Happy Thanksgiving!

In just a couple of hours I will be braving the roads to Wisconsin (with the company of the lovely E) for a few days of hanging out at my parent's house. I am looking forward to what will surely be a fantastic feast tomorrow but more than the food, I am looking forward to a couple of days of just resting. I am sure that tomorrow will be a busy day of preparation but it's never a stressful time in our house and there will be plenty of time to just sit and enjoy each other's company.
When we arrive tonight we are finally going to go out to celebrate my fabulous father's 60th birthday (his birthday was earlier this month). My mom has talked about going out to breakfast on Friday and then she is leaving for Minnesota. Otherwise, there are no plans for the weekend. I intend to take full advantage of my mother's kitchen to make my own turkey for use in soups and stuff all winter and to do a bit of my own holiday baking prep (yeah for things you can make and then freeze!). I also fully intend that Saturday will be a day of football, movies and pizza for my dad and I and I can't wait!
This year, I am thankful for a wonderful family and a place to go that is restful and peaceful.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!

Have I told you lately?

That in a little less than 2 weeks I am headed to New York City!!!!!!!

While in California last week I found out that a former college classmate of mine is one of the leads in Wicked on Broadway and a couple of my friends are headed out to NYC to see one of her performances. So, I decided to tag along. Thanks to some credit card points, I will be enjoying my very own personal Direct TV on JetBlue for the low cost of $0.
While in town, I will be staying here:

And here:

Both free thanks to some hotel points I had stashed away.
So far, the only things that I have had to pay for are my show tickets to Wicked and to Gypsy.
It will be a quick trip, but I'm super excited about the adventure with friends and a chance to see the Big Apple all decked out for the Holidays.

Vacation Recap

I've been back from California for almost a week now and I think that I am still in denial. I woke up last Tuesday morning in a place where it was warm enough for flip flops and t-shirts and I went to bed in a place where I needed boots and a winter coat.
I had a great time all over Southern California catching up with friends and eating Mexican food as often as possible.
I got in late Friday night and crashed at a friend's house in San Diego. Saturday morning I headed up to Ventura for the weekend. On my way up north I was fortunate enough to have lunch with two friends from college. I spent the weekend with my old roommate and her husband at their place in Ventura, just a block away from the beach. Unfortunately, we didn't get to the beach that weekend because it was so windy that it would have been more like total body exfoliation if we had ventured out onto the sand.
Monday found me back in San Diego for a work event hosted at the church I grew up in. The event went well and there was plenty of sunshine for everyone!
Saturday my dear friend Jen and I headed up with Wilson Creek Winery in Temecula for a taste of their Almond Champagne and a delightful lunch at their new restaurant.
We headed a bit further north for time at the outlet malls and thankfully overhead someone's conversation about some road closures. We checked online before we left and sure enough, the route that we were planning to take to Pasadena was closed because of fires. This is the big smoke plume that we could see from miles away.
After a longer than usual drive, I made it safely to Pasadena and enjoyed a nice evening at home with my friend Amy. We enjoyed a nice dinner followed by brownies and almond champagne.
Jen and another friend of ours were supposed to run the Pasadena half marathon on Sunday morning but it was canceled due to poor air quality so we opted for breakfast at Corner Bakery instead. The rest of Sunday was spent with fabulous friends from college where we enjoyed a lot of laughs and a bottle of chocolate port.
Monday morning I said farewell to my friends and the smoky skies of Pasadena and headed for the beaches of San Diego!



Don't worry, I'm sure it won't take me long to figure out another excuse to go back...

Vacation!

In case I hadn't rubbed it in enough yet, I'm in Southern California for the next several days. I have to be here for work and I accidentally (I use that term lightly) booked my tickets for the wrong dates so I have to stay here an extra several days. Whoops! How ever will I manage? All next week will be work related and stressful but this weekend and next weekend are going to be filled with time with good friends.
This weekend I am staying with one of my best friends and her husband. I can hear the ocean from my window! Last night we were having a conversation about how nice it is to spend time with old friends. She has good friends here now and I have some fabulous friends in Chicago but there's something different about being with an old friend. Someone that really knows you and who you are completely comfortable with. I was looking forward to being here for the weekend because I know that it will be ok to just do nothing at all. We went out for dinner last night and then sat and watched football and chatted and that was perfectly ok. That's what I love about coming to California. For me it is filled with time with old friends. I love my new friends, but I miss the company of my old friends. So, here's to cherishing every moment of my time here. And, for those newer friends in Chicago, I'll try not to talk too much about how it's 70+ degrees and sunny here and I've been wearing flip flops and t-shirts.

Photo Shoot

Next week my wonderful father will turn 60 years old and I've been trying to figure out what to get him for this momentous occasion for a long time. My dad is no help with ideas because he will say that he just wants to have a nice dinner with my brother and I and that he doesn't need any gifts. And, he's actually serious when he says this. One thoughtfully written card and a simple dinner out and we are off the hook for the year. However, I didn't want to be that kid that doesn't do something more than dinner to celebrate the father that means so much to her. So, a little over a month ago, I had a stroke of genius. My brother and I should have pictures taken together and surprise my dad with it. I ran it past my mom and she thought it was perfect. In fact, my dad had just been saying that it's been a long time since my brother and I have had a nice photo taken. So I enlisted the help of my fabulous friend Kelly (who has her own little budding photography business) and found a day where she and I could meet my brother in Lake Geneva, WI (which took several tries between our three busy schedules).
So, last Saturday, Kelly and I drove up north a bit and wandered around the cute little town of Lake Geneva. We met my parents for lunch (my mom knew what was up, but my dad thought we were just there to enjoy the fall colors) and then we wandered out in search of the right place for the photo.
This is one of my favorite test photos.
My parents had just been in San Francisco where my dad purchased an entire case of these tasty milk chocolate and peanut butter delights. I'm actually kind of surprised he was willing to give up an entire bag for me!

We got a little treat at Starbucks where we met up with my brother. I think that this might have to be my theme photo or something.
Then the photo shoot began. My brother was a good sport about it for about the first 15 minutes and then he was ready to be done. I'm sure he would have been a lot whinier if Kelly had not been there. I've ordered small copies of the following 4 photos and will figure out a way to present them to my dad later on this month. Then he can decide if he wants larger copies of anything.



I also really like this photo but I'm not sure what I'll do with it.
Thanks Kelly for taking a day out of your busy schedule to do this for us! Thanks for not making us look like we were taking engagement photos! The photos are great and my dad will love it. I'm pretty sure there will be some tears of joy when he opens up his present.
If you want to see more of Kelly's account of our day and some of her other wonderful work, you can see that here.

It's official

The apartment is officially on the market for a subletter! I posted it this morning and am just waiting for my phone to start ringing off the hook with people who are dying to come and live there. That is the way it works, right? Please?
Other than that, I'm looking forward to the weekend. Tonight is a small fall fest party at a friend's place with games and laughs and apple cider martinis. Tomorrow is a photo shoot in Lake Geneva with the lovely Kelly (my brother and I are having pictures taken as a gift for my dad's 60th birthday). And on Sunday morning I get to run around with the toddlers all morning while their parents worship upstairs. Fun times!

This is HUGE!

I have made a very big decision recently. Despite the fact that our lease just began earlier this month, I have come to the conclusion that it is time for me to move out and get a place of my very own! My roommate is a lovely person, it's just time for me to have my own space. I am sure that with my budget and the neighborhood I want to stay in, it will be a small space. But, it will be MY space! There are a lot of things that still need to be worked out but I'm hoping to be in my new place starting Dec 1 (Jan 1 at the latest). I'll keep you posted.