Four Days of Sun, and Wedding Bliss
You got the invitation, you got the right address… 🎶
We “La la landed” into a Cali Wedding last month but we needed NO medication, and our only mission was to HAVE FUN, and fun we had!!! 😍 💃 ☀️
From the moment we received the “Save the Date” for my niece’s Wedding in California, we were so excited, and hoped, and prayed that we could be part of such unforgettable moment in their lives. Thankfully, after dotting all the i’s and crossing all the t’s, we were able to plan our trip and send our RSVP. 🥳
FEBRUARY 16, 2023
3/4 of our family flew out of Chicago to California, and the “little” one of the family - who is not so little anymore - flew out of Salt Lake City, Utah. Flying into two different airports and busy, and ginormous LA, made the commute and back and forth in California traffic (oh my goodness, never seen anything like it!) a little crazy, but we made it happen, and it was 100% worth it!!!
As soon as we picked up the rental car at the airport, Michelle, Stan and I headed out for brunch at Bosscat Kitchen and Libations in Anaheim. We’ve never been there before, but the menu looked good, the atmosphere pleasant, and the reviews matched both, so we decided to give it a try! My favorite part of my meal was a stew soup that was super delicious!!! We also tried the ahi tuna wraps, and their house burgers. Definitely a good lunch choice for us!
After brunch we drove to Santa Ana to pick up our Bella, and the reunion was one of the happiest moments experienced as a family even though we had just seen her for Christmas, and New Year, but love, is LOVE, and there is no denying that! We had eaten, but Bella was hungry, her request?! In-N-Out burgers! Double Pattie, and animal fries was the request, and granted it was! Of course I took a picture of the girls in front of the restaurant, to which Michelle said, “tell me you are a tourist, without telling me you are a tourist!” Hey, proud of them for honoring their mama’s request and capturing the moment! Smile!!! 📸
We ended the long day of travel with Cold Stone ice cream, and eaerl(ier) bedtime in the hotel to be ready for the big day the next day! Bella had homework to do, and I did a little bit of work, and then we were off to catch some zzzz’s!
FEBRUARY 17, 2023
THE Day!!! 💕
The day started with showers, some ironing, skin care (even for Stasiu! ), and then a hot breakfast in the hotel lobby. Some greets and meets with my extended family were in order in the hotel lobby, and many conversations to be cherished and remembered for years to come. The girls and I had hair appointments and we found ourselves being so rushed and so close to the Wedding time, that the girls opted out of fancy hair dos, and went with simple blow outs, which of course still looked great on them, because everything and anything looks great in your 20’s!
Me on the other hand, was hoping for a liiitle more than a simple blow out, but had to settle for beach waves, but I loved it, so it worked! Since we were so tight with time, I told Stan and the girls to go ahead and go to the church for the Wedding Mass, and I would take an Uber there and catch up with them. I could go on and on about my experience waiting for my Uber, the driver, and getting there on time but I’ll limit it to these emojis 😭😨😩😢😖😳🤷♀️ - ok let’s move on!!!
THANKFULLY I was able to witness 1/4 of the Mass, and the loveliest of the profession after Mass, which included BIG smiles, happy tears, and soooo much love, and it was that moment that made every effort made to attend their Wedding so worth it. Right after the religious Wedding we headed back to the hotel so I could change into more appropriate Wedding party attire (remember my hair appointment and Uber predicament that left me a little frazzled? ) so back to the hotel it was, but I made it quick, and before we knew it, we were driving through the most beautiful and scenic drive to the reception destination in some hilly area of California surrounded by trees and mountains. The heavy amounts of water they had gotten in the weeks ahead, made the mountains greener than green and so breathtaking!!! It was a chilly day, but no rain, clear skies, and space heaters outside made it for a beautiful, and gorgeous setting.
Let’s go back a bit (insert reverse sound here)… every picture tells a story, and I see these pictures, my heart warms a little more.
From left to right and clockwise style: a) Michelle and Bella making a furry friend in the hotel lobby, they are magnets to dogs, and anything animal kingdom related. b) We walked into my cousin at the hair salon, and it was immediate joy, we had not seen her in may years. c) The happy couple officially married, oh happy days, so much love! d) My niece Dany could not look happier about her sister’s Wedding day, this picture makes me smile big time!!! e) Me and my cousin Jesus, who I hadn’t seen for at least 40 years, yeah, that’s right! We’ve kept in touch through social media, but this “in the flesh” reunion was pretty awesome!
All the other pictures in this particular gallery have so much love. Like the moment Michelle ran up to Andrea to help her put her vail back on since it had fallen off with the wind, and meeting my sweet cousins at the church, Stan chatting with his lifetime (pretty much 😉) BFF, and looking at Stan, and the girls and realizing what an amazing, and blessed moment this was for all of us.
Wedding Reception!
The Bridal car was everything!!! 😍
The venue for the Wedding Reception was spectacular, no other word to describe it! It was a beautiful location, the mountains were shinning in all it’s glory from the previous showers, and the decorations, and the table settings were so gorgeous! LOVE could definitely be felt in the air.
Catching up with my cousins, seeing my girls have so much fun on the dance floors, and especially seeing the new happy couple smile from ear to ear every second of the day was very inspiring.
Speaking of catching up. At one point during the reception I stopped in the bathroom, and as I walked in my cousin’s wife who I had never met in person was there waiting in line to use the bathroom. Long story short, we hugged, we said how happy we were to be meeting at the Wedding, and long story short, twenty minutes had past, neither one of us had used the bathroom, and we were “basically” 😉 solving the world’s issues in the smallest room of the Wedding venue. Eventually her phone started ringing, I started getting massive amounts of texts from my family, and her messages and mine were the same, “where are you? are you ok? The first dance is about to begin, come now!!!” We laughed, we went back to the dance floor, hugged again, and said to each other how awesome it had been to reconnect in person, and share our very own thoughts, and heart with each other. A special, and simple moment for me for sure.
The food was DELICIOUS!!! It was some type of beef, chicken, and delicious vegetables, open bar, and yummy appetizers before dinner. The music was contagious, and so fun to dance to, they had a Mariachi band during Hors d’oeuvres, and Stasiu really enjoyed the outdoor heaters. It was a chilly day for California, but us Midwesterners were just fine. 🤩
The newlyweds could have have looked happier, for real!!! They both beamed all day long, and I absolutely LOVED how much they were into each other during every moment, not worried about the logistics of the Wedding, or anybody else, it was THEIR moment, and there was no denying it. 💕
My people ❤
FEBRUARY 18, 2023
The party AFTER the big Wedding Day
The day after the big day was just as fun as the days prior, and more memories were made. The party was close family and friends, and there was SOOO much food we didn’t know what to do with ourselves.
They had the traditional Mexican Menudo soup which to be honest I’m not a big fan, but it was delicious, and I had a bowl with chiltepines, lime, chopped onions, cilantro, and a pinch of salt, yum!!! They also had beef breakfast tacos with all it’s toppings, all the drinks your heart desired, and later on a live band showed up to entertains, and also a taco truck that grilled meat on site, and had homemade salsas, and homemade tortillas made by the mom of the taco truck owner, oh my goodness, my mouth is watering as I type and I want a little bit of ALL that food again!!! Pretty please??? 🤤
It was awesome hanging out with my family, spending time with my aunt, cousins, and nieces, and also making new friends. The highlight of the night that day before we said our goodbyes, was memorializing a special moment… a picture of my aunt with ALL her five children who traveled from near and far to be together for the Wedding. I loved gathering them all, setting the environment for the picture, saying “smile, get closer, look at each other, and SMILE again!” A moment to last a lifetime.
The last five pictures have a story of their own… but we’ll leave it at that! 😅😜😂
FEBRUARY 19, 2023
Flying back to the Midwest, and the West
The day to go back to work, and school, and leave sunny Cali arrived, but we took advantage of every single minute we had together.
After checking out at the hotel, we headed towards one of the airports to have breakfast (no more hot called Goodfellas, based on (you guessed it!) the movie with Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, and Joe Pesci to name a few. The wait was long, and I had started to get worried that we wouldn’t make it on time to the airport to drop traveler #1 from our group, but thankfully everything turned out ok. Our name was called, we ordered all the delicious things on the menu we could think of including huevos rancheros, poached eggs, and french toast with plenty of hot black coffee for everyone, and then we headed to Ontario International Airport to drop off Bella to catch her flight back to school.
After we dropped her off, Stan, Michelle and I headed to Newport Beach to walk around for a little, see the ocean, enjoy a little bit more of sunshine, we had cold brews at a super cute coffee shop, and then we headed to Ontario Airport to catch our flight back home.
THANKFULLY that flight was shorter, a little turbulent but not much, and we all made it back home safe and sound and with our heart filled with so much love, and great memories.
4 days, 3 cities, 2 airports, and many unforgettable memories visiting with family, celebrating love, and eating delicious food every step of the way, made for very happy hearts. GRATEFUL!!! ❤
