Simply Yvonne's Blog

We had 2 ceremonies for our wedding. A Vietnamese traditional ceremony which I am wearing a pink ao dai and a traditional American wedding in my brother's backyard. I get asked a lot about my Vietnamese gown, for anyone wondering where I got it...it was custom designed for me from Vietnam...thanks to my lovely sister in law =) {mini water bottle designed by me}

I found a great site for wedding invitation templates that you can use to download to for free! I wish I knew about this site a year ago, oh well I still had a great time designing my own. Here are some of my fav: { Please visit downloadandprint.com for more!}

Spring is in the air and I love all the bright colors that associated with spring. This spring I am loving the color lime green. I gathered up some cute, affordable, purses that is prefect for this season. Some are from Target, and who doesn't love Target. Some I found on Etsy store, which is all handmade.

Our wedding pictures from back in September of 09. The wedding was taken place in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. I did my own makeup and had my hair done for the reception by sweet Angelique Verver.  Photography by talented Christopher Reistroffer and some shots of ring and invites by me. Our wedding was very affordable since we did a lot of DIY things. I designed the invites and also our guestbook. My sister-in-law and I did my bouquet and had tons of help from my awesome bridesmaids and groomsmen. My family took care of the food..it was an eventful and special day for us! { We are so thankful to have wonderful friends and family in our lives. Our wedding was amazing because of them! }

Over the weekend, we had a little gathering and made Banh Xeo ("bahn SAY-oh") The name means "sound crepe," and it indicates the sound the batter makes when it hits the hot skillet. Banh Xeo Recipe Vietnamese Crepe makes 2 crepes Crepes 1 cup rice flour (Thai versions are fairly easy to find) 1 cup coconut soda 1/2 teaspoon turmeric pinch of salt pinch of sugar vegetable oil for frying Filling 4 ounces small shrimp 4 ounces sliced roast pork 4 scallions, sliced 2 cups bean sprouts Wrap leafy lettuce leaves fresh herbs such as mint, Thai or Vietnamese basil (optional) and cilantro dipping sauce (see below) In a bowl mix the rice flour, coconut soda, turmeric and salt. Heat a little oil in a 10 inch non-stick pan and cook the pork and shrimp. When cooked through, add the scallions. Add a little more oil, you may need a tablespoon or two to make the crepe very crisp and chewy. Pour in 1/2 cup batter on top of the fillings a

I love this picture of my long coat chihuahua, Jet...sleeping so peacefully. "An animal's eyes have the power to speak a great language." ~ Martin Buber ."

It has been almost 2 years since we bought our townhouse. We were so clueless on how we were going to decorate and design our home. I like more of modern contemporary design while my husband is into traditional but functional spaces. We knew for sure that we wanted to paint our house but didn't know that we were going to paint 2 walls brown! Here are some pictures of our before and 2nd attempt at decorating our home.

I came across eatdrinkchic.com site few months back and got really inspired by all the DIY things on there. What caught my eyes were the vintage apothecary labels that Amy moss designed and they are FREE! You can download the labels on her site. Now who does not love free things. I customized the labels so that I can use it for kitchen sauce. Here they are.