pow pow ow ow

woke up to this.

went and did this...

two feet of fresh powder? yes please. i had never ridden in snow that good! needless to say i got a lot more daring and went down some steep runs that i normally wouldn't (cause you could totally eat it and not feel a thing). it felt like jumping into a huge down comforter...like riding on a cloud. the most amazing feeling! we hope it keeps snowing all weekend so we can go get some more snow goodness on monday.

weekend of love

a week and 1/2 overdue, but here are the pictures from our valentines fun. dave worked on valentines day, so he was so cute in doing little things for me throughout the day so i would feel special. he left me a really nice letter to wake up to, and he brought me chocolate covered strawberrys to work. of course i had to reciprocate the love so i had this set up for him after he got home from work. i think hearts/banners/etc. always look super girly, so i tried making it more fit for dave using red, blue, and brown. very boy colors. the banner had 4 little envelopes, each with one of these sweet cards:

  

it was so fun surprising each other throughout the day. dave brough home dinner and dessert from his work and we enjoyed it just the two of us. 

this past weekend, since we didn't go down to california, we decided to do something fun closer to town so we could just relax. we ended up spending the weekend in slc at the hyatt.



we walked around the gateway (where dave got blue corduroys for $6 and two RVCA shirts for $3 each and i got an UO sweater for $13) hello deal!we never go shopping...ever, so it was nice to try on some fun clothes.  we are huge sushi fans so we tried out happy sumo for the first time. it was really good! we recommend the wantons, venus role, and brooklyn role.

it was a much needed break from our super busy days. it is always nice to just hangout with my honey.

oh hello

Gone for the weekend! No not to Califnornia, change of plans. We are gonna act like rich people and stay in Salt Lake for the weekend eating Happy Sumo. That thought makes me a happy sumo. I still have to write about out valentine's day, I guess this weekend is an extension of valentine's day since dave had to work that night.

Is it just me or has February seemed like the busiest month everrrr. I feel like I have not slowed down long enough to blink for weeks. So this weekend couldn't come any sooner. I hope you all have fun plans for this weekend or will just spend it relaxing.

Later, xoxo,
gg

catorce

14. of course no valentine's countdown would be complete without my numero uno! dave

you are the best.
you make life sweet.
you look dashing as ever.

love,
court

trece

13. familia

i know i said i wasn't going to put "obvious" things on this LOVE list. but as i was putting this list together, it didn't feel right to just not include my family because it is "obvious." so here goes.

i consider myself SO super lucky to have the family that i do. i have always had an amazing family and the best parents i could ever want. i look up to my parents in so many ways. they are fun, hip, not afraid to embarrass me (remember high school dances?), good examples, and will have my back no matter what. bottom line ___ i love them. my sister (shannon) and brother (darren) are so cool you guys. they both came over to mi casa today and we talked, laughed, and ate our classic mac'n'cheese just like the good old days.

then there are the in-laws. it wasn't until i was engaged to dave that i really thought about what it meant to "marry into someones family." you always hear horror stories and jokes about the "in-laws" but i just couldn't see that happening with mine. sure enough..it didn't go down like that. the facers are amazing people. it may help that i have spent years playing board games in their home, watching them fix surfboards in their garage, and laughing with them till way to late at night. i have known them since i was 14 (well actually a long time before that...but long story)...and they make up some of my very best friends. i guess that is why i feel so lucky. i inherited a family full of people that i really like being around.

can't wait to see all their faces in a week!

doce

12. sunshine/beach

i've loved the beach since i was a young one. opposite of most people, i like having the salty skin, hair and eyebrows.  i love the way summers feel. hopefully we will have weather like this over president's day weekend. we're going to california baby!

once

11.peonies

this is my wedding bouquet. it was SO beautiful. the designer Aubrey Messick did an amazing job! full of peonies, double tulips, sweetpea, and ranunculus. i won't be getting any of these flowers for valentine's day however, due to the fact that they are definitely out of season and quite expensive. but my heart can dream!

p.s. our photographer was Kris Sundberg...he is amazing! check his stuff out here

diez

10. camping

picture found here

i don't have any pictures of me camping on my desktop...but i'm sure if you went to my house in california my mom would break out the scrapbooks and show you loads of super attractive photos of me ruffing it with that great au-natural hair, dirt, and breath. too bad you missed out. anyways...camping has always been one of my FAVORITE things to do. my family used to go to zion's national park once a year with our cousins. it was a grand time. once i even almost stepped on a king snake. claim to fame right there.

i love the way camping has a way of clearing my mind. it is where i feel most in-tune with myself. the best part is not even the camp-fire and the s'mores...to me it's waking up in the morning to the calm and still of it all...breathing in deeply, hearing the birds singing, and smelling a great breakfast being cooked by my dad. not to mention how stinkin beautiful nature can be. sheesh. 

the places i love to camp most are: yosemite, zions, yellowstone, and of course...at the beach. dave and i registered for all the camping goods for our wedding and our friends and family decked us out with a nice tent, sleeping bags, and a duel fuel stove. so stoked! can't wait for it to warm up a bit so we can go! anyone else in?

nueve

9. musica

this might sound redundant after my post on concerts...which is ok because i just love good music that much. we got this rad record player a while ago and since then we have been collecting old vinyls that we see at thrift stores. we've got some pretty good ones. my favorites to listen to are the verve (jazz), bon iver, coldplay, ray charles, and others. it's nice to come home from a long day at work, put on a record, drink some hot chocolate and just relax. you should try it. it is pretty great.

ocho

8. art

 

all of these paintings are done by dave. i absolutely love them. you should see dave's sketchbook, he is outta this world creative. i enjoy painting with him sometimes, though i end up feeling like the least creative person in the world and all i can think of painting are beach scenes and flowers haha. hopefully i will be able to expand my repetoire someday.

these paintings he made for me back when we were first dating.

they all really liven up our little casa. of course we like other art too... we like going to museums a lot. the getty museum and the getty villa in malibu are two of our favorites. if you have not been, go! it makes for a great day date and it's fun to experience rich culture like that. still have to go see the carl bloch exhibit at the MOA. let me know if you know of some cool artsy places we should check out.

siete

7. the motorcycle

yes. i wore that on a motorcyle ride to the beach. probably would not do that now. especially on dave's bike, it is so sketch, but so fun! he is gonna fix it up this summer so we can cruise the streets of provo. can't wait.

seis

6. concerts

mason jennings

this was an AMAZING concert that dave and i went to for his birthday. it was a surprise which made it even more fun. we spent the morning in venice, and then drove up the canyon to ojai. dave had no idea what we were doing. he kept asking me if we were going horseback riding cause all we kept seeing were ranches and hills. finally we parked the car, pulled our bikes out of the trunk, and rode through a park until we started hearing music playing. dave turns to me and says all serious.. "court...are we going to a concert?" i smile. "court...are we going to the Mason Jennings Concert??!!" Ahh it was so great. Dave had mentioned it like 4 months earlier and said it would be fun to go but he had totally forgotten about it by this time. he was so stoked as was i. i love a good surprise. so we rode in on our bikes, which we parked in a "lot" surrounded by haystacks. figures...hippy town TO THE MAX. we even got a raffle ticket to enter a big drawing because we were being "green" by riding our bikes to the concert. little did they know our car was just around the corner. he he. anyways, the concert was out of control. mason jennings is so good. we have seen him a few times live because he just rocks it out. jack johnson even decided to give us a surprise visit with a hippy beard and all in ojai spirit. this was a great concert.

coldplay

this was a good time as well. dave and i took our mothers to this concert. ahhh cute i know. we got floor seats to this sold out concert and we were so stoked. i had to hit up the pre-pre-sale for those tickets! i have loved listening to coldplay since i was in middle school. and i still love listening to them. i could have their music on repeat all day long and never get tired of hearing it. this was also the music that i made into the soundtrack of my life. almost every song has a meaning, emotion, or story behind it. do you ever do that? anyways. this concert was the best EVER. we were their kick-off show for their new CD so they gave us all a free concert cd and rained us in these cool neon butterflies after the show.

i still have them pinned to my cork board at home. if you have never been to a coldplay show and you like them, save up your mula and go...you will never regret it and they won't ever dissappoint.

moral of the story...i love concerts. sorry for all the detail.

cinco

5. my ring. is that narcissistic? i can't tell.

"all that glitters is goOold." my goodness. dave did good. i love my wedding ring. gold. simple. it doesn't get caught on anything. it's perfect.

cuatro

4. day trips

leo carillo beach

the getty

santa monica

"she was a dayyyy tripper." these are just a handful of some of the places dave and i have been together. we LOVE taking day trips. driving to a destination for the day and just exploring is so fun. i like the feeling of being out of my element or trying something new. dave is a great trip companion. he never gets lost, always plays good music in the car, and keeps me laughing all day.

tres

3. rainbow sandals

not much to say here. they are the best and make me long for summer everytime i see them. if utah wasn't -2 degrees in the winter i would wear them year round. (ok...this is starting to sound like an "i hate utah" blog...i really don't, promise. but i was made for california.)

p.s. #2 and #3 are posted on the same day cause i started a day late. thats all.

dos

2. surfing

ahhh the beach. such a good vibe. i love the ocean, the sand, the waves. i am by no means a great surfer, i probably can't even be considered a good one, but i love it. being out in the surf with my honey and my friends is the best feeling. i feel so relaxed and happy. this is one of the things i miss most living in utah. a place like this to escape it all. favorite surf spots would have to be 1. churches 2. doheny in the summer 3. san onofre 4. castles and waikiki (oahu). these pictures were all taken at doheny by my good friend kari amundsen. isn't she great?

14 days of L.O.V.E. - uno

i got this idea from a couple of my friend's blogs so i thought i'd share my 14 days of love in photographs ....besides the obvious, like family and church.
1. reading a good book

usually during school and work i find it hard to read for enjoyment. for some reason since getting married i have gotten a lot better at this. it probably has something to do with the fact that we have no cable and no internet at the moment, so if i want to relax i read. i have discovered how much i love non-fiction! ew gross i know..but it is so good. i love autobiographies, especially the Andre Agassi book OPEN. it is a really good read and really motivational. it taught me a lot. (*disclaimer - there is a bit of cussing) i am also one of those people who get books that teach you how to do things...i pick up interior design books, topography books, painting books, etc. overall these books probably just keep me adding things on my "i'd love to do this right now but i can't" list. oh well.

and who can forget a good novel that just sucks you in? i recently read the hunger games series and enjoyed it. team peeta all the way. anyone have any good suggestions for books? it's time for another one!

oh february.

i really like this month of the feb. it helps me remember what is most important...having love and building relationships. sometimes that is a hard thing to do. especially when school, work, and studying are so demanding of time. there is a lot going on right now with school and work for both dave and i. we each work 20 hrs a week and have a full load in school (spend at LEAST 20 hrs in school) so pretty much we have a 40+ hour work week. needless to say we try to enjoy every moment we have together. whether it is eating breakfast, going to the gym, watching an old school movie, or just listening to colplay on our record player...those moments are bliss. maybe that is why i like february...the month (ok maybe not the MONTH) is focused on something the whole world could use a little more of...L.O.V.E.

some of you may know and some may not, but dave and i were good friends in high school. we were not "highschool sweethearts" by any means...just good old fashioned friends. {ok so maybe i did have a super crush on dave. so what?} now that we are married i am SO stoked that i kept an avid journal during those years because it is so funny to look back at how we were back in the day.

dave would tell me about all of his girl troubles, i would tell him my woes of never having kissed a boy (didn't happen till 17 people!)

dave had a girlfriend. i had boys that were friends :/

i would show dave how to paint nails. dave would show me how to paint FOR REALS. no joke, he is a great arTIST.

dave would skate. i would take pictures.

i would get excited about going to dances. and dave would get excited about eating pedros tacos.

the list goes on. as you can see we are different. but i think we are oh so compatable. it really just makes me so happy to be with dave. and it also makes me miss california a ton. the picture up top is where i wish i could be all the time. there is something about the beach, the sunshine, and my sweetheart that make me INCONCEIVABLY happy.

photo found here