A Friend's Celebration

I was so honored to be invited to the commitment ceremony of my friend, Ryan. He and his partner, Chanti, had finally decided to make it official. (Well, at least as official as MN currently lets them).
Ryan has been a best friend of mine since high school, and I've seen his relationship with Chanti grow over the past few years. Ryan's mom also worked with my mom, so it was only fitting that my mom was my guest for this wedding. After a little bit of shopping, we were both ready for the wedding! Adorable, right?

Ryan and Chanti had their ceremony at the Guthrie Theatre. It was a beautiful, urban setting, that completely fit them. And it was packed with family and friends!

Chanti's Laotian heritage includes a hand tying ceremony, and Ryan and Chanti included that in their special day.

One of the highlights at the reception was the photoboth. As you can see, we had some fun with it! Congratulations again, Ryan & Chanti!

Book Review: May 2011

I have two book reviews for you, dear readers!

The first book is The Latehomecomer by Kao Kalia Yang. I picked up this book while in MN, as my college friends had raved about this book. The Hmong culture is fascinating to me, because it is a culture whose name does not derive from where they are from. There is also a large population of Hmong immigrants in MN, so I wanted to learn more about them. This book did not disappoint. It was a great history lesson, as well as a look into the culture of the Hmong people. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it!

The second book is Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls. Again, this was a recommendation by my college friend's book club. I was a little hesitant to read this book, as I did not enjoy The Glass Castle. However, Jeannette Walls comes through with a wonderful story about her grandmother. This book made me want to reach out to my grandparents again and try and get more stories from them about their childhood and their families, because I see a great amount of spirit in them! I definitely recommend this book!

Happy Reading!