Rose Parade Preview

Today I wen't with David and his parents to the Rose Parade float decorating event which is going on in well, several locations around Pasadena. We headed over to the Rose Bowl where we got a good look at a couple of the floats before they head out onto Colorado Blvd on Monday. The behind the scenes peek was nothing short of impressive. All of the decorations have to be natural materials hence the millions of roses and flowers that don the floats and cars. In addition to the floral findings, we saw fruit, bark and even potatoes (as cobblestones on the Cal-Poly float!) used as decor. Many of the solid color patches on the floats are actually tiny shreds of flower petals dusted over the surface. Hundreds of volunteers were sitting at folding tables snipping tips of flowers into color coded boxes.

Love

Inspiration! DIY Mexican Themed Wedding Invitations

Well, technically, these aren't the invitations....they are going to end up being our 'Save the Date' cards. However, elements from my shopping down at Olvera Street and Paper Source will have their presence in the invites as well. Just not sure exactly how. What I do know is that I picked up some of these goodies for a pretty good bargain.....I just have to be able to dedicate the time in the next couple weeks to assemble, design and mail these babies out.

David suggested a really cool idea of creating a stamp with all the important information via this site. I did some researching and found other folks who did some things very similar and they all looked incredible! A great blend of mixing a hand crafted feel with something sleek like a print.

Will share the outcome when it happens!

an honest to goodness update

Aside from posting some pictures of holiday fun, I really haven't written much on here lately. The primary reason news has been absent from the site is because its real life feed has been running on extreme. From end of year business at not one but two jobs, coming down with a 24 hour bug, travelling, engagement and wedding planning, running a PR at the Christmas Run to well, assembling everyday nuts and bolts.

I have a tiny window of time before the New Year to take care of housekeeping tasks such as dismantling the christmas tree as well as larger scale things such as securing a date and location for a June wedding. As I waded into the shallow end of the waters of the wedding world, I quickly realized that I am behind a pack of swimmers who have already perfected their front stroke. Venues are booked months in advance at some places....and when I say months, perhaps I should upgrade the unit of measurement to years to illustrate the point. However, it is what it is and I am ready to make the most of it and have fun while doing so.

I start back part time coaching with The Help Group tomorrow and then back to full time at the school on Tuesday. Once Tuesday hits it will be go-go-go for the next 6 months. No joke.

Despite all the hullabaloo, I still am planning on keeping at my running. Christmas Day, I ran around Black Mountain in Cave Creek Arizona for a 9 mile trail/hill terrain workout. Prior to that, the big running news was that I ran the Venice Christmas Run and averaged a 8:16 pace for a 10K PR of 51: 16. Boom! Could not believe it! I just returned from the track workout at Caltech and left feeling positive about the workout despite having tummy pains due to a spicy Mexican lunch. Up on deck is the 13.1 Half on January 15th. We shall see how this goes.......

PS....Check out the cute design on the Christmas Run shirts:

smiles

Marvimon

On Tuesday I have booked an appointment to check out the Marvimon House as a potential wedding location. While it may be a bit more than ideal budget wise, it surpasses any aesthetic expectation I had in mind. Succulent walls, taxidermy, vintage lanterns and well, it used to house Italian race cars in the 20's. Hopefully the dates and times will work in our favor.......

Holiday Story

Well, I finally returned to the land of Pacific Standard Time. It was a bittersweet return that was full of both the excitement of being in my own home as well the sadness of leaving friends and family, some of whom I really only get to see once yearly. Tis the season of love though with the recent engagements of both me and David and also Danielle and Morgan. Here are some candids as Danielle and Morgan share the news to friends:

exhausted

i have had one sort of week. not bad. not great. i guess a week with what feels like a hundred completely different experiences and not al all mine. i have been witness to some pretty unique stories and events with my 2o some clients this week. if my ethics were out the window, i would be sharing those experiences with you, reader, but nay......professionalism sure is a bore.