Polka Dots & Pixie Dust

Weekend Update

2011-12-18T11:27:00.000-08:00

Even though this is the last weekend before Christmas, I actually had a pretty relaxing couple of days off. I did manage to finish up my Christmas shopping which was a little tricky since everyone in Fresno decided to do the same, but it didn't damper my weekend.

On Friday, I was able to sleep in a little bit which is always great. I spent some time shopping with my Dad icluding a crazy trip to the mall where I was able to pick up a few gifts on my shopping list and a stop at one of my favorite movie stores where I stocked up on a ton of movies for myself. Merry Christmas to me!

Friday night, I went to the movie's with my cousin and saw "New Year's Eve". I really liked the movie even though it didn't get good reviews. Before the movie, we saw a few good previews including one with Zac Efron which looked really good. I think it was called "The Lucky One". I will definitely by checking that one out.

Saturday was an even lazier day for me. I spent most of the morning indulging my newest obsession... Pinterest! My aunt introduced it to me a month or so ago and now I can't get enough. I am pinning like crazy! I found so many cute craft ideas that I might just have to make time for:) Saturday night I stayed in and wrapped some Christmas presents and watched one of the "new" movies I bought: Bridget Jones's Diary.

I love this movie! I so relate to Bridget. I just hope I land myself someone like Colin Firth one day:) The night was topped off with a trip to Coldstone and a cup of vanilla ice cream with Reeces mixed in. All in all it was a fun, relaxing weekend. One more week and Christmas will be here. I can't wait!

What I've Been Up To!

2011-09-25T10:11:00.000-07:00

So it has been a VERY long time since I actually posted anything on this little blog of mine. I believe one of the last posts was my New Year's resolutions. Just an update on that: I haven't accompished any of those goals I set for myself (big shock:). Anywho, I am giving it another go and we will see if I can keep up with it. My biggest problem was that I didn't have a lot going on so I didn't really have anything fun to blog about. Well, that is definitely not the case anymore. I feel like there is just so much going on that it is hard to keep up. We just had a surprise birthday party for my Dad last week, I am prepping for a bridal shower I am throwing for my sister in two weeks, then I am going to Disneyland with my cousin the next weekend, followed by the Bachellorette party I have yet to finalize the weekend after that. Then the wedding which is 11-11-11! Pheeew, I am tired just thinkng about all of this fun! Plus it is my absolute favorite time of year so I will of course be squeezing in lots of Halloween activities! Now, if I can just remember to take photos of all of these great events that would be fantastic!

The Mouse

2011-01-22T20:16:00.000-08:00

Last month we decided to take a family trip to Disneyland to see all of the Christmas decorations. Not only did my family go, but so did my aunts, uncles, cousins and their boyfriends. We had such a great time in my favorite place! Here are a few pictures from our trip.

We had dinner at this great Mexican restaurant in Downtown Disney and they have a guy that goes from table to table making balloon animals. We all got one! Mine was Cinderella!
The decorations were beautiful and spending time with my family was great. Next time - Florida:)

2011 Here I Come!

2011-01-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

Well, it has become very obvious to me that Blogging has not been a priority. I think that this stems from the fact that I don't feel that my life is very exciting. This last year that I have had my blog, I have loved reading about everyone else's adventures and lives, but haven't had a whole lot going on in my own to share. This is sad but true. That being said, I have done a lot of reflecting these first few days of 2011 and feel like I might just be at a cross roads. I feel like 2011 might be the year where I take life by the horns and start really living. At least I hope so. I feel like I have been stuck in quarter life crisis mode for the last couple of years and have been wanting to really change my life but haven't known how to acheive that.

Over the holidays, I had a visit from my cousin from Texas. I don't really get to see her very often but was able to spend 4 days with her after Christmas (this is where I would insert pictures if I had taken any - another thing I need to work on). We are about a year apart and I realized when she was here just how much we have in common. Her roommate in Houston is getting married in July and will be moving out and Stephanie mentioned that I should consider moving to Houston to live with her. While I don't know if this is really a possibility (mostly since zero design jobs came up when I searched online), it really started me thinking that maybe the next chapter of my life is not in Fresno at all. I have lived here my entire life, minus a few months I was in Florida, and yet I feel like I have no life at all. I spend most all of my time either at work or at home. I never go out, never have people to go out with, and feel like everyone is living their lives except for me.

Well, the point of all of this is that I am excited at the prospect of change. This is definitley not the life that I envisioned for myself and as I creep ever closer to the big 3-0, I think that this is the best time in my life for a major change. That is what is so great about a New Year. Everything suddenly feels possible. There are several things that I feel inspired to do and I only hope that I can acheive them.

First, as previously mentioned, I would like to take more pictures. In all honesty, I usually always have a camera but NEVER take pictures. Granted, you have to do things in order to photograph them but that is what the rest of my goals are set to accomplish. I also want to use this blog to document this year and what I can accomplish. I know my goals are lofty but I have a good feeling about this year. I don't want to live vicariously through others anymore, I want to live my own exciting life! Here are some of the other goals I would like to acheive this year.

1. Move to a new city.

2. Find a job that really inspires me.

3. Take some night classes to re-learn photoshop and other computer programs.

4. Become a Notary.

5. Devote time to developing my invitation business.

6. Buy a nice new camera to document the year.

7. Get my own apartment.

8. Be more social and make new friends (this also includes being a better friend).

9. Get healthy.

10. Be better with my money.

11. Get back to my crafty side.

If I were to really accomplish all of these goals this year, it could be the best year of my life! It might seem like a lot to take on but I feel like if I can vocalize these goals and make myself accountable, I might actually do them instead of just dream about them. Look out world, Here I Come!

Indoor Mini Golf Anyone?

2010-09-07T22:37:00.000-07:00

About once a month, all of my grown cousins on my Dad's side get together to hang out and play games. We've played cards, board games, and bowling. It started out with just the 6 of us girls but has now grown to include boyfriends and fiances. Last Friday, we decided it was time for another game night. We started out at Victory Grill and grabbed some dinner, then headed across the street for some glow-in-the-dark fun! We went to this indoor miniature golf place that was full of black lights. It was actually really fun and was kind of crowded when we were there.

The theme was around the world. Hello Big Ben!

While we were all hanging out, all of our parents decided to go out to dinner together too. I'm so glad that we all get along and really enjoy hanging out together. We are all so close in age and all live in Fresno so it is fun to spend time together. After mini golf, we headed over to my sister's house for a little Cranium Wow. If you haven't played this game before you should run out and buy it. It is so much fun. My team won of course:)

We had a great time but missed my cousin Sara who is at Davis going to school. We will have to plan the next game night around her schedule so that she can come. Next time, perhaps a Hand and Foot tournament:) Sounds like fun to me!

Happy Birthday Sister!

2010-09-07T21:59:00.000-07:00

Last week was my sister Nikki's 29th birthday. Since her birthday fell on a Monday, we ended up making a birthday weekend out of it. It started on Friday when my family, her boyfriend Franklin, and Franklin's sister Tracy all went out to dinner at the Outback for steak. Yummy of course.

After dinner we went back to the house for gifts and dessert. I wanted to make her a special dessert and so I found this great recipe for Peanut Butter Pie. It was really rich but so good. I was so proud of myself for coming up with this pie for her. It wasn't until I was dishing it out that I realized that I spent all of this time searching for something with an oreo crust when it is actually graham cracker crust that she loves. Oops:) It was delicious anyway!

We celebrated her birthday a little early because Franklin had planned a trip for the weekend to San Fransisco including a Giants game. He couldn't have gotten her a better gift. She loves the Giants! Needless to say they had a great time!

Monday night is our usual "Bachelor Nite" which we do every week so that our friends can all get together and hang out. It worked out perfectly that this was her actual birthday so that we could all celebrate together. First we went out to tepanyaki at Tokyo Steakhouse then went over to Jacki and Doug's house for cake and a little "Bachelor Pad" (I know the show's not that great but at least it gives us an excuse to get together and have fun).

It was a great way to end her Birthday weekend and we had so much fun celebrating. Happy Birthday Sister!! Hope you had a great birthday!

Bachelor Nite!

2010-03-03T20:19:00.000-08:00

Every monday for the last couple of months, my friends and I have gotten together to watch "The Bachelor". We rotate to a different house each week and usually have appetizers and drinks. It has been a great way to start of the week. Well, this week was the finale so we decided to do it up right. This week we were at Christine's house and she went all out. Roses, wine, and tons and tons of yummy food!

Roses of course in honor of the Bach. So fitting.

This is us watching, hoping Jake doesn't pick Vienna ( or Viola as Jacki likes to refer to her as)

Jacki, Nikki, and Christine

We are the worst at taking pictures, so we made a special point to try and take a few. It was a great few months but sadly it is coming to an end. We will just have to find a new show to hold us over until the new season with Aly.

Austin Trip, Part I

2010-01-09T16:25:00.000-08:00

Right before Christmas this year, me and my family flew to Austin to celebrate the wedding of my cousin Chris. This was my first time going to Austin and we had a great time. Along with my parents and my sister, we were also joined by my Grandma and my Uncle Rick. The trip started out a bit rocky but ended up being a lot of fun.

The day before we were supposed to fly out, I was off from work and drove up to Valley Springs to pick up my Grandma and bring her back to Fresno so we could all fly out early the next morning. Anyone who knows me knows I love my little car. And I really love driving so had no problem going up and coming right back. I left about 2:00 was about 20 miles from her house when my car starting having issues and just about pooped out completely. I didn't think that I was going to make it there since I didn't really know where I was going (I was using new directions) and my cell phone didn't get reception. I was literally in the middle of nowhere with it getting dark. I did finally make it there around 5:00 but obviously couldn't risk taking my car back to Fresno so we ended up leaving it there and driving my Grandma's car back. After that whole ordeal, I was really ready to get out of town and enjoy our trip.

We absolutley love spendning time with my Aunt Glennda and Uncle Mark as well as my two cousins, Stephanie and Chris, who we don't get to see very often. We also got to get to know Kelley, our newest famliy memeber which was great.

About a month before the wedding, I went to stay with my Aunt Glennda and help her make the invitations for the Rehearsal Dinner which they were in charge of. We also made a really cute recipe book for Chris and Kelley which had recipes sent in from both sides of their family. Both the invitations and the book turned out really cute (of course I forgot to take a picture). Anyway, here are some pictures from the Rehearsal Dinner.

My Uncle Mark, cousin Chris, and Mark's brother Steve

Stephanie, Aunt Glennda, and Kelley

Uncle Rick and Grandma

The dinner was held at a really pretty Restaurant called North by Northwest and they had everything set up in a heated tent. My Aunt did these beautiful rustic centerpeices for each table and the whole tent was decorated with white lights. It really looked great.

Well, that's it for now, stay tuned for part II of our Austin Trip! More to come.

Birthday Fun

2010-01-08T23:17:00.000-08:00

So it has been a while (again) since I have posted anything and a lot has happened during the last month or so. Firstly, December 5th was my 26th birthday. It happened to fall on a Saturday this year and also happened to fall on the first walk night for Christmas Tree Lane. We walk down Christmas Tree Lane every year so it was great to get to do it on my B-day. I invited a few of my friends to come along with me and my family. I don't usually do a whole lot on my birthday so this was really fun. We all met at my favorite restaurant, The Spaghetti Factory, and had dinner and then headed over to my parents house to get ready to head to the walk. My parents live about a mile or two from Fig Garden so it was definitly convenient.

me and my sister, Nikki

Nikki and Franklin

Sarah and me

me and Jacki

After the walk, we went back to my parents house and opened gifts and had cake.

my new MJ calendar:)

It was a great night with friends and family, even though it meant that I am now creeping closer and closer to the big 3-0! Thanks to Sarah, Jacki, and Christine for coming along to celebrate with me.

What's new

2009-11-28T16:54:00.000-08:00

So I haven't posted anything in a while so I thought I would give some updates. There hasn't been too much to post lately and since I don't have a camera I also don't really have any pictures to put up either. Since my last blog we have had two holidays. My favorite holiday, Halloween, ended up being pretty uneventful this year. I usually plan a whole month's worth of Halloween themed events but this year I just couldn't quite get into it. The most exciting thing to happen during the month of October was the release of "Michael Jackson's "This is it" in theatres. Needless to say, I was there waiting in line for the first showing on Oct. 28th and the movie was unbelievable. As of now, I have seen it 6 times already. It is amazing to watch but obviously bittersweet. I would have been going to that concert in about 6 weeks. On a side note, I did receive my concert ticket in the mail and it is very cool. On the front there is a hollogram photo of Michael. They also sent me the commemorative booklet from the memorial which is really great. Now I just have to work on getting everything framed.

This month also marks the release of New Moon's (thanks Carly for coming at midnight with me:) I am positive that I won't see this movie nearly as many times as I saw Twilight but I thought this movie was really good. I also went to see So You Think You Can Dance when they came to the Savemart Center a couple weeks ago and that was a lot of fun. We had seats on the floor which initially seemed like a great idea but ended up being a little hard to see. Oh well, that's the story of my life.

Lastly, we just had Thanksgiving a few days ago which was really nice. We had it at my Aunt and Uncle's house this year and it was really fun to get together with all of my family. There has been a lot going on in our family this year so it was nice to sit down and just enjoy being together. This was also the first year in a long time that we didn't do the Black Friday shopping. I usually go with my Mom and sister but this year they were both working so we had to pass. Its okay though since I don't really need an excuse to spend money right now.

Well, believe it or not that is just about all that has happened in the last month. I do have some fun things coming up in the next few weeks so I will try to write about those as they happen. I will have to borrow my Mom's camera so I can take a few pictures to share as well. Bye for now.

Corn Maze...take one!

2009-10-08T21:35:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows me well knows that I LOVE Halloween. It doesn't take much to get me excited when it comes to anything fall related. Anyway, this is my second year creating the "Halloween Calendar of Fun". I am a little late getting it out to everyone but my first activity was supposed to be going to the corn maze and Cobb Ranch. I go every year (usually with my family) and it is always a ton of fun. This last Tuesday I had it all planned out to go. My parents were in and my friend Jacki said that she wanted to go since she had never been. My sister ended up working really early that day and said that she didn't want to go but I ended up giving her a guilt trip to get her to go. The plan was to meet at my parents house at 7:30 and drive up from there. My sister and her boyfriend decided that they were just going to meet us there. So Jacki gets to my parents house and we all pile into the car and make our way to the maze. I was SO excited. We get ready to take the turn off to Cobb Ranch and my dad notices that it is pitch black. With all of my carefull planning and organization, I neglected to check to see when it opened. FYI...not until October 10th. We had gone through all of that trouble and drove all the way out there for nothing. I was so bummed but the worst part was that I had to hear about it ALL night. Luckily I am used to being the butt of the joke and take it well:) Anyway, we didn't get to go to the corn maze but will try it again next week after it officially opens. Needless to say I will be double checking all of the events on the calendar.

Layla

2009-10-03T09:02:00.001-07:00

Well, after much talk, and almost a year in our condo, my sister and I finally got a dog! Her name is Layla and we adopted her from ARF (Animal Rescue of Fresno). ARF rescues the dogs from the pound that are about to be euthenized and keeps them until they get adopoted. We saw Layla online and were pretty sure that she was the one we wanted. She is a beagle-terrier mix and is about a year old. We finally brought her home on Wednesday and have been loving her ever since. Here are a few pictures.

She has one ear that stands up - so cute!

As you can tell, she LOVES our blue chair. If you are ever looking for her,

pretty sure that is where you will find her.

She is still getting used to her new home but we are seeing more and more of her personality every day. She is a snuggler and loves to play...except with my parents dog Annie. My parents were out of town for the night so we were Annie was staying with us. Annie wants to play with Layla SO bad but Layla doesn't want any part of it.

This is how they play - at the same time but seperately. Annie looks so big next to Layla!

I'm sure they will be best friends eventually. At least they're not fighting. Layla is a lot of fun so far and I am looking forward to seeing more of her personality come out.

Ready for Fall

2009-09-29T18:46:00.000-07:00

So I have been talking about putting my Halloween decorations out for awhile now but I am SO glad that I waited until today to do it. Today was my day off and I really had nothing pressing to do so I got to enjoy the start of my favorite time of year. Once it hits October, I am completely happy all the way through the new year. Well, today I started pulling out all of my decorations and of course once I started going through my boxes, I decided I just didn't have enough stuff (tell that to the three boxes of decorations I didn't end up using). So I spent the afternoon shopping and looking for some cute things to add to my growing collection. I went everywhere and did end up finding some cute things (mostly at Pier 1). Anyway, here are a few pictures of what I accomplished.I still have my parents house to decorate but that will probably have to wait. Now I will need to focus on making my "Halloween Calendar of Fun"! I love Fall!

I'm a Blogger!

2009-09-28T10:03:00.000-07:00

Well, I have decided for some reason that I want to create my own blog. I very rarely have anything interesting to say so this should be pretty interesting. Since I don't have time to scrapbook anymore (even though I still insist on collecting things to scrapbook), this will be my way of documenting things going on in my life. If anyone actually takes the time to read this, I hope you enjoy!