Sneak Peek: Ian and Courtney Pierce

 Ian and Courtney were married June 18, in Dana Point--the day was beautiful. A backyard that overlooks the Dana Point Harbor in a garden full of family. This couple is so much fun and I have so enjoyed getting to know them over the last year. I love their matching rings, as well as how the day so perfectly reflected them. Also, lavender makes me melt and I loved how she used it. Congratulations you two!

Thoughts.

Photo by Cristina Robeck.


We're thinking, spring.
Thinking small.
At a BnB, in a garden, or a backyard.
We're thinking evening.
I'm thinking to chose two colors sounds daunting, so rather I'm going to commit myself to color.
The colors of a cool rainy afternoon-- autumn blue, vintage green, burnt orange, mustard yellow and rusty purple.
We like twinkle lights and candles.
We love California.

Together.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.

I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;

so I love you because I know no other way

than this: where I does not exist, nor you,

so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,

so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.

-Pablo Neruda

California Dreaming

This weekend was full and beautiful.

We, James and I, arrived in California in a little 22 seater plane on Thursday morning-and didn't stop moving the entire weekend.

Thursday I had lunch with my dear friend Ryan and James stayed home to "take a nap". That afternoon we swam in the Pacific Ocean and it was delicious. After showers, Thursday evening we had dinner with my parents and the Pierce family. Ian and Courtney arrived after what would not be the last of complications at the airport. Lots of laughter was had, and I loved that my parents got to spend time with us.

Friday everyone, and I mean everyone, arrived in the morning for french toast breakfast. Courtney's family is really fun, and there was definitely a buzzing house that morning. Friday James and I spent the afternoon at the Dana Point Harbor with my parents, and we wandered around and down to the beach. James got to talk a little with my dad and we went back, eventually, to their hotel and enjoyed a beer together on the rooftop. I will add here that the weather was absolutely perfect all weekend. Friday night Ethan (the littlest) Pierce graduated from high school, and we all attended and cheered him on. I'm super proud of him and all the recognition he received. He is truly amazing.

Saturday began early with a birthday breakfast of cinnamon rolls for James. After that wedding preparation began in full swing. We ran errands, went over to the site to help set up and got ready for the day. Ian and Courtney's wedding was stunning, as was she. It was held at James' grandparents house, which overlooks the Dana Point Harbor and Pacific Ocean. Simple, elegant, fun, and full of joy. I took lots of pictures that I will post soon.

Saturday evening was special for James and I, but more about that later.

Sunday we went to church and connected with friends like the Spinello's, Davenports, Norton's and so many more. I haven't seen many of them since I moved to Baltimore and it was great to connect with that community again. Kevin, pastor, brought James and I up on stage to pray for us. I am so blessed by them, the way they believe in us and the encouragement they bring. It was also lovely to have my parents there to share and see a bit of our community. In N Out for lunch. We got to see Kate's new studio apartment and I almost moved in with her on the spot. Dinner with the Pierce family, which I felt extra apart of. Sunday night I spent the night with Bethany--no words. She is home to me, we cried and laughed, rejoiced, ate, expressed frustrations, caught up, and slept.

Monday Beth and I went to Kean. My favorite coffee shop while I was in college. I appreciate it a hundred times more now than I did then. Monday afternoon we met Cristina to get some pictures taken and they turned out fantastic. We had so much fun, especially because Caleb was there to root us on. After we picked up Rebekah and went home to have a water fight in the backyard. Pizza with Sam and Jessi that evening, fantastic.

Tuesday brought tearful goodbyes. I was a mess as our little propeller plane took off out of Carlsbad that morning. Little did we know it then, but we would spend the entire day at LAX and then have to sleep in the airport in Houston due to thunderstorms in San Antonio.

Usually I don't list like this. But this is a weekend I want to never forget.

So Much To Come.

Here.

Highlight of My Day

This morning I got called in to work early. One of our partners has a new son today, so he couldn't come in to work. During our peak hours there were only three of us on the floor. There should be six.

A little back story to this story... the coffee shop I work in makes the most money out of any other in San Antonio, and is number four in the state of Texas. So when we're busy, were busy.

When we finally had more people come in around 11, one of the girls had left her work shoes at home so she shamefully walked in with a pair of dark blue, healed flats and white socks. Sometime in the middle of running to grab things out of the oven, brew coffee, take money at the window, make some cold drinks and get ice (in two minutes) a thought occurs to me--

I have black socks on.

Black socks are better than white socks.

30 seconds later, as Allie was still pouring drinks and handing them out on the bar, I was down on the floor taking off her white socks and putting my black ones on her feet. I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe. My manager walked out, saw us and said, "just make sure you wash your hands I guess" laughing. It was completely ridiculous.

I thought of Bethany.

Organize Life

We'll be in California in 6 days. Family and friends, weddings and graduations, dinner parties and breakfast dates-- bliss.

My soundtrack this morning is 39 minutes and 28 seconds of beautiful; the new Bon Iver album streaming on NPR. It comes out June 21, I may melt. 

I'm taking time lately to organize my life. My finances, my books, my car, my time, my lists of lists. This morning I've been cleaning and putting things where they belong. Organizing also means making phone calls and figuring out how to redeem a 1am, really-expensive-and-I-had-to-pay-on-the-spot speeding ticket on Wednesday.

I can't really talk about it yet.

Naptime

I tucked the littlest I live with into bed this afternoon, and sang with him,

Twinkle twinkle, little star.
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond, in the sky.
Twinkle twinkle little star,
How I wonder what you are.

When I was little my mom used to open and close her hands like stars in the sky while singing it.

I waited outside his door to make sure he stayed in bed and heard him whispering,

"Twinkle twinkle, twinkle twinkle".

Peaked in to see his hands in the air, like stars.

Opening Shifts

This is how my morning went,

11:30pm-ish- Alina, "Daaaadd!!!!" Thump thump thump thump! Giggles and laughter.

3:17- Alarm, "Dun da da dun da daaa! Dun da da dun da daaa!"

4:02- I get out of my car and see four or five of my co-workers walking out of the store, "Goodmorning Ashley! Rise and shine! We put out the furniture for you! Have a great morning!" (They had stayed up all night after the closing shift and came back over to do the most annoying part of opening the store, putting all the patio furniture out. Love them.)

4:07- "Ashley, I brought orange juice, yours is on the counter". Kylee and I love to bring in OJ to drink while we open. It makes the morning so much better.

6:00ish- We're cleaning and I hear, "Oh what is in the drain?! It looks like, well, I won't say what it looks like."

8:00- My assistant manager, "I love when the two of us end up working together".

10:00- I turn around from chatting with a costumer and hear, "Ashley, you ain't gotta go home but you can't stay up in here".

Great shift. Great.

Chai Tea

As summer is upon us I've felt myself moving away from my usual tea-drinking habits (2 or 3 cups a day). Wandering through some blogs I found in an Artful Blogging magazine I found this recipe from ArtandLemons. What I like about it is that you can also make it iced.

Chai Tea

Yield 4 servings

2 1/4 cups water

2 1/4 cups organic milk (whole cow, almond, or soy)

1/4 cup organic dark brown sugar (or more to taste)

2 cinnamon sticks

16 cardamom pods (crushed; place them in a small bag and gently crush them with a rolling pin)

1 star anise clove

1 teaspoon whole cloves

2-inch piece fresh ginger (sliced thin)

1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

2 tablespoons black or green tea leaves (I like to use 2 parts Darjeeling to 1 part Assam; or try Japanese Sencha Tea)

Combine the first 9 ingredients (everything except the tea) in a 6-quart pot and bring to a boil.

Remove from heat, cover and let mixture steep for 30 minutes. Return to a simmer. Remove from heat and stir in the black or green tea leaves. Cover and let stand for 2 minutes.

Place a sieve over a pitcher or jar. Pour hot tea into the sieve to strain. Serve tea immediately, or let cool and serve iced.

(This recipe is inspired by “Chai” found in The Joy of Cooking).