Thinking warm...

I am loving these warm days. Mind you, I didn't say 'hot'. 

Although, I do prefer hot to cold, anyday.

Warm days are the bomb. I have been enjoying pool time. Laying-out-reading-a-book-drinking-iced-tea-alone-time. It is wonderful.

And on a day like today, when I walk in the door and it is already getting warm in my upstairs apartment, the first place that I want to go is down my the pool to get out of my stuffy apartment. 

There are a few things that I love about Bakersfield. One of those things is being able to lay out by the pool from April to late September.  

I know it is only May, but I have definately adopted my summer attitude. Productivity has gone out the window. Forget about chores. Right now is not the time. Now is the time to buy a sno-cone and eat it before it melts all over you.  Now is the time to lay out by the pool with the radio on. Now is the time for iced-coffee. And tan-lines.


Want to join me?

Re-do.

A couple of days ago, I was feeling pretty sad about losing all of my photos. What kind of photographer can't load her own film? I was lacking confidence and felt insecure.

Luckily, I have an amazing husband. He came home and said, "Let's go downtown. We can re-do all of the pictures that you lost." Isn't he great? So that is what we did. And I couldn't be happier that we did. I love these images. The golden lighting. The clear blue sky. It was so warm and wonderful walking around Downtown with Que Ricoh and my husband.

I love this little garden oasis near some office buildings.

Jayson caught this fly with his bare hands. I'm pretty sure if he had a string, he would have strung it up to have a pet fly. He is so weird. I love it.

All of these images were captured in downtown Bakersfield on Fujifilm Superia ISO 400 film. 

You want to walk around downtown with me sometime? Totally. Let's grab a sandwich and a cup of iced coffee.

Spring.

 Spring-zilla is here... Yay! There have been warm, sunny days and spring storms. However, it is fleeting quickly. I can feel it in my bones. Summer is coming. Summer. The best season of all. The season of vacations. Of love. Of late night adventures. Of SnoShack. Of BBQs. Of pool parties. And warm memories.

Back to spring. It's doesn't stick around in the valley. It will be 101 degrees before you know it. But while it is still wonderful, I am soakin' it up. Here are some Diana pics to prove that is can be beautiful in Bakersfield. Taken on, none other than the Bike Trail!

 I love the green grasses and white puffy clouds.

Makes you want to go on the Bike Trail, huh? I know... I have really been promoting it lately. But what can I say, I love it. 

Surveying the Land {the quest for Kern River Trail}.

This all started with an internet search. Doesn't it always? I searched 'Hiking Trails near Bakersfield.' And over and over, every site said that the Kern River Trail was a good one. Moderate slopes, 5.2 miles one way. Perfect I thought! And as an added bonus, there was information on wildflower viewing mid-March to late-April! Ally's lucky day! 

I thought, "Let's Go!" So we packed a lunch, hopped in the truck, and started driving. We entered the Kern Canyon. And drove.

And drove.

And drove. 
Sometimes, you get to experience this rare thing where the radio plays all of your current favs. It was happening on this day. We even heard OUR song (Josh Turner - "Would you go with me"). Love country radio. It will change your life. Really, it will.

Ok. Back to Kern River Trail. On one of the websites, it said the trailhead was off Hyw 178 and Delonegha Rd. In fact, the website even said "You can't miss it!" Pu-lease. Jay and I SEARCHED for the trailhead. Forever.

This, my friends, is Lake Isabella. If you get to Lake Isabella, you have gone WAY to far. We went way to far. We got swept away with the music. And the drive. And the wind. Oh, let's be honest. We got lost... and we couldn't find the trailhead.

So we stopped at the Lake, planning our next move.

I got out to see if it was cold. It wasn't. Spring is in the air. Makes me a happy girl.

Jay stayed in the truck.

Since we didn't find the trailhead, we decided to forget it. We picked a different turn off and went for it. Black Gulch South. Never heard of it. Let's do it.

It was a wide sandy trail. Not what we expected, but a nice little walk. Afterwards, I found out that it is actually for off-road vehicles, but the the access road was closed. So it made for a peaceful little afternoon.

And there were wildflowers. I love wildflowers. They make me feel alive. Look at them growing out there on their own. No caretaker or anything. If I were a flower, I would like to be a wild one.

There were also pine cones at big as your head. "I've got a lovely bunch of pine cones, diddle-de-dee. There they are a'standing in a row..." Lion King? Anyone?

There were nice open spaces near the river to picnic at... or camp. But you GOT to bring your own shovel if you're going to camp! The sign said! And we all know you GOT to! Camper's Code!

 

We had a lovely little stroll, ate our lunch and then walked back to the truck. 

And wouldn't you know it... on our drive back down the canyon, we saw the trailhead for the elusive Kern River Trail. We plan on doing it soon. I'll let you know how it goes. In fact, you should just come with us.

more of {first comes marriage}.

After Jay and I had the big reveal, it was time for the photoshoot. It was so fun to have all the attention and have people tell you how beautiful you look. Anyone who says they don't like that kind of attention is lying. We went to Grandma Nord's farm to take pictures. Who is Grandma Nord, you ask? I don't know... all I know is that she came out mid-photo shoot to tell us congratulations and that we were lovely. Once again, positive attention. I love it. 

See this couch. I loved this couch. The photographer, Amanda Frank, brought it just for us. IT was awesome... and since our colors were yellow and grey, it was even more perfect.

Like I said before, I loved seeing each other before the wedding. We got to spend time alone and calm our nerves before the ceremony and vows. And we got to have fun. There was no one but us and our creative team, as we called them. 

ok, now for THE DETAILS:

I am the kind of person who loves the details in a wedding. I love to see what people pick because it says so much about their

personality.

Here are our invitations. Grey and Chartreuse. Birdcages. Simple and Sweet. WeddingPaperDivas.com

We used white table clothes. Scatter on various tables, there were vintage table clothes that I found at a local thrift store. Instead of doing all the same center pieces, some had cacti and succulents in glass vases (as seen here), while others had glass pitchers of wild flowers bought from the local farmer's market

This was Jay's gift to me. Enclosed in this little box was a handkerchief with my initials, a note, and an inscribed poem that I love. I love the handkerchief the most. It was the first thing I got that had my new initials. I cried. And that was the only time I really cried all day.

We got to get married at this house. Isn't it beautful?

These are my bridesmaids. Sisterfriend is the one on the right. They picked out their own dresses in different styles from J.Crew. So wonderful. Also, I let them pick out their own jewelry and any grey flats. They are adorable. (The other two are my sisters-in-law. Brandi-Boo is on the left and is married to my brother and Amy is in the middle and is Jay's sis).

Everyone, this is a pom-pom. Jay calls them alien balls. Call them what you will, but, they are awesome. Sisterfriend made almost all of them and we had them hanging at the wedding.

Example of a table. So in case you didn't know, I have the best friends in the whole world. And these friends set up and decorated the morning of the wedding. And it looked beautiful. Went you are having a backyard wedding, you really have to rely on those around you to help you out. I can't wait to return the favor for them someday.

See this thing floating over the pool beautifully. Jay, HeyBrother, and a friend built this deck just for the wedding. I am one lucky girl.

Here is a view of the deck from the front. We just stapled grey fabric to the front to hide the edges. See the pom-poms hanging in the back? So great. (If you are going to go to the trouble of making decorations like these, use them at the bridal shower too. I plan on using them at SisterFriend's future baby shower. Is she pregnant? No. But I like to think ahead!)
This deck seriously was awesome. We got married on it. Danced on it. It wiggled and shook. And it was so fun. The deck was one of the main highlights of the wedding. 

 For flowers, I went with lime green spider mums, billy balls, and white roses. (Those are our rings. Jay's ring was originally my Grandad's ring, that he wore for over 60 years. I love when objects have a special meaning.)

I wanted to cake to be kinda old-school. I was using my grandparent's original cake topper, which was really special to me. Again, I love things with history. So much more special than buying one online. LAME! I was so happy that they held onto for so long! Jay's grandma recently dug her cake topper out to show me. So beautiful. I love that even though Jay's grandma has been married for so long, she still finds joy in the small things. Her cake topper. I want to be like that.

ANYWAY, enough with the ramblings! Just wanted to share some details. The little details really add so much meaning to an already overwhelmingly important day. Love thinking back... So special. Makes me feel happy. Hope you enjoyed hearing about it. Memory Lane is always more fun with a friend.

Want to get a feeling of the wedding day? (your answer is ABSOLUTELY!) click HERE! 

The Headboard.

BEFORE:

(No Picture)(Because there was no headboard before the headboard)

To make a headboard:

Steal more palettes from your boss's shop.Go to your workshop (your husband's parent's backyard). Take the palettes apart. Make a frame.Screw the palettes into the frame.oh wait, have your husband do all of these steps as you sit inside, chatting it up with your mother-in-law and drinking green tea.

AFTER:

 

 

first transition.

I got married. June 5th, 2010. It was a beautiful day. Beautiful, but extremely hot. So hot. Hot enough that sweat was dripping down my back to my leg. Not really the way a bride should feel. A bride should feel fresh and radiant. Not radiant with sweat. But any Bakersfield girl like myself knows what hot is. And boy was it hot that day. Luckily my mom bought these silly white bike shorts with lace around the legs from the junior's section at Kohl's the day before the wedding. Both myself and my sis got a pair to wear for the wedding. However, sis was silly enough to not wear them. HA. Sucker. She claims she forgot. She still has them. She probably didn't want to soil them. She wants to keep them forever. Mine were so sweaty and disgusting that I threw them away. But I really did like them.

Anyway, besides being so hot, it really was a beautiful day. Beautiful in that, I married the person I love the most. And everyone I loved was there. And they celebrated with me. And they were truly happy for me. It was awesome. 

Marriage has been my greatest adventure yet. We got married young. I am 22. He was 23. Some people think this is crazy. But really, I assure you. It's not. We couldn't be happier. 

There is so much to say about the wedding and our marriage. More on those later...