40th Birthday Cruise!!!

The Crown Princess pool with jumbo-tron for "Movies Under the Stars"

Fort Lauderdale upon departure

Our suite! (Larger than expected)

Me enjoying our balcony at sea

Relaxing in the sun

Captains Champagne Party

The ship at night in Curacao

Me in Curacao

Shannon & me in Curacao

The aft pool

Our fave pic from the trip

Me on our balcony arriving in Curacao

Shannon in the piazza

Emily & Andi

A few pics of Emily & Chad's wedding and Andi's baby shower in Minnesota.... Great weekend with great friends!

Emily & Chad before the ceremony



Ann & Darien- Bridesmaids!



Emily & me



Emily & Chad in the limo

Ann & me at the rehearsal dinner

Emily & me at the rehearsal dinner

Andi opening her baby gifts

Andi's guests

Me, Andi & Sam

Mid-Week Wonders

It's Spring in the Bay!  Love it.  Some showers and some sunshine. Happy enough with just that, but some other stuff makes it even better too:

*  How well my hairdresser can straigthen my hair and I love the way it looks for 2 days (until I try it myself)
*  New TV shows that pop up mid-season- like "Nurse Jackie", "Scandal", and "Best Friends Forever"
*  Cupcakes from Teacake Bakery in Lafayette (especially pink velvet!)
*  Lavender oil
*  Tons of daffodils
*  Arrival of a huge In-Style in the mail
*  Asparagus-stuffed chicken

And some lessons learned too!

*  Must use LOTS of "barrier cream" when going to spray tan (trust me, my feet are spotted orange) - thanks Mystic Tan
*  A little bit of baking soda when baking goes a longgggg way (again, trust me)
*  Lavender oil (see above) is great, but it leaves a mark (for real)
* Spanx fix alot- but not everything

Now it's time for a little Betty White.  Well, not a tiny-size Betty- just some Betty on TV. Humor is good on hump-day eve. G'night.

Small Luxuries of Easter Weekend

Looking forward to brunch on the water in Berkeley with my little brother for Easter tomorrow, which has become a tradition now, but before then, enjoying a day in Park City (at home #2) before I head back to the Bay (home #1).


Park City is very strange.... I arrive Thursday night so I could hunker down (yes, I did say that) in the home office and get some major work done yesterday (got it done- make the weekend even better!). Arriving Thursday night, it was clear and the weather was fairly nice. I woke up yesterday morning and it was snowing like mad. Yes, April 6. As of 5pm or so, it was gorgeous outside again. Sunshine and not a cloud in the sky- just as it is right now on Saturday morning. Love the changes.

So, with the sun shining, good time to head to the gym and then see where Park City takes me later before I fly tonight. Love this town.

A few plans... replant the bulbs from the gorgeous tulips Mr Big brought me 2 weeks ago, enjoy some leftover pizza that he bought us last night, and call a few friends, all while I get to look at the snow-capped mountains and enjoy the bright sun. Simple pleasures. Simple luxuries.

Happy Easter weekend to all. May you enjoy it how you wish- worshipping, with family, with the Easter Bunny or all of the above.

Rediscovering Whole Foods

I try to eat lots of fruits & veggies.... I try to limit the sweets (does not always work).... but I am NOT always good about where I go to get them. I love Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Lunardi's in CA, Byerly's in MN, etc. but I get lazy because Safeway is right across the street (Safeway is not bad- not ripping on Safeway- but the others are simply better).  I have been to Whole Foods twice in the past week and it reminds me how much I LOVE the place.

Produce, soups, seafood, all kinds of organic stuff, sushi, fresh salads.....and my recent faves:  Tapioca (with vanilla bean), hummus/black bean wraps and brown sugar/banana frozen yogurt. Yum!  So very tasty and so very different.

Unfortunately, not all locations have the same "stuff".  No tapioca pudding or wraps in Park City :( Oh well. Made me start a scavenger hunt for more exciting stuff.  Find this time:  Lobster Chowder for dinner!

If I can have tons of fun searching for healthy and delectable food, I am happy.  And it costs less then new designer shoes that I also happen to adore :)

Happy Thursday night to all.  Enjoy your dinners or midnight snacks!

April Showers...

April showers bring May flowers, right?  Maybe it's an April Fools joke.... it rained like crazy the past several days and now, April 1, it's as sunny as can be.  I guess we will see....

I am quite excited about April being here... many reasons. Maybe the first is that I actually slept kinda decent (better than usual) last night.  Always a good way to begin this new Spring month.  Let's see what else April brings:

* My birthday month! (Not that I am excited about turning 40, but still, love my birthday)
* Easter (I have always loved Easter- bunnies, brunch, baskets... what is not to love?)
*  Emily & Chad's Wedding in Minnesota- a very good friend (yes, a bridesmaid AGAIN)
*  Andi & Mark's baby shower- my best friend since I was 5 and their first baby
And last, but not least...
* My birthday cruise with Shannon!!!!  So excited for this- my first cruise ever, with a good friend, to tropical islands I have never visited, and relaxation that could not come at a better time

While times are stressful and a bit crazy, these are some wonderful things to look forward to in April.
Happy April to everyone in blogland- and beware of April Fool's pranks!

Land of Candy

I love Lafayette, California.  A quaint little area with nice restaurants, little shops, and great places to hike.  Today, after a went to be muscular-and-bone-adjusted by Dr Stacy, I popped in Powell's Sweet Shoppe.  Love it!

I am intelligent enough to know treats are much more expensive here- speciality shops like this, but who can resist!?  Fun, fun, fun!

Where Darien began today:
Pez in all shapes and sizes
Every flavor of Jelly Belly
Old fashioned candy bars (and by old I mean well before I was born as well as the 70's and 80's)
Gelato
Pop rocks, candy rings, and other fun "candy toyz"
Mints, mints and more mints
Every gummy known to man
Gourmet chocolate
Candy that oozes stuff (?)

Ok, I did not buy all of that- of course not.
But fun to look. And pretend I am Veruca Salt (better her than Augustus Gloop).

And the movies playing, music blaring and excited kids everywhere, the environment is addicting. Yep.

Well, I had fun.  The fun I had was worth the $20 I spent. 
Did I mention they have Scottie dog shaped licorice? :)

I heart Powell's Sweet Shoppe!

Do You Speak Italian?

Soooo sleepy.... even after 8-9 hours of (kinda decent) sleep, I am still whipped. Stress takes it out of ya. But, after many long work weeks, I welcome some relaxing weekend time every week.

After Mr. Big so wonderfully showed up with some gourmet cupcakes and pretty blooming tulips, we went out to try a new place for dinner (thanks for the recommendation Vanessa!)- Al Dente on Main Street (previously Jean-Louise). Yum!

Cozy booths and nice servers to start.
Fresh bread with whole garlic cloves & balsamic, Ice Blue martinis and tuna carpaccio to begin the meal- all tasty- beyond our expectations.
Next up- Chicken pesto fettuccini for him & standard spaghetti & meatballs for me. Shared a little. Ate alot.
No room for dessert- way too full!

And.... meals and cocktails for under $100 including tip is pretty good these days. Gotta love that.

Yep, sleepy today, but nice, relaxing time last night helped. And new Italian joint I will definitely recommend and visit again.
I guess I should hit the gym before I get too cozy on the couch today.

Weekend Wind Down

Pretty low-key weekend in California... let's see...

Friday night.... DVR catch-up. Still in love with "The Good Wife", "The Big Bang Theory", "Cougar Town" and I think I kinda like the new "GCB". Rumor has it... it really stands for "Good Christian Bitches", but they are saying "Belles". Huh.

Saturday... sleep in (nice), gym, and a little fun out for St Patrick's Day. Nothing major- just a chance to get out on the town for some grub.

Sunday... sleep in (again), gym (yes, again), and then the fun of a pedicure and a Target run (I really do find this "fun"). Ending with some steak on the grill and more DVR.

Not bad at all. A little disappointment- Target no longer carries Senseo coffee pods. Bummer. My Senseo is working again, but the pods are missing. Amazon.com? Will give it a try. Huh.

More good news. Let's focus on the good news:
Republic of Cake- cupcake shop in Orinda. Fun. Yum. Give it a try.
Table 24 for dinner in Orinda. Also yum. Try too.
House is clean. Errands are run. Also make for a relaxing weekend.

Back to work tomorrow? You bet. Oh well.

What is Exciting in March?

February was an excellent month and I am really looking forward to April. Cannot say there is much very exciting about March.

A trip to wine country
A few good dinners out
Visits to Park City for relaxation
Celebrating St Patrick's Day
A trip to the spa

Ya, I guess that is some good "stuff".... but most of that, aside from St Patty's Day of course, happens every month. I see a trend of my high-maintenance behaviors (wine, food, travel, massage)... I know... I know. But as I always say- work hard and play hard too. That is for sure. I do work alot and I truly believe I "need" the spa and wine.

I am getting spoiled when all my vacations fall together? Sundance in February, Florida in March and my birthday cruise in April? I guess so. Well, after those months, summer will be here and I will be thrilled. Nice weather. New clothes. Time at the pool. More trips to wine country.

Ok, March does not seem so bad now. I will stop being a whiner. Stop taking a good life for granted, right, Darien.