SoCal { Adventure } Recap

700 miles on the rental car allowed for us to cover a lot of ground in five days. Here's my recap...

As I've probably mentioned many times before, I LOVE the desert - especially Palm Springs, Palm Desert and La Quinta. Each March, my aunt and uncle rent a condo in La Quinta for the entire month. Each year they invite family and friends to come stay a few nights throughout the month. Finally, after all this time, Steve and I took them up on this offer and stayed for two nights.

The walkway up to the condo in the Palm Royale Country Club


Les, Kathy, me and Steve
Joshua Tree - nearly 800,000 acres - we saw just a bit








Cholla Cactus

The Salton Sea - Located about 25 miles from Indio, it is actually a lake which occupies a desert basic known as the Salton Sink. It's 30% saltier than the ocean and covers 376 sq. miles making it the largest lake in California. Max. depth is 51 ft. The lake is a bit erie and we honestly had no clue what to expect. We were so intrigued, that we went to watch the sunset and then went back the following morning to explore some more. The towns along the lake are run down, mostly abandoned and mainly consist of trailer parks. Definitely not a lake you'd want to take a dip in to cool off during the 100+ degree summer days as the beaches are full of dead (stinky) fish.

We also headed west and stayed two nights with Brie, Massimo and puppy Mahoney at their new house in Claremont. This is a temporary move for them while Mass completes grad school at the Claremont Graduate University. We had never been to Claremont before so it was fun to check out this adorable college town and catch up with the Backus'. Tara and Jackson even made the drive up from Huntington to have dinner with us on Friday night. I'm in love with Jackson - his eyes, his smile, his chubby legs - he's so happy and Tara is such a wonderful mama.

Brie, Jackson, Tara and me




How cute is she??? If we ever get a little dog, I would want to get a Cavapoo (cross between the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and the Poodle) like Mahoney - so well mannered, so sweet, doesn't shed, the list goes on.


running full speed at the dog park


Family photo


Out for drinks at the Hip Kitty jazz bar after a delicious dinner at the Back Abbey

Venice Beach (my old stomping grounds) is always a necessary stop on any SoCal vacation for us. We met up with Christy and Avery at C&O for lunch and then met up with Lyndsy and her new man Brandon for some day drinking at the Whaler and Libray Ale House.

L&B walking down Main Street

And to wrap up the trip, Steve and I shot our friend Shawna and her fiance Tom's engagement photos in Pasadena. Check here for the entire post (soon), but for now, here is a sneak peek

:: Weekend/Monday Update ::

First off - a huge Congratulations to my cousin Matt, cousin Lisa, baby cousin Paul and their newest addition...

Olivia Jane Fitch
Born today at 8:06am in Washington DC
We can't wait to meet the newest member of our family. If she's anything like her big brother, she will be absolutely perfect!

Secondly, alongside my cousin Brenna and her boyfriend Morgan, we successfully completed the Mercer Island Half Marathon yesterday. I missed my PR by 15 mins, but I'm happy with my 2 hr 14 min finish. All-in-all the course was great...minus the neverending hill at mile 11, but I would definitely do it again. I brought my phone along so I could call Steve as we got close to the finish so this is a nice action/self-portrait at mile 6 - definitely no time to stop for a photo-op. Afterwards, my aunt and uncle, that live on the island, were kind enough to host a big lunch with all of the cousins and significant others. Steve took a few photos of us at the finish, but I'm enjoying this action shot despite the creepy look on my face.

We also bought a car this weekend! Woot! I have never experiened the car-buying process until Friday night, but I can assure that I hope I don't have to do it again for a VERY.LONG.TIME - bit too intense for this gal. You would think this purchase would be to replace my Pathfider (Steve will now be driving this), but intead we traded in Steve's Mountaineer and purchased a 2007 Chrysler Pacifica Limited Edition...I've only driven it about 20 miless, but I'm obsessed. So quiet, so smooth, automatic everything...pretty much luxury in my mind. Can't wait to get out on a road-trip...

Blog has not been abandoned...

...I've just been slacking a bit, but that does not indicate the slightest bit of laziness. My time has just been taken up by a ton of other things...

→ 5 day trip to SoCal { let's just say we put over 700 miles on the rental car and covered a lot of ground } I'll have a recap on that soon

→ Sister, Brother-in-Law and friends birthdays

→ Photoshoots/Editing

→ GORGEOUS wedding (and a stay at the W Hotel downtown) for my dear friend Karissa and her handsome husband Matt

→ Training - for a half marathon...errrrr my training level should be at about a 10 with 3 days to go until the race, but I'm feeling like I'm at a 5...honestly GASPED out loud and heart started racing when I printed off the Mercer Island course map yesterday. The island is HUGE, the course is the entire perimater. I'll be running with my cousin Brenna and her boyfriend who are flying up from San Diego and we're running in memory and honor of our Aunt Mary that passed away a few years ago from colon cancer. Speaking of running, I completed my first (and only...to date) full marathon a year ago tomorrow!

→ And as of today...the constant distraction of March Madness - best.distraction. from.the.repetitive.work.day.ever! Thus far, one bracket is on fire...the other needs a few more upsets.

:: Happy Birthday Steve ::

Steve - I hope the next year is just as great as the past year. Congratulations on turning a year older and in your words "gaining on me." Personally, I like the idea that in your mind I'm now only two years older than you rather than two and a half.



I love you and hope that you have a wonderful day. Currently, counting down the hours until we leave for Palm Springs to continue the celebrating.

Happy { One Year } Anniversary

To my handsome husband



★ I'm thankful for the fact that we were in the right place at the right time. At that moment, fate meant nothing to me - thank you for making me a believer.





★ I'm thankful that our jobs both brought us to LA and that mine showed me that Seattle was where I truly belonged.

★ I'm thankful that we were both late for our flight. Not thankful, that we're now late for just about everything.

★ I'm thankful that I enticed you with my 2-fifths of vodka - thankfully, the "no liquid over 3oz" rule hadn't been put in place yet...otherwise, you may have been tempted to switch seats with someone else.

★ I'm thankful for the day you asked me to marry you atop Haleakala in Maui.

★ I'm thankful for our wedding day and the family and friends that traveled to celebrate with us. We've both said that we felt more love that day than ever before - I still believe it and wish we could go back and hit pause.

★ I'm thankful for your patience, your charm, your honestly, your love for our families, your way of knowing how to fix anything and everything, your smarts, your socks, your homemade dinners...

One year ago today, I married my best friend, when we said I Do in the most beautiful setting with the most important people in our lives around us.

I look forward to the day that Willard Scott (he'll do the Smuckers birthdays and anniversaries forever, right?) announces our 50th wedding anniversary on Today. The past year has been pretty perfect, but I know the next 50 years will only get better.



Steve - thank you for making me a lucky lady. I love you. I can't wait for our "anniversary" trip to Palm Springs next week and our trip to the Virgin Islands.

You Know It's Love...

When your Valentine shows up with your favorite coffee (tall, skinny, vanilla, extra-hot latte), one long stem rose (told him not to spend over $10), and one of his favorite breakfast options - Lit'l Smokies. Apparently, we will no longer be doing any holiday breakfasts sans Lit's Smokies.

Steve and I had a wonderful Valentine's Day. We worked a bit around the house, enjoyed a delicious breakfast, went for a drive out to Flaming Gyser State Park (only to find out once we arrived that it was closed), saw Valentine's Day at Kent Station (cute movie - great/gorgeous cast), ate dinner at Fondi, dropped off a card at my in-laws, drank some wine and watched the Olympics. Honestly, a fairly normal weekend day for us, but a bit extra special as it was our first Valentine's as a married couple.

♥ Hope all of you had a wonderful Valentine's Day spent with the ones you love ♥

Quad { 30th } Birthday Party

With four of our good girlfriends turning 30 all in the month of February, we decided to do a combined party for these lovely ladies at Kell's in Post Alley last weekend. Lynds flew in from LA (along with Avery, Christy and Lori) and Laura few up from Northern CA to celebrate their "Quad-City-Bday" with Wexler and Spry. I always love that Steve is so willing to take photos at these get-togethers with our friends, but unfortunatley out of the 185 photos, this is all we got that are post-worthy...

Steve and Erik drinking Absinthe at the Polar Bar (bar at the hotel)

We started out the night by meeting up with Carrie and Erik (who flew in from DC for the party) at The Arctic Club Hotel, which is where the four of us had booked rooms for the night. We met up in the lobby for a couple of drinks, got ready and then headed out for a delicious dinner at the Pink Door. After dinner and a couple of bottles of champagne, we met up with every (just across the alleyway) at Kells. The night was a blast! So fun to catch up with friends from college that I hadn't seen in years. After the party, we headed back to the luxurious hotel with the Reynolds. Carrie was off to London in the morning for work and Erik back to DC...or at least he thought, until his flight was cancelled due to snow and he ended up coming to our house for for the night and to watch the Super Bowl with the Rinabarger's, Roth, Cheryl, Jamie, Spry, Avery and Lynds.
I love weekends with friends in town, but I'm so sad when they all leave...we definitely need to get our next adventure on the calendar soon!

The Reynolds

* If you're looking for a hotel room for a night or a weekend in downtown Seattle, I HIGHLY recommend The Arctic Club. The rooms are large and beautifully decorated with an early 1900's style. The staff was very friendly and helpful. We enjoyed a very reasonably priced and delicious brunch, the following morning at their restaurant, Juno.