Cox Country Road Trip: Asheville, NC & Biltmore.

I don't think I've mentioned it here, but in case it hasn't been apparent from all my beachy instagrams, we're spending the summer in Los Angeles! Jordan is working as a summer associate at a law firm in Orange County, so we're staying with my parents for the summer in LA. Since we needed to have our car out here, we thought it would be fun to road trip across the country and see some sights we'd both never visited before.

Our first stop was Asheville, North Carolina, home of the fabulous Biltmore mansion. Before touring the mansion, we toodled around the town a bit. Talk about a hidden gem! Asheville has the most amazing Art Deco architecture (all of which I somehow failed to photograph) in its historic downtown area, and it's a totally artsy, funky little town. Delicious food, too--we gorged on the beignets below for breakfast before heading to Biltmore.

 Now a museum, Biltmore was once the home of the Vanderbilt family. It's been wonderfully preserved and restored, so for a historic home and decorative arts junkie like me, it was a dream to wander the halls. Inside photography wasn't allowed, unfortch, but the exterior views and grounds alone were mahhvelous. Definitely a must see if you're in the vicinity!

Next stop, Tennessee!

One year anniversary photos (pt. 2)!

Just a few more from our anniversary shoot, this time at our favorite neighborhood park and cafe. So happy to have these moments and places captured!

So happy to share this life with you, love!

Thank you {again} to our photographer, Sarah Lee Williams of This Rad Love!

**Update: Sarah is now booking weddings in Southern California. Book her now and tell her I sent you!**

The two of us at one year + anniversary photos!

To commemorate our first anniversary, Jordan and I wanted to celebrate in a way that would remain special beyond the actual day, so we decided to do a little photo shoot. This also doubled as the engagement shoot we never had--we had some engagements taken last year, but they weren't really "us," so I never loved them. 

We really wanted these photos to capture our lives as they are at this specific moment in time, one year in, living in Washington, DC in our first little apartment. We chose a few different locations that were meaningful to us--in our apartment, on our roof, and at a couple of favorite neighborhood spots. 

Here are some of my favorite shots from the first two locations plus some random tidbits about us, for fun (written in third person, inexplicably):

He's gotten used to answering burning girl questions like, "If I were a kitten, what would my name be??"

He doesn't like snacking, and she doesn't understand this (for her, it's always chip time).

They once stayed up until 3 a.m. to fight zombies, missing church the next day as a result. (He wisely purchased a purple controller for her so she'd like playing with him.)

He wishes she did her hair more than once a month, but she barely even washes it twice a week.

He gets lost in his own thoughts sometimes, so she regularly finishes his sentences.

They don't really like any of the same things, except, luckily, the important things.

He'll stay fully dressed (including shoes!?) until bedtime. She's in her stretchy pants (or less, letsbehonest) within 30 seconds of walking through the door.

He and his strong opinions accompany her to Bloomingdale's to supervise the testing and purchasing of all lip color products.

She's Pinky. He's Bunny. They're obsessed with each other.

Second batch of anniversary photos here!

***

Thank you to our photographer, Sarah Lee Williams of This Rad Love!

**Update: Sarah is now booking sessions in Southern California. Book her now and tell her I sent you!**

26!

I turned 26 a little bit ago, and really didn't make a big fuss about it at all, except for taking a day off work, getting Jordan to skip classes, having breakfast in bed, cupcakes in Georgetown for second breakfast, a cherry blossom cruise on the Potomac, a taco picnic in our neighborhood park, getting my nails and hair done, dinner in Capitol Hill, and frolicking around in the tiara (never too old!) and poofiest skirt all day long.

Oh. And spending the weekend before in Miami.

^ Officially the best cupcakes in DC are from Baked & Wired. Don't listen to anybody else. 

^ Spending the day with this face was the best birthday present, really. Thanks for skipping law school for me, Jord! xo

^ The cherry blossoms came out that day! A birthday miracle!

^ Tacos from Taqueria Nacional

^ While Jordan attended an evening class, I skipped off to Georgetown for a little bit of birthday pampering. My dear friend Holly met up with me for mani pedis, and then I got my hair done at Drybar (my first time there, somehow!). Jennifer at the Georgetown location is literally the first stylist in the history of my entire life to actually style my hair exactly how I envisioned. Thank you Jennifer!!

We celebrated that evening, just the two of us, with dinner at Rose's Luxury in Capitol Hill. The food there is crazy good and inventive, plus I support any restaurant with quirky spooning art.

The next evening, we gathered a few friends for dinner at Lincoln.

^ I realized I have almost no pictures of friends on this blog! We do our own thing most of the time, but we do love the DC pals we've picked up during our time here! Above are a few of the friends who helped celebrate my birthday (others left before we could take the pic, unfortch). Thank you all for helping make my birthday extra lovely! xo