♥ When Two Become One ♥

So... again, I'm going to have to briefly break the cycle of posting in order, because of a rather life-changing event that happened exactly a week ago.  I'm sure you can guess from the title of this post where I'm going with this... Jacques and I finally tied the knot, after nearly 8 years together!  And I couldn't resist not sharing the photos right now.  So here goes!

First off, I was not expecting to get much in the way of pictures, because Jacques hates getting his photo taken, and I was a bit self-conscious about me in a dress (I am so NOT a dress person!) but I have to say that I'm beyond happy with how they turned out.  My sister-in-law took over the photography and she did such an amazing job, and got more pictures than I could ever have imagined!

This might turn into a rather long post, so bear with me!  It's so difficult to narrow it down sometimes.  Starting off, here are the "pre-ceremony" shots:

In the midst of getting my hair done at the salon, courtesy of my sister-in-law who paid for the visit as a wedding gift!

Final result!  This is the best shot of the back of my hair.

Dad & I, when I was stuck in my room before going downstairs.  We kinda went picture-crazy...

Dad & I again, I love this capture!

My parents & I!

Mom & I <3 (still in my room)

My sister-in-law, Jennifer & I

Two of the amazing women who helped me through the planning process!! 

I was so in love with my bouquet and how it turned out! <3  SO. IN. LOVE.
(this capture was actually taken by me, still bored in my room upstairs before the ceremony started)

Bodega Bay: Blissful Closure

So here's the last of our weekend getaway.  We started out the day in Bodega Bay once again, but this time we traveled further north up the PCH, to places that I had never been before, in all the years of living out here.  The scenery is just as beautiful as it is in the rest of California's coasts, as you will see... right now!

The drive up the coast took awhile because there were so many places that tempted us to hop out of the car and take some quick photos, so here are the best of those little stops:

Catching the fog along with this mid-morning view of the ocean.

Closeup of some of the waves crashing against the rocks.

Me posing with an absolutely beautiful background!

Another closeup of the waves against an interesting rock formation.

More beauty of the northern coast, in Point Arena.

Closer view of the Point Arena Lighthouse - we ate breakfast not far from here.

The other side of the cliff giving a slightly silhouetted view of the ocean, thanks to the position of the sun.

And now here's the area around our final destination for the day, in Mendocino, California.  This was a gorgeous little town that had some breathtaking views of the ocean.  I would not mind living here!

Red berries with an old hotel in the background... I liked the colors in this one.

Quick selfie of me with the town behind me and some of the ocean.. I couldn't resist!

This would have looked better without that piece of litter behind the bench.

Bodega Bay: Peace in Nature

So finally on to the second day of our Bodega Bay weekend getaway last February. (how has it already been almost a YEAR since we were there?!)

We started our day off with a nice complimentary breakfast, provided by our cozy little hotel, Bodega Harbor Inn, where we ate outside at the picnic tables by the community area, overlooking a beautiful view of the harbor beyond the town.

Chairs set out in the common area, overlooking the water... it was really pretty at night!

This was Jacques testing out his portrait photography skills, and I have to say he did a pretty good job!  But this also shows the [blurry] view behind me that we were looking at while eating breakfast. =]

Also, b&w version, just because!

Of course, I couldn't resist capturing this beautiful calla lily at the back of the office building.

After we were thoroughly stuffed from breakfast, we began the drive up the PCH, heading to Guerneville, with the Korbel Winery & Champagne Cellars as our destination, since this trip was given to us for the purpose of doing some wine-tasting, after all!  (Plus, we had some free vouchers, provided by the hotel)  However, you know me, I couldn't help wanting to stop along the way to take some breathtaking photos of the coast.

I really liked the use of this rock formation to focus on, as you can see from the next couple photos as well!

Closeup of some carvings on a picnic table.

This one, I just liked how the seagull was resting peacefully on the table, with the sounds of the ocean in the background.

Another view of the coast, with some housing.  I would love to have this as my front yard!!

Stopping for a macro shot of the mundane fence?  Of course!

Bodega Bay: Evening Excursion

Still back in February, Jacques and I spent one amazing weekend over in Bodega Bay (and the surrounding areas).  It was a much-needed mini vacation, seeing as there was a lot of tension throughout our house at the time and we were able to truly enjoy ourselves before some of it played out entirely... but that's another story that I probably (no, definitely) won't share. 

Anyway, I took a lot of photos and it's really difficult to narrow them all down to the select few that I've chosen to share here... and after a while, photos of the beach just tend to all blur together and look the same, so I've picked ones that have something unique about them.  So get ready to be taken to the shores of Doran Beach in Bodega Bay, where we spent some time during our first night upon arrival.

But first... there was no way I was not going to get a picture of this... "The Birds Cafe" which refers to the classic 1963 Alfred Hitchcock movie, The Birds, that was filmed in this town.

Capturing a couple of cyclists, along with another couple enjoying their evening at the beach

So this doesn't have anything unique in it, but I just liked this view of the waves.

Some birds at Doran Beach... fortunately, they did not attack!

Catching a seagull in mid-flight!

Just some tracks in the sand that I found interesting for a photo opp.

Possibly my very favorite photo out of the bunch, with the adorable pup heading towards the water.  His name was Diesel, a 4 month old mastiff and he was so very sweet!

Catching some surfers walking across the shore... this is probably my 2nd favorite.

Jacques and I! ♥

Capturing the beginnings of the sunset across a picnic table.

Just a little boat seen way out in the distance.

And after we were done exploring the beach (and also quickly running out of daylight), we stopped here for dinner.  The menu consisted of mostly seafood that I don't eat (I was hoping they had salmon, but was disappointed), but I can say that their fish and chips were delicious!  

Please excuse my awkward pointing skills... -blushes-

Stay tuned for my next post, which will cover our full day in the area: driving around capturing the beautiful views, a short stop at a gorgeous winery and playing in the redwoods! =]

Valentine's in the Snow

Ah, so sorry that I keep making empty promises with this blog!  I really did have good intentions though.  Life seems to just get spontaneously busy for me these days, specifically weekends.  But I'm forcing myself to use any and all extra time to put together some posts. =]

Starting with our day trip back in February, on Valentine's Day to be exact, when Jacques took me up to Donner's Pass to play in the snow as my present!  He knows how much I adore snow and how disappointed I get that there's absolutely none that ever falls where we live, so it was the perfect gift for me.  We drove even further up to Reno, Nevada as well, but the snow was really the highlight of the drive for me.

Starting the day off with a picture of the early morning sun shining from behind the clouds.  This was taken in a small city along the Sacramento River, across from the Ryde Hotel.

First real view of the snow!  Or at least the first time we stopped the car to get out and take photos!

Couldn't resist getting a photo with this beautiful background!

And finally, here we are at a little rest area in Donner's Pass.  We were able to play around in the snow here for a bit.

The snow piled up against the visitor's center...

Me standing in a hole!

Slightly ominous-looking trees in the snow.

Jacques & I taking a break from playing!

Even more ominous trees!

Christmas 2015, 6 months later...

First off, sorry to sound like a broken record AGAIN... but I'm way too backed up on my photoblog posts!  I am really going to try to keep up with them for the remainder of this year, by actually making myself set aside some time to write up my posts and scheduling them out (as a start, since I have about 5 posts I need to get done!).  I know exactly what my problem is, regarding getting them done.  For one thing, I'm a huge procrastinator... and another, I work all day on my laptop, which means I sit in front of the computer screen for at least 6-8 hours a day, and by the time I'm done with work, I really don't want to spend any more time on the computer, so I leave it for the weekend or something and then my weekend gets spontaneously busy and the process repeats itself over and over.  I'm going to break that habit, I promise!

Anyway... so that's why I'm posting my photos from Christmas, in June. ;]

Capturing the calm before the "chaos" :)

Playing around with my new Nikon's focus settings, with a pretty ornament!

And again, this time with a portion of garland wrapped around the tree.

My mom and I! <3  (She doesn't like this photo of her, but it was the best we got of the two of us)

The best we could get of all of us!
Aidan was already getting a bit fussy at this point, because he just wanted to eat his goldfish. =P

Cute capture of an adorable little family! <3