Hunter's First Framed Picture

Sweet little Hunter boy. 

Making his grand appearance in a little over a month! 

This Auntie can't wait to get my hands on him. 

I have a feeling my family will be fighting over holding time with the little guy. 

He's gonna be kissed and doted on. 

Precious little boy. 

We love him already. 

Swimsuit Season is Coooooming!

It's the end of April. 
This means a few things. 
The weather in California is gorgeous. 
Garrett and I have been married for three years on the 26th! 
MB is very pregnant and due in 9 days! 
Lil' Sis Sarah isn't far behind and due in 5 weeks! 
I'm heading home to Virginia on May 24th! 
Annnnnnd.....
Summer is coming! 


With summer comes sun, lazy days, family time, and...of course...swimwear. 
Yahtzee. 


It wasn't long ago that I started thinking about what exactly I was going to wear to the beach this summer. 
I just don't think I'm a bikini girl.
I never feel comfortable in them.
I'm always afraid I'm exposing something I shouldn't be. 
And how do you know those things are going to stay on??!?!
You get hit by one good wave and...jeepers. 


So I've been peeking around some websites and thought I'd share some of my favs. 

J.Crew

Paradis Paisley Twist Front Tank

Retro Dot Underwire Tank

Water Lily Ruffle Halter Tank

Whisper Gauze Beach Dress

Ralph Lauren

Ruffled Halter One Piece

Tommy Hilfiger

Halter Striped Tankini Top & Striped Foldover Bottom

Target

Merona one piece with ruffles

Mod Cloth

Beach Blanket Bingo Once Piece

This last swimsuit from Mod Cloth is actually an exact replica of a swimsuit I received from my friend Robin today! We are both thrilled by thrifting and she found a vintage swimsuit that is identical to the black and white polka dot swimsuit above. It looks like it's never been worn and it was much cheaper than Mod Cloth's price of $89. She picked it up for $4. Awesome. It's good to have people lookin' out for ya. :)

Lookin' forward to beach time with my family! 

Last Event and Yogurt Galore!

Today was deeee-lightful!
De-LIGHT-ful!
De-light-FUL!

Today started early and a little panicky, as most event mornings do.
There were balloons, registration sheets, extra student nametags, all topped with a dollop of stress.
And, as most events go, once the check-in table was set up and the first person checked in, it was all downhill from there.

Events have this weird, and extremely consistent way of building, building, building, building...
Lots of preparation...
And then the first person checks in and it's like you're on a roller coaster ride from there. You can't stop it. It's gonna happen whether you're ready for it or not. So you go with it and it's seriously the best part of my job (besides all the great people I work with). Event days are just electric. It's go time, and everything you've prepared for is being put to the test. Totally exhilarating.

The year has been long. The fall season started off a little differently than expected. My coworker/boss left right before the school season started in August. We weren't able to hire someone else for her position until the first of December so all of Fall was just filling in where she used to be. The rest of the year has felt some of those effects, just like a big game of catch up. To finally make it to the end of the year and know that in three months we're going to start this whole thing over again with a clean slate is so refreshing. I get another shot to do my job better. That's pretty exciting.

I had a great event team this year, girls that I couldn't do any of this without. They call me Captain, but this boat would sink without them. :) Once we finished cleaning up from the event today, we headed to Berry Cool to celebrate. For those of you that aren't familiar with California, they love their frozen yogurt. There are so many different frozen yogurt places out here. Yogurtland, Joghurt, Golden Spoon, Pink Berry, Berry Fresh, Berry Cool...the list goes on and on. There's seriously a frozen yogurt place on every corner. And most of them are serve yourself. You pick up your cup, walk through the flavor line where there are usually 10-12 flavors, and then add as many toppings as you want, from fruit to chocolate, to gummy bears. Then they determine the price based on how much your container weighs. It's seriously awesome.

Clockwise from Left: 

Michelle, Maraya, Beth, Heather

Biola Admissions Events: Michelle, Maraya, me and Heather

You girls are the best. Seriously. 

Thanks for filling my days with laughter and for constantly being such a source of joy. 

You are all so amazing. 

What a team. :) 

Burger Joint Run Down

Mr. Suhr has a favorite food. 

Burgers. 

Any kind. 

Put a big, delicious steak in front of him and he'll choose a burger every time. 

We're always trying to find the next best burger. 

Some of our favorite places recently (out here on the West Coast) are: 

The Counter. Located in Irvine (there are more than one), this is a great little place 

where you get an awesome menu and get to pick your own toppings. 

And there are LOTS to choose from.

They say they are "the 21st Century's bold answer to the classic burger joint."

Here's a sample of the menu: 

And here's what a typical Counter burger looks like. 

Massive. 

With the ability to pile on the toppings, these things just keep growing.

This was Garrett's from last time we were there. It's a 3/4 pound lamb burger, corn and black bean salsa, pepperocinis, onion straws, caramelized onions, and fresh mozzarella on a soft pretzel bun. 

My favorite combo is something like the chicken, with jalapeño jack cheese, organic mixed greens, roasted corn & black bean salsa, housemade guacamole, sun dried tomatoes, 

and roasted garlic aioli sauce, all on a multi-grain bun. 

So good. 

Another burger place we recently went to with one of Garrett's RA's, Nathan, and his fiance, Jessica was a place in Santa Monica called Umami Burger. 

Their claim to fame is that they have created the fifth taste. 

The first four tastes are sweet, sour, salt and bitter. 

The fifth, Umami, can be simply described as savory. 

More information on it can be found here. :) 

Our Umami experience was definitely a repeater. We will be back. :)

Burgers, smushed potatoes, onion rings, sweet potato fries, and shoestring fries. 

Garrett and I split an Umami Burger, which had all kinds of crazy stuff on it. Apparently, the idea is that all the different flavors give it one unique taste that is super complimentary. 

We also split the Port and Stilton Burger. 

The burgers even have a U stamped on top! Neat-o!

One of Mr. Suhr's current RA's and his fiance, Nathan & Jessica. 

3 out of the 4 of us started off ordering water until the waiter told us that all proceeds from the bottled root beer went directly to an animal shelter. Jessica and I are all about saving the animals. :) 

All four of us ended up with root beer. 

Last, but most certainly not least....the burger of all time. 

I know without a doubt that I have found my perfect burger. 

I ate it one night at a teeny tiny place called Father's Office. 

(The website, unlike the burger, leaves much to be desired.)
This little establishment is in Santa Monica and holds maybe a total of 35 people inside. 

It's not big at all, and you really have to fight through the crowds 

to get to the counter where you place your order. 

There is one burger on the menu, and you can't make any substitutions. 

Luckily, you don't need to. It's seriously that good. 

It was on a soft, wheat & grain roll, it was perfectly cooked to a nice medium rare, and it had a blue cheese spread, carmelized onions, and fresh baby spinach. Sounds simple enough, but I can't tell you how good this burger was. Served with a side of garlic shoestring fries.

 I seriously could eat one of these on a very regular basis. 

And though this post may not show it, I'm not that much of a burger girl. 

I am, however, a little hungry...

This may have been the longest I have ever thought about the subject of burgers...ever. 

I'm sure Garrett could say otherwise. :) 

Do It Yourself: Chalkboard

I finally finished a project! 

I'm not always the greatest at following through, and this project did take me a while. 

I started with a piece of galvanized metal, some primer, and chalkboard paint. 

I sanded the metal a little, I guess to take the smoother surface of it off? 

Not totally sure what the purpose of that was. Ha!

I started with a little foam brush, and switched to a regular paint brush. 

The regular paintbrush left some lines on the board.
So after the first coat, I switched to a foam roller.

I did three coats total and then let it dry. 

After searching for a square frame that fit my board for a couple of months, I finally found one. 

Marshall's. $10. And my piece of galvanized, chalk-painted, steel fit perfectly into the frame. Glorious.

It's a chalkboard. 

It's magnetic. 

And if you walk in our front door, you'll see it on our wall. 

Project complete. 

To do: Paddleboarding- Check!

Every year or so, :), we do an adventurous outing with another one of the RD couples on campus. 

I think in our heart of hearts we intend to go more often. 

'Cause every time we go, it is a stinkin' fun time. 

The Powells like to show us around their favorite California places. 

Last time it was snowshoeing. 

This time, it was paddleboarding in Long Beach! 

It was the four of us, and the Rae's, our next door dorm neighbors. :) 

We got a quick lesson from Mr. Powell, and before we knew it, 

we were testing our skills, or lack thereof. 

Go, Suhr, go! 

A little wobbly, but lots of fun!

Four paddleboards on top of a Honda Civic.

After circling the canal a couple of times, we worked up quite an appetite. 

We headed South to Seal Beach and put our names in at Beachwood Barbeque. 

What a FABULOUS place. 

It felt like good home Southern Cooking! 

BBQ Chicken, pulled pork, corn on the cob, cole slaw, corn bread...wowzers.  

And my FAVORITE part of the meal....

Fried Pickles!

So, so, so, so, so good. 

This is one of those appetizers where no one was being polite in 

making sure everyone else got their fair share. 

It was a fight to the finish! 

Delicious. Yum. 

Thank you, Powells! 

Olivers and Alleyways

Recently, some of the girls from the office and I went to Olive Garden, which, in my opinion, is always delicious. We had a great time and ate lots of...mmmmmm....de...de...de...licious food.

Afterwards, we had a photo shoot in the alleyway back to our car. *smirk* 

Couldn't help but post the photos. 

There's nothing better than pretending you're something' else. :)

Thanks for work detox night ladies.

I think they keep us all sane! :)

Vintage Pearl Giveaway!

Vintage Pearl is a company that has fresh ideas when it comes to jewelry. 

I love pearls. They are absolutely my favorites gemstone, if you will. 

They are classic, versatile, and a true sign of beauty.

I have a couple of blogs I want to direct you to. 

The first blog I want to direct you to is The Vintage Pearl, where they are doing the giveaway! 

Leave a comment, write a blog post, and tweet for 3 chances to win a piece of jewelry that is 

not only beautiful, but holds great meaning. Their jewelry is customizable so it can easily 

become a treasured piece for years to come!

The other blog is where you'll find a story on the meaning behind pearls and how valuable they are, not only monetarily. Gretchen's post "Pearls of a Great Price" is remarkable and touches places in my soul that are deeper than sometimes I even knew were possible. 

Enjoy!

Cayucos Retreat

A couple of weeks ago, Mr. Suhr and I got to take his staff on their semesterly staff retreat. 

One of the girls on staff has a house that belongs to her family in Cayucos, CA. 

It was rainy and cold, but we had a great weekend, very relaxing, with lots of beautiful views! 

(The first five pictures were taken by me, with  my iPhone camera.) 

Hearst Castle

7 of the 9 on Garrett's Staff. :) 

(The last four pictures were taken by the kid in the middle of the above picture with the really cheesy smile)

This picture is not very nice. 

The last picture is absolutely my favorite. 

This little guy was looking for some food, I think. 

He was totally unafraid. 

Climbed right up on my lap. 

I was, obviously, delighted! 

:)

West Coast Mama

About two weeks ago now, Mama came out to California!

It was her first time on the West Coast. 

First time farther than Wisconsin. 

First time touching the Pacific Ocean.

First time at Chipotle.

First time to Disneyland.

First time on a roller coaster. 

First time eating beignets. 

First time assisting with an Admissions Event. 

First time in our apartment.

First time visiting our church. 

First time meeting our West Coast friends. 

Not her first time shopping. But lots of shopping was done. :) 

And hopefully, not her last time out to California. 

We had a blast. 

I love you, Mama. 

Pockets of Lace

I wore a new thrift find to work today. :) 

A sweet little vintage shirt that's a lovely shade of blue.

This is probably one of my favorites. 

It has lace details on the pocket and sleeves and beautiful brass colored buttons. 

And it maybe cost me $1.50. 

I'll take that. :) 

      

(Sorry for the lame self portraits. Gotta figure out how else to get a snapshot.) 

:) 

The pretty little quilt in the background is another thrift find. 

It adds a delightful pop of color to our room that was affordably, $2.25. 

Happy times in the thrift stores.

Hubs

One night I came home to this guy, sitting at our kitchen table, using an online tutorial to help him figure out how to make flies. 

He had all of his little tools out, the table all set up, and he was in serious concentration mode.

It was just the cutest scene to walk in on.

 

Something I love about my hubsters is that he is all man, totally likes to camp, fish, hunt, hike, shoot, kayak, rock climb, ski, explore, be outdoors, scale mountains, etc., etc., etc....

But the other thing I love about him is he's about the sweetest guy ever. 

Always kind. 

Super patient. 

Very loving. 

What a combo.