2nd Wedding Anniversary!

Chris and I shared a wonderful 2nd Year Wedding Anniversary! Wow...we are in the plural folks ;) I love it. I have had such a great time being married to Chris and pray our marriage only gets better...if that's possible?! Chris surprised me with a gorgeous bouquet of 2 dozen roses as my work! A girl CANNOT complain about that! I had a big smile on my face all day.

Since we were both starving after work, we went to PF Chang's (clearly tradition even though we go there all the time) at 5:30pm! (hence the daylight)...wow I need a tan! We then went over to Fashion Square and did a little shopping. I got some amazing items at Anthropolgie...my favorite store ever!

Here's to another year of blissful marriage! :)

MDA Walk 2010!

Yesterday was the 2nd Annual MDA Walk (Muscular Dystrophy Association) around Tempe Towne Lake! We had such a wonderful time being a part of this extrodinary event. My cousin Kim did an exceptional job, once again, arranging all of the various details of our particular team, "Team Ambassador" in honor of their immediate family diagnosed with this challenging disease. It's so nice to have the chance to be there to support them in this journey...it has only brought our entire family closer!

Although we missed a few key people on the walk this year, we did have some surprise additions: Kimmy!!! (Crystal Hall) and Wallace! It was a riot having both of them there and they definitely added to the fun. Chris and I were so proud of Wall Ball for making it 3 miles around the Lake! He is one tough bully! And we are also proud of Crystal for maintaining her A.D.D. for 3 whole miles!! hahaa...I love you Kimmy!

This entry also marks the 1 year anniversary of my Blog! Looking forward to all future updates and thanking God for the wonderful blessings of the past year!

Check please!

Chris and I in Beverly Hills!


No time for the actual Universal Studio's theme park :(


The cork wasn't really secure on the olive oil...can you tell?


Hardrock! Our favorite :)


Michael Jackson's House! Where the ambulance backed out of...we met the lady who sold the "Stars Maps" on the corner and first spread the news!


Fresh Prince of Bel Air House! "....Nooowwwww this is the story all about how..." No?



Where to begin?...

Well, first...I am happy to be home and so is Chris! Our "weekend getaway" didn't turn out to be as FAB as we were hoping! "It's California!...we thought?....how could any part of Cali be bad?" It turns out, it can! Why didn't ANY of my friends warn me about Venice Beach?? Why?!

I dislike every part of Venice. And when you are staying in Venice Beach, we realized very quickly that it's not safe to go outside. Especially after witnessing a girl robbed of her phone within seconds of walking on the boardwalk. Not the best greeting. We felt a little deflated but kept on. Although Venice sucked, we figured Santa Monica, LA, some place near would be better. That was true except for the driving portion. Driving in LA is a nightmare!

I know I sound like such a downer but I need this entry to vent. I feel so bad that the trip didn't turn out since that was supposed to be my anniversary gift to Chris! :( After this, I am sure he doesn't want another gift from me...ever! haha.

We did have some fun parts of course, because we were together and it was great to really enjoy each other's company without the distraction of daily life. Turns out, we LOVE our daily life! ;) Cuddled in bed, watching movies! ;) We had to...again, Venice = scary day or night!

But throughout the trip I kept saying to myself "there's always DASH", a boutique I was very excited to visit (from Keeping up with the Kardashians). Well, this too, was a complete let down. The store was tiny, no cute clothes and waaaay overpriced! The girl at the counter was texting the whole time and didn't care at all if you were there. The good news? I went across the street to a boutique, The Vault, which was amazing! I found adorable items, the girl there was sooo helpful and Chris spoiled me!

The venting list could go on but hey, you live and you learn and at least we get the opportunity to travel and try new things. TO ALL MY FRIENDS: I do NOT recommend VENICE BEACH! ;)

I'm glad to be home and hope that my upcoming vacations are a lot better! ;)

A Couple-a Nights with the Girls!

Love these girls!


A true reaction to the nuggets! ;)


Love how my hair placement looks like I have no teeth!?


What a way to top off the end to a wonderful week! It was an ol' Chicago trip reunion with Laura, Jordan and myself out on the town :) We tried the new restaurant, Culinary Dropout, in Scottsdale and I must say...Incredible. I'm not sure if I am saying that because of the Pretzel Nuggets dipped in Warm Cheese, alone...but if that is the only thing you order, it's worth it. The atmosphere, too was great as we dined in our "Alice in Wonderland" type chairs!

Speaking of "Alice in Wonderland", that was Saturday! I will be buying Tim Burton's version the moment it comes out. So entertaining. Especially in 3-D! James, Jordan and I had a nice dinner at Tru-Food (another favorite - darn you Sam Fox...you are good!) and although the movie was fun, our main entertainment were the 3-D glasses alone.



Quick summary? The recipe to a great weekend: good friends, pretzels nuggets and 3-d Glasses. Loving girls' nights!

Routine, Routine, Routine!

This week has been unexpectedly AMAZING! For no reason in particular other than little surprises of "joy" coming my way. After a little reflection as to why I have been in such a great mood this week I realize I owe it to my new found "routine". I am such a creature of habit/lover of routine it's ridiculous. I thrive off of having a daily routine. Awww, the consistency, the predictibility...doesn't that sounds wonderful? Or should I say, absolutely BORING to any normal person? ;)

I am on Day 11 of my "healthy eating-working out-being productive" kick and I am going strong. Although I attempt these lifestyle efforts quite often, finally, I have been consistent! I get so down on myself for not sticking to something (because of course, when I am in the flow of a routine, I do my best work). In just these 11 days, I have found a routine that makes me feel so productive...which, my friends...is my favorite feeling! So naturally, this feeling keeps me in an excellent mood, thus affecting my attitude. Perhaps, that is why this week, although somewhat normal, seems fantastic!

But the few things that have happened? I closed a very challenging work deal and received great praise from my bosses; I made two new recipes, which were a success; I received unexpeted compliments that made me smile; we closed on a big deal at work and went for a little 1pm happy hour (can't complain about that!)...

From cooking for my husband (which I am starting to LOVE) to keeping the house clean, being productive at work and not sabotaging my diet (I wanted to soo badly last night!), I feel great! Awww, one step closer to being like Kelly Ripa on the Electrolux commercials! hahaa ;)


Side note, I found two must-see websites this week!
http://www.collegefashion.net/
http://foodgawker.com/

A Day at the Park....with the Pups of course!

One lovely, Sunday morning, my creative husband came up with the brilliant idea that we should take the bullies to the park! Crazy to think that this is something we have NEVER done....mostly due to the Lily/Daisy saga. That being said, we loaded Daisy and Wally into the Tahoe (they could hardly contain themselves). Fortunately, there weren't many other dogs out there so Daisy was released from her leash...she's such a good girl, and we also know that he running abilities are subpar ;) Wally had to stay on the leash but dad ran him around like crazy so he got his fill. I had so much fun capturing all the cute shots that I could. Clearly, most of my posts are repetitive and contain many bully pics but I just love my little family!