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| Bixby Ballroom at The Renaissance Long Beach |
Anyways... here is a brief overview of things bought, made, etc. I (tried) to keep it as low budget as possible.
Overview of DIY Wedding on a Budget
Although we didn't have the most ideal budget friendly wedding since our biggest expense was the wedding location. I tried to keep the expense down on everything else! It was also difficult since I only had 3 months to plan. We made a spontaneous decision to have a wedding before Flora turned 1. Having that be in May, we emailed every reception hall we liked for dates in April. Came down to 2 but decided to go ahead with Long Beach Renaissance since they gave us a ballroom even with our guest count of 100 (which later stretched to 140). Double tree Hilton offered us the garden room but the ceiling was too low and made us feel trapped and their ballroom had a guest minimum of 200. Although now that I think about it, the outdoor ceremony would've looked nice in photos. Renaissance offers their outdoor poolside ceremony only if the guest count is under 100.
Anyways... here is a brief overview of things bought, made, etc. I (tried) to keep it as low budget as possible.
Anyways... here is a brief overview of things bought, made, etc. I (tried) to keep it as low budget as possible.
8 Months Milestones
What's sad is.. I actually looked on Amazon and went through all these milestone books at Target and didn't purchase one. The least I could've done is jot it down on a notebook. Now here I am, regretting and trying to squeeze anything I can remember out of my brain. For real though, I used to have ridiculously great long term memory and now I can't remember short or long. So I will try my best to remember. Going through photographs and other people's facebook posts.. So I won't be able to pinpoint them but I'll write of what I remember.
My offspring at 8 months.
She was now a pro at sitting up and still had baby features. The round face, 1/3 ratio of limbs, torso, head. Aww. We came back from Brazil and I felt she got smarter. Being on a plane, meeting new people, breathing new air. I can't wait for more adventures with this little one.
Flora was getting used to the walker but still not able to move forward with it. She just kept pushing her foot to move backwards. I didn't really like the flashing lights in her face but there is an option to turn the lights off. I liked that it had 2 height levels. She enjoyed putting her mouth all over those little parts (that don't come off of course!) It was useful from maybe when she was about 6 months old. I've read a lot of reviews to take the bumper off if you carpeted floors (it didn't help) we used it mailed outdoors or she would sit it it playing with toys in the tray. It holds her while we bbq outside and she can just be around us. Here's more info on the orby 2.0 here (now it's called zobo for some reason). I will update this post when I can remember more things :(
My offspring at 8 months.
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| Someone got her a hairband |
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| Her walker that grandpa got for her |
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| Still quite awkward on photographs, won't stay still. |
First time Traveling to Brazil with a Baby Pt. 2
Continued from Part 1
So once we got back from Rio, we were car-less and had 2 1/2 days left.
2nd to last day, we spent with family by going out with the cousins to this really cool restaurant called Mocoto. Gosh darn it, they had this amazing spicy oil that was gifted to us from the restaurant but I gave it to my mother-in-law since she loves spicy sauce as well.. and while we were here, I finally got see a painted telephone booth!! I was so excited! Such a tourist.
So once we got back from Rio, we were car-less and had 2 1/2 days left.
2nd to last day, we spent with family by going out with the cousins to this really cool restaurant called Mocoto. Gosh darn it, they had this amazing spicy oil that was gifted to us from the restaurant but I gave it to my mother-in-law since she loves spicy sauce as well.. and while we were here, I finally got see a painted telephone booth!! I was so excited! Such a tourist.
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| Mural |
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| I stole my cousin in law's photo because I forgot to take all the food photos. |
First time Traveling to Brazil with a Baby Pt.1
Our vacation took place around December 2015, surprisingly that's summer in Brazil!
I guess, since it's little bit hard for me to remember, I'll just write in a chronological type style entry.
-short-term memory, mommy brain and procrastination-
To start, I read a few posts like, On the go with Baby in Brazil and Traveling to Brazil with Baby
I've also looked at a bunch of sites to see what I should pack traveling with a baby.
So.... overall, we were not that worried. I will write a separate post about preparations/lists.
It's just overwhelming because I do not like riding airplanes and I have never been to Brazil.
We were really lucky for our flight to Brazil because they gave us a empty seat between us.
This is how we found out that even if American Airline tells you that bassinets are first come, first serve AND we arrive 5 hours earlier.. It all doesn't matter if someone purchases the bulkhead seats. Then the bassinets are not available. Customer service and their website needs to update.
Like, seriously? You are not going to tell us this beforehand?
The only good part is that my husband is Brazilian and we won't be targeted as tourists and we're not that flashy for an Asian. I know this sounds stereotypical, but Koreans in Los Angeles for the most part, are in fact, quite flashy. I mean, I go to our neighborhood park and I'm the only Korean mom in sweats and a stretched out t-shirt. And this scenario is more compact in Sao Paulo, the Koreans here are known to be money makers and handle large amounts of cash from Bom Retiro district. Anyways, back on point. We were not worried at all about crime. It's not just because of common sense, it's also because the probability of us being affected by crime is so low, 1. We have a baby, so that means 2. we probably won't be going to clubs or going out late at night and 3. it's just basic street smarts. You wouldn't walk around unfamiliar grounds in la, would you? like warehouse district or anywhere secluded. Lastly, the crackheads. Eh... not too different from downtown. Don't be intimidated. Major tourists spots have military police patrolling the area as well. Usually the transients mean no harm but they always "offer" services to watch your car for a small fee and kind of threaten you with a smile. They always end their sentence with "....make sure nothing happens to your car". My husband gets annoyed because it's a regular parking spot and these transients don't own the property but they are everywhere, patrolling the neighborhood for street parking visitors.
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| sugarloaf mountatin |
-short-term memory, mommy brain and procrastination-
To start, I read a few posts like, On the go with Baby in Brazil and Traveling to Brazil with Baby
I've also looked at a bunch of sites to see what I should pack traveling with a baby.
So.... overall, we were not that worried. I will write a separate post about preparations/lists.
It's just overwhelming because I do not like riding airplanes and I have never been to Brazil.
We were really lucky for our flight to Brazil because they gave us a empty seat between us.
This is how we found out that even if American Airline tells you that bassinets are first come, first serve AND we arrive 5 hours earlier.. It all doesn't matter if someone purchases the bulkhead seats. Then the bassinets are not available. Customer service and their website needs to update.
Like, seriously? You are not going to tell us this beforehand?
The only good part is that my husband is Brazilian and we won't be targeted as tourists and we're not that flashy for an Asian. I know this sounds stereotypical, but Koreans in Los Angeles for the most part, are in fact, quite flashy. I mean, I go to our neighborhood park and I'm the only Korean mom in sweats and a stretched out t-shirt. And this scenario is more compact in Sao Paulo, the Koreans here are known to be money makers and handle large amounts of cash from Bom Retiro district. Anyways, back on point. We were not worried at all about crime. It's not just because of common sense, it's also because the probability of us being affected by crime is so low, 1. We have a baby, so that means 2. we probably won't be going to clubs or going out late at night and 3. it's just basic street smarts. You wouldn't walk around unfamiliar grounds in la, would you? like warehouse district or anywhere secluded. Lastly, the crackheads. Eh... not too different from downtown. Don't be intimidated. Major tourists spots have military police patrolling the area as well. Usually the transients mean no harm but they always "offer" services to watch your car for a small fee and kind of threaten you with a smile. They always end their sentence with "....make sure nothing happens to your car". My husband gets annoyed because it's a regular parking spot and these transients don't own the property but they are everywhere, patrolling the neighborhood for street parking visitors.
Preparing our First Overseas Trip to Brazil with a Baby... WE NEED A VISA?!?!?!
Preparing for our first overseas trip.
The last month before travel, I was busy researching and reading other parent's top advice/items to travel with.. meanwhile...
We completely forgot we needed visas to go to Brazil. It didn't come across my husbands mind either because he has citizenship there. I never thought about it since I've only been to Korea my entire life and never had to get a visa to go there either. Once we looked over the visa process through the general consulate website, we found out their visa appointments were completely booked! My husband went in person to talk to them and there was no exception (unless it's a emergency like death, of course; even that, i'm not sure if it's possible for non-citizens). The guy at the desk told us we can use a agency instead, but the consulate cannot process it for us without a appointment.
Although we had to spend money.. the agency recommended to us by the consulate was very convenient for us since we are able to pick up from the same building . The agency must have some kind of agreement with the consulate since they were able to get visas processed within 2 weeks. We used MyBrazilVisa and here is a brief email insert.
Im trying to get a tourist visa for me and my daughter.and I got a response within a few days...
I am wondering if we would get our visas before december 20th, as the consulate's appointment is booked till end of december.
We are extremely busy this time of year, but we can assist you.With that being done, I was relieved we had that figured out. Now, about my daughter's age being questioned..
How old is your daughter?
One thing that you need to know about our agency is that we do NOT use the Brazil consulate’s public appointment system. We have a standing appointment at the Brazil consulate every Tuesday and Thursday, so you do NOT need any appointment at the Brazil consulate to use our service. However, you MUST prepare your and your daughter's complete visa application materials to provide to our agency, simply because we are too busy at the present time to assist in the preparation of customer visa application materials. We keep our fees low, but for that you must prepare your materials and provide them fully prepared to our agency. Once your materials are in order, you can ship the materials to our agency, or drop off the materials to our agency. We do not review materials in person with customers upon drop off. I do that by telephone in advance of the drop off, and you can reach me at (310) 666-1174, and I am next available to speak after 7:30 pm on Thursday evening, or any subsequent day (weekends are best).
Our website provides all of the info that you’ll need to prepare your visa application materials and payment to provide to our agency:
http://www.mybrazilvisa.com/visa/touristvisa.html
You have sufficient time, so you needn’t stress about the timeframe. Ideally we would like to receive your visa application materials within the next week.
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