remember when...

Every once in awhile I question life, what I am doing and the choices I make.  I think this pushes me to be stronger and helps keep me stimulated.  Some choices are easy, others take lots of thought.  Sometimes we have to weigh out the options before we make a final decision because every action we take will eventually have a reaction.   I am always a thinker and analyze many outcomes in my head... pretty much about everything.  Sometimes I wish I were not this way because I often over analyze a lot of things.

Whether we make the "right" choice or not, every experience plays a part in our journey and can be learned from.  I will sporadically think about what my life would be like if I had done things a little different.   As Jams would say to me, "Would of, should of and could of are the three worst things you can think about.  It doesn't matter what you could, should or would have done, it's what you did.  Keep looking forwards, not backwards."  Geez, so true!

Well, I think that sometimes we don't realize the importance of experience until afterwards.  It's kind of like when you were growing up and your parents would tell you, "Someday, you'll thank me for this.  I'm teaching you a lesson!"  Ugh, really.   Sad but true, they were right... (did you hear that Mom!)

People are awesome too.  We meet people all the time.  Interacting, chatting, doing business - we are constantly communicating.  Many people we encounter throughout our lives come and go.  But there are certain people who inspire us to be better and push ourselves.  People who believe in us in that moment that we don't believe in ourselves.   It's because of those feel-good people and feel-good experiences that we look back.  Memories are made and sometimes never forgotten.  This is why we take lots of pictures and meet up with old friends to reminisce about the good old times.  And I know it's not just me; we all have those moments where we wish we could go back and relive something again.

We can't though.  Each memory and experience builds on itself and if you think about it, without all of those things, we would not be the strong and amazing creatures we are today.  Each memory does serve a purpose.  That purpose is so we can reflect back and remember why we choose the path we are on :)

hello florida!

Long time no talk!  I know, I know... I let vacation get the best of me!  But, don't you worry - I'm back!  And all I can say is vacation was awesome!  We just got back from the Sunshine State... Florida; sunburns and all!

I moved to California five years ago (remember!) and when I left, one of my reassurances to my family was that I would be back for the holidays, no matter what.  Obviously, now I am in a relationship; so Jams and I had "the talk" about holidays and we both found it important to be together.  Since his work didn't allow him to take any time off around Christmas, I was stuck between a rock and a hard place to make the decision of maintaining that tradition or creating my own.  It was a personal struggle of mine to make that decision.  I came up with a solution that I thought would work for everyone.  I would go home before Christmas for a few days so I could see my family and then spend the holiday with Jams!  A win-win!  Well, part of my solution was to also go visit my grandparents (let's call them Nonny & Poppy) in Florida sometime in the Spring.  So... here we are!

All Jams keep talking about before the trip was how he couldn't wait to have a mojito.  I swear as long as I have known him, I have never seen him drink one but he swears now that they are his favorite... he's so cute :)

It's always different when you spend time with family when they are in their element.  We really got to capture the moments and see how they live day to day.  I mean, come on!  Look at my grandparents!  Pushin' 80 and they are more active than we are.  Riding bikes everyday, doing water aerobics in the pool... we realized that we definitely need to step it up!  

When I would go visit as a kid, we would always go to the big Flea Market in Daytona Beach.  Look at this place!  It's HUGE!!!  They have food vendors everywhere, and lots of little knickknacks that you impulsively need.  They also have an amazing produce section with all the local fruits and veggies... YUM!!!

It's a good thing we only had one suitcase and hardly any room to bring home souvenirs because these were super cute... I would have bought way too many!!!

I was very spoiled growing up (yes, I said it) and we went to Florida at least twice a year.  I take for granted the small stuff and probably don't appreciate things the same as someone who hasn't been as fortunate.  This being said, Jams has never been to Disney World.  Eeeek!!!  We had to go.

 And just to add... I definitely won on Buzz Lightyear!  I never usually win so I was stoked!  Look at that concentration!

I absolutely luv It's A Small World.  I probably took 100+ pictures in there (I will spare you).  We got lots of cool and unique arts and crafts ideas!  



I thoroughly enjoyed Tom Sawyer's Island and the bridges I had to go across.  Yes, I was acting like a five year old.

LOOK AT ALL THESE STROLLERS.  Sorry to yell, but seriously?! No wonder Disney always seems so crowded... half the walk ways are taken up with them!

And finally, per my sister's request :) we got a caricature!  It actually came out pretty cute!

Family, Disney and Valentine's Day all in one week!  Woah!  This was our first Valentine's Day together!  *Aw* I made Jams a special breakfast with all his favorite things... onions, eggs, mushrooms and peppers.  Can you dig the tomato heart?! 

Nonny and Poppy took us to dinner at The Garlic which was a very cool and yummy Italian restaurant near their condo.  We had many drinks and many laughs.  It was awesome to spend Jams and my first Valentine's Day together with my grandparents who were spending their 64th together.  Let this be a reminder to all of us that true luv is real. 

It just so happened to work out perfectly that my Mom was in Florida too!  Her and my step-dad Will have a condo down on Singer Island which happens to be just a few hours south of us.  Road trip!

Jams made Will a "Work1n" tie to promote his new song Work1n... keep your eyes peeled for these, you might be seeing lots of them in an upcoming music video (foreshadowing...?)!

Anyway, the water was beautiful.  It reminded me of Hawaii, you could see clear down to your feet!  And it wasn't that cold either!

The last night we were there, we went to a restaurant called Seasons 52.  It is an organic restaurant and the cool thing is that their menu changes weekly to highlight the freshest ingredients - brilliant!  It was simply delish!  

Sad to leave the beaches and family, but ready to come home and see the puppies, we left our eight day haven. 

Now that we are home, I am busy planning our next adventure!  San Diego, here we come!!! :)

saturday in the city of angels.

Since Jams and I started as friends, we kind of missed out on the whole honeymoon stage of dating.  Our lives are super crazy and we are always working on some sort of project.  I mean, we go out to dinner occasionally, and take days off to hang by the beach... but the whole "wining and dining" part was skipped.  As a romantic, I like going to amazing restaurants with a view... have some wine... enjoy some great food and spend that quality time with the ones I luv.  

I had read about Yamashiro in Hollywood and just knew that Jams would luv it there.  Between the history and the Japanese food how could he not!  I did a little more research and decided that I wanted this to be a surprise.  I made reservations and told him not to make plans... I was taking him out for the night!  To make the night even better, I made reservations as the Hollywood Hills Hotel so we wouldn't have to drive home... no one wants to drive home after dinner and drinks!  I put together a little scavenger hunt of clues so he would have some hints on where we were going and what we were doing :)

So Saturday night, we headed up to Hollywood Hills and had the best time!  He was super excited and really surprised.  He kept saying throughout the night "This is so cool!" which made it that much better.  I would definitely recommend trying this spot out if you are in the Los Angeles area, the food is spectacular! 

a new year. a new blog.

Well, it only seems appropriate to begin my first official blog at the start of a brand new year!  I'm not sure how this journey will go but I am very excited to be able to share my life with my family and friends - near and far! and anyone else interested in what I'm up to over here in beautiful Southern California.

As I sit here with the sunshine beating into the room, I feel spoiled! and also very sad for all my friends that are experiencing the heart of winter in upstate New York.  Since I moved to California five years ago, each "winter" has been bliss!  I hate to brag, but I hope all of you know, my door is always open if you need a little vaca from the cold.

Last year was amazing... I discovered the luv of my life, Kenjamin - or Jams, had been in front of me for quite some time.  Yes, a best friend turned luver!  Ah, I knew the moment I saw this picture :)

Him being a very talented artist and master of many different trades and me as the "master communicator" we have proven to be an unbeatable team.  We embraced our unity and combined our powers throughout the year and did various photo shoots, music videos, fashion shows, events - the sky has been the limit!  And don't you worry, there is much much more to were we will be going with all of that...Nothing but Greatness!

Our pug, Potato, who is now three, had five little puppies - the runt being the only girl of the litter and therefore, my new best friend Peanut.  She has proven herself to be a tiny ball of fire with a little personality of her own.  She luvs to play and cause a bit of mischief but how can you be mad at that little face...

My personal accomplishment of the year was quitting smoking.  A dirty, dirty habit that I forever blame myself for.  That being said, a slight shout out to all my friends in High School that believed me when I told them it was the cool thing to do... I am so sorry!  Much of the year was adjusting my lifestyle to be a non-smoker and to this day, I have not had one drag (Yay me!).  Hopefully throughout my posts, you smokers out there will be inspired to want to stop... believe me, you can't even begin to imagine how much time is wasted while smoking!

My passion in life is food.  I have been vegetarian, pescitarian and I am now vegan.  Changing the way I eat has in turn changed me for the better.  I feel very fortunate to have the support from those around me.  I am very thankful that Jams has joined me on the veg team (more on that to come!).  It has made cooking easier and much more enjoyable when we can sit down and actually have the same thing on our plate!  I have to say, there's nothing I luv more than the challenge of having our meat-eater friends over for dinner and serving them veg food!  They are very quick to tell their opinion, but when they eat the food I cook them, they always enjoy it!  Stay tuned for some amazing recipes and food pictures! 

Now, I'm off to enjoy the beautiful outdoors :)