Left my heart in San Francisco! Seriously!

For Landon's job he is sometimes required to travel for conferences and such. When he found out he was going to be going to San Francisco we figured it would be a nice cheep trip for us seeing we would only have to dish out money for a plane ticket for me!


Neither of us had been before and so we were super excited! Our traveling philosophy is to have an idea of things we would like to see but we don't really plan much beyond where we stay and how we are getting around! I feel like this leaves us with a lot of freedom to wonder and see things we wouldn't normally, it also takes a lot of stress out of trying to stay on schedule and fit everything in. We still always end up seeing and experience more that we can imagine.
We didn't rent a car because the public transit went everywhere, and you had to pay to park everywhere you went. We spent a lot of time waiting for trains until we finally mastered the metro schedule and routes. Landon didn't have meetings this day so we did lots of our sight seeing then.


Chocolate Heaven!


Only day the bridge wasn't covered in fog!


Experienced our first food truck! Yummy pizza! Del Popolo!


F the most to die for ice cream place! Smitten!


And took time out to climb at the coolest gym right on the bay! Planet Granite!
The next two days Landon had conferences all day so I wandered on my own! I walked around the beautiful Berkley campus! Found an amazing ice cream sandwich shop steps from campus, CREAM! Visited a local chocolate factory TCHO! Boudin bakery! And of course the beach!At nights when Landon was free we enjoyed walking around and eating good food! We became food truck addicts! I wish we had good ones in Utah! They we all so gourmet! We went to a food truck rally one night and got to taste a little bit of everything!





Best cupcakes EVER! Cupkates bakery!

On our last day in the city we decided to rent some bikes and experience the city like the locals, and see the last couple of things on our want to list!


Golden gate park!


The beach!


Lands End!


And the bridge on a foggy day! And we weren't tempted to jump at all!



We ate way to much amazing food, enjoyed the sights, amazing culture perfect weather, and we loved every minute of our trip, I would love to go back again, I mean there are like 3000 more restaurants I need to try! I'm a total foodie! If it wasn't so expensive to live there I thing I would be tempted!


Much love,
Michelle

Top Gun

So back in May we got this adorable menace!



We were not planning on ever getting a second cat, I really want a puppy but our current life is not puppy friendly. So when we saw home at the pet store I couldn't help myself!


It took Roxy a while to adjust to having a new kitten around but now they enjoy playing with each other!


It took us awhile to pick a name, but with all his energy and fearless attitude I couldn't help but think of one of my FAVORITE movies Top Gun, and so we named him Maverick and it fits him well!


It's so fun having a new kitten around, I will be sad when he gets bigger, but he loves being pet and will make a great lap kitty!

Unfortunately we will not be adding a goose to our line up!

Love
Michelle!

Camping with Friends!

So a couple of weekends ago we got the chance to take some time and go out camping with a bunch of our friends! It was a last minute idea but sometimes those are the best! Our friends TC and Michele wanted to do something for their 6th anniversary and leave their cute little girl with grandparents so it was a kid free weekend, and it slowly evolved from that.

I love our group of friends and we have such a great mix of every personality and stages in life that it is always fun! Our newly wed friends Justina and Trent were even able to make it up with us! We were bummed not everyone could come, but it was such a good time I think we all want to keep doing more camping on a regular basis!

Got a little fishing in....



Some horseshoes...


And some target practice...








Had to fight off some Indians...



Enjoy the pretty sunset courtesy of all the wildfire smoke in the air...


Had a fire of our own...






Enjoyed a mostly good nights rest, some of us more than others...



We had a great time, and can't wait to do it again soon!



Happy camping...
Michelle!

Soundtrack Memories

Isn't it amazing how you can listen to a song and you can remember exactly when you first hear it and what you were doing with your life! The reason I bring this up is May and June are my two soundtrack months!

Every May I start missing the beach! May marks the time when school was out and that I would be packing up my stuff and heading out to good old Myrtle Beach to sit in a lifeguard stand all summer and soak up the sun! I miss those carefree days badly! Its super weird now being married and done with school owning a house and having a lot more responsibilities than I sometimes want.

So with out a doubt every May, Dashboard Confessionals Dusk and Summer album fills my car speakers and the windows go down and I picture driving down the coastal HW and sitting in my beaten up white lifeguard stand!

Every summer I wish I could go back, but I know if I did it would never be quite the same as the two amazing summers I spent there!

Every June, Cold Play Viva la Vida pops in the stereo and remindes me exactly why I am no longer enjoying the sunshine on the beach, It remindes me of the June that I met Landon. The song Viva La Vida was all over the radio the summer I met Landon and I loved it! That album was the first thing Landon ever bought me and I will never be able to listen to it and not think of him! 

Since then there have still been many songs that will always remind me of wonderful and not so great times. But these two soundtracks will always be what I listen to every May and June.

You know now that I have mentioned these two albums you want to go listen to them! 

Happy Listening!

Love Michelle

Gear Up!!

So some of my friends know that I used to climb quite a bit, enough so that I had all of my own gear. I loved it, it was the only thing besides swimming that I could go do to de-stress, vent, or just go out and have a good time with some friends. It was right up my thrill seeking ally!

But not so much Landon's. When Landon and I got married I was the much more adventuresome one of our duo, but with school, work and being newlyweds it was just easier to put away the climbing gear and focus on what life had to bring us.

Until this year.

Im not sure what snapped in me, if it was the mundane of my job or the exhausting repetition of day to day life, but I needed so thrill back and so I drug Landon to the climbing gym one day with me!

And much to my surprise my very not so adventuresome husband loved it! over the next few weeks we went out and splurged a bit on getting him outfitted with climbing gear and I dusted off mine and we started to become climbers!

Now I am proud to say that Landon has quickly picked up on climbing and I have fallen happily back into my old niche! Now I'm just bummed we didn't start 3 years ago...It would have helped us keep of the comfortable married couple weight gain!

The best part about it is that it has really strengthened our bond and husband and wife and best friends, we enjoy challenging each other and cheering each other on!

And now that the weather has warmed up for the most part we are loving being able to go climb outside! If anyone ever wants to come with us we love having company just let me know!

I don't have many pictures of Landon and I climbing seeing that our hands are usually preoccupied but hear are a few from with we have taken my family climbing with us.

Happy Climbing!

Love Michelle

Quarter Century + 1

When I turned 25 it was traumatic to say the least! I experienced my quarter life crisis, what had I done with my life thus far, what I still need to do! Well adding one more year to that amplified that crisis! I always thought people were ridiculous that complained about getting older, and here I was realizing why they do. It's terrifying to get older, realize how fast time goes and how hard it is to get all the things you want to do in such little time.

One thing that I am grateful for as I have gotten older it's the important realization of how much family and true friends are. I'm lucky to have both of those in my life!

For my birthday my friends took me out to lunch for my birthday at Zupas! It was so great to be able to spend time with them, and they were great and pitched in and got me a gift card to Bare Essentials my favorite makeup! It was great that they put so much thought to get me something I would love!



That night Landon had surprised me and had planned for all of our friends to go to Color Me Mine! It was so much fun!



And then back to our house for cake and ice cream!


Landon out did himself and made my day special, and also got me a great birthday present...a new bike!
I was also luck to have a birthday dinner at my family's house and at my in laws with great food and presents at both!
I had a great birthday and I am so happy I got to spend it with so many of my favorite people! Thanks everyone for making me feel special!

Landon's 25th!

I know I am quite a bit behind but you got to start somewhere!

We always get to start of December with a bang, Landons birthday falls at the first of the month so it just adds to the excitement of the Holidays.

This year Landon turned 25!

which means, now when we go on vacation he can finally drive the rental car.... Legally at least.

For his birthday Landon got a new xbox with a kinect, which we enjoy dancing around the living room and just looking like complete idiots most of the time!

We invited a few friends over for cake and ice cream and had some fun.

I love Landon so much and I am glad I get to spend so much time with him and watch as we continue to grow closer as a couple. He never stops telling me how much he loves me I couldn't ask for a better husband! Happy Birthday Love!