just beachy.

mornings at laguna beach. benj woke up earlier than the rest of our condo crew, so i took him on a little beach adventure. who doesn't want to play on the swings at seven a.m. right on the ocean!? it was so peaceful and beautiful, we did it two days in a row. he was in heaven. we collected pretty seashells for his little utah cousins.

on a tangent. have i mentioned yet how good california smells? does it always smell like blooming flowers? i wondered if it was freesia or lilacs. everywhere you look, there are blooming bushes of sweet scent. i couldn't put my finger on it, but it reminded me of dan's law school days and biking around town. sadly i don't remember waking up every morning and saying, oh man it smells so good when we lived there. instead i was too busy complaining about having a real job and bringing home the bacon. my first big graphic design job was difficult for me and i was hardly qualified. yet now i see it was the job which brought about a hundred more jobs. it taught me that i loved designing. it was the job that was the key to learning everything i know. funny how we cannot see the answers when we are in the thick of the forests. we can barely even enjoy the dew and the blooming nature. i must remember this next time i am stuck in a tough spot. surely we come out stronger than before. these days i am so thankful i had the experience of having a real 9-5 job. it was so good for me. i think back on it so often and realize how much i grew from having to stretch myself in the professional world. now, i thank my lucky stars i get to work from home with my knotted hair and bowl of cookie crisp and breaks for blogging. this suits me perfectly. it is good to know both sides of the business life coin. (and yes, i still give dan a hard time when i learn he got to go out for lunch, on business. oh, the perks of a real job.)

now, back to the beach.

here we are kickin' up some fun at huntington beach with the family. these snapshots say it all. dan and i look so careful to introduce benj to the sand and surf. he soon got the hang of burying his own feet, tossing it and tasting it. all that sunshine and sand made this happy boy so sleepy. gone are my glamour days of bringing a book or even remembering to take off my cover-up. still, the good company (the wedding party was there to catch some rays), some chilled capri suns, my boy in his sunhat and dan's fruit salad made the day perfectly picturesque.

speaking of picnics on the beach, we spotted this cute salad bowl (with built-in ice pack) at crate & barrel. am wishing i'd splurged and made space in my suitcase for it. super cute.

next up.. the big wedding day.