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{ se-läh-vē } is the pronunciation of the French phrase C'est La Vie, meaning "that's life" or "that's how things go." The original phrase carries a bit of a negative connotation and is generally used as a term of surrender; surrender to life's lemons. But we at { se-läh-vē } believe that we don't just surrender, we take those lemons and make lemonade!


The purpose of this blog isn't just to showcase the events we've coordinated or give you helpful tips and pointers, but it's to journal and document the families we've encountered and the moments we've been a part of, where they took time out of their busy schedules to really look back on their lives and count their blessings...and simply put, to celebrate and have a good time! My hope is that this blog will inspire you to do the same in your own life!



Monday, July 19, 2010

Dad's Sweet Sixty

A few weeks back, our family celebrated my dad's 60th birthday. For those of you who may not know such traditions, Koreans usually celebrate big milestone birthdays such as a baby's 1st (often called "Dohl"), the 70th (chil-soon) and the 80th (pahl-soon). And where most people don't really celebrate the 60th (han-gap), my mom said she's always wanted to throw one for my dad. But really, she's always just looking for another excuse to invite people over and have a party!

I was given the task of designing the layout and decor for this event, but it wasn't easy since I was on a tight budget. With my "bare bones" budget, I had to rent tables and chairs for 40 people as well as make the place look half decent since it was going to take place in my parents' backyard. Of course I wanted to deck the place out with Tuscan-inspired string lights and fresh, wild flowers but when I sat down and did the math it just wouldn't cooperate with my budget.

So, what do you do when life throws you lemons? You make paper flowers!

LOTS OF THEM!!!

I visited tons of craft stores looking for tissue paper in pretty colors, but failed. They only sold common colors like red, blue, yellow, pink and green and a lot of the websites I found only sold in bulk.  But eventually, I found a website that sold it per sheet and their color selection was very good! http://www.ribbonsandfavors.com/ : not the cutest looking website, but it's legit.


  Pop Quiz: Are these plates real or fake? What about the silverware?

Another month long project I took on...tutorial to come!

It's all about the details, details, details...

    Guests really enjoyed looking at all of the old pictures on our "Family Tree"...get it??? 
Ok, sorry I totally stole that from Connie M Chung!

I was originally really nervous about setting these out because I didn't know how my parents and their friends would react and if they'd even cooperate...

But they LOVED it!

    Need I say more?

    Most importantly, this is how my dad looked all day...ALL SMILES! : )


Happy Birthday, Appa! I hope this day was a reminder that you are so loved and cared for by so many people. Thank you for your years of hard work and dedication to our family. You are our stronghold and may God continue to use you in mighty ways! Whether you like it or not ; )

-Sunmin

Photography: Connie M. Chung
Rentals: Eparty Party Rentals
Tissue Paper: Ribbons and Favors
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8 comments:

  1. connie M chungJuly 20, 2010 at 1:53 PM

    happy birthday mr. park! thanks for having me come along and document your dad's 60th birthday! xoxo!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Min ChungJuly 20, 2010 at 8:12 PM

    awww...I got all emotional reading the last part of the blog. That was so sweet and cute! LOVE all the deco stuff. Let me know if you need an assistant! hehe.

    ReplyDelete
  3. christine@selahve.comJuly 20, 2010 at 9:27 PM

    Lol! Min, I'll let you know if I ever fire Gerry.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sarah YangJuly 20, 2010 at 9:56 PM

    yayyy christine, please share the tutorials on paper flowers and the hemp balls! they are so neat!

    p.s. WERE the plates/silverware real? or no?? haha

    ReplyDelete
  5. christine@selahve.comJuly 21, 2010 at 10:18 PM

    Hi, Sarah! Tutorials are on their way!

    And in reply to your "p.s."...I guess you'll have to stay tuned to find out!

    ReplyDelete
  6. EstherAugust 1, 2010 at 8:50 PM

    hey Christine! LOVE what you did with your dad's party!! So many juicy details! :) Your parents look adorable together and your dad looks SO young for a 60 year old ah juh ssi! :) tell him I said that! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  7. christine@selahve.comAugust 1, 2010 at 10:28 PM

    Thank you, Esther! It was so nice meeting you last Thursday!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sandra @ ribbonsandfavors.comFebruary 27, 2013 at 7:26 PM

    Very nice tissue paper flowers.

    ReplyDelete

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