Las Vegas Baby!

Here are a few snaps from my most recent bachelorette party in Sin City! I had a blast hitting the town with one of my oldest friends to celebrate the end of her single days before she "steps up to the plate" with possibly the one guy that loves the Yankees more than her. In Vegas we soaked up the sun, hit the slots, and dined and drank like calories didn't exist. Because they don't on a bachelorette party, right?

Wedding Vows in Music City

Last weekend I hopped a plane, and headed off to Nashville, Tennessee for my cousin's wedding! While in town I went on an epic bar crawl in the 12 South neighborhood, had the best latte in my LIFE at Frothy Monkey, and went to brunch not once but twice at The Southern. Whenever I go on a trip, my best packing strategy is really just to shop for all new outfits. I get so excited to wear my new outfits, that I end up packing less, because I need fewer options. Brilliant, right? Well for the wedding itself, I did choose to recycle a dress from a previous wedding over the summer. To dress up the black eyelet frock I chose these sparkly earrings from Banana Republic. I thought they were classy, and I loved the unique fall colors used. Now I keep finding many more outfits to wear them with!

City of Angels, City of Sin

Last weekend I skipped town to celebrate the upcoming nuptials of my cousin Becky. Becky, who her sister nicknamed "Chicken," lives in Los Angeles, which is where my adventure began. Upon landing in the City of Angels, we got pedicures at the mall and took in the local neighborhood cuisine. Chicken's official "Hen Night" took place the following evening after a mad-lib filled road trip to Las Vegas. We arrived in Sin City later than we expected, and by the time we were recruited into Club LAX it was nearly midnight. What we lost in time we made up for in enthusiasm, and with Vanilla Ice headlining the evening, there was a LOT of enthusiasm! We danced, we drank, and we sang along to "Ice, Ice Baby." The weekend flew by, but we made a lot of great memories. Can't wait for the big day on July 22 in Malibu!

Driving through downtown LA

Dinner in Los Feliz

Spending $! A gift from Mom in hand made cards!!! <3

Our Bachelorette Palace

Cousins! Ready for Chicken's Hen Night! :-)

Vanilla Ice... So Cold, So Cold!

Next up is I do in Malibu!

NYC: Top 5

With the start of my new job on the horizon, my Mom and I took advantage of the time in between to celebrate my birthday a little early. I flew home to my hometown, Niskayuna, and from there Mom and I drove down to NYC for some time together to walk, talk, shop and see the musical Mary Poppins on Broadway. I have been saving money to purchase my own digital "Mom" camera, as my friend Paige would say, but since I'm not there yet, I was able to borrow my Aunt Linda's camera. Here are my Top 5 favorite pictures I took on our trip.

A photo of one of the many floral sculptures that lines Madison Ave. 

It was raining our first day, and the mood made these trees in 

Central Park even more interesting.

You can stand under my umbrella, ella, ella... in Columbus Square. 

Late afternoon light; a view from the Brooklyn Bridge. 

So close, and yet so far away. I love NYC, always have, always will. 

There's No Place Like Home

So I grew up in a small town just North of Albany New York, called Niskayuna. We were taught growing up that in the Iroquois Indian language, Niskayuna, meant "Field of Corn." Quite the fun fact, I know. Since I have graduated college I make it back home, on average, once a year. But when I do go home, my family knows that there are two places I must visit straight away; and those are my two favorite restaurants, Blue Ribbon Diner and The Fireside. This last trip was no exception. Before I started my new job, I was able to sneak in a quick trip home to see Mom and Dad, and celebrate an early birthday with Mom in NYC. I will post my Top 5 favorite pictures from that trip soon, but here are some snapshots of my hometown favorites.

Classic pic of a NY diner; snow on the ground and a used car lot in the background.

A picture of the decorative fireside at, well, The Fireside. 

Not your typical NY pizza, but it is my absolute favorite! 

In My Mind I'm Goin to Carolina

My first of two recent trips back to the East Coast was courtesy my friendly federal tax return, and it was money well spent to visit one of my best friends Emily. I lived in Charlotte, North Carolina for a little over a year so it was fun to visit some of my favorite local salons, shops and eateries. I got my hair done at Fuze Salon, tried not to buy up everything at Paper Skyscraper, and sampled several dips at Dean and Deluca.

Friday night we chose to stay in and create our own tasty dinner. Inspired by Argentina we paired our Malbec wine with some steak we bought at a local butcher and made a fresh Chimichurri sauce. As a side we made quinoa with fresh vegetables, a little lemon juice, salt, pepper, oil and cayenne pepper.

Oh yeah, we were ready for a great night!

Em, chopping up some veggies for the quinoa.

The finished meal! So delicious!

 And for dessert we made Tres Leches Cake from scratch. It's actually quite a misnomer because there are in fact four different milks used in the creation of the cake and it's sauce. Here's a pic of Court de-stressing by stabbing the cake so it can soak up the creamy sauce goodness.

Get it Court!

So incredibly tasty! 

For our last night together Em and I decided to celebrate the second half of our late 20's by going out to a fancy new restaurant called Dresslers in Charlotte's new hot spot, the Met. The food was absolutely fantastic, and I highly recommend the calamari appetizer. It was so nice to relax and spoil myself for the first time in a long while. But the best part of the night, and the entire trip, was spending time with a life long friend. Love ya Em! 

Pour Ma Taunte

Well there goes one New Year's Resolution down the drain. I had promised to update my blog at least once a week, and sadly this is the only post I will be able to squeeze into the last few minutes in February. This month was kicked off with travel, spending the last weekend in January celebrating D's birthday in beautiful Lake Tahoe. At my Aunt Linda's request, here are some pictures from our ski adventure!

"To obtain the air Angels breathe, you must go to Tahoe."
- Mark Twain

The rest of February was spent preparing for a very important Valentine's Day interview at the headquarter offices of my current company. I studied, and prepared, and even picked out the cutest interview outfit. Despite the cold rain that accompanied the day, my spirits were high, smile bright and breath minty fresh! Valentine's evening was spent with good friends, Indian take-out, and The Social Network. The very next evening I received the call, and accepted the offer! It is officially one year since I moved to San Francisco and what a year it has been. Tomorrow is my last day in my current position, and with the support of good friends and colleagues, I move forward to the next step with a great deal of heart. And speaking of heart, my good friend dropped off a pre-Valentines Day / Interview Day treat, including this little guy... :-)

Hot & Cold

Monday morning I read a Women's Wear Daily article about warm and cool color trends for sportswear in 2011. Inspired by the idea, D and I got out of the city for a few hours, and dressed for the trend; myself in cool colors, D in warm ones. I had originally intended on titling this post Beaches, Burritos, and Beers, because that is what we set out to do. As the pictures below illustrate, our mission was accomplished!

Sunnies, Vest, Jeans and Scarf all from Old Navy!

Boots: Ugg Australia

Bag: Big Buddah

Sunnies: Banana Republic

Vest: Gap

Sweatshirt: American Apparel

Bag: Marc Jacobs (so hot right now!)

Being a Butterfly at the Pacifica Pier

Ahoy!

D's got a little Captain in her...

View from the coolest Taco Bell EVER!

The Salsa Verde packets say "Kiss Me I'm Irish" 

Confusing, but still really cool

Sampler at Half Moon Bay Brewing Company

I am Goose to D's Maverick

Sitting On the Dock of the Bay... Half Moon Bay that is...

Best Friends: Perfect Day!

Adventure Day, a success!

Heaven On Earth

If you were to ask me what my idea of Heaven is, I would attempt the impossible and describe to you this place, really this feeling, which I struggle to put words to even in my own head. This place combines the two things I love the most; mountains and water. The air is perfumed with the scent of pine trees, the colors are vibrant and the sights are beyond breathtaking. In this place your heart beats faster by the excitement of adventure and the people that live there are genuine and inviting. In this place I call Heaven there is a strong appreciation of the history and distinct culture of the area, coupled with the curiosity and anticipation of what will come next. Luckily, this place I call Heaven does actually exist, and it is where I spent last weekend. It's a place called Lake Tahoe.

I escaped the craziness of city-living on Saturday morning and drove the three hour distance from San Francisco to Lake Tahoe to spend a few days by myself, and participate in the Half-Marathon I have spent the last month and a half training for. At just the sight of the California mountains tears filled my eyes and a smile formed across my face that lasted the whole weekend long. I can't really explain how I felt, or how what I did brought about these feelings, I just know that this feeling was unique, and special. My heart was happy; my soul was happy. I finished the Half-Marathon with a better time than I expected (2hr 8min) and proved to myself that I can do anything I set my mind to. Though I have had several accomplishments in my life, this was, to date, the moment I was the most proud of myself.

Now on to the pictures...

First view of Lake Tahoe on the drive in! 

Sunset from my favorite pier.

Me & a view of Nevada

Relaxing for a few, preparing for the race ahead!

This is what breakfast in Heaven looks like. A Chicken Chili Omlette from Driftwood Cafe!

There are no calories in Heaven... or at least none I was worried about after a 13.1 mile run!

Pic of a dead tree, just for Mom :-P

I got to see the Tahoe Queen in motion!!!

Another cool looking dead tree.

Pretty mountains

A view into Emerald Bay

I love Pine trees. A lot. 

Emerald Bay

Another view of Emerald Bay

A nice place to sit and think about all of life's blessings. 

A very happy me :-)

Ok Mom, one last dead tree pic! haha

I am already counting down the days until I can return to my "Heaven on Earth" and I am also desperately searching for pine tree scented candles and air fresheners!!!