Austin Recap + Thoughts on Traveling *Without* Dogs

Last weekend, Grace and I went to Texas for the first time! We were there for a wedding, which was held about 30 minutes outside of Austin. We got to see a little bit of Austin itself, too, which is a city I'd always wanted to visit. We weren't there for very long, so we'll definitely need to go back--but we got to see some highlights, plus spend time with my whole family (that's my little brother in the pic above!).

As we were getting on the plane in LA, it struck me how weird it felt to be getting on a plane with Grace! We travel together so much, but we so rarely fly (hence the title of this blog). In fact, the last time we took a plane ride together was coming back from a trip to Belgium, where Grace is from, in spring 2016. So it had been a minute.

Side note: Grace is SO funny on an airplane and going through security. Those who know her, know that Grace has truly never met a stranger. She will talk up anyone and everyone she meets. That includes the TSA officers doing a full pat down (yes, she had to get extra screening--of course). And she loves to put on her headphones and dance in public on purpose to embarrass me. I make fun of her, but traveling with her is the best.

As we were going through the unfamiliar experience of flying together, I started thinking about the pros and cons of taking trips without the dogs. It's much more of a hassle (because we have to figure out what to do with them when we're gone), but there's something to be said for it in a different kind of way. So I'm going to recap our trip and then reflect below on how I felt about the experience!

The photo above is from my office the day before leaving for our trip. The weather was pretty gross in LA, so I was excited for a change of scenery! Little did I know that it was actually FREEZING (as in, 32 degrees, not an exaggeration) in Austin when we got there. No one was prepared! I guess we could have checked the weather forecast, but we just did not expect Texas to be so cold. Grace and I got in late Friday night, and the rest of my family was already there (but mostly asleep by the time we got to our hotel). We stayed at the downtown Courtyard Marriott, which was the hotel recommended by the bride & groom and it was nice!  My one complaint was that our room had no floor length mirror, which was a problem for getting dressed up and ready for a wedding. But beyond that we were comfy there :)

On Saturday we woke up and got kind of a late start because of the time change (Austin is 2 hours ahead of LA, so 10am felt like 8am to us). My parents were already up, and my mom texted me around mid morning, saying, "Is Sudie in Austin? I think I just saw her walk across the hotel lobby!" Sudie was one of my college roommates and best friends, and she's going to be in Grace's and my wedding later this year! So it was so fun to run into her. I actually knew she was going to be in Austin the same weekend as me, but we both had a lot going on and hadn't figured out a way to meet up yet. So it was perfect that my mom literally ran into her. I texted Sudie and we ended up meeting up and spending the morning together with my family! It was such a fun surprise.

Before we had to start getting ready for the wedding, we walked all around SoCo, which is an area of Austin that my parents had heard was cool. It really was! We loved strolling, window shopping, and eating. Some of our favorite stores were Lucy in Disguise with Diamonds (an AMAZING thrift/costume shop) and Allen's Boots (where the picture below is from).

In another life, if I were Texan, those pink boots in the middle would be mine.

After strolling, we stopped in at Torchy's Tacos to eat. We'd heard it was one of the best places to get Tex Mex tacos in Austin, and it was SO unbelievably good!! I'm still dreaming about their fried avocado tacos. Omg.

Because the venue was about 30 minutes away from Downtown Austin, we had to head back to the hotel after lunch to get ready and hop on the shuttle! I wish I'd taken more pictures of the venue, because it was BEAUTIFUL. Now that Grace and I are engaged, I tend to notice things at weddings with a much closer eye, and this venue is totally somewhere I would want to get married if it existed in LA. It's called the Addison Grove, and it's a barn and surrounding grounds with the prettiest grove of trees for the ceremony. There were also a bunch of longhorns right to the side of where the cocktail hour was held, including a baby that was SO cute!

The wedding had a ton of really sweet touches. For one, when we arrived at the venue, servers passed out mugs of the most delicious hot chocolate! I thought that was the cutest touch for a wedding a cold day. We are planning on doing something similar at our wedding, except with refreshing lemonades and agua frescas because it will be summer.

The reception in the barn was magical. The band was really good and did a great job covering a ton of different genres. We are also getting a band for our wedding; I think they bring a really fun element to the reception. The couple actually had the same first dance song as we're going to have! I'll keep it a surprise for now, but it was cool hearing how a band would cover it, and we thought it was such a fun coincidence that they had the same first dance song as us (since it's an old song and I haven't heard anyone have it for their first dance song before).

My sister and me at the reception

I don't have any more pictures from the weekend (I was putting a lot of things on my Instagram story and forgot to save them!), but after the wedding we went out to a place called Container Bar in Austin. The bride & groom wanted to keep the party going so we all headed there! It was a bar made entirely out of shipping containers. It was pretty cool and the street it was on, called Rainey street, was VERY hopping on a Saturday night.

The next morning we met up with one of Grace's friends who lives in Austin, and we went to breakfast at Texas French Bread. I had the breakfast tostadas, and it might have been my favorite thing I ate all weekend! After that it was pretty much time to head to the airport and get back to our pups waiting in LA.

Speaking of which, now to my thoughts on traveling without them--overall I think it's good and important to sometimes travel without our dogs. What I'm about to say might be an unpopular opinion, and I hope it doesn't sound cruel; that's not my intention at all. But as I get ready to marry Grace, we have to take a step back and get perspective every now and then. I LOVE our dogs. But if everything goes as it should, our marriage will far outlive them. So, I think it's important sometimes to connect just us. This trip also helped me see how important that will be for our honeymoon. I had been toying with the idea of planning a honeymoon we could bring the dogs on, but after traveling by ourselves for a weekend, I really think it's important that we take our honeymoon without them, to just focus on each other. 

All of that being said, road trips with the whole family will always by my favorite. And, when we leave, it's SUPER important to us that we can leave our dogs in peace and not worry. We had our good friend Sara stay with Willie at our house, and he had a blast. We boarded Bean to make things easy since he's still a puppy. And they both seemed to have a great weekend! Don't worry, this isn't about to be a blog about how Grace and I go on all these trips and just leave the dogs. We will still mostly travel with them. But it's nice to know that we can go away for a weekend and they will be okay--and we'll be better for it.

On a different note--I know I had a bit of a hiatus from blogging over the past two weeks or so, and I hate that. I have a TON of ideas and hope to keep the posts coming more consistently. Thanks so much for reading!

January 2018 Goals + December 2017 Recap

I am so excited and fired up about my 2018 + January-specific goals!! My goals list hasn't been this full in a LONG time. I know that January 1 is just a made up day on the calendar (or the significance is made up, I should say), and in general I try not to buy into the "new year, new me" mentality. I also am so not into the "ugh, 2016/2017/whatever was the worst, I can't wait for 2018" griping that I see so much on social media. But all of that said, this year's start has coincided with me finally having time to rest and reflect on the direction I want to go in, and so I'm finding myself really invigorated by all of the white space the year's calendar holds. 

I didn't post my January goals on the first of the month (instead I wrote this post about how we spent our New Year's Eve), because I wanted to take my time on honing my focus for the year and for January specifically. I think I really dug deep and I'm proud and excited about what I'm aiming for this year and this month. One thing that's crystalized for me in the past few weeks is the value in partially-completed goals. I think in the last year I got stuck when I set a goal for a particular month and then realized I wasn't going to reach it. I would just scrap it entirely, because I couldn't fully cross it off my list, so what's the point? I've now realized how much this mentality was holding me back. For example, one of my December goals was to finish unpacking the whole house and have everything organized and perfect. By about December 18th, I had made zero progress on this goal. I was ready to give up and just push it off til later--but then I realized I COULD still make meaningful progress. I spent 1 hour doing a "power unpack" and it made such a huge difference! No, I didn't 100% complete my goal (I still have a couple of suitcases to unpack), but I did make real progress that I'm reaping the benefits of.

One of my overall goals for 2018 is to create a life-giving home. To me that means having a clean, organized, beautiful, and useful space, and it also means filling it with light and life and good times with the people we love. I want to be better hosts and to be a refuge for people in our lives who might need to vent, have a good meal, or a place to stay. I love our little house so much, and I'm really excited to share more about it on HDWD. It's not totally ready for a full house tour yet, so in this post I'm sharing some detail shots I took around the house last weekend! More to come soon.

To recap my December goals progress, here's that list:

• Blog five times! Yes!
• Finish unpacking from our move (yes, we moved in October. And yet this is still one of the heaviest things on my to-do list, and one of the things I will be proudest about if I actually get it done!) Not totally, but I made progress!
• Successfully split the Christmas holiday between Grace's family and mine. This will be our fifth Christmas we've been dating (or engaged), but our FIRST Christmas we'll see each other on the actual holiday! We've always spent it separately with our respective families in years past. This year, both of our families will be in North Carolina, and we'll be spending time with both. I can't wait to go to my hometown church's Christmas Eve service together, go to our family friends' Christmas Eve dinner, hang out under the Christmas tree on Christmas morning, and start to make our own little family's traditions. Yes, and it was really sweet! Too short.
• Take our photos for our save the date invitations Yes, our good friend Molly took them for us and I'm so happy with how they turned out!
• Design and order a photobook of our Alaska trip Not yet.

And my January goals:

• Book our wedding caterer
• Book our wedding band
• Send out our save-the-date cards
• Register for gifts
• Secure group rates for our wedding at hotels near the venue
• Get organized with finances and start tracking spending again
• Brainstorm for a getaway to celebrate the first quarter of 2018 in about three months
• Blog 2x a week on Have Dog, Will Drive
• Finish unpacking our house, buy an entryway chair, and hang up some more frames
• Try running with Bean (he has that puppy energy and I could use the exercise, too!)

This is a big goals list, but I've actually already made progress on the majority of these! I am really trying to use this motivation and energy I've had lately to knock out some goals. If you set goals for January or 2018, I'd love to read them! 

Hope you enjoyed these pics of our house! I can't wait to share more.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from Have Dog, Will Drive! I hope you had a safe and meaningful NYE last night (if you're reading this on January 1) and a great start to 2018!

Yesterday, Grace and I went to our favorite beach in Malibu to watch the last sunset of 2017, and then we went over to some friends' house to ring in the new year. It was also our first time taking Bean to the beach! He LOVED it and it was so much fun seeing the beach and ocean through a puppy's eyes.

I want to share a few photos from last night and also some thoughts on 2018 goals generally.  I'll probably write a January goals post in the next few days, but for now I'm still working through them.

Bean's first time touching the ocean! So funny

Rather than strict goals for 2018, I'm setting guideposts and then making those overarching ideas happen through monthly, daily, and weekly goals. Some of my "guideposts" for 2018 are:

• Dream and pray about big, "impossible" ideas
• Celebrate each quarter (4 times a year do something really special to celebrate what I've accomplished in that period)
• Marry Grace in a way that points to what matters most
• Take better care of myself physically, using small steps to start
• Get back to careful budgeting and financial stewardship (I used to be really good about this but have gotten lazy!)

And, a big area of goal setting and achieving for me is in growing this blog! Having only been blogging for 8 months, I'm really inspired and encouraged by the process and I've learned so much. I also have been LOVING reading the responses I've gotten to my Reader Survey! (You can still take it if you haven't already). Thank you so much if you've already taken it. My next post is going to share some of the results I've gotten, which are really interesting and insightful. I can't wait to make 2018 HDWD's best year yet :)

I'd love to hear about your 2018 goals, guideposts, or dreams! And now, back to pictures of doggos and sunsets:

Wishing you a sweet new year with the people and animals you love!

Have Dog, Will Drive: Year In Review + READER SURVEY!

2017 has looked so different than I expected. When 2016 turned into 2017, I was just dating Grace, we had a dog named Casper, I lived in a little studio apartment in West Hollywood, I worked for the federal government, and I was not anywhere close to writing a blog about my life. 

Now, as I'm reflecting on all the year held, I'm realizing just how much changed. I am engaged to Grace, with only 7 months until our wedding. We held Casper as he passed away in our arms this summer, and we have since adopted two more dogs, Willie and Bean. I moved out of my apartment and Grace and I started living together for the first time--we live in the cutest little two bedroom house (planning to share lots more about our house in 2018), and I moved into private practice with my job. And, I started Have Dog, Will Drive in May! A year ago, I honestly was not thinking about starting a blog AT ALL. The idea kind of popped into my head this Spring and within a week, I'd bought the domain name and was up and running. Grace gave me some really good advice, and I shared it with the world a little while later. It has become my favorite hobby and something I get so much joy out of. I've received messages and comments from people I never would have met otherwise, and I LOVE connecting with people who are interested in the type of stuff I write about. It's just so cool :) By the way, if you've never introduced yourself, feel free to Contact me! I seriously would love it.

Although I firmly believe that there is nothing magical about January 1, at the same time I love commemorating occasions and reflecting on what's good, and what can change. So in that spirit, I wanted to share some stats about Have Dog, Will Drive in its first year and favorite memories. Finally, at the end of this post, you'll find a link to a survey about what you'd like to see more of on Have Dog, Will Drive. I'd be so grateful if you'd fill it out! 

2017 was a really sweet first year for Have Dog, Will Drive

It reached over 11,000 page views

People from every state in the US were reading

Readers tuned in from every continent except Antarctica

• Some of the countries with the biggest readership outside of the US were: 
  • Canada
  • United Kingdom
  • Ireland
  • Germany
  • Australia
  • New Zealand
  • Finland

Most Popular Post: The Life of Casper (runners up: Planning the Drive from California to Alaska and Back; Meet Grace)

Longest-Running Series (Category): It's a tie between Getaways and LA to Alaska Road Trip

Most Fun Post for Me to Write and Document: Probably The Making of Red Rover but also, it's hard to beat Engaged in Alaska!

This has been the best journey and I can't wait for all that is to come! It is so encouraging and exciting to think about how much has changed from a year ago--and how much I could be surprised by the time the next year rolls around.

Lastly, I would so appreciate if you would fill out this short six-question survey. I hope to make Have Dog, Will Drive even better in 2018, and your help and input makes that possible!

CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE SURVEY

Bringing Home Bean!

We are falling more in love with little Bean (I'll explain more about his full name below) every day. We're still getting to know his personality, so I'm going to save my "Meet Bean" post for later, but I wanted to go ahead and write a post about how we ended up with this little guy! It's kind of a funny story, and overall it's felt very meant-to-be. The process of integrating him into our family has been so much fun but not 100% smooth sailing--there have been moments where we worry about how he fits into our lives or Willie gets annoyed with having a puppy in the house. So with that in mind, you can expect posts about bringing a new puppy into the house with an existing dog, as well as thoughts on crate training, socialization, and more. I can't wait to share all we've learned. But without further introduction, here's the story of how Bean came to be part of the family!

To set the stage, I should explain that we have been thinking about getting Willie a sibling for awhile--pretty much since we adopted him, actually! We knew that bringing two dogs on the Alaska trip would probably be too much, so we wanted to wait until we were back. But, as soon as we saw how much Willie LOVES other dogs , we thought it would be a great idea to get him a brother or sister.

When we started the search, we were pretty sure what our next dog would be like: a girl, pit bull, and most likely already a few years old. Well, as I wrote in my post about bringing home Willie, we make plans and God laughs. We ended up with a dog that is different in every way: a boy, a tiny little mutt, and a PUPPY! Not what we were looking for at all. But somehow, that convinces me even more that he was meant to be ours.

We'd been looking for a pit bull rescue and working with a few rescue organizations, mainly because we were worried about adopting from a shelter where we couldn't introduce Willie to the dog before adopting. With an existing dog, that's definitely an added complication. We contacted Angel City Pit Bulls and Bullies and Buddies (local rescue orgs) and even set up some meet and greets with adoptable dogs. But while we were mulling over what to do, we happened to run out of food for Willie. We went to our local pet store, Tailwaggers, for some food for him, and they happened to be having a cat adoption event at the time. Not being in the market for a new cat, I ignored the setup, and went straight for Willie's food in the back of the store. But then Grace pointed out that there was a little puppy right in the middle of all of the cat carriers! He was shaking like a leaf and seemed very confused and lonely. The lady from the rescue organization running the adoption said I could pick him up, so I gingerly lifted him into my arms . . . and he promptly stopped shaking and fell asleep. To say I was instantly smitten would be an understatement. 

I don't know why, but we just felt something right away. We knew he wasn't what we were looking for, but he worked his puppy magic on us and we just felt like he had literally fallen into our lap, right when we were looking for a second dog. He needed a home (having been surrendered to the South LA Animal Shelter, a high-kill shelter in town, and then picked up by the rescue organization Homeless to Forever Foundation). And he was beyond CUTE and so sweet. Last but not least, I felt like I got a major sign from above in what he was wearing. Compare the two photos below:

He already matched Willie! I'm a sucker for "signs," so when I noticed that, it was kind of all over for me.

The person running the rescue said they had to schedule a home visit, which they did for later that week. They drove him to our house, checked out the puppy supplies we'd bought, supervised the introduction to Willie, and then he was ours! We kept him from that night forward.

Willie has been very curious right away, and he has been intensely interested in grooming Bean from day 1. We think it's a bonding thing. There have been a few moments where Willie has gotten sick of Bean's puppy ways, but I will save that for another post. For the most part, we're all becoming one big happy family :)

That said, the sweet sleeping puppy at Tailwaggers was kind of a ruse. Haha! I can't blame him, because he IS just a puppy, but we had some house training to do, and we've also been teaching him to be comfortable and not cry in his crate (side note: I was totally not into crate training before getting this puppy, but now I see how necessary it is and have been converted!). He is rambunctious, fun, silly, and super playful. So far he is definitely a big dog in a small dog's body, which is exactly how we want him to be given that his older brother is huge. He's done great at puppy playtime and boarding over Christmas, and I think he shows every sign of being a very good dog. It's just a different experience from adopting Casper and Willie, who were both totally trained when we got them! We have to work on Bean, but it's a new experience that we're grateful to have.

Now that I've told the whole story of how he came to be ours, here are a few FAQ's about Bean that I've been getting:

What's his name/how did you pick his name?

Bean's full name is Jellybean Jones Baldridge. It comes from Riverdale/the Archie Comics, and Jellybean is the baby sister of the character Jughead (Grace and I are big Riverdale fans). Jellybean hasn't actually appeared on the show yet, but she's mentioned in it, and she's part of the Archie Comics on which the show is based. We just thought the name Jellybean was so cute, so back when we thought we'd get a girl for our second dog, we decided to name her Jellybean and maybe call her Jelly or Ellie for a nickname. But when we ended up with little Bean, it still fit--but his nickname is Bean instead! I also thought Bean Baldridge was just the cutest little name. Plus, he curls up just like a little pinto:

What kind of dog is he? How big is he going to get?

The answer to both is kind of a mystery! I've never had a small dog before, and from what I understand they stop growing more quickly than big dogs do. That said, Bean is only about 4-6 months old, so it does not sound like he is done growing yet. He gained about 1 pound in 4 weeks, so we're hoping he'll get a little bit bigger! He's 10 pounds right now, and I think his full-grown weight will be 15-20.

As for what kind of dog he is, he's probably a combination of some or all of these breeds: mini dachshund, jack russell terrier, and chihuahua. As he grows, we'll probably be able to tell more, and I also plan to do a doggy DNA test for both him and Willie. I'm very curious, but ultimately it doesn't really matter--I firmly believe that breeds are just a guideline, and especially for a mutt, so much of it depends on training and the energy you (as the alpha) bring to the relationship.

Does Willie like him?

Mostly, yes. But we are setting really strict boundaries right now because of the significant size difference--our primary concern is safety, and our secondary focus is bonding and fun times between the doggies. But I have faith they will be best buds :)

Is it difficult having a puppy?

Honestly, yes, it's a lot more work than just with Willie! But Grace and I are "dog people" through and through. We love dogs of all shapes, sizes, ages, breeds, etc. And this is a new chapter in our life and new adventure--and we can't wait for MANY more years with little Bean! We love him and it's so much fun to share him on the blog.

Thanks for reading! I have lots more to share soon.

He's the cuddliest little guy!

Quick Trip to Palm Springs with (TWO) Dogs!

If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen a pretty exciting announcement over the weekend! It's true--Grace and I adopted a new little fur baby and we are very smitten with him. That said, it's been a journey with highs and lows that I am looking forward to thoroughly documenting here in the coming weeks. Little Bean (full name Jellybean Jones Baldridge--if you get the reference, we are friends) has turned our world upside down, and raising a puppy is no easy feat. But seeing Willie become protective of him and groom him is so heart-melting.

I promise that soon I will post ALL about how we came to adopt Bean, similar to my post about adopting Willie. And, I'll write a separate post introducing his personality (similar to my Meet Casper and Meet Willie posts) once we get to know him a little better! 

But in the meantime, I wanted to write a post about our trip to Palm Springs a couple of weeks ago. I shared some pictures on Instagram from Palm Springs, and it was funny because I had to be conscious not to share Bean in any of them! He was with us, and many of our friends met him that weekend. But, we decided not to post anything about him online during our adjustment period.

I've been to Palm Springs in the past and written about it here, but this was my first time with dogs! It was so fun. Several of our friends brought their dogs too, so it was one big dog party (the best kind of party). We were there celebrating our friend Sara's birthday. And because we all stayed at the Ace Hotel & Swim Club, dogs were allowed, which was awesome. This post is not a review per se of the Ace, nor is it in any way sponsored (ha), but that said we spent the majority of our time there. I would definitely stay at the Ace next time I go to Palm Springs over anywhere else I've been, with the exception of maybe the Parker. 

I think the best dog-friendly thing about the Ace is that dogs are allowed on the pool deck! I think they have restrictions when it's hot (as they should), but it was a balmy 75-80 degrees while we were there. It was so fun to have all the dogs hanging out on the loungers with us and chilling by the pool! The hotel staff even brought us water bowls for our pooches.

Can you spot all 4 dogs in this pic?! There were a total of five over the whole weekend. So fun.

For our room, Grace and I opted for one of the rooms with a patio and outdoor fireplace. It was SO worth the little bit extra per night. It was so lovely to have our breakfast in the morning by the outdoor fire, and it was nice to have the dogs be able to hang out there too.

We ended up getting upgraded to a suite (which also included the fireplace) and it was AMAZING! Our room even came with an acoustic guitar, which Grace loved playing.

Speaking of breakfast, if you stay at the Ace and order room service, GET THE DATE SHAKE! OMG, we loved it and convinced all of our friends to order it, too. I thought the avocado toast was just okay, not my favorite. 

Most of our weekend was spent hanging by the pool, which was just what we needed. We ate at King's Highway, which is the restaurant at the Ace, and it was great. We also went out in the evening to a Palm Springs gay bar that was SO FUN--everyone had a great time and danced so much. It was called Hunters. 

Most of our group at Hunters.

It was a short, simple weekend, but it was so good for the soul. This fall has kicked Grace's and my butts with work, moving, wedding planning, and more, but this weekend in Palm Springs really reminded and convinced me of how important it is to take time to get out of town and spend time together. Bean did great on the 2 hour car ride to and from Palm Springs, so we want to keep exposing him to road trips so that he gets used to it and loves them like Willie does!

Stay tuned for lots more about Bean soon!

Initial Thoughts on Planning a Wedding

When I started this blog, I did not picture it involving wedding planning updates (also, I wasn't engaged at the time!). That said, I’ve had a few people ask me whether I’m going write them . . . So I’ve decided to! I hope you enjoy reading this series and that it is encouraging to anyone planning their wedding or dreaming about wedding planning in general. I am figuring out things as I go, so I would absolutely love to hear tips and ideas if you’ve been through this before!

The collage at the top of this post is an inspiration board I made to guide our vision for our wedding. I really recommend making one if you’re in this season. For one, it’s just a fun “task” as far as wedding stuff goes, and also, it’s really helpful to be able to send to potential vendors to give them a quick glimpse of the aesthetic we’re imagining for our day.

Also, I should note that just for the sake of keeping some things private, I’m going to share certain details until after our wedding. Specifically, I have decided not to put our exact wedding date and venue on the internet for just anyone to find, even though I love sharing in this space. So if I’m vague about some details, that’s why! But there’s a lot about the process that I can still share without giving too much away.

In the almost three months since getting engaged, we have:

• Set our wedding date and booked a venue
• Asked our wedding party (20-strong!) to stand beside us
• Booked our amazing photographer
• Booked our wedding coordinator
• Found my wedding dress (that part was just me, since Grace won’t see it until I walk down the aisle. Her attire is still TBD).
• Gathered a lot of inspiration and ideas, started making our guest list, and made a lot of decisions that we now just need to execute (i.e., music, food, florals—we haven’t booked those vendors yet, but we have a strong sense of what we want)

I posted on IG this pic I snapped at the bridal boutique the day I found my wedding dress--don't worry, none of these are "it"!

Of course, I couldn't shop for my own dress before looking through my parents' album for inspiration. Doesn't my mom look so classic?!

When I write out all that we’ve accomplished in terms of wedding planning, I feel pretty proud of us! It can feel like a never-ending sea of tasks, but I can honestly say it’s all awesome and so fun and exciting. In a season where a lot is changing and we’re both SUPER busy with work, wedding planning is such a great escape from “real life,” and not at all a burden right now. As the time gets closer I might be eating those words, but Grace is the most easygoing person to plan a wedding with. I try to take my cues from her :)

So what’s next? Finalizing a guest list and sending out save the dates is at the top of the to-do list. We still have time, but that’s one thing I’m starting to feel anxious about getting done, especially since we have so many people traveling from overseas or across the country. And, booking the other major vendors (catering, florals, a band, and probably some rentals) will happen pretty soon I hope.

Another fave from my parents' album.

To round out this update, I’m going to answer a few of the questions I have gotten the most since starting to plan our wedding:

How long of a timeline do you have?

I am so ready to marry Grace! I’ve pretty much always known that I did not want to have a long engagement. It’s totally right for some people, but for me, I wanted to make it happen as soon as possible. That timeline turned out to be about 9 and a half months from when we got back from our Alaska trip (where we got engaged). I think it would be pretty stressful to do it in a shorter timeline—plus, a lot of the best vendors get booked far in advance! So even making it happen on about a 9-10 month timeline is a little tight, but I’m so glad we’re doing it this way.

How do you find the major vendors like venue and photographer?

This is the question people have asked the most so far. What I can say is thank goodness for the internet! I found our venue from searching wedding blogs (Style Me Pretty is one of the most useful and comprehensive in my opinion) and spending a lot of time pouring over photo galleries and reviews. I knew the general area where we wanted to get married, so I zeroed in on venues in the area, and then I reached out to about 5 or 6. We planned site visits at 2 to start with, but we ended up booking on the spot at the place we did our first site visit! And just cancelled the other one. It was perfect, and we didn’t need to see any others.

We also found our photographer online and booked her after a phone consultation. I think a photographer is probably the vendor we were pickiest about, especially because Grace is not a fan of the “traditional”/super posed wedding photos, and yet I didn’t want anything too artsy or that wouldn’t look classic in 50 years. I think we found the PERFECT happy medium and I am so excited to have her capture our day.

For our coordinator and all of the other vendors we plan on booking, we have gone through our venue and just asked who they recommend. It’s really helpful to ask your existing vendors who they love working with. I think that’s the best way! It also saves you a ton of time of google searching and hoping you’re making the right choice.

How are you staying organized?

I am using two physical wedding planners. I know, two?! But I have found it extremely helpful. Right after we got engaged, I bought the Southern Weddings Planner online because I love their magazine, and the planner itself is just beautiful (I know I’ll keep it as an heirloom, and I love the idea of my children leafing through all the magazine clippings I cut out and dreams I wrote down). And, my friend Irina sweetly gifted me The Knot Real Weddings Planner. I actually LOVE using both! They are written by different magazine publications, and they both have really good ideas. I feel like I’m getting a bigger cross-section of expertise by using both of them. I also now buy a wedding magazine pretty much every time I’m in an airport or browsing at Target! Though some of them feature kind of ridiculously-over-the-top weddings, I still like getting ideas from them.

What has been the hardest part?

Making our guest list. It’s still not complete, and it’s really difficult. I’ve heard pretty much everyone who’s planned a wedding say that’s the hardest part.

What are you most looking forward to?

I think both Grace and I are really excited for catering and cake tastings! That seems like it would be the best part of wedding planning. I am also super excited for the moment of seeing our invitations all addressed and stamped and putting them in the mail. I love paper and stationary, so that’s very special for me.

Have you planned your honeymoon?

I thought so . . . and now I'm not sure. Right after we got engaged, I suggested to Grace that we go to [destination] for our honeymoon (I'm keeping this a surprise for now, just because I look forward to writing LENGTHY posts dedicated solely to our honeymoon planning!). Grace was totally on board and I told our family and friends that we would be going to [destination], leaving a couple of days after our wedding. But right as I started to look into finding the best places and making reservations and buying plane tickets, I weirdly had a change of heart . . . and now I'm considering something totally different. Grace is the sweetest person on earth and will go along with whatever my heart desires. I wish I could take two honeymoons, because I'm having the hardest time choosing! I know this is all vague, but I'll share more soon. Maybe I'll even do a poll to try to get some advice. It's a good problem to have, but it's tricky!

Thanks for reading. I'll share more soon!

December Goals + November Recap

After a couple of weeks of silence while traveling home over Thanksgiving, being swamped with work, and other happenings, I'm back! I really miss blogging when I get out of the habit. So, as you'll see below, one of my December goals is to be better about that!

Grace and I started off our December with a really fun trip to Palm Springs to celebrate our dear friend Sara's birthday. It was such a short, simple trip, so I've debated writing a separate post about it, but I think I will write one as a companion post to my First Impressions of Palm Springs post I wrote back in May.

Now that I'm back in LA and starting a new week, I figured I would belatedly post my December goals and a recap of my November progress. Without further ado:

November Goals:

• Slowly start being active and incorporating exercise after work on days I'm not working late--honestly, no! Whoops. That's real life.
• Enjoy a sweet time at home with my family in North Carolina later in the month--yes! It was the best, and I even found my wedding dress!
• Celebrate Grace's and my mom's birthdays (2 days apart)--yes.
• Take photos with my real camera--no :( I meant to bring my camera on our Pismo Beach road trip, but I forgot it in the whirlwind of getting out the door. That said, I'm still pretty happy with the (phone) photos I did manage to snap! Check them out in my recap post here.

December Goals:

• Blog five times!
• Finish unpacking from our move (yes, we moved in October. And yet this is still one of the heaviest things on my to-do list, and one of the things I will be proudest about if I actually get it done!)
• Successfully split the Christmas holiday between Grace's family and mine. This will be our fifth Christmas we've been dating (or engaged), but our FIRST Christmas we'll see each other on the actual holiday! We've always spent it separately with our respective families in years past. This year, both of our families will be in North Carolina, and we'll be spending time with both. I can't wait to go to my hometown church's Christmas Eve service together, go to our family friends' Christmas Eve dinner, hang out under the Christmas tree on Christmas morning, and start to make our own little family's traditions.
• Take our photos for our save the date invitations
• Design and order a photobook of our Alaska trip

If you're reading, thanks for sticking with me despite my brief hiatus! I got a few messages over the past couple of weeks asking when I'd blog again, and even though I felt badly that I'd let this little space go dormant, it was so encouraging and flattering that a few people actually wanted me to write more. Thank you! xoxo

Surprise Dog-Friendly Birthday Trip to Pismo Beach

This past Sunday, Grace turned 27.  I always LOVE celebrating Grace's birthday, and we have done various things for it throughout the years. Last year, we went all out with a huge group camping trip in Joshua Tree. It was so much fun that we initially thought we'd do something similar this year, but when the time came, we decided to do something more low-key with just the two of us. We have been in such a whirlwind season of life--the busiest and fullest I think I've ever experienced--and so Grace's request was that we get away for the weekend with Willie and go somewhere relaxing, with a spa and fluffy robes. I decided that I would make the destination a surprise, and I started brainstorming where we should go!

I knew I wanted to keep the getaway within 3 hours of LA, since we'd be leaving after work on a Friday and didn't want to be driving late at night. I looked in all directions; some places I considered were Santa Barbara, San Diego, Idyllwild, and Paso Robles. But, I kept coming back to Pismo Beach (or nearby Cayucos) as the place that I thought Grace would love most. We had spent the night in Pismo Beach on a camping trip down the California coast a couple of years ago, and we've always said we wanted to go back. It's a super cute beach town with incredibly stunning cliffs, beaches, and sunsets. For those who haven't been, it's about halfway in between LA and San Francisco on Highway 101 along the Pacific. After researching hotels with a few parameters in mind (dog friendly, spa on site, fluffy robes in room, good room service menu, etc.), I settled on The Cliffs Resort. I booked us some spa services and basically planned nothing else--I knew that relaxing and enjoying the amenities were at the top of Grace's list for the weekend!

Because of Daylight Savings Time making it dark so early, it was fully nighttime when we arrived at the resort on Friday evening. We pretty must just checked in and went to sleep, enjoying our little in-room fireplace and watching some TV but figuring we'd wake up in the morning and experience the grounds and see the ocean.

Because we hadn't seen ANYTHING the night we arrived, it made it all the more magical when we stepped out the next day to walk Willie and were greeted by this:

The resort really could not have a more perfect location. By the way, there were three resorts all in a row: the Spyglass Inn, Dolphin Bay, and finally The Cliffs where we stayed. We had a great time at The Cliffs but would also totally try out one of the others the next time we go to Pismo . . . they all looked unique in their own way, and this blog post is in no way sponsored or biased towards The Cliffs, haha!

The best thing about any of the resorts that are in that area is the view and beach access. We were a 3 minute walk from our room to the beach, which was so lovely. Also, many beaches in the LA area don't allow dogs, but Pismo allows them! So it was really fun to bring Willie down to the beach with us and let him enjoy all the smells.

But Mom, I really WANT to disturb the seals!

This is probably the least adventurous trip I'll recap on the blog, but this was basically all we did the whole weekend! It was awesome. We walked on the beach, sat out on our little patio and enjoyed the sea breeze, ate our meals either through room service or the on-site restaurant, Marisol (which had the best seafood mac n cheese EVER), stayed up and watched Saturday Night Live in our room, and rested. On Sunday morning we got massages at the spa, which was literally right next door to our room. We left The Cliffs feeling so blissed out, I am now fully convinced that resort/spa getaways are just as important as camping and connecting with nature!

Also, this was a very dog-friendly resort. They had a dog bed for Willie, water and food bowls, treats in the room for him, and even a doggie room service menu!

I'd say the one downside is that when you have a dog, you don't get an ocean view room (because all the dog-friendly rooms are on the first floor where you have access to a grassy area right outside). That said, the amenities for dogs and the fact that we could see the ocean from just walking right outside were worth the trade-off of having a terrace view rather than ocean view.

Lastly, I'll leave you with some pictures of the sunset we saw on Saturday night (to me it was the best gift from above possible for Grace's last night of being 26). The last time we stayed in Pismo Beach, we saw the most beautiful sunset I have EVER seen in my life, and this one rivaled it. I don't know what it is about Pismo, but the evenings are otherworldly in how special they are there.

We love you, Pismo Beach! We'll be back!

How to Stay in a Hotel with a Dog

I recently got a blog post request from my sweet cousin Amanda, who has a pup of her own. She asked for tips on finding hotels that accept dogs and how to have a successful hotel stay with your dog. I've gotten questions along these lines for awhile now, so I figured it would be a great time to write a post. As always, if you have other questions, feel free to Contact me!

In my experience, it's totally possible to have a great stay in a hotel with a dog. Some of the places we've stayed (or have upcoming reservations to stay) with dogs in California are the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa, the Ace Hotel & Swim Club in Palm Springs (staying this December), and a certain resort that shall not be named because it's a surprise for Grace's birthday in two weeks--blog post to follow. Out of California, we've also loved the Opus Hotel in Vancouver, Bell II Lodge in rural British Columbia, and the Coast High Country Inn in Whitehorse, Yukon. I'd say we've generally stayed in more vacation rentals/camping or glamping setups than hotels, but hotels are a great option for many reasons, and I hope to give you some tips that will make it easier to stay there with your fur baby.

The first thing I will say about finding dog-friendly hotels is just to not automatically assume that hotels don't take dogs. I'm always really (pleasantly) surprised at all of the hotels that will accept them, including high end places like the Four Season and the Ritz-Carlton. Not that I'm often staying in places like that, but I notice in my research that they allow pups! Toward the other end of the spectrum, Best Westerns are awesome for doggy road trips. They are super pet friendly across the board (and affordable), and we had some very comfortable stays in Best Westerns during our Alaska trip with Willie.

And, keep an open mind for anything in-between. Bed & Breakfasts (I mean traditional Bed & Breakfasts, not necessarily Airbnbs) are sometimes great for dogs.

Now you might be thinking, how can you find out if a hotel takes dogs? I have found that you can almost always tell online--but it can't hurt to call if you have questions. Here are some tips for locating dog friendly places:

• I like to search TripAdvisor for my preferred location, dates, and click their pet-friendly filter. It will show you on a map (much like an Airbnb search) all of the available hotels for your dates and that accept pets. If you're flexible on the exact location (say you want to take a road trip within 3 hours but are open to different destinations), you can drag and move the map on TripAdvisor and more hotels with your parameters will pop up! I do recommend double checking on the hotel's website, however, because sometimes TripAdvisor is inaccurate or out of date on whether hotels are dog friendly. Another tip here is to search within TripAdvisor reviews (there's a search bar at the top of the reviews) for the word "dog." This will bring up all the reviews of people who have mentioned dogs, and it's often really helpful to find out what it's like to bring a dog there.
• Another nice aggregating website is Bring Fido. You can search specifically for pet-friendly hotels and activities, and the site has reviews geared toward people who are bringing dogs on their trips.
• On hotel websites themselves, it can actually be tricky to find out whether they are dog friendly. I think a lot of hotels don't like to advertise loudly that they accept dogs, because they don't want to deter people who aren't traveling with a pet or don't like dogs. In my experience, you can usually find it under the amenities tab or the FAQ section, if they have one. If all else fails, try googling the name of the hotel + "pet friendly." This will often bring you to a dog-related landing page on the hotel's website that can't be found through internal site navigation. And of course, you can always call the hotel directly.
• One thing to be aware of is breed and size restrictions. Sadly, there are some awesome-looking properties that won't accept dogs over 25 pounds or so, or they don't accept pit bulls/rottweilers/dobermans/etc. I understand, and it's their business and their prerogative--but thankfully, many other places are open to well-behaved dogs of all shapes and sizes. 
• Finally, be sure to actually book a pet friendly room. If you see that a hotel takes dogs, you often can't just book any room in the hotel and have your dog with you. Hotels generally have specific (and limited in number) pet-friendly rooms, so either select "Dog Friendly" when booking online, or if you don't see that option, call directly to book. There is usually a pet fee, so be aware of that too. The steepest I've seen is $150 at Ojai Valley Inn and Spa; often it's more like $25-50 extra. Usually if you're paying closer to $100 or more, the fee includes some sort of toy, commemorative water bowl you get to take home, etc.

Once you have your pet-friendly hotel reservation, there are a few things to keep in mind to make sure your stay is restful. Below are a few things I've learned throughout the years of bringing dogs to hotels:

• Know your dog and what his or her comforts are. If you usually crate your dog, bring the crate to the hotel, too. When you book your room, it's probably worth checking whether you will be allowed to leave your dog unattended in the room. In my experience, most will allow this, but they'll often want to know that the dog is unattended and have you leave a phone number with the front desk in case the dog is barking. With that in mind, if you have a major barker, a hotel might not be the best option for you. If you do want to stay at a hotel, consider a property that offers detached cabins or villas so that you don't receive complaints from neighboring rooms.
• We have left Willie and Casper in hotel rooms by themselves, but never for long--usually just while we go to dinner. If we're out exploring, we prefer to just bring our dog with us. It's probably a good idea to leave your pet alone for a lot less time than you normally might at home. Remember that it's a new and potentially confusing experience and place for them. Also, depending on the quality of the hotel, the concierge might be able to recommend pet-friendly activities in town with your dog. If you're bringing a dog, I think it's the most fun to include him or her in everything! The one exception tends to be meals if you have to go out to eat and your only option is sitting indoors. Grace and I often like to treat ourselves to room service for this reason--more time with sweet Willie :)
• Be sure to pack their regular food and feed them at normal times. Dog friendly hotels will often have treat stations in the lobby (we saw this recently at the Hilton San Francisco Bayfront where we stayed for a wedding, and it was super cute and thoughtful), but be careful about introducing a lot of strange foods in a new place. Some hotels even have doggy room service menus, but I personally would avoid it--your dog will be happier with his or her normal food, even if it seems like a novelty to order something special. Having an upset stomach in a hotel seems like a recipe for disaster for a pup.
• Lastly, consider (or call to ask about) the layout of the hotel when booking. Keep in mind your dog's special needs, if any. For example, with Casper, going through a crowded lobby would be stressful, especially if there were other dogs around. So hotels like the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa, which are casita-style and have separate entrances for each room, were far preferable for him. Willie doesn't mind a lobby; in fact he loves getting all the attention from strangers he usually receives when people see a dog in a hotel. One nice thing we've noticed about Best Westerns is that the dog-friendly rooms open directly onto a grassy space through the back door--such a smart idea. If you're nervous about getting your dog through a crowded lobby, make sure to ask about the setup. We've stayed in hotels where the dog friendly rooms were on the 10th floor through a winding lobby and huge elevator bay. Not ideal, but good to know about in advance.

I hope this overview about staying with dogs in hotels has been helpful! If your dog is quiet and well-behaved, staying in a hotel can be a really fun experience. My two biggest takeaways for this post are to keep an open mind about what hotels and properties might accept pets, and bring as much of your dog's comfort items as possible (beds, toys, favorite treats) so that they know they are in a safe and comfortable place.

Happy travels! If you have any favorite pet friendly hotels, I'd love to hear about them and maybe visit them one day!