Sunkissed Escapades: Weekend Away in Morro Bay

My husband and I went away for my birthday weekend a couple weeks back. It was such a beautiful little trip, I just had to share some photos! We decided to head over to Morro Bay for a few days to do some relaxing, hiking and good (hearty) eating- as per usual. The weather was gorgeous- sunny but not too warm, with a lovely breeze. We scored on a fantastic room at The Inn at Morro Bay. Definitely check into it if you're staying in that area! 

Our view from the hotel deck

With the sailboats and the calm blue water, it felt like we were in a Mediterranean fishing village.

Breakfast at Dorn's was amazing! They say they have the best buttermilk pancakes, and don't dismiss it for false advertising. I'm usually a waffle gal- but these were to die for. Although they were huge, I'm pretty sure we both finished our's...along with the rest of our breakfast!

We chose a new place to go hiking that we hadn't been to before, Montana del Oro State Park. You can see the ocean from almost any trail you hike, the beaches are gorgeous, and it's free! We hiked up to one of the higher peaks, which was a good workout after our hefty morning meal. The views from the top and other spots along the trail were just unbeatable, and by the time we got to the top, the morning sea fog had rolled away and it was sunny and warm.

My handsome man, wearing our lucky hiking backpack as usual. 

There were so many beautiful butterflies playing together at the top of the peak.

 

We rested at the top and enjoyed the view for a while, then headed back down the mountain to go check out the bluff trail.

"Rock Shrine Beach" as I like to call it - this was the biggest one there. No one ever tries to break them down, it's really cool.

Had to take a few sunset pics that night- because really, who ever gets tired of watching this gorgeous sky?

We spent the last morning playing frisbee (our frisbee's awesome, you can get one here!) and drinking a few beers on the beach. Made a pit stop at Firestone Walker Brewery to eat on the way back - they had some delicious grub and it's one of Eddie's favorite beers, so he was in hog heaven. 

We got back home with sand on our feet, red cheeks and another beautiful weekend of memories to cherish. So instead of spring cleaning this weekend, consider getting away yourself! It's always a better option.

And here's one more sunset photo just because I really love my new camera...and sunsets.

Until next time. xoxo

Sunkissed Dreams Come True | Our Wedding Day

Well, after a long hiatus from my blog, I have returned. The last year was crazy and wonderful and full of love and adventure and MY WEDDING! I'm finally back to being able to work hard on following my dream of opening my own shop, sharing beautiful styles & ideas, and creating my own products!

Planning our wedding was a lot of work, but made for many fun nights working on projects with my now husband, sister and other great helpers. We were able to turn our wedding into not only something beautiful for our family and friends to enjoy- but something very personal as we showcased everything that brought us together - from music, to colors, to surfing, photos of our adventures, handmade soaps, bonfire pits 

and many other wonderful things. 

I realized how much I love working with my hands as I was creating vases, flower arrangements, 

invitations, programs, layouts, and other decor. I am trying to now incorporate this into my business goals....But for now, I'd like to share some beautiful moments from our special day, 

as well as our personal touches that made it THE BEST DREAM COME TRUE!

I had so much fun creating our invitations & ceremony program! It's amazing what you can do with a few flourishes and some good fonts. I used CatPrint to print everything- they're great to work with and very reasonably priced! 

Word of advice: order less programs than you think you'll need...we have so many leftover!

I wanted lots of colors in my bouquet, so that's what we did! Sunrise orange & coral roses, pink snapdragons, large mums, baby's breath and a little greenery- it turned out just how I had wanted! 

Farther down I talk more about how we made all the flower arrangements ourselves.

Us girls had a gorgeous house to get ready in for the day- it was located on the grounds at our venue, Vista Ranch & Cellars in Merced, Ca.  Complete with salon, a kitchen for us to grub in and plenty of mirrors for us all to get ready! 

 

I've always loved opals, so Eddie did a wonderful job of  incorporating that into my engagement ring. 

Eddie and his little brothers- they look up to him so much.

So grateful to have my two little sissies be a part of our bridal party.

Our wedding day was fairly overcast- which made the colors of the dresses pop and the almond blossoms look gorgeous and snowy!

I ordered my wedding dress off of Etsy from an amazing seamstress based out of San Francisco. I couldn't have been happier with it, and it was SO affordable! My veil was also from Etsy, a different seller, but matched perfectly.

The guys had a lot of fun getting ready, playing corn hole and shootin' the breeze out at a friends ranch in the country that morning. They all got pocket watches as gifts from my man, so they were having fun with them in the photos. 

Making the boutonnieres wasn't too hard- I used leftover flowers from the bridesmaids bouquets, added some greenery and wrapped with jute twine. They matched so well with the girls' dresses.

Baby's breath was our go to flower for a lot of the larger arrangements. 

A handmade wooden wine box showcased our programs beautifully.

I hand painted all of the vases with our wedding colors. 

It created such a vibrant & pleasant setting with the cloudy skies. We intermixed the vases with large tea light candles in hobnail jars (love these) or small holders wrapped with either burlap or lace. 

Myself and some of the girls spent the day before the wedding putting together all the flower arrangements. We ordered a ton of flowers from a local shop, Fresh Ideas Flower Co., with colors and flowers I liked. We made my bouquet that day as well- it was so much fun, and smelled glorious with all those fresh flowers around us!

Handmade lavender soap bars, from a wonderful shop I found on Etsy, as favors for our guests. 

My aunt created our cake from a few ideas I gave her- it looked amazing and tasted delicious!

Cork frame collage of our adventures. 

I found a lot of my supplies for these projects in my parents' garage, leftover from my dad's wood working jobs. 

The time my pops and I spent together that short time before he walked me down the aisle was so precious. Chatting and laughing with him, then taking his arm and letting him give me away to the man of my dreams is a feeling I will never forget. I've always been very close with my dad- so knowing that this man I chose to be with the rest of my life, had my dad's blessing, was so wonderful.

Chocolate milk for our unity ceremony. Mmmmm...

Just the best, most unreal feeling.

My little sis/Maid of Honor gave a very sweet and touching toast.

We danced under the moon to our favorite song, "Harvest Moon" by the great Neil Young.

Framed old photos of our grandparents & parents displayed on the cake table. 

My precious little niece, aka the Flower Girl, fell asleep during the ceremony and for hours after! 

So this was our one photo together... 

The wedding day is very long & emotional, you're so high on life and it hardly feels real. 

It was the weirdest but best feeling to know that I was now all his and he was all mine.

I still revel in the ecstasy of that day, and hope to never let that feeling fade. 

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A huge thank you to Cori Delgado Photography for capturing our special day. 

She's an amazing photographer and a very sweet gal.

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Until next time. XOXO