Author: Jim

Jim is one of the owners and founders of Raw Materials Art Supplies.

The RSVP that wasn’t there

We sent another big batch of invitations out yesterday, so they are all out there except for those we forgot and a few that needed to be re-addressed. We have started to get a trickle of reply cards back, but today we received an empty reply card envelope! So if you mailed your reply card yesterday from the Los Angeles area, you might want to drop us an email or give us a call, since we may not have actually received your reply.

And if you got your invitation and have not dropped your reply card in the mail yet (or done it online), please do so!

Clothes make the groom

Celia, her brother, her dad, and I went to the tux shop to pick out my penguin suit for the big day. Here’s the jacket. I’ll have a white vest and tie, the groomsmen will have black vests and ties, and the fathers will have silver vests and black ties.

We’re grinding through the to-do list. The invitations are almost ready to go out, and we’re close to locking in our florist.

a big thank you

I had a blast at my bridal shower, near as I can remember. Thank you to Cecilia, Liz and Camille for planning and hosting such a fun party, and thanks to all who came!

First thing I noticed when I arrived were the cute baby pictures of me and Jim, and hilarious pictures of us as adults displayed on the tables. I don’t know why I’m wearing a thong on my head in the picture below. I suspect it may have been a posed shot. But doesn’t Jim look adorable in his high school graduation picture?

After I made the rounds and greeted everyone, Cecilia handed me glass of champagne and made sure that it was never empty throughout the party. That explains why I don’t remember a lot of what happened, but I do remember that the food was amazing, Cecilia’s house is beautiful, it was a gorgeous day and a lot of my favorite people were there.

There were amazing palletas and croquetas from Porto’s Cuban Bakery and I think some shrimp. No, really, there was a ton of yummy food (I just have lousy recall) and everyone filled up on appetizers thinking that was lunch. Then we all went inside and I opened presents and then there was yet even more food and dessert. That’s what I remember, at least. My mom made her famous chinese chicken salad, which everyone raved about, and there was duck and a story that went with it, but I forget the story and what else was served. For dessert, there was this rich, decadent, gooey chocolate cake, a tres leches cake, and those guava and cheese pastry things. I think I ate half of the tres leches cake. I just don’t remember doing it, but Kathy swears she sat there and watched me. I think a lot of you guys are having a good laugh at my expense.


Of course I had to open up the Hello Kitty bag first!

Camille and Sandra from Shopper Shuttle were nice enough to provide a shuttle from downtown to Cecilia’s and back. I don’t remember the ride back home, but Jim’s mom, Janice, and Aunt Suzanne said I just sat in the back of the shuttle, smiling drunkenly.

Jim said that when I got back home, I was schnockered. I muttered something like, “I’m done with this,” tore off my blouse (it was fussier than my usual black t-shirt), and promptly passed out. The next day, Jim’s mom and Aunt Suzanne joined me, Jim and Camille & Sandra’s crew for dimsum and everyone filled me in on what I didn’t remember from the night before. Jim just wanted to know why no one bothered to pack some food for me to take home to him.

OMG, look over to the right – we’re getting married in one month and 29 days!

No, really, save the date!

They say that you should send your “save the date” cards out as soon as possible after setting the date. For us, that translated into them finally getting addressed and stamped this weekend.

These are going mostly to out-of-state (and country) guests, so they can have a little more time to make their hotel reservations and travel arrangements.

And in about six weeks, the invitations are supposed to go out. We should probably get started on those.

where to stay in los angeles

There are so many hotels in the downtown area, but listed below are a few that Jim and I can heartily recommend. Most, if not all, have courtesy shuttles that will take you to Union Station (our wedding venue). Three hotels that we can see from our living room windows are:

  • New Otani Hotel & Garden (Little Tokyo)

    • 120 South Los Angeles Street
    Los Angeles, CA 90012
    direct: (213)629-1200
    reservations: (800) 639-6826

  • Millenium Biltmore Hotel (Historic Core)

    • 506 S Grand Ave
    Los Angeles, CA 90071
    direct: (213) 624-1011
    reservations: (800) 245-8673

  • Miyako Hotel (Little Tokyo)

    • 328 East 1st Street
    Los Angeles, CA 90012
    direct: (213)617-2000
    reservations: (800) 228-6596

Little Tokyo has a lot of restaurants, shops, and museums that are within a short walking distance (like, right outside the hotel doors). I heartily recommend walking to Fiore’s for Italian yogurt (Japanese Village Plaza). The Miyako Hotel, which is a block east of the New Otani, costs about half of what a room at the New Otani does, and is surrounded by more restaurant options. The Biltmore is a block and a half away from a subway stop (which can take you to Union Station and beyond) and across the street from the Central Library.

Other downtown hotels we can recommend:

If there are other hotels in Los Angeles that you are considering staying at, leave it here in the comments and we can update this post with more information about that hotel and the surrounding area.

Do you hear that whistle down the line?

We’ve got a location for the wedding — the old Harvey House Restaurant at Union Station in downtown Los Angeles. It hasn’t been a restaurant for about 40 years, but it is a beautiful space.

This is a picture from the Los Angeles Public Library’s photo archive that shows the space when it was still operating as a restaurant.

When we were visiting the Harvey House, the site manager told us a great story about a man who had recently had his 80th birthday party there. The man said the last time he had been there, he had bought his ticket at the old ticket concourse, had lunch at the Harvey House, and then gotten on a train to head off to World War II.

easter brunch with a bridesmaid

Jim and Celia, Easter 2006 For those of you who had called and emailed asking what my fiance looks like, here’s a very recent picure of us. Jim and I spent Easter brunch with one of my bridesmaids, Elizabeth (Liz), and her husband, Jason. Liz took this picture after we stuffed ourselves silly.

We had brunch at the Pacific Dining Car in downtown Los Angeles (order the roast beef hash, it’s wonderful). On the way to our table, we ran into a big group of friends and neighbors (Catherine and Andy, Jeremy, etc.) gathering for brunch. Jim and I completely forgot that we were invited to their rollerskate disco party the night before. Catherine reminded us that they are throwing a monstrously huge graduation party on May 12th, the night before our engagement party, at the Farmers & Merchants Bank, directly across the street from Jim’s pad. With Mother’s Day falling on the Sunday after our party, that weekend is shaping up to be party central. I’m so excited, I can hardly wait.