Our Engagement Pictures

I'm so happy to share our engagement photos! Roehl and I were nervous at first on the day of our shoot, but our amazing photographer made us feel comfortable after only a few minutes...and it made it that much easier to have fun! 

All photos were taken by the awesome Emily of Emily Takes Photos. 

...and they lived happily ever after 

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. 

Engagement Session Inspiration

We've been having so much fun planning our wedding so far, and I truly hope the process keeps on going smoothly! Lately, my personal top priority has been to find the perfect location for our engagement pictures coming up in a couple months. I know we have some time, but I guess it's just part of my planning nature. :)

Anywho, I remember our photographer mentioned awhile back that we should consider taking our engagement pictures at one of our venue locations that didn't pan out...because we certainly must have loved it for a reason. So Roehl and I went to one of the nixed venues last weekend, and I'm pretty sure it's "the one" in terms of our engagement sesh! 

It's a gorgeous old estate hidden in the hills of San Jose, and a wonderful setting for what we have in mind. We want to incorporate our beach cruisers by biking down an old dirt road, and we also want to have a picnic (trite, but we'll try to add our own special twist to it!), and last but not least...a lace top "fort". I saw something similar a couple years ago and it always stuck out in my mind. So I recreated the fort with a lace tablecloth that I'm pretty sure my grandma crocheted. 

I'd of course add more dreamy accessories, but I think it's a lovely take on a childhood memory, that just seems to evoke an idea of playfulness in our relationship. 

What do you think?

A Much Needed Vacay, Part 3

I had never even heard of Grand Turk before our cruise, yet I'm so happy we discovered this jewel of an island. Windex blue water, fine white sands, and lotsa lotsa Red Stripe, jah man!

Don't mind my scrunched up saltwater nose smile haha. I am so thankful we had a chance to take this trip of a lifetime, as a "pre-honeymoon". I'm so excited to marry Ro and I can't believe it's only 8 months until our wedding!!! We so needed this time to relax and unwind, and it totally put things in perspective and let me focus on the many, many reasons why I LOVE this man!!! :)