California Dreaming

I got to join Roehl's family last weekend for a good old fashioned road trip to San Diego. I'm so lucky to be marrying into such an amazing family whom I love so much. :)

We only had a couple days, so we maximized our time by visiting some popular local haunts like Old Town, Little Italy, and Pacific Beach. It was such a wonderful breezy & dreamy weekend!

Roehl's sister Jen even came all the way from Florida! Sibling love :)

We didn't get a chance to eat tacos el gordo, but we did indulge in some delish Mexican-style shrimp and lobster in Old Town...yummy food was everywhere!

Of course, I have to post a zillion photos of this little guy!

I got caught up trying to capture all the funky logos throughout Little Italy!

While some people might find Old Town to be cliche and corny, I can't get enough of it! I feel like I'm in another world whenever I'm lucky enough to visit.

                           

an Instagram shot of my Old Town goodies! @californiapearl

I had such a fabulous time, and I was blessed to come home with a ton of family memories I'll cherish for the rest of my life. 

A Much Needed Vacay, Part 2

Next up are Puerto Rico and St. Thomas. I LOVED Puerto Rico (Old San Juan) for the cobblestone streets, bright colors, and resemblance of my favorite city in the world, New Orleans. Not to mention I snagged a sweet street painting, handwoven purse, and the best smoothie of my life for super cheap!

I seriously miss the weather...smoothly warm, so balmy and sexy. Grand Turk is coming up next...

A Much Needed Vacay, Part 1

Even though I felt guilty about leaving some work stuffs unattended, I knew that Fi-Fi and I needed a vacay ASAP! It's funny because I booked this trip for us as a surprise anniversary trip months ago, but we got engaged and I felt pressure to call it off in order to save money for our...you know, nuptials. Luckily for us, the trip was non-refundable and non-transferable, basically non-anything, so woe is us...we just had to go. ;)

We visited my future sister-in-law in Florida, where she took us beach cruising in South Beach, and showed us a grand old time.

We then boarded our cruise ship (we had never been on a cruise before!) and were basically in awe of the nonstop food being shoved in our faces, and never ending activities! Ex: 24/7 pizza therefore results in my happy pizza dance...DUH!

And they played movies in the open Caribbean air. 50 first dates...one of my faves!

Hang tight...I've got a couple more posts up my sleeve. :)

Engagement Party Snapshots, Part Dos

Annnd I'm back with more fotografas from the weekend! I just wish I could bottle up the joy and love I felt from this weekend, and keep it to warm my heart for the rest of my days! I know our wedding day will be just as amazing, if not better! :)

*All photo credits go to my bestie, Francesca of FD Photography

L.M.G. Love My Godson!

Little Domino & his beautiful mama

Did we just become best friends? Yup!

Mmmm...bundt.

intertWINEd.

I got love for my BM's. baby mamas. bridesmaids. same diff.

This is stone cold pack of weirdos and I love 'em!

Hehe.

Engagement Party Weekend Snapshots

Holy Jeebus...it's been FOREVER since I've posted and I really need to start documenting life better...I wasn't joking when I said my job was taking over my life! Things have calmed down, thankfully. Plus now when I get overwhelmed with my to-do list, I try to live by the silly but true words of a colleague of mine: "The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing." It's so weird but I live by this motto now, and try to keep it to one priority per day. 

Our engagement has been amazing so far, and we've been fortunate enough to secure a few of our vendors early on. This past week was a super fun wedding-related whirlwind, and I loved every second of it. On Thursday, I finally met our photographer Emily of Emily Takes Photos, at a book launch party for Meg Keene (author of A Practical Wedding.) It was an awesome little party in San Francisco, and I love, love, LOVE Emily! :)

On Friday, I picked up my bestie from the airport. Funny thing is...I drove from San Jose to San Francisco (about 1 hour) and circled 3 times while I was on the phone with her, not seeing her at all. She finally asked jokingly, "You're at Oakland Airport, right?" Ummm...no. After a brief rage, I drove in bumper-to-bumper traffic across the bridge for another hour to Oakland. I finally picked her up 2 hours after she landed, and we tried to figure out where to eat. We finally decided on my favorite restaurant, which is in Palo Alto...all the way back across the bay. We ended the night by my work, which is where I started. Needless to say, one full tank gone in one day. Boo.

The rest of the weekend was a dream. We had our engagement party at my house, after I slaved redecorating and literally pulled Extreme Home Makeover in my living room! It was awesome and everyone had the time of their lives! (Don't you love how I speak for them?) 

Sunday was a day dedicated to dress shopping, with my beloved bridesmaids and mama. We started off with brunch and mimosas at Evergreen Inn, and went to 3 shops, where I tried on about 30 dresses. Yes, I am loco. But I had a blast and am so thankful I had my girls there with me. I think I might have even found a winner. ;)

Here are some snapshots of our weekend:

Me with the photo banner I made

*Photo Credit: my bridesmaid Ali via Instagram

Cupcakes made by my amazing cousin Karla

*Photo Credit: my bridesmaid Ali via Instagram

Our loved ones (Zoe & Dobie being a little shy)

*Photo Credit: My super talented bestie boo, Francesca. Check out her work here.

Me & my BM's, before I tried on a shizz load of dresses

*Photo Credit: my bridesmaid Amanda via Instagram

Me & my mama bear at the bridal salon

*Photo Credit: my bridesmaid Amanda via Instagram

So many awesome memories with the people I love most. Cheers to a new year, and more wedding posts! :)