Wedding Anniversary

Happy anniversary to my best friend, soul mate and father of my children. Today marks our third wedding anniversary and after seeing similar posts from fellow blogger friends I felt inspired to share some of my own hotos. Unfortunately my wedding photos and I are currently separated by 10,000 miles of sea and land. Lucky my wonderful photographer Christine Farah still had our photos up on her blog (hence the stamps), gotta love the internet.Our wedding was a very small and intimate affair, inviting about 40 of our closest friends and family. When I came across the Laguna Niguel Ritz-Carlton in Southern California, I knew it was THE perfect location. The magnificent ocean views provided the picture perfect backdrop to our picture perfect day. Continuing with the intimate nature of the day, we veered away from lavish centerpieces and kept the decor soft, understated and tasteful. My bouquet was a beautiful arrangement of gardenias and garden roses (identical to my favourite flowers, peonies that weren't in season) making up the most heavenly scent. The next day we slept in and relaxed (getting married is exhausting) before flying off on an unforgettable honeymoon in Italy. 

I'm so glad I got to share these memories with you today, thank you for reading.{ Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel . California Couture Photography . Platinum Weddings by Kerrie . Lavender Hills OC Floral Designs . On Location Beauty } 

Friday's Fancies

Happy friday everyone. I cannot believe a week has passed since the kids and I arrived in Australia. The weather has been miserable. We caught the tail end of winter and it's been a nonstop mix of rain and wind ever since. It does gives me a good excuse to wear all my new fall items that I probably won't get to otherwise. I can't wait to share more photos of this city with you once the weather warms up enough to venture out. Hope everyone had a great week and a great night out at FNO.

I love using ordinary objects in unexpected ways. Like this three tiered afternoon tea platter, it's the perfect way to display jewelry and nail polishes that I'm currently using. 

This photo was taken the day before we left for Australia. You know it's time to migrate to warmer shores when the birds start leaving in flocks.

Catching up on my all time favourite magazine, Monocle. This is a great read for anyone interested in design, international affairs, culture and fashion. The July/August edition is particularly good as it ranks the top cities in the world. I do love reading about cities. 

My first coffee back in Melbourne, Australia. Although the latte art is nothing spectacular, but after living in a place where the only coffee options are Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts, this was heaven in a glass. 

Three coloured manicures are perfect for days when the sky is grey and the air is chilly. I'm loving the combination of Essie Mink Muffs (taupe), with Essie Nothing Else Metals (chrome) and Essie Nice is Nice (lavender).  

Bows, Blooms and Balloons

I still cannot believe my baby girl is turning the big One in two weeks time. Soon I'm going to have two full grown toddlers running around the house, *faints.  I've posted before about throwing a Red Balloon themed party for her. I just love the images a simple red balloon conjures up. A feeling of hope, of love, of childhood and dreams. It's the perfect theme for a first birthday. 

Aside from the red balloon, I'm also picturing lots of ivory, gold and pastels, with a pop of red. Think Marie Antoinette meets shabby chic. Here's a look at what I've got planned for her big day. Most of these images can be found on my Pinterest. Make sure to follow me there if you're anywhere as obsessed with food and party planning as I am. 

 

Party Food

One of the main features of any party is always the food. Here, I am envisioning an opulent dessert table, think Marie Antoinette "Let Them Eat Cake" with decadent cupcakes, pastel macarons, candy covered popcorn and stenciled sugar cookies. As for savory foods I'm leaning towards more casual fair with paper wrapped sandwiches, bite sized appetizers and a fruit and veg buffet. 

Party Decor

If I had to come up with a name to describe my vision for the decor I'd have to call it shabby glam. Although those two words combined seem like a contradiction of each other. I'm feeling inspired by sequin filled glass vases, favors in stamped muslin bags, ombre garlands, chandeliers as cupcake holders, and lots and lots of pastels with gold accents.

Birthday Cake

I love the idea of a smash cake alongside a regular sized cake for guests. We had one when my older child turned one and it was a huge success. I'm really loving all the mini cakes popping up all over Pinterest. Right now I'm leaning towards a pink ombre smash cake with buttercream frosting topped with a gold leaf bow. And for the guest cake, a delicate two tiered white ruffle cake with mini birthday bunting and an asymmetric red felt balloon. 

Birthday Wishes

For the main event I'm thinking of having each guest write a message on a red balloon and then fill it with helium. As soon as my little girl blows out her birthday candle, all the balloons will be released into the air filling the sky with a red cloud of well wishes.  

Wardrobe Diaries: The Art of Travel

Something you probably don't know about me is that I have an unhealthy obsession with anything related to the art of travel. This probably stems from the constant state of wanderlust that plagues me. I can spend hours pouring over atlases and travel guides, google earth and I are on first name basis. If I had my way my house would be filled with antique globes and world maps. But I digress.

I'm always curious as to what other people wear on planes. So much thought has to go into that one outfit. In an ideal world I would love to dress up like they once did during the 'golden' age of travel, but since I have two little monkeys it really isn't practical (or comfortable). My solution for long international flights- abundant layers for warmth, a rugged jacket to withstand the wear and tear from the kids, comfy but chic sweatpants, a large versatile scarf, some killer boots, sunnies and an oversized tote. These photos were taken right before the kids and I departed for Melbourne, Australia.

{ hive & honey sweatpants . j.crew denim jacket similar here . sweatshirt thanks to camp beverly hills . kookai tank . target scarf . michael kors booties . cole hann tote }

Friday's Fancies

Hello hello, happy friday everyone! I am now blogging to you from Melbourne, Australia. We landed earlier today after what might be described as a marathon of a flight. For those of you with little ones, you'll understand what it's like traveling anywhere with them. Now add to that 20+ hours in the air, 10+ hours of transit and travel, the crossing of 8 time zones and the sudden change from summer to winter. Let's just say I was quite relieved when I heard those two front wheels hit the tarmac.

Now that I've landed, I can't wait to get back to my usual blogging schedule. I'm dying to catch up with everyone and see how you're all doing. I'm sure I've missed so many great posts this past week. Thank you for continuing to visit me even though there hasn't been much activity lately. If you're interested in seeing what life is like down under, I will be snapping away on instagram @jeneechen. For now, a few pictures from life this week. xx Jenee C.

Spending quality time with my sister baking, laughing and eating. These were meant to be passionfruit yoyo's but they looked so cute open instead of sandwiched that we decided to leave them that way.

Miss mini-me fast asleep with her sunnies on. Keeping a low-profile so she gets to nap in peace. Little did she know it made for adorable photos.

We do not have a Whole Foods in our town, the nearest one is an hour away (sad face). I make sure I visit every other week to stock up on whatever fresh produce is in season. These beautiful figs go so well in soups.

Putting together a few colours to bring with with me that would transition well from summer to winter to spring to summer and back to winter. Yep, I will be experiencing all 5 seasons in the next 4 months.  

I love surprises but best of all, I love watching my kids faces light up at surprise visits from daddy when we're out at the park.