Wishing you a very Merry Classy Christmas...

I'm currently in Alaska spending time with the fam (as I sit here watching them play Rockband 3).. It's cold outside and all I want to do is find a fireplace somewhere and stick my toes next to it.. We woke up late today and headed downstairs to find our stockings filled and Christmas tree bursting with presents.. I couldn't wait for everyone to open up the ones I got them!! I could barely sleep the night before!! A better Christmas post with pictures later of my Alaskan adventure, but for now... Merry Christmas everyone!! I hope you're toasty and spending time with those you love!!!

May you never be without a pair of red hot Stuart Weitzman's for the holiday season...

*Photo by Mark Ramelb


...holiday wishes and starry kisses...

Product of the 80's...

I'm a product of the 80's and grew up watching Fraggle Rock, He-Man/She-Ra, My Little Pony, and Care Bears.. The other day I was shopping for Christmas presents for my little sister and I was looking for Princess dolls, i.e. Cinderella, Snow White. I was searching and searching for Sleeping Beauty because I already got her the main ones, so now I'm basically trying to complete her collection... Thing is, I could not find Sleeping Beauty.. I think they just flat out didn't have it.. Now there are all these new dolls like Tiana and I'm like ummm, I haven't seen those cartoons yet.. Am I out of the loop on Disney characters?! Have the old ones been replaced with these fancier HD quality princesses?! WHERE IS THE SLEEPING BEAUTY DOLL?! In the end I made a purchase on Belle from Beauty and the Beast, staying true to my Disney upbringing.. Not that I don't like these new characters, they're just not the ones I grew up with.. The 80's rocked with Saturday morning cartoons, side ponytails, and Glow Worms.. My little sister will continue to receive presents from me that represent part of my own childhood..

Here's to the old school boom boxes that filled our ears with Michael Jackson and Bananarama.. (Picture snapped in Pacific Beach.. I love that area even more now..)


...fashion may evolve constantly, our music change in taste, but memories live on forever..

Officially December!!!

I love being able to put on a jacket and layer clothes because I get to have fun with the different pieces I have in my closet.. I didn't always have this opportunity living in Hawaii because less was always best in 80 degree weather.. The downside.. it's FREEZING to me here in San Diego!! My skin hasn't gotten acclimated to the cold and I'm afraid I'll turn into an icicle! I am happy that it's December because that means Christmas is right around the corner.. And for some reason, December is when winter actually starts for me..

So here's to the beginning of Christmas shopping, winter, and magical beautiful starry nights...




..appreciating the world's natural environmental changes..

Our Nation's Capital...

The week I started my new job here in San Diego I was notified I'd have to travel to Washington, DC for orientation.. Basically a meet and greet with the people who head our organization with the audit service. It was a little soon to be traveling to the east coast considering I had just moved 2500 miles across the Pacific ocean to my new state about 2 days prior.. And I already had planned for my San Francisco trip.. Turned out that I had to leave Monday, the day after I got back from SF.. Talk about not sitting still! I have actually been to DC a bunch of times for work before so it's nice to revisit the area. I always stay in Old Town in Alexandria, VA because it feels like a quaint little town lined with boutique shops, antique stores, Irish pubs, and restaurants for everyone's appetite. This area lights up when the holidays near because they decorate the streets.. It's also a convenient walk to the metro which is the public transportation that will take you everywhere you'll need to go in the vicinity which is perfect because I hate driving there. Work did have me driving to the Washington Naval Yard everyday which wasn't terrible because I got a perfect view of the Capitol and Washington monument.. Those monuments always make me smile and somehow feel great about being an American..

Pics for your viewing pleasure..







An absolute fabulous thrift store is Current Boutique.. I found a ruffley Calvin Klein jacket in white at this little gem of a place for about $30... best find ever!


One of my favorite restaurants I like to stop at is Le Pain Quotidien.. Yummy goodness in the Salmon Tartine form:



Hummus anyone?


I didn't take any new monument pictures, mostly because I have already done that a couple of times.. so here's old ones of my favorites, but they pretty much stay the same in case you were wondering..





...Proud to be an American...

Thankful...

I just got back from Korea to celebrate Thanksgiving so I'll have tons of blogging to do on that international destination vacation full of fun later... so for now, I just wanted to write a quick post on what I'm thankful for since Thanksgiving did pass.. I'm thankful for my family, friends, the opportunities I've been given in life, the love I feel from everyone and everything.. But I'm also thankful for beautiful sunsets..

Cabrillo National Park in San Diego (this is my view on my drive to work near the office.. DBJ)



...thankful for each and every beautiful day.. rain or shine, sunny or cloudy... just keep the days rolling in...

...We Left Our Hearts in San Francisco...

So I mentioned that me and a couple of my girlfriends, Heidi and Giselle, were headed north to the bay area.. San Francisco to be exact.. I was happy that after only a week of being away from Hawaii, I was able to have a Heidi fix!! We stayed in the Union Square area at Hotel Abri.. a fascinating boutique hotel that was close quarters but absolutely perfect for what we needed.. I loved the decor of the place, right down to the Chuck Taylor's all the hotel staff wore... Not to mention the fab little italian restaurant with happy hour every night that seemed to never end that was connected to the hotel.. We walked up and down the hilly streets of SF and used practically every method of public transportation available to get where we were going to...

Welcome to San Francisco!!










On our first night we headed to the marina area and ate at Osha for some tastey thai food... It was technically party weekend number 3 for my Birthday too!





THEN we went to Bar None.. here's a helpful tip.. if you check out the back of the bar you can find Beer Pong tables set up.. not even kidding.. not even a little bit..




The next day was an adventure.. it rained pretty much the whole day.. My hair started out nice and poofy, by the end, we all looked like wet dogs.. BUT we still had so much fun on that overcasted day..




Haight Ashbury...







Fisherman's Wharf..




We trekked back to our hotel soaking wet and had to get ready for night number 2!! Stop number 1 was located conveniently right across the street from our hotel, Infusion Lounge... we wanted a change of scenery, so we took a short cab ride to Sloane to finish off the night.. We never let a good photo op go by...


For some reason we love making sure hotel beds are up to par as far as comfort levels go... So we jump on them to give it the ultimate test...


We didn't get to go everywhere because by the end of the trip we were exhausted and our little feet needed some rest, so our last day was spent pretty much in that little italian restaurant next door drinking champagne and downing cheese.. *the life* I have the best girlfriends ever and super sad not everyone could make it out but that's just another excuse to make another vacation in another destination!



Did someone say video montage??? Oh yes I think I heard...


...Goodbye for now San Francisco.. you'll hold a piece of our hearts forever...