Hi! Remember me?
Rather than apologize for being an absent blogger or try to catch up on so many things in my life, I decided to talk about what I've learned in the past almost 8 months since I've blogged :)
-My attitude is contagious. I feel so much better when I'm positive and dont let the little things get to me.
-Learning to be unconditionally supportive to someone takes work and patience.
-When I'm busy, cooking for myself is not my priority. I am terrible at cooking for one.
-I can stick to a certain diet for many months. I haven't eaten beef or pork since January 1st!
-I can live on my own. I've always been terrified of being home alone for long periods of time. I used to not even be able to take a shower unless someone was home with me. I dont know what it was, but I felt like I couldn't hear what was going on while I was in the shower. Not anymore!
-Watching someone work hard to obtain their long term goals is truly amazing. When you're deeply in love with that person, it makes the situation that much sweeter :)
-Working out always, without a doubt, puts me in a better mood and boosts my energy. On days where I dont feel like changing into gym clothes to go downstairs (we have a gym in our building), I try to remember how I will feel afterwards and strive to make it happen.
-Being happy for others makes me happy.
-A smile can help brighten any one's day.
-Reading is like my own personal therapy. A good book is so nice to snuggle with when you can't be with someone you love.
-Family is important and strengthening your bond with relatives is more important than many other things in my life.
-Planning a wedding is a series of really small decisions that come together for one big event on one special day :)
-I love to fly and travel. I've become quite the frequent flyer lately. That said, I need to have more patience with those who may not be travelling as much as I am. No liquids and yes, you have to take your belt AND keys out of your pockets!
I could go on forever here, but you get the jist of things. I've had so much time to myself these past couple of months to think about my future and what type of life I want to lead. Its been emotional at times, but also liberating to know that I control my own destiny.
I find I think a lot about what kind of wife and mother I want to be for my future family. Its certainly an exciting time in my life as we are planning a wedding and Jake is finishing up school. We are so blessed to live this life and be there to support each other in our endeavors.
Currently, I'm on a flight headed to Chicago for work. I'm on my favorite airline (Virgin) and lucked out with a whole row to myself. And, I was supposed to meet two of my bosses at the Chicago airport when I landed so we could split a car to the hotel. Well, their flight got delayed and I get to take the fancy car by myself to the hotel and meet my other colleagues for dinner. Amazing! Hoping the rest of the trip goes well!
I'm planning on blogging more and sharing some important wedding events with you all, even though I'm pretty sure no one is reading this.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Winter Wonderland
Hey all!
That night Jakes parents had reserved us spots on a walking wine tasting tour through the village. It was absolutely incredible and such a beautiful snowy night. We met with our tour guide and about 10 other people at an art gallery that housed all local artists' work. The pieces were absolutely beautiful and will be "our future cabin" decor, a theme that keep coming up during this vacation! Anyway, from the gallery we went to Bearfoot Bistro to learn about champagne sabering and have a few appetizers. We were led down to the most amazing wine cellar I have ever seen, complete with swords from Napolean. We learned that he and his soldiers were too impatient to wait for the servants to come around to their table to open their champagne, so they took out their swords and popped the tops off themselves. The host showed us the "sabering" rules and let a few of the people on the tour "saber" the bottles with a large knife. Apparently, this guy set a world record by sabering 21 bottles in under a minute at their bar. See the video here: http://www.bearfootbistro.com/index.php?scene=3. 
After touring the room for awhile and looking at bottles that cost thousands of dollars, we were led up to the Belvedere Ice Room. More on that later.
Friday was Christmas Eve so we decided to spend the day in the village to shop for souveneirs and take in the sites one last time. We took pictures by the Olympic rings and found some great ornaments for our tradition of getting an ornament on every vacation. Jake's mom bought us an engagement heart ornament that is absolutely beautiful. It was very sweet of her! That night, we went to the best restaurant in town, as we were told, for a 5 course Christmas dinner. Some courses were better than others, but we all had enough wine to have a great time.
I've been MIA once again, but definitely did not want to miss posting about our holiday activities this year. Its been a wonderful time for Jake and I, being that we got engaged this year and were excited to "blend" our families a little more than we had during previous holiday seasons.
The week before Christmas Jake and his parents flew off to Whistler, Canada while I finished up my responsibities at work for the week and celebrated with my parents over the weekend. I spent Saturday with my mom and she cooked us a mini feast for an early lunch. That night I headed over to the annual Modoc Christmas party at Mudd, Cairney, Vidals house and then went to my dads to cook pasta and exchange gifts on Sunday. My brother was missed on both nights, and I felt kind of like an only child of a divorced family. We made the most of it though and knew my brother would be home just after Christmas.
Early Tuesday morning in the pouring rain, I headed to Vancouver, where Jake picked me up and drove us up the mountain to Whistler. The drive in was absolutely beautiful. The mountain literally meets the sea and all the way up we saw waterfalls amid the snowy trees. Truly a great sight for the Christmas season!
Once I got to the cabin, Jake wanted to show me the village so we went to the brewery to kind of catch up, just him and I. (Jake had been in New York for 7 days a few days before he left, so we felt like we needed some more time to ourselves.) We had a great time sitting by the fire and hearing all about what the other had done the past few days. That night we headed to a German restaurant, with a snooty French waiter (odd) with Jakes mom. His dad was too tired to join us. We had a fun dinner. I really loved the International feel of the village and all of the restaurants there. We ran into many Australians, which Jake and I loved since we spent some time there last November.
The next morning we took the shuttle to the mountain to snowboard for the day. It snowed the whole day and was absolutely freezing at the top of the mountain, but we had a lot of fun. I got a little frustrated because we hit a lot of flats and I had to unstrap my board a bunch of times, but in the end, I was glad I went. Later we laughed about our conversation on the mountain that day: Jake: "Berrey, just take off your board and come down here." Me: "No because if I do, I will hit you over the head with it!" haha
That night Jakes parents had reserved us spots on a walking wine tasting tour through the village. It was absolutely incredible and such a beautiful snowy night. We met with our tour guide and about 10 other people at an art gallery that housed all local artists' work. The pieces were absolutely beautiful and will be "our future cabin" decor, a theme that keep coming up during this vacation! Anyway, from the gallery we went to Bearfoot Bistro to learn about champagne sabering and have a few appetizers. We were led down to the most amazing wine cellar I have ever seen, complete with swords from Napolean. We learned that he and his soldiers were too impatient to wait for the servants to come around to their table to open their champagne, so they took out their swords and popped the tops off themselves. The host showed us the "sabering" rules and let a few of the people on the tour "saber" the bottles with a large knife. Apparently, this guy set a world record by sabering 21 bottles in under a minute at their bar. See the video here: http://www.bearfootbistro.com/index.php?scene=3. After touring the room for awhile and looking at bottles that cost thousands of dollars, we were led up to the Belvedere Ice Room. More on that later.We stopped for another tasting at a somewhat forgetable restaurant and then to an Italian restaurant with the best homemade pasta I have ever had paired with a delicious salmon. Since the mountain is on the sea, their seafood is really, really good. This surprised me becaused you don't normally associate seafood with a mountain town. We stopped for dessert at a chocolate shop and had a taste of Ice Wine, which is famous in Whistler, but not so much with the Frank family (myself included). It tasted awful. Such a fun night for the four of us.
The next day (Thursday), Jake and I went snowboarding all day again and took the Peak-to-Peak gondola. It was really awesome to see all of the mountain from both peaks (Whistler and Blackcomb mountains). That night we went for appetizers and drinks at the Bearfoot Bistro again where we just had to go checkout the champagne bar and Belvedere Ice Room we had seen the night before. I will absolutely install this magical champagne bar in a future home someday because it was incredible. I didn't get a picture, but the champagne glasses did not have bottom, just a stem. It sat in this illuminated ice bar to keep it extra chilly. Pure amazingness. Then we had a vodka tasting with the sommelier in the ice room with our huge jackets on. So fun! Afterwards we went on a sleigh ride on the most beautiful night. It was snowing and we were pulled by clydesdale horses. The pictures do not do it justice on how pretty the ride was. The snow lit everything up! Jake's mom and I starting singing "sleigh bells ring, are you listenin'" because our sleigh had bells on it! Jake and his dad were embarrassed that we were singing, but oh well. They served us hot chocolate to keep us warm too!
Friday was Christmas Eve so we decided to spend the day in the village to shop for souveneirs and take in the sites one last time. We took pictures by the Olympic rings and found some great ornaments for our tradition of getting an ornament on every vacation. Jake's mom bought us an engagement heart ornament that is absolutely beautiful. It was very sweet of her! That night, we went to the best restaurant in town, as we were told, for a 5 course Christmas dinner. Some courses were better than others, but we all had enough wine to have a great time.The next morning was Christmas and we packed up and headed for the airport. After some terrible Chinese food and a plane ride later, we were back at LAX and dealing with a flat tire. It was such a fun trip and I feel like I got a lot closer to Jake's parents, which was really important to me. Looking back, I wasn't nervous and felt 100% comfortable the whole time. Absolutely a great holiday.
Jake and I found ourselves missing the beautiful snow once we were back and in LA. It was a truly memorable trip.
Hope you all had a nice New Year as well! We spent the evening in downtown at Roys, the JW and then eventually a lounge that was an old converted bank vault. We spent New Years Day with my mom and then Jake's parents for some great food and fun.
2011 here we come!
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Thankful for This Life
I've been a bad blog poster lately and I feel like I missed probably one of the most important blog topics: the spirit of Thanksgiving. Even though I'm a week late, the reason for this holiday is one that is important to me and I was reminded of why these past few weeks in a number of ways.
I've had such a crazy year with starting a new job, moving to a new city, going through a time where I thought I could be living anywhere in the country, getting engaged, going on trips, losing my grandfather, dealing with some tough family issues (more on that later), and through it all I have really come back to positivity and thankfulness. I know it sounds cheesy, but it really helps me to think this way when I am down and having a hard time. I try to think how small my current issue is compared to those who are suffering from illness, hungry, homeless or worse. I know my life isn't perfect, but I am constantly striving to make it as a healthy, strong young woman.
This Thanksgiving season I reflected on what I am most thankful for. It would definitely be the special people in my life that allow me to unwind and be myself. These are my family, fiance and friends. F cubed, if you will. I am so extremely lucky to have great people in my life.
I am thankful to be employed and have financial security to pay for what I need in life. These last few years have been downright terrible for many, with layoffs and the unemployment rate sky-rocketing. I try not to complain too much about working or waking up early, although its not always easy. I think my main frustration with my job right now is the commute. I live only 12 miles away and it takes me nearly an hour each way, sometimes more. We plan to move closer to my job next summer when our lease is up to solve this issue, so stay tuned!
This year I'm especially thankful for love. I feel like Jake and I are in the strongest part of our relationship ever. As we are about to celebrate 7 years of "us" at the end of this month, I'm thankful that we have grown together each day rather than farther apart. Its so fun to reflect back on our dating years and all the crazy things we have done together. We are thrilled that we have come to this point in our lives where we are ready to commit to each other forever. I know the road will not always be easy, especially with Jake's new career aspirations, but I feel like we will get through it like we always have, with humor, love and a deep respect for each others needs. I also love the partner I've become this year in trying to support Jake in all of his new endeavors. I feel like we are constantly talking about what he is learning, how to prepare for interviews, conducting mock interviews with magazine cutouts, and meeting all of his new classmates. Its been such a blast to see him so happy and working hard to achieve his goals. I cant wait to see what life has in store for us!
This year has not all been a bed of roses. My family has gone through a very trying time this year stemming from some trouble my brother got himself into. Without going into too much back history, Chris used to struggle with a prescription drug problem. I know he started experimenting shortly after my parents were divorced but the situation quickly escalated once he started having seizures. Through my parents' guidance, he was able to overcome his problem and was doing better working for my dad. At some point he was pulled over for posession and was placed on probation. He had to serve community service and attend drug and alcohol classes. One more ticket later, the probation officer told him he was on thin ice and better finish his classes ASAP. Meanwhile, my dad was planning a family trip for my dad, brother and I to spend a week in Hawaii, not realizing it was a violation of his probation. Long story short, the P.O. found out about the Hawaii trip after we got back and sent my little brother to jail. Unbeknownst to us all, Chris had been cited for a DUI and few weeks back and never told any of us. These charges earned him 3 months in county jail.
This had to be one of the hardest things I have ever had to deal with. I was so sad that he had gotten himself there and I was so scared that he would be with a bunch of dangerous people. My parents and I visited him every weekend and tried to keep him positive. We sent him books and he was keeping a journal that was getting him through the time. One especially hard time was that I couldn't call him after Jake and I got engaged. He wanted to hug me and congratulate me at our next visit but couldn't. All visitors are separated by glass. It's definitely not how I imagined things for him or I, but we made the best of a crappy situation.
After 3 months, he was released and his probation started all over. I really saw a change in him when he first got out and came home, but after a few weeks he started going out with his friends every night. I really dont think they were doing anything wrong but going out to bars. He is 22 so that is perfectly legal, but what he doesn't seem to understand is that when you're on probation, you need to be especially careful and diligent in what you do. About a month later, he received a ticket while tailgating in the Angel stadium parking lot while drinking with his friends. I felt awful, but we knew this meant he would have to go back to jail. The tailgating ticket alone would be nothing to any of his other friends, but because of his prior infractions, it landed him in jail. I dont mean to make any of these infractions seem petty because they definitely aren't. I just wish he could start with a clean slate and move forward. I go back and forth all of the time between feeling sorry for him and being mad at him. Mad that he made these decisions and mad that he is putting our family through this. I just want it to be all over and have him home.
This time he will have been there a total of 4 months and will be getting out the day after Christmas. We have missed him on every holiday and on everyday he has not been at home. I have comfort in knowing this time around he is not with the dangerous people in jail, but working in the kitchen and bakery, which is supposed to be the best place you can be in the worst place in the world. Sometimes I feel absolutely helpless for my family and it tears me up that we could have prevented this by giving him more attention after our family was broken up. All I want to do now is remain positive for my baby brother and show him that he is loved. I've tried to visit him as much as possible and go to stay with my mom while she is hurting too. It's been an exhausting process since I've moved to LA, but I feel like I need to be there for them all. I just hope that when he gets out he is extra careful not to make one mis-step that will send him back to this awful place. Seeing him through the bulletproof glass again is just too much to bear.
Anyway, I am thankful that he will be coming home soon and we will celebrate Christmas with him a few days late. I think that he will sure be glad to get out and eat some real food.
Sorry for such a heavy post, but its been on my mind for months and I've never known what to say or do or how to act about things. I've been evasive and sad about it for awhile and it feels good to get it out.
I've had such a crazy year with starting a new job, moving to a new city, going through a time where I thought I could be living anywhere in the country, getting engaged, going on trips, losing my grandfather, dealing with some tough family issues (more on that later), and through it all I have really come back to positivity and thankfulness. I know it sounds cheesy, but it really helps me to think this way when I am down and having a hard time. I try to think how small my current issue is compared to those who are suffering from illness, hungry, homeless or worse. I know my life isn't perfect, but I am constantly striving to make it as a healthy, strong young woman.
This Thanksgiving season I reflected on what I am most thankful for. It would definitely be the special people in my life that allow me to unwind and be myself. These are my family, fiance and friends. F cubed, if you will. I am so extremely lucky to have great people in my life.
I am thankful to be employed and have financial security to pay for what I need in life. These last few years have been downright terrible for many, with layoffs and the unemployment rate sky-rocketing. I try not to complain too much about working or waking up early, although its not always easy. I think my main frustration with my job right now is the commute. I live only 12 miles away and it takes me nearly an hour each way, sometimes more. We plan to move closer to my job next summer when our lease is up to solve this issue, so stay tuned!
This year I'm especially thankful for love. I feel like Jake and I are in the strongest part of our relationship ever. As we are about to celebrate 7 years of "us" at the end of this month, I'm thankful that we have grown together each day rather than farther apart. Its so fun to reflect back on our dating years and all the crazy things we have done together. We are thrilled that we have come to this point in our lives where we are ready to commit to each other forever. I know the road will not always be easy, especially with Jake's new career aspirations, but I feel like we will get through it like we always have, with humor, love and a deep respect for each others needs. I also love the partner I've become this year in trying to support Jake in all of his new endeavors. I feel like we are constantly talking about what he is learning, how to prepare for interviews, conducting mock interviews with magazine cutouts, and meeting all of his new classmates. Its been such a blast to see him so happy and working hard to achieve his goals. I cant wait to see what life has in store for us!
This year has not all been a bed of roses. My family has gone through a very trying time this year stemming from some trouble my brother got himself into. Without going into too much back history, Chris used to struggle with a prescription drug problem. I know he started experimenting shortly after my parents were divorced but the situation quickly escalated once he started having seizures. Through my parents' guidance, he was able to overcome his problem and was doing better working for my dad. At some point he was pulled over for posession and was placed on probation. He had to serve community service and attend drug and alcohol classes. One more ticket later, the probation officer told him he was on thin ice and better finish his classes ASAP. Meanwhile, my dad was planning a family trip for my dad, brother and I to spend a week in Hawaii, not realizing it was a violation of his probation. Long story short, the P.O. found out about the Hawaii trip after we got back and sent my little brother to jail. Unbeknownst to us all, Chris had been cited for a DUI and few weeks back and never told any of us. These charges earned him 3 months in county jail.
This had to be one of the hardest things I have ever had to deal with. I was so sad that he had gotten himself there and I was so scared that he would be with a bunch of dangerous people. My parents and I visited him every weekend and tried to keep him positive. We sent him books and he was keeping a journal that was getting him through the time. One especially hard time was that I couldn't call him after Jake and I got engaged. He wanted to hug me and congratulate me at our next visit but couldn't. All visitors are separated by glass. It's definitely not how I imagined things for him or I, but we made the best of a crappy situation.
After 3 months, he was released and his probation started all over. I really saw a change in him when he first got out and came home, but after a few weeks he started going out with his friends every night. I really dont think they were doing anything wrong but going out to bars. He is 22 so that is perfectly legal, but what he doesn't seem to understand is that when you're on probation, you need to be especially careful and diligent in what you do. About a month later, he received a ticket while tailgating in the Angel stadium parking lot while drinking with his friends. I felt awful, but we knew this meant he would have to go back to jail. The tailgating ticket alone would be nothing to any of his other friends, but because of his prior infractions, it landed him in jail. I dont mean to make any of these infractions seem petty because they definitely aren't. I just wish he could start with a clean slate and move forward. I go back and forth all of the time between feeling sorry for him and being mad at him. Mad that he made these decisions and mad that he is putting our family through this. I just want it to be all over and have him home.
This time he will have been there a total of 4 months and will be getting out the day after Christmas. We have missed him on every holiday and on everyday he has not been at home. I have comfort in knowing this time around he is not with the dangerous people in jail, but working in the kitchen and bakery, which is supposed to be the best place you can be in the worst place in the world. Sometimes I feel absolutely helpless for my family and it tears me up that we could have prevented this by giving him more attention after our family was broken up. All I want to do now is remain positive for my baby brother and show him that he is loved. I've tried to visit him as much as possible and go to stay with my mom while she is hurting too. It's been an exhausting process since I've moved to LA, but I feel like I need to be there for them all. I just hope that when he gets out he is extra careful not to make one mis-step that will send him back to this awful place. Seeing him through the bulletproof glass again is just too much to bear.
Anyway, I am thankful that he will be coming home soon and we will celebrate Christmas with him a few days late. I think that he will sure be glad to get out and eat some real food.
Sorry for such a heavy post, but its been on my mind for months and I've never known what to say or do or how to act about things. I've been evasive and sad about it for awhile and it feels good to get it out.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Missing My Man
My wonderful fiance is in NY for the next few days to meet with some potential summer internship contacts. I hate when he is away and I have to be home alone, but I should probably try to get used to it since he is trying to work across the country for a few months without me. I am excited to be able to go visit him on weekends and explore the city though!
I am so proud of Jake right now. He is pursuing his dream of going to business school and is excelling! He has put his heart and soul into everything he does so far and its just so great to see. He truly loves learning and what he is learning about. The extra hours and effort he is putting into his education are going to pay off, I just know it.
When Jake was looking at going to Emory, I attended a Partner's Session during their Welcome Weekend. They had a panel of a bunch of Southern wives and they all talked about how your partner would change for the better throughout their program. They were so absolutely right, its kind of scary. Jake comes home talking a mile a minute about what he learned, who he met, what club he wants to join or some party his class is planning. Its almost as if I'm going through this program with him because I feel like I know EVERYTHING about it. I'm glad I do though. It makes me feel involved. I'm just so happy that he is so happy and loving what he is doing.
Now come home Jakes! I miss you too much!
I am so proud of Jake right now. He is pursuing his dream of going to business school and is excelling! He has put his heart and soul into everything he does so far and its just so great to see. He truly loves learning and what he is learning about. The extra hours and effort he is putting into his education are going to pay off, I just know it.
When Jake was looking at going to Emory, I attended a Partner's Session during their Welcome Weekend. They had a panel of a bunch of Southern wives and they all talked about how your partner would change for the better throughout their program. They were so absolutely right, its kind of scary. Jake comes home talking a mile a minute about what he learned, who he met, what club he wants to join or some party his class is planning. Its almost as if I'm going through this program with him because I feel like I know EVERYTHING about it. I'm glad I do though. It makes me feel involved. I'm just so happy that he is so happy and loving what he is doing.
Now come home Jakes! I miss you too much!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
What did YOU do tonight?
I went shopping!
But not in the conventional sense. I shopped here:
What? You don't recognize this storefront from your local crack house mall? Duh! That's because its my closet! hahaI figured since Jake was in the middle of his going on 7-hour study session and completely ignoring me, I would find my own thing to do. I've been trying to save as much money as possible, so shopping the normal way was out of the question. I started out my just trying to think about what I was going to wear to work tomorrow. This typically takes a significant amount of time out of my morning routine. I especially have a problem forming a complete thought, let alone an entire outfit when I first wake up. So I started with this:
(VS Wrap and H&M collared shirt)
(Banana Republic Sweater, H&M Shirt, Cookie Lee necklace)
It was getting fun finding some things I hadn't worn in awhile and figuring out new ways to "style" them like my bestie for life Rachel Zoe. Then I got the accessories out, and there was no holding back. I mean, look at this. I went nuts. I purposefully didn't put pants or skirts with these outfits because I have every basic color I need, and I could wear any number of the top/sweater combinations paired with jeans outside of work.
Needless to say, this little experience turned into an enlightening moment. I felt like I just came back from the mall with bags of clothes for work, but I had already owned every single article I used in these outfits. It was great! I will be able to get ready quicker for many mornings to come and I know exactly what to wear. (Captions are underneath corresponding picture)
(H&M Sweater & F21 belt)
(Anthropologie Sweater and Nordstrom top)
I was happy to find a combo that worked well for this top because I had stained it with bleach shortly after I bought it.
(H&M Shirt and Target Sweater)I was also clever in pairing this shirt with the right piece because it's missing a 3rd button. The tie wrap hides it!
(C&C top with F21 Jacket)
(JCrew sweater with Nordstrom top)
(JCrew Sweater and Banana Republic tank)
Love the pop of color!
(C&C top with F21 Jacket)
(JCrew sweater with Nordstrom top)I've had this top since high school and always feel like a present when I wear it.
(Paired with VS scarf)
(F21 T Shirt with Nordstrom vest)
(Paired with Pashmina. Bought at SFO airport)
(H&M Shirt and cant remember where I got the sweater)
(Anthropologie sweater, F21 top, Cookie Lee necklace)
(Joie dress and Banana Republic sweater)
(Paired with VS scarf)
(F21 T Shirt with Nordstrom vest)I never know how to wear this vest, but I love the back. I think the bright color makes a big difference with it.
(Paired with Pashmina. Bought at SFO airport) 
(H&M Shirt and cant remember where I got the sweater)
(Anthropologie sweater, F21 top, Cookie Lee necklace)I never know how to wear this sweater because it has different color polka dots all over it. I searched for a good 10 minutes, trying endless combinations and found this turquoise top worked best!
(Joie dress and Banana Republic sweater)I think this outfit would look great with black tights and some tall black boots.
(Both from Anthropologie)
(Sweater and blouse Banana Republic, necklace Anthropologie)
(Anthropologie tank, Banana Republic sweater, F21 necklace)
(Urban Outfitters tank and Limited crop jacket)
(F21 sweater and H&M top)
(paired with Anthropologie belt)
(Both from Anthropologie)
(Sweater and blouse Banana Republic, necklace Anthropologie)
(F21 Tank, Banana Republic sweater, Anthropologie belt)
I just love this beautiful belt but have a hard time pairing it with the appropriate outfit.
(Anthropologie tank, Banana Republic sweater, F21 necklace)
(Urban Outfitters tank and Limited crop jacket)I thought this was a good combo because you can see the detail of the bottom of the tank because the jacket is cropped.
(F21 sweater and H&M top)(paired with Target necklace)
(paired with Anthropologie necklace)
(paired with Anthropologie belt)(paired with Target headband)
I also came up with a wish list of sorts that will help guide my future shopping trips. As you can see, I always tend to buy lots of cardigans for work. So I know I definitely don't need more of those any time soon. I do need to purchase a pair of charcoal/dark grey pumps, skinny black pants, tall boots (appropriate for work), and some collared shirts.
Thanks for visiting Closet de Berrey! Now get to "shopping" in your own!
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Weekend So Far
After the long, drawn-out work week I was excited to get home to hang with my fiance. I am seeing him less and less these days due to my busy work schedule and his school schedule. We had planned to go see "The Social Network" at LA Live and then go get our favorite Mai Tai's at Trader Vic's. The movie was pretty good and really fun to watch because we all know we love our Facebook. Jake and I were "early adopters" of Facebook all the way back in 2004 when it was only open to college students. Those were some fun times!
Saturday morning we had our friends Graham and Christi in LA to go to the USC football game at the coliseum. We treat these games as all day events of course, so we headed to campus around 11:30 to show Twiz the newly remodeled Traddies. We had some apps and beers and a couple of mimosas for the girls before we met up with Chris and Brienne and headed to the Marshall tailgate. I don't know why they do this to me everytime, but they seriously give you enough drink tickets to get you going pretty good. Needless to say a drunken fight with your fiance at the coliseum is never fun, but hey, it happens to the best of us! After the tailgate we met up with Brienne and Chris' parents at their usual spot right in front of the coliseum. (Perfect for that one last pre-game drink and sighting of Charlie O'Connell :)
After the game we had big plans to go out to Hollywood to Voyeur, but in true post-game fashion, we were beat. Jake has to study all day today as well, so he didn't want to be out all night either.
Today is Jake's mom's birthday and both of his parents are coming out for sushi at Yamashiro in the Hollywood Hills. Its supposed to be a pretty cool place so I'm excited to check it out. I have to go get Jake's car washed (so the 'rents dont have to ride in a dirty car) and go get his mom a birthday present so Jake doesn't have to stop studying!
I'm not looking forward to this week at work at all. I have a business dinner to attend that interferes with my Bootcamp night :( and I have audit projects galore to complete by Thursday on top of my normal month-end close work. It's going to be hell and I will sure be glad for the weekend to come so I can spend it with my mom and go to an old friend's baby shower!
Have a great rest of the weekend and great week ahead!
Saturday morning we had our friends Graham and Christi in LA to go to the USC football game at the coliseum. We treat these games as all day events of course, so we headed to campus around 11:30 to show Twiz the newly remodeled Traddies. We had some apps and beers and a couple of mimosas for the girls before we met up with Chris and Brienne and headed to the Marshall tailgate. I don't know why they do this to me everytime, but they seriously give you enough drink tickets to get you going pretty good. Needless to say a drunken fight with your fiance at the coliseum is never fun, but hey, it happens to the best of us! After the tailgate we met up with Brienne and Chris' parents at their usual spot right in front of the coliseum. (Perfect for that one last pre-game drink and sighting of Charlie O'Connell :)
After the game we had big plans to go out to Hollywood to Voyeur, but in true post-game fashion, we were beat. Jake has to study all day today as well, so he didn't want to be out all night either.
Today is Jake's mom's birthday and both of his parents are coming out for sushi at Yamashiro in the Hollywood Hills. Its supposed to be a pretty cool place so I'm excited to check it out. I have to go get Jake's car washed (so the 'rents dont have to ride in a dirty car) and go get his mom a birthday present so Jake doesn't have to stop studying!
I'm not looking forward to this week at work at all. I have a business dinner to attend that interferes with my Bootcamp night :( and I have audit projects galore to complete by Thursday on top of my normal month-end close work. It's going to be hell and I will sure be glad for the weekend to come so I can spend it with my mom and go to an old friend's baby shower!
Have a great rest of the weekend and great week ahead!
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Off to a Rocky Start, but Great Weekend
My Friday was super hellish at work. We had planned to drive to OC after I got off work to surprise Jake's dad for his birthday, but that wasn't in the cards for me. Due to some terrible circumstances at work, I had to stay until 7:45 and didn't get back to OC until after 9. I was in an awful mood by this point and starving, but I tried to push the bad feelings aside to hang out with our friends at Haven. It ended up ok and by the time I woke up Saturday I was ready to get my weekend started!
I got my hair done Saturday morning and then headed back to LA to watch the tail end of the USC-Minnesota game. Thankfully, we pulled out a win and are looking much better than our previous games. By 5, we were dressed and ready to head to the Hollywood Bowl for the Phoenix concert. We first met up with some of Jake's friends from school in Silver Lake. I never realized how freaking cool Silver Lake was. It's kind of a hippy town with cool vintage shops, yoga rooms on every corner and just plain rad people walking the streets. It was Hipster to the max. (Side note: Jake and I are all about the Hipster-scene since we moved to LA. Its hilarious to us to point them out and joke about their mostly ridiculous outfits. Again, we crack each other up at these silly kids.) Anywho, our friend Todd has a super awesome, panoramic view of the Hollywood Hills, Downtown and the rest of LA from his rooftop deck. It was amazing at sunset.
After some delicious fish tacos, we walked to the subway station to head to the Bowl. This was a definite first for me because I had no idea that public transportation actually got people anywhere in LA, but a few chance encounters with USC Law Students who randomly had mutual friends of the mine and subway stops later, we arrived in Hollywood just outside of Mann's Chinese Theater. It was fantastic. The concert was simply amazing and the best part was you could bring your own food and alcohol into the Bowl. Some fellow concert goers brought some other choice substances as well so we had fun watching these "law abiding citizens" dodge the cops and security guards. After the concert we headed back to downtown and had drinks and a late night meal at the Standard. That place is amazing and quite the Hipster scene :)
This morning, after I shook my hangover, my girlfriends from OC came out to visit. This was Baby Charlotte's first trip out of OC, so we did it right with a great lunch and shopping trip at the Grove. It was so fun to hang out with my friends and to see mommy Melissa in action. We had a blast talking wedding plans, since Melissa is getting married next summer and my wedding will be the following May. Charlotte was such a good baby all day, minus the minor freak out session when she was not thrilled that the public restrooms had loud toilet flushers!
Tonight I concocted a little dream of a dinner that I will call Mexican Turkey Lettuce Wraps. It came out soooo yummy, so I'll share my little recipe here:
Brown 1 package of lean ground turkey with chopped onions and taco seasoning. Create "shells" out of a fresh head of lettuce. I used shredded pepper jack cheese, green and red onions, avocado, corn salsa and hot sauce as the filler. Sooooo yummy!
Hope you all have a great week ahead!
I got my hair done Saturday morning and then headed back to LA to watch the tail end of the USC-Minnesota game. Thankfully, we pulled out a win and are looking much better than our previous games. By 5, we were dressed and ready to head to the Hollywood Bowl for the Phoenix concert. We first met up with some of Jake's friends from school in Silver Lake. I never realized how freaking cool Silver Lake was. It's kind of a hippy town with cool vintage shops, yoga rooms on every corner and just plain rad people walking the streets. It was Hipster to the max. (Side note: Jake and I are all about the Hipster-scene since we moved to LA. Its hilarious to us to point them out and joke about their mostly ridiculous outfits. Again, we crack each other up at these silly kids.) Anywho, our friend Todd has a super awesome, panoramic view of the Hollywood Hills, Downtown and the rest of LA from his rooftop deck. It was amazing at sunset.
After some delicious fish tacos, we walked to the subway station to head to the Bowl. This was a definite first for me because I had no idea that public transportation actually got people anywhere in LA, but a few chance encounters with USC Law Students who randomly had mutual friends of the mine and subway stops later, we arrived in Hollywood just outside of Mann's Chinese Theater. It was fantastic. The concert was simply amazing and the best part was you could bring your own food and alcohol into the Bowl. Some fellow concert goers brought some other choice substances as well so we had fun watching these "law abiding citizens" dodge the cops and security guards. After the concert we headed back to downtown and had drinks and a late night meal at the Standard. That place is amazing and quite the Hipster scene :)
This morning, after I shook my hangover, my girlfriends from OC came out to visit. This was Baby Charlotte's first trip out of OC, so we did it right with a great lunch and shopping trip at the Grove. It was so fun to hang out with my friends and to see mommy Melissa in action. We had a blast talking wedding plans, since Melissa is getting married next summer and my wedding will be the following May. Charlotte was such a good baby all day, minus the minor freak out session when she was not thrilled that the public restrooms had loud toilet flushers!
Tonight I concocted a little dream of a dinner that I will call Mexican Turkey Lettuce Wraps. It came out soooo yummy, so I'll share my little recipe here:
Brown 1 package of lean ground turkey with chopped onions and taco seasoning. Create "shells" out of a fresh head of lettuce. I used shredded pepper jack cheese, green and red onions, avocado, corn salsa and hot sauce as the filler. Sooooo yummy!
Hope you all have a great week ahead!
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Feeling Accomplished
Thought I'd just write because I'm in a good mood. My endorphins are in full force after my bootcamp workout!
Today was a good day. I was busy doing meaningful work all day long. It not only makes the day go by faster, but it makes me feel like I went to work for a reason. I've been struggling with my new work routine because it feels like I just go in and kind of spin my wheels. Where I know what I have to do, but just getting there takes 3 times as long because I'm still learning. Today was the first day I got everything done I needed to in a short amount of time. What took me 3 days to do last month, took me 1 day today. I felt proud handing in my work to my supervisor and seeing a genuine look of astonishment when he told me no one "gets it" this fast. I'm excited at the fact that he wants me to take on more responsibility and showed an interest in my growth.
Our company is also starting to feel smaller. It is twice the size of the first company I worked at, so it was very daunting at first to meet so many new people. I am finally getting to know more and more people and it feels great!
I finally feel like all of my long nights of studying for the CPA and putting in 110% in school is starting to pay off. I know this new job will open up many doors and I'm excited to show these people what I'm made of!
I'm looking forward to the week ahead that includes celebrating my future FILs birthday, going to the Phoenix concert at the Hollywood Bowl, 3 girlfriends and baby Charlotte visiting LA, my brother and dad coming to LA, and dinner with some new LA friends. It will be a lot to juggle on top of work and bootcamp, but I love being busy and spending time with those important to me.
I'm feeling comfortable in my own skin again! Yay!
Today was a good day. I was busy doing meaningful work all day long. It not only makes the day go by faster, but it makes me feel like I went to work for a reason. I've been struggling with my new work routine because it feels like I just go in and kind of spin my wheels. Where I know what I have to do, but just getting there takes 3 times as long because I'm still learning. Today was the first day I got everything done I needed to in a short amount of time. What took me 3 days to do last month, took me 1 day today. I felt proud handing in my work to my supervisor and seeing a genuine look of astonishment when he told me no one "gets it" this fast. I'm excited at the fact that he wants me to take on more responsibility and showed an interest in my growth.
Our company is also starting to feel smaller. It is twice the size of the first company I worked at, so it was very daunting at first to meet so many new people. I am finally getting to know more and more people and it feels great!
I finally feel like all of my long nights of studying for the CPA and putting in 110% in school is starting to pay off. I know this new job will open up many doors and I'm excited to show these people what I'm made of!
I'm looking forward to the week ahead that includes celebrating my future FILs birthday, going to the Phoenix concert at the Hollywood Bowl, 3 girlfriends and baby Charlotte visiting LA, my brother and dad coming to LA, and dinner with some new LA friends. It will be a lot to juggle on top of work and bootcamp, but I love being busy and spending time with those important to me.
I'm feeling comfortable in my own skin again! Yay!
Monday, September 13, 2010
Happy Monday!!
We had a great weekend and officially welcomed back the college football season at the Coliseum to cheer on our Trojans. And now its Monday and back to work.
I think I might be the only person in the world that rather likes Monday. It seems to have the opposite effect on me than most people. I'm a very productive Monday person because I'm motivated to just get s*@t done! I tend to take on a lot early on in the week and end up dead tired by Friday. And now that Monday Night Football is back, Mondays have gotten even better!
I think I might be the only person in the world that rather likes Monday. It seems to have the opposite effect on me than most people. I'm a very productive Monday person because I'm motivated to just get s*@t done! I tend to take on a lot early on in the week and end up dead tired by Friday. And now that Monday Night Football is back, Mondays have gotten even better!
This Motivated Monday I decided to tackle another recipe from Shape magazine that got me into my latest health kick. It came out really well, so here's the recipe.
Pineapple Salsa and Chicken Skewers
2 cups coarsely chopped pineapple
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
1 cup water
1 pound chicken breast, cut into 2 inch cubes
12 2-inch pineapple chunks
For the salsa:
2 cups diced pineapple
2 large tomatoes, cored and diced
1/2 cup chopped baby spinach
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp fresh or dried cilantro
1/4 tsp salt
Place chopped pineapple, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper in a blender. Blend adding water as needed to thin to the consistency of barbeque sauce.
Place chicken and three-quarters of the pineapple mixture in a large zip-loc bag to marinate for 30 minutes. Reserve remaining pineapple mixture for basting.
Combine all salsa ingredients in a medium bowl. Let stand for at least 10 minutes.
Place chicken on grill for 4 minutes, turning after 2 minutes. Remove from grill.
Once chicken is cool enough to handle, thread skewers with 4 pieces of chicken and 3 chunks of pineapple. Place kebabs on grill and cook for 3 minutes. Baste with remaining pineapple mixture, turn and baste again. Cook for another 3 minutes.
Spoon 1 cup pineapple salsa on each plate and serve with skewers.
Nutrition Facts:
1 kebab and 1 cup salsa - 300 calories, 5g fat, 29g protein
Tips: Buy the pre-packaged chicken and vegetable skewers from your grocery store's meat department and just rub the marinade around it. This definitely saved me a lot of time and effort. I also served the pineapple salsa over a bed of baby spinach and ate it like a salad. I added a little hot sauce for some extra spice. Delish!
Yesterday I attended mass in honor of my grandpa at San Antonio Church with my dad and my step-grandma Wendy. We went to dinner afterwards at Macaroni Grill. We sat and talked about my grandpa for over 2 hours and I really enjoyed their company. I've been going through some old pictures lately looking for ones of my grandpa and I, so I'd thought I'd share some funny ones I found when I was little. Its so fun to go through old pictures.
Have a good week everyone!
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Can I be Frank?
No seriously?
Can I just fast forward my life to May of 2012 and be married to my wonderful fiance? The planning is kind of daunting. I'm not very good at the whole event planning thing. I want it to just be here already. I can never seem to be patient in these kinds of situations.
I am a natural worrier and planner. I like to have things planned to a T and organized or else I stress about 9 billion things that could go wrong. But this whole wedding is hard for me because a) I've never planned one, b) It's very far off (we are planning on May of 2012, after Jake graduates business school) and c) I want everything to go perfectly.
So, during my stress and anxiety about this, I decided to start with things I can control over this long waiting period to become a Mrs. It all started when I picked up a copy of Shape magazine a couple of weeks ago. I found three articles in particular that got me really motivated to take action.
The first was about the Best of Drugstore Products. They featured the best buys from skincare, to shaving cream, to hair products. My skin has been both dry and broken out in the past few weeks, most probably due to stress and my busy routine during the week. So I decided to go to my local CVS to buy most of their recommended items. I had a coupon for $5 off so it only ended up costing me about $30 for new facewash, razors, deodorant, hair spray, frizz ease, lotion, toothpaste, and a few other things. My rationale was to stock up and get used to using the best of the best products so I will have great skin for my wedding day. I know its a long way away, but I tend to get very lazy with my daily skin routine, especially after a long day at work.
The next article I found was one that featured new ab workouts. They looked simple enough, so I tried working them into my gym routine. I feel like I've been in sort of a workout rut since we moved to LA and I can't workout on my lunch breaks at Equinox anymore. I no longer have Shreadmill or any of the state of the art equipment that Equinox had, so its hard to get motivated to go down to our apartment complex's gym and work out with sub par equipment. I tried yoga for a little while, but I felt like I still needed more cardio. I recently found a bootcamp at a park near my work in Beverly Hills. I had my first two classes last week and I really like it so far. There are men and women of all ages and different levels of fitness ability. I signed up for the 5 week class that meets twice a week. The instructor Katie is very motivating and helpful. I even shaved off some of my mile time by running 7:17 last week. My goal by the end of the 5 week session is to have my mile time under 7 minutes, which I think is totally do-able.
My last discovery in Shape magazine was 5 healthy meals with just 14 ingredients. I've tried several of the recipes so far and have been trying to eat very healthy in general in hopes I can keep all of this up until the wedding is here. So far I've made the easy baked pasta and stuffed chicken with spinach. They have both been very tasty and Jake seemed to like them too.
In the past week alone, I've noticed I was happier and felt much more rested just by changing my diet habits and working out hard at least 3 times. I also haven't had coffee, and never felt better. I drank tons of water and green tea. I did catch a cold after the first night of bootcamp, but I seem to always have a problem when the weather changes.
In the end, I know the next 2 years will fly by and I will have many fun events to plan and attend, but I want to make my health and fitness a priority through all of it. Its important to me to look and feel my best :)
Can I just fast forward my life to May of 2012 and be married to my wonderful fiance? The planning is kind of daunting. I'm not very good at the whole event planning thing. I want it to just be here already. I can never seem to be patient in these kinds of situations.
I am a natural worrier and planner. I like to have things planned to a T and organized or else I stress about 9 billion things that could go wrong. But this whole wedding is hard for me because a) I've never planned one, b) It's very far off (we are planning on May of 2012, after Jake graduates business school) and c) I want everything to go perfectly.
So, during my stress and anxiety about this, I decided to start with things I can control over this long waiting period to become a Mrs. It all started when I picked up a copy of Shape magazine a couple of weeks ago. I found three articles in particular that got me really motivated to take action.
The first was about the Best of Drugstore Products. They featured the best buys from skincare, to shaving cream, to hair products. My skin has been both dry and broken out in the past few weeks, most probably due to stress and my busy routine during the week. So I decided to go to my local CVS to buy most of their recommended items. I had a coupon for $5 off so it only ended up costing me about $30 for new facewash, razors, deodorant, hair spray, frizz ease, lotion, toothpaste, and a few other things. My rationale was to stock up and get used to using the best of the best products so I will have great skin for my wedding day. I know its a long way away, but I tend to get very lazy with my daily skin routine, especially after a long day at work.
The next article I found was one that featured new ab workouts. They looked simple enough, so I tried working them into my gym routine. I feel like I've been in sort of a workout rut since we moved to LA and I can't workout on my lunch breaks at Equinox anymore. I no longer have Shreadmill or any of the state of the art equipment that Equinox had, so its hard to get motivated to go down to our apartment complex's gym and work out with sub par equipment. I tried yoga for a little while, but I felt like I still needed more cardio. I recently found a bootcamp at a park near my work in Beverly Hills. I had my first two classes last week and I really like it so far. There are men and women of all ages and different levels of fitness ability. I signed up for the 5 week class that meets twice a week. The instructor Katie is very motivating and helpful. I even shaved off some of my mile time by running 7:17 last week. My goal by the end of the 5 week session is to have my mile time under 7 minutes, which I think is totally do-able.
My last discovery in Shape magazine was 5 healthy meals with just 14 ingredients. I've tried several of the recipes so far and have been trying to eat very healthy in general in hopes I can keep all of this up until the wedding is here. So far I've made the easy baked pasta and stuffed chicken with spinach. They have both been very tasty and Jake seemed to like them too.
In the past week alone, I've noticed I was happier and felt much more rested just by changing my diet habits and working out hard at least 3 times. I also haven't had coffee, and never felt better. I drank tons of water and green tea. I did catch a cold after the first night of bootcamp, but I seem to always have a problem when the weather changes.
In the end, I know the next 2 years will fly by and I will have many fun events to plan and attend, but I want to make my health and fitness a priority through all of it. Its important to me to look and feel my best :)
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