the phoenix wedding reception.

last friday richard and i headed to the airport early to fly to phoenix for one of my college roommates wedding reception. kristin and her now husband had been married 3 weeks earlier in hawaii with just a few close family and friends, so now they returned meaning it was time to celebrate! we were both super excited to get out of town and be with some of the people we love the most. it turns out that now my best friend and richards best friend now live in phoenix as well so we would be surrounded with great people all weekend. 

my best jessica picked us up at the airport in mesa friday late morning. we flew allegiant air which meant we were headed to a tiny airport on the outskirts. note to everyone, do not ever fly allegiant unless you have to! they have terrible customer service, tons and tons of fees, and that $25 flight they tell you it is will be $130 by the time youre finished. anyway jessica collected us and we immediately headed to my favorite place from college, oreganos! seriously, its like an institution in flagstaff and they have a few in phoenix which meant that was the 1st place we went to for lunch. it was just as delicious and amazing as we remembered! 

alfredo the dark!

afterward we hung around downtown tempe and mill avenue then headed to a bar to watch the suns basketball game. we stopped in a candy store and bought bertie bots to try and gross each other out with jelly beans that tasted like dirt and earwax! it was great to walk around and just hang out with jessica. that evening we headed back to mill avenue with some of jessicas friends to celebrate her birthday that was actually the day before. since graduating college we havent seemed to be in the same place for each others birthday, so of course we had to celebrate. that night richards best friends mike and lora also got to join us! it was seriously fun night:)

happy birthday to my spouse!

cute, cute!

my love.

saturday morning i woke up and got a few miles in before everyone was up. we met jessicas family at a great mexican restaurant not long after for her birthday lunch at a great mexican restaurant. i hadnt seen her family in quite awhile so it was fun to see them again :) afterward we headed to a huge mall nearby to just walk around for a bit. we had such a huge laugh in 1 of the accessory stores where jessica and i, even richard tried on ridiculous headpieces and funny headbands. we may have spent a little too much time there because after grabbing richard wayyy too much chick-fil-a we were a bit short on time to change and get to the reception on time. 

we arrived maybe a couple minutes late, but luckily it didnt officially start for a bit after 5p. none of us were exactly sure how the night would go, i had never been to only a reception before so i was interested to see the whole evening. kristin had made the best guest book i have ever seen and something that was sooo her. she and sean were dressed party clothes and were walking around to greet everyone:) there werent assigned seats so we could sit where we liked and watch all the people come in. they started with a fun game to get everyone going and get the order of tables going to eat where a member from each table had to grab something from the audience like a salt shaker or a mans tie. each time the participants went to grab something a chair was taken away so in the end there was only 2 left. jessica was our representative and lasted a few rounds, but not quite to the end. 

the super cute guestbook!
each person gave a thumbprint to look like a balloon
all to follow the volkswagen:)

dinner was delicious plus we got to see the bride and groom of course. the mood of the whole evening was light and airy plus everyone seemed to have a really good time. dancing soon began which of course always a good idea. we all joined in and danced the night away bringing back lots of college memories:) on our way home we decided to go see american reunion, omg hilarious! it was great to be with 2 of my favorite people to see such a hysterical movie. 

the first dance :)

roomies!

photobomb.

sean, our honorary roomie, hehe.

my date:)

more photobombs, ha!

too cute!

the next morning we met mike and lora for breakfast at the waffle house! it was sooo good and we got to spend time with everyone. we headed back to mike and loras after to spend the afternoon with mike while lora went to work. although we didnt really much, if anything at all, it was sooo great to just hang out. all to soon we had to head to the airport to come home. this weekend was so many things for both of us. spending time with such great friends made both richard and i remember to always make time for the ones we love the most:)

phoenix friends = best friends!

the small town of york.

ever the planner and tour guide, nate had lots of things planned for us throughout the week. now in the beginning it sounded like a great idea to see all these places, i just didn't realize how much we were cramming into 1 week lol. but if youre going to be in england, you must make the most of it!

world traverlers!

when i studied aboard in 2005 we spent most of our time in london which is where we lived anyway. so with the offer of new cities i was super excited to do some exploring and see what the rest of england looked like! york was our next stop and sooo much different than the big city we had been in. lots of little streets and sweet shops for us to see and check out!

we met alyse, her husband brad, her mom, and sister megan there, they had flown in after us so we could meet them there. now our group had grown to 13! we were quite the traveling pack haha. we made a spot in the middle of town though to meet a couple times throughout the day as we knew could never stay together. this made it soooo much easier to see anything we wanted on our own. the big group (and growing) was starting to get to me a little, i wont lie, so to be able to do what i wanted for the day was great. andrea, nick, and i gladly split off on our own.

my gingerbread chick!
i told you they were crazy about easter hehe :)

we started at the absolutely beautiful church in the center of town. after gathering a map from the tourist center we set off to do some exploring. the town was packed with people everywhere even on a fairly overcast and chilly day. we walked around enjoying the shops and the sights. it was nice to be in a smaller group and taking our time as we wanted.

the beautiful church in the middle of town.

shambles road.
all the buildings hang over the street!

for lunch we decided to show nick the difference in american food in the uk so we ate at pizza hut. i am telling you people it tastes sooo much better there! its thinner in a good way and the taste is more even, i know that sounds weird haha. afterwards the two of them decided to head to a coffee shop and do some reading so i went on a shopping mission. we hadnt really had time to do real shopping since we got there and i was excited to explore some fashion i could actually afford. (i mean as much as i love harrods, i couldnt afford an inch of something in that place haha!)

one of the store windows,
chick-fil-a anyone??

the group met back up at 3p to have a snack at bettys tea room and it was delicious! i was all set to have some ice cream, weird i know, till she wheeled over the dessert cart and i saw the chocolate cake. it was all over. and nates dad actually had some tea he didnt drink so we shared. i swear they just make it different over there. it is all soooo good!

lemongrass ginger, yum!

we disspersed again for a little while longer and i was definitely wearin. with my run that morning and day 3 of touristy things i was tired. amanda and i browsed some more shops and returned to the next meeting spot about a half hour early to score some free wifi. its a hot commodity haha! once everyone returned we attempted to find somewhere to eat. now for a group with 13 people that is quite a feat in england. they dont have huge restaurants like we do in the states. and everything closes very early. by the time we remet at 6p all the shops were closed and many of the restaurants were already serving a smaller menu, it was very weird to the americans haha!

dinnertime!

we settled on a pub that turned out to have delicious hamburgers and a hilarious waiter. he dealt with all our questions and changes so well. finally it was time to head back to the train and return to durham. we were all very ready to get back to st johns and rest for the evening. we had an early rise the next day for edinburgh!!

the tree lighting.

after returning from a somewhat bummy ending to the thanksgiving weekend, it was time for one of my favorite things to do of the year, put up the christmas tree.  while driving home i had seen all kinds of friends posting things on facebook about their trees and could not wait to add mine.  we had already decided to put up the tree and decorations when we returned from california, which i could not be more excited about!  plus i was excited about really having our apartment decorated.

we had been buying for awhile, as you know.  but it seemed like when we really thought about it, we didnt even know what we had.  we finally purchased our last piece, the tree while in california.  we were definitely ready to put all of our things together.

once we got home we unloaded the car, we tried to get a few things organzied before completely undoing a whole nother set of things.  putting together the chirstmas tree with my dad and brother has always been one of my best childhood memories.  after that my dad and i always put the lights on together.  and by lights, i mean tons.  i was really excited to start this new tradition with richard.  we had returned home with chick-fil-a that i knew richard would eventually be taking over to friends that evening as well, we had a lot to do.

we decided to put the tree together first, as it was the biggest and the most center piece.  finally opening the box we realized this was going to take awhile.  there was metal pole, a topper, and each row of branches had 6 pieces to attach to the center pole.  im pretty sure there was at least 8-10 rows.  about an hour later...we finished the tree, there was so much fluffing once all the branches were attached.  this tree had also pretty much taken over our whole living room.  we knew the measurements of the tree, but didnt really understand what that would look like until we had the tree assembled.  it was right about that moment richard realized it was already time for him to go.  i hadnt realized he was going to leave so soon after we got home or i never would have started the tree process.  however while he was gone, i was very firm on not doing anymore without him.  this was our first decorating together.

once he got back he decided to put the lights on the outside while he still had warm clothes on.  we had rope lights to go around the pole on the balcony and blue and white icicle lights to hang off the edge.  it was so much easier said than done.  first we couldnt get the rope lights connected to light up.  then they kept falling apart.  the 2 of us are damn near hanging off the balcony to get the rope lights to wrap around the pole.  and every time we do they fall apart again.  then there is no way to attach the icicle lights.  we have a drill that we borrowed from my dad but he is sure the stucco is going to break.  then he is drilling on the bottom of our wall to see if it will even work.  im telling him he needs holes on the top of the ledge for the nails to hold the lights there and he is telling me none of it is going to work.  needless to say it was your typical first decorating experience.

after we decided the rope lights were wrapped around good enough we started with the lights on the tree.  i have been doing this part every year, forever, while it had been a few years for richard. we had quite a few strands of different lights between the multi-colored, blinking, and white, they overlapped a lot.  we also realized we did not have nearly enough for such a large tree.   i will say, he did a very good job.  except for the fact he kept saying we needed to turn the lights on before putting them on the tree because then you could see where they need to go.  and i kept saying you do the big lighting at the end.  either way the tree came out beautiful.

we didnt have any ornaments for the tree that day.  in my family every year while growing up you got to buy one new ornament for the tree.  this way when you moved out you had your own starter collection, which had not been unpacked at my parents house yet.  richard and i decided to make it a blue theme this year, thinking we wouldnt have enough ornaments to really decorate the tree, we just hadnt purchased them yet.  we placed our other decorations, the train, the gingerbread house, and a few other things, but realized that we really didnt have that much.  it was becoming more and more apparent that this is really one of those things you acquire over time.

looking back now, im realizing i could have been a lot more flexible.  like who cares if the lights are lit when you decorate the tree.  or if he wants more white lights, it doesnt matter.  or if the ornaments he does put on there hang off the bottom all awkward.  and yes a pre-lit tree would have been a lot easier, but that takes half of your memories away.  for our first christmas together, it was perfect.

the thanksgiving weekend adventure part 2.

i did not realize how many things happened in such a short amount of time!  continuing on...

after we finished our own black friday shopping we headed back to the hotel to see what the rest of the family was up to.  the original plan was to hang out near the beach friday and then saturday wake up and head to pasadena to revisit memory lane and stats.  when we got back to the hotel we realized that things were quickly changing, as they often do in my family.  there were so many things we wanted to do and just not enough time.  we went to lunch with my aunt and uncle, while deciding to forgo the original plan and go to pasadena/stats that day and go to the swap meet on saturday instead.  i wasnt sure how ready richard was for this adventure, but he was all in, especially with the hour nap we took on the way up while mom drove!

once passing the panda we got lost driving around downtown pasadena trying to remember which street stats was on.  upon finding and fighting with my sometimes lame brother we were ready to enter.  now by this time stats had been built up so much for richard.  we used to go all the time growing up, it was my favorite christmas store on the planet.  it has everything you could ever want in a christmas store.  it was to the point though that i was afraid he was going to be disappointed when we took him in there.  we kept telling him how fantastic and amazing it was, what if he thought it was the lamest place on the planet?  i was so excited to share that and the whole pasadena experience with him, but wasnt sure he was excited at all.  living in las vegas as long as we both have you cant really take a person home and show off your whole life.  this was going to be my chance, the same chance he had when we went to florida over the summer.  it really was the whole weekend, my chance to show off my family and previous life.

once we got into stats he was totally engulfed.  everywhere you looked was amazing displays and more christmas decorations than any place i had ever seen.  he loved it, thank goodness.  we only bought a few decorations, the cash register can total up quite quickly there, but they were going to be great in our apartment.  we later ate at a fantastic italian restaurant with my family, nice to get away from the big huge family.

saturday morning we got up bright and early to go the orange county swap meet.  mom and kyle had decided we should all go together.  i walked across the street from our hotel for coffee and a few breakfast goodies, while richard moved his car into the ralphs parking lot.  there was only 1 vehicle allowed in the hotel parking lot and he didnt want to pay the meter all day to keep it on the street.  so off to the orange county fairgrounds we went.  now this is not your ordinary etchy sketchy swap meet.  this is a magical land with real furniture, serious name brand perfume, sunglasses shops at every other booth, cars, backyard landscapes, socks, california t-shirts, and kitchenware.  i love wandering around this place and if you get there before 8am its free.  this was another place i was afraid richard would not like.  he would get bored or not find anything or think it was all to expensive for a traditional swap meet (which this one in its location is anything but).  but he loved it!

afterwards we decided that we needed to hit rogers garden, another one of my favorite places, but we were hungry.   we needed to hit chick-fil-a at some point that day, because they were closed on sunday, and richard had to have it when were down there.  so we convinced my mom and brother to go while my dad drove up to where we were to go to rogers garden.  he even got a souvenir shot. 

shortly after we joined dad at rogers garden and was totally impressed with all the new things they had come out with this year.  now mind you this is not a place you expect to walk out with a lot of things either.  its more of a look and marvel along with a few things you can actually afford.  richard did however find one of the coolest christmas trees ever, an itree.  like made in conjunction with apple.  you could actually hook your ipod up to it would coregraph the light blinking to the music, it was awesome.  and i got a souvenir shot at rogers garden.

we finished up fairly quickly after, we needed to head to grandpas house for turkey day part 2.  see originally we would do thanksgiving on thursday, well then family started to move to other parts of california or out of state and it became harder and harder to do it on thursday.  so we created saturday as our big official get together out at a restaurant so no one had to cook twice.  we have been doing it for close to 5 years now, expect this year was going to be at grandpas house again, it was a little weird.  we all trekked over there and hung out for the evening.

we left pretty early heading back to laguna and decided we all wanted to go out for a drink.  richard and i stopped at ralphs across the street to move his car in front of the hotel because you did not have to pay for parking after 7pm, and we figured it couldnt be good to leave it over night.  i dropped him off and went to park moms car.  he met me back in the parking lot pissed as all get out because his car had been towed!  he instantly started yelling and throwing things on the floor, and blaming me that i had told him to park in there.  now yes, i will take some responsibility that i did say to park there, or we could go and try to find a place in the neighborhoods above our hotel.  my parents were walking back from parking my dads car and saw what was happening, my dad turned into an instant im right dad mode with, well shouldnt have parked there.  while they were no help i walked away trying to find richard, who was still pissed as all get out at me and the whole situation.  i convinced him to go into ralphs and ask if they know the towing company phone number so we can try and track down his car before we need to leave the next day.  meanwhile my parents came over offering to help and what did we need.  we needed to borrow moms car if we could track down his mostly, and mom offered to take me home the next day if richard wanted to leave that night, which i was praying he wouldnt leave without me.  he called the number they gave him and someone actually answered.  we were able to go that night, which was a miracle they were open 24 hours.  he clearly needed space, still throwing things and really upset, so i went across the street to the hotel parking lot and told him to let me know when he was ready.

no car ride had ever been so silent as it was on the way to the towing place.  after getting lost and finally finding it we had to call someone to let us in.  as if the ordeal wasnt sucky enough, the car is in his dads name and the new registration had not arrived at the apartment by the time we left for the weekend, so we werent even sure they were going to let us have the car.  luckily the guy did not ask for any kind of car info, just ricahrds id and cash.  we got into our respective cars and drove back to the hotel with tears in my eyes the whole time, sure he was going to blame me forever.  i had asked my family if they could give us the room for a little bit so we could talk and they could leave us alone.  they decided they were going to go to wahoos fish tacos and then we could meet up with them to go to the bar.  once we got back he had decided he was going home that night, he needed to work the next day, and honestly i think he was still really mad at me.  i couldnt imagine him driving home like this and without me.  i finally convinced him to sit down with me on the bed and just think for a minute.  well thinking turned into a little bit of talking, which turned into more talking, and crying-on my part.  i had been determined to leave with him, whenever he was leaving.  i felt if he left without me, we would be in serious trouble.  after the talking and the reassuring of both of us and our relationship, thankfully, he decided to stay.  he also dropped being so mad at me, and i finally caught on that it was a lot more at the situation rather than just me (its the natural girly thing to do).  he realized that you can make a mistake and i wasnt going to leave, it was going to make us stronger.  and i realized how much i truly love him and that he was really opening up to me.  this was a big step for us, able to turn something that was potentially really sucky to something that didnt need blame on either person.  besides, we could always blame ralphs and the towing company instead.

my parents came back to pick us up and tried their best to make light of it all.  richard realized they were just trying to make him feel better, and laughed a little, i think he thought they were going to make the situation a blame on him.  he was going to come out, have a drink, or 7 with us and we would go home together rather early in the morning. while out with my parents, brother, and aunt and uncle, we both let it go.  he turned to me at one point and thanked me for being me and caring and believing as much as i did.  i looked at him in that moment and knew that we were going to be ok, we were going to get through this.

we drove home the next day with an uneventful trip.  we also realized this was the first trip we were taking together and would be able to go home together.  no dropping each other off at our own houses, we could go home together.  and that night we would be able to sleep in the same bed, we couldnt in the hotel, we arent married yet, you know.  now it was time for our next adventure, decorating the apartment for christmas, the first one in our place together.