Our Venue: Point Lobos Ridge

The California coastline, especially the northern half, is probably our favorite place in the whole world.  We have so many wonderful memories, including getting engaged, along the coast that it just seemed like a given that we would get married there.

If you followed our wedding planning from the start, we thought we had nailed down a venue pretty early on just north of Santa Cruz, but that did not end up working out... So we went back to the drawing board and ended up searching primarily on VBRO.com (Vacation Rental By Owner) and that's how we found Point Lobos Ridge.

We went up to visit the house, but we weren't actually able to go inside or really go on the property at all.  We just got to look over a fence from a distance.  But with the pictures we had seen on their website, we were sold from the beginning.

And now, after the fact, we're clearly able to say, that we couldn't have had our perfect wedding anywhere else...

Photos by Claire Barrett

Married

Awesome Photo by our friend Chris Kerr

Well, we got married and it was an awesome and amazing day.  One might call it even call it perfect. Right now we're enjoying not having to plan a wedding and just being married.  We've gone and come back from our mini-moon to the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. And we've both gone back to regular working lives.

Obviously we have a lot of posts to make about different parts of the wedding and lots of things to share that maybe not everyone got to see or knew the whole story behind. So be patient with us as we slowly get some posts up.  We'll also wait until we've got our official wedding photos so we can tie it all together with Claire's wonderful photos.

Stay tuned!

Slow-Cooker Sundays: Black Bean Enchiladas

Thanks to one awesome groomsman, we are now the proud owners of a Cuisinart Slow-Cooker, and thus have decided to start a new tradition; Slow-Cooker Sundays!

This week we decided to make the Black Bean Enchilada recipe that I found posted on Apartment Therapy a while ago.

Since the recipe contained cheese we decided to use a couple of varieties of sheeps milk cheeses, a manchego, a gouda, and mitica. We also omitted the peppers, because I just don't like cooked peppers.

Overall, it was a super easy recipe to put together and just forget about for about 4 hours.  However, the enchiladas broke up a lot, so it was hard to actually pull out one individual enchilada at a time. But it still tasted great.  I think we might try this recipe again but next time include some shredded chicken.

A (Brief) Tour of Our Living Room

Well, for a brief moment when I took this picture the living room was not in total chaos.  I'm sure it will still be be crazy until after the wedding.  Then we'll get back to normal.  Anyway, just thought I would share!

Makeup Brush Roll

After taking a wedding makeup lesson and purchasing some brushed, I decided I needed a brush roll rather than just using the little plastic cases that came with the brushes.  So I just sort of jumped in and made one.

Since it turned out so successfully, I may try to re-create it, and perhaps, GASP! create a pattern and instructions!

Bachelorette Getaway!

Last weekend, I whisked away to Las Vegas for a bachelorette getaway with 2 of my favorite ladies!  While we where there we ate some AMAZING food (check it out on my other blog by clicking here), checked out Red Rocks Canyon, visited the Atomic Testing Museum, and checked out some also really awesome outlets.  (Someday, I'd love to go back there with some more $$ on hand!).

And, we did also partake in one night of bachelorette sillyness...here's a picture of me in my sash, veil, and giant flashing ring...

End of an era

Goodbye Suby. You were a good car and we shared many good times. You were my first new car and it is with a heavy heart that I move on. You were my 6th car (8th if you count motorcycles) but lasted the longest - 5 good years. 

And... hello Toyota! Meet my new 1993 Toyota Hilux 4WD. Looking forward to lots of good times.