Pasadena Showcase 2009

The Pasadena Showcase is one of my favorite events of the Spring! It's a tradition to go with my close friend Ashley each year. I have only been 3yrs (since the first time Linda took me, with Ash-my first year in CA), but I wont ever miss it now!
In a nutshell: people submit their homes for this showcase, usually large old homes with character, IF they win & their home gets selected designers come & re-do the entire thing! Each room/space is a different designer, so each room is full of the 'wow-factor' because its a walking advertisement for that specific designer. I love all things like this (as if it wasn't obvious). Every room was so inspiring, and there were so many creative & unique designs that I would never ever come up with! Ash & I love to "Oooo" & "Ahhh" over everything! We walk out with an entire list of "must-do's" to our homes. Especially since Ash is pregnant and is in "nesting" mode. The house was gorgeous & full of so many amazing details I cannot even begin to list them! We were going to take a pic but there are NO cameras at all on the property, so I just had to do a little post. Any of you CA residents who haven't gone, I highly recommend it! [just click link above] They have great food & shopping at the end of the tour.
(I recommend the balsamic vinegar booth-probably the best balsamics I have ever tasted)

94 Days!

94 Days...

[just thought I'd let you know]

Also...

Today is Chris' last day of class!

LAST DAY!

2 weeks for finals & BYE BYE LAW SCHOOL!

94 Days!

a night of musica

This past Thursday I was lucky enough to go to the Mates of State concert with my friend Claire. We had so much fun! It had been so long since my last concert, I remember how much I LOVE them! I got to bed around 1am and had to get up for work the next a.m. but it was TOTALLY worth it! If you haven't heard of this band, you should definitely check them out.

they played at the fonda

sorry for the blurry pic, the one with the flash gives you details of everyones heads in the crowd..

a trickle of thought..

While driving to work today the weather was gorgeous! The air was perfectly cool & fresh, and it reminded me of summer mornings in Utah. It was such a great place to live! [can you tell i miss it?] Although in about an hour it will heat up here in LA [where i also love living], I have been enjoying the cool morning air! I am really looking forward to seeing my family & friends back in Utah-my next trip is in June for my Dad's 60th birthday. It always seems like I have a million things to do while home, but I sure hope I get some of this crisp morning air while I am there!

Also this morning I ran across these amazing chocolate bars. When it comes to food, for me, its ALL about the "pretty factor". Isn't the packaging pretty? I love pretty packaging...as if chocolate wasn't pretty enough all by itself! Ill take 2 boxes please!

Oh and I wanted to let you in on my little countdown 99 days until Chris finishes the bar/done with all schooling,testing, etc! 99 days until FREEDOM! I am thrilled for Chris, and feeling the light at the end of the tunnel for myself. (sigh)

This Weekend

Lets GO DODGERS!!


We met up with Deluxxe, and his wife Traci for a Dodger game on Friday.

At the game, my suspicions were confirmed, Mari is bad luck. Minutes after Mari arrived at the game, the Dodgers fell behind by 3 runs. Then, for 5 innings, the score remained unchanged. Then, in the 6th, Mari left to use the restroom. The bad luck charm, having left, allowed the dodgers to score 4 runs and take a 4-3 lead. Mari returned, and the Dodgers didn't score another run. So the moral of the story is: Mari must watch the game from the tv's in the bathroom.

On a brighter note, we ate lots of Dodger Dogs!

Then, on Saturday, Mari ran a 1o-mile race. Lets just say that she is very fast, finishing the race (with 4 miles of hills) in 90 minutes.

Plus, my gazelle of a wife isnt even sore today, which I dont understand--I am sore after walking a block.

Our friend Kevin also ran, finishing 2nd in his age group.

While the 2 speedsters ran, I relaxed at the beach and took pictures.

Easter

Easter is one of those holidays that I love because its always on a Sunday. Being able to think about why we celebrate it is much easier on the Sabbath. I also love hanging out with family any chance I get, so a holiday is just another excuse!
This year we spent Easter with the Spiker family. We went to Grandma Rita's to have dinner & the annual hunt!

As a child, hunting for eggs was a little different for us....the eggs were real ones, that we had died the previous day, and my dad would spend a couple hours hiding them in HARD places in our backyard...not on the grass or on a bench...more like up a pipe, or he'd dig up a piece of grass and hide the egg under it, or put it in the wood pile under 15 pieces. We loved the challenge!! And almost every year, we'd fill the cartons with the found eggs..and would fall one short, always! We spent HOURS looking for the last egg & my dad would never confess. We'd find it months later, rotting!I miss those days.
Hunting for eggs with the Spikers, I thought "eh, its a kid thing" LITTLE DID I KNOW they do ADULT hunts. MONEY EGGS!!! It was awesome. Chris found a bunch of "duds" which consist of change & candy, I however, found a $5! Wooohoo!
Chris & I both have such awesome families, we feel pretty lucky.

i did a little photoshop action to some of these pics for fun :)

these two pics crack me up.
we couldn't get a good picture of our winnings no matter how hard we tried!
Steve & his mama

Chris, Granny, Linds, Luke

My loot!

going to Grandma Rita's is just like that song "over the river & through the woods" they live WAAAAAAY out in the middle of no where. And have pretty land & animals that I love

i love poochies

MEC House Party

Tropical Fun

This past week the Spiker family took a Hawaiian getaway to the fabulous island of Kauai. Everyone in the family was able to go, and it was so much fun! Below are posts of days 1-4, and this post is of our last two days. Chris & I realize we are lucky ducks to have been on this trip, and now that we are back Chris is approaching finals/bar review; which means pretty much no play time for a long time-so we did our best to savor this vacation. Anyway, we had an amazing time! If you haven't been to Hawaii, I recommend this island if you go.
Aloha!

Here is a photo of one of our many heart-stopping sunsets. I am a sucker for a sunset.

We went out to catch the sunset after dinner, and afterwards it turned into the spiker gymnastics event.

On our last day it was rainy, so we decided to just relax. We played Bacce ball, hung out in the hot tub, and went to see Kauai's famous Grand Canyon.

Everyday while there, we were graced with the presence of these huge creatures- they like to nap on the sand too! They were literally RIGHT next to us--sometimes just 5feet away.

Linda & Steve at the Grand Canyon of Kauai

it was windy...

Just a scenic spot on this gorgeous island..

We went to a fish house right on the beach on our last night, here is the view from our table

Oh Hawaii, how I'll miss you..