Eco Friendly AND Gorgeous!

I am describing what Diane does, but it could apply to herself as well ;)  Anyways, first, HAPPY Belated Birthday, Diane!! Second, the reason for my blog...for those (few???) who have not seen what Diane does in person, you are missing out!   CLAY FLOWERS. Yes, CLAY flowers. They are super lightweight but look like the real thing!!!

Years ago, for Christina's bridal shower, Ange gave her this beautiful plumeria shadow box with her wedding info in it.  I asked Ange about it as a gift for Brian&Miho and for Mike&Larissa (the year we went to Hawaii for 3 weeks and 3 wedding on 3 different islands :P) and it led me to Diane.  I finally got to meet Diane at the last of the 3 weddings, Mark&Cher's.  Who knew this "woman"...I had expected an older woman who you know, was like an "artsy crafty stay at home Auntie" not this young, chic and outgoing "CHICK" :)  But alas, it was Diane.  Mark and Michael hit it off and well, we've kept in touch, and last November, they ended up moving back to the Bay Area from Honolulu...AND it's only like 5 minutes from our house to her Dad's :)  Aidan now goes to the same pre-school as Maddie...and Maddie actually guages her school days by "when I'm not in Rm 2 now, so Aidan is in Rm 2" on Tues and Thurs.  Aidan also has Miss Michelle...who we LOVE remember? :)

Anyways, I digress!  Diane not only does gifts and wedding invitations, it turns out after getting to know her and her business more, she does the whole gamut of WEDDING stuff!  But her main focus are the gorgeous flowers!  She does AMAZING work, check out her website/blog (www.dkdesignshawaii.com / http://dkdesignshawaii.blogspot.com ) and you can see not only her flowers but what she can do with them!  BEAUTIFUL and by the rave reviews and loyal following she has...no wonder ;)  Oh, she was even featured LIVE on Martha Stewart's show, showing Martha herself how to make hydrangeas!

With the green invasion upon us, what a great way to have the "freshest" flowers for your wedding/event AND be able to save it and use it as decor later..without it being "dead" or spending another few hundred to "preserve" it and it still essentially being DEAD?!  Quyen had these rich hues of reds and oranges for our bouquets and they totally stood out beautifully against the "candle" white of her gown and even our deep red dresses!

I can post pictures of Diane's stuff but everything is beautiful...and she's been working on new flowers too!  I almost want to have another wedding just to have her flowers...so many to choose from though...creamy giant peonies...light blue/green hydrangeas...her sold out gardenias that have been plastered all over the national wedding mags...deep, vibrant ranunculus...ivory tuberoses...I guess you get the idea? :)  Oh, her GERBERS!!! She even made SHAMROCKS!

Check out her links! 

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Going Green!

Since the economy and the stock market isn't increasing any green cash in our 401Ks, there is a way to get some green in our wallets:  RECYCLE RECYCLE RECYCLE!!!

I have never really thought of ourselves as "green" (the catch-all catch phrase of the 21st century?!) but as the kids get older and we look within ourselves, being green doesn't only help the Earth, it can get us closer to financial freedom.  What's the saying?  If you can't beat 'em, join 'em?  So my spiel on going green is something like this:  RECYCLE and CONSERVE!  Crazy, but by recycling cans, plastic and glass we get green cash back!  And by conserving energy, water and waste we cut back on bills each month!  Sounds like a win win situation to me :)

A friend of ours recently emailed me and asked me about a recycling place (she even called me "ms.green" although for the record, I consider myself more "lime-green" since I still drive more than I walk, shop at regular malls and wear cotton, eat regular vs organic foods and I haven't started collecting cans and bottles from the streets, only from my sister ;P) near her house.  I was so happy I was able to help her!  And I recently also started getting some kids involved by telling them "hey, you need more money for your piggy banks?" RECYCLE!  It's easy and instead of the empty bottles and cans sitting in a landfill, taking up space and years to decompose...it can sit in another landfill somewhere if the skeptics are right about the recyclers being crooks...but hey, at least I can live with a good conscience that I did my part and I got money in the bank :)

So a couple of things to remember when recycling:

• ALL GLASS CONTAINERS can be recycled!  You may just have to find a local facility that takes all kinds, but so far, the 3-4 closest facilities to our house ALL take them!  Just place the lids of the glass containers (I'm talking spaghetti jars, baby food jars, wine bottles, fish sauce, etc.) and put them in your curbside recycling bin, but the glass part is MONEY :)))
• For Plastic bottles and containers, look for the Triangle symbol on ALL your plastic containers, and depending on materials it took to make the plastic, if there's a number 1 within the triangle...MONEY!  I was shocked but actually a lot of everyday containers have this designation.  I find it's most of the clear heavier plastics (yes, like our water bottles) that can be returned for the same amount as a regular water bottle...which you DID pay CRV for within the state of CA!  Examples which you may not be aware of: Starbucks cold drinks, some of the vietnamese dessert cups, lids from "to-go" containers, soap dispensers, grape/salad containers from Costco :)  Any other number, from 2-7 can also be recycled for $ but you really have to go to those big recycling plants and unless it's convenient and/or you have lots of storage space, it may or may not be worth your time. Oh, unfortunately, milk jugs do not seem to be popular...I was told by one recycler that he would only get $.01 (YES, ONE PENNY!) for every pound, so he doesn't take them because it takes up too much of his space.  Go figure, since we go through about 2-3 gallons each week!
• Cans are actually the most "valuable" recyclable containers.  I guess this is why you hear of "thefts" all the time.  They are lightweight and compact vs glass which is heavy and bulky right?  Just make sure they are aluminum cans (like soda) because they won't take the metal alloy ones, like soup, veggies, etc.  Again, these other "mixed" metal containers can be returned for $ as well, but you have to take it to the plants.
• Paper of all kinds, except foil and metallic wrapping paper, textiles that are not contaminated by oils, paints or other chemicals, and random toys can all be placed in curbside recycling bins.  I've looked into some plants, and apparently, they do take papers, etc, but again, if you have the inclination, check your local plants.

So that's my GREEN take :)  here is a website for you to look up local centers:

www.recyclingcenters.org

happy recycling=happy earth=happy piggy bank!  

maybe we can stimulate the economy by recycling and spending what we make...it seems like a better deal than what the markets and government provide us... ;P

Maddie and dress up...

OK, so while most kids dress up as say, a Princess, cowboy, pirate, anything from a "box" as Ako put it...my daughter plays dress up by going through my closet, complete with shoes/purse/jewelry! 

Steve Young Day

Just in case you aren't aware...I LOVE STEVE YOUNG!  Almost as much as I love my husband ;)

And after such a great halftime show, another loss for the 9ers...kids are tired and depressed...

so much for the "FAITHFUL!" fans :)

p.s. I should make note that this was vs. the Patriots, WITHOUT Tom Brady :(

Fall..Halloween...Flu?!

I guess it's been a while since I've last logged on, but time does fly, it's almost mid October already! EEK!  Well, let's see:

• We're still patiently awaiting arrival of Baby Wong, although he's not officially due til next week :)  I think Ange is getting antsy, being the over achiever that she is, she's just not used to sitting around and twiddling her thumbs...I keep telling her, do it while you can!
  
• We went to the 9ers game last weekend.  ummm, there was a game?  STEVE YOUNG DAY! 
• As Ange put it, the Cowans are kind of under quarantine right now.  Maddie caught something last weekend, then Adam has it and Mark and I are starting to feel effects...hopefully, NOT the fall FLU!
• Boo Boo is rather clingy (putting it mildly here!) since our return from Europe.  He literally will start running around the house if he does not see or hear me after about 5 minutes "MAMA?! MAMA?! WHERE ARE YOU!?"  umm, 5 ft away from you?  and he's started telling me IN THE CAR "Mama? Mama?" yes, boo? "I WANT YOU! I NEED YOU to BE (translate: carry) ME!" ok...ummm, CAN'T while i'm driving or car is in motion???? sheesh!
• Maddie is still loving school and her teachers reciprocate the enthusiasm which is great! We LOVE ATLC Pre-school!  We have met so many people and I think each and everyone of them has said so many positive things, it's really incredible.  We are so lucky to have discovered the school via a neighbor.  The school does not advertise or have a website, but the director and the teachers and administration (of course we love AnnMarie ;p) is wonderful!  Even when we take Maddie out for a week at a time to travel with Mark!  
• Yeah, so Boo Boo is not quite ready for school.  He isn't really interested in potty training and well, I'm not gonna push him.  The more we go out and about for these parties, ummm, being in diapers is NOT such a bad thing..ICKY public bathrooms!

I'll post pictures of different stuff as soon as I download it later.  Still can't believe it's already October, but at least we have all of our Halloween costumes ready!   Gotta start planning for the Holidays and Maddie's Birthday :)

Pre-Halloween Dress Up

Last weekend, we went to Jack (2) and Connor's (4) birthdays...we look forward to it each year because Connor likes everyone to dress up, so it becomes sort of a "dress rehearsal" for the kids...you get to see how they will look and/or modifications needed...or if they will even wear their costumes!

Some cute pics of the brats and the Birthday boys, and another cousin Nadine, who also turned 2 last month!