Our Wedding Day: Part 3

As today is the last day of September, it seems fitting that I should celebrate it by sharing a final post on our wedding. You can see Getting Ready & 

Our First Look in Part 1, as well as our wedding ceremony in Part 2. And read about how all of this came to be in our love story here. For now, it's time to enjoy the reception!

September Budget: Prepping for Fall

If you remember from last month, I mentioned that I wanted to try out some new brands. I definitely forced myself to do so and scored big with Land's End. I originally just wanted to purchase some things for hubby as part of an anniversary gift, but I ended up going back and getting something myself. And boy did I score big. 

Our Wedding Day: Part 2

Today I'm sharing our Wedding Ceremony. You can read about Getting Ready and Our First Look in Part 1. Part 3 is coming soon and will cover the fun stuff like the reception, our first dance, and cake cutting. Also, check out our love story (here): how and where we met, who said I love you first, and how Tom proposed!

Wallflower

It's been a little while since this blog saw an outfit post. I have been so busy recapping my anniversary trip to California. Plus, we have been in the dental lab non-stop at school. So scrubs it is with weekends studying in my pjs at home. However, last weekend was spent entirely with hubby celebrating our one year anniversary. So here is what I wore Saturday. 

Fall Fashion

Happy First Day of Fall! I will be back with Part 2 of Our Wedding Day, but for today I just had to acknowledge the autumn equinox. Fall is by far my favorite season...the warm colors, the crinkling of fallen leaves under your feet, the hot drinks. Pumpkin Spice Latte anyone? But seriously who wouldn't love a season full of apple pies, pumpkin carving, and scarf weather? To get things started, I thought that I would share some of my fall essentials. 

A Year of Marriage

Dearest Husband, 

Of all of the years we have spent together celebrating life, this one was by far the greatest. Thank you for being my biggest supporter, my cookie taste tester, my best friend, and my travel companion.

September 2013

Our Wedding Day: Part 1

On September 21st, 2013 I was bestowed the great honor of marrying my best friend. Our wedding was everything I had ever dreamt of. On a day full of so much love, we wanted only a few things....tradition, an intimate atmosphere, & a big dose of elegance. 

Our Love Story

This weekend is my one year wedding anniversary and although hubby and I were together for over 5 years before we married, this past year has been completely unique. I love him even more now that we have made this lifelong commitment to each other. We both work actively everyday to show our love and appreciation for each other. In honor of our first anniversary I thought I'd share our story: how we met, how we fell in love, how Tom kidnapped me in order to propose. And because I love them so much, I'm tossing in a few photos from our engagement session.

Blazing Saddles: Biking San Francisco

After a great night out in San Francisco, we were eager to start the next day early. We decided to rent bikes from Blazing Saddles and bike the city. What better way to explore all the important landmarks?  

Target Style on Vacation: A Night in San Francisco

When I snagged this dress, I mentioned that I was hoping to get a chance to wear it during my anniversary trip to California. I don't go out very often...go figure, which is why I was happy to find the perfect night out dress for under $10. That way I didn't have to feel badly if I don't get a chance to wear this often, but Target is so on point I may be looking for opportunities to wear this dress again and again. This coral beauty was perfect for a night out in San Francisco! 

A Day in the Life of a Dental Student

Welcome to the A Day in a Life of A Dental Student Series.

 My schedule changes dramatically throughout the course of a year and I want to highlight that. As I move from a second to third year dental student, I will be transitioning from learning pre-clinical procedures to working with actual patients. Some pretty big changes are coming my way and I really want to share and document all of it so each month I will be sharing a new aspect of dental school. Initially, dental school started out with full days of lecture. Now, we are doing preclinical exercises like learning how to numb a patient (by practicing on each other..eeck!) and how to make dentures. Even weekends are crazy around here. 

For today, I will be talking about learning how to do a root canal. 
Here's my exact schedule last Tuesday. 

Study with a First Year Dental Student

Hello All, I wanted to do this post before I get too much into the Fall Semester of second year as my study habits will be changing. We now have more of a focus on dental lab practicals, and less on taking tests-although studying for boards (upcoming post) needs to start soon. Boooo!

Hiking Sequoia National Park

Time for some more hiking! 

The Congress Trail that we did earlier in the day was pretty easy and quick so we decided to challenge ourselves a little more. We started with the Tokopah Falls Trail...a 3.5 mile hike. It was completely different landscaping than elsewhere in the park.  

Redwoods, Black Bears, & Bee Stings

We awoke in our tent at Sequoia National Park, surrounded by the canopy of the redwoods and the rustling of the Kaweah River. Perfectly peaceful and surreal. I didn't want to leave the tent, but the mountains were calling us so we headed off to hike the Congress Trail in The Giant Forest. 

Driving California

We had to lose an entire day of our trip driving, which I really was not looking forward too. Spending 5+ hours in the car is not my idea of a good time. Yet, the drive turned out to be a definite highlight for me and here's why...

The Big Sur Bakery & Restaurant

We started our third day off in California with a trip to the Big Sur Bakery & Restaurant. And like a true tourist, I had to have a photo in front of the sign. I normally favor classic and vintage, but I love how modern and industrial this sign is. 

Surrounded by coastal redwoods 

After indulging in the sweetest breakfast, we headed out to explore the cacti and succulent garden. 

How cute is this altar? You can actually get married here. I can just imagine it: the twinkling lights, the fluttering papel picado, the ocean breeze. 

The Big Sur & Hwy 1

After our amazing breakfast at Hotel 1110, we hopped on Highway 1 to make the one hour trip from Monterey to Big Sur. Of course the trip was closer to 3 hours because every few feet we pulled off at a lookout point. 

Hotel 1110

When I travel, I only have a few rules, one of them being to engage in as many unique experiences as possible. That means eating at local restaurants or shopping boutiques instead of chains. Whenever we can, we apply this to hotels as well. And while in Monterey, we found the cutest little Inn to call home. 

My favorite part about Hotel 1110 was the rooftop succulent garden. Our wedding flowers were succulents, so I was as tickled as can be to find some of the largest and rarest succulents that I've ever seen. How perfect is it that we should find this at the hotel on our anniversary trip? Just the most beautiful arrangement of color and texture. I must have taken a gazillion pictures. The photo above was my pathetic attempt at trying to recreate one of our wedding photos.

Did I mention that this rooftop garden had a complete bar? Hubby and I were more than happy to grab some cocktails and tapas.

After an amazing evening on the roof, we headed to our room where the bed was tucked away into the coziest little nook. 

And the next morning, there was the most spectacular breakfast. 

Had to include this one last shot. I just love staying at places with real keys. Something about it just makes me feel so at home.

A Day in Monterey Bay

Our journey in California started when our flight landed in San Francisco. We were super excited, but also very exhausted from our 10 hours of traveling. After a much deserved night of sleep and adjusting to the time change, we drove the two hours from San Francisco to Monterey Bay. 

Monterey Bay Aquarium

I'm a bit of an Aquarium Buff, so our first day in California was spent at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I loved the interactive exhibits and they had the best educational displays that I've seen yet. Our experience there was just phenomenal. And as an added bonus and a complete surprise to us, there was live jazz and spirits during the evening. It was so nice to grab a glass of wine and wander around the aquarium, surrounded by the ocean life. I wish I had better words to describe what a transcendent experience it was for me, but I don't so I'll leave you with this.... 

"The sea is as near as we come to another world" 

-Anne Stevenson