Natalie Chong

5 Winter Beauty Hacks

Do you constantly deal with dry skin during the winter? How about that heart stopping shock whenever you come in contact with metal or people?  Let me introduce to you my top 5 winter beauty hacks to combat those pesky #firstworldproblems.

PROBLEM: Dry Hands/Dry Feet SOLUTION: Hand/Foot Cream + Gloves

Do you constantly feel like you’ve applied lotion on your hands 1,000,000 times but is left…

Our newest addition to the family! Meet Charlie, our loving and snuggling little dog. Isn’t he cute and ugly at the same time?! He is definitely the greatest little chubby creature to have around. Thank goodness he was pre-programmed to do tricks and was potty-trained. Hallelujah!

MEET CHARLIE

Charlie was a rescue dog given to us by my fiancé’s mutual friend. Before meeting his lovely parents,…

I’m Asian and from the SGV area (San Gabriel Valley) where authentic asian food is found. So, it’s a given that going to Ojai was a whole new experience! I’d have to admit, I felt like I was in Idaho or Montana. There were too many animals, farms, and orange trees in Ojai for a LA girl to handle. 

Of course I had to be one of those stereotypical tourists who takes pictures of anything and…

Finally. The wait is over. Our wedding video has finally arrived! After patiently waiting for three and a half months, we were able to relive memories of our wedding through this video. We hope you will enjoy it too! Without further ado…

https://vimeo.com/291012915

To Love and You Studios, you did an amazing job. We are so glad that you were able to capture the magical moments of our wedding…

This year, Valentine's Day lands on a Wednesday. The month of February is a month filled with sparks and chemistry among lovey-dovey couples. To celebrate the month of love (although love should be celebrated everyday), I present to you Valentine's Day date ideas for those infatuated and PDA-filled couples. 

The ideas are categorized according to various price points in order to accommodate to a wider range of audience. Valentine's Day is suppose to be a day filled with love and appreciating your significant other as well as your self. With that in mind, it's safe to say that Valentine's Day is a 'love' holiday filled with fun adventures, good food, and materialistic gifts from your lover.

For those who bathe in Benjamins $ $ $

TOTAL COST: $5,142.00

We all have probably seen or heard of 'The Bachelor/Bachelorette', a popular reality show consisting of couples going on dates where money is limitless. Who wouldn't want to experience or fantasize about going on such romantic dates? If you're filthy rich and have endless money to spend, why not take you and your significant other on an unforgettable date that will leave a lasting memory?

ITINERARY Before sunrise OR Mid-morning:  Take your loved one to experience a private hot air balloon flight over Temecula, California for $800 on weekdays or $1,200 on weekends by Sunrise Balloons. For $800/$1200, the lovely couple will receive 45-60 minute flight, an assigned photographer to snap photos of your outing, 2 for 1 wine tasting at Monte De Oro Winery, champagne during the flight, and many more amenities.  

12:00 PM: After experiencing the most amazing views overlooking Temecula, experience the beauty of Temecula's wineries and wines like Monte De Oro Winery. After all, you do have the 2 for 1 premium wine tasting offer... might as well put it to good use?

5:00 PM: After an adventure-filled day, it's time to wine down with some amazing food and drinks at Addison Restaurant in San Diego, California. (Am I punny yet? LOL) Just an hour away from the winery, enjoy a nine course dinner with Chef William Bradley at $275 per person (wine included). Enjoy an unforgettable moment with your loved one at a unforgettable price.

8:00 PM: After having some dinner and drinks, chemistry between the two of you continue to spark. Why not continue that spark in bed at Beach Village at The Del in Coronado, California. Extend your getaway in a beachfront suite with an ocean view at a whopping $3,369 a night. This may be your closest bet to a fantasy suite (If you've watched The Bachelor, you'll know what I mean). 

For the Average Joe

$ $

TOTAL COST: $294.00

We all dream of being that 1% of high earning individuals. However, that does not mean that Valentine's Day won't be equally as amazing as having a private flight on a hot air balloon drinking champagne and mimosas. Who says you can't have the most amazing and lovely Valentine's Day date with your significant other without breaking the bank? 

ITINERARY 11:00 AM:  Although you and your partner may not be able to afford a private flight on a plane or a helicopter, you lovebirds may be able to afford having champagne on the bay. For $62 per person, a lovely couple will enjoy a cruise along the Long Beach Canals aboard the Duffy 18 with endless bread and champagne. This amazing 2 hour airbnb experience is worth it for those who are looking to spend quality one-on-one time without hurting your wallet. Need I say more?

5:00 PM to 7:00 PM:  Continue spending some lovely time together by taking a 2 hour long cooking class at your local Sur La Table. Valentine's day is all about being in each other's presence, giving undivided attention to one another, and appreciating the unrequitted love that you for each other. At $85 per person, you'll learn to make amazing food and taste your savory creations together. Learn to make risotto with pancetta and shrimp or duck with rosé cherry gastrique and roasted fingerling potatoes. Food tastes better when it's made with love. 

For those on a tight budget

$

TOTAL COST: $109.00

Life becomes stressful and a lot less exciting when you're strapped for money. Although Benjamins do not appear in our wallets magically, we're allowed to have some fun once in a while and Valentine's Day is no exception. Spending Valentine's Day shouldn't be solely materialistic (think flowers, chocolates, diamonds). Instead, it should be a day where a couple comes together and enjoy each other's presence (Heck, it should be like that everyday). Want to have an amazing day without feeling like you got robbed by El Chapo?

ITINERARY 12:00 PM: Craving some asian food? Have a hearty and refreshing lunch with your lovely date at Empty Bowl Gourmet Noodle Bar in Downtown Santa Barbara, California. Who says going out to eat at a restaurant has to be expensive? Do not fear. The highest priced item only costs $14.95.

After filling your bellies with delecious goodness, have a stroll down Downtown Santa Barbara and enjoy each other's company. Maybe do a little shopping here and there if you have extra money to spend. 

After waiting for 3 weeks and a day, our engagement photos have finally arrived and I could not be any happier! My fiancé and I had a wonderful time during the photoshoot and we would like to share the moments we had with these ethereal and timeless photographs. We were given an incredible opportunity to have our photos taken with the amazing husband and wife duo at Koman Photography. Without further ado, enjoy!

A few years before I met Jordan (and was still single), I stumbled upon Koman Photography's work and instantly fell in love with them. They were able to capture the essence of love between a couple as well as the beauty, charm, and the harmonious atmosphere of the their surrounding. Not only did they capture a story, they captured a honest and genuine love story between two people. I knew I wanted them to take snapshots of what would soon be the happiest days of our lives. 

We were lucky enough to have our engagement photos taken at Malibu Rocky Oaks in Malibu, California. The view was absolutely unbelievable, breathtaking, and picturesque. After discovering and seeing pictures of the estate for many years now, we knew we wanted to do something there. Because we were not able to hold a wedding at Malibu Rocky Oaks, we decided to rent the entire estate for our photo session. 

Because this was our first time having pictures taken by professional photographers, we did not know what to expect. Of course, we initially felt awkward and uncomfortable in front of the camera but, all that drifted away.

I hope you enjoyed this post and I can't thank Koman Photography enough! Be a gem and go check out their work here.

What HE wore:  Shirt: Ted Baker Pants: Bonobos Shoes: The Rail

People say that diamonds are a girl's best friend. Every girl dreams of owning a diamond ring. Since the beginning of 1947, the diamond has been largely associated with marriage. In 1947, De Beers Company launched a slogan that spurred the sales of the diamond, "A diamond is forever". The campaign implied that a diamond's long lasting durability is similar to the American psyche that marriage is forever. Till this day, the diamond is a true symbol of eternal love and signifies the celebration of a union. 

Different diamonds differ in their rarity and quality depending on GIA (Gemological Institute of America) scales of the 4 C's. GIA is an independent third-party diamond appraisal and is considered the world's foremost authority on diamonds used by jewelers such as Cartier and Harry Winston. Diamonds are graded based on their cut, color, clarity, and carat weight. With better grades, the diamond will tend to cost more. For additional information about diamond quality from high-end jewelry boutiques, click here.

CUT

A diamond's beauty, brilliance, and excellence is heavily determined by the cut of the diamond. This criterion is entirely dependent on the talent and expertise of the diamond-cutter as this will determine how well a diamond's facets interact with light. According to the GIA (Gemological Institute of America) scale, the cut of a diamond is rated on a scale of 5 grades ranging from "excellent" to "poor". A diamond's cut grade is determined based on the design and craftsmanship of the diamond as well as the diamond's brightness, fire, and scintillation.  Brightness - Internal and external white light reflected from a diamond Fire - The scattering of white light into all the colors of the rainbow Scintillation - The amount of sparkle a diamond produces, and the pattern of light and dark areas caused by reflections within the diamond

COLOR

Although diamonds are transparent, most diamonds contain slight hints of color. The closer diamonds are to colorless, the more valuable and rare the diamonds are. GIA grades the color of a diamond based on a scale of 23 grades ranging from "colorless (D)" to "light yellow or brown (Z)" under controlled lighting conditions. Note that natural colored diamonds (red, blue, yellow, pink, etc.) are graded differently than white colorless diamonds. 

CLARITY

Diamonds are created as a result of carbon that is exposed to tremendous heat and pressure deep in the earth. As a result, almost all diamonds have a variety of internal and external characteristics also known as "inclusions" and "blemishes" respectively. The clarity of a diamond is determined based on the diamond's nature, size, relief, the position and number of inclusions and blemishes, as well as how these characteristics affect the overall look of the stone.

A diamond grader determines a diamond's clarity on an 11 point scale under 10x magnification. Many inclusions and blemishes are too tiny to be seen with the naked eye. A diamond with the highest clarity will have a "flawless (FL)" rating while a diamond with the lowest clarity affecting transparency and brilliance will have an "included (I)" rating. 

What causes inclusions?  Some crystals can be trapped within the formation of a diamond. As a crystal continues to grow, the crystal may develop irregularities in its atomic structure leading to inclusions in the diamond.  

CARAT WEIGHT

Every girl dreams to have a huge looking diamond with a large carat weight. But what is a carat? A diamond's size is determined based on a it's weight which is expressed in carat. A "carat" is defined as 200 milligrams. Diamonds with larger carat weights tend to cost more due to its rarity and desirability.