weekend in the mountains

We were lucky enough to enjoy the unseasonably warm weekend in Asheville, watching one of my dear friends marry her love of 7 years. The backdrop was nothing short of perfection and the bride was beyond stunning. A pinterest-worthy wedding, it was!

The next morning we checked out of our hotel, headed to Hendersonville and took a walk along Main St. before heading home...

Sad to see the weekend go so quickly, but wouldn't have wanted to spend it any other way.

Congratulations to Ashton and Eric, who are en route to St. Lucia at this very moment!

Pics from this morning, at the airport... clearly she monogrammed the crap outta both of them ;)

I almost forgot to mention, Trace slept 12 hours straight last night... Wedding's exhaust him!

another year in the books...

3 years ago we were celebrating our wedding day at the Sand Dollar Estate in St. Thomas.

I waaaaaaanna gooooo baaaaack!

We are those people who can't believe how easy marriage is.

How easy our marriage has been thus far.

Choosing the right person has something to do with that.

So does the fact that we've had so much fun since we met back in San Diego.

Traveling to 40 states, 10 countries, on 3 cruises, going to 20ish NFL/MLB stadiums/games around the country, moving far away, building a house and making a baby helps to keep things fun and fresh!

Never have I ever doubted us. There's just nothing to doubt.

I don't know what our love languages are and I don't care.

We're ridiculously compatible. 

So take that popular love language book. We don't need you.

Loving each other is a given. But liking each other can be questionable for some couples.

We often tell each other how much we "like" each other.

Because it's true. I really like who I get to spend my life with.

And I know I'll like him forever. It's just easy.

He's just easy..... I mean.......... ;)

there's no place like home

We recently flew back to Orange County to spend a week with our parents and friends. It was a much needed trip home for both of us and will be our last one without children. We spent the whole week go go go. I don't think we stopped once! We had so much fun and miss the area terribly. There's really no place like home...

***

After a hellish 5 hour flight that included vomitting, many trips to the bathroom and horrible tailbone pain that left me standing in the back of the plane talking to the flight attendants for a good amount of time, we finally arrived. Our first stop? In N Out for lunch, obviously! (yes, I look exhausted and worn out... because I was)

From there we headed to Bryan's parents house (the house he grew up in). My parents came over to pick me up and whisked me to their house (the house I grew up in) for the night.

The next day I pulled myself together and headed back up to Bryan's house...

... but clearly stopped for Coffee Bean along the way!

Bryan's sweet dog is getting pretty old, so we took many pictures of them together... he's afraid he won't see him again and that's Bry's best bud :(

That same night we headed out to Northwood's to have dinner with Bryan's side of the family. They gifted the baby many things and sang happy birthday to me at the table. I was mortified, haha! And yes, I spilled on myself... twice... this belly sure does become a catch-all for food spillage ;)

Day 3 was spent at Bryan's good friend from childhood's wedding. Here you have Bry and his best friend dubbing as flower girls!

Gorgeous! Bry's on the far right...

Baby's 1st 'unofficial' wedding - Bryan had a blast with all of his friends from back home. I loved having all of his boys constantly touch my belly all night... they're such great guys, and so happy for us!

The bride and groom's first initials are Bryan's initials

I'm so glad Bryan's parents were there or else I would have spent the majority of the day by myself!

The next day we all went to the Angels game with our parents (horrible quality family photo, boo)

 I went to Ed's senior prom with him and he's still one of my closest friends! I had to go show him my baby bump... plus Bryan owed him $10 for losing some sports brackets thing, haha!

Stop numero dos at Coffee Bean!

Bryan even squeezed in a softball game, playing in his friends league for the night.

We spent our last afternoon having lunch/drinks at Las Brisas with my parents. Bryan convinced us to continue the party on the Laguna Beach Hotel's back patio -- the only 2 places I ever need to go in Laguna! It was a beautiful afternoon and made us miss home to no end! 

 My husband found the only girl on the beach laying out in a bikini for he and my dad too look at, but my mom had to get in on it, haha!

Toasting to the baby! Next time we're home HE'LL BE WITH US, eeeeek! So exciting... and scary!

And there you have it. Our trip back home...

* 29 weeks

ring bling

In regards to the ring, Bryan and I went shopping together several months before we got engaged. After trying on different cuts, along with the jewelers help, we decided that a princess cut diamond looked best on my fat finger - I wear a 7.25. I then gave Bry a strong idea of what I wanted - simple, solitaire, classic and platinum.

We both agreed that we were not going to go into debt over our rings and whatever I got was going to withstand the test of time - no upgrade for this lady. I wanted to wear the ring he put on my finger while proposing for the rest of my life... I'm pretty against "upgrades." Therefore what he put on my finger when I was 28 is what I will be wearing when I am 78, and I knew that I wanted it to look appropriate at every age in between.

Bryan took it upon himself to surprise me with the carat and clarity of my engagement ring... He knocked it out of the park, I might add!

With our wedding date rapidly approaching, we went back to our jeweler to purchase our wedding bands. I tried on the traditional 1 wedding band under my engagement ring and it just didn't look right. Bryan suggested I try on a band on top of my engagement ring also, so without hesitation I had 3 rings on my finger. We agreed that this was exactly the timeless and pulled together look that suited me best.

After settling on my rings, it was time for Bryan to try on wedding bands, but ring after ring just didn't look right. We thought guys wedding bands were the easy part! Then we came across the perfect band for him - and the best part was that it mimicked mine. His ring is white gold, has a think brushed look on the center of the band and a braid along both sides.

I never shower in my ring, nor do I wash my face or apply any kind of lotion or sunscreen with my ring on, therefore I have the most perfect seashell by my bathroom sink to rest my ring in when it's not on my finger. While walking his dog in Huntington Beach, Bryan found this large seashell right around the time we got engaged. It has been my rings "home" since then.

I also don't ever wash dishes while wearing my ring. In the winter I rest it on the white snowflake to the left of the faucet. Throughout every other month of the year, my ring resides in my Lenox heart shaped jewelry box that my cousin got me years ago.

Last December I had my rings sautered together into 1. Not only does this provide me with peace of mind, but it's great because they all face outward and upward. When they were separate rings, they were always sliding around my finger and facing the wrong way.

Not a week goes by that someone doesn't comment or compliment me on it. This will never get old - I'm always flattered... and so is Bryan. It's so fun to freak out in excitement with other girls, but my favorite is when guys comment. That just cracks me up because they are always guys who've bought rings themselves and know the cost.

To put it simply, I'm obsessed with my ring and feel that it represents our love to a tee - simple, solitaire, classic and platinum.

***

For more details and pictures of each event, click on the below links:

How It All Began

Our Favorite Photos Together

Engagement Story

Engagement Photos

Bridal Shower

How We Spent the Week Leading Up to our Wedding in St. Thomas

Pre Wedding Photo Shoot

Lingerie Party & Bar Night

Rehersal Dinner

Our Wedding Day

Pre Honeymoon

Honeymoon

one year ago today...

I was in St. Thomas making the best decision of my life.Happy 1st Anniversary, honey.

You're still my favorite!

bridal party gifts

Bridal party gifts allow you to show gratitude and appreciation to those special friends whom you chose to stand with you in your wedding ceremony.

I gave my bridesmaids Tiffany necklaces.

Bryan gave his groomsmen gift cards and something else (I don't remember what though).

***

Being that I was just a bridesmaid, I figured that I'd share what Sara got each of her girls.

***
MAC Cosmetics 30 Lashes

Nadri Medium Pave Hoop Earrings from Nordstrom

Each bridesmaid received different earrings. Depending on our personal style, Sara got us girls studs, smaller dangley ones and various styles of hoops. These are what I received and I love them... they're so me!

Hair

This is the end of the night, so it's pretty messy but awesome none-the-less!
Make-Up
Being a bridesmaid is such an honor.
I have been one several times and everytime I love the experience more and more.
I think this was the last wedding that I'll ever be in though.
All of my closest friends are married now and I was in all of their weddings.
And the friend(s) that aren't married have made it clear that they don't ever want to be, so I really tried to soak it up and enjoy every second I had in this experience.
Bridal party gifts are so not neccessary for me to receive, but I must say I am loving everything Sara gifted me!

cabo: sara & todd's wedding festivities

Bryan and I had a couple days to ourselves before all of the wedding festivities commenced.

My dear Sara had a fun couple nights planned leading up to her wedding and, of course, we participated in it all!

Night 1 was a sunset sail out of the Cabo San Lucas marina, around Honeymoon Beach and out to the Pacific Ocean... then back.

It was a cloudy evening and was a bit chilly, so we all drank enough to keep us warm!

After the sunset sail, several of us hit the Cabo scene -- Cabo Wabo that is!

To our insane excitement, Sammy Hagar, who owns Cabo Wabo and only spends about 5 nights in Cabo a year, made a suprise appearance and played Van Halen's hit songs.

Um, stoked!Sara and Todd celebrated their rehersal dinner at Mi Casa.

If you've been to Cabo, you've eaten at Mi Casa.

It is the most authentic Mexican restaurant in town and *fun fact* is Jennifer Anniston's favorite restaurant when in Cabo.

The room we're dining in is actually the room Jen and her friends (and other celebs) eat in because they can screen it off and make it totally private.

Let me just say that this meal was seriously to die for.

From civeche to pulled pork to fresh fish -- the family style meal and the company that came along with it was wonderful!

The day had finally arrived!

We have been counting down to Sara and Todd's wedding day for over a year.

All of us girls were in hair and make up at 10:00am.

It was so fun and everyone looked gorgeous, especially Sara.

Sara radiated beauty.

She had her dress hand made by a seamstress in LA. This woman is a true artist, making the lace from scratch!

Their wedding was calm, classy and inspiring -- all words in which I would describe the 2 of them, therefore their wedding was an exact reflection of them.

Sara and I have been friends for 16 years.

We knew each other in middle school but became the best of friends when we were paired up to play doubles tennis together freshman year of high school.

Though our lives have gone is sperate directions, we've always maintained an honest, genuine and hilarious friendship.

Sara and I have watched each other go through so much great stuff in life... and we've both been each others therapist at times too!

She is one of the best friends a girl could ask for and I was so happy to be part of her special day.