Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd, We're Back!

We are officially back in SoCal and starting to feel pretty settled in now.  This time around we moved a little further south in Orange County to Irvine.  We found a pretty good deal (by California standards) on an apartment in a new complex and signed an 18-month lease.

Our friends, Dustin, Donny, and Stacy came by to help us unload the truck. We couldn't fit the patio chairs out through the sliding door so we had to resort to Plan B: hoisting them up to our 2nd floor apartment balcony. We were SO grateful to have the extra help!

And here's what it looked like once the truck was all unloaded.  My awesome in-laws and family loaded up all of this stuff and drove a moving truck across the county for us.  We are so lucky to have such a great family!

It was fun to unpack and see some of the possessions we had forgotten that we owned.  All of our belongings (besides clothes) had been in storage for almost a year and a half.

Gotta love the Mason jar wine glass.  A wedding gift compliments of the one and only, Hilary Wilson Agnew :)



And I had forgotten about this door hanger my friend, Angie Bradtmueller, had made us. It really made the apartment feel more like home once I hung it up.

 

I am back working for the same early intervention agency that I worked for last year. Mike is currently finishing up a 13 week contract at a hospital 15 minutes north of where we live in Irvine.  He is in the process of hiring on with this hospital after his contract expires and working in the step-down ICU.

We've been enjoying our time living in a new city.  Here's a little bit of what we've been up to the last two months:



We saw the comedian, Jim Gaffigan, live in Temecula with a few friends.

Enjoyed dinner and a few drinks with Aubrey and Josiah at an excellent restaurant called "Public House" in Temecula.

Dana Point

Outdoor movie overlooking the beach.  We even had live entertainment before the movie (can you see the dancer in front of the screen?).

Made "healthy" cookies and they were husband approved.  They were made with wheat flour and contained a can of black beans pureed in them.  They were surprisingly tasty.

Completed a 1,000 piece puzzle.  That took FOR.EV.ER!!

Another outdoor movie; this one was at The Great Park near our house (yes, that's the name of the park).  The park has a huge helium balloon that you can ride in (see the huge orange ball in the night sky?).

Enjoyed a hike in Laguna Hills and found a little cave.

And enjoyed some pretty scenery.

A picture from the top of the hill we hiked up.

 

We've also been working on decorating our bedroom.  Mike made a frame to fit around our TV.

A photo collage wall...don't quite have the pictures in yet.

We made this headboard using pre-cut wood boards, paint, and 3-M wall hanging strips. Pretty simple!

Mike's completed TV frame.  Good work, babe.

 

Besides that we've just been enjoying the beaches, nature, scenery and weather; all the reasons we love CA.



Mike caught this photo of a dog watching the sunset from his rooftop deck in Laguna Beach.  Adorable :)