Playing Catch Up

Hi bloggies, it's been a long time but we've been a little bit busy these days. The biggest (and most time consuming) recent event was our final move. On Thursday of last week, we found out that we could move into our new apartment on campus on SATURDAY. So, after a visit to the dentist in Santa Monica for a temporary crown for me (ew), I headed back to Malibu on Saturday morning to move into our new place. It is slowly becoming a home and we are very excited and feel very blessed that God has made the transition so smooth for us. It's very difficult for 2 self proclaimed type-A's to relax and not rush into getting everything set up and in its perfect place right away, but God has given us lots of reassurance that little by litte, our modest apartment F26 on campus will be an awesome place to do His work as the new students begain to arrive in just a few short weeks.

But, let's back up a little and get you caught up on some Echols' happenings. The end of last week was really exciting because our friends that have been studying so hard and diligently were making their last minute preparations for the Bar Exam. On Thursday night, Jackie came over for dinner and dessert and it was great to see her before the 3 big days this week. We enjoyed some of this awesome fruit that we picked up at Costco the week before:


On Thursday night, I could hardly sleep because I was off work on Friday for a very special occasion. One of my very, very best friends, Sarah Kay was in LA for the weekend from DC for a wedding in San Diego. If you recall, she got engaged in June and she had asked me to join her and her mom in OC for a dress appointment. I was so touched and little did I know that she had a surprise for me...I'm her Matron of Honor! I can't wait for her June wedding in North Lake Tahoe. It will be beautiful to be there to witness her and Ryan begin their lives together. And, oh! The fun we will have planning, showering, chatting all things wedding until then. Anywho, she found a dress that she loved but we will be regrouping in August when the designer has a trunk show at the salon. They don't let you take pictures until you commit to purchasing (grr), so I wasn't able to get any photos of Sarah looking fierce in the gowns and THE gown. So, I had to settle with the outside of the salon but as a plus, the roses were quite beautiful outside the shop.


After the dress shopping, Sarah's sweet mom, Carol treated us to a lovely lunch in Newport. It was a perfectly girly day and I sure loved every minute of it...and it's just the beginning!

I also didn't feel so bad for my fun day while Aaron was stuck at work because he played a round of golf with his bosses in the afternoon. He left straight from the course when he was done so we met up at softball in Santa Monica. I'm happy to report that the Sweaty Nappers pulled out another "W" on Friday. Much to my surprise, the guys were in the mood to take pictures (it's crazy what winning will do to you) so I got a few good ones of the team:


Surprisingly, I haven't taken any pictures of our new place. I think I'm waiting for it to all come together in the next few weeks and then, hopefully, "wow" you with a photo tour...so, stay tuned. What I can share, however, is the first big purchase that Aaron and I have made together. We have discussed, at length (sorry, babe), furniture for our place. We have been so so blessed with how furniture has come to us...craigslist, friends, school furniture, etc. But something that we felt was really important was a good couch. We wanted something comfortable for us to lounge around on, but also, with Aaron being the RA this year, we wanted to make our home a welcoming place where we could entertain people. At the same time, with not knowing exactly what the future holds for us in terms of living situations, we didn't want to spend a ton of money on something we may have to end up giving away at the end of the year. Thankfully, we found a good lead on the easylife furniture website. Originally, we looked at this couch. We liked several things about: the price, the fact that it could be turned into a bed for guests, the storage space, and the sectional couch style. Did I mention those awesome pillows?
So, we decided to head through the canyon last night and check it out. When we got there, we were just a tad bit disappointed. It was small, and basically a glorified futon. Also, we didn't know what we'd do with our coffee table if we got it because the ottoman would take up room when it wasn't pushed together to form a bed. Funny enough, Aaron and I had both looked at this model online. We each, separately, thought that this couch was a lot nicer and may be worth the extra $100. After we looked at the original choice, we moved over to this one. I told Aaron that I thought it might be worth the extra $100 and he said that the sign said that it was a closeout and it was $599 ALSO! How cool, right? Because it's a closeout, there is no warranty and no financing but we were going to pay for it in full anyway and basically, we just have to examine it very closely when it is delivered since we don't have any warranties. We ended up getting it in the reverse (so the chaise will be on the right if you are looking at it head on) and we are just so excited. The only down side is that it was not available for delivery until 8/7 which is the day that we leave for Texas (woo hoo!) for our wedding reception out there. So, we are scheduled to have it delivered on Tuesday, 8/11. It's a bummer because we were hoping to have it sooner, but it gives us a very realistic timeline to get everything else unpacked so that all we're really waiting on is the couch. We pretty much floated out of the store...but not before I could take my own picture of the couch to drool over until 8/11:)
(yes, there is a random girl sitting on OUR couch--the nerve! Just kidding)


Isn't it so great? And it's totally comfortable. Right before we fell asleep last night, I kissed Aaron and thanked him for getting us our couch. He laughed, but I really am so thankful because I didn't think we'd be able to get such a nice couch right now. I already love it.

I hope that everyone's Friday is already off to a great start. We are looking forward to a weekend of unpacking a little bit but also taking some time to relax and enjoy these summer weekends, now that it's almost AUGUST and all. Time sure flew these last few months! We just had an awesome morning here at work because the Assistant Vice President is retiring today. We surprised her with a breakfast party and it was awesome to hear President Benton say some very kind and appreciative words about her. She is just one of the sweetest people I have ever met and she will be missed dearly here (even though she will work part time in archiving).
I was able to take just a few pictures at her party without ruining the mood too much, hopefully!

Whew, consider yourself caught up on us! Happy weekend, everyone!

"Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one."
Ephesians 6:14-16
(This was the Daily Bible Verse from ChristNotes the first day of the Bar Exam. So perfect!)