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 - Decor Edition

So, obvs. the pictures won't do it justice, but my living room was looking pretty scary at the time of the major upheaval/makeover. I put on my Ty Pennington game face and got to cleaning/crafting/decorating/ridding the room of endless clutter. 

Some crafty stuffs I put together:

Hand-cut silver lettering + gold/silver boa

Newly framed pics of us + hand-stamped favors

White elephant (heh heh) to go with our white/gold/silver theme, along with our wedding date :)

Up next: Engagement Party Snapshots, part dos.

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! :)

A Southern Engagement, Part 2

On our last full day in Austin, we ventured to the city's highest point, Mt. Bonnell. Though tiny and low compared to our Californian standards, it still gave us a glorious view of the surrounding lake and hill country. 

I miss Austin already. I kept telling Ro on the morning we left that it felt like the morning after a sleepover with all my friends when I was a kid. That empty, sad feeling of spending Sunday alone after the wild elation of a night with all my friends. Sorry guys, I try not to let the emo out, but it finds its way to the surface every now and then. =/

Peekaboo! 

We engaged, y'all! We just want to shout it from a mountain top! Luckily, we had one :)

So so happy

Christmas card, perhaps? 

A Southern Engagement

So on our vacay, Ro took me on a romantical boat ride on Lady Bird Lake in Austin. We picked up picnic supplies and ammo (as Ro proclaimed, "but babe...everything's so cheap here!") at a local Walmart (classy move of the day #1.) And we had a boat all to ourselves, taking in the view of the Austin skyline, which was pure magic. 

I had no idea what was coming...

Hello from the co-captains!

Classy  move of the day #2: champagne in red cups ;)

We're not cheesy. We're in lurrrrvvve!

Blowing my last kiss as a girlfriend before Ro got down on one knee and got me all misty-eyed :)

Moments after I said YES!

...the most perfect and unforgettable day of my life. I still get butterflies thinking about it!

Backroads

I've been meaning to post these pictures from our trip to Texas for awhile...it was an amazing trip, for a number of reasons ;)

I'll start off with some shots of my cousin's lovely home in the Texas hill country.

The house is named Desiderata, meaning "desired thing". I know why because the property is gorgeous, and so incredibly peaceful. I asked my cousin Stephanie how many cars drove by a day, and her husband said, "Five cars in one day is traffic." I love that!

They took us to Gruene, this small town with its own Main Street, and the oldest dance hall in Texas! Basically, it was heaven on earth.

I fell so deeply in love with Austin, with the quirky and friendly people, amazing barbecue, natural beauty, and abundance of things to do. We visited South Congress Ave twice...you know I can't resist good vintage and cupcakes!

We made a day trip down to San Antonio from Austin, and while I tried not to bore Roehl to tears at the Alamo, we of course had to stop by the Riverwalk. It was totally touristy but still beautiful and enchanting.