To Live and Die in LA

In 2001, after I visited Los Angeles and officially accepted my offer to attend USC, I played 2Pac's To Live and Die in LA on repeat in my car for days (because, ya know, I was hard-core, little, suburban blond girl that had 2Pac CDs). I was so excited that I was going to be living in the City of Angels.

So 11 years later it's a very bittersweet feeling to be leaving.

There are a few things about LA that I'm going to miss. A LOT. 

First and foremost, my friends. I've been best friends with these girls since college and I'm gonna miss them like crazy. But I'm sure I'll be back in LA a lot to see them.

Being just 25 minutes away from my beloved USC. Our commute to home games just got a lot longer. 

Our church, The Garden. We were SO blessed to find an amazing community of believers right here in downtown Long Beach. I'll miss our pastor, our church friends, and being able to walk to Sunday morning gatherings.

The USC Long Beach Alumni Club. I've loved getting to know this crazy crew over the past couple of years. Good people.

Our favorite restaurants and bars in Long Beach. Congregation Ale House, District Wine, Beachwood BBQ, Yard House, Allegria, Le Creparie, Wokano, George's Greek, and 555 East - I will miss you and your delicious eats, but my waistline won't!

 

There are a lot of things I won't miss, including, not limited to: LAX, The 405, pretentious Hollywood-types, the brown LA haze /smog, driving into West LA on the clogged side-streets, power plants/oil refineries located next to beaches, and random traffic jams at midnight.

The countdown is on, in just three weeks I'll no longer be a resident of LA. Eeeek!

You can't go home again

Last week we moved out of our condo, our first home.

We packed all of our worldly possessions and one sweet beast of cat in 50 boxes and moved away. (Note: the cat was actually in a bag)

I didn't take pictures of the boxes or the empty condo. Something about it just felt too sad to take picture of.

We didn't move far away for now. In fact we're just down the street in Long Beach. We can even see our old condo in the distance. The Mr. said that it's weird to see it, that it's like "seeing an ex-girlfriend."

So true.


The condo saw us through four years of precious memories -- the days leading up to our wedding, our first year of marriage, all of our "firsts" living together as a couple, our first pet, dance parties, football games, holidays, dinners together, decorating distastes, joys and even heartbreaks.

It feels so strange to think that I'll never be back there again.

Leaving was very bittersweet. Overall I'm glad to be moving on, but sad to be leaving the place that saw me go from giddy about-to-be-married girl to "mature" married woman.

So what's next, you ask? We're not 100% sure. We know our new rental is a temporary situation for a few months but we're not exactly sure where we are going next. We have some ideas and when one starts to pan out, you know I'll let you know. Cheers to adventures!

LBC Party, Sour Beer, and Other Adventures

On Friday night the Mr. and I threw a final party at our condo. The theme was "The Long Beach Experience" and it was so much fun!

We saw a lot of friends we hadn't seen in a while and I think people enjoyed our creative "Long Beach" theme.

As part of the party the Mr. wanted to do a Tequila Tasting, which was actually a huge hit! We sampled 7 different kinds of tequila (the Don Julio Anejo was my favorite). We even had scoresheets that I made up on the computer. Here's all the tequila in our freezer before the party started...

PS - We have A LOT of tequila left so if you ever want to drop by for a margarita let me know.

We also did a "Long Beach Visual Trivia" competition. I printed out pictures of 10 Long Beach landmarks/items and people had to guess what they were to win a small prize (Starbucks card).


This one was easy. It's the Queen Mary!


Visual trivia is a lot fun and the best part is that people can't look up the answers on their phones very easily.

Continuing with the Long Beach theme we also had handcrafted “Long Beach Longshoremen Burgers" and regional “Hipster” microbrew beer (I forgot to take pictures during the party because I was having too much fun).

Speaking of beer, I recently tasted "Sour Beer" for the first time and loved it! So I hunted some down at BevMo and had a couple of bottles of this Sour Beer for the party. Yum!


Have you ever tried Sour Beer? I guess it's an up-and-coming trend. The Week magazine (which I actually read every week) even did a little special on it last month.


A couple of weekends ago we drove down to Oceanside to have lunch with my parents. On the Oceanside Pier there were several of giant pelicans that clearly had no fear of people. Here is my Mom and a pelican that's almost her size!


Speaking of beasts... I often try to take pictures of our cat, Judah, but he rarely looks at the camera. A couple of days ago I caught him basking in the morning sun and snapped this pic with my phone. Consider your soul stolen, cat!


When I became a follower of Jesus almost seven years ago I bought an NIV Study Bible. If I have my way it will be my bible for the rest of my life. But recently the cover started to really peal and fall apart, so I covered it with some words and pictures I cut out from magazines and then "laminated" it with clear tape. I think it looks pretty nifty and it's not falling apart anymore. Crafting win!


And finally, because it's random/funny, here's a picture of a co-worker and I with "mustaches" at recent work party. Hers is actually a fu manchu, but you get the point, we're ridiculous. I'm so lucky that I work with such fun and funny people.

From a year of no change to a year of certain change

On New Year’s Day I commented to the Mr. that I felt like 2011 was a year of no change.

That was odd because if you had asked in late 2010 about what I thought 2011 would be like I would have said it was going to be a year of massive change. But it was not.

Instead we lived in the same condo, with the same jobs, with the same friends, cat, church, routines, etc. A lot of our vacations were even repeats of vacations of the past (Arizona, Oregon, Missouri). Even my job project change in July turned out to be not much of a change at all. My new project/client was so similar in terms of the people, company, and project objectives that sometimes it felt like I never left my old one (except for the insane workload I carried). In fact 2011 was one of the least change-filled years of my life. It wasn’t a bad year, but looking back on the year I felt like I couldn’t point to anything defining about it, like it was just kind of a “stuck” year.

Well I feel like God heard my comment and said, “You want change, eh? I’ll give you change!”



Earlier this week we found out that we are going to be moving.

This is something we’ve been planning for a while, but the pieces are finally coming together to make that move happen SOON. It will likely be a multi-phase move, which involves getting to pack up multiple times this year (lucky us!). I promise I’ll share more details on the whole thing later when we know more.

This move is sure to be a catalyst for a lot of change in our lives – it opens the door all kinds of personal and professional opportunities (for the record, neither of have any plans to leave our companies at this point but there may be some internal role/project changes for one or both of us). One of my biggest regrets was buying that dumb condo at the ripe old age of 24. For the the first time in along time we’re no long tied to a property or a city, and the possibilities for us are really endless.

There are so many unknowns this point, and this type-A girl is doing her best to roll with it and have fun. Enjoy the adventure, enjoy the ride. That’s what your 20s are supposed to be all about, right?

Summer Fun (aka Weddings and Travel)

I can't believe we're already a week into August! Summer always flies by, doesn't it?

And time is really flying for me because I'm waist deep in my new project at work and with all the travel/weddings that I told you about.

But I wanted to let you know what we've been up to lately before Summer becomes irrelevant...

Two weekends ago the Mr. and I attended his fraternity brother's wedding in Glendale (North LA). It was an Armenian wedding (think Kardashians). It was a beautiful wedding and we ate SO much! I've never seen so much food at a wedding in my life.

I happened to get my hair cut/colored beforehand that day, so my friend Carey who does my hair also did an updo for me so I'd look pretty for the wedding. Love her!


Here's the happy couple with their cakes. Also check out those huge centerpieces.



And finally, last weekend we went on our annual family camping trip to Ft. Stevens.

The Mr.'s whole family was there. Here we all are (minus my brother-in-law's wife who couldn't make it)...

Note: this picture angle makes me look extra short. I'd said it before, I'm not short. I'm 5'8"! But the Mr's family is so tall, even his Mom is just shy of 6 feet.

In Ft. Stevens I did lots of sitting by the campfire and reading...

Which reminds me that I should post some book reviews!

And we played a lot of board games and lawn games, like Bocce Ball.


We have spent a bit of time at home in Long Beach this summer. A couple of weekends ago we hung out with some friend who live in an apartment on Naples Island in Long Beach. Love this view from their "backyard."


Tomorrow we head to Missouri to see my extended family and go boating/boozing on the Lake of the Ozarks, so I'll be back with more pictures and travel tales soon!

What's new with us?

This summer is shaping up to be a SUPER busy one for us!

I feel like I hardly a moment free to just chill.

Thanks for all of your sweet birthday wishes. I had a very nice 28th birthday. On my actual birthday the Mr. and I went to Lasher's in Long Beach. It was really good! We had crab cakes, scallops, mushroom soup, and this yummy Hawaiian fish.

Here we before we left...


And before we left I tried to get a picture with Judah. He was NOT havin' it.

Seriously, can you tell how much my cat loves me? Ha!

The Mr. also got me some yummy mini-cakes from Rossmore Pastries as my birthday dessert. So good!


On Friday night I went out to dinner to celebrate my birthday with three of my best friends at a new restaurant called MB Post. It was AMAZING. It's tapas style so you get to try so many gourmet dishes. I'm definitely going back.

Also this weekend our USC Alumni Club did a Luau-themed brunch at Panama Joe's in Long Beach. So much fun!

But let me just say I am getting way to old to drink mimosas all day.

This coming weekend my God-Parent's daughter is getting married in San Diego. There are wedding events all weekend long starting Friday and ending Sunday. I am SO excited and happy for her!

I've known the Bride my entire life. Here we are when I was a tiny baby. I'm in the stroller and she's on the right with the curls.


The other girl in the photo is her older sister who just had her OWN baby on 7/7/11. Lucky baby! I'm excited to meet the newest addition to the family.

Besides San Diego the Mr. and I have a TON of travel coming up over the next few months. Seriously insane. More on that later though!

And to add to the craziness, my job is really crazy right now. There may be some big changes happening soon. Nothing I can say for sure yet, but I'll let you know when I know.

What kind of exciting stuff do you have going on this summer?

Babies & Cats, Grand Prix, Giveaways, more!

This post is about all kinds of stuff!

1. I saw the documentary "Babies" last night. So cute! And interesting to see how babies around the world live.

My favorite was the baby from rural Mongolia and his cat. The cat was so sweet to him and he was so enamored with the cat.

This just melts my heart...


The cat totally reminded my our our cat Judah. Don't you see the resemblance?


It made me excited for someday when Judah could meet and play with a future child of ours. I hope he'll be a nice "older brother."

2. The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach was a couple of weeks ago. We had a bunch of people over for a little party and then watched the races from the top of the parking structure by our house. So fun! I didn't take any pictures but my friend Brittney who was with us did. Check out her blog post about it here.

3. The Mr. meet his fundraising goal for his Tour de Cure for Diabetes race! Thank you to those of you (like Kirby from Good Gals) who were kind enough to donate. I love the blogging community! You girls rock!!


4. I donated blood yesterday. It was my fourth time so I'm really not squeamish about it anymore at all. Did you know that I have most rare blood type on earth? I'm AB-. Crazy, right?

5. I'm selling a gorgeous silk shantung strapless dress from ARIA in coral on eBay here.
The dress is this dress:


In this color:

Go the eBay post for more information.

6. My Seattle's Best Coffee and BlogHer giveaway ends on Saturday. You still have a chance to win $100! Go here to enter! It's really easy to enter to win!


7. I have a really busy weekend coming up -- Taste of Long Beach, USC Young Alumnae Scholarship Gala & Casino night, and a Tea Party to watch the Royal Wedding (DVRed)! I will try to take lots of pictures!

Identity Crisis Solved

A year ago I went to the DMV to change my name to First Name, Maiden Name, New Last Name.

And they would NOT let me.

My two choices were First Name, Middle Name, New Last Name or First Name, Middle Name Maiden Name, New Last Name. I blogged all about that drama here.

So for over a year my Social Security Card (which has my name as First Name, Maiden Name, New Last Name) and my Driver's License (which has my name as First Name, Middle Name Maiden Name, New Last Name) did not match.

Um yeah, that caused some problems!

Well, on Monday night while I was out celebrating my work promotion with the Mr. I somehow dropped/lost my driver's license. Ooops.

I decided that if I was going to go back to the DMV to get new license I should try to get my correct name on that license.

I'd heard from Mrs. Kiwi on Wedding Bee that the Culver City DMV let her get the name she wanted, so today I went over there to get a new license. I waited about an hour an half before they finally they called my number. Then I explained to the nice lady that the Long Beach DMV "accidentally" left my middle name and maiden name on my license and explained to her that I needed to drop my middle name to match my Social Security card. And guess what?! She let me! Hallelujah!

So in about seven days I'll be in possession of a California Driver's license that reads: First Name, Maiden Name, New Last Name. YAY!

Speaking of Monday night's promotion celebration here are some pictures from it.

The Mr. congratulated me with flowers, a card, and champagne. So sweet!


Hilarious card!


I changed my clothes and was ready to celebrate!


We enjoyed wine at District Wine, a fantastic new wine bar in our neighborhood.


And we ate sushi and drank sake at Wokano!


Does anyone else out there have any name change horror stories?

Life plans, Pete, mattresses and other random ramblings...

Happy Monday everyone!

This post is a bit all over the place because I didn't think that any one of these topics warranted a full post, but had some things on my mind...

First of all, I am devastated.

My hero (and major DILF), Pete Carroll, is leaving his head coaching job at USC. It's the end of an era. My era. As a Freshman I watched coach his first game at USC. And now the dynasty is over. You all know I love USC Football, so of course I will still be a fan. I just fear many years of "rebuilding" and will miss Pete terribly.



Second, I am officially old.

Why? Because I am SO excited about a big purchase we made this weekend. We bought a brand new Stearns and Foster mattress! It will be delivered on Wednesday and I can't wait. Shouldn't a 20-something gal be more excited about shoes or purses? Nope, I'm excited about a mattress.



Third, the Mr. and I mapped out a five year life plan last night on the white board in our conference room.

Conclusions we drew... Our condo is a giant albatross. Can't sell it, can't rent it. I'm mad that we thought buying was a good idea. Thinking about the economy makes me bitter in general. At any other time in the past 60 years this condo would have been a great investment. Post-graduate education is costly and time consuming. Is it even worth it? We'll never be able to afford kids. Seriously. And it all relates back to the stupid condo. Dang American dream. (sorry for the pitty party, but it's my blog and and I'll whine if I want to)



Fourth, here is random fact for you.

I am 5 ft. 8 inches tall. I had a reader tell me that she thought I was short because I always look so short in pictures with the Mr. Well, the Mr. is 6 ft. 5 inches tall. So he does make me look like a shrimp. Isn't that funny?



Fifth, I was thinking of getting a netbook for personal travel.

Do you think they are useful? Does anyone have one that they like?

The “Zeros” Decade in Review

As the first decade of the 2000s comes to close, it marks an interesting point in my life to ruminate on the first decade of my adulthood.

I entered 2000 as a 16-year-old child and will enter 2010 as a 26-year-old woman. So I thought I take an opportunity to reflect upon the "zeros" decade...

2000:
I ring in millennium at a friend’s party. All Y2K fears are unfounded. I get varsity letters in two sports. I start to date my first love (spoiler alert, he is not the Mr). I complete my Junior Year of High School. I travel to Australia. The USS Cole is attacked. "First Love" and I are so in love and swear we’ll be together forever. George W. Bush narrowly wins the Presidency. We all learn about hanging chad. I submit my college applications.

(2000 - High School tennis)

2001:
George W. Bush takes office. I’m accepted into several colleges and chose the University of Southern California. I graduate from High School. I turn 18. I register to vote. I spend a summer traveling across Europe. I move into the dorms at USC and begin freshman year. I stay with First Love, long-distance. I rush and join a Sorority. The September 11th attacks happen. I watch the tragedy unfold but somehow still attend classes and parties. I meet many of my current closest friends. The US goes to war with Afghanistan. I finish my first semester with a 3.7 GPA. First Love and I decide to “take a break.”

(2001 - Senior Portrait)

2002:
I return to USC. I get my first fake ID. I frequent the campus bars. The European Union launches the Euro. I date several guys on and off – including First Love. The dot-com bubble bear market reaches bottom. I get my first internship in Public Relations. I move into my Sorority house and become House Manager. I maintain an honors-level GPA. I struggle with emotional “Sophomore slump” and consider leaving USC to be a ski instructor. I decide to stay at USC.

(2002 - Hawaii)

2003:
I begin to date a guy that I never liked. We date for months. I complain to my Mom that I’ll never find “the one”. The US starts the Iraq war while I’m on Spring Break in Mexico. Bush declares “Mission Accomplished.” It’s not. I break up with “guy I never liked” and beg “First Love” to get back together. We do. Arnold Schwarzenegger becomes Governor of CA. I meet the man who will become my husband (the Mr.) at the campus bar. I am invited to join several academic honors societies. Wildfires blaze across Southern California. My family and friends evacuate their homes. I break up with First Love for the last time. I am elected Vice President of Membership for the USC Sorority Panhellenic Council. I start dating the Mr. I celebrate Christmas and New Years on a two week Caribbean Cruise.

(2003 - San Francisco)

2004:
Trains in Madrid are the targets of a terrorist attack. I intern in Investor Relations. I turn 21. I join Facebook. I orchestrate a large part of a successful USC Sorority Rush as VP of Membership. The Mr. and I tell each other that we love each other. I vote in my first Presidential Election. George W. Bush is re-elected. I interview with a large consulting firm and receive a job offer. I accept it. The Mr. takes me to a Christian church for the first time in my life. I complete my last class at USC. I get my first iPod. My family takes a cruise to Mexico. The Tsunami swamps Indonesia.

(2004 - Sorority sisters)

2005:
I watch the USC Football team win the National Championship in the Orange Bowl, in person. I work at several ski resorts before settling into my real job. I continue to date and attend church with the Mr. I graduate from USC with honors. I start my job at the large consulting firm. I move to Manhattan Beach, CA. London subways are attacked by terrorists. I become a follower of Jesus Christ and begin to know Him as my Lord and Savior. Hurricane Katrina wreaks havoc on the South. I survive my first project at large consulting firm and begin a new one. The Mr. moves to Long Beach, CA to work in mortgage banking.

(2005 - USC Graduation)

2006:
I continue to work for large consulting firm at several clients. I achieve “diamond” status at Hilton from traveling so much. I join a Church life group and attend with the Mr. I am baptized. My Mom and I travel around the Midwest for a summer vacation. While there, the London liquid terrorists are stopped. We are the first to experience the new travel rules. Arnold is re-elected Governator. Saddam Hussien is killed. The Mr. and I celebrate the holidays together for the first time.

(2006 - Dinner in Manhattan Beach)

2007:
The Mr. and I become members of our church and lead a small group. Nancy Pelosi becomes the first woman Speaker of the House. The Mr. leaves the suddenly shaky mortgage banking industry for a job in insurance. It was a good call. My uncle has a massive heart attack and stroke. My family spends weeks in the ICU with him. He miraculously survives. The Virginia Tech shooting happens. The Mr. proposes to me on the beach on my 24th Birthday! I start planning our wedding. “Don’t Stop Believing” tops charts thanks to the Sopranos. I receive a huge promotion at work. The Dow Jones industrial average records it’s highest ever close. I’m a Bridesmaid in my best friend’s wedding. Wildfires ravage San Diego again. My parents evacuate their home for an intense five days. Unlike many others, their house survives. My grandfather dies after his battle with Alzheimer's.

(2007 - Right after the Mr. proposed!)

2008:
I begin a wedding blog to be wedding planning outlet and get hooked. The Mr. and I purchase our first condo in Long Beach, CA. The China earthquake kills 90,000. I spend most of my spring and summer living and working in San Diego. I have my Bridal Shower and Bachelorette Party. The Mr. and I wed on 8/16/08 in San Diego. We honeymoon in Maui. John McCain selects Sarah Palin as his running mate. Wall Street falls apart. Barack Obama is elected President. I start The Newlyweds Next Door. We celebrate our first married Thanksgiving and Christmas together with our families.

(2008 - Wedding Day)

2009:
We watch USC win the Rose Bowl. The miracle on the Hudson River happens. We vacation in Breckenridge, CO and the Mr. falls in love with Snowboarding. Barack Obama is inaugurated. We vacation in Arizona. We worry about losing our jobs, but stay employed. Our new family member, Judah the kitten, moves in. Michael Jackson dies. I’m a Bridesmaid in a friend’s amazing wedding. We celebrate our one year anniversary. The H1N1 outbreak and vaccine scare Americans. We vacation in Boston. USC has one of its worst football seasons of the decade. But we are still fans.

(2009 - First Anniversary)


What will the next decade bring? ...

All I pray is that it brings faith, hope, and love.

(And a big house with a couple of kids wouldn't be bad either).

Considering that I'll be 36 by the time the two-thousand "teens" end, I'm sure there will be more change in my life in the next decade than I can even imagine.


Happy New Year to you all. Thank you for being my blog readers, my cheerleaders, my support group, and most of all, my friends. May your next year and decade be filled with peace, prosperity, and passion.