Thursday, May 24, 2012

My Design Life: Kim & Binit's Baby Shower

Although, Ria & I had plenty of time to plan this baby shower for our friends Kim & Binit, we didn't get into all the details of the decor & food till the week of. And I, of course, procrastinated till the day before to do all my DIY decorations & food prep. We pretty much winged the design and set up the day of. With that being said, there was some minor things that could have been better, like the wrinkled fabric that I should have had time to iron/steam!!!! But that is just the perfectionist in me. All in all, with the amount of time we spent on everything, the baby shower turned out beautiful. 

Special thanks to the love of my life, for helping me the night before with all the DIY decor. =) 

Enjoy! 









Credits: 
Design: Ria Pavia & I
Decorations: Ria Pavia & I
Desserts & Appetizers: Rejeana Dizon, Bethmarie Quiambao, Tricia Canton, April Kim La Paz, Ria Pavia & I
Fresh Flowers: Bethmarie Quiambao
Photography: Yours Truly

Wednesday, May 02, 2012

My Birthday Weekend: Good Eats - Ink + UmamiCatessen + Bellini Osteria

I have been MIA on here for some time now. It has been an emotional hardship the past month and some dealing with the unexpected loss of my beloved doggy, Chip. When I feel the time is right, I will share her story with the world. But for now, this is a long over due post of my gluttonous birthday weekend in April.

I really didn't feel like celebrating much this year, but the love of my life convinced me that I should. I must say it was nice to spend quality time with him, my closest friends, and my family.

Ink. 

I had been wanting to try this place out for months and finally got to experience Ink for an intimate birthday dinner with my boyfriend. For those of you who don't know about Ink, it is a restaurant owned by the former Top Chef contestant, Michael Voltaggio.

I instantly fell in love with the place with my first glance. I was definitely digging the curb appeal, tucked in the corner behind gates filled with ivy and candle lights shimmering through. The interior is simple with a monochromatic color scheme of grays and industrial modern furniture & lighting.  What really stood out to me, though, was the outstanding service. Attentive waiter and servers, each which knew every detail of the dishes we ordered. I love when the staff knows their menu. And their constant change in dirty plates & dinnerware, I love when my plate is fresh & clean.

Everything was delicious, we ordered 5 shared plates + dessert and was comfortably full. My favorites were the brussels sprouts & pork belly.



Beef Tartare - hearts of palm + sea bean chimichurri + horseradish + rye //  Malpeque Oysters - mignonette ice + oyster leaves 

Brussels Sprouts - pig ears + lardo + apple // Pork Belly - charcoal oil +  bbq flavor + macaroni&cheese // Lamb Shoulder -  lamb's quarters + tongue + vadouvan + yogurt // Apple - Caramel + Burnt wood ice cream


UMAMIcatessen.


I have been to Umami and loved their burger, so this place wasn't anything new, but I really wanted to check this place out for its interior design. Unlike the other Umami restaurants, this one was huge & spacious, great for large parties. I love all the custom furniture made by District Millworks in Los Angeles. Definitely a good source that I hope to collaborate with in the future with Davis Ink.

Since I tried Umami's burger before, I wanted to try out what this particular Umami had to offer. I opted to go with the Pork Liver Pate Sandwich. This dish was just alright, the pate was too salty, which I expected. But the sweetness of the caramelized onions made it worse.  I think if this sandwich had raw red onions, it would be perfect.  The boyfriend got his traditional choice the Hatch Burger, which I probably should have went with also.



Pork Liver Pate - Caramelized Onions + Arugula  // Cripsy Pork Ears - Parsley + Lemon + Brainaise // Sweet Potatoe Fries - Garlic Aioli

Hatch Burger - 4 types of green chiles + house made American cheese



  Bellini Osteria. 


I love Italian food, it is one of my favorite comfort foods! For some reason, when we do birthday celebrations in my family we always end up at Italian restaurants. I wanted to try a new Italian spot out by my hometown.  I found Bellini Osteria in Westlake on yelp and it was amazing. I think I found my new favorite Italian spot back home.  

I loved everything we ordered.

Battilarda - Italian cold cuts + Prosciutto + Salame + Mortadella + Olive&Parmigiano // Burrata con Pomodoro - Burrata Cheese + tomato // Tortellini alla Panna - homemade tortellini filled with veal + parmigiano cream sauce //  I forgot the name of this dish since it was on the specials, but this was mine and I loved it. Seafood linguine in a spicy lobster sauce. 





Monday, March 19, 2012

My Design Life: Hospitality Design Expo 2012, Las Vegas


Can't wait to see all that HD Expo has to offer this year!! Definitely ready for some new inspiration from the newest and most innovative products&services.  Anyone in the design industry going?

www.hdexpo.com

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Retail Therapy Obsessions

I've been searching for my next bag purchase for months now & I am now obsessed over these CC Skye goodies. I don't know which bag I want more!! Help.


I did run into this lovely Rebecca Minkoff shoulder bag the other day, but it only comes in a Nude Pink color, which is definitely not my style. BUT the shape and size I am definitely in love with. What to do.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Palm Springs Getaway: Inspirational Design + Architecture

This past long weekend, I got to getaway from the busy world of work + my social life for 2 days & 1 night. Palm Springs is the best place to go for some relaxation and quality time. I needed to rejuvenate and get some design inspiration flowing.

It is currently Modernism Week in Palm Springs. Unfortunately, I did not get attend the festivities, but if you are in Palm Springs this week/weekend definitely plan on stopping by some of the events. Check it out: http://www.modernismweek.com/

I stayed at ACE Hotel & Swim Club and gallivanted around some of Palm Springs' hotel gems. ACE is definitely a hip hotel to stay at if you are in your 20s & 30s, music playing all day at the pool and more music at night. If you are looking for peace and quiet this is not the place you want to stay at.

Here are some of the many photos that I took of my hotel adventures. Great design, so many details that I love in each hotel, but too many to write about. Enjoy the photos.














Monday, February 13, 2012

Grammy Awards: Fashion Favorite

Taylor Swift definitely wins my vote on best dress in her Zuhair Murad piece! I might be a little biased since a lot of my current design research obsessions have been with gold & rose gold accents. But, I LOVE this look & all the details in it.Gorgeous & Elegant.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Instagram: Follow Me.

I haven't had time to update this, work has been crazy busy and life itself has been overwhelming. But I do update my Instagram almost daily. So follow me there.

Username: cheaudrey

Here are some photos of things I have instagramed about over the past months:






Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Black on Black on Black.

Black is my favorite color to wear! There is something classic, yet sexy about black. 

This would be a typical outfit you'd catch me wearing on a night out for drinks and dancing. With my body shape & personal style you will never see me wearing skin tight anything, except for leggings! But you will definitely see many different jackets, I am a sucker for jackets with a great shoulder shape. Half my closet is dedicated to jackets&outerwear.   

(Jacket: Bebe / Short Jumper: Lucca Couture / Booties: Steve Madden / Purse: Rebecca Minkoff / Jewelry: F21)

Tuesday, January 03, 2012

My Design Life: Rosalie's 1st Birthday - Story Book Design

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to exercise my party designing skills for Ria at The Evolution of a Woman blog. For those of you who don't know her, she is my boyfriend's sister-in-law and a good friend of mine.  She had a great vision of a vintage storybook birthday party for her daughter's first birthday. What a cute idea, right? And something original I haven't seen before.

She had lots of decoration ideas, but didn't exactly know how to carry out the whole theme. So with the collaboration of DIY decoration ideas (made by Ria and  her close friends, including me), some of my own found decorations, and lots of Ria's server-ware, I helped her design Rosalie's Story Book Birthday in less than a week!

The details put into the design made all the difference. From vintage story books collected by Ria, to DIY Doilies cups, custom name labels for the food&drinks, DIY 12 month picture strip hung by mini clothing clips, and carefully selected fabric...just to name a few. Details, Details, Details!!!  I love it and I hope you love it, too. Enjoy!










Credits: 
Design: Ria Pavia & I
Decorations: Ria Pavia, Kim Gala, Bethmarie Quiambao, Gin Lacuesta, Jasmine Ang, & I
Desserts: Rejeana Dizon, Anthony Pavia, & Merely Sweets
Cake: Cakes by Tricia Faye
Fresh Flowers: Maribel Mamuri Trinh
Photography: Yours Truly
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