Our Cross country Road Trip

We moved! Yes, we are now official New Yorkers. Yikes! We have been here a week and so far we are really enjoying it. We are just so incredibly thankful to be together and in our own home. We are kind of giddy. This place is beautiful. There are deer and wild turkeys, and something that looks like a cross between a gofer and a beaver. Today we saw a baby deer, I mean it must have been a couple of days old. I nearly died of cuteness overload. A baby dear guys! Cant get over it. So yeah, this place is kind of cool. But I wanted to share our road trip adventure now that we finally have internet.

First stop Las Vegas! I normally don't like this place. Too crowded, and kind of a percy city, but beautiful at night. I love seeing all the lights. We went on the Eiffel tower which was a really great view.

 
Utah was beautiful! I wish we would have stopped. It definitely went on my list of places to visit.


That big Wyoming sky was unreal. It looked like it went on forever. I mean look at that picture!

We visited South Dakota and stopped at crazy horse! That was cool to see. For $125 we could have walked on his arm. Ha! 

Out of all our stops, I think this thing we saw at a gas station was probably Jeds favorite. He asked me to take that picture, which just makes me laugh thinking about.

Mount Rushmore! This was probably the coolest stop. I mean, it's mount Rushmore how can it not be. Its just amazing to see.
This picture is funny to think about

He wanted to drive the entire trip. He thinks its the coolest thing, after trains of course!

We stopped for fruit in Wisconsin after Minnesota. It had some of the most beautiful house we have seen.

This was probably my second favorite stop in Millennial park in Chicago. It was really cool to see the Bean, but also to see that entire city. We wanted to do Willis tower but it was a 2hr wait. I definitely want to go back there, soon. I would live there if it wasn't for, you know, all the shootings.

This is one of my favorites. I took an instant camera with me on our trip to document. Jed loves pretending to take pictures. He has even managed to take some of his own with our camera. Amazing the things they learn! He's so smart.

 The entire trip was a lot of fun! We ate good food, visited fun places, and made some great memories. I'm so grateful for the ladies who took the time to drive with us, that is something that I will forever cherish in my heart. God picked the right people to help us. We are just so grateful! We weren't sure how we were going to manage moving to a new place on our own, but our friends and family really came through. I'm so thankful for my mom and brother who went above and beyond. We have some pretty special people in our lives, that are very selfless, and I'm excited to share that with Jed, even if we don't live near them. I think that this is going to be an exciting journey for our family.

Thank you for all the prayers and support! Love you guys!  

Bye California

Today seemed like a long time coming. I have been waiting for the day where I could finally be with RJ. To say I have been walking around as half a person seems very accurate. I have known RJ since I was 14 years old. We grew up together, we learned a lot of things together, and we think the same. Its strange how we can be so different and so similar at the same time. I love my husband! I mean, madly in love, could spend every second of every day with him. He's just a lot of fun to be around. We just don't know how to function apart from each other. Some people might think thats pathetic, but It's the truth, and I like it!

However, I am really going to miss everyone. It breaks my heart to leave all of our family and friends. It's kind of hard to explain how much we love these people. I know everyone feels like they have the best friends in the world, but we do! I feel really blessed with amazing friendships. Honestly, I have never felt like an exceptional person, or friend for that matter, but I have had some very exceptional friendships. I could never express how much that has meant to me. I have felt really taken care of by these women. I have laughed, and cried with these women, and confided in them. I have felt the love of Christ through them. Through my brothers who have really stepped up in any way that I needed while RJ wasn't here. My in-laws who I love like my own parents. I always laughed when women would say they have awful mother in laws. I thought, aren't they all great? I love my mother in law, she's pretty wonderful. I confide in her and ask her for advice. I look up to her, and model a lot of who I am as a wife and mother after her. My father in law is pretty great too. I call them mary poppin parents, because they're wonderful.

Alright, at the risk of being completely unbearably mushy, all I can say is that I love all of the. They're all so unique and yet they work so great together. That might be what I love most about them, the way they work unto the Lord! Wether it was going to the gym or going on a trip, or just hanging out. They have made these 6 months bare able. I have learned how to love people unconditionally, how to be sacrificial and give your all to others (something I learned from both my mom and RJs grandmothers). God has given me sisters, brothers, a father, mothers, aunts, grandmothers. I have learned something different from each of them. I really can't see how I can find people as great as these. I just hope they know that as much as we have meant to them, they have meant that much and more to us. We love you guys!

I have seen biblical love in action. I'm going to stop now because i can go on but It's getting too sappy and too depressing. I'm starting to sound like a nice drunk. Everyone is great! I love you all. Haha.

Goodbye California! You're beaches are only beautiful in Orange County, your freeways are way too crowded, you are way too hot (100 in december!), you smell like pee, and you're a blue state, BUT you have some very amazing people living there!

Downtown LA Guide {Santee Alley, Fabrics, and flower district}

Hey Y'all! Happy Monday! Today, I wanted to share with you a Downtown LA guide. This is the only downtown guide you will ever need! Not really.
This guide is mostly for Santee Alley, but it includes a little of the fabric, and flower district.

So I made a map to show you what the downtown are looks like and some places to hit. I should add that the toy district is where you will find pinatas and things of the sort, but that its own post.

Now, the Santee Alley is a must see if you're visiting LA. It's a place where you can find EVERYTHING! Some of it might be stolen, just saying. DO NOT trust the guys whispering "Michael Kors purse",  on the sidewalk. You will promptly be invited to visit the back of their van to see the purses. Yeah, that sounds, right. It's beyond crowded on the weekends and smells like pee, but I assure you, you will get the full LA experience. You won't find deals or stories like you do in Downtown :)

Be warned that you will find a lot of brand dupes. Just know that going in. 90% of things you find are not legit, but if you don't care, then you can get a good deal on some cute things.

So here it goes... Here are my tips for doing "the alley" right.

1. Saturday is crowded! If you're here during the week, It's better to visit then. Although on Saturdays you can do the early 6am shopping (on san pedro in the big shopping are). Those are unbelievable deals. I'm talking $5 clothes. Women show up with suitcases to those. There's also sample sales, which you can find the date and time to, here!

2. Bring Cash. Most places are cash only and will make you take out money from the ATM. The charges are ridiculous. Make sure you bring a small purse. I don't care what anyone says! LA is ghetto, with a capital G!

3. Parking. Parking can be tough. If you do the meter, be sure to be back on time because they're vultures when it comes to tickets. I speak from experience. And beware of the $2 parking signs, usually theres a fine print.

4. Bathrooms. Theres a bathroom all the way at the end of the Alley. It is in this building (pictured below). If you venture from the alley, you might need to pay to use it. I know! But this one is free!

5. Food. For the full LA experience you need to have an alley dog! I dream about those hot dogs. Then again, I dream about most food. Ha! Honorable mentions: Elote, corn on the cob with mayo, butter, cheese, and chili powder & Fruit, fruta con crema or fruit with chili, both are good :)

6. Haggle, haggle, haggle. You can totally haggle with them. They expect it! Usually I will walk away and they always give me a cheaper price. You can also ask if they will lower the price when you buy more than one thing.

Those are my best tips and tricks for the alley. Make sure you bring water! It gets crowded and hot, and very loud. It is definitely an experience and well worth it. I have found some of the best deals and some brand things (mostly forever 21). You can take kids and your stiller. Just know that it is very crowded and hard to find bathrooms.

Fabric

The fabric is right in the fashion district and near the alley, you can walk there. You're in the thick of it on Maple and 8th. Just walk around and see what prices you can get. You can also haggle with them some of the time. Sometimes their prices are set but you can find better deals at other stores. You have to really look and see what you like.

On Maple, you will find the Michael Lavine store. This is a little nicer, looks like Hobby Lobby, and more expensive. But you can find some really nice fabrics. They have leather and really great patterns. Just to give you an idea the fabric pictured below is 12.50 a yard.

You will also find ribbon, zippers, and buttons in the surrounding shops and streets.

Flower District 

This is my favorite place! I love looking at the flowers. You need to pay for the main part of it, although I believe it's a suggested donation (not really) of $2. The flower prices go up on weekends and holidays. You can usually reserve flowers during the week and they will honor the price when you pick them up on the weekend. The shops around sometimes have good deals, but the flowers are sometimes less quality. Usually they're pre-arranged as well.

You will find the vases and all of those decor things in the surrounding shops. Usually around Wall & 8th. 

There you have it! My guide to Downtown Shopping! If you have any questions or are visiting LA, feel free to comment below or email me.

I would like to make an "LA guide" soon! So stay tuned :)

Strawberry Picking

We visited Tanaka farm yesterday! I have been trying to stay jam-packed busy these next two weeks and this was a perfect way to do that. It was a really remarkable Southern California day! I mean, the weather! It was perfect for strawberry picking ;)

^^ Look at that sky!! ^^

They gave us a tour of the whole farm, 30 acres I believe. They shared a little about the history and what they do there. We were able to try different vegetables that they grow there. That part was a lot of fun. You stopped every few minutes and tried a different vegetable. You didn't know what would be next. 

                                           ^^Then you stopped and picked some strawberries! ^^

 You were able to eat them while you picked. Jed figured that out really quickly!

We had such a blast! It was nice to show Jed what a farm is and how food grows. Living in the city, it can be hard to remember that people work really hard on these farms. I couldn't help but be reminded of all the migrant farm workers.

It really was beautiful, just to be outside on such a nice day! This weather is what people move to LA for. I think maybe I just appreciate it a little more because we could be moving.

We hope to go back for the watermelon tours!

Aquarium of the Pacific

Aquarium of the Pacific was kind enough to gift us some tickets. So we headed there yesterday morning and explored a little. It was honestly the biggest blast! I think this has by far been his favorite place to visit, and that includes Disneyland. It's simply nothing short of amazing to see all the different water animals.

They have a really neat viewing area for the penguins. They actually swim on top of you.

We were to chicken to pet the sting rays and sharks. How can we know they won't decided to bite us!

We're so glad grandma came. Although it made me think about us leaving. We're gonna miss her! 

They were mesmerized! 

The jelly fish were one of the coolest things to see. These grow to about the size of a quarter. The baby ones were incredible. How amazing is our creator! 

The colors! 

I mean, come on!

^^We found Nemo!! ^^

Can you tell we had a great time? I can't stress that enough. It was so fun to see the kids enjoying their time there. It was also amazing for us to see. I would like to come back on a date with my husband. There are so many different things to do and see. I wish we could have fed the birds but it was closed at the time. I loved that it was small enough to do in one kid day, and by that I mean still get home in time to get a decent nap. Not sure how important that is to other moms but I love half day field trips! I can't wait to go back there! It is our new favorite place. It is definitely worth the trouble. Because going anywhere with kids is trouble. Fun, but trouble.  

If you're interested in more information on the aquarium, you can go here. To see other trips we have taken around the LA area, you can go here, here, here, and here. 

*This was a sponsored post. All opinions expressed were my own.