So in Love in SoCal

Q had a work retreat in San Diego for a few days so I met him there on the last day and we stayed for almost a week for a little Valentine's getaway(Feb 9-14).
Just the two of us. No kids. (in case "just the two of us" didn't quite sink in)


It. Was. Amazing.
Neither of us had ever been to California...

this is a picture of the resort where we stayed ...the grounds were beautiful

This is the view from the elliptical machine at the fitness center. We got to exercise together every single day we were there.  That rarely happens at home. It's hard to find time to exercise in general much less together. [equally rare: for the first time in my life I actually LOST weight on vacation]

Our Splurge:  we rented a convertible [we actually convinced the guy at the rental place to give us a third off the price!] Definitely no regrets there! It totally added to the whole experience and we didn't have to feel like we were missing out on anything when we were in the car. It's sort of a dream of mine to own a convertible someday. Q knows that. He loves to make me happy...I love that about him

First time for both of us at the Pacific Ocean. It was beautiful and we got to watch the sunset too.

We happened to be in California the same weekend that Q's brother's friends had planned to have his memorial service. So we drove up the coast to L.A. It was difficult to "say goodbye" all over again, but we truly felt like it was meant to be that we were there and Q got to give a special eulogy for Mikey.

We toured around Beverly Hills and went to Barneys [the department store where Mikey used to work]

It was beautiful. The streets and the buildings and everything in the shops...just like in the movies :)

We always hit a Starbucks at least once everywhere we go.

That evening, we drove outside of L.A. and stayed in a beautiful city called Costa Mesa. While we were at dinner, we learned from Facebook that Whitney Houston had died in Beverly Hills precisely when we were there. SO CRAZY.
Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" was playing on the radio when Q and I had our first kiss [in 1993] and "The Bodyguard" is one of the first movies we ever saw together.
Heavy.
Rest in peace, Whitney.

The view from our hotel room on the 13th floor was beautiful.

It was a gorgeous Westin.
And of course we hit the fitness center before we checked out.

yeah, did I mention I love convertibles? I love the way Q is looking at me out of the corner of his eye in this picture. He loves me.

Cruisin' the PCH [Pacific Coast Highway]back to San Diego.
G.O.R.G.E.O.U.S.

We stopped at Laguna Beach for awhile and had lunch there...and sat by the water for awhile

I had a caprese pannini. BRILLIANT. YUM.

had to try IN-N-OUT burger while we were there...

Okay, this is post-workout so you gotta cut me some slack. I'm lookin' a little rough in this picture but I just had to include it because we met this girl at breakfast at our resort. She was our server and I noticed her accent...very familiar. So I asked her "where are you from?" and she said, "Poland." I grabbed her and I said, "Oh my word! We lived in Krakow! I'm totally gonna cry!" and then I promptly started crying. I don't think she thought I was serious when I said it because she was really shocked when she saw my tears. She said, "I'm from Krakow" We [mostly me] were FREAKING OUT! Can you even believe it? like what are the chances? We talked for awhile and it turns out she's been in the states for 9 years and before she moved to California she lived in the Twin Cities! Yes! I know!!! and before that? Wisconsin Dells! I know! Hello! I'm from Wisconsin! So that's why I had to get my picture taken with her. Her name is Ola. I love it when stuff like that happens!

Adorable little restaurant where we had lunch. We actually ate out on the patio with a view of the ocean but I thought the inside was so completely charming and cute that I snapped a picture! Love the long bench along the wall with the pillows. And the fireplace. Yes, too cute.
This was in La Jolla (pronounced La Hoya). Which is by the way "thee place to be" in San Diego. It was obvious why too...everything there was perfectand beautiful and expensive.

also in La Jolla...Sprinkles Cupcakes

we picked some up for dessert and even brought home a box so the kids and my parents could have some.

...it was our last day and Q was more than tired of me taking pictures of him and us (about 200--these are just the ones that "made the cut") so when I said, "we have to take a picture with our cupcakes", he was less than thrilled and his response was "you get ONE PICTURE so you better make it a good one" well I accidentally pushed the button as I was lifting the camera and we both started dying of laughter because he said 'ONE' but I freaked and snapped another one quick but it was a lost cause and he was NOT gonna sit there and smile while I over-anylized 20 pictures of us with our cupcakes. But this one is more fun anyways with the story behind it!

...and that was it. This is our last dinner on the last night. We ate at a fabulous Thai restaurant in Rancho Santa Fe and talked about dreams and goals for our future and particularly 2012. After a pretty rough start to the year, this vacation was the perfect opportunity for us to "regroup" and sort of hit the reset button so to speak. We had such a great time. It's truly a gift to be married to your best friend. We are so in love and know that every day we have together is a blessing.