What Does Your Name Mean?

My name is Ami (亜美).

A (亜) is from my dad's name and the Kanji means Asia. mi (美) is from my mom's name and the Kanji means Beautiful. My parents wished me to become a beautiful person (who has a heart of gold) in Asia. What a big dream!!!

What does your name mean?

Our wedding is less than a month away from today and we finally started to organize our profiles.

Anyway, it has been already 9 years since 911. I clearly remember that I was writing my graduation thesis in that morning. What were you doing then?

This weekend, I took a pic of myself at our regular cafe, but I just realized my table was messy while I'm smiling... can't post it large...

Bye for now!





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Looking for Childhood Photos

This weekend, my darling and I both went back to our own family home to find childhood photos of ourselves. My darling went all the way back to his hometown (in Hikone) to find his.

As you might know, we need to create a childhood photo montage video presentation which will be shown at our wedding reception. In Japan, photo montage presentation is the highlight of entertainment for the guests. Combined with our favorite music, from childhood photos to dating and engagement photos, it is a special reflection on our past to tell the story of us, who eventually meet and fall in love.

Well, there were hundreds of albums at my family home so I couldn't select ones I want to use in a snap... I think I'll go back again since my family home is just a few-minute walk from where I live.

Yeah, our doggy was doing fine. I saw Tamagawa Fireworks from home which we saw up close last year.

How was your weekend?!

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Bouquet and Boutonia

The flower is a messenger of the heart.

Since early times men send women flowers to show their courtship. This is why groom sends a bouquet to bride. Then the bride picks one flower out from bunch and puts it through the buttonhole of groom's collar to answer "yes". This is the origin of boutonia. How romantic :)


What flower symbolizes your love?!

For our wedding in NY, we chose white rose, which means innocence.

Red Rose: Love
Yellow Rose: Friendship
Light Pink Rose: Gladness
Dark Pink Rose: Thankfulness
White Rose: Innocence
Tulip: Perfect Lover
Lily: Purity
White Carnation: Ardent Love
White Jasmine: Amiability
Lily of the Valley: Return of Happiness
Sunflower: Adoration
Pink Gerbera Daisy: Beauty
etc...

Tonight, my darling and I are going to try and select the perfect dishes for our wedding party! We hope all our guests enjoy :D

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Our Wedding Invitation Card

I believe now everyone has received our invitations.

We chose this elegant butterfly card out from many because my darling and I hit it off with each other in seconds. To seal the envelope, we looked for this apple sticker separately, because it relates to our wedding, which is a secret till the day. he-he ;P

Thanks for those who e-mailed me when received!
We will do our best!!!

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Where Do You See Yourself in 10 Years?

Good question! Kym posed this question on her post yesterday. I always think what I wanted to do NOW but I haven't actually thought about where I'll be in 10 years.

Let me think...



ME - In 10 years, I am a loving wife ;) Hope to have a child (a gentle boy like my darling I wish but maybe a hasty girl like me...). Having enough time for household work, I hope myself not working full-time but teaching Japanese cooking to foreigners part-time. In addition, maybe using YouTube or some other revolutionary tools, I want to share my cooking worldwide! Still dancing hula and going to GYM. I hope I always have a dream that keeps me motivated.

MY DARLING - In 10 years, my darling always loves me and so do I. I see him still doing whatever he wants to do. I don't want to limit his potential, so I support him no matter what he does. I might breath down his neck when I'm under stress, but not as often as now. he-he!!!

TRAVELS - I still visit NY every year with my loving family ;) Want to visit Hawaii and Okinawa within less than a decade.

Where Do You See Yourself in 10 Years?

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Wedding Invitations

Today (8/4/2010), we are sending out our wedding invitations because it is "大安 (taian)", the luckiest day of the week in Japanese calendar :D

My darling did a great job putting stamps and stickers on the cards!!!

Our wedding reception is going to be small in scale, but full of our ideas! We decided to invite only selected people who we have special feelings.

I hope all can enjoy :)

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Champagne @ BVLGARI

On the weekend, there was an event at BVLGARI that you can enjoy free champagne while shopping. To benefit this event, we aimed to the shop our wedding rings on Saturday.

We temporarily felt rich.

Why temporarily?! Because my credit card didn't go through for it exceeded the cap!!! It seems like I untimely used my card before the last month's withdrawal X(

I immediately, called the support center to approve the payment, but that behaviour was far from rich...

Anyway, we finally bought our wedding rings!!!
I will show you later when they are done with carvings ;)

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Photos @ Times Square

By purchasing the photo wedding plan, we received free photo shoots at anywhere in the city, so we chose Times Square. We didn't dress up but the photos came out really nice :D

Today, I have tons of work to do... I hope I can leave the office on time :(

Will update 7-day diary later!!!

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New York Photo Wedding

Time flies... Now I'm back in Japan! A week in NY passed like a dream.

Blessed with blue skies and lots of love from people in NY, our photo wedding was successful.

Thanks a lot!!!

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Last Minute Man

I call my darling "Last Minute Man".

The deadline for us to submit the list of addresses of our wedding guests was yesterday. However, yesterday morning, my darling still haven't completed his list (playing with his iPhone), so I was kind of prepared myself for the worst (empty seats)... However, in the evening, he suddenly made some calls and completed his list!!! Isn't that amazing?! Why couldn't he do that earlier to avoid our fights until now...

Anyway, the rainy season has begun from today. It is going to rain till July. We find a lot of hydrangeas in bloom. I love the blue ones :D

I have a condo which I want to purchase but can't make a decision. In addition to my culinary stuff, I have a lot to think!!! Whew... I hope I can come up with a suitable compromise...

Bye for now!!!

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My Dearest Wedding Dress Coordinator

It was in February when I first met her at the dress shop. There are many wedding dress shops in Tokyo, but I just happened to go there after scouring few other shops because their rental fee was 50% off at that time.

First, my darling and I planned to rent our tuxedo and dress for NY (photo wedding in July). In the fitting room, I talked my coordinator that I used to live in NY, and surprisingly, she said she also used to live in NY and worked as a hairdresser. Then she said she used to work at the salon in Harrison, where I used to live!!! Isn't it amazing?! Sorry my darling, we made him wait outside for a long time and talked. But at the same time, I found the very best dress for NY with her.

Anyway, all dresses there were my taste, and I enjoyed playing dress-up. So without question, we rented our costumes for October as well. I will show you all the dresses I tried after our wedding in October ;)

But unfortunately, she is going to leave the job today, 6/8. She is going to take care of her dad in her hometown. So on Sunday, we went to see her again. This time we chose my darling's tuxedo for October wedding, which we postponed. (sorry my darling...) Anyway, we had a good time and chose perfect ones! Please look forward to seeing our wedding costumes!!!

I really miss her but I hope she makes her dad happy with her smile :D

Thank you!!!

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The Day We Met

I met my darling in NY on 6/7/2003.

Last night, my darling worked late into the night, so I was looking at pictures that we took on the day we met. Don't you think it's amazing that we took a photo together on that day?! We met at a party, so that's why! I will post it really small with kitty since it is embarrassing. Ha-ha :P

Time flies. I don't want to accept reality, but we are changing...
Hope we stay the same forever!!!

BTW, did you see Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics Figure Skating?
Kim Yu-Na is beautiful! I think she has an attractive aura :D

Rainy but spring has come in Tokyo :) The high today is 18C (64F)!
Have a good weekend!!!

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Barbie

I loved to play Barbie when I was small. What my sis and I had were Jenny dolls. We wanted Licca, but somehow all dolls were Jenny because our Santa (my dad) couldn't tell the difference between two... Ha-ha. A big difference between them is the height. Licca is smaller than Jenny. Why can't he get Licca!!!!!!! Anyway, now Jenny is discontinued, so I'm glad that we played with her!

Once in a while, I played with Barbie dolls at my friend's house. My friend was German, so her doll was a real Barbie! Don't you think Japanese Barbie dolls (Jenny and Licca) have Japanese face!?

On Saturday, my darling and I went to a different salon to try on wedding dresses again! Don't laugh! Just for fun, I tried on a Barbie dress :D BTW, here we found really nice dress and tuxedo for New York photo wedding at a great rental value! We made a snap decision! Also, all dresses were my taste, so I enjoyed playing dress-up! Amazingly, the lady who assisted my fitting used to live in Harrison (New York), where I used to live!!! What a small world!!!

Busy Monday! Talk to you later!!!

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Preserved Flower Arrangement from Miho

On Valentine's day, my high school friend Miho sent me a beautiful handmade preserved flower arrangement as a wedding present (I received it yesterday since I couldn't make time to receive it from the deliverer). She said she chose these colors for me :D What a perfect choice!!! I really like this fuchsia pink color, you know!

Preserved flower is made of real flower. It is fresh and soft like a real flower, and lasts for about 3 years, depending on the condition.

Thanks a lot for this surprise!
It made my day super happy ;)

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Wedding Dresses #1

Yesterday I tried on wedding dresses and colored dresses for the first time in my life!!!

White dresses were not as white & glittering as I thought. But they fitted very well and looked really good in pictures! Amazing!!!

I enjoyed wearing colored ones more than the white ones ;) They were really heavy but gorgeous indeed! But the pricing for the rental was insanely expensive!!! Hmm...

Instead of renting 2 dresses (changing into a colorful dress during the wedding reception), maybe I can design my own wedding dress using the budget.

Anyway, I am thinking of trying on as many wedding dresses as I can until April (the deadline to decide my dresses). That's why I titled this post "#1". He-he! Thanks to my darling. He took all these pictures.

Will see...

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Wedding Dress Show @ Zexy HAPPY PARTY!!

Yesterday, while I was cooking, my darling browsed the Net and found a special bridal event called "Zexy HAPPY PARTY" at Tokyo Midtown. Zexy is Japan's leading bridal glossy magazine. On this Saturday and Sunday, they held a wedding dress show at the event.

It wasn't in my plan, so I condensed my schedule and went to the event with my darling before the GYM! Thanks to my darling, I had a good time! It was worth it! White dresses were really beautiful :D Actually, this coming holiday (Thursday - National Foundation Day), I am going to try on wedding dresses, so it was a good preview!

Moreover, there was a bridal walking lesson by Duke Saraie. He is a walking specialist, who created the Duke’s Walk method to teach people how to walk correctly. He taught us how we stand, walk, and bow nicely at a wedding reception! My darling took a video of his lecture, so we can practice it anytime. Ha-ha ;)

Okay. This is all for today!

Talk to you later :D

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