5 Years Ago Today...

An Online Love Story

My husband and I will be celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary this weekend on July 1. And I think it's about time that I come clean. The truth is,

This post goes out to all you single girls who might be embarrassed about admitting that you are have thought about looking for love online. I know the feeling.

Little girls don't dream about meeting their prince charming online. We dream of running into him at a bookstore or some other 'meet-cute' like in the movies. The truth is, even in this day & age where we are addicted to our cell phones, Twitter, and Facebook it still feels taboo to admit that you are/were an online dater.

Back when I met Chris, Match allowed you to "connect" with the other person so long as one of you had a paid account. He did, I didn't. Nowadays, I understand that you both have to have paid accounts to connect. #whatsupwiththat

After talking online for a few weeks (I wish I had those transcripts!) He invited himself along to a Christmas party I was going to in downtown LA. I let him pick me up at my house & broke rule #1 of online dating: Always meet somewhere neutral. Maybe that's why,

Or maybe it's because we were both out of our element. The party turned out to be a hipster-artsy-photographing-rooftop-affair. Talk about awkward. He did take me to play a game of pool after the party, which somewhat balanced the terrible first half. 

I didn't think I'd ever hear from him again, until he called, the very next day, asking to take me out on a real date. And then the next day, and the next. It was that sweet 'getting to know you' period of talks that last till 5am and that first {foot-popping} kiss. 

I loved his confidence, that he knew what he wanted out of life, and that he lived a life of faith. Surprisingly, after our first date, we rarely talked online. It very quickly turned into a real-life relationship.

All because of a little website called match.com. The moral of this story is: You can find real love online. In fact, I recommend it.

My Memories of St. Maarten

I want to send a BIG thank you out to Leah, Kate, & Clare for guest posting for me while I was enjoying the beautiful island of St. Maarten. I had an idea of what to expect from getting a sneak peek of their posts, but the color of the water there truly is unbelievable.



We stayed at The Westin Dawn Beach and it was everything a 4 star hotel should be. Comfy lounge chairs, a swim-up bar, heavenly bed, and amazing food. This was my view for much of the vacation.



Kristen and Paul did an amazing job planning and hosting this destination wedding. From hand painted bottles of rum in the rooms, to Da Party Bus (more to come), to the most perfect beach wedding.. everything about the experience was thoughtful and lovely.



Not to mention how beautiful Kristen looked in her wedding dress. She was the perfect bride. I feel honored to have been invited to be there on her Paul's big day.

Dreaming of St. Maarten

In 10 days I will be packing up to go to St. Maarten! I am so stinking excited about this. This will be my first official "island hop" vacation, my first girls trip abroad, and my first real vacation since Christmas of 2009. I wish we were going tomorrow!

Here are some reasons why I'm stoked for this trip:

• watching The Hunger Games {they have movie theaters there!}
• shopping at a mall 
• attending Kristen's wedding
• good food
• swim-up bar
• white sand

I'm really proud of myself for earning the money for this trip through my design business. I can't think of a better way to reward myself for the hard work. Because whats the point of working if you don't get to spend some of your earnings on something nice for yourself?

And don't worry, I have some awesome guest posts lined up for you while I'm gone. Until then, I'm dreaming of St. Maarten.