Lake Weekend

Two weeks ago Tim, my brother and me headed up to Lake Isabella to chill at the lake with my aunt Jan and uncle Jack. The lake was beautiful and my aunt spoiled us with great food and wouldn't let us help with anything. It felt so good to relax and get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. The first day we went out wakeboarding early in the morning, I was quite nervous!! I have never done any sort of lake activity and felt very intimated by the idea of it! So I opted to try the tube.


I got toted around the lake behind the boat and screamed at the top of my lungs the whole time. Ryan did the tube and I couldn't stop laughing at him because he was holding on for dear life and wouldn't let go for the life of him and he was squealing like a little girl. My aunt and uncle are pro's at wakeboarding and made it look so easy that I thought it would be a piece of cake to get up.
Um not the case, I tried and tried the first day and couldn't get the hang of it, I just kept yelling I feel awakard!
However the next day I was victorious! I wasn't going to try it again because I was so sore but I thought what the heck and I got up on the second time! I didn't manage to stay up long but I yelled " I am the woman.." before doing a faceplant. Tim tried the wake skate and my uncle surfed behind the boat!! My aunt gracefully waked behind the boat as I scrabbled to stay up but all in all I think if I went again I might be a bit more graceful at it. It was a so much fun and we hope to go back before I loose my game!(Notice how when I fall off Tim keeps going while I struggle in the water and my brother is laughing and yells "yeah Tim") where is the love?

Friends, Family and a Man

I have moved twice in my life and each time it was a hard transition and hard to find friends...so needless to say I was prepared for loneliness when I moved to Santa Barbara. Within a month I found friends with the ladies of the Pedregrosa house, Abigail, Kristin and Chrissy. I feel extremely blessed to have met these girls. It was one of those rare moments when you become instant friends. These girls are fun, love life and enjoy each other, it was a perfect fit! 

They introduced me to Luna and Miguel. I like to refer to Luna and Miguel as my Santa Barbara parents, even though they are the same age as me. They watch out for me and make sure I eat my vegetables. Luna is like the sister I never had and Miguel is such a warm spirit you can't help but feel like family with them. On a separate note Luna is pregnant with a little girl....Amelia Grace Bowser,  I eagerly await her arrival and am 

looking forward to playing Auntie Devon!! Some highlights over the past couple of months with the girls have been Santa Barbara Film Festival,dinners every week, going to the beach, Saturday breakfast at Jeanine's with Kristin, inappropriate talks with Abigail, house concerts with Luna and Miguel and cocktails with Chrissy!

I had been in SB for two months and feeling very content with where I was at in life and boys where the last thing on my mind.... low and behold enter Tim. It was the day before New Years Eve and I was running late to church, I usually sit downstairs but there was no room so I moved to the balcony. I was looking for a seat and Tim scooted over (according to him it was planned.) 

 

After church was over I went to leave, oblivious to what was going on and Tim stopped me. We ended up talking after church for a while and then he invited me to In & Out for dinner with friends. I ended up at a separate table and didn't talk to him the whole night, his roommate actually got my phone number before he did!! I was about to leave but then we ended up talking for a couple of hours, and he invited me to New Years. To make a long story short there was a wink and a baby wave and he was hooked. (Caution girls the wink will make some men weak in the knees) Six months later here we are, completely unexpected and a true joy in my life. Some highlights with Tim are a four course meal on the beach for V-day, the fair, Carmel, the sailing accident, jazz cruise on Fridays, blueberry picking, hot fudge sundaes at Hope Ranch, and golfing. There is alot more but I won't bore you with the details. God has been so faithful to me and I feel humbled with such wonderful people in my life.

Time Flown By.....

I find it hard to believe that I have been here for nine months already!! To try to catch you up on everything would be close to impossible so I will give you a snapshot of my life in Santa Barbara thus far. I will break up the posts with different aspects of what has happened (ie job,friends,home away from home.) 

Where to start....I will start with a warm October morning when I found out I got the position of visual merchandiser at Anthropologie. 

(Here is our spring concept 

Peggy's hothouse)

Little did I know that by accepting this job my life would be turned upside down and would be a turning point in my life. To be in a season where I am truly experiencing God's blessings in ways that were much unexpected, is a complete joy. I came from a place in my life in which I was frustrated in what I wanted to do and was at a crossroad. I thought of what I ultimately wanted in a job and have always dreamed for working for Anthropologie. Anthropologie's  inspiration and creativity has always been my passion, I am amazed at how they can create an atmosphere that takes you to a different place. My job starts at 6am and I get off at 2:30 which is nice. I wouldn't be able to do my job without Starbucks, which is weird because before my job I didn't like coffee. Every job has it's ups and downs but to be able to be in a creative environment and merchandise with beautiful clothes is one of my favorite things. Every morning I get to run to the basement to look through the new boxes for the day (it's like Christmas every day!) Each portion of the store is broken into concepts, each concept is inspired by a certain woman. My job is to portray that woman through merchandising and outfit styling, following a color palette and thinking aspirationally. I also get to brainstorm ideas for display in the store and help construct them. It is neat to see how the store transforms and sets an atmosphere. Getting off at 2:30 is great although I still haven't adjusted to the early mornings, I take a nap til 4 and then start my day over and play til 10 when I go back to bed!! My job is why I moved to Santa Barbara, little did I know the adventures to come....

Here is Ozzie the store dog!!