Lake Tahoe Vacation (Part Two)

We're coming to a close on our anniversary vacation. The hubby is packing his suitcase as I write this (mine gets re-packed every time I take something out or put something in.) I figured I could give you a little recap of our last couple of days.

The smoke was gone until Saturday night and then it returned. It was sad, but it was still a great trip. Saturday we spent most of the afternoon talking and enjoying time with D's grandparents before we headed into Reno for their annual Rib Fest. We went to The Summit (an outdoor mall) for a little shopping first. Once at rib fest we people watched, listened to country music and of course ate ribs. We met up with both of D's cousins and just enjoyed each others company. We also got our first pair of cowboy hats. Albeit cheap and fake non-authentic, they still work and can be used for years to come! Bring on a country concert!

Sunday was our anniversary. We awoke and went to a local casino for breakfast with the family and then managed to get in some gambling as well. D's grandma was the only one with luck that day as she won well over two hundred bucks. I managed to last on $10 for about an hour but eventually lost it. Next stop was a local feed type store where we ALMOST bought cowboy boots. They didn't have the hubs size, so we will visit Boot Barn when we get home. D is turning into Johnny Cash, you know "the man in black." He continues to want all things in black. It's pretty funny. We went back to the house for happy hour then made our way to Reds 395 for a makeup 21st and anniversary dinner. I'll have to tell you another time about D's 21st birthday. We preceded to have the saltiest chicken wings ever, and were disappointed that they weren't like The Abbey, but honestly no wings compare to the wings we get in Florida. After we just had a nice relaxing evening playing cards and visiting.

Oh I forgot to share with you. We did manage to find the spot and take an "after" photo. I did a side by side comparison and belly laughed looking at it. It's obvious to me that our styles haven't changed that much when looking at the photo and we haven't nearly the identical outfits on that we did 11 years ago. I smile now remembering how far we have come and still love each other so much.

Hope you all have a safe and happy Labor Day. We will be bearing the traffic trying to get home with everyone else!

I would say "I Do" all over again

 

Today marks the 6 year anniversary of our wedding. It is amazing to me that it has been that long. We have been married longer than most people we know, our own age, and still love each other more and more each day. We still talk about the biggest party of our lives and the memories that it created. Every year we like to watch our ceremony video and re-live those words that we spoke out of our hearts. Holding hands and snuggling, we remember the vow that we took and the love that we share. I always ask if we can have the wedding again, because I truly mean that I would marry this man all over again. He is my soul mate and my best friend. Even during our struggles we can always overcome them and in the end it makes our bond that much stronger. Remember my love, "If you knew how happy you are making me, I never thought I'd love anyone so much." There were never truer words spoken in a song and listening to that still brings tears to my eyes as I re-live each memory.

This year on our anniversary we are going to be in Lake Tahoe. Our first vacation spot together. I wish to re-live a memory that we created by driving up to the Emerald Bay overlook and taking a "now" photo. Once of my favorite photo's from our early years is in this spot and I wish to re-create it.

Cheers to love! Happy September!

Limoneira J&K

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Remember last week when I told you guys that I coordinated a dear friends wedding. Well the photographer, Nick Charrow, was on top of his game a released a sneak peak on his website. The photo's are awesome!!! I still feel blessed and honored to help be a part of this special and magical day! Check out the photo's and give Nick some love!

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The one who is a wedding coordinator

Source via Facebook

Woowza! What a whirlwind weekend it was. I am still recovering and it's Wednesday! This weekend was my first official duty as being a day of wedding coordinator. What does this entail? Running the rehearsal, set up day of decor, coordinating vendors, dealing with any issues and making sure the wedding stays on schedule. If you recall on Friday I was off to run the rehearsal dinner. I thought this would be a little harried, but thankfully all but two people had been in weddings previously! Whew! Everyone pretty much knew what to do and how to stand. Easy for me, especially because I needed to gather my scattered thoughts to align with the task at hand, as opposed to the task on Sunday. Details were spinning through my head. After an hour everyone was good as rehearsed. The bridal party, friends, family and myself (yay) went to a local Chinese restaurant and gorged on orange chicken and toasted to the couple. I got to hang out with my dear friends Mr. and Mrs. A and their cutie pie daughter. It was wonderful to be included in this whole event and be treated like family with them. I feel like they are an extension of my own family and am so happy for the couple!

Sunday was the big day. I got up bright and early to make sure I looked decent for the whole day. Er....well my hair had fallen flat by the time the sun went down, but really that's not any big surprise. I didn't need to look pretty, right! Once on site I got straight to work pulling out all the decor, making sure everything was there. I spent the next couple of hours staging and getting everything set for the bride and groom. I neglected to take finished photos because it was ceremony time, guests were arriving and I needed to head out to the ceremony site to make sure everything started on time.....which it did! Shocker!!! Even my own wedding didn't start on time! Hopefully I can link you to the photographers site when the photos are up with detail shots. I'm excited to see everything.

Everything went according to plan, except for a couple of seating snafus, some broken glass on the dance floor, and some last minute time adjustments. When does any wedding go exactly to plan?! The thing that was the coolest was the sparkler send off (which we did early to get a good crowd and great photos) The gifts were picking citrus in the orchard (the venue was a huge lemon orchard and it was gorgeous!) The bride and groom danced until the very last song and were just so grateful that their family and friends came out to celebrate them. I am so glad I was able to help give them their fairytale wedding and to make sure that their day ran as smoothly and stress free as possible.

Congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs. G!!!!

Stay tuned for update photo's when I can get access to them!

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Coordinating and Coordination

Hi my lovelies! I just wanted to drop a quick line and apologize for my absence the last couple of days. This weekend is going to be a little hectic! I am helping a friend with her wedding. I will be assisting with the rehearsal tonight, and doing all of the set up on Sunday at a beautiful location in Ventura County.

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I am excited, yet a little nervous! I have planned many parties before so it should be cake, but this is someones wedding! I just can't wait to see them all dolled up, and the flower girl, you may remember her from this post, is going to be just dahling! Hopefully I can get on and plow out some posts tomorrow while the hubby is at work....in between cleaning and working out. I will let you all know how it goes! Happy Friday!

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Another One Bites the Dust

You guys I have been seriously slacking on getting some posts written. Could it be that by the time I get home from work all I want to do is veg out and not sit on my computer. Yes. Or the fact that I have taken on doing P90X and that takes about an hour to an hour 20 out of my evenings. Yes again. So I am starting to write a couple of posts while the hubs is out utilizing his birthday gift (more on that later) and am using his other birthday gift to write this post (his new iPad). Seriously. I can veg on the couch and blog?! Who would've thunk it!

So. A couple weeks back a dear family friend married the woman of his dreams. If you follow me on Instagram you probably already saw a couple of those photos. But if not here's a recap of the fun filled events. It was held a a gorgeous vineyard in Temecula. Honestly, the two hour drive didn't sound fun but was completely worth it once we saw the view.  We settled into our seats after a cocktail and signing the super cute guest book. The had every guest sign a puzzle piece and will fame the assembled puzzle for their wall! I want to see that! I can't imagine a cooler piece of art! Once the ceremony began I looked for the father of the groom, one of my dads best friends since high school, and he wasn't sitting next to his wife. I leaned over and asked my mom where he was and just as I said it he came walking down the aisle as a groomsmen. I seriously teared up. What a great honor to have your father stand next to you in support of your marriage!

Us at the ceremony

Cute puzzle guest book!

Mother of the Groom

Father of the Groom and a groomsman!

During the ceremony, when the minister asked for the rings from the best man, something hilarious happened. He opened his jacket and pulled out a box of Cracker Jack and dumped both rings out of it along with a couple of pieces of the popcorn candy. The minister, slightly confused, then giggled when he grabbed a piece of popcorn and ate it while passing a couple pieces down the line of groomsmen. The entire crowd laughed for a couple of minutes and it was a very memorable moment for everyone there. After vows and a quick sand ceremony, they kissed and were married. The recessional song was "Another one Bites the Dust" by Queen, which was another tee hee moment.

The Groom

Sand Ceremony

Everyone made their way to the cocktail hour and food. During this time my mom decided that my drink was better than hers and stole it! I had to send the hubby back to get me another one and we giggled about it for the rest of the evening. On my way to find the restroom I stumbled upon the bride and groom and got a really great shot!

The gorgeous view!

We settled into dinner and chatted away the evening with our table and had great conversations and food. We listened to heartwarming and silly toasts and then it was time to dance! We did the money dance, and I of course in true fashion danced with both the bride and the groom. The hubby and I made our way to the photo booth for some silly shots and we had some yummy cake. I was also able to steal a dance with my dad, which hasn't happened since my own wedding almost six years ago. Once we had our full of wedding, family and friends, we said our goodbyes and made our way back home. It was a beautiful wedding, and I will always love attending weddings with my hubs.

Awe photo booths!

The men in my life! Hubby and Dad

'Scuse the blurry photo, the non blurry one my dad's eyes were closed :-(

We wish the newly weds a life of love, laughter and happily ever after!

A little shout out for a big day!

Hey Guys! I have been super busy this weekend with weddings and celebrating my loves 30th birthday. I took today off so we could just spend QT time together in honor of him. He got a sweet mountain bike and we are just heading out to the pool for some fun in the sun. I thought I would post a little note to say that I'll be back tomorrow with Tuesday Topics and a recap of this BIG weekend. I would also love to shout out to my main squeeze that I love you dearly and I hope that this weekend was everything you could wish for and more! Happy Birthday Again!!!!! Welcome to the Dirty 30 club!

Happy Monday!

"Feels Like Home"

In honor of our 5th wedding anniversary that is this Saturday, I am reminding my followers of the wonderful song that we danced our first dance too. It still brings tears to my eyes! Thinking about our beautiful day, and marrying my best friend!

"Feels Like Home" - Chantal Kreviazuk 

Somethin' in your eyes, makes me wanna lose myself 

Makes me wanna lose myself, in your arms 

There's somethin' in your voice, makes my heart beat fast 

Hope this feeling lasts, the rest of my life 

If you knew how lonely my life has been 

And how long I've been so alone 

And if you knew how I wanted someone to come along 

And change my life the way you've done 

It feels like home to me, it feels like home to me 

It feels like I'm all the way back where I come from 

It feels like home to me, it feels like home to me 

It feels like I'm all the way back where I belong 

A window breaks, down a long, dark street 

And a siren wails in the night 

But I'm alright, 'cause I have you here with me 

And I can almost see, through the dark there is light 

 Well, if you knew how much this moment means to me 

And how long I've waited for your touch 

And if you knew how happy you are making me 

I never thought that I'd love anyone so much 

It feels like home to me, it feels like home to me 

It feels like I'm all the way the back where I come from 

It feels like home to me, it feels like home to me 

It feels like I'm all the way back where I belong 

It feels like I'm all the way back where I belong

600 Miles

So most of the time when you go to weddings, they are local. I mean within a 30-60 mile radius from your own home. When we got the invitation for D's cousins wedding neither one of us realized that it would be a 600+ mile round trip up into northern California. Not that we minded....we both like to drive, look at the scenery and talk (sometimes sleep) on the way. We rose out of bed at 6am, took the pup to my in-laws and then hit the road. We passed all the pretty crops and not so pretty smelling cows as we made our journey up the 5 freeway. I caught up on some reading as well, and of course read quotes from the book to D as he drove. Something I tried to do to break up the country music that we had on in the background....which was appropriate considering we were driving through the most vast and empty part of the middle of our state. Mostly just farmland and animals for miles.

When we arrived at our destination we were starving. We met up with the family; parents, siblings, grandparents, other relatives; checked into the room, and then the clan (13 people) walked over to a restaurant to have a quick lunch. After lunch, we were short on supplies so I went with D's mom to hunt and gather. Although trying to find a drugstore in a new town is a little challenging. We passed Sunset Blvd and Bel Air in our travels we were gone that long! We had no idea that we could drive that far and be right back where we started! Once back at the hotel we parted ways.

As we arrived at the Country Club all gussied up in our finest...D and I took in the scenery. The ceremony over looked the green of the golf course as did the reception area. It brought us back to our own wedding day....wanting to do it again! The bridesmaids were very elegant in their black gowns, the flower girls tossing their rose petals were adorable, and the poor terrified ring bearer, who had to be carried down the aisle by his daddy, all prepared for the entrance of the bride. Dressed in a white gown with a black sash, escorted by her father who had tears in his eyes. She looked beautiful and happy. She walked to Feels Like Home, which is D and my song, so as she made her way down the aisle I whispered the lyrics to him and he squeezed my hand tight. After a quick ceremony and of course I Do....we were headed up to the cocktail hour. Wine, beer and appetizers....a black, white and yellow candy bar and we got our table assignments, complete with the kissing bell. A kissing bell is similar to the clinking of the glasses. You ring the bell to get the couple to kiss. D and I danced, went in the photobooth for silly photos and all around enjoyed ourselves with the fam bam. At 11 we all made our way back to the hotel where D and I enjoyed one last dance for the evening. After we crashed so we could peel ourselves out of bed to tour the state capitol. But that's another post.

Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Bozick on their marriage. May their lives be blessed with love, laughter and a happily ever after!

Below are some photos.....iPhone and some from my M.I.L. We didn't bring the nice camera in and I am kicking myself! At least we were able to capture some moments!

Dad and Daughter!

Mr. Mrs. Bozick!

The bride and her Momma

Details

Centerpieces

Awe!

Happy Couple!

Photobooth Silliness

Sacramento Preview

Travelville....Kimball Style

Ok, in trying to figure out what we are going to do and see in Boston, I decided to look up just exactly where we are going for this wedding we are attending on the 25th. It's in Roseville, CA (reminds me of Pretty Little Liars, yes I know that's Rosewood Pennsylvania, it's just similar) and being the planner that I am I needed to know just how long it would take to get there so I Googled it. 6 hours!!!!!! SIX! One, two, threefourfive, SIX! Ugh. We were planning on going up Saturday morning before the wedding and turning around on Sunday to come home. Sigh. This is still the plan but that's a long freaking drive! On the 30th we are heading up to the lake with our friend so I also looked at where that is located. It seems that within a week span we will be driving upwards of 1,000 miles!

I decided we were going to make the best of these drives, and since coming home from the wedding we are driving straight through the state capital, Sacramento, that we should stop and have a touristy moment. So I went to the Sacramento City website to see what things we could do there. Of course their is the Capitol Building and museum. The California State Railroad Museum. Which would be really cool, but it costs so we will discuss. The Old Sacramento Schoolhouse Museum, which is free and looks interesting. The one that tops the list though (Sarcasm) is the Wells Fargo History Museum. I suggested that to the hubbs, via text message so he didn't hear my sarcasm, and he said that it would be interesting. Um.....HELL NO!! (I will probably eat these words, cause knowing my curiosity we will stop their anyways) Anywho, we will decide where to stop and get a snack! But I think it's important that since we have the Bucket List, and we are going to be right there, that we should make a point to stop, smell the roses, and enjoy a little lunch in the Capitol of the state where we reside. Oh and of course take PHOTOS! Stay tuned!

Congrats to The Halls

On May 27th our friends Mr. and Mrs. H finally tied the knot! Our good fried Mr. P picked us up and we headed out to Studio City's Sportsman Lodge to celebrate their nuptials. We arrived at the beautiful location as the bride and groom were taking photos. We mingled with other guests and then took our seats to wait for the wedding to start. Twinkle lights decorated the aisle and gazebo, and trees surrounded the area. Soon the music started and we got excited to witness such a great event. Despite a hiccup with the D.J., we were suggesting that we all start to hum The Wedding March, the bride made her way down the aisle escorted by her brother. They exchanged vows, and gave each other their first wedding gift. A red rose. Whenever they wish to express their love for one another, all they would have to do is purchase a single red rose and display it in their home. I liked the sentiment of that! Once they were announced we all headed inside to sign the guest book and find our seats.

We were seated with many other friends and even people that we knew outside of the bride and groom. It's funny how small the world really is. We ate a wonderful meal and drank some good beverages. Of course, my hubs cheated a bit and after the open bar was closed he just purchased soda's and spiked them with SoCo from his handy dandy flask. Once the dance floor opened up, we cut a rug. A little Salsa and some swinging hips. During the money dance I stood in the groom's line first, knowing full well that I would dance with both of them. It's my tradition. I told him that I would spin her and dip her! He was very impressed! Haha. When I got into the bride's line, her brother came up and asked to cut it. I of course told him that it was fine. He stood their for a couple of minutes before he turned around and asked why I was in the wrong line. I told him that it was tradition for me to dance with the bride. She always has to win the money pool! It was my turn and I did as promised. I spun her and dipped her and then let the little boy who was behind me show me up! We ate cake, danced some more and then said our goodbyes.

Mr. P and D

Mr. H

Mrs. H and her brother

So pretty

AWE!

First Dance

Centerpieces

Of course I don't go to any wedding without making something. This time I quilted some custom place mats. Here's how I made them:

 

Supplies:
Enough fabric to cut 5" squares to make (4) mats: total 48 squares. (I usually use a charm pack for this because they already come pre-cut at 5", but couldn't find any so I just used 5 fat quarters and it seemed to be enough.)
2 yds backing fabric (will be enough for binding as well)
Quilt Batting

Directions:

1. Sew your 5" squares using a 1/4" seam in 3 rows of 4 across. Sew all rows together to make the place mat top.

2. Baste, quilt, and bind as desired

There it is. Wedding recap and place mats! I hope they enjoy them as much as did making them! May their life be filled with love, laughter and a happily ever after!