Summer Fun

This past weekend, as a great wrap up to a few days off, my family and I went to a baseball game. There are only 2 sports that I really love to watch live, Hockey and Baseball. The last several years, we’ve been to one game each summer and we always have a great time. This year was no different.

A few weeks ago I saw Groupon had a deal for Padres ticket. I paid $25 for tickets that typically cost about $60, which was a great deal. Even better, these types of bargains are usually for Weekday tickets, but these were for a Saturday night game so I snapped them up quickly. Perfect!

Plus you can’t beat the view of San Diego from the stadium. (Ok, perhaps the train yard isn’t it’s best feature, but still…)

The seats we had were on the Suite level, third base side. We did have the sun in our eyes for about 20 minutes, but it was gone before the first pitch.

It actually ended up being a good night to go because they had all the Olympians that train out of the Chula Vista Olympic Training center visiting, and they were announced prior to the game. Lots of USA Pride. They also did a Archery contest with the Olympic Archery team.

Then Charlie Sheen threw out the first pitch. Yeah, I didn’t see that coming. I was only using my phone for pics so I couldn’t get a close up of anyone on the field, so sorry, you don’t get to see him ‘Winning’. Truth be told, his pitch was better than the Olympian who went before him.

  

I seriously love this stadium and wish it was closer so I could attend a few more games each year. Padres lost, but it was a ton of fun.

Oh, and I learned how to properly open a shelled peanut. Apparently I’ve been doing it wrong all these years. Consider my mind blown.

I also made a cake this past weekend, and it was adorable! I still have to edit the pictures so I’ll put a separate post about it soon. I assure you it was easy, colorful, and delicious!

Does anyone have plans for this weekend? It’s been over 100 degrees each day here this week and my AC is broken (in both my house and my car, lucky me). So I’m thinking a trip the air conditioned mall may be in order. Or maybe a movie, any recommendations?

A Weekend In Pictures

I’ve been bitten by the Instagram bug, now that it’s available for Android. I wish all weekends could be this fun/relaxing. I also wish Monday didn’t come so soon…but I’ll enjoy these last few hours while I have them. This weekend consisted of errands, family BBQ at my house, hitting the beach with my pup, driving along PCH with a sleepy puppy in the backseat with windows open and iPod blaring (I love this so much), reading, cleaning, and naps. Sigh…it was lovely. Here are just a few photos I snapped from the BBQ and doggie beach day.

Tribute Concert – Lt Dan Band

A few weeks back I saw Gary Sinise tweet that his band would be doing a tribute concert in Temecula, CA in March to raise money for a wounded Vet. I made note and snapped up some tickets the first day they went up for sale.

The concert was a combination of efforts between the Gary Sinise Foundation and the Steven Siller Tunnel To Tower Foundation. They are working to raise money to build a custom house for Juan Dominguez who is a triple amputee living in Temecula California. HERO!

To benefit this amazing cause I probably would have bought tickets to watch paint dry. However, we rocked out to one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to. If you ever get a chance to see the Lt Dan Band in person, GO! They covered everything from Hendrix to Springsteen to Adele to Rascal Flatts.

We made an evening of it by heading to Old Town Temecula right after work and immediately put our names in for dinner at a local Mexican Restaurant right across from the venue. I only took one picture of old town, but it was adorable. I’ll be making another trip back there soon.

I was starving and freezing by the time we were seated so no pictures, but their Chicken Fajitas and Chips were delicious.

At 7pm the concert started with about an hours worth of tributes, introductions to the foundations, an award for a very big donor. A NYPD Detective who was at ground zero on 9/11 sang a few songs for us. He is an incredible tenor, seriously impressive.

A painter came on stage and painted an amazing American Flag in the time it took to sing one song. He started painting something very abstract and at the last moment smeared the whole thing and it turned into a flag. No Joke. They later auctioned it off for over $6,000!

We were about 30 rows back and had great seats, but I apparently don’t know how to use my camera at night so my pictures weren’t that great. I will say that Gary has put together an amazing ensemble of singers and musicians. To my surprise they even had someone who played electric violin which is by far my favorite musical sound of all time.

Lt Dan Band played for 2 hours straight before we ended up leaving and we could hear them from the parking lot still going. No intermission, no breaks, just 2 hours straight rockin’ music. It was damn awesome.

 

…and a few pictures from the Gary Sinise Foundation Facebook page.

Sound Check

These kids were great, Brewer Boys.

Gary Sinise & Frank Siller (Frank’s brother Steven a NY Fireman, died on 9/11. After hearing the call over the radio he turned his car around and drove back toward the towers. He was blocked entry into the disaster zone at one of the city tunnels.  He strapped all his gear onto his back and ran to the towers to help. They started the Tunnel to Tower foundation in his honor. I’m not doing the story justice at all, so Google it!)

Thanksgiving & Black Friday 2011

Where has this past week gone? I feel like I’ve spent the past few days in a dream like state. I never intended to take a break from blogging, but I found myself unexpectedly busy and sleepy. Last week, I worked Mon-Wed, on very little sleep, since things were just incredibly overwhelming to say the least at work. Luckily Wednesday was my last day at work for 12 days!

On Thursday I packed up my dog, a crap load of stuff and drove to my parents house.

They live near a golf course, not on the golf course..just in case you were wondering.

Thanksgiving was pretty low key and filled with excellent food, of which, I have exactly zero pictures. But it was all good, trust me. A few hours later (8pm to be exact) we packed up the car and headed out for our yearly Mother/Daughter Black Friday Shopping tradition.

First up was the local outlet mall which opened at 9pm.

Getting there early means we get front row parking and are able to leave very easily once the crowds descend.

Caffeine was required, in the form of a Cafe Mocha with 2 pumps Chai.

A few of the favorite stores were…

• Banana Republic
• Tommy Hilfiger
• Calvin Klein
• PUMA
• BCBG
• GAP
• Fossil
• Kitchen Gadget Store
• Cosmetics Store
• Harry & David
• and so on…

Around 1am we stopped at Ruby’s and refueled on burgers and fries. We may just be delirious and starving, but these are pretty much the best burgers EVER.

After the outlets we stopped past Macy’s where I lost my mind while standing in a crazy long line. We were told we couldn’t use any of the coupons on our purchase so needless to say, Macy’s will not be on our list next year.

At 4am we stopped at Sports Authority to get our free gift cards and pick up a few things, then over to Dicks Sporting Goods and Target. This brought us to just before 7am and we were dead tired and headed home to sleep.

So…onto the good stuff. What did I get.

Banana Republic (50% off everything):

• 3 tops for me
• 2 tops as a Christmas Gift for someone else (not pictured)

Tommy Hilfiger (40% off):

• 1 sweater as a Christmas Gift for someone else (not pictured)

Cosmetics Store (10% off):

• Clinique All About Eyes Cream
• Clinique All About Eyes Serum Roller

Adidas (Various Sales):

• Hat (not pictured)
• Socks

Fossil (Various Sales):

• 1 Pair of Earrings & a Ring at 50% off

Target (Various Sales):

• The Big Bang Theory Season 3 & 4 (Marked down to $12)
• Bic Lighters (not on sale, just needed them)

Sports Authority:

• 2 pairs of Yoga Pants
• 1 Pair Workout Shorts
• 1 Pair Running Shoes

Dicks Sporting Goods:

• 1 sweater
• 1 Shirt as a Christmas Gift for someone else (Not pictured)

Nordstrom’s (these were bought on Sunday…but the deal was Black Friday Worthy):

• 2 pairs of Jessica Simpson Pumps on Clearance (about $25 each)

After shopping for nearly 11 hours straight, Friday was for resting and relaxing in the backyard which is exactly what we did. I also think a Big Bang Theory marathon happened in there as well.

I’ll be around the house for most of my vacation, but I did decide to ‘get away’ for Saturday night and stayed at a beautiful Marriott in San Diego for the night. I arrived just in time to watch the sunset over the Marina from the balcony.

I wandered around downtown for a bit, relaxed, read, and got some writing done. It was a really great evening and then I got to hang with my best friend sister for a few hours on Sunday. Monday was all about unpacking, running errands, and hanging out with this little guy who was exhausted from playing with my moms pups.

So while I can’t say I got anything done around the house lately, I have had a great week so far and can’t wait to jump back into regular blogging and house projects over the next few days.

Girls Shopping Day at The Forum, San Diego

This past weekend I had the chance to spend some quality time with my momma. Even though we talk nearly everyday, we only get to see each other about once a month, so it was fun to hang out. It was also a treat to visit my favorite shopping center in San Diego.

Now, this center is not the biggest out there, but it has the best stores and atmosphere, in my opinion. The Forum is located in Carlsbad and always has front row parking (a very special thing indeed).

The day actually started at JoAnn’s, where I picked up the fabric for two different projects that should be posted in the next few weeks. Next up we stopped at the bookstore and Michael’s, just to browse. It happen to be raining on Sunday, and the entire populate of northern San Diego was out shopping so we hopped in the car and headed to our next stop.

The FORUM!!

We scored front row parking and stopped at all our favorite stores.

• Coldwater Creek
• Anthropologie (my personal favorite)
• ULTA
• Sur La Table
• Z Gallerie
• Ann Taylor Loft

They have plenty of other popular stores. The center is relaxed, near the ocean, and just plain awesome. Some of the stores we didn’t go into, but are pretty damn cool:

• Lululemon
• MAC
• Victoria’s Secret
• Bed Bath & Beyond
• White House/Black Market

They also have a dozen smaller, lesser known stores, and several restaurants.

Honestly  I think I love this center because it reminds me of a shopping center I love in Newport Beach, only far less crowded. If only it was closer to me, I would be in heaven.

(I’ll be back later today to share my new workout program, and how I’m doing on the goal of losing 10 lbs this month. Hint: I’m crushing it so far!)

Bates Pumpkin Patch

I have a confession. I don’t like Halloween…GASP!

Let me explain…

I HATE being scared. I’m slightly paranoid by nature, freak out when people intentionally startle me, and that Scream masks still gives me nightmares. I don’t mind Halloween at all, as long as no one tries to scare me. If you jump out at me or sneak up on me and try to scare me, my fight or flight response kicks in, and I may just punch you in the face.

It’s happened before. Consider yourself warned.

On the other hand, I like the holiday season which encompasses Halloween since Fall is my favorite time of year. I even like some of the cutesy Halloween decor, like this little guy.

See? Cute little mummy pumpkins are okay. Scary mummy pumpkin that might eat your face off while you sleep, not so much.

You get the point.

This year to get into the Autumn spirit (since the weather has not been cooperating) I visited a local pumpkin patch. Folks, this is the real deal, not one of those pop up patches that set up in your grocery store parking lot.

Welcome to Bate’s Nut Farm (aka the biggest pumpkin patch I’ve ever seen). This place is seriously huge with endless events, activities, and pumpkins!

This is only one of the several patches. Do not be fooled, those pumpkins could be used as a desk chair.

Don’t believe me?

They give you wheelbarrows to get them to your car. The pumpkin patch version of the shopping cart.

Heirloom Pumpkins. I really loved these and wish I had bought some, they were beautiful.

Of course you could buy pumpkins that have already been pulled from the patch, they had piles of them.

It was my first time to a real pumpkin patch and I walked away without even buying one. How anticlimactic. However, we had a great time wandering around and people watching for a bit. Watching the kids run through the patch was well worth the visit alone. It was so adorable to see their eyes light up at the sight of pumpkins that could double for Cinderella’s Coach.

Apple Picking In Julian, CA

There aren’t enough words to properly explain how much I love fall. It’s by far my favorite season. The heat is disappearing, the leaves are starting to change, and there’s a feel of holiday spirit in the air.

For the past few years I’ve wanted to visit a local apple orchard to pick apples. I always seem to miss the apple season by planning a visit in November, only to find out that the apple season is Sept – Oct.

This was the year to change all that and it was a fun local adventure, I’m sure I’ll be back next year.

 

After a bit of research I found Raven Hill Orchard in Julian, CA seemed to be the best around. It’s also incredibly popular so you want to make sure you get there early.

When you enter you’ll meet the owners (Very cool dudes) and pay for a bag. It was $10 for all you could fit in the bag. Expensive for apples, yes. But you’re not just paying of the apples, it the whole experience. I would do it again in a heart beat.

There were dozen and dozens of rows to wander through and several different types of apples; including, Golden Delicious, Empire, Fuji, and one other I can’t recall.

I went with my parents and this was my Mom’s bag. She’s already used some to bake an Apple Pie today and hardly made a dent. There’s a lot of apples in them bags.

…and my bag. I have so many fun recipes planned for these apples. Apples Chips, Apple Butter, Apple Crisp, Grilled Cheese with Apples, Parmesan Crisps w/ Apples, etc…

Outside the orchard there was a little fair going on with a live country band. We were only about an hour from San Diego and it had such a small town, country feel. Beautiful, but we just ‘weren’t in Kansas anymore’ if you catch my drift.

We were there for about an hour wandering the aisles and just having a blast. Even my dad enjoyed the trip. I may be able to get him out there again next year. He’s also tall, so he was good to have around for the perfect apples up top…hehe.

We couldn’t stay much longer because my Brother and Sister-In-Law were coming to visit from Virginia. I hadn’t seem them almost a year and it was great to catch up. I miss them.

We also made a trip to Home Depot to pick up some lumber for a little project for the front door. There is so many fun projects planned for the next few weeks I can hardly stand it.

 

Have you ever been Apple Picking? Or any kind of Fruit/Veggie picking?

When did I become ‘Vintage’?

A few days ago, I roamed around a huge Antique mall near my house. We have a ‘famous’ (to us) antiquing street, but this warehouse was the only place I stopped on this trip. I ended up walking around for about 2 hours and still hadn’t seen half of it. It was so big that I had to ask for directions on how to find the cash register before I left. Definitely going to go back soon.

It felt a bit awkward taking pictures since there were a lot of people and the aisles were tight. But I was able to snap a few.

I really wanted to bring these apple boxes home, but I didn’t want to pay the $18 each.

So much random stuff, but those green shutters were kinda cool.

One of the great things about this store is that as a seller you get a little booth to decorate with your items. You get to price them which means you can compete with other booths. There were many booths that had the same thing, but I wandered around looking for the best prices.

I did pick up a few jars that I LOVE, but I actually left the store feeling somewhat depressed. I saw so many things in the store that I played with as a kid. Since when do toys from 30 years ago become an antique, huh? I’m not sure how I feel about being Vintage. I walked around the store saying, ‘Hey! I had that!”

I feel old.

But then I went to Homegoods and all was right with the world again.

How cool is this bulletin board/hanging rack. I have no place in my house for it, but it was a great piece.

…but i almost fainted at this piece. How stunning is that rug?

I left without the rug ::tear:: If it had only been a bit smaller I would have grabbed it up.

These are the jars I fell for at the antique shop. I had to bring them home.

Love them!

Where is Home?

A few weeks back I visited Orange County for the first time in over a year. I didn’t realize I missed it as much as I did. I really love my house, but I sacrificed location in place of square footage and price. I can’t afford to buy in Orange County right now, but regardless of where I live, Orange County is my home.

On the last visit I spent most of my time near the beach, cruising down PCH. This time I started in Newport Beach (for my appointment) and headed north and inland to South Coast Plaza.

Where I ran across IKEA!!

 

Source 

It’s probably lucky for me that I have a small car, since that means I couldn’t bring the whole store home with me. But I did find a few things that will work in the house (and easily fit in the car), including new drapes for the dining room.

On the way back home I stopped at the Borders in Mission Viejo, because I’m in mourning, and almost everything was 60% off.

 

I bought a book all about Puppy Love, because the puppy on the cover reminded me my little pup, and who doesn’t love puppies.

My last stop before heading home was Starbucks because I’m addicted to the Mocha Coconut Frap. I also have no AC in my car, so I was dehydrated and melting in the heat, trust me, the Frap was necessary for the 2 hour drive home.

 

I thought about making a run for the Border…but I was too lazy and hot.

It’s about 105 here right now so I’m staying in tonight. I toyed with the idea of going to the movies, but alas, so did everyone else. Plus, it’s not like I don’t have plenty of new reading material to flip through.

Bring It On – Athleta Iron Girl Del Mar, CA 10K Run

It’s official! I’ll be running the Athleta Iron Girl Del Mark 10K. I’m excited, giddy, jumping for joy!

That’s a lie…I’m scared out of my mind! And I probably shouldn’t say I’ll be running, it’ll be more of a walk/jog sad wog. But who cares, I’m doing it anyway, even if I have to bob and weave to dodge the sweep van…I’m going to FINISH!

I’m not a runner (which should be apparent if I’m threatening to dodge the sweepers), but I do enjoy running. I’ve started many times over the years, but usually stop since my favorite form of cardio is dancing. Running/Walking is excellent cardio but I never seem to stick with it long term.

The last race I ran in was in October 2009, the Nike Women’s Half in San Francisco.

It was an incredible experience, and such a beautiful course. Although sadly the raffle hates me and 2009 is the only year I’ve even been accepted.

Here’s the thing, running in a race has never been a great incentive for me. Back in 2009 when I was running more often, I only chose a few races a year, instead of dozens. I then turned each one into a mini vacation. For San Francisco, I planned a week long road trip that let me drive up and down the California coast, it was an incredible week.

Stunning views in Carmel, along the 17 mile scenic route on our way home after the race.

Since I live in Southern California, I won’t need a road trip. However, I enjoy my sleep too much to drive 2+ hours to a race. So I’ll be staying at The Marriott Del Mar. As a bonus, it will help me meet my nightly quota so I can get to the next membership level with Marriott. I [heart] Marriott, even though they don’t know I’m alive.

I have 11 weeks to get ready. In all honesty, I really am very excited about this race, it should be a lot of fun!

 

Have you ever run an Iron Girl Event?