you know i have done a bit of traveling this year. and although it mostly took place between 4 west coast states, it's still nice that i've been able to visit friends, family and see beautiful places. so without further ado, here are the places i've been to in 2009:

san francisco- to see joy and rosie
cambria, california- joy and rosie took me here for my birthday where we visited hearst castle- not a bad way to spend your birthday

in the spring it was phoenix- i have no memories of this trip actually, but i know stuart did my hair. thanks!
pretty sure i went to vegas as well sometime, but my brain won't let me remember.
in june i flew to l.a.
in july back to salt lake for a week to take my csw exam, then back to l.a. only this time with my car, so stopped and stayed with my sister in vegas.
in september there was a quick trip to phoenix for angela's baby shower and of course, got my hair did.
september was also back to salt lake to find a job. i stayed with Sherry and did not find a job. :( so back to l.a. in october, with a quick stay to in vegas.
november brought baby sophie so was able to fly to vegas.
the next week was thanksgiving, which brought the dreaded drive to hurricane. really lovely thanksgiving with the whole family though.
december was missouri! finally moved a little east. a little. good times were had in kirksville!
christmas will be phoenix and that will conclude my 2009 year of travels. i really must thank my brother in law for providing air fare for most of those trips. really and truly a gift, which i hope i have showed my gratitude for.

so as for 2010....
i have a few things in mind:
the mighty redwoods for one-


and perhaps if i stay at this job a trip to europe? blogs are for dreaming right? and i've heard ischia, italy is where it's at.


or maybe?


but i've been wanting to do this for awhile as well.... oh bora, bora:

hello lover!

i went shoe shopping for an upcoming christmas party and was struggling to find anything really fantastic. then i went online and found these:


yeah. i know. gorg!
they are christian louboutin and they are ridiculous.
also they are almost $2300.00
i know i don't exactly have the highest moral standards, but wearing 2300 dollars on my feet might actually cause some conflict in my little heart. although, if they were a gift.....

medicine

was chatting away today with janelle about home remedies of sorts. mine are fluffy down comforters, lots of pillows, disney movies, popcorn, someone to cuddle (friend, doggy, whatever). i know, i know, i sound like a six year old. c'est moi! so today at lunch i went and bought some happiness. that's right! it CAN be bought!

you all know how i feel about this one:


this the season! (but i watch it year round)


and best movie of the year:


sure do miss my bed though, it's such a wonderful pillow top mattress, lovely lover of mine.

swine flu is not a joke people

i'm so afraid of getting it before my insurance kicks in. which is next week, i think. and then i only have it for three months, so lets keep our fingers crossed. i'm not the paranoid type, but we've had a lot of people in the office come down with it and then i feel so weird and lethargic. don't like.

to bide the time i look out of my borrowed office window and watch:
palm trees blowing in the santa anna winds.
two humming birds flying and kissing.
a plastic bag floating up to the third floor, like a balloon.
koi fish not swimming in the pond.
brilliant orange birds of paradise swaying.
the westside enshrouded in dust clouds.
my reflection with pursed lips.

famous people follow me

it's not a joke, check out my celeb week.
monday carl reiner read at the table read at work:


friday went to taping of show.
not going to count everyone there, but will count my favorites:
alia shawkat (maebe)


reading rainbow
LeVar Burton:


miss swan
Alex Borstein:


marlee matliin, whom i adore:


then of course, brandi carlile- at her concert, which was AMAZING:


at the show i saw gay kid from glee!


and also this girl from legally blonde:


so see? told you- they are following me!

holla what?

halloween.

i love this holiday. only i have no idea what to be. last year was good times as frida. it was an excellent costume, if i don't say so myself. the year sister and i went as mary kate and ashley olsen was pretty amazing as well.

but this year. hmm.... this year i've got to be on for the fox annual party. it's kind of a big deal and it needs to be pretty special. it can also involve another person or three or four. anyone have any ideas?

i thought about reconstructing this:
it would be a crude version of course and i'm not really sure about the white dress she wore- don't own a white dress. but it's the best i've got so far. the makeup would be fun to do though!

L.O.N.E.L.Y.

not depressed.
not down.
not suicidal.

not gleeful.
not super stoked.
not excited.

living in l.a.
all my stuff in storage.
car making funny noise.
cartoons.
no therapy.

el compadre includes my best friend amy adams

again, a blog about an oldie but a goodie. when i lived in l.a. often i would just go to el compadre's after church. you know, it's your typical mexican restaurant, or at least the kind i grew up with. big, red plastic booths, dimly lit with those yellow glass light fixtures. kitchy stuff on the walls. good rice- which is important. i always get two beef tacos, rice and beans. it's like my staple food. i have and will always love it. and now that i'm back in l.a.- i'd say i make it there about once a week, once every two weeks at the most.

so yesterday i'm having a nonchalant dinner with john and i'm chatting about some nonsense or another when in walks.....

amy adams.

gasp!

i love her. i love, love, love her. i was a bit star struck. i literally saw her for like 30 seconds, but i wanted to sit in those 30 seconds forever. she just looked so normal and nice and cute. i think i've seen every movie she's been in (not true, i didn't see doubt, cause yuck! content=yucky). but miss pettigrew for a day, sunshine cleaning, junebug, enchanted! oh i love her so much.

just look how pretty she is!

aw...

and i'm posting this picture because people said she looked fat. and she's not. she's gorgeous and lovely and healthy. totally normal. this is what she looked like at el compadre's (well in a little peach dress, not a bikini), but NORMAL.

old neighborhood

i can't believe it has taken me this long to get over to one of my favorite places in hollywood. i don't care if it's cliche. i love it.

fred segal


i love all the little shops. and i love all the couture. oh it's a heavenly place. but my favorite thing about fred segal's in Mauro's Cafe


i almost can not deal with the deliciousness.
john and i always get the arugola salad, here's a pic.


it's so delicious, you would die and then i got the spaghetti marlon- breast of chicken, jalepenos, onions, arugola, garlic and olive oil. and pure and sensual. it was so good i didn't even have time to take a picture. john got the penne arrabiatta, which he always gets and it's always delicious! lovely sunday afternoon.

pfeffernusse

matty is a flight attendant.
he flew into l.a.
he called nicki.
nicki picked him up from the westin on century.
matt and nicki went to dinner
in inglewood (or mexico)
nicki ate tacos.
matt was parched.
it was nice.
nicki misses matt.

matt:


tacos:


mexico:


friends:

downtown l.a.- you're doing it wrong

i mean seriously. i thought maybe my three year absence would bring some new, fun stuff, but nope. it still sucks. my brother was in town, so i thought it might be a good time to explore a little. we went to the edison, which is this really cool bar downtown. cool, in that it looks cool, but that's where the fun stops folks. i have to say i just didn't get it. the place was HUGE, the music was too loud, the service was honestly the worst i've had in a long time. the food was okay only. the crowd/vibe- well i don't know, i guess it's the downtown vibe? odd mix of people. nevertheless i give you the edison, which i must admit had a very cool interior and a little fairy selling absinthe- how nice.





cool interior touches




and these were some of the most tasty wings i've ever had



i had the fish and chips- fish was awesome, chips=dumb. my friend got lobster corndogs, also unimpressive, but the sweet potato fries were real tasty and they had homemade blue cheese dressing, which was real, real tasty.



here is a picture of the worst waitress ever. this is how she was most of the night- hair twirling/flirting with bartender. it's been a long, long time since i haven't left a tip



and here is cute brother, most often can be found calm, cool and collective, unlike his sometimes high strung, bitchy sister

a street and district in NYC that is associated with drunks and vagrants!

oh sounds exciting! that is the bowery. i didn't actually go to "the" bowery, but to a restaurant in l.a. so named. i have always wanted to try it, but never had made it over. it was okay. i had the burger, which they are supposedly famous for. it was on an english muffin, which is different and not terribly impressive, but ce la vie! we took mimi and she was mostly good except for when i went to the bathroom she freaked out like i was abandoning her for all eternity. bless her critter brain. her are some fun pics:

malibu babies

welcome to malibu!

my friend jane is pregnant. although not really evidenced in this photo, it is true, she is.

her friends threw her a gorgeous baby shower in malibu. it was a sunny, lovely day with lots of yummy food. we had lunch outside. the couscous was my favorite.

and there were gobs of flowers!

and inside too:

jane admiring her new, fancy diaper bag

dessert table!

cupcakes!

wide shot:

robyn in front of dream house

it was a beautiful day and it was great spending time with old friends. oh and it was pretty.