My Favorite Little Trip.

This year, just like last, I took a week off of work after my little loves graduated so that I could enjoy some free time before I head back to the preschool for summer session. Thankfully, Weston and I were able to sneak in our annual trip to Palm Springs before endo realized I was having too much fun and immediately had to shut the party down on Sunday night.

We stayed at Avanti which is our all-time favorite hotel but we had a lot of fun exploring The Parker too! It's mid-century style made me feel like we had stepped right into an episode of Mad Men. We got to try out some gluten-free pizza at Birba, downed some margaritas at El Jefe, and spent most of our time in the pool since it was about 105 degrees the whole time we were there. It was wonderful and I felt pretty well up until our last night, which was really amazing!

We had also planned a short getaway to Las Vegas this week since our last attempt a few years ago accidentally became a turnaround trip thanks to endo and I still haven't been! But what do ya know, we had to cancel last minute due to my pain. Again.

Endometriosis : 2
Las Vegas : 0

One of these days I will make it there! Until then, I will continue reliving these fabulous days in Palm Springs and keep counting down to my surgery. Less than 2 months, friends! Can't believe I might be pain free in 46 days! :)

Do you have any trips planned for this summer?

Also, I'm reading Necessary Lies for a book club with my aunts! Has anyone else read it? I'm excited to discuss it with all the ladies next week and would love to get your take on it if you've read it before. Have a nice weekend!

Engagement Fiesta.

When I was little, I very much wanted to be Mexican. I used to beg my parents to call me "mija" and I'd plead with God to turn my eyes brown while I was sleeping and while he was at it, he might as well tan my skin a little bit too, pretty please?

Now that I'm marrying Weston, his family has informed me that my dreams are coming true and I am finally going to be an (honorary) Mexican. Yay! So to celebrate our engagement, our parents threw us an adorable fiesta in the Amaro's backyard. Our extended families got to meet each other and spend the afternoon enjoying delicious food made by The Taco Man and Weston's Abuela brought the most delicious rice and beans! It was so special to have our loved ones all in the same place. Probably one of my favorite days ever!

Before the party, I made myself a fresh flower crown. Since I'm probably never going to go to Coachella, I figured this was my only chance to wear one and I wasn't going to let it pass me by. ;)

I am loving every second of life these days. 

Even my endo days have so much happiness baked into them now! Last week I missed several days of work but I was able to stay wonderfully busy from my bed working on different odds and ends and Pinterest-ing, of course. :) After he proposed, Weston insisted that we've waited long enough to make this official and we shouldn't take our time with a long engagement, so if you can believe it, we are going to be married this fall!

Yep. We're tackling out-of-state surgery, house hunting, and marriage all in the next 6 months.

Are we a little crazy? Absolutely. But am I having the time of my life? You betcha. 

We're Getting Married!

I always thought that I would know when to expect a proposal.

Not that Weston isn't good at surprises, but because I am so good at figuring things out. ;) I guess I just assumed something would be out of the ordinary - he'd be nervous, or he'd plan something special for us to do that would tip me off, or he'd be extra affectionate that day..

Well, we are engaged! And I was 100% completely blindsided.

Weston picked me up for our favorite kind of Sunday morning - brunch in Downtown Claremont, followed by a stroll through my go-to farmers market. We chatted over champagne cocktails at breakfast and afterward, Weston offered his arm to me and we walked through the market, sampling food from different vendors and purchasing some fruit.. and of course, sunflowers too.

The streets downtown and near the Claremont colleges are notoriously pretty. Gorgeous old houses, little white fences, brick buildings, and big trees that hang over the streets. We were making our way back to the car when I asked Weston if he'd take a picture of me with my flowers. He was strangely compliant and actually suggested that we find a really pretty place to take the photo! So we wandered a few streets over, where nobody else was walking, to take a few pictures before heading home.

I asked if we could take a photo together and was trying to gather the rest of our market loot to display in our picture ("just let me grab the cherries really quick…") when I heard him say from behind me, "I have something a little bit better…"

I turned around to see the small box in his hand.

He shared a few sweet words with me before asking me the big question and my answer, of course, you already know.
I hugged him for a few minutes (lots of shocked "oh my gosh"-es) before he laughingly reminded me, "Don't you want to see the ring?"

While we drove to my house afterward, to celebrate with my family, Weston turned on my favorite song which I always listen to on my happiest and most monumental days and that's when it hit me and I suddenly started crying. And not to totally rat anyone out, buttttt let's just say I wasn't crying alone… ;)

Weston had spoken to my parents about his plans the day before, so when we arrived at the house my brother met us at the door, champagne in hand. My parents were blasting Marry You on our living room stereo and having a family dance party that the Bravermans would be proud of.

A little while later, we headed over to Weston's house, where his family was having a little get-together and we got to share our news with all of them in person. My family joined us shortly after and we spent the rest of the perfect afternoon celebrating with the people we love most.

Thank you so much to everyone who has congratulated us and sent us well wishes these last few days.
We feel very lucky to have so much support and love in our corner as we plan our lives together! xo

The Last Bit of Winter.

After a few rainy weekends got me feeling like maybe it isn't springtime just yet, I convinced my family to spend a Sunday searching for snow in the local mountains with me. It didn't take long before the raindrops turned into snowflakes, sprinkling down onto our windshield and little dusty patches of white made appearances along the sides of the road.

After a quick detour in a neighborhood where my dad used to vacation as a kid, we ended up just pulling off to the side of the main road and finding a calm and quiet spot to explore while the snow fell on us.

I think I've seen snow fall more in the last 6 months than I have in the last 6 years of my life haha.
(…which is only like 2 times, but still.)

I know the idea of wanting to (or let alone, having to) search for snow is ridiculous to most of the U.S., who is more than ready for sunshine and spring, but I'm okay with one or two more chilly, rainy, weekends before the sun comes out to stay around here, Mr. Weather Man. ;)

It's been a pretty long time since I made a little video, but here are some moments we filmed during our cold adventure today. It should probably just be called, "The O'Connell Family Experiences Weather." But maybe you'll think the snow is as pretty as we did. :)

Huntington Run/Ride.

The other day my brother and I were browsing Instagram. Particularly, lurking around the profile of our cousin, Rachel, who is currently making her way through Italy. "Look at this!" Nolan said, regarding a gorgeous photo of one of the canals, "Can you imagine how amazing it would be to live there?" I sighed longingly at the picture. "I bet the locals take it for granted," I replied. I didn't mean it in a skeptical way, but I think many people stop acknowledging beautiful things in life once they've experienced them frequently enough.

Example? Nolan and I had this conversation on a gorgeous, 70 degree, sunny day in January.

We are clearly not immune to a lack of appreciation for our home. 

Now, don't get me wrong. California is no Italy… But it has it's moments. 

And sometimes, it hits me how much I love it here and I try to take advantage of what my home has to offer.

A couple weekends ago, Weston and I went down to the beach for one of our favorite pastimes - he runs, I ride my bike to keep up, and we rack up a few miles together. The sun set as we rode on the nearly empty trail - a path with sand on either side. The sound of the ocean and salty air in our faces.

Lake Tahoe : Part I

In an effort to take advantage of a few mutual days off work during Thanksgiving weekend, Weston and I road tripped up to Lake Tahoe. We both went into it with no real ideas about what to expect since Weston had never been there and my only previous visit occurred when I was 4 years old, but the town was even more beautiful and refreshing than I had imagined it would be.

We stayed at a cute little hotel in South Lake called Basecamp. Our first night in town was spent exploring the little shops and restaurants in Heavenly Village. Pizza, wine, and chocolate truffles in our bellies, we watched people circling an outdoor ice rink, admired the christmas decorations, and visited every firepit we came across for at least a moment or two.

The next morning, after breakfast, we took the Heavenly Gondola up to the top of the mountain. We had no idea how high this thing was actually going to take us until we were at the top… and then realized we were only halfway to our destination, haha. This was something that got recommended to us several times when we were planning our trip and afterward, we agreed it was worth the hype. After a scenic stop halfway up the mountain for a breathtaking view of the lake, we got back on the lift and continued all the way up to the ski lodge. We sat inside drinking hot chocolate and watching skiers and snowboarders make their way up and down the slopes for a while before heading back down to the snowless foot of the mountain.

Afterwards, we headed to lunch at Sonney's BBQ. I mention the name because it was seriously delicious and if you go to South Lake Tahoe, you should try it out. Weston said that if he could only eat one meal for the rest of his life it would probably be their pulled pork sandwich.

As we pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant, little snowflakes slowly started to fall. I was really trying to contain my excitement until one of the guys who works at the restaurant came out and exclaimed, "Yes, awesome! Snow! Woohoo! Nice!" If the locals can geek out about it, SO CAN I.

They seated us inside, next to a cozy fireplace and a nice big window so I could stare longingly outside in between starting at Weston, silently willing him to please-eat-faster-because-in-case-you-didn't-know-it's-snowing! This is probably a funny thing for you non-SoCal friends to read about, but I have only seen snow fall maybe once in my life and before this day, Weston never had! So we were thrilled to our cores.

After lunch, we crossed the street to venture into a forest of trees and explore in the snow. Trying to keep my camera dry was a funny process, but by the end of it, we were such pros that we even threw together a contraption that held my umbrella over the tripod so we could get a few pictures of ourselves via self timer - just like the locals do! Right? ;) 

I also got my first pair of rain boots for my birthday and this was my first chance to use them 

so there may have been a significant amount of puddle-jumping while in Tahoe.

^ This picture was right after Weston slipped off of a branch he had been standing on. Outtakes are usually my favorites and this is not an exception. :)

It was pretty magical. I wish I could have put some of that snow in my pocket and saved it forever, but these pictures do a really good job of taking me right back to the happiest moment of our trip. 

More of Tahoe to come.

Orchards.

In the last few months, I've caught myself nestled deep in a creative slump. Between all my other priorities and responsibilities, I find myself struggling to come up with content for this blog that didn't come from my iPhone and get clumped into some, large, "catch-up" post about what I've been up to after disappearing for months. What I'm trying to say is : it felt really good to have my camera in hand last weekend and I'm so excited to be sharing these pictures with you… If anyone is still reading this thing… Hello out there!

On Sunday, Weston and I drove out to Oak Glen to spend a brisk, cloudy afternoon exploring the orchards. As a born-and-raised Southern Californian, the slightest glimpse of fall excites the heck out of me, so as soon as red and yellow leaves started making appearances on the trees we drove past, I was pumped. This year, we made it in time to actually see some apples still hanging in the orchards too! Which was a success in comparison to our last apple picking attempt, ha! We browsed around a few different orchards and I even convinced Weston to stalk (get it?!) through an overpriced corn maze with me. Anything in the name of autumn, right?

^ the "my hands are freezing" pose ^

That last picture of me and Weston is proof that if some random mom, struggling to keep her two children from wringing each other's necks offers to take your picture as you walk back to your car…. you should say yes. No matter how awkward it is to smile at her while her boys literally throw each other in the street during a game of those-are-my-apples-no-they-are-mine. Because she may surprise you by taking a pretty good picture! 

Our first, highly anticipated, glimpse of the season has been wonderful. 

My room is always the coldest in our house (not to mention, I'm always the coldest person in our house anyway) and after our day in Oak Glen, I actually pulled my heated blanket out of storage! It is probably my favorite thing during this time of year. I mean, preheated sheets?! Come on! Keeps my little icicle toes warm all night! ;) 

Please, oh please, stay for a while, Fall.

No more heat-waves. I love you so.