Repeat Button

Mister has been pretty glued to the game controller since getting one of his favorite childhood video games for Christmas, and I can't help but giggle when I watch him and get this song stuck in my head. It's caused me to put in my headphones and listen to it on repeat just to get it out of my head for awhile. I've been humming it for days while washing dishes, or sitting in my little corner reading my new book while he plays. I don't mind it though, it's kind of relaxing and homey. I also love this video with all of it's vintage clips and Disney excerpts. She isn't bad to look at either with her perfect face and retro style. I can't help but be reminded of Priscilla Presley when I look at her. Enjoy!

Drey $ Nicole

Honeymoon Part III

Hands down the best thing about Steamboat Springs is how friendly everyone we came in contact was. From the bus ride full of locals on the way there, to our last day in the town, the people we met were so nice and helpful! We got loads and loads of tips and suggestions for activities and places to eat. We were offered rides to landmarks by waiters we had known only minutes. We were given phone numbers, facebook info, food and drinks on the house everywhere we went. I even got a 20 dollar tshirt free from one restaraunt as a souvenir from the bartender, because she wanted us to remember our time Steamboat. The hospitality was such a nice contrast from the fast paced, fake plastic people we have here in California. The whole town was so small and quaint, and we saw the same people multiple times at different places. We became known all around as "The Honeymooners" and when someone recognized us, they'd be sure to yell it out! We still keep in contact via facebook with one of our favorite couples, who owned the deli in most of the photos seen above, and we've decided to make Steamboat an annual (if not, every few years) vacation/anniversary spot. We love you Steamboat!

Drey $ Nicole

Honeymoon Part II

I think the best highlight of our Steamboat honeymoon, was the highly suggested Strawberry Park hotsprings. We'd never been to a hotspring before, and I was totally fascinated by how the earth could make the water that hot naturally. There were five or six different "pools" that started at 110 degrees and gradually got cooler, reaching baby bath water temp. Even completely surrounded by snow, we were able to walk around from pool to pool just fine because of the hot water. The bottom of the pools were just natural sand and warm gravel that felt so good on our feet, and there were hand carved rock/mountain benches in the water. They had a "clothing optional" after dark rule that we took full advantage of because we were the only ones there. It was my first time ever and I felt like I just had to try it for a second, being natural and so beautiful. Between all the steam and the pitch black night, you couldn't see anything anyway. Afterwards, we got cleaned up and went to dinner at a cute little place many people told us was the well known, best fine dining restaurant in town. It was reservation only, very cozy and romatic and had only about 6 tables. We had the most amazing crab rangoons to start, and I tried my very first elk for dinner, paired with garlic mashed potatoes and the best scallops of my life. I will probably remember that day specifically from our honeymoon forever. It was the best!

Drey $ Nicole

First Christmas in California

This year was the first time I was away from my parents and siblings in Texas, as well as the first time I was in California sharing the holiday with my brand new husband! We tried to bring as much of our family traditions from Texas to our day as possible, so we used recipes from both of our parents to put our holiday meal together. We're still looking forward to having our "normal" Christmas next month when the flight schedules lighten up, though! We started the morning off by trading gift. I cried (just like on my birthday) when I opened my new Amy Winehouse book and concert dvd. The last time I got a book about her, I finished it in a couple days and was left wanting more, so I was really excited for that. Plus I've spent so many hours watching short clips of her singing live on youtube, so the concert dvd is heaven for me. We listened to Christmas jingles on the record player while we cooked together and relaxed all day. Mister started his mom's yummy pot roast recipe in the crockpot the night before, so the house smelled amazing. He also added chopped potatoes, carrots, onion and tomato sauce to it because we had some already on hand. I was in charge of the mashed potatoes and my most favorite holiday side dish EVER, broccoli rice casserole. That dish alone for me made the whole day a little more like home. We threw in our own side choice of corn on the cob- buttered, seasoned, and wrapped in foil on the grill. The meal came out delicious and the day was pretty special! 

How was your Christmas? Did you get all the you wanted or any special surprises? Do you have a family tradition or recipe? Share in the comments below!

Drey $ Nicole

Roadtrip Playlist

Between driving from California to Texas, spending hours at the airport for Colorado, and driving back to California, we racked up a lot music listening time. My cd collection mostly consists of my early highschool taste since everything has been digital since, so our roadtrip was kind of like a silly flashback to that time. Here are some of the songs we listened to on our drive. I feel most of them are meant to be listened to on a wide open road, windows down, wind blowing, sun shining. So press play, open your windows, and pretend like it's spring!

What are your must have songs for the road? 

Drey $ Nicole

Honeymoon Part I

The morning after our wedding we set off for Steamboat Springs, Colorado. It was a good change going somewhere so cold and snowy since we live in the always warm and sunny California. We had to pick a place kind of last minute since mister's passport didn't arrive in time, so we didn't really have a game plan when we got there. We met a few friendly locals on the four hour bus ride from Denver airport to Steamboat, and they all brainstormed and came up with a list of must do's and must eats! I also threw up in G's gloves on that bus ride, couln't handle all the curves up the moutains. Oops! Anyway, we used the list as a guide all week and we fell in love with the town. The first day was spent vibing everything out, and we hiked a mountain we heard a lot about so we could get a good look at the town from overhead. We went on a long walk through the town just talking and spending time together. The rest of the week was just as fun and romantic, but you'll have to stay tuned for all that!

Drey $ Nicole

California to Texas Roadtrip

Our roadtrip from California to Texas a few weeks ago was very interesting to say the least! We were originally going to fly, but because we were going to be away from home for two weeks for our wedding and honeymoon, (which were both amazing, by the way!) we had to take the Bentley pups and loads of wedding decorations. We regretfully started our 24 hour drive off at 8pm just after mister got home from work and we got the car all packed up. Why did we leave when the sun was going down instead of getting a good nights rest and setting off in the morning? Well, my stubborn self was dead set on leaving ASAP because I had the strongest craving for taco bueno's party burritos and you can only get them in Texas. Yeah, that's it...food. Driving with no sleep was absolutely miserable! We switched off on driving 4 hour shifts while the other slept. I was woken up at 3am in Arizona by G yelling that he was getting pulled over, which resulted in a warning for going 73 in a 65, but a ticket for driving with a suspended license. (Those darn dui's will haunt you forever, folks.) After we settled down from that set back, our adrenalines kicked back in at the Texas border. When pulling through that pesky little "border patrol" station, our car was quickly surrounded by law enforcement and a k9 was circling us. We were asking to pull aside and step out of the car with our dogs on leashes, and were escorted a few feet away. As we watched a HUGE dog jump into our car, stepping all over our delicate wedding decorations, fancy fur coats and crunchy snacks, we were being questioned for gun and drug possession. Just as I was getting too worked up for my own good, they told us the dog found nothing and we were free to go. (But not before Tx Bentley marked his territory on some of their things!) We finally reached my parent's house a little over 24 hours later with a big bag of party burritos in tow and immediately went to sleep! 

Drey $ Nicole