two years ago.

re-living a part of our Shanghai experience at the new Din Tai Fung in Costa Mesa | 36 weeks

What I’m thankful for today: that we’re not in China anymore.

Exactly two years ago was our first night in Shanghai, a city where we would live for the next year and a half. We left California with our four suitcases laid flat in the bed of my dad’s red pick-up truck. We landed, just the two of us and some stuff. It’s an experience that I still can’t fully process, but I know that where we are now is so much sweeter because of it.

our summer love.

This is our last summer as just Dave and Ruth.

I want to soak it all in, just the two of us preparing to be parents. It seems so fitting that this season of our lives would come to a close in summer when, 5 years ago, we started our season of forever togetherness on a warm and breezy July day in North San Diego. And just like at our wedding, we’ve been showered in love by our family and friends, so supported as we take the next step together.

Summer is the dreamiest with its glowing, cotton candy sunsets, sparkling blue pool water, warm sand beaches. I want to live it up. Hang my legs in the jacuzzi, sipping on sparkling water until the pool closes. Go for spontaneous late nights runs to the grocery store for Jeni’s ice cream. Long walks at dusk. Beach bonfires with s’mores every weekend. Krispy Kreme drive-through donut runs. Sharing a bowl of the tiniest, sweetest, organic strawberries with a bowl of homemade vanilla bean whipped cream on our patio like it’s our favorite restaurant, with twinkling globe lights and the breeze just barely coming in from the ocean, a little furry at my feet begging for one more strawberry. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.

This is our summer, the summer of our growing (literally) love and expanding family.

The last summer of us two, and the first summer of us three.

I can’t wait for fall, for the cooler temperatures and the hot apple cider and the comfort foods that I’m sure I’ll so desperately need and want, and most of all, for the tiny, snuggly baby boy I’ll hold in my arms. This fall will, I’m sure, be a dream. But it’s just around the corner, and I want to hold onto every late summer night that I can.

planting seeds.

I'm discovering, as I become older and

hopefully

 wiser, that there are themes that emerge for each figurative season in my life. Lately...

Lately, I had been assessing (re: worrying about) the potential payoffs of my time investments and questioning how I should plan and execute my now

very flexible

 day. As I was writing, I came across this quote at the top of the journal page, with this verse on the facing page:

"Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don't know if profit will come from one activity or another 

— 

or maybe both." - Ecclesiastes 11:6 NLT

The most succinct and appropriate wisdom revealed at the exact time I needed it. And just as I was thinking,

I would really love a visual reminder of this

, boom.

Clementine Daily

(my fave new site) beat me to

it

. It's like God knew that extra nudge would hammer that little sentence home, pushing me away from my comfort zone of tidy, tangible, and immediate outcomes.

This month, and maybe even this entire fall season, I'll be planting seeds. Small but powerful seeds of time, energy, sweat and faith. 

Lots

 of sweat. 

Lots

of faith.

lizzie's wedding.

//the girls, photo via

Holl

//

My childhood friend, Liz, got married a few weeks ago, and it was the most touching wedding I've attended, so intimate and personal. Dave and I had just returned home from Shanghai a few days before, so the timing was perfect. After a year abroad, there was nothing more beautiful to me than spending time in the California sunshine, celebrating love and reuniting with the girls I grew up with.

//lavender iced tea, loves, and sparklers//

The wedding took place at the

Highland Springs Resort

, which I didn't know anything about until Lizzie said that she was getting married there. We ended up spending

our three year anniversary

there, at the same time as their annual lavender festival. If you're in Southern California during that time, it's a must visit. The resort is a local gem - olive trees and lavender fields and rustic beauty all around.

//friends, laughter, and celebrating Lizzie and Matt//

I honestly believe that California is one of the most  beautiful places in the world to live. I loved soaking in everything that I had missed - friends, glorious sunsets, fresh outdoor air. They served breakfast for dinner, which was so cute and yummy. I'll take pancakes at any time of the day!

//stunning reception backdrop and sunset//

That night was one of those nights where I was so happy that everything felt surreal and perfect and just so much like

home

. That night to me was the best possible kind of summer night, all filled with sunlight and laughter and celebration and catching up on everything. I'm so glad to have been there. Life is beautiful!

a collection, no. 2

WEAR:

Zimmermann Celestial Floral-Print Underwired Swimsuit

| I would wear this suit while lounging at the pool of my Montecito vacation home. Dreaming!

LOOK:

Coastal Color

painting by Teil Duncan | I'm loving the colors, the geometric strokes, and of course, the beach scene.

WORK:

Flowers for 2014

calendar by Lucie Wallace | All of her paintings are beautiful, and you wouldn't have to choose with this calendar! //

Takenaka Bento Box

| Also known as the most stylish way to brown bag lunch. My recent stop in Japan has fueled my admiration for Japanese products.

READ:

Where'd You Go, Bernardette

 | Great reviews + great cover art. //

Why the Woman Who "Has it All" Doesn't Really Exist

 by Barnard President Debora L. Spar for Glamour //

Meet my Mentor: Condoleezza Rice

 by Lila Barton on Levo League | Condoleezza Rice has been one of my role models since high school, and I loved learning more about her through this interview. My takeaway quotes: "Recognize that you have a long life ahead of you and things come in stages. You don't have to try to do everything at once." and "I never had long-term goals for my career. It was focusing on shorter and immediate goals."