Our First Valentine's Day

Peej and I celebrated Valentine's Day at our halfway spot in San Luis Obispo. 2 hours each way for me, 3 hours for him. And I know that we'll always remember that time that we drove multiple hours just to spend Valentine's Day together. 

This long distance thing can feel like an inconvenience at times, but I know that one day we'll look back and see a different picture. We'll look back and see two hopeless romantics that added a whole lotta miles to their cars in order to make a whole lotta memories of falling in and celebrating love. 

Memories like getting far less than the recommended amount of sleep to instead wake up early, and meet in a city parking lot. 

Memories like exchanging presents in your backseat, and walking over to Starbucks to get caffeinated, read Loveology, and play footsie. 

Oh, and take selfies.

Memories like watching me get giddy over spending time in Barnes & Nobel, because Santa Barbara doesn't have book stores. And like adding in a little spontaneous shopping, because I can't ignore a good sale, and you're fun to shop with. 

Memories like eating lunch here, where a girl named Bonnie with the thickest, most adorable southern accent took our order, and where we enjoyed yummy sandwiches {you shredded tritip & me portobello mushroom}, played more footsie and took more selfies. 

Memories like walking down the adorable strip of adorable San Luis Obispo stores, and wandering around what you deemed "couples creek." It was as if Valentine's Day threw up all over SLO, and we didn't mind one bit. I'd say we actually enjoyed it. 

Memories like getting delicious ice cream, and playing googly eyes with a hard-to-get 1 year old. Like going back to Barnes & Nobel, because we had 3 hours to kill before dinner. Like each picking up books written by Parks and Recreation stars {you by Ron Swanson and me by Leslie Knope. I'm aware those aren't their real names, but I like to pretend the characters are real}. Memories like situating our chairs so that I could lay my legs over yours, because when you're long distance, you make sure you take full advantage of every cuddling opportunity you get. Or maybe that's just us, but either way, I love it. 

Memories like going back to your car to take a nap in the back seat. Because that seemed like the closest we could get to a socially acceptable nap location, and a nap was necessary after our early morning. 

Memories like you holding up a towel so that I could use your back seat as a dressing room to change before dinner. Like having a couple walk past us and look our way with a "they're totally doing naughty things in that back seat" look. 

That awkward moment almost had me snap into an "i'm so over long distance, this is so frustrating, when are we ever gonna be in the same place" mood. But instead, I chose to relinquish all of those emotions to God, and focus on the fact that one day, we'll look back and laugh at the awkwardness of that moment. Along with the amount of time we spent hanging out in the back seat of your car on Valentine's Day. 

Memories like going back to the restaurant where we had our first half-way date 7 months prior. Like choosing to sit on the same side of the table as opposed to opposite sides, for maximum cuddling and under the table hand holding. 

Memories like enjoying the gorgeous view of "couples creek," and filling up on some seriously delicious grub {lamb chops for you, butternut squash curry for me}.  

Memories like driving in our separate cars to a movie theater a half hour away, because we weren't ready to end the date. Like having a heck of a time finding parking, because apparently Valentine's Day is a popular date night, or something. Memories like getting real creative with our cuddle positions with an immoveable arm rest between us. 

Memories like the long walk back to our cars that neither of us wanted to end. Like the extra long hug goodbye, and the "I'll call you in a half hour to see how your drive is going." Memories filled with the mutual feeling of wishing we were leaving in the same car, in the same direction. 

But we didn't leave in the same car, and we didn't go in the same direction. And that's okay, because where we are right now? It's beautiful. The naps in the back seat, the hours spent in Barnes & Nobel, the awkward run ins with people wondering why I'm changing in a car, well, I can't imagine a better Valentine's Day. 

I love you, Philip James. Thank you for being my best friend, my favorite cuddle buddy, my Valentine. Thank you for never rejecting the idea of another selfie, for never letting go of my hand, and for giving me your opinion on the 10 different tops I tried on at Express. 

Our first Valentine's Day was just the best. And not because of the food, or the beautiful scenery, or the comfortable seats in your car. 

It was because of you, babe. You're the best. 

Just call me your typical CA girl

5 things I love about California

One // All weather is dress weather. 

If it's hot? We dress like the left picture. Cold? Add a few more accessories or layers, and dress like the right picture. 

Now, keep in mind that "hot" for us is anything over 70, and "cold" is anything below 70. But hey, it's all relative, right?

Two // Want to go to the beach? You can drive there. Camping in the mountains? You can drive there. Snowboarding? You guessed it, you can drive there. 

Now that's what I call diversity. 

Three // We're smack dab between Hawaii and the East Coast. 

Maui? 5 hour flight away. 

Boston? 5 hour flight away. 

Any longer and you may as well fly to Europe instead, am I right? 

{Which probably explains why I have yet to fly to Europe. Need to fix that asap}

Four // Mexican food. 

I've heard that we're known for our amazing Mexican food, and I can 100% affirm that rumor. 

We have some bomb Mexican restaurants, and after looking at that picture, I may need to jet on over to one. 

Five // How can you ever be upset about traffic when this is your view?

And there you have it folks, 5 reasons why I love California. 

If you ever want to visit, you'll probably find me at your local Mexican restaurant. I'll have a burrito waiting for you. 

***

This post was originally published on Imperfectly Perfect Grace. 

And speaking of Shannon's blog, you can still enter my 2 year blogiversary giveaway and snag a chance to win a $25 Starbucks giftcard, and ad space on both Imperfectly Perfect Grace and Sweetness Itself.

Enter here!

Where I Come From

Today, I'm linking up with all of the lovely ladies over at The Influence Network. I cannot wait to meet all of you in September at Influence Conference! Don't even get me started on how excited I am, cause I won't be able to stop!

So, onto today's topic: Where I Come From. 

I'm a born and bred California girl. I was raised in San Diego, where I spent the first 18 years of my life looking like this most of the time:

After high school, I picked up and moved to a little place called Santa Barbara for college. Been there ever since. 

For the record, the Santa Barbara Mission is really beautiful. Definitely a must visit if you make it out to this neck of the woods!

(Give me a shout out if you do!)

And fun fact, my parents were married there!

It's kind of funny (isn't God always funny?), but I never intended on staying in Santa Barbara after college. I planned to move closer to home, some where further south. I imagined myself in Los Angeles or back in San Diego, but never did I see myself staying here. So much so that when I was applying to jobs, I intentionally stalled on my applications for companies here in town. 

But God always has a bigger and better plan, huh? A company reached out to me and seemed very interested, and I think most people would agree that a new college grad will never turn down an interested prospect. Not in today's economy, am I right? 

So I went after the job and ended up having the most wonderful experience at my first full-time job. Here I am on job number 2 (only 2 years post college, ha! God has a thing with finding me jobs, and I won't object to that!), and still in Santa Barbara. 

If I had left town, I would have never found my incredible church. The church that taught me what it looks like to let the Spirit into your heart, to surrender your entire life, and showed me how to stand back and be amazed as God is constantly changing my heart.  

If I had left Santa Barbara, I never would have found this incredible community of brothers and sisters that inspire me, challenge me, pray for me and point me closer to Jesus on a daily basis. 

And I feel pretty darn blessed that in addition to those incredible blessings, I still get to enjoy this:

I come from So Cal, where do you come from?