Let the Celebration Begin!

 Happy 33rd Anniversary! 

Tomorrow is my parent's 33rd Anniversary! I am so blessed to have parents who always strive to keep God first in their marriage. I truly believe that their strong faith in God and their love for each other has allowed them to have a marriage that all couples desire. My dad is full of generosity and wisdom and my mom is full of selfless acts and joy, which is why combined they make the perfect couple!

Their Engagement Picture
{Isn't my dad quite the catch and my mom a beauty}
:)

"Laughter is the most beautiful and beneficial therapy God ever granted humanity"

~ Charles Swindoll

I LOVE this picture!

{The happily married couple 33 years later}

I love you both and hope you have fun celebrating your special day tomorrow!

Love,

Your Daughter

xoxo

Letting God Lead

A few weeks ago Steve and I went to hear my brother preach at Grove Community Church in Riverside. He is the high school pastor who on occasion also preaches for the entire congregation (big church, as I still like to call it!). Both him and his wife Natalie do an awesome job ministering to the high schoolers and the congregation at the Grove.

Daniel and Natalie
{such a cute couple}

I always look forward to hearing my brother preach because

 1). I am his proud sister and #1 fan :) 

2). He is gifted in speaking God's Word

3). His contagious laugh always has the ability to make me smile and laugh. Yes, even as he preaches!

<<<<<<<<<< Brother n' Sister Photos >>>>>>>>>>

All dressed up years ago! Hehehe :)

All dressed up on my wedding day!

<<<<<<<<<< A Good Reminder >>>>>>>>>>

After hearing his sermon about David and King Saul I was reminded about the importance of TRUSTING God to LEAD your life (especially during the hard times) and how vital it is as Christians to always 

FEAR the Lord. 

There is so much truth in this verse:

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom"

~ Proverbs 9:10

I encourage you to take 30 minutes out of your day and watch his sermon. I think it is a good reminder that we all need to hear. I promise you will also get to hear his contagious laugh and I guarantee it will make you smile and laugh too! :)

06.17.12 from The Grove on Vimeo.

I love to hear from you!

 So please feel free to leave a comment on how this sermon spoke to you.

<<<<<<<<< Friday is almost HERE! Woo Hoo! >>>>>>>>>

Anniversary Getaway ~ Day 2 ~

………Who doesn’t like good food?………

On our second day of our anniversary getaway we rented bikes from the hotel and rode to one of my absolute favorite breakfast spots! If you are ever in San Marino, California you have to come to Juliennes. It's a girly (thanks babe for making the sacrifice), quaint, gem of a restaurant that makes scrumptious food! My favorites are their:

• hot chocolate (it's simply the BEST EVER!)
• bittersweet chocolate waffles with honey vanilla cream topped with shaved chocolate and strawberries (is your mouth watering yet?)
• Chilaquiles with scrambled eggs, corn tortillas, pepper jack, avocado, red onion, and sour cream (brings both my husband and I back to our honeymoon in the Mayan Rivera)

Getting ready for our bike riding adventure!

Breakfast at Juliennes

….....Who doesn’t like bike riding?….....

After breakfast we continued our bike ride through the tree lined streets of Pasadena. We critiqued the huge mansions and took turns pointing out our favorites and deciding which would be our future home (of course in our "pretend" world).  Later, Steve and I found a cul-de-sac with speed bumps and we attempted to show off our bike speeding/jumping skills. It was so much fun, I actually felt that "kid like" joy that  some adults seldom feel. All in all we had a blast!

…Who doesn’t like Father of the Bride?…

 Do you recognize the house below???  One of my favorite stops we made while riding was at the house from the movie, Father of the Bride. It is dreamy and looks exactly the same as it did in the movie. I have driven and walked by it many times, but I still always get a HUGE smile whenever I get the chance to see it again!

Standing in front of my house The Father of the Bride house

....Who doesn’t like giving/receiving presents?....

Last but not least we also exchanged gifts to celebrate our 1st year! I love traditions and wanted to follow the "gift guide" for Anniversaries (I had to explain the "gift guide" to the hubby before hand) :)

..Anniversary Gift Guide for the 1st Year of Marriage .. 

Traditional = Paper     Modern = Clock

So, you can either choose the traditional or the modern gift. Some require more creativity than others for example paper could also include wood since paper comes from wood ect...

For Steve, I ended up going with the modern gift (clock) and was looking for a casual wrist watch that he could wear both at work and on the weekends. I was excited when Natasha over at Schue Love (one of my favorite blogs) posted this watch on one of her gift guide posts. It was the perfect gift and he loved it!

For Him

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   For me, Steve chose to go with the traditional gift (paper). However, before I share my gift from him I have to say that Steve is always VERY creative when it comes to gift giving. I consider myself creative, but when it comes to gifts he always wins :) 

So, when I opened his gift this is what I saw... a book. 

I made sure I had a big smile on my face but inside I was thinking, "What is this?" 

He told me that he had heard this was an excellent book and thought I would really enjoy it.

For Her

Then he told me to look inside and this is what I found!

A rectangular box cut into the pages of the book filled with a little piece of paper that said, "I chose you!" (in response to the book's title) and 2 tickets to the Blown Away Carrie Underwood Concert! 

I told you he was sneaky!

Whew! There you have it. That is the end to our Anniversary Getaway! 

Such wonderful memories that we will both treasure.

…. Happy Wednesday.... Hump Day! ....

Anniversary Getaway ~ Day 1 ~

Yesterday we got back from our wedding anniversary weekend and it was nothing short of perfect! 

The morning started off with Steve (Mr. Sneaky) surprising me with my dad's jeep (the car we used for our exit on our wedding night) to drive to our anniversary destination.

Mr. Sneaky and the jeep all packed up and ready to go for our weekend getaway!

The happily "married" couple one year ago!

Then it was off to the Langham Huntington Hotel where we had stayed the first night of our honeymoon. I love this hotel! It is an old building that dates back to 1906 and for a short time used to be owned by Henry E. Huntington. The building itself is gorgeous both inside and out and the architecture is similar to many old buildings that can be found throughout Pasadena.  

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 Once we got  there we enjoyed a DELICIOUS brunch and then we sprinted walked leisurely on over to the pool for some good ole' relaxation time!

YUM!

A little R&R :)

Then, it was off to a delicious steak dinner (yes, I am a huge meat eater!), and though we enjoy a good glass of wine from time to time I had to chuckle when we ordered our drinks. A Root Beer for Steve and a Shirley Temple for me, some people just never grow up :)

Before we headed back to our hotel Steve drove to our wedding reception site so we could 

go back and reminisce. It was fun to walk around and share our favorite memories from both our wedding day and 1st year of marriage.

Pasadena City Hall
(reception site)

And that completes ~ Day 1 ~! I had hoped to share the whole weekend in one post, but as most of you know I love details and have a very hard time leaving anything out :) So, tomorrow I will share
~ Day 2 ~ of our anniversary weekend!

         …… Hope you find many reasons to enjoy today! ……

1 Year Down, Many More to Go!

Today is our one year wedding anniversary!  We decided to take the sentimental approach and go back to the hotel we stayed at on our first wedding night. It is a gorgeous hotel that holds special memories for us, so I can't imagine going anywhere else to celebrate our special day! I am looking forward to reminiscing about our wedding day, sharing our favorite memories from this year, and just enjoying spending a relaxing couple days together.

I will be back tomorrow and plan to share some pics and details from our Anniversary weekend.

Have a great day, everyone!

Get Your Nose in a Good Book

I have found that summer is a perfect time for me to catch up on some good reading. Currently I am reading A Lineage of Grace, by Francine Rivers and so far I love it! In this book, Rivers writes about the lives of five women in the Bible: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary. This historical fiction novel uses Biblical accounts to share the stories of women that God used in so many ways. 

 This book is a perfect way to start off your morning or end your day... oh and adding a cup of green tea with honey will only make it better!

******** Great books to take to the pool or the beach ********

When you start to pack your summer bag for the pool or the beach it is an absolute must that you have the perfect book to read while you lounge and soak up the sun! These books should be fun and easy reads that help you escape reality.

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So, I have been on the search for that perfect summer book and just recently a couple of my friends recommended that I read some of the Emily Giffin novels. Emily Giffin is a popular author who has had many books on the New York Times Best Seller list, and just last year her book Something Borrowed was made into a movie (which of course I have seen!). 

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Here is a review by the San Francisco Chronicle of one of her books, 

“When it comes to writing stories that resonate with real women, best-selling author Emily Giffin has hit her stride. Baby Proof examines the great lengths people go for each other, and is filled with great female characters.”
—San Francisco Chronicle

 Looks like I have found some of my ideal reads for this summer! Now I just have to plan a much needed beach day!

         

********I can't wait to dive into these books this summer!********

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What books will you be reading this summer?

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Startin' Summer Off Right!

>>>>>>>>>>> Summer is here! <<<<<<<<<<<

 Every summer I have a long list of "to do's"(projects, goals, ect...) and it always seems that I NEVER accomplish all that I had hoped. So, this summer I decided that I need to create a weekly Summer Schedule to help me be more productive this summer. 

I decided to use one of my favorite items in my kitchen, my chalkboard.  About three years ago I was on the hunt for a chalkboard and I was over the moon when I found this one at Home Goods (a favorite store of mine!).

Cute chalkboard + Colorful chalk = My Summer Schedule!

 My first thought was that it looks like the dinner specials board at  Coco's...oh well :)  I love that it is colorful and it will definitely not be hard to miss each time I walk into the kitchen. Hopefully it will help me keep up with all my "to do's" this summer!

I also had to take a picture of one of my absolute favorite flowers, PEONIES! I look forward to buying them every June at Trader Joes. There is nothing better than having a vase full of flowers in your house to help start off your summer!

>>>I hope you find ways to start your summer off right, too!<<<