A Year in Review

Looking back on 2011 brings lots of smiles to my face.  It was a year filled with growing, surprises, changes and love.  Here is my year in review...

 January...

We rang in the new year with friends Mad Men style.

I spent lots of nights with the girls.

February...

I won my work Super Bowl pool! $800 in my pocket:) 

My mom won teacher of the year! 

My sisters BF went to Afghanistan for his first deployment with the Marines {he arrived home safely in September}.  

I threw an Oscar party for my favorite night of the year. 

March...

I started running more, a lot more.

Celebrated Mardis Gras in Hollywood with our best friends.

Learned that my best friend/SIL and her husband were planning on moving back to GA later that Spring.

Kanye West visited my office.

Went to my first work party in Hollywood.

April...

My BIL came to visit us for a week.

Foster the People entered my life and it hasn't been the same since!

We threw an insane Easter party...random I know.

Traveled to Atlanta for my childhood best friends wedding!

Wills and Kate tied the knot!

May...

Booked our trip to Cabo

June...

I made no sew curtains for our bedroom

I put together by top 32 by 32 list

We could finally talk about C&D expecting their baby boy!

July...

My parents came to visit

Celebrated my bday in Coronado/San Diego

Carmageddon happened

My college bestie came to visit

I enrolled in a month of Bar Method classes

August...
We bought a new car
Bar Method and The Help took over my life
We went to Cabo

September...
My BF starred in a new movie, Drive
Booked a trip to SF for Marco's bday
College Football season started
 Ross came back home from Afghanistan
Marco and I celebrated our 4 year wedding anniversary

October...
Participated in my first Blogger Meet-Up!
The Ocean Black went on Kickstarter
Spent lots of Saturday's at C&D's for college games

November...
Marco's parents came to visit
Marco turned 30!
Celebrated in San Francisco
LA Family Thanksgiving
Broncos/Chargers game in SD

December...
Kanye West & Jay-Z concert
Baby Decker arrived on 12/15
Trip to Atlanta for Christmas

Cheers to a Happy & Healthy New Year!

Source: typeverything.com via Julie on Pinterest

IT'S CHRISTMAS!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I have always LOVED this picture.  

I hope your Christmas morning is as exciting as Virginia's!

God Bless:)

Christmas Eve

{Photo Credit}

Merry Christmas Eve Friends!
I hope you are having a wonderful evening filled with lots of joy and laughter. 

Tonight we will be celebrating with my parents & sisters at my in-laws.

Everyone I cherish together...I could not be more blessed.  

Home Sweet Home

Source: catstudio.com via Gale on Pinterest

The holidays can start now!

This week is going to be a whirlwind filled with lots of family gatherings, food, wine, laughs and political debates {M loves ruffling a few feathers with his parents}!

The itinerary has been sent.  

Everyone is on board.  

Let the festivities begin!

The Most Perfect Day to be a Friend

Today is the most perfect day for me to be a friend to these two women.  

They are both going through major life changes at this very moment and I couldn't be happier.

Congratulations Allie and Brock (her hubby) on becoming homeowners!  I can't wait to see your beautiful castle next week with my very own room;)  I know you both have so many wonderful ideas due to the many hours your have spent watching HGTV.  Your home will be the talk of the neighborhood because it will be styled to perfection.

Corey, Devin & Decker, I love you all to pieces.  I pray your labor is as smooth as possible.  Tonight after work you know I will be there with a bottle of champagne to celebrate.  I can't wait to spend time with your little man.  You are totally going to make me want to have babies;) {just kidding}

Never Say Never

When I first moved to LA I said I would NEVER live in or around Hollywood.  It is gross, crowded and overrated.  Well times are changing folks because MG and I are on the move.  Yep, after a lot of talking about it we are finally committing.  We are looking to move by the end of the year to either Los Feliz or Silver Lake.  

 

{Photo Credit}

This will probably come as a shock to my local friends who read my little blog because in the past I have been a Westside Snob.  Well times are changing for a few reasons.

We went to a BBQ with friends who live in that area.  They just moved into a 2 bedroom with wood floors for about $400 less than what we pay now.  The $ that we would be saving in rent would help us pay off debt, so much so that we could be debt free in less than a year.

We will be able to travel more.  This is a big priority of ours for the next year.  Kids are about 8 or 9 or 10 years down the road {I will save my reasoning for another post}.  We want to see the world before we settle down and start a family.

A puppy!  I know this contradicts with #2, but we really want a dog and in our apartment now we can’t have one so we will have to move anyways.

MG’s best friends live in this area.  He is super fortunate to have built a great group of friends while at film school.  They are all passionate, hard working and like my brothers.  

The restaurants are better.  Most nights we cook because we don’t want to waste our $ on crappy meals.  When we move I will miss Deloris’ for sure, but we will be closer to The Griddle.  I would say that is an equal trade.

My commute would be cut in half. Major plus!

Our ultimate goal is to end up on the Westside again.  The 3 to 4 year plan is to be able to get a place in Venice.  The 10 year plan is to own a home in the Palisades and start a family.  {Big dreamer right here!}

This weekend we are starting the hunt.  Honestly, I couldn’t be more excited about this change.  

{Photo Credit}

9/11

Friday should be happy, but this one just feels a little bit different.  With the 10 year anniversary of 9/11 on Sunday it has brought up emotions all over again for us Americans.  

Today my friend who works in NYC posted a picture on FB from her office window.  It overlooks the WTC memorial. 

None of us will ever forget that day.  

I was a Senior in HS in 2nd period Sociology with Ms. McGee.  We were in the computer lab that day researching professions we might be interested in perusing.  The bell had just run, Mel and I were walking out the door and Ms. McGee yelled, a plane hit the WTC in NY just a moment ago.  I immediately looked at Mel and said the US is being attacked and Osama Bin Laden is behind it.  It is still very weird to me that I immediately knew this.  There were stores of friends family members who worked in the building who made it out alive.  The whole thing was so surreal. 

MG and I already had a trip planned to NYC in November for Thanksgiving.  {Yes, my parents were crazy or very trusting to let the 2 of us go out of town by ourselves when I was still in high school.  His uncle had an apartment there and would travel to Paris every Thanksgiving.  He would leave it to us for the week. Yep, it was awesome!}  We were debating on going or not, but both of us craved to be in the city.  We wanted to pay our respect to the lives lost on that tragic day.  It was so emotional.  It was less than two months in so the clean up effort was very little.  One image that will always stand out in my mind was waiting in line and looking up at the trees.  There were blinds, shoes, cords and other random items stuck there covered in soot.  It was so bizarre.  

I would like to thank our troops for keeping us safe, our first responders who did exactly what they are trained to do without any hesitation and the American people.  We united as a country and it felt amazing to all be routing for the same team.  

Team America F Yeah! 

{I loved this movie and it is one of my favorite quotes and I wanted to end on a lighter note.}

{Photo Credit}

Reflection

In the past 3 to 4 months my personal life has changed drastically.  Mainly for the better, but it has taken some getting used to.  Earlier this year MG and I were in the same old routine day in and day out, which I was fine with.  One day I told him I wanted a change.  I wasn't sure what type of change I wanted but just something to spice up our everyday life.  Well no less than a month later my world changed.

*My best friend/sister-in-law {Allie} and her husband moved back to Alpharetta.  They had been living in LA for just over a year.  I knew they weren't happy here, but I thought they would move back later in the year, around Christmas time.  We have been friends since I was 14 and always dreamed of living in LA together.  I still miss her terribly, but I know she is much happier now.

*My other best friend, C, is expecting.  This might have hit me harder than Allie leaving.  When Al told us they were moving my first thought was I am going to be okay because I still have C here.  A month later C tells us her news.  It took me a long time to process this, but I am now happy to report how THRILLED I am for them.  On Saturday night they had their Gender Reveal Party.  They are having a baby boy {shhh it's still a secret for the next few days until they tell everyone}!  I couldn't be more excited.  They are making this next step work for them which gives me hope for when it is time for us to have a family.  

*Health and Fitness. This has always taken a back seat in our lives, but now it is a priority and I couldn't be happier.  I am LOVING Bar Method and am not sure what I am going to do once my trial membership runs out.  It is pretty pricey:(  

*Just be Happy!  Some days I really miss living in Atlanta especially when I read posts like this.  It is such a young city with so much to offer, but then  I have to think to myself how lucky I am to live out here.  When MG and I first moved out here we lived in Burbank {the Valley} with one wall unit for AC {it was hot} and slept on a blow up mattress for 9 months.  To look at where we started 3 short years ago still amazes me.  Some days I think that I am the luckiest person in the world.  

Nothing earth shattering has happened the last few months, but I am happy and that is really all that matters.  I am a firm believer in the quote below:)

Resolutions Recap

I know we are a few days into February already.  I can't believe how fast this year is FLYING by.  I wanted to do a recap of my New Year resolutions to keep me accountable:)  Let's do it...


1. Plan and stick to a weekly menu that MAG and I put together.  We spend way too much time and money at the grocery store.  This will help us eat healthier, save money & time.  This is going okay.  Could be doing a better job.  Both of us are learning to cook so this is an experiment in itself.
2. Pay down credit card debt.  We did a pretty good job with this towards the end of last year, but now it is time to really focus.  My goal is to pay it down so I can get a new car.  Even though we can afford a car payment I feel like the money should be going towards debt, not something that I want.  We are moving full steam ahead!  I think this will take some getting used to, but the reward will be SO worth it.  
3. Continue to run and lift more weights.   Definitely running more which I am enjoying {never thought those words would come out of my mouth!}  Lifting weights? Not so much.  Hopefully will be getting into a routine this month.
4. Build more friendships.  LA is really hard to make friends.  I have some girls that I love working with and I want to build better relationships with them. A+ so far.  A few weeks ago I went out with my work girlfriends for drinks.  We had a fabulous time and are planning our next outing for later this month.
5. Watch less TV and read more!  I am not a reader at all, well I read blogs, does that count?  I would like to read 12 books this year.  I am starting with Love The One Your With by Emily Giffin. FAIL big time!  I have read about 15 pages of Love the One Your With.  A couple days ago MAG asked me if I wanted a Kindle.  I looked at him and chuckled, "Because I read so much, right?"  

HGTV Dream Home 2011

In June 2000, MAG and I traveled to Stowe, Vermont for his grandparents 50th Wedding Anniversary.  His entire family rented two homes for a week and we had family dinners & movie nights, went hiking, visited the Ben & Jerry's Factory and the Van Trap Family Lodge.  It felt so clean and and non-commercialized you can't help that you want to go back.

This year HGTV's Dream Home is in Stowe.  I don't know about you, but I LOVE watching the hour special on New Year's Day.  Could you imagine owing a ski-in/ski-out home that can sleep 16?  OMG that would be amazing.

{All Photo Credits}

We already decided that if we win we are going to spend every Christmas here, a week in the summer, and rent it out the rest of the time:)  What? I like to dream!  Visitors are always welcome.

Check out my two favorite ones were New Mexico and Islamorada.

In no way, shape or form did HGTV ask me to publish this post.