Farwell

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I'm leeeeaving, on a jetplane (for a long a$$ time!)

I'm excited (and overwhelmed) to report that next week I'm saying sayonara to Chicago for one month. You read that right, an entire.month.

I'll be traveling to Shanghai, Hong Kong, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego and New York and hopefully sharing my adventures along the way. This weekend will most likely be dedicated to trying to figure out how to pack five weeks of clothing into 2 suitcases all while selecting the appropriate work/vacation/birthday/work apparel. My excel based packing list resembles more of a physics formula than a recipe for a well organized suitcase. Any packing/planning tips you could offer a girl? Mucho appreciated!

P.S. I'm still reading your blogs, have just been unable to comment lately - thanks a lot Blogger... In the meantime I've been trying Tweeting, Facebook-ing and emailing you. Hope things return to normal soon, miss you guys!

P.P.S.S. Confession: I'm really unprepared for leaving this blog for a month (i.e. I have no scheduled posts in the cue...) Here's hoping to checking in along the way with updates, photo's and more!

Wild Wedding Weekend

Hey y'all, I'm baaaack. Sorry for the mini hiatus, wasn't expecting that but should have known things would get hectic upon returning home and back to work...

Last weekend we were in North Carolina for my cousin's wedding. I've mentioned more than a few times  how madly in love I am with my family ( here, here & here). I never feel more at peace than I do when I'm in their presence. I live for the moments we can all be together, everyone I love the most right there in one spot. We're a wild bunch and that's most of what I adore - it's crazy, loud, fun and at times, exhausting!

Here are a few pictures to recap the wonderful weekend.

{Bridesmaids Bouquets} 

{A view from behind}

 {The Bride, My Brother, Moi & The Bride's Brother in a rare, tame photo}

{Them's my dancing shoes}

 {It's fun to stay at the YYYYY...}

{The Bride wore red shoes, love that girl.}

Love at First (Camp) Site

The rain held off long enough for us to get one night of camping in over the holiday weekend. 

S'mores, magazine reading and beach walks - oh, how relaxing it was.

How was your weekend?

Girl Goes Glamping

We've been discussing the possibility of camping for a portion of the holiday weekend. We do it the old fashioned way, with a pop-up tent and air mattress, and while I enjoy connecting with nature in a simple way, it sure would be lovely to experience fresh air and night noises from the comfort of a queen size bed :)


Photos via the Clayoquot Wilderness Resort. Canadian Readers, it's in British Colombia, ever heard of it? It looks gorgeous!

L.A. Lovin' - Part 2

If  Part 1 was my depression at being back from vacation, Part 2 is the recap of how wonderful it was. That should put some pep in my step!

It was rainy & gloomy most of our trip but a little chill can't spoil our fun, enjoy our photographic journey...

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We marveled at the Earth's beauty from afar -

Admired the view from the Hollywood Hills,

And found a kitty that looks just like ours!

Soaked up the Hollywood Blvd sights...

And witnessed the tribute to a Hollywood legend.

We were entertained by street artists - Elvis and Marilyn and Batman, oh my!

Witnessed a super hero meeting -

And let's not forget an authentic Spider Man!

My husband became a "Winner!"

And I fell even more in love with palm trees.

After scouting out celebrity homes,

 we took full advantage of happy hour on Sunset Blvd.

We hiked to The Griffith Observatory to play around with the Hollywood sign...

And take in an even larger view of the city!

We explored the Santa Monica Pier and did some thrift shopping -
consignment stores and Goodwill were a goldmine!

And drove around the Fashion District just for kicks.

Hubby enjoyed taco's from a street vendor (he loves this stuff!)

Then we checked out some studios...

And on our very last day...let there be sunshine :)

Whew! If you made it this far, thanks for hanging on :)
Mad love to Carrie of This Free Bird for her LA recommendations – she sent me the most amazing ‘to do’ list email and we pretty much referred to it like an itinerary. It’s like she got in my brain and provided the perfect choices…fom cocktails to sightseeing - C is one cool bird ya’ll…xoxo


{More El Lay love here!}