Have You Ever

I have been horrible about downloading photos to my computer so I could actually post about some of the fun things we have been doing lately. Instead, I thought I'd play this fun game. Just copy and paste the below list into your blog. Then bold the things you've done.

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band (concert band, pep band, church band, punk rock band)

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo (In the 4th Grade, and my mom told me years later I was horribly off-key)

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a thunder and lightning storm

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train (Yes while backpackaging at 20 in Europe.)

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (well it was a mental health day....)

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a marathon (will run a half-marathon in May!!!)

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (yep, Ireland)

35. Seen an Amish community (yes grew-up in Indiana)

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David in person

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching (Hawaii)

63. Got flowers for no reason (Dylan learned from his father, flowers for no reason is makes for a happy girlfriend)

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (can't I have a medicial condition that won't allow it)

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten caviar (Yep, and I don't get it)

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle (Once when I was little, but never again)

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury (And Melissa Rivers was on my jury panel. She tried to get out of it by saying she was famous. The judge did not like that! Ha, ha!)

91. Met someone famous (Too many to count. I have worked in entertainment for several years)

92. Joined a book club

93. Got a tattoo

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit (class action)

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

Which ones have you done

Friday Favorites - Linea Pelle

I love Linea Pelle. I have four handbags from the line, and I cannot get enough. I love the soft leather. Two summers ago, I stumbled upon a sample sale for the line and bought up two bags right then and there.

How I wish they'd have another one. In the meantime, I am lusting over the Dylan folding tote. I already have another verison of the Dylan, but I just LOVE this bag. I secretly think it is because I also LOVE a man named Dylan.

Besides the bags, I am also loving their belts. I have an obsession with belts, but I think I need to cut back as my waistline keeps expanding. Chubby girls in belts are not cute!

Favorite Things Friday - Target Fashions

Not going to lie, some of my all time favorite pieces of my wardrobe have come from Target. Seriously I have spent hundreds of dollars on a dress that I have only worn once. While on the other hand, I have several dresses from Target that I wear all the time, and constantly get compliments on. I love that about Target!

This week, all my co-workers were a buzz about the Liberty of London line at Target. HELLO CUTE! I have to run off to Target ASAP to see if I can snag some of cute clothes I keep hearing about! I did order one dress online. Fingers-crossed it is as cute in person as it was online.

I am completely in LOVE with the dress pictured, but alas it is sold-out online. Maybe I can spy it instore!

Check out the line! They also have adorable accessories, home goods, bikes, etc. The line looks amazing!

An Irish Blessing From An Irish Girl

An Old Irish Blessing

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind always be at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

And rain fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again,

May Gold hold you in the palm of His hand.

I've always loved this blessing, and over the years I have seen it become more and more popular. We always had this blessing hanging in my house growing up. It was also read at my grandfather's funeral, so it became even more special to me after that.
 
I hope everyone has a happy and safe St. Patrick's Day!!

Community Support Agriculture

I was recently turned onto CSA boxes or Community Support Agriculture by a few friends. It is said, and I too agree, that it is best to eat the food grown closest to you. Since we've also been trying to eat more organic lately, this is even more important.

Many farmers are offering a share of their crops that individuals can purchase. The subscriptions vary depending upon your needs. Since it is just the two of us, we are doing the weekly CSA box. Really it is pretty amazing that it only costs $15 a week for all the amazing organically grown produce. 

 I think I need to learn some how to cook some of the interesting vegetables that are included in the box. I guess I need to dust off a few of my cookbooks and start exploring. Some of my friends also juice with the vegetables and fruits in the CSA boxes, but I am not really into juicing....yet.

Travel Tuesdays - NYC

Tomorrow night Dylan and I are jetting off to NYC for a long weekend with my college friends. I am so excited to see all their beautiful faces! We live all over the country - actually the world - and I get so excited when we get to meet up!

I have tried not to be all  type-A and completely plan out our trip this time. I do have several things listed on the itinerary that I created and will keep to myself. :) Since I have been food crazy lately, some of the stops might or might not include trips to these places:

On Friday night, my friend Dan is throwing a fabulous and fun St. Patty's Day party. It will be a blast because Dan knows how to entertain! He was throwing amazing dinner parties back in college when most guys were perfecting their flip-cup skills.

Saturday and part of Sunday will be filled with shopping, hanging out with my friends, and we have several different reservations at highly recommended restaurants. I gotta find time to squeeze in a few runs in between all the fun!

I am so excited for this weekend! Of course I will be missing little Miss Crispin on this trip, but she will be having a blast at Doggie Camp! Or at least I will tell myself that! :)

Nickel Diner... Yes, Please!

Of course at 5pm when the hunger pains are starting to creep up, Dylan fowards me this link and tells me we have to visit as soon as we have a free weekend.

Nickel Diner in downtown Los Angeles looks AMAZBALLS! Please excuse my language, but honestly my stomach is talking so loud right now the person in the next officle can hear it.

Maple-Bacon Donut

Peanut Butter Potato Chip Cupcake

Salty Peanut Chocolate Cake

Smores Cake

All pictures are from the Nickel Diner website. Their menu looks delicious, but let's be honest, it is 5:28pm and my blood sugar is low and I am CRAVING these desserts.

A full report of the scrumptious food and my bloated belly will be forthcoming....

Everyone Loves a Bar

Last week my friend Kat gave me the best little gift before she went into the hospital to have her sweet baby girl, Caroline. It was completely unexpected and a wonderful surprise! She gave me a gift certificate to The Dry Bar in Brentwood.

Photo from The Dry Bar Blog

I am so excited to visit, and get my hair blown out! My hair is naturally very wavy, so it never looks as good as when my hairstylist can professionally blow it out. I think I might save the certificate for a special occasion.

Dylan recently told me he is going to have professional pictures take of Crispin and us! He had planned on surprising me at Christmas with a photoshoot, but he knows I hate surprises, and that I would have been annoyed if I didn't have proper time to plan everything for a photoshoot. The boy knows me too well!

My 30 Before 30 List

Ok it is a little late getting posted, but here is it in no particular order. This list is for me and only me. It is something I want to do because as I have looked back at the past 10 years, they have flown by too fast. I want to make sure I live this year to the fullest!

1. Run a half-marathon
2. Change my first diaper (#1 only)
3. Buy a pair of ridiculously expensive shoes
4. Rekindle an old friendship (or two) via email and snail mail
5. Buy a fancy schmancy camera to document our lives
6. Take Crispin to the dog beach in Malibu
7. Get promoted at work or promote myself into a new job ;)
8. Ride an elephant
9. Sponsor a child
10. Visit a completely foreign country and take in the culture of the place - ala Thailand
11. Learn to snowboard - or at least take a lesson
12. Host a party
13. Visit the Magic Castle
14. Bake and decorate a three-tiered cake and serve it to friends
15. Learn to play guitar
16. Do a zipline tour
17. Go to Vegas and place $100 on black
18. Get Botox
19. Start resubmitting my book to agents
20. Eat a Pink's hotdog
21. Jog in Central Park
22. Take a tap lesson
23. Have a picnic on the beach
24. Indoor skydive
25. Take a pastry or baking class
26. Go to Serendipity 3 and order a frozen hot chocolate
27. Loose 15 pounds or half of 30 right? :)
28. Ice skate hand-in-hand with Dylan
29. Eat a Yamashiro
30. Celebrate my 30th birthday in style!

Friday Favorite's

I thought I'd try to list out my favorite items of any certain week on Friday. I am constantly searching for my new favorite thing - and trust me - it changes every week!

This week my list is all over the place. My first item has really come in handy this week. I bought a Spibelt off Amazon last week after one of my coworkers told me it was a running must have.

I will say I am loving it because to be honest I was leaving my front door or car unlocked everytime I went running so I didn't have to carry my keys! How unsafe is that!?!?!!

Secondly on my latest trip to Target I spied these! They are my favorite seasonal candies. I can't explain why, but I think it is their coated shell that makes them my favorite. Yum, but my WW online scorecard is definitely NOT happy with this purchase!

Thirdly, I have re-fallen IN LOVE with Kiehl's Olive Fruit Oil hair mask. A few years ago I started using this mask after another one was discontinued or I could no longer find it.

I had recently turned my back on this mask in favor of Fredric Fekkai's Salon Technician Color Care shampoo and conditioner. You see, I have a love/hate relationship with Fredric. Sometimes he leaves me feeling amazing. BUT other times after multiple months of constant use, he leaves me feeling damaged and dingy - well he leaves my hair feeling this way at least.

I could go on and on, but I will save you and won't do that to you! Till next week - if I remember to do the post!

Workplace Etiquette

Recently I feel like there has been a lot of talk of workplace etiquette. The Today Show just did a whole segement on it recently. It is hard to work side-by-side next to people, but we all have to do it.

I work with one such person who is lacking serious skills in this department. This person is a little odd to put it nicely, but this behavior takes the cake!

In a meeting, an alarm on her Blackberry goes off as it does everyday at this time. She reaches into her purse and pulls out a small, square plastic box that looks like ....

Yes, you have it right... BIRTH CONTROL. She pops it open and pops out a pill and takes it. To make the story worse, there were men in this meeting!

Call me a prude, but it has NEVER crossed my mind to do such a thing. There is a time and a place for everything, and taking your birth control should be something saved for private time.

Fun Target Finds

Last night I headed off to Target to grab a few essentials, and ended up with several non-essentials. Isn't Target always that way?

A cute pair of sassy purple flats for $10 to add a splash of color to an outfit!

Another cute pair of flats that I can wear to work. I alwasy keep a few pairs of shoes at my desk in case I have to walk to the lot, and I am sporting 4 inch heels that day. I just love the color on these!

And of course Crispin scored a new chew-toy. She is spoiled rotten!