Disneyland!

A few birthday Disneyland photos! 

Arrived! Walt Disney, Mickey & the castle! 

Pixie Land- home of Tink! 

Jungle Cruise!

California Screamin'!

The end to a fabulous Disney Day! 

The Little Things

This past weekend I had the opportunity to drive to Reno (about 3.5 hours) to visit a great friend and her family. I'm not a big fan of Reno; but I am a big fan of Vanessa. And the other Anderson's.

No work; no laptop; no calls to return; nothing to do but have fun.

Great steak dinner. Sleeping. Pedicure & manicure. Walking. Fund raising party. Wine. More wine. Good home made food. More sleep. Hanging out with a joyful 6-year-old.

Did I mention how many times said 6-year-old did my hair and make-up? Braids, pony tails, just brushing... I love that she loves it. (Vanessa's daughter by the way).

The simple things even more simplified... Picking out fun nail polish colors, selecting donuts with frosting, debating eye shadow colors... All through the eyes of a child. Oh, the decisions.

Now I am back home. Working. In the real world. I think some of my decisions this week should be from a giggly childlike lens. We will see what that brings...

Child At Heart

I'm giggling like a school girl about excitement for the next 3 weekends in a row! Yeah!

This weekend, to Reno to hang with friends and attend a wine auction. Fun!

Next weekend, to Disneyland parks with my brother for my birthday celebration. More fun!

The weekend after that, continued birthday excitement with seeing the movie "The Other Woman", more wine with friends and then flying to San Diego to celebrate a work win. Most fun of all!

It makes each work week fly by faster when it am so excited for the adventures. What more can I ask for? Friends, family, wine repeated, Tinkerbell, theatre popcorn, beach... Yippee.

Next year, I am adding Coachella to the April fun list. Bucket list! 

Good Eats

As I sit on my Park City couch, with a full belly, I smile thinking about all of the good food out there. That is one of the reasons I LOVE Park City. So many options... Unique, expensive, chains, cafe, bakery, bar... You name it. I prefer the unique, but sometimes chains just work.

So far this weekend:
Friday night... Butcher's Chop House with a friend.
     Homemade chips with blue cheese, ahi tuna, steak, asparagus.
Saturday morning... Subway while out for a morning walk.
     Egg white flat bread with ham & spinach.
Saturday afternoon... Deer Valley Cafe by myself.
     Caesar wedge and soup trio- turkey chili, potato leek & ham with bean.
Sunday morning.... Whole Foods while running errands.
     Yogurt, fruit, berry parfait.
Sunday afternoon... Lorenzo's Mexican by myself.
     2 crispy tacos, one chicken & one beef, with black beans.

Such a variety. So much fun too. Love to plan things around food, as long I plan exercise too. Ha! People ask why I live in Park City when I don't ski? This is one of them... Oh, the good eats.

Time for some crunches now...

Working for the Weekends

Work, work, work... Lots of it. Every long week, and working many weekends too, the weekends I do have open, I live for. Last weekend was one of them.
Friday night wine phone date with my best friend Andi
Saturday wine tasting in Sonoma with my friend Jennifer
Sunday dinner hosted at more friends, Jen & Barry

Those are the weekends I adore. Sleeping, exercise, a little TV, wine, yummy food & good friends.

This week, after being in Seattle for the past 3 days, looking forward to another relaxing weekend in Park City. Makes me NOT take them for granted when I work hard. Last weekend we visited the winery, Envolve, of Bachelor boy Ben Flajnik. Kinda cute. Fun.  Oh, and the wine was delish. Probably won't run into any pseudo-celebrities this weekend, but fine by me as I relax in the mountains.

For now, I will relish in the fact that I was upgraded on Delta and I am enjoying white wine in the plane. Thank you, friendly skies!

Neglect

Well, I have been neglecting my blog again. My excuse is a busy month of March. Plus I was crabby much of the time which would have made for some poor posts. Oh well.

However, I did get to travel to Southwest Florida, Naples to be exact, for 8 days and had to work half of those days. Cannot complain about working from the beach.  Aside from work, enjoyed sleeping in, going to the beach and drinking yummy cocktails. Weather was perfect- 80 degrees & sunny- every day. Thanks to Mom & Dad. xoxo

Let's see what else is worth sharing from March....
Academy Awards fun... Loved the Dallas Buyers Club wins. Loved a few dresses. Kate Hudson was amazing.
A weekend in Park City. Always great.
A work week on So Cal.
That about does it.

Now, personally, I would just prefer to fast forward to May 3. Don't ask ; just wish it. Oh, aside from a weekend in Reno & to Disney for my birthday. Thanks to the Anderson's & my brother. There are always things to which I can look forward to. Fun stuff. But, still, just need May to be here.

Happy early April Fools Day. Happy early Easter. Hoping for a lack of April showers...

Food Issues

This past weekend I went out to breakfast and ordered Eggs Benedict without the hollandaise sauce. The server looked at me like I was an idiot. Love the eggs, Canadian bacon & English muffins, but really dislike the thick, fattening, creamy sauce. Just what I like.

Made me think of other quirky food likes and dislikes I have.

French Onion Soup without the onions
Pecan Pie without the pecans
Any sort of tomato sauce without the actual tomatoes
Sun dried tomatoes but no regular tomatoes
Mandarin oranges but no other type of orange or OJ

Is that odd? Sure it is,  it it's what I like. But I dare you to be with me in public when I order the soup or the pie. You think the no hollandaise was bad...
:)

Another Napa Experience

Yesterday I crashed the Valentine's weekend of my dear friends Vanessa & Rudy on their 2nd day of a Napa weekend. Living less than 45 minutes from the heart of Napa valley has it's privileges.

Our first visit was Groth- new to me. Great experience. Walked away with a Sauvignon Blanc and a Cab. Next up was Silver Oak- always a winner.

Next up... Lunch. Goose & Gander. So yummy. Cheese, artisan cocktails and split burger with duck fat fries. Not really sure what that was, but good to eat.

Last 2 wineries were Flora Springs were I am a member and last was Alpha Omega. This one was an experience... Valet parking, waiting on a list for tasting.... But it was delicious. Most bottles more than $90 each. Worth it. Smooth (yes, I should like a wine snob. I am fine with that). 1 mixed bottle of Era for me. Putting that one away for a special time to come.

Ended the day with dinner at Bottega. Everything was fabulous. Shaved brussel sprout salad, short rib meatballs and warm doughnuts were my tops. Along with a bottle of Cakebread pinot noir- courtesy of Rudy & Vanessa.

About 9 hours of luxurious company, wines, driving through the valley and tasty food. Wow. I can never get enough of wine country.

Happy Heart Day

As a single gal, not a big fan of Valentine's Day. But I do like hearts. Especially candy versions.  Here is how my Heart day is going:

Work done
Left over pizza from Da Vinos
Red wine from Justin Winery
A Sprinkles cupcake (one of a dozen left on my doorstep)
Hart of Dixie & Fashion Police via DVR
Cuddling kitty
To bed early (so I can go to Napa tomorrow!)

I may be sadly single, but not that sad... Happy Heart Day from this single girly.

Reasons Why Grilled Cheese is So Cool

This started out as Why Grilled Cheese is Better Than A Boyfriend, which I figured is stupid, because  I want a boyfriend. But, grilled cheese is still amazing, so let's change it up and keep going.

Why is Grilled Cheese so cool?
Melted Cheese
Hot cheese
Gooey cheese
Cheese mixed with bread
Butter between cheese & bread
Grilled cheese makes me smile
Grilled cheese makes my tummy smile
Greasy, cheesy mess on my fingers
Licking cheese off my fingers
Grilled cheese makes my feel good
Grilled cheese makes me not feel lonely even when I eat it alone
Grilled cheese goes best with white wine
Is there anything bad about grilled cheese???

Shall I compare grilled cheese to cupcakes? Nah.
I think that does it. Is that cheesy or what? Now I'm hungry.