My very favorite thing that Free People has ever made...

Did any of you happen to see the fantastic short film: Roshambo that Free People released a few months ago?  It was produced as a video accompaniment to the love story featured in their February catalog.  I think I watched it enough for everyone.  The little film even inspired me to include a mini love story in our Ambiance Summer lookbook.  Can you see the influence?

Sooo, Roshambo... The story, chemistry, cinematography, music, the clothes and styling... I loved it so much.  And I loved that it was short- it left me wanting more more more.  Well, I'm happy to say... those crafty Free Peeps heard the outcry and delivered the goods.  They've just released a much-anticipated follow up film, entitled Roshambo Rock; a flashback to Sheila and Chris (Sheila Marquez and Chris Abbott of Girls fame) before their chance reunion in New York (featured in the first film).  In this one, Sheila and Chris have just broken up and her friends whisk her off to Rio to cheer her up.  Enter sun, sand, loads of beach-y summer-y FP duds, and the instantly-smitten Diego (played by real-life Spanish polo player Diego Osorio).  Now watch all kinds of fancy Free People magic happen.

Shop the Roshambo Rock fashion collection here!

Love: Kannyn + Colby

For the third love story in the SLOmygosh "Love Series"- my friend Kannyn shares a fun tale of how she met her Prince Charming-turned husband, Colby.  THANK YOU, Kannyn!

♥ 

       

Kannyn + Colby

"It all started in an enchanted land, called San Luis Obispo, with a boy and a girl and their friend. The

boy, who is called Colby, lived in a yellow Victorian house with several other people. The house was

very much like a castle, or at least the dungeon of a castle and the girl, who is called Kannyn, visited this palace often because her friend, who will remain nameless, lived there with Colby and other bohemian types. The first night Colby and Kannyn interacted; she knew there was something special about him, something mysterious. He played a song he had written to her and the friend. A few days later the friend asked Kannyn if she was available to be courted by Colby. Kannyn got butterflies in her stomach at the idea and prompted her friend to arrange a few social encounters so the two could converse. With each meeting her fascination with him grew, he was very artistic, incredibly articulate and so very calm and collected. Then unexpectedly she ran into him at the swap meet, but lets call it a street market and he asked her if she would accompany him on a small ship for an afternoon, or to go kayaking. She did and the rest is history. The two are now living happily ever after with their two beautiful boys, Haydn and Asher."

Love: Daniel + Leah

For this- the second installment in my "Love series", Leah of the fun blog Cheer Up Old Bean, was kind enough to share the very sweet story of how she and her husband met- and the hurdles (and miles) they overcame to be together.  Ahhh, romance... 

THANK YOU, LEAH!  

♥

        

Leah + Daniel

"Daniel and I met a little over 12 years ago as only we two nerds could! We met on an English history website called tudorhistory.org. I have always been interested in this time period in history- especially Henry VIII and his second wife Anne Boleyn. There was a pen pal section on the website which I eagerly signed up for, since I didn't have any friends who were interested in history, especially Tudor history- and I really wanted to chat and correspond with other people who shared my interest. Months went by where I corresponded with some lovely ladies (who I'm still in touch with!) and then I received an email from Daniel, who was from Sheffield, England. We just got to emailing back and forth almost daily, at first about the Tudors and then we went beyond and got to know one another on a personal level. It was pretty clear from the beginning that there was a spark- from personality alone!! 

Fast forward 6 months and we were glued to the phone, having lengthy all night long conversations! Boy did my sleep suffer! We got used to the time difference- talked as often as we could, for as long as we could get away with. Eventually we realized this really was something real and had to meet in person. That was the most nerve wracking, yet exciting thing in the world!! I can't even accurately tell you how it felt to be waiting for his plane to land that very first time! Let's just say I called my mom for support and then hastily hung up on her when he stepped off of the plane- I think she was none too happy about that!

Obviously that first visit went well and for the next 8 years we continued to be long distance, with Daniel doing the majority of the traveling since I'm afraid to fly! Circumstances, of which we were not in control, changed that 8th year of our relationship and we were able to take the next step and begin the lengthy immigration process so Daniel and I could get married and finally be together full time. 

The immigration process, though totally necessary and unavoidable, is not something I recommend! It's scary, confusing, expensive and really trying emotionally. It took about a year from start to finish, though Daniel was allowed to come into the country in that year so that we could marry and finish everything. Our wedding was hurried, small and inexpensive, but honestly just the way we wanted it! We got married in the garden of a beautiful little church in downtown Carmel, with only our parents as witnesses. Shortly after our little intimate wedding we had to go to Los Angeles for our final immigration interview. Let me tell you, it's just like the movie Greencard with Gerard Depardieu and Andy McDowell. They sit you down and want to know who sleeps where, how did we each get to our wedding, what are my parents names, where have we vacationed together- oh and I forgot to mention, we had to provide vacation photos and plane ticket stubs! It was one big anxiety mess! Oh and they asked ridiculous questions like: Was Daniel ever a pimp? Had he ever been a prostitute or drug dealer?... and the biggie- did he plan on committing acts of terrorism on US soil? We had to laugh and even the official guy asking the questions cracked a smile at those. 

So here we are almost 5 years later, married and living on the same continent at last. We're settling into careers and planning the next stage of our life together, looking forward to what the future hopefully brings! Looking back on our courtship and relationship it just seems like a movie- it was romantic but gut wrenching with long separations and tearful goodbyes and that bittersweet feeling of knowing when we were together that our time was limited. Now that we're an "old" married couple we're no where near as "movie-like", we do mundane things like everyone else and that suits me just fine!"

Leah xo

Love: Lawrence + Marcia

I've been fascinated by the story of my grandparents' relationship since I was in high school- so in honor of Valentine's Day, I'm taking the opportunity to share a series of love stories... starting with theirs.  

I hope you enjoy.

xo, 

Lawrence and Marcia, 1960

"In 1958, I worked as a babysitter for his brother and sister-in-law, and he came to stay with them for a while.  I guess he really thought I was something.  He was a skinny thing- Grandma Rosie called him 'Larguísimo' (Spanish for big and gangly)!  But he was cute, nice and so polite... I just liked him.  Even though he was a big pervert because he was FOUR YEARS older than me!  But we had the same birthday, April 18th, and he had a truck (I only dated boys with cars), so we went out to see a movie at the drive-in. " 

"We just clicked."

My grandmother recalls: "I was almost 17 when I told my mother I wanted to marry him.  When she protested, I threatened to get pregnant and she relented."  My grandparents married in 1959, moved from San Diego to an apple farm in Washington in 1960, and travelled back to San Diego for the birth of my mother in 1961. 

"...and then we un-clicked."

When my mom was a year old, my grandmother once again visited her family in San Diego- and upon her return to the apple farm, discovered hairpins in her bed.  Without waiting for an explanation, she packed her things, scooped up my mother, and returned to her family.  Though my grandfather followed her South, attempting to plead his case- the decision was made and it was final.  My grandmother's family kept him away from her, arranged a hasty divorce, and dismissed my grandfather for good.  Eventually he gave up completely, and left San Diego.  My grandma remarried soon after, and my mother was legally adopted- erasing all traces of her biological father.  She was raised with absolutely no knowledge of him aside from a single, confusing visit when she started kindergarten.  "He  kneeled down and told me he was my dad, and I said, OK."  At five years old, she didn't understand what it meant- but remembers being struck by how "white" he was.  In perhaps the most fitting summarization of the situation- my five year old mother's impression of her father was accurate and simplistic; "Everyone in my life was so brown- he just seemed like a ghost."  Another visit occurred when she was 11, "he took me waterskiing."  Older this time, her understanding turned to guilt.  "I felt so awkward, like I was betraying my "real dad"- who had adopted me."  Years passed, and the ghost of her father was simply forgotten.  "I did try to find him when I was sixteen, but without the resources we have now- I quickly gave up."  This time, decades passed.   

My mom recalls:  "In my 30's,  I got a strange call from my dad- saying that Lawrence had contacted them, and would like to get in touch with me.  They asked if it would it be ok to give him my contact information?  I said yes, and he was on a plane to Kauai about a week later."  

When they met again soon after in San Diego, my grandmother joined them.  "I felt funny about seeing him again, but I was happily married to a wonderful man- who encouraged me to make peace with it.  My husband met him and said: 'He's a good man, you made a good choice- you were just too young.  You just went in different directions'."  

Lawrence finally had an opportunity to explain what had happened on the day she left him- taking their baby (my mother) with her.  While she had been away, visiting her family in San Diego- he'd invited his brother to stay in the house.  Those hairpins she'd discovered in their bed...  the tiny things that had altered the course of their lives- were the result of a kind gesture on the part of my grandfather; a harsh souvenir of the hospitality he'd shown his brother and sister-in-law.   "I told him I was sorry.  I realized that it was more my fault than his fault.  I felt stuck on that apple farm, and the hairpins were an excuse to get out.  I thought I was missing out on something bigger."  

Finally at peace with the past, my biological grandparents kept in touch from afar.  They met in person again after James was born.  James, who was named for my grandma's "wonderful" third husband- whom we affectionately called "Papa".  A month after James' birth, Papa passed away.  Lawrence, newly divorced- reached out to her to offer condolence.  "A few weeks later, he called to invite me to visit his mother and sister.  He just thought it would be good for me to get away, and he knew they'd be glad to see me again."  My grandma laughs when recounting this next part of the story...   "I always liked his family, and felt immediately comfortable around them.  Of course, the family is huge, and right away they all introduced me as his wife!  When we left, they said: 'How'd you ever let her get away?'"   After that visit, they simply never wanted to spend another day apart.  She packed up her home in San Diego, and off they went to the house he'd built in Prescott, Arizona.   

My grandparents' "un-click" spanned nearly 35 years, 4 marriages and 3 other children between them.

"And then we clicked back again."

    "We remarried on our birthday- so neither of us will ever forget." When I asked if they had regrets about the decades spent apart over the hairpin-misunderstanding, my grandma takes it in stride and answers:  "It's sad, but it's hopeful.  Life is a big circle, and it took a long time to get around to it, but we finally did.  Every woman in my family- when the going got tough, we left.  It's just the way it's always been.  But I have no regrets.  Papa was a very good man, he was always good to my kids- he loved the family so much.  When Lawrence and I were married, I was just a stubborn kid.  Papa changed my life, he helped me find worth in myself.  He respected my opinion. "

"It was a long road, but the people we are today are perfect for each other, and I would not be who I am today without the experiences I had."   

"Of course, we butt heads once in a while- but it's never for long.  I just feel so blessed to have him in my life again, and to be where we are now."  When I asked her about their romance, she laughs and says:  "He's so hokey.  He's really funny, and he's a tender-heart.  He's the only man I've ever known who cries at sad movies and likes chick flicks.  He just tears right up.  It's endearing.  He has the kindest heart of anyone I've ever met, and he's not judgmental.  I know that I can tell him anything, and that means a lot to me.  I didn't come from a family who let it out.  He listens, he doesn't judge, and he makes me feel special.   I'm just so happy."

They've now been remarried for 12 years and are determined to live as long as they can- to make up for lost time.

Stay tuned for more in the "Love" series next week.  

To share your own love story, get in touch here. ♥

    

What's your bedtime routine?

Are you an early to bed- early to rise sort of person... 

or a night owl who likes to sleep in?

Jeffrey and I are on toootally different sleep cycles.  For a long time I felt like that was a problem, and I would try really hard to stay up late so we could go to bed at the same time.  It felt important to me to have that moment when you both sit down together and kiss goodnight.  Or lay next to each other reading...  and fall asleep at the same time.  The only problem with that is, I am NOT a night owl.  Not even close.  My bedtime is somewhere around 10-11pm, and anything short of 8 hrs. sleep turns me into a straight up MESS.  Especially with a certain mini person who has no qualms about waking up all night.  Jeff's bedtime is more like 3:30am; sometimes even 5 or 6am...  He works all night and left to his own devices, he'll sleep in goooood and late.  Typical artist, right?  This mismatched bedtime thing was a tug-o-war between us for years.  He was fed up with me asking "Are you coming to bed?" or "Are you tired? What time are you coming to bed?" and I was fed up with him saying "I'm working, don't make me feel guilty."  SO...  We finally got smart and compromised!  At first I thought... how sad and unromantic that we have to schedule bedtime together.  But honestly, it's GREAT!  He gets to work all-night, 5 nights of the week.  He tucks me in and I get all the sleep I need.  On the other 2 nights, we have a rule about going to bed at the same time (and it has to be before midnight).  I love it!  And actually, Jeff loves it too.  Sometimes on those nights he even falls asleep before I do!  I secretly think that he needs more rest than he gets- and maybe he's not quite such an insomniac after all.  Have you heard about sleep debt?  Jeff's got sleep debt for years.  Now we're at the point where he'll come and remind me to come to bed and say: "It's our go to bed together night- are you ready?"  I love that.

What about you... are you and your spouse on the same schedule?   

kissing strangers...

A few nights ago I ran out on my own to run a quick errand or two, and on my way home I stopped by Linnaea's Cafe to grab one of their irresistible salted chocolate cookies.  As I walked past the Cafe window and through the door, I noticed this couple snuggling and kissing like they were in their own world- completely oblivious, and totally consumed with each other.  I'm not typically one for P.D.A's, but this moment seemed so sweet, I couldn't help sneaking a picture of them.  Aren't they just lovely?  I find myself inventing backstories to go along with the photo... but none of them do justice to the pure romance of this stolen moment in the Cafe.  What a lucky shot.  I love it.  ♥