The Happiest Place(s) on Earth

A couple of weekends ago we spent two days at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure.

The parks were doing $99 for two days for California residents which is a pretty good deal. We hadn't been to Disneyland in a while and the Mr. had never been to California Adventure, so we decided to go for it!

We spent the first day at Disneyland...



We did some shopping on Main Street.


And rode a ton of rides.

I love this look of intensity on both of our faces on Buzz Lightyear.


We loved the throwback Captain EO 3-D Show. I TOTALLY remember seeing this as a child. The Mr. liked it so much that he bought a Captain EO shirt (see later pictures)


We pretty much rode all the key rides in the morning -- Indiana Jones, Big Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, Pirates of Caribbean, Star Tours, and Haunted Mansion.

Then we ate lunch at Blue Bayou (the restaurant inside of Pirate of the Caribbean). The food isn't amazing but the ambiance is great!

Then in the afternoon we rode some of the "kiddie" rides.

While in line for Small World a boat got stuck because it was overloaded. Hilarious.


For dinner we went back to our hotel, The Sheraton Anaheim, for free food and wine in the Club Lounge. Yum!


Then we back to the park to see the fireworks and ride a few more rides.


We did some goofing around on Space Mountain (the second time we rode it).



We spent the second day at California Adventure...


We had a blast riding the California Screamin' Rollercoaster and The Tower of Terror.


But I was most excited for the Little Mermaid Ride. I'd been wanting a Little Mermaid ride at Disneyland since I was 7 years old and it was my favorite movie. I don't even care that the ride is for kids, it was so great! Here's a little peak at a fish from it:


We spent most of the afternoon exploring the park, seeing some 3D shows, and having a couple of beers. I love that California Adventure serves beer and wine!


I hadn't been to California Adventure since 2002 and they've done a LOT to improve the park since then. The wharf section is so cute!


We really lucked out with weather. It was a gorgeous Sunday at the park!


We had a great time at the parks, but both of us concluded that it feels a little strange to be 30/almost 30 at Disneyland with no kids. We decided that the next time we go back we'll have to borrow someone's kids or bring our (not yet even conceived) kids.

This post will make you want to move to Southern California

Last weekend we went down the St. Regis in Dana Point (South Orange County) for another "staycation". We had two free nights that I earned from a Starwood promotion that were expiring in mid-December.

Here is the view from the resort!


And this was the view from our room.


We spent some time in the pool and spa...


And took some long walks on the empty beaches...



The weather was great. Clear and warm during the day and clear and chilly at night. We watched sunset from our room.


We also really enjoyed seeing how decked-out the St. Regis gets for Christmas...


We loved the "California Snowmen"


There was also an amazing sand sculpture in the lobby.


The lights all around the property were stunning.


I thought this inverted Christmas tree was pretty cool!


And this tree was HUGE.


Overall we had a great time at this beautiful resort. The one negative about the resort is that it's really isolated. There is literally NOTHING to do around it. So if you ever go, be sure to pack some good books to read!

Have you seen any fun Christmas decorations this year?

Trip Updates - Vegas Bachelorette and Laguna Beach Anniversary

I'm now two-thirds of the way through my travel-gauntlet summer. I'm having fun, but I'm exhausted!

I have tons of travel tales and pictures but I thought I'd share two recent trips...
Las Vegas for my Sorority Sister's Bachelorette Party and Laguna Beach for our 3rd Anniversary.

First, Las Vegas!


8 of us spent 2 fun-filled days in Vegas. We stayed at the Venetian (love that hotel). We went out to The Bank at the Bellagio one night and Marquee at the Cosmopolitan the other night. I really liked The Bank, but did not like Marquee (it was way way too crowded and the multi-level stairwells were a pain). I also had a lot of fun at pool party at the Venetian during the day.

Here's the Gamma Phis that were in attendance.

(Clearly I didn't the memo about which way to turn)

Second, our 3rd Wedding Anniversary in Laguna Beach.

Before we left we exchanged gifts (as usual)


The 3rd anniversary is the "leather anniversary" (that makes me laugh for some reason).

So the Mr. got me a leather travel jewelery case.


And I got him a leather grilling mit.


Then we drove down to Orange County and checked into the Ayres Hotel, had champagne and strawberries, and then got ready for dinner.


We had dinner at Studio at The Montage in Laguna Beach.


Amazing gourmet food! Seriously to die for. And the view was one of the best in the world.


Then the next morning we had a couples massage at The Ayres Hotel (we stayed there because a sweet friend gave us a Groupon for a free night and a couples massage). I really enjoyed the massage but I don't really understand the point of a couples massage. It's not like you talk or hang out during it, ya know?

Overall, we had a very wonderful Anniversary! Thanks for all of the well wishes for us on the blog and twitter.

I have more pictures and travel tales to come soon, so stay tuned!

Saturday Night in Hollywood!

I have a confession to make...

Although I live in "Los Angeles" I don't spend a ton of time in the part of LA that most people consider "Los Angeles", aka Hollywood/West LA.

But this past weekend we did a little "staycation" in Hollywood to attend my company's annual party.

We got a hotel room at The W Hollywood.

Note: My dress is from Nordstrom Rack and the designer is Adrianna Papell. The back is a fun cross-back and there are little rosettes on the bottom. I love it!

And really enjoyed the fun lobby scene there.


We did a little pre-partying in our hotel room at The W. We loved this "Mad Men-eque" bar.

Note #2: No we didn't drink that mini-bar booze, be brought our own beer. :)

The we headed to Supperclub for the annual party. Supperclub is a new nightclub in Hollywood that my company rented out for the evening.

The theme of the party was "Cirque Du Soleil" and they had real Cirque performers there. Like this contortionist who greeted us at the bar.


There were drinks, music, casino games, and a full Cirque show. So fun!

This Cirque performer was hula-hooping with a ring of fire. Can you say crazy?


I loved the acrobats. Amazing!


The Mr. tried to look very serious in our booth here. Not sure why.


I also had a chance to mingle with a bunch of co-workers and meet their significant others.

One co-worker, who I'll call "A" told me that she reads my blog. So I told her I'd post a picture of us on it (that's her on the far right). Hi "A"! :)


Overall it was SUCH a fun party. I'm so glad my company puts this on for us and our significant others. Thanks Large Consulting Firm!

Stay-cation

This weekend we have something to celebrate.

So we're doing a little stay-cation.

(That's a vacation where you stay in your own city)

We'll be going here:


Staying here:


Eating here:


And drinking this:



Big stay-cation recap coming next week. Stay tuned!