seeing the southwest

Generally I'm not the biggest fan of press trips: At the end of the day, I'd much rather be home with my fella and cat. But I made an exception for a trip to Miraval -- I really wanted to meet the experts, see the southwest, and get a little pampering. I had the loveliest time! Besides learning a bunch, I took a hike in the desert, got a hot-stone massage, and went swimming surrounded by the mountains. My room was also insane! It had an outdoor shower (is there any better way to shower?), the softest bed, and a ginormous soaking tub. As amazing as it all was, I can't wait to get home to my two favorite creatures.

southhampton girls weekend

Home from the most incredible girls' trip at Sara and Brian's lovely home in Southhampton. We ran the Hamptons Half-Marathon, went surfing in Montauk...and hung out a CASTLE. Talk about an epic weekend. I love these ladies!

good enough

There's no denying it: I'm one lucky duck. After the wedding, Erik and I had one day to recuperate before jetting off on Tuesday to Negril for a quick getaway. It was total perfection; we swam in the crystal-clear sea, lounged in our beachfront villa, and ate some of the most delicious food I've ever tasted! Since getting back on Saturday, I've been working around the clock playing catch-up, because I'm set to head to the Hamptons this weekend (for a girls' trip) and Tucson on Monday (for a "work" trip). I thought my time all budgeted out, but I got a few surprise emergency revises from editors, as is always the case. Between all of that, and a weird cold and insane skin rash (according to Dr. Google, a sun allergy...I looked like a Klingon!), I haven't been running much at all...and the marathon is fast approaching. Ack. Part of me is freaking the eff out, but the other part is like "meh, it won't be pretty, but you'll finish." I'm opting to go with the latter train of thought. It's taken me years, but I'm slowly starting to realize: sometimes getting by is good enough.

wedding recap: our video!

We didn't plan for a wedding video, but my Uncle Yang (one of my dad's closest friends from childhood) recorded our ceremony. I'm so glad he captured it. It makes me so happy!

PS: Is it normal to become a total narcissist after your wedding? All I want to do is look at pictures of myself. Someone please intervene!

PPS: I thought it was so adorable when Erik came up with the "eternal sunshine" line. Now, whenever I'm grumpy, he'll say, "there's a raincloud fast approaching." Ha! Touche!

wedding recap: was it worth it?

So remember right after our engagement, when Erik and I were struggling whether or not to have a wedding? We couldn't be happier that we did the dang thing! Besides that initial what-are-we-doing-how-much-are-we-spending stage, the entire process was so super fun (well, minus few silly spats). Planning brought Erik and I even closer together: There were so many meaningful moments, like writing our ceremony script and reminiscing while putting together our music playlist. And then the wedding, and week leading up to it, was simply magical. It was one of those rare moments in life when everything is sparkly and perfect -- and I actually realized it. Throughout the night, I kept taking little mental pictures with my eyes so that the moment would stay with me always. Looking back, the thing I'm most proud of is that we stayed true to ourselves. It can be tricky, but I'm here to say that is possible to have the day of your dreams without spending an insane amount or going crazy!

married!

We did it! I'm overjoyed to say that our wedding was everything we wanted it to be and more -- thanks to a lot of help from our friends and a really good sense of humor. (Teaser: our wedding week included one falling-into-the-train-tracks disaster, a shooting, a hit-and-run cab accident, a serious cold, and a stroke...no joke!) But the night itself was absolutely magical! More to come...

licensed to wed

On Friday, Erik and I got our marriage license! It was such a funny experience: There were dressed-up brides and photographers and some grumpy-looking couples. Erik cracked a steady stream of jokes, and I'm pretty sure we were the only couple there laughing our heads off. After we filled out the DMV-like paperwork, I exclaimed, "we're licensed to wed, dude!" and even our bored-looking clerk cracked a smile. One week! Of course, we're up to our eyeballs with errands and work, but it's been so super fun sharing this experience. Tonight we wrote our wedding ceremony script (Erik's best friend Mous is officiating), and my cheeks hurt from giggling so much. Pretty excited to spend my life with this guy!