maryly found her suiter

Hello, it's me.

This blog has technically moved, but I wanted a place to document a heartfelt speech I wrote for one of my bests on her wedding day on 12.31.16. It was a magical New Year's. Secretly (well, not so secretly anymore), I love writing wedding speeches for my soul sisters. Especially when they find a love that is oh-so-very-right.

Here goes...

Hi Everyone! I’m Gina Martini, and thanks to Mar and the Ousmans, I’m also referred to as Rose, Suzy Star, Suz, Stevie Nicks, and my personal favorite, Gina Ousman. One year Mimi even sent me my own version of the Ousman family Christmas card. On the front there’s a sibling picture of the four of us, and inside it reads ‘Merry Christmas & Season’s Greetings… Love, The Ousman Family (Mimi, Jim, Jamie, Gina, Maryly, & Nick). Now, I swear I have my own family (who are here), but I think for a while they were seriously concerned I wanted to disown them and become an Ousman! I tell you this just to share just how much I love them and how they’ve always been a second family to me.

I’ve known Mar since we were about 5 years old. Our friendship started carpooling to dance and grew over sour watermelons at Fudge Alley. We’ve been dancing, bump-set-spiking, walking, running, swimming, singing, road tripping, and laughing side by side to each other for nearly 25 years. We’ve truly been through every single life milestone together including our over-plucked eyebrow phase, which is a rite of passage, let’s be honest. Thank gosh that phase is over. When we were 16 we even made up our own secret word called ‘sakoosh,’ to describe a feeling that nobody else could possibly understand but us. (Yes, these were the weird things we did when we were young along with spend way too much of our free time at Linda Evans and eating Yogurt Park). Mar is the person I call about everything in life, good or bad. She’s the best listener I know and sometimes I think she understands me better than I understand myself! One of her many gifts is making life so much fun and I am so lucky to be on the receiving end of her friendship. She’s more than my friend, she’s my sister.

So, Scott, you better believe we’ve been waiting for your arrival for a LONG time. We also spent a lot of our free time choosing who our bridesmaids would be, what our kids names were going to be, and where our vacation houses would be long before a guy was ever in the picture! All I can say is, thank you for finally arriving!

I have one quick story I want to tell about Mar and Scott. I had the pleasure of talking to Mar on her way to meet Scott for their first date. It was a Sunday afternoon in February of 2014. I was living in New York City at the time and doing normal Sunday things like laundry and tootling around the house. Mar calls to chat and tell me that she’s, ‘Going on a date with this guy Scott Suiter that Miriam has been trying to set me up with forever.’ She tells me she’s going to get deli sandwiches and sit at Marina green. ‘Cute first date!’ I tell her, and that she has to let me know how it goes after. So I go about my business on that Sunday afternoon, and before I can even finish folding a load of laundry I get a call back from Mar. It can’t have been more than 45 minutes. ‘Mar?’ I answer. ‘Are you already done with your date?’ Needless to say Scott may have been a liiiitle nervous and they had literally ‘eaten and run.’ ‘I don’t know Gean, he didn’t say much.’

Fast forward about 3 months to June 2014. I did a little digging in the Gchat archives and found a very special conversation between Mar and I. Yes, this is documented. It’s from Monday, June 2nd 2014 at 1:38pm. Mar says, ‘I went to Bottle Rock with Scott yesterday!’ I respond in all caps ‘HOW WAS IT!?’ And Mar responds. ‘Good! I like have a boyfriend I think, Geans.’ Me again (in all caps), ‘STOP IT.’ There’s a couple more chats back and forth saying really sweet things about what a great guy Scott is, and then at 1:39pm on Monday, June 2nd 2014, Mar says to me… ‘And he doesn’t bug me at all!!!!!!!’ With count it… 7 exclamation points.

Scott, I knew you were ‘it’ then. All of us who know and love Mar know that these words had never been uttered from her mouth about any other guy before. It’s one of the biggest compliments you could have possibly received. I’m so glad you got over your nerves and that we’re here now at your wedding weekend and that I get to give this speech and say without a doubt that there’s no one more perfect for my sister, Mar.

You check more boxes than we ever dreamed up when we were little including ‘will drink wine with me on Monday nights while watching the Bachelor and be totally into it.’

I love you both so much and I’m SO happy you found each other. So cheers, to Mar & Scott, to a lifetime of happiness!

Thanks for reading! This day was one for the record books. xo.

it's the friends you can call up at 4am that matter.

i've been meaning to post this forever, and today feels like the right day since it is exactly one month from 8.9.14... the wedding day of one of my very bests {happy anniversary!}. the one who happens to be saving my life right now in san diego, but that's a different story for a different day.

august was a month of speeches wasn't it? i realized i absolutely love writing them. not winging them, but actually writing meaningful words and sharing them with others. it's one of the most terrifying yet thrilling things i've experienced to date.

so, here goes...

***
hi everyone, i’m gina, and i am lucky enough to be kate’s maid of honor and to have had kate as my partner in crime for the past sixteen years. because i’ve known kate since the very formative age of twelve, i thought what better time than at her wedding to take us on a little trip down memory lane to remind us just how cool she was.

we've always called each other sisters. she's caitlin. i'm vix. we named each other after the two main characters in the book summer sisters by judy blume which was published in 1998, the year we became friends. 

we've always had our own language, kate and i.

we even created a very detailed glossary of code names in our top secret journal so when we'd pass notes back and forth to each other in high school, no one would know who we were talking about. we used nicknames like skittle, air. j, corolla, and lady bug. there was always a rhyme and a reason to how we got to a specific name, and of course no one would ever crack our secret lingo especially when all of our sentences went something like this, 'oh my gosh, vix, did you see skittle today? air j. totally likes you. i hope corolla isn’t mad at me. let’s definitely hangout with lady bug this weekend.' that was kate and i for you.

our summers were spent by our pools in matching striped j.crew swimsuits and lavender platform flip flops. sometimes we'd spend all day doing our hair and makeup and make my mom take model shots of us posing in several different abercrombie outfits in the backyard. we were our own creative directors. our friday nights were filled with aim'ing the boys we had crushes on and making up dances in the study on lowell lane to 'who let the dogs out?' there were family vacations to tahoe where we coined ourselves the 'tahoe twins' dressed in our matching denim jackets and also to hawaii where we wore the same seashell necklaces and, surprise surprise, made susan and john take pictures of us.

the list goes on, but i will spare you.

enter ryan.

though years had passed since kate and i's dance parties in the study, we have those sweet dance moves at a bar in cal poly to thank for the initial attraction between kate and ryan.

good thing we did all that practicing.

ry, when you first arrived, i was skeptical. i thought, who is this boy who's come out of nowhere and is attentive, sweet, and caring. he follows through and does what he says he's going to do, calls when he says he's going to call, and makes a huge effort driving thousands and thousands of miles to visit kate. you were too good to be true.

and what a relief, because, you know us sisters, we have very high standards for each other.

there was something about you that was different from the very beginning. you may have won her over with your sweet dance moves, but you really won her over with your good and selfless heart.

i admire you both so much. i have loved witnessing the bond you two share and being a part of your love story.

and, i just want to end with one last thing about kate. so, most recently, we've been living in different time zones. just a few weeks ago, late on a friday night I called kate and was reminded of this quote, 'it’s the friends you can call up at 4am that matter.' kate has always been my 4am friend. my 2am and 3am one too. it doesn’t matter what time i call her or how much time has passed since we've last talked, she answers. she drops everything she's doing and listens. kate is one of the truest, most compassionate, brightest souls to ever walk this earth. and when she says you're her best friend, she really means it.

ryan, thank you for being everything my best friend deserves.

i love you both with all my heart!

***
...until next speech!

more on my new life soon. xo.

#luudachris

meet margo and chris {oh, you've met margo before}. a couple of weeks ago they tied the knot and threw the best celebration ever in the wine country with over a hundred of their best friends {it also happened to fall on the day after i arrived home from new york, so i secretly pretended it was my very own welcome home party}.

my favorite part about weddings is that they are a true symbol of the life that the couple has created for themselves. there's nothing like having everyone you love in one place at one time showering you with all of their love and adoration and speaking the most genuine words.

i asked my margo if i could say a little something at her rehearsal dinner and, well, this is what came out...

hi everyone, i’m gina and i am lucky enough to be one of margo's 'maids and part of chris and margo's lives for the past 10 years… which, wow, makes me feel like we’re getting really old!
i became friends with margo and chris in college in santa barbara, but it was san francisco where they truly became my family.
margo and chris have this special gift where they are the core of so many great groups of true friends. it’s almost like if you know margo and chris you’re in this exclusive club of genuinely awesome people. they have this unique ability to bring good people together and make you feel like you’re apart of something really special.
i’d like to think that when we all lived in san francisco together we were like the modern day version of friends {we even had a joey!}. we’d spend lazy days on the floral couch watching tv and doing really cool things like filling up the ‘642 things to draw’ book. we’d cook sunday night dinners, make fro yo runs, and fill our weekends adventuring around the bay area generally just enjoying each other’s company and depending on one another like friends do. it was the most natural, easy, and comforting thing in the world.
and that is margo and chris for you. they remind you that the most important thing we have in life is each other.
i am so grateful to know you. when i think of what love should be like i think of you two. thank you for being such a beautiful example of what it means to marry your best friend, to grow together in love, and to create a rich, happy, fulfilling life.
i wish for all of us to have it as good as you two do.
so, with that, cheers to margo and chris! i love you guys with all my heart.

the weekend was practically perfect in every way filled to the brim with happiness and just the best friends anyone could have. i feel so lucky to be a part of such an amazing crew.

through the airwaves.

i talked to my best for nearly an hour today. it was one of those conversations about everything, but also nothing really {the best kind} like babies, probiotics, jessica biel, chlorophyll, and...

ray lamontagne.

his new song, airwaves. have you heard it? just as she suspected, i. can't. stop. listening.



i'm maybe on play number fifteen in a matter of hours. don't you love when that happens? the song infatuation phenomenon. it doesn't happen to me much anymore, so i'm going to ride this one out, really milk it for all that it's worth.

and stace, i miss you so much. our chats {although slightly less frequent than the old days} nourish my soul. they make me feel happy and human and connected and like there's nothing better in this great big world than true friendship. i will never ever take them for granted. love you. sending you good energy through the airwaves, sister. xoxo.

mind the gap.

the past few days i've had a very dear friend staying with me all the way from california, so posts will be light as i try and balance the craziness of work, the holidays, and taking the time to have quality moments and nyc adventures. oh, the whirlwind that is december. my, this year has been a big one... and so many thoughts, finally, so many thoughts!

tyler is pure comfort to me. so far, we've been doing normal things like equinox, trader joes, laundry, and going to the movies {frozen is a must-see!}. but, i've also been dragging him on random and spontaneous adventures around the city like brooklyn, tribeca, and bryant park to name a few. it is his first time in the big apple, after all.

we met in college and have been by each other's side ever since. he opens doors and walks on the busy side of the street, and even carries my heavy bags. he is charismatic, bold, passionate, curious, and follows his heart and intuition without looking back {and ladies, he's single too! just saying.} from santa barbara to san francisco to exploring new lives in different cities (him la, me nyc) he's been a constant to me for so many years, and i am grateful for our relationship that withstands time and distance. i think it's incredibly important for women to have good, quality men in their lives, so lucky lucky me. thank you for always looking out for me, friend. your care for me makes my life so much sweeter and you are without a doubt my definition of a guardian angel.

so anyways, my loves, see you around soon, okay? may we all be grateful for those constant and steady friendships in our lives.

ps. the mind the gap title is really borrowed from my dear friend in london. i miss you, sister!

this one's for the wedding montage.

on october 12th, 2013 my bestest friend got married. and i wrote a speech. speaking in front of others isn't something that comes naturally to me... writing here feels much more comfy. but, it was an absolute thrill so i wanted to share it with you. cheers to love stories!

***

hi, everyone. for those of you i don't know, i'm gina, one of alexis's maids of honors and very best friends. i'm so excited to be up here tonight because i've pretty much been looking forward to this moment since the very first day i met alexis. so, please know it is an absolute gift to be standing here.

i do actually remember the first day i met her {if you don't count the time we serendipitously attended the same info session at usd in the spring of 2003}. it was in the common area of our freshman year dorm at ucsb before school started. she was in a gray sweatshirt, maroon juicy sweatpants, and rocking a bun on top of her head. high school ladies, i'm sure you know the exact look i'm talking about here. it was the freshman year uniform.

and i, ironically enough {while i have no idea what i was wearing} was walking into the dorm with a friend of hers. it was he who initially introduced us, and while i hesitate to give him any credit since we learned shortly thereafter that we were to live directly across the hall from each other, it was this torrey pines mutual friend who bridged that first gap, and i will forever be grateful for that rare moment.

alexis was the first real best friend i ever had. she taught me what it meant to have a supportive, compassionate, trustworthy, loyal, and true person by my side. we were in a scary and unsure phase of life, going off to college... both the oldest of two siblings leaving our families for the first time, both timid to be in a new place... one that consistently made the list of top 10 party schools in the nation, and both very much connected to people and aspects of our home.

i think, looking back on it all, that god sent me alexis as a guardian angel. the closest thing to a sister, aside from my own, that i'd ever have.

in prepping for my speech tonight, i re-lived some of our college days by going back through every facebook message we had ever sent to each other. i don't know if any of you guys have ever done this, but you should because it is a real treat! anyhow, it turns out that i had been writing this speech all along...

the message string began with a message from me on september 16, 2004, which would have been fall of our sophomore year of college, the first of our 3 years living together as roommates.

the subject line read: theta.

the message: theta love!

from there begins an epic coming of age story of two girls navigating college and then transitioning to the real world. the stress, the angst, the insecurity, but also the pep talks, the silliness, and the inspiration that exist in this chain are a true symbol of two friends being there for each other every step of the way in such unchartered territory.

the facebook messages even revealed to me the first time i met brian. it was february 16th, 2008. a saturday. right after they became official. we were at robby and elizabeth’s in la jolla and did a quick stop-in to meet brian before heading to see our favorite tristan prettyman in la. what i remember most about that first encounter was just how clear it was that brian knew he was meeting someone important. and i don't mean that in a self-boasting kind of way, i mean it genuinely, in a this-is-the-real-deal kind of way. my second time hanging out with brian was the day after. it was a night spent sitting at his kitchen table - with james - in fits of laughter about gosh knows what now, but i remember laughing so hard it hurt and many an inside joke were born. the thing was, it all came so easily. the comfort was there from the beginning.

one of the biggest gems i discovered in this facebook correspondence came from a message sent on november 14th, 2007.

me to alexis: 

i can't believe you are like going to get a boyfriend... what? where did he come from?

and alexis in response: 

i'm not getting a boyfriend, gean. it was one movie, one kiss, and two tattoos.

well, friend, i guess you were wrong about that one.

i once emailed brian in the winter of 2009 when i knew alexis was going through a bit of a rough patch. since i couldn't help solve the problem with a therapy walk to sands like we'd done countless times before in college, i reached out to him as he was the person who was her greatest source of love.

in more words than this, i wrote:

i know you are, but please take care of my little alexis. you are such a positive influence in her life... one of her role models and inspirations and sources of love. i'm so glad she has you.

and in brian's response he said:

i will do everything in my power to help her regain that spirit and that spark. gina, i promise i will take care of alexis. i love her too.

bri, you've always been a keeper. always. you let me sit in the front seat and you in the back when alexis drives. you let me have the bed while you sleep on the floor. you get on the phone too when I call for advice and weigh in with your own. you let alexis and i name your tattoo mitchy without even getting mad about it. but, most importantly, you love my best friend the way she deserves to be loved, and for that i will be eternally grateful.

alexis, i remember when we were in hawaii with my family in the summer of 2006 snapping photos on the beach. after one in particular you said to me this one's for the wedding montage. for some reason, that always stuck with me. like we were in this together. like we'd be looking out for each other on this road to falling in love and getting married. so, here we are on your wedding day, and in this moment i could not be happier for you.

i'll end with a quote that i once wrote to you, soulmates are people who bring out the best in you. they are not perfect, but they are always perfect for you.

so here's to brian and alexis, the kind of soulmates who will always bring out the best in the other. and, here's to a lifetime of being perfect for each other.

i love you both!

***

ps. for more on the characters in this tale see here and here. 

happy you.

i think everyone in their lifetime needs to experience a happy you party! recently i got lucky enough to have my very own and i must admit it was one of the best nights i've ever had. ever. a happy you soirée consists of a night in with your best friends doing your absolute favorite things. now we can officially cross another thing off the 'ol bucket list: long overdue slumber party with a few besties and the littles {the littles happened at an earlier date}.

the best part about my happy you party is that it was a complete surprise. i knew these lovely ladies had something up their sleeve, but i had no idea it would be this wonderful. and i should also mention, it was one of my life dreams to be truly surprised, and boy did these sneaky gals really pull it off.

wow, do they know me oh so well. there were blue barn salads and veggies and cupcakes and balloons and endless wine and manicures and face masks and dancing and fits of laugher until our bellies had no more laughs left to give. it. was. the. best. ever.

i can't thank you enough for creating such a perfect night. you really are the bestest friends a girl could ask for. promise me we'll keep this slumber party tradition alive forever and ever and have happy you parties just because. xoxo.

create.

we walked. and we walked and talked. we chased the evening light all the way home, but somehow it felt like it was following us. during our last few moments on this clear and still sunday night stroll, she asked me what are you going miss most about your life in san francisco? 

thank you for asking is the first thing that came out of my mouth. because i could genuinely thank minnie for everything she says, since it's all just so perfect.

well, this, for one. and i'm going to miss the simple things. like walks to work. and my daily routine. and yoga. and quality time with the people i love. and my apartment. and just how content my life is here.

and she replied, but you will get all of those things there...

that's when i realized that it doesn't take much to create a content life for yourself. you can take the girl out of her foundation, but you can't take the foundation out of the girl. because all she needs is just a few good friends who nurture her soul. a solid routine filled with inspiring work. a cozy place to call home. good health, endorphins, and love. the thing is, we create the love, don't we? so let's create it, no matter where we are.

*photo taken on my iphone5, enhanced with picfx.

sacred.

all of this moving business is really going to my head. it's like i've stepped out of my body and am watching a story that is my life unfold. as a result, i'm witnessing all of the main characters that play important roles in this glorious novel-o-mine. it's fun and interesting and, to be honest, quite humbling. i am learning that every single person who is apart of our lives {or has been apart of our lives} is for a reason. our relationships with others, both good and bad, are part of our stories on purpose whether we know it yet or not. always remember that. 

i am grateful for the connections that have brought me together with so many i wouldn't have had the opportunity to be lucky enough to get to know. i try to always always give that gift back to the universe by merging lives and making connections. i believe our stories are richer and sweeter the more good people we have in them, don't you think?

so, in this biography of sorts, that i am observing as of late, one character stands out in particular. her name is stacie. we'll call her the protagonist's wiser-older-sister-that-she-never-did-have. and for this self-proclaimed sister-seeking main character, this particular sisterhood was a given from the start.

i knew it during our first slumber party when i opted out of partying with the kids my own age. instead, i stayed in with stace and it was on this night that she gave me some of the best advice i've ever received, even to this day... i think life can be really simple. some people just make it really really hard for themselves. it was in context of course, but i knew at that very moment that stace and i were destined to be sisters. 

i would not be where i am today without her. and you guys, this is not a joke. the course of my life would be completely different. please don't let that sound dramatic, it's simply the truth. and if i was on a different course that one would be great too, i'm just sayin'...

i got my first job in digital advertising because of stacie. i learned about the blog universe because of stacie. i got built-in everyday advice about navigating your twenties because of stacie. i gained confidence and courage i didn't know i had because of stacie. i became fully prepared for pregnancy because of stacie. i met wonderfully amazing people i wouldn't have otherwise met because of stacie. see what i mean? pretty prominent character in this story. because. because. because. of stacie. of stacie. of stacie. i promise i won't use those words throughout the remainder of this post. but, you get the picture, a lot of things in my life would not be happening if i did not know the one and only... stacie.

no one. and i repeat no one knows me better than her. she is my daily rock. she lets me talk. and talk and talk for hours. with no filter, of course. and she listens. and she is my biggest fan. how did i ever get so lucky to have this angel by my side? i am an older sister myself, but i swear in another lifetime {because most of the time i believe in those} i must have been the wiser-older-sister-that-someone-never-did-have, and the universe gifted it right on back to me.

stace, you are truly the most pivotal character in my story. i am leaps and bounds beyond grateful for you. thank you, from the bottom of my heart. for everything. for the inspiration. for the encouragement. for the advice. for every last ounce of energy and love you have ever given me. it's made me who i am. and you know what? because of you, i am a better version of myself than i ever thought possible. our sisterhood is sacred to me. i love you. forever.

honor.

you know that game you play as a girl… if i was getting married tomorrow, these would be my bridesmaids... {oh i hope that's not just me}.

well, to be honest, the moment i met alexis, i knew she'd be by my side forever. there was no question we would not have each other through every single phase of life... college, traveling, twenty-something-and-figuring-it-out, someday marriage and babies, and so on and so forth. she taught me what it means to have a true best friend and, more importantly, what it means to be one. we all need our very own alexis.

she recently came to san francisco {possibly one last hurrah for a long while} and moments before she arrived, i got a very special package in the mail...

she asked my to be her maid of honor! and what a true honor it is. i am proudly wearing a little something on my right hand in preparation to be one of her right hand gals.

to be completely honest, i am not fully up to speed on maid of honor duties. after all, it is my first. all i know is that i feel blessed to be apart of her experience, and to celebrate her lifelong love.

here's to many more years of firsts and friendship. i love you.

and ps. sweet readers, please do not hesitate to share any moh duties...

*maid of honor pic found on our pinboard.

the truth of the matter.

i've been lucky enough to get to go to deer valley for three winters running {once i even squeezed in two trips in one season}. and let me please put extra emphasis on the word lucky here. i do not use this word lightly because it is an absolute privilege to be able to spend the weekend in such a breathtakingly beautiful place with, in my opinion, some of the best gals on the face of the planet.

my memories of utah prior to this said girls weekender {which usually occurs during sundance} are mostly filled with summertime family reunions. and my attachment to utah is mostly due to my love for mormons, and through the eyes of a few usual blogger suspects. exhibit a. dooce b. pink peonies and c. the jacksons.

the point of this post, however, is to tell you how incredibly grateful i am for girlfriends. i'm learning that the older we get, the busier our lives become. each of us is pursuing her dreams, falling in love, and moving to new cities… away from the one we all once found ourselves in. some of us are veering a little off our planned courses, but it's okay, because we continue to move toward what makes us happy.

the truth of the matter is that we're all in this together. i am blessed to have such rad girls around me. i love witnessing their journeys, and i am grateful they are witnessing mine.

just thought i'd share a few moments i captured throughout the past seventy two glorious hours in which too much wine was consumed, too many frozen pizzas were heated up, and too many dance routines were performed {actually, never too many of those!}. here goes...

"my office."

hair-caught-in-blowdryer-fiasco + good friends + boot fitting

dinner @ grappa. note to self: be more aware when you step into the snow in heels, we don't need anymore falls.

taslisker, aka heaven on earth.

st. regis for lunch.

outdoor pool time.

good morning.

our spot.

shoop! shoop! {right before our fingers froze off}.

#whencanweaprés {weekend hashtag}.

utah sunsets.

montage spa.

i love the twinkling trees.

and for your viewing pleasure, here's a video taken our first year at sundance entitled rose v. mallow. and, while i'm at it, here's the foundation of our killer dance routine caught on video.

well, while we're on the subject, dolls, what's your favorite girls weekend?

xoxo.

proud.

it was a crisp fall morning in november. the sky was bright, the air was fresh, and the leaves were radiating of florescent reds, yellows, and oranges. it was the kind of morning that belongs in your memory forever, a setting so idyllic that you felt like you were reading a picture book of your own life.

two childhood friends took a stroll on this page of this particular book that pictured a fall morning scene discussing life and love and relationships and, well, it dawned on them that one was not herself without the other. after nearly twenty seven years of friendship, one slowed her gait and said,

i'm proud of you.

and the other responded, i'm proud of our friendship.

oh this book, this one's the tale of two friends who know every vulnerable thing about the other, and love each other just the same.

*photo found on my pin board, 'tis the season for pinning. 

up up and away.

not long ago, june it was, a dear friend came to town. this dear friend is d. we went to dinner after not having seen each other for well over five years, but it was one of those reconnections where i felt like i saw him just yesterday. oh, i'm sure you know the kind. within seconds i was laughing and within minutes we were going down our lists of places to travel and brainstorming where on this globe we could rendezvous next.

i truly believe if it wasn't for d and our dinner date that i would have never been inspired to go abroad. d is a gem in every sense of the word. he is kind. actually, he is more than kind. what term is worthy enough to give to people who are sweet and patient and giving? those who ask true questions because they are genuinely interested in your answer. those who make you laugh when you need it most, who listen with a compassionate spirit, and who let you be your silly self. because at the end of the day these more than kind people are comfortable with who they are, okay with being vulnerable, and downright honest with facts of the matter.

see, d and i, we just fit. i'm not sure how or why or when, but we just do.

so i paid d a visit in edinburgh and he was gracious enough to let me stay with him so i could experience the oh-so-magical, scotland. there's a dew that hovers over the ground at dusk in the fall that reminds me of childhood winters. i never experienced snow, but that dewy frost, that's something that stuck with me. i found it comforting on our sunday evening stroll through edinburgh.

in three days i was able to have some quality solo time exploring, and grasp the city by walking as far as my legs {and sore hip!} would take me. this included the royal mile to edinburgh castle and up, up, and away to arthur's seat where the views were nothing short of breathtaking. have a look at my best recap of scotland.

hike up to arthur's seat {which i never really made it to, so i found my own}.

view of edinburgh from my makeshift seat.

hike back down looking up.

edinburgh castle from the street.

you better believe i tried some traditional scottish whiskey before our underground ghost tour!

and sat in a tiny coffee shop enjoying the morning light, book, and pot of tea {scone not pictured}.

i can't thank my host, d, enough. you truly are my glass half full.

until next time, g.

one lump or two?

i'm home sweet home after the most perfect trip i could possibly ask for. i feel so blessed to have been able to experience two cities that are absolutely magical in my opinion. i'm even luckier that i had two of the best hosts on the planet.

let's start with london, shall we?

i heart london. it's so easy. so walkable. such a seamless system of public transportation. oh that tube! genius. to be honest, i didn't plan a whole lot. i went with the expectation to not be too touristy, but to simply experience the city as if i lived there. and, well, that is exactly what we did!

you may have heard me mention one of my favorites, jamie, who took the exciting leap of moving to london in july. i think of her daily and i admire the brave step she took of living out one of her dreams to live in a foreign city. i've known jamie since i was able to sing and dance, which is really all my life. i consider her a sister, someone i look up to, and truly cherish. she's the kind of person that when you know you're one of her bests, that you matter. like really matter.

i was completely spoiled to basically have her all to myself as a personal tour guide for london and partner in crime for a whole week! oh walk we did. and talk. and laugh. and eat. and drink! and repeat every tube stop name {well, that was just me!} after the lady announced next stop, south kensington. next stop, goodge street. next stop, sloane square. oh i could do that all day.

i've decided that the best way to discover a new city is with one of your oldest, lifelong friends. you take a little bit of home with you wherever you go.

i could write you a novel of our adventures, but i'll let a few pictures speak for themselves and do my best to capture some of my favorite moments {there were just so many!}.

first off, i love the guards. they are so fascinating to me!

it wouldn't have been a proper trip to london without a stop at the queen's digs, buckingham palace, to see where william and kate had their smooch.

oh, benny...

harrods, you had me at hello.

there she is! it really is her great britain.

me, the whole trip: i love pounds! it's like fake money! {the only sane way to view the british pound}

mind the gap!

i heart you, notting hill.

and you too, primrose hill.

high tea {with a champagne appetizer} was a truly divine experience. i haven't giggled that hard in quite some time! one lump or two, darling? please notice the two men in the background. that is guy ritchie and the british {and extremely good looking might i add} actor, henry cavill {apparently he's the next superman!}. 

you guys, is it just me or does this look exactly like me? this poster was all over london promoting a new musical. the actress is named eliza hope bennett {we guessed kenzie! pretty close}.

fireworks in battersea park to celebrate guy fawkes day.

best night with these two!

in all honesty, these pictures don't do the trip justice. we had so much fun and did so many things it was just mental {my favorite british term}! and for an even better recap check jamie's post here.

take me back! truly counting down the days until i can make another visit. sending so much love. xoxo.