Life's a beach

A few weeks ago, we made our annual sojourn down to Newport Beach. And it was delightful. (Well, except for that whole driving down and back part... next year we're flying for REALS.) A side note: the In-N-Out in Barstow is ginormous and is always packed. It makes for excellent people watching, to be sure.

Highlights of the trip included the clairvoyant Asian lady who sold us ice cream (who not only correctly stated that I am having a girl, but also correctly stated how far along I was at the time... amazeballs), a stop at TK Burgers, the husb helping my poor unfortunate-looking footsies by painting my toenails, enjoying some amazing Vegan fare, the beach house owner's penchant for Danielle Steel novels (see pictorial evidence below) and, of course, the beach. (Though I would have preferred it being a beach that was not filled with perfectly tanned and thoroughly skinny 16 year old girls... but maybe that's because this year I was channeling the whole "beached whale" vibe.)

Until next year, dear Newport. 

There was a homecoming, there was a trip and there was a concert (or three)

August was a bit of an interesting month. A lot happened in a short amount of time, and it's taken me until almost the mid-point of this month to encapsulate most of it. I have made the decision that I will divide said events into multiple posts, in order to mitigate the length of each. I have provided links below to those of you who are interested in reading them.

The Homecoming

The Trip

The Concert(s)

The Trip

Our trip to Newport Beach this year was a delightful break. It was fun to spend time with the husb's family, sit in the sun (with copious amounts of SPF) and enjoy reading a book (or in my case, three books). The ocean was legitimately freezing this year, so I didn't have any more "bathing suit + wave = wardrobe malfunction" issues like I did last time we were in Newport. So that's definitely a plus.

Greg and I decided to hit up an Angels game while we were there, which was really fun. (Who knew Torii Hunter had so many rabid fans? I personally think he's annoying, but that's because I'm a Yankees fan. And because he is.) The game went extra innings and was won by a Bobby Abreu (a former Yankee thankyouverymuch) home run in the bottom of the 10th. That's how I like my baseball.

There was some beach volleyball played....

And some delicious meals consumed (like my delicious penne pasta with Italian sausage in a porcini cream sauce from Cucina Alessa, incredible).

Plus my niece was in pigtails for a large portion of the trip. And I am a sucker for darling little girls in pigtails, oh yes I am. 

Thus, I think it's safe to say that Newport 2010 was a smashing success.

(And now for the photo which will most likely grace my in-laws' 2010 Holiday card...)

Sometimes happiness...

is as simple as sitting on the beach with a perfectly-chilled bottle of Dr. Pepper (made with pure cane sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup). Even when there's an inexplicable blur in your photograph.

Inception, Mad Men, and why I need a vacation

Inception. All I can say is wow. Great cast. Great effects. Great plot. Great film. I like that Christopher Nolan kept the plot shrouded in mystery and that the previews were not overly-revealing. I tend to figure out the plots of movies, and thankfully this one (for the most part) kept me guessing. It's safe to say that the husb and I will be seeing it again. And soon. (And who else was pleased to see Joseph Gordon-Levitt in a more adult roll? Because until I saw this movie he was still the arm waving kid in Angels in the Outfield, 500 Days of Summer, notwithstanding.)

Mad Men. Okay, in all seriousness, we are trying to figure out why it took us so long to start watching this show. I mean, it's genius. Sheer genius. The dialogue is sharp, the acting is brilliant, the costuming is a-maz-ing. I don't think I've been this enthralled in a TV show since... well... ever, maybe. (Because I don't think Buffy the Vampire Slayer counts.) Husb and I have watched three seasons in three weeks and cannot wait for the premiere of season 4. (And I'm pretty sure I want all of Betty Draper's clothes... and maybe Greg wants Don Draper's hair... I'm just saying.)

Why I need a vacation. Because I think it's mean to make people work in the summer. Seriously, we should all take the summer off. Just kidding. (Or am I?) In all seriousness, I just think it would be nice to have a bit of a respite since work has been super busy. (But let's be honest, busy feels oh so good most of the time.) Which is why I am irrationally excited for our forthcoming vacation to Newport. (Though I wouldn't mind going to Cabo again. Thus the picture above.)

Happy Monday, everyone.

Luck be a lady tonight.

This year we decided to take full advantage of the Memorial Day weekend. So we hopped into our trusty Corolla with two of our favorite people (affectionately known as "TNT") and went down to Vegas. It was just what we needed.

At The Lion King (which was a fantastic show, btw)

Kicking it at the Calico Tanks

TNT!!

One of these things is not like the other (which is why I brought my 5 1/2 inch heels on this trip)

Taken by the lovely Tara

 
At the Cabana Club at the Red Rock Casino... a 21 and older "European style" pool 

(thankfully none of the women took advantage of that)

We had a blast and can't wait to go back.

A few more Maui pics...

I promise I will give more of a detailed description of what we did in the days to come. In the mean time, I thought I'd post a few more photos from our glorious trip. Because I want to think about happy things.

{And about how hot my honey looks in swimming trunks. :)}

A few from Maui.

Since my body is still trying to figure out what time it is... I won't write much right now. But here are a few pics from the trip. (And said trip was nothing short of paradisaical, just in case you were wondering.) There will be more to come, I am sure.

The view from our deck (aka lanai). Seriously.


I want to go to there. (Actually, back to there, but you get the idea.)


Just off the Hana Highway.


Church in Kihei.


At the top of Haleakala.

We think we have discovered one of our new favorite places.

T-minus 5 days

until Maui.

I was ready for it yesterday.

dreaming of cabo...

or anywhere else but here. provided it's warm of course. i'd even go out on a limb and wish for scorching hot at this point.

just as long as there's no snow. and i don't have to wear any kind of coat.

In the (near?) future,

I would not at all mind another trip here.

back again

from newport this time. compliments of g's dad and stepmom. and since i know some of you are all about the pictures, i decided to provide some. just this once.

and, for the record, i'm not ready to be back. just fyi.

doing what i do best

realizing i'm not 16 anymore

for cuuuuute

baywatch moment?

the newport beach LDS temple... beautiful

don't worry, that's just our niece

just a lil beach volleyball

g should be in the olympics