The Best Gifts in Life are Free

But we still buy Koji presents because watching his joy is our gift. Happy Holidays!

DIY Holiday Home

This year was the first year in a while that we've actually been able to do some holiday decorating, having had my retail business for the past couple seasons. This year I was really inspired by the simple and fun style of Scandinavian design, seen all over Pinterest. I used things around the house, free trimmings and Michael made the board from recycled palette wood. I felted the pumpkins myself for Thanksgiving, part of my holiday felting projects. Easy, simple and cheap!

Saturday Exploring with Koji

Because weekends are the best spent exploring with a little man.

Wearing...
Vintage coat
Gap Quilted Sweatshirt
Athleta Black Jogger Pants
Converse Chuck Taylor Sneakers
H&M Black Slouchy Beanie

Koji's Look
Gap Varsity Jacket (similar here)
Gap Sweatshirt
H&M Skinnies
Target Boots

Shop similar styles here:

Shop similar styles here:

Squarespace.com Wedding Website

Our wedding is now over, the honeymoon was amazing and now I can sleep in peace but I just have to share all the details of our entire experience and today I want to talk about the amazing and new squarespace.com.
I decided to do our wedding website on squarespace because I really wasn't convinced by all the "out of the box" wedding websites out there. Yea, squarespace took a little more work and you will definitely want to be a bit web savvy, but overall, I would recommend squarespace for a wedding website over most. It really gives you the most room to be creative in a seamless way. It's easy to learn (once you get the hang of it) and the basic templates are more than I could ask for. I was able to upload my own designs, which  if you're not a photoshop user, you could get from Etsy. Adding maps, pages, and photos was easy and I was even able to upload our videos easily!
On that note, let's start at the end and let you all see our honeymoon slideshow. It's cheesy and delightful. See it here or on our site video page!

Stay tuned for more of the full details of our wedding!

Check out our website akikoandmichael.squarespace.com here.

Enjoy xx

Veggie Time // Red Lentil + Carrot Tacos

I've been playing around a lot recently with vegetarian dinner options for me and the fam. I don't call myself a vegetarian because I will, should the occasion arise, indulge in good meat but I really don't like the taste of meat or chicken. I much prefer a creative dish made up of vegetables! This dish is inspired by the popular Cali "Taco Tuesday" trend. I buy most of my ingredients from Trader Joe's so if you're lucky to have one near you, I suggest using their brands for this recipe but all the ingredients are found anywhere. As always, using fresh veggies from the farmer's market makes every dish taste that much better. Simple, quick & kid approved.

What you'll need:
2 cup red lentils
2 cup chopped carrots
corn tortillas
olive oil
teriyaki sauce
vegetable stock
sour cream/plain yogurt (optional) salt + pepper

[salsa]
2 diced cherry tomatoes
1 cilantro bunch chopped
2 limes
1 small chopped white onion

[cole slaw]
1/2 head of cabbage, diced 1 lime salt + pepper 1. Mix all ingredients of your salsa and add salt + pepper to taste. You can also add some heat by using habanero or fresh jalapenos. In a separate bowl mix all ingredients of your cole slaw and chill in the fridge.

 2. Rinse and cook lentils as labeled with veggie stock, salt + pepper.

 3. Cook carrots in olive oil for about 3 minutes then add a couple table spoons of teriyaki sauce to caramelize. I like to keep them slightly crunchy!

 4. In a small pot, heat up 2 cups of olive oil and deep fry corn tortillas to make your own taco shells! I use tongs to shape. Drain and dry on paper towels.

Mix all your toppings in a warm taco shell and serve with sour cream or plain yogurt!

Party Time // Inspiration for our Welcome/Rehearsal Party

(photos via pinterest.com)
A little Sunday inspiration I'm gathering for our welcome party "Pipes & Stripes."

Wedding Time // Engagement Photos

[photos by Purple Nickel]
A big thank you to Purple Nickel studios who did an amazing job...can't wait for wedding day!

Happy Weekend // Date Night Style

From The Soiree Girls Blog // What we Wore

A little post from our Soiree Girls Blog. Make sure to check out our new website too!

Isn't this skirt from Target awesome?! We thought so! This is what we wore to the Arizona Bridal Fair. Check back for more outfit posts from the Soiree Girls coming soon...Shop the Xhiliration Sequin Skirt here.

January Needs

January Needs by asenda34 featuring boyfriend jeans

I'm going for FUN &  FUNKY in 2014.