on the 8th day of christmas...

katie started packing. she worked all day, went to bill and kathy's for a yummy pre-christmas dinner and then came home and packed. and packed and packed. she packed all her christmas gifts. they occupied one suit case. then she started packing her clothes. for a moment she thought she was playing noah. two black boots, two brown boots, two black shirts, two white shirts. then it came to her...

"i'm not noah! i'm packing the katie twelve days of christmas!"

1-gigantic suit case

2-pairs of leggings

3-different hats

4-jeans of denim

5-pairs of boots (i know, it is sick.)

6-cardigans

7-black sweaters

8-colorful scarfs

9-long sleeved shirts

10-shirts not coming

11-pieces of jewlery

12-total outfits

rad. that is all i have to say. my suit case is heavy...very heavy, but filled with all the things that katie's need for winter getaways to utah. i am so excited to come home. only two days left...

i'm dreaming of a white christmas!

done and done

congratulations pace! he just finished his first semester of grad school...last night. the final revisions of an already wonderful story. i am so proud of him! we have had a busy semester, filled with moving, weddings, birthdays, holidays and visits from the parents.

we are officially a quarter of the way through!

and in a week we are off to a fabulous christmas break in utah for some much needed rest and relaxation...

so proud of you babe! looking forward to the awesome stories that will come out of the next three semesters!

here's to my my favorite up and coming author!

why i love islands

so yesterday pace and i had our first adventure at fashion island. ok, now lets think about this. pace actually took katie to a place called fashion island, on a saturday night, two weeks before christmas...you might be thinking "gee pace, maybe not the best idea."

we were on our way to see "frost/nixon" (plug for this movie will come at another time, but while on the subject...yeah, ya'll need to go see it!). we had exactly 40 minutes to:

find a parking space

find our way onto the "island" (or into the mall for those less fancy)

find an eating establishment that was a) quick and b) that we both could/would eat at

find our way off the "island"

and walk 10 minutes to the theater, cause there ain't no way we were finding another parking spot at 7:30pm on a saturday.

it actually was perfect timing on his part. i had to bypass, bloomingdales, california couture, bcbg max azaria, the most fabulous forever 21 i have ever seen, kate spade and for kicks, neiman marcus.

did i mention that they had the biggest christmas tree that i have ever seen all lit up with little charles dickens like characters dancing and singing songs of the season right in the middle? ok, maybe the dickens like characters and singing were in my head because i wished it was happening, but you get the point. ya'll thought that i was stoked to be at disneyland on thanksgiving...this was my own personal idea of heaven. i could live right in the middle of fashion island. from november to january i hereby declare that fashion island be known ...

christmas fashion island!

so, i will close this post with one last thought.

i have been to the island of oahu, long island, island(s) the restaurant and now fashion island...and i have yet to meet an island i don't like.

"pour some sugar on me..."

i know, i am a little late. it has been a busy busy week for katie.

i cannot belive that my utes are going to another bcs bowl game! yeah. and more than that i cannot believe that we got alabama...

what can i say...

a utah WOman am i... GO UTES.

sugar bowl

u of u vs. bama

january 2, 2009

"i'm the happiest christmas tree..."

if my tree could sing...this would be the song it would be singing! i heart christmas time! essentially because of christmas trees! i put ALL my decorations up on sunday night and monday i went straight from work (at 8:30pm) to get my christmas tree. my thought being that if i could get my tree home and up by the time pace got home from school i could probably talk him into decorating it on tuesday morning...yes, morning. i waste no time. plan successful!

i put up my 7 foot tree up on monday night. yes, 7 feet. i told pace that i would gladly give up a couch, ottoman and any lamps if necessary to put up a big tree. i really wanted to buy the huge 9 ft one at costco...but, i would have had no room for a tree topper! yesterday before we went to work/school we decorated. pace had the wonderful idea of putting our tv on the christmas music station, so it was truly a holiday filled morning. it could very easily become a tradition...the lighting is much better during the day and i feel that my tree turned out fabulous!

theme: old fashion christmas katie style. my colors are red, white, green and silver. and yes, those are poinsettias in my tree and i heart them. i will post pictures of the rest of the apartment at a later time...ya'll can't handle all the christmas joy radiating from my apt at one time. :)

oh how i love this holiday season!

happy birthday

january 06

this post is dedicated to my favorite four year old...my adorable "niece" little ms. maddie.

ms. maddie...

happy birthday baby girl! so sad i couldn't be there with you today. hope you had fun with grandma at mcdonalds and at jungle jim's! see you in a few weeks.

love, katie

thanksgiving/disneyland day

so luckily the weather on thursday didn't ruin our thanksgiving/disneyland day! we had a blast! left our apt at 11am and returned to our apt around...midnight! we were like two kids, giggly and giddy, all day long!

the highlight of the day would have to be pace scoring us reserved seats for the christmas fantasy parade. we had a great view 15 minutes before the parade started until one of the ushers on his high horse decided to make our whole section move...only so that five seconds later he could personally usher a group of giggly girls to our spot! pace sought out the closest disney rep (easily spotted in their bright red vests!) to tell of our unhappy pre-parade experience. the disney rep he found, just happened to be the director of said parade and escorted us to our reserved seats five minutes before the parade! it was quite fabulous. after the parade we enjoyed our thanksgiving feast at the blue bayou.

our night was complete once we had seen the christmas decorations at "it's a small world" and scored some super fast passes to "indiana jones"...yes! another score for us...we avoided the 45 minute wait, just by running into the right person at the right time. one of the cute girls i work with...her fiance is one of the ride operators...seriously... everything was coming up pace and katie!

thanks dad for our tickets and thanks russ and karen for our dinner! it was the best way to spend our first thanksgiving away from home!

happy thanksgiving

i hope that everyone has a wonderful thanksgiving filled with friends, family and fabulous food! pace and i are in rainy california today. our first thanksgiving away from the fam. our plan was to head to disneyland today...i am refusing to let the rain stand in my way! i will let you know how it goes!

happy thanksgiving!

we do exist

this is just my proof that pace and i do live in california near the beach. as i was re-organizing my blog i thought to my self, "gee...you don't have a very convincing argument that you live in beautiful sunny orange county. not one picture of you near anything that resembles a beach or nice weather."

so to make my self feel better...and for your enjoyment, here is a picture taken today of pace and on the pier. sunny laguna beach california. november 23rd and 80 degrees. beautiful.

my proof is now this picture.

p.s my hair totally looked better today than this picture would lead you to believe. albeit nice weather it was a bit windy and my ponytail is directly behind my head...not flattering at all. thank goodness for oversized sunglasses or this picture would be a real mess!! but, isn't the background fabulous and the guy next to me handsome?

deck the blog...

yeah! i am totally confident saying that the christmas season is finally upon us. no aruguing!!! that is not in the christmas spirit. my blog is officially decked out...as it is far to early to deck out the apartment! yeah!!! i have had tons of fun playing around and of course putting together the sounds of the season!!! i hope that all who read find enjoyment viewing, reading and listening!

tis the season!

a utah man am i...

go utes!

in memory of...

moyle c. jensen

november 15, 1932-november 17, 2008

on monday i lost one of my many grandpas. this is the first one i have lost since my move to california. moyle was a truly kind and gentle man. i have known him my entire life, and he will be greatly missed.

this picture absolutely captures his big smile, heart and spirit. luckily i was able to spend some time with moyle before i moved down here...those are moments i will hold dear. i am glad to know that he is with his beautiful deon again.

moyle,

you will be missed. give deon, lola and chloe a hug for me.

love, kate

"wicked"ly amazing!

thank you, thank you, thank you to russ and karen for an amazing friday night in downtown l.a.! russ and karen are here for a few days visiting us and they took pace and i to see "wicked" last night at the pantages theater! seriously, a wickedly amazing awesome night!

anyone who knows me knows of my pure love of musicals and this one is no exception. it was phenomenal! i mean, i cannot even put into words how moving this experience was. i was sitting in the pantages theater, in the same seats as the best of the best of old hollywood once sat. for those who are not familiar with the pantages theater, it is the birthplace of the academy awards. so couple the pantages theater with a fabulous musical in downtown l.a on a friday night and it equals katie in heaven.

my only wish is that i could have shared this experience with my grandma and my mom. they are the reason for my love of musicals.

if anyone has the opportunity to see this amazing show, go. you will not be sorry!

a special "thank you" to all veterans

i honor of our veterans i write this post saluting all those who have served or are currently serving our country. two of the greatest men i have known in my life are veterans, my two (biological) grandfathers, and i believe that today as american's we all owe our veterans a very special thank you.

so to all our veterans who have served or are currently serving our country, i say...

"thank you"

i dedicate this post to those generations who have served our country well

the greatest generation

thomas vawdrey

james jenkins

russell gardner, sr.

sam vicchrilli

mike allen

gordon hansen

the baby boomers

ken hanson

george elias

my fellow gen x'ers

mac vaughn

john scott

brady roe

clint hanson

clayton anderson

and to the many others...

thank you.

tres chic!

while browsing the web today i found this awesome website, shabby apple (visit http://www.shabbyapple.com/), which just happens to be hosting an even more fabulous contest! using the clothing and accessories on their website i had to design a vignette. an outfit that i would LOVE to wear...and believe me...i would LOVE LOVE LOVE to own this outfit!

i picked the most feminine dress on the website. i was completely enamored with the neckline...and the name...saffron. just sounds delicious! and being me, i accented with a few of my favorite things...gold bangels, black boots, and lets not forget some sort of animal print! the clutch was just too katie to pass up! very vintage inspired...but yet very 80's in the bow shape.

my outfit, which i am calling "tres chic"...for my three favorite things represented...gold, black and overtly glam accessories...12 gold bracelets...need i say more!

i am absolutely loving the 80's feel of this outfit! the booties, the gold bangels (there are 12 of them!), and lets not forget the fabulous belt! a perfect way to accent the narrowest part of me...my waist! and the width of the shoulders will help to balance my hips and shoulders making me oh so curvy!!!

if i could have i would have selected a pair of dark tights or opaque nylons to spice it up for winter time or evenings in utah...but in this fabulous orange county i don't have to be worried about covering my legs and i can just wear the booties!

pick me pick me pick me!!! i want this outfit soo very badly, i am considering purchasing it...even on my small-i am helping to support my boyfriend and i while he is getting his masters and working retail cause they pay me well-budget!

tres tres chic!

proud to be an american

just have to say that i did take my own advice and went out to vote this morning. i am proud to say that today i voted for change and said no to discrimination. with the results of this election, i can truly say that...

i am proud to be an american. so much so that i found myself tearing up watching the speeches. i have to say that senator mccain offered a wonderful concession speech, i was surprised and pleased. president elect obama is such a wonderful orator, a powerful speaker. i am very much looking forward to listening to his upcoming speeches. not in 8 years have i felt so strongly, or been so emotional regarding an election. it feels so good to have my faith restored.

i am excited to see what the next four years will bring.

congratulations president elect obama and congratulations to the american people. today is a fantastic day in our country's history. one that i will not forget.

happy halloween

just a quick happy halloween to all of my fabulous readers! i hope that you all are happily sporting your halloween costumes or at best sporting some fabulous fall fashion in black or orange...you spartan alumni have no excuses for lack of black and orange!

for those with kiddos please post pics of costumes...and if you wear a costume and don't have kiddos, please post pics too!

happy october 31st!!!

no place like home for the holidays

that's right...katie and pace are heading back to utah for christmas! and we are so excited!

we will be in utah from december 24th until december 29th. anyone wanting to do breakfast, lunch, dinner, shopping or drinks...just let me know! i will be a very busy katie for these 5 days...hardly a vacation! i know, it is a little early for christmas planning, but i just booked my airfare this morning and i am just so incredibly excited right now. when i get back on the 24th, i will have been gone for 16 weeks!!!!!

soo excited to see a white christmas.

yeah...

i'll be home for christmas!!

bored.

i will explain the picture in a minute.

{back to the title}

bored. yup, that is what i am. i had a rough, rough, night. had a little girls night with kari, katie2, angel and dania. hey guys, i have friends down here! needless to say as katie2 is an incredible chef, she can also make incredible cocktails. and, the rest is history. so, on my day of rest and recovery i am playing on my computer and blogging. oh and watching awesome halloween movies...such as hocus pocus and the poltergeist. i remember the poltergeist being much scarier. anyway, i am putting up another tag.

the rules for this tag: go into your "my pictures" file and post the 4th picture that comes up. give your readers a little background of the picture.

my pic: this pic was taken by pace while we were on the battleship missouri, pearl harbor, hawaii. i am sure that if the fed's got a hold of this picture that they could arrest me as there was a huge sign on the battleship that said something like "don't touch anything you find on this ship. this ship is a war memorial and we will arrest you if you pick up the phone katie jenkins!" so i totally had to pick up the phone. i am making a silly face because typically i am not a "rule breaker", pace dared me to do it and i was a little affraid of getting busted on the battleship. all in all i would have to say this picture is probably one of my favs from the trip.

i would love to see what ya'll have in your pics!

have fun.

seen 99 red balloons...

or something like it. this was a really fun tag! copy and paste the list below, then highlight (with the color of your choice) the things on the list you have done in your life.

hmm...i am not very exciting! and there are soo many things on this list that i really want to do...and some that i don't ever ever want to do!

enjoy!

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen an eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Speak a different language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Played in the mud

53. Kissed in the rain

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a pottery class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Been called for jury duty

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

fabulous fall favorite

picture from www.gardnervillage.com

for those of you still in the salt lake valley...please do a favor for me...

please go to garnder village and see the witches! this is a fall favorite of mine and it is breaking my heart that i am not there to see them! especially when this morning i had a phone call from my adorable "niece" maddie telling me that she was going to go see the "punkin patch and the witches"... "katie, you coming with us?"

no. katie won't be seeing the witches at gardner village or the "punkin patch". sigh. but, she will go to the beach and enjoy the sun for anyone willing to trek to gardner village and see the witches!

they also have fabulous fall fashion finds...it really is a win win for everyone.

as much as i want you to vote in the election, i want someone to go see the pumpkin patch and witches at gardner village for me!

i am begging...

eight is great

technically there were 8 brady's if you don't include alice...anything that can be related back to the brady bunch has to be fabulous!

yikes...no wonder i like working so much! if i am not working, i am just playing on the computer blogging! if you hadn't already guessed it...i don't work tomorrow! for those who are bored here are my great eights!

8 tv shows i love to watch:
1. project runway
2. top design
3. football...anyw channel, any day of the week, any level
4. the rachel zoe project
5. the hills
6. what not to wear
7. tabatha's salon takeover
8. the office

(honestly, i don't know what i would watch if i didn't have bravo! they account for 50% of my favs!)

8 favorite restaurants:
1. beach fire
2. el torito
3. in and out...yes, it counts as a restaurant because i go in and sit down
4. morelias
5. la puente
6. biaggis
7. cheesecake factory
8. mac grill...i miss you c-note!

8 things that happened yesterday:
1. bought new black jeans that i have been eyeing for quite some time
2. watched project runway
3. saw blaine from project runway in my vs store
4. slept until 9 am...a big deal for me
5. wore my hair down and straight for the first time in two weeks...i missed my curly hair and pony tail!
6. wished i had more comfortable shoes...not cuter or more fabulous...just slightly more comfy!
7. cleaned my kitchen
8. had a diet coke for the first time in ten days...i feel weak.

8 things i look forward to:
1. going to disneyland to celebrate thanksgiving...a perfect way to spend the holiday if you have to be away from family...
2. seeing a white christmas...and truly appreciating how much i heart snow!
3. seeing my family...not sure when exactly...but every day i look forward to hugging my mom and dad!
4. the holidays...a fantastic excuse for me to decorate and accessorize my apartment once every four weeks.
5. long term...pace graduating
6. getting married...no time frame so don't anyone get excited yet.
7. being a mom...four boys if i have my way...and yes, i know i will spend my 30's pregnant...
8. living abroad...hopefully within the next three years

8 things i love about fall:
1. football
2. cool weather
3. jackets
4. sweaters
5. boots
6. scarves
7. carving pumpkins
8. christmas music...yes, this starts in the fall. i will truly miss kosy 106.5...they start christmas music on november 1st! brilliant!

8 things I wish for:
1. not feeling lost when i make a wrong left turn!
2. weight loss
3. cool temperatures
4. another candidate in the upcoming presidential election.
5. health and happiness for my loved ones
6. a winning week in my fantasy football league
7. to travel the world...and to live somewhere fabulous
8. that i will never be so vein as to fill my boobs and/or lips with synthetic materials just because i can.

bravo!

perfect title for a perfect blog. don't know if anyone else is a fan of project runway...but i have become a HUGE fan! surprised that this is the first you have heard of it...me too! i just realized as i was watching the fifth season of fabulous season finale that i have yet to dedicate a post to my new found favorite!

ahh...i especially love that michael kors is a judge...oh how i love him. so, tonight was the last episode. very sad. luckily, bravo loves to show reruns! pace and i have made a new tradition while down here in the oc. wednesday nights we get home from school/work we eat a quick dinner then watch "top design", "project runway" and "it's always sunny in philidelphia". pace just said our routines were "k fabulous"...and he is right!!! this routine is k fabulous!

so tonight in the words of heidi klum, who i have developed a recent crush on. and i am NOT to proud to admit it...hello...if i could look like anyone it would be heidi klum. anyway, in the words of the beautiful heidi klum...

auf wiedersehen!

good bye project runway and congratulations leanne.

ps...good bye michael kors...i will also miss our wednesday night dates. good thing your shoes are still available at nordstrom. we will always have our 15 minutes in the shoe department.

yeah...it's that important.

please visit the link below. pass it on to five friends...or cheat like me and post the link on your blog and hope that five people will view it...and pass it on to their friends.

it is actually quite amazing that this is the first politically motivated post. for those who really know me...i am sure you have been anxiously awaiting for me to jump up on my soapbox. but, i am not going to. i am not excited about the upcoming election...not sure what i am going to do yet. not going to jump up on my soapbox either...as i have no box to jump up on! other than this...

watch the video and please please please...

vote.

http://vids.eonline.com/services/link/bcpid1396519019/bctid1830029460

happy birthday to me...

so for those of you who don't know. i spent my first birthday in california...alone. pace had to return to utah for one of our best friends weddings. congratulations to angie and aaron! no worries. i couldn't go back to utah for the wedding...too soon to request a weekend off of work. pace did earn extra extra special brownie points for overnighting my birthday card to me...seriously, so sweet. he didn't know how else it would get to me on friday...so he just sent it to me special delivery on thursday when he got back to utah!

i was fortunate enough to spend the day doing things any girl would love...sort of. i was able to get up bright and early, shower up and head right to the dmv. yes, that is right, the dmv. my utah drivers license expired on my birthday and the state of utath takes forever to renew drivers licenses over the internet...up to twelve weeks i found out! so, needless to say, now i am officially a californian...drivers license and all!

once the dmv debacle was over i went to lunch and shopping with noella, one of the other managers from my store. she was so sweet to spend almost her entire day off with me...we have only known eachother for two weeks and we just became friends instantly! we had lunch at the cheesecake factory and then went shopping at the mall. i found some of the cutest christmas decorations at this fabulous store called the daisy shoppe...adorable. i will be spending lots of my extra time and money here...once i find the extra time and money! anyone who wants, feel free to send me extra money...and time if you have it!

friday night i went to dinner with kari. a longtime friend of pace's and a new found friend of mine! kari and i met while i was living in san francisco and we just clicked. she is the only other person i know who can dedicate an entire evening to sitting on a patio and discussing our favorite fall footwear. no wonder we get along so well...we both love boots! we went to this fabulous, fabulous restaurant called beach fire grill. best atmosphere, big comfy ratan furniture on their patio, live music...ah it was truly amazing. plus it was in this super new, up and coming area called ladera ranch. (pace and i are going back there this thursday for my officially birthday date celebration!)

so, needless to say i had a fabulous fabulous birthday. thank you to everyone (noella, kari...lady at the dmv) who helped to make my day special in california. and thanks to everyone back in utah who called emailed or sent me a present...truly awesome!

here's to the next year... happy big 26 to me!

i heart wine

a little shout out to my mama! she actually gave me my first birthday present last week. it was part birthday and part house warming.

a fabulous bottle of francis ford coppola's "rosso" california red wine, two fabulous glasses and a coaster made from the wine label!

for anyone looking to find a new fun wine...i highly suggest this one!

squisita!!

(for you italian speakers reading my blog...and i know there are a few...hope that is the right word to say delicious...i googled it!)

happiness comes in three colors...and one shape

i think on of my most favorite things about fall is...candy corn. i love candy corn.

i just opened my first birthday package and it contained multiple flavors of candy corn. this is turning out to be a great day!

who knew that they made "caramel apple candy corn" and " carmel corn candy corn"? really, i am so excited! i have sampled the caramel apple candy corn, and it is delicious. i highly recommend it! (thank you karen for opening my eyes to these fabulous new flavors!)

ah, hapiness comes in three delightful colors...white, yellow and orange, and that fabulous little triangle shape!

i heart candy corn!

oh, and here is a shout out to those delicious little mellowcreme pumpkins... you too are a fall favorite. it is just too bad you aren't shaped like a triangle!

"like" this post is "like" going to be my longest "like" ever

i'm back! i am sure most of you just jumped up and down...yeah! miss me much? crazy crazy past few weeks, but i think i can finally get back into my blogging groove!

i am loving loving loving my life down here in the o.c. my apartment is adorable and in a fabulous area of "socal". local terminology for southern california. see, i am even sounding like a californian. the one thing i am not sure if i am going to master is the unspoken rule that as a female i am required to use the word "like" in "like"every sentence. i thought this was some sort of throw back to "clueless". "like" making fun of girls from west valley for still ratting their hair and destroying our environment with their obsessive use of aquanet. but...it isnt'. "like" is everywhere...in every sentence...even if it has no place, which is like 99.9% of the time.

"like" it is seriously "like" they are having a competition to "like" see if they can "like" out "like" the other person. absolute torture to the human ear!

and i work with the "like" queens.

speaking of work...my job is going wonderfully! i only work eight hour days...i am sure that pace wishes sometimes i worked more than eight hours. as i don't have many girl friends down here yet, all my "hey whatcha doin?", "you are NOT going to believe what i just saw...", "hmmm...i am bored, what should we do?", "does this outfit look ok?"...things i would have run by my bff cambria, are now being transferred to him. bless his heart, he is trying so hard not to scream. he just smiles at me and lets me go on talking. what a guy, what a guy.

i have discovered the fabulous shopping down here...most of which i cannot afford, but i am becoming one hell of a window shopper!

the mall in which i work, has a saks fifth avenue...fun fun fun! and i work above crate and barrel and next to pottery barn...love love love. plus...ahhh...just down the hall is my safe place. my own little slice of heaven. nordstrom.

i just smile every day when i walk into work. just to see the glowing white tile leading me right to the comforts of the shoe department. i spend my "15's" (fifteen minute breaks, they have breaks in retail...we don't have those in hotels!) oohing and aahing. nothing makes me feel better after being yelled at because i will not return a bra that has obviously been worn (gross! sick and wrong!) then being able to slip my foot into a fabulous michael kors wedge, knowing i can't afford to buy them actually makes me love wearing them for 5 minutes even more.

ahh, can't wait for work tomorrow!

today, pace and i have had an uber california day. we woke up at 9am, drove to orange, ate breakfast at this fabulous 50's style soda counter, window shopped the antique malls that line the streets of old town orange and then went birthday shopping at nordstrom. now i am sitting in my jammies watching football. ahh..i love this day.

k fab out for now...be back later with more stories of "like" and michael kors shoes!

i love my life.

the countdown spectacular begins...two days late

5 days until friday! yeah! the 3rd of october is my favorite holiday of the year...the day of my birth. 26 years ago...uhg. there is something really unappealing about being OVER 25. can i still call myself twenty-something? i think yes. sounds much better than the other option...late twenties!

let the countdown spectacular begin....

88 seaspray north... la casa de pace y katie

my first love...football season!

the season is upon us. i am currently busy every thursday, saturday, sunday and monday. i am sad that i have to see my beloved brett in a green and white jersey. it is truly heartbreaking.

just finished the draft for my fantasy team...perfect name for my team...fantasy...as i have the lovely tom brady for my qb! how i love watching tom brady...play football that is.

(wink wink). gorgeous.

saturday kicked off my second love, thanks to my real first love (pace). i look forward to sitting around on saturday's in my jammies watching college football.

go utes!

anyone who thinks they might want to cheer for the cougars...you are no longer allowed to read my blog. you may resume reading in december.

and more importantly...
anyone who thinks they might want to cheer for the 49'ers...you are no longer allowed to read my blog. you may resume reading...never.
so...

are you ready for some football!?!

finally...

whew. finally, i am posting. finally, it is the end of august. finally, i have two days of work left and finally, i am almost done packing.

you can see why "finally" was such a perfect title for my blog. next week it will be "finally, i am in california!"

so as you can see by my numerous finally's that it has been a stressful week, month. and my proof, i have had two coldsores...stress enduced...in the past two weeks. i need to calm down...easier said than done.

pace is officially down in california. below you will find pictures of our apartment. i like to call these the "before" pictures. meaning, before katie arrived. cause ya'll know that i love decorating and this apt will be no different. well, i guess kinda. i am going to be incorporating "boy things" into my decor. things like...huge speakers, bigger tv's and pictures of squirrels...yes, i know it is currently on our mantle. soon to be...in the bathroom? i don't even know.

pace and has dad drove down to sunny california a week and a half ago and unpacked the entire pod...in the middle of the afternoon heat. thanks boys! also, you must realize that we have a lot of stuff. most of which is currently hidden in closets and most of which is mine. pace has taken it upon himself to begin to decorate the apartment. which i am not sure he was totally game for. and certainly not something he enjoys. he has done a wonderful job and been a really good sport. i am excited to get down there and add a little katie to the place. it just needs a bit of a "woman's touch."

with all that said...

pace,
thank you so much for all of your hard work making that plain white apartment look like a home.
love ya!

so needless to say, i will be quite emotional this next week. most likely, no blogs. although it might be a nice out, you can't cry in blogs! anyway, our crazy and wild california adventure is about to begin...

finally!

before, meaning pre-katie

master bedroom 1 (aka..mb1)

part of kitchen/dining area

living room (notice squirrel picture on mantle...nice touch babe!)

living room (squirrel picture is now behind you...)

mb2/pace's office/guest room (above and below)

good bye hotels, hello...lingere?

yeah...i have a new job! starting september 15th i will be one of the co-manager/directors at the victoria's secret in mission viejo. i am so excited and so glad to have a job waiting for me down in california!

thanks to everyone for the votes of confidence and well wishes. and to minda, russ, cambria and kenny who evidently gave me fabulous references.

here's to me and my new job! cheers!