We started this blog about a million 8 years ago in preparation for our wedding. We wanted a space to share the planning and excitement of the upcoming event with our friends and family who lived nowhere near us. Since then, it has grown into a healthy snapshot of our life together through multiple moves, home improvements, a mini schnauzer rescue, and extensive travel photos.

And perhaps unexpectedly, I’ve made several online friends whose blogs I’ve been reading for years; None of whom I’ve ever met in person.

One of the more surreal (and flattering) experiences I’ve had was this post. Her incoming link was how I found her blog a few years back and I’ve been hooked ever since.

So, upon planning our recent trip to San Francisco, I contacted Leah of agirlandaboy.com to see if she (and Simon!) were free any of the nights we would be in town. They met us for dinner in Oakland on Monday night and although we were all exhausted from a busy weekend—birthday partying and visiting with friends for them and us hiking and driving around—we had a wonderful time at dinner. We felt instantly comfortable with them (the glass of wine may have helped on my end, hee!) and there was never a pause in the conversation.

I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to travel as much as I do, and when it gives us the chance to finally meet people that we’ve technically known for several years, well, that’s a pretty sweet chocolaty icing on the cake.

Thanks again guys for the lively company and a very tasty restaurant suggestion! :)