and then

We saw a black cat on a black sand beach. And then we drove all the way to Hilo to see the active volcano! It was pretty neat. It was freezing cold, but we stuck around to see it glow!

It was an amazing experience we will not soon forget. I already miss Hawaii!

The Next day...

Was Friday the 13th! Ryan and I went snorkeling. It was so much fun! We were in a boat that was chasing Hawaiian spinner dolphins and they would get to a place, throw us out of the boat and we would watch then swim by! It was pretty crazy and amazing. Ryan had that silly camera up there, but we forgot to charge it so we couldn't get any pictures or videos of the amazing time we had.

When we got back from snorkeling, we walked around the little city by our hotel. Since it was friday the thirteenth, some of the tattoo shops were doing tattoos for $13. So we got some!

Mine came out pretty cute, but hurt like hell.

Ryan didn't fare so well. The girl who tattooed him, didn't seem like she had ever tattooed before. It was pretty funny. So the tattoo looks like a stencil and a lot of the color fell out. But it is cute right here!

So What we did.

So, we drove our car to Vegas, stayed for four days and on the fifth day we drove home. I was so thankful to have so much time off of work. I essentially had 2 weeks off which is crazy. When we got home we stayed in San Francisco for one day being married at home and petting our dog and walking our dog and just hanging out and then the next day we were off to beautiful Hawaii! 

Well first we were trapped in the airport for a whole day because our flight to Kona on the big island of Hawaii was cancelled. But I wasn't sweating it, I WAS ON VACATION!!!

When we finally did get there and get settled, we were so tired. So we had some dinner in paradise and went to bed. Can you see that my crazy self was COLD in an open air restaurant? I am such a freezebaby.

In the morning we woke up to a lovely sight. 

Then we had breakfast at an even lovlier sight. Let me tell you, they have this stuff in Hawaii, coconut syrup, omg. I don't even LIKE pancakes and it had me eating pancakes. Oh! and the Guava juice. Forget about it. Also, pretty much everything is open air restaurants. Which is amazing. I loved hearing the flock of parrots that hung out in those trees! It was cool because we have a wild flock of parrots in San Francisco, so it was a little bit of home hearing them here too! 

The first day we pretty much relaxed. We layed out by that little bay in the picture above and then sat by the pool 

and drank drinks. It was pretty amazing. Everything slows down in Hawaii which rules. You don't feel bad taking naps after you have sat by the pool all day. That is great. Then we had dinner and it was up to bed to hang out and watch tv(which we never ever do because we don't have one!) An amazing and awesome first day on the big island!

And

The best part of our wedding was how much time we got to spend with our friends and family. Well, actually, the people that came were pretty much all just family. Except for the wedding crashers, but that is a story for another time. I loved that most everyone there has been around since the beginning. It made everything that much more special. And they are all pretty good with their Elvis pose, don't you think?

After the wedding, we had a chance to chill out with our friends and just hang out for a little bit. It was great. We had fun toasting to our marriage.

And picking up our friends.

And at our reception dinner, my dad even wore a tuxedo teeshirt. Because he is hilarious.

Oh, hey, I got married!

Saturday 7/7 I married my best friend in Las Vegas, NV. We had an awesome time filled with our families and closest friends. I felt like a queen and seriously had the time of my life! We got married at The Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel. These people are pros. It was so smooth and easy and fun! Everyone was nice, the chapel was adorable and I felt so relaxed.

We did an elvis wedding. we thought it would be funny, and not too serious, like us. And it did not disappoint. Our Elvis was cheesy, sweet and perfect. I have never had a better time. And by the next day we had a video of our ceremony, and we had purchased a package with our photos and had them on a disk and they even printed some of them out! I spent a lot of time researching pretty much everything about this trip. Ryan and I had never been to Vegas for real, I had spent one night there 4 years ago and he was there when he was a teenager. Every place that I chose was perfect for us and treated us like royalty.

Ryan wore a sharkskin suit we picked up at a vintage shop on Haight street in San Francisco. It was so cute on him. By the way, I love this face he is making. My husband rules.

My dress was made by the always lovely Kpoene from Mignonette Bridal. She is also a dear friend and when she offered to make my dream dress come true, I jumped at the chance. I wanted 50's and simple. She gave me that and more. My veil/headpiece actually came from my mother's veil when she married my dad! I wish I had a better picture of my hair, it was done by Shag Me Salon in Las Vegas. The girl who did my hair was AWESOME! She made it look beautiful in like 10 minutes, I swear. It was rolls! So neat. I ended up making my petticoat, and it was not perfect but it did the job. And I loved it.


We stayed at the Golden Nugget, which was AMAZING. I can't say enough good things about that hotel. The staff was great, the pool was really fun with a shark tank in it, and the rooms were so cute and comfy. I LOVED staying on Fremont street. I must say, I went to the strip for a night and I much preferred old Vegas. It was so neat!

All in all a great, easy, and fun experience. And I got a husband out of the deal!

Shower time!

I just got back from an awesome whirlwind trip to Ohio for my bridal shower. What a crazy tradition! Ryan and I are now stocked with awesome stuff! Enough to last 2 lifetimes I think. People give you so much love when you are ready to commit yourself to someone forever. My awesome mom and mother in law hosted my shower and since Ryan and I are getting married in Las Vegas by Elvis, it was a Casino theme. It was so cute!

Our cake was a cassata cake from Corbo's which is the same cake made by the same bakery that my mom had for her wedding. It was so cute!

My mother in law made these awesome centerpieces too! She is out of control and super crafty.

And I even got this super cute crown! I have been wearing it at home too.

Now we are t minus two weeks until marriage time! It is pretty exciting. I am ready to be married!

What's up beaches?

So, even though we are crazy busy with wedding stuff, we are still trying to keep ourselves relaxed and having fun. Recently we too k a little trip to Baker Beach here in SF. It was amazing and warm and not windy like Ocean Beach. And it has a really neat view! I think the background of this photo looks like a painting. Where has this been all my SF life?

This is just to prove that I am not the only one who liked this beach!