Recent Insta-shots + Giveaway Winner

Today makes up for all the relentless rain recently because it's gorgeous and warm out. My friend Jo and I took advantage by going on a walk and then sipping coffee outside Costa. With the sun on my back and an iced latte in my hand I almost felt like I was back in California. (Not quite Florida, because it would've been humid.) Yesterday I also managed to take a walk when it wasn't raining. With today as an exception, it's still been mostly cold here, but my Instagram shots show that Spring's sneaking its way in anyway.

And now it's time to announce the giveaway winner of The Hiding Place. Since not many entered, I put everyone's names on slips of paper and Kurt did the honors of pulling one from a bowl. So congrats Malisa, you're our winner! :-) Do comment below with your e-mail address so I can contact you.

I hope you all are having a great Monday!
Michaela Rae

A Peek into April

Sometimes a week flies by and all you have to show for it are Instagram photos (michaelaraej).

When I haven't been lost in Panem this past week, I've been taking long walks to soak up the slow (London likes holding on to its winters) change of the season. We also had friends from SoCal visit last weekend; it was so great to see familiar faces. Rachel was one of my housemates the year before Kurt and I got married, and her boyfriend, Josh, took our engagement photos. We stayed in central London with them in a beautiful flat that belongs to Rachel's grandparents. It was like a mini getaway in our own city. I love finding new ways to experience London and this was definitely one. We stayed literally right down the street from Westminster Abbey and Big Ben. I loved walking out of the flat each morning and seeing them. We felt so refreshed after spending time with friends and I think we're ready to take on these last 5 months in London.

I hope to get back into the swing of blogging this week but I have to be honest, I haven't felt like spending much time on my laptop recently and blogging's no fun when it feels forced. But I do have a couple recipes in mind that I'd like to share soon and I'm going to start carrying my camera around more to capture Spring in London. 

How was your Easter? I've loved seeing all the blog posts in my feed about taking time off and visiting family.  

Michaela Rae

Engagement Photos

We arrived back from Florida earlier this afternoon. Flights from Miami to LAX always feel endless, but I'm back and already in the swing of things. I'm in my Comparative Religions class now. So...tired...but it was worth it. Lindsey and Jared's wedding was beautiful. All was chaos leading up to it but in the end, it went not only smoothly but peacefully. They will lead a wonderful life and I am so excited for them! My friend and old roommate, Kaitlyn, made a blog post with photos from the weekend. They're so great. :-)

Kurt and I got our engagement pictures back from Joshua David Watson. Here are a few of my favorites. I especially like the first one, Kurt and I are holding one of the burlap signs I made and mentioned in an earlier post. I think it turned out really well.

Michaela Rae