meet andrea.

Hi, lovely little lovebird lovers

(well, helloooo alliteration)!

I'm Andrea, from Left brain, right brain, pug brain,

where I blog about my life as an aspiring author, wife to a nerdy engineer 

and dog-mom to an adorable puggle.

I started blogging when my husband and I moved from Missouri to California,

and one of the very first blogs I fell in love with was "The Little Lovebirds", 

and I keep coming back because who doesn't want to read about the fabulous

adventures of an adorable ballerina and her handsome husband

(seriously, you guys should be models).

And I can't wait to come back and see amazing photos from the lovebirds' trip to Italy.

But, in the meantime, let me tell you about my favorite vacation of all time...
our honeymoon.
Ryan and I got married August 7, 2010. We were both in college in Missouri.
And we both had enormous dreams of one day moving to Los Angeles.
So, where did we go on our honeymoon?
Los Angeles, California.
It was the first time either of us had been to the Golden State,
and the moment we arrived we were in for a sweet vacation full of surprises.
First surprise? On the shuttle from the airport to our rental car facility,
we met a vacationing family who were PUMPED to find out that we were on our honeymoon.
Seriously pumped.
Excited enough that they convinced the car rental company to
upgrade us to a convertible!
And then, excited enough that they insisted on taking a picture of us in the car. Those are
their kids in the background. Funny, right?

Second surprise? When we arrived at our hotel, they told us we had a package waiting for us.
Two of our awesome friends just happened to be on vacation in LA the week before us,
and they found our hotel and left us a package with drinks for the evening.

Surprise number three? We went to The Laugh Factory for a comedy performance
one night, and guess who just happened to be the special guest that night?
Dane Cook. My secret lover.
AND, we got a picture with him after the show.

Between the surprises, we explored some of the amazing city
and took a few trips to the beach (Ryan's first time seeing the ocean!)
and it sealed the deal that we absolutely wanted to move to Los Angeles.

And then, we went back to Missouri.

And we finished college.
And I don't think anyone really believed we would move to California.
But last fall, after months of interviewing (and waiting, waiting, waiting)
Ryan was offered a job in Los Angeles, beginning in January!
And so we moved. And we love it.
Someday, we'd love to visit Europe and Mexico and one thousand other wonderful places.
But our vacation to Los Angeles will forever be one of my favorites because
it was our first trip together to the place we're now lucky enough to call home.

meet sienna.

Hi loves. I'm Sienna from Peace, Love, Wander, my personal diary of wanderlust. I'm a graduate student at NYU and my biggest passion in life is traveling, which is one of the reasons I'm so excited to keep reading The Little Lovebirds--their big trip to Italy! The posts are going to be incredible when they return, so stay tuned, but in the meantime, I'll tell you a little about my favorite summer destination.

My family vacations in the south of France every year--we've been up and down the Riviera, and into the countryside as well. My favorite place, without question, is the Cap d'Antibes--and more specifically, the Hotel du Cap Eden Roc. 

I've had a fascination with this hotel after spending 6 months doing a research project on F. Scott Fitzgerald's Tender is The Night, where he so elegantly features the famed hotel. Staying there is truly a fairytale come to life--whether it's breakfast on the terrace, the pristine grounds, a perfect salad Nicoise, the infinity edge swimming pool, or sweeping views of the riviera from every direction--Antibes is truly a dream come to life.

Thanks for having me--enjoy Italy!!!

meet alli.

Howdy Little Lovebird readers!  Oh I'm so happy to be here today.  A little jealous that the lovebirds are in Italy, but still honored to be here hanging out on their darn adorable blog.  I'm Alli and I blog over at Life on LeRoy.  I blog about life, family, love, toddler-hood, recipes, DIY's, fashion, just about anything and everything.  Stop by and say hi sometime, I would love to meet you!

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My husband and I are huge outdoors people.  When it came time to begin planning our honeymoon (almost 4 years ago now) we knew we didn't want to go sit on a beach somewhere.  We wanted to hike, fish and explore the countryside.  We initially planned on not having a plan and just driving out West and seeing where the road takes us.  Then I got scared and decided lets at least have a plan on where we would lay our heads at night.  We found a beautiful cabin on the Yellowstone River in Montana and it was basically a match made in heaven.  It was prefect for us and we knew it right away.

We spent our honeymoon hiking in the Bear Tooth Mountains, fly fishing on the Yellowstone River, exploring nearby towns, making amazing food, enjoying drinks every night by the river, and taking an amazing amount of pictures ;)

Have I convinced you to check out Montana yet?  It's seriously breathtaking you guys!

We cannot wait to go back and have even talked about moving their someday.

It was my first experience seeing mountains and I fell in love.

A view I will never forget

Isn't this cabin amazing?!

It seems so out of place being in the middle of no where along the Yellowstone River in MT.

The inside was pretty much to die for too!

Our view from our cabin

I had to include this picture, it cracks me up.  We drove out to MT and the drive was 14 hours from where we live in Wisconsin.  On our way out we stayed in a hotel one night, but on our way home we drove right through.  In order to keep myself occupied as the passenger I played a lot of loud music and rocked out!  Seriously rocked out!

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Thanks so much Elease for allowing me to take over your blog for the day.  I truly enjoyed reliving our honeymoon again.  Montana has truly left a soft spot in my heart and it's my dream vacation destination. 

If you ever get a chance to visit MT, I highly recommend it.

meet chelsea.

Hi Guys! My name is Chelsea, and I blog over at Ruesch Love.  Mostly, I talk about the small things that make my life just a little more sweet, mixed in with the occasional embarassing story or sarcastic remark. Okay, the sarcasm may be a little more than occasional. Just don't take anything I say too seriosuly. Heaven knows I don't. I'm in love with a boy whom I fondly refer to as j.rue. I'm kind of crazy about his baby blues...and bum. But I'm his wife so I can say that.

A big thanks to Elease for letting me share a little of her space today. Those two little lovebirds are the cutest thing since sliced bread and her blog easily became one of my daily reads. I idolize her prima-ballerina coolness. I think we're kindred spirits because I took ballet until the rip old age of 11. That counts, right Elease? Oh, and did I mention she has killer style. I'm sure that you're already aware , but I just love it!

Today I wanted to introduce you to a couple of my simple summer essentials. Simple because I mean, should summer be described any other way? I think not! Plus, I'm a strong advocate of taking care of and pampering yourself. Hopefully I can bring some stuff to the table that you have never heard of or are on the fence about purchasing. Okay, so let's get started:

1. African Black Soap. Ever heard of it? I hadn't either, until last month and it's done magical things for my skin. It's supposed to have anti-aging AND acne properties and it's all natural. Oh, and it's only $3. Kind of a winner in my book. This is more of a year round essential, but summer is a great time to try something new. Funny side story: when j.rue first saw my new soap he asked why there was a turd in our shower. Yes it's that ugly, but what did your momma always teach you growing up? Don't judge a book by it's cover.

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2. I'm a huge sunscreen advocate. HUGE. I like to think of it as my summer perfume. Okay, I actually wear real perfume, but I love it when I walk by someone and I can smell the faint whiff of sunscreen. It makes me happy and oh so proud. We recently got back from California and I now swear by SuperGoop. Enticing name, right? This goop is free of a lot of chemicals, works on your body and face, and isn't slimy or filmy white. Please, wear your sunscreen. Wrinkles are not cute. Neither is cancer. Okay, stepping off the soapbox now...

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3. Actually one more thing about sun protection, but this one is a little more fun. Promise. FLOPPY HATS! These are adorable and keep the sun off of your neck and face. For a whitey like me, they're 100% necessary, even if living in Utah. There are some very cute and inexpensive ones available at Target and F21.

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4. For the love of Maxi skirts! If you don't own at least one get your tush out the door right now.

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5. These headbands. Okay, they aren't anywhere near being an essential, but they scream summer in my opinion. When I rock mine j.rue calls it a turban and talks to me in an Indian accent. Not very PC j.rue.

6. Bobbi Brown's Oil-Free Tinted Moisturizer. It has SPF, it's light with just enough color to even you out, and it doesn't make you shiny. This is your answer to summer make-up melty face issues and concerns.

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7. LUSH "Big" Shampoo. This isn't a specific one for summer, but it does have delicious sea salt to massage your scalp. Sea salt is very summer-ish.

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8. Summer tunes. I've been digging him, her, her, and them.

9. I know some people aren't into this, but finding fluffy summer beach reads is about as good as it gets. When I think of a perfect summer afternoon I think of a hammock, lemonade, a floppy hat, and a good book. If you're not into novels, magazines or netflix are a nice option too. But be warned, you are missing out.

10. NARS Carthage Lipstick. Again, not an essential but a nice punchy color never put anyone at a disadvantage. Lipstick makes me feel all confident and fancy schmancy. If lipstick scares you, maybe start with one of these and ease your way into more bold color. It worked for me.

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11. Is is driving you nuts that I didn't end this at an even 10? It is me. This last one couldn't be left out though. YOu need a summer side-kick to go on lots of crazy adventures with, but who will also lounge on the couch eating snacks and watching the Bachelorette. J.rue fills that void in my life, but side-kicks can really be anyone that you love. You must love them though. If you and your side-kick needs some summer ideas, j.rue and I made a summer bucket list. I might get your creative juices flowing.

Please excuse the low quality and cheesiness of this picture. The low quality is due to the fact that we rely only on cell phone cameras. The cheesiness hails from our recent trip to Disneyland. How can you not be cheesy there?

There you have it! Simple Summer Essentials. I've learned that keeping things simple allows you to reduce stress, and reducing stress improves your health and allows you to fully enjoy your summer. So there you have it. I give you permission to go and buy anything on this list that you may want. Because it will make you more healthy. But then you can't feel guilty, because that would make this kind of an oxymoron. Are you following me here?

Thanks again Elease for letting me stop by! I would love to hear from any of you. I love meeting new bloggy friends and finding new fabulous blogs to read, so please feel free to stop by and say hi! Happy summer!

meet elise.

Hi lovebird readers!

I'm Elise and you can say hello over here. I blog about fashion, food, dance and pretty things. I am so happy Elease is letting me hang out here today because she is a constant inspiration for me with her lovely dancing, wonderful marriage and upbeat outlook on life. She's so darling..as you already know!

I wanted to share some of my favorite looks for this summer. This doesn't necessarily mean they are "on-trend" or what every closet needs - these pieces are quite impractical. Here are looks that I love, because everyone could use some playful things to wear.

Here is what I am loving this summer:

My tutu:

Chiffon Skirt:

Corset Top:

DIY Toms Sandals:

 

Yellow & Simple Sandals:

Old Navy, Links no longer available

White Dress:

H&M, link no longer available

Your turn! What is one thing you own that is just for fun?

bon voyage!

we've been awfully busy:

attending weddings, catching up with family, playing with friends, 

eating out too much, shopping more than lovebird approves,

and getting ready for our big adventure.

it's been such a delightful vacation already, 

i'm actually in awe we still have another three weeks of vacation ahead of us.

we are counting our blessings, and feel oh-so-lucky.

we leave for italy today!

{or as lovebird calls it, "the country of love"}

we are both so eager to get there, explore the beauty, 

taste the gelato and eat homemade pasta.

but, we are most excited to just be with one another.

just the two of us.

we've been begging for time alone with one another

after such a hectic, crazy and long ballet season and school year.

that time starts in less than 24 hours...

and you better believe that we are both counting down the seconds.

{at this point, even our nine hour layover sounds delightful. i'm slightly joking.}

while we are gone, i thought i would treat you all to a little something.

since, clearly, i can't fit you all in my suitcase and take you with me.

for the next three weeks, i have some lovely bloggers featured on my blog.

i hope they keep you entrained by their beauty, fun ideas, tutorials and so much more.

it's always a treat to discover a new blog....

so enjoy them and send them some love by visiting their blogs!

italy and lovebird will carry my heart for the next little while.

i'm simply elated about that.

i'll miss you dearly while i'm away 

and look forward to catching up on your blogs when i return.

happy summer. 

xoxo

tag, i'm it.

eleven little things about me.

{it's time to get personal. hope you don't mind}

1.my biggest regret in life is turning down the invite and opportunity of living in new york

city year round to dance for joffrey ballet school. 

2.favorites and obsessions: the color green, jude law, anything chocolate, 

pillows, handwriting, and peanut butter. 

3. i wish i were better at saying my prayers on my knees multiple times a day.

4. i am confident; yet extremely sensitive. 

people's impressions of me matter more than they should.

5. i am in love.

love is the most beautiful thing in this world.

6. i am the epitome of a girl:

i love and adore lip stick, nail polish, jewelry, perfume and shoes.

7. biggest fear in life: throwing up.

8. i can't fall asleep without my pink blanket and knowing what time it is. 

it's a comfort thing. 

{yes, i am an adult. no, it is not my baby blanket.}

if i don't have access to the time, i'll get out of bed and find a clock.

9. i am a germ freak. period.

i wash my hands at least 12 times a day. 

i refuse to touch my food if my hands are "dirty."

germs are an obsession in my head.

it drives lovebird crazy, sometimes.

10. my main "goal" in life  is to have a family of my own one day.

why? because my own family means the world to me.

life would be incomplete and empty without them.

11. i'm a ballerina.

the ability to express myself through movement is captivating to me.

it's a true passion of mine, and always will be. 

i've been tagged. 

now it is your turn.

i'm "suppose" to tag 11 people.

but, i'm bending the rules. just slightly.

if you are a follower and want to participate-

do it! 

let me know, so i can read your cute list of 11 facts about yourself!  

xoxo

nice to meet you.

meet my cute new friend.

meg from the happy hour.

check out her blog over here.

{she was sweet enough to also say a few kind words about me.}

you'll soon discover that she's a real beauty, very charming and simply lovely inside and out.

i hope you enjoy reading about her fun life with her hubby, her tips on "brightening your smile",

and her cute way with fashion. 

{i want to go shopping in her closet and eat all the yummy things she posts.}

i hope you find your way over to her lovely blog today. 

xoxo