The Capener Caboodle

Christmas & New Years 2011

2012-01-19T00:05:00.000-07:00

I should probably post about our holidays before another holiday comes, then another one..and so on. And I'm sorry it's an overload of instagram pictures, but that's what seems to be happening in my life, more than blogging. Whoops!

We started the celebrating off the Sunday we left for Utah. We had a Christmas breakfast at my parents, and opened a few presents. I was bummed I'd be without my little Asher man for Christmas, so I had to take a few photos with him before we left. We tried getting the perfect one, but I thought each one was perfect because he's SO DANG CUTE! I mean look at his baby blues!

Then off to Redlands that day to be with Drew's Dad's side of the family for a Christmas dinner and sleep-over before we were off to Utah for 10 days! This is Lady just before leaving Dana Point. She was a little anxious because all of her belongings were in the back of the car! Not even a photo can explain how crazy the back of the car was. Boxes upon boxes were falling on her. We had all of the gifts for friends, family and gifts from grandma & grandpa from Redlands, and a huge trash bag full of driftwood, suitcases, her crate & toys and nasty food and everything you can ever think of. We really could have just started somewhere new with what we had in the car.

Mocha Mousse Pudding- one of my MIL's recipes that I made while there. Love it so much. can't wait to make it with anyone that wants to eat it (with my new kitchen aid) !

Loving my new $10 scarf that seriously kept me SO WARM the entire trip. Driving into Orem when I took this photo. That wasn't very pleasant, but atleast I had my new scarf!

Love Hazey! She was about to go sledding with Abby on the golf course. Don't you wish you owned that same outfit?

The ribbon (minus the owls) that I bought at this awesome American Craft warehouse sale in AF. Only in Utah does things like this happen. So I had to spend $$. Just this one time. I bought much much more than that. Shoot.

Cookies Jessie & Abby made. So creative! Wish I could have nibbled on the fox. I love them.

While the family dispersed for a night, we spent the evening with our great friends! SO HAPPY!

Lady & Buckley played (kinda) all night while we were catching-up, eating and playing nerts. We'll see how they play next time. Hopefully Lady won't dominate him again :/

Abby, so cute. On Christmas Eve. I dread the day Christmas isn't as magical for her as it was those few days leading up to it. Dread.

Meeting up with these cats again (and Kaneischa!) to say hello. Asher's parents live so close to Drew's parents. Fabulous!

Brotherly love! Right before church on Christmas morning. I loved that we got to walk to church.

Haha! This photo makes me laugh so hard when I see it because it sums up the trip for Lady. She didn't like being outside (you can only imagine why!) and (unless to play tug-o-war with Lucy) and the whole, waiting at the door til someone comes and gets me was a new thing. AND she and Lucy were always by eachother's side. So happy they played well together, otherwise it would have been a rough 10 days!

Mandarin, my favorite restaurant EVER! With JJ, Halen & Asher. Again, fun night!

Drive home, still in Utah. Thinking in my head (please snow, don't let us see eachother again until next year! PLEASE!)

Not in Utah anymore. Probably in Ca. Lady was loving the sun. We got a lot of good laughs from neighboring cars. She look so big and strong in this picture!

Sunset in Corona, driving back alone because I dropped off Lady & Drew in Redlands so he could spend time with his Dad. I had a wedding to photograph the next day in SD. I had a lot of fun grocrey shopping before I got home so I'd have milk & cereal for the morning.. and then unpacking the entire trip AND suitcases so I could get back into the swing of things. (could you sense my sarcasm?) It was alright. I fell right asleep the second I laid my head down and the wedding turned out awesome! Good ending to a good Christmas vacation.

I photographed Chase & Amy's wedding in SLC..but sadly didn't get one photo with them, because I was the one taking the photos! Anyways- I snagged one with them at their CA reception. So happy for you two!

Onto New Years Eve. We always do the olympic-minute-to-win-it games and this year, we were Indonesia. I wanted to make our outfits this year (since I am the ultimate seamstress..) and they actually turned out pretty fun! I was originally going to have Drew wear the pants that I was making, but since he was in Redlands for most of the day, he wasn't there to try them on. So I scratched that plan (even though I had already sewn them to his sizes) and made them for me. I knew he wouldn't want to wear the ceremonial skirt & shirt.. SO I made a tank top for him :) Haha! He's such a good sport and we looked like a team! 2012, we are going to win. I know it. Get ready Mitch & Lindsay! The title will soon be ours!

The "hand-game". It's been a favorite for the 4 years we've done the olympics! Annnnd...

Drew WON! He was just as shocked as everyone else. So happy he won, and was still wearing his headband AND tank. Thanks babe.

Cute Jade. Asleep before midnight.

Midnight! Standing in our usual spot!

New Years night with Dane & Chelsea playing a fun new game! Glad they could come see us for a few hours and catch up.

And the night got better because Heather & Tay showed up! Thanks Tay for hangin in there when you were so tired! We miss you all!

Laying on the beach at T-Street while Drew was out. Love where we live and wish everyone we love in Utah could live here with us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2012 is our year!

2012-01-02T18:35:00.000-07:00

We were not able to get our Holiday card out to every single family member or friend (or even good friends!), so I thought I'd post it on here just in case. And for memories sake in case it gets lost over the years.

Thank you to my dear friend Amanda for generously taking these photos for us, seriously last minute. We love you and appreciate it! It was an insane few weeks before we left for Utah and we weren't even going to take them. But I gotta keep the tradition up! We loved this photo because Lady was looking right at Amanda. (The whole time she was eating the fennel leaves around us..it was extreme black licorice smelling..)

Happy New Year everyone! This year could either be really eventful for our family of 3, or really boring. Hopefully eventful. We also hope to make more friends and keep the old ones tight to us. Love you all!

December Update

2011-12-20T20:24:00.001-07:00

Not quite sure who really is even reading this blog anymore, so hello if you are. To be honest, I never read blogs anymore. Like ever. Sometimes I will click on a few links on my side bar. Half the time, they haven't updated or there is just too much happening on it I just click out of it. But I definitely have my go-to's.

Anyways.

This last middle of November- now has been the craziest busy I have ever been. Even while in school. I love being busy, but not during the holidays! All I want to do is snuggle and play and sleep in. Guess that's what grown-ups do, is be busy during the holidays right? Shoot.

We are here in Utah (finally!) after months of anticipating Christmas here. Not too snow-y, but definitely very cold. And we have our Lady here! We are excited for games, skiing and lots of quality time. We need a break from everything and it will be nice to just hang out.

Speaking of skiing, we just did a weekend trip in Big Bear with my family, as sort of our Christmas since we wouldn't be there. We spent half a day snowboarding. I finally got to see Drew's mad skills and he was really good! I'm sure he's even better in Utah snow. We also celebrated Micah's 6th birthday. We played a few christmas "minute-to-win-it" games and did a silly game that I'm not supposed to blog about. :) Here are some photos I took from the 3 days:

Half-Birthday

2011-12-10T22:32:00.001-07:00

Today is our little Lady's half birthday. We are in Big Bear right now, and she is at a friend's house for the weekend. So sad we aren't with her but know that she's probably having a good day.. because her days are usually good if she's not getting her face chewed off by some German Shephard at the dog park. Anyways- little Lady- happy 1/2 birthday! We love you!

(Her birthday- June 10, 2011)

Drew snagged this photo during her morning nap while I was at work one day. We had only had her for a couple days.

Kinfolk

2011-12-06T16:06:00.001-07:00

Have you heard of Kinfolk? Go check it out here. And see this video on their website, love watching it. Drew was just hired by them to do some web stuff and needed a simple photo of him to go on their website- to add to their collection of designers, photographers, marketers.. etc. It's really cool. While I've been a busy elf in our office doing my etsy stuff, Drew's been doing Kinfolk work. Right after we took the photos today, one of their books was sent to us! So exciting! Drew immediately thought to give it to my dear sister in law for a gift, but sorry, I love it too much! It says "A Guide for Small Gatherings". Hello. Totally me. Not too big, but not too small of a gathering is my kinda gathering. So we will definitely be admiring this on our coffee table and at our bedtime readings.

Lately with Lady

2011-12-03T16:23:00.001-07:00

Lately, life has been nothing short of BUSY. I feel like my old self again, while at school I mean. When we first moved here, all I did was sleep in, go to the beach, come home, take a nap, and do it all again before bed time. I was a little worried that that was my new life. Now, I wake up at 7 sharp, we switch off mornings of taking Lady out, and the etsy shop-making stuff making begins. Or I get called into Anthro. All I want to do is wrap all the presents we've bought for our family and friends (yes, we are totally done now!) and drink hot cocoa and catch up on old shows and blog. I am loving this etsy stuff though. I've purchased a lot, yet sold a lot, so I feel like I'm justified in shopping online.

Thanks to my lovely Drew, our fake tree is up and I decided this year to not put any ornaments on it because I think it's so pretty just plain. He said he thinks that's the German way of decorating trees. THEN, I saw the "holiday" box in the garage, and saw all the ornaments Drew's bought for me in the past. We bought one in Bali (it's a mermaid, I love mermaids!) and he usually each Christmas, buys us a snowflake ornament. I now have a Swedish one and a wood one. I love them. So, our tree is no longer simple and pretty, it's cluttered with only about 8 collected-over-time ornaments. And, our tree is also in a basket because we have no idea where the bottom went. Go us!

Did I mention that our house has never looked so bad. And I haven't made a meal in probably 3 weeks besides simple bruschetta pasta. Then I have a few family shoots to edit. I want to do it all, but there is just not enough time in one day! The best part is, Lady loves to be near me, always. She switches off though. If I'm not home during the day for a good three days straight (black friday week at Anthro), she becomes very attached to Drew. But otherwise she is at my feet or lap.

Right now, Lady is snoring below my feet on a pillow, in the sun. I have to be very quiet and I'm using the day today to CLEAN. I can't wait, except I can't make any noise or she wakes up and follows me. She is so tired that she gets anxious, because she needs to be by me always! I'm sounding very redundant, right? I feel like this is what it would be like to have a newborn. They need all your attention, always. And when they're napping, it's the only time to get stuff done, like really get stuff done, unless someone else was paying attention to her. But man that dishwasher needs to be emptied so my sink can be emptied, but those dang dishes make so much noise there is just no way. All I can do right now is make the bed because it's quiet.

Here I go. Wish me luck!

I'm in a much need for a vacation in the sun (because I never see it anymore) and with lots sleeping.

(Sorry, there was really no point in writing all this, other than to get it out of my head and listen to my Lady snore. She falls asleep when I'm sitting at the desk.)

Who knew?

2011-11-25T22:19:00.001-07:00

I feel like I've been neglecting my journal by not writing on my blog as frequently as I want. We've been really busy. With puppy and all, life seemed to just got a lot more hectic than it needed to. Who knew that having a dog is probably a lot more stressful than a child? Well, maybe not true, but she's our child, until we have one of our own (which could be centuries from now!) so for now, she is all we talk or think about. I never thought I'd be one of those people, but oh well. Such is life.

I've been selling these burlap stockings on Etsy and had no anticipation of them actually selling. Who knew? So it's been consuming my every moment when I'm not working at Anthro. Ya? You forgot I work there? It's really fun (and I'm still saying this after I worked all day today at black friday), but who knew retail would be so much work? I have a lot more appreciation for employees at the stores I frequent and will forever hang up the clothes neatly on the hangers, hand them my "go-back" clothes, and make sure when I'm on the floor, I will pick up clothes that accidentally fall off the hangers. The list goes on, but those are the main ones that cause my back to ache.

I haven't surfed in weeks. It's killing me and I need to get my body wet real soon before I freak. Then I think about my wetsuit and how it's just not as thick as I'd like. Shoot.

We just visited Utah for an entire week. It was a lot of catching up with family and friends, and a little music here and there. I loved being there and seeing everyone, but I realized a lot more of how much our lives have really changed since we moved, and how our lives are here now, not there. It was weird. I felt like I had gone on vacation for 6 months and was back. Then I had to shake it out of my head and remember our address and our new lives. We missed Lady and never want to leave her again!

Thanksgiving yesterday was really nice. I slept in (well kinda) and I went to feed the homeless with some family while Drew surfed with my brothers. The church that organized the feeding, didn't organize very well, and we weren't needed. So we left. Then I went home and showered and did some more stockings for my etsy peeps, then we headed over to my parents where I continued making stockings, while we watched Ellen and ate junk food. Then over to the Devines for some of G's glorious cooking! I always love spending time there I'm so grateful they're our family!!

Until next time blog..until next time.

Halloween 2011 Part 3

2011-11-15T12:33:00.001-07:00

We spent actual Halloween night with my brother's family in San Clemente. I loved all their costumes, especially little Asher man- an owl! So cute! And by the way- it's much more fun tricker treating with them than waiting & hoping for hours for kids in Dana Point to come to our dumpy little house. It's not dumpy, but I mean come on. You want to go to the nice houses with manicured lawns for candy, or duplexes after duplexes ? That's what I thought.

All photos taken with Sensia 100-expired film

Halloween Part 2

2011-11-15T12:21:00.001-07:00

We had the trunk or treat with our ward.. and we showed up in our home-made skeleton outfits:

The kids were a little scared of us (luckily we didn't paint our faces!) and we sat in our dark beetle trunk with a bucket of candy. We also had some halloween music from our pandora list playing on tiny speakers so really only we could hear it.

A few nights after that, we had "Dinner in a Pumpkin" night at our house with some friends. I sorta made up the recipe to make it for ingredients that I already had, plus making it gluten free and still scrumptious. Boy was it SO GOOOOOD! Probably not the most lean where calories are concerned, but still very good. I'll give you the recipe if you wish!

To see more fun photos from the night, go to Amanda's halloween post.

We had fun telling real life ghost stories in our dimly lit backyard. Luckily it was warm! We were able to stay out there for a while. Now it's too cold..so sad because we had so many fun dinners out there!

Halloween Part 1

2011-11-15T12:11:00.001-07:00

We wanted to keep the tradition alive and carve pumpkins. We've done it every year (see here & here) since we've been married and we're not ready to kick it! So we got together with Ben & Amanda and picked some out in San Clemente and headed back to their place to make masterpieces.

Left to right: Elise, Amanda, Drew & Ben

Drew's Birthday- Big 26!

2011-11-15T11:59:00.001-07:00

My birthday- big 23

2011-11-15T11:22:00.001-07:00

This is almost 3 months late, but whatever. This is how my day went:

11.11.11

2011-11-12T11:44:00.001-07:00

Wasn't yesterday supposed to be a good day, just because of the day? I've been one of those people that notices it's 11:11am or pm...all the time, and I do make a wish. Call me crazy but I totally do it and have done it for about 10 years. So I thought for sure yesterday had to be THE BEST DAY.

I woke up.. wasn't that awesome. I didn't sleep very well, because of our new pup Lady. I haven't told you about her yet, blog, but yes we got her and she loves to snuggle behind our ears and on our necks and spoon with us. It's so cute and fun to wake up with her, but it's really an all night struggle because she snores and wants to use every part of your body as a pillow. She sometimes even shares my pillows.

I'll tell you more about her I'm sure in more posts. This post is just for getting things out of my head.

So I woke up tired and did my Friday ritual of Grey's Anatomy on Hulu. Then Survivor, even though I wanted to run to the store to get milk and eggs..I continued to stay in bed. It was 9 am by now. Then I started doing laundry.. and hadn't showered yet because our shower has been clogged from sand. So that's a joy.

Then I get a call from Anthropologie asking me where I am (at 10:10am).. I was confused because on my calendar I wrote 4pm shift. Dang. Mess up there! So I got ready really fast, like lightening bolt fast and ran out the door. Then, within a mile from my house, I got a ticket for speeding. Dang. I go that fast in that specific area all the time! And I'm pretty sure the rest of traffic was going that fast, I was just the last one before it went red. So that was a joy! Got into work around 11:20 feeling so terrible, my hair a mess because I didn't have time to wash & dry it. When I got out of my car, I stepped on two nasty banana peels that had probably been sitting there for two days, just rotting. That was also fabulous. Then at work, I was not on my A game because the morning was so frazzled for me. I'm totally one of those people that needs to be prepared for EVERYTHING. If any part of my routine gets changed up, I am mind boggled for the rest of the day. But, I went on with it and even cooked dinner last night. But the house is still messy and the laundry is not done. I need to wash my hair (doing that right now!)

I have a lot of film to look at, a lot of the house to clean, and a lot of grocrey shopping. Then I have my ticket to look at so I can schedule a traffic school date, as well as pack for our week trip in Utah. Yipee!

Okay I think I'm done venting. That was nice.

I also have two family portrait sittings listed- 8 in Utah (november 19), and 8 in California (november 26). There are about 4 left for Utah, and all 8 are available for Orange County. See here and here to see details and book me!

Day 16: Ubud, Bali (last day!)

2011-11-10T15:55:00.001-07:00

This was our last day spent in Bali and we were going to get to the heart of it. But first we had to take advantage of the buffet breakfast, and I decided to show you how we ate..like kings & queens! We took more than needed because we are cheap, and hated our sleeping arrangements (loud music) so thought we'd get more out of the money we gave them for each night :)

We decided to see the outskirts and go where the locals go. It was an all day adventure of getting lost, eating food and seeing the COOLEST stuff I think I have ever seen.

Not sure why we were stopped here, maybe it was for directions.

We were on this one main street in the middle of no where and stumble upon these art shops and run down gallery spaces. So we went into a few. Then we went into an antique shop that had items dating back to 700 AD and possibly before then. The owner was Hawaiian so we could talk to her a bit about everything and if we could afford any of it. She said that if we really wanted raw material stuff, like woods and wooden boxes, then we should go to her warehouse. So we did! It was down this dirt road which reminded us a lot of Bingin Beach because there were shacks along the side of them with chickens walking in the puddles. She said "look for the green gate." And we found it! So in we went.

Ever wonder where places like Anthro get their in-store furniture? Um here is where they get it. Just kidding, I have no idea, BUT everything looks JUST LIKE IT there and it's all 95% cheaper! Just get it on a boat and it's yours. When we have a home one day, this is where we will be shopping. No joke. If you want to know exactly where this is, we have the business card and number.

Above are door frames and parts of headboards for beds.

Drew was loving all the deer head. He wanted to bring one home SO BAD.

Above is the wood that they used to duplicate benches & bed frames and doors. The actual wood is really old too. But some of it's not.

I think I stayed by this bench for 15 minutes, just staring at it. I asked him how much it was.. he said 1 million (to use, $100 !!!!!!!!!!!!) I was FLIPPING OUT. I needed it shipped right then and there. But where would I have put it? So that's why we'll be back.

Above is headboards. Amazing!

Those window treatments above are VERY Indonesian. So cool! We were so inspired.

More deer head! These photos were mostly from Drew's camera.

That bird was another piece Drew wanted to take home. It was so big though and I didn't really know what to do with it.

I bought a box from this shelf for only $15 ! It's not really a box, it's like a holder. They used (and still use) them for grinding up this sort of tobacco that is red, and they'd put it all over their teeth. Still not sure what or why but we saw many people (one woman in particular at Bingin Beach who wanted us to pay to drive on her property with our scooter) with red teeth, and then we figured out why when we bought my little crate.

After the amazing warehouse, we headed off to find some grub. It ended up being pretty nasty and we didn't eat much. Drew made an appt. for us to get full body massages so we didn't have too much time.

Now we were off to the spa! Drew let me get my nails done too. I loved it because I felt so dirty.

I knew I wouldn't be much of a massage girl because I am so ticklish. But I knew I wanted something because I had never really had one! My ankle still hurt, so I told her not to push on it or do anything with it at all. Well after that, she barely touched my entire body, while Drew was laying next to me and was getting POUNDED by his lady. I was a little jealous, but it's okay because I probably would have been tickled.

After getting my nails done here, I have decided that all spas should be outdoor. It was so nice having the air on my skin and not smelling all the nasty nail polish stuff. They had a simple pink plastic bucket for the warm water and soap. It was all so genuine and perfect. Drew just sat and watched. They gave us tea and honey dew during our waiting times.

Then we went home to change/pack before dinner. We left our stuff at the front register so that we could leave when we got back from the night so we could stay in a place close to the airport. After we changed, we drove around on our bike on more back/city routes.

This was in a bead shop we became obsessed with. We bought a few mermaid Christmas ornaments and grabbed a business card because they do online bulk orders. Maybe I'll sell them on Etsy? They make so much money and I think a lot of people would love all the things they make, by hand.

Locals playing volleyball.

Here was the most amazing bridge surrounded by jungle, and really close to the city. We wanted to eat dinner on a terrace over looking the jungle, but it was overpriced and empty. Not how we wanted to spend our last night!

We drove around and watched the sunset over these beautiful rice fields and open lots ready for homes to be built on. (Our home? :) Then we found a place to eat, and boy was the food a delight!

I do have a lot of things I wish I could have changed about the entire trip...like for instance, never taking cell phone shots, and only taking them with my film camera. Or packing MUCH lighter than we did. But for the most part, it was a dream vacation and exactly what we needed. Who wants to come with us the next time we go?? :)

Day 15: Ubud, Bali

2011-11-10T15:18:00.001-07:00

Well, our first night in Ubud wasn't the best. The room was so big, as big as our entire apartment we live in right now, if it was all one level. So that wasn't the problem. And we had a nice big bed (two twins put together haha). The problem was our hotel was adjacent to a night club. Loud music played until 3 am. When I called around 1am complaining that we couldn't sleep, they said they would call the club to complain. They called back 30 minutes later saying there was nothing they could do about it. I asked if they could bring two pillows to put over our ears. They brought them 30 minutes AFTER THAT! I was going insane. So we didn't wake up very happy.

Above is the view from our balcony. Behind those trees is a big rice field and the first day we got there, we watched this little boy play with a kite after the rain. It was awesome!

We had to turn the day around and decided the monkey forest is the perfect thing to do! So that's what we did! We rented a bike because we knew we would want to do a lot that day and didn't want to be stuck.

There are quite the quantity of photos so be prepared! I was definitely not as brave as I thought I would be when I was actually with the monkeys. You buy bananas at the front gate, and then stick out your arm, and they literally jump out of no where onto your legs then up to your hand, and eat them ontop of your head or your shoulders. It's amazing! And if you don't watch yourself, they'll take your entire bag of bananas, or your sunglasses...earrings..anything. They love it and we saw one teasing a person with their glasses from up high in the trees.

He was the biggest monkey we had seen! Definitely threw Drew for a loop because it was the first time!

Below: The only time I let myself be vulnerable with the little creatures. I figure if I just sit there, they are bound to come on my lap. And they did!

The monkeys just roam the streets outside of the monkey forest.

And steal bananas from the front gate.. haha.

They say not to touch them with your hands or they'll bite. It was really hard not to when they're sitting on your lap!

Haha that was really funny to see.

Once we were done with the MF, we decided to see what else we could do. So we hopped on our bike and explored a bit.

Above, we were trying to find directions to the "Elephant Caves". We were told they date back very far and we were curious.

We finally got to the Elephant Caves after a scenic route.

Right when we walked in, a tour guide came up to us (he had maybe 5 teeth and smelled like he has NEVER showered EVER.) and told us to follow him! So we didn't really have a choice but to do just that. By the end of it, he asked for money and I think we ended up giving him 20$ because we didn't have change! We were kinda bummed because the entire place we could have gone on our own. But whatever! He was stoked.

We went inside these caves that were SO OLD! I think something like 400 BC. Later on our trail, we bought Trevor these really cool book ends that resemble the caves.

These fields above are EVERYWHERE. So pretty. Everywhere you go is greener than any green.

Below: You had to wear a skirt if your shorts were too short. You can only imagine Drew and how happy he was about this one! It was all part of the experience though because they say this place really is a sacred part of Indonesia.

Above, that was part of this HUGE Budha statue that once sat up on the cliff. It fell down I think in 1970.

We were then led to this wonderful lady where we paid her to give us blessings.

We then went back to the street where our hotel was to get refreshed, and get some lunch. We got some american food at this nice bar/restaurant. And then went to the market to get some souvineers. Did I ever mention I am REALLY good at bargaining? If there was a sport for it, I'd be a gold medalist.

Day 14: Bingin & Ubud, Bali

2011-11-09T14:15:00.000-07:00

We were VERY sad I'll tell ya, about leaving Bingin. Very sad. I remember being 12 and the last day of girls camp would come, and I would be DEVASTATED. Or being 15 and leaving EFY. Or... any other amazing vacation like Mexico or a cruise. The last day is never a fun day. Or even the night before. This doesn't even compare to those times or memories. I felt like I could live there. All I wished for was a cockroach free room and I would be set forever. Even have our babies there and start a family. We literally talked about doing just this and how we really could work where ever we please. Drew works online anyways.. and we could buy a home so quickly, in the most amazing place! BUT then we actually thought about how much we'd miss our family, especially the little ninos our siblings have. So, we left. Sad..

(Poor Drew was eaten alive by skeeters. I had maybe 2 or 3!)

These were the boys that manned the hotel. They also brought up our suitcases on our heads. They loved our music and I told them the next time we come, we will bring them their own music to keep! I felt like we were saying goodbye to old friends that we wouldn't see for a long time. But for some reason, I just know we will see them again!

So, Putu picked us up and off to Ubud we were. We made a couple stops on the way because he likes to show people around, rather than drop us off.

First stop: a fabric-touristy place. They weave and ink and sew and patch...everything there. They make beautiful rugs and dresses...anything. Inside you can buy it all for insane amounts of money, even for us. So we left empty handed. But it was really cool to see!

After a few more stops, we finally made it to Ubud. It's the "art city" of Bali they say. They have one of the largest markets and along the nicer streets are famous australian and indonesian artists in galleries. We knew we would find a good hotel, as it was much more pricey than Bingin. So we took our time finding the perfect one for our last days in Indonesia. It took a few tries, but we finally did. That's a whole different story.

So once we put down our bags, we went straight to find something to eat. Along the way, Drew would see cool typography, like this one below.

I remember it was POURING rain. We were used to that at Bingin, but it was different now because we weren't at the beach. We were now in our clothes, soaking wet. So we waited it out.

Once we were done eating (not the best food, very spicy and just eh.)- we went to check out the famous market.

When we were done with the market, we wanted to find tickets for the fire dance. It's a really popular and very tourist thing to do, but Drew was DEAD set on it because he had heard so many amazing things about it. So off we went!

The tickets were $17 each! That was the most we would have spent this entire trip! But it was well worth it. On the tickets there were ads with discounts on the back for restaurants. We tried one of them, the one we knew would have internet service, because we had just passed it earlier.

We didn't want to get anything big because we just had lunch, so we decided to just get desserts. Drew got some kinda mango ice cream (along with our orange shakes :) and I got black rice pudding. Have you EVER tried any sort of black rice pudding? IT'S SO GOOD! Ever since then, it's been on my mind and I really want to make it. When I do, I'll let you know how it turned out and maybe post a recipe.

Then we were off to the fire dance! It was dark by now and we were told to hurry and get good seats. We waited for a good 45 minutes in our plastic seats until it started, but it was worth it because we were RIGHT next to all the actors and fire.

Intrigued? Ya you gotta see this show for yourself! It's absolutely insane and well worth the money. I'm sure there are other places you can see this besides Bali to see it (like in the US) so look it up and go see it!

Day 13: Bingin, Bali

2011-11-07T08:24:00.001-07:00

This is the Internet cafe we hiked to maybe once or twice. The guy in the middle of the frame is our ice cream man and the guy on the right is from LA was traveling with his wife around the world! It was amazing. They were pretty much spending all they had on this long 2 month trip. And they saved money by staying in little bungalows and hostels. It was really cool. Later that night, we ate dinner with him, and the Swedes that we met.

This is not our room, but the room behind ours. We asked to change rooms for the view, and since it was just behind us and vacant, they didn't see a problem. BUT the fan didn't work like ours did in the other room. Drew was bummed because it was too hot to sleep. So within that same day, we moved back to our old room. Drew was really excited about this room because of the view. The one we stayed in had a balcony to our left that sorta blocked the left part of the view. This one had nothing blocking it. These are the pictures of our 45 minute stay. We were excited to be cockroach free. :/

The guy in the left of the frame is one of the Swedes we met. Did I tell you how we met the two

Swedes? They were friends and staying in the room we wanted to stay in. We were just enjoying the view on the balcony, and Drew heard these two and Wayan (our host) talking and she was convincing them to stay at her hotel rather than everyone else's. They're hard to bargain with, and they tried. When Wayan left so they could decide if they wanted to or not, Drew said something like "It's beautiful here" in Swedish. They were totally caught off guard and then they had a 2 minute conversation. They then figured out he wasn't really Swedish because he started stumbling on his words. This all happened maybe the first or second day we were there.

When we first got down to this spot on the beach, in the morning, a girl was right behind us, like on our heels and you could tell she wanted this spot. Because it was really awkward when we set up camp, because she was so close to us. I later realized it was because she was new at being topless and a little embarrassed. She went and hid behind a rock an hour after we set up.

More hangin out on the beach while Drew surfed!

This guy on the right is awesome. He was the repair man. I have a few shots before this of him without his glasses. When he saw I was taking photos of him, he took out his glasses to put them on and gave me a surfs up sign.

On the left is a prayer they do each morning. They let the incense burn all day.

My poor sliced up foot. A surfer later tried to give me bandages while asking me if I wanted a beer. Tempting, but no thanks. :) Haha

Each day there were waves, these two young men, must not have been older than 23, came out with SUPER long lenses and really nice cameras, with a monopod, and would take photos of the surfers, then go up to them after their session and ask if they want to buy them. They came up to Drew today and so we got to go home with some photos of him surfing!

I loved hanging out with Drew when it got shallow and there were a bunch of a little sea creatures. The last photo was us right before sunset. But let's not cut to the chase here.

My view to my right.

My view to my left. Getting close to sunset and still SO HOT. There's a different beautiful topless woman. Just studying.

Behind me. This was where most everyone hung out to get their meals and alcohol. Wayan and Iyuma didn't like that very much.

When Drew came back. I love him.

These rocks were EVERYWHERE. You better believe I brought some of these suckers home!

Looking over to see when BBQ was starting.

I love Iyuma. I miss her. The women at Bingin beach get their clothes from the tourists. We heard that if you don't have enough change for a meal, they would take your clothes...and that next time we could, we should bring clothes for this purpose! Well, I did have a shirt, and I actually saw Wayan wearing my shirt. I left it in the trash can (nothing else in the trash can) in our hotel room when I knew she was coming to get it.

This was our last day spent at Bingin Beach and I was getting realllllly sad. You don't really willingly leave a paradise like this one. This isn't any trip to Hawaii, or even the Caribbean where you have beautiful beaches, warm water and drinks handed to you whenever you please.. This is beautiful beaches, warm water, exotic people that barely understand you, the most simple hotel, scheduled eating times so they don't have to cook for hours (and they would tell us that), coral rock as most of the sand, monkeys climbing above you on the roof tops and actually seeing them on your balcony (yes that happened to us!).. Drew and I already planned that we would make it back there multiple times more in our lifetime. It's a perfect place for kids too! So yes, we are definitely going back. Hopefully we can convince some of our family to go, if not all!

Day 12: Bingin Beach, Bali

2011-10-25T18:50:00.000-06:00

Another great day waking up in paradise!

We decided we would both go to the town and get food together. I was starting to get a little stir crazy from a very routine two days. I was ready for some cars and streets and different people. BUT I didn't want to be gone too long because I did love it down there @Bingin.

The next 5 pictures were of us once we got to the top of the cliff. Then we had another good mile before we got to a place where we could rent a motorcycle.

Just hangin out with my cows. NBD.

Okay this is a CRAZY story! We were on this path and passed a laundry store (where the people working the hotels and those that lived on the top of the cliffs get their laundry done) and asked if they knew where we could rent a motor bike. They couldn't speak english. But we did see some locals on a bike and figured if we just keep walking that way, we would eventually find a place, or a city. We were lost basically.

Then we see a man on a motor bike and we stop him, asking him if he can point us in the direction of a motor bike rental shop. He stops, looks at us, and points at me to get on the bike. Drew didn't even hesitate! He just tells me get on! Right after i put my arms on his shoulders, bracing myself for the ride, I realize that this could be the end of my life. Here I am on a bike with a complete stranger who doesn't speak english (but understood motorcycle rental?) and there is Drew, yards and yards behind me. I literally was in panic mode. He was driving SO FAST and so far away from Drew. I just remember chickens and roosters on the side of the road as we turned onto what looked like a main road and somewhat civilized. Still going very fast, I was memorizing every street name and paying really close attention in case I had to get back to where we were, especially if I lost Drew. I was really scared. I can't really explain it but everything was moving in slow motion even though we were driving very fast. I was picturing myself on the TV show "I Survived..." where they tell of real accounts that have happened to them and how they survived (attempts at murder, rape, abuse, held at gunpoint..)

Well. Turns out he just wanted to drop me off and then go pick up Drew. I realized this when he starting slowing his bike down to drop me off at this shop. Didn't say bike rentals, but was like a drug store. So I just wait, figuring that he didn't want to just drop me off and leave me here, but he's going to get Drew! AH HA! I felt a bit sheepish for jumping to conclusions, but a little proud of myself for being so attentive in such a scary situation. I really could have got back to where we were in case he did leave me in a ditch to rot & die.

Drew meets me at the place, kinda giggling because he too was freaked out and knew I would be too. So we go on our way with our $15 bike rental for the day (I think maybe even less!).

The above photo is at the gas station. Awesome right? Old vodka & wine bottles used to contain the gas. Someone just sits there all day and naps until a bike or car pulls up.

I was on a search for a water camera because I stupidly left mine at home in Ca! I was SO BUMMED because we were in such a beautiful place with water temperatures up in the 90s and I didn't bring my water camera??? Well, the only water cameras they had were like $30! I was really bummed. They know that we would buy one, but I didn't! So there!

We got back with our treats and sunscreen...only to return to our favorite place. I had a cut on my foot from the day before, so I couldn't surf. I wrapped up my foot with my head scarf I had brought so it wouldn't get infected. Meanwhile, I read a book and watched Drew surf. There isn't much sand to sit on, so I found nooks in the rock that felt like a reclining chair. It was fun!

The locals each morning would be in the water before us visitors. They knew exactly where it would be peaking before we did and would go right to it..then all of the sudden the most amazing would show up. That's when the rest of us would grab our boards and get in the water. It was funny. The boys down there, their life is literally surf, maintain hotels and spear fish. It's really radical.

The above photo is of this woman that would roam the beach each day asking if we wanted sarongs and jewelry. We never did, but the day before this day, we were really sunburned. I mean imagine it..we literally just came from Provo Utah where we had been for so long! No sun for us! So we were baked. We asked her if she knew of any sunscreen or aloe vera nearby..even if we had to walk up that hill. She mumbled something and booked it to the top of the cliff. She came back 15 minutes later with aloe branches and lathered them all of over our bodies. Drew was shy, so I finally just said, he'd love some too. Then THIS day (of this blog post) she brought stuff from her home that was supposedly really good for sunburns. Drew had some crazy bumps that was like a heat rash on his arms, he thinks from playing his guitar in such humidity. Anyways- that's why she's holding that bottle. Then those are her twins that would hang out all day long with people, and asking for things like money and clothes. Haha.

The sunset was UNREAL. You can't tell here because of my stupidity and only having our cell phones down there. But it was so beautiful and loved just sitting there in peace & quiet. Well actually, it wasn't quiet for too long because pretty soon, our hotel's dining area had music blasting of Justin Bieber, only one of his songs. It's his most famous one. We were dying laughing because we were in the middle of no man's land, and Justin's music is blasting? So funny.

After the sunset was "BBQ" time. Each hotel would do it and basically just set up plastic chairs with fold-out card tables on the sand. So we'd go from surfing and laying out, to putting a shirt on and getting some grub. It was perfect. My kind of day. It reminds me of my birthday each year and how we'd go to San O and surf from sun up-to sun down, then eating some of Grandma's quesodillas and BBQ, then cake & ice cream and then leaving when the park ranger tells us to.

I did leave to go get my iPOD because I couldn't handle the only one Justin song- on repeat. Literally. The hotel we were staying in were owned by an Australian family that had this 12 year old son. He is the one that brought the CD with the one song on it. Needless to say, they loved my music. We played some Sharon Van Etten and Middle Brother- my favorite albums at the time. They were seriously LOVING IT! They (the boys that maintained the place) were bummed when we left dinner to go to bed and I wanted to take my iPOD with me.

See below picture. Above the BBQ sign is the dining area if you didn't want to be on the sand. And we'd have to walk up those stairs on the right. It was quite the stairs because they were poorly built. I'm sure they're slowly eroding from the ocean touching it each night. But I loved it! And that white bucket down there is water to dip your feet in so the upstairs wouldn't get sandy. I never dipped it because it kinda grossed me out.. and Wayan and Iyuma would always get so mad at me! Flicking their finger at me.

Each night you go into the cooler and choose a fish you want them to BBQ. They season it with who knows what, but it was quiet amazing. And you basically just pick it apart in the dark. Haha I think they may have had some sort of fake candle but I remember thinking, I can't see what I'm eating, but it's really good! And each night, the fish was only $10 ! We would get shakes and sodas all night. Just rackin up the tab.

Day 11: Bingin Beach

2011-10-24T10:51:00.002-06:00

Waking up in paradise was the best part. I didn't really take any photos this day, but I did take these two. Drew made a trip into town to get water and food while I hung out and read books. We were so far away from any internet..TV.. cell phone service.. It was truly amazing.

We discovered a cockroach in our bathroom. We managed to get it away from the toilet and under the sink cabinet, where it stayed for the rest of our 4 nights. We also managed to figure out that it came out only when we were gone, because it was quiet & dark.. and would hide back under the sink when we hit the door against the cabinet and turned the light on. So that was our ritual every time we had to use the bathroom. Our showers became very quick because the shower has the same floor as the toilet did. :)

Another part of our Bingin trip, we taught this local boy (probably 22) how to play Phase 10. He'd see us playing cards and would take a break from selling popsicles and ice cream to sit with us in the shade. He would always smoke a cigarette and I asked him one time why he smokes. He said that it's just what everyone does! (Which is funny he said that because a few weeks ago I watched an episode on ABC about this very thing.) Then we talked about drugs and if the punishment is really death if you're found with drugs. He spoke in a whisper and came closer to us so no one would hear him talk..but he said it's true and that he's never smoked anything... (then why are you whispering?? Haha) I have a picture of him I'll show you later.

Not sure why they turned out this way.. even when I was a beginner photographer 5 years ago, my film never came out this way. I'm guessing it's from all the x-ray scanning in the many airport trips.

Anyways- more to come!

Day 10: Bingin Beach, Bali

2011-10-21T21:54:00.000-06:00

This was probably one of my favorite days. I knew we would be at some crazy exotic place but to my surprise, it was even more exotic than I could have ever imagined. Yet it felt so familiar to me, because it was straight out of my dreams. It's that kind of place you really can only dream of..so you sort of laugh when it's actually happening in front of you.

Well we left around 10am from Kuta to Bingin Beach with our driver Wayan. It was a long drive, but very scenic.

This here is the God of the Ocean. Love it!

So we get to Bingin Beach and all I remember my brother Mitch telling us is that they stayed at some little bungalow place on the top of the cliffs and they walked down each day to surf. So we checked out each room, like we were starting to get used to from our last visit in Kuta. Each room smelled or urine, and there weren't any sheets, and no roof in the jungly terrain. I'm no city girl, but I'm definitely not a happy camper when it comes to the bed and bathroom. You really start to reconsider everything you believe in, like sleeping on the ground, or a roof, when you're a 3rd world country like Indonesia. I used to think I could tough anything. But this bungalow, NO WAY. I walked in, and the smell of urine was so overwhelming that I walked right out, and shook my head, in front of Wayan, the landowner & Drew. No shame. Well, Drew had already given the deposit and I was sweating through my clothes and all I wanted was to get my body in some water. So I just unpacked quickly to find my suit, and booked it. I walked to the cliff's edge and DYING. The ocean was so close, yet so far away. It was literally a vertical drop, with trees blocking my vision of the path.

The above photo is Drew asking Wayan if he could drive down somehow to show us the hotels on the sand. Well of course, there was no way to drive down there, only to walk to check them out. Frustrate because Drew already paid the lady like 20 or 30 bucks..but I mean come on. The whole reason we came here was to be on the sand. Not a grassy jungle with a gazebo view of the ocean. Remember it's like 99% humidity and 99 degrees outside. So the idea of walking down to check out other options was a dread, but I told Drew, if he made me sleep in that bugalow, I would make for a very unhappy person. And Drew later said that I wasn't overreacting.. so that was good that I wasn't the only one freaking out. Sleeping without a roof is one thing. Sleeping in a room with urine, not so good. Drew also said it was probably the wood and with the humidity, it made the wood smell. Hmm.

So while they were talking, this is what I was looking at.. (below)

What my brother didn't tell us was that the walk down was like a 15-20 minute walk. It's steep, but most importantly, sorta dangerous. You have to watch every step or you'd fall flat on your face, on the rocks. But we did it! And this is what we found:

I remember standing in this little hut over looking the ocean, and just drooling..and also suck down all the water we had left. All we had brought down with us to check out other places was water, some cards to play with, and my camera. And maybe some snacks. But really nothing.

As we were trying to find a place, we soon realized there were like 10 options, all looked relatively similar, so all it was was finding a place that was far away from all the girls & their surfer boyfriends. There were A LOT- topless beautiful women. Later in the next few days, they slowly started disappearing, so really it was just that one day.

Anyways- we find a perfect place..and they tried ripping us off, but we don't do that. So Drew got us a deal..by saying "If we chose your hotel over everyone else's, you have to give us... "It worked! This was us waiting to cool off before we went back out there:

The hotel was a beautiful dark wood with white walls. We had about 5 staircases and one hill to walk up to actually get to our bedroom, but that was A-Ok with me! We later realized we had the nicest hotel on the beach and for only $30 a night? Okay!

All we had was a bed, a fan that was attached to the wall, a balcony to dry our towels and suits, and a bathroom. Not really a roof, but who cares when you have the ocean right there? Really! It made us think we could buy (one far distant day) a shack on the ocean, and let it be a shack because the ocean is really all we care about.

We stayed in the room for a good 20 minutes talking about how we're going to get all our TONS of luggage down that dreadful hill. With my sprained ankle in recovery, we knew it would take me like 4 hours to go up and down. So Drew asked the hotel managers if he could pay them to help. You say the word money to them, and they'll do anything! Wayan (one of the managers) offered her niece. Haha. Poor girl was like 80 pounds and 10 years old, maybe. She put a towel on her head and put that 50 pound suit case on top of her head, and walked right down. I hope she doesn't have back problems, but I'm sure she does this all the time.

These were all photos from our balcony. The last was of the locals bathing. Literally scrubbing their bodies, with their clothes on..or atleast most of them had clothes on.

Does it get any better than this? Nope!

Day 9: Kuta, Bali

2011-10-19T11:11:00.000-06:00

Am I the worst at updating this blog, and trying to stay consecutive with our dang Southeast Asia trip? Okay I'm ready now. Day 9 here we are in Kuta, same place as the day before. We were quite disappointed with the ocean. There wasn't clear water, the surf looked like what it does at Poche, and there were beggers everywhere, as mentioned in the previous post. But we still took the day on and explored the market streets. We found the cooooolest lamp place that had a bunch of handmade lamps with beautiful white shells covering them. I wanted to buy one but they were heavy. I felt bad for the guy because we spent a good 5 minutes looking at a few lamps and he thought for sure we'd leave with one. I told him we didn't bring another suitcase (which was true) so we couldn't bring it home.

This little guy was real cute. He was flirting with me while I was shopping through their handmade soaps. We left with a few. I don't love souvenirs, but I DO love giving gifts to our family members. I was addicted to it.

We did go to the beach and I'm pretty sure we rented boards this day. They have all different sized foam boards and other crappy normal boards. They have super girly kinds with flowers, then just plain ones for the boys. It's funny. Drew was out for a while, and I ended up coming in and started reading the book Water for Elephants.

We then went home to shower (after a good four hours in the hot bali sun) then got ready for our warm summer night for dinner. The fun & tricky part about being somewhere totally touristy & foreign, is there was so many options of places to eat, but which one would be gluten free, and understand English, and which one wouldn't charge us an arm and a leg? Well luckily none of the places would really charge us anything, compared to here, unless we were drinking. It was the english speaking part that would be tricky. We couldn't really get around it and I later got very sick. Oh well. Such is life.

The sunset was UNREAL..on our way to find a place to eat. We wanted to eat on the sand. So that was our search.

There were a LOT of night clubs because Kuta is known for the party-go-ers..and right next to one of the clubs was a popular place where you bunjee jumped, or rather get thrown off this platform. We watched for a bit of these crazy drunk boys being stupid but having a good laugh. We could hear them say "You ready? One....PUSH..!" He screamed because he was obviously waiting until "TWO..THREE.." Poor guy.

We found our spot! On the sand watching the sunset as we ordered. I remember getting a chocolate shake. Yum.

Before the night was over, we found a driver to drive us to Bingin Beach (our favorite spot) because our driver Putu wasn't emailing back and I couldn't just call him! So, Wayan it was. He was our waiter too.

Also, this was the night I bought our really cool pirate kite. It's yet to make an appearance because I keep forgetting about the dang thing! (once we got home from our trip, we were living at my parents and were on the hunt for a house..everything in storage. So it stayed hidden and I'm pretty sure it's still in the garage in it's plastic wrap. Get ready for it though. If you see a pirate black ship floating in the sky, you'll know where to find us.

Lowers with Jadey

2011-09-29T13:51:00.000-06:00

Drew was going down to Lowers with my brother Mitch, and I thought it'd be nice for me to get out of the house and watch them. Besides, I hadn't seen him surf on his new surfboard yet. So I tagged along. When we went to Mitch's house, I invited Jade to come to give Lindsay a break. It was SO FUN! I love just us time. She's so in love with Drew that when he's around, no attention on me! We did a lot of crab finding, cell phone game playing (isn't it crazy how kids know right where to go in your iphone for the games? just shows you how intuitive APPLE products are! (cough-Dad..)

We found these really cute and "tiny" starfish. There were like 100 all around 6 feet from eachother. I'm sure there were a lot more that we didn't see. Some had their fingers cute off which was a sad sight. I gave her my phone later on to play more games, then I heard a camera shutter speed sound, but my sound is always off. I didn't think anything of it, just knew she was playing around. Then I look a few hours later when I get in the car, and she had changed my background of my phone to a picture of her. See below.

She's cute huh... my little Buggie.. that's my nickname for her.. "Buggie". For a while she wouldn't respond to it because she really only knew "Jadey Bug".. but now she knows because it's all I call her!

Seamstress + Sales Associate? Who knew.

2011-09-28T16:48:00.001-06:00

I've been putting in quite the hours in this room, sewing. Good thing it's a perfect size room for it! My sewing machine (birthday present from Drew) sits in front of the window where I get to see a LOT of Dana Point. ...and I seriously LOVE IT! (if you don't remember this post..) Yes I keep hearing from all seamstresses world wide that pillows are the easiest things to make, but lucky for me, it's what we needed for our couches. See that hideous pillow in the left side of the frame? It has nasty circles? Ya those are what came with the couches. The size is perfect and it's the exact width of the cushions, so I decided to tackle on the project of making new covers (See the fabric in the left corner and the blue one on the floor? Those are it!) It's been quite a costly endeavor, but totally worth it in the end. Happy wife=happy life, right? :)

Life has been a little strange lately. I haven't transitioned nicely from wife/full-time student/living in Provo/crazy busy wedding photographer to wife/not so busy photographer/living in California. I can't figure out if it's because of money differences or friends or what. I just can't. Being able to do "DIY" projects was something I kept wanting to do while at school, and now that I have the time, my imagination is going INSANE. It's all I want to do. I miss being busy. It's funny. In Provo I was DYING for some down-time. I just have too much of it these days. You can only go to the beach so many times before you realize you need to shower and put make-up on and go atleast 10 miles from the ocean to change up your scenery (never thought I'd be saying this)..... so... I got a job! I am now an employee at Anthropologie! It's going to be barely part time, so not that many hours which is nice because I can still spend time with Drew and my family, while creating a home for us. It's a dream job because whenever I'd go into Anthro, I'd spend atleast 20 minutes in one section. Not kidding. I can just look through every single item they have in stock. Now I get to do it as a job and help other people get excited! I hope I don't annoy them.

A tiny bit of me feels silly for getting a retail job after I earned a degree, but why not? Photography is slow right now, I'd love a good discount (40% off baby!) and I'd love to surround myself in that enviornment a few nights a week. Just cross your fingers that I don't spend every dime of my check on their clothes. Cross em harder!

Day 8: Denpasar/Kuta, Bali

2011-09-25T21:59:00.000-06:00

By this day, we were ready for the ocean, exploring and relaxing. That's exactly what our Bali trip was. And more.

My brother Mitch and a few friends went to Indonesia on a surf trip and so he gave us a few tips. Tip #1- Get Putu as our personal driver. (He's wearing the t-shirt with the number 10 on it.)

When we got to the airport, we had MANY bags. The green one had all the CDS in it (just in case there were a hundred people at TAB wanting CDS. There was never more than 20..) and Drew's guitar, Drew has a bag on his shoulder that was all the T-Shirts we brought. Then our two separate suitcases and my backpack. Holy smokes that is a LOT. We got pretty used to carrying them, but these guys right here didn't let me hold them and just grabbed our bags. Of course they wanted us to pay them. They tried getting $20 out of me...tricky tricky! I ended up giving them $2 instead. I mean come on it was a 30 second walk and there was 5 of them. Sorry!

We read on a bunch of sites and had heard that you have your driver drive you around to different hotels until you found the perfect one. Well we found one that fit in our budget. We were in Kuta looking around.

We hurried over to the beach. It was a strange and long trail to the beach- we couldn't go directly from our hotel, even though it was only footsteps away. Boy was I a happy camper. It was HOTTER than hot and laying on the sand without an umbrella is a joke. Luckily they have these lounge chairs and you only pay about $8 for an entire day with them. The only problem with paying for one, is all day you get attacked by beach sellers because they know that we will pay for comfort- like popsicles & sodas. Not us! Haha.

Once we showered and took a nap, we went back towards the beach to get some grubby grub grub. But right before- we figured out the internet so we could email Putu and our families and update them on where we were. These were the pictures we sent them:

We loved the atmosphere at this restaurant. The communication was more than 100% different than that in Singapore. So I knew I had a long road ahead of me when it came to eating. Shoot.

Bali = constantly ordering water bottles. Constant. And the only soda you can get is Coco Cola.

Curry, yum.

Day 7: Leaving Singapore

2011-09-23T20:07:00.003-06:00

These are all from Drew & his phone-the morning that we flew from Singapore to Bali. I love the first image. It was really everything we traveled with. Breakfast bars for desperate times when there was no food to eat. I got pretty sick of them by day 4.. but atleast they were there just in case. My beloved "blinders" I call them to help me sleep when there is a light on. They help me sleep so much that I feel like when there is a barking dog or Drew's playing guitar, I can still fall asleep if I just put them on. Haha. Totally in my mind.

Early memory #2

2011-09-19T10:23:00.002-06:00

My grandma had a horse named Sage. I loved to visit her in Fallbrook and ride Sage. One time, I brought Madison. We were best friends and did everything together. So of course she came to Fallbrook with me. Anyways- Madison fell off Sage (and Sage was a big horse to a little girl) and cried and cried and I tried telling her that it's okay and she should get back on the horse to face her fears so that she can ride more horses later in life. I wonder if she remembers this too. And I wonder if she got back on the horse.

Day 6: Singapore

2011-09-14T20:51:00.001-06:00

I am totally drawing a blank on what we did this day. BUT we did play I'm sure and the following pictures were taken on this day. I'm sure we didn't do much? Shoot why can't I remember? We did walk over to Mark's place, I remember that. Oh and I remember going to the market right by our apartment to get something for breakfast. That was not so good of an idea because my smoothie was warm and not really a smoothie. But like a watered dragon fruit drink. I forget what Drew got. Maybe he shared with me. Then I remember maybe shopping? I know we met Mark at an internet cafe or he met us after. Okay it's coming to me now. We shopped. We ate at Yoshinoya and that's where Mark met us. We just stayed there until he got there and we were all really surprised that that's the one he knew we'd be at, because we didn't tell him. Haha. Then I got some gelato while the boys got donuts. Donuts are a big hit over there. Really nice designer looking ones.

At night I remember Drew taking a nap before the set. He also brought a change of clothes. The 2nd & 3rd pictures were of them practicing new songs that Mark had never heard before. So Drew was playing it to him in the room upstairs. Then he napped, then changed into a different shirt. Then they played their set while Paul & I did our thang at the merch table. The merch table was always an awkward thing each night because we were right next to the stage, not hidden & mysterious. PH tees hanging on the wall in plain site. The tatoos were a hit and a surprise to everyone there. Some didn't know how to put them on.

The last three photos were taken to get a shot of the lady behind. As much as I feel terrible posting these online, I felt just as scared and worried walking by her. She was a "lady boy" on Orchard Street. She was a man and asked men to come with her to the hotel. We would watch her tap them on the shoulders and they would decline. Most of them were white guys. We never really saw locals on this part of the streets besides workers. No one casually walking by...and it's because of these lady boys. Freaky!

We had a FABULOUS time in Singapore. My favorite parts were probably Arab Street day and using the subway to get everywhere. It was always an adventure for sure. Yes I would have liked to stay closer to TAB and maybe in a hotel. Yes I would have liked it to be a little bit more of a cultural experience, but I wouldn't change anything. We are so grateful for TAB flying Drew out there and letting them play each night. Seriously, who just does that? Not that many musicians that are like Parlor Hawk. So thank you TAB! You guys mean the world to us!

Now onto BALI! We had to wake up early for a flight we couldn't miss. So stayed tuned.

1st Pillow

2011-09-13T16:55:00.000-06:00

Can I brag for a second? Okay- well for my birthday, Drew bought me a sewing machine. A really nice one. And one that I've been able to teach myself on the past two or so days. Last night after an afternoon at fashion island and dinner at Wahoos... I hurried upstairs to try making a pillow. Well- I actually did it! And in 90 minutes. My mother-in-law made me two fabulous pillows out of fabric from my wedding reception, and I basically investigated those for 30 minutes and then just went for it. I didn't choose my favorite fabric, but a fabric that is alright, (in case I either made it really well, I would keep it (or sell it) or ruin it and hate it). Well I love it! Yay! Seriously, not one thing I hate about it. And it actually fits the pillow. Who would have thought??? Not me!

It feels really good to accomplish something, doesn't it? Drew woke me up with the pillow today before we surfed. It was really early and I was really tired. So to make me want to get up he showed it to me again. Haha!

Maybe I'll have to make some and sell them on my Etsy? It really didn't take me long and I'm already addicted...soo....

On my mind

2011-09-06T18:47:00.000-06:00

1. My upstairs. Watching my HGTV shows are making me really want to own my home so I can really go to town on my upstairs (and the entire house really) and make the design styled exactly how I want it. No more weird nooks or heaters from the 70s that make it so I can't place a picture frame over it. Ugh. Also, what do you do with a bedroom that is big horizontally, but so oddly shaped that it can't be designed nicely.. no matter how you arrange your furniture? It's strange.

2. Trader Joes. Man am I so happy we live literally 4 street lights away from it... and all those street lights are on the same street! It's amazing. And the street is beautiful (Golden Lantern). I have to go there now so I can make this amazing salad I had the other night.

-I wish I could wear make-up more and dress up. But our lives are so opposite of that. Example?

Surf, shower, beach, shower, maybe grocery shop for some ingredients, make dinner at home, book, movie or TV in bed, sleep. That's a typical day here at our house.

Whenever I do dress up or blow dry my hair or put some blush on, Drew says some really nice compliment that shoots a comment through my brain like- you are going to look this nice everyday- for now on- no matter what. Well, that never happens. Shoot. I was just thinking of this because of my said Trader Joes trip I need to do right now. Should I shower and put some nice jeans on and a blouse? Then casually tell Drew good-bye and I'll be back in 30? Or do I just put a cardigan over my beach dress and let the sand stay on my forehead and toes. Hmm.

3. Sometimes I'm a little too blunt and outspoken. But I've harnessed this and in turn have become more shy and too quiet. I can't find a happy medium. I want to speak my mind, about everything... especially "things" that make me upset. I like to think that I am this way because I'm a "fixer". I guess I'm more of a man in that situation. But come on- wouldn't the world be such a better place if we could speak our minds and not worry about offending people? Like those people just wouldn't get offended because their minds would be so open minded? But then is my mind so close-minded? Because... why else would I be so upset?

4. I'm really sensitive. Dang it.

5. I feel so loved from my birthday events. Drew really went all out to make me feel special. I love him for it. And my dear family really loves to love me. I'll post on that later.

6. I wish someone would hire me for a wedding. I've been in such a funk and drout.. has it been because of the move? My prices? My style? WHAT IS GOING ON!

7. I miss my friends and wish we could have gone to Lake Powell with them this weekend... it's killing me and I can only imagine the stories and memories they're going to make from it. But I am so grateful for my friends here and love them all so much! Cheers to a new life with new friends! But I'll definitely keep the old.

8. It's really, really hot. Dear home, why does my bedroom have to be situated on the opposite side of where the ocean breeze comes in?

9. I can't wait to become a seamstress. It's something I've always wanted to do because it's very useful. Like speaking spanish. Maybe I'll learn that one day too.

Day 5: Singapore

2011-09-03T11:10:00.001-06:00

In a shopping mall (surprising? not really) on our way to Mark's place.

Today we decided to get our bodies in some water. YES. Seriously? I was dying over this because it was so over the moon hot and sticky all the time that it was getting a little crazy that going into the ocean wasn't part of everyone's daily life. We made a long long trek over to this place called "Sentosa". It's like an amusement park/resort. There are lots of pockets of rides & cotton candy stuff, but very modern and clean- not like our carnivals.. and then there is this long stretch of land that was made into a beach. It's totally all man-made. Just yards ahead were big boats that you typically don't see so close to you... cargo boats. Boats that do fireworks and stuff. But it was great to get our bodies in. It was raining but that didn't stop me!

We found this place on the sand with lawn chairs and umbrellas in front of an infinity pool. The ocean was kind of nasty and had a lot of moss on the bottom floor, instead of sand.. so I thought I might as well get into the pool and clean off. You're supposed to buy drinks before you go into the pool and lay on their lawn chairs. So we got a jug of diet coke. Turned out to be $27 dollars! So we split it and each of us got less than 12 oz. Haha. But atleast we got to lay on these chairs all day. We played PHASE 10 which Fiona had never played and she ended up beating all of us! and ate BBQ chips.
We played some volleyball/soccer ball with these German boys. They were quite friendly and we ended up hanging out with them the rest of the time in the pool. It's always fun meeting people while you're traveling. You have that in common at least. All these volleyball ones are by Fiona.

Can I be any more pasty? Nah, I don't think so. Come on, I was in Utah for years.

More by Fiona. This was when we came back from Sentosa. I was the only one that wanted to shower? Well my entire body was blue from my bathing suit. Never had a warning when it came in the mail to wash it before but I think maybe I should have assumed? Haha.

Tofu. Imagine him barking. I'm glad he's bonding with Paul because he never bonded with me.

Orchard Street- Red Light District. Not normal red-light, but "Lady Boy" red light. You can think about that one, I don't need to explain.

On our way back to TAB for some grub and sets.

Above- more by Fiona

Delta 1600

Day 4: Singapore

2011-08-27T20:07:00.000-06:00

Today we headed over to Arab Street. It was close enough to the Business District that we had seen the day before and we heard it would be really fun to see. Well it sure was! I bought one of my favorite souvenirs here- a yard and a half of really cute fabric. Jessie ended up making a cute romper for Hazey.

It was full of a lot of walking. And I didn't expect it. So I wore my crappy shoes that gave me bruises from my boney feet.

The photo on the left is the mall where Fiona met us and where we left my beautiful fabric! We left it in a guitar shop and realized it that night when I went to look at the fabric again. Very sad. Then we figured out what shop we were out (very strange) and they had it there! So we went back the next day to get it. So crazy because the city is so busy busy busy.

This was at this insane vintage place. Insane insane. Drew & I paid 6$ to get 3 surprise bags... the ones on display looked really cool, so we decided, why not, there could be something really cool in there. Nope, just like McDonald's happy meal toys from the 60s. Apparently they were from the 60s, who really knows.

This was inside a Swedish Cafe. Drew lived there for 2 years on his mission and always loves a good swedish pastry place. We didn't hang out here though- I had to use the restroom and everything inside there was my dream. White white and white. And distressed wood. I was getting a lot of stares for taking this photo above. So I hurried and left.

More walking and walking. (neon bag is my souvenir I left at the mall)

Do you see that crazy building?? It's a fancy-schmanzy hotel. It's what we saw the day before and wanted to show Paul. We hung out there for the next 2 hours and the boys went to the top of it (not allowed). I stayed in the lobby so I wouldn't get in trouble. They got up to the top by taking an elevator, getting off literally inside the kitchen for the bar/club/pool at the top. They looked at them funny and they acted lost...as if they were staying in the hotel and were going to the pool.

I threw my gum down on the street below. I missed the car..bummer.

You can buy this image here...

Avril Lavigne was going to play there that same week we were there. Those were the seats for her show.

The few below are them at the top of the fancy hotel.. Drew took them all because I stayed at the bottom.

Day 3: Singapore

2011-08-26T12:31:00.000-06:00

Today was China Town day! Right when we got into the town, we found this great market, (my mom would have died because the cleanliness was questionable) but it was great because finally we ate for 2-5$ instead of normal US prices of 8-12$ for a meal. And Chinese food is GOOD! Making sure I was eating gluten free was easy too.

I was craving to shop at a market like the kind where you bargain. I just live for that kind of stuff. So, this day I bought super cute ceramic bowls, chopsticks for a select few family and friends, and we tried Durian for the first time. We had heard how tasty Durian was (its a fruit that grows down in Southeast Asia) but how smelly it was...so we had to find it in a place where it was sold by itself- not by anything else. Well, we were walking through the mall (9th photo) and right when we walked out, this strange, not bad smell passed us as someone was carting away garbage. Then we saw a bunch of empty durian shells. We just went towards the direction he came from and found it! It wasn't totally segregated like we were told it would be, maybe in Thailand it's different. But boy was it gross. We all sorta threw up in our mouths, then in the trash can. Luckily we had this colorful fruit that had pink spikes on it to eat. It was like a big grape once the skin is peeled off. Tasty!

People were staring at us as we sat on this burning hot bench. I went over to the McDonalds behind me and got a soft serve with hot fudge! Yum.

Notice the police on the left side. Not sure if I was allowed to be taking pictures on the subway or not. We would be fined if we were eating, drinking and smoking on the subway. Like huge fines. And apparently chewing gum was another penalty. And you really never saw anyone chewing gum, anywhere. Well I did suckers and I didn't get caught!

Bathroom once we got back to Singapore in a really nice mall. The bathroom was seriously amazing and I had to take a picture. Before I went to the bathroom, we ran into about 8 or 10 missionaries, men and women. Most all of them, or even all of them were from America, and one girl was from Irvine and knew my friends that grew up there. Kinda funny. They were finding refuge in the mall with the air conditioning :)

This was in the business district at this really cool coffee lounge place. The boys above are getting ready for a show. The club set it up that they would play a 40 minute set there.. it's something they do with all the musicians they fly out. Below are photos that Fiona took that I grabbed from FB:

We left knowing that we wanted to come back to the district the next day, to show Paul because he didn't come...and because of this crazy building...

We went straight from the district to TAB to play more music... (more photos from Fiona)..

I don't look like a pasty white wall..no way. Maybe flash isn't really my thing after spending months away from the sun..hm

I had Paul try my mystery dish too.. he didn't love it so much and was bummed he didn't get something else. Sorry! I think it's fantastic!

Twins

2011-08-25T13:32:00.000-06:00

I was just looking at our wedding video (that no one has seen except us because I totally forgot I made it a few weeks before our wedding.. whoops!) and this picture, every time I see it, is mind boggling. Everyone tells Drew that he looks just like his mom, which he does. But then I see photos like this one, and it's insane how much he and his Dad Andy look so much alike, atleast when Andy was his age.. What do you think?

DAY 2: SINGAPORE

2011-08-24T10:49:00.003-06:00

I am feeling slightly overwhelmed when it comes to blogging about this trip of ours. Especially if I'm doing it by "day"s instead of "part"s. But I will get through it. I have already loved looking through them and choosing which ones were wasted space and which ones I wanted to remember most.

Here we go (this is a continuation of Day 1):

After Fiona picked us up from the airport, we drove into town, about 25 minute drive. We were very anxious to get out of the car. During the car ride, I looked down and noticed my super super fat ankles. Maybe from sitting in a plane for so long with no leg room? I did stand for a good 30 minutes here and there, but never longer than that. Maybe the extreme humidity had something to do with it as well. We were all joking about that.. Mark kept joking about my elephant-titis feet. Very funny Mark. Real funny.

We checked out our apartment- we found out we were staying with one of the co-owners of the club TAB, and his girlfriend or friend? Still not totally sure. Tofu the dog was another resident. He made himself very known when we came home, or just when we were home. He'd bark his little itty bitty tail off until we let him in our room. So that was a shock. It was very hot and we didn't have much time to change and grab stuff for our night around the town. I did strip down to the barest of clothes because everything was so sticky. I wanted the ocean. That's all I kept thinking..where is the nearest body of water??

Then we went to Mark & Paul's apartment. It was very nice and really close to the club which was nice for them. We had a good walk and subway ride then more walking from our apartment. But I wouldn't have changed anything.
This building is what you see when you leave Mark's place and head over to TAB. Across from Orchard Hotel (the lady boy's hotel :/)

Entering TAB- when you walk in the doors- there is a really tall escalator that takes you to the actual club. You pay at the bottom.

One of the three bars in the club.

We ended up with Fiona again and walked around the city. We quickly realized that this place called "Singapore" was resembling NYC, or a watered-down version of NYC. You can find really anything you can here in America.. Pizza Hut, 7/11s EVERYWHERE.. you get the idea. But it was still fun exploring. And HOT. We also realized that to get anywhere cool, you'd have to take a subway. So we thought we'd take on the subway adventure the next day. Instead we stayed in the malls. Malls are everywhere. You can either get to a mall by subway (the exit is the entrance of a mall..no joke) or from the street. I came to the conclusion that there are so many malls because there is no body of water to retreat to, and it's just too stinkin hot to be outside. Malls are very nice and very air conditioned.

Next day:

Getting ready for our day in Little India. This is our apartment room.

We didn't want to have to make the trek back to our apartment after our day's adventures, so we brought everything with us, merch, guitars.. the whole bit. But we didn't totally know how to get to Mark's place to drop off the stuff...so that was another 45 minute detour, just wandering around hills and streets trying to find something that looked familiar. Finally I asked a pedestrian, or he asked us if we were lost and how to get from here to there.

Well we did finally get to them and it was a joyous occasion because we could let all the bags off our shoulders and get on our with our day. Off to Little India!

This was outside of a temple Paul & Drew walked into (barefoot, not our thing).

We stopped to get lunch right when we got to Little India. We decided we wanted very authentic Indian food, not a place that was going to be crowded but kind of a hole-in-the-wall type place. Well, we found it! We sat in this room that looked like a utility room with make-shift tables. There was a guy sitting there that saw Paul's shirt that said something like "Salt Lake City, Utah" on it, and the guy said he had a house there or something. He was American. We never really saw too many of those Americans over there.

I ordered Chicken Tika Masala, you know, the norm. It tasted NOTHING like what we have here in the US. Or atleast the kinds I've had, in Provo and Orange County. The kind here is like candy and you can sip and drink the curry. Over there, it's like eating chicken with tomato juice, like V8 juice.
Drew ordred something that he loved and could have eaten all day long. Maybe I should have ordered his too.

I asked our waiter if they had gluten free naan, and they did! But the communication wasn't very clear, he didn't speak very good english, so I'm sure I had bites of both kind of naan. Everytime we would say "Is that gluten free naan?" He'd say "No sir, yes sir." or "Yes sir, no sir." Talk about confusing. Our bill ended up being more than wanted because of the bad communication, but whatever.

It started getting late and we had to be at the club around 5 if we wanted to eat and do sound check. So we headed back.

The way to pay for your subway ticket is strange. You can only put a round trip ticket, and it gives you credit for every ride. A typical ride was $2.10. So we were at these booths quite often. If we were staying for more than a month we could have paid a lot more to save us time at them.
Bought these glasses because I forgot mine.. cheap $5 glasses. Awesome!

We went back to Mark's place, went in the apartment pool, I read a book with my legs in the water while the boys played games like- see who can do more laps than the other without coming up for air. I didn't want to get my hair wet because I didn't have my stuff for the night.

At the club, the chef came down to introduce himself since he would be feeding us for 5 nights straight. I told him about my allergy and he said he totally understood and he would make me a mystery dish. This was the mystery dish and it was the most AMAZING dinner I think I've ever had. Unreal. The carmelized onions and the tender chicken with the super good carrots. Oh man. I could eat it every night. And you bet I did!!!

They were nervous & anxious to play. They didn't know how many people would be there or how they would receive them. They sold a few shirts and CDs which was great news! It was a great start to the week and set the mood. There was an American there from St. Louis and he asked me if we were LDS (or Mormon) because Drew said something about growing up in Salt Lake City.. so of course, that question comes up!

See their you-tube videos I uploaded while they played at TAB.

How we spend our days..

2011-08-20T18:09:00.001-06:00

We have been putting in quite the hours at the beach. Sounds lazy right? Nah- more than half of the time spent there is out in the water. Each morning we wake up at 6:30, I force breakfast down my belly while Drew piles the boards into our bug (quite the site!). People see us coming into the Doheny parking lot with my white bug, UTAH plates, and sometimes up to 5 boards with the top up (obviously).. like I said, quite the site! Then we decide if we want to pay 1 or 2 hours. It's usually 1 because I mean come on, we do have to work at some point right? Lately with the swell, we have been putting in two, then going back to pay for more. Or Drew leaves to go work and picks me up an hour later. I love it! And I also love how we are part of the crowd and are given waves because they know us. During the day, I'm usually the one going to the beach by myself or meeting someone. If it's really nice out, Drew will come too. Then we sometimes go down to surf at sunset, but only if the mom's have taken their kids home, otherwise it's a joke trying to get a long ride. Here are some recent beach day photos:

Abby, Drew & I - Taken by Jessie--- this was at Emerald Bay. If you know anything about Emerald Bay, it'd be that it can get pretty massive.. and I was laying down because I almost drowned, like 4 times.

You can always rely on us to meet you at the beach! Just let us know where and we (or I) will most likely be there!

DAY 1: LAX--> Singapore

2011-08-15T14:24:00.001-06:00

Our trip this last May to Southeast Asia was about 17 days. Singapore for 6 and Bali for 9. The reason for this trip? Drew and Parlor Hawk's keys player- Mark were to be play for 5 days- every night at a club called TAB. They would pay for their everyday food and let them sell shirts and CDs. They even paid for Drew's flight over! We wish we could have had the entire band come out, but that's usually not what they do... over the next few days I'll be posting our everyday happenings so I can later remember our trip. Just a few months since being home, I'm already forgetting little details that I wanted to remember. It's taken me forever just to get them organized and ready for my blog.

While packing, I had a real dilemma of which cameras to take, and how many. I ended up taking my digital (it's the size of a newborn with the right lens), my 35mm film camera and my holga. So you may see a few different mediums throughout these posts. I also used my phone to take photos because I knew I wouldn't have my cameras at all times.

Another dilemma I had, we weren't totally sure if we were going to Bali or Thailand after our stay in Singapore. All we knew is that there was a 9 day slot of doing nothing and we knew once we'd be there, we'd have to go somewhere else since it's a lot cheaper to fly around the countries there, then from the US. (duh).

Two days before this, we unpacked our stuff from Utah and put it into storage. It was a crazy few days.

We went up to LA a little early to hang out with my sister and her boyfriend. Went out to eat ( I ate at Chipotle, which I'm so glad because it was the last mexican food for 2 weeks!). Brady picked a spot on a ritzy LA street and they ate a super nice meal.

I had never flown overseas so this whole international airport situation was strange. But very exciting. It
was 11pm at this time. I was prepared with banana bread homemade from Stella's and 3 books. I read 5 People You Meet in Heaven from LA-Singapore. It was a short one. Drew was listening to the book- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, actually not sure which one, but it was the second one of the series. He kept getting confused, and Mark later told him he wasn't reading them in order. Haha.

Above- we are in China, waiting to get on the plane to Singapore. The airport was terribly hot. No air conditioning. And when I tried to buy a $4 bottle of water, they wouldn't accept any bills that were the tiniest bit crinkled or smudged with chocolate (a reoccuring problem of mine).

Mark's brother Paul came with us which was really fun. It was a party everyday. I kept joking with Mark (on the right) for wearing pajamas for a 21 hour travel. He said I would regret not wearing my PJS. Ya right, I had my nordstrom jeggings- I was plenty happy.

This was us getting into Singapore. Boy was I THRILLED. Many many hours on a stinky airplane. Drew & I switched off from sitting in the middle & aisle seats and let me tell you, the middle seat was the worst because of the man sitting next to the window. He had extreme ADHD or something because he wouldn't stop moving. Luckily he fell asleep for about 8 hours so we were then able tos sleep. Drew ended up picking up his huge body and shoving him closer to the window because he would fall asleep on his shoulder. Gross. Wow, how do people travel all the time from country to country? I think once a year would be just enough for me. Too many passport checks and security stops for my liking.

BW- ilford 1600

This is when we met our new friend Fiona- she's a Singaporian. She was working with TAB and filling in for someone that usually picks up the bands from the airport. Fiona even had a sign that said "PARLOR HAWK". We of course thought that was the greatest thing. We could feel the air coming through the doors and were a little hesitant to walk around the doors- because of how humid it was! It was amazing. 90 degrees and 90% humidity. Here we go.

August 2, 2011

2011-08-10T10:43:00.006-06:00

Has it really already been THREE years for us? I feel like we just celebrated our second anniversary.. and clearly still remember our first really well. When they say "time flies".... it really flies.

This year, we spent our 3rd anniversary mostly with Drew's family since they were visiting from Utah for their yearly summer beach house trip. We got to Balboa around 12 to hang out on the beach, then over to the fun zone for pizza and funnel cakes. Drew &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp; I left them around 3:30pm to get home and get ready for the Angel's game against Minnesota. (I have the coolest older brother- he gets these incredibly insane tickets from work, and gave them to us! He didn't even know that day was our anniversary!) Before the game, we went up to Fullerton to eat at Chipotle, since it's one of the only places I can eat at, and because our budget this year is quite low for celebrating... but then as we were about to turn into Chipotle, I spotted this Japanese place we were introduced to while in Singapore! It was our favorite thing to eat while there. Of course it's smothered in soy sauce, but I either forgot about that, or purposely put that out of my mind so I could enjoy every bite. The next morning was not the greatest and I have still been really sick :/ Bummer. Maybe I can get them to make me some without the soy sauce and I can smother it with my own!

This was Drew's first MLB game so he was ultra-excited. It's like taking a kid to disneyland for the first time. His expectations were not exceeded, but he still had a lot of fun following a game he once thought was boring. During which, I noticed everyone was eating Red Vines. Reminicing the good ol days when I was able to eat them (and let me tell you, my mom &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp; i shared quite a few boxes in our days together), I said to Drew "If only we can eat those Red Vines right now". A few minutes later, he says he needs to get up and go -- he came back with a slurpee and a box of red vines! The first or second ingrediet though is "Wheat Flour" so that was out of the question- but he didn't know! He was just giving me exactly what I wanted. I went and traded it in for some Sour Patches, but thought it was really cute of Drew. That's really all the money we spent that day because of the free tickets &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp; parking... best $10 ever spent.

We've had a lot of firsts together, because we did marry young, but I'm sure we will still have a lot more. There are also so many things we have learned about each other since the day we got married. I used to think people that were married for more than a year really understood everything there is to know about life. What a naive way of thinking! I know nothing, but what I do know is how to love Drew and what makes us work as a team. We know we want a life for ourselves and are building it from scratch. We are surprised everyday by what we are accomplishing [together]. We truly believe that nothing we do here on Earth is impossible. NOTHING! I always thought that making it back to California after school would be leap years away but look at us now! Of course our lives have changed tremendously and we aren't able to spend and spend on things like indian food or a pair of jeans.. but it's all worth it! We are happy by the beach and have made this lifestyle work for us. For date nights now, we will play cards and get big huge massive drinks of diet coke. Or watch red-boxes on our TV (since we don't have cable). We make it to the beach at least once (if not three different times) a day and love surfing together. I know there will be a time when I'm carrying a baby in my belly and can't lay on a board... so I'm trying to soak it up until that day comes. Surfing will always be something we will do together. And thank the heavens Drew likes Doheny because we live so close to it! We hang out with my family a lot which is always really fun, and make it over to their jacuzzi sometimes. Who knew living in paradise would make you sacrifice, but it's definitely a sacrifice we love!

Love you Drew! I can't imagine what our lives will be like a year from now. Probably really awesome.

Early memories

2011-08-08T13:59:00.004-06:00

Lately I have been filled with memories of my childhood. And I really want to record them so I don't lose it all when I go crazy one day. Because I'm sure I will. So once in a while-when I feel like it and having one of those in-bed-all-day, I will record some of them. Here's one:

Singing in the backyard with a vacuum as my microphone. I would do this all the time (the singing, I wasn't always with a vacuum). My mom said I came out of her belly talking.. or laughing. But I'm sure it was just baby sounds. I'm not one of those people that likes to hear my own voice, so this is weird but it's something I've always done. I still sing and once I got past the year mark of our marriage, I started to sing in front of Drew- on & off key. I don't have an amazing voice but something about lettin it go and singing whatever and wherever- is really liberating! Try it!

HOGLE ZOO

2011-07-29T17:24:00.000-06:00

For Abby's birthday, we headed up to SLC to check out some rad animals. I had a wedding that day but luckily had time in between to go to the zoo. You'd never know it, but I am kinda against caged animals. But I do love the zoo. Is that a weird combo? I am fascinated by animals so getting to see them up close, without the fear of getting attacked is quite nice. The zoo is even better when you're with your really cute niece that you can cart around in the stroller all day.

Peculiar Thursdays #4

2011-07-28T13:02:00.002-06:00

I totally forgot about my "Peculiar Thursdays" until I remembered how I really want to start recording funny memories, before I am 60 years old and can't remember those funny memories. The last thing I want is that. So here I am, writing another funny story.

You know that game NERTS? Well our friends Halen & Asher would play it all the time and taught us so we could play with them. I had heard of it before but never really played it. Either had Drew. Needless to say, we did really bad. They beat us and rubbed it in our faces. Being the best friends that we are, we went home and practiced, but we didn't tell them that's what our plans were. Anytime we had spare time together for the next week, Drew & I, alone in our living room, battled eachother at NERTS until we became really good. The next time we played with them, we beat them! They were SHOCKED and it wasn't just the four of us playing, I'm pretty sure it was around 8 people and Drew & I both won a few different times that night. It was hilarious because the last time we played, we did terrible! We loved it and still talk about how funny it was.

We miss our friends. I get too sad thinking about it so I try not to.

Endless Summer

2011-07-27T09:49:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was one of those perfect days. Of course each and everyday has speed bumps, but yesterday was perfect. Here's how it went.

7am:: Wake up
7:15am:: In car with surfboards
7:20am:: Surf
9:15am:: Get out of water, unwillingly but needing to get home and work
10:30am:: Get a call that Sam, Drew's brother just got dropped off at SLC airport.
12pm:: Done with work, get picked up and taken to 3arch Bay, grabbing a large diet on the way and forgetting lunch :/
2pm:: Brother-in-law Sam meets us at 3 arch
3:45pm:: Leave 3 arch
5pm:: Pasta dinner with bread while watching "The Pursuit of Happiness"
6pm:: At Montage Beach for family photo shoot
7pm:: Surf sunset
8:20pm:: Head home
9:30pm:: At Aliso theaters with family watching Harry Potter

I swear I work. But somedays I only work 2 hours and it's the life! Drew had to stay home all day working, which was a big bummer. We didn't know Sam was coming either! We thought it would be today! Bad planning. So with his deadlines, he was stuck at home. But it was still a fabulous day. I keep telling my family that I feel like I am supposed to head back to Provo at any moment. Then I realize I need to get more beach time (if 5 days a week, all day most the time is not good enough). But I am here! Forever! (I hope I didn't just ginx myself!) We really are beach babies and I couldn't be more happy. I have a great job, great husband, great home in a more than great location. I am truly blessed.

Capener's are back!

2011-07-24T23:03:00.000-06:00

To see more of our time spent in Utah in the beginning of June, click here and here.

MOM'S BIRTHDAY

2011-07-22T10:17:00.002-06:00

Seeing as we were in Laguna celebrating my mom's birthday, you'd think I'd have atleast one picture of her or just her ..but my mom hates when the camera is on her, so no pictures to show! But she did turn the big 5-0 and we had a fun time at dinner then watching the sun go down on Main Beach. We love spending time together, especially over good food and the beach. We love you mom! And we can't wait to spend another 50+ years with you! ;)

OUR HOME IN DANA POINT

2011-07-20T11:00:00.003-06:00

The view from our upstairs. If I moved my camera to the far left, you'd see the ocean.

A little-DIY project for us. We got this dresser for free, but it was an outdated wood finish, so we quickly went to Walmart and sprayed that sucker with many many coats. It now sits in our white office. The top drawer are all my stationary and stamps and the bottom two are now called "junk drawers". Pretty sure I have to spend a full day organizing them so I can fill them with pretty things like more stationary. Or fabrics.

The view from our office/guest room. We need to figure out where to put our wet-wetsuits, but for now, they lie on the outdoor table we got at IKEA for 30 bones. And we need chairs.

Drew hates this color "bronze". What do you think?

These are a few of my favorite parts of our new home here in Dana Point. There's still a lot of furnishing and decorating to go so these are just spots of it. Can I brag and say we love living here? We are a three minute drive to Doheny, and that's if all of PCH is shut down and we had to figure out a different way to get down there. It's that close. We feel so lucky and blessed to be next to one of our favorite places to surf together and in such a good ward. It's actually the ward I grew up in for most of my life. Our street can get very loud sometimes, especially since we leave our windows open for the ocean breeze, but other than that, we totally enjoy it. The ocean is right in your face and from the top of our street, you can see all the way to the San Clemente Pier.

Now all we need are friends to fill this home with us. So come visit us! We have a mattress we can lay down in our white room, until we can find the perfect sofa bed to put in front of the window. So come to us! We love to play games, go to the beach, eat good food... if that doesn't sell you enough...I don't know what will!

Film: Sensia Fujichrome 100

ps. like the new blog look? it needed a mega face-lift and luckily my knight in shining armor was there to pick up after my mess.

4TH OF JULY 2011

2011-07-19T10:12:00.000-06:00

The 4th was spent this year with the Devine's (my brother's in-laws), which are more like blood family than anything. We decided to go to Rivi instead of 3 Arch, for a change of pace, and boy was it crowded! Crowded isn't even the right word for it. Packed. Swarming with kids like a public community pool on the first day of summer. It was nuts. We paddled boarded.all.day. We ate good food and talked about where we want to travel to next. Then we hurried home for a quick scrub and then headed over for some of Glenda's delicious eats! We've spent many sunsets on their balcony, but this one was more special because we knew once it was dark, we were closer to seeing the fireworks. Not just one firework show, but like a million! We saw San Clemente, Dana Point, Laguna Beach and San Juan. It was so glorious. And the best part was hearing how excited Jadey was for the fireworks, and sitting in the jacuzzi while watching them.

The 4th of July is and always has been my favorite holiday! The sand, the water, BBQ, the sun, family and friends...it really doesn't get much better than that.

I ♥ SALT CREEK

2011-07-14T10:57:00.003-06:00

Growing up minutes from Salt Creek was a treasure I never understood until I moved 800 miles from it. Now we see it everyday! And a few Sundays ago we met there instead of my parents place for our dinner. It was fabulous! I love living so close to my family now. I get giddy just typing it.

(missed you jack!)

Kickstarter

2011-07-13T09:15:00.001-06:00

I took this from my iPhone while in class many months ago.. I was very excited about this hipstamatic app, until I realized that it totally demeans us photographers that actually use cameras and films and lenses to make images like this above. But whatever, such is life. This photo looks especially cool because we were playing around with this intensely focused light so we could experiment later while doing our individual projects. This above is my good friend Natalie Neal. Not only is she a photographer, but she (and her man) are filmographers? Is that what you call them? They shoot film, like real live footage. Videography sounds cheeseball. Anyways, Natalie just started a kickstarter for a short film. Go here to see how you can donate and make her dream a reality!!! Be the rad person that donates and support young artists... We are the future people!

As of late..

2011-07-10T17:45:00.003-06:00

-I am terribly behind on blogging. I have so many posts that need to be posted. I just don't have the time anymore! Maybe I will make Sunday's my update days, or atleast store them on my blog and post them each day to keep it exciting. Because I know you all come to my blog for excitement, right?

-Some friends from Utah just visited and stayed with us for a couple nights. That was fun...surfing at Doheny, showin them the ropes. Ya know.

-Wishing my skin wouldn't get so sunburned all the time. I swear I never used to sunburn but maybe my skin forgot about the sun while I was in Utah for so long! I was either in the house when it was too cold/hot, or in the mountains in shade during summertime. Never really in the sun! So I've been punished everyday from being at the beach all day. I apply sunscreen but apparently not enough.

-Drew's written quite a few more songs, like 15. Awesome right?

-Home decorating is quite the challenge and such a fun hobby. Challenge because I have the idea in my head but can't execute it well and because our pocketbooks don't allow us to buy what we want. BUT let me tell you, the IKEA here in OC, is amazing. The "as-is" pile is the best I've ever seen and am considering just going there everyday to get a steal. The Draper one has nothin on this! We just got a $80 outdoor table for $30! Steal!

-I have ZERO summer clothes. What did I wear in Utah from June-October? I have no idea and apparently only knits & longsleeves. Kind of a bummer since all I want to spend our cash is for our home, and not my closet. But I can't keep wearing beach cover-ups with cardigans and leggings anymore. I need summer clothes!

-We want to start BBQ-ing SO BAD. Our backyard is the most perfect & private backyard for having a group over and eating and staying outside all day after a long day at the beach. We will soon string lights and get chairs to match our table so we can make it a reality.

-I am about done with the 2nd Hunger Games. I love to read and wish I could do that all day everyday!

-Thinking about making an online store for the crafts I make. What do you think?

-Still doing a family give-away for the month of July! Tell your peeps! I have a few slots left.

Last Summer Flash

2011-07-08T12:33:00.003-06:00

This was taken last summer to get rid of an old water disposable camera. I think. I love to think back of our hold place and all the memories. The blue painted bedroom that we always kinda hated but didn't have the energy to paint over. I was the one that painted it blue when Drew left for a week trip to NYC with his design program, as a surprise. I knew within the first three strokes I would hate it. But towards the end of our move, we started to enjoy it! And then we moved into our Dana Point home, where we are now, the bedroom was the exact same color. No joke. Drew wanted to keep it, but I had the last say in the matter and we painted it a lighter blue. Very light, almost gray.

Anyways. We made our house a home. Those curtains, Drew's mom gave to us because our room always let in so much light and it darkened it a ton! I loved the gold & blue combo. The mirror behind Drew was a gift and surprise from Drew. He bought the whole thing from D.I. and made nice little drawer panels that you can't see.

Now I'm starting to take pictures in our new house and it's so strange. So many years of taking photos in our little place in Provo, so many assignments turned in with Drew as the subject, in our living room or kitchen. So so so so so many. I love them all.

I have such talented friends.

2011-07-02T20:10:00.000-06:00

I've said this before on this blog, but it's true! Whether it's in the kitchen or in their craft room, I got them. I probably have more creative friends than friends that are not. Maybe it's because artists tend to gravitate towards people that are creative... hmm whatever the case, you should check out some of the stuff they sell online.

Jessie (Drew's younger sis) has a couple places to check out:

Beehive Babies

Here is this cute romper she made Hazey out of fabric we bought her as a souvenir from Singapore (Arab Street). I was hoping she would put it to good use and she did! And it was just enough fabric I'm sure because Haze is so tiny still. Jessie sure can sew!!! I wish we lived close so she can make pillow cases for our new couches.

Beehive Bound Books

Sidenote for memories sake: The first time I met Jessie, was before I met Drew. She had a booth selling these books, I think in 2007, and I became obsessed with them. All day throughout the music festival (SEGO), I kept stopping by to look at them, then finally bought the one I loved. I left it at the booth because it was raining, then totally forgot about it because I'm sure I scurried away to get out of the rain. So I remembered the next day because I was telling my roommate Kelly about this amazing book I bought, then realized I left it! So I went on a search for this girl that sold the books. Somehow I got her number, got my book back, then a few weeks later I met Drew...and put the two together. Funny huh? I have since acquired I think 4 of her [coptic] books and then learned how to make my own from a long semester class. It was brutal. I'll have to show you what my books look like. I'm very proud. Anyways, you have to buy some! I'm not sure how many she's selling because on her site it only shows one...but she can do any paper you want.

My dear friend Caitlin started a vintage-wear shop called "Oh It's Caitlin". It's about time she did because she collects so much! Back in the day she would just give me stuff because it wouldn't fit her...and she didn't care because she had so much of it! She is also a fabulous artist, always has been. See her blog here.

Another vintage shop is from my friend's Roxanne & Sam Gray, a married couple. I photographed here. See their shop here. Don't you love the way they've arranged the color on the site? Clever. And they have so many items because when they got married, they combined forces.

Okay I'm done bragging. I have so many more friends that do so many things and share their talents by selling their amazing things, so I will be back.

I Heart Coronado

2011-07-01T20:44:00.000-06:00

My dad is so awesome. We were over at my parents and a minute before we left to go to bed, he said- let's go to Coronado tomorrow. Well who says no to that?? I love Coronado. There is something so romantic about it. So we headed down around 10am and met up with my lovely grandparents at their time share. It's so funny- they live so close to all their time-shares they go to but she said it's really nice to get away, even if it is so close so it feels like a vacation.

Anyways- we took beach chairs, umbrellas and laid in the sun at the beach, ate nachos, my grandma and dad bought me a set of these marvelous plates that I saw at a gift shop (I keep looking at them and so happy they're sitting in my plate cabinet) then went to this BBQ place on Ferry's Landing. I need to spend at least two full days walking around Ferry's Landing. It was so beautiful seeing downtown from that side of the island. Oh man, should we just move down to San Diego? Nah. But I sure love it for visits here and there!!!

(I keep forgetting we live here now, so when we were in Coronado and I was outside my favorite stationary boutique and it was closed, I was so bummed out because I couldn't think of the next time I would be there, but then I remembered, hey I can just drive down here if I really want to go there so bad... awesome right? Who wants to join me for the long ride down?)

Father's Day 2011

2011-06-30T16:27:00.000-06:00

This year, Father's Day was celebrated by going to Stake Conferance and then a bbq dinner (by Drew, provided by my mom) of yummy steaks and chicken. Then off to Mitch's to celebrate with them. Melissa of course did the decorating (And the upside down mustaches) in the corner of the kitchen and I made my Dad's favorite- carrot cake (from scratch you should all know because who does that everyday? not me!). We wished we could have been with all of our Dad's! We love them all so much and we're grateful for atleast one day of the year, we can celebrate them for being Fathers.

I told Drew we should celebrate a "Soon-to-be" Father's Day or something for married men that don't have children yet. Just to get them excited to actually be Dad's. Then I started thinking of how much Drew is going to LOVE Father's Day because he loves celebrating really anything. His birthday and Christmas are his favorite holidays for sure. And he especially loves surprises so I gotta be on my A game every year to make sure it's better than the last, and that he's surprised!

Then Jackson asks my Dad after he gave him his card that said "Oil Love You Dad"- he asked, "When is there "Kid's Day"?" I thought that was cute.

9 photos 9 days in Utah

2011-06-26T16:40:00.000-06:00

The weather in Utah was amazing, visiting with Drew's newly moved family was amazing... it was too good to be true. We can't believe we have to wait until the end of July to see them all again! Here's some snap shots from my phone from the few days we spent there.

I had Peggy take this picture of us because we were basically wearing the same outfit. And it's funny because he bought this striped shirt because I love it so much. We always end up dressing alike! We also LOVE this car.

Sweet Abby was given the sweetest pup she named Lucy. We surprised Bob with it because he thought she'd be there a few days later. He may be more in love with Lucy than Abby.

Drew took this photo most likely because he misses the mountains.

On our way to the storage unit in Provo from the airport, I had to eat. So we stopped at Barbecoa (one of my favorite most missed places!) and knew it was right by Halen's work. So I texted her and boom, she's there in 15. As we're sitting there, she's telling us how Asher wishes he was there and da da da da da then all of the sudden, there he is! He was just right up the road! What a surprise!

We got to visit Halen and Asher because I had to go down to Springville to pick up some client albums. So it was a great excuse to see them for a few hours and eat our indian food and just hang out. You only get a few friends like these in one lifetime and I'm glad we got them!

It's always a treat to visit Cape.

What we've been up to lately..

2011-06-22T22:23:00.002-06:00

We have moved in a place in Dana Point and loving where we are! So close to Doheny and my family. It's too good to be true.
Painting our place. We feel so silly painting, literally every wall of this big place because we are just renters, but we justify it by saying that we can't work from home, in a home that is covered in yellow, hospital colored walls, and do our work well. We are almost done painting.. Just the office, the hallway (it's like 16 feet tall), and the downstairs bathroom to go!
Drew has started working with Asher as "755 Marketing" more full time because they are getting more and more clients. I think Asher talks to Drew more than I do during the day! Sometimes I have to text Asher while he's on the phone with Drew and say, "Asher, this is me and Drew time." Or "We're on a date Asher.." Anyways- their jobs are to help companies rise up on search engines so they can get more attention and clicks. If you know of anyone that wants this, let us know!
We spent 9 days in Utah helping Drew's parents move back from Switzerland. We are now professional movers! Haha! It was so much fun getting a lot of time with them- morning to night. We hadn't done that since last summer.
While in Utah, I did 2 bridals, 1 engagement and 1 wedding. Then I raced home to make it in time for another wedding the next day! I have a lot of work to do!
I just started reading the next Hunger Games. It's not as enthralling as the last, so pray for me that I will get through it!
Hm I can't think of anything else we've been up to. Really just moving in is taking over our lives. Everything is out of their boxes, but no couch to sit on or BBQ to cook on (that's what I'm looking most forward to! Our backyard is perfect for it.) Hopefully tomorrow we will go couch hunting. Oh and no kitchen table because Drew has to figure out how to put the legs back on, after our move. Our time will come when we will be more settled. It better come soon though or somethin bad's gonna go down.
Pictures of Bali, Father's Day and our Utah trip to come!