Succulent Succulents at Succulence

Check out that awesome alliteration. My 2nd grade English teacher would be so proud (not really).

This past weekend I met up with a coworker to take a terrarium making class at this super cute little shop in Bernal Heights, Succulence.  Anyone who isn't living under a rock knows that succulents are so in right now and this store was like hipster heaven.  They have a nice selection of books on gardening, preserving foods, etc; as well as promenade terrarium and all the things you'd need to make a terrarium of your own.

L to R: starting with succulents in their pots, terrarium with my drainage layer and succulents waiting for their
 new home

The class was run by the owner,  Ken, who is crazy about succulents. We started off with us choosing 3-5 small succulents... but being the rebel that I am, I started with 6. I just couldn't choose! There were too many pretty ones to choose from.  Once we had all chosen our plants we sat down and Ken broke down the different components of a good terrarium and their importance; as well as how to care for our soon to be made terrariums. Then we took a tour of the shop to get some design ideas before getting started on our own terrariums.

L to R: succulents in place with decorative moss bits, adding the final touch of a blue ninja

Not to toot my own horn, but I was really impressed with my end product. Usually my DIY adventures end up incomplete or as a disappointment so I was really pleased with my terrarium. Even hubs was surprised at how well my terrarium turned out...so much so that he was gladly willing to give my terrarium a home in his new office. Now that's the true mark of a successful DIY project!

I can't wait to make my next terrarium and even want to try their vertical gardening class.

New Year in Hawaii

First post of the new year almost half way through the January...please excuse my absence. As anyone in my field knows things can get pretty crazy around the holiday season and when I'd get home all I wanted to do was feed my face and fall into bed. Thank goodness we had a trip to Hawaii planned right after Christmas...I definitely needed a break from all the craziness at work.

The cost of flights to Hawaii were seriously out of control when we bought our tickets. So in an attempt to save a little bit of money we made the switch from Hawaiian Airlines to Alaska Airlines. But after 2 flights with poor service by the cabin crew of Alaska we decided that we'll be sticking with Hawaiian. On the flight to Hawaii my entire row was skipped over and wasn't offered any drinks. When I noticed they had skipped me I politely turned around to ask for a drink and was greeted with a completely annoyed stewardess. And while we were experiencing a relatively long duration of light turbulence quite a few people were hitting their call buttons...they were answered by an irritated announcement over the speaker system telling people to stop pressing the call buttons unless it was an emergency. On our flight back to California it seemed like the entire cabin crew staff had a stick up their ass or a major case of "resting bitch face." I even overheard the passengers behind us complain about the cabin crew member who rudely removed the digi-player from the passengers hand as she tried to turn it off before handing it over. Needless to say we definitely missed the warm aloha spirit of Hawaiian and will not be returning to Alaska any time soon. end rant.

group photo of the c/o 2003

Conveniently we were in Hawaii during the same time as my high school 10 year reunion...damn I'm getting old. The reunion was held at Stage Restaurant with good people and pretty good food. It was a nice chance to get together and catch up with a lot of people that I hadn't really kept in touch with. It's amazing to see how people have and haven't changed in 10 years.

The next day we hiked Pill Boxes with someone I used to ice skate with and her little brother. I am nothing close to an outdoorsy girl so it was the first time I hiked anything besides Diamond Head in Hawaii. It was a pretty easy hike even for a newb like me. Probably the toughest part of the hike is going back down since there's a lot of loose gravel which makes for a slipper trip.

my favorite ladies

That night we met up with the usual suspects at MW Restaurant. Of course the food was delicious, our culinary friends were the ones who chose the place. I'm pretty sure we should always let them choose our dinner spot since they always know someone in the kitchen and we get extra special service. Even though we had just seen them the night before at the reunion it was so nice to get to catch up in a more intimate setting. With one of them newly engaged and the other with a wedding coming up in summer there was definitely a lot to talk about. It makes me so happy to see that my friends have found such good guys to spend the rest of their lives with.

The main reason for our trip to Hawaii was to ring in the New Year with my family...especially since it was my parent's year to host the big New Year celebration at their house. It was really nice getting to see a lot of my family and celebrate with them since we don't get to see them too often. After growing up on an island with my family so close, living on the mainland and being so far away is a little bit tough for me especially during the holidays. I'm so glad we got to spend New Years in Hawaii with my family this year.

Before we left Hawaii and returned to our lives in California we made a trip to North Shore to check out the winter swells and to eat our favorite garlic shrimp at Giovanni's. Lastly we met up with a couple of friends from pharmacy school for dinner at Shokudo. It was great to catch up with them over some delicious honey toast.

Although our trip was short it was great to get away and see some of my family and friends that we don't get to see very often. Already looking forward to our next trip back for my friend's wedding.

Peter and the Starcatcher

On Black Friday hubs and I had our season tickets to see Peter and the Starcatcher after I finished work. Unfortunately due to some food poisoning which was probably from the sliders a food truck near work were giving away for free we weren't able to go. But thanks to the very kind people at SHN we were able to reschedule our show for matinee on Saturday. In hindsight we probably should've chosen the evening show on Saturday as the matinee was plagued with children who like to kick the seats in front of them.

The show is based on the book, which is a prequel to the Peter Pan story. Everything about this play is minimalist from the set and props are minimal as they invite you to use your imagination and the small cast that of people playing multiple characters. With that being said they do an amazing job using what few props and costumes they have to create an amazing story.

Although this is primarily a very kid-oriented play there were a lot of very adult jokes that had us lol-ing. Disney has put their name on a lot of different musicals, but this is probably the most grown-up friendly one we've seen so far. Highly recommend!

Stella & Dot Trunk Show

Last weekend a friend and I hosted a Stella & Dot trunk show at my house. I had been trolling their website and adding item and after item to my wish list. While trolling the website I saw that you can host a trunk show and I thought it'd be a great excuse to get some friends and family together and maybe help people get some things checked off their Christmas list. It was so much fun to just hang out and try on all kinds of different jewelry while sipping on some champagne (of course).

The products our stylist brought to the trunk show were absolutely beautiful. There were a lot of jewelry pieces that I remember being unimpressed with in the catalog that really won me over in person. Their handbags impressed me and were surprisingly high in quality. And their scarves...oh their scarves...so big and soft! I must say after seeing all those items in person I have a lot more things added to my wish list.

CW: Sutton Necklace ($128) - super cute statement necklace that can be worn multiple ways, Sanibel
Reversible Pendant ($69) - necklace that can be worn long or short with a reversible pendant, Stackable
Deco Rings ($49) - cute set of 3 simple rings, Luxemborg Scarf in Ceruleun Tiger ($59) - super soft and luxe
scarf perfect for the fall/winter, Serenity Stone Cuff ($49) - perfect for tiny wrists, Getaway Bag ($138) - this
big bag unzips to unfold an even bigger bag perfect for a weekend getaway.

This is the last week to shop our trunk show. It's perfect for checking gifts of your Christmas list or a little something for yourself. Be sure visit our trunk show online and select our trunk show by searching by my name (Lauren Honda).

Porgy and Bess

The next show hubs and I saw this theater season was The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, which won an award at the last Tony's for Best Revival of a Musical. As season ticket holders we were invited to a special behind the scenes event where the director, Diane Paulus, discussed some of the background and history of the play and we got to watch some of the tech rehearsal.

Porgy and Bess started off as a novel by DuBose Heyward, which was then translated into a play and then later an opera, before being made into a musical. As a whole I thought the show was very good. Since the musical was adapted from the opera there was a lot of operatic singing, especially by the female cast. which at times made it very difficult for me to fully understand what was going on. Granted that is no fault of the musical...my ears just aren't used to that style and I found it hard to follow at times. Even with the operatic singing I still understood the main storyline, I may have just missed some of the underlying nuances.

Most notably the actors were amazing! In fact they were so convincing that the actors who played the villains literally got booed during the final curtain call. I don't know what was better...the fact that the audience booed them or that the actors loved it. LOL

Tale of a Bridesmaid

When hubs and I got married in Hawaii another great thing happened - our friends who were there for our wedding got engaged. A year and a half later we finally got to see them get married! Not only did we get to see them get married but I had the honor of being one of her bridesmaids.

Hubs and I had already been dating for about a year when I met the bride in one of my college classes and we hit it off instantly. I remember she used to come to my room to have me do her makeup before she went out on the weekends....man does that bring back crazy memories. We watched her date different guys that just weren't right for her and we watched her date her now husband. There is something absolutely amazing about seeing a couple you've watched blossom and grow together get married. It may be one of the most touching things I've ever experienced.

The wedding day was a crazy long and tiring day...even more tiring than my own wedding day. We started our day at the bride's home in San Jose at 3am...no jokes...three.in.the.morning. UGH...I must really love that girl. After we were all dolled up and dressed there was a traditional Vietnamese tea ceremony hosted by the bride's family. Then we made the long drive to Stockton for the traditional Chinese tea ceremony hosted by the groom's family before the wedding.

CCW: getting beautified with the beautiful bride, traditional Vietnamese tea ceremony with the bride's
family, traditional Chinese tea ceremony with the groom's family

The wedding ceremony was held in our alma mater's church which is absolutely beautiful. Hubs and I contemplated getting married there as well, but the impracticality of asking my large family to fly out to California for a wedding trumped our emotional and nostalgic desire to get married there. The ceremony was nice and short and the couple wrote their own heartfelt vows...some tears were definitely shed. After the ceremony I hung back to take pictures with the bridal party while Hubs and the friends that were staying with us went to help set up the reception site.

the new Mr. & Mrs.

The reception was a traditional family-style Chinese wedding banquet. Hubs and I were seated at a table with our friends and a couple of our classmates from pharmacy school. We all had a great time catching up, but after my early wake up call I was pretty much done once the reception program was over.

CW: the newlyweds first dance, obligatory selfies, fellow pharmers at the wedding 

Watching our friends get married truly touching. I'm glad that I've been lucky enough to see them grow into the wonderful couple they are and witness them make their vows to one another. It really reminded me of how much I love hubs and the vows we made to one another. I am truly blessed to have found my better half.

Birth Month Getaway

Hubs and I took off for a weekend getaway with another of our couple friends to Las Vegas to celebrate the 3 out of 4 of our birthdays that take place in October. All of us wanted to take a quick vacay, but unfortunately none of us could swing getting away from work for more than just the weekend. So we settled for a quickie weekend trip to my favorite vacation destination.

We got in late on Friday and went to Holstein's in the Cosmopolitan for a late dinner. Last time we were in Vegas our friends introduced us to this place. They have great burgers with interesting twits and original spiked milkshakes. It makes for a perfect go-to for a late night bite. (For a place that's known for it's night life we had a really difficult time finding places to get late dinners). After dinner we walked along the strip and made our way to Aria where we took a quick bathroom break. In the few minutes we were in the restroom hubs sat down at a slot machine with $20 and ended up with $200! Luckily this set the tone for the rest of our weekend.

L to R: Nom Nom Burger (kobe beef, cheddar cheese, and potato chips - minus 1000 island dressing) with
Black Cow Float (Coca-Cola, vanilla ice cream, cherry pop rocks, 3 olives cherry vodka),  Major slot
machine winnings

We spent Saturday afternoon doing some damage in the malls and then went to see the new Cirque du Soleil show, Michael Jackson: One. Hubs and I have been dying to see this show since it opened. As huge Michael Jackson fans and huge Cirque du Soleil fans we had high hopes for this show. The show exceeded any all expectations I had for the show. It was a great combination of dance and acrobatics. Definitely a must see for any Michael Jackson fans. I can't wait to see it again!

On Sunday we had to end our vacation and head back to the real world. But not before hubs and I hit up the new craps machines that we'd seen around the casinos. I inherited a love of gambling from my Dad who inherited it from my Grandpa. I love playing craps, but sometimes the dealers are a little intimidating; which makes the craps machines perfect for me. Jason's good luck from Friday night kept up on Sunday morning as we walked away from the craps machines up about $200. WOOT!

The weekend was too short, but still fun nonetheless. It was great to be able getaway and spend some time with some great friends. Hopefully we can do it again sometime soon.