2 whole days

Picture this.

The Mr. and I had two whole days off together!  Friday and Saturday. 

You'd think that we would live it up, maybe go out of town, a little overnighter somewhere.

I remember looking at one another Friday morning, both sipping a nice big cup of coffee, bags under our eyes from the early morning work schedule my husband has now acquired, and even though we didn't say anything our eyes were both telling each other "let's just relax". Let's not go anywhere, do anything, make any set plans.  

No, we didn't sit around in our jammies all day...as tempting as it was.  We made plans, we soaked up the sun, but more importantly we took two days to spend with each other and friends, reconnecting and living for each moment instead of what we would do next. 

On Friday we had friends beach camping up in Carlsbad.  So we packed our bags, grabbed the sunscreen, made lunch and were off on our way.  As we walked around the campgrounds we kept wondering why we haven't done this before?!?  Each year we talk about beach camping but never make reservations in time.  After visiting our friends I made a reminder in my phone for January to make reservations for next summer!  That's how bad I want to go beach camping now.  The weather was perfect, the water was warm once you waded in it for a while, and I even went into the water. 

That night I did have plans away from the Mr., and it was hard leaving him for a couple of hours.  

My work friends, who are amazing by the way, had planned a fun night at a Ceramic Cafe.

We brought snacks and wine, they provided cheese and crackers, and we each created a beautiful piece of art. 

 On Saturday we lounged around the house, did some responsible adult things...like pay our vehicle registration, clean the bathrooms....but then we decided to just watch a movie.  Right in the middle of the day.
And it was bliss.
Later that day we headed downtown for a Padres game.
And we had the best company in tow.  Meg and her husband drove all the way down to join us, and it was a magical night!
Although the Padres lost, I mean really lost, we still enjoyed our conversations and company, laughing at one another, connecting beyond the blog, and hearing our husbands talking non stop was probably the biggest joy of all.

We ended the two day adventure with one another trying out a new treat from Trader Joe's.  

I'd like to say I want to marry this one, but it doesn't quite get a perfect 10.  

There's only 100 calories for half a cup, but it definitely tastes like yogurt.

  Thinking it would be a good alternative for ice cream failed miserable.  But it gets the job done!

Lovely Little Things

Welcome to round two of lovely little things.  My heart has been very full this past week with all of the amazing people I've been able to see, fun things I've done, and projects I've created!  

One major blessing that the Mr. and I have is that we live very close to our family.  Both of our parents live 30 minutes away, and his brother and his adorable family are just 3 miles away!  With that, we are able to see our adorable niece and nephew very often.  I'm always amazed when little Calli shows me something knew she has learned, and I was in pure shock that at the ripe age of 2 she knows so many of her letter names and sounds.  The kindergarten teacher inside of me had her jaw on the ground.  Cameron is growing so much in just 3 short months.  I love that my sister in law is so in tune to all of the developments taking place, like rolling over, lifting up his head, and grasping for objects.  Most importantly, I love all the snuggle time I get with the both of them.  

 I finally made accent pillows for our little home!  You have no idea how long I've been wanting/planning/stressing over this.  Now that I'm finally feeling more comfortable with my sewing machine I decided that the pillows were the next step.  I pursued through my pinterest board, figured out which ones I wanted to make, made a little trip to JoAnn's with coupons in tow, and got busy.  I just love how they turned out.  When I finished the first one, the flower one, I literally was jumping up and down with excitement.  The bow one took me a bit of time because I had to pay close attention to where each part went, but now I think I could make the next one much faster.  

I have to give a lot of credit to little miss Lindsay.  She came over and helped me with the pillows.  This included patiently watching me measure not once, not twice, but three times (sometimes four), ironing flower petals, pinning material, and keeping me sane.  Lindsay has always called my hair "pageant hair" ever since her wedding day.  Basically, once you curl it, it will do whatever you want with it and stay in place.  She decided to see how big she could get my hair, so we grabbed the comb and get to work.  I sat on the floor of my living room while she teased my hair like crazy.  I was laughing so hard afterwards, then we smoothed it out, and it was definitely pageant hair.

This past Saturday the Mr. and I attended the SD Brew Fest with a good friend of his from college and his girlfriend.  It was pour first ever brew fest and it was quite a treat.  The weather couldn't have been better, and there was a huge selection of breweries from SD to OC.  My favorite part was the mini beer mugs that you used for your tastings.  

On Sunday my heart was overflowing with joy as I joined up with Meg, Katie, and Kasey.  These girls are true gems.  I was thinking on my way home how lucky it is to find other girls, that have a heart for God, and are full of grace.  They are such an encouragement, and to get to spend the day with them was a true treat.  

Source: thebeautydepartment.com via Jamie on Pinterest

I've been trying to give my hair a little bit of a break since it's summer and have been just blowdrying it, then throwing it back into a ponytail.  The bangs always make the simple ponytail look so polished, I love them.  Well, I came across this cute little hair style and tried it out this morning.  I thought my hair would be too layered for it but it totally worked.  The only exception was I didn't have a whole lot of time this morning so I wasn't able to do it as well as I would hope-hence no pictures.  So I'm going to give it a go later this week and show you how it turned out!  

What is something that has been making your heart full lately?

the girl behind the blog

Today I'm so on cloud nine to be linking up with Erin for her vlog series "The Girl Behind the Blog".  Doing my first vlog was something but I'm so excited to share a little bit more about my blog as well as my inspiration and challenges.

Recording myself was interesting.  

Yes, that was my phone going off.  The Mr. was texting me.

And I realized how big my hair really is!  Holy thickness.  I swear my head's not lopsided, I just have a lot of hair.  

On other news Saturday I was very fortunate to and got to attend the SoCal Blogger Meet-up!

These ladies put on an unforgettable event with tons of giveaways and created lasting memories.  A huge highlight for me was finally getting to meet some beautiful ladies that I have just adored on the blog-world, especially Katie and Meg!  When I was chatting with them it felt like we had been friends forever and made my heart smile to see how you can truly make friendships over blogs.

The event was at Roppongi in La Jolla and the weather couldn't have been better.  Whenever I drive into La Jolla I just have to thank God for letting us live in such a gorgeous city.

They had an adorable photo booth set-up with a polaroid frame.  

Me with Katie and Hollie!

Dream come true!  Meg, me, and Katie!!!

AND I won something!!!  I got 4 different tops from Skinny Tees.  Tomorrow I'll be back to share a little bit more about them.

One last hug and picture before having to say farewell to Miss Katie, can't wait to see her again!