Oh, Charleston. You had me at "hello".

The first weekend of Summer, was the best weekend of my life. We took an impromptu trip to South Carolina, as Colin found out that he had to spend a week in Sumter for work. It worked out that I was able to join him for a few days, and we decided to make a mini vacay in Charleston!  So a week before we left we bought plane tickets and off we went! I was so excited to go, as I have always wanted to go to Charleston! I'd always envisioned Charleston to be such a lovely and romantic little city, and it was all that and more!

Friday night {{technically saturday morning}} we took the red eye out of DIA at 1am. We landed in Charleston, SC Saturday mid morning and picked up our rental car.  First stop: Southern Breakfast at Sunflower Cafe! We had ourselves a true southern breakfast complete with fried green tomato & crab eggs benedict, beignets, and chicory coffee. We were fueled and ready to hit the ground running! Oh, if I only knew what was in store :)

We arrived 2 days after the tragedy at Emanuel Church

We made our way to Cypress Gardens, which was the most beautiful place I think I've ever been! It was this beautiful swamp land {trust me, it really was beautiful!} with these amazing cypress trees and lily pads galore! We rented a little canoe and the two of us just paddled around the getting lost in each other and the beauty before us. It was so wonderful and romantic! It was just like a scene out of The Notebook.  We paddled around the water admiring all we could until we couldn't take the heat any longer. We were both dying of heat and humidity (welcome to the South!) We left the gardens and headed into the city.

Our perfect little canoe on the perfect little day.

Charleston was just as beautiful and as perfect as I ever imagined it to be! The colonial and plantation  style homes were so charming, and the cobblestone streets created the perfect finish to this old american city. We made our way through the Old City Market as we wandered through the streets of town.

After finally getting checked into our little airbnb home, we freshened up and got dressed for dinner. My sweet Colin had made reservations at this amazing restaurant called Cypress. {{I suppose this day was our Cypress day!}} We had an amazing meal together and sat for a couple of hours just talking and being all in love with one another :)

Our cute little place for the weekend!

Cypress

After the after-dinner-coffee & dessert, we decided to finish out the evening by taking a stroll down by the water's edge. Feeling tired from a long day of activity, travel, and basically no sleep since 5am friday, I'll admit I was starting to go downhill and possibly maybe even a little grumpy-pants. We parked it on a cute little bench where we took a selfie. After sitting in silence for a few minutes, just taking in the fresh sea air, Colin turned to me and said, "I have something really important I want to ask you..." My heart started beating so fast as he proceeded to get down on his knee, and pull out the most beautiful ring I'd ever seen. He held it and waited for me to say "Yes! Of Course!" before sliding it onto my left hand. I couldn't believe all this was happening, yet I was beyond ready and just more than anything, thrilled. Surprisingly, I didn't even cry. Of course being a girl, I'd sometimes daydream of that moment that perfect man might ask me to marry him, and I always assumed there would be tears of joy, but there was none of that. Just shrieks of laughter and bliss, and the feeling that everything just felt so right, were all that overwhelmed me. Of course, now that we had this new excitement happening, those tired feelings all went away.

Enjoying the sunset with my handsome.

Admiring the sky just seconds before Colin asked me to marry him

I could hardly breathe! The future Mr. & Mrs. Cox! 

We wanted to celebrate, just the two of us. We drove around looking for any sort of a liquor store to no avail (yes, you know you're from colorado when you forget that you can actually buy booze at grocery stores and gas stations, basically in every other state!) We finally found a gas station convenience mart where we bought a bottle of Prosecco and red Solo cups. We found another little park bench just a few blocks where we were staying, and polished off that bottle of bubbly, just the two of us.  We forgot that we had been awake since basically 5:30am Friday morning, and celebrated until midnight Saturday night. I just couldn't waste a moment of such a wonderful day.  We laughed, and then finally I cried...and we dreamed and schemed of all the wonderful things in our future to come. It was truly perfect, walking back and falling asleep next to the man that I will get to fall asleep next to for the rest of my life.

We went back home to change into some comfies and reenact the proposal again! I couldn't get enough :)

Our gas station champagne stop

Our midnight toast. Life is SO good.

We were up and at it again the next day at 5am. We made our way back down to the water to see the sunrise. It was so quiet and still, and for just a couple of hours we had the whole city to ourselves, my fiancé and I. We had breakfast before another full day of exploring charleston. We enjoyed the cobblestone streets that set the stage for the beautiful plantation style mansions along Battery Row.

My first east coast sunrise over the water

Thanks, Delayna, for the recommendation!

My ever so handsome, fiancé 

Having so much fun with our little secret ;)

We drove out to the Charleston Tea Gardens where we spent the afternoon sampling and learning all about tea! It was really quite fascinating and educational learning so much about tea. It was probably one of our favorite things we did all weekend. Trying to pack the most into our Charlestonian weekend, we visited the Aquarium. We were sweaty and smelly and raggedy from running all over the place, but we didn't mind. We had such a great day. By far, the best thing was simply just walking hand -in-hand with the love of my life, almost having this fun little secret before the whole world knew we were engaged.  We ended the day with yet another fantastic meal at Oak, and enjoyed a quiet walk around town under a full moon. It was the most perfect ending to the most perfect weekend. This was better than any dream I've ever had.

Having fun on the Tea Trolly

Our beautiful last night in Charleston. I just didn't want this weekend to end.

Sadly, the weekend came to a quick close. Monday morning we drove to Sumter, SC where Colin would be working for the next week. It was a tiny little town with not a lot going on....But fortunately they DID have a Starbucks! While Colin worked away, I sat and sipped coffee and "worked away" daydreaming about the wedding. It was a nice and relaxing couple of days in Sumter as we slowly started calling and texting family and friends to share the good news, and by Wednesday I was back home. The week ended and soon Colin was home, and we began to resume our new normal lives. We are so exited for this new adventure. I am so honored and lucky, and everyday I wonder how I got so lucky to get such a wonderful and amazing man. I have no doubt in my soul that I am the luckiest gal on earth, and I really have the best guy I could ever hope for. The Lord has truly been so good to us, and I am thankful every day. I really can't believe I get to spend the rest of my life with him. I hope he's ready ;)

And so begins the wedding planning....ohhhhh boy.

Just can't stop staring at my beautiful ring. I love this man of mine and I can't wait for forever!

San Francisco - Thirty & Flirty & Thriving

Last day in my twenties with my amazing sister!

…and just like that I turned 30. Oh how the years go by so quickly! As most of my friends and family know, I LOVE birthdays! They are just the best day of the whole year, and what a blessing to continue having more. I knew my 30th had to be big, so I decided to make it a golden destination to finally see the Golden Gate Bridge! My sister and I had a wonderful ‘girls’ trip for 5 days to San Francisco!

On April 2, my sister and I were up and away to see what magical things 5 days in San Francisco could offer us. We landed in {{What really should be called ‘The Windy City’}} On Thursday mid-morning. We took the BART from the airport into the city where we were very quickly educated on the neighborhood where we stayed…. {lesson of the day, do a bit more research on the neighborhoods of SF!} We were a bit culture shocked to see the happenings going on around us in broad daylight, but once we got our bearings and sense of direction, we hit the ground running!

Fitting :)

Laurie and I spent the first day just getting lost and wandering around this amazing place. We had so much fun seeing such a different place and figuring out what kind of trouble we could get into over the next couple of days. We made our way to the Bay Bridge area of lunch and the breathtaking views! Later that afternoon we took our very first ferry ride over the Sausalito for the evening. Oh. My. Goodness. That was seriously one of the most fun things I’ve ever done in my life! We had no idea what to expect, but it was pretty much a booze cruise and boat loads of fun! [See what I did, there?] We fell in love with Sausalito! It was the most picturesque little place I’ve ever seen! We found a great spot on the water for wine and dinner, and had the best sister-date in ages. It was a fantastic first day!

Our first ferry ride!

We had no idea how windy it was going to be!

Sausalito!

Sausalito Selfie :)

perfect evening with my sis!

Golden Gate by dusk

My pretty sissy

Well done, SF. Thanks for such a fantastic first day!

Friday, {{BIRTHDAY!}} we were up and at it early. I woke up to the most beautiful birthday roses sent by my sweet Colin. What a guy :) We made our way to Union Square where we took a SF City Tour that day! haha. Yes, we were those obnoxious people on the double decker buses that on any other day I would despise, but we needed a way to get around the city! We were dropped off at the Golden Gate Bridge, where we gawked for hours in amazement of this magnificent structure! It was the most beautiful day. We walked across the bridge singing the Full House theme song over and over. [I know, I can see you rolling your eyes…] We made our way back to the cute little downtown area of Sausalito, and were scheduled to get on a shuttle to the redwood forest, but we were quite literally the only 3 people that didn't fit on the bus…My sister, myself, and our new friend, Rosie. Rosie was an adorable 24 year old girl from France who was traveling Solo for one year around the world before beginning residency for med school. We had lunch and drinks at this wonderful little Mexican cantina and enjoyed getting to know our new friend. She was such a doll and so brave! She was leaving the next day to fly to Miami where she would continue her adventure into the Bahamas and onto the next part of the globe. 

Birthday Cocktail!

Refuled and feeling buzzed on cocktails and life, we finally made it to the Muir Woods. I think this was one of the most beautiful things and one of my favorite parts of the trip. The Redwood Forest was so fascinating to walk through! It was fun imagining getting lost in the forest of the tallest trees in the world. We spent a couple hours touring the woods before returning back to the city. We had a simple pizza dinner and Sister found a cute little bakery for cupcakes, and we finally made our way back home for the night, exhausted from all the miles walked, but ready to do it all again the next day.

Saturday morning bright and early, we made it to the NW corner of the city, and it was Laurie's first time to see the Pacific Ocean! It was cold and windy, but that didn't stop her from getting soaked in the cold, salty water! She learned a very important lesson that day: Never turn your back to the ocean ;) {She walked around with wet pants for the better part of the day}

Laurie's first time at the Pacific Ocean

We spent hours walking through Golden Gate Park and found the Japanese Tea Gardens. 

It was such a beautiful day! 

Japanese Tea Garden

Me and my pretty sis

We had lunch in the Mission District and then meandered our way walking almost every square inch of the city! 

Laurie wanted to by a Paleta

I found my street!

We took our obligatory photos in front of the Painted Ladies Victorian houses, and the Full House house. Multiple cups of coffee and 20 miles later, the final trek was the steep incline up Lombard Street, where we watched the sunset over the Golden Gate Bridge from what felt like the highest hill in the city. It was a beautiful day! We feasted on a crab dinner and made our way to the bus stop just in time to catch the last bus home. 

Remember Gramma is always with us :)

So very SF

The Full House house!

Easter Sunday we were up early and dressed in our best to attend Easter Mass at Grace Cathedral. It was a beautiful service and I was so happy to have shared that day with my sister, and reflecting on the countless gifts of God's grace that he has put in my life. We had big plans to explore China Town after church, but it was pouring rain! Exhausted from the previous days, we decided to have an easy day instead and went to brunch. 

Easter brunch: best waffles of my life!

During our meal, I got a phone call from our cousin, Laura, whom we haven't seen in years, inviting us to come to their home for the day! It was perfect! We took the BART across the bay, and in a half hour we were reunited with Laura, her son Deven, and got to meet her new husband, Joe! We spent the whole day with family and friends, and it was just what the doctor ordered! We had so much fun and it just made the trip complete :)

Look who met us at the train station?! Our handsome cousin, Deven. He's grown into quite the handsome guy!

First family photo with these crazy guys in more years than I can remember!
Sister, Deven, Laura, and Joe

That evening we were back in the city and spent the night back at Fisherman's Wharf. I had to try my first Clam Chowder! And I really liked it!! We watched the sunset from the pier and sleepily made our way back home for one more night.

Sea Lions of Pier 39

First time to try clam chowder!

Laurie's first clam chowder

Monday was our last day in the city, and I think by that point, we were both ready to head home. This was the first time on any trip I was ready to come back home to the special and amazing person waiting for me. I can't describe what a feeling it was :) Must be love.

I let my sister sleep in that day, {After getting yelled at for waking her up early every day..}  We finished out the day with a little bit of shopping before heading back to the airport. And just a couple quick hours later, those handsome boys, Colin and Justin were waiting in the airport to take us home. It was a wonderful sight :)

It was a birthday well spent in the City by the Bay. Cheers to 30!