Friday, January 30, 2009

Random Facts

25 Random Things About Me

1. I secretly love The Real World and even though I say I don't watch it anymore, I've watched every season religiously.

2. My favorite pet ever is my golden retriever Abby who passed away almost 5 years ago. I still think about her all the time. Her name was Ali's Best BuddY (Abby!)

3. I've lived in 5 different states and my current state (California) is my favorite.

4. I've had the same best friend since I was 14. We made sure our husbands became best friends too.

5. Every year my mom, aunt, cousin, and myself have a girls week in Florida. It's one of the best weeks of my year.

6. A seagull stole a sandwich from my hand at the beach.

7. After four years of college and two years of working, I think I finally decided what I want to do with my life.

8. I spent two weeks living in the dorms at the University of Tampa when I decided I hated living there and especially disliked my roommate, so I moved home.

9. My cousin and I are five years apart and have always been close, she's much more like a sister than a cousin. Sometimes we actually forget that we're not sisters. When she got married I called her husband my brother-in-law and had no idea that was not right.

10. I hate math. I haven't taken math other than statistics since my junior year of high school.

11. I'm slightly obsessed with my wedding photos and recommend my photographer to everyone I know. (Ben Derkin derksworks.com)

12. I love to fly and especially love airports. I enjoy it that no one knows why I'm there or where I'm going and I like to see all the people hurrying to their different destinations.

13. I saved my American Girl Dolls and Barbie's so I can give them to my daughter. This is important to me because my Grandma sold all of my mom's Barbie dolls and it has always made me sad.

14. I worked at Abercrombie & Fitch for a few months in Florida, I hated the music and having to look cool for the customers. Now, I never set foot in A&F.

15. My husband turned me into a huge film buff which has now helped me to figure out my career. We went to the Sundance Film Festival last year and it was one of the best trips, we can't wait to go back.

16. My cousin and I used to play hardware store in my Grandpa's basement for hours.

17. I am an only child and so is my husband. This means that our children will technically have no aunts & uncles and no cousins. I think this is very sad but luckily we have great friends and family.

18. I want to take a photography class so that I can take great pictures of my children.

19. I recently watched Season 1 & 2 of Friday Night Lights on DVD and now it's back on NBC. We are super excited and it's my new favorite show. I am crazy about Tim Riggins.

20. I've seen almost every episode of Friends yet I still watch it when flipping through the channels.

21. I told Peter that I didn't want DVR and I thought it was a waste of money but now I'm obsessed with it.

22. I go to church at Ecclesia on Hollywood Blvd. One of the elders is a lead character on Chuck and Arrested Development.

23. Peter is going to buy a motorcycle. I think I should have a pink helmet.

24. I love to read fiction books and magazines.

25. I love The Bachelor and I have watched almost every season. Does this mean I"m entirely too obsessed with television?

Thursday, January 29, 2009

San Francisco



I'm headed to San Francisco this evening to see my mom for the weekend. San Francisco is another city I've never been to so I'm very excited. I can't wait to see the Golden Gate Bridge, ride a cable car, and visit the restaurant where my cousin is the sui-chef!

I'll post an update next week filled with photos!

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

car chases



One of the weirdest things about living in LA is that there are multiple car chases each week. For the past hour I have been watching a U-Haul being chased down the Pacific Coast Highway at very high speeds and the driver is a young blonde woman! This chase has pretty much been on every highway in the LA area and I even heard the helicopters fly near my house on the 10 freeway chasing her.

I am truly wondering why this happens so much in LA. I never heard in Ohio about any sort of car chase but here it seems to happen all the time. Is there a reason for this?


**Update on the car chase - It ended and the crazy lady got out and ran for it, tried to hi-jack another car and was finally tackled by the police. It was ridiculous!

Monday, January 26, 2009

Cupcakes




When I moved to LA there were several things I had to try: In-N-Out Burger (yum!) Pinkberry (double yum!) and Sprinkles. Sprinkles is a cupcake-only shop located in Beverly Hills where there is always a line out the door of people waiting for cupcakes! I've been wanting to go for a few weeks and last week decided to go check it out. The line was short and I had a few minutes to decide which kind sounded best. The flavor highly recommended on Yelp was Red Velvet. So, I chose a Red Velvet cupcake with a cream cheese frosting for $3.25. This cupcake was worth every penny, it was truly the most delicious cake I've ever experienced in my 24 years on this Earth. The cake is warm and moist and the frosting is perfectly sweet. I was truly in cupcake bliss in the five minutes it took me to eat my delcious treat.

I have been craving Sprinkles every day since I ate my first cupcake. I plan to frequent this cupcake joint, especially when I have a good excuse like a friend coming to visit or a birthday party to attend. If you ever come to LA, Sprinkles is a must-visit!


(cupcake board from stylemepretty.com)

Friday, January 23, 2009

Guilty Pleasures!

My number one guilty pleasure TV show is... The Bachelor! If you're watching it this season you know that it is oh so dramatic and ridiculous. I loved Jason last season on the Bachelorette and thought Deanna was an idiot for picking Jesse instead. Apparently, by the looks of what's to come on this season, she thinks she was an idiot too once her and Jesse broke off their "engagement."

So, who else watches it? Do you all love Jason too? Who's your favorite and least favorite lady?

I love Jillian and Melissa and really dislike Megan and psycho Shannon. I also thought the date with Stephanie was very sweet and she is a great woman, but I don't necessarily think he'll pick her. I just hope he doesn't lead her on for too long because she would for sure be heartbroken.





I apologize for the ridiculousness of this post, the fact that is has nothing to do with life in LA, and that it's completely girly.. but I LOVE this show!

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Premiere!

I spend a lot of time at the mall across the street from us. Most of the time I'm not even shopping, just walking around, people watching, reading, or getting coffee. Last week while doing my daily lap around the Grove I spotted my very first movie premiere!

Don't get too excited because the premiere was for the movie, Hotel For Dogs. The stars of the film are pretty cool, if you're 13 and watch the Disney Channel all day like the girls I stood next to. There were a few adult stars though, one I was very interested to meet or take a picture of, Lisa Kudrow! She didn't end up coming to see fan's, just a wave, but it was still pretty great.

This is Selena Gomez, apparently in teen world she's hot stuff.



There was also an area where all the dogs from the film were doing tricks! This dog is Cooper, he's an English Bulldog and clearly he was my favorite.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

We had a great weekend in Vegas! It was fun to see Vegas with my own eyes and not just on TV or in movies. We ate some great food, walked around A LOT, stayed in a great suite, and saw The Blue Man Group. We also gambled and actually left Vegas a little richer. We played roulette and personally I think we made an amazing team.

I also forced Peter into some posed pictures at the New York, New York which was my favorite casino. In this one I felt like Carrie from SATC!

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

January 20, 2009

I started to write about my trip to Vegas today, but it just didn't seem right. I feel very happy, nostalgic, and excited for our country today. As I watched Barack Obama become our 44th president I tried to remember exactly where I was and exactly how I felt. I know this day is one that I will remember forever. Obama is so very inspiring and I truly feel that he is the right man in this time of crisis.

I will remember this day my whole life.

I also echo the words of my cousin at www.withthisnest.com that Sasha Obama is perhaps the cutest thing I've ever seen and her standing up on that box in her pink outfit smiling at her Daddy gives me the chills!

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Ali in Vegas!


We are going to Las Vegas this weekend and I am excited because I am a Vegas virgin! Peter's mom, Leisa, has a trade show in sin city so she decided to come in a few days early in order to spend the weekend with us!

This is the beautiful hotel we're staying at: The Signature by MGM Grand


If anyone has any suggestions of fun things to do in LV please give us tips! I'm thinking we'll probably go to a show, Blue Man? Cirque? What should we do?

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

24

Today happens to be my 24th birthday. I'm enjoying it by being lazy, reading the fourth twilight book, getting a pedicure, shopping at The Grove, and relaxing with my husband when he get's home from work.


I got these boots for my birthday and I'm basically in love with them.
I've lived in the mid-west my entire life which equals 23 birthdays with sub-zero temperatures. I would like to thank Mother Nature for knowing that a warm day would make me very happy and I am very much enjoying this 80 degree birthday!

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

When the lights go out..

Friday morning I was busy with dishes and laundry, my normal housewife duties, when the power went out. I decided to run an errand in hopes that when I got back the power would be back on. It was not. I called the DWP (power provider in LA) to see what the problem was and they informed me that the power would not be on again until midnight! What do you do when the power goes out for more than 7 hours? What do you do with no tv, no internet, no hot water, no laundry, and nothing to do?

Diet coke, french bread, cheese, and a people magazine at the Farmers Market across the street. This is my idea of a power outage.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Not to brag or anything, but..

The weather here is gorgeous.


Sunny
85°F
Feels Like
85°F
Updated Jan 12 01:45 p.m. PT

I'm working on some more posts but this is all I've got for you right now. To my Midwest friends, I'm sorry that you read this post today and I don't blame you if you feel a little resentment towards me.

For the meantime, I'll be outside enjoying this beautiful day.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

I Scream for Yogurt?

I am an admitted ice cream addict. In Toledo we lived less than a block away from an amazing soft serve ice cream store. As you know, ice cream shops are clearly much better than ice cream from the local grocer! You'll be shocked to know that since I've moved to LA, I've stopped eating ice cream. Gasp!

Now before you die of shock, I'll be honest with you - I am now addicted to Pinkberry frozen yogurt. Until you experience the deliciousness that is Pinkberry I cannot fully explain to you how great this treat is. If you visit California or New York (Pinkberry is currently located only in these two states) this should be your first stop!

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Celeb-Alert!

One of the most exciting parts for me about moving to Los Angeles was the possibility of celeb sightings. I arrived in LA with high hopes of seeing celebrities daily. After living here for a few weeks I've found that daily sightings are not entirely true, but I do see many celebrities living in Hollywood! The most exciting celebrity I've seen so far is Adam Sandler. Christie, Bryan, and I were shopping at The Grove (my home away from home) and we saw Adam Sandler sitting on a bench! A few minutes later we ran into Kate Flannery who is an actress that plays Meredith on The Office, one of our favorite shows. Kate is as awesome and hilarious in real life as she is on The Office.

Now, to be very honest about my celebrity spotting abilities, I am not very good at it! I get caught up in my own business and forget to look. Peter is a people-watcher and spots them all! He's spotted a lot of MTV stars recently; Brandy, Angela Simmons, Tila Tequila, and Flava-Flav all in the past few days! As I mentioned earlier, Peter actually had a conversation with Flav in the bathroom of LAX. Everything Flava-Flav said was a little to R-rated for this blog! We've been laughing about this conversation for a few days now.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Pink!


No, I'm not talking about the color, I'm talking about the hot dog! Pink's Hot Dog is a famous hot dog stand on La Brea Blvd. in West Hollywood. Pink's has been around for almost 60 years and constantly has a huge line outside. We've driven by a few times and thought "it must be pretty good if there's always such a long line." Well, as I mentioned earlier my mom was in town, we were being touristy so we actually waited more than 1 hour for hot dogs.

Was it worth it? Yes.
Would I wait an hour again? No.
Would I eat it again if there was no line? Yes.



I drove by Pink this morning at 9:30 and there was no line. If you like hot dogs for breakfast I recommend visiting early!

Monday, January 5, 2009



This weekend began very boring. Peter had to work late Friday night and all day Saturday but I was looking forward to Saturday night when we planned to pick up our best friends, Bryan and Christie who live in San Diego at the airport. We had an awesome and realxing time with our best friends.

On Sunday we visited the Sunset Cliff's in San Diego. This is one of the most gorgeous places I've ever been. We all agreed that places like this make us very thankful to live in California near the ocean.


Friday, January 2, 2009

Hollywood Blvd.


My mom was in town the weekend after Christmas and it gave us an excuse to do some LA "touristy" things. Our first trip was to explore Hollywood Boulevard. We enjoyed walking up and down the street and visited the historical Pig & Whistle for lunch. It was delicious and apparently a Hollywood Blvd staple.


We also discovered that there's a Lickety Split in Hollywood! Lickety Split was our favorite ice cream place in Toledo that we walked to almost every day in the summer! This was obviously a very exciting discovery for me until we realized that there was no ice cream in Lickety Split! So here's a petition to whomever is in charge here -- OPEN UP!!