Woa Moment - seriously?!

(red velvet cake from billys bakery, THE best cake/cupcake place in new yawk! maybe i'll write a post on these guys one of these days)

i'm a cake lover, UBER cake lover i should say, what does this have to do with the post? nothing really directly related, but indirectly correlated :)

a couple of days ago my MOH mentioned to me the amount of calories she would have to consume in order to lose three lbs, and when she gave me that figure i thought, "NO WAY!" how is that possible, a human can't function on 1100 calories a day! (this was based on some iphone application she had). so out of curiosity, i googled (who doesn't google anyhow?!) what my caloric intake would have to be in order for ME to lose weight...this is what weightloss.about.com told me:

(this is a copy and paste guys)

Step one is to calculate your BMR with the following formula:

Women:
655 + (4.3 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)

Men:
66 + (6.3 x weight in pounds) + (12.9 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years)

Please note that this formula applies only to adults.

Calculate Activity

Step two: In order to incorporate activity into your daily caloric needs, do the following calculation:

• If you are sedentary : BMR x 20 percent
• If you are lightly active: BMR x 30 percent
• If you are moderately active (You exercise most days a week.): BMR x 40 percent

• If you are very active (You exercise intensely on a daily basis or for prolonged periods.): BMR x 50 percent
• If you are extra active (You do hard labor or are in athletic training.): BMR x 60 percent

Add this number to your BMR.

i exercise moderately, 3-4 times a week, and the number i ended up with was 1162!!!!! GOOD GOD! SERIOUSLY!??!?!?! oh and should i mention this is the number that i need to consume to MAINTAIN, not lose weight...so in order for me to shed some lbs i gotta eat less than 1162 calories a day...i think im gonna faint...so yea needless to say cake is NOT happening until i drop at least one lb...gah! the agony

on a not so random note though, can someone verify this for me?

How many registries?

this sunday C and i are going to be registering at Crate and Barrel, though i'm totally excited to zap things that i want that i hope people will buy for me... i'm slightly intimidated... i mean when confronted with, lets use dinnerware as an example...how the heck do you choose? and how do you decide where you register? oh and how many sets do you register for? do you register for one formal set for a "fancy shmancy pants dinner Pah-tees" set? AND one informal set for "everyday i don't care if i crack you while doing dishes" set? or do i only register for one? i feel like i need to like research high and low and read every consumer guide out there to make sure i don't get duped into getting the wrong plate! now with that said...how many registries does social etiquette dictate that you should have?

lets look at my options:

crate and barrel - love this place, very modern and stylish, has everything from home decor to kitchen utensils, but i don't think there are any physical stores out on long island...nyc folk though uber easy, SOHO! oh and they throw you a little party to register so we're all over that =P

bed bath and beyond- return policy is awesome! not to mention shoppers can use those 20% off coupons that never expire!! oh and can i also mention they have everything that you will need in your home short of the kitchen sink?

tar-jay/ target what have you - awesome prices, but terrible return policy...but they got everything and i can register for all the camping gear i'll ever need! well not that i'll camp out much (ever...)

macys - what can i say? it's macys! i can register for fancy brand things like a hotel collection duvet and ralph lauren silverware...oh and you can always find some kinda coupon that can be used here too!

williams sonoma - the holy grail of all things cooking related, everytime i walk in its like i died and went to culinary tool heaven! plus i've always coveted this slate cheeseboard i haven't seen anywhere else nearly as , as...whats the word...exquisite!

isn't she a beauty?!?!?

can i register at ALL these places? or is that like registry overkill and social etiquette suicide? i like to think three would probably be my maximum...does anyone know?

my first sorta fitting

hi peeps

the benefit of having my dress at home already (uhhh months and months before the wedding date) is that i can test out my look ANYTIME i need to... so i did so after my trial... 0:)
so while i had the dress on my mom decided maybe its a good idea to start the fitting process so i don't need to don the dress more than i need to so i dont risk dirty-ing it, accidentally ripping it or doing some other form of un-repair-able damage to it

sooooooooo, as you all may or may not know, my mom is a very talented seamstress (ala my engagement dress) so of course when it comes to my dress, who better to do my alterations than a woman that has done alterations for celebrities like britney spears, juliana marguiles or cynthia nixon? MOMMA TSE to the rescue! lets begin shall we...

chris go away
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a little on the bottom

a little on top

so what do ya'll think? not much needs to be done, so now i just have to make sure my weight doesn't fluxuate too much before the big day :)

eeeeeee, i can't wait!

note to self: gotta start thinking about the veil situation...

make-up and hair trial

a few weeks ago, my bridesmaids gathered and attempted a makeup and hair trial at my place to see if we can handle the beauty portion on the big day...it did not work out suffice it to say i looked like a drag queen (i will consider humoring you all with those photos one day) so i was on the search for a makeup and hair artist...after much searching i booked my first trial with sissi chan

Sissi arrived on time todayand we quickly got to work (i loved the fact this was at my apt, i was in my pjs...loved it!)

(this is what she had to work with, me in all my tragic glory...yah...)

after an hour and half of poking, prodding, hair setting she went from that to this...

no flash but i think i looked pretty dang good
with flash


my hair and faux flower (if i will be using a fresh flower that isn't pink day of...this was just the only thing i had for a last minute thing) i liked it, but i requested day of to be less "detailed" i wanted a simpler chignon like in my "who doesn't love a sale" post

i booked sissi on the spot, i thought she did a great job and her rates were totally reasonable...and turns out her biological sister is one of the founders to MY sorority, what a small world?!

The World's Sexiest Resorts

When considering options for your honeymoon, what is most important? somewhere you can relax? adventure? someplace romantic? somewhere that means something to you both? oh the possibilities and the options that you can consider!

my MOH sent me a link a couple of weeks ago to concierge.com's list of sexiest resorts in the world and told me to consider one for my honeymoon and boy some of these are to DIE for! here are a few of my favs (this might not be totally work safe...so proceed with caution):

Intercontinental Resort Tahiti French Polynesia
http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/intercontinental/en/gb/locations/tahiti
shirtless bellboys in nothing but a loose sarong!!! need i say more?!??!??!!?! (ok on second thought maybe not such a great place for honeymoon, but definitely a 10 on the sexy scale in my book)

Aleenta Resort and Spa in Phuket
http://www.slh.com/thailand/phuket/phuale.html
elegant, secluded and EXOTIC! i'm reconsidering my original honeymoon plan because of this one!

Hotel Victor, Miami
http://www.hotelvictorsouthbeach.com/
This place is just HOT period...i'm thinking bachelorette party....

(all photos from concierge.com)

The Secret Life of MEEEEE

i've been debating a while whether i should write this or not...but since i have nothing really particularly interesting to add more to my blog this week i figure why the heck not...my not so much a secret, secret hobby is reading...and i mean i read a lot...and i read like a demon...in reality i want to say i spend all my money on ultra girly things like makeup shoes and handbags, but i actually blow more money at the local bookstore and or online bookstore than i do at any fashion place of shopping...how nerdy of me?!

gucci joy hobo in platinum i'm using today (isn't she cute?!?!?)

VS.

third book i'm reading this week and second to review (third chapter and it's okay...nothing great to write home to mom about yet)

FIGHT!

i wasn't ALWAYS this way i'll mind you, i majored in psychology and women's studies in college, always hated my english classes, majoring in english/literature didn't even cross my mind at this point, and then decided to go into fashion/apparel 2 years after graduation and got my certification at FIT to become a product development manager...only to discover that in reality, fashion probably isn't my passion...READING is (i probably should've picked up on the cue that i started reading the harry potter series during FINALS week and finished the three books that were out at the time within that time frame as well lol) ...i have to admit to myself though i never really envisioned a book worm to be ultra stylish... it's like an oxymoron! but here i am...girl into fashion that LOVES TO READ!

one day at work a few years ago i discovered a HUGE pile of books in the stairwell when i was taking out my rubbish bin! it was like WOAH discovering gold! anyways...i find out later that a literary agent shares the same floor as us so i introduced myself and told her if she ever needed me to review anything for her, i'd be more than happy to! and from then on, i've had a great reader reviewer relationship with my awesome agent friend betty anne...i love her! i love what she does! and above all i love getting books for freeeee! by reviewing books i've managed to save myself quite the pretty penny...i'll read anything from how to guides, fiction, non fiction, childrens stories, ANYTHING...but my guilty pleasure is reading romance, the more paranormal/fantastical the better...there is something about a happy ending that ALWAYS gets me...sometimes the hot sex scenes do it for me...but in reality its the fiction that draws me in... it's my escape from reality whenever i crack open a book...it's my happy place and it can be done anywhere, not to mention makes my commute a lot easier (brooklyn to midtown is sometimes brutal on the subway), it also helps that i feel special sometimes when i get to read something that hasn't been mass released yet AND the fact that my review counts towards something, i feel like i'm helping humanity get rid of crappy literature!

so there you have it, fashion girl by day (textile sourcing specialist) and nerd extroadinaire (book reviewer) by night! how many of you out there lead a double life? >:)

Where it ALLLLL Began

ok so lets take a stroll down memory lane...rewind almost 8 years ago to Oct 2001, it was my first ever sorority formal, and C was seated next to me as a guest of the organization...if you know me, you'll know i'll talk to anyone (crazies on the MTA not withstanding) about anything, so it was really no surprise i turned to C and introduced myself

Me: "hi, i'm jenny... whats your name?"
C: points to his place card in front of our faces!

okaaaay there...i totally made a fool of myself on that one! but moving along i introduce myself to one of his other frat brothers E (he is one of our groomsmen of course) and really didn't think much of it after that night...but E and I became fast friends, he's the dude i can tell and talk to about anything! he's like a big brother to me!

(E and I on one of his trips to NY, in his words we're "wierd and fobulous")

so as E and I's friendship got closer, i came into more and more contact with C, and my crush on this man just grew and grew along with some semblance of a friendship, i was starting to feel like a little tweener with a ginormous crush on a NKOTB member (ie - i would stalk him any chance i got, made easier because i was close friends with E)...anyway...the days go by and april has come as C and E were graduating from college, they were to select a date for their senior formal, and i find out C not only didn't think of asking me, he's already taking another girl...can we say heartbroken? i moped and moaned for like 3 days (MOH R would attest to this since she was my roommate)...until i couldn't handle it anymore, feeling miserable and like crap was not condusive to being a normal functioning productive human being ( i'm mellow dramatic i know...) so i picked up the phone and just point blank told him how i felt (forward of me, don't you think?) and after what felt like the most agonizing phone call i've ever had to make, we agreed that we should date, 7 years later we're still together

(a few months after C and I started dating, he took me to my formal as my date this time - us circa 2002)

(us circa 2008 and engaged to be married!)

i made the first move i guess you'd say but he did all the work after that :)
how did you and your significant other get together?

Who Doesn't Love a Sale?

i've always envisioned my wedding day "hair" look to be a simple updo/chignon and accessorized with a fresh flower, something like this:

(from theknot.com)

but after watching bridewars, anne hathaway's something blue was a little blue hair stick, it was so simple and understated, i just LOVE LOVE LOVED it...so i was starting to rethink my original plan...

today on my lunchbreak i was walking down 5th aveneue and all the little accessory stores near 37th street (there are like three in a row) and everyone of them were having a 50% off everything sale...and then i saw these!

dainty crystal blue butterflies! they were each on sale for $1.50, HUZZAH! so i bought 6 even though i have no intention of using them all, maybe 1 or 3 depending on how my hair trial goes...it never hurt to have a spare anything especially if they're THAT cheap right?!??!

since i got a hair and makeup trial scheduled with Sissi Chan this sunday, i plan on asking her to work her magic with two styles, one with a fresh flower and one with my little crystal hair sticks, i wonder which would end up the winner?

An Auspicious Day

What exactly does this mean? and how many of you are getting married on an auspicious day?

some 30 years ago, when my mom and dad were getting hitched, they saw a fortune teller in macau about an auspicious/lucky day to wed...he divined a day, but unfortunately for my then long distance relationship parents (my dad was residing here in the states and my mom in macau) the day was too far into the future for them (in reality it would've been a few months to a year probably) but they were in love and couldn't wait that long, despite the fortune teller's prediction that the marriage would only last half a lifetime if they chose not to follow the mandate and got married on a date that was "better" for them. my parents' marriage dissolved when i was 18.

so now that its my turn at this whole wedding/marriage thing, my mom was in no way going to let me shirk off an auspicious day out of convenience or any reason at all really to ensure that i will have a long and happy marriage...first we consulted the lunar calendar:
this sucker will tell you what day is good for what, i kid you not, my mom looks at one of these things everytime we go on vacation for an auspicious travel date, party date, anything you can think of my mom will go and look it up and find a good date with this trusty calendar she gets from an asian supermarket for FREE at the beginning of every year.

then mom consulted the chinese almanac:

(momma tse's chinese almanac)

(page after page of chinese information, none of which i can read and or understand lol)

(this baby can tell you about births, past, present and future, crop info? and some other crazy chinese voodoo stuff :))

after consulting a chinese almanac and coming up with a few dates we had in mind, momma tse armed with C and I's lunar birth info/ star chart (our birthdates from the lunar calendar) saw a fortune guy here in new york and totally bought into whatever he was selling, because this particular fortune guy was blind and handicapped so she felt that he MUST have a special gift, because in order to have these gifts one would of course have to sacrifice something and this man clearly sacrificed a lot of his physical capabilities in order to divine the future for others...(yea...stop smirking!)... so after about an hour of matching up my star chart and c's star chart, he came up with a sunday in november!

NOVEMBER!?!??!?!? i was crestfallen, i REALLY wanted a spring time April wedding, but momma tse was convinced that I HAD TO GET MARRIED on this particular day because we can't chance something this big...so ultimately the selection of my big day was at the mercy of a blind handicapped fortune teller (go ahead laugh)...BUT, we'll have a long , happy and PROSPEROUS marriage, this particular day is supposed to be lucky for our careers as well. so what more do i have to say to that? well HOT DAMN, we're getting hitched this november!

how did you arrive to the conclusion of what your wedding date would be?

Win a Free Honeymoon to Greece!

follow this link for a chance to win a free honeymoon to Greece from J Crew!!
http://jcrew.eprize.net/promotion2009/index.tbapp?page=intro

good luck!

money matters

a sensitive topic to most, i found myself confronted with this, big time this weekend...
As one of our many reception deposits were due, i took a gander at my budget spreadsheet...and boy was it a wakeup call...granted i KNEW full well how much we were going to spend, the hugeness of the amount didn't really hit me. for a lack of better words i had a "holy SH!T" moment...seriously it can serve as a pretty healthy down payment on a house somewhere (not applicable to nyc)

i was concerned whether we would still be able to save while we were beginning to empty out savings accounts, cds, mattress stash etc...i really had to ask myself if it was worth it...the practical part of me felt it wasn't. i mean its one frickin day! less than a 12 hour event will cost me a years salary! it's nuts! but after some more chatting with the fee-yon- say (the more money savvy one out of the two of us, which i have to begrudgingly admit i'm not perfect) i felt better about our choices and decisions...i felt calmer knowing that his aggressive savings plan for us is still in tact and untouched..how i love that man...

but for the curious minded, so far we're within budget still but at this rate i'm fairly certain we'll go over by the prodigal 10% most likely without including the wedding rings and honeymoon...with luck though we might be able to stay within if i can find more deals along the way as there are a number of vendors that we have yet to secure...

my weddings savings plan of attack is really just trying to find the best possible deal out there with the help of online research (ie: weddingbee, liweddings, theknot.com)...and to do as much DIY as humanly possible where i'm concerned (which, if you haven't figure out already is not much...)

whats your wedding savings plan of attack?

One Toe Three, One Toe Three...

C and I have been taking ballroom lessons on and off for years now...our first lesson was a salsa lesson he gifted me years ago and we just loved it so much we kept going back for more lessons...and slowly we incorporated waltzing, rumba, swing, hustle, fox trot and all sorts of other ballroom dances...we don't get to practice too much so our skills always hover around beginner/intermediate...but we can hold our own in most social situations where we're required to do any of those dances, SCORE!

a very good tip one of our instructors gave us once that in a waltz, it's really one TOE three, because the rise is on your toe! how cute! it made sense and we remember it...anyway i digress...
the point i'm trying to get at is this...do i want to do a carefully choreographed routine for our first dance?

after a lot of thought, C and i have decided to forgo the practiced rumba/waltz/foxtrot routines in favor of a plain ol slow dance.

the reasoning behind this is because as much as we love ballroom dancing, theres something inherently romantic about just going with whats natural and organic to us...we don't waltz around our apartment to or foxtrot to frank sinatra music on a regular basis, but we will every now and then slow dance... one toe three it is not...it's more like sway sway dip lol

Ballroom dancing is a tremendous workout! improves your posture and its really fun if you can manage to wrangle your significant other into doing just one lesson with you, it shouldn't take too much to get him hooked ;)

(side note: we're addicted to dancing with the stars, one of our fav couples ever emmit and cheryl, their rumba routine was HAWT!!!)

Masala Bhangra Workout

in my last post you will remember my ongoing losing battle with fat burning...but thankfully because of masala bhangra the battle has become more bearable...about a year and half ago, one of my gfs H asked me to join her in one masala bhangra class at our gym (new york sports club) in exchange of her coming to one of my hip hop classes...considering i've always been a bit of a failure when it came to belly dancing classes i did NOT have high hopes i will excel in this indian workout class...but i went anyway because thats what girlfriends do for one another... after the first class i was HOOKED! i LUUUUUURVE IT!!!

what exactly is masala bhangra workout you may ask?
Masala means spicy and bhangra is a type of indian folk dance, traditionally a man's dance, Sarina Jain created a workout that truly gets your body pumping! there are some bollywood moves, traditional indian dance moves and MASSIVE CARDIO, it's awesome!!! seriously! check it out at www.masaladance.com, i promise you won't be disappointed.

since then i've been religiously going to classes and i even take the classes with sarina herself...she's wonderful... i've taken a number of my other gfs and they always have positive things to say about it...

so if you're looking for a new way to burn fat, i highly suggest getting yourself into some masala bhangra :)

Working Out and Eating Right for THE Big Day...ok not really...

many women will go out of their way to step up their workout regimen and dieting before the big day...i want to say i'm one of these people, but sadly i'm really not

before C and i started dating nearly 7 years ago, i weighed approximately 125-130 lbs...for 5'2.5" thats really not exactly a skinny minny, but 20 lbs down from my freshman in college weight which was hovering around 150-160, in hindsight i actually felt the healthiest at this point in my life, i did a lot of cardio kick boxing and i also ate very healthily/balanced meals...high in vegetable intake and healthy proteins like fish and chicken mainly...throughout the history of our dating though, the number on the scale slowly started creeping back up towards my freshman days! can we say DEBACLE?!?!?!

after 6 years of relationship bliss, the ever expanding waistline well...expanded...
(oh god i can't believe i'm posting this...)

the big whammy came last year when i went for a physical and the doctor informed me that i was getting a bit too overweight and unhealthy for my age, so i started reverting back to a healthier version of myself...i started working out more, lots of jazz, hip hop, bhangra and cardio classes approximately 3 times a week...and healthy eating thanks to my gay husband/diet nazi B pushing me...i'm at about 140-144 these days, i yo-yo a little bit every now and then but i've been in this range for about 6 months now...heavier than my healthiest but definitely WAY healthier than i was 12 months ago!

september 2008
(recent engagement and healthiest i've been in a long time)

ideally i'd like to lose another 5-7 lbs, so i've started adding more weights and ab exercises into my regular work outs...i think its working! i'll update you again in about 5 months from now haha

but until then, keep those numbers to yourself! a lady never reveals her real age OR her weight, but i guess i just did on the world wide web...nevermind!

A New One for the Ladies

hello everyone (well everyone that ever reads this thing)
after much deliberation...i've come up with a new more flattering dress for my wonderful wonderful bridesmaids... i present to you bari jay style 505
its the perfect silhouette, it has straps for those that are NOT comfortable wtih strapless, and it comes in a VERY pretty sapphire blue...its taffeta which would probably work very nicely with my wedding dress too!! what do ya'll think??

i wouldn't be able to use my connections at dessy, but i love the way this one looks...gotta get bridesmaid M to try this on for me asap so i can put an order in!

Maestro, cue music please!

like many people out there, pachabel's canon in D is nearly synonymous with wedding...i honestly just love the tune, period, so much that it was my ringtone on my old phone for many years...some of my guy friends would even joke about it to chris during those years that i was cluing him into something...so years later now when i'm actually planning my big day, of course it will be included in my bridal procession! it's almost a duh reaction...but if my girls walk down to canon in D, what the heck am i gonna walk to??!?!

so after combing through a lot, A LOT of classical music...i always came back to one of my favorite soundtracks of ALL TIME

for those of you who are familiar with the soundtrack MUST be thinking tennesee, because heck it's pretty freakin tearjerky...still motion in canada even made an awesome wedding video to this song! but alas for me! i loved a different track, "...and then he kissed me" by hans zimmer...LOVE IT and i think it's perfect to walk down to my future husband with :), can you see it? i can!

The HORROR!

so last night after work all of my bridesmaids located in the new york area convened at "here comes the bridesmaid" in midtown to try on THE dress...but unfortunately it looked AWFUL! the color i had in my head i wanted them to wear, AWFUL AGAIN! can this get any worse?
exhibit A, B and C
A. MOH rachel - Champagne, honestly it washed out every single one of my 5 girls! how is this even possible?
B. BM morgan - this silhouette fits the best universally, strapless mermaid, but gah the color i don't love even though it looks OK
C. BM helen - the dress i mentioned in below post, yea it was really cute on top but it would not be flattering on someone who is not a size 4 or smaller

and then we tried on this baby


its the dessy 2726 dress, great shape! price not too bad either and can probably get a better deal ordering directly from dessy...we may have a winner...

but now the dilemma is, i'll probably have to rethink the whole color scheme, the darker colors are more flattering and personally i love the way navy blue looks...

so what will my girls be wearing on my big day? we'll find out soon! :)

where have i been?

addicted to twilight, thats what happened!!!

(www.stepheniemeyer.com)

instead of wedding planning i've been reading up a storm, finished all four books within 7 days and i can declare now i've got a crush on edward cullen of epic proportions, it's like im reverting back to my teenage years.. how embarassing i can't believe i'm writing this here...

anyways...on the wedding planning front. momma tse pulled some strings and managed to me a deal on the bm dresses i've had my eye on..we have an appointment at here comes the bridesmaid tomorrow to try this sucker on to see how flattering or not flattering it is, so stay tuned for wedding planning goodness!

here's what we've been thinking:

its the dessy 2762 dress in champagne

cross your fingers! i hope we have a winner!