A Year of New: 2017

Posted in Blogging, Updates by meganandeggs

Hello all! I am officially back from my two month hiatus, and things are looking a little different around here.

After almost three years and a lot of ups and downs over here on Megan & Eggs, I decided it was time to throw in the towel and do a little face lift to my corner of the internet. And so Restless Retreat has been born. This is my little retreat from life. A place to get away and talk about everything I enjoy. All things travel, beauty, home and exploration.

2016 was a big year for me and my fiance Chris. Well for one we got engaged back in April and it was one of the most amazing weekend’s I have had. A few weeks later I left my job of 8 years and started a new career, at a new company, in a totally different field of work. Oh and then the next week we moved into a new apartment. The spring was just a little stressful but in the most exciting and happy ways it could be.

Now that I have been fully trained at my new job, I went back to my old job, part-time, to save some money to this wallet draining wedding weekend we will be having in 2018. But it will be totally worth it!

We haven’t traveled too much in 2016. In January we went to Connecticut to visit family but otherwise, we have been pretty local, doing small day trips, however that is definitely not the case for 2017. I like to think that you will spend the year the way you ring it in, so I was super eager to be traveling while we ring in 2017. So currently we are spending the weekend in amazing Scottsdale, Arizona and I cannot wait to tell you all about it in the next few weeks.

This year I have a few trips back to Connecticut planned as I celebrate a few of my closest girlfriends getting married themselves. I am also going to have a big girl’s trip to Las Vegas which I am really excited for since some of my friends from home still haven’t been out to Vegas. And of course, I am sure Chris and I will take our normal impromptu weekend trips throughout the year.

I am super excited to see where this year takes me in my first full year as a travel agent and also here now that Restless Retreat is up and running. I plan on being much more transparent on this here blog, and stepping outside of my comfort zone to make sure I do that. My plan is to do a lot more scheduled posts and series than I had before; like a book review once a month, a monthly round up, and tons of informative posts for you about different products I am using, places I am going, things I am cooking and experiences I am having.

31Oct2016

October Recap

Posted in Updates by meganandeggs

Happy Monday friends! Long time no chat. I’ve been recovering a little since last week’s episode of the Walking Dead. I just wasn’t mentally prepared for that much sadness, guts, & gore. But it’s been a week & we are getting through it. It was definitely a rough week here in the OC though.

Besides getting over the season premier, I am trying to figure out where October went. Seriously it is summer like a day ago & now it is Halloween, it is just insane.

At the beginning of the month I started working a second job. Chris has been working a second job to save money for our wedding & I wanted to be able to contribute as much as he has been so I went back to my old retail job in the evenings. It is great now because I have no responsibilities, & no cares. I just go, dress a few mannequins, & head home. It has, however, kept me super busy.

It’s been really hard to keep up with eating healthy & getting enough sleep. But I am making it a priority in November to take care of myself, while working a lot.

We started our Halloween season last month when we went to Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights. This month we were able to get media access to the Queen Mary’s Haunted Harbor event. Super scary… way scarier than Universal. The eeriness of being on an old ship, & mocking spirits was just a little much for me.

Also, in my need to celebrate autumn the way I would have in New England, I drug Chris up to the mountains, twice, to go apple picking. We headed to one of the cutest little towns in Southern California that I had never even heard of. Not once, but twice we went to Oak Glen a little town in the San Bernardino Mountains just off of the 10 freeway. Not only were we able to explore the orchards but we also stopped at their local market where there was food, crafts, & a ton of fall activities for families to enjoy.

I can’t believe the holiday season is right around the corner. November & December are already going to be super busy months for us but I am looking forward to having a great holiday season.

Happy Halloween everyone!

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Spent a week nursing different Pumpkin craft beers.

30Sep2016

September Round Up

Posted in Updates by meganandeggs

Back when I first started this blog I used to do monthly updates every month. As a way to get a little closer to my readers & push myself to be more transparent I am going to start again.

I cannot believe it’s almost October. Does anyone else feel like they sneezed & 2016 flew by without a warning? I feel like I have gone non stop since April when we got engaged, & let me tell you September was no different.

We celebrated Labor Day with a nice little back yard Bar-B-Q with our friends up in LA. Then we weren’t even back in Orange County for a week & my mom, sister, & my sister’s boyfriend came to visit us here in California. Mom was here for 10 days & when I say we got things done for the wedding, we got a ton of stuff done. As most of you know Chris & I went venue shopping last month & we were able to narrow it down to two locations that we were interested in.

So while my family was in town, we brought both of our families down to Temecula to show our parents what we’ve found. I am pretty sure the outcome was unanimous. Once contracts are signed I will share the exciting news & all of the reasons we think this is the perfect place for our big day.

The day my mom left we went to the Honda Center in Anaheim to see one of the best performers I have ever had the honor of seeing play: Garth Brooks. Back in June we brought Chris’s dad to Garth in Vegas & we were all super excited because Garth is such a legend in the country music world. So when he announced in August that just a month later he would be in Anaheim for the first time in 20 years… we jumped on the chance to see him again. And it was just as good as the first time!!

We ended our month with a night at Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights last Friday & then Saturday night at Luke Bryan. And then we spent last Sunday literally in our pajamas, in front of the TV, watching football & I was catching up on Housewives. It was probably the first day since April that we actually got to sit down, not worry about anything & do nothing. We had laundry to do, projects to catch up on, & work to do but we put it all aside to do NOTHING. It was great.

October doesn’t have too many things listed on the calendar except a lot of work, which I am super thankful for. I am looking forward to my favorite time of year. It may be the New Englander in me but there is no better time of year than fall. Bring on the pumpkins, red & gold leaves, & crisp weather.

23Aug2016

Wedding Planning for Dummies

Posted in Updates by meganandeggs

As soon as I got engaged people started asking me: how’s the wedding planning process going? Well friends… it’s going. And it probably will continue to be “going” for the next 18 months! Every day I think of (or someone reminds me of) something else I need to do. Someone offers a tip I need to remember, or if I am lucky, gives me a vendor that they have had an amazing experience with.

It’s a lot to handle ladies! wpd-engagement-3

But honestly, there are so many resources out there to help you stay updated & get ideas from, fingers crossed I won’t forget anything.
I have been doing everything I can to take in advise & ideas for my big day, & all of the events leading up to it. There is wedding dress shopping, asking my bridesmaids & maid of honor to be in the wedding, engagement photos, my shower, & of coarse… my bachelorette. And this type A personality isn’t about to let anyone else plan that celebration.

I put together a little list of my favorite resources I’ve been using so far in my wedding planning process below. 18 months is a long time off so I am sure along the way I will find even more. What are your favorite resources from planning your wedding?? Let me know what you’ve used below!

17Apr2016

We’re Engaged!!!

Posted in Entertaining, Updates by meganandeggs

DYER_013_web So this month has been kind of crazy. On April 1, 2016 Chris asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. I know super girly, but I felt like a total princess & he made it one of the most amazing weekends of my life. He had his entire family there, our California friends, & best of all… my parents there to surprise me for the exciting day. I told you… princess.

Thursday he told me that Friday we would be going to dinner down in Dana Point & he kind of left it at that. Well, being the crazy person I am & hating having secrets, I asked him every question I could eluding to is this going to be the big day?? He wouldn’t tell me anything! Not even the restaurant that we were going to. Even when I confided in a few girlfriends… nothing. So when we got to Dana Point an hour before our reservation he suggested to go to the beach for a little walk.

About a year ago our best friend, Patrick, & I had found this little beach along PCH that I fell in love with. There are these amazing mansions along a gorgeous coast line, with a cute little boardwalk that is set below the houses & above the sand. (You’ve probably seen in on my Instagram a time or two. Beautiful.) Well like I said, I have fallen in love with this beach & I make sure I bring everyone I know here. So when we pulled in & Chris parked as far to the right of the beach I started looking around. Any car that I could recognize, but there was nothing.

After a lot of complaining, he finally got me to walk down the million steps, in my wedges, to the boardwalk. We hung out, walked & talked a little, until we were just about to the end when I said I needed to… go to the restroom… Yeah that’s right, girlfriend had to pee. So at the end of the boardwalk I hung left to head to the restroom & when I looked up there was my friend Bryan, a photographer, standing with his camera. (Check out his Website here and if you need someone in LA he is your guy!) Awkward. And oooh so nerve-racking.

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Chris grabbed my hand & pulled me down to the sand where we started to walk toward the end of the beach. There was a blanket set up, a few candles in lanterns, & in the corner was a mason jar full of notes. One note was rolled opposite the others & he handed me that first. A note from him. We chatted… well he chatted, as I shook with nerves, until he pulled out the ring, when I shook some more.

The rest of the notes in the mason jars? Notes from our families & friends of congratulations & best wishes. And just when I thought it was done, Bryan came over to do a little engagement shoot with us in front of the sunset.

So remember that terrible walk down the stairs I complained about before? Well now it was time for us to walk up… & yes I complained the entire time. Even after I took my shoes off. Holy crap! We got to the top, jokes around with Bryan, & as I was putting on my shoes & we got closer to the parking lot Bryan started backing off. And then I realized all of our friends & Chris’s family were standing in the distance.

We all exchanged, hellos & congratulations & as I was hugging my future mother-in-law, I saw my parents over her shoulder. Pure princess moment, & our night, or weekend were nowhere near over.

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We all headed down PCH to Salt Creek Grille where Chris & his parents hosted an amazing dinner for all of our guests, with some of the most delicious tri-tip, salmon, & ravioli I have ever had. And let me tell you the wine & Veuve Clicquot never stopped flowing.

Saturday morning everyone woke up & headed down to Temecula where we spent the day at the amazing Wilson Creek Winery. It was perfect since we had Chris’s younger siblings with us & Wilson Creek has a cute little picnic area with a playground. Everyone had sandwiches from the winery’s grille & we spent the day drinking, laughing, & soaking up the sun. After the winery everyone headed back to our apartment where Chris had already rented out our clubhouse area & we grilled, ate, & spent time mixing our families together.

The entire weekend was truly a fairytale. The only thing I could even think that would make it better is if my family & friends from Connecticut could have been there with us. But that just makes me look forward to the big day even more. I am so lucky to have such an amazing family, amazing family of soon to be in-laws, perfect friends & the man that truly makes me complete. As corny as it is, he is the ying to my yang & I am so lucky to have found him.

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