Why Yoga

If there's anything I've determined in my twenties, it's that life is crazy. It never slows down when you're working full time, building a foundation on your career and marriage, making an effort to spend time with friends and family, being there for your coworkers and trying at least in some capacity to stay sane. There has to be an outlet (or a few)--whether it's jogging, reading, going to church, cooking dinner, or binge-watching episodes of Downton Abbey (guilty). 

These days, I've turned to yoga as an outlet a couple times a week. Why Yoga?
...Because it feels so good to stretch for long periods of time. When I used to play basketball in high school, all I really wanted to do was lay there and stretch while my teammates ran endless drills. 
...Because it kicks my butt. We need to push our bodies out of their comfort zone sometimes. Keeps us humble. 
...Because it makes me feel strong...a six pack is literally impossible, but sexy shoulders? I'm in.
...Because it's important to feel ridiculous once in a while (seriously, duck pose is just not happening...)
...Because yoga is really just practicing breathing, which we all need to learn to do once in a while in this crazy life.

Our instructor says that if you are aware of your breath, you are practicing yoga. I always think of waves pulling in and pushing out as I breathe.

 

*Photos from our honeymoon in Costa Rica during one of the greatest sunsets I've ever seen.

A day in the mandarin orchards

Wintertime in our region means bountiful citrus in the form of a delicious little superfruit called the mandarin orange. I'll eat three in a row without hesitation every day in December. No joke. Last year, Andrew and I checked out the Mountain Mandarin Festival for the first time, and this weekend, we toured a few farms during Orchard Days. Mandarin farmers in five towns open up their storefronts, barns, homes and fields to the public, to offer fresh fruit by the pound and other mandarin goodies like mandarin-enhanced honey, chocolate sauce, barbecue sauce, olive oil, you name it...

View the grower map HERE, and read on to see our adventure...

Our wedding

I'm sure you've heard many couples say that their wedding day was the best day of their lives. I've had many best days, but all I know is I've never been as happy and had as much fun as our wedding weekend. And even when you try to breathe and soak it all in, it still flies by too quickly. It was magical summer night with sunlight gleaming through the trees long into the evening, laughter everywhere we turned and a super moon shining overhead as we danced. 


It's funny how everything you planned so intently, everything you scheduled and thought out and mulled over for months can all wash away in your mind as you get caught up in the day. It's easy to just go through the motions and worry things won't go as planned. But it's better to just kick back and let it all happen. Not everything went just as I had planned it to a tee (the guys forgot their boutonnieres, my dress bustle ripped), but looking back it all went as perfect as a wedding day can go. Because in the end, as a friend told me, it's really not that day that matters most, it's every single day afterward. 
 

And there's a little white church on a hill in Bodega that will always remind us of June 22, 2013.

Here are a few of my favorite moments...

Hello again

at our rehearsal dinner June 21 (the longest night of the year!)

Well, hello, friends. I’ve been MIA for a while as I planned my wedding and went on my honeymoon. Now I’m back, a married woman and fully back into the routine of life and work.

Everyone keeps asking me if being married feels different. And I keep saying it doesn’t. It feels the same. It feels right. Just as it should feel. 

More posts to come...including some wedding photos, crafts and stories.  

Little traditions

Do you have a funny little tradition with your significant other?

Andrew will sometimes bring home library books for me unexpectedly. When we first started living together, he began going to the library during the day. He’ll pick one out for himself and then find one he thinks I might like – usually with some antiquated looking cover and involving a romance or some kind of traveling. (We totally judge a book by its cover – don’t you?). His latest pick is Ken Burn's Dust Bowl book (I'm fascinated by that time period and Dorothea Lange), his last pick The Postmistress turned out be a riveting novel, and the one before that is now one of my all-time favorite stories.

But he will laugh at this post because sometimes when he brings a book home I go into a fit of "I-don't-have-time-to-read-this!" and try to ignore the book that sits oozing with guilt on my nightstand. It seriously stresses me out. Books have feelings, don't they? But I love seeing what he’ll bring home. It’s always nice enjoying something that someone picked out especially for you. Even if it's as simple as a library book.

*Photos from Moonrise Kingdom. :)

California love

Felt an earthquake today. Around 4 p.m. in downtown Sacramento, our office on the 9th floor of one of the city's oldest buildings started swaying. Yikes! But I'm thankful earthquakes are just about the only thing we have to worry about here in California...no crazy blizzards or hurricanes or tsunamis (only in those awful "the-world-is-ending-in-L.A." movies). It's our land of milk and honey, movie stars and sunshine and yoga fanatics and the freshest produce in the West. It's the only place I know where you can drive to a beach, a snow-capped mountain, a desert and a forest of the tallest trees in the country within a day. It's home. I didn't even have to move away for more than a year to realize that. Here's one of my favorite songs about California. And another classic. There are plenty. :)

Years that ask questions

This quote has been one of my favorites ever since reading Their Eyes Were Watching God in high school (gosh, I miss those classics sometimes...)

I truly can't believe 2013 is upon us. I've always felt that time was rushing forward -- that the days and weeks and months and years were lunging past me uncontrollably -- and this year especially seemed to fly right on by. But time did stop on a few occasions for a few brief moments. Like this one. :) And those moments I cherish. 2012 taught me many things about myself, about life, about love, about starting a career. 2011 was a year of questions, but this year gave me some clarity, some definitive answers. Maybe that was true for you as well, or maybe your year was more uncertain. I have a feeling 2013 will bring many more challenges, questions, answers and great memories. 

How are you celebrating the close of 2012? We're going to watch the fireworks over Tower Bridge in Old Town Sac tonight. Happy New Year, everyone! See ya next year. ;)


*Photo from that dubious summer 2011 in Torrington, WY 

On kindness and Christmas

There's a nice man who works at the ticket booth in our parking garage. Whenever I swing by to leave work for the evening, he's there with a smile, a nod and a "have a good night!" It's a simple gesture, but it's become something familiar and pleasant. Sometimes I'll pick his line of cars at the exit just to wish him well and have him send me on my journey home. I don't know much about him. All I know is that his simple kindness makes a big difference... 

And speaking of kindness, our mantel (well, cabinet) with cards from family and friends reminds me how blessed we are. Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season! Andrew and I spent the weekend before Christmas in Los Angeles, visiting my aunt MaryAnn and her boyfriend Dominick and cruising through the crowded streets of Hollywood and Beverly Hills in her new car. We held a party (Kim came over!), went on a hike near Dodgers stadium, ate Mexican food on Olvera Street, browsed the Redondo Pier fish market and went on a long walk in Marina Del Rey with Andrew's brother Tony and his wife Jana. It was my first time meeting them and I couldn't have been happier to have an afternoon together! We spent Christmas in Grass Valley, opening presents, eating way too much as usual and watching "The Christmas Story" -- my favorite. :)

Window seats

When I was a little girl I used to try to squeeze up onto the ledge of the window in my room to read, pretending it was a window seat. 

With only about six inches to spare on the windowsill, it was anything but comfortable and I couldn't last up there for more than a few minutes, stretching my leg across and pushing my foot against the space where the window frame meets the wall to keep myself steady. 

Maybe I had read about window seats in a book somewhere...I don't know. But ever since then, one of my dreams has been to have a window seat. There would be nothing better than snuggling up to a good book on a winter afternoon on a window seat. (I just finished Half Broke Horses and The Glass Castle. Jeannette Walls' writing is heartbreaking and heartwarming all at once.)

Check out these pretty reading spots below! Plus, 36 cozy window seats from Freshome. Do you have a window seat? If so, I'm coming over...

And, an awesome window BED...

*Top painting "The Window Seat" by Sir William Orpen 

Mad for mandarins

Yesterday afternoon, Andrew and I drove out to the Gold Country Fairgrounds to get our daily dose of Vitamin C (plus some!) at the 19th annual Mountain Mandarin Festival in Auburn. 

I had the chance to speak with Joanne Neft, the festival's founder, back when we did a profile on her for Sactown's April/May issue, and since then, I've been wanting to attend the festival -- especially since it's practically in my backyard of Grass Valley and I've never gone! The fairgrounds were filled with vendors selling everything from handmade crafts to homemade toffee and from mandarin milkshakes to hefty 10 lb. bags of mandarin oranges grown in the area. Fun farming fact: warm days and cool nights in the Sierra foothills make it a prime growing climate for mandarins, hence the yearly festival. :)

We wandered and snacked on free samples and then dug into a delicious pizza from the portable wood-fired oven of Bella Familia Pizza topped with bacon and, yes, mandarin slices. Delicious...

Placer County was glowing with fall colors and we couldn't help get a bit carried away before we headed home toting our own 10 lb. bag of yummy, bright little citrus orbs...

Our engagement photos

I'm thrilled to (finally!) post me and Andrew's engagement photos, captured beautifully by the talented Hannah Nicholson, who I went to high school with and who just happens to be my good friend Heather's little sis (follow that?). We ventured out to Empire Mine State Park in Grass Valley, with its beautiful stone house and gardens, and had a blast setting up shots around the grounds there in the beautiful late-summer afternoon light. Hannah snapped away, Andrew and I tried not to pose awkwardly and Heather helped us pick out good spots and faithfully carried around purses/water bottles/extra lenses. 

I must say, it was so much fun doing this kind of outdoor photo session with friends. All the pressure of a formal, stuffy engagement shoot went out the window and we could just relax, be ourselves and make it our own. Lots of laughter was involved that day. And the photos we'll cherish forever...We call this first one below our "album cover." ;)

Hannah also brought her film camera (yes, film!) I'm so glad some people still believe in this "old fashioned" photography method, because the results are truly phenomenal. As Hannah would agree, the grain, depth and captured light in film can't be beat. Below are some images she shot in film. LOVE the ring and daisy one. 

"Lovers don't finally meet somewhere. They're in each other all along." -Rumi

THANKS, HANNAH & HEATHER! You can view more of our engagement photos on our wedding website here!

My bucket list

Do you have a bucket list? 

I clearly remember that day in freshman English class at the computer lab, sitting next to my bff Katherine, as we typed up our dreams and goals. Our assignment? Create a 100-item bucket list.

The other day I was thinking of that list, wondering how my goals (however mundane or far-flung) may have changed since then. So I dug into my computer files, way back 10 years ago. Sheesh, was it really that long ago?? Katherine, we’re getting’ old!

Lo and behold, I found that list from 5th period English. I skimmed through it laughing and shaking my head. A lot of my dreams have remained the same (travel around the world, write a novel or two, learn to play the guitar, hike the P.C.T. ...) but some have changed completely (learn to yodel, ride all the roller coasters in the U.S., have lunch with Kobe Bryant??) What was my 9th grade mind thinking? Funny how 10 years can completely alter your perception of the world. But then again, the core of who we are and how we think stays pretty consistent, I believe.

I was proud to learn I've already accomplished some of those goals I wrote down that day (work for a while as a newspaper reporter, go skydiving, travel to Australia). And one item in particular on my bucket list made me smile. It said, "marry someone I trust and love." 

You see, dreams, goals, wishes (and buckets) do come true.

Recipe for the ocean

A few weeks ago, Andrew and I visited the ocean, near the town out on the coast where we will marry. Here's what we found: 

Flats, of course, weren't the best idea for walking along the beach, but I couldn't resist. I miss living closer to the ocean. There's nothing like the big, beautiful, raging, calming sea to put life in perspective. :) Happy Friday, everyone. 

Summer camp

Here are two things you need to understand about summer camp:

1) It’s all fun and games.

2) It’s not all fun and games. 

My friend Lindsay posted this great article about summer camp on Facebook yesterday and it quickly garnered "likes" from our camp friends.

The writer makes a FANTASTIC point about camp being an invaluable life and job experience for the young adults who work there. My favorite part is when she compares working as a camp counselor to having a summer internship.

“…you are on call 24/7, sleeping six hours a night and spending the remaining 18 outside, running around with your campers, planning programming, catering to every need of your cabin and getting more mosquito bites than you thought physically possible…You want an easy, restful summer? Go get an internship. You can sleep all weekend long and get paid a lot more, too.”

So true. Reading the story brought back a lot of great memories.

Camp is one of those quintessential growing-up experiences. Though I never went to camp as a kid, I’m so thankful that my friend Kim and I randomly decided to sign ourselves up as camp counselors way back when. I ended up working two summers at Mountain Meadow Ranch Summer Camp in Susanville, California and learned way too much (how to wakeboard, how to get kids to listen to directions, how to make 100 pancakes on a little camping stove…) During my second summer, I was part of the lake staff. I drove this giant 18-passenger van filled with kids back and forth to Lake Almanor everyday and we spent hours tightening life jackets, driving boats in circles, handing out sunscreen and making sure everyone got back to camp happy and exhausted. It was the time of my life.

And it’s the only time in my life I’ve found it acceptable to show up to dinner in neon tights and pigtails or sing at the top of my lungs on a hike. I met other counselors from all over the world—from Israel to New Zealand to Scotland to Australia—and I still consider some of them my best friends. I'll never forget my campers either, and hope we left them with some good advice and tools for growing up. Many have them have since gone on to be counselors themselves. We’re all scattered around the world now. But the cool thing is, for a brief flash of existence, we once all sat on logs around the crackling campfire laughing and singing “M.T.A.” :)

Read the entire article HERE.

* Top photo of beautiful Mountain Meadow Ranch circa 2008, bottom photo of the awesome Apache cabin circa 2009

Sacramento date day: Zoo + pizza

I work full-time in downtown Sac now, but I’ve barely scratched the surface of exploring the City of Trees. So, the weekend before last Andrew and I went on a little adventure.

We wandered through the Sacramento Zoo (where I hadn’t been since I was a kid) and checked out the lions and tigers and pythons, oh my! I also discovered my new favorite animal is a red panda. They were lazily hanging in the trees for hours on end.

For lunch, we stopped by Hot Italian and tried their pizza for the first time. Andrew tried one with prosciutto and I had the Murino, with sliced pears, gorgonzola and honey. But my favorite part of the meal was dessert—their carmel saluto (salted caramel) gelato with its burnt caramel flavor was to-die-for! We took a small bowl of it to go and ate it sitting in the grass just across the street at Freemont Park. :)

What are your favorite date spots in your home city? Hmmm?