Celebrating Presidents and Freedom and Stuff

On President's Day James and I decided to take a hike up to the top of our little town, Black Mountain.  Going up is a steep, straight shot, then coming down the trail loops and encircles the mountain, so needless to say, getting to the top means the hardest part is over (and cause for victory photos!).  We are both feeling it today, but it was fun!

Shutter speed is fun to play with ;)

"Look at that mountain back there, we hiked that!"

Beautiful sunrays poking through the neighborhood on the way home.

My Funny Valentine

Today was such a fun day--I spent the whole day with a smile on my face!  This morning I woke up to roses and a hot latte, followed by a movie in bed and an incredible massage.  My hubby sure knows how to make a morning!  Then we headed up to a local park for a picnic and photo shoot which got a little out of control and had us rolling around in tears from laughing so hard (sorry, none of these laugh-inducing photos will ever be released to the public).  Then we came home for a bit before cooking our amazing surf-n-turf dinner, followed by a night of blogging and watching the Olympics.  We sure are spoiled sometimes!  (Can I also publicly express how much I love playing around in Lightroom 5?!)

Am I lucky or what?!  Not only is he handsome but he has the patience of a saint and lets me test out my tripod for hours on end....  (And then cooks dinner!)

Dear James,
I know you read this blog sometimes so in case you are reading today, I'm sorry I posted kissing pictures on the internet, and that I made you take so many pictures in general, but you have to admit we had a good time.  Thank you for always loving me despite my crazy whims, and for always supporting my dreams and passions.   You are the only person who understand me, you're my favorite shoulder to cry on, and the only person who can make me laugh any time I'm sad.  I don't think I say it enough, but I don't know what I did to deserve you and I will probably spend the rest of my life trying to pay it back.  I love you so much my funny valentine, you are my hero!
xoxo, me

Anniversary Celebratin'

Originally for our first anniversary we wanted to do something awesome, like go out of town and spend the night in a beach city, or even hop on a plane up to San Francisco, but 3 weeks before our big day James got laid off and money got a lot tighter.  Some friends of ours also happened to be getting married the day after our anniversary so we knew that meant we weren't going anywhere for the weekend (not that we minded! I love weddings!).

Instead we merely drove out to Lake Forest, had a wonnnderful dinner out there at a fancy restaurant called the Bru, then headed to 1,000 Steps beach and watched the sunset before returning home.  In the morning we ate our One-Year-Cake, and not that it tasted bad or anything, but that tradition is just bizarre.  Who wants to eat cake that is one year old just for the heck of it?

It was a lovely little day, one that we joked could easily be topped in the future, but one which was perfect for us right now.  I can't believe a year has already FLOWN by, and that we are no longer newlyweds...

Here are some pictures from the day!

Delicious food!

They gave us this free dessert and decorated it for our anniversary, but it was possibly the best dessert we've ever had.  On our honeymoon cruise I used to order this dessert every night--the Warm Chocolate Melting Cake--and without even knowing it this dessert was just like eating it again! It was half baked, half melted brownies with vanilla gelato and a shot of hot whiskey poured in the bottom, topped with whipped cream.  IT. WAS. SO. GOOD!

A year ago we took this photo on our honeymoon when we were in St. Maarten, so this year we decided to continue the trend:

A beautiful night.

We were only able to eat about 1/16 of what was on this plate... it was so rich! Especially after a huge dinner the night before!

Until next year!

xoxo, the Doskocils

The First Year

A year ago today was honestly the best day of my life.  I have had many great days since then, but there is no comparison to our wedding day when everything was perfect, I felt like an absolute princess, and I got to marry my best friend.  

I am so thankful for James and his optimism, and more importantly his love for God.  He is truly a great partner, someone who can always lift me up and encourage me even in my lowest lows, and can remind me of what's really important at the end of each day.  It's a remarkable thing to have a friend like that.  Marriage has been such a humbling experience, and one that has taught me more about myself than anything else I've ever experienced.  Im so glad I have a patient and understanding husband who is willing to put up with me through the learning process, someone who I can be totally weird and silly around and who loves me for all of it.  I don't know what I possibly could have done to deserve a guy like you. 

One down, many, many more to go--there's no one else I'd rather do this with, I love you James!

.

Jesse and Kelly and a Weekend Away

This past weekend we had the opportunity to watch two dear friends fulfill their dream of marrying each other in the Julian woods, and what a sweet occasion it was.  I loved everything about the day, but most notably I was just so happy to see friends so in love, sharing the best day of their lives.  I've been to a lot of weddings recently but this time I couldn't help but notice their love practically radiating out of their faces.  It was awesome.

I also enjoyed sneaking away for the weekend to have a quick father's day celebration at home in San Diego, and then visiting Julian, part of my old stomping grounds.  Growing up, Julian was the town nearest to my own where we could see the remnants of a light snowfall, or else just enjoy some amazing apple pie.  It's always nice to visit, and on the way home from the wedding, driving through the golden hills, James and I couldn't help but fantasize about living somewhere as rural and home-y as Julian.  

After this we enjoyed a lazy Sunday and some time spent with James' side of the family; a restful day was something much needed by this point!

Wedding emotions wear us out!

(PS- This is probably my favorite thing about being married right now.. Lazy mornings just talking and laughing until we're forced out of bed to face the day.)

Congrats, Kelly and Jesse!

lovebirds

Happy Valentine's Day!

may your dreams be merry and bright....

The Holidays are Upon Us

Confession: Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and while I am extremely thankful for my many blessings, this may or may not be my least favorite holiday.  I think it started with the fact that I don't really like turkey (or stuffing, or cranberries, or giblets, or pie) and compiling that with being made to watch football all day, it's just not my ideal.  Of course I still eat and of course I enjoy my numerous tryptophan-induced naps, but my favorite thing about Thanksgiving is the fact that it signals the start of the CHRISTMAS holiday season!  I don't know why I get so excited about that one, probably something having to do with classical conditioning at a young age, associating this time of year with presents (which for a young child is just the top of the tops), but I am ALL ready for tree-decorating with my husband tomorrow night... :P

Speaking of husband, I can't believe it has been almost an entire month since his birthday! His birthday is usually the day that signals the start to "our" holidays, and this year was followed closely by the election, halloween, veteran's day, and numerous other family birthdays.  I tried to convince him to go to the Stinking Rose, which is a lovely restaurant in LA that specializes in....garlic (we LOVE garlic and using way-too-much garlic in our dishes), but he only desired an afternoon in and to cook dinner for some of our close friends.  So that was that...

James would much rather have a waffle and bacon birthday cake over anything else... Hence :]  

Happy 24th, my love!

I can't believe we have been married almost four months now...time really does fly. I can't put into words the type of change that takes place but I see it when I look back and I see it when I hang out with old friends.  We've been so busy over here--I graduate in 1 month!!--but amidst the busyness we are still having so much fun.  This year I am so thankful for James, for our tiny home together, for our close friends who have stuck with us and encouraged us every step of the way, and ultimately for our heavenly father who has done more in our life together than we could have ever done on our own.

The Day I Became a Mrs.

Sorry I've been holding out, here is what you're all waiting for...

So three weeks ago today we got MARRIED! For anyone who is blind or doesn't have a Facebook, it was a beautiful, beautiful (but hot) day and it was truly the happiest day of my life.  Everyone told me it would fly by, everyone told me to let the little things slide (which I never thought I'd be able to do), and everyone told me to take time to soak up the moments passing by--they were all right!  Man does the day fly!  I mean, we're three weeks out now and I'm like, where did the time go?  I seriously can't believe it.

I'm happy to report that I got a full 8 hours of sleep on the night before my wedding, and I was greeted that next morning with a phone call from my future-hubby (to calm the nerves we thought we were going to be battling).  Getting ready was extremely..peaceful?  I don't know what to say about it; I wasn't freaking out or stressed, it was just so surreal all I wanted to do was leave that little room and go give James a hug.  I don't know if my stylists could believe how un-nervous I was.  I couldn't believe we'd be married in just a few hours.

And the next thing I know I'm getting finished with makeup and they want me to get in my dress, and then we're taking pictures, and then I see guests start showing up, and then I'm stuffed back in the little room....

And then it happened.  After a pre-processional pep-talk from my dad, "Here Comes the Bride" began to blair and it was time to walk.  There are no words to describe that moment, you just have to live it to know.  It was amazing and happy and scary and fun and nerve-wracking and exciting and so much more.  And then I saw James and how happy he was, and I tried to keep my eyes on him like everyone told me to but it was just so overwhelming, it's hard to stick to the rules.

Neither of us remember a word that Jeff (our pastor) said, but what I do remember is how hot I was and how much my cheeks were hurting from smiling--I couldn't stop!  I shakily said my vows, I forgot my bouquet, and I walked way to fast back down the aisle, but that's all small potatoes if you ask me.  Our cake reception was hellish, in the temperature sense, but the fun that ensued afterwards will not be soon forgotten.

I can't remember having a better time than I did at my own wedding reception, and I can't remember a time that I got so much positive feedback.  I think everyone liked it, right?  I mean, everyone danced the whole time and we had to shut it down! We paid for 5 hours of a DJ thinking no one would be there at the end, but people wanted to stay longer!  Sadly (truly sadly) we ran out of there and off to our wedding night; I can't lie, we reminisce about the day all the time and how much we wish we could go back and do it multiple more times, no matter how impossible that actually is.

Married life isn't exactly what I thought it would be.  Besides the fact that our bed is way too small and a source of contention every night, and besides the fact that we have not had a single night where we have both been home and with no plans, and besides the fact that my whole apartment is more disheveled [by gifts and unpacking] than I can bear, and besides the fact that life has a secret stash of lemons that it keeps giving us, we are ecstatic.  I could not be happier to be living every day with James.  It really is like having a sleepover with my best friend every night.  We stay up talking and laughing until one of us falls asleep (which is pretty much the only way to fall asleep in our unfortunate bed situation) and it is a pretty awesome feeling to wake up together every day.  I don't have to go to work as early as he does so I get to stay cuddled in bed while he brushes his teeth and gets ready, chatting and talking about our previous night's dreams.  Not gonna lie, I also love the fact that my bed permanently smells like him.  Is that weird?  The growing pains are being felt, but we take them as a challenge and an opportunity to grow into this new life together stronger than before.

Our toasting champagne flutes were inscribed "Today I Marry My Best Friend" and it couldn't have been more true.  We are so excited to start this journey together and to see what God has in store for our new life.