10 (Kinda) Loves Friday!

I know I haven't written in a week and I apologize for that. Things have been super crazy (I feel like I am always saying that, but it’s true) and I just haven’t had the time to sit down and write. That is the exact reason why I thought of 10 Favorites Friday. The best part? Guess what?

It's that time again folks! Aren't you so excited?? :)

Without further ado, here are my top 21 (I don't like to confirm to rules all of the time...even if they are rules I put on myself!) favorite outfit styles I am currently loving!

10 Loves Friday- Mother Edition!

So it’s my mom’s birthday soon and we are going to Hawaii to celebrate. We are going to have such a fun time and I can’t wait!! In honor of her, I am going to dedicate my 10 Favorites Friday to her. Here are my top 10 favorite memories with my momma. :)

1.       My wedding! I got to spend a lot of time with her during the cruise and the reception and I loved every minute of it. If only I could convince her to move back to California!

2.       HS Graduation Mexico Cruise. My mom, Grandma (Auntie Bobo) and I went on a 3 day Mexican Riviera for the 4^th of July the year I graduated HS. It was so much fun dressing her up and convincing her to do a fashion shoot in the cabin window. If only she wouldn’t kill me for posting pictures!

3.       Jack in the Box Christmas! This is an old family tradition that we had as a joke. My uncle & aunt would come over for Christmas and we would all pile in the car and head over to Jack in the Crack. We were all obsessed with their tacos & my uncle didn’t have a JITB where he lived…so we had our yearly feast! About 30 tacos, and a little more weight in the mid-section later, we left. Oh how I miss those days!

4.       Country Christmas. This was only last month, but it was so much fun going to that concert with my mom! It was her first country concert and it was one I am sure the 3 of us won’t forget. It gave us a ton of inside jokes and lots of laughs.

5.       Her 40^th birthday in Calistoga. The tradition that is taking us to Hawaii in two weeks started with her 40^th birthday. I decided that I wanted to do something big for her since it was a big birthday & she never did anything nice for herself. She was always doing things for my sister and I, which left her either no time or money to treat herself. My dad helped me find a great spa in Calistoga and the two of us went for a mini weekend of pampering and good food. I will never forget her face when she sunk into the mud bath for the first time! Hopefully we can continue this tradition…I mean it does give me 10 years to save for things! :)

6.       Our Starbucks trips. We all know I love my Starbucks! Well my mom does too, but she never goes. The joke is every time she comes to Cali to visit we manage to squeeze in a Starbucks run. She never remembers what her drink is so I always have to remind her. Gotta love it!

7.       My 21^st birthday. We all know I am obsessed with the SF Giants because of my Grandpa Pete. So instead of going to a bar for my 21^st, the way most people do, we went to a Giants game! The big surprise was my name (along with my grandpa’s because we shared the same birthday) was on the jumbotron. It was the best birthday ever!

8.       The constant battle for my mom to wear makeup and get dressed up! This is probably one of my favorite things because she will wear makeup when I am around, but I know she forgets when I am not. One day she will remember on her own! :)

9.       2009 Halloween. I went to AZ to visit her right before Halloween and I had a blast. We went to Haunted house/maze festival and to Tombstone. Of course there was a ton of shopping thrown in there as well!

10.    Piano. I remember driving to Piano with my mom from somewhere and she got pulled over for speeding in our neighborhood. The piano teacher lived like 10 houses away from us and we were like 6 blocks from our house. She told me that it may take a while, so I should just walk there. I had to have agreed because the next thing I remember was being about half way there (walking) and my mom drove passed me smiling and waving! She got off with a warning (so it was fast) and didn’t stop to get me. Instead I walked the whole rest of the way mad at her. I laugh about it now because I still remember her face as she drove by and my reaction to it. :)

I am sure most of you have had the opportunity to meet my mom & I know if you have you are a better person for it. I am so lucky to have been blessed with her as my mom and I hope the next two weeks fly by for her. Hawaii here we come!!

Happy (early) 50^th Mommy!

A Relaxing Start to 2012!

Michael and I spent New Year’s weekend in Calistoga thanks to the gift that my work got us for the wedding. We spent 2 nights in a bed and breakfast in the heart of their downtown. It was so much fun and I realized how much I love bed and breakfasts. Michael, however, was another story. He kept saying he missed having a tv in the room and hated missing football Sunday morning. Lol. He did really like the location, and appreciated the weekend away. It was the first vacation we’ve been on that he came home relaxed and not needing a vacation from his vacation. I told him it was the lack of a tv and the homey feel of the B&B. ;-)

So dinner on NYE was so yummy. I had lobster and Michael had a filet mignon. It was definitely a “treat” meal…and we savored every minute of it.

We ended up going on the Wine Train for the NYE Party and had a blast. We met some fun people and some very drunk people! We were able to count down to the New Year in style and it was one for the books.

Sunday morning I woke up and went into the spa for my mineral bath/foot massage. If only every weekend could be so nice!

It was a great way to start of 2012 and I hope that this year continues to be stress/drama free, full of good food/wine and the surrounded by the best company in the world!

2012 Goals & Ambitions…AKA My Resolutions

My goals, in order of importance, for 2012 to begin working towards ASAP!

1.)    Start saving more money. I typically only buckle down and save money when I know I have a vacation coming up or a big holiday I need to buy for. We put money away every month for a rainy day, but not as much as I want. This is probably my biggest goal for 2012.

2.)    Become more organized. I am a slob. No doubt about it. Everyone that comes over may think our house is so clean, but it really isn’t. So with that said, I plan to become more organized. Starting with my car to the bedroom to my closet and more. I just want everything to have a place and to get rid of all the unnecessary crap that we’ve collected over the years.

3.)    Get toned. I was always extremely athletic; I danced, did gymnastics and even turned into a mini gym rat in 2008/2009 while in the academy. I did just about anything I could to be active… now all I do is sit at a computer desk and from my office to the parking garage. I am lazy as can be. I want my arms, legs, butt, stomach, you name it TONED. So with that said, my plan is to sign up for a gym membership at a gym across the street from my office that I will be going to at least 2 -3 days a week for 45 minutes to an hour. This will definitely help me achieve that goal. I told Michael that I am going back to eating healthy and he is going to join me by default. When we first started dating it was organic everything and very balanced meals. With the craziness of the last few months, somehow that disappeared and it we ate the easiest possible things.  

4.)    To go more green and natural. I've already switched most of our cleaning items, however, I plan to switch my hair, facial cleansers, etc. I also want to finish switching all of our home cleaning items to all natural items. Pretty much anything I can find that is natural and/or green I am going to try swapping to it!

5.)    Give myself some more "me" time. This past year I didn't give myself enough "me" time. I plan to go out with friends more and do more date nights, along with more book nights. 2011 was so stressful with the weddings and my uncle that I didn’t get to spend as much time with friends as I would have liked and reading, which I love to do, became a thing of the past.

6.)    Learn to cook nicer dishes as well as easy, in a pinch, dishes. I love to cook, but that doesn't mean I'm fantastic at it. I want to take a few cooking classes to expand my cooking horizons.

I think for now that's a pretty good list, and all of those are obtainable. Don't you think? What are your goals for the New Year?

Top 11 in '11

So I was bad about posting while on vacation. I was enjoying Christmas and New Years with friends and family. I also managed to break my phone, so I was out of contact with the “real world” for a bit, but now I’m back!

In honor of missing a 10 Loves Friday, and it now being 2012, I’ve decided to do Top 11 of ’11. 

Don’t get me wrong, there were things about 2011 that I loved. For the most part though, I’m glad it’s over. I am looking forward to 2012 and all that it has to offer!

11.  Finding a stable, fun job that I love.

10.  Meeting all of the photographers, models & brides through my makeup business. Oh yeah…and I’ve been published TWICE now! :)

9.      Deciding to go back to school.

8.      Getting to travel as much as I did. It felt like I was constantly on a plane sometimes & I loved it!

7.      Starting this blog. It’s nice to be able to look back, even if it’s only been a few short months.

6.      Getting rid of the truck and getting a more gas efficient car.

5.      Getting more organized & staying organized.

4.      Meeting new friends & maintaining the friendships that were important to me.

3.      Planning for the future. This was a biggie for Michael and I & so far it is working out nicely.

2.      Spending a lot of time with family. Even though we are spread out now, it seemed like I was constantly surrounded by family. It truly was a blessing.

1.      Getting Married! (twice)