playing tourist

Last weekend, my brother and his family visited me! This is the first time anyone other than my parents have come out to Los Angeles so it was very exciting! C and I played tour guide and were lucky to have a few celebrity spottings while out and about in Hollywood and Beverly Hills.

On Friday, we headed to Hollywood Blvd. Anyone who lives in Los Angeles knows to avoid this area like the plague, but it's a must visit for all tourists. The place seemed overly crowded though and we soon discovered why. The Jimmy Kimmel show was filming a skit outside of the Grauman's Chinese Theatre and we were just in time to find a place to stand! The talent, as they call it, was none other than TOM CRUISE promoting his newest film, Knight and Day. Kimmel and Cruise came down on a zip line from a building across the street and landed right outside the theatre.

My brother was standing in a different spot than us and was able to get a great video, but I can't seem to upload it to this post. I will try to figure it out later. In the meantime, here are some pictures:

the crowd, waiting to see Kimmel and Cruise

evan, me, amy and c waiting in the crowd

zip-lining in from across the street

Kimmel and Cruise doing their skit before being whisked back up the zip-line

On Saturday, we were up early to star stalk and sightsee! After a homemade breakfast of strawberry topped waffles and bacon, we smushed together in my car and headed for Hollywood. Some of our stops included the Hollywood sign, Lake Hollywood, and the LA Farmer's Market for lunch.

breakfast [l to r - taylor, john, and evan]

four of us smushed together in the backseat

my brother and I posing by Lake Hollywood

Eating lunch at the Farmer's Market

After lunch, we pulled out our "Where the Stars Live" map and went on the hunt to find more celebrities and their homes. At our first stop on Hillcrest in Beverly Hills, we spotted Larry King outside of his house! He was kind enough to wave and say hi as we drove by! It was our lucky day because at our stop by Playboy Mansion, we saw Hugh Hefner pulling into the gates in his limousine. He rolled down the window a bit and waved...needless to say, my nephews were quite excited about this and were posting their status to facebook and texting all of their friends! Haha!

I was so happy to see my family! We had a great time together, but as usual, time went by waaaaay too fast!

friday's here!! friday's here!!

[brought to you by summer]

happy friday:

just stopping in to wish everyone a happy weekend!

do you ever just get so overwhelmed by work? i've been doing the same thing for almost three years, but sometimes i feel like such a beginner at my job and it makes me so anxious. i haven't necessarily gotten in trouble for anything, but i just feel uneasy and think my work could be better. oh well, it's friday so i don't have to think about work for 2 whole days!


things i'm loving today:

knowing that this time tomorrow, i'll be laying out by the pool

$$ PAYDAY $$

finally ending my 3 year relationship with Wells Fargo
(worst bank ever by the way, loving my new account with Chase)

and,

this random baby:

[via]

send good thoughts:

tomorrow is a BIG day for C! he is doing a 66 mile bike ride, and naturally, he's pretty nervous! i know he can do it, but he's got a case of the butterflies! if any of you remember, send him some encouraging, good, happy vibes tomorrow...anytime from 10 am until 5 pm!! i know he'll appreciate it!

baby cohen needs our prayers. he had to start dialysis today...please pray that his little kidneys and liver start to work on their own!

p&g thursday, a thank you, and the finals

It's time for Pink & Green Thursday, hosted by Trish at Pink Preppy Lilly Lover! Like most girls, I love all things wedding so I thought I'd share some pretty wedding inspiration today!

Some of my favorite inspiration websites are: Southern Weddings (I may live in California, but I can't forget my Southern roots!), Style Me Pretty, Green Wedding Shoes, and A Lucky Orchid Wedding, just to name a few!

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LulaKate has some of my favorite styles of bridesmaid's dresses! They are so elegant and timeless...just beautiful!

{pictures via LulaKate}

There is even a style named Angela :)

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Another detail that I love and am constantly amazed when I see is calligraphy. I just love it!

{Image from Bella Figura}

Laura Hooper, of A Lucky Orchid Wedding, is absolutely amazing! Her work is just gorgeous. I first fell in love when I saw this invitation she created for a Key West, FL wedding. Her maps are so unique and such a great way to let wedding guests know what there is to see and do in the city where the wedding is being held.

{above 2 images via A Lucky Orchid Wedding}

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A few weeks ago, I signed up for Pink Martinis and Pearls' cocktail napkin swap and I was lucky enough to receive some goodies from the Pink Preppy Lilly Lover herself! She was so sweet and sent me the loveliest napkins that will be perfect for summer, along with a sweet note [on Lilly stationery of course]! Thank you so much, Trish!

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Are any of you keeping up with the NBA finals? Tonight is Game 7! My money {if I had any} is on the Lakers...they played an outstanding game on Tuesday and I think they've got a stronger, more unified team than the Celtics.

Check out my tumblr if you get a chance. I've been posting to it pretty regularly the past few days!

do you tumble?

i decided to start a tumblr for many reasons, but mainly because i wanted a place to post quick tid-bits throughout the day instead of sitting down to try and write out a cohesive post here on the blog. i'm just getting started and trying to figure out the ropes so my site is pretty boring right now, but hopefully i can catch on quickly! let me know if you tumble so we can follow each other!

click here for my tumblr page.


Have a great day!

it's friday, i'm in love!

my sweet friend, summer, has been hosting the it's friday, i'm in love series for awhile now, and it's about time i participated!

this friday, i'm loving:

• hello! the fact that it's finally friday!

[via]

• having 4th of july plans!

• the fact that i rode my bike to work [and everyplace else i needed to go] all week! huge accomplishment!

• having enough quarters to do my laundry!

• finding out my oldest brother is coming to Los Angeles in a couple of weeks and staying with me for a few days!! can't wait to see him!

• i'm one class away from having my Masters degree!

• that Landon and Carley won Fresh Meat 2...so happy to see Kenny and Laurel not win something for once :)

Please share...what are you loving today?

Have a great weekend!

my first pink and green thursday!

Whew, it's been a busy week! But, I really wanted to participate in Trish's Pink & Green Thursday! This is appropriate because all week I have been riding to work on my very pink beach cruiser! It's the one below, but mine has a white basket!

Let me just say...it's so much harder to ride a bike than it looks! After 10+ miles a day, my legs are like jello! It's worth it though because it's a fun way to get in some exercise. And I can feel my legs getting stronger each day that I ride so that's encouraging.

Other pink and green things catching my eye lately:

I don't really keep up with sports, but it's so fun to watch the NBA Finals, especially when the two teams playing have such a history together! Tonight's game should be a good one [hopefully Ray Allen and Paul Pierce wake up].


I love my pink HP netbook! It was a Christmas present from my parents and it has just been the perfect fit for my lifestyle. It's so great to travel with because it's super light, small, and it has a fast start up so I can be on the internet in mere minutes.


I have been crushing over Seychelles and am dying to get my first pair! I tried some on at DSW the other day to figure out my size and they were so comfortable! These green ones are adorable and perfect for summer!

I hope you enjoyed my first Pink & Green Thursday! It was so fun and I am looking forward to participating next week too!

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One last thing...Trish is hosting a Summer Giveaway that started today!

She's giving one lucky person a Lilly beach towel [I NEED THIS!], a set of Lilly drink umbrellas, and a Lilly LeSportSac mini umbrella!!!

Check it out!

Catching Up!

Happy Friday!

I won't bore you with the details of my Memorial Day, but I thought I'd share some pictures. C and I had a great time in Carlsbad, and it was so hard to come back to work on Tuesday. The trip was just what I needed - absolutely zero plans [except a bike ride and beer tour] and plenty of time by the pool to work on my tan!

First day - it was a little late in the afternoon, but we went to the pool anyway! [notice my lack of tan!]

Amazing dessert [chocolate on tap] from Karl Strauss Brewing Company.

Okay, this next picture is silly, but I wanted to have one that showed how much taller C is than me! We took about 4 shots into the mirror and none of them turned out. So many of you take pictures of yourself in the mirror, and they look great! What went wrong with this??


But seriously, C is very tall...6'5" to be exact! I look like a midget next to him.

the pool!

Our last night at Pizza Port. I'm looking tan and C is, well...pink! :)

So, there's our trip in a nutshell! I'm glad to see all of you had fabulous weekends also! And now it's time for another one. I love having 4 day work weeks!!