this past weekend was miss olivia's bachelorette party in palm springs and boy was it a weekend full of celebration and love for the bride to be.  we spent a lot of time in the pool, drinking mimosas and sharing stories and laughs.  and you cant forget about the dance parties and cards against humanity hilariousness.  we even enjoyed a fantastic 3 1/2 hour dinner at lulu in downtown palm springs!  the weather was perfect and the group of girls was fantastic.  we ended the weekend at kings highway at the ace hotel for breakfast.  we even had a hashtag for the weekend - #hussiesdopalmsprings. it was such a great weekend and the perfect way to celebrate.

olivia, i can't wait to celebrate you and brian on your wedding day.  i'm so lucky to have met you through this crazy blogging world and i'm even luckier to be able to call you one of my closest friends.  your friendship is one of a kind and i thank my lucky stars for it.  i hope you enjoyed your weekend, you deserve all the celebrating in the world. 

the freaks come out at night

this past weekend i got to celebrate halloween with some of the funnest people around (kai & ash!).  we danced the night away, gorged ourselves with cheap beer and fireball, and laughed into the wee hours of the night.  there may have even been a little ballet and interpretive dance action somewhere in there.  I've said it before and i will probably say it again, but halloween is on the low low side of my favorite holiday list.  but, after this weekend, i can definitely say that if my halloween is spent this way, with these people, for the rest of my life, halloween may just become one of my favorites

all photos by miss kai

flights and sounds

last saturday my friend and i headed to orange county great park in irvine for their summer concert series.  i had never been to the great park before and have always wanted to check it out, especially after seeing the giant orange balloon from the freeway every time i pass it.  i never realized how big it is and how much stuff you can do.  they have the orange hot air balloon that you can ride, community gardens, sports fields, art exhibits, a carousel and so much more! 

my friend and i packed a picnic and our beach chairs and set up camp in front of the stage.  the view was fantastic, looking out over the aliso hills and watching the sun set as we listened to fantastic music. this particular concert was a reggae / ska band and they were full of energy!  it was such a fun night with great music and great company.  i love finding new things to do in orange county - you can bet that i will be back to visit the great park again soon.

blog friends are the best friends

ive been pretty lucky when it has come to blog friends turning into real life friends.  this group of ladies is a pretty special one.  whenever we get together we have the best time.  lots of laughs, singing, dancing and of course, lots of picture taking.  i was so excited when they all joined me up in san clemente for a summer bbq and beach day.  hey girls - come back again soon, will ya?

all photos thanks to miss olivia

it's time for dodger baseball

a little over a week ago i headed down to san diego for the dodger vs padre game with one of my favorite friends, olivia. it was a belated birthday celebration for liv and since we are both dodger fans, we couldn't pass up the chance to see them in sd. kai and her bf joined us for some pre game festivities at the tilted kilt before we all headed into the game and went to our designated seats.

olivia scored some awesome seats in the field level vip area and holy cow you guys, these were the best seats ive ever had for a baseball game! i'm talking perfect angle for maximum batter booty views! she even was selected to receive a free gift from the padres - a padre hat - which she put to great use (see below). we had such a fun time cheering on the boys in blue, making frienemies and enjoying some great ballpark eats (and drinks, of course!) plus the dodgers won, so it doesn't get much better than that!

my best friends rock!

on friday i headed down to san diego to spend some time with one of my best friends, miss kai!  we went shopping for stagecoach and had so much fun roaming through f21 picking out fun hats and flowy lace tops that would be perfect for the country music fest.  we chatted and drank wine while getting ready for the night, something i haven't been able to do since i moved home last summer.  there is something so much more fun about getting ready with a girlfriend instead of by yourself.  listening to music, singing along, a few dance moves here and there.  something i definitely miss from all the years in the sorority house and living with girlfriends.

we headed out to sushi and met up with a few other friends.  while at dinner, one of our friends said how great it is that no matter how long it has been since we have all been together, we always manage to pick up right where we left off.  its the little things like that that make me realize how much i love my best friends.

i love having such great girlfriends.  i love being able to 100% be myself around them.  dinner was so much fun!  we laughed through the whole thing.  reminiscing on past events, our sorority days, and talking about what we all have in store for out futures.  time spent with these girls is the best time ever.  i wish i could spend every weekend with them.  gosh i just love them so much! 

ps.  check me out over at my girl brit's blog - made with butter & love - i'm chatting about my 4 favorite things in life!

blog friends are the best friends

i don't mean to brag, buuuuuut i have some of the coolest and most awesomest friends that i've through this whole blogging thing. it's like we were all separated at birth or something. maybe it's because we are all a bit "weird", but we just get each other. last week we all got together for a little holiday gift exchange at the la jolla brewhouse and let me tell ya, that place didn't know what hit them! we had so much fun chatting about anything and everything. i mean, we are even planning a road trip for next month to santa barbara!  

i'm so lucky to have met such wonderful ladies through blogging.  i never imagined that i would be able to build such amazing connections with such inspiration ladies.  gosh, you girls are great! 

want to learn more about my awesome friends pictured above? meet them here: kai, stephanie, olivia, hollie, tammy and amanda

the so cal blogger meet up ... this sunday!

OMG you guys!  Do you know what this Sunday is?  It's the So Cal blogger meetup! I'm so excited to have worked with Tammy, Olivia & Steph to plan what is seeming to be such an awesome event.  

SIP wine bar at Flavor Del Mar made us an offer that we couldn't refuse and we can't wait to hang out in their luscious space! They are providing us with a complimentary champagne toast and nibbles and there will be $5 wine glasses and happy hour prices on all menu items for the party as well.  We have a really awesome set of sponsors lined up that we cannot wait to share with everyone that is coming ( hint hint, sprinkles!).  We are also going to be giving out raffle prizes to a couple lucky ladies, along with goodie bags full of fabulousness for everyone that attends! We have so many fabulous shop owners that have donated to both the raffles and the goodie bags that we cannot thank them all enough!

Since the event is only six days aways, we are trying to gather a final head count so we can put together blogger directories and some other fun goodies for you all.  If you are attending, please shoot Olivia a quick confirmation email to olivia.diane@ymail.com by Wednesday at noon.  

And of course, don't be shy to forward this along to any local bloggers you know or post about the meet up on your own blog.  The more the merrier, of course!  Can't wait to meet all you fabulous bloggers! 

calling all so cal / san diego bloggers

You guys - I have been wanting to put together a San Diego blogger meet up pretty much ever since I started blogging and guess what?  The amazing Tammy over at Lemons, Avocados & the Bay is doing it!  And I'm so excited to be a part of this meet up!  

Now comes the fun part ...  

If you are interested in joining us, please let me know!  Leave a comment and RSVP here! As of now, we are aiming for Sunday, November 13th in the afternoon.  We are definitely open for suggestions in regards to locations in San Diego and are hoping to use whatever resources we can to make this meet-up a huge success!

Can't wait to hear your feedback! 

Anchors Away! San Diego Fleet Week

Happy October friends!  Hope this month brings you lots of fun fall activities and happiness!!  I'm jealous for all of you who live in a place where there are actually seasons.  But I think I can handle the lack of seasons if it means fun outdoor activities all year round.  Case in point, the other week I made my way down to San Diego to spend the weekend with my friend who I hadn't seen in months and the weather was amazing - in the 70's, sun shining, would've been totally happy in shorts kind of weather.  Glorious, glorious so cal weather!

Aside from the weather, it was a great weekend away and we had a blast finding free and fun things to do around the city.  We spent Saturday down at the San Diego Bay by the water, taking in San Diego Fleet Week events.  A couple weekends a year the local Navy and Marines bring theirs boats, tanks, and trucks to the marina downtown so that the public can walk around and see them all, for free!  They had tours of the boats, hover craft and Coast Guard rescue demonstrations and live music.  The weather was prefect and we had a blast playing dress up with the Marine's vests and helmets.  

It's so cool to have such a prominent military presence in San Diego.  They are such a large part of the community and they do so much for the city and the country.  It makes me proud to (have) live in a city that prides itself on the military presence and recognizes their duty to our country through events, memorials and special ceremonies.  

i might get killed for this, but i'm allowed to post it, because we are bffs

emily, being the good blogger she is

what a babe