Tuesday, December 6, 2011

What I've learned in the past 2 months:

1. Disneyland really is the happiest place on Earth... and I am in love with it.

2. Blogging can be a drag, when it becomes a chore.

3. It can feel like Christmas no matter where you are, as long as you don't try to force it.

4. It is better to write a FB response/blog post/email and then delete than it is to actually send it.
(i've not-sent more than a few things in the past couple of months)

5. Apologizing is always worth it (but you have to mean it).

6. It's not about where you are (location/timeline/emotional state) at this moment, it's about how unwilling to change you are. Inflexibility can be your biggest stepping stone, and complacency is always the enemy.

7. Reading is more fun than watching TV (this is more of a reminder that I received from getting a Kindle for my birthday)

Friday, September 30, 2011

Favorite Friday: Blind Pilot & Revolver

Jayson and I love music. a lot.

and for much of our relationship we have loved one band in particular, Blind Pilot.




I have been lucky enough to see them more than a few times (try 7 or 8), and tonight we are driving to Santa Barbara to see them again!

The live performances never let me down, and I am super excited about tonight's show because it will be the first time we've seen them since their new CD came out!

So tonight, good music... tomorrow... more good music!

Tomorrow we get to see another band we love, Revolver!


They are a French band that describe themselves as "ChamberPop," and after two years of loving them we finally saw them play last South By Southwest! Excited to see them tomorrow night in LA!

to give you a little view of how amazing both bands are, here are a couple of youtube videos (i hope the sound is good. my current work computer doesn't have speakers)

Blind Pilot: 3 Rounds & a Sound


Revolver: Get Around Town



Happy Music Listening!

Sass

Friday, September 23, 2011

Favorite Friday: Fall at the Farmer's Market

The first day of fall is here! it's a beautiful 62 degrees outside (at 7:30 in the morning); and weather.com tells me we're looking forward to 10 days of that great weather where it's chilly one day and a high of 90 the next.

i LOVE this time of year, and it's even more exciting being here in LA for it!

To add to our Fall fun, The Original Farmer's Market in LA has a series called Tuesday's Best.


From their website:

Tuesday's Best - September 27, October 4 & 11!

Join us Tuesday evenings through October 11 from 5-9pm for an open house including cooking demonstrations, food sampling, great shopping and dining specials, live entertainment and more. Each week offers a new crop of demos, tastes and activities, so check back for an updated weekly schedule of activities. Plus, you get to park for free from 5-9pm (w/ purchase) while you enjoy the best of the Market.

Click here for our Sept. 27 cooking demos, samples & specials.
Click here to watch a preview of our September 27 festivities.


http://farmersmarketla.com/whats_new/default.asp


Jayson and I went this past Tuesday, and it was fantastic! There were enough free tastings (only 4 or 5), that we were able to go to the great restaurant Little Spain and just eat a couple of tapas before we were stuffed! (by the way please go to Little Spain! really, really amazing food!)

AND the Farmer's Market already has pumpkins ready to come home with you! We wanted to go ahead and buy one (a little early, i know!); but completely forgot, as we were in a delicious food stupor.

It's also just lovely out there at night. :) After the Farmer's Market, it's just a pleasant treat to be able to walk along the twinkly light-lined streets of The Grove. You have to make sure to bring a jacket of course, and then it really feels like Fall!

If this isn't enough to draw you to The Farmer's Market for Fall, they also have this coming up:

Fall Festival 2011
Saturday & Sunday, October 15 & 16

In honor of the Fall harvest, the Farmers Market features a two day festival with live music, a kid-friendly petting zoo, Agventure Land activities, arts & crafts, world-famous pie-eating contests, and much more!

You're welcome! If you're in LA: have fun! If you're not in LA: i guess there's another reason to visit.

sass


Monday, September 12, 2011

Hamilton Happenings: Can You Believe It!?

Let me tell you how much I needed a break from weekly blogging. okay, are you ready?.... A LOT.
Yes, it's a little silly that sitting down and writing a few lines is tiring; but for the last few weeks, Jayse and I have been so busy that there have been many days in a row where I DON'T OPEN MY COMPUTER!

WHAT!?

But here is the important thing: i'm back.

To give you a litte run down of our weeks:

**We went on the "haunted" tour at the Queen Mary.
  • No real ghosts.
  • No great history lesson.
  • Real lesson learned: the ship is fantastic & interesting, go on the really corny ghost tour because it's hilarious, but don't do the "Haunted Passport" (OH! We did learn the the Queen Mary is 1 and a half times the size of the Titanic! That ship was so tiny compared to our luxury cruise lines of today!)
  • Pictures seen here:

creepy (haunted) onboard pool. this is wear the fancy people showed off those hot, full-body bathing suits.


The Observation Bar


The Music Room


There was a party near the end of our visit. You can't really tell here, but we were surrounded by men & women wearing pink feather boas.


gorgeous


Kicking ghost butt!


sorry you don't look this cool.


**We drove to Texas...and back... in just a few days
  • We left on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. when I got off work
  • We returned Friday at 5:30 a.m.... For me to go to work at 9.
  • Jayson did the math: Our trip lasted 109 hrs, We were in Fort Worth 65 hrs 24 mins, and we were in the car 43 hrs 36 mins. How 'bout them apples?
  • These pictures were taken:

Adler's cross-country set up


How Adler spent the last 30 minutes of our drive to Texas. I guess she was ready for it to be done with (btw she has NEVER been in the front seat before, but she just climbed up there like it was her job)


amazed out how awkward and creepy this photo turned out


group photo


Jayson and his parents

**We went to see Our Idiot Brother, and loved it!

**We played Mafia!

**We went to the beach!

And other than that:

WE WORKED!

Lots and lots of work. Jayson working at his amazing job at Cassidy and me at Calamigos (where i'm now full time)! It's been a little weird because we have opposite schedules, but it's been working out. We have the evenings off together! Also, to spend more time together, when one person is getting ready for work, the other wakes up even if he/she doesn't have to. It gives us an extra hour or so. All of it just makes us feel more LA because it seems like everyone here has a crazy schedule!

Life has been good, and I am extremely thankful. God has made it more than obvious that joy comes from Him. He has given us both extreme amounts of patience over the last few months, and we have never once gone through a moment where we were at odds with each other or upset at our move. In fact, with these experiences we've had over the last 5 months, God has taught us even more how thankful we are for our marriage and for this adventure He's sent us on!

thanks for being patient with my non-blogging weeks!

sass

Friday, August 19, 2011

Favorite Friday: Pottermore



Several months ago, it was announced that J.K. Rowling, creator of Harry Potter, was going to launch a website called Pottermore. Apparently, Rowling has stored up books of knowledge on the background of every character, minor and major, in the series; and knows the whole history of important objects & sports (Quidditch, anyone?) So early summer she announced she would release a magical (FREE) site to pull us deeper into the world she created. She announced there would be interaction, information, and even the first sales of Harry Potter e-books!

Then came the announcement that there would be a lucky few to have Beta access (1 million to be exact); and that door would open for sign-up on Harry's birthday, July 31st.

**At this point I would like to bring you the latest Internet usage stats, as of March 2011:
World Population: 6,930,055,154
World Internet Users: 2,095,006,005
% of World Population on Internet: 30.2%

That's 70% of the World without Internet. Just take that with you today.... now back to my silly, but fun interest in Pottermore.**

So a week before the July 31st opening, it was announced there would be a series of clues given for early access. 7 days, 7 clues over 7 books. Luckily, Jayson and I happened to be awake (but were about to head to bed) when the first clue hit the internet.

Day 1 Clue
How many breeds of owl are featured on the Eeylops Owl Emporium sign?
Answer: 5
Multiply this number by 49.
Solution: 245

We entered in the solution, found the magical quill (yes, there was a magical quill), and registered for early access.

Then we waited until just a few days ago to finally have access.

And what did we find? magic.

I will tell you more about the actual experience later, but just know, it's amazing! Sure they have a lot of work to do (lots of suggestions are made from all over the world every time there is a comment board), but what's there is a great entry into the world of HP! Background information on characters (so much information!) and did I mention sorting into Houses!

I am a.... Gryffindor! (Yes, the same as: Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville AND Dumbledore!)



Jayson is a..... Hufflepuff! (there is lots of background info on Hufflepuff as well, and it's actually a really amazing house! don't judge!)



In case you have any doubts, watch this PG-13 (for language) YouTube video about the Honey Badger:




If you want to know more about Pottermore, stay on top of things with this link:
http://insider.pottermore.com/

-Sass

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Hamilton Happenings: Next Week's Texas Visit

Oh, hey!

So it looks pretty official, Sunday afternoon we will be driving to Texas.

Why, you ask?

Well, when we moved here, we moved with our two cars and the things we could fit inside them, and we left everything else in storage.

We have discovered we forgot a few things. So while it would not be financially responsible to get a moving truck/U-Pack and move the rest of our stuff to California (which I can tell you how great it's been to discover all the things we don't NEED--it's kind of been a personal challenge for us to discover the real needs and wants of our life), we have decided to go back and grab a few things like glasses, baking supplies and soccer cleats (Jayson's been invited to play and has had nothing to play in).

In case you're wondering why we're driving-- it's cheaper. We can bring Adler with us (save money), even with our airline miles it's still saves money to drive (if we flew we would only have to get 1 one way ticket... still cheaper to drive), AND we can load our stuff in the back of the car and not worry about bag checking or shipping costs. Plus, repetitively, I mean Ads get to come with us, and we love that little puppy (and the Hamiltons have missed her too!)

So we're really excited because this also means we will be able to see a few people we adore. This could be you!

Problem, we need to focus on grabbing our things first and spending time with family. No going out to dinner, no form of entertainment where we can't talk to people....I'm thinking Tuesday evening/night is when we will head into the city of Fort Worth for quality time.

Let us know what you think, if you have an area for multiple people to gather in, if you have free time. Basically, what your next Tuesday looks like.

If we don't get to see you this time, we will be back. :) Don't fear. Also, feel free to visit LA. We have an extra bedroom (but we're not picking up our mattresses this time... so we'll have to see if there is an air mattress to borrow for your visit :) )

Still up in the air is the day we will return to LA. I will keep everyone updated on that, but for right now just assume it will be about 3 or 4 am Thursday (hopefully I can get Friday off, and can stay until noon-ish on Thursday).

Thank you for being a friend.... in Fort Worth (sorry if this blog post doesn't apply to you),

sass

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Hamilton Happenings: Sisters

Oh gee, internet, what have we been up to this week? Why am I writing Hamilton Happenings on a SATURDAY!?
Well, i've been really busy; and I just didn't get around to it, okay? ;)

My sister, Melissa, came into town last Sunday! It was so nice to have family stay with us, and especially host my sister (who used to live here.... way back when).

Of course, I forgot to take any pictures the whole weekend (for a person that used to call herself a photographer, this is embarrassing). Luckily, my sister took at least this one:


The two of us at Hollywood & Highland.
Not the best of us, but i think the iPhone did a pretty good job in the dark surroundings.


We got to introduce her to some of our friends (new and old), take her shopping, and even go to see a taping of Jimmy Kimmel (Aziz Ansari=winner).

Melissa was really set on buying me a pair of sandals (because I broke two pairs of mine in two weeks and am now without any); and we found out something very important: even in L.A., starting in "fall season," they stop selling sandals in the store. Can someone explain this to me? I'm pretty sure I can wear sandals year round here; and as soon as I find a pair of sandals, i plan on it! :/

Anyhow, it was really nice having her here; and sad when she left.

Then, I went straight into a 4 day weekend of work... and a fight to catch up on sleep. (Last night I took a 3 hour nap at 7:30 pm, woke up for 2 hours, and went back to sleep for 6!!<---actually really good amount of sleep for me!)

If anyone wants to look up information on the ol' internet about fighting tiredness, send it on over. I'll just be over here taking my hypothyroid medication and drinking a lot of coffee.

-sass

Friday, August 5, 2011

Favorite Friday: Holiday Season

Let me take a second and admit something...

I am currently listening to Christmas music.




I love it, and I am excited that we are nearing my favorite few months. To me there is no better time than that which runs from the end of September to the first week of January. I absolutely love everything about fall. The weather, the pumpkin flavored everything, the need to have warm drinks in hand (i love apple cider), my wedding anniversary, then my birthday, and knowing that Christmas is just around the corner! It's all perfection to me.


The view looking up from our backyard last December.

Living in LA it feels like Fall nearly every night. In fact, it is the one and only thing that has made me truly home-sick. At night, when we walk Adler in the cute little neighborhood beside us, i yearn for the few precious months in Fort Worth that I love so much. The months where friends sit outside for longer, the months of decorating our house, and the months of spending way too much time at the University Park Village Starbucks visiting the baristas. This year, as Fall approaches in our new city, I am nervous about how Fall and the Holiday Season will feel to me. I'm excited for new memories and new traditions, but for a few years Fort Worth in the Fall & Winter months will always be the standard by which everything else is measured.


Could this be a preview of our new stockings?

When it approaches, I will definitely let you know what it feels like to have L.A. weather in place of my beloved Southern Fall and Winter weather. But just to give you a little insight of what it's like here, I have borrowed a climate chart from About.com.


When time comes please feel free to post lots of Fall and Christmas photos no matter where you are in this world. Send me links!

It's only the most wonderful time of the year!

-sass