California Love...

Are you "Tupac-ing" it to "California Love"? Nick and I were invited to a wedding in California two weekends ago back at our old stomping grounds in Orange County! It was the perfect opportunity for a little getaway for us, and to visit our old home. Southern California will always have a special place in our family's heart. It's where both of us spent the majority of our Marine Corps careers, it's where Nick and I met, it's where we bought our first home, and it's where our first child was born! We have wonderful memories there, and it's always a treat to get to go back!

And airport selfie, because we can....

So funny story...

We originally purchased roundtrip tickets to fly out from Texas on Friday and fly home the following Monday.

We made a last minute decision to fly to California a day early so that we could enjoy an extra day to hang out and see friends. 

Since changing our ticket was going to be costly, Nick decided to purchase two one way tickets on Thursday, and just fly back on Monday with our original round trip tickets.

He purchased our tickets online through Expedia....through SPIRIT AIRLINES!

If you know anything about Spirit airlines, you know that they are an ultra low budget airline that nickels and dimes you for EVERYTHING (just google the horrific reviews).

They also have THE WORST reputation in the airline industry for flight cancellations.

You can literally buy a round trip ticket for less than a hundred bucks through spirit, but in the end, you end up paying to print your boarding pass, pay for all your bags (checked or not checked), etc. 

They also have the worst legroom, non reclining seats, no complimentary beverages.

It's basically "bare bones" flying. 

I was SO irritated that Nick did not take this into consideration.

Look, I'm no diva (maybe a little), but I prefer to fly in comfort.

I forced him to pay the extra 50ish bucks for the emergency exit row, because if I'm gonna sit on an airplane for 3.5 hours with non reclining seats, I NEED some legroom.

With that said...

Our flight was not cancelled.

The flight attendants were SUPER friendly.

The money spent on the emergency exit row seat was worth it.

The aircraft was tidy.

Would I fly Spirit again?

Probably not.

The seats were really small, so I felt a little squished on the sides.

Also, I can not gamble with my travel with the possibility of having a cancelled flight.

But, it wasn't a terrible experience.

Our first stop when we arrived in Orange County was San Juan Capistrano!

SJC has a very special place in my heart, because it's where our first home was!

This is a cute little historic area just down the road from where we used to live.

Then we hit up my favorite little bistro/café in SJC, The Sundried Tomato!

Dannika and I used to come here every Saturday morning for brunch when Nick was deployed!

Sundried Tomato soup!

My all time favorite, Dr. Rick's salad.

Spring mix salad with prosciutto wrapped goat cheese and a balsamic glaze over the salad!

absolutely delicious! 

One of my favorite things to do when we lived in Cali was go on runs by the beach!

The views and the ocean breeze made running so enjoyable and fun! 

Of course Nick and I hit up the beach run up and down San Clemente beach.

One of my favorite beaches!

 We stayed at the Laguna Cliffs Resort with the rest of the wedding party.

We love this resort, and it was such a nice treat to come back for old time's sake.

Nick and I spent several anniversaries here for a weekend getaway.

 We hit up our favorite Mexican restaurant, El Adobe...

I had the most delicious lobster tacos.

Because every Aggie always takes photos of their Aggie ring on vacation...

Nick hit up his favorite barber shop for a haircut!

Military bases always have the best barber shops around it!

They give the best razor fades!

 Because food...

We hit up our favorite sushi place in San Clemente, Tak-a-o.

The hummingbird special.

No idea why it's called that.

It's stuffled and fried jalapeño with their special sauce.

Calamari!

THE BEST!

Our good friend Paul met up with us there!

Lounging poolside...

In jeans....

Rehearsal dinner!

 After the rehearsal dinner, Nick and I decided to hit up an old bar that we used to frequent.

We convinced this mom and son who were there for the wedding to join us!

It was so fun!

 More food...

We hit up Wahoos fish tacos!

 And finally, the wedding day! 

The wedding was at the Ritz Carlton at Laguna Niguel.

It was an absolutely breathtaking venue.

The ceremony was on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

A good friend of ours owns a photobooth company, Stay Golden Photobooth.

Nick and I decided to get the bride and groom a photobooth setup as a wedding gift.

It was a big hit!

 Aggie ring pic...

Nick was the lead sword arch for the wedding.

 Because I like taking photos of pretty salads...

The wedding was a blast, and we were so honored to be able to share it with our friends.

Until next time, California....

#peace