Catch Up

The past couple of months have flown by and I wish I could say that we have been super busy doing really fun things, but that has not been the case. Our lives have been relatively boring. We didn't do much for Halloween, no pumpkins (real ones anyway), costumes, parties or trick-or-treaters this year. Instead, we went to the beach (of course). It was 85 degrees and we figured everyone would be preoccupied with costumes and candy. We went to Newport and walked around Balboa. Steve had never been to the Fun Zone, so we played a few games and grabbed pizza near the pier.

Then before you know it, it's November. I turned the big 20 plus 8. I didn't celebrate too much. I was sick most of the week. Steve tried his best to lift my spirits. I received pink roses at work, came home to a "spa" bathroom and Steve cooked a delicious meal--salmon, asparagus, red potatoes AND he baked a yummy chocolate cake. I spent my birthday with my best friend. The night ended with Nyquil and I was sound asleep by 8:30.

Last week we spent Thanksgiving at my aunt’s house. My family came down for the entire week so we spent most of the time watching football, movies, baking, shopping and spending quality time together.

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Tool Time Part II

After weeks of hard work, refinishing cabinets, painting, replacing fixtures, cutting tile and baseboards, my Dad and Uncle John's rental property is very close to being complete. The house has received a very nice facelift. Here are some before and after pictures.

Kitchen and Breakfast Bar

BEFORE

AFTER

I love the neutral tile floor and countertops.

Dining Area

Living Room and Fireplace

BEFORE

AFTER

Hallway

BEFORE

AFTER

Hallway Bathroom

BEFORE

AFTER

Nice work guys, not bad for first timers.

Dad, Dave and Uncle John a.k.a House Flippers

48 Hours

Very early Saturday morning, Steve and I flew to San Jose with a plane full of UCLA and USC fans (both teams had big games against Cal and Stanford). My family picked us up from the airport, took us out to breakfast and then we spent the rest of the day in San Francisco. The weather was perfect. It actually felt like fall (a very nice change from the 90 degree heat in Orange County). We walked around the piers and parks, shopped and had lunch. We ended our city trip with dessert at Ghirardelli, sooo good.

On Sunday we went to my cousin Drew and his beautiful bride, Lisa's wedding reception. They had a small beachside ceremony in Carmel on Saturday.

Drew and I are very close in age, and we share the same birthday month. When we were little we would have our birthday parties together (our moms are sisters). Drew and Lisa have known each other for years. They dated in high school, went their separate ways and then found each other again years later, and now they are Mr. and Mrs. Dowler. These two are extremely talented. Lisa has the voice of an angel and Drew is a talented guitarist. Lisa and her Dad performed a duet together, a Father Daughter song and they had everyone in tears (I tried to post the video but I couldn't get it to work). Their reception was beautiful, full of family and friends, great food and dancing. Congratulations Lisa and Drew!

This morning Steve and I flew back home, drove straight to work and we are both pooped from the last 48 hours.