iBook funeral

I won't only be saying goodbye to 2009, but also to my beloved iBook. It's been acting up a lot lately, but I had no idea how sickly my poor computer was. All of a sudden it wouldn't turn on, but I could still hear the fan blowing. So I let the battery run out and tried plugging it back in and ta da! it came back on!! I was relieved until it I shut it like I always do after use, and I came back, opened the screen, and BLACKNESS again!! BOO!!! Looks like I will be spending my Christmas bonus on a brand new macbook. I am a little bit excited since the new macbook has a built in camera, better iPhoto, and lots of other really cool features, but I am so sad to be losing my baby. The iBook changed my life! Cheers to you iBook..and here's to a bright future at the recycle shop!

My 2009 slideshow will have to be postponed until January. Stay tuned...

Happy New Year!

Photobooth Fun

This year at our Company Christmas party, they had a photobooth from Moore Photography. Turned out to be the highlight of the evening!!

ROAR times two

The most annoying thing in the world is losing cell phone reception in the middle of a conversation. "What did you say? I can't hear you, you're breaking up! What?? Repeat the last 5 minutes of what you just said because I could only here every other syllable!" UGGG that crap drives me INSANE.

Edit: Mom, don't worry I'm never annoyed with you - just the cell phone! With all this advanced technology, I don't see how not having reception is even possible!!

SO for those of you who can never talk to me anymore since I don't get very good cell phone reception at my house - we now have a land line with unlimited long distance. If you want the number, I'll give it to you. But, if you know me at all, you know I prefer email over phone calls anyday. Is email too impersonal? I dunno, but I bet those of you who email me and read this blog know more about me than those who strictly use the phone. Get with the times people!

Ok, enough ranting for now.

(I've noticed a trend where if my contacts are really bugging my eyes, I get irritated about other things more easily. That is the case right now. ROAR eyeballs!!)

Twenty Seven

Steve took me out to Madonna Inn on Saturday night to celebrate my 27th birthday. I chose Madonna Inn because I wanted to go somewhere festive and bright! Oh my, Madonna Inn was the PERFECT place for holiday cheer. They had the entire place decked out in snowy Christmas trees, giant ornaments, garland galore, flowers, tinsel, and everything else that you might consider to be a gaudy Christmas decoration. They had it all! My favorite part was the old-man band playing Christmas songs and other lovely tunes and watching all of the cute couples cha-cha-ing and swinging. I had a tender Filet Mignon (what else?!) and a complimentary (giant!) piece of Black Forest Cake, complete with a sparkling candle. What a treat!! Thank you Steve for taking me out for the third year in a row! I'm a lucky girl.

Twenty Seven

Steve took me out to Madonna Inn on Saturday night to celebrate my 27th birthday. I chose Madonna Inn because I wanted to go somewhere festive and bright! Oh my, Madonna Inn was the PERFECT place for holiday cheer. They had the entire place decked out in snowy Christmas trees, giant ornaments, garland galore, flowers, tinsel, and everything else that you might consider to be a gaudy Christmas decoration. They had it all! My favorite part was the old-man band playing Christmas songs and other lovely tunes and watching all of the cute couples cha-cha-ing and swinging. I had a tender Filet Mignon (what else?!) and a complimentary (giant!) piece of Black Forest Cake, complete with a sparkling candle. What a treat!! Thank you Steve for taking me out for the third year in a row! I'm a lucky girl.

Urine Scented Carpet #2

Last week we finished our second bathroom re-model. And by re-model I mean replacement of the urine saturated carpet with something more sanitary. We also installed another new toilet so now our guests can find comfort in the fact that they no longer have to expose their precious bums to a crusty-butt-rusty toilet seat with 20+ years of who-knows-what all up in it.

BEFORE

AFTER

A Plan for Japan

A friend of mine has a co-worker that grew up in Japan. She asked him for suggestions for our honeymoon. Here is what he said:


I suggest below.

Tokyo Area

O-daiba --> Bay Area / Great night view / Nice restaurants / amusement park / good mood for honeymoon

Asa-kusa --> Traditional style Tokyo / Sen-so-ji (Temple) / Mon-Ja-Yaki (Local special food) should have it / Restaurants are not much clean but do not worry Japan is not same as China.

Ueno --> Many Museums / Zoo

Kabuki-Cho --> Most energetic night area in Asia. Very bright at night like Las Vegas. Please be careful to get into Bar or mysterious store, you will get unbelievable charge. And if you refuse that charge, you can see Japanese Mafia. You can try if you want. It calls Bo-tta-kuri. Becareful.

Rop-pongi--> many many many foreigners dancing all night. A lots of night clubs. You can find your friend, may be.

Aki-ha-bara--> The town for Electric store / Holy land of Man-ga (Japanese Comics) /Maid Caffe / You can see strange young Japanese people. (always wearing costume but not Halloween.)

West of Japan

Kyoto is oldest town in Japan. They have many (more than 100) temples and traditional style town. Some of them are world heritage.


Did that make you laugh too? Did it also make you really want to check out Japan? Me too! I can already tell this is going to be an insanely awesome vacation.

Winter Wonderland

It snowed in Arroyo Grande!!!! Just kidding. This week, we had a few mornings where we woke up and it was a brisk 31 degrees outside! The frost shimmered all over our lawn and it's probably the closest we'll ever get to real snow, so I had to capture the moment! It really does look like a light snow powder, doesn't it?! Unfortunately, our avocado tree and tomato plans bit the dust due to the frost :( They are all brown and saggy and forlorn!!!!!

We decided to put up our very first REAL Christmas tree this year because we are going to be home Christmas Day this year. Every other year, I had a mini tree that I set up in the corner of my small apartments, but now we had an entire room to fill with Christmas spirit!! Wahoo! I got some really snazzy LED lights and a few new ornaments and a tree skirt. Now we just need some gifts under that tree...

Actually, that reminds me of one of my best Christmas-time memories. A few years ago when I was living in my quaint little studio cottage, my mom came to visit for my birthday. I've already written about this visit but I just want to say how I will always remember it! My mom is really really good at making my birthday and Christmas sooo special. She has the best eye for holiday decor, does incredibly thoughtful things (like stocking my fridge!!), and makes everyone feel warm and loved. And she always knows just what to get people - whether it is a soft plush blanket, a classic movie, or some homemade popcorn, she gets it right every time! She is the most selfless person I know! Every time we spend time with my mom, Steve always says, "Your mom is SO nice." Last year we spent Christmas in Montana and she was always busy making us yummy meals, baking cookies, and ensuring everyone was comfortable. I am sad we won't be spending Christmas with my mom and Phil but at least we had a nice Thanksgiving all together. But, I must say, it's never the same without her festive spirit! I hope to be JUST like her because she is incredible!

It's the little things...

I am madly in love with rice krispie treats drizzled with marshmallows, chocolate chips and peanut butter. If I had more self control with sweet treats I would probably cut it up into small portions and eat a yummy morsel every so often. But no, instead I plan on indulging in the entire 4" x 3" slab in under 5 minutes. OH the freedom of being an adult! (Steve just came into my office and asked what I was chomping on...he asked to try a bite and his eyes lit up and he said, "wow, who knew!?" hahahaha that was the best reaction to a rice krispie treat ever. )

Anyway, I am also glad that I live in California because whenever I have to fill out any online forms, and it asks for my state, I don't have to scroll way down forever.

I am also thankful that I have a cozy home that isn't as cramped as this one in NYC. Although, I would have probably liked that three years ago when I was single and living on my own.

If you know me at all, you know I hate being cold!! Steve got me the coolest blanket that plugs into the cigarette lighter of the car and heats up! Now, when Steve is burning up with the heater blasting, he can turn it down and I'll be just fine! Best. Invention. Ever.

Christmas came early this year!

Today is the perfect day to try out my new Bogs wellies! These were an early Christmas/birthday gift from my dearly Beloved. Now, I can splash in the puddles and slosh through the mud...in style! Thanks Billy!

I know what you're thinking - how on earth do you find a gift for him that is as good as purple and green wellies? Well, I got Steve a brand new Echo weed trimmer! Now he has a nice collection of tools and power equipment to make our new home shine!! Cheers!

Cozy

Steve's first attempt at making a fire in our fireplace. Success!!!

Look how they shine

Last night on So You Think You Can Dance, a group called The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers performed a number to "Yellow" a Coldplay tribute by The Vitamin String Quartet. This dance blew my socks off. I had to watch it a few times and even Steve was impressed. I accidentally deleted the episode so I am so happy I found a video of the performance so that it lives on my blog forever!! These dancers are incredible - some of the stuff they do is mind-boggling and defies gravity AND to top it off, the song is so beautiful that I'm considering it for walking down the aisle...take a look (and a listen!)

Honeymoon Adventure!

When we first started talking about our honeymoon, we immediately ruled out anywhere tropical. Yeah, we're weird. But - we've both been to Hawaii, Steve's been to Jamaica and Costa Rica, I've been to Cancun and Cabo and we have little interest in the bahamas, caribbean, etc. We were looking for a place with lots of music, CULTURE, theatre, museums, interesting sites and people, not beaches.

Initially, we wanted to keep it simple and go to Vancouver, Canada for a week. We've talked about visiting Vancouver before and know it would be an awesome vacation. But the more we thought about it, the more we realized that we should take advantage of this opportunity to go on a REAL holiday and GO BIG!

So, we thought about Iceland. Iceland would be sooo romantic and beautiful. We'd hike around a lush, green countryside, graze with cool animals, and jump into geothermal hot springs. We'd get to chat it up with the Norse and learn about their unique culture. Definitely our style.

Our next thought was Japan. JAPAN! Who goes on their honeymoon to Japan?! Looks like we do! We thought it would be an excellent place to immerse ourselves into an entirely different culture, explore a bustling city, take the bullet train to fishing villages and gorgeous shrines, and eat really good sushi! So, it's official: we're going to Tokyo!

Best BFF Bisit

So I have a list. A list of things to do in my life. Since 2001, "hike to the P" has been on that list. Well, 4 years after graduation, I can finally cross it off! For those of you who don't know what the P is, take a look:

Heather came to visit for a night and it was her brilliant idea to accomplish our goal! We don't really know why it took us so long to do this because it was like a 5 minute hike. It took longer to walk from the parking lot to the trail head than it did to get to the P. But boy oh boy it was worth the wait!! The view was spectacular and we chose the perfect time to hike! It wasn't too hot, and the hills were the loveliest shade of green. We could see all of Cal Poly and San Luis Obispo and it brought back lots of memories of the town where we entered adulthood together.

Heather, thank you for coming all the way from Hawaii to see me!! I am so lucky that I get to call you my friend!! You are one of the best people I know. And by BEST I mean you make this world a really, really, incredibly awesome place to live!!

Location Location Location!

As I briefly mentioned before, I changed my wedding venue to Edna Valley Vineyard. Our wedding website is officially up and running and is linked over on the right if you're interested.

Next up:

• meet with Caterer and choose a menu
• block rooms for guests
• decide on a honeymoon destination
• finish invites
• meet with a florist
• much much more...I LOVE wedding planning!

Succulent Heaven

Here are two more ideas for my wedding favors...

Engagement Photoshoot

We love Maren and Michael from Applemoon Photography! Earlier this month, we met at our place to have some fun taking engagement photos around our house and at Baileyana Winery down the road. It was a little tough convincing Steve to do the photoshoot, but I swear, after a few beers and a couple loops around our property, he was lovin' it! I always call him my personal male model, and that day he really owned it!! I am so proud of him! Here are a couple of the photos, but you can check out Applemoon Blog or slide show for more! Plus, I'm going to turn them into a Save-the-Date card, and a guestbook for the wedding! Enjoy!

Lovely Ladies

A couple of weeks ago, my girls came to visit to partake in some wedding planning. We went cake tasting at Eclair Bakery in Arroyo Grande which turned out to be a BUST. I sent them a list of different cake and frosting flavors to try and they promised to have everything we wanted for the tasting. That morning, I got a call saying "as you know, there is no fresh fruit in season, so we couldn't make any cakes with fruit in them. We tried Trader Joes, but they didn't have any fruit. (WTF!?!?! There's ALWAYS fresh fruit in California) Oh and we ran out of lemoncello so we can't make the raspberry lemoncello that we offered. But, come on in and you can still taste some. But no one will be here to answer your questions, but have fun!" So we show up, and the cashier brings out three cupcakes - all chocolate cake, one with chocolate buttercream, one with vanilla buttercream, and one with raspberry buttercream. The cake was dense and dry and the frostings were yummy, but nothing special. Originally I had asked for ONE chocolate option as well as carrot cake, champagne cake, vanilla cake, a cream cheese frosting, some fresh fruit on some of them, etc..but we got jipped!!! It was the worst cake experience ever! And really, no one would ever expect cake tasting to go bad. DON'T USE ECLAIR BAKERY FOR YOUR WEDDING!!

Anyway, after that we went to look at See Canyon Fruit Ranch to show the girls the wedding location (even though I've just changed my mind and decided to have the wedding at Edna Valley Vineyard...that's another story). Then finally we got an ice cold bev at the Custom House in Avila Beach and relaxed!!

The girls tried on their bridesmaid's dresses and we added a lovely ivory sash to go with them, which really made the dresses shine. I am soo excited to see my girls all dolled up on my big day!! I tried on my dress for everyone with my J. Crew sash and it was a winner!! We are going to be BEAUTIFUL!

We went to Dell's Pizza for dinner and laughed over a bottle of wine, then ventured down to the Village to check out the wine bar. Cute place, but we missed the live music by 5 minutes!! :(

Sunday we went to the Bridal Faire and had a blast trying all of the food and cake samples (and champagne!!). I found a few florists I liked, and looks like we're going to go with Anacapa BBQ company for the caterer, and either Christine's Cakes or The Cakery. I am so glad my girls were able to come visit me and give me advice and make me feel special. Special thanks to my mom and Phil for breakfast at the Apple Farm!! Love you both!!!

P.S. We missed you Heather and Jillian!!

"Awe is what moves us forward"

Remember that post where I described my drive to work? Well, now I have pictures to prove it! I took these this morning from my camera phone. Look at that gorgeous blue sky and those luscious green vineyards! I am one lucky girl!

Slither

Saw the very first snake on our property over the weekend. We think its a King Snake about 2-3 feet long. It scared me half to death, but at the same time, the black and white design is so stylish don't ya think? After I shot this picture, it slithered into a tiny hole into the darkness. Eeekk! This is why I am scared to walk around after dusk!

New Hair!

Style Me Pretty

Oh my god, Rachel taught me the best trick ever!! Stylemepretty.com has the coolest tool for creating inspiration boards! I made my very own below :) I also used a color pallete tool on Colourlovers.com. I am obsessed with this stuff. Love, love, love it! Thanks, Rach!

In Brief

Here are some wild things happening in my life:

• A squirrel chewed through some important wires (and pooped!) in my engine and my poor car was M.I.A. for a few days until Steve miraculously repaired it and it's as good as new.
• I am a Cal Poly student again - taking thermodynamics as a pre-req for the Environmental Engineering Masters program, which I HOPE to be applying for at some point. (Which also means when someone asks my favorite question, "do you go to Poly?!" I have to say YES. S&FS^S*S*!)
• We recently bought a John Deer Tractor (actually it's technically a riding lawn mower, but tractor sounds so much cooler). It's big, green, and shiny and has a cup holder for an ice cold bev!!! Now, if we can just figure out how to turn it on...
• I also bought myself a brand new food processor so I can pretend to be Ina Garden (is that her real name?!) from Barefoot Contessa. I REALLY want to go to one of her dinner parties.
• Getting my hair cut and colored next week! Like this:

Sash Me

My new best friend is the UPS delivery man because he brings me lots of J. Crew goodies! (If only he were paying for them!) Yesterday, I squealed with glee as I saw the oh-so-pretty J. Crew box perched on the porch and inside there were two cotton blouses that I just couldn't live without, a pair of giant black pants that I am going to return immediately, and the loveliest slice of heaven that I call The Perfect Wedding Dress Sash. Actually, I am anxiously waiting to try it with my dress when my maids are here to give me their thoughtful opinions. ;) But either way, it's the sweetest little sash I ever laid eyes on and I just want to squeeze it and pet it and try it on with EVERY outfit.

I love you, Jenna's Picks and Free Shipping! Oh, did I mention 20% Off Fall Sweaters? And where have these adorable WELLIES!!!! been all my life?! J. Crew is going to be the end of me.

My Summer Heart

Summer is coming to a rapid end and for the 3rd year in a row, Steve and I did not fully enjoy the sweetness of summer because we were too busy searching for a place to live, packing, moving, and unpacking and oh my god THANK the LORD this was the last time. As much as I love the warm weather and long days of summer, the coming of Autumn always makes me feel incredibly good inside. I can taste the brisk evening air on my tongue and it reminds me of peppermint mochas, visiting the Avila Barn, slipping into a cozy sweater, baking cookies and making my famous "leftover soup". I love the changing of the leaves and all season long I day-dream about jumping into piles of crunchy leaves in New York's Central Park. One day!

The last week of summer has been calm and relaxing. My scar is starting to heal up - see! The Doc did a great job using one of my pre-existing neck wrinkles as a template for the incision. Way to go!

I got my new camera lens (thanks for the recommendation, Maren!) and I absolutely love it! I always had a hard time getting close-ups on objects with the perfect crispness and background blur (there might be a photography term for this), but now I can get that perfect, artsy shot! I haven't had many opportunities to shoot much yet, but I've been practicing on my roses outside and of course Steve's lovely face! I am hoping to get some nice photos to print and hang around our house like I did before.

Steve has been busy fixing sprinklers, pulling weeds, organizing the garage, catching gophers and his latest victim - a big, fat, hairy, RAT! Steve is in heaven at this place.

click photos to see full size

Some exciting things coming up:

• Engagement Shoot with Applemoon Photography!! - October 11
• Bridesmaid weekend - October 17, 18 (cake tasting!!!)
• Bridal Fair - October 18
• Thanksgiving in Idaho - November 26-29

How to Delight Me

• Let me shake up the champagne so that it really pops when I open it
• Bring a back-up bottle of champagne so we don't have to drink the now bubble-less bottle that I already popped
• Do the dishes
• Tell me it's time for ice cream and serve me a great big bowl
• Email me and tell me about your life
• Take me to Ikea
• Come over for dinner
• Take me to The Grove to eat the best sweet potato fries on earth
• Give me a back rub
• Dance with me
• Surprise me!
• Talk about your favorite music and what it means to you

How to Annoy Me

• Respond to my email with a phone call
• Talk on your cell phone while ordering food, banking, checking out at the grocery store, etc.
• Wipe your nacho cheese Dorito fingers on my couch
• Blast the Air Conditioning
• If you are a complete stranger, ask to try on my engagement ring
• Use your left blinker signal, but actually turn right
• Wait 10 seconds before you start moving forward when the light turns green
• Heat up your leftover fish in the lunchroom at work
• Ask me if I go to "Poly"
• Ride your bike along Orcutt road
• Install carpet in your bathroom
• Say, "it is what it is"
• Bring goatheads into the house
• Talk to me about football

Laboratory Findings

Ten days ago, my ENT removed what he thought was a thyroglossal duct cyst from inside my neck. After a grueling and uncomfortable week being horizontal on the couch, I went to have my ONE stitch removed and the first thing out of the doctor's mouth was, "so there was a surprising lab test result..." which TOTALLY freaked me out, but he went on to tell me that the "cyst" was actually a random lymph node!! WTF?! He said he has never seen a lymph node growing where it was growing in my neck, and that he was shocked to hear these results. He said removing it will do no harm what-so-ever, so it was probably best they took it out since it is so unusual anyway.

I am recovering pretty well. The front of my neck is pretty sore and I still can't look upwards completely. Unfortunately, the left side of my neck is swollen so I have half a double chin. Sexy! Pray to the goiter gods for me!

Definitely NOT a Bridezilla

I've sorta stopped wedding planning at the moment because of all of the house stuff and surgery, but I am hoping to get back into it soon! Next on the list: caterer, musician for ceremony, groom and groomsmen clothes, and registry! We're probably registering at Crate and Barrel, Home Depot, and one other place. I also need to figure out transportation, lodging for the wedding night, and where on earth we're going on our honeymoon! I would LOVE to do an engagement shoot so I can use the photos for a guest book and save the dates, but not sure it's in the budget anymore :( We'll see if we can save our pennies!!

Here is some more inspiration from one of my favorite wedding blogs, Green Wedding Shoes. The photos below are from a couple different weddings featured on that blog. I love the colors and textures of the flowers and of course the use of succulents in the bouquets. I am also thinking about using cupcakes instead of a traditional wedding cake and I like the simplicity of these below.