WEEKEND WISDOM

WEEKEND WISDOM

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt

WANTS

friday's five favorite things...
1.

2.3.

4.5.

1.vintage floral printed gunne sax dress
2. sasha shoes
3. floral frame maxidress
4. iron garden table
5. vintage fairfield ring

xoxo,
athena

TOP TEN THURSDAY

top ten styles picked for thursday...

(all photos from pinterest - belongs to best dress)

these are amazing photos with gorgeous styles...definitely in love with the dresses and shoes!

xoxo,
athena

OUTFIT

a glimpse of what's in my closet & how i style them.xoxo,
athena

VEGAN BROCCOLI SOUP

i had made vegan broccoli soup for dinner tonight and in fact this has been a hit for my husband and i. we by all means are not vegan but we do believe in eating healthy. if we can substitute a dish with a healthier version we will and we tend to stick with more fruits and vegetables. this soup is very simple to make and also tastes really delicious - you'll be surprise how great it tastes. i got the recipes on allrecipes.com. don't mind to let me know what you think if you ever do try it.

ingredients (4 servings):
1 cup raw cashews
5 cups vegetable broth, divided
2 yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 onion, finely chopped
4 1/2 cups coarsely chopped broccoli
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

directions:
blend cashews and 1 cup vegetable broth in a blender until smooth, about 1 minute.

pour the remaining 4 cups vegetable broth into a large pot; add potatoes and onion. bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 5 minutes. stir in broccoli and basil; return to a simmer. cover and cook until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.

stir cashew mixture into soup; add salt and black pepper. bring to a simmer and immediately remove from heat. transfer about half the soup to a blender; blend until smooth. return blended soup to pot and stir well. serve immediately.

xoxo,
athena

IRONMAN TRIATHLON - IDAHO COEUR D'ALENE

we are proud sisters with a brother who just completed the ironman triathlon yesterday in idaho coeur d'alene - a long distance triathlon race consist of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bicycle ride and a marathon 26.2-mile run, raced in that order and without a break. wow, what an accomplishment! we just wanted to congratulate him on such an awesome accomplishment! love you Manly!

him crossing the finish line!

WEEKEND WISDOM

WEEKEND WISDOM

you don't know where the path will lead you until you start it...don't be afraid to take the first step. sometimes this is a challenge for me that's why i really like this quote as a reminder.

xoxo,
athena
p.s.
no, the guy running is not aaron :)

WANTS

friday's five favorite things...


1. vera cardigan
2. rivert & thread popover shirt
3. the 2bandits two step pendant necklace
4. swedish hasbeens saddle shoes
5. atelier chesterfield bottle green sofa

have a great weekend!

love,
athena

TOP TEN THURSDAY

top ten styles picked for thursday...









(all photos from free people)

xoxo,
athena

OUTFIT

a little glimpse of what's in my closet and how I style them together.
xo,
athena

SOMETHING IN THE WATER

everything in this video is absolutely beautiful...the music, lyrics, setting (vintage inspired)...Brooke Fraser has a beautiful voice with a great sense of style. definitely feel inspired from this video...

HELLO SUMMER!

it has been beautiful for the past few days in minnesota. the sun is out, the trees are green, birds chirping and the mosquitos are out too (not too excited about that) but it's ok because we miss the sun! after all the rainy and stormy weather we are pretty happy about the 70 degree temperatures and the bright sunny days. i'll just call it summer for now! this kind of weather makes me miss california so much!


our yard is full of green and the grass was getting high so my husband spent his afternoon mowing the lawn with his rider. it's a lot of work when you have a big yard so i'm very appreciative of him taking care of it.


we had a wonderful time celebrating father's day yesterday! this is a picture of my parents-in-law and our super adorable nieces.

hope you are feeling the summer too! enjoy the weather while you can!

xoxo,
athena

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

"the quality of a father can be seen in the goals, dreams and aspirations he sets not only for himself, but for his family."

i may have had some challenges and tough times throughout my life but i don't think the hardships i've gone through can compare to the hardships that my father went through in order to get me to where i started. i can't thank my dad enough for carrying the American dream and for believing in himself and his family to get us to where we are today. also, to my father-in-law who i know has also gone through a lot yet happily and graciously gave himself entirely to his role as a father. last but not least to my Father from above who never fails me, He always gives me love when i needed it, He continuously blesses me and laid Himself down to save me. happy father's day to my wonderful dads - love you very much - and to all the fathers in the world!

enjoy your celebration today everyone!

xoxo,
athena

WEEKEND WISDOM

Everyone, Please Meet Baya...

Mehdi surprised me with Baya (Siberian Husky - full breed) on my birthday last year. My brother talked him into it to be exact, but they both knew I've wanted a husky for the longest time. We adopted Baya at 6 weeks and oh boy, did we have our work cut out for us. We both went through a full month of sleepless nights... and one thing to note about big size dogs... they are soooo energetic. Although it's been quite an adventure with her, I wouldn't trade it for the world. We both love playing parents and every moment spent with her is never a boring one!


Baya at 6 weeks


The little trouble maker went into my purse and pulled out a bag of cereal to eat. She didn't even bother asking.


Baya is officialy 9 months today and weigh 52lbs! Almost bigger than me!
xoxo,
Dora D.

Our Engagement Story!

March 22, 2013 was probably one of the most magical night of my life... Here's the full story!

During a trip to Austin in February, I bought a wedding magazine to browse while on the plane. I've been looking at rings for quite some time... (you know how girls tend to do that stuff when you're in love). Well, I found just the perfect ring on a magazine page. It was a beautiful Fred Leighton vintage inspired ring. But my luck ran out when I realized there was only one in this world at the price of $45,000.


Page from the magazine...
Little did I know, Mehdi took the initiative and bought that same magazine. He had the ring custom made!!! And this is where the story begins...




It took them about three months to finish the ring and according to Mehdi, he was planning on proposing this month, but when he got the ring in his hands, he just couldn't wait. He contacted friends and family as soon as he got the ring and told them he was going to propose the following day.

Everyone was pretty much scrambling around to plan out this perfect day. It was a Friday, and I had made plans with my girlfriends to meet up for dinner and happy hour at San Pedro Square Market in downtown San Jose, CA.


Mehdi called me that day while I was at work to ask if I could pick him up from his apartment (15 miles from San Jose) and carpool together back because he wanted to visit his parents. I agreed.

When it was getting closer towards the end of the day, I realized I had so much more to do at work so I stayed about half an hour behind to get it done. I tried everything in my power to escape picking Mehdi up and dropping him off at his parents. I wasn't in the best mood and I didn't want to miss the happy hour.

My girlfriends decided to push back the happy hour and that was when he finally convinced me again to pick him up and drive him to San Jose.

When I walked into this apartment, he had the entire living room decorated with a candlelit dinner prepared. He went on one knee and popped the question.

I didn't remember much of the speech because half of me was just too excited and the other half of me felt soo bad that I gave him such a hard time. All I remembered was him sweating like a pig and showing me the ring. Of course I said YES!


I was just soo excited I couldn't even touch the food on the table. I was calling all my close friends and family, but of course they all knew in advance. They were actually all at the San Pedro Square Market with my girlfriends awaiting our arrival to get the party started.


We partied all night and it was definitely one of the happiest day of my life.

xoxo,

Dora D.

ALOHA from Hawaii

Alhoha everyone!

I know its been a while since I've last posted, but oh boy... has it been a busy past year. A bunch of traveling and lots of wedding planning. Yup, that's right, I'm engaged!!! I got engaged to the most wonderful man I've ever met, but I'll tell you more about him and the engagement in later posts. For now, let's talk about my recent trip to Hawaii.

We visited the island of O'ahu. Definitely felt like I was in a different country, the place was absolutely gorgeous!!! The people were gorgeous and the culture is just amazing! It definitely has to be one of the best trips I've taken by far.

Anywho, for those of you who love to travel, here are some of the things we did in Hawaii that are definitely must-dos:

Hiking/Sight-seeing



Zip-lining


Dole Plantation


Trying out new desserts!


Mochi ice cream and shaved ice.
And dinner near the beach


We also did many other things like miniature golf, visit pearl harbor, north shore beaches (cliff jumping), trying out the shrimp trucks (Mackys), Shopping on Ala Moana Blvd, breakfast on the beach, swimming but most of all relaxing! We tend to do that sometimes when on vacation.

Welp, again I apologize for being away so long. Tune in for the updates on what's been going on in my life and the many trips I've taken all over the country!

Mahalo,

Dora D.