virtual {coffee date}

Good morning friends!  I'm so excited to be launching Saturday morning coffee dates and I hope you enjoy while sipping on a cozy cup of Jo'! 

Photo c/o Pinterest

If we were having coffee together I would share with you that this morning started out very frustrating and was turned around by one smile.  Isn't is miraculous how one smile can really change your whole attitude?  I was supposed to go to bootcamp, and after driving down to the beach I noticed that no one was there.  The location was moved and I wasn't told.  I decided to make the most of my morning so I went on a run when I got home, and on my run I saw a woman running in front of me who turned around when she saw me with a big, bright smile on her face and she said "morning!".  It was at that moment that I smiled, and all of the frustrations from the morning vanished.  I was out of my selfish thoughts and moving forward to making the most of my day.  I was so encouraged to tell everyone I saw on my run "good morning" with the biggest smile, spreading that joy. 

If we were having coffee together I would tell you that today I have to say goodbye to my nearest and dearest friends before she moves to northern California.  Our friendship started our freshman year.  We were roommates in college, she was my maid of honor, we have shared life in a very special way.  And I'm filled with so much happiness as this move is such a blessing for her and her husband, but at the same time I'm saddened that our coffee dates, hikes, long talks, nail painting, and wine and cheese time will now happen when we visit one another.  It is rare to find a friendship like ours. 

If we were having coffee together I would tell you that we are jumping for joy over here because we leave on a cruise on Monday!!!  Daniel was able to get a good chunk of vacation time off, the first time in a couple of years.  He is beyond thrilled to not have phone service where work can call and wake him up at 6am every morning.  I'm excited to sit, relax, and just connect with my husband.  We scheduled a kayak tour in Catalina and I'm most excited for that.  Plus, my passport finally came yesterday (I still hadn't changed my name after 4 years of marriage) so we can cross off that stress factor and start packing!!!  

If we were having coffee together I would share that we are looking for some place to live and it has left me with a huge mix of emotions.  This summer I was planning on turning our guest bedroom into a nursery, gutting out the closet to make room for baby, and begin decorating.  We've known we would need to move soon, it just seemed to sneak up on us very quickly.  These past few weeks I have witnessed so many woman of faith talk about courage, about taking a leap of faith and really living life. Moving is scary for both of us, since it is something we haven't really had to do.  Thinking about where to live, where to raise our family, where to build a community all crowds my mind.  And we've had so many very serious and hard conversations about everything, but we are constantly encouraged by God's grace to take a leap of faith and know that He will provide for us no matter where we end up.  I am encouraged to ask for God's grace to give me courage, courage to do what others might think is crazy, courage to stand up for myself, courage to believe God will provide! 

a quick little hello!

Hello!!

I think this past week and the next should be titled "how much can I squeeze in?".  We just got back from a beautiful, quick trip to San Luis Obispo, and had the best time two people can have in 48 hours. Yes, you read that right!  48 hours.  And I can't wait to share with you everything we did in the amazing little town I went to college in.

I'm in the process of unpacking, doing a quick load of laundry, and packing again for a trip to Arizona to visit my sweet grandma with my mom.  Oh, and there's a hair appointment in there somewhere (hello, roots!).

I'm having the time of my life soaking in the last moments of summer, and can't wait to visit family and have a fun little girls trip!  Hope you all had a most enjoyable week and can't wait to share all of our great adventures with you soon.

hot, hot, and hot...

...did I mention hot???

                           

Well, the word of our girls Palm's Springs trip was HOT!  Seriously, it was melting, sweaty, drenchingly gross (yes, I like to make up words) hot!  As I was driving I would play a game with Colleen called "guess how hot it is outside now".  We started at 94 and ended our drive in 114 degrees!  

YES!

You read that right!  114!  I wish I could say that it eventually cooled off, but sadly it just continued to stay the same and even increase a touch.  

The heat didn't keep us down, though, and us five girls had a blast together, joking with one another, playing "Palm Springs Olympics" in the pool, getting dressed up only to come back to the hotel and change into nice, cool PJ's, and laughing till our bellies hurt.  Oh, did I mention that these are my co-workers?  It just feels wrong calling them co-workers because they are so much more than that.  We keep each other going through the best and the worst, are each others support system, and our friendships has bloomed over the past three years.  

My one disclaimer about the trip was that there are not nearly enough pictures.  I decided to take a little break from taking pictures, other than a few, and just soak in all the memories-and it felt glorious.  

                                      

We make a great group because we know how to pack...snacks!  When we arrived we were all pretty hungry so we pulled out our spread inside our hotel room.  On the menu: zucchini tots, trail mix cookies, baby carrots, tomatoes, and hummus.

After our bellies were full we spent the rest of the afternoon by the pool.  It was still grossly hot in the pool, but it did the job.  I figured out that as long as my arms were out of the water then I was feeling good, but as soon as they were in I felt like I was in a warm bath.  We performed lots of tricks life racing each other across the pool, treading water, doing handstands, and seeing how many times we could do forward flips under water. I felt like I was kid all over again.  That night we went out for dinner, but sadly we didn't have a plan.  Apparently Palm Springs likes to close their restaurants during their off-season, and I totally get why, but they left 5 very hungry (and sweaty) girls meandering down a street in heals.  We ended up finding a Mexican restaurant and it was the best food.  I don't think we talked much because we were all just so hungry and happy to be out of the heat.  

After dinner we came back to our room, watched some Olympics...and then this happened....

Yes, I fell dead asleep.

On top of our ottoman.  

The rest of our trip looked just about the same: pool olympics, eating more amazing snacks, quenching our thirst, short little naps, getting all girly, eating amazing food, taking a sun break for frozen yogurt, and laughing until we couldn't take it any more.

This trip was a treat, and so was the below dessert.  One word: smitten!  It'll be a while before traveling back to Palm Springs, the sweaty mess that I was is happy that our trip was short and filled with so many great memories (including Krystina giving me a hip hop dance lesson).  Now I'm home and cleaning and packing for another short trip up to San Luis Obispo, where I went to college.  I'm beyond excited!!!

the adventure run

Thursday night I participated in my first ever Adventure Run and had the time of my life!  If you live in San Diego and enjoy running, you have to put this on your calendar.  So Road Runner Sports, the most amazing running store ever, puts on an Adventure Run the 2nd Thursday of every month.  My friend Coleen has done it a couple of times, and this time I was able to tag along.  It is a free run that lasts one hour, and right before it starts they post a map of locations you can run to.  The point of this run is to go to as many locations as possible, collect raffle tickets at each one, and then run back to the store for a big raffle and a beer garden.  Oh, and it's free!!  (My mother would say, "Oh that's my favorite 4-letter F word" right about now.)   Locations that are farther away give you double raffle tickets, and some spots had you do an exercise move for an additional ticket as well.  They also email you the map right at 6pm so you can look at it while you run.  

 

Before the run they had some booths set up for you to play games and get additional tickets.  Asics had a booth there that let you wear a pair of their new shoes!  I decided I needed to add some color to my outfit and try out a new shoe, so I jumped on the opportunity.  Overall the shoes were very comfortable and had good stability.  

The run was so fun!  Colleen runs a lot faster than me but I did my best to keep up.  We hit up almost all of the locations and it was the most fun I have ever had running.  One checkpoint I had a little mishap.  I had to climb a fence because we took a shortcut and ended up cutting my hand at the top.  First, I climbed a fence!  Say what?!?  I'm a truly girly girl, and I felt pretty proud of myself afterwards. Then cutting my hand and having to keep on running, that was another biggy for me.  I'm not a fan of blood.  

Once you get back from the run you separate your raffle tickets into two piles, kiss them for good luck as you drop them in the basket, and head over to get a nice cold beer. 

I seriously can't wait for the next one.  Sadly, I'll be out of town for the run in August but September's is already on my calendar.  If you want to join us let me know!!!

the hike I'm still sore from

Welcome back to part 2 of my Utah trip!  If you missed the first, click here!

Thursday night we packed everything up and drove to St. George where Colleen's brother and his family lived.  Then, Friday morning we were up bright and early to get all packed up for a day full of hiking in Zion.  

One word: Breathtaking

The first hike we did was to observation point, then we headed to hidden canyon on our way down.  Observation point was 8 miles round trip, and between the two other little hikes we did we covered a total of 12 miles throughout the day.  

I don't even know where to begin with the beauty of the hike, the paths, the views

So I'll let the pictures tell the story...

Observation Point

At the top of Observation Point 

Snacks are your friend 

Did I mention that Colleen's mom came with us, too?  Yep, and she's 60, AND she made it all the way to the top!  She's my hero.

PB&J hit the spot hiking back down

Hidden Canyon

Side Note: Colleen's brother taught us how to turn our cuties into elephants.  Amazing, right?

The Narrows

The entire day was a blast.  The weather was pretty chilly but I'll take chilly over dying of heat any day, especially when hiking.  The next morning I could feel the hike in my muscles, especially my calves and right hip.  Sunday morning I had to run 11 miles for my training plan and it was miserable because my body was still sore.  This morning I think I'm finally back to normal.  Tip: Don't run 11 miles two days after hiking all day.  

Thank you SO much Colleen and family for taking me along on a beautiful journey!  

if we were to have coffee...

If you and I were to have coffee together I would first order a venti soy latte..

YES a venti!

I'm pretty sure that I've hit the delirious stage or exhaustion.

I miss my pillow and I think it misses me.  

I would then thank you SO much from pulling me away from seeing these things, along with report cards, and everything that has been consuming me the past two weeks for work and school.  

I'd comment on your adorable outfit and tell you how much I value our friendship

I wouldn't quite know where to start but somehow I would share everything that has been going on and what's on my heart.

-I miss blogging a lot!  And I'm very ready for a vacation...and I think I only have to wait two more days. We're going to Vegas this weekend to meet up with Daniel's cousin and his girlfriend and I couldn't be more thrilled about not seeing any school work or homework for three straight days.  ( I may try to sneak some reading into my bag, but don't tell the Mr.)  I'd also tell you that I'm a bit anxious as well as the clothes are feeling just a tad bit snugger than normal, and I'm a girl, and it's normal to stress about being in a bathing suit.  But I'm sure once I'm there I will be more than happy about laying poolside with sunshine smiling down on me.

-I'd tell you that this past weekend I ran 10 miles...in the rain!  Luckily I had an amazing friend with me that pushed me through those last two miles.  It was the first long run that I was pretty sore from, but the feeling of success was so fulfilling afterwards (even if my clothes had to be rung out and then hung to dry because they were sopping wet).  

-Speaking of rain, I'd tell you that the most beautiful thing this weekend was laying in bed with the Mr. listening to the sound of rain on our windows.  I love the rain.  If I say that to most people they look at me like I'm crazy because I live in San Diego, but we don't get it very often so I love it when we do.  The sound is so soothing and relaxing to me, and I loved being bundled up inside. 

-Then I'd randomly tell you that my favorite tune to blast when I need a pick me up is "We found love" but the Glee version (speaking of which...when is it going be back on?????)  I love to blair it in my car and get crazy looks from people as I'm moving and grooving.  Sometimes at home I just turn it on and have a dance party all to myself, which can sometimes be a bit awkward when the Mr. walks in on my and my previous little dance party.  But then he just smiles and joins in.  If I need some inspiration on the treadmill in the morning I turn it on too, but then I want to start dancing on the treadmill, and I don't think that anyone at 5am would appreciate that at the gym.  

-Oh my goodness!  I made the most delish little cookies last night, and they were sugar free-vegan-raw-just pure deliciousness.  No, I'm not vegan, but I definitely have a sweet tooth.  So when I stumble upon something so delectable that doesn't make me feel guilty I'm a happy camper.

-These cookies would remind me to tell you how blessed we feel that we are finally settling into our church and are involved in a Life Group (bible study).  Last week the hostess made the cookies, and she was so generous enough to share the recipe with me.  We have been church hunting since we were engaged!  We have tried numerous churches over the past four years, and I always felt guilty when we didn't stay.  We didn't have this perfect church in mind, but we knew that God would provide us with a sense of comfort when we found the church He wanted us at.  About a year ago we started going to a church that we actually went to off and on in college, and it was love at first sight.  We immediately felt at home and knew that is where God wanted us.  Now that the Mr.'s schedule isn't so harsh we could finally join a young married's bible study together.  This is the first time we've done a bible study group together, and it has been such a blessing to see God's prayers answered.  

-On my heart is the following:

A dear friend of mine shared it with me a few weeks ago and it has brought me a lot of comfort.  

Source: imgfave.com via Jamie on Pinterest

I'm sure that we would continue to talk, and laugh, and share so much, but the clock is telling me I'm about to be late for work if I don't get my patootie out the door.  Thanks for sharing this lovely cup of coffee with me!  

What would you say if we were at coffee???

Source: imgfave.com via Jamie on Pinterest

reno recap

As promised I'm back with some fun pictures from our time up in Reno.  Kylee and her husband moved back home to Reno at the beginning of the summer, so we decided to make a trip to visit them and play in the snow.

Sadly, we brought the beautiful San Diego weather with us...if you are born in raised in SD you'd like to see some change of weather, at least some inkling to actually tell you it's winter.  Well, they experienced record highs and there was no snow in sight :(  We still had a blast and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  Here's our camera roll:

{1} Ice skating in downtown Reno  {2} Taking a quick pic on the ice while trying not to fall

{3} Our amazing hostesses  {4} Steven sandwich in front of the beautiful tree 

{5} Cooking lesson with Steven's granny!!!  {6} The yummy flautas she taught us how to make

{7} Her adorable little cookie platter, oh and some veggies too!  {8} We decided granny needs a cooking show, she was THE cutest and had everything all set up and ready for us

{9} Dinner at Old Granite Street Eatery, it was the cutest place  {10} Celebrating NYE with my sweet husband

{11} My bun was the biggest I've ever had it before, but it was NYE so my motto was "Go big or go home" 

{12} Posing

{13} It was freezing!  We finally got some cold conditions as we awaited midnight on the streets

 {14} The four of us in front of the cutest river walkway

{15} The husband making fun of us for being on our phones {16} A gorgeous walk along the river behind their house, gorgeous!!

a chocolate fix

Christmas lights, The Christmas Story, and basketball, oh MY!  I'm soaking in as much relaxation time this week as well as making joyful memories.  I may have stayed in my PJ's Tuesday till 1pm, watched far too many episodes of Friday Night Lights than I can say without being embarrassed, but decided to make up my own magical chocolate recipe in the spirit of baking.  

Something magical happens when you take dark chocolate, pistachios, dried cranberries, and sea salt...

Melt the chocolate...

Line your pan...

Pour the rich, velvety dark goodness in...

Add in some nutritious pistachios...

Sprinkle with a touch of sea salt and dried cranberries....

and ENJOY!

I let it sit overnight and then broke it up into bark the next morning.  This stuff is SO good and I can't keep my hands off of it.  It's the perfect healthy fix during the baking season.  

This week we had to get in the Christmas cheer so we went out and looked at some lights, it's one of my favorite traditions.  

Our favorite house was themed after "A Christmas Story", too funny!

Another house had a great sign for you to Elf yourself!

Christmas time always means the return of Nathan (and drinking lots of espresso).  We also met up with his family and went to the SDSU basketball game.  

These boys are the sprinkle to my cupcake!