Long Beach Livin'

1. My hair is finally long enough for a high sockbun and I couldn't be more excited

2. The most heavenly donut/coffee shop in long beach

3. A few of our favorite Trader Joes pickups- The salmon dip is TO DIE

4. Puzzling together has become our nightly hobby- This one is taking us weeks

5. A delicious cheddar, chipotle, avacado burger topped with crispy fried onion rings

6. I fell in love with this avacado beach house while getting lost on one of my daily walks

7. We took a quick trip to Texas to make up Christmas and spend NY with our families

8. All TX Bentley does at the dog park is whine at our feet to get in our laps and watch the others- antisocial/people lover

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

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

A trip to Florida: Part III

When we were in Florida we visited this little landmark called the Bonet House. It was the hand built home of a famous painter and his wife, who put every ounce of creativity and love into it that their 98 year old lives could possibly produce. I immediately fell in love with this property (how could you not?!) with its bright colored beach house vibe, hand painted ceilings, vintage carasale animals, large extravagant decor and statues brought back from travels around the world, acres of magical rainforest lands, wild talking birds, white swans, dozens of turtles, ginormous oak trees and palm trees, tiki huts, circus tents, and flower filled greenhouses. It had the perfect mix of royalty with it's fancy interior (sadly we weren't allowed photos inside), to it's tropical views of the ocean, and the large open shutters bringing in the salty sea breeze. We explored for hours and I'm lusting to go back for hours more. It really is something to see!

Drey $ Nicole

A trip to Florida: Part II

Some more photos from our wonderful week in Florida as promised! Seeing my dad, Gian's grandma and great aunt in Miami was such an additional highlight! I got to catch up on my mom's famous biscuits & chipped beef gravy too! I certainly am feeling like I'm livin' the good life, even our condo keys said so.

Still more to come! I told you there were tons.

Drey $ Nicole