previously on the o.c. ...

Every time we visit Orange County, part of me never wants to leave. These pictures were taken in Yorba Linda and Balboa Island and gah! Sometimes I wonder why we don't live here already. But then I remember how astronomical the rent is, and I come back to the reality that at least for now, Utah is home for us. That doesn't stop me from dreaming of my retirement beach house here though...

This is my husband Drew, the vampire

 Obviously this shot of me was taken by Drew...but the rest of the pictures in this post were taken by me! I know I sound so braggy every time I mention that, but I really am excited about this new hobby of mine, and awaiting the arrival of these particular film scans was so fun! Also, I should note that I have nooo idea how to even start editing photos and I haven't touched or tweaked any of these photos. From what I understand, there is quite an art to scanning film. I am amazed by how good they look directly from the lab! It's all props to them, because clearly I am no pro yet ;) S/O to thefindlab.com !!!

These last two were taken at Seven Magic Mountains, an art installation located a few miles south of Las Vegas, right off I-15. We stopped here on our drive back to Utah because after seeing it all over Instagram, I wanted to see it for myself! According to the artist, Ugo Rondinone, the location is symbolic of the in-between of the natural and the artificial: the natural expressed by the desert and mountain ranges, with the artificial expressed by the close proximity to the highway and constant flow of traffic between L.A. and Vegas. I was in awe of these large-scale, colorful totems. They are made out of painted, locally-sourced boulders and stand 30-35 feet tall! Neat! Seven Magic Mountains is a two-year public art installation that will be up until May 2018. Check it out while you can!

joey + yuki

The main event of our California road trip was the wedding of our dear friends Joey and Yuki. Since I had the honor of being in the bridal party, these pictures were taken by Drew per my request. But he's not going to share them, so it is my duty to do so! :)

On the night before the sealing, we celebrated the couple at the beautiful Nelson home in Brea with tacos, ice cream, and a kickass dance party with music brought to you by Drew. If you need someone to make you a wedding mix that will consist of only the best, Drew is your guy! (jk, he is so sick of me volunteering him to do these for our friends-- he has done four weddings now-- so maybe ask him first lol)

 Mr. & Mrs. Nelson // May 20, 2017 // Los Angeles Temple

Story time! Yuki is one of my oldest and dearest friends. Her family moved to my hometown and home ward in Lancaster when I was 11 years old(? I think? I just remember being in senior primary and wishing I could be in Beehives with her. How CUTE is that?!) It didn't take long for us to become friends, and our families got along so well too. I was so sad when the Dorffs moved to Washington a few short years later, but we became loyal pen-pals. I didn't see her again until I flew out one summer to attend EFY together in Oregon when I was 15. To this day, we laugh about what a ridiculous and weird week that was, but it is still one of my fondest memories with Yuki. A few years later, she transferred to BYU Provo the same semester that I started my freshman year and we've been close ever since. Yuki is someone I know will be my friend for years to come, because it has never been hard for us to stay connected despite where our lives take us. I am STOKED that she married Joey. We love hanging out with them. Another fun fact! Drew and Joey have known each other since their freshman year at BYU eight years ago. So like, collectively, we have known this couple for a longgg time and can't wait for all the double dates in the future!

Bridesman, bridesmaids, bride, groom, groomsmen, groomswomen

Ethnically diverse bridal party? Check.

Photo courtesy of the groom himself! lol.

After the sealing we enjoyed an intimate and beautiful dinner in Topanga Canyon with family and friends of the bride and groom. The view, the venue, and the décor was all so dreamy. I cannot wait to see how their (also our ;)) wedding photographer extraordinaire, Moni, captured everything. But in the meantime, I'm pretty fond of the moments that Drew captured too :)

Thank you for letting us be a part of your special day! Big congrats and best wishes to the newly married joeynelson_official & yukinelson_official! I know you hate that joke by now, but I still love it. And I love you two! <3

i heart disneyland

Remember when I talked about wanting to learn more about shooting on film?? WELLLL two weeks ago we took a road trip out to California so of course we brought Drew's Nikon so I could get some more practice! Drew was very patient in teaching me all about the different settings and such on his camera, and I am actually pretty pleased with myself with how most of them turned out! 

Our first stop was obviously DISNEYLAND. And when I mean first stop, I mean we literally woke up in Mesquite at 4:30 AM, were on the road by 5, and drove straight to Orange County so we could get to Disneyland at a decent time. Tell us we're crazy and spontaneous and fun! Really we're just two Disney-loving nerds.

If there is one thing I have learned in the few times I have gone to Disneyland, it's that NO ONE IS TOO COOL FOR DISNEY! You can quote me.

Space Mountain is always a must, I don't care how long I have to wait in line!! (jk my limit is anything over an hour, but luckily we didn't have to wait that long)

First time experiencing the It's a Small World ride and definitely my last. So photogenic but wow that ride is hella creepy.

Okay this one makes me laugh because I took it in line for Thunder Mountain and I noticed how cool it looked as soon as the line started moving pretty fast. So I literally just snapped this without adjusting or focusing anything and starting running in the opposite direction to catch up with the line. I looked so stupid I'm sure, but it actually turned out decent! LOL guess you had to be there...

The next few were taken in one of the many sit down cafes in the park that neither of us usually go to (we are corn dogs + dole whips all the way), but it gave me some time to ~experiment~ with settings and such.

Many more pics from the rest of the weekend to come!

winter break: so cal

Guys. Last week I started my last semester of my undergraduate studies...EVER! I cannot believe I am graduating from this wonderful university in April. So many uncertainties ahead! But a lot of exciting things to look forward to as well. Nervous, but excited for sure.

Rewind to winter break, when I celebrated the holidays without my parents for the first time in my life. Most of the time, being married feels no different than dating, but then the holidays came around and I remembered I wouldn't be going home to Lancaster at all and got a little depressed. My house is the best place to be for Christmas. Seriously. My mom always puts up the cutest decorations, I get to visit my Lancaster friends, home ward, and my mother's cooking is second to none. I was definitely homesick for a good chunk of my break. However, trading the bitter cold of Provo for sunny southern California definitely helped.

After recuperating from finals week, we had a lazy weekend in Provo before flying to Yorba Linda for six days of movies, eating, and my favorite event...Disneyland! We decided to go on Christmas Eve and no one else wanted to go with us because everyone thought it would be too busy and figured it would be better to go after Christmas. However, Drew and I left a few days before everyone else (the Monday after Christmas), so Christmas Eve was our only option, because Christmas day would've been a nightmare, and so would the weekend. So, we just ventured by ourselves. SO GLAD WE DID, because it was the least crowded I have ever seen the park! Honestly. The longest wait was probably 45 minutes and since we finished all the attractions at Disney by about 2 PM, we decided to upgrade to a park hopper and head on over to California Adventure for the rest of the day, which was even LESS packed. It was my first time ever going to California Adventure too! Best decision of our whole trip. 

I had to include that ridiculous picture of me on the right to mourn my long hair. Last week I got my annual haircut and I always have a hard time with short hair for the first few weeks, but then I get over it. In other words, I am slowly but surely starting to hate how short my hair is less and less.

The Haunted Mansion decked out with Nightmare Before Christmas decorations was my favorite holiday change to the park.

California Adventure did not disappoint! I'm a big roller coaster person, so naturally we had to ride California Screamin' three times.

Christmas day was equally as wonderful, the highlight was definitely talking to Nic! That kid is such a riot and I miss him lots. He is doing great and although he wanted to talk about Yeezy boots and rap music, he is also improving a lot in his Mandarin and I can tell how much he loves serving the people in Melbourne. He even developed a little bit of an Aussie accent and uses the lingo which was so weird/funny to hear. Less than a year left until he's home folks!!

Elder Padilla probably talking about Kendrick Lamar

Getting married meant gaining this cutie as a nephew and I love it. Look at him in the onesie I got him for Christmas!! I cannot. He is in a huge Toy Story phase right now and he watched Toy Story 3 at least five times that week. Here he is hanging out with his friends aka Toy Story toys in a box.

The rest of our trip involved watching tons of movies, reading up on fan theories after watching Star Wars (please discuss with me because I'm not over it), visiting some friends, and hanging out with Harvey a lot. We flew back to Provo for a hot second (just long enough for me to remember how much I hate the cold and snow) before road-tripping to San Francisco for our friend's wedding! Pictures and stories from our Nor Cal weekend coming soon <3