Hello guys-

I hope you all are doing well! I’m sorry for my absence, updates, and comments lately. With work and planning the wedding, my schedule is a little tight. My lifestyle now is just so casual. Tee-shirt, jeans and a comfortable flat are what I wear these days. I like to share with you my wedding photos from my photographer sent me to select for the album. These photos have not been edit yet, although it has a slightly retouch but not completed. I still have 3 more sets to go through and I’ll definitely will share with you all. xoxo Nini Nguyen

Dress and veil by Nha-Khanh, Fallon necklace

Here is another ” Sneak Peek” at my wedding photos from Loc. Enjoy and more to come !!! xoxo Nini

I mentioned that day while we’re shooting, there was a small wind storm that came our way. Isn’t scary??

Custom veil by Nha-Khanh, Janet Savitt necklace, YSL tribute pumps, AA swimsuit

Veil and gown custom by Nha-Khanh, necklace by Fallon.
Photo by: Thanh Nguyen

Have a nice day!
xoxo
Nini Nguyen

I just got back from Vietnam a few days ago. I was so exhausted from the jet lag and have been sleeping 2 day straight after I got back. I really enjoyed my trip. Sometimes when we go abroad, finding new foods and exploring foreign cuisine can be an adventure unto itself. But on this trip, the food was another rewarding part of my ‘homecoming’ and because I had no language barrier, I was really able explore when it came to food.  One of the best things about the trip was the new foods we were able to discover for ourselves. We ate like 7 times a day!!! What a life: eat, nap, have a coffee, eat, nap again and eat when you wake up. I gained about 7 or 8 lbs from this trip just from eating. It was worth it. We had been working so hard for this time off and it was an amazing experience. I am so happy that Loc and I could share it.

We celebrated our New Year there. The New Year in Saigon is really quiet.  Most of the businesses are closed and many restaurants are not open either. Our culture is known for the “Hoa Mai” on New Years day. The color of Hoa Mai is yellow and it only blooms once a year, on New Years day. People sometimes pay a lot of money for Hoa Mai trees because they are  good luck charms. People believe that if your Hoa Mai fully blooms on the first day of the new year, you will have a successful year and if it only blooms partially, your year might be not as good. Some wealthy people there are willing to pay around $20,000 and up for their Hoa Mai trees and they only last a week or so. Here are some photos of me with Hoa Mai.

Hoa Mai

Drinking coconut

buying guava fruits

Meat market

Vegetable market

This is my favorite fruits called Chom Chom

At Nguyen Hue Orchids Garden during Lunar New Year.

Water storage called ” Lu”

Loc and his friends sliding down white sand dune in Phan Thiet, Mui Ne

Another silly picture of Loc and his friend

This is what I worn to my friend’s wedding ceremony

back lace detail of the blouse

My friend, Kieu

Wearing: Fendi shoes, Alaia skirt, Robert Rodriguez blouse, biker short from F21, vintage clutch and Fallon necklace.

Saigon is always so crowed, noisy, and the city never sleeps. The people there seem to party all day and night. But if you drive to the South there is a beautiful beach called Nha Trang. It’s 7  hours away from Saigon. We are staying in NhaTrang for a few days before we go to visit Loc’s family and my family again. Then we will be headed back home. The Nha Trang beach is beautiful, and unlike Saigon, the people here keep the streets really clean.

One of the best things about the trip is getting to try all of  the exotic foods that I have never eaten before. Yesterday I tried snail. It’s the best! Believe it or not, Vietnam is known for dishes that are made of dog! I’m so against it, but there is nothing I can do. Dogs in Vietnam are not valued like they are in other countries. Most of them seem to be living as strays, sleeping outside and they barely have food to eat. What you have to understand is that some, if not many, people who live here barely have food to eat themselves so how could they afford dog food? I know it’s sad for me because of my Americanized values so I try to remember the difference in our cultures when I see the dogs as a meal: for others it is a matter of survival.

Vietnam is not just a return to my roots; it is also an adventure for me.  There is so much to see here, so much to take in! I will be honest with you: it is SO hard to see the poverty in this country. Seeing this different view of life, seeing how other people live and how little others have to live on has made me so much more appreciative of what I have.

I hope you all are well. I know that the fashion world has been shaky since the passing of Alexander McQueen and my heart goes out to his family and loved ones.
xoxo Nini

City view from our hotel room

We rented a boat and travel out to some of the islands in Nha Trang.

One of the places we went to is the Fishing Village, where they sell live seafood.  We selected some of the live fishes and restaurant cooked different type of dishes for us.

We picked out this huge squid for our lunch

fried squid

A local lady selling coconut juice using basket weave boat as her transportation

After a long day traveling around different islands, we ended at a beautiful island to swim and relax

Wearing Pucci scarf as head wrap and cover up, F21 sunnies, cuff by Virgin, Saint and Angles