Shannon's Wedding 10.13.12

One of my best friends and roommates from college got married and I got to be a bridesmaid.  The wedding was at the LDS Temple in Mesa, Arizona.  Except for some ill-fitting shoes, the wedding was beautiful and the weather was just right.

Mesa Temple

Eric and Shannon, the happy couple

Bridesmaids

Shannon and I

What a gorgeous cake!

Can you believe this groom's cake?!

Congratulations Shannon & Eric!

Rachel's Wedding

My sister's roommate Rachel got married in California and I tagged along.  It was great to see friends and family and have a mini-vacation.

Beautiful Newport Beach LDS temple

 

Rachel & Kane, the gorgeous bride and groom

Me and Lindsay

Lindsay and cousin Kellyn--they were bridesmaids

Me and Lindsay with cousin Catherine

 

 We loved seeing Cath and catching up on tv, movies, and her california adventures.  It's a bummer that we don't live closer!

First time at Sprinkles.

Gelato next door--I've never seen so many flavors!

Dying over the cuteness.

I got red velvet and coconut.  I enjoyed them slowly and loved every bit.

 I had lunch at Bruxie with my college roommate, Whitney and had such a great time catching up.  We talked blogs--including her awesome blog, Eat Sleep Cuddle, fashion, and food, and ate amazing waffle sandwiches.  And of course, we did not take any pictures.

 I stayed with my Aunt Valorie and Uncle Brad in Fountain Valley and got to take a ride in my uncle's Studebaker.

                I also got to see my D.C. roommate Meg and finally meet her little guy, Boston.

                                                      This little flirt is the cutest ever.


 Side note: this was the first time I used a rental car and the first time I went through a toll booth.  Turns out I paid the toll incorrectly and my rental car company gave me up to the feds.  I explained what happened and they dropped all of the charges.  Yay!

But seriously, California was awesome and did a pretty good job of making me want to live there. 

Surprise visitor

Also during Spring Break, my friend Jessie called and said she was filming a show in Portland and was looking for a place to stay.  I said of course, we love having guests.  And then she told me she was filming for Grimm!  One of my favorite new shows this year!  I was beyond excited.

 Jessie and I were buds in high school and spent many an evening watching Alias together and eating Cheddar & Sour Cream Ruffles.  Besides our shared love of Jennifer Garner, I also got to work behind the scenes of one of Jessie's high school plays.  It has been so exciting to see her grow as an actor and get more recognition.  I can't wait to see what she does next! Click here to see my visit to Seattle to watch Jessie in Sense & Sensibility. 

We had a fun time shopping and catching up--how's that purse working out, Jess?

Her episode aired in May and it was so crazy to see someone you know on tv.  It felt so surreal!

Here's a link to Jessie's blog where she shares her experience working on Grimm. 

She worked on the episode with Bigfoot.  If you didn't get a chance to see it, here's a link to the episode.


Jessie- Somehow we didn't take any pictures together! 

i made it!

so my first solo road trip went down without a hitch. my road trip mix was great, i listened to this fun audiobook . . .



. . . and ate these delicious snacks.


i split up the trip into two days so that i wouldn't get too tired and it was perfect.

the first few days in provo were beautiful. pretty sure it was at least 80 and when i drove with the windows down to supertarget [best. store. ever.] i got a few more freckles. best trip already right there.

then i decided that since i was in the land of beauty schools and everyone worth seeing was finishing finals i should spend a few hours at paul mitchell and dye my hair. this time i did a dark purpleish black color that i love and looks really cool in the sun. and it was only $30. why don't i live in utah again?

in between packing up everything my sister owns, including the worlds' largest sweatshirt collection, i got to see some of my favorite people.


me and mckenna l. after lunch at guru's.


me and mckenna c. thanks for the photoshoot, chris!
[one can never have too many friends named mckenna]


on my way home, i stopped in boise and got to hang out with this guy . . .




. . . and baked the ugliest cake i will ever admit to making. but we learned an important lesson on patience with bundt cakes. good thing rainbow chip frosting was there to save the day.



now i'm drowning in laundry and trying to catch up on tv [project runway finale!] and my too-big stack of books from the library. good to be back home.