Love, Milk, & Honey

To those of you who have not checked out Lauren Kelly's blog, Love, Milk, & Honey, you're missing out!! It's a blog about love, life, and useful information for married couples. Lauren( a gorgeous Texas redhead) is the lady behind the blog. She is awesome! Really awesome. I've been honored to do a frequent blog column for her under " The Accessories" section of her blog. First blog went up last week! Check it out here. Follow her blog and gets some tips and advice form me on love, life, and fashion. Enjoy!

Warmest,

Annette

screen shot of the site

My Dad

With Fathers day on my mind, I wanted to write a post on my dad. If I had to sum my dad up in one word it would be brave. Although using one word isn't really fair, so I'll use others. Brave, Strong, Kind, Godly, Unselfish, Giving, Loving, and the list could go on and on.

My dad, Ignacio ( or you can call him Iggy) was born in Florida. However, it's not the Florida you're thinking of. He was born in Florida, Cuba, near Camaguey. By the age of 16 he was singing in a professional group and touring Cuba. I claim I got my singing voice from him.( as well as my artistic abilities. My dad can draw like crazy)

A few years after that God tugged at his heart, and he decided that was not the life he wanted to lead. He left fame behind and dedicated his life to ministry. I can't say how much that speaks volumes on my dad's character. He met my mom in College, they became engaged and life was as " good" as it could be living in a communist country.

Suddenly his life was turned upside down when he was forcefully taken from his college, put into a truck, and taken to a concentration camp in a distant part of Cuba. He was in his early twenties at the time. I cannot even imagine going through that experience. He was separated from all he had, all he knew, and from the woman he loved. At the time Castro did not want the country to have anything to do with religion. So he took all young men, from all around Cuba, of all denominations who were studying to be pastors, and put them into concentration camps around Cuba. The plan was to "brain wash" them into thinking communism is better than religion.

For 3 long years my dad stayed in this hard labor camp. His faith in God was tested daily. It was prohibited to talk about religion, have a Bible, or pray. When someone he knew snuck a Bible in, they buried it far from their barrack where they would sleep. Every night my dad or one of his friends would crawl out in the darkness, dig up the Bible, crawl back and read by candlelight. They were willing to risk their life for what they believed in. In our country now days we can have multiple Bibles in out home and never even read them. The Bible was soo precious to them during those times. I want to learn from that.

It was my dad's faith in God that got him through those difficult times. He saw my mom only a couple of times during those 3 years, and all letters they would write each other were pre-read or never delivered.When the rest of the world found out about these concentration camps, Castro opened the camps up and allowed all to leave. My dad was free. Him and my mom married and from there on, I could tell a million more stories of their struggles, triumphs, and blessings from God. I'll leave those for another time.

I want to thank my dad for giving me the opportunity to be who I am. For teaching me about God, and for always praying on my behalf. My dad after 40 years continues to pastor to this day. Yes, I am one of those PK's as we're called. I was blessed to have my dad baptize me, and perform my wedding. Those are moments in my life that he made so special and I will never forget.

Happy Fathers Day to the best dad ever!!!! Love you!

Happy Fathers Day to all dad's out there.

Sneak Peak

Here's a little sneak peak from my photo shoot with Garrett Nudd. Looking forward to posting more!!

Warmest,

Annette

Update

chaviano couture from annette thurmon on Vimeo.

My Mom- Ana Rosa

I surprised my family by flying home for Mothers Day ( video soon to come) I had not seen my family since November of last year. That's way too long! I don't think we've ever gone so long without seeing each other. My family ( which consists of my dad, mom, and grandma) live in Missouri. That's where I was born and raised. It's been a blast being home for a day. My grandma's food is AWESOME ( that's an understatement) and it's always fun to sleep in my old room, look up and see my glow in the dark stars, and reminisce.

Since It's mother day I thought It would be nice to do a post on my mom. She is such a strong woman who has gone through a lot in life and been resilient about it. Born and raised in Cuba, she witnessed her country change in a day by communism. She dealt with my dad being in a concentration camp for 3 years during their engagement. Lived on nearly nothing, and yet learned to thrive. Came to United States in 1980 with nothing except the clothes on her back. Learned to speak English and make a life for herself. My parents were married 13 years before they had me, so I came as a surprise.


I think what I can say I have my mom to thank for most is for always representing Christ to me, and for being a God fearing woman. Ever since birth she instilled a love for God in my heart. I learned to trust Him because I heard so many stories growing up of how He always brought my parents through trial. My mom unselfishly stayed home when I was younger and put her own career dreams on hold to home school me and teach me. Those growing up years with my family at home everyday will always be a fond memory in my heart.


My mom has always gone the extra mile for me. Altough we've shared our differences during my growing up years, she has always been my support. I can't thank her enough for what she has given me.

To all mom's reading this I want to say Happy Mothers Day. What you do is such an amazing thing. I pray God continues to bless you in a big way. To all those mom's out there that are raising your kids, working, and trying to follow your dream, I admire you. Words can't describe how awesome you are.

I hope to be a mom one day. I actually look forward to it. I can only pray I do half as good as my mom did with me. So on this mothers day I want to say "Thank you" to my mom. For teaching me, loving me, and always praying for me. I love you!

Teclitica ( what my mom calls me)

Happy Mothers Day

my mom at 15

Right after she gave birth to me

still in the hospital


4 years old ( one of my all time favorite pictures of us)

Little bit of everything

at my wedding September 2006

pictures to come from this weekend. Happy Mother Day to all mom's.

The Engagement Party Video

Had the pleasure of being a part of the Bridal Bar's Engagement Weekend about a month ago. The amazing Ryan from Rodinis Films did this video that does a re-cap of the weekend. My gowns are featured at the beginning of the video as well as some gowns from the fabulous Heidi Elnora.

Check out the video. If you're looking for a videographer you should book him!

What have I been up to?

Hello All,

Over the past few weeks I have been busy, busy with multiple projects. I have been working closely with 3 brides whose weddings are coming up. One is Sarah who was the cocktail gown winner from my trunk show. I cannot wait for you to see her dress!

I've been working very hard at totally re-branding my business. This takes a lot of time, effort, prayer, and patience. It's taken me a while to really focus and decide what direction I want Chaviano Couture to take. I'm working on a new website/blog, planning two fantastic photo shoots. One with my personal wedding photographer Garrett Nudd ( If you don't know him and his wife Joy, you should, they are fabulous), and secondly with the amazing team at Our Labor of Love( I can't say enough about how wonderful they are)

Get ready to see a whole lot of things happen over the next few months, including a big announcement!! I want you to know that there will be changes, but they are for the better, and my business will be more than just about making fabulous dresses.

I have been blessed beyond words over the last few months. So many people have been an inspiration to me and for that I am so very, very grateful! I look forward to sharing all the happy news soon, so stay tuned.

I encourage you to keep pressing forward in your business and in your personal life, God has big plans for you!

Warmest, Annette