SB Blooms

When I moved to Santa Barbara, around this time last year, I remember driving around and rolling down the windows to smell all the beautiful blooms!

This year has been incredibly fruitful with regards to flowers. I am so excited too because they seem to be staying longer too....maybe they are sticking around to show off for my upcoming out of town guests.

One of the things that I really like about where I live, is the over abundance of the flowers. It seems that every morning when I go out to my car, there is a new bloom there to greet me. Just from my driveway, here are all the different varities that I get to enjoy!

And...the best part is.....I didn't plant a single one of them, nor do I have to do anything to maintain them. :)

BUT......my favorite blooms this week are the ones that were waiting for me at the house when I got home from work today. Today was the last day of our quarter at work, and I closed a big deal. It was the second largest deal that has been closed at the company, and it felt so good to do so. I definitely couldn't have done it on my own, so it was so nice to be able to share the goodness with my teammates. I ended up reaching a goal that I was happy with, and so it was a good day!

Brett has always been such a wonderful support for me about work. He was so proud of me and picked me up these blooms, put them in a vase, and surprised them with me. Love him!!

I'm with the Mayor

Brett has a new social fascination....FourSquare. He "checks in" to the places that we go now. He read somewhere that this is going to be bigger than Facebook.

I think it's silly.

So, we went to California Pasta for dinner tonight with Kyle. Brett checked in. If you're the person that checks into a place the most, you get a badge, or some kind of honor....you become the "Mayor" of that spot.

Well, here am I with the Mayor of California Pasta. I'm so lucky.

I'm on the phone....

I love Brett. He makes me laugh. Especially when I get on the phone. It reminds me of my friends with their children. So many times, when I am talking with one of my friends that is a Mom, I hear them say "Honey, I'm on the phone right now....", as one of the kids is trying to get their attention at an inopportune time.

Brett is kind of the same way. If I walk in the house and am talking with one of my friends, he sometimes thinks it is a great time to get me to pay attention to him. I find myself saying the same thing to him, "Brett...I'm on the phone right now...", as he's trying to tickle me, or be silly, or something like that.

So, when I was talking with Emily, he had to come in and get his love too. :) Of course, I can't get mad at him because even though he's being a little annoying, I love him, he makes me laugh, and I will always love the attention from him.

BamBam....wait, what?

After a full day of running around, meeting our DJ, and doing other wedding errands, I was happy to get a text from Vanessa asking if I had dinner plans. It so happened that I did not, AND I hadn't seen or hung out with her in a long time....so we grabbed some chili from Lazy Acres, and guess what....yes, we made some pompom flowers.

I'm so lucky to have such wonderful friends here in SB that are willing to do silly craft projects with me so I can finish up the wedding things. We knocked out quite a few before I came home totally zonked and ready for bed.

Thanks Vanessa....for the fun hang out time, AND your wonderfully crafty skills! :)

Friday Night Pom Poms

And I don't mean the kind of Pom Poms that you see at a football game....I mean yellow tissue paper pom poms. Yup, that is what Caitlin and Elizabeth came to help me do on a Friday night. Nile and Nolan were out of town, and so it was girl's craft night!

Between the 3 of us, we got through 4 packs and made 48! 60 down, and 60+ to go! Fun times....thanks SO much ladies!!

Going to the courthouse...

Today was a half day...getting some big things done for the wedding! First on our plan for this afternoon.....get Marriage License.

We made it to the Santa Barbara Courthouse and were surprised that you fill it out online. We sat down....knew most of the basics, but had to do a little double checking on a few details. Turns out that you have to know the birthplaces of your parents to complete the application. :)

We stood in line.....it was funny to see several other couples in line in front of us doing the same thing as we were. It didn't take long, and it had to be the prettiest courthouse ever to get a marriage license. We're pretty excited. :)

We met up with our caterer at the rental spot to finalize some details before going out to Firestone for a walk through with our vendors. It was a beautiful day and got even more excited about the actual day in just two weeks! Woohoo!!!

Morning @ Daily Grind

Funny enough, I've been to Daily Grind plenty of times for lunch as I love their tasty sandwiches, but when I was off to meet the girls for our ritual Friday morning breakfast, I put Daily Grind into my phone for directions. It didn't even click to me that they were one in the same. Duh!! I am telling you....my brain is total mush these days. Yesterday on my way to and from meeting Juliann for my workout, I made not one, not two, but three driving mistakes, and when I realized it, I was on the wrong roads to get where I needed to be. What is wrong with me these days?? Oh yeah, totally distracted with planning our wedding!!

Anyways......it was lovely, as always, to see the girls for a cheery morning and a cup of joe.

Crazy Crafty Lady

So, I'm not sure what made me stumble across it today, but I found this this neat little idea this afternoon to add a little bit of fun detail to the wedding reception, and decided to see if I could make it happen.

I made 3 different stops on the way home to see if I could find the appropriate materials for such craft project. I managed to find it and rushed home to see if I could figure this out.

I did figure it out. It looks good....so, now I've committed myself to make 126 of these things in the next few days or so. I wish that some of my special girls were able to take off weeks from their life and be here in SB to keep me sane, and help with little projects like this....but I'm just so grateful that they are coming to be part of our celebration at all, that I'm totally happy doing this before they get here, so I can spend more quality time with each of them when they are in town.

So....here's to me being the crazy craft lady over the next two weeks and getting it all done.

New Outlook and a Few Degrees Warmer

A few weeks ago, Will said to me "Annemarie, I have a proposal for you that will definitely warm your blood a few degrees". I thought at first that there was something wrong, but it turns out that he was asking me if I wouldn't mind swapping desks. I brought a blanket to work because it's always freezing at my seat.

So, today, when I got to work, I realized that KarenAnne had done me a huge favor and moved my stuff for me while I was in San Diego on Monday. How lovely!

I'm in a new seat. It's warmer by at least 10 degrees. I sit under the huge skylight, so my space is filled with lots of natural light. AND...the best part, is that I see everyone! My last desk was facing the wall, so my back was to everybody. Now, I see all of the people that I work with, and it's just such a new outlook. I love it!

Encouraging One Another

This afternoon after getting back from church, Brett thought that we should go on a bike ride. I kind of kicked and screamed that I didn't want to, and instead wanted to just go to the beach....but I gave in and we were on our way.

We'd talked about going on the bike path, and decided to check it out. The start to get on it is right down the street and so we found it and were on our way out to Goleta Beach. Whenever we ride our bikes, we call each other so that A. we don't have to scream to each other while riding, and B. it's good for my ears since they are so sensitive to the wind. It works out well for us, and it's free since we're both on the same phone network.


We made it out to the beach in about 45 minutes, and after a bit of sitting, watching everyone else enjoy their lunches and BBQs, we realized that we didn't eat, and decided to bike into downtown Goleta for a sandwich. The place we wanted to go was closed, but it was right next to the bike shop...so we popped in to get a much needed bike lock AND a new seat for me. After each bike ride, my undercarriage per say, was always so sore. Turns out that the bike seat was part of the issue. :)

We made a quick stop in to get some food at Wendy's, and then headed back home. Brett had accidentally left our water bottle at the beach, so he went back that way while I went on ahead. He caught up with me on the return bike path....which was 15 miles for me, 2 more for him, round trip.

It was a great way to spend the afternoon. I had a great time. After we got back, we realized that we definitely encourage each other to do things that wouldn't come naturally to each of us. I encourage Brett to be more social and out with our friends, and Brett does the same to me to participate in physical activities! Just another reason why we are so well suited for each other. :)

Taking a Break....

I've haven't had much to blog about lately, because about 95% of my free time has been consumed with finalizing the details, and maybe a few big projects too, for the wedding. This wedding planning stuff is hard work, and I'm SOOOOO ready for the culmination of all the hard work to be here. Three weeks from today I'll be marrying my best friend and I am SO READY!!!

We re-met with our florist this morning, and then it was back to more details and such. Well, around 6, we were hungry, and decided to get out of the house. I made a quick phone call and it turns out that Nile and Caitlin were out on the town, and so they came to meet us.

I'd heard great things about Your Place, and it stood up to its reputation. Nile ordered for us, and it was all delicious!! It was great to get out for a bit, and see some happy faces!

Three more weeks!! Woohoo!!

D'Angelos Friday Morning

We met up at a different spot this morning and I very much enjoyed my cheese danish and whatever the concoction of coffee was that I got....but mostly, again...starting off the weekend with some of my favorite women!

Happy Friday!

And then....Danielle to my rescue too!

I should have taken a picture but it just felt like old times. I need to not take time with my Danielle, now Mrs. Sandoval, for granted though since she's off and married now and it's so much more difficult to spend time with her. Not that it's her fault....I feel like I've been the most antisocial person on the planet because wedding planning is all I do these days.

So, both of our boys were out of town for the evening, which meant that it was the perfect time for us to hang out, cook up some dinner, have a glass of wine, catch up....and talk about wedding stuff.

She's fresh off the crazy wedding planning and I'm in the midst of it, so she was a great help. I went through all of the things that I'd done, got some new ideas from her, added new things to my "to do" and overall felt a LOT better after she left.

Three weeks and a few days......tick, tock, tick, tock.....

IKEA to my rescue...

I took off at 9 last night to San Diego.....luckily Emily and Brett kept me company courtesy of AT&T on the way so I was sure to stay awake. I arrived a little after midnight and got right into bed for my big day on Wednesday.

I had an appointment this morning and then I made my way to a meeting, which directly afterwards, I gave my first presentation for work to a crowd of over 30. I kind of got a little freaked out at first because I didn't have a cable to connect to the projector, but the previous speaker was kind enough to help me out. Phew!!

I made it through....relayed good information, answered questions, and if I do say so myself, did pretty darned good. I am just glad that one is over, the first one is always the toughest. I'm trying to line up more but it'll be for after the wedding.

Speaking of the wedding, after I was finished for the day in SD, I had a few hours to kill before even wanting to get anywhere near the freeway....so I found the IKEA in San Diego and decided to conquer my fear.....the details for the wedding. Ugh.

I took some pictures and sent them to Brett before my phone died. Before that happened, I was saying to him that I'd probably just get one of each, and then figure out what I liked and make another trip....but he said for me to commit and just get it.

So....I committed. I walked out of IKEA with a cart so full that I couldn't push it straight. I'm happy with what I got and am actually pretty relieved that it's over now.

A Family Story :: The Boubels

I remember the day I met Juliann at homegroup, the first time we hung out, and all the times that we've spent together since then - they've all been wonderful. When she asked me if I would take pictures of her family while they were all in town for Memorial Day, I jumped on it. If the rest of her family was half as wonderful as she is.....then I was in for a great time!

I was right. I was so glad to meet Juliann's brothers too - Taylor, Austin and Parker, as well as her parents. What a lovely family.

The boys weren't jazzed about taking pictures....I mean, what man is really.....but they're all lookers, those Boubel kids.

This was my first time telling a story with adult children, and my tricks didn't work on these kids. I opted not to try the "see the little red birdy" trick with these boys, but did get a few of the family to JUMP when I asked. :)

I do love the the way the sun creates a glow on the beach.....ahhh....yes, love it.

You've seen this one before...the "in between" shot...and the same in focus shot too.

I kind of like the shadow pictures too. :)

What a great family of 6! Had a fun time at the beach with the Boubels!

Coffee Cat Tradition

Friday mornings meeting up with the girls at 730 is definitiely a tradition. It's the best way to start the weekend.

Shrek at the Drive In

It was late tonight when Bethany called to see what Brett and I were doing. We'd just popped in a movie but her plans were better. Get your truck, we're going to the drive in.

So, Brett got the air mattress, I grabbed tons of pillows and blankets, and we were on our way to meet up with B, Kyle and Ashlee. The girls had made popcorn and brownies.....so good!!

We pulled in, got a great spot, and then unloaded to the back.

It was kind of chilly, but the blankets, and the fact that we were all smooshed together made it bearable. The movie was cute, but I was so comfy that I have to admit that I fell asleep with about 20 minutes left.

I'm sure everything turned out and that Shrek's Far Far Away land was restored....because it would have been a terrible ending if it hadn't.

It's like the work yearbook....

Mike asked me if I would snap some shots of our team while everyone was in town, and of course I agreed. So, today, I took about 5 minutes to grab some headshots of our sales and services teams.

There isn't much that is that exciting about this for anyone else besides me.....but I really enjoy working with, and knowing, each and every one of these folks....so I wanted to put these here for my memory. :)

Work Hard...Play Hard

No pictures for this post....but when I look back and read this at a later date, I didn't want to forget the last few days, so I'm blogging about it.

First of all....June 1st marked my anniversary at work. I can't believe that I've already been there one year. It's flown by and it's been great. I'm so lucky to work with fantastic people, and for a company that not only has a great product, but the most solid management team I've ever worked for. Even though I moan from time to time about how hard it is, I consider myself very lucky.

Speaking of work....Tuesday morning I met Juliann for my first of 8 training sessions for the month of June. She is going to whip me into shape for the wedding and honeymoon. I am the last person that I ever thought would have a personal trainer, but I'm excited that it's with her, and so far, so good. :)

The last two days at work have been a sales summit. We had all of our sales and service folks from all over the country come in for two days of intense work sessions. It's been great to have us all in one spot for some company things, but it's also been nice to get to know my out of town colleagues a little bit better.

I hesitantly joined the gang after work on Tuesday for some beach volleyball, and after a few mishaps, with gentle correction, I ended up not being scared of the ball, and had a good time....AND actually made a few good plays. We also were treated and had a lovely dinner on Tuesday night at Blue Agave.

Wednesday was more sessions....dinner.....and then some dusk volleyball. I brought Brett along, so he could meet some of my coworkers. I had even more fun this go round. I even had the chance to successfully serve more than 5 times in a row, and gave myself a nice little bruise because of it. :)

In Between

I've been following Tara Whitney and her work for a few years now, and love her style. It's so raw and real. She doesn't go for the pretty posed family picture, but does a beautiful job capturing the family as they are....to "just be". I truly love this.

The first time I saw this type of image on Tara's blog.....she calls it the "In Between".... I melted a little bit. I am not sure I can put into words to explain why I love it so much.....actually, I know I can't put it into words.

Since I've kind of labeled it that in my head, I knew that I wanted to try for an in between shot the next time I had the chance. I got a little giddy when I got this one and couldn't wait to come back and see it on the screen.

I know it's not for everyone...and I'm pretty sure that this one will be passed over on the DVD, but I love this shot from Sunday's family shoot. It might be my favorite of the day.