A travel and lifestyle blog

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

How We Met

Mike and I wed in 2016 and I thought I'd share the story of how we met along with some of our engagement photos this week. 




  My husband never likes to say that we met at a bar, but the truth is…..we did. My best friend Natalie, and his best friend, Neil, actually played the matchmakers. We owe everything to them, since we probably wouldn’t have made the effort to meet each other being such homebodies ourselves. We needed that extra little push.  My best friend has always been the eternal optimist of love, and I was always the complete opposite who had, at that point, swore off men. She was convinced we were the perfect match! She was so persistent, and I was so stubborn at that point that she realized the only way that I would meet him is if she secretly set up a date for us. So, for my birthday, she took me to a John Legend concert and after it was all over I expected to go home, but my friend had other plans. “Why don’t we go out and have a couple of drinks in Huntington beach to celebrate,” she said innocently. “Sure, why not,” I said. So, I obliviously drove up to Main Street in Huntington Beach. We ended up at a bar called Black Bull, and low and behold, there he was. It sounds cheesy, but we were pretty smitten with each other right from the start. He was the perfect gentlemen and he had the cutest green eyes. The only thing that worried me a little was his shoes. He was wearing white snakeskin loafers.  They were atrocious, but not a deal breaker by any means. Fast forward to almost six years later, his shoe collection has greatly improved thanks to my help. We took it pretty slow before we started talking marriage...6 years to be exact, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. We got to really know each other and be by each other’s side during our highs and lows. We’ve traveled, got through school, changed careers, and bought our first home together. So we couldn't have been more ready at the time to marry each other. 







     When we were first looking for wedding locations, Palm Springs was one of our top picks, but since friends had there wedding there a weekend after ours, we decided to head up north to Santa Barbara. Every year we try to make mini vacations to Palm Springs. I feel like it’s our home away from home. We just love the relaxing and stylish vibe. Mike is a sun worshiper. The hotter the better for him. He is also obsessed with golf. I love relaxing by the pool, and Im a sucker for the mid century modern style. It seemed only natural that if we weren’t going to have our wedding there, engagement photos would be the next best thing. My parents also loaned us their beautiful classic Corvette to add a bit more style and edge to the photos. We loved the way they turned out!








We almost didn’t make it to Glamis due to the 30 mile an hour winds that day, but Megan was so encouraging, and I new we would regret it if we went home. When we arrived, it was so windy that I could barely get out of the car and walk. At times, the sand hit your body like a ton of bricks. We couldn’t even open our eyes with the sand blowing in our face every five seconds. We literally had to walk backwards to get to the shooting location. Megan and Adam were such troopers. They were so encouraging and positive through it all. I don’t even know how they opened their eyes to take a photo! I must admit that it crossed my mind more than a handful of times how we would get even one good photo. Now, when I look at the finished product, I was clearly wrong. You can’t even tell we were struggling. I loved the photos. They were simple, yet so breathtaking. I loved the idea of being in the middle of nowhere. Just us.




SHARE:

Sunday, January 14, 2018

A New Resolution for the New Year






     Normally, I like to attack the New Year head on with a neatly organized and well thought out list of resolutions, which usually includes losing the extra 10 pounds I've packed on during the holidays. But making this year’s list feels totally different now that I have a three month old son. It has my sleep deprived, burned out self quickly realizing that I should probably just boycott the list this year since I now consider simple tasks like getting out of my pj’s and taking a shower an accomplishment. Those pre baby ways of attacking the day just don't seem to be working out for me anymore. It’s been quite a challenge to adjust to this new foreign world of motherhood. Trying to find my footing has really been tough. I guess it’s partly because my stubborn self still tries to do it all and operate like I used to. I would always look at the bigger picture, but now as a new mom it can easily be overwhelming. I have to keep reminding myself to pace it out. It’s like I’ve always been accustomed to sprinting to the finish line, but now it’s about retraining myself to slow down so that I can get through the marathon. I have to think about getting through the day, the hours, the minutes and not the whole month. It’s silly how I thought I was going to be one of those amazing mothers who could workout five days a week and still have loads of energy to hang with friends. It’s like Im learning to very slowly shed my old selfish ways and surrender to this new life. I do miss my carefree self, but I wouldn’t change it for anything. Now I understand when mother’s say its so hard but so worth it. You’re just so in love with your baby and you would do just about anything for them.  

   Motherhood has made me think a lot more about my past New Year’s resolutions. This year I want to do something different. I want to make a resolution to just be in the moment.  My son is already teaching me to slow down and be good to myself so I can be the best mother for him. Its such a challenge though. I’m usually putting loads of pressure on myself, Today, I was watching my boy interact with our cat for the first time. I went for a walk with him, and he was smiling at me. Im his whole world and its amazing to see him look at things for the first time. So simple, yet so fulfilling. He’s already teaching me about what’s really important at the end of the day. It’s not so much being engulfed in these endless unrealistic resolutions and goals we set for ourselves. It’s about stopping and smelling the roses and being okay with that. I don’t want to miss these fleeting moments with him. It’s actually exactly what I need. Im just taking it one step at a time. 



SHARE:
Blogger Template by pipdig