happy 30th birthday morty!!!

christmas ... manhattan beach style!

i wanna go back to my city by the bay ...

Earlier this month, Allison and I headed north to San Francisco for what has become our annual Girls-Only Weekend. This year, we decided to invite Diana to join us ... which made the trip even more fun because she hadn't been to SF, other than to drive through it on a trip home from Marin. The weekend started out on a bad-foot when our flight was delayed 3 1/2 hours ... which means we didn't get into SFO until after midnight, and the last BART train. We arrived at our hotel, the Sir Francis Drake around 2am, but Allison was still excited because they had fuzzy socks for sale in our closet!

The next morning we woke up early and started the day off with coffee at Espresso. Being the good friend, I offered to throw away our coffee cups ... which I now know is not a smart thing to do when wearing brand-new, unscuffed boots. In a nutshell, I ate shit in front of everyone, including the SFD Beefeater. I quickly jumped up, telling everyone I was fine, but five minutes later, I noticed blood coming through my leggings. We stopped on someone's stoop so I could put a SpongeBob bandaid on, but by the end of the day, that was the least of my problems. My knee had bruising, a huge scab, and I couldn't bend it. Almost two weeks later, the thing still isn't back to normal. I will say I was a trooper though and still walked everywhere.

We spent the morning at the Wharf, visiting the Musee Mechanique. If you haven't been, I highly recommend you stop by. It's located in an old packing building at the end of the Wharf and it's free. It contains many of the old coin-operated games from Playland and Sutro's Baths (see Diana get her ass kicked by the arm wrestling machine!). It also has amazing views of Alcatraz and Marin County.




Of course, no trip to SF would be complete without an Irish Coffee at the Buena Vista. We managed to get a seat inside, which was tough, and enjoyed more than a few of the famous drinks ... you know, it was really just to numb the pain of my knee :)


From there, we headed to Ghiradelli Square and then back to the Wharf for some clam chowder and fresh crab. I swear, NO clam chowder in southern California even compares to any clam chowuder in NorCal. It just tastes so much more fresh up there. Anyway, that afternoon, we headed back to Union Square, with a pit-stop at the Rogue Ale House in North Beach. Surprisingly, they had Butte Creek on-tap, which I have never seen outside of Chico. Diana and I opted for a sampler.


Once we arrived back at the hotel. we did some shopping. One thing I love about the city during the holidays is how everything looks so festive. Macy's has wreaths in every window and Saks had giant snowflakes hanging off of its facade. It puts me in the Christmas spirit!


That night we cabbed it across town for dinner at my absolute favorite restaurant in the world ... ABSINTHE!!! We had an attentive waiter and a very hot sommelier :) The food was amazing, fried chickpeas were amazing, the proseco was amazing, and of course, the company was fabulous!


The next morning, we took the cable car down to the Union Street shopping area and bought out half off Jest Jewels inventory. If you have never been, go! They have the most amazing jewelry and gifts, but the best is their cashmere pashminas in every color for only $50! I knocked off half of my Christmas list in that one store.


Then it was onto the Palace of Fine Arts, which hands-down is one of my favorite places in the world. The architecture is phenomenal and I never get tired of it. It is peaceful, comforting, and beautiful all at once.


We finished up our trip with a visit to the beach so we could take pictures of the Golden Gate ... and it was a perfect day to do so! The skies were clear, the sun was out ... and I couldn't have asked for anything else. So until next year San Francisco ...

bust a move ...

At Sunday's after-party (see below post), we met this guy. I honestly think I want to marry him. Watch the video and you'll see why ...

i am too old for this!

Last Sunday, my roommate Lydia invited myself, Diana, and Joanna to attend the taping of the televised Movies Rock concert and after-party. The thought of going out late on a Sunday wasn't exactly thrilling, but we decided it would be a fun roommate outing and said yes. To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from the show itself, but it was actually very good. The concept was various singers singing popular songs from movies. My favorites were Jailhouse Rock (Chris Brown), Mrs. Robinson (Marc Anthony), Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend (Nicole Sherzinger), and Shaft (LL Cool J & Busta Rhymes). If you have time, check it out on CBS this Friday night.

(Jessie decided to get dressed up as well)

The taping was over by 8:15pm so we decided we would head over to the after-party held at Boulevard3 in Hollywood. We figured we'd have a drink, eat something, and then be home by 10pm. Well, we were wrong.

(Lydia and I enjoying Boulevard3's outdoor patio ... Cuba Gooding Jr. was on the other side of us)

We started off with some Patron cocktails and visited some of the food stations ... sushi, carving, Asian, Italian, etc ... and the dessert bar. Everything was awesome. However, it really started to go down hill when we visited the large bar located near the dance floor ... fast foward to six glasses of champagne later and I was having a great time! Samantha Ronson, aka Lindsay Lohan's BFF, dj'd and she was awesome. So we danced and drank the night away ... and didn't leave until 2am ... which means by the time we got home and helped a vomiting Lydia to bed ... I didn't go to sleep until 3am. Let me just say that my 5:30am wake-up call was not welcomed and I have absolutely NO idea how I used to go out on weeknights and then get up and go to work without a care. I was cranky and miserable on Monday.

(I decide to double-fist champagne ... not my best idea)

But you only live once and I've got to live it up before I turn the big 3-0 this May. Besides, when else can you drink and dance with celebrities at one of LA's hottest clubs ... all for free???

my so-called life

I haven't posted in quite some time so I thought I should slap something up here. I can't believe it's almost December ... November literally flew by, filled with Allison's 30th birthday and football games galore (yay SC!). Thanksgiving was nice, but a whirlwind. I spent Wednesday night at my grandmother's in Marin. Molly and I spent our entire Thanksgiving day cooking ... this was my first year attempting gravy from scratch and removing the giblets from the turkey ... while my dad just laid around talking about how much there was to do. Dinner was a starchy, cheese-filled success. I drove back to Sacramento with Molly that night and we stayed at someone's house that she was house-sitting for where we learned that I would be absolutely no help in a home-invasion robbery.


On Friday, Molly, the fork, and I drove up to Apple Hill (see picture) for our traditional apple donuts and tri-tip sandwich. Molly got a little excited about the sandwich, although I can't really poke fun because I am obsessed with the donuts. That night we went over to Merle and Cherie's house where I abused both physically and mentally by a prank-calling, Crown-Royal swigging Steve. For those of you keeping track that was my third bed of the trip. Saturday was lunch with mom and Lindsay and then a brief trip to Arden Fair Mall, which was suprisingly calm. That night Molly and I saw the oh-so-horrible movie August Rush and then I slept in her bed ... four beds in four nights.



When I got home on Sunday, Diana and I decided to do some Christmas shopping ... for ourselves! I gave myself two dresses, a sweater, tights, and some kick-ass tan knee high boots (check them out below ... so cute). Diana wasn't far behind and bought the same boots in black and the same tights. I was actually in the holiday spirit ... it was cold, the outside portion of Del Amo was decorated with lights, christmas carols were blaring, and I had a peppermint latte. Yum!!!


So now I have 90% of my shopping done and can look forward to the big USC v. UCLA game this weekend ... a game we will dominate, thus enabling us to go to the Rose Bowl. The weekend after that it's off to the city (SF for you non-NorCalifornians) for our annual girls weekend ... which to me means the Sir Francis Drake Beefeaters, crocque-monsiuers and fried chickpeas at Absinthe, and bellinis at the Bubble Lounge.

Life is good.

mickey "the diva" mouse

Seriously ... who knew Mickey Mouse was such a diva! Last week, Allison and I ditched work and spent the day at Disneyland celebrating her 30th birthday. We started the morning off with a breakfast buffet with Chip and Dale (no Diana ... not Chippendales). They really had a thing for Allison and presented her with her very own birthday dessert!



We got into the park at 10 am on the nose and it was literally empty. We rode Space Mountain twice in 5 minutes and never waited in any line longer than 15 minutes. This gave us time to lounge around in Mickey's house.



Speaking of Mickey, this was literally the strangest thing I have ever experienced at an amusement park. After trapsing through his damn house for 5 minutes trying to find his barn where he was "filming a movie," we had to wait in a 15 minute line. Of course, we get to the front of the line and they shut the door and tell us to wait, which we do. Then suddenly, the door opens, we are shoved into a small, hot room and there is Mickey in his sorcerer get-up. Allison and I are pushed up next to him and before I can blink there is a camera in my face with someone saying, "Smile!" and before I know it, we are back outside on the pavement, saying to each other "What the f***???" Unless I had the picture to prove it, I wouldn't believe we actually got to meet the mouse.

Other highlights ... getting soaking wet on the lamest part of Splash Mountain (check out our wet jeans in the picture) and walking around the entire friggin' park looking for a pretzel ... only to find THE ONLY stand tucked away behind It's a Small World.

All in all though ... it was a day of laughter and friendship that I will remember forever. And I am so happy I was able to do it for such a special, amazing, talented, beautiful and wonderful best friend!

drink up!

Last weekend, my three official roommates and my one unofficial roommate (aka Allison) went wine tasting in Santa Barbara/Santa Ynez. We arrived in SB Saturday morning and were greeted by our tour guide Matt (who bore a striking resemblance to Dirty Jobs host Mike Rowe ... thus we christened him Dirty Matt) from Cloud Climbers Jeep Tours. Throughout the course of the day, we visited four wineries - Kalyra, Curtis, Carina, Lincourt - and drank more than our fair share of wine, and even did some "off-roading" on our way back to the hotel

To be quite honest with you, most of the day was a blur. I do remember it was cold, the jeep was noisy, and my hair was insanely wind-blown. However, I also remember that California is a stunningly beautiful place to live and I am incredibly luck to call it home ... and that I love Diana, Lydia, Joanna, and Allison and can't even begin to explain in words how lucky I am to have them in my life. No amount of wine could ever make me forget that.

stop, drop, roll

The view from our roof deck ... that's not cloud cover, it's a thick layer of smoke. You can see the clear horizon WAY off in the distance.

And that is the sun, with an eerie orange glow.

smoky the bear

In a nutshell, virtually all of southern California is on fire now, which isn't helping me get rid of the cold-cough I've been battling for over a week now. The Santa Ana winds are so strong they toppled over an entire, full-grown tree on campus last night. So that coupled with the hazy orange glow of the sun makes the campus Quad outside my window look like a scene straight out of Apocalypse Now.

of all the places I have ever lived, chico is the only place I have ever felt at home

Last weekend, I went home to Chico for my sister Molly's birthday. I forced my roommate Diana to come along ... because believe it or not, Chico does have a lot to show off. I can't honestly picture myself ever moving back because a) there aren't a ton of jobs in public-sector PR/marketing b) I like "big-city" life too much. But, it's a great town to grow up in and I always enjoy going home.

My favorites ... Maisie Jane's (the Tamari Almonds are the best), Satava Glass Studio, Plutos, 5th Street Steakhouse, Tacos de Acapulco, Bidwell Park, Chico State, and of course ... Sierra Nevada Brewery. That was the first thing we did when we got into town.

(Molly, Lindsay, Diana)

She even tried the beer sampler!

The next morning we got up and took the dogs to the Tree Farm. If you are an outdoor lover and have dogs, Chico is your town. There are so many places for dogs to walk off-leash, the Tree Park being one of them. Here is Mae, with her stick:

Apparently, Mae doesn't realize she is really a black-lab-runt. She carried that stick, er branch, with her throughout the entire morning.

That night we celebrated Molly's birthday at the Madison Bear Garden (the Bear) and Panamas:

Oh ... and Woodstock's too. Diana was excited to see one because she ate there during her undergrad days at UCSB.

Before we had to hop on a plane the next day, we went for a long hike in Upper Bidwell. It was a perfect fall day - clear views with a light breeze. That's what I like about Chico, it has the parties, drinking, shopping, eating, etc ... but drive two minutes away and you are surrounding by beautiful scenery. The perfect end to a perfect visit.

If you haven't visited Chico, it's worth the trip. I'll even be your tour guide :)

watch out ace of cakes!

Diana and I are both quitting our day jobs and opening a bakery.

We made this cheeseburger cake *from scratch* for Molly's birthday last weekend.

How awesome are we???

thailand revisited

Well, I've been back from Thailand almost a month to the day, and am just getting around to posting my pictures. I tried writing a long-post for each destination, but the pictures take up a lot of space and the formatting is off.

Instead, click on the picture of the three of us in front of a temple in Chiang Rai, and you will directed to our online Picasa album. If you have any questions about what's going on in a certain picture, let me know and I'll fill you in!

home sweet home

After a long and uneventful flight, we arrived home safely at 8:30pm last night. Thanks to the wonders of jet lag, I have been wide awake since 4am. I guess at least I slept through most of the night.

Our last night in Phuket was amazing. Leanna and I had the best massages/body scrubs overlooking the ocean. The only downside ... I sprained my ankle walking (or rather falling) down the spa steps to our room. Didn't stop me from enjoying my last night, but I had a total cankle the next day.

The seafood buffet was so delicious. I had lobster, crab, prawns, and salmon. I even celebrated with a glass of Thai chenin blanc wine that was pretty decent. We woke up the next morning and caught our flight to Singapore and then had about 2 hours for a city tour. The city is absolutely amazing. It's so clean, beautifully landscaped, etc. I definitely want to go back ... and think it's a great trip for someone not quite ready for full-blown Asia as it has a more-Western feel to it. The highlight of the trip was our visit to the famed Raffles hotel. It's even more beautiful in person that in pictures and my only regret is I was not able to sit in the hotel bar and order a Singapore Sling!

My goal today is to unpack and sort through my stuff. Pictures will probably be tomorrow. Oh ... and guess I should get back on the Pacific time table!

i left my heart in phuket

Well ... this is my last post from Thailand :( I just got back from a full-day of snorkeling on a boat in the Andaman Sea. The weather was gorgeous and we laid out, ate good food, and snorkled (Leanna went scuba-diving). Our last night in Chiang Mai was great - went to a local street market, got foot/leg massages and ate more good food!

The next morning we flew to Phuket. Our hotel is absolutely gorgeous ... but Patong (the nearby town) is so gross. It's a total replica of TJ. Bars, vendors, skanky girls, etc. And the shopping is a joke. Yesterday it poured rain all day so we hung at our hotel, walked around town ... and had yet another massage (our fifth of the trip).

We decided to do some packing last night and then actually had a great Italian dinner at our hotel and then went to bed early in anticipation of today's trip. We were all nervous about the rain, but Buddha smiled down on us and there was not a cloud in the sky the entire day. The surrounding islands are breathtaking and the water is crystal blue and warm.

In 30 minute Leanna and I are having a 60-min massage followed by a 30-min body scrub at our hotel's spa on the beach. It's a splurge in Thai baht, but still only $90 each. Then we'll meet up with Crissy for a seafood BBQ on the beach. This has truly been the perfect end to a perfect trip.

We fly out tomorrow morning and while I am sad to leave am ready for home and my own bed. Our layover is Singapore is 4.5 hours so we are fortunate to go on a 2-hour tour of the city ... and the famed Raffles Hotel. That will at least be something to look forward to tomorrow.

I will see some of you soon ... and will post pictures for the rest when I can. I hope you all enjoyed this. Ciao!

fight on sc!!!

Come on ... you didn't really think a small trip to Thailand would get in the way of my beloved Trojans! Go SC ... good way to start the season!!!

Anyway, I am writing from Chiang Mai. We have had a great time here so far, although I do have to say that after Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai isn't quite living up to my expectations. Perhaps if we had more time to explore outside the city.

When we arrived yesterday, we were all in awe of our hotel, the Tamarind Village. It is straight out of Architectural Digest. We laid around the pool for awhile and then went on a two-hour boat trip on the Ping River to a fruit farm. The river is pretty polluted, but we saw some beautiful houses. At the farm we tried dragon fruit, which I thought was way too sour, like a lime.

On the trip we met two guys, Thijs from Amsterdam and Nik from Stockholm. After Leanna flirted :) we met up with them at the Night Bazaar. I can't even describe to you how big this thing is. It's huge. We didn't even cover 25% of it so we're going back after we finish checking email. Although we only covered 25%, we did manage to shop a lot!

After another delicious Thai dinner, we met up with the guys and had drinks at the Sham Rock Bar (that's how it's spelled here) and drank Changa beer and played Jenga. Neither boy had ever seen it and by the end, Nik was a monster.

Today we traveled into the mountains to a Hmong Village. The village was interesting ... more cute dogs who will be next week's dinner ... but what was amazing was the scenery. It was like the Amazon ... SO beautiful. We had a to take a 4x4 truck to get there. The sad part was a little dog who kept following us everywhere ... with his front let hanging together by skin :(

On our way back down the mountain we visited temple Wat Doisuthep which is high on the mountain top. It was gorgeous. Buddhas everywhere and a view to die for. Today was the head monk's birthday so we got to see a lot of special ceremonies. Speaking of which, monks are all over this town as it has as many temples at Bangkok. One is sitting next to me now checking out his MySpace friends. I kid you not.

So that is Chiang Mai in a nutshell. It's the market tonight, then to bed early after last night ... followed by a morning massage and then a plane flight to Phuket, the last stop on our journey. I am so excited to head to the beach!!!

Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. Miss you all!!!

keanu reeves = pure evil

Only two quick things to post. We arrived in Chiang Mai this afternoon, I will post a full report tomorrow or the following morning. For now though:

1) On our drive here, I noticed that no matter how small or poor a village, it has the most ornate and beautiful temple. It's beautiful to see how passionate the Thai people feel about their religion.

2) In a new temple outside of Chiang Rai, we saw the artist's representation of heaven and hell on murals covering the four walls. Heaven contained the usual images of Buddha, clouds, light ... while hell contained demons, terrorism ... and Keanu Reeves.

I kid you not.

long live chiang rai!

W-O-W!!! I am writing to you from an Internet Cafe in Chiang Rai, the northern-most province in Thailand. It is near the Golden Triangle of Myanmar/Burma - Thailand - Laos and is where opium poppies are cultivated. Before we got here, we all thought this would be a so-so stop, but I can honestly say, I LOVE IT!!!

Our last day in Bangkok was interesting. We narrowly-avoided being scammed, shopped, saw more Buddhas, and then went to an amazing Thai dance show. We culminated the evening at the Patpong night market which is full of "ping-pong" or "pussy" shows. Yeah, you don't want to know. The next morning we each had a 1 1/2 hour massage in our room before flying here.

The city is so lovely. It is green, no traffic, and very friendly. While I enjoyed Bangkok and am glad I experienced it, I was so ready to leave. It is huge, congested, and dirty. If you think LA traffic is bad, you haven't seen anything until you have been here. Chiang Rai is the total and complete opposite.

Our hotel, the Dusit River Resort, is amazing. It is situated on the Kok River. When we got here, we all swam in the huge pool and had drinks at the swim-up bar. Last night we took a rickshaw (new mode of transport for us) to the night market and did some shopping. Today we got up and our lady boy guide, more on that at another time, took us to see two hill tribes - one from Tibet and one from China. While it was sad to see how they live, constant refugees (oh ... and they eat their pet dogs!!!) the country was beautiful and we learned a lot. Even saw some poppies!

We got back to the resort, swam, and then Leanna and I had yet another massage. This one was great ... my masseuse even walked all over my back! This evening we walked all over the small town (population 30,000) and are amazed at how nice everyone is. We walked the grounds of a Buddhist university with some amazing temples and even-more amazing Buddhas. Then we walked across town to a restaurant called Cabbages & Condoms. It is run by a non-profit AIDS organization that aims to make condoms as easy to find as cabbages :) The food was great ... I had spicy tom-yam soup, red curry, and some pineapple rice. We also had a huge beer each ... Tiger Beer. We have also had Singha and Chang.

We are headed back to the night market and then to bed for our early morning drive to Chiang Mai. We are really looking forward to it ... especially because we don't have to fly this time :) I will again try to post and am sure I will be able to do so as Internet cafes are everywhere we go.

So while I am sad to leave Chiang Rai, I am excited for my next adventure. I hope this blog is somewhat amusing. I am having fun writing it, but have many more stories and pictures to share. I love and miss you all ... see you in exactly one week!!!

three nights in bangkok ...

After almost 22 hours of flying ... we made it to Bangkok alive and well. This is now our second full-day and I don't even know where to begin! The city is HUGE and overwhelming. There are buses, cars, and tuk-tuks everywhere. And so far ... we have tried them all, including the Sky Train (aka subway)! In a nutshell we have already visited the Grand Palace, Pho Wat/Reclining Buddha (my favorite thus far), seen a "Lady-Boy" show, eaten delicious food, shopped (Molly & Lindsay, I already have great presents for you), and had a 1 1/2 hour massage in our room. Tonight we are going to see a traditional Thai dance show and then we are hitting up the Pat Pong night market for more shopping.

Our hotel is great, Crissy and I have been swimming a few times. Yesterday was a bit rough acclimating to the time difference, but today we all feel great. I am in heaven with beautiful, awe-inspiring Buddhas everywhere I turn. I can't post pictures, but will have tons to post when I get home. Tomorrow we have another massage in the morning and then we fly off to Chiang Rai (ChiangRai for you Adam) in the north. I don't know if Internet will be as accessible, but hope to post once at each of my stops.

I love and miss you all ... but want to give a special internet hug to Diana who is taking such good care of Annie. You will be rewarded :)

are we there yet???

well ... after 17 hours of flight time, i am almost there! this post is coming to you from the singapore airport. i have another 2 hours of layover and then a 2 1/2 hour flight to bangkok. singapore airlines is nice, but i have played about 80 games of super mario bros, another 30 of tetris, and watched too many movies.

the good news ... crissy just spotted a coffee bean. over and out.

oh, jack talk thai ... jack talk thai very well!

My bags are packed and in less than 6 hours I will be on a Singapore Airlines flight headed for Bangkok.

I am nervous, excited, happy, anxious ... and ready-to-go! I will post when I can. Bon Voyage!

lake arrowhead fun

go shorty ... it's your berfday!

My roommate Diana celebrated her 25th berfday (her words, not mine) last Saturday. We hosted a low-key dinner at our place and we played "Would You Rather" and a rousing game of Cranium's "Pop (Culture)." Throughout the course of the evening, we learned several interesting things:

John cannot hum the words to "Hungry Like a Wolf" (pictured: Team One ... aka the Losers)

I can sculpt Madonna (complete with cone boobs) out of purple clay (pictured: Team Two ... aka the winners)

Joanna and Jesse are quite the dancers!

Diana does not like to have her birthday called out by the house band at Grog

... but Joanna and I don't mind!

All in all ... it was a fun night :) Happy Berfday Diana!!!

ain't nothin' finer ... than a forty-niner

RIP Bill Walsh
1931 - 2007

i *heart* savannah!

I just returned from a five-night trip to Savannah, Georgia and yes, I LOVED it!!! The trip was a combination of pleasure and work. I flew in a day before my NCMPR Board meeting and played tourist for a day-and-a-half. For those of you who have been to New Orleans, the simplest way to describe Savannah is to say that the entire town looks like the French Quarter. The historical preservation in the town is amazing. Here is an example of a typical street and a"typical" house:




The city is also extremely proud of its history, and celebrates it with numerous monuments and statues, such as the below statue of James Oglethorpe and a fountain commemorating the Civil War.

Savannah is laid out in a system of squares, and most of the statues are placed in the center of the squares, such as this one. Note the Spanish Moss, it was beautiful and gets its names from the Native Americans, who when they first saw it, thought it looked like the beards of the Spanish conquistadors.

Like any good tourist town, Savannah celebrates its claim to fame, Midnight in the Garden of Good And Evil. There are numerous gift shops and tours devoted to the book. I refrained from most of them, but did manage to snap a shot of the Mercer House, the house where the book's main character Jim Williams shot his young lover.

I also had a chance to drive the short distance to the coast and checked out the Tybee Island Lighthouse:

Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn't admit that part of the reason I was excited to visit Savannah was because it is the home of Paula Deen (and her two sons)! Savannah TRULY celebrates her fame ... it is unusual to walk into a shop and not see her smiling face looking at you from a cookbook or two. On my last night there, I had a chance to eat at her restaurant, The Lady & Sons and all kidding aside, it was EXCELLENT southern food. So here I am, post-meal ... smiling, with a belly full of soul food, happy to be in Savannah.