The Reception...

Cutting the cake.

Father daughter dance.

Ryan, the ladies man!

Nathan, the crazy man!

Me and Allie goofing off on the dance floor.

The money dance...lucky Stephen!


Stephen and Lauren's reception was so beautiful. They had it at the Talega Golf Club. The food was so good and the decor was amazing! But as always, my favorite part of the night was the dancing. Lauren was so cute. She said "All week I've been looking forward to my dance party!" And it was a great little dance party. Thanks for a fun evening Lauren!

Hitched!

The newlywed's Mr. and Mrs. Bennett

I've never seen Lauren and Steve so happy.

They could not stop smiling at each other. It was the cutest!

Blushing Bridesmaids!

Allie and Lauren

Jessica, Allie, Tristen, and me

Today Lauren and Stephen tied the knot on my lunch break in the Newport Beach Temple! My boss thinks we Mormon's are totally crazy for getting married on random days of the week and right in the middle of the day. I heard some of my colleagues say "It must be cheaper to rent the temple on a weekday." Haha! Don't worry, I quickly corrected them. They couldn't believe we get to go in the temple for free. But regardless, they still thought it was weird that two of my friends now have gotten married during my lunch hour. Hey, I think its cool!

Despite the monsoonal rain storm going on outside, the sealing was so beautiful. It was performed my President Oveson, the Newport Beach Temple President. Pretty cool! When he was sealing them, I was shocked because Lauren actually cried. Lauren NEVER cries! She tells people she doesn't know how. (Kinda like Cameron Diaz's character on "The Holiday"). She had us all in tears. She must really be in love!!!

Lauren looked so amazing! Like a 1920's barbie doll. She's so stinkin cute. And of course Steve looked like her Ken doll. And they were such good sports with all the rain pouring down. I just love these two!

My One Year Anniversary!

Aerial view of "Casa de la Luz" in Shady Canyon, CA

Aerial view of "Provence" in Shady Canyon, CA

I've been working at Fari International Custom Home Builders now for one year! I can't believe what an amazing year its been. These photos were just recently given to me by one of our contractors who is also a pilot. How convenient. These are two of the homes I've helped to design in Shady Canyon, Irvine, CA. It's so cool to see these homes from an aerial view.

As a custom home designer I get to be a part of some amazing projects! These two are just some of my favorite. "Casa de la Luz" is a Mexican hacienda style estate that spans 3 lots in the prestigous community of Shady Canyon. It's by far the largest home in the community. It comes equipped with 4 kitchens, 11 bathrooms, a tennis pavillion, pool house, children's wing, theater, maid's quarters, game room...and on and on and on. Its unbelievable! Trust me! Its by far the most exciting project I've ever been a part of. I can't wait to post pictures of the final project. It should be done early 2008 (fingers crossed).

The second home, "Provence," is actually the home that the owners of "Casa de la Luz" are builing for their parents. Its just down the street. How cute! This home is significantly smaller, but still a monster compared to most modest homes. This home is designed in the provence, or french country style. Its very rustic with modern ammenities. This home probably means the most to me because I had my hand in just about everything that went in, on, and around this home. Its going to be beautiful! Again, there will be pictures of the finished project around March.

I love the work that I do and I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to live my dream!!!

Bachelorette Party!!!

Wednesday night was Lauren's Bachelorette Party at Color Me Mine in RSM. I have to admit, I have a small obsession with this place. For those of you not familiar with Color Me Mine. it's an artist's oasis. You pick a ceramic (a bowl, a cup, a vase...), you pick your colors, and paint away.

When you're finished, they fire it and you pick it up a week later. I know I'm a total dork, but I love making creative things. I can't wait to show everyone the mug I painted (if it turns out as cute as I think it will.

So anyway, back to the Bachelorette thing. Lauren is going to be the cutest bride. My favorite thing about Lauren is how meek she is. At the party she wasn't all "oooh look at me, I'm getting married this weekend...yah, I'm so excited!" like most brides-to-be would behave. Instead, she was cool, calm, and collected; just enjoying life. I love that about Lauren!

We're all so excited for Friday when Lauren and Steve tie the knot in the Newport Beach Temple! Congratulations!!!

We'll miss you Erin!

This Thursday we're loosing one of the greats! Miss Erin Elton is leaving us for the east coast. Look out New York City!

To help say goodbye, David and Jessica Howell (the cutest newlyweds in all of Brea) had some friends over for a farewell dinner. The evening was fantastic. Good friends, good food, and I have to admit my favorite part of the evening was the dinner prayer offered by Chris. Here's a snip-it for you: "...And we're grateful for Erin and her friendship. Please bless her as she moves to New York that she'll find a great guy there and...."

Thank you for that beautiful prayer Chris! Erin, you will definitely be missed by all. Good luck in New York! We love you!!!

"August Rush" to the theaters...

I absolutely loved this film! A new favorite for me. It was inspiring, entertaining, and Jonathon Rhys Meyers was beautiful on the big screen. I'm in love!

And who is this Freddie Highmore? An oscar worthy performance if I've ever seen one. Not to mention Keri Russell. Always been a fan! This film is brilliant. Don't miss it!

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!

I love birthdays!!! This last weekend for Lisa Taylor's 25th Birthday, 11 of our girlfriends headed to Las Vegas for a memorable vacation! We started the trip off Saturday at 6am in Corona Del Mar where everyone piled into Holly's car and my Dad's suburban and off we went!

About 3 hours later we arrived at our first stop. The Primm Outlets. I have never had so much fun shopping in all my life! After nearly 2 1/2 hours of credit card charges, we all left with some pretty good loot!

Next stop, Vegas! We checked into our hotel rooms at the MGM Grand around 3pm and then just messed around in the room until it was time to get on with the evening. I was pretty impressed that 11 girls were able to get ready with only 2 bathrooms.

Dinner was amazing! We all agreed on a restaurant at the Venetian where we enjoyed steaks, salmon filets, lamb chops, and gourmet pastas, topped off with some tiramasu and a "Happy Birthday" song for Lisa. Dinner was probably the biggest expense of the trip. (Oh wait...no, the shopping really broke the bank for me!)

The night really got started when we headed upstairs at the Venetian to TAO, the hottest club on the Vegas strip! It was by far the coolest thing I have ever done in Vegas. I'm not sure what was the best part...getting into the club VIP (thanks Holly!), dancing with 10 of my favorite friends, free drinks all night (ok...so too bad we don't really "drink"), or running into the Backstreet Boys for Howie D's Bachelor Party! I was on Cloud 9 all night!

And as if dancing at TAO wasn't enough, we rounded up the festivities at MGM's hottest club, Studio 54. Once again, VIP style (thanks Mia!) The music at this club was soooo amazing! All of us girls were eating up the attention the gentlemen were giving us on the dance floor. However, I was completely distracted by one of the male dancers there. Yes, its true, I was hot for the hired help. But let me just tell you...this man was AMAZING! Words cannot even describe to you. If you want details, just let me know!

After hours and hours of dancing we finally headed back to our rooms for oh... 3 hours of sleep so we could be on the road by 8am and back in time for church. Its so nice to have girlfriends to party... and pray with! Love you girls!