The Making of My Wedding Dress ::
I decided to design my own wedding dress initially bc the ones that I was interested in were all too expensive. And there were a myriad of other reasons too but I also wanted a dress that wasn’t white. So $$ + color I suppose we’re the main reasons. I put out some feelers and thank goodness for @myrtle introducing me to @misstashina bc it was a match made in Heaven.
I showed her my original inspo dress + sketched a wonky idea of what I had in my head in hopes we could make it work for the budget I had. Tashina made the entire process so fun. We went fabric shopping together and she was so open to all my edits along the way. From the mock dress to the final product, I never felt judged for my ideas. Only excitement in what we were building together. I wanted edgy. I wanted whimsy. I wanted such a specific color. And Tashina made it all happen 💛
The open back. The big detachable bow. The cut outs. The volume. The movement. The comfort. This dress was so uniquely me and I’m so happy I did it this way. I just want another excuse to wear it 🙃 I love how it evolved from the sketch to its final form and so proud of what @misstashina and I created for this special day. ✨ (I don’t remember the final number of layers Tashina built in to the bottom lolz but it’s perfect however many it was.)
The way I could go on and on about @ellenkimchee and her heart to elevate everyone around her 🥹 we just out here trying to have a good time and encourage each other along the way. For her, it’s not about putting the hottest/trendiest thing out there. If it were, I wouldn’t be in this video lolz. She just loves to do what she do and with people she loves and I’m grateful I get to be a part of what she’s building!
Check out her website bc she’s opening up private lesson programs for K-pop artist development. And while that isn’t my particular pursuit, training with her has been helping me get back in my body and find confidence to put forth in my acting work. And wow, my body has honestly changed so much over the past decade and so sometimes it feels like I am learning from scratch how it likes to naturally move. What an exciting exploration!
P.S if you watch till the end…I didn’t tell the gals about my surprise ending. I love physical comedy and can’t wait to do more of it 🙃 Thank goodness @curtis.kuo kept filming and everyone kept dancing rather than CHECK TO SEE IF I WAS OKAY. But I’m a professional, so of course I was 🥸
Choreo+dance :: @ellenkimchee@lauramizuno moi
🎥:: @curtis.kuo
🎵:: @xgofficial - Cocana Freestyle
To all the incredible women who have been selfless examples of how to be a mother…
To my own (the goat), my sisters, my friends, my MILs…shout to anyone that had the patience to respond to my millions of text questions and/or 3am tearful insanity texts.
And to the one who made it happen (w/ the help of @jarrodallen_ I suppose 🙃)
I love you all. 💐
Hey Bennie girl … you’re the most special cheeseball in the world.
Me and dada keep making new friends thanks to your zero boundaries. And we love you all the more for it.
✨✨✨
“…a character study that examines the meaning of life, focusing on an ordinary man searching for his place in a rapidly evolving world.”
I feel like I was in a small pool of people that sincerely loved Train Dreams…a movie that quietly released on Netflix last year that sat with me deeply.
Everything around me is changing so much and I often feel like I’m not changing enough to keep up with the pace I once thrived off of. Relationships, industry, trends, the environment … the biggest constant that is slowly starting to become blatantly obvious in my ordinary life (like, duh) is family.
There’s a period in my life between my 20s-30s where nothing could come in between me and my independence. And now I find myself yearning for more time spent with family, both the one I was born into and the one I’ve married into. I hold this time dearly in my aging hands.
I think I always wanted the extraordinary to happen in my “youth” or “prime”…buzz words commonly associated with burgeoning independence. But the extraordinary has been happening right in front of my eyes, with and because of family. ✨
I have a hard time remembering I’m still my own being separate from Bennie considering how much of every 24hrs she is attached to me.
We just officially started weaning this week so thats one step closer to having some more time for myself. And I’m super proud of how well she’s been doing moving on. I know a lot of women have different emotions about this phase. I’m mixed. Those quiet moments of bonding are sweet but I also just love when she’s independent too. How did you feel during this phase?
I’m still at a very beginner’s place of discovering who this person is and what her interests are and what she wants to achieve. Post partum is so weird and confusing.
📸• @frederickcochran
Just a bunch of friends putting together a litto farmers market for our Bennie gal’s first birthday 🎈 a quick recap of the sweet deets 🫰🏻
Part 2 of our thank you’s ::
•The creative mind of @mandi.o and helping my anxious mind get ideas onto the table.
•my seestar @ellenkimchee for being the first to help me plan and sweet Kaya for making the cucumber flower sandos! 🥪
•sweet @no_im_not_simon for the cutest cookies and bday sign 🍪
•delectable fruit skewers from Tita @jkvee 🍉 🍇
•best ribs from brother @frederickcochran and Thomas!
•for helping me get photos+videos captured @itmeolive@maritessanne (MT also edited this perfect recap vid!)
•extra helping hands that we will never turn down @oliviaaa_reneee
•my on-the-spot emcee @kiirstinleigh to help explain the tradition behind the dohl 👶🏻
Giant thank you to @paperbackbrewing for being our go to spot. We also had Bennie’s baby shower here!
And to our friends+fam… we love yall so much. It goes without saying but knowing Bennie has the best people surrounding her gives us so much peace of mind. ✨
Bennie’s first birthday at the Farmer’s Market!
A few Pinterest ideas, a lot of FB mom group donations, and party full of friends later…the rain stayed away and Bennie got to play 🥲
Part 1 of our thank you’s has to go to all of Bennie’s grandparents who flew out from Florida and St. Louis to be here to celebrate with us. We love yall so much and we’re so grateful for everything you’ve done to help us survive our first year as parents 🥲🥲
Our sweet, silly, spicy 1 year old.
It flew by for everyone else but for me it’s felt like 10 lifetimes bc of your giant personality and big big emotions.
You are so incredibly loved and I’m so overjoyed to be your mama.
Happy birthday Bennie girl 🤍
A simple aim for 2026 :: to be a little less tired and a little more present.
Good job, everyone.
Can’t believe I gave birth to a baby in 2025 bc that feels like 10 years ago.
