cloudy california

SCHOOL'S OUT, SCREAM AND SHOUT! loljk spring term starts tomorrow :( BUT winter semester finished up last Wednesday and after a week of zero sleep, lots of Monsters, 4 final exams, internship interviews, packing up my house, and being homeless for a few days, I took a much needed trip to California with Drew for the weekend. It was the perfect break that my brain and body needed in between semesters.

We flew in on Thursday, and from the time we arrived up until the day we left, the weather was cold, dreary, and as un-California-like as possible. OF COURSE. Just our luck :( I was banking on at least two full days at the beach and I got zero. But we still made the most of it! On Thursday we drove down to Balboa Island for treats at Dad's, ( I can finally say I've tried the frozen banana and hippo cookies!! Just as delicious as anticipated). Then we roamed around the beach looking at all the pretty houses and choosing which one we'll buy one day. After grabbing some dinner at a Greek restaurant I don't remember the name of, we drove back home and Drew gave me the full Yorba Linda tour, showing me his old high school, his favorite hang out spot as a child (the library), friend's houses, and some other special places that held fond memories for him. It was so fun to get more acquainted with his childhood home! I think my favorite part of the day was saying the name of every single street we drove by in my best Californian voice.

FRIDAY WAS FOR DISNEYLAND. OK, so we were not initially planning on going to Disney because it would be too expensive and we already had a jam-packed weekend ahead of us. But Friday morning rolled around and even though we had plans to spend the day in L.A. visiting LACMA, The Getty, and other sites, Drew successfully convinced me that Disney was the better option. AND IT TOTALLY WAS. I've only ever been one other time when he took me last May, but with the chilly, rainy weather, it was far less crowded and we were able to go on so many more rides! We even finished everything we wanted to do by dinnertime, so we went home, had dinner with his mom, and then went back for round two! And by that I mean we got back with just enough time to ride Pirates of the Caribbean again, and then watched the fireworks. It was such a fun spontaneous day and just as magical as Disneyland should always be. YOLO amiright?

Sorry for the picture overload from our Saturday morning spent at LACMA. This was such a neat art museum and I loved exploring it with Drew. Even though he's lived less than an hour away from L.A. his whole life, he's never even been to it! Andy Warhol is one of my favorites, so this was pretty dreamy for me. This past semester I took a Western Humanities class and when we learned about modern and post-modern artists, everyone was hating on not only him, but pretty much all artists of this era. I felt personally offended by my classmates' views on this movement in art as a whole, because I think modern/post-modern artwork is so innovative and just the coolest. So this is my shout-out to Andy and his fellow artists of that era: U ROCK, DON'T EVER CHANGE. Before we left L.A. we grabbed lunch at the yummiest Thai food truck I've ever experienced, Arroy Food Truck. This place was the bomb and Drew (the french fry connoisseur himself) stated that their garlic basil french fries were the best he's had in a while. I completely agree. Yes that's right, Thai fries are a real thing and for that I am grateful. If you are ever in the area, track them down and you won't be disappointed.

The main reason for our California trip was to get our engagement pictures taken by our dear friend Meredith. She is a super talented, up-and-coming photographer in the Orange County area and we figured it would be the perfect opportunity to spend some time with her, while also checking something off the wedding to-do list. We originally planned to take them at sunset on Saturday, but of course the weather had other plans. With the torrential downpour and crazy winds at the beach, we rescheduled for early Sunday morning, just before we left for the airport. And let me tell you...they. were. perfect. Seriously. Meredith is a dream to work with and also the nicest and coolest gal pal. Check her out (and follow her!) on her photography site, Facebook page, and Instagram! Here's just a lil taste...but perhaps another post will hit the blog when I get them all back...who knows?!? (LOL me. I know. Of course there will be because I'm obsessed).

photo cred: Meredith Chapman, you rock my socks off and actually make kissing pictures look good.

Thanks for reading this monstrosity of a post. I had the best weekend and I look for any excuse I have to visit California. Hopefully I'll be back very very soon!