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!

coachellaaaa

I fulfilled a lifelong dream of mine this past April when Drew and I attended Coachella Music & Arts Festival and it was just that, A DREAM COME TRUE!!!

Rewind to sometime last fall, when Sigur Rós announced they would be performing alongside the L.A. Philharmonic Orchestra for a few shows in April aka the most magical set ever, right?! (Right). Because God is real, the dates of the shows coincided with Weekend 1 of Coachella soooo being the millenials that we are, we decided to wait until the Coachella lineup was released to determine if we would make a giant musical weekend in California out of this happy coincidence. You can probably guess what our decision was :) I should also add that not only was this BEST lineup in 5+ years, but this was also the first time I was not at the mercy of BYU finals week so I actually could attend without any other obligations. #BLESSED

TBH I don't have the energy or desire to recount all my favorites from the weekend, but just know there were A LOT! This is what I get for not posting this earlier...at this point I don't care to share lolwoops. Instead, here's a lil video I made from the weekend! Coachella was amazing and I would 100% go again!

chicago in film

Fun fact #1: I was born in Chicago! This was my first time back since I lived there for the first year of my life.

Fun fact #2: Two of our favorite people, Andy and Haylee, moved to Chicago a few months ago and we've missed them. They were the best hosts and convinced us multiple times that we should move there. But on one condition: you guys have to go to SoulCycle and eat cupcake pancakes with me every Saturday morning.

Fun fact #3: I genuinely want to learn how to photograph in film because I love film photography so so much. I am going to make it my/our goal to bring along Drew's Nikon FG as much as possible so I can mess around with it. Sometimes I forget he has a perfectly functioning camera that spends most of its life sitting on a shelf. Maybe one day we will get a nicer camera to support my burgeoning hobby, but for now, this lil guy provided us some awesome shots to commemorate our weekend in Chicago!

2.18.17. The cupcake pancakes in question were from Southport Grocery & Cafe (where yes, we did eat brunch after SoulCycling), and I am still thinking about them.

I loved the sense of community in this part of town because all the houses still had Fly the W posters and other Cubs memorabilia proudly displayed in their windows. Cubs fans are the real deal. Even though I think baseball is the most boring sport, I too was a die hard Cubs fan in that moment.

Mirror selfie @ Cloud Gate

Saturday afternoon spent at The Art Institute of Chicago <3

We had a Ferris + Sloane moment...

As well as a Cameron Frye moment.

Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room

2.19.17. On Sunday evening we took Andy's drone out to Promontory Point to capture the gorgeous skyline on Lake Michigan. I didn't know that a picture of a drone could be so beautiful??

We even met some members of the Chicago Yacht Club.

2.20.17. So Haylee goes to school at Hogwarts. Not really, but the University of Chicago is as close as we'll get here in America. It is one of the prettiest campuses I've ever toured. Wouldn't you be more motivated to attend class if it was held in a cathedral?

Glamour Shots by Drew. Haylee was in class.

Okay so the last four shots below were taken by me! Drew is nice for letting me post all of his work (if not me, then who?), so I need to let it be known that all the other shots from this point and above were by him. Is it bad that the ones I took might be my favorites?? Shhh don't tell him. I am pretty proud of myself for how they turned out! I can't wait to continue to learn more about shooting film in the future :)

The Sausage King of Chicago.

Thanks for the memories, Andy and Haylee! We will definitely be back to visit this pretty city real soon.