This is REAL

done.

2012-02-11T17:17:00.003-05:00

for all you haters out there - yes i love all things kardashian. and this book was no exception. i couldnt put it down. i think what captivated me the most, was all the oj simpson stuff. anyone who knows me, knows that i love a good "true story" murder/mystery. and this book had the best of both worlds - murder/mystery and kardashians. what else could a girl ask for?

while reading AND finishing the book late last night, i found myself youtubing/google-ing everything i could about the nicole brown-simpson and ron goldman murders. it facsinates me. i was only in 4th grade in 1994 when the murders occurred, but i do remember watching stuff on tv, but was too young to really comprehend any of it. and although kris in her book is very frank that she knows oj did it (as i believed too), i now think his verdict was accurate. after my youtube and google research i think i have pin-pointed the killer: jason, oj's oldest son from his first marriage. i think oj discovered what jason had done when he returned home that night, and took the fall for his kid, so his civil suit results i think are just.

anyone want to hire me as a private detective? i am real good at it :-)

back from me-hi-co.

2012-01-06T01:16:00.001-05:00

and it was a real good time. more pics to come :-)

just ordered....

2011-12-14T02:57:00.002-05:00

my first pair of violent lips! (as seen worn by kimK, gaga and many others). i thought i would start slow and try the red glitteratti. pics to come....if it's cute.

tis the season.

2011-12-08T22:22:00.001-05:00

check out our 4ft tree. quaint, eh? i think it's pretty good considering we werent planning for a tree until we had a kid old enough to ask for it :-)

merry christmas.

giving thanks

2011-11-26T00:58:00.003-05:00

for my two favorite people in life AND who i had the pleasure of spending thankgiving with this year.

and a close-up of the mustache in honor of movember.

thanks lisa for letting us be a part of the ward family!! hope you all had a wonderful holiday. :-)

trunk or treat.

2011-10-29T23:22:00.002-05:00

the yw auxillary was in charge of this year's trunk or treat. i told warren i thought we needed to fully commit (me being in yw's and all). so we did. kind of.

we were clowns. not full-blown clowns, but there was some effort involved. we painted our noses...and i taped puffy balls to our shoes.

hb7 goes big with this event. it is held at one of the bishopric member's warehouse (wet suit business, go figure hb, right?). there was a chili cook-off, carnival games, haunted house, cake walk, more food, pumpkin carving contest, prizes and more! it was a lot of work and set-up, but looked awesome when it all came together.

and here is our trunk. as committed as you can be without having children of our own yet. we felt that 2 door hangings taped to the top of our trunk were more than appropriate. and my candy bowl is empty. it was empty after 5 mins.

happy halloween

where my girls at...

2011-10-25T22:47:00.000-05:00

from the front to back.

my trip to utah was a success. for many reasons....
1. warren did not die on his 3 mountain in a day adventure while i was away.
2. i was able to see both my prego friends (about to pop)
3. squeezed in a day trip to richfield and saw grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins
4. had a delicious all-you-can-eat breakfast with the bro-in-law
5. met a couple little humans for the first time
6. caught up with many other friends along the way!

sunday dinner. larisa's baby bump.

thriller show! our yearly tradition (kind of).

my gma hawley.

thanks to all my g's who made it such a fab fun-filled girls weekend. i wasnt able to get a lot of pics (warren had the camera for his grand adventure), but we had a spa day, nice dinner and trip to the hospital to see katie and her unborn. all in all - success!!

warren's blog takeover: los tres santos

2011-10-25T00:18:00.013-05:00

warning - long post... here’s the short version: ran San Jacinto, San Gorgonio and San Antonio the other day. Good for a long run. Glad to cross it off the list. As in all longish treks everything seems like a blur but here’s a little of what I remember and feel like writing down. Also big thanks to Erin for all her support - she was out of town so I had to do something to stay out of trouble...

I’ve been wanting to do this link up for a while. The three highest peaks in southern california. Three saints in a day. Los tres Santos. Whatever you want to call it they’re close to home, close to each other, and linking the three of them is very reasonable. I had some buddies do it three or so years ago and I guess some of the employees at REI do it every year. A few months ago, AMc, GR and myself attempted hiking the three of them but due to some nagging chronic injuries and fatigue, we had to head for home after the first two (Jacinto and Gorgonio), still a respectable effort. Being spurred on by accomplishments and efforts of friends (also this, and notable solo efforts here and here... just follow their blogs for inspiration... and big up to Andy for helping me stay motivated with doing my best to solo train and be a distant SHTC member) I felt like something more than a 5 mile jog was in store, even though my training the past few weeks had been pretty dismal: ran more on Mon and Tue of this week than previous two weeks combined, last long run about a month ago...

I decided to do the same order of the peaks as our previous attempt: San Jacinto, San Gorgonio then San Antonio (Mt Baldy). I also spent a bit of time looking at the different options of getting up each one, I wanted to find routes that were the most “runnable” sacrificing a little longer distance for less elevation gain per mile. The goal was to just go out and have a long run, not trying to break any speed records but still trying to get them done in a reasonable amount of time.

The plan was to start in the evening and do Jacinto completely in the dark, I figured I was familiar with it and that I wanted to be at least up Baldy before dark because I’d yet to scout that one yet. I was so amped thinking that this was finally going to happen that I wouldn’t have been able to sleep even if I tried. I finally hit the road a little before 10pm and got to the base of Jacinto just before midnight.

San Jacinto (elev 1034) via Devil’s Slide route
There were a lot of cars in the parking lot, not really sure what was going on but I didn’t see anyone. In my head I figured Jacinto would be the toughest - just thinking about what was ahead, questioning if i really wanted to do this, alone, in the middle of the night, as always running off little sleep... But as in everyday training, the hardest step is the first.

I loaded up my new Nathan pack (not exactly new, got it at the REI gear sale for $14 but it had only been used once and when I saw it held a 3L camelback I was pretty stoked. That. pack. is. sick!) turned on my headlamp, threw in the headphones and I was off. I thought about forgoing the headphones, I like running with nothing but the natural sounds but thought they could be a good to get me moving. I just wanted to get out and get it done and move on. Right away I was glad Jason recommended treking poles (rented some telescoping BD’s, not the z-pole but they worked). It was relatively steep on and off (too steep for me to run) for the first half mile or so with largish rocks here and there. The first marker was two miles in and I felt like I was making decent time. It was nice to have markers every couple miles. I just kept moving, following the headlamp, listening to music peripherally in the background, listening to my feet and breath, thinking what I would if my headlight caught a glimpse of a hungry mountain lion... Full disclosure: I was scared a few times about mountain lions or I thought I heard peoples voices but I knew Erin and other’s were praying for me so I’d be all right.

After the first fork two miles, the trail gets a little less steep and I tried to take advantage of this as best I could.

on the way up Jacinto

Last time we hiked Jacinto I noted how runnable it all seemed and for the most part it this analysis was accurate. The last marker is 0.2 miles from the top and I sure was glad when I saw it, it seemed like it took too long to get there and I kept thinking I was careless and made the wrong turn. Running in the dark has a way to make things seem slow because you can only see a few feet ahead. It can also be nice becasue you can only see a few feet aheard and that’s all you worry about... The last 0.2 miles is a scramble to the top. The view on top is pretty spectacular, feels like you're on top of a real mountain. John Muir even said of it "The view is the most sublime spectacle to be found anywhere on this earth"... but what does he know about mountain views. It was pretty windy and I was anxious to get down so only spent a couple minutes to try and take some pics then get down as quick as I could.

top of Jacinto

On the way down I collapsed the poles and didn’t use them, not sure if you’re supposed to, but that felt the most comfortable to me (need to get the pack modification so I don’t have to hold them but it wasn’t terrible having them in my hands.) I fell into even more of trance with the headlight on the way down. It’s rather hypnotizing even though you’re moving quick and dodging rocks and twigs and tight turns it still seems methodical and easy to stop paying full attention for a little while. Anyhow, I ended up falling three times. No major injuries, just shook off, got up and kept going. The last two miles seemed like they took forever, in my head I think I’m moving a lot faster because it’s downhill and I don’t give adequate respect for the terrain and low light conditions.

Got back to the car around 4am and it felt good to be back. 3:56.56 (2:19 up, 1:31 down), 15.3 miles, 4500 ft of climbing. I didn’t waste much time and just started driving to Gorgonio, tallest mountain in southern California...

San Gorgonio (elev 11502) via Vivian Creek
I had about a two hour drive ahead of me and I was already fighting tiredness that even coke zero couldn’t cure. After an hour of driving on a windy mountain road I decided I should pull off for a minute and sleep - easy to justify considering I’d been up for 24 hours at that time and still had a pretty full day ahead of me. I was able to halfway sleep for about thirty min and feeling a little more refreshed was on my way again.

There was a different route up Gorgonio that i wanted to try, the Fish Creek trail. It’s about a mile longer one way than the Vivian Creek trail we did previously, but it has over 1000 less feet of vertical climb. Also on the reconnaissance hike I considered the Vivian Creek trail to be less runnable than Jacinto even though it had less elevation gain per mile. When I got to where I thought the Fish Creek trail was supposed to start I consulted the map again and realized I still had at least 20 more min on the road and then 7 miles on dirt road “not suitable for low slung vehicles”. Having driven on such roads before and knowing how long that takes I decided to just go for Vivian Creek again, I only lost about an hour... and maybe it was more runnable than I previously thought if the elevation gain per mile was a good indication.

fateful wrong turn

I got off and running about 8am. It was sunny but a touch chilly so I decided to stay with the tights and long sleeve top, which worked out fine until the very end. It felt so good just to be in the sun and be able to see, it was a whole new day. The first half mile is just slightly uphill, then you cross the dry creek bed and head up steep switch backs for a mile, too steep to run. After that the trail was very runnable besides the last two and half miles, which turned out to be more brutal than I thought they would be. Last time AMc and I made it up the last bit in 75min or so and that was at dusk and through some snow, we were pushing it pretty steady but I figured I could go at least that fast. Not sure what my split was but maybe I was just anxious to get to the top. About a half mile from the summit the trail splits and I happened to take the wrong turn. I was eager to get to the top and the trail was slightly downhill in the beginning so I started moving again, but in the wrong direction. When the trail didn’t head to where I thought it should go I realized my error and started looking around. I saw another hiker and he seemed to have made the same mistake. We started looking around and made our own trail to what we thought was the summit. There were two heaps of rocks roughly equidistant from us and we couldn’t tell which was higher. At this point I was a bit demoralized and a little frustrated I made the wrong turn, I really didn’t want to hike to the wrong point and find out I was wrong again. Luckily my friend’s hiking buddy emerged from the true summit and after confirming with each other that we really did see a person we made our way over. I spent about thirty minutes on top, enjoying the view, chatting, then started heading down. One of the guys was from Australia originally, now living in Pasedena he asked me what me “call-sign” was or something like that, I didn’t understand him and he said “No, your hiking name. What do you go by.” “I just go by Warren.”

top of Gorgonio

The trip down was essentially uneventful. Fun to run down. The first two miles was pretty loose fist shaped rock so hard to move too fast on but I just kept moving. Maybe it was the daylight but the terrain seemed to go by a lot faster. No falls this time. Ok, just one about a mile from the end. Gotta be more vigilant next time...

At the car about 6 hours after I started. 20.3 miles, 5:34 running time (exluding 30 min on top; 3:33 up, 2h down), 5422’ gain. It was warm at the car and I got those tights off as quick as I could. I also had some new blisters that I only had a plastic fork to relieve pressure with but it got the job done. I was a little surprised the lady in the car next to me commented on my feet as I was tending to them, I wouldn’t even want to look at them.

San Antonio (elev 1068’) via service road to Devil’s Backbone
Back in the car and driving by around 2pm. I felt like the timing was pretty decent and the easiest peak was saved for last. This was the only mountain that was unknown though. I thought the route I had decided on would be pretty easy to locate, again looking for the most “runnable.” As I got close to the parking spot I saw a couple on the side of the road and asked them about my route on the map, they helped a little. I then stopped at a shop where “adventure passes” were sold - I hadn’t purchased the 5 dollar pass all day and figured I could do so now and get some beta for my route as well. Well the lady said don’t bother with the pass because the rangers were gone and she wasn’t much help on the route. I thought the route would be pretty well known because the one I wanted to do was the one they have a race on every year. Finally I found the spot I thought was right, asked another group of people coming down - again they had no clue. I switched into shorts and a t-shirt considering it was 80 degrees and even though it would prob be dark on the way down I figured I’d be just fine.

I got my stuff packed and ready and started heading up the fire road. It was 5pm and I figured I had about 2 hours till sunset, I was hoping to summit by then. The road was runnable but definitely uphill. About a mile in a single track breaks off and some people were coming down. I again asked about my intended route. The guy said the single-track route they were decending was the “route everyone takes”. I remember reading about it and it didn’t seem very runnable, which the man confirmed. So I just kept heading up, hoping the map was right. I had some hesitations and almost turned back because the route I was doing was a bit more miles... maybe it would be better/faster to take the steeper shorter one and summit quicker. Oh well, at least I’ll get a run in. It was nice to be able to just run on the dirt service road and not worry about dodging rocks and what not. I also enjoy the dodging and hopping but it’s good to mix it up. Two miles up you get to the ski lift lodge where they have a restaurant and then the trail meets up with the “devil’s spine trail.” Again I saw some people coming down. Again I asked them about my route. Again they were nice but didn’t know. There was some chalk on the ground that looked like it may have been from the race so I headed that way. The sunset was quite nice and took a few minutes to get some shots. Antonio had some nice views but it was a little bit of a mixed bag for me just because all the signs of human activity and all the trees that had obviously been cleared for the ski resort made the mountain look rather bare. I really like running up the Devils Spine Trail. It was pretty windy and the exposure on both sides was exciting (for lack of a better word).

devil's backbone

As I was heading up the spine it looked like the top was right in front of me. But I was wrong. The trail dipped back down and across over to the true summit. It was now getting dark and there was a series of poorly marked switch backs, it looked more like a free for all the last half mile, without any path. I threw on the headlamp and managed to find some sort of trail through the washed out gray. It was pretty windy and my running shorts really don’t offer too much protection. I took some quick photos on top, enjoyed the panoramic view and headed down, needing to get down about a mile or so to get out of the wind. Once in some protected area I was glad I was in shorts. I made my way back down the fire trail and fell into a little bit of a rhythm. Felt nice. I tried to not get too casual... no falls on this one. Made it back to the car about 8:30pm. 13.6 miles, 3:35 (2:14 up, 1:20 down), 3800’ gain.

top of baldy. looking bleary eyed.

Now all that was left was the drive home...

Totals:
+/- 49.2 mi running
+/- 13700' gain
13.32 cumulative time (including all time at top of peaks)
308+ miles of driving

miles driving

Nutrition:
11 gu packs
Vialyte for running hydration, drank just about all 3L for Jacinto and Gorgonio, 2L on Baldy
Plenty of snacks in the car but didn’t eat more than a few handfuls of trail mix

Gear:
shoes by Mizuno, waverunner13 (on sale!)
rented BD treking poles
pack by Nathan, 3L camelback bladder
3 changes of socks

Video is in the process of being made. i need to find a song - i'd like to use a little wait what juicy xoxo mashup but it's been used... check back. photos of feet s/p run available upon request.

meet the allens.

2011-10-18T01:44:00.004-05:00

maybe at first glance, you wouldnt think warren and i would be good friends with nicole and jeremy. but, we are. we actually have a lot in common and love hanging out with them. nicole has been a good friend of mine since i moved to orange county in 2008. she is one of the kindest people you will ever meet, so of course i loved jeremy when i met him! they got married shortly after warren and i in 2010.

they sent us an invite to a "pumpkin party", and guess what?! warren was going to be getting off early, so we planned to go and i made my pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. although, i thought they still lived in irvine. and when in route punched in their address to see canyon lake showed up! what?! i totally forgot they had bought a house in the desert. we had a bit of a commute.

the community they live in is so different! it is completely gated, with several man-made lakes on the property that people wake-board, paddle board and ski on. there were also horse corrals, tracks, tennis courts and a school. it is almost like a community resort - i have never seen anything like it.

i actually bought stencils for our pumpkins. but warren is uber creative and decided to design his own. he was a little skeptical of how long i would last with this craft...

see the concentration?

these were the finished products!

of course nicole had a carving competition with a trophy and all. my kitty-bat did not win :-( neither did warren's.

nicole and i. (bad pic, but the only one that was even half-way decent)

and look whats hanging up in their house....

love them.

we dont normally do this...

2011-10-18T01:07:00.007-05:00

and by "this", i mean go to LA. for all those out-of-towners who read my blog, orange county is NOT LA. so, when you come to visit and say, "i will be in LA, we should meet up!" - it's not that close. and traffic is always bad.

BUT, this past saturday we decided to brave the journey and head up to the getty for concert.

getty at sunset.

we wanted to take more pics, but our battery died. so thats pretty much it. but if you havent ever been, you should go! the views are beautiful and the architecture is a-mazing. it had been a year or two since we had been last.

the concert was daddy kev and the thunder cats. daddy kev was awesome. thunder cats were super weird (that is who is pictured, yes he has feathers coming out of his hat). but we kind of knew this going into it. the crowd was mostly 20-something hipsters and a few weird older people doing an old person version of grinding.

we walked along abbot kinney, a cute little downtown street in venice. we felt soooo un-hip with all these LA peeps. they all looked like they could be friends with johnny depp.

we finished the night by eating at gjelina (recommended by shauna - thank you!). it was sooo incredible, even though we had to wait an hour and were seated at 10:30pm. by the time we sat down, we were so hungry that warren said, "order whatever you want" - love those words. so we asked our most-likely-johnny-depp's-friend waiter his favs and pretty much ordered all of it. quail, pork belly, sweet bread, carrots w/ greek yogurt and cilantro, stone fire pizza and the flourless chocolate cake. yep, ate it all - no left overs.

maybe we should do this LA thing more often....

date night.

2011-10-09T18:27:00.005-05:00

this home-style restaurant with a twist was recommended by our friend lexi - the corn bread was a-mazing! there were jalapenos in it, enough said.

then we took a little stroll down memory lane. we took the balboa ferry over to the harborside for a boat rental.

the harborside grand ballroom is where we had our reception :-) we still love its quaint quality and that it is right on the water. you can witness the most beautiful sunsets from the ballroom, which is on the second floor with all glass windows.

the boat was a little ghetto - not gonna lie. but it was a groupon purchase, so what were we expecting, really?

i didnt like driving it too much. turning radius is no civic.

we only saw one seal the whole time (which is rare). i think i would be so mad if i owned one of these boats in the harbor and a fat seal was always sitting on the back of my boat. (no seal is pictured, just the sunset).

i brought some martinellis (the romantic in me), but forgot a bottle opener, so no luck getting warren liquored up for the night.

warren took some model pics of me.

we loved the silhouettes the sunset created.

it was a beautiful night!!

such a great date (ended with a movie). i love spending time with my boo. our time is limited these days and i cherish each moment we get to spend with each other.

this deserves its own post.

2011-10-06T00:07:00.002-05:00

these are my favorite things to wear - ever. i am pretty much obsessed with lulu lemon and whenever i come home with a shopping bag from them, warren says, "that comes out of our bedroom set fund, right?" they are so worth it. they make everyone's booties look nice. so splurge! you will work-out even harder in them bc they make you just feel good :-)
disclaimer: not my bootie pictured

yum.

2011-10-01T19:56:00.003-05:00

rhymes with plum, which is where me and my gf richelle ate brunch today. and yum it was. i havent really taken advantage of brunch places here in oc - when i should. i loved saturdays in nyc, brunch ALL day long. this HAS to happen again! and soon.

when / if....

2011-09-29T01:13:00.003-05:00

warren gets home early, meaning before the sun goes down (which is a rare occurrence in our house these days) we like to get outside together. and this gem of a man showed up with a little surprise the other night....

check it - he stopped off at the local market by the VA in long beach and bought ALL this fruit for 11 dollars!! so we planned to make smoothies later.

did i ever mention that he ordered me flashing lights for my bike? ya, true story. it makes me feel a little bit more safe riding at night, and i look like a grandma with them, so that's cool too.

so i ride my bike and he runs along side me. if you live in hb, you've seen us. warren looking like a giselle, and me....panting on my bike trying to keep up.

just another sunset night in the place we call home :-)

proof.

2011-08-22T19:56:00.004-05:00

still havent had time to go through thailand pics. but here is some evidence that we were actually there, maya bay...off the coast of ko phi phi.

garage sale!!

2011-08-14T20:39:00.005-05:00

Warren and I had our first garage sale as a family yesterday. it was great! we have been cleaning and reorganizing and decided it was time to purge. we put an add on craigslist and I updated my fb profile. We had a pretty good gathering of people at 7am - right at the start time and it stayed pretty sustained for about two hours. After that we had a steady stream of people till noon when people came less frequently and we decided it was about good for the day. It was great spending the day together, meeting some neighbors and others out and about during the morning.

things were priced to sell. biggest surprise of what didn't sell... all my shoes?! hardly anybody even looked at them. idk if it's bc they weren't the right size (several asian ladies commented on how "long" and "big" they looked).

most surprising thing that did sell... warren's footed pajamas. he didn't have them out originally but I told him they would sell. and. they did. for a whopping 50 cents. holler!

definitely well worth it. although we didnt have big ticket items we made much more than expected. baller status. we celebrated by dinner at wing stop. classy. :-)

tor tor gets hitched

2011-08-10T00:10:00.002-05:00

tori and joe hagg. his toast was the BEST thing i have ever heard. absolutely darling.

double mint twins reunited.

the girls

it was an amazing day in sd! tori looked beautiful and the dance party was stellar! congrats mrs. bryant!!

barcelona, spain

2011-07-19T19:01:00.014-05:00

placa espanya and the museum of national art of catalunya
venetian towers olymic torch monument
track and field for modern day 1992 olympic games.

Sagrada Familia (by Gaudi) in the far distance. by far the coolest piece of architecture i have EVER seen.

La Pedra (by Gaudi)

Casa Batllo (restored by Gaudi)

park guell (by gaudi)

Magic Fountain!

crazy riot/protest thing in the placa de catalunya . it was wild.

arc de triomf

gothic area

Las Rambles

awesome bike rentals for residents of barcelona.

agbar tower

Thursday & Friday, June 9^th – 10^th: Barcelona, Spain

Espana! This was the definitely the most livable city we visited. When we arrived early Thursday morning we signed up for the “express walk off”, meaning we carried our own bags off the ship. The cruise line really advised against this (probably bc everyone is so old and cant handle luggage) but also that taxis are scarce. We walked out of the port to about 50 cabs. Again – happy with our choice.

Our taxi took us straight to our Novotel Hotel, in the business district of Barcelona (right next to the Agbar Tower, which is a newly constructed circular tower that lights up with many colors at night). We dropped off our luggage, then just started walking. We walked to the Sagrada Familia, one of the archetect, turned artist, Gaudi’s work still in progress. It is a cathedral and basicilia, where Gaudi is also buried. They anticipate it to be completed in the next 30 years. All his work looks like something out of a dream. He was inspired by nature and he combines nature and religion on the Sagrada Familia. From far away it looks like a melting candy wonderland – I have never seen anything like it.

We bought a hop-on, hop-off bus pass at the square and began our days journey. First stop – Placa Espanya with the Venetian Towers, which hosts many outdoor concerts and events in front of the Magic Fountain (or Font Magica) with the Museum of National Art of Catalunya as a grandier backdrop. It was beautiful. We didn’t enter the museum, but made plans to come back in the evening for the Magic Fountain show.

We then bussed on over to the arenas that hosted the 1992 Olympic Games! We saw the Olympic Torch Monument, the stadium that hosted the track and field events, and all the outdoor squares. It is quite the facility. Warren’s coach from BYU ran at these Olympics on this track, so it was pretty cool for him to see.

By this time I was starving (of course), so we skipped a few stops to get to Las Rambles, the main shopping and eating district. It is a long street lined with cafes and street performers. Our lunch was nothing to write home about. So after our meal, Warren was on a serious hunt for some street food his friend Ernesto recommended called shwarma. We asked a couple locals who looked very confused and then a couple guys seemed to know what it may be. They referred us to a Turkish eatery with pigs and chicken roasting. They would razor off some meat and basically make a burrito. It wasn’t called shwarma, I think it was what Ernesto was talking about, but Warren is still not convinced.

We wandered through the narrow streets to find the Gothic area, which had a cool bridge, a church, cathedral and tons of museums. We saw signs for “tapas” everywhere. We then strolled to the public park to see the Arc de Triomf. There were a bunch of guys in the park practicing their bartending tricks with bottles and shakers - throwing and juggling them everywhere. None of them were very good, but it was interesting to watch.

The coolest thing about Barcelona is that they have a public bike rental for the local residents. There are many different stations, so you can pick one up, ride it around town, then drop it off where it is convenient for you. Each bike has a GPS tracker, so if someone tries to get tricky, they can locate it. Everyone uses them. We wished they offered them to tourists. There is even a designated bike line on all the streets, separated from the sidewalks and driving streets by its own curb lined with trees.

We walked through the Placa de Catalunya to find some sort of strike or movement going on. There was a ton of hippies camped out in the square, even some had made tree houses. Who knows what it was all about. Warren tried to listen to the guy preaching to everyone, but they speak so fast. Our Spanish is very limited. But I have to say I was more than impressed with how much Warren could speak and understand, or he just fakes it really well. :-)

We grabbed one of the last buses leaving from the Placa to get back over to the Magic Fountain area. We asked a local late 20-something guy on a scooter a good place to eat. He told us Sylvester’s down the street with “jamon, jamon, jamon” hanging in the windows. And he wasn’t exaggerating. There was so much pork hanging from the ceiling. I ordered a sausage with potatoes and veggies (safe) and Warren ordered some arroz negro (black rice with fish). When our food arrived, I couldn’t even look at Warren’s. We should have taken a picture. It looked like black tar with scary shelled creepy crawlers on top. He felt obligated to eat it, since we were paying for it, but it was a lot of work. He had to de-shell the creatures. It was so gross to watch – the color was the worst part. And that the black would get stuck in his teeth – haha.

Thousands of people were gathered at the Magic Fountain for the late night water and light show coordinated with music. It reminded me of the Bellagio water show in Vegas, but not as cheesy. The music was from all over the map. We retired home by taking the metro (best decision). We were able to purchase 10 trips for around 8 euro. It went right back to our hotel in just a few stops.

The next morning we woke up early to meet up with a Gaudi tour we signed up with. We met at the Placa de Catalunya when is started raining! Luckily we were prepared this time. There were lots of old people on the tour (the norm) and we had a nice airport bus to guide us around town. We journeyed by the Casa Batllo and also one of his most famous works, La Pedra.

We then drove up to Park Guell, which was a community Gaudi had helped with the irrigation and city planning, that never really took off. All his architecture is beautiful and dream-like. There were two gingerbread-like houses, a market 80-something columns and a decorated roof and walk-ways that fit into nature.

The tour ended at the Sagrada Familia, where we were able to skip the line to go inside. The inside reminded me of a light-colored Tim Burton movie style. The pictures just do not do it justice. The tour was well worth the price we paid.

We stopped for lunch back at the Placa at a side street cafeteria type café. The food was actually very good. Warren tried some traditional pizzas on a flat baguette and I had a ham and cheese sandwich with a fried egg atop and Italian pasta salad. Muy bueno.

We had planned on renting bikes in the afternoon and relaxing on the topless beaches, but the rain was relentless. We retired to our hotel for an afternoon nap. We were able to connect with Eugene and Andy and planned to meet them for a very late dinner. In Barcelona, people start eating dinner around 8:30pm and restaurants serve dinner until 2am. We planned to meet them at 9pm. I found a restaurant online that was listed in many guidebooks. The main reason we chose it was because on the review sites the management of the restaurant had actually taken the time to rebuttal against the bad comments made. And their rebuts were hilarious. We decided it was a must.

It was called Taller de Tapas, located on the windy back streets of the Gothic area. I don’t think I gave Andy and Eugene great directions (granted it was a little difficult to find) bc they never showed. Unless we totally just got stood up by our new bff’s. Lame. Maybe we wont be visiting them in Miami after all.

Warren and I ordered the following traditional Spanish style tapas (which is basically a small plate or appetizer size): pebrots de padron (hot and spicy green fried peppers), brocheta de pollo marinado con finas hierbas y vino blanco (grilled chicken kebabs marinated with white wine and herbs), patates braves (fried potatoes with garlic mayonnaise and spicy smoked paprika sauce), xoricets de Pamplona a la sidra (sizzling chorizos braised in asturian cider), and of course the traditional bread with a light tomato sauce. It was delicious. Best food in Barcelona we had during our stay.

And that’s it!! That was our trip, the abridged version (believe it or not). :-)

got this today.

2011-07-15T01:29:00.003-05:00

cant say how or where. but i will say - i love it.
also loving this. it has brought a fresh organizing element to my day.

ps. we have one more europe post (barcelona) coming soon!!

nice, france & monte carlo, monaco

2011-07-06T00:57:00.008-05:00

local market

collector item cars by the dozen drove by us on our walk along the coast

the park that we reached by elevator is in the top left of this pic

view from the top of the park

view of bay in monte carlo

Wednesday, June 8^th: Monte Carlo, Monaco & Nice, France

This port we had to access through a smaller tender boat to shore. It didn’t take too long and we had met up with Eugene and Andy to spend the day with them. We walked through a few streets in Monte Carlo to the train station, where we could not find a counter to by tickets. We hopped on the next train to Nice, the capitol of the French Riviera, and made it there (as stow-aways).

Along the way, a couple from Mexico tagged along with the four of us (I forget their names). We walked down the main street to get to Nice Old Town, which is on the coastal edge with views and a beach on the French Riviera.

We stopped off at the local market and took a look around, and ate a light meal at a café (penne pasta in a cheese white sauce and sliced ham on top). We then headed to the park on top of the hillside with amazing views of the Riviera. We were able to take an elevator up and down in the park, which was very convenient and saved us a lot of time.

We decided to take the public railroad back to the train station (very short day) which only cost 1 euro. We made it to the station to find our asian family, who told us the train was canceled (some strike – of course) and that we would have to take the bus. So back down the railroad to old town to catch the city bus.

The bus drove on the windy coastline of the Riviera and took about an hour (compared to our 20 minute train ride that morning). We arrived just in time to take a picture with the famous Monte Carlo Casino and then discover that there was a line of about 2,000 people to get back on the boat.

All in all, Nice was beautiful and very quaint. It was definitely more relaxed than other days and ports. A nice way to end the trip.

pisa & florence, italy

2011-07-01T21:51:00.013-05:00

leaning tower of pisa

the classics....

the duomo

inside the duomo

view from the top....

walking around town

santa croce church

ponte vecchio bridge

we locked in our love in florence :-)
view from the bridge

Tuesday, June 7^th: Florence, Italy

The day started off with the same asian family to share a cab to the train station, where we took a train from Livorno to Florence. Warren had told me, “it’s your day, we can do whatever you want”. All I really wanted was a nice Italian meal, a picture with the leaning tower of Pisa and some cute scarves, which I did find. :-)

We hopped of the train in Pisa and Warren started his stop watch to calculate for 1 hour (the trains only came once an hour). We wanted to have plenty of time in Florence, so Pisa needed to be a quick trip. Taxis were barren. Warren spotted a train that Rick had listed as a way to get to the leaning tower, so we sprinted (through the rain) to the bus and hopped on. I asked the girl next to me if it was heading to Pisa, and we had the right bus, but the wrong direction. We got off at the next stop to where we found a lone, empty taxi – thank you! He took us to the tower where we walked around a few minutes and both got one of those classic pictures of us trying to hold up the structure. We were so cool. We saw another bus, confirmed its direction, then got it to head back to the train station. Pisa took all of 54 minutes, where we caught the next train about 6 mins later.

In Florence, we wandered off the train, through an underground passageway to the other side of the square, past some churches, where we stumbled into the Duomo and Baptistery. The Baptistery is known for its massive bronze doors, and the Duomo for its massive dome atop the Cathedral of Santa Mara del Fiore.

We heard the line for Accademia would be long to see Michalengo’s “David”, so we headed to the museum. Word on the street was right. It was over a 2 hour wait. Our taxi driver had told us to buy a reservation ticket for anytime, then go through the reservation door bc they never check the time. But all the rezzie tickets were sold out, and that line seemed even longer with all the tours! So we decided that a picture with the replica would have to do bc we didn’t have 2 hours to spare when there was so much more of the city to see.

Wandering through the streets we found many churches, a hospital, statues and even a catholic funeral taking place. We made our way back to the Duomo Museum where we purchased a tour and walked right in (skipping the line) to the Cathedral. The tour was the best idea we had all day. The floor was what was most impressive. It is the original and from higher up, you can see the unique designs that represent special religious meanings. Our tour guide took us up to the roof and different look out points to the city. Warren was pleasantly surprised and liked Florence much more than he thought he would. Now HE wanted to see other things too, and it became “our” day. :-)

Next we tried to find a Rick recommendation for lunch, but after wandering the narrow streets for a half hour we gave up and settled for pizza and a sandwich. We were short on time, so it probably worked out better this way anyhow. We sat in the Piazza Signoria to eat and then took some pics with the replica statues of David and Perseus, holding Medusa’s head.

What Warren loved most about Florence was that it is a walking town. There are some cars and taxis, also scooters, but they cant all fit on some of the narrow side winding streets. We walked through a small street to get to the Santa Croce Church (where Michelangelo is buried), to which we found it was closed.

So, we moved on to find my scarves. Warren had heard there was great shopping on the Ponte Vecchio Bridge, so we walked along the waterline to it. It sprinkled on and off and when rain would come, everyone ran for cover under the awnings of shops. On the bridge were stores mostly with jewelry, so we did a quick walk through, picked up our most expensive and least tasty gelato of the trip and strolled back towards the train station through shops that contained……scarves! I was very happy.

The 3:30 train back to Livorno had been cancelled, and we arrived for the 4:30 train hoping it would be on track. We met a couple production guys for a Blue Man Theater tour on another boat that was docked at the same port. They are treated like royalty on cruise ships from what they were telling us. Much better than our server and cabin attendant, who could only the leave the ship 2 hours a day and slept under water level in a shared cabin. We cant figure out why they do it, bc I don’t think the money is much better and they have to be away from the their families for months at a time. For these production guys though – sounds like cake. They get to travel and have all their room and board free.

We were going to share a train with them back to our ship (theirs was parked next to ours), but we ran into our trusty asian family and split a cab with them back to the boat. Florence. Pisa. Check.

rome, italy

2011-06-30T21:01:00.013-05:00

the vatican museum

peters basilica

colosseum

warren's favorite building :-)

pantheon
trevi fountain
square by spanish steps

warren's idea, in the most "romantic" part of rome

Monday, June 6^th: Rome, Italy

Rome. In a day. Talk about crazy. And exhausting. We were off the ship first thing and lucked out that the shuttle bus left 15 mins earlier than it was scheduled. We caught a train from Civitavecchia to Rome in about 2 mins after arriving and were on our way. We had received a lot of conflicting info from people and Rick, so we took advantage of the 45 min train ride to figure it out.

We decided to start at the Vatican Museum, so we got off at the first stop into Rome. We arrived a half-hour before the museum opened, and there was already a 1.5 hour wait. Then we got swindled. We agreed to a tour that was supposedly starting in 20 mins, where we could skip the line. Turns out by the time we actually got into the museum, it had been almost 2 hours. What a rip. But having the guide was nice. She shared some interesting info, and we moved fast. The place is massive and they suggest 4 days to cover it all. She basically walked us down the main large hall with the sculptures, maps and tapestries.

Then we entered the Sistine Chapel – which was incredible. It was crazy to see work of Michelangelo on such a great scale. Something interesting she told us was a story about a Cardinal not liking something about his work (I think it might have been all the nudity, which fyi clothes were added later to his painting and fig leaves were added to many of the sculptures) and Michelangelo did NOT appreciate. He made one of the faces of a person in hell the face the of the Cardinal. When the Cardinal asked the Pope to have Michelangelo change it, the Pope responded something like, “sorry, I don’t know anyone in hell to help you.” It was just amazing to see the ACTUAL stuff that you see copied all over the world since you were a kid. It was awesome.

We went through a side back door (short cut) to enter St. Peter’s Basilica, where St. Peter was martyred and buried. It was ginormous. Seriously huge. Its difficult because we took pictures of these amazing buildings, but it just doesn’t do it justice. Everything was so grandeur and detailed.

We caught a cab to head over to the Colosseum, where we listened to one of Rick’s walking tours, which made it much more interesting. I cant believe there used to be games to the death, or that they would throw wild animals in with a slave and people would cheer and watch them die. How barbaric. And disgusting. The building itself is impressive to see what is left of it, but I just couldn’t get over what had gone on there.

Next we headed to the Roman Forum, which was right next to the Colosseum. We had purchased a Roma Pass which got us into both places skipping the lines. We didn’t know much about the history of the Forum, so we did a brief walk through then decided to take a stroll down the street to see a sweet building called Victor Emanuel Monument. This was Warren’s favorite building in all of Rome. He loved the statue on the top.

We grabbed another cab to the Pantheon, which is one of the best-preserved monuments in that not much has been changed or had to be preserved since it was built over 1800 years ago. It is a concrete dome, which many other buildings have modeled its architecture after. We thought that the fountain in front was the Trevi Fountain, so Warren filmed me tossing a coin in for good luck. Total tourists, right? Except that it wasn't the Trevi, it was just some random. So we followed our map a few blocks to see the real thing – which was much more impressive. Here we both threw in coins. What? When in Rome!!! Now that line is appropriate :-)

We enjoyed some gelato (I always ordered mente) as we strolled to the Spanish Steps. It is claimed to be the most beautiful steps in Rome, designed in the Roman Baroque style and is considered a romantic spot in town. We took a kissing pic. :-) Men walk around with roses and literally put it in your hand, wedged between your fingers and then ask your beau for money. It was ridiculous. We did not participate, and I always handed it back to which the man would turn really grumpy.

We made it back to the train station to RUN all the way to the track to miss it by 2 mins. We got on the next train 20 mins later and met Eugene and Andy – a gay couple from Miami who ate at a table near us on the cruise. They said they saw us running to the track and followed suit. We sat and talked with them the whole way back. When we got back to the port, pretty Princess had stopped running the shuttle service, so we had to stow away on another shuttle bus and pretend like we didn’t understand when they were shouting, “no princessa!” The bus stopped at the ship next to ours, so we made it back safely and just in time with our new friends.

hi - still here.

2011-06-24T00:13:00.005-05:00

yep, i know....i promised a post a day of europe. but this week has been real busy. so for now, here are a couple highlights:

double date hike with the santiagos

part my family came to visit

Elder Davis returned from the cualican, mexico misson

Naples, Italy

2011-06-20T21:36:00.008-05:00

pompei

sorrento

amalfi coast

positano

Sunday, June 5^th: Naples, Italy

Naples is the most densely populated city in all of Italy. Apparently the garbage men have gone on strike – literally. There is just piles and piles of garbage that lined the streets. Lucky for us, we didn’t spend anytime in Naples. We shared a cab from the ship with a little asian family from LA. They were very frugal – haggled with the cab driver and asked a lot of questions. The 20-year-old daughter was very…anxious. More so than I, believe it or not.

We purchased a round trip ticket to Sorrento, a coastal town about 70 minutes outside of Naples. But first we stopped at Pompeii, a site that contains ruins of a once thriving city. The city was completely buried after Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. There were even (casts) of actual bodies that were discovered and preserved by the volcanic ash. The site is HUGE and there was no way to cover it all.

We hired a live guide, which was a cute little old Italian man with an umbrella, and only charged us 10 euro a piece. It made it much more interesting to know what we were looking at. The city seemed very advanced, especially for the time that it was built. There was an entire set of rooms that were designed like a gym, shower, and steam room. The engineering was incredible. It started to rain on us a bit, and our handy “Princess Patter” (daily ship newsletter) did not forecast rain. Whoops. We survived though and made it through our tour.

We got back on the same train to continue on to Sorrento, which is darling in itself and overlooks the Bay of Naples. The town is known for its Limoncello, a tangy lemon liqueur – lemons were everywhere! We had to have some considering it may be a once in a lifetime opportunity. “When in Rome”, right? Jk.

Walking through the streets of Sorrento, there are many shops and the Piazza Tasso with a large clock tower. I really wanted to have a nice lunch, so we took a suggestion from Rick and wound our way through the narrow back streets to find a restaurant called Inn Bufalito. It specialized in Italian cuisine with buffalo mozzarella – sooooo good! We started with a Capri salad (yes, the island of Capri is right of the coast of Sorrento, but we opted to head up the coast instead), then ate a buffalo mozzarella pizza, stuffed artichoke/mozzarella ravioli and a jamon panini. Quite the meal. Our server was funny and spoke pretty good English. We were very happy with our choice :-)

We raced back over to the train station to get a bus up the Amalfi Coast. This coast is famous for its dramatic cliffs dropping off to the ocean. It is featured in many movies, like the Italian Job. Rick told us to be sure to sit on the right hand side of the bus for the best views. It is a narrow and windy road, obviously VERY high, and the cliff just drops off to the ocean about a few hundred feet below us. The bus was awesome, because it was like a nice airport bus with HUGE windows, so we had great views. I would squeal every now and then when we got close to edge and imagined us plummeting to our early deaths. But we survived. And it was worth it.

The bus travels all the way to Amalfi Town, but we worried about making it back to the ship in time. We stopped off at a town called Positano, with pastel houses that cascade down the hillside. It doesn’t even appear to have roads that go through it besides the Amalfi Coast Hwy. It was beautiful to look at, but I was getting nervous about missing our ship waiting for the next bus. To Warren’s dismay, we shelled out 50 euro for a taxi ride back up the coast to make it back to the train station.

We made it back to dirty Naples to discover an obese woman with her dress lifted peeing in the street. Ahhh….just another day in the city. Warren was in some serious shock. Then, the biggest shock of all – the BEST gelato of our trip? At the port terminal right as we boarded the ship. Go figure.

mykonos, greece

2011-06-18T18:17:00.009-05:00

just outside the dock

paradise beach

windmills

view from other side of the island (dream home??!)

random church

our scooter - best idea of the day!

lunch at alefkandra

yummy bakery we found for baklava

back on the boat, leaving mykonos.

Friday, June 3^rd: Mykonos, Greece

I loved Mykonos! When we first boarded the smaller boat to take us to shore, I was unimpressed by what seemed to be a desert beach town with the same colored white buildings. We made our way through the touristy dock and got some directions to a scooter rental shop. BEST idea of the day. We rented one scooter, and used some major teamwork to navigate our way through the windy and very hilly seaside town. And the most awesome part was that it only cost 15 euro for the whole day!

We first headed to a small beach called Paradise. It was interesting. I mean the water is crystal clear blue. To the point that when Warren was swimming laps, he tried putting down his feet to find that it was even 5 feet deeper, but was so clear the floor looked much closer. He said the water wasn’t too warm, but that it was refreshing. Paradise Beach was more of a party type beach, with chairs and umbrellas that you pay for covering the entire stretch of the small beach all the way to the water. I sat in a lounge chair and the guy collecting money couldn’t care less if we paid him. That was awesome.

We got back on our scooter to explore more by heading to another beach (where we encountered some topless women) and then scooted on over to the opposite side of the coast to see the view from the other side of the bay. All the buildings and houses on this side were larger, some with swimming pools, all with amazing views. Ninety percent of them seemed vacant. I began to fall in love with the white and blue house scenery.

I was set on eating a meal in “Little Venice”, so we headed back through the town and stopped at the scenic windmills for a photo op. Our friend Rebekah had recommended a restaurant right on the water called Alefkandra. We ordered tsatsiki, fried cheese balls, chicken souvlaki and a “mixed meat” type lasagna thing. It was AMAZING. I think I need to be visiting more Greek restaurants when we get home.

We returned the scooter and took a stroll through the little town with shops where we happened upon a cute bakery with a dog outside wearing a matching orange bow that coordinated with the shop. There we purchased some baklava bites (6 flavors to be exact) to try later. They ended up being SO sweet, that I could only muster to eat one and Warren had one bite. They are soaked in honey!

Overall, it was a great day. Of course I like any port with good weather and sun :-)

istanbul, turkey

2011-06-17T18:29:00.010-05:00

leaving topkapi palace

inside topkapi palace

cistern

lunch on a roof top terrace (recommended by a local)

outside the blue mosque

hagia sophia

streets of Istanbul

bridge spanning the bosphorus river that connects asian turkey w european turkey (looking towards european istanbul)

Thursday, June 2nd: Istanbul, Turkey

We got an early start off the boat and chose to walk across a bridge that connects Asian Turkey (where our port was) with European Turkey (where the sites we visited were located). The bridge had at least 100 old Turkish fisherman and the views of Old Town were awesome – definitely a good choice. We walked with a couple from Chile, who were pretty hilarious. They really wanted to get pics on their iphones so they could upload them automatically and really wanted us in some of them. It was sweet, kind of.

Our first stop, the Hagia Sophia, I guess is kind of a big deal. It was HUGE. And beautiful. It is a great example of Byzantine architecture with a massive dome and the inside is decorated with marble, precious stones and even pillars from Ephesus. It's a perfect example of the rich religious and cultural history of the region as it was originally an orthodox basilica, then turned into a mosque. You can still seem some early orthodox icon paintings right next to huge islamic script (the largest in the world). It was a sight to see and pictures did not do it justice.

From the Hagia Sophia, it was just a short walk through a park with a fountain to the blue mosque. There are a lot of Turkish guys trying to sell you info books about Istanbul by telling you it is their gift to you then asking for a donation. They are quite the swindlers…more on that later.

The blue mosque was magnificent to look at from the outside. It is still a working mosque and you can go inside for free. We had to be sure our shoulders and knees were covered, and many of the women had scarves around their heads. The inside was covered with more than 20,000 blue tiles (thus the nick name “blue mosque”) and we walked barefoot on sticky (smelly) carpet.

Next we decided to pass through the Hippodrome, which is basically a square with monuments that people (both locals and tourists) gather to eat and socialize and asked a local guy where to find authentic Turkish cuisine that wasn’t a touristy spot. He directed us to a row of shops just around the corner which was a world of difference from the thousands of tourists just behind us at the blue mosque. We sat on a rooftop terrace where we could overlook a few streets and see the coast as well as a playground of a local school and the blue mosque. The view was the BEST part. Warren ordered a “mixed meat” Turkish pizza (scary) and I had what I think was chicken? It was ok tasting at the time, but the rest of the day the seasoning had a very unpleasant after taste. It wasn’t spicy, just very distinct. Not good. I wouldn’t repeat it.

We then headed over to the underground cistern. Everything was very close together in the Old Town that we could walk to any place in a matter of minutes. We were stopped by a young guy welcoming us to Istanbul and offering us directions to the cistern. He then slyly introduced us to his friend who invited us into his shop – where he claimed we did NOT have to buy a thing; he just wanted to show us warm Turkish hospitality. We told him over and over, that was fine, but we were not going to buy one of his rugs. He was nice at first, kind of a jokester. We sat with him and he made small talk and then had one of his workers bring us bottled water. Oh no. Now we felt a little like we owed him something, I did anyway. Then he starts commanding his worker to lay out rugs asking us which ones we liked, to which we responded we were not going to buy anything, but thanks for the hospitality. It became increasingly uncomfortable as he raised his voice and kept shouting, “name your price, name your price!” after saying they retailed for about 150 euro. We declined multiple times and were trying to leave when he asked Warren his favorite number, to which he responded 13. Then the Turkish man proclaimed, “done!” and had the worker put one in a bag and set it on my lap. Warren was beyond mad. I told him just to pay the guy so we could get out of there. I guess it was part of the “experience”, but it really put a damper on the day as we felt totally scammed and taken advantage of. Warren wants to the burn the rug. We will see what happens.

We eventually made it to the cistern with new water bottles from our new Turkish frenemy. It was cool to look at, and knowing that it was built in the 6th century was pretty cool, but we didn’t know too much else about it. There were some statues with Medusa heads that were supposed to be a big deal.

After the cistern, we made our way to the Topkapi Palace, the former palace of the Ottoman sultans – which was HUGE! It was very ornate, we were blown away that a family (including a large harem) actually had lived in this huge palace with stunning views of the bay. It was so big, and we didn’t have a whole lot of time, so we kind of breezed through it and tried to appreciate what we could. We tried to see some of the jewels, but there were so many people in those particular rooms we really just walked through.

I was adamant about seeing the Grand Bazaar, which is the largest bazaar in the world, with over 60 winding streets, only accessible by foot. I don’t know why I thought this would be a good idea, after our rug experience. We only spent about 5 minutes there, which I think was a good idea after hearing the stories from other shipmates that night on how they were swindled and got varying prices on the same item at different stores. The people are extremely aggressive.

We caught a cab and headed back to the port, where we ended up having to jog (sprint) to the boat when we were dropped off. The cruise ship left 2 people in Istanbul and had left 8 people in Ephesus. They were serious about leaving on time! And we did NOT want to fly to Greece the next morning. We made it though!

side note.

2011-06-17T17:56:00.005-05:00

meet my turbo kick boxing teacher, nolan robert. i take 2 of his classes every week.

he is the reason why i love it. he is ridiculous. in every sense of the word. what i also love is that he records and edits his own videos of himself / classes dancing.

like this one for example:

oh - it gets better. he also has his own cosmetic line. you can read his bio and story of how that came to be here. he was the winner of lifetime's reality make-up artist show "blush".

and it is totally worthwhile to check out his website here. please take note of the song on his site, where it lists of every type of make up to a sexy tune including "mascara, base and a comb".

i love him.

ephesus, turkey

2011-06-16T23:28:00.006-05:00

at Mary's house

wall near Mary's house where people wet a napkin w water from Mary's spring then write a wish

ephesus

library at ephesus

St. John's place. a barely visible mosque is in the background.

best sign. ever.

Wednesday, June 1^st: Ephesus, Turkey

This day began a little, what should I say…..late? We had booked a tour through the cruise ship because we were only going to be in the Kusadasi port half a day (very short). We must have been really tuckered out from Athens, bc we didn’t hear our alarm and woke up about an hour after our tour group had left (non-refundable, great). We rushed out the door to get a taxi on our own – expensive, but a must with our now even more limited time.

The taxi driver was a young 24 year old turkey man (no wife) haha. He thought us living in California was pretty cool. He first took us to the site where it is believed that the Virgin Mary’s final resting place. It was very beautiful and peaceful – surrounded by a lot of greenery in the Solmissos Mountains. We filled up our water bottles at Mary’s fountain, which is legend to heal the sick and afflicted. It tasted normal, don’t know if I was in need of healing anything, but I participated.

Next we headed to the ancient ruins of Ephesus, a Roman province capital starting in 400 BC. The site is still under excavation – it is huge! And amazing how much has been preserved over time. The most impressive part was the Celsus Library – Warren wanted to literally climb the walls. The great theater that sits over 25,000 is where Paul stood and heard the full crowd shout "Great is Diana of the Ephesians" for two hours straight (Acts 19:34). The site was much more impressive than we had anticipated and totally worthwhile to check out – we were glad we paid the 24 year old Turkish man for an overpriced taxi tour. It was incredible to stand in these historic places and think back to what occurred in the same place at a different time..

We had just enough time to stop at the Basilica of St. John before returning to the ship. We really just kind of plowed through it since we were short on time. The site claims to have the tomb of the Apostle John – don’t know how that works with our faith of John still living today…. (John 21: 20-23)

Overall, it was a good and exhausting morning. We were back on the ship by 12:30 in the afternoon to get what else? A ton of free food and lots of sun, but no free soda (don’t bring that up to Warren – he was not happy about no free coke zero). We also decided to start ordering (free) room service for breakfast. BEST idea yet. We use it as a second wake up call, and then we didn’t have to fight the crowds going through the self serve breakfast line.

Athens, Greece

2011-06-15T00:23:00.004-05:00

guard outside the palace

original olympic stadium

lunchtime

on Mars hill (Areopagus), just below the Acropolis, overlooking ancient Agora

on top of Mars hill w the Acropolis in the background. the temple of nike is on the far right, just above E's head

the parthenon and other views on the acropolis

Tuesday, May 31^st: Athens, Greece

Whoa! This port totally took us by surprise! We got a taxi right off the boat for a good price (compared to what our “trusty” tour advisor had told us on the ship). It was only about a 15-20 minute drive to Athens from where we docked. The modern city was incredible – and HUGE! We were very impressed with it as a thriving metropolis. In the heart of the city sits Athen’s main attraction – the Acropolis, where one can find the Parthenon and Erechtheum. Luckily Warren and I are young and spry (especially compared to our senior citizen population on Ruby Princess) and beat most of the tour groups to start our audio tour (thanks, Rick). It is crazy what has survived since 400 BC, through all the wars, earthquakes and natural erosion. It was incredible to look at and experience.

Just below the Acropolis is a little rock outcropping called Mars hill, which also overlooks Ancient Agora. It was here that Paul chastised the people for worshiping lesser gods (Acts 17: 22-31). The passage has a whole new meaning when you consider he was speaking literally in shadow of temples and statues built to worship lesser gods.

After walking through the ruins, we spent some time in the Acropolis Museum, which was also A-mazing. Five of the six maidens whose bodies act as columns on one of the buildings, are housed there (the 6^th one is in the Louvre). All the original sculptures from the Acropolis area are also in the museum and just replicas are actually placed on the site. The museum building is incredible. It is down the hill from the site, but is positioned the same, with all the artwork in the appropriate areas so you can gain an accurate perspective. The building also has ceiling to floor glass windows where you can see the Acropolis the whole time you are seeing the original art pieces.

We walked down a cobble street to the Plaka to have a traditional Greek lunch. We ordered tsatsiki (a yogurt and cucumber starter) along with Warren’s gyro and my chicken souvlaki. It was soooo good. And it was nice to sit for a second to rest our weary feet while being able to people watch outside on the eating patio of the restaurant.

After eating, we ventured over to the Temple of Zeus for a photo op (we couldn’t enter the site), and then continued our walk to the original Olympic Stadium which was built on the foundations of a 4th century BC arena and hosted the first modern games in 1896. (We did drive by the stadiums where some of the events for the 2004 summer games were held but didn't get to see the big stadium. bummer. only so much time). It was CRAZY to think about how old that place was and that it was still in tact. We did an audio guide walking tour that was only 4 euro (deal). It was interesting, but we were in and out. We met a (real) taxi driver who really wanted to talk to us (I think bc we are American?) who told us to head up the street to see the changing of the guards in front of the palace. We saw the guards with their funny outfits, shoes and walk and got some pics. They choose the guards by height, which another local informed us that Warren’s height would qualify him.

We headed back to the Plaka (shopping and dining area) through a city park (Warren’s favorite) and some other small streets to catch our taxi back to the ship. We were overall very impressed with Athens.

Venice, Italy

2011-06-13T18:42:00.005-05:00

outside St. Mark's Basilica

so...this will be the first of many posts to document our trip. i kept a journal while we were there, so feel free to read or skim and check out a few pics from each day. i will post a different port each day for the next 10 days or so.

today's post is the saddest. in the picture department that is. all the pics were taken with a disposable camera. if you read on, you will know why.

Friday & Saturday, May 27^th– 28^th, 2011: Venice, Italy

We arrived in the Venice airport late Thursday night to discover that Warren’s bag had not made our journey from LAX-Madrid-Barcelona-Venice connections (go figure, right?). He wasn’t too worried, as he expressed he would be fine wearing the same shorts and blue v-neck the whole trip and was happy that I had my bag (a true gentleman) but our SLR camera happened to also be in his bag. Whoops. At least we had our Cannon point and shoot. We were good to go.

We settled in at our Best Western “Quid” Hotel just a 30 euro taxi ride from the airport. We decided it was our best option considering we were arriving so late and a private water taxi to downtown Venice would be over 100 euro; and then, we would have to wonder the cobble streets to try and find a hotel that was several hundred euro more than our “Quid”. We must say – very happy with our choice.

The next morning we got an early start by running (more like sprinting) to catch the public bus just a couple blocks from our hotel. We missed it. But it was a nice wake-me-up. When the next bus arrived we were happy to stand and see the streets in the more modern Venice. We had been on the bus about 10 mins when we hit an unforeseen traffic jam. Turns out there was a strike of some sort (apparently these are common in Italy) and no cars/buses were able to get through. A nice Italian student told us we should just get out and walk to the train station. So we did. I don’t know if it was luck that we found it, but it wasn’t too bad. We were happy we did get an early start because our journey was a little more time consuming than we had planned. The train only took about 10 mins or so, and then we arrived to the Ferrovia Train Station. Walking out the front steps seemed a little chaotic. It is right on the Grand Canal with large and small boats going both directions. There were a ton of tourists. We found a booth to buy the vaporetto (public boat transit) ticket. We found the vaporetto system fairly simple to navigate and that we also just shouldn’t have bought a ticket all together. They never checked them, and people just got on and off as they pleased. Needless to say, that was the only day in Venice we bought it.

We started our “touring” of Venice by taking the vaporetto down the outside of the Grand Canal to St. Marks Square. We started with a short line to St. Mark’s Basilica, where the Apostle, Mark, is entombed. Walking in the Basilica is breathtaking. It is massive. We had a walking audio tour (thanks to our friend Rick Steves and his FREE pod casts). It made it much more interesting to know what we were looking at. We paid the 2 extra euro to go to the back of the Basilica to see a gold/jeweled mosaic type of art and the tomb of Mark. We then headed up some steps to see the ceiling artwork at a closer glance. We saw 4 bronze horses in this part of the museum as well as many tapestries and artwork. The BEST was the view from the top of the Basilica into St. Mark’s Square.

Next we headed to Doge’s Palace (right next to the Basilica). This large building is where former rulers officiated for hundreds of years. There was also a prison that we toured underneath Doge’s Palace through the very famous, Bridge of Sighs.

We wandered to narrow streets to find “sandwich row” and got paninis, which were fabulous and the atmosphere and crowd seemed to be authentic. We decided to do the “official” Grand Canal audio guide tour from our pro – Rick. It was a bit difficult with people getting on and off and we couldn’t really see anything, so we ended up getting off at the famous Rialto Bridge. I don’t know why it is famous exactly – there are a ton of bridges that look exactly the same in Venice, but we didn’t ask questions, just took a pic.

For dinner we took some advice from our good friend – Rick Steves. He suggested this cute canal-side restaurant (within walking distance of St. Mark’s Square) called Trattoria da Giorgio ai Greci. When we arrived there was not a table in sight, but this thick accented jokster told us to wait just a few minutes and he TOTALLY got us in! Rick’s book mentions the owner’s son, Roberto, who is a chatty server. After the jokster sat us, I asked if he was Roberto, and sure enough – it was! I told him he was famous and he said he knew Rick had mentioned him. I am convinced he got us a table bc he saw the book in my hand – gotta love Rick. We ordered big. It was awesome. We started with bruchetta, then penne pasta with garlic and basil – it was A-mazing. Then the main course was absolutely to DIE for. We got a baked flounder in this amazing sauce and some roasted potatoes. By far – my FAVORITE meal of our entire trip.

The weird thing about Venice – it had a “disnelyland” type feel. From what we read, the population of locals is slowly dying and the average age of a resident is over 65. It is a very inconvenient city to live in, so I understand that people wouldn’t necessarily move there. Maybe there will be some sort of revival, but with how things are going, it seems Venice may be a floating museum in the next 50 years. It was all very beautiful and picturesque, but just was not authentic. The BEST part is at night when a lot of tourists leave and you can get lost in the very narrow low-lit canals. We took a very expensive gondola ride at night, which was the BEST time to tour.

We caught the very last vaporetto of the night from St. Mark’s Square after listening to the battling orchestras in the square. The train took us back to station where we got a (fake) taxi back to our hotel. I say fake, because it was just some guy and his friends pretending to be taxis outside of the train station, then when you get to their car, it is just some unmarked Honda without a meter. Whatever. He totally ripped us, but we made it home.

It wasn’t until the next morning that we noticed that our point and shoot was missing. Warren thought it might have fallen out of his pocket in the “taxi”. My pessimistic side is convinced that he was pick-pocketed by our “cab driver”. Whatever happened – it was gone. And so were all of our pictures. Keep in mind our SLR camera is in Warren’s luggage, which had STILL not arrived. By this point, I am totally convinced that the airline has lost his luggage (including our camera) and that we had been victims of petty theft. I insist that we (walk) through the streets of modern Venice (where no one speaks English) and buy a new point and shoot to have for the duration of our trip. We find one, but it has a European plug and we were checking of our hotel to head to our ship with American plugs – quite the conundrum. We also purchase an old skool disposable to use on our second day in Venice (we will see how those turn out, haha). We got some strange looks from people we asked to take a picture of us that day.

After purchasing the camera we called a cab to take us to the ship and drop off our bags. It was a quick trip and the ship provided a boat shuttle from the port back to St. Mark’s Square.

We spent the day just wandering about, which we really enjoyed in the less crowded areas. We spent some time near the Frari Church (hoping to tour the Franciscan church, but there was a wedding happening – expensive!). We journeyed over to the Jewish Ghetto to spend the evening and watch the sunset (which happens late – like 9pm!). We had dinner in the outdoor seating of a pizzeria restaurant where the server told us he had the “best pizza in Venice!” And he was right! Although I ordered gnocchi, the pizza Warren had was amazing. The other thing about eating in Italy is that is such an experience. The servers take their time. And you ALWAYS have to ask for the check.

We stayed in St. Mark’s Square listening to the dueling orchestras until it was late and we were exhausted. Touring an only walking town is tough! Our feet and bodies were just worked-out. We were gonna sleep well. Oh – and we had gelato in the square which was amazing (mente is the BEST) and Warren was so cute and had me take a dancing picture with him (yes, on the dispos) bc I kept saying how I wanted to dance in the square (that pic did NOT turn out - haha).

The night got even better when we arrived back to the ship to find that Warren’s bag had been delivered to the port. Iberia Airlines pulled through. AND our SLR was intact – I was very happy.

and i thought a marathon was long...

2011-05-23T00:13:00.006-05:00

andy on the trail near the beginning (maybe 13 miles in). i believe this is on the way up to angel's landing. too steep to run.

warren did a 50 mile run through zion national park this weekend. who is this man? i love his passion for adventure (when i am not worrying if he is still alive). check jason or andy 's blog for more pics and videos.

kevin - showing off the tools of the trade

warren bouldering in the buttermilks. the only pic is of a problem he didn't send...

tyler getting after it in the "happys"

he also went climbing with his "in-between places" friend, kevin, who he met at the beach last year. they have created quite the friendship over the past 10 months. apparently it is common for these hard-core climbers to "chase the weather" to find good climbing, which led them up to bishop, ca. warren climbed and camped (slept on a pad by his car) with his friend for a couple days before driving through the night to do his 50 miler in utah w/ his bff, jason and his brother andy.

glad he is home. and safe. and is not homeless.

3 days until...

2011-05-23T00:08:00.003-05:00

champ.

2011-05-19T00:47:00.004-05:00

warren and his good friend nephi ran the palos verdes marathon last weekend. as i was the BEST cheerleader on the curb i thought, "next time i should at least do the 5k or something", as i ate snacks and read my instyle. oh well. warren decided to do the race about a week beforehand and did not train. at all. in fact, he hasnt run over 6 miles at a time in about 2 years, but that doest stop a man with a dream. i dont know if he will do it again (kind of one of those things to cross off the bucket list), but if you know warren's running abilities, he really didnt disappoint (especially without training). he still placed third in his division!! maybe he couldnt walk at the end of it all and was a little delirious, but he finished that thing! i was sooo proud :-)

before the big race

maybe stole this off the photogs website from the event

a booty shot

after crossing that finish line!!

recovery.

sailing

2011-05-15T22:26:00.002-05:00

i know, i know. you all want thailand pics. they are coming! we took over 1,000 pics and are thinking of making a video instead of posting the longest post in the history of this blog.

so for now, here are a few pics that i can handle uploading without getting anxiety. we went sailing the other day with some of warren's classmates (also off from school right now). we are pretty much living it up until d-day (aka residency begins june 23rd).

a BFF wedding.

2011-04-04T19:23:00.003-05:00

http://jonandjillfacer.blogspot.com/2011/03/just-got-back.html

Miriam and Ryan got married March 19th in the Portland Temple. Check out the link to Jill's blog above to see some pics from the fabulous weekend event :-)

sunday afternoon. and an exciting announcement....

2011-03-17T21:00:00.006-05:00

it started with us wanting to practice taking pics with our new camera. we took a sunday afternoon walk to the beach and this happened....

yes, that is warren in the back left corner pictured above.

running through birds.

i attempted, but the sand hurt my feet. so i opted for a pose instead.

we love where we live. it is absolutely beautiful, and we try not to take it for granted by being outside and enjoying what's around us. we are grateful to have found out this morning that warren matched in the anesthesiology program at UCI! we get to be here for 4 more fabulous years :-) happy match day to all those matching today, and best of luck!

i want to be his lonely girl.

2011-02-24T20:49:00.004-05:00

it's no secret that i love biebs. but seriously, his new movie was even better than i expected it to be. i now want to go to his concert. and be pulled up on stage like this girl pictured, and be sung to during "lonely girl". ahhhhhh.......

my mane man.

2011-02-17T00:04:00.005-05:00

before all this doctor stuff, warren wasn't always so clean cut. check out this pic from 2007 that i found of him today while scrolling through pics on my comp....

he graduates in just a few weeks, and i am so proud of him. it has been a long road, and the journey continues! and also proud of him for cutting that thing. i think he actually cut a rat tail after this pic was taken, and he had a stingray (side rat tail) when we met. oh how i love him - pretty awesome :-)

dont see this.

2011-02-04T20:22:00.002-05:00

hair. the musical. unless you want to see about 20 wieners in the last number before intermission. sorry to our friends nephi and amanda who came with us. and i wont hold it against my boss for the free (too close for comfort) tickets. needless to say we left at intermission.

where we've been.....and where we are going.

2011-02-03T01:04:00.008-05:00

well. the best i can do is tell you where we have been the last 2 months, so my title was a bit misleading. because i dont really know where we may be moving this summer (if at all). which is totally thrilling, and also frightening. its no secret that i love cali (hb in particular). it would be tough to leave our 600 square feet of tiled floor space (with cute rugs) to somewhere cold, most likely a rental with carpet (eww). BUT - i am looking forward to the adventure of starting something new somewhere together. our little family of 2. we will know mid-march where (if) warren matches for his anesthesia residency. (i say "if" bc it is possible to not match). dont freak out local kids - it is very possible he will match here.

his residency interviews over the past couple months, have turned into vacations for erin. and i must say, not a bad gig. i of course wanted to check out all the potential places for our future life together (well the next 4-5 years anyway). here are some pics from our time in the three cities we visited, and could potentially end up: new york, boston and nashville.

new york. LOVE. who doesnt l-o-v-e the nyc? shopping, food, theater....its every girls' dream! i miss it. there is an energy about it that just draws you in. it is by FAR the coolest city i have ever set foot in. to live there again? idk. down side of course is the winters. and that i am now in a much different stage of life. singledom in the city was pretty awesome (aka expensive, fancy dates). but on a resident salary with triplets may be a different experience. upside is that my sis lives in ct - a 30 minute train ride from the city. which would be heaven. we could play (shop) all the time together. she is one of the few people i can shop with. what? thats important.

boston. a totally young city. i swear everyone was a student. and SUPER talented. much more manageable of a place to raise a family in a "city". but i must say, a bit underwhelming coming from nyc to boston. no one can touch my queen bee. is there a tv series entitled "sex and the boston?" thats what i thought. a totally different (younger, educated, extremely talented) vibe in this town. also very cold. three hour drive my sis. cheap flights back to cali - thats a perk. yummy brunch spots. better than most shopping.

nashville. i was SHOCKED with how nice people are there. totally shocked. like, i dont think i am even nice enough to live there. and i want a southern accent. i am totally gonna pick it up if we move there. it couldnt be more darling. i love the music influence. everyone has their hand in music somehow (including the sales girl that helped me at sephora, who invited us to her show the following week). very conducive town to raise a family. note i said "town". its not really a city. one mall. i was actually very surprised at how "small town" it felt. and there are no direct flights from nashville to new york. (weird). i know - thats what i said. perk - my brother lives only a couple hours away in kentucky with his family, and we would also be much closer to warren's bro and fam in west virginia. it is supposed to be really pretty in the spring, summer and fall. wish i could have seen it during that time. it was cold.

after re-reading all of this, it was more of a brain dump. oh - and it seems that i like to shop? if you made it all the way through - good for you :-)

just bought our tickets.

2011-02-03T00:54:00.002-05:00

and am totally freaking out right now. i have been sweating at the computer for the last hour on china airlines to get these mothers. soooooo excited. thailand in april!!! expect to see some more climbing pics - we are going international!

vomit

2011-01-31T19:54:00.002-05:00

http://www.abc4.com/

word vomit. i dont believe a thing she says.

anniversary surprise

2011-01-31T16:10:00.004-05:00

ok ok. i know i have been totally delinquent in my blogging, but now that i am making a few posts - no complaining on the sappiness!

warren and i were in nashville for one of his residency interviews at vanderbilt over our anniversary. i didnt know what w had up his sleeves to celebrate our one year, but wow. this man has surely stepped up his game since our first date to a sunday night fireside and a second date to yogurtland (which we still frequent).

so - from this point, i didnt know any of this happened: warren began researching "best steak houses" in nashville. of course ruths chris came up (also one of our favs...mmmm...the creme brulee is to die for!), along with some other sort of chains. but warren wanted something more unique. he happened on a place called the standard in downtown nashville. it is the only remaining grand townhouse built in 1840 left in nashville. it has been bought by a few different families over the years, and has been the place for supreme society clubs where only members can attend. warren emailed the manager of the mansion, to which he responded they were hosting a wedding in the ballroom that night and would not be able to accommodate us. w was back to square one. then, a few hours later he received an email from the owner of the mansion, who also lives in the house. he said he had heard it was our anniversary and we were traveling from california. so he would like us to come to his residence as his personal guests and he would make dinner accommodations for us in the private club section. what??!! w was sooo stoked.

i still know nothing about all this. just know that we are going to dinner somewhere downtown and that i had to wear a dress. we show up to this place that is a total antique in the middle of downtown nahsville. we valet and head inside to find a wedding going on, where the girl at the front invites us to sign the guest book. w tells her we are there to see josh and she replies, "oh - the davis' right?". i am looking around like....what is going on???!!!! this guy in a 3-piece suit walks down the stairs introduces himself as josh and invites us up the stairwell, through a pad locked door to an ole time cigar lounge with boxes labeled "senator smith" and "doctor thompson"...etc etc... He shows us around the private club, library, bar, outdoor party area and finally to our own private den (complete with couches, fireplace and art work). there was a table set up in the room just for us! josh apologized that he had to leave so soon, as he was attending the governors ball, but introduced to our personal server for the evening. i am just floored at this point. this all was just old, glamorous, southern hospitality (or how i imagine it to be anyway). the food was absolutely incredible, and so surreal that it was set up just for us.

can you believe this?

2011-01-31T15:52:00.003-05:00

before marrying warren, one might say i was "less than" adventurous. but in marrying an "adventure-based" man, things have dramatically changed. about a year ago i blogged about now riding a bike. today, a new task has been accomplished. rock climbing. and here's the proof:

we met up with warren's family in st. george last weekend (and it was beautiful weather ps). w just so happened to bring his climbing gear, so we all headed out to sunny side canyon and got to it. although this was my FIRST outdoor climb, this feat didnt just happen over night. warren and i actually bought an unlimited climbing pass to a gym in hb on groupon (along with ballroom dance classes) back in december. so i have been practicing for a month and some change. it was actually pretty exhilarating being up on the wall, and more than slightly terrifying thinking i could fall at any moment. anyway - i am so happy i married someone who pushes me to try new things. it really gets me out of my comfort zone and forces me to get out of my norm. it makes me better. and for that (and a million other reasons) i love him.

we made it!

2011-01-16T03:11:00.000-05:00

one year, baybee! and i love him more than ever :-)

last minute

2010-12-23T02:52:00.002-05:00

been a little busy with all the travels as of late. soooo....here is our impromptu christmas card. merry christmas to all!

Christmas Spirit

2010-12-20T23:53:00.000-05:00

b&h

2010-12-09T03:38:00.005-05:00

provided its wonderful services to let us purchase this (for approx $100 dollars more for carrying it out of the store that day and not taking advantage of the "NO tax" policy if shipping outside of new york). whatever. we have it! and we are stoked on it. new york and boston were amazing. w is still there. i miss him way more than i thought i would (is that bad to say?). guess its love :-) anyway, pics from our trip will have to wait until the w gets home with the new slr. stay on the edge of your seats...

going under the knife.

2010-11-17T20:46:00.002-05:00

well - technically laser, not knife. getting lasik on friday. trying not to think about it too much so i dont get scared. and fyi - google-ing images of "lasik" is NOT a good idea. pretty stoked to see perfectly though! i have been wearing glasses since age three, and contacts since i was eleven. its time. wish me luck :-)

overwhelmed.

2010-11-12T00:25:00.003-05:00

why on earth did i think that hot-glue-gunning/cutting/printing/stuffing/tying and distributing 100 jars of cranberry sauce was a good idea for the thanksgiving gift to my contacts at coventry court this year? (and no - this is not a pic of what mine look like). the harder i try, the more crafty i become? or is that a folklore....

has anyone???

2010-11-05T18:38:00.002-05:00

been following my sis-in-laws photog blog (link on side bar - always)?? she gets better and better and i am constantly amazed at the images she is producing! need a little sneak to peak your interest...check these out (oh and maybe my nieces are just too darling to not love).

better shot.

2010-11-02T00:43:00.002-05:00

per request - here is a "closer up" shot of my new color. i am OBSESSED with it. :-)

pismo halloween

2010-10-31T17:49:00.009-05:00

we opted out of costumes this year and headed to pismo with a few friends for the weekend. the boys rented atv's and the girls headed up to hearst castle.

when we arrived at 12:30am friday night, my little honda civic tried to combat the rain while driving on the beach sand RIGHT next to the ocean. ya, you heard right. you can drive right on the sand next to the water in order to camp. it was POURING. and i was slightly terrified. warren and a friend tried to assemble the tent only to become soaking wet like he just showered. so we stayed in oceano motel for the night - quite a classy establishment (not).

of course i didnt ride on it, this was only for photo op.

check out how white trash we camp (see back left)

used my new sleeping bag, and it was heaven (the second night didnt rain - no need for oceano motel). warren took good care of me on this camp trip. i think bc he wanted me to have a good experience so i would go again.

hearst castle:
i wouldnt mind staying in the guest house. yes, this is the "guest house".

750 dollar fine for jumping in the pool.

the entire bottom of the pool is made of marble. must be nice...

the dining room

main house.

view from the top.

long winded....

2010-10-25T01:00:00.006-05:00

i have been riding lisa's bike around hb for about...well 2 years now? well, since i started riding a bike again. and maybe it is stored in my garage, so it has been very convenient NOT to purchase my own bike (thanks lis). but we knew the day would have to come. and when john and shelly came to town this weekend, we thought it would be the perfect saturday morning activity - followed by a bike ride of course! please dont judge my hideousness in these pics.

and then warren and i danced on the beach. (thanks to john hawley for taking the pics. we made him and shelly pose on the beach to snap a few kissing/dipping shots, but somehow he didnt email those to me - weird.)

we also saw this on friday night:

yes, that is matthew morrison, but we didnt exactly see him. we saw south pacific, and mm used to play lieutenant cable back in the day on broadway. i am liking him more and more - well glee in general that is. ever since the brit episode.

we also ate a lot with the parents this weekend. some great suggestions if you live locally: habana (cuban food - the lab, costa mesa), luigis (italian - main st, hb), melting pot (fondue - off jamboree, irvine).

oh - and i made crepes. with my new crepe maker from williams sonoma that i am obsessed with. this recipe is the BEST. and the pan is heaven.

and my newest book (checked out from the hb library):

dont judge me.

petah.

2010-10-15T23:04:00.005-05:00

are my eyes playing tricks on me? or is this is a mj cross-dressed peter pan? you decide. the purpose of this post is for two things: 1. we really need to purchase a camera. 2. we went to peter pan, the stage play at orange county performing arts last night (how cultured are we?). ok - so camera denoted as number 1? bc we dont have anything to document the things we do together, therefore the cross-dressed mj peter image is used for this blog post, instead of some cute posed picture of w and i in front of the theater acting out peter pan stances. any suggestions for a awesome point and shoot? oh - and the play was good. entertaining at least. but i wouldnt see it again.

i read good.

2010-09-30T20:05:00.002-05:00

i know. i am sooo late on this. but i cant put it down. i am in the second book now. and loving it (and peeta). i like sar's picks for the movie. well, except for haymitch. is it weird that i have been imagining kramer from seinfeld? ya - probably. one other thought. i really hope that it doesnt play out like another sick love twilight triangle. although, if it is required, i would be wearing a "team peeta" shirt for sure. ok - i digress.

60 years. and all eternity.

2010-09-03T21:02:00.004-05:00

this is a picture of my grandma and grandpa hawley on their wedding day (the only pic taken that day). they were married for 60 years when my grandpa passed away this past summer. so grateful for temple marriage and for my knowledge of eternal families that i will see my grandpa again.

makes me also grateful to have found this one:

this is us in the canyon in utah this past weekend when we visited my grandma. it was so beautiful there, and i was so happy to see my mountain man in his element.

thats me. dont mind my pose - just look at the mountain. this photo is mainly for john hawley.

mormon bachelorette

2010-08-25T21:10:00.004-05:00

yo peeps. you have a single awesome male friend? send him this link! aubrey messick is one of my dearest friends. any man to end up with her sure would be lucky!

check it out: http://themormonbachelorette.blogspot.com/

best surprise.

2010-08-12T11:42:00.004-05:00

warren g is my bff. he also is the most selfless person i know. a couple weekends ago he had his second step of boards (aka a 9 hour test to determine the rest of our lives). i was trying to be a supportive wife and have the house cleaned with dinner waiting when he got home. but, as soon as he got out of his test he called me and told me to be ready to run out the door when he arrived. i didnt know what was going on, but i put dinner in the fridge, frantically put my make up on and we were out the door in 2.5 seconds after he arrived home.

he told me we were meeting some of his classmates in LA for a dead perez concert at 8. but he was unusually stressed about getting there in time. about halfway to LA i asked him if that is where we were really going and he just kinda smiled and handed me an envelope. inside were two tickets to this:

it was playing at the pantages theater and i had been talking for WEEKS how i wanted to see it! i seriously almost starting crying. a. bc i was so excited. b. bc he surprised me with something that he knows i LOVE. c. bc his gesture was just so kind and selfless. here he had had undoubtedly a stressful day with his test and wanted that night to be good for ME.

i couldnt be luckier.

remember when...

2010-08-08T21:59:00.003-05:00

i posted this??

well....the tables have turned. instead of a "weight gain" program, i am now on a "work out" program. what a novel idea right?

together with my friend (and now personal trainer) austin - we coordinated a beach work out class for ladies. it is perfect because i am at least looking over the tranquil ocean while wanting to throw-up.

but seriously...it is amazing how much better i feel just after 4 weeks of this:

so much in fact, i am now blogging about it to tell all you local bloggers about it! come!! every Tuesday night 6-7pm (meet at 17th and pch). message me for the unbelievably cheap pricing (ahem...$25 for 4 sessions!)

how life has changed. but i sure am loving it :-)

cant believe i never posted this...

2010-07-20T01:15:00.002-05:00

here is a link to our short wedding film by ryan southwell. i am pretty much obsessed with it, and you will be too (if you havent seen it yet on fb like 4 months ago). anyway - ENJOY!!

what happens when...

2010-05-29T12:37:00.001-05:00

you combine this:

and this:

AMAZING-NESS:

as of late...

2010-05-23T20:24:00.005-05:00

apparently i have not been updating my blog with the things w and i have been doing lately (brought to my attention by the newly prego kate hawkley on saturday). so here you have it. oh - and how sad is it that these are literally the only three pics i have taken of us together since we have been married...

this was at the point in corona del mar. we picked up some cafe rio (yes there is one here now) and had a sunset picnic and walked around the ridiculous houses that i wished i lived in. must be nice.

angel stadium - holler! everyone in orange county has such angel pride - i like it. this has been my second game of the season so far. we had fantastic seats thanks to coventry court. no balls caught yet.

and here we are with lisa and wee man at the magic castle in hollywood. it is a private club for magicians, in which you must be a member or receive a guest pass from a member to enter. how did i obtain this you ask? baller status. anyway - the night is literally at a castle and watching a variety of magic shows (while everyone gets wasted) and a super (expensive) nice dinner. quite the experience. especially watching the fellow magicians interact. but i am glad those weird boys wearing capes and ponytails in 7th grade found their niche years later here at the castle. good for them. cheerio.

melt your popsicle?

2010-05-19T22:52:00.003-05:00

does she? i mean really. i was a little disappointed with Maxim's Hot 100 list (yes, i know i am like 2 weeks late with these thoughts, but am still having them nonetheless). but then ms. katy and snoop d-o-double-g put out this. and with "bikini on top" i have a new found "like" for her. check it out (if you havent heard it already on kiss every 7 minutes), i cant seem to get it out of my head. oh - and might i just add that i have a love for snoop comparable to luda. just sayin...

thoughts.

2010-04-24T00:22:00.005-05:00

sooo...this is my niece bella:

how amazing is she?! she will be 4 this may. i absolutely love this pic. and for being only 3 years old, her technique is uncanny. the moment i saw this pic earlier today it took me back. many of you may not know that i danced. and by "danced" i mean i was a dancer - ballet, contemporary and jazz. it was my WHOLE life. it was who i was. and still feel that it is who i am inside; although i may not be "practicing" these days.
i came home from work finding myself scrounging through my old chest for ANY dance pictures that i have here at our apt in hb. this is the only one i found:

when i found it warren said, "your head looks weird." and yes, it does. but how ancient does this picture look? it was before digital cameras (how crazy is that?) my senior year of high school. and me taking a picture of the picture with my sub-par digital camera probably didnt help with the quality. but anyway, i miss this.

when i am driving i listen to LOTS of different music. britney, fiona, legally blonde, christian pop, luda - you know, the essentials. and i cant help but MOVE to ALL of this music. i imagine myself dancing. and it looks pretty good in my head, but i doubt it would translate that well if i physically tried to execute my choreography. in fact, it may scare people.
will i ever dance again? i dont know. but i DO know that i would DIE to see little bella in her dance class. her arabesque looks a heck of a lot better than mine did at four...

conflicted.

2010-04-20T12:39:00.003-05:00

i got eyelash extensions. yes, this pic is really me. arent they beautiful?! they were a bday gift to myself. i loved how they looked. but at what cost is beauty? i must have sensitive eyes or something bc they drive me crazy!! i have only had them on for a week and i have started plucking them off one by one. the girl who did them is amazing and was highly recommended, so i know it has nothing to do with her! but why?? why me? why would they bother ME so much? this seems soooo up my alley right? now i just cant wait until they all fall off. anyone ever tried latisse? that may be my next attempt at luscious lashes...

wedding video!

2010-04-04T19:30:00.001-05:00

check it out...

http://www.vimeo.com/10603489

where we be

2010-03-13T18:26:00.003-05:00

am i tweener?

2010-03-13T14:53:00.001-05:00

why is it that i like justin bieber? in addition to my other tween loves like miley? or zac and the hsm crew? there can be no other explanation besides the fact that i dont really want to grow up. but what is really icing on the tween cake is to have luda singing on justin's track. i mean honestly....heaven.

they are here.

2010-02-19T01:52:00.002-05:00

wedding pics. check out cunningham's blog for some amazing images!!

want to waste 1.45 hours?

2010-02-12T19:31:00.001-05:00

watch this. on lifetime. in my defense, warren is working nights this week. and i needed to do laundry. and eat a pazookie. and watch pregnancy pact....what?

floral by aubrey

2010-02-01T23:26:00.001-05:00

check out my gf aubrey messick's new blog! she is an amazing floral designer (as seen in Real Simple magazine)!

mr. and mrs. davis

2010-01-21T19:34:00.004-05:00

yep. we're married. our wedding couldnt have been more perfect. i absolutely LOVED every second. many have asked my favorite part...hands down - when warren sang me this (a total surprise at the reception). i am so fortunate to have found my forever with warren. pics to come :-)

ily.

2009-12-03T02:49:00.001-05:00

44 more days. i cant even believe how lucky i am. seriously? seriously. look how cute my future ec is.

went to lunch with this little guy today

2009-11-30T20:23:00.002-05:00

i went to lunch with jill and dane today. he is getting sooo big, and just absolutely darling. i love having them so close. thankful for good friends.

engagement pics

2009-11-23T03:08:00.002-05:00

thanks to the FABULOUS mike cunningham for taking our engagement photos! he is one of our very best friends and we LOVE him. check out more of our session on his BLOG.

ps. i love warren davis :-)

January 16th

2009-11-06T17:20:00.004-05:00

beginning of forever....

2009-11-03T19:28:00.005-05:00

it all started here last night when warren planned a romantic date for us at French 75 in laguna beach. the food was incredible...and there were chandeliers, so of course i was obsessing. i didnt really think it would happen at the restaurant, but i was hoping it was on his mind :-)

i had NO IDEA that w had driven to bakersfield the previous thursday night (he told me he was working on a group project for school) and had asked my father in person. i had NO IDEA he bought a ring this past saturday (he told me he was rock climbing). quite the trickster.

k back to dinner - it was amazing and i had filet (of course). we finished up and w asked if i we could stop one more place on the way home. i agreed (although was thinking i was soooo tired and just wanted to go home and sleep), but i didnt want to miss out on anything spectacular :-) so - he turned the car to head to top of the world park in laguna. as we pulled up i just had that feeling. i thought - this MUST be it! this HAS to be it! we had been to top of the world park MONTHS ago on another date, so it had a lot of sentimental value to both of us.

we walked over to the overlook and could see all of laguna. it was here where warren davis got down on one knee and asked me to be his forever. i could have just died then. it was absolutely perfect.

i couldnt sleep AT ALL last night. i was sooo excited to tell the world today that i am marrying the most amazing man on this earth. i couldnt be luckier. and i couldnt be happier. warren makes me a better person. he loves me unconditionally. he is the most gentle, kind-hearted, humble man i have ever met. oh - and did i mention funny? i cant wait to spend forever together. ily - w.

sooo....i know you are all dying to see pics of the ring. thanks to my bff mike cunningham for taking these for me. i am seriously obsessed. and yes, i picked it out (not w/ warren at my side), but he is a clever boy and was able to find the EXACT ring that i found a couple months ago that i had told him about in passing. isnt he just great? :-) ok - i know...sooo cheesy, but i have a right to be! i just got ENGAGED people. oh - and i bought my wedding dress back in june. surprise. warren was surprised by that fact last night too.

wedding date is TBA

wv and nyc

2009-10-31T13:25:00.005-05:00

YOU are gonna love this.

2009-10-04T01:03:00.004-05:00

sooo....maybe i auditioned for the hb stake play :-)

steph - i know you are loving this. totally like the joseph and the amazing colored coat days. it is pretty much like a road show with the title "Curtain Up". it is a collaboration of broadway musical pieces and pop songs. and i am a rockette (amongst other dance numbers) and we SING too! some of the other numbers i am in are from les miserbles and mamma mia. i am already 3 weeks into rehearsals and it is really fun so far. and real cheesy. sadly, we will not be wearing briefs, fishnets and santa hats as rockettes (modesty...whatever). but i am sooo excited to be doing some type of dancing and theater! i mean...i am a thespian. the shows are the 1st and 2nd weekends of november. let me know if you want tickets :-)

we doth have fun.

2009-10-04T00:46:00.001-05:00

maybe i went again.

2009-09-28T21:42:00.001-05:00

still love her.

love this.

2009-09-28T01:41:00.001-05:00

seriously died laughing. i dont know these guys. but i want to. oh - and i die over this song.

maybe tyra should do a rock climbing high-fashion shoot...

2009-09-19T20:08:00.003-05:00

i did it. i went rock climbing with warren last week. i kinda looked like this girl when i was doing it. warren is pretty much OBSESSED with rock climbing and i have been saying for months that i would try it. he was convinced that i would be "good" at it bc of my background in dance for the flexibility and strength. (he thinks really good climbers look like they are doing ballet on the wall - its art).

most of the guys at the gym were a little hippie-esc, you know...pony tails and shirts off. but there were a few other girls there - including 2 ladies that had to be in their 60's (and way better than me). most of the girls were hard core and had pretty nice bods. its a good work out. it was also cool to watch warren climb and be in his element. although he didnt take his shirt off....

anyway - i was surprised with how fast i climbed up the first route. my arms got real tired real fast. and i wasnt very good at the lowering HIM down part. but repelling down was the scariest part. oh no - i take that back. wearing warren's smelly rock climbing shoes was the worst part. but overall....i really liked it. i now feel like i can really appreciate the sport. and in reference to the title of this post - i really think tyra should do this shoot. with her mini-models this season.

twigg.

2009-09-15T02:18:00.004-05:00

you may recognize some models on this new fashionable shoe site....

www.twiggshoes.com

obsessed.

2009-09-11T02:26:00.003-05:00

saw it last night. with shauna an beckster. 2nd time seeing it ever. and i love it more than ever. i literally could have watched it again - right then. double feature. downloaded ALL the songs tonight (dont know why i didnt have them before). if it is coming near you - SEE IT. omg.

spent labor day here yesterday.

2009-09-08T18:14:00.005-05:00

love san clemente. i am seriously so spoiled living in california. i dont think i could ever live anywhere else ever again. is that bad? warren and i were able to play with some of our south county "married" friends :-) and it was bomb. i even got in the water. and surfed. this is me below (thanks jill for the great shot)....

ok. maybe thats not me. but i really did get into the water. all the way. i am talking head under!! do you know what a HUGE step this is?!! anna marie, watch out.

updated my d-land pass.

2009-09-06T13:50:00.002-05:00

anyone want to go?

name game.

2009-09-04T02:42:00.002-05:00

La-a

how would you pronounce the name above? warren's mother shared it with us last weekend (i think it was one of warren's older brother's patients in west virginia). must say - one of the most creative names i have ever heard, but seriously? who names their kid that? this is legit.

click on the comments and i will tell you how it is pronounced.

note to self.

2009-08-19T03:00:00.001-05:00

do not wear panties with rhinestones while receiving an x-ray.

da crib.

2009-08-11T19:47:00.006-05:00

so...i moved. just 2 blocks from where i used to live. and i am in LOVE w/ this new house. the landlord decided to take our old house over as a second home and stop renting. so we searched for about 1.5 months to find this beauty. it was the best change ever made. i think moving may be like having a child - stay with me here. during the process....it sucks. its painful. its exhausting. its sleepless nights. you rely on your significant other to do heavy lifting. and you swear up and down that you will NEVER do it again. but then once youve moved in and you are settled, you forget about all the hard work and just enjoy your new love in life. are you mothers out there annoyed of my analogy yet? haha. check out the rest of da crib!!!

secret obsession. no longer secret.

2009-08-09T22:57:00.004-05:00

this show on ABC has provided many hours of entertainment for me. for those of you who have never seen it - you should. wives of two separate (seemingly exact opposite, who would have thought) switch places and play mommy/wife in another family for two weeks. the first week they abide by the home families rules, and then the next week the family must follow the new wife's rules of the house. there is ALWAYS drama. there is ALWAYS a fight. there is ALWAYS crying. and best of all they learn from eachother all in the end. ahhhhhh :-) it is hilarious and i literally laugh outloud during the duration of the episode. please see some sample families who have graced the show:

these atheist ex-mormons were my favorite:

st.pierre hitched.

2009-08-03T20:30:00.002-05:00

my gf's from hs are the bomb. we had a blast in pebble beach for kaytie's wedding (steph - we missed you)!! so lucky to have good friends from all eras of my life. :-)

want to see some old gnarly pics of me as a teenager?

2009-07-13T01:36:00.000-05:00

click here:

http://stephanielovesthomas.blogspot.com/2009/07/what-is-it-best-friend-week.html

went here last night.

2009-07-13T01:03:00.005-05:00

and dressed like this....

she was amazing. seriously incredible. she can sing even better than i thought she could. she did everything live and danced her butt off. she OWNED the stage. and the all the black girls loved DIVA (of course) and they also loved our outfits.

more from the doctor.

2009-07-09T19:44:00.006-05:00

doctor dre posted more pics from w and i's photo shoot. click here to view.

http://andreafilio.blogspot.com/2009/07/werin.html

r.i.p.

2009-07-08T03:10:00.002-05:00

are you kidding me? after EVERYTHING they have gone through - FOUR SEASONS?? for this?? i sobbed. literally. sobbed. then laughed. hard. and couldnt stop.

another hike.

2009-07-07T01:38:00.006-05:00

look what i can do! hike all the way to jump rock in corona del mar!! what did this journey entail you ask? well 1st off i was a tad mislead. warren and lisa did NOT tell me this was to follow - climbing a set of stairs, entering private property through small section of fence, climbing under fence (getting dirty) back to not private property opening to beach front, across jagged rocks, wading knee-deep water, scaling rock walls, jumping waterfalls.....you get the picture. anyway - the end result was this rock to our back left:

which i of course did NOT jump from, but tried to lay out on the jagged rocks and get the last of prime tanning hours sun. i opened my eyes to warren doing this:

and then eventually him doing this:

sorry - i couldnt turn the video for some reason. but anyway - all in all i am really happy i went. it was all worth it. so glad there are good friends and fun peeps to do things with in hb. i heart cali.

doctor dre.

2009-06-28T03:01:00.006-05:00

our friend dre took some fun pics of us the other day. she is bomb and totally for hire (i.e weddings, fam pics, babies, graduation, you name it)!! check out more of her stuff on her blog:

www.andreafilio.blogspot.com

thanks for letting us be your models, dre!!! ily.