in 48 hours

I promise I have not fallen off the face of the earth!  This girl decided to plan all her trips back to back in August, and I'm finally catching up (while nannying) and am doing a horrible job. 

I'm so excited to share our trip to San Luis Obispo trip with you, today! Cal Poly is my college alumni, and it still holds a special place in my heart.  Our trip was short...say, 48 hours.  But we squeezed in as much as we could, including seeing three friends.

In 48 hours, you can....

have lunch at the one and only Firestone with Alyssa (aka "sis"), my sweet friend from college. 

drive an extra 40 minutes to wine taste at your favorite winery.

spend Thursday night at the Farmer's Market, the first ever farmer's market you ever attended and it still is the best in my mind.  This corn was something else!  And it was my first time just gnawing down on some corn while walking around and admiring all the vendors and entertainers. 

search high and low for the perfect batch of strawberries.  I'm telling you-central coast strawberries are like candy, nothing compares to them!  P.S: By the time we got home we only had half of one basket left!

randomly remember that your pal from high school works up here now, and is in fact free to grab some tri tip sandwiches at Farmers!  

go get frozen yogurt from Bali's!  When I was here going to college, Bali's was my first experience at serve yourself fro yo.  A new yogurt shop opened up, and oh, the competition was fierce.  Bali's is still my favorite, I just can't turn my back from it!

find out that your old college roommate and best friend (that lives a couple minutes from you) is up in SLO visiting her family with her husband.  So naturally you plan a little picnic and hike, and visit with her adorable niece and nephew. 

take in the breathtaking sights at Montana de Oro!

go on not one, but two bike rides!  The first trip we planned was cut short due to a flat tire.  So, we got our fitness on both mornings we were up in SLO and finally made it to Avila on our second ride.  There is a beautiful and perfect trail that leads you into the cutest little beach town.  It was my first time riding on it, and I was wishing the whole time that we lived back up there so we could enjoy the path all the time. 

take in the breathtaking views of the coast while driving home.  Our drive home was a little sad.  So many amazing memories from college flooded back to me.  Even though the Mr. didn't go there with me, we made many memories on his visits and enjoyed soaking them all in again.  

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?

lovely little things

Relaxation has now become my friend!  The past couple weeks have been super busy for me, and transitioning out of the typical work week schedule into tutoring/errands/everything else has been an adjustment.  I thought I'd have it down by now with this being my third "teaching" summer, but it has shown me how much I truly can't rely on my own power and might.  I wanted to start a new feature on the blog titled "lovely little things" to spotlight what has been making me smile lately or what I'm loving currently.  These items have truly helped me to relax a bit more, stop and smell the flowers, and soak in the little lovely things in life. 

Enjoy!

Nothing says "let's start this day off right" like coffee in bed.  And the best part.  The Mr. woke up before me (which should be marked on our calendar because he is definitely not a morning person) and made us coffee.  

Pedicures have always been a treat for me, so I rarely ever get them.  Two weeks ago my mom treated me to one, and I took Miss Kylee on Saturday...I'm on a roll.  There is just something about sitting in that chair, bouncing around while it tries to massage you, and getting all the tightness rubbed out of your footsies.  

One word: Kylee!  We started her trip off right with a shopping trip to Francesca's where we both styled ourselves, gawked at some up and coming fashion trends, and purchased beautiful blouses which we quickly came home to put on for our dinner out.  I love that store!

Pinterest has been a happening spot for me lately because I've actually had time to try out some recipes I pinned ages ago.  This week one of the items I made were vegan sweet potato burgers.  I attempted black bean burgers last year and they were definitely tasty but very crumbly.  What I loved about these were the fact that they held together and had a nice crunchy outside.  The Mr. ate two.  He still proclaimed that these won't replace his usual all beef manly burgers, but I was just happy that he was willing to try something new.

Source: target.com via Jamie on Pinterest

I purchased this chapstick last week at Target and I have been in heaven every since!  It tastes amazing, doesn't rub off quickly, and leaves my lips feeling super soft.  I also love that there are lots of organic ingredients in it, and that it smells just so good!

Source: sephora.com via Jamie on Pinterest

So I am one of those people that has lots of lip glosses and lip sticks in the bottom of her purse and never wears any of them.  I go through little stints with them, and then decide that time wins over beauty and leave them behind.  Kylee let me use this lipstick on Saturday when we were going out to dinner and it is truly one of a kind! It is smooth, creamy, and it goes on with the slightest touch.  AND it stays on like a dream.  

today's the day!

I can barely sit still right now because the one and only KYLEE is on her way!!!  My dearest friend will be staying with me for a whole entire week, and the thought of seeing her everyday just fills my heart with joy.  It's been on my calendar for months and today is the day! 

So this post may have no substance but all I can think about right now is seeing my truest friend.  You can bet yourself our week will be filled with morning coffee talks, sangria by the pool, wine and cheese, beach days, breakfast at Claire's, indulging in desserts, smiling until our cheeks hurt, and so much more. 

Hope you all have a fun filled weekend and I can't wait to give you a recap on my dearest friend's trip. 

friday letters

Dear summer, thank you for your gorgeous weather, but where were you on the 4th???  I mean, the beach is still pretty on a gloomy day but did the sun really have to hide the entire time?  Also, I promise that one of these days I will finally get to enjoy you, relax, and soak up all of your beautiful rays of sunshine.
Dear Andrea, you are extremely beautiful inside and out-don't ever let anyone make you feel otherwise.  Always remember that God created you, He knows every hair on your head, and you are "fearfully and wonderfully made".  Also, you're a mean card player.  A little competitive???
Dear barre studio, thank you for my first ever barre class that kicked my booty.  I definitely woke up the next day feeling sore and loved every second of it.
Dear anxiety, we are not friends.  I've worked so hard to deal with you, work through it, find peace, and you have reared your ugly head once again.  I know that my prayers are being heard and hold fast to Matthew 6:25-27.
Dear Dana at Girl on the Go, three words: Best. Facial. Ever.
Dear husband of mine, you are so gosh darn handsome.  I love you more than words can say, and I especially love that you are always there for me, getting me through disappointments and happy times.  I also love how you think I'm funny, that you laugh at me but make me think you're really laughing with me, and that you can always put a smile on my face.
Dear Kylee, one more day!!!!  I can barely stand the fact that you, my bf, will be here tomorrow.  Currently I'm doing a happy dance in the living room, and the thought of spending so much time with you makes my heart overflow with joy.  Pool, wine and cheese, coffee, hikes, Cucina Urbana, the list goes on and on...
Dear Heavenly Father, I love the fact that blogging has brought me closer to you in the past couple of weeks.  Each devotion in the morning speaks directly to my soul, and you leave me speechless every time.  Thank you for your grace.  Thank you for being bigger than me, for having the power to overcome everything that hurts, thank you for loving me for all my sins and showing me how to be Christ-like.

a very relaxing 4th

Happy July 5th!!!  I hope you all had a spectacular 4th of July.  I'm a sucker for our country's birthday and lately have been in a very nostalgic mood-thinking back on things I did with my family as a child and craving those.  Well, I can't go back to performing in tight sequence unitards at our community park with way too much blush on my face.  So we decided to change things up this year and brave the beach.  My best friend and her husband joined us and we decided to make a day out of it, so we packed lots of yummy food, books, and towels, and headed off at 8am to get a spot!

It was pretty overcast when we got to the beach, but that is pretty typical weather for San Diego.  To kick off our day I made breakfast burritos for everyone at home and packed them for us to enjoy at the beach.  I tall ya, everything tastes better at the beach, including homemade breakfast burritos!

The beach was amazingly calm and enjoyable.  I haven't really had a break since the school year ended so I was craving a day that I could just relax and basically do nothing.  Thankfully the beach we were at wasn't crowded at all and we enjoyed an amazing game of frisbee.  

The cold weather finally got to us, so Andrea and I headed out for some coffee-which tasted amazing because we were at the beach.  We are a bad combo together when it comes to coffee.

Joey and Andrea made lunch for us, and man-do they know how to make a very fancy lunch at the beach.  They barbecued chicken breasts, topped them with onion and cheese, grilled the bread, and we had ourselves some very civilized chicken sandwiches.  No hotdogs or burgers for us my friends.

You'd think by 4pm the sun would've shown it's face but that was sadly not the case.  We decided to pack up and head back to our place to relax a bit more and enjoy the fireworks.  Our local high school was our camping ground for the fireworks, and it was a first for us.  We had never watched them there before and definitely plan to go back again.  There is just something magical about fireworks, isn't there?  They make me feel like a kid all over again.  I absolutely love them!  Plus, add in some great company and beautiful patriotic music in the background, and my heart is a'swoonin! 

To say we were tired at the end of the day would've been an understatement.  All I remember is taking a shower and falling fast asleep once my pillow hit the bed.  I hope that you all had an amazing 4th and that the next two days fly by so you can enjoy your weekend!!!

life according to my iPhone

Whew!  After this week I can finally take a nice big breath and embrace summer.  I honestly don't even know how this past week got so jam-packed and I'm definitely realizing that I need to embrace and accept saying "no" sometimes.  

I love looking back on all of these pictures to see how many memories were made this week.

Enjoy:

{1} Celebrating the last day of school with my fab five {2} My new teaching buddy for second grade {3} We survived!  This year we all were cleaning our credentials and survived the crazy amount of work thanks to our amazing mentor, Beth :) 

{4} Date night = sushi at our new favorite place just up the road from us.  This is what the Mr. ordered...I think he was more excited about the fire than his sushi {5} I fell in love with the high pony tail and bangs, and my chambray top layered over my black maxi {6} I'm sticking with my summer bucket list and enjoyed this bad boy my first day of summer.   

{7} My good friend, Danielle, and I got busy putting together an adorable gift basket for one of our friends who is expecting a baby girl!  My sewing machine and I became best friends, and I'm finally getting the hang of it.  I was super proud of the onesie, burp cloths, headbands, and blanket I sewed for her.  {8} How cute is her belly???  {9} Part of our school's fundraiser is auctioning off a day with the teacher.  I was so lucky to take one of my adorable students miniature golfing this week.  We ended the day with a picnic lunch at the beach and fro yo, of course!

{10} A highlight of this weekend was attending a wedding to a young couple we love to death.  It definitely deserves a post all to itself, but the wedding was absolutely adorable and breath-taking.  They kept their guests occupied with a cross-word puzzle on the back of their programs, so adorbs! {11} The cutest couple ever! {12} Best friends reunited.  We were so happy to see Nathan visiting from D.C. {13} Seeing my great college friend at the wedding was such a treat.  It has been a full year since we have seen each other and we always just pick up from where we left off.  

And now I'm off to tackle our crazy, messy home.  Holy smokes, I don't think it has ever been this messy before so wish me luck!!!