A Holiday & A Getaway

"Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joy of those who trust in Him!" Psalm 34:8

This past 4th of July was not only the first holiday we celebrated as a married couple, but it was

also the very FIRST 4th of July that we've ever spent together.

7/4/08- Luke was in New York

7/4/09- I was in Gulf Shores, AL on a bachelorette trip

7/4/10- Luke was in London studying abroad

7/4/11- I was in Arkansas for school and he was working in CA

Is it just me or did he get the better end of the stick on most of those??

Anyways, lucky for us, the cutest neighborhood (only a couple of streets down from our apartment here in Studio City) was hosting a block party. They put up fliers everywhere, so Luke and I decided to check it out. It was mostly a family friendly get together consisting of a parade (which we soon found out was just the neighborhood kids going around the block on their decorated bikes, scooters, etc.), live music, and free food! Unfortunately, for us, we had already bought food to cook for the big holiday, but that didn't stop me from snagging a couple of cookies!

Probably the coolest part of the day was my first celebrity sightings, Jon Heder (Napolean Dynamite) and Dave Grohl (lead singer of the Foo Fighters). I wanted to be sneaky and take pictures, but I thought that'd be a great way to kicked out of the party, so I just played it cool instead.

Our holiday feast. BBQ chicken, corn on the cob, potato casserole, & funfetti cake!

For the rest of the day we relaxed and made a huge feast as you can see from above and it was delicious! At the end of the day we took in some fireworks. Every 4th of July CBS Studios, located down the street from us, puts on a firework show. We literally stepped outside of our apartment building, sat on the grass, and watched the show. They were amazing! I did think about snapping some pictures, but sometimes you just gotta sit back, relax, and take it all in! First married holiday = Success!

The Getaway

The Saturday after the 4th we decided to take a day trip to Santa Barbara. Initially, we wanted to do the whole "vineyard tour and wine tasting" thing, but we didn't plan ahead to schedule a tour (guess we'll just have to go to Napa now). Therefore, we ended up having lunch, driving down the beach to take in the scenery, tasting at a wine bar in downtown, and walking around the downtown area. Here are some captured moments!

Cute Downtown area with cute theater

Wine tasting

Santa Barbara is a beautiful place with perfect weather. Sunny with a continuous cool breeze! These pictures do not do it justice. We had a great day and I'm definitely looking forward to more of these fun getaways with my sweet husband!

Our Santa Barbara day was also the very same day my sweet and perfect niece was born, Harper Elaine! Since we weren't able to physically be there for her arrival, we decided that we would just celebrate all day! And of course, I had my phone at my side the entire day awaiting the GOOD news! I am so happy to have a new member in our family and I'm even more thrilled and thankful that in few days I'll be going back to MS to meet her for the very first time. I can hardly contain my excitement!

Miss Harper Elaine Moore

Does life get any sweeter??

Honeymoonin'

Soon after we got engaged and set the date, I told Luke that since we were moving to southern CA, we didn't need to go on a honeymoon. Plus, we were planning a big wedding in less than 5 months and Luke hadn't been at his job for long, so I didn't want him to feel pressured to plan and spend money on an extravagant trip. Luckily, Luke ignored my silly comments and planned one anyways. And thank God he did!

***Advice to engaged couples. I don't care what your situation is or how or where you are getting married, but PLEASE go on a honeymoon! You really do need that time to get away, relax, and contemplate your biggest decision of each day.. "Where shall we eat tonight?"


Luckily, we didn't have to travel very far. Luke booked our trip at the Terranea Resort in Palos Verdes, CA, which is only about an hour and 1/2 from our home in Studio City. Also, we didn't leave until a week after we arrived in CA giving us plenty of time to recuperate from our long road trip. The resort is situated right on California's coast giving you a phenomenal ocean view. It was BREATHTAKING!! I don't know about you, but I always picture resorts like this in exotic, tropical countries or Hawaii, who knew we had them right here in the good ole mainland USA! Terranea is equipped with gorgeous rooms & villas, hiking trails, 3 swimming pools, a spa, golf course, and several restaurants. We didn't even think about leaving the premise. Here's a couple of pictures of the resort and some amazing views.

Terranea

To be honest, we really didn't do much on our honeymoon besides lay around the pool and go out for dinner and drinks each night. I know I know, "Where's the adventure?!" These days, isn't there some obligation to go scuba diving, hike to a waterfall, or zipline in the forest on your honeymoon? Well, I guess we didn't feel the pressure because nothing could've made us happier than our comfy layout chairs, adult beverages, a nice breeze, and the pool. However, in our defense, we did try to sign up for .. wait for it... "Kayorkling" (still not sure what this is.. some sort of activity where you kayak and then go snorkling. Shamelessly, Terranea put these 2 words together and I'm so glad they did, because Luke and I loved saying it throughout the trip!) Anywho, we weren't able to because  the waters were too rough during our scheduled time. We did, however, hike the trails and enjoy massages at the spa (an activity no one should forgo)!

Luke was slightly burnt after the first day in the sun. He decided to stay in the shade for day 2.

Fancy dinner night

mmmmm....

Luke seriously LOVED the resort robes.

Worst day of vacation.. the day you leave.

Unfortunately, there was no beach (that you could layout on anyways) on the property. So, on our way home we made it a point to stop at the beach for the day, so we could feel the sand in our toes. We decided on Manhattan Beach. It was a beautiful day!! We grabbed some lunch, hit the beach, and relaxed once more!

Road Trip!

Hello all! First of all, let it be known that I'm still figuring out this thing and it has not yet achieved the cutesyness level that I'd like, but for now we'll just go with it. Sooooo, I'm trying to think of where to start. Yes, I could start with the most important, our wedding, but I'd really like to have some profesh pictures to go along with it. I'll just have to do a 'rewind' blog for that. Therefore, I'll start with the our very looooong road trip to CA.

Day 1 - So the whole trip took 3 days, 2 nights, which doesn't sound THAT long when you say it, but oh to the contrary! Google maps tells you that the trip from Picayune, MS to our new home in Studio City is exactly 1,931 miles long and we drove every one of em! When starting the trip I thought it'd be fun to stop and take pictures by every "Welcome to (insert state)" sign excluding LA (since my home town is exactly 10-15 mins or so from the state line it's nothing new to me. Sorry LA I still love you!) I did, however, want to take one with the TX sign, but we completely missed it.. Whoops! The first day wasn't so bad. Although, we did hit some crazy thunderstorms (surprise surprise.. our whole wedding weekend it rained.. but that's another story), but relatively uneventful. That first night we stayed in a town about an hour past San Antonia, TX.

Day 2 - This day was probably the most painful. Does anyone know how WIDE TX is?! Not to mention, there is absolutely NOTHING in west TX. (Dear God, please don't ever move me to west TX. Amen.) Land... that's it. At one point, I remember we couldn't even find a radio station without static.. just one country one I believe. And, no, not current country music. More of a "I feel like I'm living in the 1950's" country music. Here's what we could see out of our car.

West TX.. ain't she a beauty?

After we finally made it out of that ridiculously large state we made it to New Mexico, which was exciting for me because I've never been there. Here we took our first road sign picture!

Next, we crossed over to Arizona (again another state I've never seen). Although, the state is a desert, it has its own unique beauty. So cool, going from the land of swamps and humidity and reaching the high and dry desert. 

He loves taking these pictures.

Gorgeous!

Cactus

That night we stayed in Tucson and were ready to drive to our new home the next morning.

Day 3 - We kind of took our time getting up this morning since we didn't have as long of drive this day. After driving through AZ for a few more hours, CA was getting near and I was getting anxious. Somehow, I assumed that as soon as we crossed over the state line there would be palm trees and cooler weather. That was not the case. It was still desertish, hot, and we were greeted by friendly boarder patrol ;).

Boarder Patrol

Unfortunately, there was nowhere to post my camera for our usual self-timer photos, so Luke generously opted to be the picture-taker this time.

A few more hours in and we made it to our apartment. And yes, there were lots of palm trees, cooler weather, and crazy traffic! But we made it! At this point, I was over taking pictures and we immediately  unloaded our vehicle and ditched the uhaul! Although, this trip was long.. it was an experience and I wouldn't have wanted to make it with anyone else besides my Luke. Extra kudos to him for driving most of the way and his willingness to pull over when I wanted to take pictures. He's such a trooper! So that's our road trip, such an eventful way to our new life together!

Why am I writing a blog?

Hi Hey Hello Hola!!

For those of you who don't know my name is Anna Kay Har... ahem Smitherman and I just got married about a month ago. I've done a lot of thinking & going through the pros and cons list about starting this very blog and here's what I've decided. Cons: having to keep this updated from time to time, nobody caring or reading the blog, & having everyone know your business. Then after more consideration I came up with my PROS: 1) Since Luke (my husband) and I just moved to one of the biggest cities in the country I'm sure we'll experience a lot here and I'll want to update the blog with our fun adventures. Plus, since I don't start work for another month or so, I should become a pro at this whole blogging ordeal, therefore, by the time I start work updating this thing should take no time (whew, that was a very long winded point!), 2) Even if no one else in the entire world cares about this blog I know I'll have at least 4 frequent visitors (yes I'm talking to you Mama, Ashley, Candace, and my new mommy in law, Ms. Jan) 3) Doesn't everyone know all of my business through Facebook and Twitter anyways? So what's another social networking site?! and 4) I mainly started a blog becuase I've moved almost 2,000 miles aways from home and thought this would be a great way of sharing our new life with close friends and family who we are missing already! So there you have it, I'm starting a blog, yup, I'm one of those people now. Here goes nothin'!