Weekend Recap and Photodump

I know…I’m super late again on my updates.  Here’s the update from two weekends ago (11/21-11/26ish).

I’m OBSESSED with tamales.  Markel’s work had a guy come through and sell a pack of 3 homemade ones and he brought some home for dinner.  ❤  YUMMM

Two weeks ago our small group had a big thai food  + game night.  My bff and I merged our small groups together and this was our first official meeting as a new group.

Thai Boom in Culver City/Palms is BEYOND amazing.  You have to try it if you haven’t!

We played a game called “mike-boo” or as some other people know it as “salad bowl“.  It’s SUPER fun but I get a little TOO competitive… >.<  I always have to keep my temper in check when we’re fighting for points.  lol.

GORGEOUS view of westwood!  I’ve been going to training courses for UCLA and this was the view on Friday.  It was a bit chilly and gloomy~~ but still so beautiful.

Friday night, Markel and I got free tickets to see the Lakers vs Warriors.  SO MUCH FUN.  We did a little pre-drinking and started the night excited to be out and doing something special.

LOVE stadium fooood~~ *droool *

We got free tacos!!  Every time the Lakers score above 100 points, the audience get free tacos!  hehe

My outfit of the night ❤

Saturday I spent the day with my lovely Aemy ❤  We’ve been trying to plan a get together for a while and Saturday ended was an entire day of funnn ❤  We started with a bottemless mimosa brunch at Overland Cafe in Culver City.  After two bottles of champagne…we knew the day would be amazing ❤  hehe

In the afternoon we snacked, drank some wine and painted out nails! =)  Another girlfriend of ours came over it was quite the afternoon party of reality shows and girl time.

Later in the evening the girls + our sig O’s went to the Disneyland Hotel to witness and celebrate the most amazing proposal ever.  There were a lot of tears, laughs, and toasts!

Markel LOVES Earl of Sandwich.  He was dyyyying to grab dinner here =P

Christmas is everywhere!  LOVE the holidays~~

The newly engaged lady!

We ate dinner at Earl of Sandwich in downtown Disney and Markel bought me this amazing Minnie Mouse Hat! =)  xoxo

I LOVE MY HAT!

Sunday was LIFE CHANGING for the Blair Family =)  Here’s a longer post about Lucy: Click here

My friend from College is a Vet!  He was kind enough to go with us to adopt Little Lucy Blair. =)

Her temporary home until we got her crate (it was a collapsible toy chest).  We bought this little Dinosaur for her and it’s become her new best friend.  When Lucy first started playing with it, the dinosaur used to win a lot.  >.<  But now that Lucy’s older, she dominates their play sessions.  ❤

It was SO AMAZING to bring little Lucy into our family.  I pray that she’ll be with us for 10, 12, 15+ years!

oh man, such a long post!!  I have an even LONGER one coming for the Thanksgiving Weekend!! xoxo

Weekend Recap and Photodump

This weekend was a nice and long one.  It started off a little sad (I was sick) but by the start of Saturday I was feeling normal again.

Thursday night I had a few friends over for some girl time.  xoxo  It was nice to hang out and catch up~~ Markel went over to our neighbor’s home (and good friends) were the boys watched the Laker game and the girls chatted over pizza, cupcakes, wine and nails.

Friday I was home sick eating soups/Ramen and watching Sons of Anarchy all day.  I’m going through Season 4 right now and totally loving it.  I heard seasons 5 & 6 aren’t awesome…so I really hope I’m not disappointed after investing so much!  But the more I watch…the more I love Charlie Hunnam.

Saturday and Sunday were awesome.  Markel and I spent the day running errands, and just spending time together.  We RARELY get weekends to ourselves to hang out and try new things.

Saturday we went to downtown LA looking for a suit, but we didn’t feel comfortable buying anything from the stores we went into.  The material was obviously cheaper, the deal was $100 for a suit, shirt & tie…but there was a WEIRD feeling that went with it~ so Markel and I ended up leaving.  We also shopped in Ktown for groceries b/c we were hosting Markel’s bro, sis-in-law, friend for dinner.  We seriously cooked up a huge feast of Korean food and I was so proud of the new things I’m learning to make!

I made pumpkin milkshakes on Saturday.  SOO YUMMYYYY

The FEAST =)

Sunday Markel and I ran all over town getting him a new suit from Zara, shoes from Nordstroms and packing for his big trip this weekend.  This is Markel’s first business trip and I couldn’t be more proud of him.  He works SOOO HARD at his job~ like 60-70 hour weeks~ and it’s all paying off!  He’s been getting more responsibilites/projects at work and these business trips are the start to his budding career. =)  I love him so much and it’s so much fun to grow together in our careers and as a couple.  We met in our early 20s and it’s been a fun ride as we mature, get settled in our careers, and make big decisions for our future. ❤

A toast to ourselves and our lives =P

Shopping in Century City at Zara~ I found so many cute things I wanted!!

Markel Getting a Haircut =)  Such a small and random errand to run together, but I love doing them with him. ❤

Sunday Night we met up with Markel’s college friends that are doing BIG things!!  Two are starting companies and it’s so exciting to hear about their adventures.  Sort of motivates Markel and I to be passionate about our lives and our careers.  We ate at Aroma Cafe (an Israeli restaurant) in Hollywood area.  It was tastey!  The appetizers were my favorite~~

(no pics to share =(  I forgot to take some)

AND THENNNN…the best part??  Markel and I met up with our new neighbors (and good friends) to watch THOR at the grove.  I always forget how much I love the Grove and how gorgeous it is.  The Christmas decorations were all up~ really put you in the holiday spirit! ❤

Andddd Monday I had the day off for Veteran’s Day. =)  It’s a day of purging, catching up on SOA (like Friday) and getting my baby ready for his big trip!  Oh…and about ten cups of coffee (my fav treat).

HOW BEAUTIFUL is this fall weather??

This picture below is to celebrate Veteran’s day today.  My big bro (and true life hero) has been in the Army since 2002.  He has fought for his country in Iraq and served for 11 years and counting…  I’m so proud of him and his dedication to the protection of this country. ❤  I’m definitely taking a moment today to remember that. xo

Weekend Recap and Photodump

This past weekend was really chill.  Markel was gone in San Diego for 3 days, so I had some nice quiet time since Thursday.  I had Friday off, so I spent the day sleeping/relaxing (I was under the weather) and then Saturday was the first time I left the apartment. =)

Here are my thursday/Friday/Saturday Morning pics…

Pumpkin Crossaints from Trader Joe’s!

Made a ton of Korean comfort food since i was sick.

Decorated the apartment with these little pumpkins ❤

Dyed my hair–didn’t turn out great

 

Saturday I went to two events: Housewarming + Birthday Dinner.  Both were so much funnnnnn

Here is handsome Ethan below <3  He‘s the first baby to be born in my group of friends and well…we spent 3 hours obsessing over every blink, smile, bite of food, and diaper change.  He was SUCH a great baby~~ so happy and calm.  I hope my first is as good as he is!

The ladies of the night ❤  Didn’t take pictures of the boys, they were too busy watching football.

Saturday Evening Part II!  Birthday Party in South Pasadena at an amazing Thai restaurant called Saladong Song.  DELIIIC.  The outside seating area is super low key and romantic.  I love this place!

Green Curry

Seafood Pad thai

The ladies ❤  The boys were too shy to be on camera.

Sunday was a huge day.  Sunday was Markel’s grandmother’s memorial service.  Grandma Cordaro LOVED chocolate.  So in her honor, there was a big chocolate bar!  YUMMMMM

The lunch spread for 50+ guests

The Blair, Cordaro, Reynolds, Hussey and Rafter family =)

Isn’t this doggie SO ADORABLE??

The day of the memorial service was our 6 month anniversary.  Since we didn’t get to celebrate, or just take a moment to remember it~ we did so on Monday. =)

This week was so busy that I didn’t get a chance to update until now.  And now…it’s already the weekend!  I seriously hope to sleep in and just do a lot of resting with Markel. ❤

Weekend Recap & Photodump

This past weekend was SUPER chill and low key.

Thursday: Caught up with my old roommie/bridesmaid.  It was fun to spend a night catching up with no boys and only each other.  We’ve decided to call our new wine nights, Thirsty Thursdays! =)

Friday Night: I went to a beautiful birthday party at Cliff‘s in Silverlake.  It was beautiful outside and the food was delicious!  (the portions were a little small though…but whatevs >.<)  The birthday girl gave each of us super cute party favors too!  SO SWEET!!!  I havent’ gotten a party favor since I was a kid.  It was such a classy touch. ❤

Another insanely good idea I learned that night was…BIRTHDAY WISH LISTS!!  She made a list and everyone got something off of it.  PERRRRFECT. xoxo  I’m definitely doing that next year!  (*wink wink * friends!!)

Saturday was…a celebration of ME.  I literally did 7 loads of laundry, clean the kitchen & both bathrooms, cleaned/swept the patio and watched a ridiculous number of lifetime movies and cheesy chick flicks.  Markel was away for the weekend so I was free to do whatever I wanted.  I also got to cook a few tastey meals and each random leftover throughout the day.

Sunday, I went to church and then drove down to Huntington Beach to meet up with another old Roomie.  ❤

Note below: OC has TONS of free parking spaces and each space is HUGE.  OC=1, LA=0  >.<

All in all, it was a fun weekend with Old Roomies and just hanging out alone.  I forgot what it was like to live without markel!  Apparently…it’s crazy productive =P  hehehe just kiddddding…

Anyway, this weekend is Labor Day weekend and Markel and I are going to see his parents out in Beaumont (near Palm Springs).  I can’t wait!  I love going out there, spending time with the in-laws and just relaxing away from LA~~  This weekend I hope to catch lots of sun and eat lots of good food.  ❤

Weekend Recap & Photodump: Santa Barbara/Los Olivos

 Last weekend, my small group and I went to Santa Barbara for the weekend (Los Olivos to be exact) and it was one of the most fun weekends away that I’ve had this year!

We rented a house in the middle of town (because it was close to the vineyards) and it turned out to be a great find!  Los Olivos was having a big art fair on Saturday and we were literally a block from all the tasting rooms/restaurants.  xo

As a group we ate a lot, played a bunch of games and drank a ridiculous amount of wine.  It was the perfect weekend of bonding and learning new vocabulary like Rachet. =P

 Here’s a photodump of our weekend.

 Our Backyard~ it was GORGEOUS (pictures aren’t very great…)

The Art Fair!

Wine Tasting ❤

MIke Boo, Trivial Pursuit, Cards Against Humanity

Our teams =)  (we won by 1 point!!)

cupcake flight1

Our last group shot

Driving Back to LA

Our last meal together was at Soup Plantation.  I love that place.  Markel had never been there before so it was fun to introduce him to all my favorite things.

AND…the great news of a late weekend recap post is… It’s already FRIDAY!!  WAHOO.  I can’t wait for this weekend~~ xoxo

Happy Friday Everyone!

Weekend Recap and Photodump

This past week & weekend was a little weird.  We had Thursday as a holiday and then the weekend ahead.  So it FELT like a 4-5 day weekend.  That made coming to work on Monday THAT much harder…  Luckily I have a sweet gig and love my job!

Friday, I had dinner with the girls at our friend’s new home.  California Chicken Cafe + Wine + Trader Joe’s Ice Cream Sandwiches. ❤  Perfect way to really relax and gab for hours ❤  Love these special nights!

After dinner, I met Markel and his friends for First Friday in Venice.  Two of his friends were in town from the East Coast so we hung out on Abbot Kinney~ I forgot how much I love that place!

Saturday, Mike and I went to Beaumont (near Palm Springs) to hang out with Mike’s parents for the weekend.  Saturday was spent cleaning/organizing our storage unit, watching the Dodgers vs Giants, and eating DELICIOUS food.

Sunday was a FUNday~~ Mike’s entire family came out to celebrate 3 birthdays (mine included =])   We grilled, went swimming, hung out, and watched the Giants game.  It was really nice to spend the day with the Blairs. ❤

(*The not so glamorous part was moving out of our storage unit the morning before all the festivities.  Thankfully it only took an hour at the most*)

On Sunday, Mike taught his niece how to swim and it was ADORABLE.  He had all these techniques that he had thought out and I definitely melted.  Can’t wait to see him as a Papa Blair down the line with our Littles. ❤

Leaving and Returning to LA

Isn’t this the cutest picture ever??  Mike’s in the cutest yellow suit with a blue bow tie.  I die.  I can’t wait to make our baby boy wear one too someday~~ xo

 

Birthday Weekend Celebrations <3

I turned 29 this weekend…It was really bittersweet.  I’m in my last year of my 20s! EEK.  Time is passing by so quickly but in my heart/mind, I still feel 23 or 24.  *sigh *  Looking back, I really lived my 20s to the fullest and met some incredible life-long friends.

Thursday, June 27

My wonderful co-workers threw me a surprise birthday party!    The room was decorated, there were delicious treats, and one of my professors brought me champs! xo

Friday, June 28 (my actual birthday)

I woke up to THIS!  Markel was SO FREAKING SWEET.  He made me an egg scramble and coffee to start off my day ❤  I really love that man.

I spent the morning (3 hours) in line at the DMV.  The best part was that I forgot to bring my kindle so I just had to stare at people and be that cweepy girl.  *sigh *  I very seriously wanted to die when the lady at the DMV told me I needed to take another picture.  I hadn’t showered, wore no makeup and was wearing my glasses >.<  This is what my driver’s license pic will most likely look like below.  *tear *

After the horrific DMV, I grabbed brunch with my best girlfriend from elementary school at Cafe Gratitude.  I wasn’t sure I was going to like Vegan food, but really…this place was AMAZING.  Check out my food blog in the coming days for the review ❤

Next, I went to starbucks and got my free birthday starbucks drink!  This is my first year getting it since I registered my starbucks gift card.  TOTALLY worth it ❤

Unfortunately, the barista spelled both my name and birthday wrong >.<  eek.  Just made for a really funny instagram post.

The rest of the day I relaxed at home, did a little work and just pampered myself =)  For dinner, Markel and I went to Sugarfish in Santa Monica.  Every year, they always give me a free birthday meal, so we’ve been making it a tradition.  If you haven’t been to any of the sugarfish locations, PLEASE GO.  It’s delicious, fresh and well…the sashimi just melts in your mouth.

Fun street performers, After Dinner Treats: pinkberry and some shopping!

Gorgeous skyline in Santa Monica

The end of my Birthday…I’m definitely not young anymore when I’m in bed by 10:30pm.  >.<

Saturday, June 29

Woke up, read magazines (my favorite thing to do) and drank coffee while catching up on some reality TV.  BEST way to spend the morning.

Later, my lovely anna bear came by and gave me a gorgeous birthday gift!!  A ring from Jessica Matrasko Jewelry.  LOVE her pieces and this ring was to die for ❤

My Birthday at Gaam in Ktown.  Filled with great food, drinks and the bestest of friends.  I’m so lucky for all the loved ones in my life! xo

I love these girls ❤

Sunday, June 30 & Monday, July 1st

Major Recovery mode.  Lots of sleeping, eating, and just relaxing.  Soaking up every last second of the weekend before returning to work.

xoxo Lots of Doing Nothing xoxo

Oh! And this past week we went to a really fun raffle event put on by Hotel Angeleno.  Free drinks, food and prizes!!  Unfortunately, we didn’t win any prizes =(

Writing Wedding Thank You Notes at work during my lunch hour *sigh *  It’s never ending…

Weekend Recap and Photodump: Father’s Day and UCLA Commencement!

This past weekend was really fun, busy and tiring.  But of course…mostly fun ❤

Friday, I came home from work and had some wine while watching Korean Dramas.

Then…we did something SUPER fun…we walked to dinner and then watched Man of Steel!  We so rarely get to hang out alone together that it felt super special…first date special ❤  When we first started dating, we walked to this same theater all the time and grabbed dinner at the random restaurants around it.  Having this kind of an experience again was…amazing.

Saturday: UCLA Commencement

Free Commencement Food ❤

Arm Swag ❤

To Beaumont (Near Palm Springs)

Friday Night we went to Morongo Casino as a foursome, ate dinner and gambled our free $10 cards at the penny slots.  Safe to say…no one won big that night =(

Sunday: Father’s Day!  We went bowling and had a delicious BBQ

Coming Home from Beaumont:

Markel and I have a storage unit in Beaumont with our childhood items.  Both our parents moved and so we combined our boxes into a storage unit and we were settled.  Now that we are…it’s pretty dreadful to move things into the apartment when you’re already moved in.  *sigh *  In any case, it’s going to take about 3 trips to empty it all out.  Here is our first trip (Barry is back!!):

Random Photodump of the week:

delicious dinner at the Paks before watching the season premiere of Pretty Little Liars

Strong “shots” of coffee.  I accidentally bought 250 of these from amazon…please don’t ask.  The only “pro” of this is that they are travel size.  I do NOT recommend getting these yourself…they taste AWFUL.

Fun end of the year party for work!  (i made the salads + fruit salad)

I had such a fun weekend that it’s hard to come back… *sigh *

Well, have a great weekend everyone!

Weekend Recap and Photodump

This past weekend went by WAYYY too fast.  I can’t believe it’s already June!!  Where did Winter/Spring go??

*Sigh *

Well, this weekend was another busy, whirlwind kinda daysrunintogether sort of weekend.

Friday: A calm night of eating pizza, drinking champs (with a little pink lemonade) and watching the last season of Mad Men on netflix.  Markel had to work all night (bummmer)

Saturday: Went to the CUTEST Baby Shower and then celebrated 2 birthdays ❤

Sunday: Church, First Birthday Party (SO CUTE) and then Shopping at the Grove!

Wasn’t the decor and balloon theme ADORABLE?

There was a caricature artist ❤  I’m not sure Mike and I look like our drawings tho =(

Live Music at the Grove.  LOVE coming here~~ (although the cost of parking is ridiculous…even WITH validation… *grumble *)

And now…it’s Monday and I have the blues =(

Memorial Day Weekend Recap and Photodump

This was one big crazy weekend/week.  so…brace yourself for a long post!

Thursday–Fun Bridal Shower for my coworker and Old Roomie in College ❤

Then a fun coworker wine night at my place

Firday Dinner Party with friends from Sacramento ❤

My New Glasses! xo From Ray Ban

Fun pretty things + MAC Makeup  LOVE their orgasm blush

Saturday, Markel and I did N O T H I N G.  We watched like 16 hours of TV, hung out around the apartment and just recharged our batteries since it’s been such a crazy past few months.

Sunday, Church, Mike’s Parents place and Estella‘s Graduation from Loma Linda! (more on her graduation here)

Monday, BBQ with our Small Group and a Crate & Barrel/Bed Bath and Beyond trip for Markel and Me.

Tuesday, Wine night with the girls + Bruno ❤

and FINALLY…on Wednesday…our small group saw STAR TREK!! xoxo

and now…it’s the weekend again! xoxo ❤

Weekend Recap and Update

Markel and I had a really big and busy weekend.  We hosted guests to our new place for the first time.  It was filled with lots of loved ones, fun, good food, and drinks! ❤

Friday Night, we hosted a thank you dinner for some of the people who helped at the Wedding.  (second diner party to come soon!)  We ate delicious chicken enchiladas, chicken tortilla soup, sangria, beer…and dessert that no one got to eat =(

We attempted to play a game, but the girls rocked the boys so fast that…well…it wasn’t fair to finish.  hehe

Saturday, my new parents (MIL, FIL) came over and we hung out and watched a movie.  It was fun being able to host in our new place ❤

Sushi lunch date my my new mama

Sunday, we hosted Mother’s Day Brunch for Markel’s whole family and even did a quick happy birthday song for him.

I even got to paint a few fingers and toes ❤

Happy 27th Birthday to Markel

Wine cork orders galore… I love etsy!

Table Numbers

random happenings from last week, more to come on my new necklace ❤

 

Weekend Recap and Photodump

Friday, I stayed home and relaxed.  I really needed the night off to just do nothing and slowly pick things up around the house.  Plus, Markel was super sick so he slept most of the night away~

Saturday was one busy morning.  Went to a beautiful Bridal Shower (Nautical and Hamptons Themed).  So cute!  The rest of the day, I did chores around the house and built furniture that we bought at IKEA last weekend.  Long night, but we finally got it all done! xo

Sunday was another incredibly busy day.  First, a birthday brunch for my bestie (her 29th + 1 birthday).  Then Markel and I ran errands and checked out pets!  We’re hoping to adopt one soon ❤

My First time eating Five Guys!  Definitely not as yummy as In and Out, but it was awesome to make my own burger, munch on peanuts, and eat their seasoned fries!

xo

and now…it’s Monday =(  Back to work…

Weekend Recap and Photodump

My updates are out of order at the moment (still haven’t downloaded all my wedding/wedding related photos).  So here’s what I DO have to share!

Last weekend was a busy one.  I was still recovering from the cold/flu/whatever it was, and Mike and I had a packed list of things to do…

Saturday,I made our first breakfast as Husband & Wife ❤

Later, we went to a funeral service for my old college roommate/current coworker’s mom.  It was a beautiful ceremony and the pastor retold some very very touching moments of his observations of the family and the deceased mama.  Afterwards, we went to an Asian buffet…love buffets.

The rest of the day was busy busy with home decor shopping, family time with the Blairs in Beaumont, CA and just catching up on rest!

 

 

 

Aren’t these lights ADORABLE??? LOVE the black shades ❤

Sunday, a day full of more home decor shopping,

 In the afternoon we went to the most ADORABLE baby shower!!  Well, more like a celebration of 3 baby girls (cousins) who were born within the same 6 weeks!!  So exciting ❤

This is mike awkwardly holding his friend’s baby girl (annabelle).  It took a LOT of peer pressure and coaxing for him to take the plunge and hold the baby!  lol

The gorgeous spread of sangria, wine, dessert bar, appetizers, and Mexican food buffet!

  Finally made the big purchase on Sunday after thinking about it overnight from our Saturday visit (IKEA)

OUR PAAAACKED CAR

 I’ll show you pics of our new place later when it’s all built and set up! xoxo

 

Weekend recap and Photodump (part III)

(wow…ok i’m 3 weeks late on this post!)

Saturday, March 16th: The Wedding!

The big wedding we had all been anticipating has arrived ❤

My little gorgeous friend and my old friend from sac = best couple EVERRR

xoxo

Getting Ready~ we had the best time.  The bride munched on her fave hot cheetohs and got her hair and makeup did

The breakfast spread.  SO DELICIOUS.

the engagement ring + band.  SO PRETTY

Wedding and Reception Dress!

Awesome BM gifts!! xoxo

Cutie Pie Justin

The handsome groom

Some light flower arrangements before pictures

 

Picture time at Castle Green before the Wedding

Some of The Bridesmaids ❤

The boys ❤

Eating more before the ceremony at the church!

the gorgeous bride!

The beautiful bouquets

weeeee (before) The Ceremony~~

how gorgeous does she look!!

Bride’s Bouquet

The beautiful Mom’s in their matching hanboks!  adorbs

The Reception!! xoxo

 

the bridal party ❤

We CLOSED the place down and had the BEST TIME at this wedding!!  Everything was fabulous, gorgeous, and really romantic.

Weekend Recap and Photodump

This past weekend was incredibly productive and lazy at the same time.  I really missed having such a carefree few days off and hanging out with friends.  I feel like since I got engaged, there haven’ t been many “party” weekends.  But I hope that’ll change soon!  haha  Only 46 more days till the wedding!  eeeek

Friday, Markel and I hung out with my bff and her bf.  We watched a redbox movie and had Tacos with an Asian twist!

Saturday, I went to a wedding dress fitting for a girlfriend’s wedding and then spent the day doing wedding stuff (but in a non-stressful, leisurely pace)

Spray painted outside in the patio.  Look how dark my hands/feet were after the black paint!  eeek.

Sunday, Church as usual.  Ran tons of errands, hung out with friends, and really relaxed at home with Markel ❤  Also watched a ton of Walking Dead episodes.  LOVE that show!

Anoter really fun thing about the weekend was that Markel and I cooked at home for every meal.  We tried new recipes and tried to really eat all the stuff in our fridge.  It was really fun and something new.  This is the first time that we’ve eaten at home for almost every meal!  Crayyy.

Green Smoothies!  I’ve started making these 1x per day and they’re delicious! xoxo My goal is to drink one everyday from this past weekend until the wedding ❤

 

Weekend Recap and Photodump

Last weekend was really busy, but fun at the same time.  Markel and I did a lot of wedding prep and this time…it was FUN not stressful!  lol

Friday Night, our small group dropped off dinner to the college group and our church and then Markel and I went home to do some wedding stuff (DIY projects)

Saturday, we woke up really early.  I made us Breakfast Burritos, we picked up wine corks from our vendor, got delicious starbucks (I’m trying to get the gold card!!), and then spend the entire day with Markel’s family in Beaumont.

Markel’s maternal grandparents got married in upstate New York in 1948.  HOW GORGEOUS are these photos?  I’m obsessed with them!  They look so picturesque of the times.  LOVE IT.

It was Markel’s nephew’s Bday.  He turned 12!

 Mike played with his niece and this balloon all afternoon.  So adorable.  Love how simple things like a balloon can keep kids busy for the whole day! xo

The dollar store had St Patty‘s and Easter decorations up the wazOoo.  Can’t wait to have babies someday and actually need these things!

Markel and I have a storage unit in Beaumont and I keep trying to THROW BARRY THE BEAR away!!  But since Markel won it in Vegas, he is extra sneaky in getting it back into our stuff and keeping him hidden so I can’t toss him again.   LOL

Saturday Night, Markel and I trekked back home and did more DIY stuff.  Um…as much as I love the idea of DIY…my future advice to couples is NOT to do it.  It’s really time consuming and a Pain in the butt when you come home from work.  If it’s 1 or 2 things, awesome.  If it’s all your decorations, flowers, card stock, invites, WEDDING…uhh please pass.  I’m suffering.

Sunday, this was the second to last Sunday that I’d be helping out the nursery until after the wedding.  Not that it’s hard to do, but I have so many things on my plate, I want to make sure to give it my all~ So until May…I won’t get to play with these awesome kids =(

After Church, we went to Umami in downtown.  YUMMM.  I rarely eat here, but every time I do I’m in love!  The other pics are of other food dates I had with friends or at home with Markel ❤

Random photos…

Weekend Recap and Photodump

This past weekend was one busy one!  I had Monday off for President’s day weekend so I tried to make the most of all three days.  PLUS, I got to babysit one of the cutest Labs in the entire world.  Here’s my photodump of the weekend =)

Friday: goodbye party =(

Saturday, I had flower/linen appointments and a baby shower!

Saturday Night, I spent the night crafting and doing wedding stuff…Thanks to Markel‘s parents, our invitations are done and ready to be sent out!  Mike and I also started Walking Dead.  SO GOOD!

Sunday…was lots and lots of craziness/drama/craziness.  But it was good in that I spent most of it outside =)

Monday spent the entire day with Corduroy and wedding dress fittings (2-2 hour sessions).

He drinks from the fountain!!  so adorable ❤

yummmm

 

 This blurry one is my favorite ❤

Weeekend Recap and Photodump

oh man, CRAZY doesn’t even begin to describe my weekend.

Rewind: Before I met Markel, and even during our first year, I was incredibly OCD and anal about having everything in my life organized and color coded.  Today…I am incredibly unorganized and always running around trying to catch up.  I have no idea what the change is, but after this weekend, I have realized that I NEED to go back.  I can’t have another weekend of unorganized craziness like this.

Thursday Night, it hit me that Markel and I had NO OUTFITS picked out for our engagement shoot Saturday and that we didn’t even know what time we were meeting our photog!  We threw together about 3 quick looks each and decided to go shopping Friday night for last minute pieces.

Friday, I literally stressed all day about our outfits, surfed the web/pinterest to get ideas~ and then spent nearly $300 at Target on props, outfit possibilities, and drinks/snacks for the shoot.  Was any of that necessary?  Hell no.  But the erratic shopping went with my mental state of being super panicked.  After work, Markel and I once again put together more outfits before going shopping and tried everything on to see if it looked good.  Then, we went to Santa Monica Place and 3rd Street Promenade to find fabulous outfits.  3 hours later, we had bought enough for 10 photoshoots.  *sigh *

Did the madness end there?  Of course not.

After shopping, Markel and I headed to a Korean Spa where we sweat our butts off in a Sauna for almost 2 hours.  We read magazines, hung out, and had a lot of fun!  It was strangely an impromptu date night where we got to do something new together as a couple~ while we tried to shed the last few pounds before picture day.

(I forgot to take pictures while we were inside, so here’s a lame one of my shirt before I left)

Saturday Morning, we woke up at 8am and ran around the house and West LA getting ready for the shoot.  I showered, put 10lbs of makeup on, and got my hair did at Dry Bar in Brentwood.  DryBar was hands down, the best experience EVERRRRR.  I had so much fun!!  I had an awesome sylist (Alex) and sipped on a mimosa and watched Breakfast at Tiffany’s for an hour.  =)

 

Afterwards, I ran home, packed the car with props, clothes, snacks, coffee, the kitchen sink…. and headed off to Agoura Hills!  Markel had some drama getting the last of the props, dry cleaners, hair cuts…etc etc.

By 12pm , we were EXHAUSTED and the 101 north was closed (awesome)~ so we chugged our extra strong Starbucks Americano’s and miraculously arrived 40minutes later.  *sigh *

The shoot took about 5.5 hours and we had the BEST TIME with our Photographer.

As soon as we were done, we zip lined straight to a burger joint to pig out and relax.

Markel was NOT amused at taking pictures.  He said he was all “smiled” out.  haha

 SOOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD.  After starving ourselves and eating no-salt for the past few days, this was like heaven in your mouth!

 Then…off to my roomie’s Bday at villains Bar in downtown LA and then Teuhmi in Ktown =)

Blue Grass Band Played Live

Happy Birthday Joycie!

Sunday, I stayed home all day and took advantage of the last day of the weekend.  I slept in till 11am and then slowly cleaned the crazy looking apartment up throughout the day.  Hung clothes back up, did dishes, put away all the props, and made a new item for my etsy store!  (hallow wine cork heart).  I read, did dishes, and just really made it about the wedding.  I have so much stuff packed away in boxes for “later” that I really need to go through them, decide what I was using, wash the vases, prep all the decorations and put them in labeled boxes so that when it’s April, I’m not running around trying to find my stuff.  (see?  trying to get back on the organization wagon!)

 For Brunch, Markel and I snacked on our engagement shoot “props”.  It was TASTEYY

For Dinner I made leftover Korean Food =)  YUMMMMMM

Weekend Recap and Photodump

In true weekend update fashion…I’m super late!!  TWO weekends ago was incredibly fun and packed with tons of friends/family time ❤

Friday

Markel was home sick~ so we rented red box movies and ordered Pho Takeout xo

Saturday

In the Morning Markel and I got the best surprise ever for our wedding and received a gift of over 100 vases from our friends!  SO SWEET right??  Just in time for our wedding as well =)

Afterwards, I went over to a ladies’ brunch and the 7 of us dishes for hours about our lives, wedding planning and our sig-o’s.

After Brunch?  I had a quick wedding dress fitting and off to dinner with my besties and their men.  We met in Silverlake at Red Lion Tavern where they have this famous 2L Boot of beer!! =)  Of COURSE we each had to get one ❤

 

If that weren’t already too much activity for one day, Markel and I drove 40 minutes from Silverlake to Anaheim for his BFFs birthday party at ESPN Zone and Anaheim Ice Skating Rink for his annual Broomball celebration.

I DOMINATED all the boys =P  No Big Deal…

LOVE this sandwich place!!

Sunday

Celebrated Markel’s Aunt’s and Grandparents’ Birthdays!

(sorry cake is upside down…)

Then spent the afternoon doing wedding stuff at Paper Source (oh the beautiful colors…)

My new NYX Makeup! (post to come later)

ahh Pete’s…love this coffee =)