will smile shining brightly on this city. Indeed that was JUST WHAT HAPPENED.

Our schedule:
We arrived Sat early morning, as early as 7am, and suffered the rain until later in the afternoon. Checked in at 2pm, so from 7am to 2pm, ideally we could have done a tour of the city. Well, we didn't know what to do and didn't want to waste that huge amount of time, so we did that anyways! Under the rain! We asked the driver to take us to have breakfast, then toured the two famous landmarks of Nha Trang: the Po Nagar Cham Towers and Long Son Pagoda.
Very sad as a matter of fact!

To share with you how we spent our morning before we checked in the hotel. These are untouched photos from our small P-N-S Sony camera!
Visiting the Long Son Pagoda, also known as the White Buddha Pagoda, the city's oldest pagoda established in 1889. Needless to say, even with the rain, TT and I walked the 152 stone steps to reach this statue.

We borrowed the umbrella from the two girls who walked both of us up to visit the White Buddha.

As the rain hit harder, we each needed to get a poncho in order to visit the Cham Towers aka Thap Ba! So we purchased from the stand right before the entrance for 40cents each! lol. The Cham Towers date back to the 7th/ 8th century when there were eight of these magnificent structures sitting on the granite hilltop overlooking the beautiful landscapes of the coastal region of Nha Trang. After being destroyed during various wars, the towers were rebuilt in the 12th century.

I know you all like the goofy look in this right? Yes, go ahead and laugh on our misery (weep..weep).

SOMEONE was testing our love, patience and endurance. That's part of life.

Sunday- TT and I had the romantic intentions of getting up early and take a stroll on beach to catch some sunrise photos, but when TT opened the curtain on Sunday early morning, all he did was went back to sleep! The gray skies darkened, the clouds gathered, no signs of sunshine.

Monday, we have to checkout by noon and flight at 4pm, yet the skies was lit with sun rays! Yes, how very sad, (cries, cries)...

Nha Trang city, to be continued...

MIA - part 2, Jet Lag

2008-03-05T15:28:00.013-05:00

arJet lag is seriously messing us all up. The little ones get up EVERY OTHER hour throughout the night while TT and I get sleepy during the afternoon. Babygirl has been staying with my grandparents. I love my parents, they had offered to keep the kids for as long as we need to recover. But I couldn't let them take care of both, so I only let them watch our babybirl. She gets up at night and asked for food and complained at 3am why auntie keeps on sleeping all the time! While at home, Babyboy roamed the house, asked TT to take him downstairs and to turn on the Karaoke that we have gotten from the trip! Oh boy, this is going to be ONE LONG WEEK. TT had been very nice, he takes care of babyboy and lets me sleep during the night so I could get up and go to work the next day. I told TT next time that we want to bring on this kind of challenge, to give us at least 4 days to recover before we both head back to work. This had happened the first week we were there in Vietnam, the kids would get up in the middle of the night, but since we were on vacation, we were able to sleep anytime during the day as much as we wanted to! But not now, we have to get back to work. More pics to come...once we're recovered!

Meantime, how can I resist this adorable face:

As this unforgettable expression grows:

MIA, part I

2008-03-03T07:10:00.011-05:00

What a blast. It's nice for not having to cook or do the dishes or any household chores for a month! Yes, sorry folks, I have been MIA - missing in action!! I have been on the other side of the globe, visiting my in-laws for the first time and first time for our kids to visit TT's side. It's been ridiculously very nice to take a break, from everything! But of course not a break from mother/wifey role. I actually enjoyed cleaning my kitchen this past weekend after we got back from our vacation. Doesn't that sound aweful? I still can't forget the feeling of walking into our home after we got back, it felt brand new, like WOW. I had to pause for a second and look around and breathe the nicely scented air and to actually recognize everything!

Oh, and another thing that was funny, I was very exhausted after my arrival back to the US, after unpacking and while napping, a friend of mine called my cell phone and I had no idea what to say, I didn't understand what she was asking when she asked when did I get back.. because I was still deep asleep. She finally told me to go back to sleep..and I fell right back to sleep!! I was very thankful that my parents offered to look after the kids for us that day we got back. So we could be well rested before coming back to the grind! It was truly very tiring. Due to jet lag, dinner at 12am was delicious (:

The feeling of just a few days ago, I was still wearing light clothing to now some thick layers is ridiculous. How very strange when I think about it. You know something, I would definitely blame either the water here or the weather here for my crocodile skin. Because when I was on vacation, I did not need to even use FACE or hand lotion AT ALL!

Oh how much I miss this already, memoriessss:

MIA to be continued...stay tuned.

Happy New Year of ohhh RAT!!

2008-02-07T23:12:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year of the RAT everyone!! Finally, we're recovered! Believe it or not, it took almost a week and a half for that recovery to happen. We're still choked up from the pollution everytime we leave the house, and that won't go away. Unbelievable how the time zone difference makes an impact. Our daily routine for the first week was being awaken by the kids around 2am, get their milk, and we would get online to check emails, and could not fall back to sleep until 4am. But then that's when the street noise would begin. Large vehicles makes such loud noise, and since our home is on a quite busy street, so around 4am, we would lay in bed and be disturbed by the vehicles driving by the house. Another thing to note is that, they exercise the horn and honking here as an alert that there's a vehicle approaching, or when crossing the intersection. That can be very annoying as a matter of fact. So, the first thing Princess Trianna asked when we were on the way home from the airport was, "What's that noise???" We responded, "eheh, that's the horn from the motor bike."

Since the kids would fall asleep at a strange hour of 5pm until 2AM! Then they both would get up and roam around the room and pry everything from the shelves and drawers to play. Since they don't have their familiar toys, they play with real stuff around the room. Since we couldn't sleep at night, we would get up as early as 7am and our day starts out with Cafe / sua da. Then our relatives would hop on their motor bike and run their grocery shopping for the day, but before doing so, they would take our breakfast order!!! How delicious is that!! Every morning, we would devour a bowl of some type of noodle soup, which includes PHO of course!

After breakfast, we would feel really sleepy *the first week*. And an important thing to note is that, it feels like it's been a long day when it's really just 9:30AM!!! I swear it's something in the air and the food, because both of us would feel really sleepy after breakfast. I would walk around the house as if I was walking on air. So ridiculous!

So you guessed it, the bed was calling our names. We would land on our bed and nap away until someone chimes for lunch time. Aahhaha, so, that's the routine, eat, sleep, eat, sleep, and eat, sleep. We could not control our sleepiness at all!! Yes, call it PARADISE!

Here, people would run their errands really early in the morning, because the air is cooler, as the afternoon approaches, you could really be BAKED in the sun. Keep in mind that we're mostly using motorbike, so if not necessary, they would try to stay indoors from 11am until 4-5pm! Then nightlife would begin.

A quick flashback of what can happen in just a 24-hour timeframe (we're totally depending on our small Sony camera on this trip):

Peeka Boo, guess where we are

Awaiting my first AIR departure, super exciting! ,

After 16 hours in the air, we're in Seoul Korea. At this time, princess already started her fever after 12 hours in the air. I'd have to say it was a very very dramatic long flight for the kids, even for us!! Can you tell by the way I look? I was thinking in my mind that the next time we bring on this adventure would be when they're at least 7!! We weren't able to sleep, either the seats were not comfortable, or the kids would take turns being awake. They get very cranky when they are awake from their naps. Although we were lucky enough to have an extra seat for Tristan, because his ticket is for lap seating.

Guess what, within 24 hours, princess has arrived at Tan Son Nhat (TSN) airport travelling all the way from Washington DC!! We landed at around 10:30pm. While we're presenting our passports and visas at the service desk, princess did a self- exploration gazing down at TSN. She might look as if she still maintained her cool, balance and curiosity but we know she was feeling sick:

We arrived exactly on the day of our little babyboy turning 2!!
So upon arriving to TT's home at midnight, a birthday cake awaits:

Our adventure will be continued, stay tuned!

binh duong, VN

Fighting hard.

2008-01-28T11:12:00.000-05:00

Fever, cough, colds go away, 'don't' come again another day. It's been 5 days our family is fighting this nasty coughs and the kids get a combo of both fever and coughs. All we do is get up for breakfast walk around the house a few times, then land on the bed. Get up again for late lunch, walk around the house a few times then trip over the bed. Next thing that we do is, get up to go to the doctor (walk-ins, no appointments necessary), come home for dinner, walk around, then the bed calls for us again. It's been 3 days where I have not yet met any neighbors, nor anybody outside except for the doctor. While having this stuffy nose and cough, I'm here blogging how our family is doing so our wonderful friends know what we have been up to. LOL. Which interestingly enough, NOTHING, we haven't been doing ANYTHING. Sorry for being missing in action. Until we recover, I'll put some pictures up.

Thinking of you,
our family

Fashion Designer Tuong Khue visiting Virginia

2008-01-21T01:11:00.001-05:00

eTT has done a number of this type of events photoshoot in the past, for concerts, and fashion shows (while in medium format, yes!) but guess what, for myself, I wasn't around when he photographed celebrities, so, I was excited to finally have attended a fashion show, but this time to my surprise, a fashion show of a designer who is very known in our time, Tuong Khue!! He is one of the two designers responsible for all of the Vietnamese dresses featured in the two leading music entertainment industries- worldwide! The renowned Asia Entertainment and Paris By Night. He has been around for only a number of years yet quickly had gained a lot of attention from our generation. I have seen his work on the fashion shows featured in the music videos and have even seen his musical performances. So when TT and I walked in the changing room, I quickly recognized him and was very surprised. I immediately whispered to TT to make sure that I wasn't seeing things. And TT turned and greeted Tuong Khue (TK) to make sure that's him. And indeed, Tuong Khue smiled, greeted TT and shook hands. This is one of the best things!! Being a photographer has allowed inside access to backstage (for photoshoot ;) plus meeting celebrities!! How very cool is that. Oh, not to mention to meet all the cutiessss!!! I'll show you what I mean.

But before we get started, I have to show you my Pursebuzzie inspired makeup for the night!! I'm very excited to share this with you. This is what Pursebuzzie called the Smoky Bedroom Eyes. I'll email and share this with her!

Being a new mother, Linh hasn't gone back to the club since my birthday of last year, so guess what, they had planned to come to see the fashion show and celebrated her birthday there! It so happened that TT and I were going to be there to do the photoshoot, so it worked out well!! Happy Birthday girl!

Brief Intro: All of the clothing for this runway fashion show is by fashion designer Tuong Khue. Hair is by Tanya and makeup is by Nha Yen. Hair- you have to see it to believe it, but you can judge for yourself, as I was chilling at backstage and saw the hair updo being done by Tanya, and I have to say, THUMBS UP! She really is an expert and has been around for this kind of events in the MD/DC/VA community. Each of the model has a different hair style and really rocked the house.

Favorites from the night
So, if you can't tell already, TT had fun snapping away. There were a few that caught our attention, even I really thought one of them was like a Japanese Doll. Did I mention they totally owned the stage that night? Rock ON!!

From left to right: makeup artist Nha Yen, Fashion Designer Tuong Khue, hairstylist Tanya, and our friend Daniel Bui photographer:

Two cuties:

Community Events Bulletin Board:
We're looking for fresh new faces!!! There is another very BIG BIG fashion show in about 3 weeks, so if anyone is interested, before I get in touch with the event coordinator, feel free to send me send me an email!!!!

What an inspiration !

2008-01-17T21:29:00.001-05:00

More makeup flying at you! This might make your jaws drop. Well, it made my eyes pop! Here is a video of picture slideshow of some makeup inspiration. Not everyone of those are an everyday look, but I consider it arts. Not everyone of us can draw a piece of painting, but it doesn't mean we can't enjoy a piece of art.

Here is a list of my favorite. Some of which can be subtle enough for an everyday look. But definitely more party/night out look:

:14, :26,
:32 white/black, :34, :36 NICE
:49 her lip angle here reminds me of ...u got it, Angelina??
:59 purple
1:07, 1:11, 1:26, 1:31, 1:36 nice purple/black love to try!
1:52 white shimmer
2:19 looks so smooth
2:20, 2:31 black smoky, 2:37 a good try
2:49 this one scared me, I didn't want to look, but wow
2:56 - smoky black and blue
3:04
3:11 nice subtle

With that said, let's roll it with Eily311:

Urban Decay, our lovable primer..but a little disappointing!

2008-01-10T12:47:00.001-05:00

This is FRESH OFF THE PRESS!! Ok, makeup lovers out there, I'm sure some of you have stumbled onto Urban Decay Primer Potion (UDPP). If you're about to throw it out and go buy another one because you think you have finished up your old one. STOP RIGHT THERE!!!!!! HANG onto your seats!!!

The news is out there now! Click here to check out how you can get more for what you had paid for!! Thanks for passing to us this great info!!! Or Bella Sugar.

So basically, you need to CHOP/Cut/Knife that genie in the bottle open, and scoop scoop scoop on the sides and you'll be surprised of how much more stuff is still left in there, Am I hearing the stuff you scoop out will fit in a 5 grams jar??!

I personally feel cheated! (But welcome to the real world!) Now, pass it on to all of your sisters, brothers, friends, colleagues. A penny saved is a penny earned!!

Khuong and Nhi's engagement ceremony

2008-01-06T19:44:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year! So my holiday break from the web is officially over. I have a lot to catch up on but first things first. I'd want to share Tim & Nhi's Engagement with you all.

Tim's story unfolds as this:
"People say love is like fish in the sea. In all my life, I fished, and fish ate my baits but ran away. This time, I am the fish who is biting upon a hook that has no bait...:-). Here I am, a happily flapping fish on the hook. It all started with a kiss, then evolving love, and now it comes to this."

How romantic is that!

Their love has brought a FULL HOUSE and gained full attention from family and friends on Dec. 30 as they took their first leap into the sea. Everyone gathered and witnessed as 'Prince' Timmy placed the first circle of love on the 'Princess' Mermaid.

Click here for Picasa Album:

Khuong & Nhi's Engagement

Using my new small Sony cybershot, this is what I got from my test drive:

Khuong & Nhi _small camera

Some Recent Holiday Pictures

2008-01-06T17:05:00.001-05:00

In the early afternoon of New Year Day 2008, TT started our New Year with this shot, untouched:

I'm trying to catch up!! I know I know. Here are some random photos taken during the holiday season from our new Sony Cybershot:
Holiday Party with TT's family, rarely do we see both of these angels not smiling huh:

Crack me up:

TT's Nephew's genius idea, very clever, cute and in the spirit:

At a friend's house:

Party at a friend's house, this is the baby from our maternity session, click here:

Some fun shots, if you can recall this couple from their engagement pics click here on our homepage

This is some Family holiday pastimes:

Since one of TT's buddy is heading back to VN to get married, the guys got together for some 'sweet' time. Shall I tell you, they are a very interesting bunch. They get together once in a while, for dinner, drinking, and a-must is their TEA time, yes, TEA:

New Year Party 2

Another party with friends, no need for a club, we danced right in the living room with live singers. Can you tell what babyboy is holding, I wonder where he got that trait from?

New Year Party

Happy New Year 2008!!!

2007-12-31T15:31:00.001-05:00

Ok everyone, my work just announced the "We won't notice it if you had left" the unofficial early dismissal message so...we're jumping up and down! We're going to start our NEW YEAR celebration NOW!!! Ok, so HAVE A WONDERFUL NEW YEAR celebration with your loved ones. Wishing you all a happy, healthy, and of course properous NEW YEAR!!!

We have lots on our TO-DO list for this year, but we'll take it ONE BY ONE and do them in mindfulness !!!

See you NEXT YEAR!!!! (love that...it's the perfect time to say that!)

Love,
our hubby&wife team of Embrace Photo

Holiday 2007

2007-12-28T00:02:00.001-05:00

This year, we hosted our first Holiday dinner at our house! So, on the night of Christmas Eve, my parents, brothers and sisters gathered at our house for dinner and celebration. Since this was the first time we had a full family reunion after my brother's graduation, we got together for a post-graduation memories. My brother was excited to put his gown to use!

My brother is the youngest in the family, but he still loves holding and kissing our parents:

The kids' favorite moment, time to tear up those wrapping papers, but before doing so, we did manage to capture this. They were on their last breath of patience!

My lovable nephew, the cheeks I don't mind pinching:

The following are some of my own captures that I would like to remember:
Princess kept on carrying the presents up and down from the table, aligning them neatly, almost wanted to tear them all up before the stroke of midnight!

Piggy riding uncle:

Can one tell that Princess doesn't want to be bothered when it comes to unwrapping those presents. But babyboy loves his sister anyways:

Santa dropped this new TOY down my chimney (: TT that is my santa. I didn't get anything for him this holiday, but all of us should learn how to share (: So I'll share my new toy with him.

This is a whole story on its own. Can one guess what this was? After having finished opening her presents, she actually stuffed on and wore all of the clothes she received one layer after another, until her behind turned into this hilarious looking booties.

That's all our story for Holiday 2007. We hope everyone had a restful few days off, and shall we begin our New Year Countdown-----3 Days before 2008!!!

My Brother's Graduation

2007-12-27T23:19:00.001-05:00

My brother is now officially an alumni of University of Maryland at College Park. The moment our family has been waiting for, as he walked that stage of success. I get very sentimental when it comes to these events and speeches, they always make me teary. But they're good happy tears. Here are a few images captured by my older brother, another set of artistic eyes in our family.

The 2007 graduation for the A. James Clark School of Engineering was held in the Cole Field House:

That's my brother getting up and walking that stage, WOO HOOO!!!!

The proud family:

In case you're wondering, TT took the position of video-graphing this event, so, that's just what he did.

My NYX collection

2007-12-20T21:40:00.001-05:00

I heard good things on the NYX ultra mania loose powder and other great reviews on some other colors of the single and trio. As much as I love cosmetic, my wallet is crying out loud, so this is all the collection I have thus far. At the time of order, they didn't have all of the loose powder in stock, so, I'm short on 4 of their whole collection. But anyhow, thanks to Enkore for the tips on how to depot my trio, I took his advice with a little spin. I got lucked out that I only have 4 of the trios, so guest-imate that they will fit into my MAC palette even if I don't take each metal pan out individually. So, I followed Enkore's method by prying out the black plastic pan, by wiggling it and bending the corner and side. Yes, I sort of observed the sides, and wiggle to loosen it up..then I sort of saw a small opening, from then I inserted my tool, and pried it out. I was afraid to cut the black pan, so after the whole plastic insert is taken out, I used double sided tape and taped the whole trio black plastic pan onto my MAC palette. (Oh, of course, you'll have to follow Enkore's method of converting the MAC 15 and snapped it out.) So instead of taking advantage of all of the 15 available spots, I put all 4 of my trios and have the perfect 12. I'm very happy with the result for now. For those that don't mind using your MAC palette for just 12 NYX eyeshadows, then this is really a quick method. But if you want all 15, then you can do enkore's or glitzy's method (: If you feel the double tape isn't secure enough, then use more double tapes, or...you can use your imaginary from here to try out whatever you'd like (maybe krazy glue - after all, enkore's genius alcohol method can loosen the glue if you ever want to take the black plastic pan out from the MAC palette). I just want to share my experience with you all. Feel free to let me know how you think.

Of course here is my NYX collection and the before / after the NYX trio depotting (don't mind the crazy original NYX's label I taped onto MAC, that's just for temporary before I use the other labeling method :)

I really want to share this with you all. I can't really do anything without my princess's help. She saw me taking pictures of my makeup, and this is what she came up with:

She took a picture of her own kiddie collection!!!
Too cute (:

By the way, NYX's loose powder are not bad at all, pretty good as a matter of fact, but do use it with a mixing medium. Their jumbo eye pencil leave crease on my lids, but I will definitely give them another chance. I have only used one of their trio thus far, and the rust is indeed very nice! I used that for the holiday party look I posted earlier. The gloss- I ordered only one- the Earth, and 3 words- simply too pretty!!

Happy Holidays everyone, may this season bring you much peace for your heart and much laughter for your soul.

How small can the world be??

2007-12-17T23:05:00.001-05:00

Ok, so I know all of you have stumbled into people you have once known in your life. But what are the chances of that happening. Pretty rare. So here is the scoop:

On Saturday, we attended TT's Holiday Party at the Ritz Carlton in Pentagon City. The event is held here I would imagine every year, for the Crystal City team. He's been with the company for seven years, but this was only our second time attending the event. Last year, I felt a lot of vibe entering the cocktail hours, and followed by the entrance of the ballroom with a live-band. But this year, I had all intentions of arriving on time for the cocktail hours, but with the kids' arrangements and all, we arrived at the last few minutes of cocktail and entered right into the ballroom. As we were looking for his team and colleagues, and almost made the decision to sit there, but there wasn't enough seats, and right then, we met another of his colleagues who was sitting at the next table, and there were 2 seats left so we decided to join them. As soon as I rested my purse and looked around at my table, you would not imagine who I saw. I had to blink my eyes a few times, and screamed out "BURROWS". But the room was still very noisy and she didn't hear me, so I got over to her seat, and tapped her on her shoulder, she turned around and we were both soo shock. For like 1 minute we were just staring and smiling at each other, speechless. Then we both started rambling on playing catch up! She was my very sweet High School friend and we haven't seen each other for yearsss. What a coincidence to have found each other in this large crowd, but yet, we were so close as to be sitting in the same table for dinner!!?? How small can the world be?? I have heard from friends that she is doing her studies out-of-state, so definitely she's not the person I would expect to run into. But she was in town that weekend only to attend the holiday party with her boyfriend. So now, we're both up to date with each other. She has 3 more years to finish her Ph.D at HARVARD!! We are soooo proud of her!!! Congratulations!!! We all knew she had great potential and would excel. Go BURROWS!!! We definitely have to stay in touch!!

Yes, TT and I did the boogie to the 'electric slide' and all that!
As I was testing out the point-n-shoot Sony I had borrowed from my younger brother, since our princess had broke our small canon (which actually was cured a day later, by our wonderful TT. It had gone through some trauma but it's still so faithful and now still works like a charm!! Unbelievable how many times we dropped it and thought we had to lay it to rest. Canon A80!!)

I love this dress. It didn't come out exactly like how I had pictured it, but in the end, with the help of Christina, my go-to personal stylist, we had pulled together this customized look. Couldn't ask for a better fashion (: Red sash bow and red rose, totally a holiday look, at least to me (:

By the way, the makeup I had on, if you're at all interested, I'll share it with you on the next post (:

Happy Holidays from the Makeup Gurus

2007-12-17T17:11:00.001-05:00

I thought this was very cute, how all the makeup gurus I've been following put together this. Thought I'd share it with you. Pursebuzz, you're so cute, I love your new haircut. Thanks for passing it on to us. Aboywearingmakup, you're just soooo hilarious. Enkore, thanks for putting it together! Thanks for thinking of us (: And Happy Holidays to you all from Maryland!!

By the way, thanks again to pursebuzz for passing on the awesome sale that Urban Decay is having, 30% off HOLI code. And the best part is, it's $1 shipping. You can't beat that!! It's a dead on STEAL!!! I'll share with you my hauls in future posts to come (:

Farewell to Autumn

2007-12-15T23:12:00.001-05:00

So Winter is officially here. How we miss the nice warm days out. Not too long ago, these were how we spent our Autumn days:

On a nice Autumn day, our princess and prince got a treat to BK as we rarely eat out:

Our prince catching a glimpse at the birds flying by:

Our girl's infamous smile:

Natural hair style when mommy was too busy cooking and neglected to comb my hair:

Cruising our Pontiac on Halloween day, what a beautiful day if you can recall:

An act that he often does and just makes us CRACK UP:

Princess is more observing than mommy, she notices everytime when the house is clean, smelling good, or the grass is freshly cut, she would make compliments that makes our heart so flattered that she actually notices!

Our princess having fun in the yards:

Our little ones learned to share!!!

They learned to appreciate one another (at times):

If you noticed from the photo of Princess on the grass, she is having on Minnie Mouse while Prince is having Mickey Mouse. Princess knows so whenever she wears Minnie, she makes sure little brother wears the Mickey. Mommy only pointed that out one time to her and she remembered.

Another thing we want to share with you is that our little ones have taken a big milestone in learning to sleep by themselves!!! Makes me sad, but in the long run, we know that this is the best. The first couple of nights, it was hard, as princess would come over and ask if I can stay in her room until she falls asleep for a little bit, but mommy assured and praised her that she is being such a good BIG girl, that she actually slowly and quietly went back to her room and didn't make a sound. I was VERY Impress! Loving them to death!