Happy. Hawaiian. Honeymoon.

Just Married! Time to party...

So we hopped on a jet plane to Hawaii...and enjoyed the emergency aisle on EVERY flight due to my husband's extremely long longs, which works out quite well for me. I like to say that we fly first class for free. Sweet.



Once in Maui, we did a lot of lounging...

A little hiking in Hana...

Some shopping and walking in Lahaina....

And a lot of eating and drinking. We tried to fully submerse ourselves in the Hawaiian culture by snorkeling every morning, spending the afternoons sampling mai tai's, chi-chi's and fresh fish in large doses. Fantastic. Wake up the next morning and repeat....

We enjoyed a grand total of seven sunsets! Each sunset found us on a new beach and each night it was a unique spectacle: a different angle, different cloud formation and new colors. Thank you Mother Earth....

We even took a boat to Molokini for snorkeling...




...ventured to Wailea for kayaking with rays and sea turtles...

....put a lot of miles on this beauty exploring the island...

...and spent hours gazing at our rings and each other, all the while, finding hard to believe that this kind of happiness is ours to keep....

Our Hawaiian honeymoon was perfect.

And this photo demonstrates how thrilled we were to fly home.

They say when you marry in June....

I woke up early on a sunny Saturday in June...



...put on my Sunday, errr, Saturday best...

...complete with rosebud shoes...



...tied our shiny new rings to a pretty ribbon and placed them carefully in my bridesmaid's pocket...

...grabbed my bouquet...

...and headed to the chapel, err...I mean, vineyard...

...to marry my Ryan...

...it was as magical as I always hoped and dreamed my wedding day would be.

The End.

But really...

It's just the beginning.

Why I love Thursdays

Last night was just what the doctor ordered.

Quick trip to Gap for honeymoon wardrobe, where I learned of the day's promotion: "buy one-get one free" for ANY SHIRT in the store. Mix match, button down, tank top, sweater- whatever. Bliss.

Phone call with photographers to finalize details. Check.

Followed by dinner with Ryan at a new taqueria by our house. We were crossing our fingers that it would be the new Taqueria Rosita or Villa Corona of Sacramento. It wasn't. But they did have Pacifico and the best salsa I have found in this city. Sweet!

Then it was home to plant our basil and tomato plants...

And finally, it was time to settle in for TWO episodes of Modern Family that we had stocked up on our DVR. One of the episodes was filmed in Hawaii and Ryan and I giggled and smiled at each other during the entire show - just knowing where we would be in sixteen short days.

We slept with our bedroom window open and dreamed of balmy Maui breezes...

P.S. Some previous tenant must have planted bulbs years ago, because every Spring these little beauties bloom. Aren't they adorable?

Break the bank, save some health

Sheesh!

Seriously?

Update: The zipper broke. Meltdown ensued. Ever since I have been repeating in my head, over and over, "It will be ok. It will be ok. It will be ok"....etc.

Zip-ity do dah....

Tonight I head to House of Fashion for my last fitting...

My loyal maids will learn how to bustle my bustle and I will gaze in the mirror and beam with joy the entire time.

As long as my dress zips up.

Luck!

So we sew...

Last night, the wedding crew headed to Casa de Cabral to brainstorm all things wedding and turn a beautiful roll of fabric into pretty little napkins.

It was hard to pay attention to photo lists and seating arrangements. Details, schmeetails - I always say. I was asked to focus several times. You try and focus when a perfect little baby boy named Logan Van is right in front of you - I dare you! Let's just say, my mother and Dinha are party planning miracles and they seem to have it all taken care of. Thank goodness.

I nearly died when we put away our binders and white out and each pulled out our sewing machines. I had never been to a sewing bee party before but now I think I want to attend one every week! I practised sewing a straight line and admired the napkins that will soon grace our wedding tables. Only 18 days to go... and I. just. can't. wait.

'Nuff said

Bejeweled

When I arrived at home, I found Ryan perched on the couch accompanied by two little square boxes.

I peeked at Ryan and as he smiled his mischievous smile, I jumped for joy. Our wedding bands were in the house!

We put them on one another and kissed. Just like we will in three short weeks. Ryan said that we should take them off and hide them. I suggested that we practice wearing them so it wouldn't be such a shock to our fingers on our honeymoon. I won. So we cooked artichokes, walked to the river and then headed to Home Depot, all adorned in our shiny new rings.

When we got home, Ryan carefully placed our rings back in their little boxes where they will wait until our big day....I hope I can stick to the rules because you know what they say, "a deal is a deal."

Bachelorette Bash

The time was here. Time to celebrate my last days of being a singleton.

Time to bust out the tents, don the swimsuits, and revel in spiked lemonade, wild ladies who are oh-so dear to me and of course, incredible eats.

Let me tell you, my seesters and friends did not disapoint. They decorated, baked, shopped, whispered of their plans for weeks and arrived with their party hats on and ready to go...














Things I never want to forget:

Ryan/John Cena and his man parts
Rachel's party favors. One word: adorable
Emily's construction paper cutouts.
Tracey's linen pants that I tried to steal. No such luck.
Erika's swimsuit. Need it. Badly.
Trevor's outfit. 80's technicolor at it's best.
Christy's survival kits, complete with feminine products in case of a camping emergency.
Amanda's lasagna. Best ever and I got the receipe.
Lisa's lemonade. Dangerously delicious.
Circle time on the lawn.
Baby Logan who was the only male present and who hardly uttered a peep all day. Just smiles.
Trampoline time.
Hide and seek at midnight. Finding Trevor and Rach in a tree.
Trevor's crash and burn. Ouch!
Rachel delivering hot coffee and cream and sugar to the camp site at 11PM. Top that.
Rachel's homemade english muffins, cinnamon bread, cupcakes, anatomy cake, garlic bread, fruit salad. Seriously. This is not a joke. She ROCKS.
Hearing all my friends share their favorite moments and stories about me. Unbelievable.










It was perfect I declare.


*all photos courtesy of Brooke! Thank you sister for capturing this day so well. xoxo

Sunny Shower

Today I was showered with sun, amazing gifts and love at the Kelly bridal shower! It was a perfect day for a poolside garden brunch...and I felt special all day long.

Some things I would like to remember always:

The tables - oh my! So pretty
David's bloody mary's and mimosas- YUM
Laura's quiche and fritatta
The cheese table
Bride and Groom Shari's Berries - unforgettable
The sun, oh the sun
Quilt from Grandma Phyllis
Note cards from Dinha, with our MONOGRAM!
Logan's patience
Trevor's outfit-perfect
Ryan showing up with roses for his mom, lilies for me and a flower for my mom. He said he picked what each of us would like, lilies because they are my favorite, roses because who doesn't love roses and something that my mom can plant in her garden. Dreamy.
Unloading and unwrapping gifts afterwards with my seesters and Ryan and then piling on the couch for a movie.

Showery Shower!

It is the night before my first bridal shower and it is raining! Good thing I love the rain and consider it to be a sign of good fortune...

So tomorrow the morning will arive, I will drive to Napa with curlers in my hair, will put on my new Anthro dress and fuschia pumps and will head over to my grandma's to be showered with love and well wishes from so many amazing women. What more could a girl want? Maybe just a knight in shining armor named Ryan Kelly. Perfect. Done.

Birthday Boy

This little man turned two and we celebrated with a party in the park. Can you get over his outfit? I nearly died when I saw those boots. And how about that Mama? Hot Mama more like it!



This is how Ever felt about being sung to...or maybe it was the chocolate cupcake with a candle on top that really brought on the joyful smile.

What is a party without a pinata? My favorite part was that Erika stuffed with the pinata with health conscious, organic snacks - what a thinker.

And this picture is just because I love it.

Birthday Girl

My birthday has arrived! I would be lying if I said that I didn't look forward to this day all year long.

In superstar fiance fashion, Ryan remembered me telling him last year that it just didn't feel like my birthday without a bouquet of daffodils, so he got me five bunches! Aren't daffodils the best? They are $1.29 per bunch at Trader Joe's and they don't look like much at first - just plain old brown tight little buds with bright green stems. But you simply chop off the ends, put them in a pretty antique vase with some water, wash your pretty lil' face and go to bed and voila! You wake up in the morning to sunshine-y blossoms! So cheery and SO March birthday-ish.

In addition to daffodils, Ryan thought I also could use some sophisticated oriental lillies. Fancy! He is just rad like that. The smell soooo wonderful.

So today we are off to do a morning walk, cake tasting at ABC (lucky us), head to Casa de Awesome for a hike up the hill and dinner with the family. And I get the ENTIRE day with my man. Perfection.

Gift tracker:

Pretty antique tablecloth in lavendar.
HOBO wallet in Mustard!
White salad bowl.
White cake stand with RUFFLES!
NEW PHONE!
Clementine shopping bag and new book.
Night out on the town.
A metal "K" from anthro, because I will be a Kelly soon.
Tickets to see Chicago.

What a lucky, lucky girl and what a perfect birthday.

He is here and he is perfect.

Logan Van Caldwell has finally arrived and he could not be any cuter if he tried. I finally got to meet the babe this morning and I was in heaven. Firstly, nothing beats a baby and secondly, seeing my dear Dee as a Mother was intoxicating. I will never forget the smile that crept over her face and the giggle that emerged when Logan began crying. Even his cry was music to her ears. It was music to mine too.

A mother now...

Check out all those diapers drying in the morning sun! As my grandmother says, laundry gets whiter and smells cleaner when hung to dry in the sun...

Nine pounds! Holy baby!



P.S. Check out Logan's digs - crisp new Peter Rabbit sheets and a warm hue on the walls...I almost climbed in that crib for a little nap myself! Alas, babies only.

Baby Lo {gan} ve

Today we wait.

Wait on baby.

A baby that belongs to Mitchell and Amanda.

Who have waited long and hard to welcome him.

I can't wait to see my dear cousin, for the first time, as a "Mother".

I also can't wait to get my hands on that sweet, sweet baby.

P.S. I think Amanda makes the "with child" look very fashionable and just plain adorable.