Congratulations to Robin and Johanna!!

Upon arrival to our hotel, we were given a tote full of goodies at check-in by the bride and groom. So clever and sneaky!

I love weddings but this one was extra special in so many ways. Not only were they friends of ours, but they bestowed the honor of creating their wedding invitations and day-of goods and plus the wedding was in HAWAII!

During the time preparing for their wedding date, I got to know them more as a couple. Their excitement excited us too so much that the anticipation was really starting to build up for a long weekend getaway trip to Oahu.

Robin and Johanna are such a fun and loving couple, and the easiest to work with for pulling off an amazing destination wedding! She wanted a bright and colorful wedding with a modern twist, and he wanted one thing- spam musubis! We captured both in their wedding suite and saw it all come together at their beachside wedding at a private villa in Laie, a city about an hour away from Waikiki Beach.

They wed on the sand just feet from the clear waters with their best friend officiating their nuptials and one of their groomsmen serenading the guests with a rendition of the Hawaiian Wedding song on his ukelele.

They served local Hawaiian food for dinner and even had a dessert table by Ted's Bakery with chocolate haupia pie, white chocolate macadamia cream pie, pumpkin haupia pie, and more. 

After dinner and dancing, we headed out the beach and set paper lanterns aglow and watched them sail away in the sky. It was a beautiful highlight to the evening and one of the most memorable moments of the entire wedding.

Handmade party favors by the bride

spam musubi snacks for cocktail hour

First "selfie" as a married man! 

Presshaus LA signs at the dessert table.

one of my favorite photos of me + my mister.

The other weekend, I escaped LA and picked up my mom on the way to a family-friend wedding in Palm Springs. Not sure why it took so long to get me there. I've been missing out! I've heard all about it and it's vacation-y qualities and it's amazing architecture. I can't tell you how many times I've heard "you have to go!" and "omg, you've haven't been?!"

Yes, this was my first time in Palm Springs and it was a memorable first time.

It was for a very good reason- a beautiful and memorable desert wedding set in Le Haut Desert Aerie in Pioneertown. It's about 35 minutes away from the heart of Palm Springs and away from it all. There wasn't even cell reception here. All that stands there is a Moroccan styled retreat in the vast desert.

We drove about a mile of dirt road off the pave street and my mom kept beckoning, "Is this the right way? Are you sure?" This place is really off the grid.

Our heels had a little bit of desert of dirt but who cares. No one was complaining. Everyone was a little sweaty but smiling in awe of the occasion and the scenery.

The ceremony was sweet and picturesque. Just look at that wedding canopy and the backdrop. The words were so sweet. No one tells you this, but at each wedding after getting married, it reminds you of your own vows and takes you to that exact moment somehow paralleling your wedding day with this one. It's new to me. I cried a little. 

The bride wore her aunt's wedding dress. A very personal touch to the family. The aunt is so close and nearly another mom. I would've never guessed it was from another decade! 

The bride and family had been planning this day for a year and pre-planned the floral arrangements, anticipating desert heat of course, and planted succulents in silver ware they had been thrifting at flea markets. So clever and so beautiful!

My sister writing a sweet message. Yes, she has one Mondrian nail. 

Isn't the Father of the Bride so stylish?
Check out this schnazzy couple who so politely let me snap their photo. Naturals! 

And at last, the desert nighttime view that when you look beyond it reminds you of how small you are in this world, but when you turn around and see friends and loved ones  celebrating it's easy to feel comfortable and to ease back into the moment.
 
Congratulations K + B!

xo // ~k

A few weeks ago I was asked to be a part of this special project hosted by Masunaga Optical, a Japanese optical company that has been creating eyewear since 1905. Yep, nineteen-o-five- before the Great Gatsby era, World War anything, but letterpress existed!
At the time, I didn't know much about the project other than their request to film me letterpress printing and other artists being tapped to do the same. Sure. Why not?

​They came into my studio with a crew of folks, lights and lots of glasses for me to try on. I must've tried on 40 frames that day! While trying them on Ron was saying that each frame was still handled with care and filed by hand. Point being there's craftsmanship in eyewear that we take for granted.

Now after seeing the fruit of the project weeks later, I'm thrilled to be a part of this elite group of artists. There are no "slouches" here!

• Mark "Crash" McCreery // Creature Designer
• Melody Ehsani // Jewelry Designer
• Guy Dill // Scupltor
• Leah Katz // Musician- viola
• America Martin // Painter
• Tim Campbell // Architect
• Jeremy Fox // Chef
• Matt Jones // Scupltor + Welder

Beyond a video, I had a good friend of mine call me other day telling me " I know we're overdue to hang out, but why is there a huge poster of you hanging in a window on Sunset!?" I was ecstatic! I have yet to see it with my own eyes, but I'll have to take my mom and husband to see this poster! They'll be floored. Perhaps I can ask for the poster when they're done with it to give to my mom next Mother's Day? ha!​

Need some new glasses? Take advantage!
They're giving away FREE glasses. Instagram a pic of you and your craft with the tag #WHATSYOURCRAFT.

Thanks Masunaga + Dan Deutsch Optical + Davida + Penumbra Pictures + Justina! 
// xoxo

​My mister and I are were overdue for vacation. Sure. we spent all of 2011 in Germany but it wasn't vacation. Since we got married last February, we haven't boarded a plane and have spent all of our time in LA.

Our 1 year anniversary was creeping up and our loving moms generously gifted to us a vacation in Hawaii as our anniversary / belated honeymoon. We're so blessed and thankful.

After barely packing, we boarded the plane and we knew that was it. We were leaving LA to escape it all. No stress about prints, clients, work, traffic and the other daily ghosts that follow us in a normal day. ​

​Off the plane and in tropical landscapes the place grew on us quick. We ate, lounged, ate some more, lay lazy in hammocks on the beach. We even went horseback riding in North Shore, saw whales from a catamaran and earned our Hawaiian Tropic tans. Everyday, I started the day by eating a chocolate covered macadamia and thought in my head "it's vacation!" 

Hawaii never loses it's tropical charm. It's an easy escape and you can't help but fall into the island ways.

photo by Phyllis Sun

I can't believe it's here already.

Today, my husband and I celebrate our one year anniversary of marriage!

We made it!
Looking at this wedding photo of us in front of our house already says so much. The house looks so different from what it is now that it's a constant reminder of far we've come in only a year. 

Putting together our wedding was a crazy time. We planned as much as we could from Germany and had only 6 weeks between arrival back in LA to our wedding date to make the loose ends meet. Throw in the holidays and the down time, it felt like we put a wedding together within a month! Luckily, we have so many friends and family to help that we pulled it off. We're so grateful for our in-house talent! The music, coordination, flowers, decor, wouldn't have been possible.

branches from a felled tree turned into our floral centerpiece

flowers girls + ring bearers

Somehow I thought some things wouldn't change. Ok...Richard and I haven't been together that long to know everything about each other but I thought that I had known him enough to not have any surprises. It's funny how that changes once you pass the threshold of marriage. All the this time I thought "it'll feel the same." A lot of it does- the places we go, the meals we share, the hobbies we like- but there's something inside and in the relationship that changes once you hold hands and make the commitment to be a partner for life.  It does feel different and you see differently too. I  can't explain it. 

We are home to each other. It's a blessing not taken for granted.