Me. Oh. My.

Well me. oh. my. I could have sworn it was July. 

But here we are in September. I wouldn't believe it if I didn't have a calendar staring me in the face at this very moment. Somehow, without any explanation a full 2 months has just evaporated. 

I've missed writing here. I think about it just about every darn day, but every day I find myself going to bed wishing I had carved out the time to come here and document life. 

Eight weeks isn't even that much time, but a lot of has happened. I was just on the other side of the globe a week ago, and before that I was checking things off my bucket list, and even before that, I was in the best place on earth. I've been on 11 flights, in 7 countries, with family, with friends, and with my myself. 

I managed to essentially skip summer in DC, and there are days where I forget where I am right now. (Perhaps that is just the jet lag speaking) 

Where to start? How to wrap my head around everything that has been going on, as this summer has easily been in the top 5 summers of my life. 

I went home. I posted once about the start of my trip there and then quickly settled so deeply into my new "routine" in Idaho, I didn't bother to write again while I was there. Regardless, is was the best 5 weeks I have had since sometime in 2008 I am pretty sure. I was home. I was with my family. I was truly happy. 

I sat on our deck and read and sipped red wine. I cuddled with the dog. I saw friends. I went to my high school reunion. I went to a family reunion. I hiked. I got to love on my niece and nephew. I got to laugh with my sister. I got sort through childhood memories. I got to go to farmers markets and shopping with my mom. It was cathartic.

Bless the individual who invited the "work from home" model. Amen.

I checked off a bucket list item. I saw Niagara Falls. We even took one of those boats out to where you get soaking wet and can hear the roar of the water crashing down the falls. We wore ponchos and ate a hot dog while we strolled along and took photos of the jaw dropping sight. 

It always stuck with me when I was little to hear that one set of my grandparents had honeymooned in Niagara, and it was special to go here. Albeit, I am sure the tacky hotels and Vegas-esque vibe wasn't around when they experienced Niagara. There was also a jaunt up to Toronto, where we ate at the Momofoku Noodle Bar, and stayed up watching the light show on the CN Tower .

Then it was a frantic week, full of long nights of working and preparing to be gone on a ten day trip to Europe. We ate goulash, drank beer in a ruin pub, walked across the Chain Bridge, and soaked in natural baths in Budapest. We rode bikes, drank beer on a canal, salivated in design stores, and took a car on a ferry to Sweden in Copenhagen. We toured Buckingham Palace, and saw how giddy I can get seeing the Royal landmarks, ate pizza with a bunch of hipsters and saw friends in London. 

It's been a whirlwind. I am exhausted (and sick. boo.) but feeling incredibly energized in thinking back on what an incredible few months it has been. 

Hopefully some detailed summaries are to follow- but I don't dare say this until I actually see it happen. Meanwhile I will be sleeping odd hours, dreaming of cooler places, and really good food.  

DC Summer Sabbatical

Well folks ( yes, I say the word folks when I am out West), I've been absent for awhile on this little space. Sorry, I'm not sorry. Not even a teeny tiny but, because....well....I kind of quit DC. !!!! It's a temporary situation until I figure out the final move, but I am at least escaping a good chunk of time in my most despised place.
Basking in the evening rays, eating dinner on the back deck, ten years high school reunions, having friends in town, enjoying my family while not feeling rushed, sipping good beer, and cruising local farmers markets. Cue the overplayed "Happy" song, and call me content. Life is good. Better than good, it is fabulous.
Call it my sabbatical, call it my trial run for the real deal, but whatever it is...it feels good.
I forget what it is like to sleep through the night with out sirens waking me up. Or to have summer days where you want to be outside. How it feels to not have your stomach in your throat because you are so stressed all the time. And how wonderful it feels to feel connected. Connected to your family, to a place, to things that are meaningful and matter. My mind is still adjusting to the positive changes.
Some photos to capture some of these amazing moments so far.

The Doodle Dog, Kimber

Idaho subsets are the best sunsets

Dog in a backpack at Alive After Five

First trip to the Boise Trader Joes, I am ready to move here

Watching the clouds

Pre party after my ten year high school reunion

River rafting

Which resulted I a terrible foot sunburn

Ava

10 barrel

Capitol at night

4th of July parade

Fireworks

Saturday farmers market

Ordinary views making me love this place

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LACMA

For yet another one of our weddings on the #weddingtour2014 we found ourselves in LA and made a long weekend/ mini-vacay out of the trip. (since we all know I will use any excuse to be on the Best Coast as much as possible). We had the entire day after the wedding to hang out before heading to another epic dinner at Ink., our favorite restaurant. After a "rejuvenation breakfast" with some other friends who had been at the wedding, we decided to head to The Getty, but upon arriving, the line to park was barely moving and we didn't want to waste our day sitting in the car. A quick brainstorm and google search later...we decided to head over to LACMA. Parking was a breeze and in probably half the time it would have taken to finally get into the Getty, we were parked, had tickets and had planned our route through the multiple buildings to try to see the exhibits that interested us most. The architecture alone was amazing, and the weather was nothing short of stunning.

One of our finally areas that we were exploring lead us to a room with a HUGE installation that looked a lot like an adult erector set. It was a cityscape with a complex track for thousands of little cars to zip along. We quickly realized that it was actually motorized and we had come in just in time to have them turn the motors on so we could see all the moving parts.

The piece is Metropolis II by Chris Burden and it was entirely worth the trip to LACMA all on its own!

And to see it in action...some video footage

A Santa Fe Wedding

We have been on the wedding circuit this year. From April to the end of May I felt like we had a wedding to attend just about every other weekend! 

The BF's cousin got married in Santa Fe and it was one heck of a wedding! Unfortunately, I barely took any photos to really show off how amazing of a wedding it was, but the backdrop of Santa Fe was stunning!

The ceremony was held in the historic Loretto Chapel , which is about the most amazing church I have ever set foot in. The miraculous staircase is jaw dropping, and such an amazing centerpiece of the chapel.

Now Santa Fe and the chapel really set this wedding apart, but what really set the wedding apart....were the beautiful brides. #twobridesarebetterthanone

These ladies are the definition of a modern day "power couple", an accomplished doctor and nurse, both stunning and some of the most kind and vibrant people I have ever met. Their vows... man went right for the heart strings.

After the beautiful ceremony the guests were ushered outside to listen to a live mariachi band while the brides had a quick photo shoot inside. I was included in a group that got to decorate the pedicab that was going to take the brides to the reception location, just a short walk away. 

One of my favorite parts was  walking to the reception venue. The brides existed, found their decorated pedicab and then we were lead in a giant process by the mariachis through the streets of Santa Fe and through the plaza. We were a huge group drawing a lot of attention, stopping traffic, people cheering and the mariachis keeping the music going.

The outside of the Loretto Chapel

Onlookers across the street, we felt like a big deal

Decorated Pedicab with the brides headed to the reception

The procession, quite the scene! 

The reception was at La Posada, which could not have been any more beautiful! My photo taking motivation quickly dropped off at this point, but the venue had an outdoor tent and indoor dance area which was perfect for the evening reception. The food was some of the best wedding food I had ever had- and the cocktails and available agua fresca was fantastic. 

Another part of this wedding that I thought was so well done- were the main of honor speeches. Perfect length with some of the most touching words. The night was a wonderful celebration (complete with s'mores)! 

These Are Some of My Favorite Things

♥ An adorable shop in Old Town, Red Barn Mercantile had these amazing coasters, that may need to come into my home to proclaim my west coast loyalties. 

♥ A great read on the love we all deserve. 

♥ If I could print money, this could be a strong contender for my Sun Valley home.

♥ A personalized cup for my favorite drink! Maybe someone will want to gift me a late birthday present?

♥ I bought this shirt in a powder blue a few weeks ago, and I am so in love with the fit and texture--I went and bought two more so I made sure to have my closet stocked with them! 

♥ A few years late to see this movie, I was pleasantly surprised. Not to mention John Hamm is an outstanding jerk on screen- it is clearly his thing.