Oh, Scotland. {Part 1}

“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways…” (Elizabeth B. Browning)

When Jeremy and I began planning for Germany, we thought a great way to kick off our adventure would be a small vacation beforehand. A heads up to anyone that moves abroad…it involves a lot of planning and preparation!! (Duh, right?) There is not only tons of prep and planning beforehand but just as much, if not more, after you arrive to your new destination…I’ll save that for another post 😉 We knew that once we actually got to Germany there would be a whole host of these additional requirements to do right away, so we both agreed that a little vacation break between the two moves would be beneficial. It was the BEST decision. Seriously. This break allowed us to get ourselves back to neutral and to ease into our move oversees.

We were moving in early January, so we decided to look into options for going a little early to make a pit stop and celebrate New Years abroad. We quickly came up with a short list of possible places in Europe that all held a big New Years Eve celebration. This list included: London, Paris and Edinburgh, Scotland. We ultimately settled on Scotland because it seemed the most unique option of the three and a place we might not get to visit as much as the others. And boy, am I SO glad we chose Scotland!

Our sweet neighbors in Carlsbad highly recommended using Airbnb when traveling, and we wanted to give it a try. We booked an amazing flat in the Grassmarket area of old town Edinburgh, right off the Royal Mile. We could not have been more pleased with our accommodation. It was in the perfect location (with views of the Edinburgh Castle!) to see all the main attractions as well as the locations for the New Years celebrations.  We stayed in a lovely one bedroom flat, complete with a full kitchen, for cheaper than the price of a hotel room!  Hard to beat. Below is (unfortunately) the only picture we took of our place, but it gives a good feel of the entire apartment…so cozy!

Below is our view of the Edinburgh castle right outside our door…I really could not rave about this place more. It was perfect!

The first couple of days that we arrived were spent touring around, sticking mostly to the Edinburgh Castle and the connecting Royal Mile that were chalk full of amazing sights.

This picture below makes me laugh…the two next to us are creating the same picture… in the same outfit… with the same pose.

Scotland’s New Year’s Celebration called Hogmanay was both equally tremendous and astonishing. The festival lasted a total of three days. It first began on December 30th with a longstanding tradition called the Torchlight Processional. Roughly 30,000 people lined the Royal Mile in old town Ediburgh with torches in hand, walking towards the “Son et Lumiére” Finale held on Calton Hill which overlooks much of Edinburgh. The firework show at Calton Hill was incredible and one of the best I have probably every seen first hand. This was largely due to the combination of 1. We were in freaking Scotland! 2. We were on a high hill overlooking the night skyline with thousands of people holding torchlights and 3. We were so close to the actual fireworks display.  These videos are a fairly good representation of the event.

Check back soon to see more pictures and to hear about our actual New Years adventure and remaining time in Edinburgh, Scotland.

XO

Real AND Surreal

It actually happened. Since we found out in late October that our visas were officially approved, we have since spent many {MANY} hours, days, and late nights dreaming and planning for our move to Hamburg, Germany. And after two crazy months of planning the move, packing up our southern California home, spending time with loved ones for the holidays, an almost 6,000 mile plane ride, a pit stop in Scotland to celebrate New Years…we finally arrived to our new home!! Even though we feel more and more settled each day that passes, it still sounds and feels so surreal at times to know that we are now expats living in a foreign country we have never been to before. And to tell you the truth…we are absolutely loving it! Our world instantly became 1,000 times bigger, and slightly stranger, but we are doing our best to soak it all up and make the most of this experience by embracing all that is offering us. : )

Lots has happened in the past two weeks, and I am excited to catch everyone up!  We are currently living in a cozy Airbnb vacation rental that we have until the end of January while we search for a flat and get ourselves set up here. There is LOTS to share, so be sure to check back soon.

XO

Mountain People

At some point in our lives, the majority of us, come to the realization of where our ideal or dream living location would be. Many are lovers of the ocean.  The salty air, rolling waves, and beautiful sunsets are just a few obvious reasons that make the ocean such a prime location. And while I am a huge fan of all these things that I frequently swoon over seeing as to how we currently live about 3 miles from the beach, it may or may not shock you to know that Jeremy and I both are undeniably, mountain people. The crisp fresh air, that amazing mountain smell, glorious starry skies at night, endless amounts of greenery, lakes and boats, hiking trails, quaint and unique shops, cozy fires,  and so much more. The mountains simply speak to my heart! I’m just glad I’ve found a mountain man that feels the same way ; )  Don’t get me wrong though, you won’t find me passing up a trip to the ocean or a tropical paradise anytime soon!

And what really solidified this realization was our trip to Lake Arrowhead this past weekend for a little anniversary getaway.  We spent the weekend exploring the outdoors, playing games, and reflecting on an awesome year.  We commented over and over again about how such a cool place was just a short, two hour drive from our condo near the beach.  And then it got us dreaming of our own cabin one day…

An Eagles Tribute concert in Arrowhead village, that I believe everyone came to! 

Our patio view all weekend!

On Sunday we drove the extra 30 miles up to Big Bear. We are so glad that we did because it was such a beautiful spot!

 And not a bad view on our way home!

Where is your ideal or favorite location? Tell me why! 

hugs, Lauren

Colorful Bridal Shower

Remember back when I made this inspiration board for my best friends bridal shower, and made this ribbon chandelier? Well her shower AND wedding has come and gone but I am so excited to share the shower with you! Her shower was a lot of fun to put together. My mom and I teamed up on this one to create a fun and memorable time for the brides family and friends.

Some pictures of the decorated space:

 Can you spot the ribbon chandelier?

Ok, so it wasn’t my original plan to match my outfit with the decorations, but I guess I just like to be a walking billboard for some of my (obviously) favorite color combinations.  Oh, and those little dots you see that I used for decor? Paint swatches. Lots of them. Big shout out and thank you to Home Depot for providing all of them! : )

I loved dreaming and creating this bridal shower for my best friend! Her recent wedding was incredibly beautiful and such a memorable day.  I can’t wait to see all the pictures!

Check back tomorrow to hear about a little getaway that Jeremy and I went on this last weekend!

hugs, Lauren

A Picnic and 10 things I’ve Learned in Marriage (So Far)

Yesterday Jeremy and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary. If you missed the anniversary post you can check it out here. While we have small getaway plans for this weekend, we decided that a picnic at the San Dieguito County Park would be a fun way to spend our actual anniversary. Our friends were married in this park, and we loved the scenery so we decided it would be the perfect location. Seeing as to how this was our first picnic, we packed a full load complete with pillows, card games, a football, volleyball, frisbee and yummy food. Being the type of person that loves traditions and creating special moments, I  brought with us our glass drinking mugs from our wedding along with our cake top and cake server.  And yes, I also wore the same flower pin that I wore in my hair at our wedding. : ) Here are some pictures of the day:

We found a cozy spotHomemade lemonade is seriously the best!Jeremy enjoying a pluot!

Our first picnic was a success! We will definitely be doing this again. : )

*******

I also promised a list of ten things I’ve learned in marriage over the last year. Writing this list was hard, due to the fact that I learned a great deal in the last year. This list represents the main things that I have learned.

10 Things I’ve Learned in My Marriage:

1.  I can be really selfish. I certainly don’t strive to be, but it is a habit that likes to disguise itself. Thankfully, I have a patient husband who loves me through it. 

2.  The statement “your husband is for you, not against you” is true. In pre-marital counseling, Jeremy and I spent a good amount of time working through this concept. Learning to trust that my husband wanted to be on my team was one of the best understandings for our relationship. I know it seems obvious but it can be harder to live out than it sounds!

3.  Jeremy has made it clear that I have OCD tendencies when it comes to my face and keeping it clean.  

4.  Mutual respect goes a long way.

5.  Jeremy likes to dance…alot.

6.  Encouragement is important. I’m proud of my husband and I do my best to make sure he knows it. 

7.  Laughter cures many ills. It doesn’t matter what the issue is or the fact that I try really hard to stay upset at Jeremy for at least 10 minutes by giving him the silent treatment…if he starts to serenade me with a made up song, I’m a goner. Which then leads me to my next point…

8.  My husband is quite possibly the funniest person, ever. 

9.  Being present is essential.  Spending most of our weekdays at work, when we get home we try our best to not let our phones distract us. Really being present in our conversations helps us to know that we value our time together.

10.  Jeremy understands my heart. Besides the fact that we easily finish each others sentences daily or that he will bring me a bowl of my favorite ice cream just as I start to get a sweet tooth, Jeremy simply knows me better than myself at times. And for that I am thankful.

: )

What would be on your list? 

I hope everyone had a great Monday!

hugs, Lauren

First Anniversary

“Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay.  Your people will be my people and your God my God”

                                                                                                            -Ruth 1:16

Jeremy, tomorrow we will celebrate our first year of marriage together. I know neither of us can really believe it has already been a year since we said “I Do”, but I think we can both agree that our love for each other has grown immensely in this last year. Though I have known you for seven years, in just one year I have come to know you and your heart on a deeper level than ever before. You represent the best part of me. And you have somehow managed to reach the parts of my heart that even I forgot existed. You continue to teach me more about the love of God, and what it means to be a daughter of the King. You love me for who I am, the good and the bad, and for that I will always be thankful. I love your ceaseless positive outlook on life, and the true joy you bring to our marriage. Your determination to  do and to be better in all that you do inspires me daily. Our marriage will forever be my greatest adventure. Heres to many more years of bad dance moves, cuddle attempts, and lots of love, xoxo

Our wedding day truly exceeded all my dreams and expectations. It wasn’t because we were finally getting married or that all the hours of dreaming, crafting, and planning came to fruition and was perfect in the most beautiful way… It was because of all the love. The love between Jeremy and I, our friends, and our family. To all of you who were there or were there in spirit, thank you. You will never know how special you made that day for the both of us.

All images by We Heart Photography

Looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing. It was the best day through and through. I certainly wouldn’t mind going on a honeymoon again though…another week in Aruba sounds incredible.

To see more pictures from our wedding and to hear some extra insight into that day from both of us, check out the sweet feature over on Style Me Pretty here.

And click here to see a highlight film that our awesome videographers, ReverieVP created from our favorite day. We are looking forward to watching it together again tomorrow. : )

Jeremy and I have a fun and relaxing day planned tomorrow, check back on Monday to see what we did and to read 10 things I’ve learned in my first year of marriage!

Hugs, Lauren

DIY Ribbon Chandelier

Last fall, my friend Daniella and I attended the Queen Bee Market (seriously go check it out!) that was held here in Carlsbad.  Daniella and I both have a love for those one-of-a-kind hand made items and with tons of various craft, jewelry, art, and furniture booths we were in our happy place! One of the items that I took home was a lamp shade frame for about $5. Originally my plan was to recreate it to use as an actual lampshade in our guest bedroom, but when it simply sat on our guest bedroom for a few months I decided to repurpose it in another way.  By March I was in full swing bridal shower planning for a friend (check out her inspiration board here), when an idea came to mind of making a chandelier out of my lampshade to hang from the ceiling as decoration. I made mine out of ribbon because I wanted lots of bright colors, but you could easily take this same idea and use scraps of fabric instead.

Materials Needed:

-Lampshade or wire frame

-Ribbon in various sizes and colors; Because my ribbon was smaller I used about 14 rolls that I purchased on sale at Joann’s.

-Hot glue gun

-scissors

-Daffodils…they aren’t completely needed but I find they make a pretty workspace ; )

The first thing that I did was I hot glued the end of my first ribbon to the top of the lamp shade. By placing the hot glue toward the very top or more on the inside of the frame will allow you to wrap the ribbon over the top wire completely. I chose a bigger piece to start which made it easier to overlap the smaller pieces of ribbon with.

After I finished the top with the same ribbon, I stretched it to the bottom of the lamp shade in a “straight” line.  This project is great because it doesn’t have to be exactly perfect, but you will want to try and stretch the ribbon as much as possible for each piece as you go so it forms the same flat look to it all the way around the lampshade.

After I had both parts of the ribbon attached to the lampshade, I cut the ribbon at the desired length.  I knew that this chandelier was going to hang fairly high in my desired location so I left the ribbon pretty long. Mine was about 40 inches, but depending on the look you are going for you could definitely cut it shorter. Cutting the ribbon shorter will maximize your ribbon rolls!

Because of the shape of my lampshade the corners were a bit tricky. Ultimately I just had to overlap my ribbon more on the corners so there weren’t any visible holes.

I simply repeated this all the way around my lampshade. I didn’t have an exact pattern in mind for placement or colors of ribbon on my chandelier.  Depending on your lampshade and liking, you can make it as patterned or random as you would like! I used the sheer ribbon to cover any holes or spots that I felt needed to be blurred a bit.

I had some cream tulle laying around that I hot glued to the bottom of the lampshade on the inside  of my chandelier to add a little more depth. I kept the tulle pieces a bit longer than the colored ribbon. And…Voila! I left my ribbon hanging down, but it also looks cute if you tie a bow around the middle to give it a different look.

I really love the way my ribbon chandelier turned out, especially with seeing it displayed at the bridal shower that I will be sharing with you soon.  Be sure to check back for all the fun details and another little DIY along with it!

Have you created your own ribbon chandelier? I would love to hear how you assembled it! 

<a href=”http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/9908289/?claim=ctm5vfymmta”>Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Back In Action

Hello Again!

Lately I have been commenting, rather frequently, on how fast the week and weekends are flying by. And my 3 month hiatus from blogging is a great example of this! Seriously though, how does time fly by so fast? In just a couple of days Jeremy and I will celebrate our one year anniversary which means two things: this past year has been the quickest one yet, but as well as the most amazing!

There are so, so many fun details, DIY’s, events, stories, and exciting news that I can’t wait to share with you. It feels great to be back. I am thankful for a place to share in life and the little details that make it all worthwhile.

With a fresh new start to this blog, I am sharing our front entry space that has recently been given a fresh facelift itself! Our first home is a quaint, quiet, and newly remodeled condo nestled  three miles inland from the beaches in Carlsbad, San Diego that I am completely in love with. Not only has it been amazing getting to design and decorate our first place, but in just one short year this place holds enough special memories for a lifetime and for that it will always hold a very special in my heart.

The wooden memento board was originally created to hold seating arrangements at our wedding and has since been repurposed to hold sweet cards and, as of lately, wedding invitations! It’s a big conversation piece in our home.

 

We’ve been dreaming of replacing the screen door and painting the front door a fun and inviting color, but can’t decide what would look best!? I would love to have your input! If you have recently revamped your front door and entryway I would love to see what you did!

Happy Tuesday!

Inspiration

One thing that I have a special love for is event planning. Whether it be planning for a wedding or a non-profit fundraising event, there is just something about the organizing, communication, and little details that I find so exhilarating.  More specifically, weddings are filled with little intricacies and hours upon hours of thought poured into details that are so personal and unique. This is especially true if you are the DIY bride that wants to do everything your own way.  While planning my own wedding was a bit of a different roller-coaster, it was still rewarding to see the hard work and labors of love on display. (I will post more on our wedding soon)  With fundraising events I’ve found that the planning process brings together some amazing and highly motivated individuals that strive to accomplish big things. Both to me are equally inspiring. Event planning simply brings joy to my creative heart.

Lucky for me, this summer I am going to be in three weddings. Yes, three! Bank account aside, I am so excited for all the love that is going to be shared and confessed in the coming months among my beautiful friends. With three weddings, comes three bridal showers.  Being the maid of honor in one means I have the opportunity to put my planning and creative skills to work. It makes me do the happy dance just thinking about it! I am one lucky gal.

When I think of my best friend, Gab, I think of yellow and bright cheery colors. I have been brainstorming ideas for this May bridal shower for quite some time now, so I put this inspiration board together to showcase what I believe will make her bridal shower extra lovely:

Doesn’t this palette just make you want to smile? : )

Do you have any bridal shower or other creative event ideas and inspirations that are making you do your own happy dance? Please share, I would love to hear them.

hugs, Lauren

“Biggest Blizzard in Years”

Can you believe its already close to the end of February?? We had friends tell us that once you get married, life seems to go by at triple speed. Now that we are almost seven months in, we understand this statement completely! These last two weeks have been crazy busy for both Jeremy and I, which is why I haven’t made it to the computer to entertain you all in a while.

Just a little recap, at the beginning of week one, Jeremy traveled to the east coast for work.  Since tickets to Boston in February were so low we decided that I should join him for a long weekend together, in celebration of our first Valentine’s as a married couple! Little did we know we picked such a special weekend… On that Wednesday, the night before I flew out, Jeremy called me from the east coast to inform me that there was a huge blizzard that was to hit the Massachusetts area over the weekend.  Before then, I hadn’t heard a thing about this so called “Blizzard” and I had even checked the weather reports starting a week in advance.  Needless to say, since the hubby didn’t sound too worried, I threw an extra scarf in my bag and didn’t think too much of it. This trip was our first getaway together since our honeymoon and I was just so excited to meet up with him and explore somewhere new together, that I wasn’t going to worry about what the weatherman in Massachusetts was saying. Besides, don’t they usually get it wrong?

I left San Diego early (so very early) Thursday morning and headed to my first stop in Atlanta. Have any of you flown into Atlanta airport before?? That place is cray cray (crazy), and undoubtedly too big.  Our flight ran a little late, which meant I had all of ten minutes to make it to my next flight before it left me at the Atlanta airport. Lucky for me, we came into terminal A and my next flight to Boston left out of F. Wait, F?! Did I mention that Atlanta airport is cray cray and too big to get from A to F in just 10 minutes?? Ok, sorry, if you can’t tell I’m still a little emotional about this whole ordeal that went down. I will just let this do the talking for me now:

Is it just me or does that always seem to happen? Although, running like a crazy person through the Atlanta airport and yelling at the staff to hold the plane and open the gate doors because I made it at the last second before the plane left me, would have been a better story I was thankful for a few moments to rest and grab something to eat since I was able to realize I hadn’t eaten anything all day besides two small bags of pretzels.

But, it wasn’t until my flight from Atlanta to Boston that I really began to question this innocuous blizzard. I sat next to a lady that was traveling to Rwanda on a missions trip, and a tall scruffy guy from Tennessee.  We all had the initial small talk like most strangers do on a plane.  I found out that Mr. Tennessee was being flown into Boston to work the electrical lines during the storm, and that he wasn’t sure how long he would have to stay depending on the damage. To which Mr. Tennessee further explained, “This is said to be the biggest blizzard to hit the east coast in years”. He then turns to me and asks, “Where are ya’ from and where is ya’ final destination to ma’am?”

Cue the sweaty palms. 

Me – “I’m from San Diego and I am actually going into Boston to visit with my husband who is already there on a work trip”

Mr. T – “(frowning) Oh. So y’all are having a vacation in Boston during this Blizzard??”

Me – “(chuckling, playing it cool) Haha, ya! We didn’t expect it but should be exciting still”

Mr. T – “Well, good luck with that. Ya’ may get stuck there for a few extra days, just warnin’ ya.”

Luckily, within the next minute our flight showcased a movie for everyone, which meant we all put earplugs in and I tried to focus on the movie and not the looming notion that I was headed straight for a storm that I was not mentally prepared for…

I can not tell you how relieved I was to make it to my Husband in Portsmouth, New Hampshire that day.  Our original plan for the weekend was to stay in NH for two nights and then head to Boston for the next two before coming home. In the end, we stayed in Portsmouth one night longer do to the fact that we couldn’t drive on the icy roads, and it allowed for some relaxation. While the “Blizzard of 2013” did hit most states in the coastal north east, we actually were able to stay warm (for the most part) and relish in the fact that we were able to experience a trip unlike many that we have had together.  We walked through snow covered streets, went sight seeing, realized that we both loved the quaint little towns of the east coast, ate amazing meals, relaxed by the fire, watched a few movies, and above all enjoyed our special time together. Below are the highlights from the trip:

Portsmouth, NH

Warm and ready to brave the cold

A beautiful church in downtown Portsmouth

Love him!

Walking downtown, look at all the snow!

Jeremy trying to stay warm

Had dinner here. It was such a cozy little place by the water, and the food was beyond amazing!

They had such a good sense of humor, and allowed us to take their picture!

Outside of our window when the storm began

Back in our room, bundled up and enjoying the fire

Boston, MA

So. much. snow.

We loved the old architecture of the churches in Boston.

We didn’t know we weren’t supposed to be in the church (the doors were unlocked!). An overseer kindly let us take a look around before we left, slightly embarrassed!

Locals were loving the snow day, check out the sledding!

Although we had a rental car, we decided we didn’t want to risk driving on icy roads in a foreign city. Instead, we decided to walk the freedom trail! It allowed us to see much of the historical part of the city and enjoy our limited time in Boston.

We made a pit stop at Starbucks along the trail, mmmmm.

See the little antenna peaking out?

After dinner, we treated ourselves to a yummy pastry dessert!

All in all, despite getting stuck in a blizzard that covered everything in lots of snow, we both returned home still warm, happy, and thankful for a little time away.

Did any of you experience Blizzard 2013? I would love to hear your experience!

hugs, Lauren