Memorial Day

Memorial Day weekend has long been a big event in my house. Every year, the fun begins when the infamous Uncle Jimmy arrives from L.A. on Friday afternoon. From that moment on, we eat, drink and are merry! There's lots of sunning, cocktails, pool volleyball, food, friends and LAUGHS! The anticipation of this weekend builds for months in advance and I look forward to the commencement of summer and being surrounded by the ones I love the most.

I'm terrible at remembering to take photos, but here are a couple highlights

saturday was completely devoted to the sun! here's jimmy feeling triumphant after fixing a broken umbrella

after a long day of laying out, mom, jimmy and i made larb (one of my favorite thai dishes) and grilled veggies for dinner

sunday was another day of sun as we prepared for our bbq that night. here's daniel and me chilling poolside after a competitive game of pool volleyball

and of course my baby was a part of the festivities :)

sunday night was a doozy with a game of poker,  a pitcher of vodka slushy lemonade, homemade ice cream and a lot of friends and family time. the next day, daniel and i nursed the exhaustion with this while my mom watched and laughed

and now, it's back to BOOTCAMP!!! 

taggerific!

I didn't realize that I had been tagged by lovely Olive Oyl when I posted my last blog. I apologize for repeating a couple things.

eight things i'm looking forward to

1. this weekend with sunshine, my pool, and some FABULOUS people 

2. having my best friend and soul mate by my side all summer!

3. spending 2 weeks eating, drinking and exploring in italy with my momma

4. enjoying the beautiful scenery from Seattle to Shafter - road trip!!

5. my post boot camp bod. the running mileage is seriously increasing!

6. experiencing my first taste of garlic ice cream at the garlic festival

7. getting in touch with nature and my childhood while camping in yosemite 

8. reconnecting with daniel on a daily basis - going to the gym, doing projects, shopping, napping, swimming. his summer schedule is the best!

eight things i did yesterday 

1. visited my favorite cousin and her 4 beautiful children

2. split a hot fudge sundae with daniel

3. nursed a sick puppy

4. daydreamed about doing what i love

5. took a looooong lunch

6. teased my mom about her orthopedic shoes that i secretly wear around the house

7. was stressed by the stress of the one that i love

8. sweat buckets at boot camp 

eight things i wish i could do 

1. go on an 18 month long travel adventure around the world

2. eat ice cream every single day and not see the effects on my hips

3. somehow discover the perfect, most flattering bathing suit at a super low price

4. find a way to do what i love, in a place that i love, with the one that i love

5. have my dear friends from around the country all close by

6. read much much faster

7. learn to relax and release my anxiety

8. finally be rid of the toe fungus that has plagued my life for so long - don't judge me :) 

eight shows i watch 

1. the office

2. 30 rock

3. southland

4. the biggest loser 

5. american idol

6. law & order SVU

7. what not to wear

8. the fashion show (only intermittently as it comes on at the same time as southland. grr)

what's to come

With temperatures hitting the triple digits this week, it seems that my favorite time of year is upon us! Here are some things that I am soooo looking forward to this summer:

• annual Memorial Day Backyard BBQ  weekend with Uncle Jimmy and friends
  
• Angie's well deserved and much anticipated graduation party
  
• company spring party in LA
  
• Seattle in June
  
• road trip from Seattle to Shafter with Jess
  
• living with my best friend all summer long
  
• 4th of July bash
  
• a great tan :)
• Death Cab for Cutie concert in Berkeley
  
• VEGAS with Jess, Amber and Amy!!
  
• Gilroy Garlic Festival with Christopher Ranch's own Amber Oliveira
  
• checking out the new Grimway Dodger seats
  
• camping and hiking in Yosemite
  
• crazy concert double header - Kings of Leon and Vans Warped Tour in LA
  
• spending time with my love Monday through Sunday and celebrating a wonderful year together!!! (Yay for his summer schedule!)
  

Let the fun begin!

mamma

I love this lady, my biggest fan, my best friend, my mom

Yesterday, she helped me and Daniel make this for his special mom. No Ace of Cakes, but we tried :)

The glorious after

My mother and I have been slaving over this office project since last week. I had to take a short hiatus from our project to fly to Phoenix for work, but on the day of my return, our floor beautiful laminate was installed and I took the rest of the day off to put the pieces back together. 

The before pictures were taken 2 weekends ago and sadly don't do the mess much justice. When Daniel snapped these pictures on his iphone, we were saying "wow, it looks so open and spacious! Already so much better." That should give you an idea of the horrible clutter that had already been cleared out. Any open space you see below was filled with SOMETHING!!

BEFORE

classy peeling linoleum

 

my mom's former desk in it's hunter green glory... look for this in the "after" pictures

my dad's desk and a perfect example of Zack's "wall art"

AFTER

I LOVE the floor!

We desperately needed a place for a guest to stay so we decided to fit a some sleeping space into the office. Here's the bed partially put together (white cup in place:)

and completed (except for bedding)

There are cute baskets underneath for extra storage!

We reused an old bookshelf we already had. I gave it a fresh coat of white and used mod podge to decorate the backing with scrapbook paper.

My dad's desk was a steal from a local second hand furniture store. It has great modern lines and is solid wood. We sanded the 80's stain down and painted it the same color as the brown accent wall.

My mom's old desk was a HUGE "L" shaped desk with three pieces bolted together. We took them apart, discarded 2/3 and reused one section and a hutch. It looks great with my favorite chair and new knobs!

Still don't believe your eyes?? Come by and see it!! With all the extra space, we were even able to fit the piano in too. We still have a lot to put back into place (I just restocked the bookshelf last night), a filthy window to wash and curtains to put up. BUT, what an improvement, right? It'll all be done for the annual Memorial Day BBQ with Jimmy!

Feeling Clean

The office in my parent's house has always been a dark and frightening abyss of papers, ancient files, failed projects, dust, grime and despair. For the longest time, when my mom and I would clean the house, we'd just close the door to the office as if it wasn't even a part of the house. But, with my brother and I both back at home for now (please, God, not much longer!), we have no place for guests to sleep (mostly Uncle Jimmy and Daniel). Back in January, with the inspiration of a new year fueling our fire, my mom and I began the plans for our complete office renovation.

The clearing out of the room has been the most daunting and our living and dining rooms are feeling the brunt of it.  So many times we were discouraged by "what IS this?" or "what am I supposed to do with this?" Two computers, three desks, a trombone, 2 microphones, some exercise bands, an accordion, and about 300 pounds of paper later, we managed to get everything out. This week, we began the "fun" stuff - stripping and painting our recycled desks, washing, spackling and painting walls, ripping up linoleum, upholstering a found chair... you name it...

I'm not too diligent about taking pictures, but I did manage to take this one before and after of my mom's new desk chair which was a steal from the Insect Lore Warehouse Sale (it came as a set with a dining room table and 3 other chairs for $25!!! I guess it used to be in my boss' house)

what a gem!

so fresh and so clean!! (we're doing muted blue, chocolate and white in the room)

Hopefully in the next week, I'll have a complete before and after!! Trust me, it'll be astonishing! (I hope :)

My My My

... it's been a looooong time! The biggest reason why I'm so bad at posting new blogs is because I'm infinitely impatient when it comes to waiting for pictures to upload. We all know how much more entertaining a blog with pictures is. I HATE to be that boring blog with no visual aides. That said, I was tagged by a lovely lady and had to post a picture of myself as it, at this moment...

SURPRISE! 

I cut my hair! Not just like a trim, but more like 7 inches!!! I did it just before Easter and I must say I feel lighter, brighter and sassy :) I've always heard that a girl will cut her hair when she's good and ready, but now that I've done it, I can't imagine why I was holding onto my lifeless locks for so long. 

(Just like Olive Oyl stipulated  - no primping here, just a little casual Friday in the office after a morning run. I'm SUCH a good employee)

(This picture however, did take some preparation and think I look pretty hot :)