What If?

Some of my deepest thoughts come to me when I am on a run. I don't run far, just 2 miles or so, but it's during those 20-25 minutes that God and I somehow meet up together, as I breathe in and out and focus on putting one foot in front of the other.

These words have been fumbling around in my brain for the last 3 weeks or so. This week I pushed myself to go on more runs to try to work out the thoughts that kept filling my mind and I finally got some answers.

--

Andrew and I will be going on 6 years of marriage in April. It's has been a wonderful journey for us. One that I wouldn't trade because I know that God has purposed it all. My marriage has forced me through several hard heart issues that needed resolve and now that I am finally on the other side of it all, I can look back in awe at God's faithfulness.

You see, 2016 was our hardest year. In the dead heat of the summer, I participated in a Bible study at our church and I sat in a small room with about 15 other people as they prayed for me. This group didn't even know why they were praying but they prayed. One after another, people who I barely knew spoke words from God that penetrated my heart so deeply.

One in particular prayed, "What I am about to pray and say may not seem encouraging, but I feel as though God wants you to know that He knows you are in chaos right now. He wants you to sit and wait and that the chaos will not be forever, but it is going to continue for a little while longer. He is restoring and rebuilding the walls." 

That women was right, it wasn't the most encouraging, but it was the answer to a prayer I had prayed a few days earlier in a grocery store parking lot. "Lord, how much longer. I don't know that I can keep trusting you without borders. I need to hear you."

---

Fast forward to now, January of 2017. The chaos has passed and the prayers uttered in that small room have come to fruition and I can see God's handiwork. God has rebuilt the walls of my heart and the foundation of my marriage and there is a strength and understanding surrounding my life that was never there before the way it is now.

Yet, still, I have sat on my living room couch as of late having fearful thoughts of what is to come next as Andrew and I consider future plans.


Lord, what if we can't have children?
What if we can?!
What if I am not able to balance life with children?
What if I miss my moments of just Andrew and I?
What if life gets hard again, right when I finally found myself and who I am without all the chaos in my brain?
What if we have a girl? What if we have a boy?!


These fears and thoughts are so real to me. To some these may seem so silly... but these are my current "what if's" in my current season of life. But as I ran today, I heard a louder "WHAT IF" resounding in my head.


WHAT IF YOU TRUST ME?


...What if you remember all that God has done. It may have been hard in the past, but you see the fruit, the benefit, the strength and knowledge you now have and it is good. All of the ocean tears and mountain weight I have felt has all turned to gold. So what if you give all your What If's to God and trust Him. What if you finally stop worrying about all the possibilities that could go wrong or right and just trust that God has His fingerprints all over your life and everything that He does ends up good in the end.

So instead of "what if" it will be... "What now, Lord?" What do you have in store for this next season of life. A season that I may grow and glorify your name through it all.

Life in Abundance: A Call to Die. A Call to Live.

There is a verse that keeps popping up lately. In my Bible Study. In the sermons at church. In my life, my friends lives, my parents lives. And, in the most recent book my husband and I started reading together. 

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. 

I came that they might have life and have it abundantly." 

- John 10:10

Andrew and I began reading David Platt's most recent book called "Follow Me". I have only read the introduction which is written by Francis Chan, but I have already learned so much. There is a small excerpt that grabbed me. I would like to share it:

"Probably the most memorable task Jesus gave was in Matthew 28. It stands out because of the dramatic fashion in which he gave it. He rose from the grave, and then prefaced his command with the words "all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." No one in his right mind would ignore the next words out of Jesus' mouth: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you." 

Jesus wanted followers from every nation on earth, so he commanded his disciples to reach them and train them. And that is exactly what they did - but this work is still not finished. He expects us to follow in their footsteps and structure our lives that our actions revolve around completing this mission. "

Life in abundance. What does this really mean? I think for some, we can get trapped into believing that its the things we own. Our house. Our car. Our travel plans. Our appearance. Our STUFF. We think that our life will be "happy" when we are comfortable and we have everything we need here on this earth. But the Bible says in Matthew 6:19-21, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Theres a Men's Ministry called Man In The Mirror. Their Vision is "To reach men with a credible offer of Jesus Christ, to help them grow in knowledge and love for Christ, and to equip them to serve God in the home, church, workplace, community, and world. We help men change their lives by connecting the dots between the Bible and their daily lives. We measure our profits in changed lives."

Its been a little under a year since my Father accepted a position to represent and serve as an Area Director in Central Massachusetts for Man in the Mirror. It has been an honor to watch my parents as they seek God's direction, find investors and donors to support this ministry they have been called to, and start to make changes in their lives to do this full time. 

As my parents oldest child, born just a few years after they got married, I have watched as my Father has gone from job to job, position to position, working his way up from the bottom to the top, reaching a career that provided above and beyond for our family. Then, within the past year, committed to letting all of that go, humbling himself by letting others faithfully provide for my families needs, so they can serve their God-given area. 

It brings me to tears. 

The "sacrifice" of decades of hard work, building up a life and all their possessions, to then be called to ministry... and to give that all up. In other words... "A call to die. A call to live."

I've been calling my Mother every few days to check in on the progress. Thus far, they have sold their house, put in a few offers... only for them to fall through. And now? Well, they have 24 days to find a new home to move into. Kinda crazy... 24 days. 

In a recent conversation with my Mom we exchanged encouragement, tears, honesty and love. As we both confessed that the "call to die" isn't always the easiest. That sometimes the thief who comes to destroy is so good at trying to destroy. Living a life for God doesn't mean being comfortable. My Mom said to me, "you'd never think that one of the hardest things could be the thought that the kitchen table we have been sitting around eating dinners at for years could be so hard to have to give up... because it simply won't fit in the kitchen of the new house we will be purchasing."

Isn't it so true though. We become so attached to our possessions. I don't believe its wrong to have items that mean something to us because of the beautiful memories that they bring. But, when we are called to give those things up... how will we respond? 

To the house with the memories. The car with the sun roof. The kitchen table. 

I am so thankful that God has given me the opportunity to watch as my parents go through this. All the tests and confusion, the letting go, the eye-opening and life altering experiences, and all the lessons they will learn... it's a testimony to how big, how great, how loving, how trustworthy, and how beautiful and abundant a life lived with God as the center of our lives can truly be. 


Man in the Mirror Links:

Website
Central Mass Facebook Page
Support/Donation Page

My Parents Home in West Boylston, MA that is currently SOLD.

Dear Facebook, Instagram and Twitter...

Dear Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, 

You've hurt me. You've changed things. At first, I loved you. I trusted you. I thought you were going to help me feel more connected and closer to the people I love... but you lied. 

You tricked me. 

Everyday you ask me, "Whats on your mind?" but lately, I don't even respond. 

I don't trust you anymore. 

Since you came around, I feel more lonely and disconnected than before. I may get messages from people now and again, filling me with a small sense of hope that I am connected... but the lack of real, genuine, human interaction is missing...

I miss the way their eyes sparkle when they say something meaningful. I miss the way they move their hands as they describe a story. I miss the sound of their voice. I miss the wrinkles near their eyes showing years of laughter. I miss witnessing the tears as they talk about whats aching their soul. I miss being able to hug them as our conversation ends. I miss everything.. 

You have taught us to be lazy in our relationships. We spend hours each week keeping up, keeping tabs and adding to the noise. To "follow", rather than being present and doing life together. To "comment", hiding behind a screen, rather than speaking love and truth in person. You've taught us to tailor our pictures, our statuses, our posts, trying to prove that we are in fact...happy. You've given us the easy way out in relationships, that when things go wrong for one of us, we offer a quick spat of words, instead of being by each others side. You've taken the LIFE out of life and replaced it with thumbs scrolling aimlessly looking for connection, but 20 minutes later still feeling the same. 

I am tired. I am lonely. I am frustrated. Almost 900 people on my "friends" list and really I may only know the depths of a select few... and it certainly is not because of you. 

You distract me from being present because I feel the need to keep up with my news feed. I feel trapped. My heart says to get rid of you. To stop playing your twisted games and break free. Fears creep into my mind of all the others you've tricked and confused and it leaves me wondering... Will I miss out? Will I be forgotten if I don't add to the feed? 

Sincerely, 

Just one of the millions

My Refuge

" May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge. " 

- Ruth 2:12

Refuge. 

In definition, this means, "a condition of being safe or sheltered from pursuit, danger, or trouble." This verse in Ruth, specifically the ending, has had such meaning for me this past year. To be honest, I have struggled with it. I have struggled to fully believe and trust that God is truly...truly, my refuge. And, as we are coming up on what marks ONE YEAR of living in Texas... I am reflective. 

This move has caused me to grow on so many different levels. Some small and some so deep that they require more than a blog post to explain and express. I have been in awe of God's fingerprints on my life and how He has used each and every situation to mold, sculpt, teach, grow and direct me. Through big mistakes, through loneliness, through new friends, new living situations, new experiences and strangers...

I have seen how MIGHTY my God truly is. 

In a few short months, Andrew will be leaving his full time job and going full time with his pursuit of his masters degree. This means that I will be the main source of income for us...

Yes, thats what I said. Me, Aly, owner of a business of which I stamp spoons and forks and personalize them to make every day life a little more intriguing .. this business of mine will carry us through these next few years. 

This concept...astounds me. 

I am beyond grateful. I am insanely scared. I am excited. I am honored. 

I am amazed that God has decided to give me this fun business For Such A Time Designs, "for such a time as this" to allow it to provide for us while my husband is in school. It puts even that much more worth into each and every person I serve and each and every piece I create. 

This past year has had so many exciting moments of growth and increase for my business. And though as a business owner, it is so important to see increase in sales, ultimately, my main goal has never been for myself...but for the people I come into contact with. My goal, has always been to show each and every person love and to show them that I care about the details of their life. My desire is that when I receive an email from a customer about personalizing a spoon or fork for an event or time in their life, that they would feel that I gave them the time and energy that they deserve. 

That I cared for them. 

That I loved them.

That their life has meaning and is important to me. 

This is what drives me everyday. 

This is what I am after. 

My greatest hope has always been that no matter how successful or big my business becomes, that I would never forget the process, the people, the relationships that I have formed along the way and that what comes first is always the individual PEOPLE I serve and my success comes second to that. 

Along with serving people in my business. Another opportunity has come about for us that I am beyond excited about in relation to our living situation and social life.

Andrew and I, along with him pursuing school have taken on a big commitment as a married couple. We are in the last stages of being placed in a specific & chosen apartment community (yes, we will be moving AGAIN) for us to serve in. 

Basically, we will be the "face" of the community there.... Pouring ourselves into the residents that live there and caring for them. We will plan events and basically love on each and every person that lives and/or works in the apartment community. My prayer is that God will bless our time devoting ourselves to this ministry and the people we will serve here as well. 

As I move forward into these two big roles of owning a business that is our main source of income and serving with my husband in an apartment community, I want to always remember of the blessings that got me here and the road that God put us on that led me here. I feel I have come to find refuge in my Savior and trust Him with the next steps moving forward, better than I have before(though still learning every day).

 Ruth 2:12 has become a theme verse for me. I know that the road will not be easy moving forward and that there will be challenges.... but I will trust in my God, that He will be my refuge and will be faithful, just as He always has been. 

. . .

I created the necklace in the beginning photos as a reminder to myself that God is my faithful refuge...and when you see me wearing it you will now know the depth of its meaning to me. I hope it will encourage you as well. 

Road Trip 2013: Sedona

Ahhhh... VACATION!!! We woke up yesterday and made our 6:15am flight to Phoenix and arrived at 6:20am! Only missed 5 minutes of time because of the timezone difference!! Though, I was exhausted due to the fact I had finished packing up final orders at 11:57pm the night before and then packed up my suitcase and did not go to sleep until about 2am(to then wake up at 4am!!) All to say, I was running on fumes!! 

But, I am loving being on vacation and being free to just sit and not think about anything!! I am debating taking a few extra days off when I get back, just to make sure I am geared up and ready to go for the summer months, as we have another break for a dear friends wedding back home at the end of August!

The views around here are amazing! I am in constant awe of the creation around me. This morning, I was able to wake up at 7:30am and went for a nice long run soaking in the views! I came back to the room after and made Andrew do some extra workouts with me...pushups, crunches, jumping jacks, and squats. He was a trooper and joined me. Even though, I was pretty determined and he, hesitant to what I was going to make him do. Below is what we did after my run...

50 jumping jacks

50 crunches

45 jumping jacks

45 pushups

40 jumping jacks

40 squats

35 jumping jacks

35 crunches

30 jumping jacks

30 pushups

and on and on and on until we had only 5 of each left!! 

One of my favorite things about the trip so far is that we have a 2013 Convertible Camaro that we are driving around. We have had the top down EVERYWHERE we go. I am just hoping I do not get addicted to it and feel the need to beg Andrew to buy my one for my birthday next month! ....though, we could never afford that!!

Today was filled with some good food at The Wildflower Bread Company and then an Indian restaurant, along with a great hike to the Devils Bridge and a few other spots that we found. I am looking forward to staying active on this trip, as its been my goal since March 5th to EAT CLEAN and put in more effort for working out... less ice cream and thinking I can eat whatever I want! So far, so good!

I am pretty tired tonight... from the run, the hike, and all the sun we are getting being outdoors and in the car (since the top is always down!!!). So - this post is going to be ending now with some pictures to give you some visuals and then we are going to probably take a little walk down the street to unwind & enjoy our last night here in Sedona!! Next stop.... GRAND CANYON and a 6 mile hike tomorrow! See you in the next post!! 

Now I can cross "get picture with a Convertible Camaro" off my bucket list.

Its gonna be a windblown hair kind of trip.... and I am LOVING it!!

Gorgeous view from my early morning run!!!

I love just sitting and looking around... I can't believe these views are actually REAL!! 

Yup... thats me...looking over the edge!!


Thanks for stopping in and following our trip! 

Deeply Convicted: Being Present

 

Before I started my work day today, I spent a little time surfing the web and looking at a few of my favorite blogs. I ended up seeing a post by a friend and heading over to one that I had never visited before. This friend has mentioned that it had really impacted her, so I clicked the link to go read. You can check out the FULL STORY THAT I READ HERE!

 

I cried and sat stunned as I read this womans story. It deeply convicted me. I want to be present. I want to live each moment fully embracing it.

 

I am alive.

I am breathing.

I am living this gift called life, but lately...

 

I have been distracted.

 

I sit here even now, hours later, thinking upon the story and I am just... humbled. You see, I have been blessed with an amazing business. A business that I love, that challenges me, pushes me, allows me to serve people all over the world. I would venture to say, its one of my biggest passions in life right now. Yes, this is all great... but, I need to know balance.

 

I admit... I am struggling with that.

 

My husband and I recently became the "proud" new owners of Iphones. I was told by the sales reps at the store that I was "the saddest person they have ever sold an Iphone to". And in fact, I was sad. I knew I was venturing into a whole new world where everything was at my fingertips. I knew I would struggle with it... and I do. I am not terrible. I refuse to take it out when I am on date night with Andrew... but, I do find myself on it A LOT.

 I am constantly checking emails!!

Even after my "set hours"

 

I want to be a good business woman. I desire to give good customer service and show my customer base that I am dedicated to them, WORTHY of their business and truly care about their needs. This is my passion! But, I have find it difficult lately to seperate work from life. I do not feel I have balance. Deadlines are always there. I am alone. I am the only worker and I have people who need orders rushed, by a certain date and I have promises that I need to keep to people that I have never even met!! People have anniversaries, birthdays, weddings that they are expecting me to have their product in their hands for! I feel pressure. I love when I am able to get things out on time... I fear failure. I fear that one time that I am not able to get something to someone and it breaks their heart.

 

Even though I have all of these fears and pressures, I need to be able to remember that I too, have a family, I too, have a husband, a birthday, an anniversary, a date night, even... dare I say it... A WEEKEND! Its tough to LEAVE WORK... when its sitting right there on the computer. There is no "SHOP IS CLOSED" from this time, to this time. Its 24 hours a day, 7 days a week open! Its crazy...! Its crazy and I love it... but its crazy and I need to be able to seperate the two. Or, join them in a beautiful blend that works. I want to give my husband the time he deserves. I want to be PRESENT. I dont want to be distracted all the time worrying that if I dont answer and email fast enough I am going to loose the customers respect.

 

I am not sure yet how to do this... I feel I am learning daily how to work hard and focus more. I know things come with time. I know that lessons have to be learned for things to stick sometimes. I am enjoying the ride and I look forward to hopefully many more months and years of this business because I truly love it.

 

So... now it is time to stop working and go get ready for supper! Then Labor Day Weekend! It's time to live in the present and not be so distracted by the phone, the computer, the emails, the constant buzzing around us... but to focus on whats right in front of us.

 

Doing anything fun for Labor Day?? Andrew and I are going to plan our weekend as soon as I leave the shop!! :) For now... I leave you with my newest product!! Enjoy!! Feelin' Hot Hot Hot!

All My Best

Honey, it's Date Night Smoothie!

 

I love what I do! I feel like I say it all the time! But, really... I feel so blessed to have a successful business that allows me to be home, create and be my own boss. This morning as my husband and I started to roll out of bed, he looked at me and said, "Why don't you reset your alarm and just go back to bed?" ...It did sound nice, although - even though I am sure I could take advantage of that luxury, I do have responsiblity to customers who are relying on me to get their orders out on time! So, I stumble out of bed, make our coffees and then get to work...which never really feels like work!

A typical day for me starts with getting up, making coffees and Andrews lunch (sometimes I am a bad wife and make him make it! HA!), then I jump on the computer, turn on some music (mostly worship or christian music) and get to checking emails and writing down my To-Do list for the day! Then its stamping, constantly checking messages to respond promptly to customers, and then the daily post office run! After I have completed what I have to do, I go for a run or swim!!

Wednesdays are special though. Why are they special? Well, IT'S DATE NIGHT!!! Andrew and I go to a restaurant not too far from where we are living called Thai Place. They have the BEST lemongrass chicken dish and crab rangoons that we have ever had. In fact, we order the SAME THING, every Wednesday! Yes, it's THAT good! :) On Wednesday, I normally try to eat light for lunch since we normally stuff ourselves silly with the yummy food!

Today I decided to make a smoothie. As I was making it, I thought it looked really neat with the different colors of fruit, so I took a picture. Then, I thought... "hmmm, if this is really good, I will want to remember it and maybe share the recipe!!" Now, dont hold me to it... but I personally thought it was REALLY GOOD! I put some honey in it and every so often I would get a little honey in the straw...MMmm!! <3

Add Fruit - 1 Mango, 1 Banana, and 3 Strawberries

Add about 1/2 cup of Milk, a splash or two of cream, a handful of ice, and drizzle some
honey over the top of everything to give it some natural sweetness!

I drizzled some honey along the sides of the cup before I poured in the smoothie so that
I could have some sips of honey drops in there too!!!

And I now present before you....

Now, I do not claim to be a food stylist by any means! I am sure some food stylist could have walked in and presented this smoothie to you in a much more eloquent way. However, it looked good to me and I drank every last drop!! :)

I felt this smoothie was a light and delightful way to have a lunch in preparation for date night tonight, therefore, this recipe will forever be named "Honey It's Date Night Smoothie".

You can tweek it anyway you wish. My husband is the smoothie maker in the family and his smoothies are TO DIE FOR! I do my best... and today, I felt that I had made one of my best. Let me know if you try this one out, if you like it, and how you may have made it better. Smoothies are one of my favorites, so feel free to share some good recipes with me if you have any!!

Thats all for now!!! <3 Thanks for reading!

Day 10: Jelly Beans + Giveaway

  

Our roadtrip is slowing down to more low key and relaxing days. Its a good way to end it as the beginning was filled with A TON of hiking and walking. Today we slept in and did a little shopping near sacramento, then we stopped to have lunch at Chipolte (one of Andrews favorites). After lunch, we headed over to the Jelly Belly Factory, which was our only real plan for the day! They didnt allow pictures in the factory, but we took a few in the lobby. It was fun to see how Jelly Belly's were made and where they started. Who knew there was such a process to them!

We each got ourselves some bags of jelly belly's filled with our favorites. Below is our bags...can you guess whose is whose???

It should'nt be too hard to tell!! :) And its kind of neat to see the difference between us!

Do you have a favorite flavor?? Let me know in the comments!! :)

We ended the night with some more shopping and then a low key meal at Chic-fil-a! Ohhh it was good!! I wish someone would open up one back home!

Tomorrow we head to Napa Valley to go on an Olive Oil tour and drive by all the vineyards! Tomorrow will be our last full day and our last night in California! I just can't believe that this wonderful trip is almost over...

GIVEAWAY GIVEAWAY GIVEAWAY!!!! Yes, A GIVEAWAY! I am participating in a giveaway with The Posh Daisy! Its her birthday and she has put together a nice little giveaway to kick it off!! Happy Birthday to her and GOOD LUCK to you! Go check out her page and enter to win! There are a bunch of prizes from a bundle of different vendors, including ME! I am including a $20.00 shop credit with FREE SHIPPING!! WOO HOO!! Ready, Set, GO!! Click Here and Good Luck!!!

See you tomorrow for my last post of our vacation...I will be reopening the shop on June 1st!

Day 5 + 6: Yosemite National Park

There is so much to talk about and show you... I don't even know where to start! Andrew and I have been taking hundreds of pictures between the both of us! We are enjoying going through all our pictures at the end of the day and picking out the best ones to share! Between yesterday and today, it has taken quite a while. However, I think that the ones I will be posting will give a good overview. Andrew and I have both agreed that most of the view and scenes we have been blessed to see just can't be captured by cameras. I would reccommend this trip to anyone... its beautiful here.

The drive up was breath-taking. We finally arrived at our next destination where we would spend the night in a tent. Not the greatest night sleep for me... but I still had plenty of energy for our long day of hiking ahead! We had to put all of our food in the green bear box in the picture below and there were reminders EVERYWHERE to not leave food out!

Before we went on our hike.. we took a raft down the river. SO FUN!!

On our hike, we saw some deer... although, they are EVERYWHERE!! I got so close to them...

Then.... We saw a BEAR!!! and because I wanted a good picture... I got closer to it than I was
suppose to...good thing there were no park rangers around. ;)

We did a little bit more hiking up to Mirror Lake...

THEN! Andrew motivated me to trek up the 2.5 mile uphill hike to Vernal Falls. This hike consists of a very steep trail, that turns into a STEEP 600 staircase hike.... did I mention steep??!! Once you hit the stairs, it also starts to pour down mist from the Falls (really its like rain because you get completely soaked)!! Good thing Andrews camera is waterproof, as we got some awesome pictures...its hard to pick out the highlight pictures... there are SO many! I suppose I got my workout in for the next year or so!!! The first picture was me before he mentioned going up to the Falls... I was perfectly content with looking from afar... but in the end was THRILLED to have made it to the top!! It was amazing!!! AMAZING!!!??

Can you tell I was a little bit wet here? The rainbow was even more dazzling in real life!!

We made it to the top!!??? The pictures dont do the waterfall or the height of it justice!

And after a little break and some snacks, we started back down to the bottom.
This was the scariest part in my opinion!

Since we were already soaking wet, pictures for our fellow trekkers was in order! Its been so nice to have people around to take pictures of the both of us!

Andrew always has a good eye for the best shots! He took one of me and then told me where to stand to get the picture of him the same way! Such neat memories...

As you can see, the trip down the side of the waterfall was steep and very wet! Such an amazing experience though and I would do it again in a heartbeat!!

Thats an overview of our day 5 + 6! More to come for Day 7 as we have a little bit more time in Yosemite and then head to Murphy, CA to stay in the Victoria Inn.

Check back later for more! Don't forget you can follow my blog via google connect on the right, so you will never miss a post! :)

Day 1 : San Francisco

Just a quick little update! We made it safe and sound to San Francisco! Spent the entire first day walking around the city seeing just about everything we could and walking about 10 miles or more! By the end of the day... our feet were telling us...STOP! I also thought I was tough enough to walk around in sandals. NOT a smart idea!

We got ourselves some famous sourdough bread... in the shape of a turtle!

Waited in line for tha cable cars... a long time and made some new friends from Ohio! Shout out to you guys if you end up stopping by the blog! ;)

Sat by the sea and the golden gate bride for a while. SO PRETTY!

And walked through the Exploratoriam!! I felt like we were in another country! It was beautiful... just plopped right in the middle of a neighborhood! I was jealous to say the least.

Its been wonderful so far! Headed to Monterey/Carmel today! About 2 hours and 45 mintes of driving ahead of us and Andrew read about an off the beaten path Strawberry Picking area that we might stop by!

 Thats all for now! Keep checking in for more updates on our trip! Or - connect with google connect so you'll never miss a post, giveaway or update!!