classy and fabulous

it's about time...

2011-04-30T19:48:00.000-07:00

so pretty much it would be the understatement of the century if i said that i was a slacker with my blog. i am like the worst blogger ever. there was a time when i was really good...and now, well. as you can see from the little blogger time tracker underneath my name on your respective blogs it has been oh about ... 7 months. holy...what the...7 freaking months?! and the award for worst blogger ever goes to...katie. {insert applause here}

it is totally not that my life isn't crazy interesting cause it is...
i just bought the most amazing end table at the most amazing consignment store today. and last night i got yelled at in the lobby of my fabulous hotel by a guest who was for lack of better words "stoned out of his mind" and tried to use is crazy stoner logic on me while trying to explain that i shouldn't kick him out of the hotel because he didn't smoke in his room. he smoked in the hall outside of his room. (ah, really do love stoner logic.) i also got to redecorate my office and it is fabulous...and i finally have a freaking real office with a door. so i can shut it and not talk to my crazy associates who come and find me at all hours to ask me questions that make my head hurt. said office is a fabulous shade of tiffany blue with white and black...and peacock feather accents. yes. it is glorious. oh and two weeks ago i introduced threeeeee new pairs of flip flops to my flip flop family and that brings my flip flop total to 48. i kinda need two more pairs to make an even 50 cause my crazy ocd-ness about my necessories (see previous blog in like 2009 for definition of necessory...like in november cause i was still in cali) is freaking out right now that i am two pairs away...and my wallet is like "ok, you can cause it will make you feel better!" (thanks wallet!)
so see guys, i am totally still interesting!

the only real reason that i get the slacker award is because a) my lap top died and i am too lazy to take it to best buy and find out why b) i don't have access to my blog at my work (or facebook or people or nordstrom...ahhhhhhh) stupid baracuda blocker non-access to anything fun program and c) i spend all my time at work typing and on a computer and i just kinda want to chill and watch real housewives, cupcake wars and the biggest loser on tv.

{by the way, these three shows are the katie trinity of shows...housewives (i aspire to be one, a nice one, but i want to be one), cupcake wars (cause i seriously l.o.v.e baking/decorating and i think that i could be on that show and probably do really well until i go up against someone who can really bake from scratch) and biggest loser for motivation.}
pretty much i am coming to the realization that i totally need to do all my bloggie friends a favor and blog more so that i don't have to tell you all about my past 7 months in one blog. but, hey...key take aways (whoa...been spending way toooo much time on conference calls and in trainings as i just used "take aways" naturally...scary)...

1. i am still interesting and crazy and love flip flops
2. still love my tv shows and could tell you all about them and why i love them and most importantly why i truly do aspire to be on real housewives
3. still a long winded blogger and hope that maybe 1 or two of you stuck it out this long to read my final thoughts.

final thoughts section: i am not going to lie to you and tell you that i am going to be a better blogger...cause if i did one a month i would think i was an awesome blogger. but, i will make an attempt to keep an eye on this and not wait for 7 months to post again.

for those still with me...thanks for hanging on! be back soon...

katie out.

happy birthday to me...

2010-10-02T22:28:00.001-07:00

in honor of my big 2-8 birthday, i decided to make myself the most fabulous-katie-tastic cupcakes i could think of. above is the result of my mind running 1000 miles per hour as i wander around the grocery store. wanted, pink and black and bling...and thus my bling-tastic cuppies were born. and i am awfully proud of them.

must also give much love to minda...my dear minda. and my adorable heidy. thank you loves for throwing me a surprise party at rice. it was a much needed girls night and it meant the world to me.
loves.

i will end my last 30 minutes of my 27th year saying...this year has been hard, really hard. but, everything thus far has worked out for the best. i am a much stronger and wiser woman going into my 28th year...and i am looking forward to the many wacky and crazy adventures that are yet to come.

love to all my bloggies.

27 year old katie out.

i could live...

2010-09-11T19:47:00.000-07:00

in michael kors "camel, cashmere and fur" collection. ahh. seriously. i have decided that as i am living with my mom, and not paying "rent" that i will spend my extra time, effort and $$$ making my wardrobe as fabulous as i possibly can. ahh, the joys of being 28 with an awesome job and little other responsibilities. it is working out pretty well for me. but, seriously. i could live in this collection. too bad i have to wear black suits to work...but, i am surprising myself with my fab "black suit" combinations. shoes really do make the woman...and the outfit. could also live in the "glamo camo" collection, too. wow. wow. wow.

i could also live in the house that jennifer aniston and owen wilson move to in "marley & me". yeah. my dream house. where one day i will have a fabulous yard, and dog, and husband and kids and we can play football outside in the fall, and make snow angels in the snow...and ahhh....someday. i want to live in rural pennsylvania. or maybe in herriman or draper. i think it would be sort of the same. sort of.

i also could live in one of the fabulous houses in the october issue of family circle or in the halloween magazine that my mom found. ahhh...un-be-lie-va-ble. yeah. i sooo miss having my own house to decorate. ladies...really...lace on a pumpkin. check it out. you will love. i promise.

moral of the story today is...i could live with michael kors...in rural pennsylvania (draper or herriman) and in a house permanently decorated for halloween.

it's kinda been one of those days.

and... i'm back

2010-09-03T16:51:00.001-07:00

slightly pretentious? maybe. but as i don't have my laptop...it will be a tad bit more difficult to keep the updates as constant. game plan 1...get a new laptop.

i am happy, and content, and exhausted...been sick for the past week. normally, i would have kept all you bloggies up on my sickness...but, what can i say...i am a slacker.

so quick recap for the past little while:

love the job
love being in slc
love the new car (well, new as of february)
miss california
miss people in california
work a lot of hours (working in the hotel sort of lends itself to this)
do a ton of shopping
and more shopping
spend lots of time with the fam

sadly, we lost my gramps on august 11th. which is where the fam and shopping come in. lots of you sent me some amazing messages on facebook and i appreciated every one of them. love you gramps! xoxo

for now, i am happy. and it feels good to be happy. and for you guys, you can just look forward to many more happy posts.

i've got some serious catching up to do!

katie out.

p.s. 30 day countdown to my birthday...the big 2-8. yikes!

a post...

2010-02-13T07:17:00.000-08:00

ok fellow bloggers and readers. it has been a while. and after this post, it will probably still be a while. things have changed in my life. life has taken me down a new path that i didn't ever expect to be on, or really want to be on, but i am here. i have my health, my family and friends, and an apetite again. when i am able to post again, i will. i just wanted my readers and bloggie friends to know that i am...just ok. i'll be back.

i think....

2010-01-06T21:47:00.000-08:00

that kate gosselin looks like bret michaels with her new hair cut/add on. not an improvement. if i had spent 20 hours of my life getting these extensions put in...i would ask for those hours back.

just saying...

a year in the life of katie

2010-01-05T23:47:00.000-08:00

for non-facebook friends...this is my year in review. my year according to facebook status'. a very katie year, indeed.

tomorrow...tomorrow....

2009-12-23T08:20:00.001-08:00

i love ya, tomorrow. you're only a day away! yeah...only a day away. now all i have to do is get through work. come home...pack. sleep. go to work again...come home and catch a shuttle to the airport and by 4pm tomorrow...back in utah it is!

i am so excited. for any of you who have small children...my excitement level rivals theirs right now. i am too excited to sleep. i just think about christmas. and i have to make all this christmas mood stuff up from scratch down here...cause there is no white fluffy snow to inspire me! and c'mon...as cold and wet...and cold as snow is...it just isn't christmas without snow!

i have like 50 christmas song lyrics i could use right now, but we'll stick to the basics...

i'll be home for christmas...

i'm dreaming of a white christmas...

baby, {i hope it's} cold outside...

in 31 hours i will be...walking in a winter wonderland!

ho ho ho! merry christmas everyone!

tree...take 2

2009-12-22T09:33:00.000-08:00

so this is tree 2. this is how he got here...

sunday night while i was working, pace was snuggly sleeping in bed. about 12:30am my christmas tree decided that it wanted to tip over. so it did. right in the middle of my living room. pace jumped out of bed to find the tree on its side...ornaments scattered all over the floor. knowing that i would be home at 5am he stood the broken tree back up in the corner and left me a note explaning the mishap.

i, well, i cried. i had to take my tree down 3 days before christmas. it was sad. it was awful. this was my best tree ever, and it was ruined. i called my mom...told her. called my soon-to-be-mother-in-law and told her. i held back tears all day at work yesterday. little did i know, santa sent a super little elf named pace to target to make it all better.

i came home to a tiny tree, ever so carefully placed in the corner. all lit up (half the lights from the other tree! this one glows!) and redecorated with brand new ornaments. santa's elf (my FABULOUS FIANCE!) bought all new decorations and placed my dove right in the front and put the red skirt back underneath. i cried when i came home.

it is a beautiful tiny tree, decorated specially for me with lots and lots of love.

thanks pace, for making my last few days of christmas shiny and bright again. i didn't know that you worked for santa? :)

merry christmas to all...and to all...a good tuesday!

so so proud...

2009-12-20T13:51:00.001-08:00

this quick little post is dedicated to my fab fiance who has literally just finished the semester that he began way back in august. poor guy has not had a single break since august. never missed one class, and worked almost full time the entire semester. it's been a while since i've seen him, but we get by. he has been buried in his office for about a week writing...and writing...and more writing. good thing he is truly an amazing writer. i am so proud of how hard he has worked and so impressed with his focus.

babe, we are exactly half way there! well done. your hard work and dedication will pay off. you are my favorite writer.

my hope is for one of his stories...well, my hope is for all of his stories...to be published so that you all can read what an amazing talented short story/fiction writer my soon-to-be-husband is.

i am so proud of you pace!

xoxo

o' christmas tree, o' christmas tree...

2009-12-07T11:00:00.000-08:00

finally!!! we have a tree, i love it. i think it might be my best tree thus far. that is, a tree that i did without my mama...we have had some glorious trees. but, for sure this is the best tree on our own. it was a joint decorating job and we had a blast! we waited until the football game was over, and dinner was over and just turned on christmas music and decorated until our little hearts content. i did the lights, all 1500 of them...a little much on a 7 foot tree? nah! pace put the nativity together- minus baby jesus. i wasn't aware that baby jesus wasn't supposed to be in there until christmas eve. whoops! anyway, after fluffing the branches and the lights...and the poinsettias and the awesome new silver dove, then came the ornaments. i basically rotated telling pace what colors to put on and he very thoughtfully hung them. he lasted quite a while, but when it came time to actually placing the ornaments on the inner branches and putting in the berries...he "supervised". and what a great supervisor he was, as our tree is fabulous. and as i am 7 days late getting it up, it shall stay up 7 days longer!

oh how i love the holidays. i love sitting in my jammies staring at the tree...and moving ornaments around! my job is never done...and sometimes you just need one more...or two more...

happy happy holidays!

tiny tree

2009-11-30T12:42:00.000-08:00

so i was wandering through target this morning wanting to get some new decorations. i wanted a tiny tree to set on top of one of my shelves, but wasn't loving what i was finding. i love my red, green and silver ornaments and decorations and just couldn't find anything i loved. as i was wandering i stumbled on a cute cupcake holder shaped like a tree and well, basically i really wanted it and had to find a way to use it. as i was looking at it i thought, hey i bet i could put extra ornaments in place of cupcakes. and so was born my tiny ornament tree. i just grabbed a bow out of the gift wrapping section and attatched it to the top. above is my final product. i love it, and it was super cheap and now it matches my decor perfectly. and now i have an excuse to make holiday cupcakes!

i love this tiny tree. it makes me smile...and want to get the big one up soon! only 72 hours left. pace has agreed to help me put it up on thursday! pics coming soon!

thankful thanksgiving

2009-11-25T10:54:00.000-08:00

happy thanksgiving my fellow bloggies! i wish you all a fabulous day. hope that no matter where you are you are staying warm, eating lots of good food and enjoying fabulous company! pace and i are having thanksgiving down in cali, just the two of us. a relaxing day spent lounging, eating and watching football! i just don't see how it could be any better! we are also planning on going to old town orange and taking a step back in time to see all the cute decorations and festivities around the town square. it pretty much should be awesome.

on a more serious note, many friends have experienced the loss of a loved one in the past weeks. i feel so grateful for my family and friends. i am thankful for all of my loved ones. my heart goes out to my best friend, cole. be strong buddy. you're going to be a great daddy. baby hunter is in good hands with his grandma for the next four weeks. and when he gets here, he'll bring lots of love down with him; lots of love from his grandma. and my heart is with you brave brie, for the loss of your beautiful baby girl. she knows how amazing her mommy is.

we miss our families greatly this time of year, but are thankful for all that we have. we are thankful to have families that love and support us. great friends who do the same. thankful that we have been provided this awesome opportunity to live down here and for all the experiences (good or bad, large or small) we have had down here.

i am thankful for pace. for his support, for taking care of me, for doing his best to make me smile...every single day. and for loving me.

i am feeling very blessed this thanksgiving and very grateful for everything i have.

happy happy thankful thanksgiving.

it's christmas time again...

2009-11-23T17:31:00.000-08:00

and as i can't put decorations up in my casa yet, why not deck my blog? so that's what i did. working on getting my christmas music uploaded, as i know my mom and the ladies at ihc so enjoyed that last season. i am so very excited for christmas this year, don't know exactly why, but i am feeling super holiday-y this year. maybe it's because i have been listening to christmas music in my car since, oh, october 31. i totally broke my own rule one day early and it has been worth it!

'tis the season!

there's no place like...

2009-11-15T20:47:00.000-08:00

super super excited about this one! just booked our flights home. trading the sunny bright california christmas for a snowy white utah christmas. we get in on christmas eve, with time to celebrate with our families this year. last year, i was chillin' at the airport and pace was trying to warm up from his awful night in nephi. anyway, this year, we travel together.

dear santa,

don't forget to deliver our presents in utah. we've been extra good this year!

love,

katie & pace

i am so dreaming of a white christmas!

little big news

2009-11-04T09:54:00.001-08:00

ok, so i am like four days behind on posting my little big news. but, it's time. new job, new job, new job! so excited about it. still retail, i actually don't mind the retail hours as much as i thought i would. pace is super busy with school and work right now, so it is hard on saturday and sunday when i work and he is home. but, it is also nice because he is able to read and write and work while i am gone. and with my schedule being all over the place, i don't spend tons of time at the apartment by myself. it works for us for now. so anyway, back to my new job. i am leaving victoria's secret. trading in my all black dress clothes wardrobe for american eagle. i was offered an assistant manager position at south coast mall. probably my favorite mall...ever. it is truly fabulous. so, yeah, i start on november 16th. and i get to wear jeans and flip flops to work...its like every day is a super uber casual friday. i'll miss my girls at victoria's secret, but i am super excited about this new challenge.

plus...we get to come home for christmas! which pretty much makes a job change worth it!

too much time on my hands

2009-10-29T09:43:00.000-07:00

yeah, way too much time on my hands. so today is my day off...rad! been up for oh, bout an hour or so. still in jammies, still cuddled up under the latest birthday present faux furry blankie and yeah having internal battle numero uno of the day. internal battle numero uno is usually the only internal battle of the day that changes. i have like 50 of these little guys a day. 99% of the time they stay the same: go to the gym, don't go to the gym; hair up, hair down; wear a dress, or wear pants; black short cardigan or black long cardigan...catch my drift? internal battle numero uno is usually the "decision of the day".

so this is the internal battle of the day, today. saturday is halloween. i heart halloween. love love love this holiday. maybe it is my old spartan pride coming back...true love for the orange and black. or maybe it is because i love dressing up, putting on make-up, i don't know guys. but, i love this holiday. for the past, oh lets say 24 years every single halloween i have had the same dinner. at my moms, at my grandmas, at my apartment, doesn't matter where i am it is the same meal. what meal is that? classic "halloween" meal. a truly awesome katie friendly dinner.

sloppy joes, chips, glazed donuts (maybe krispy kreme, maybe not), chocolate milk and olives.

i love this meal. simple, quick, easy, messy. donuts and chocolate milk? for dinner...c'mon! ok, so here is the internal battle. i have found some seriously seriously awesome halloween recipes. like pumpkin alfredo with cresent moon ravioli's...this is where the battle begins. do i let go of 24 years of tradition to serve my own selfish craving? will my mom and grandma dis-own me if i don't have sloppy joes for dinner on halloween? can i live with myself if i ruin my own halloween tradition? i don't know! that is why it is an internal battle!

my heart is telling me to go with the traditional and my tummy says...try something new! yikes. so needless to say this is what i am going to be internalizing for the next 48 hours. it is gonna be rough.

see what i mean? i have way too much time on my hands. oh, and no guys, this is not the ch-ch-ch-ch-changes that i was talking about. that will still be discussed at a later date. it really isn't a big deal, just something new and fun.

wish me luck. will it be heart or tummy? only time will tell.

as david bowie once said...

2009-10-28T21:15:00.000-07:00

" i still don't know what i was waiting for

and my time was running wild

a million dead-end streets

every time i thought i'd got it made

it seemed the taste was not so sweet

so i turned myself to face me

but i've never caught a glimpse

of how the others must see the faker

i'm much too fast to take that test

ch-ch-ch-ch-changes..."

a minor/major change is in store down here in sunny california. nothing too major in the large scale scheme of things, but it has the potential to be a major one. nothing bad, it's good. i just can't talk about it until friday. so this is just a teaser post...

stay tuned.

found!

2009-10-26T15:54:00.000-07:00

wow, it has been a rough few days. nothing worse than loosing your favorite shades the day before you are going to hang out in the sun cheering for your favorite college football team. and that is exactly what happened to me. friday, i totally lost my favorite aviators. it was awful. i was so upset. tore my apartment apart trying to find them. as pace and i were walking out the door i was telling him my sad story and he said "i'm sure you didn't loose them. you just misplaced them...again." "no babe, they are gone. i have really lost them." good thing i have a stash of less then loved sunglasses in my car. so my previously favorite black round shades joined me in cheering on the trojans saturday. and luckily, they were not bad luck!

today, hurrah! i found them in the bag from express containing my fabulous new jeans. i screamed with joy! it was a truly awesome find.

i also found a love of yoplait whips. fantastic. they come highly recommended by katie's. i personally have been enjoying the strawberry mist, chocolate mousse and peaches & cream. yummy! i would love to blog about my love of halloween candy...or hostess monster cup cakes. but, i feel that i have exhausted them this fall season. time to get back on the healthy-er treat train. hmm. luckily i have my new friends the whips to keep me company!

halloween is saturday. we don't have any little kids in our apt complex, which means that again, i will sit next to the door with my bowl full of candy (the kind that i don't like...like snickers or skittles, or those honey bee thingys.) and hope for trick-or-treaters. and again, i will be sad to have none. so if anyone wants to bring their kiddos trick-or-treating in anaheim, ca let me know. i will be ready for them!

been on a blogging slump. hoping to be rejuvinated, soon. today seemed like a good day to start it up again!

happy early halloween fellow bloggers...and readers!

katie out.

oh, and a shout out to kristine & jake...congrats on the birth of brand new baby cousin-in-law jonathan jacob {last name withheld for privacy}. can't wait to see the little guy. hopefully at christmas time. congrats to the new mommy & daddy!

happy birthday gramps!

2009-10-21T07:37:00.000-07:00

picture above circa 1983

happy 81st birthday to my grandpa vawdrey! hope you have a wonderful day! love you lots!

it's up to you...new york, new york!

2009-10-20T20:34:00.000-07:00

yup, i am a few games behind. but, i must not abandon my boys in blue.

even with my casa in the shadow of the stadium, i will not forget who i am and where i came from. ok, so maybe not where i come from, but you get the point.

go yankees!

did you know...

2009-10-14T23:25:00.000-07:00

october 18th

is national chocolate cupcake day? seriously, in the running for the best holiday of the year.

count me in for the celebration!

i want, i want...

2009-10-11T23:16:00.000-07:00

{m missoni silk ruffle dress}

this dress. and i am not sure how i am going to get it, but i must find a way. now accepting donations towards the "katie needs $865 for this dress so that she can wear it for all of her upcoming fabulous events...not all, but for sure one."

i am in love with this dress.

new word...

2009-10-10T17:57:00.001-07:00

yes, it is true. i have created a new word which i am in love with. {it very aptly describes katie must have items pictured above.} it happened last night, while trying to calm down to get my needed 6 hours of sleep before my lovely 6am saturday morning-it is way too early to be remerchandizing the entire second room of my store-shift. anyway, we were putting together the book shelves in pace's office and he kept finding my little black bobby pins all over. which lead to this conversation...

*psg: why do i keep finding these little things all over? just get rid of them.

*me: what things?

*psg: these little things!

*me: oh, those. i need those. i can't get rid of them. gimme it!

*psg: really? you have tons of them.

*me: yes, but i need them. all of them. they are a... {at a loss for a word...tired,

not processing things correctly....} they are a necessory!

*psg: {burst out laughing} a what?

*me: a necessory. a necessary accessory. necessory. {giggling...lots of giggling}.

yes babe, you are in the presence of a genius! it is pretty much the best new

word since i created glamulous or k-fab. i am brilliant!

*psg: you do good work, katie girl.

*me: yeah, i know...it is awesome! i can't wait to blog about this one!

so here i am sharing this oh so fabulous word with you. ladies...fellow bloggers...anyone who reads this...the word of the day is...

necessory!

and the winner is...

2009-10-03T18:25:00.001-07:00

happy birthday to me, love me!

happy birthday to me!

2009-10-03T09:07:00.000-07:00

happy birthday to me; happy birthday to me;

happy birthday to katie...

happy birthday to me!

i love my birthday soo very much. hardly slept a wink last night because, well, i was just too excited to sleep! today should be a great one. pace is getting me a donut, the breakfast of champions! and yes, for those who know me...just one donut, singular. i would love a dozen, but my clothes won't. after my championship breakfast we are going shopping, coming home and decorating...while watching football, and then going to dinner at renata's so i can have gnocchi. fabulous, fabulous, fabulous. and with any luck, i will have a fancy new purse accompanying me to dinner.

happy birthday to me!

*as i write this, i am bundled in my favorite blanket on the couch, giddy as a five-year old...while my fiance is...sleeping. evidently, my birthday isn't as much fun at 8am on a saturday to him as it is to me. but, i still love him.

**and i really, really, really, want this cake.

eenie meenie miney moe...

2009-10-01T21:51:00.000-07:00

decisions, decisions.

birthday weeks are filled with difficult decisions. now that i am moved into my apt, not yet unpacked, but moved in...this is what i fill my time with. i love birthday weeks spent occupying time deciding which fabulous new fall bag i need. hmm...decisions, decisions.

happy big 27 birthday to me in less than 48 hours.

i heart my birthday!

place...

2009-09-28T15:53:00.000-07:00

utah museum of fine arts

at the university of utah

june 26, 2010

i am pretty excited about this fabulous location for what is sure to be the best day...ever!

date...

2009-09-23T08:16:00.000-07:00

june 26, 2010.

too excited to write anymore. will post details later! yeah for weddings!

like a good neighbor

2009-09-09T13:01:00.000-07:00

or the opposite. these are some new basic "rules" i think i am going to post on my door. i think that my neighbors think that the complex is empty besides them. and it is getting ridiculous. if you are short on time, skip down to rule 6. it is the most important one.

dear neighbors,

please observe the following rules. effective...immediately

1. no talking/shouting/cursing out your former friends on the phone while standing on your porch between the hours of 6:ooam and 7:00am. as your porch is next to my bedroom window where i am trying to sleep.

2. should you decide to invite all your friends from the surrounding area to "your pool"...see if they can arrive before midnight. please don't play a drunken screaming game of marco polo at 1am, as it seems that with alcohol comes memory loss as to who is supposed to be saying "polo".

3. i realize that i have a really nice courtyard in front of my house, but your patio is equally as nice upstairs. so if you feel the need to "rock out" to awesome late 90's hits and smoke an entire pack of cigarettes...it would be awesome if you could use your patio instead of my front porch. as my bathroom is right inside the courtyard it is unpleasant to get out of the shower and smell like cigarette smoke.

4. what ever you are saying to upset your roommate at midnight resulting in slamming of the door and almost knocking the art work of of my wall...please don't say it anymore. i really like the pictures on my wall and would like to keep them in one piece.

5. please, please, please, never ever ever again clear your throat and spit off of your patio in the direction of my apartment. if you have a cold or some sort of sore throat, please go to the doctor. i will let you use my insurance if needed. but please, no more throat clearing at the 5 and 55 every hour!

and last but not least, (and possibly the favorite)

6. if you feel the need to listen to selena's awesome hit "dreaming of you"...do so only once. no need to have it on repeat for a hour. nor do i need to hear you trying to dance to it from below. it is a slow song you know.

warm regards,

your super friendly and polite neighbor

i may not be stoked at the idea of moving. but i am totally stoked at the idea of getting some new neighbors and not living in a giant "fish bowl" as pace likes to call it. windows on all sides of the apartment. lots of light...and lots of noise!

tonight...

2009-09-06T21:55:00.000-07:00

i watched this movie and it made me think of this person!

my sound of music watchin' buddy!

i love you grandma.

guess what time it is?

2009-09-03T11:42:00.000-07:00

i am a utah man, sir, and i live across the green,

our gang it is the jolliest that you have ever seen.

our coeds are the fairest and each one's a shining star,

our yell, you'll hear it ringing through the mountains near and far!

we're up to snuff, we never bluff, we're game for any fuss.

no other gang of college men dare meet us in a muss.

so fill your lungs and sing it out and shout it to the sky,

we'll fight for dear old crimson for a utah man am i!

ki-yi!

and when we prom the avenue, all lined up in a row,

and arm in arm and step in time as down the street we go.

no matter if a freshman green, or in a senior's gown,

the people all admit we are the warmest gang in town.

we may not live forever on this jolly good old sphere,

but while we do we'll live a life of merriment and cheer,

and when our college days are o'er and night is drawing nigh,

with parting breath we'll sing that song:

"a utah man am i".

chorus

who am i, sir,

a utah man am i!

a utah man, sir,

will be 'til i die.

ki-yi!

go utes!

happy because...

2009-09-02T19:46:00.001-07:00

these two are coming to town for "moving to anaheim day"

and this fabulous beyond fabulous show is on tonight.

ah, i heart happy wednesdays.

and i heart those who read my blog.

awesomeness in film...

2009-09-01T15:15:00.001-07:00

loved loved loved this movie. would dare to say one of the best movies i have seen this year. next to the wrestler and public enemies. seriously, if you have no qualms with a) rated r flicks b) blood and violence..and language c) tarantino movies d) the complete opposite of being historically accurate...go see it! you will not be disappointed! parts were slow moving as to be expected, but it was awesomeness it film.

i heart you brat pitt. and i heart you too, quentin tarantino.

the knot.

2009-09-01T15:04:00.000-07:00

it's true. i created a page for pace and i on theknot.com. i won't lie. it pretty much will be (when it is done) an extension of my blog created just for wedding info. so, if you would like to follow along...feel free to visit. i have just but the basic info up, no details yet. and the date given, june 18th, is the earliest date of the wedding. not the date, just had to pick one to create the page. so don't feel like you are missing out on the good stuff because you didn't know that i was getting married on june 18th, 2010!

and if you visit please...sign your name in the guest book!

http://www.theknot.com/ourwedding/pacegardner&katiejenkins2010

been a long time...

2009-09-01T14:50:00.000-07:00

and lots of awesome things have been going on down here in socal. ok, so maybe not lots, but some awesome things. we have finalized our moving date...yeah...or no, yikes. moving is so stressful, but we will get through it! my cute sister and her super cute boy mike are hopefully coming down to help us move...and we will be rounding up troops from here to help as well. so all you socal friends, don't make any plans for the weekend of september 25th, cause you will be helping us move to anaheim. of course i will post pics when it has been katiefied. but, certainly not before. no one really wants to see all my fabulous things in boxes...especially me!

the wedding planning is going s l o w. i found a dress, while up in utah. and that is kinda about all we have done. i have narrowed down my venues to about 4. i will be in utah for about 48 hours in two weeks to pick and hopefully sign a contract. once we get that out of the way it will be full steam ahead. so i am taking reccommendations and suggestions for florists, photographers and d.j's/live bands who do weddings. leave 'em here if they are good!

see the above posts for the real fun stuff that we've been up to! i promise, as always, one day i will get back to my super terrific blogging self. but, i've been in a rut. hopefully, i am climbing out of it.

off to the gym...for fear that my super awesome fabulous glam wedding dress won't fit in june, if i don't. seriously, i took a month long break from gyming it up. not cool. really not cool.

stay tuned.

katie out.

the ring

2009-08-09T16:37:00.000-07:00

ahhh, swooning.

i love it. it is beautiful, everything that i could have imagined. this photo is with the wedding band on, which obviously, doesn't get to stay with me...have to wait until next year for that one!

i am in love.

"say i do...

2009-08-03T21:22:00.000-07:00

i do! i do! i do! i do! i do!" (name that abba song! heheheh!)

that's right. if you haven't guessed it...pace and i are getting married. wow. seriously, wow. i cannot express in words how completely overwhelmed with excitement, and joy i am at this moment. it happened yesterday afternoon, on a picnic, in good ol' murray park. it was so perfectly perfect for the two of us, so totally "katie and pace". i will love murray park, artic circle corn dogs and pace for the rest of my life. no, he didn't put the ring on the corn dog stick...but it would have been quite hilarious if he had. it was the most genuine, loving thing he has ever done. it was so perfectly, simple and sweet and...perfect. just perfect. i cried and cried, forgot to breathe, forgot to answer, and scared some people trying to enjoy their picnic cause i was having a panic attack.

we haven't set a date, we are working on it. it will not be at christmas, and will be somewhere between june 1 and july 20 of next year. i am running on little sleep, high adrenaline and pure emotion. this man is my best friend, my confidant, my...well, everything and finally i get to officially call him mine and my husband. wow. we have had our ups and downs, and more ups and more downs, but we are us. we make it through and we make it better.

our families are fabulous. i have never felt more love and support from any group of people in my life. thank you for celebrating with us. thank you for loving us and supporting us.

i am totally at a loss for words...although it isn't showing!

i do...i do...i do...i do...i do!

ps...that ring isn't mine. i had mixed feelings about posting it. i will if you want me to, but i wasn't sure what the "etiquette" about ring photos was! so if you want to see it...speak up!

katie math

2009-07-31T13:42:00.001-07:00

plus (+)

equals (=)

the end.

and this math equation starts tomorrow at 6am.

saturday

2009-07-27T08:09:00.000-07:00

that's right! it is just around the corner. happy happy monday to me! pace and i will be leaving on a jet plane early saturday morning for ten awesome days with family and friends in good ol' murray! i am so excited to come back. i came home for less than 48 hours in may, but haven't really been home since christmas. pace on the other hand has not been home since christmas. so needless to say, we are stoked! i am sure photos will be taken, i will try try try to get them up on the blog. so fellow utahns...

see you on saturday...or early next week!

just do it.

2009-07-16T21:57:00.000-07:00

after much, much deliberation i have decided to keep my own tradition alive and i am getting my bum out of bed tomorrow and going to the nordstrom anniversary sale...alone. cambria will be shopping without me, and me without her. hmm. sad. but, since i was in 6th grade i have YET to miss the first day of the anniversary sale. yes, 6th grade. up until 2007 i went with my dad and my sister, then i guess my dad decided that at the age of 25 i no longer needed a "back to school wardrobe"...considering that it had been 3 years since i had been in school! i have the world's best daddy! :)

anyway, tomorrow or saturday...or sunday, i will update you on my fabulous fall fashion finds!

must go to bed. big shopping day ahead of me!

katie out.

a summer must see

2009-07-05T21:13:00.001-07:00

highly recommed this movie. a tiny bit long, but well worth it. if you thought you loved mr. depp as jack sparrow...just wait til you see him as john dillinger. wow. that is all i can say. wow.

fourth of july and.... richard nixon?

2009-07-04T08:28:00.000-07:00

so, first i promised that i would post this weekend. it is 8:30 am on the 4th of july and i am too excited to sleep. so i am awake, blogging. because there is no parade to attend. :( saddness. anyway, totally excited for our party this eve. should be a blast. edith confirmed that there will in fact be a live mariachi band and yeah, that makes it better. plus...it is a theme party. who loves a theme? i do i do!!! so, it is a retirement/happy birthday edith's dad/happy fourth of july party with a luau theme. rad. on the agenda today is finding a fourth of july themed hawaiian dress. wish me luck.

last night robert and laura (roomie from freshman year at asu) came to dine with us. pace had this oh so fabulous idea to dine at the el adobe restaurant in san juan capistrano. i am always down for mexican food, could eat it pretty much everyday with no complaints. as we had never been, and robert and laura had obviously never been we decided to give it a go. best food ever. absolutely fantastic!!! live mariachi band (two nights in a row! super excited about that!), awesome chips and salsa, fantastic food, wedding ceremony on the patio...and evidently, this is what richard nixon and i have in common. yup. this happened to be a favorite restaurant of president and mrs. nixon, as stated on their menu. they often dined at el adobe or had el adobe cater meals at the western white house. so yeah, good friends, good food and a mini history lesson all in one night. i love fabulous fridays!

off to get bagels for fourth of july breakfast. as pace nay sayed my awesome idea to make festive red, white and blue parfaits for breakfast.

happy fourth of july!

katie out.

life happens...

2009-07-01T12:10:00.000-07:00

it's totally the truth. that is why again, i am awarding myself the world's biggest slacker award. i have had numerous reminders that i need to update, and i do. but, guys, my life is boring right now. seriously, the seagull story from seaworld is still the best story coming out of socal right now. it is the talk of my apartment, the story i still am telling at work...and i think i have a few of my vs girls telling it too! yes! finally, i have a living legacy story. not sure i wanted it to involve a seagull, but ya take what ya can get!

i totally totally promise that come this weekend i will have atleast one super blogtastic story to tell. one of my old college roomies is coming to san diego this weekend and she and her fiance are making the long trek up the coast (all 1 hour of it) to see us. totally, totally stoked. haven't seen her since january of 2006. sure to be good times. good food, a little wine, it will be fabulous. and i will TRY to take pics, but i am photographically challenged.

and lets not forget...

a katie's must have ...a holiday is quickly approaching. hope that ya'll have your red white and blue outfits picked out for saturday! cause...that's right...it's the fourth of july! yeah! parades, salt water taffy, hot firemen on the truck in the parade, fireworks at the park...oh wait. this kinda sucks. all this fun happens back in murray. instant sadness. hmm...ok, so pace and i will be having a fourth of july celebration down here. yes, i know that fireworks are "illegal" because they have a high tendency of causing fires, but really...for one night...i may...may...may...be a rule breaker. i know, i know. but, it is for a semi-decent and hopefully not too "illegal". i think i can buy them in santa ana...off the back of a truck for a fairly decent price. and guys, the grass outside my apartment is fake anyway. really, it is. so i don't really see a problem. the first fourth of july with truly, hot fireworks. it's the same as paying your neighbor to drive to evanston and having murray pd show up three times...right?

we have been invited to a fourth of july party by my buddy edith. my partner in crime at work. and it pretty much should be a blast. the party coincides with her dad's 60th birthday party. here are a few details...and i think you will get the hint. all you can eat mexican food, shots of tequila, and a mariachi band. yeah, awesomeness. pace...stoked. totally stoked. but, we still have to find a parade to attend. and we better find one. otherwise i am going to be decorating a bike, that i will have to buy, with streamers and making my own parade. which could be pretty fabulous, but i am hoping i can find another option.

ok, time for the gym. yuck. i will post this weekend. promise.

katie out.

oh, oh, oh, and i am coming home august 1st to august 10th, and my days and nights are filling up quickly. so get in touch for you fellow bloggers who want to party with katie in utah. :) mrs. jubber, mrs. herrera, mrs. kaeding, mrs. williams...yeah, i am talking to you guys. lets set up play dates asap!!!!!

much love.

seaworld: june 9, 2009

2009-06-12T22:28:00.001-07:00

happy belated 26th birthday post for my favorite pace! tuesday we celebrated pace's big 2 6 at seaworld! yeah yeah yeah! we had soo much fun. nothing better than hanging out with my favorite boy and not working...and being at seaworld. though it was smaller than i remember, it was still awesome. loved seing the otters, loved seeing the sharks, and shamu, and the penguins and the manatee's and the cirque de la mer. all in all a fabulous day filled with sealife, pace, funnel cakes and seagulls! seagulls? what the? yeah. read on to find out why these annoying awful state birds of my home state are my least favorite bird.

so pace and i decide that we want to get lunch after the cirque de la mer. we settle on the shipwreck cafe. stand in line for about 15 minutes. pace decides on the roastbeef sandwich and a birthday beer. i pick the hamburger and fruit punch. we decide to split a side salad and watermelon. after waiting, patiently, in line and paying an arm and a leg (thanks russ and karen!) for our lunch, we find our picture perfect table. sit down, start to eat my watermelon and my side salad. pull the bun off of my burger so i can add my "fancy ketchup" and out of nowhere this huge huge huge ugly seagull starts toward our table. as i look up i see this massive birds wings flapping in the air about 15 inches from my face. pace swings, but to no avail this damn bird squaks (sooo loud) and snatches my burger! and then kicks over my fruit punch...all over my bun and my tray and my lap! i freaked, cursed the bird and seriously sat in my chair wanting to cry. it was awful. frightening. saw my life flash before my eyes. what type of bird gets that close to a human...with utinsils...and a knife!? and a 6'1 boyfriend who certainly doesn't want to spend his birthday with a sad, unhappy, non-fruitpunch drinking girlfriend!? a very very stupid bird. who i cursed all day long and his fellow seagulls will pay for his bad behavior. i hearby declare the seagull on my top 1 list of most hated birds around. oh, and did i ever mention that i am allergic to seagulls. a fact for another story. get a good laugh out of my misfortune cause it is probably the best story that i have had in a while.

stay away seagulls. any air within 20 feet of me is a no seagull zone. enter at your own risk. i cannot be responsible for my actions. wish i had a photo of this bird. i would use it as a dart board, or target practice with pace's potato gun. dramatic? me, no. never. i hate seagulls!

but i love seaworld still and i love pace and i loved spending his birthday with him. and i love that we can add this story to the numerous list of awesome katie pace adventures from 2001 to the present.

time to watch what not to wear. it's fabulous fashion friday...and pace is river guiding, so i am home alone until next friday! girl time and middle bed.

latest and greatest...

2009-05-24T23:15:00.000-07:00

wow, and the slacker blog award goes to...katie!

i have been neglecting my blog these past few weeks. couple of rough weeks, mental breakdowns, emotional rollercoasters, lots of work, too few hours of sleep, but i did have a mini vacay in there.

my wonderful, wonderful, wonderful parents flew me back to utah for a weekend. it was short and sweet and much needed. gotta hand it to the ones i love, they certainly know me well and know when i need to escape my reality and remember how to breathe. and breathe i did! nice fresh utah air.

i left last saturday morning...left the house at 5am and my flight arrived at 9am. went to breakfast and spent the day shopping with my mom and sis. saturday night went out to see my cute grandparents. sunday morning my mom made me breakfast on the couch. the couch in my mom's family room is seriously more comfortable than any bed...ever! so i sleep there when i go home. call me crazy, but i sleep like a cuddly baby for hours and hours! then my mom, sis, and i ran to the mall. i went shopping with my daddy and bought new running shoes (yeah!). then my dad and rick hosted a fabulous bbq at their house. russ and karen came up too! monday morning, my mom and i went...you guessed it, shopping. then out to say good bye to my grandparents. we met my sis and my dad downtown at his office and had a lovely time chatting at starbucks. went straight from starbucks to the airport and pace picked me up at 6pm on monday. it was a great weekend and much needed.

this week, pace is river guiding, i am interviewing for a new job and taking a boring lame stupid business training trip to phoenix. so, i am the lone ranger in my house until i leave on friday and then pace will pick me up again at the airport friday night. yuck. we have been so busy these past few weeks, we have been two ships passing in the night. i am definitely looking forward to having next sunday off and relaxing with my baby.

so that about does it on the katie home front. it is almost june, which means eight weeks until our trip back to utah for some r and r and the spaghetti open! yeah for families, we are so greatful for ours!

wish me luck in my interview!

katie out.

year one...DONE!

2009-05-24T23:08:00.000-07:00

last night we finished our first year of grad school! one year down, two to go! by we, i mean pace. but, really, it is a team effort down here. i like to think of myself as his first line of defense...and sometimes the last! usally i am the first person to read and edit his papers and last night, i was the last and only person to read his final. lots of pressure on me...can't imagine what pressure he is under! it was a beast of a paper, but is is "signed, sealed, delivered!" and i couldn't be prouder of my favorite up and coming writer!

yeah for us having one year under our belt...and yeah yeah yeah for pace! all of his hard work will pay off in the end. i am so proud of him!

congratulations babe! here is to two more fantastic years!

my knight...

2009-05-06T14:54:00.000-07:00

thank you pace for knowing me so well. thank you for knowing when i need a break, without me saying a word. thank you for letting me take a break, for letting me breathe, letting me cry and letting me fall apart.

thank you for being my knight in shining armor.

love.

proud of U!

2009-05-05T11:14:00.000-07:00

can't believe it. my baby brother is, as of friday, an official alumi of the university of utah. wow. he is such a great guy. truly, one of my favorite people. for those who facebook...this little blurb tells our story...

"i am my little brother's biggest fan. i can count on one hand the number of special events in his life i have missed. we had a rocky begining. i didn't know how awesome little brother's were, especially mine. and i was a little upset that i didn't have two sisters. it didn't take long for us to connect. we have a bond that really only he and i understand. he is my special little (big) guy. i can count on three fingers the number of sporting events i missed. from t-ball to varsity tennis, and every sport in between. lost my voice a number of times cheering for #28. now i might not be able to make it home for his college graduation and it is breaking my heart."

a truly heart broken big sister. work, growing up and living in another state all suck when you miss your baby brother's college graduation.

i just want him to know how special he is to me. how much i love him. and how amazingly proud of him i am. job well done buddy. congrats to you ry guy. love you bud.

*the picture above was taken at his high school graduation, june 9th 2005. it will have to play substitute for the lack of college graduation picutre from may 8th, 2009.

HUGE trouble!

2009-04-25T20:34:00.000-07:00

seriously, huge trouble! this is glorious. it is fabulous, glamorous, gorgeous...and anyother beautiful word ending in "ous"! seriously, i am in love.

how to i simply toss this fabulous tree aside?

i am in trouble!

2009-04-25T16:15:00.000-07:00

oh, yeah. big trouble! when pace gets home tomorrow...this tree will be gone! but, it never hurt a girl to try right? it really is a fabulous tree. all decked out in its finest spring wear. ahhh, well, atleast we have tonight.

cause by this time tomorrow it will be history!

thanks for all the love care and concern. i made pace out to be the bad guy, but really, he is wonderful. he puts up with soooo many scams of mine. this is probably the first time since we moved in together that he has told me no. even in mid january when my christmas decorations were still up...cute kid. all he said was, "so how long do you think we will have christmas decorations up? isn't the holiday season over?" when i said that it was, but my decorations were still red and actually more winter decorations, so they could stay up until valentines poor guy about died. "valentines decorations? really? then what?" silly boy, "st. patricks day, easter, spring, early summer, fourth of july, late summer, early fall, halloween, late fall, thanksgiving and then back to christmas!"

he had no idea what he was getting into eight years ago...no idea.

i love you pace!

christmas in...april?

2009-04-24T09:59:00.000-07:00

i have the absolute saddest story ever. well, sad for katie's anyway. one of the ladies i work with, tina, gave me the most awesome present ever. tina is my surrogate mom in california. she is me just older. loves to decorate, loves to chat, loves to bake, speaks her mind, loves pottery barn and has the two most adorable boys...ever. before i tell you what my fabulous gift was, let me set up how my gift came to be.

tina and i have bonded in the past few weeks. her youngest son, nick, turned 5 on april 7th. being a strong candidate for "2009 mother of the year" she was throwing the most fabulous (boy fabulous) pirate themed five party...ever. she hired captain jack sparrow (who is truly johnny depp's twin brother...hot!) to come to the party and lead the kiddos on a treasure hunt. since the middle of march tina and i have been conversing about the pirate party. what food to we eat at a pirate party? how do you construct a pirate ship in your back yard...with things we are throwing out of the victoria's secret stock room, etc. well, i had the fabulous idea that we should use the pirate bandana's and rope to tie up the "treasures". so, it was done. last wednesday after work i went to tina's so we could bundle the treasures. we put gold coins, and stickers, and pirate candy, and eyepatches and earrings in the bundles and tied them up tight. then we put them all...all 20 of them...into a real treasure chest. because tina is tina and has a craft store/hardware store in her house, she pulls out this huge piece of burlap...*light bulb goes on in katie's head*... "TINA!!!! we need to wrap the treasure chest in the burlap sack and tie it up with rope too! that way when jack is contducting the treasure hunt and the find the treasure they will have to rip open the burlap to find the treasure chest!!! (and i am talking a million miles an hour in a very high pitched voice/scream!)" so we do. and it looks awesome. we took the treasure out to the garage so that jeff (tina's husband) could bury it in the back yard. oh yes, it was buried in the back yard, and jack sparrow had this awesome compass that he could manipulate so the kiddos searched all around the back yard to find the awesome buried treasure. millions of tiny screams errupted from them when they actually dug up a treasure chest! awesome, totally awesome. and yes, she did have the front of a pirate ship in her back yard. with a sail, and a huge flag with the jolly roger on it. amazing.

ok, so as we were in the garage i noticed this box, not just any box, a box that looks like it contains a christmas tree...i am very good at spotting these type of boxes! i notice that the box says "flocked pre-lit tree"...what!!!!!! tina proceeds to tell me that she pulled this awesome tree out so that i could have it. what???!!!! it gets better. the tree was used on the floor at victoria's secret a few years ago. see where i am going??? it is a 7.5 foot white flocked tree with hot pink lights! i almost died! how fabulous would my hot pink tree be with all my red and silver and green ornaments? a thing of beauty. i am stoked.

then arrives captain buzz kill. i excitedly tell pace about my new tree and i am told that i have to pick. i can only have one. my 7.5 pre-lit tree (natural in color) or my new inheritence tree. sad. i think ya'll know what one had to go. it is still in the back of my car because i cannot bear to part with it. it is beautiful, it is amazing and it has to go away. i wish my mom lived closer so i could stash it in her basement...with all my other findings throughout the years. i am sad.

and because pace is gone this weekend, i have contemplated putting the tree up so that i can admire it for a while. and i am still considering it! christmas in april at katie's house! if i do put it up i will post pictures...but, if i put it up, it may never come down!

it's earthday...

2009-04-22T09:41:00.001-07:00

so, happy earthday everyone! wish i could say that i am celebrating today by doing something wonderfully outdoorsy, but i will be working! pace on the other hand is heading up to the river today for a quick weekend boating/training trip. so, i guess he will be making up for my lack of outdoorsmanship! just remember, "reduce, reuse and recycle"!

lazy...sunny...sunday

2009-04-19T21:33:00.000-07:00

or something like that. today was a lazy day. by lazy, i mean l a z y. pace and i had these wonderful plans to get up early and go celebrate our anniversary breakfast style. nice. super excited. we were going to go to orange and have cuban style breakfast at felix's cuban cafe. going is the operative word here. those plans went out the window when i rolled over this morning feeling super rested and glanced at the clock.

picture the awakening scene from any disney movie...me as the princess waking up gracefully and talking to the furry animals outside my bedroom window...or something like it...)

me: ahh, good morning world. (glancing over at the clock) 10:46? what the?

babe, we slept waaayyy in! it's like 10:45! ahhh...sorry...

pace: eh, i'm not sorry we did. now we'll go to brunch.

both of us...roll over back to sleep for a few. now it's 11am. damn, too late for breakfast or brunch now. we lay in bed, eat breakfast in bed, watch t.v. in bed and yeah just hang out in bed until about 11:45. pace gets up to go work. katie falls back to sleep. wakes up at about 12:45pm. awesome. totally awesome.

we decide to have an anniversary lunch instead. get up and get dressed. i put on my super cute new hat (a $4 find at longs drug store) and i'm ready to go. pace refuses to wear his hat because they are the exact same hat...but different colors...he still says no. so we get in the car and drive to dana point. evidently because it is a beautiful day (and it was...over 90 degrees!) everyone and their dogs, and 2.5 kids are in the same square mile radius as my fav restaurant el torito. boo. find another beach, like laguna beach 6 miles up the road and away from el torito, home of the most supreme sour cream enchiladas and corn cakes known to man! boo again.

so we drive to san juan capistrano. fun fun fun! we end up at the same old restaurant, the one we have taken our visitors to, the one with the to-die-for-tamales, yeah, to-die-for. el maguey. we sit on the patio, enjoy our lunch, chat about life (same ol' stuff), and enjoy the soccer game being played across the street...on turf, on a small turf, in spanish. yes, the game was played in spanish. at one point i ask pace..."they're playing soccer, right?" cause i didn't understand a word of what was being said. anyway, moving on.

come home, pace works. katie sets up her sunday afternoon too lazy to go to the pool and lay out gear on the patio. big oversized free patio chair, kitchen stool, a pillow, a towel, a bottle of water and my cell phone. ahhh, to feel the warm summer spring sun on me...so nice. so lazy. so awesome.

i went and got pizza for dinner, watched a little bit of "two weeks notice", remembered how much i love hugh grant. so i go and look for my copy of "love, actually". can't find it. so i grab a copy of "my fair lady", yes i have two copies (what if one ends up with a scratch or something!). so i am now watching audrey, blogging and critiquing pace's paper. i am quite the multitasker.

lazy lazy funday sunday! i heart these days. makes me miss my fam, but happy to spend them with my best boy in the second best place (technically the third best place...i soooo want to secretly be a new yorker. pace will never be an east coast guy, but i could definitely be an east coast girl!).

here's wishing ya'll a great week. i am sure i will have something to blog about this week!

katie out.

ooh, ooh, and i forgot. have an interview this thursday for a hotel position. new fancy hotel being built in downtown long beach. visit http://www.aviahotels.com/ and wish me luck! i could soooo work in this place!

katie out...again!

eight is great...

2009-04-16T09:55:00.000-07:00

happy 8th anniversary to us! seems so weird that it has been almost a decade. oh what fun memories and adventures we have had and made along the way. i look back on most of them with a smile. but, i am greatful for the sad and hard ones, too. and lets face it, in eight years, we have had some rough times. all of our adventures (the good and the bad) have made us who we are today...and i wouldn't trade that for anything. i treasure every moment that i get to spend with you and every moment that i get to call you mine. thanks for being my bestest best friend for 8 years. here's to lifetime more of memories and adventures, katie and pace style.

love you.

some bunny loves me...

2009-04-12T16:49:00.000-07:00

my visit from the easter bunny was a success! on friday i was on my way out to run errands and i just happened to run into pace in our parking lot. he was on his way back from his errands and carrying a beautiful bouquet of calle lilies...my favorite. then this morning when i awoke, we exchanged our easter baskets...i got my very own pink and purple tool bag to accompany my pink and purple basket!!! my basket was filled and all color coordinated...so cute. i was soo excited! i saw this took kit and for an unknown reason have wanted it for quite some time! it is fully equipped with all things i need for my daily fixings...because i have so many of those. as the tool bag says, it has the essentials!

i heart my easter bunny! and happy easter to everybunny else!

obviously, pace and i have been together for quite some time now, independent of eachother we both got tool bags/boxes. i used pace's tool box as his easter basket and filled it up with his candy, he made sure my basket was color coordinated with the tool bag. great minds think alike!

i wish this was an april fools joke...

2009-04-01T12:00:00.001-07:00

wow. april is not starting out as a great month for me. (sorry linds, but your bday is brining me no luck! and happy bday!) today was supposed to be the first day of an awesome new adventure for me. training for a half-marathon. which one, not sure yet. but, i am going to train for one so if i find one i will be ready!

ok, so i get up this morning. all pumped up and ready to go. pace is getting ready for work, i am getting ready to work out! i am my usual happy self, bouncing around the apartment, getting my ipod, my shoes, my socks...you get the picture. i walk over to the gym. what the? the gate is locked. it is never locked. have to walk back to my apartment to get the other key. rar. get the key, walk back to the gym. open gym door. omg! it smells like something crawled in here and died...four weeks ago! ok, don't panic. open the doors and turn on the fan (so ghetto we have no a.c!). pick my bike, set down my water and my multiple keys, and my towel. jump on the bike. broken. what? rar. ok, pick another bike, move stuff, move self. broken. really? go to eliptical, it is working. yeah! 15 minutes on eliptical...smell is awful! can't do this. leave gym after 15 minutes. katie is mad!

call dad. dad, i want a gym membership to 24hour fitness. can i add myself to yours? sure. call 24hour fitness, it will be $32 a month to add me on. eh, i don't really want to pay but, ok. drive to 24hour fitness to sign paperwork. meet with joe.

joe: who is jill jenkins?

me: huh? jill, oh jill, my sister.

joe: she is over 24.

me: and...

joe: she is a second adult, so we can't add you on.

me: joe, c'mon. why? i just called and they said it would be fine.

joe: well they didn't pull up the account so they didn't see the other adult.

me: fine. so if i want to sign up how (many pairs of shoes will have to be sacrificed) much will it be?

joe: well, you're in luck...

me: (thinking to myself...luck. dude, you have no idea how much my day has sucked so far. i would hardly say luck...)

joe: we have a special offer right now in honor of the biggest loser, we are waiving the inital sign up fee which will save you $100 dollars.

me: (curiosity peaked) go on...

joe: and instead of paying $45 a month, you will pay $34.99 a month! only two dollars more than what you would have paid if we added you to your dads!

me: sign me up!

joe: ok, but today you have to pay first and last months payment, so it will be about $70.

me: rarrrr...fine. here is my card.

joe: GREAT! welcome to 24hour fitness

me: yeah, thanks joe. you just cost me $70 to work out.

the moral of my awfully long story (for the few of you who are still reading) is that working out sucks, but paying to work out sucks more. i have been spoiled by having my dad pay for all memeberships from the time i was little and now i have to pay my own way. boo. so needless to say, for multiple reasons, i am not stoked about april...or working out right now. check back tomorrow.

going to sulk...which means watching cold case files until i go to work.

spring time favs...

2009-03-25T22:04:00.001-07:00

yummy! i have been addicted to these two items for the past few weeks. as i have given up fast food...yes, it is true, since january 28th. it is actually not as hard as i thought! and it is absolutely amazing to me how much money i was just throwing away eating at the food court on a daily basis! i am now an official take-your-lunch-and-snack-to-work girl. i wish that my mom would make me some super cool lunch bags like i used to have in elementary school! yeah, brown bags with my name in cool letters and colors...those were the days. but, my lean cuisines, sandwiches and yogurts survive just fine in my ginormous black purse!

seriously though, if you have not tried either of the two products listed above...get on it! the cereal is addicting!!! ooh, and you probably should try the sweet n' sour chicken lean cuisine...it has pineapple in the sauce! yummy, yummy, yummy!

too bad right now i am on a liquid diet...stupid sore throat. probably why i felt like blogging about food! hmm...sickness is no fun. but, i am a pretty good patient. i take my meds, drink my juice and katie's are really good resters. love my jammies and my couch!

med time...followed by bed time.

katie out.

career change anyone?

2009-03-18T11:47:00.000-07:00

this has the potential to be a lenghty post. so, be warned! here we go...

since i was a little little kid, i always thought i wanted to be a lawyer. just like my daddy. took the steps necessary in undergrad to prepare myself for the career. much to my father's dismay majored in what i thought was a "unique" major...psych. pun totally intended, as i majored in psychology and it is far from unique! took the lsat at 23, didn't go as well as i planned. decided not to persue law. maybe later. at the time i was coaching softball for mhs and thinking, maybe i want to get into education, not a teacher though. maybe school counseling? but, i like working so, maybe later.

after undergrad had an awesome job with marriott. as i wasn't in school, took the opportunity of a lifetime and spent 6 fabulous weeks in san fran, working behind the scenes in a huge hotel. woke up one morning and thought, yeah, this is what i want to do. i want to run hotels. took the necessary steps to prepare myself for a job as a hotel manager.

2006 i start as the front office manager for the springhill suites. phone rings off the hook, every... single... night. no sleep for katies, too much work. no privacy for katie...too many phone calls. love my staff. i miss my staff! nikki, taryn, christie, jackie...i heart you girls and miss you dearly! love my boss. love, love, love, my boss. minda, is one of my closest friends. how lucky am i to have a former boss as really one of my best friends. very lucky. anyway, so yeah, work my behind off as the front office manager. six months later, become the assistant general manager. better title, same work...same hours. pace decides he is going to grad school, moving to california. this is it!! we are going to start this awesome adventure in california. new job for katie. right career path maybe?

katie not working in hotels. katie working in retail...hmm. don't get me wrong, i am very very fortunate in the current world to have a job that pays me well, very well. and fortunate to have a job that i like. i don't love this job. i like this job. i have made some great friends, i work with some great people. but, this is not the right career path. not in the least. katie goes back to the drawing board. what does katie want to do?

note, this was not an overnight decision. this is an ongoing battle that has been taking place in my head for about the past, well...4 years.

finally....i know what i want to do!

teach!! katie want's to be an elementary school teacher. call me crazy, but i do. and i am stoked. i haven't figured out all the details. i have found a program that i am highly interested in and seems to offer everything that i need. if everything works out as planned, i will be starting in january 2010. whew. i am excited. best part is, i am not just getting my teaching credential (license) i am actually going back to get my masters! i am thrilled. in only two year short years i will have my masters in education and a teaching credential! i am really hoping that we can make it happen in january. i have some serious prep work to do, lots of tests. but, i can do it. the best part is, because i know this is what i want to do, i am not worried about time constraints. if it doesn't work out in january, i can certainly make it happen next fall.

i am so excited! again, i have a goal! i have something that i can work towards. and most importantly, i am so excited that i get to go back to school!!

yeah for katie for having a new goal, and for (hopefully!) finding the right career path this time! it is funny how the girl who thinks at 3 years old she has her whole life planned out actually really finds out what she wants to do at 26...and after 3 attempts! better late than never, right?

wish me luck!

why i am not an accountant...

2009-03-11T00:03:00.000-07:00

first off...i am sooo angry at the state of utah right now. thinking that they can take a ton of my heart earned money and not give it back in the form of a refund. it is so ridiculous. hopefully, and this is why we are all oh so very glad that i am not an accountant, i did them right.

last year i had this awesome and wild idea that i wanted to do my own taxes. i felt so grown up. i got all my forms printed out, and all filled out. then, i had my dad double check them. seems i could easily calculate my federal return, but when it came to the state...i had inadvertently lessened my return by a couple hundred bucks. thank heaven for daddy's who can easily spot errors on taxes! and he doesn't charge me. which is nice.

so today, i decided finally i would go and pick up the forms so i could get them mailed off to my loving father. he is going to do them again this year free of charge...thanks dad! i was very curious as to how much money would be returned to me. this state is kind expensive for katie's and we are coming upon my favorite season...spring clean out your wardrobe and buy new key pieces for summer! it truly is an amazing season, full of life and color (mostly black :) )...but it can be a bit costly. as pace likes to remind me... "we are starving grad students". uh huh. sure we are. one of us is a grad student, but c'mon with a ginormous rent like ours, we are hardly in the poor house if we continue to have a roof over our head and monthly entertaining/spending money left over. i do realize that i need to save, so this is where the tax return comes in. or so i thought! and for the record. i have been so good at saving money. i have only been shopping twice since christmas. and i just barely spent the rest of my christmas money this week on a new pair of work shoes...how freaking boring am i! so "take that pace's beliefs!" i still love you babe, but i do love that phrase!

back to my story. sorry, i was side tracked by the idea of refurbishing my wardrobe. i did my taxes today. i love the feds...so weird. love the state of california...detest the state of utah! according to my calculations...a big fat ZERO return. so not cool. so angry. my wardrobe hates them. i cannot belive that i worked at my job, slaving away at the hotel for hours and hours and hours...and days and days and days...and for what? for no tax return. ridiculous. forget the experience i gained from the job...i want my money back!

i demand a refund!

i am so angry right now i can't sleep. it is midnight and i have to be up in six hours and i am wide awake and mad. if it was an hour earlier i would call my dad and have him run these figures, but i have a feeling the cost of awakening him at this hour would cost me more than my combined total tax return. so i wait. until morning...and so help me if this return remains zero i am never ever ever coming back to utah. ever. ok, so i will probably still come back even if they don't give me my money back, but i am really really mad right now.

going to watch hsn or qvc, must have happy dreams of shariff purses or something insane and ridiculous like that. pace is already asleep, so i can't vent to him. smart man. smart smart man.

g'night all. sweet dreams.

and the oscar goes to...

2009-02-22T16:31:00.001-08:00

as usual, i wanted to put up my blurb for my pic to the best film of the year. i am going to have to say "frost/nixon." truly an amazing film. i have to say that prior to seeing this movie i had little to no interest in president nixon, or the nixon interviews. after seeing the film, i have since spent countless hours trying to narrow down books to read and documentaries to watch.

i haven't seen "milk" or "slumdog millionaire"...if you have and have an opinion of them good or bad...leave a comment, i would LOVE to hear your thoughts. movies down in these parts are muy expensivo, so we have to choose wisely!

but, "frost/nixon" really is an awesome film, and much easier to watch than "no country for old men." oh, how i LOVE "no country for old men"!

i am also putting in my plug for mickey rourke in "the wrestler". this movie was SPECTACULAR! i am so sad that it wasn't nominated, but really, it is an amazing film. probably one of the best i have seen (in 2009)! i am actually quite torn between my winners for the leading male role...i love sean penn, i loved frank langella and i cannot put into words how incredible mickey rourke was.

i love award season...i am so excited to watch the show tonight...

and the oscar goes to...

all things katie...

2009-02-18T00:14:00.000-08:00

i posted this on my facebook account, oh like three weeks ago. then while perusing some blogs, i have seen that this is now a blogger thing too. so i decided to repost. it is super long, but hey, if you are reading my blog you must enjoy knowing what is going on inside my crazy head.

here are 25 more random thoughts/things you may/may not know about moi.

1. i am watching the sopranos right now. i love the sopranos, i wish that i was one. in my next life, i am coming back as a mobster (or a mobster's wife).

2. i am addicted to wikipedia. i wikipedia everything, and everyone.

3. my mom is my best friend. period. i can tell her anything and everything. i miss her the most.

4. at 26 my dad is still my hero. i think he can do anything. i think that dad's are the best thing that can happen to little girls. and i am kinda jealous that i will never get to have that daddy daughter bond with my future kids. totally weird and random, but hey what can i say? i love my dad.

5. i hate laundry with a passion. it truly makes me sick. i hate everything about it. except towels. i love the way they feel when they come out of the dryer and i love folding them.

6. i am a morning person, if there ever was one. everyone will tell you that. a year and a half ago, cambria and i were going shopping in provo at 7am for the first day of the nordstrom sale. i got called into work to run the night audit from 11pm to 7am. i was awake for 36 hours and was happy happy happy. i can function without sleep and it is freaky.

7. i have never been outside of the u.s. i have numerous places on my list i want to visit, but i haven't yet.

8. i am terrified...TERRIFIED...of clowns and mimes. not because of "it". because of the worst movie ever. "pee wee's big adventure." when the clowns steal his bike...yeah, don't want to go there. it is awful.

9. i am allergic to peacock feathers and seagull feathers. pace thinks this is the funniest thing ever. at the zoo with his niece last year he told me to stand next to the peacocks for a picture. when i reminded him that i couldn't he laughed for about 15 minutes.

10. i have only eaten a salad about 10 times in my life. i think lettuce tastes like dirt. i hate green veggies. i am getting better, thankfully. but i prefer spinach salads.

11. i collect magazines. i don't know why, but i love to keep them, to read back through them and all that funstuff. while cleaning out my room before moving, i found all my time and newsweek magazines from the 2000 election. i had every one of them. because of space constraints, i only kept 2.

12. i can recall every teachers name i ever had. i was bored one day and created a word document with every teacher and professor...and class i had taken from preschool to college.

13. my favorite book is "killer angels" for years i used to fall asleep watching "gettysburg" on christmas eve. don't know why, i just did.

14. i love shoes. most people probably know this about me, but it is true. i love looking at them, trying them on, purchasing them and storing them. at one point i owned over 350 pairs; including flip-flops. i have downsized. i donated over 100 to the charity garage sale for my hotel in july...i have probably purchased 50 since.

15. i love musicals. my new recent favorite is "wicked". if i could sing and dance, i could perform phantom, les mis and oklahoma alone. i know every word to every song. i sing at the top of my lungs when in the car by myself. i also perform concerts in my room when alone, too.

16. i love to play dress-up. i love trying on fancy dresses and playing in my closet. (ask jen and jessi hanson.)

17. i am a football fanatic. i missed two highschool football games from 9th grade to senior year.

18. i am my little brother's biggest fan. i can count on one hand the number of special events in his life i have missed. i can count on three fingers the number of sporting events i missed. and i might not be able to make it home for his college graduation and it is breaking my heart.

19. i love my sister to death. we can carry on conversations for hours with out saying a word. we have the same laugh and smile and i love that i look like her. she is the reason i was brave enough to move away from home...i don't think she knows how special she is to me.

20. my cousin's little girl maddie adores me. she named her fish after me. she carries on pretend conversations with me. i adore her. i would name my fish after her if i had one, and i wish that i could talk to her every day. she can make every bad day a good day. she also didn't talk to me for a week because i missed her third birthday. i heart miss maddie.

21. i love to decorate. my house would have a different theme every day if i could afford it. i walk through pottery barn on my lunch breaks and imagine what each room in my future mansion (it will to be a mansion to accommodate all the random things and themes i will have) will look like.

22. i love christmas trees. i would keep one up all year long if i could. i literally cried this year when i took it down. i sit in front of them in the dark just staring a the lights and it makes me happy.

23. i am highly emotional. if i am sad, it is horribly sad. if i am happy, it is the happiest of happy ever. i don't really function at a middle ground. i would honestly say that i am happy about 90 percent of every day. and i am highly energetic. i tell stories with ENTHUSIASM!

24. i saved the best for last. i have the best boyfriend and best bud in the entire world. we have known each other for almost 14 years and been together for almost 8. he makes me a better person. he makes me smile, makes me laugh, makes me cry and makes me me. i would be a different katie without my pace. i love him with all my heart and truly belive that he is the best thing that happened to me. i am the luckiest girl because i get to call him mine. i love my pace.

25. i am long winded and can write and write and write...and talk and talk and talk!

rain, rain, go away...

2009-02-16T12:37:00.000-08:00

so, after i post my mushy love post, i get down to the nitty gritty... i am so not in love with the rain. it has been raining almost every day since february 5th. that is 11 days. 11 days of solid rain. the streets are wet, the sidewalks are wet, the bottom of my jeans...wet. everything is wet. and unlike the fabulous sunny weather i have become accustomed to, this weather is dreary and cold. by cold, i mean about 50. but, still. cold. i miss my flip flops.

rain, rain, go away!

L O V E

2009-02-16T11:56:00.000-08:00

this is just a quick little post dedicated to my pace. sweetest and most caring boy in the entire world. we had a wonderful valentines. my gift to pace, once fully assembled, was too big to hide in our apartment, so i gave it to him last monday. sweet guy came home from school on wednesday night, plopped down next to me on the couch and said, "want your valentines present?". uh, yeah! reaches into his pocket and pulls out the most fabulous vintage amethyst ring ever. it is seriously one of my most favorite pieces of jewelry i own. i have been wearing it every day since, and sleeping in it. pace knows how much i adore vintage jewelry and the amethyst...his birthstone. awwww. precious. so incredibly thoughtful.

saturday i worked...all day. so we just went to dinner at villa roma, a cozy italian restaurant. felt like i was in the soprano's and loved every minute of it. then we came home, made smores over the tiny flame of one of my valentine's decorative candles...all pace's idea...seriously, sweet.

i am the luckiest girl in the world.

happy belated valentine's babe.

LOVE!

superbowl sunday = super sunday = super steelers sunday!

2009-02-01T10:53:00.001-08:00

pace and i have decided that because we purchased quite an awesome television in january that we wanted to watch the superbowl today at home. so we are having a superbowl party! filled with fun, laughs and most important...football.

we are however sad that we are missing the mexican feasts that will be happening at my mama's house and at the david and sue vicchrilli's. we do miss our fam on special holiday's like the superbowl!

at our party we will be serving:

lil smokies, a superbowl must

wheatthins and fabulous cranberry jalepeno dip

hamburgers

fresh pineapple, raspberry's and black berry's (yellow and black for the steelers fans....yellow and red for everyone else.)

and for dessert... nothing, big. i am just making cookies.

oh, i forgot the best part of our party. it will just be the two of us. yeah, we're hip, we're cool. we're eachothers best football watching companion. the best part is, we are totally excited. we planned our own menu, cleaned our house and got all of our errands run yesterday. today we will be basking in superbowl glory.

i will be basking in steeler glory after they win their super 6th superbowl today!

go steelers!

here's to you mr. president...

2009-01-20T11:42:00.000-08:00

"we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics..."

-president barack h. obama, january 20th 2009

thank you president obama for renewing my faith in our government. the words you spoke rang loud and clear. i am truly hopeful, for the first time in my adult life. thank you for reminding us all what it truly means to be an american. i look forward to the rebuilding of the "vital trust between a people and their government."

thank you, mr. president.

hope is the road i choose to travel with you.

change is coming...tomorrow!

2009-01-19T10:33:00.000-08:00

ok, so usually i am not the eternal optimist...i would say that actually rarely, i am the eternal optimist. i get inside my own head and sometimes my mind jumps to the absolute worst conclusion possible. like 8 years ago when they announced that president bush was elected, i cried myself to sleep...and for good reason. never mind that, it is in the past...ah, how wonderful to say that we finally have these past 8 years behind us. today i am feeling quite at peace. i am feeling surprisingly optimistic.

i have been watching nbc most of the morning and i can feel the positive energy radiating from washington dc out of my tv. fox news has coverage (and yes, they were my election headquarters channel) but, their conservative vibe just isn't what i am looking for today. it is an awe inspiring sight right now. to see the crowds of americans lining the mall, anxiously awaiting the inauguration tomorrow. makes me feel pretty patriotic and proud to be an amerian.

i welcome the change the president elect obama so strongly speaks of. i am excited to see what the next four, possibly eight years could bring. mostly, i am excited that this change starts tomorrow.

thank you mr. president elect for making me proud to be a democrat and proud to be an american.

bring on the change!

oh, and yes, i am also anxious to see what fabulous dress michelle obama will be wearing tomorrow and at the inaugural gala! i am excited to see what fabulous fashion changes come with this new presidency! michelle obama...bringing glamour back to the white house that we haven't seen since nancy reagan! did ya'll see her white dress for the inaugural gala...truly a glamorous dress! much better than the next 7 inaugural dresses that followed!

ahh, a renewed sense of patriotism and fashion...what could be better?

are you ready for some football...

2009-01-19T10:27:00.000-08:00

wow. wow. wow. that is all i can say about those afc and nfc games yesterday. arizona cardinals...c'mon. that certainly deserves a wow. even if you are a cardinals fan, you cannot tell me that you expected them to be in the superbowl...c'mon, they are the cardinals. one of six franchises who (until the 2nd of february) have never made a superbowl appearance. i heart football!

then moving on to my steelers game...wow. the hits alone in that game deserve a wow. hines ward, recover well. and because i am a good sport...willis mcgahee of the ravens, recover well too. what a hit that was!

so no more needs to be said until my steelers are superbowl champs on february 1st.

go steelers!

i heart boot...

2009-01-16T22:01:00.000-08:00

not cute fashionable ones. medical ones. oh it is true. i have been couch ridden for exactly 24 hours. i am going stir crazy. why you ask...oh, i decided that i wanted to revisit the dangerous history that my left foot and i have. it all started last october when i performed the most amazing spin while staying in place move and created some fabulous tendonitis. not just any tendonitis, but such that i would have to wear a walking cast from october 26th until january 8th. yeah, for someone who LOVES shoes, rocking one boot and one shoe was quite a look. luckily, the boot was black so it worked.

well, last night i talked pace into going to tcby with me to get frozen yogurt in the brief time in between the office and 30 rock. we were walking quickly...pace was jogging/running, i was walking quickly behind and...voila, i stepped off the sidewalk onto the astro turf lost my blance and twisted my ankle something awful. i had the most horrendous pain shoot up my foot and that was it. i burst into tears pace basically carried me into the house. my fabulous-rad-awesome-amazing-wonderful mother fedex'd me my long lost boot. boot will be arriving tomorrow by noon, i am anxiously awaiting it's arrival. so much so that i am considering tying some yellow ribbons to the old rubber tree outside my door to welcome the boot home.

fortunately, i am required to wear all black at work, so again...matching won't be an issue. i will certainly keep ya'll posted, but katie's left foot is down for the count.

and yes, for those mom's reading this blog, if it is still swollen on monday i will be going to the doctor for further examination. i was not about to go to an er at ten pm...and the swelling has decreased considerably since last night. and in 24 hours i have become quite a hopper...my right leg is tired.

here's to a wonderful start to my weekend. i certainly hope that everyone else's is going well.

my mantra for the next three weeks...i heart boot.

the letter s...

2009-01-10T14:39:00.000-08:00

thus far, this letter has by far provided me with all things awesome today.

saturday... the day of the week which brings me a short day at work and football playoffs

seventy-seven...the temperature today in sunny southern california

sunny...oh how i love the sun shiny weather this lovely lovely non-work saturday

s'more...the type of brownie i made last night (and enjoyed just a moment ago) which brought pace and i much happiness while watching marie antoinette on our new big tv. sweatpants...how i love coming home from work and putting you on. you make me feel so comfy and like i have instantly lost ten pounds...as i wear mine in a mens xl, i have a hard time keeping them up! instant comfort and the feeling of weight loss!

scarf...while digging for my fav sweats i found my long lost black and white houndstooth scarf! this has been missing since november and it just appeared under my sweats as if it were placed there for me to find today.

sweater...my long black sweater was also found while digging for my sweatpants...tangled up with my scarf!

smile...it's saturday and "everything is coming up {katie}!" (ah, the simpson's: also starts with "s" and provided me with my favorite quote!)

thank you letter s.

i heart you.

balance

2009-01-06T23:55:00.000-08:00

i am horrible when it comes to new year's resolutions. i always have the best intentions when i write them, but i never seem to last more than a week. i seem to grow bored with them. maybe i should try to challenge myself more...maybe. but this year i really wanted to make resolutions that i could keep.

i just finished explaining my whole thought process to pace...his response. "hmm...well, do it." i think that was supposed to be encouraging. it is midnight.

ok, so this year instead of creating a laundry list of resolutions, none of which i have any intention of keeping, i have decided to come up with a new year's word. not just any word, but a word that can be applied to all facets of my crazy katie life.

my word...balance.

this new years i resolve to find balance in my life. balance between work and play, between being on a diet and not being on a diet, balance between saving every dime and spending every dime., balance in being crazy happy excited energetic and sad mopey moody ornry and well, down right bitchy. my hope is that finding this balance will make me a better girl friend, daughter, sister, co-worker, friend and person.

i wish you all a happy prosperous 2009.

so cheers this new year's to finding balance.

we are the champions

2009-01-06T23:32:00.000-08:00

ahh, here is a much belated congratulations to my running utes, 2009 sugar bowl champs! unfortunately, i didn't get to watch the game...i didn't even get to hear the game.

i had to work. so here is a thanks to pace, my mama, d roe, riley and ms. lindsey who all kept me well informed. i am sure that i was the only one screaming for joy in the stock room at vss 478 when the final score was texted to me!

as my work attire is limited to black on black, i decided to sport my red heart neclace proudly. and i like to think that it worked!

so as i have said numerous times before...

a utah WOman am i...go utes!

on the 8th day of christmas...

2008-12-21T23:01:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-15T09:42:00.001-08:00

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

2008-12-14T20:20:00.001-08:00

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..."

2008-12-09T13:57:00.001-08:00

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..."

2008-12-03T14:09:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-02T23:41:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-30T09:21:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-27T07:51:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-23T21:05:00.000-08:00

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...

2008-11-23T17:16:00.000-08:00

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...

2008-11-20T22:05:00.000-08:00

go utes!

in memory of...

2008-11-19T21:38:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-11-15T15:29:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-11T21:04:00.001-08:00

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!

2008-11-07T22:46:00.001-08:00

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

2008-11-04T23:03:00.000-08:00

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

2008-10-31T13:33:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-28T22:10:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-10-26T21:50:00.000-07:00

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...

2008-10-26T16:29:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-17T10:19:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-16T00:59:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-10-15T23:56:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-10-06T22:09:00.000-07:00

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...

2008-10-06T17:39:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-01T22:27:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-30T12:54:00.001-07:00

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

2008-09-28T15:05:00.001-07:00

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.