Mojitos, Martinis, and SATC.

And so, another week has started, and I am already ready for the weekend . . .

Friday, we had a "team meeting" with Jackie and PJ to narrow down locations we can all agree on for a potential trip in March. They came over, we poured some wine, and then we all compared lists. There were two spots that ended up on all four of our lists: Thailand and Argentina. So, now we need to pick between the two. Where should we go?

Saturday, I slept until the late morning (oh, sweet, luxurious sleep). Josh was the best husband ever and grabbed me a breakfast burrito (my fave!) from a little cafe by our house, and we vegged, ate breakfast, and watched TV. So relaxing.

In the evening, we went to a firm party at Elevate in downtown. We ended up sitting with a couple good friends of mine instead of mingling all night like a good associate. (Hey, it was Saturday.) We had a B-list celebrity spotting: Nicole Linkletter, the winner of Cycle 5 of America's Next Top Model.

I had a couple delicious mojitos and some amazing sushi. After a couple of hours, some good food and drinks, and making the rounds, Josh and I escaped out the side door to meet up with Bug and Ajax at Arclight.

Bug and I are both huge Sex and the City fans, and we had purchased tickets for the 21 and over show over a week ago. Actually, we got the last of the tickets . . . a week ago! Apparently, there are other obsessive fans. We dragged Josh and Ajax, and they were pretty much the only men there. Since it was a 21+ showing, all the women there were, well, tipsy. (We definitely had a cosmo in honor of the occasion.) There was lots of cheering, booing, and gasping throughout the show. It was pretty fantastic.

As for the movie, I have to say I totally loved it. Actually, I want to see it again.

Sunday, I slept in . . . again. It was a fabulously lazy day. I left the house only to get a pedicure with Jackie and then grab fro yo with Jackie and PJ. It was lovely!

Time to watch the Bachelorette. I know. I can't believe I watch it either, but I can't seem to look away!

Birthday recap.

We started out the evening at Dave and Busters. Initially, Josh had wanted to go mini golfing, but when he heard that you couldn't bring beer into Golf 'N' Stuff, it was immediately ruled out. I had never been to Dave and Busters, but a lot of people describe it as a Chuck E. Cheese's for adults. I think that's probably pretty accurate. For you Seattleites, Josh said it reminded him a lot of Gameworks.

We got there and ordered drinks and dinner. I had low expectations for the food, but my sliders weren't half bad! Bug got a hold of the camera and took pictures around the table:

Pj and Dad are on the left and Trevor and Sarah are on the right. Sarah went to high school with Josh, PJ, and me in Alaska. She and Trevor just recently moved to L.A. and have the cutest one-year-old! I'm so happy they were able to make it out with us!

Ajax, Jackie, and PJ on the left and my grandparents on the right (seriously, how cute are they).

And, of course, the birthday boy (pic courtesy of Bug)!

A close-up of the red velvet cake I made:

After we finished eating, it was time for . . . games!!!

Josh.

Jackie and PJ.

Dad landing a plane.

Grandma and Grandpa.

Bug.

After leaving Dave and Busters, we went to a dive bar by our house because Josh wanted to catch his friend's band, The Screaming Clams. They're basically a cover band that sings songs from the '60s and '70s. My dad was rocking out.

The night ended back at our place where we had some wine and did a little swimming! I think Josh had a great time, and I know I did! Thanks to the fam and crew for helping celebrate Josh's big 2-8!

A week in review.

So much to say, so much to say. A lot has happened in the last week. Let's see . . .

Saturday, we went to Josh's rugby banquet at the Cornell Winery. Can I just say, I am in love with this place? It may have something to do with the big, gorgeous chandelier. Or, maybe that it's all the fabulous wine awakened my inner oenophile. It's not yet open to the public (only private events), but I'm pretty sure I'll be a regular once it is. In the meantime, I have dropped some massive hints that this would be a good place for a birthday party . . . Haha. Yes, I'm so subtle.

After the banquet, we met up with my sis, Ajax, my dad, and his girlfriend at this dive bar in Camarillo that Josh and my dad love. I think they love it because of the ridiculous karaoke that takes place there. Well, Bug decided it would be a good idea to have Irish car bombs. Before I knew it, we were belting out a very bad rendition of "Tiny Dancer." The night ended with me jumping into our pool. Enough said.

Sunday, I worked during the day, and then Josh and I met up with Jackie and PJ to see Iron Man at Arclight. I am a big Robert Downey, Jr. fan, so I was easily persuaded. It was a great movie. Exactly the sort of fun, summer movie I have been needing lately. I definitely recommend it if you like the other comic book movies.

The early part of the week was a little rocky, to say the least. However, my week was saved by a wonderful dinner with WeeMo and Trish at Sai Sai. I love these girls and feel so blessed to have so many wonderful friends.

Also, a random highlight: I ran into the Verizon guy on the corner of the street outside my building where they were, apparently, filming a Verizon commercial! It took all my self-control to not respond to his "hello" with "Can you hear me now? Good!" Haha. Wonder how many times he's heard that!

Today, my co-worker, Ryan, and I had lunch at Yorkshire Grill, my favorite greasy spoon downtown. I had the Yorkshire Special, my fave, a sandwich with turkey, pastrami, swiss and cole slaw in the sandwich. It is so good. Although, it's pretty heavy, which made me want to take a nap!

This weekend is Josh's bday! We have a lot of fun plans, many of which will be blogged about, I'm sure. Tonight, we are kicking off celebrating Josh's birthday by going to see Kids in the Hall at the Orpheum. Josh is a huge fan and is super excited. Should be fun!

**Side note: I am annoyed by the formatting of this post and cannot get it to work for me. Why is some text scrunched and some is not? Grrr, Blogger, grrr.

Reemergence.

After falling off the face of the earth for two weeks, I am finally reemerging into the so-called blogosphere. Those of you with blogs may probably received a ton of comments from me tonight. My Google Reader was not a pretty sight. But, finally, I am caught up.

So much to say since the last post. First. Work. I was placed on a new case, headed for trial mid-June. Fabulous for me professionally, but not-so-hot for my plans to go to China. I am still (perhaps naively) hoping it will all work out. Since I am a wee junior associate (and there is another junior associate on the case) and since the trial will finish three days before we are supposed to leave, I am choosing to remain blindly optimistic. We shall see.

That case plus the rest of my caseload has kept me pretty busy. I've worked through the weekends and am sleepy and boring when I am not working. I have managed to do a few fun things since my last post.

We celebrated Jackie's birthday last weekend! We had dinner at Baja Cantina, which was so delish! My Cadillac margarita was perfect, and the steak nachos were completely out of this world!

Jackie's sis and the ahh-maa-zeeen nachos!

After dinner, there were a few more margaritas at Cabo Cantina, lots of chatting, and overall good times. Jackie seemed to have a really good time.

PJ and Jackie

Hmm....what else? Oh! Monday, I had dinner with some fabulous friends of mine, and went home with a big smile on my face.

On Tuesday, Josh and I saw Forgetting Sarah Marshall. I went in with low expectations and actually really liked it! I would even recommend it.

Hmm. That's about it! I promise not to disappear again (at least for awhile)!

Velvet Margaritas

One of my very best friends, Taryn, is staying with us for the weekend! She arrived on Wednesday night after braving traffic all the way from LAX. After she arrived, we ate some Chinese food, drank some of Josh's homebrew, and watched America's Next Top Model. Then, there was a quick trip to Golden Spoon.

Yesterday, I headed into work for the day, and Taryn worked, poked around town, and put together a lovely dinner for Josh and me (which was so nice)! After dinner, we headed into Hollywood to the Velvet Margarita, where we met up with Jackie, PJ, Susan, and a few of Susan's neighbors.

We ordered the Velvet Margarita, which seemed fitting. It was huge and served in a ridiculous, hollowed-out pineapple!

That huge margarita should have been enough, and yet Taryn and I each had two more. Our bartender was pretty heavy handed, so by the time we were on number three, I happily exclaimed to Taryn: "I'm pretty sure this one is going to be a mistake!" Famous last words, right?

Taryn is already a crack up, so you add a few margaritas in the mix, and I was cracking up all night long. It was the type of uncontrollable laughter that lasted so long my stomach started cramping, eyes watering, and face hurting. Very good times.

Another picture, courtesy of Jackie...

So, I am going to do a little work this morning and then take the second half of the day to run around with Taryn. Happy Easter!

My One and Oly.

Greetings from the Pacific Northwest! Here's a little recap of what we have been up to since touching down Friday morning:

We left the airport Friday morning and Josh and his dad dropped me off at Bellevue Square to meet Taryn for lunch and a little shopping. As always, it was wonderful to spend the afternoon with Taryn. We both got some good shopping done, each leaving Nordstrom's with new shoes.

Friday evening, we went to Josh's brother's house, and I went to bed super early (I was exhausted having only slept two hours the night before). Josh and his bro, Kitt, hung out, caught up, and drank a little beer.

Saturday morning, we headed down to Olympia bright and early to set up "the grange" for the anniversary party. I had no idea what "the grange" was (despite a few covert google searches on my Blackberry, with no luck). For those of you city girls like I, "the grange" is an association of farmers. The association usually has a little social/dance hall for its members. This particular grange was built in 1928 and reminded me of 1940s dance halls my grandma used to talk about. It was really very cute and rustic.

Josh's whole family was there, and Josh's grandparents seemed so happy. They danced and mingled with the rest of the family, and Josh and his brother selected some great Big Band music that seemed to complete the whole feel. Oh, and there was lots of wine. :)

Happy 65th anniversary!

After the party, Josh, Kitt, Kitt's wife Arian, and I headed to downtown Olympia to celebrate Arian's 30th Birthday!

We started the night off at McMenamins Spar Cafe. I had been here before McMenamins took it over, and it looks pretty much the same. We found a little table in the back, ate tots, and Kitt and Arian played pool.

After leaving the Spar, we went to The Royal, a bar set up to look like a trendy living room from the late 1970s with bocce ball games set up on either side of the bar. I really loved this bar. It was cozy but hip. Who knew such cool bars existed in Oly?

I'm not sure what's up today. Guess that's all part of the adventure of hanging out with Josh & family. :)

Do you know the way ...

Ah, San Jose. It was not that long ago I was here for work, and, whaddya know....I'm baaack. Oh, I know what you're thinking. How come I get to go to so many exciting, exotic places on business? Hey now, don't be jealous.

I arrived here yesterday evening and have spent the day interviewing employees. These are not the normal witness interviews I do, where I get to sit down and chit chat with an employee or manager about certain events around the litigation. No, these interviews are for a big class action, so I have prepared questions, and I ask the employee about his/her job duties, hours worked, etc.

The company I am at is eerily like Initech. Given the nature of my questions and the fact that I am set up in a conference room, I can't help but feel like one of "the Bobs." ("What exactly would you say you do here at Initech?") In fact, there is even "executive" parking up front, no doubt reserved for Lumbergh.

So, I am here until Wednesday evening. My co-workers are off at a bar, and I am stuck in my room writing an opposition. Ah, well. Maybe I can come out and play tomorrow.

Oh hey, I haven't even told you what I did this weekend... Alright, here goes, the quick and the dirty:

Friday, Josh and I went to see Juno. Liked it a lot. Liked the sarcastic teen. Loved Allison Janney.

Saturday, Josh had his first ever rugby game in the afternoon, and I sat out in the sun, watching the game and enjoying the gorgeous weather. I know L.A. supposedly doesn't have seasons (a statement I disagree with -- they are subtle, ok?), but I swear it felt like the first day of spring. One of our trees even had a flower on it! Anyway, Josh's team lost, but I think he still had fun. In the evening, Josh and I met up with Jackie and PJ at Chimney Sweep. Interesting place. Feels like it should be a dive bar, but there were lots of "trendy" people there. Only in L.A. could there be a trendy dive bar.

Sunday, we went to church and then met Dad and Cathy for breakfast at Side Street. I tried to clean, I swear, but after scrubbing the kitchen, I ended up passed out on the couch watching "Keeping Up with the Kardashians." (Those of you who feared reading would interfere with my trashy-TV-watching, have faith.)

Okay, time to crank out this opposition...

Lazy Sunday.

Well, good news: we seem to have survived Stormwatch 2008! Wow, that sump pump turned out to be a lifesaver. It sucked up our mini-lake and dumped it down the rain gutters. Flood and disaster averted.

Other than that, the weekend was remarkably slow. The grey weather made me lazy, and I slept in Saturday morning past noon. I haven't done that in so long, and it felt incredible. We went up to Camarillo to see my dad for the afternoon and then headed to Sherman Oaks to see Jackie and PJ.

Jackie, PJ, PJ's pal, Josh, and I headed out to a dive bar called Green Frog, also in Shoaks. The bar had a pretty interesting mix of people that seemed to match the weird variety of music played (Alanis Morissette, Pearl Jam, Snoop, Britney Spears). Pretty random, but I dug it. Also, I tried a black and tan (in this case, Guinness and Bass) for the first time, and it was pretty good.

Today was also pretty low-key. Church and breakfast in the morning in Malibu. Then, we headed to my sister's apartment. Bug cooked dinner and then we watched Blades of Glory, which made me laugh, despite its predictable jokes and silliness.

I am now parked on my couch watching Cashmere Mafia. So far, meh. A little too similar to Sex and the City, methinks. Ah, well. I should probably hit the sack anyway...

Weekend Recap

Lately, the hubs ("WB") and I have been pretty mellow, spending most of our weekends lazing by my dad's pool and bbq. Last Sunday, I complained that we live in such an incredible city and never go exploring all the fab restaurants, bars, etc. So, we made a vow: one new restaurant/bar per week and no more take-out from the same old place. Well, we were so excited about our new plan, we went a little overboard this weekend.

Friday night, we went out to dinner at Il Cielo, a romantic Italian restaurant in Beverly Hills. Upon arriving, you first walk through a patio where there are dimly-lit tables underneath glowy twinkle lights strung through the trees. The inside feels like a formal dinner inside someone's home, with white linens on little round tables mixes with a couple plush couches, and an overall warm, almost rustic glow. The food was absolutely delish, and we ordered the best bottle of wine (unfortunately, we forgot to write down the name of the bottle). WB ordered risotto and I ordered the scialatielli pasta for dinner and then we had tiramisu and sorbet for dessert with some port for WB (of course) and a cappuccino for me.

Our server, the sommelier, even the host all spoke fluent Italian, and the whole experience was like being briefly transported back to Italy for a couple hours. It definitely made me want to go back for awhile (or, forever) this year. Although, my Italian is probably a bit rusty...


Saturday night, we had dinner with my little sister, Bug, and her boyfriend, Ajax, at Citizen Smith in Hollywood. A co-worker recommended we check it out, so, in the spirit of our new pact, WB and I decided to make reservations. Bug and Ajax decided to take a break from their studying (they are both second year med school students) and join us. The vibe was kind of a laid-back glam: lots of funky chandeliers covered in glass cubes with celebrity images scanned on each pane that hang over a rich mahogany bar. We sat outside on the patio in a little booth. Bug ordered the chicken and waffles which looked amazing, and I ordered a burger that had brie, gruyere, and something else on top. It was so delicious but way too huge.

Bug and Ajax talked a lot about school and the boards (making me very grateful I will never, ever have to take the Bar again). They are such smart cookies, and I am so proud of Bug. She made honors last year (what a braniac!) and is just one step closer to taking over the world.

After dinner, Bug, Ajax, WB, and I met up with Epp and Peej at the Bungalow Club in Hollywood. Epp has been my bff since we were in second grade, and Peej and WB are also long-time grammar school friends. I went to high school with Peej and WB, and Peej's mom and my mom are basically inseparable, so we are all basically family. Peej and Epp are roommates, too. Okay, so now that this all basically sounds like a bad pitch for a cheesy sitcom, moving on...



We sat outside, squished in a little bungalow and had a few drinks. Epp was in NYC for almost two weeks for work, so it was so great to see her and catch up. Epp, Peej, and Bug are all crack-ups, so needless to say my face hurt and I was still smiling at the end of the evening. It was definitely a fun night.

This morning, I was up for an 8 a.m. conference call (yes, I know it's Sunday). I will probably knock out a few work things that need to be taken care of today before we head out to have dinner with my grandparents. WB and I might venture out to the dog park with Woody and Ella (our dogs) at some point. Ella is a holy terror, so hopefully, she will not yap at all the big dogs at the park.

So, yes. That is all for now. I think I have procrastinated work enough for the morning . . . time to get to work. Hope you all had wonderful weekends!