Happy 2nd Wedding Anniversary!!

Happy 2nd Anniversary to my wonderful husband!!  I remember our wedding day like it was yesterday...it was crystal clear, the sun was shining, and I was so giddy with excitement that I could hardly contain myself.  Not much has changed since we said "I Do" two years ago.  I still get giddy with excitement over my husband.  I love spending time with him whether it's cuddling on the couch watching "Walking Dead" or "How I Met Your Mother", or a big adventure like traveling to Italy like we did for our 1st anniversary.  No matter how big or small the adventure is, it's the adventure of a lifetime, and I wouldn't want to share it with anyone but my hubby :)  He is the best husband I could have ever asked for.

Seven years ago we fell in love.
Three years ago he proposed, and I said "yes!".
Two years ago we said "I Do.
Here's to the many adventures we will share over the next 20, 30, 60+ years together!!

I love you baby!!  Happy Anniversary!!

Weddings + bday + triathlon training & more!

Gosh it has been a long time since I’ve blogged!  So many things have happened since my last post:

1.  One of my dearest friends in NY got married!

2.  My future Sis had her bachelorette weekend in Vegas!

3.  My husband is amazingly thoughtful and “kidnapped” me on my birthday!  He wanted to make it special since it was my 1^st one without Mom, so he told me to take the day off of work because he had a day of adventure planned.  I woke up to a fuzzy pink tiara (I’ve worn a tiara on my birthday every year since I was 16, and of course when I was a kid, but yes, I do it now as an adult!), and two boxes from my favorite store (Nordstrom).  Inside one was the cutest pink and white silk romper, and in the other was a perfect pink purple and white silk dress!  I put on the romper, and he took me to Disneyland!!!  Despite having passes for years, I’ve never been to the happiest place on earth on my actual birthday.  We went early and rode every ride I wanted to, enjoyed corn dogs (Disneyland’s are the BEST!), and scoped out the new Cars Land over at CA Adventure.  THEN, he took me to see the movie Brave, which was so great!  Afterwards, we went home, cooked dinner together and sat on our patio all evening talking, laughing, and listening to music.  It was the best day ever!!  Then on Friday we celebrated with the rest of my family and went to an amazing dinner at Fuego on the water!  Thank you to everyone who made my 26^th birthday so special!  And Mom, I know you were right there celebrating with us :)

4.  I started training for my 1^st triathlon, and week one has been very successful!  The other day I was supposed to cycle 5 miles, but ended up going 20 miles (I was in the zone, what can I say :) ).  I’ve been cycling for most of my cardio, so this week I’m getting back into running and it’s been good!  Here is a recap of week 1 for my tri training:

Day	Scheduled Training	What I Actually Did
Mon  7/2	Rest	Rest
Tues  7/3	Run 15 minutes	Ran 15 min + walked 1 hour
Wed  7/4	Bike 5 miles	Biked 20 miles + 1 hr yoga
Thurs  7/5	Swim 200 yards	Rest (came into office @ 7am then had class until 10pm)
Fri  7/6	Rest	Ran 15 minutes
Sat  7/7	Run 15 mintues	Rest
Sun  7/8	Bike 5 miles	Biked 16 miles + 1 hr yoga

For my birthday, my Dad gave me cycling shoes!  I tried them out on Wednesday and they are AMAZING!!  They totally take the pressure off the top of my foot where the strap would go over your sneakers.  I am so stoked to train with them!

5.  We celebrated the 4^th of July with a BBQ and taking our Duffy boat out around the bay.  I’ve never seen the beaches so packed (people were squished like sardines)!

6.  Sean and I saw Cirque du Soleil’s “Iris”, a Journey through Cinema, with our best friends David and Lisa! The show was sensational!  It made me want to become a dancing acrobat contortionist!  Those guys and gals are talented!!

More great things to come!! :)

Weddings + Travels = Great 2nd Half of 2012!

Happy Friday!  Today is June 1, and I’m ready for a positive change for the second half of 2012.  The first half was very difficult for me and my family with the loss of my Mom, and then the loss of my furbaby, and I’m ready for some positive things to start happening.  As Mahatma Gandhi said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”  With that said, Sean and I have booked our first anniversary trip to somewhere incredible and we are bursting at the seams with excitement!  One {of many} things that my Mom’s passing opened by eyes to is that life is so unexpected and is so short, so if there is something you want to do then do it, or if there is somewhere you want to go then go!  Don’t make excuses.  So, for our first anniversary, Sean and I are going to Italy!!!  Why not, right?!  We’re going to Rome, Florence, and Venice!  I’ve been to Rome before, but not Florence or Venice and Sean has never been to Italy at all so we’re very excited (and Italy is #3 on my “30 before 30” list)!

And to begin a good second half of the year, there are some amazing things happening in the next couple months:

• My dearest friend in NY is getting married next week!
• My birthday is this month (which is bittersweet because it’s the first birthday I’ve not celebrated with Mom, but I’ve decided to make it a positive thing, and I know she will be with me in spirit)
• I’m going to Vegas for my Sis’s bachelorette!
• My brother-in-law is getting married to my future Sis-in-law!
• I start training for my first triathlon!

What are your summer plans?

Do you have any big trips planned this year?

Two Months Ago....

Two months ago today I married my best friend.  I’ve never been so happy or felt so lucky in my life!  Everything about our wedding was breathtaking, including my handsome groom :)  The past two months have been the best two months ever!  I love being married!  We have so much fun together even if we’re doing laundry or something around the house!  We have date nights, we cook at home together, we go for walks around our neighborhood, we play with our kittens, we dance around the house and sing…we have FUN!  I love my husband and I love our life together.

To celebrate our 2 month wedding anniversary, tonight we’re going to the Melting Pot with our best friends David and Lisa for some yummy fondue and fun cocktails!  Cheers!!

Our Wedding Video Preview!!!!

Happy Friday!!!

Our wedding video preview is here!!  I’m shaking with excitement!!

Mike McCaleb at MissionVisual was our incredible videographer for our wedding day.  He is so talented and was a blast to work with!!  My hubby and I are blown away by this preview.  Mike did such a beautiful job capturing our wedding day, and reliving it through this short preview gives me butterflies and makes me teary-eyed.  Our wedding day was hands down the best day of my life :)  Thank you Mike for capturing the love and happiness of Sean's and my wedding day.  I can’t wait to see the final full version!

Bella Collina Wedding Preview - Maggie + Sean from Mission Visual on Vimeo.

Our Honeymoon in Paradise!

Words can't even begin to describe how beautiful our honeymoon in Costa Rica was!  We spent 8 beautiful days there, and had a really hard time coming home.  If Christmas hadn't been two days away, we probably would have stayed!  In addition to the country's beauty, the people were so incredibly nice!!  Everyone was so helpful and I never felt worried or unsafe.  It truly was paradise :)

We stayed at the Hilton Papagayo which is right on the water, and our bungalow overlooked the gorgeous gulf.  This is what we woke up to every morning:

When we first arrived, it was a little overcast, but the next days it cleared up and was gorgeous for the rest of our honeymoon.  We went on so many fun adventures!

• Jungle Cruise through Palo Verde National Park - this was like the Disneyland Jungle Cruise but WAY cooler!  We saw huge 15 foot crocs (and even got as close as 3 feet away!), scarlet macaws, Howler Monkeys, White Headed Capuchin monkeys, herons, egrets, iguanas as big as 4 feet, and more!
• Ziplining through the rainforest at Buena Vista - this was an unbelievable experience!  There were 11 cables and we soared above the rainforest canopy.  It was my favorite adventure!
• Horseback riding to volcanic hot springs - this was no ride in the park.  It was about an hour ride through rough terrains, up steep hills and down rocky hills.  It was so much fun!  This was my husband's favorite adventure, and his first time riding!
• Swimming in volcanic hot springs - there were 8 pools ranging from 106 degrees (this was HOT) to 75 degrees, all naturally heated.  You'll see in pictures below that we're in the middle of the rainforest.  It was majestic.
• Coco Beach cruising and shopping - we spent an afternoon at the neighboring town, Coco Beach.  Very cultural little town with awesome local shops, beatiful beaches, and the nicest people.  There were stray dogs every where too!  Super friendly just looking for attention.  One sat with us at our feet during lunch!
• Hiking - we hiked through rain forests and local trails near the ocean.  It was picturesque.
• 400-meter concrete water slide - yes, 400 METERS!  That's 4 football fields!  It was an open concrete water slide through the rainforest.  Requirements include wearing a helmet and a tube, and for the ladies a leather diaper-like underwear thing.
• Lots of lounging by the pool and enjoying local drinks made with their local alcohol, Cacique AKA Guaro - soooo tasty!  It's made from sugar cane so it's like a rum, but used in drinks like both rum and vodka, and taken as a shot like tequila with lime and salt.  It's a versatile (and smooth) drink.
• Couples massages overlooking the ocean - perfect after all our ziplining, hiking, and horseback riding adventures :)

So those are our adventures and relaxation in a nutshell.  My words don't do it justice, so onto pictures!!!

We're here!!!

It was overcast the first day, but still beautiful.  This is by the pool.

Tasting our first Guaro drink...it was delish!

Going to dinner one night

Live music and entertainment every night.

Giant lizard hanging with us at the pool

Getting ready for dinner one night

Dessert!

We found a cool statue when we were hiking one day

Lounging by the pool

On our balcony before dinner one night

That's our bungalow!

On the way to Buena Vista, we stopped at an original self-sustainable sugar plantation that was built in the 1800s.

Gorgeous day!

Giant iguanas on our Jungle Cruise.  It was mating season and they turn orange during this time.

White headed capuchin monkey

We saw so many of these guys!!!  From a 1 foot baby croc to a  15-foot King of the Jungle croc!

Jungle Cruise!

By the pool

The colors of Costa Rica were so vibrant (when it wasn't cloudy)!

All geared up for ziplining!

One one of the canopy bridges from one zipline platform to the other 

One of the zipline platforms

Soaring 1,000 feet above the ground!

Horseback riding!!

Tucan!

400 meter water slide!  This is the pool it dumps you into

My hubby feeding a White Nose Coati

Volcanic hot springs with my husband!

It was so beautiful, hot springs in the middle of the rainforest

Our bartender loved us!  He kept bringing us pineapple and guaro drinks along with guaro shots!

I love my husband!!!

Our new friends!  We met them the first day and hung with them almost every day!  Turns out we live one town away from each other!

Lounging and wearing my fabulous new bridal bikini from my dear friend BritB who designs high-end swimwear adorned with swarovski crystals.  Thanks for the wedding present B!!  <3

One of the pools :) 

My handsome hubby <3

View from our massage room overlooking one of the pools and the ocean

Dinner and guaro!

Grabbing lunch and beer at a little restaurant in Coco Beach

Enjoying local beer

Coco Beach!

Me and my man in Coco Beach :)

Doing a little shopping in Coco Beach

Costa Rica was breathtakingly beautiful, adventurously fun, and beautifully romantic.  It was the perfect honeymoon spot for us newlyweds :)  Thank you mom and dad for giving us this incredible honeymoon.  It was a trip of a lifetime and we will never forget it!

We're married!!!!  Yea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!