Posted on

It’s Our 5 Year Wedding Anniversary!

Today at 4:30 pm we’ll be married for 5 years. OMG! 5 years!? I can’t believe it. How is that even possible?

I was telling one of my best friends how Facebook has been helping me reminisce leading up to today with their “Memories.” To be honest that’s all I really go on FB for nowadays. That and cute dog videos 🙂

Our life was so different 5 years ago and it just feels like yesterday. Our house was busting at the seams with roommates, we had 1 dog and 2 doggie mates, and we were one of the first in our group of friends to get married. I remember 1.5 years of wedding planning, lots of late nights trying to get wedding stuff done after our day jobs, and closing down Ninong’s for the weekend. October 7-9 was the only weekend in the 8 years Ninong’s has been in business that we closed down. And that was because every single person that worked at Ninong’s at the time was invited to the wedding.

The day was everything I dreamed it would be. It was so incredibly magical. I woke up at 5 am because I couldn’t sleep.  Typical, since I used to wake up that early the week of all my prior clients’ weddings due to the excitement. The sun was rising and we were staying at Surf and Sand Hotel in Laguna Beach. Some of the girls, my mom, and I were getting our hair and make up done. After our first look my dad drove me in my 2002 WRX to our wedding ceremony at Heritage Park in Dana Point in front of a beautiful view. After that we celebrated the night away at [seven-degrees] in Laguna beach. 


Carissa + Charlie | Same Day Edit from Loyd Calomay on Vimeo.


I was on a love high from the entire weekend that lasted way past the wedding day. We were surrounded by so much love that day, I had never experienced anything like it before in my life. 


To my husband,

Thank you for all you do for me and our family. You are the most amazing man and I’m proud and fortunate to be your wife. Thank you for choosing me, for sticking by me, and for loving me for who I am not for who you want me to be. I never knew I could love someone the way I love you, and it grows with each passing day. Looking back and reminiscing about our last 5 years together, I can’t help but smile. My heart is filled with love because of all the laughs, the fun, and romantic moments. The Lord put you in my life to be my rock for when times got rough, He knew you would protect me and be there for me. And I will be forever grateful for that. 

I will thank the Lord every day for giving you to me. And I no matter what life may throw at us, I know that we can conquer anything as along as we do it together. I love you.

With all my heart,

Kissa

Please like & share:
Posted on

Top 5 Kitchen Must Haves – Stuff we Eat

Happy Friday buddies! I am almost on vacay mode but before we head to Oceanside for the weekend I thought I’d post a #foodiefriday post about the 5 things we always have in our kitchen.

  1. Minced garlic: Charlie and I use garlic in almost everything we eat. To make it easier to cook with we buy the peeled garlic from the store and then run it through our food processor to mince it really quick. Put that in a tupperware with olive oil and it’ll last for over a month in the fridge. Piece of advice: NEVER go with the jarred stuff. That is preserved in citric acid and has very little flavor.
  2. Cast iron skillet: I love cooking on our cast iron skillet. It keeps heat longer unlike most pans that cool down almost instantly when you add ingredients to it. It’s great for frying chicken, making burgers, and getting a nice sear on a steak. Another great thing, you can go from stove top cooking and straight into the oven.
  3. Non-stick pan: I try not to use non-stick pans because of the supposed health risks of teflon but let’s be real here. When you’re making an over easy egg you gotta go non-stick. 
  4. Sea Salt: Salt is arguably the most important ingredient in cooking. It heightens and accentuates flavors in most dishes and can also draw out excess water from vegetables like mushrooms. I don’t like using regular table salt, it’s mostly just a personal preference.
  5. Sesame Oil: Charlie and I love the flavor of sesame oil. Since we cook a lot of Asian inspired dishes at home we have it readily available. We use it to give vinaigrettes and other salad dressings a different depth of flavor, when we have beef we have it as a dip with sea salt and pepper (Korean style), we use it in our poke recipe, and I even use it when I pop popcorn. It has a higher heating and smoke point than most oils (410 degrees compared to canola oil’s 400 degrees). 
Please like & share:
Posted on

We’re Going on Vacation – Stuff we Like

I can’t believe it. This Saturday Charlie and I will be married for 5 years. US?! 5 YEARS?! It felt like the blink of an eye. It’s been a magical and beautiful marriage and one rollercoaster of a ride. We’ve also gone through some pretty heavy stuff in the 5 years we’ve been married but I’m so blessed and lucky to have him by my side through all the good and the bad.
We’re going to Oceanside/Carlsbad for a short little getaway and I’m really excited to just unplug for a couple days. So if you find yourself going to Oceanside or Carlsbad here’s what’s on my list and my travel tips for anywhere you go.
  1. Get an Airbnb or vacation rental instead of a hotel. I’m sure many of you know about Airbnb and if you have yet to book one — DO IT! I love living like the locals do whenever I travel. We’re staying at a unit a few blocks from the beach and I’m so excited so be able to use the bikes they have for us, cook a nice breakfast, and relax.
  2. Go to the beach! Oceanside and Carlsbad have some beautiful beaches. I plan on visiting Tamarack State Beach and Buccaneer Beach while we’re there.
  3. Eat at local spots. My 3 spots that are a must go for me are Urge Gastropub and Whiskey Bank in Oceanside, Campfire in Carlsbad, and Flying Pig Pub and Kitchen in Oceanside. You locals must send me your recommendations as well!
  4. Don’t drive everywhere. Walk or ride a bike to places nearby. What better way to get to know your surroundings than to explore a little bit yourself instead of looking online. Our Airbnb rental comes with 2 beach cruisers and we’ll definitely be using those to get around.
  5. Take some time to relax! I know this sounds silly because you’re going on vacation. But I know I need to remind myself of this some times. You get so caught up in sightseeing or fitting in all of the things on your list that you forget to do one of the most important reasons of a vacation — relax. So take some time for yourself and enjoy it!
xoxo,
Kissa
Please like & share: