It's December!

In November...

 

Handsome Husband spent a few days in Portland, Oregon at a Negotiation competition, and found out he would be traveling to a few competitions in 2014 also!

I got to spend the morning catching up with Cousin Snapshot and Best Cousin during Cousin S' visit to So Cal. 

L-R: Cousin Snapshot, Me, Best Cousin

 

We hosted a fun birthday dinner at our house for birthday girl, Mother-in-Law Red!

 

Gardening Mom, Sisters Singer and Swimmer and their friends and BF YOLO, Handsome Husband and I kicked off the holiday season with the Tree Lighting Ceremony we attend every year!

HH and I at Tree Lighting

 

HH and I commemorated this pregnancy with some maternity photos (that I've yet to share on the blog...coming soon, promise!) in Old Towne Orange.

 

Sneak peak - I'll share more soon!

 

Handsome Husband kicked his studying into gear for finals - and we started getting really excited that once he is done with finals, little Baby M will be making her grand debut any day!  (And because I'm neurotic, I started worrying about what I would do if I went in to labor during one of his 3+ hour long finals.)

 

Cousin Study Buddy and Mr. UNC accompanied HH and myself to a USC basketball game when we were lucky enough to get courtside seats from Gardening Momma's boss.  The game was exciting, but I was a little nervous the entire time shielding my basketball (aka my baby belly) from stray balls and players.  Luckily we stayed out of the action.

 

Best Friend Cute Apartment hosted a lovely baby shower for me to celebrate Baby M's upcoming arrival with all of my closest girlfriends.  It was gorgeous, and I will be sharing details soon!

Me and the hostess with the mostess, Cute Apartment

 

The family got together to celebrate the birthday of Tutor Girl - she's getting close to the big 3-0, and I admire her for loving that instead of loathing it as I do!

 

We attended the wedding reception of a good friend of HH's from law school, and were happy to celebrate their recent nuptuals with them.

 

Aunt Fancy Chef treated the ladies in HH's family to a day of yummy food!  First we had a lovely breakfast, followed by a super fun cooking class!  I can't wait to go back, the cooking class was so much fun!

 

Thanksgiving was full of family and great food and as usual, we were feeling blessed to be able to see both my side and HH's side of the family on the holiday.

 

I opted out of Black Friday shopping, and instead chose to do some Black Friday crafting and wrapping with Gardening Mom and Sister Swimmer.  Gardening Mom and I managed to crank out some adorable burp cloths which will be making their way to the blog very soon!

 

We wrapped up the month with a lovely Hannukah Dinner at Gardening Mom and Hat Dad's house - and I got my annual fix of potato latkes!  I can never get enough, especially leftovers!

 

In December?  I'm crossing my fingers for a slightly early arrival of little miss Baby M, and we've got lots of fun holiday events to attend!



Goodbye, October!

In October...

 

Handsome Husband and I were lucky enough to be invited to the new beautiful home of The Esquire and Baker Girl.  We enjoyed seeing their brand new place, and an amazing dinner prepared by BG!

 

I had the dreaded 1-hour glucose test, failed, freaked the eff out, took the 3-hour test, and passed!  Very typical Stress Casey behavior to have a meltdown before the problem entirely presents itself.

 

I had a lovely time catching up with an old high school teacher of mine over coffee (well, decaf tea for me).  It was so nice to hear about a program I was heavily involved with in high school (Model United Nations, for those wondering), how it's changed, and to get Mr. T updated on many of his former students and the awesome things they are doing nowadays.

 

HH and I got to head to San Diego for a soccer game on the field I spent so many days and nights watching him play on!  This season will be the last that there are players on the team HH played with, so it is a little sad for him, the end of an era, if you will.

 

We had one busy Saturday in mid-October!  We started the day off with a kickball game (okay, I watched a kickball game) with some of HH's newer friends from law school, were hosted to a lovely BBQ at Best Cousin's new place, and ended the evening with a viewing of Captain Phillips after being invited by Aunt Fancy Chef to join her and some family at the luxury movie theater!

 

 

We got to support some fundraising Kindergarten Teacher was doing for her chosen charity by attending an evening at a local wine bar.  Though my glass was longing for wine instead of water, the conversation with some of my favorite ladies made up that.

 

Handsome Husband and I set sail on a Tiki Cruise around Newport Harbor with some law school students. 

 

Gardening Mom and I got a start on our Christmas Shopping at Citadel Outlets' annual Shopping Extravaganza!  This year, MIL Red and Grandma Beach Bum decided to join also, so it was fun to meet up for lunch and a break from the shops.

 

Aunt Fancy Chef invited us to a lovely charity event for South County Outreach called Empty Bowls, where we got to try lots of yummy soups from local restaurants, bid on some silent auction items (though we didn't win, boo!) and listen to some lovely speakers.

HH and I at Empty Bowls

 

Handsome Husband attended a Boot Camp for New Dads!  Though he said he didn't find it all that informative, I still think it's cute!

 

I was showered with love and some pretty awesome gifts for our little New Years Baby at my family baby shower!

 



 

We celebrated Cousin Halloween's 7th (he's getting way too old these days!) with pizza and cupcakes during a mid-week birthday party!

 

Halloween ended the month, and we were content with eating fajitas and handing out candy to our whopping two trick-or-treaters!  We also spent some time thinking about how fun it will be when our baby girl is here for next Halloween!

 

In November ... We've got a lot going on!  There's a few birthdays coming up, some holiday events, our maternity photos, a second baby shower for this little lady, and lots and lots of prepping for her impending arrival! 





It's (Almost) Halloween Month!

In September...

 

We started off the month celebrating an entire year of home ownership, reminiscing about moving into our condo last Labor Day weekend, and celebrating the day off work with some sloppy joes and some Gardening Mom, Hat Dad and Sister Singer company!

 

Handsome Husband and I had fun catching up with some old friends (we're talking 7th grade connections here, people!) at a BBQ.

 

I had not one, but two fabulous lunches with Best Friend Cute Apartment over the weekends of September!

 

I decided to get involved in my community, and joined the Board of Directors for my neighborhoods Homeowner's Association!  (I'm the youngest person there by about 10 years...)

 

We spent a weekend getting a lot of puppy love from Cute Apartment's doggies while we pet sat for them.  Let's just say, they're cute, but I like my house puppy free for now!

 

HH's alma mater started off their soccer season, and we were happy to head up to Dominguez Hills to watch them play!  (We would have been even happier to watch them win, but a tie ain't nothing!)

 

I had another doctor's appointment with an ultrasound, so we got to get another little peak at our baby girl!  The farther along in the pregnancy I get, the more detailed and awesome the ultrasounds and photos are!  It is so fun to see the shape of her profile, with her little nose and chin and everything showing so clearly!

 

I hosted Ms. Art Teacher for a little dinner and a movie, and was sufficiently freaked out by the movie, Side Effects.

 

 

HH and I spent the evening at a Breastfeeding Class, and learned a few things!

 

Baby Girl got another musical treat when we attended the Panic! at the Disco and Fall Out Boy concert as a family.  I think the music soothed her, cause she wasn't moving nearly as much as I thought she would be.  Maybe she won't be a little dancer after all! 

 

Grandma Beach Bum and Grandpa Backgammon came over to our house for dinner to celebrate a belated birthday for Grandma BB!  We have some yummy chuck roast, veggies, and salad and topped it off with some brownies!

 

Just a few days later, we celebrated another family birthday - Aunt Fancy Chef!  This time with tacos and a pretty fabulous chocolate crossaint bread pudding, made with love by Grandma BB!

 

We had a fun mid-week dinner with Twin Beauty School and The Bouncer at our local deep-dish pizza place.

 

We got all fancied up for a black-tie event at HH's old company to celebrate a big milestone for the group.  It was fun to get all dressed up, and especially fun to see my handsome man in a tux!  This was one event where I was wishing I could indulge in a few cocktails though!

 

 

And the month ended with a big night of TV - the series finale of Breaking Bad (I can't believe it's over!) and the season premier of Homeland!  Luckily we had Cute Apartment and Number Cruncher over to provide us with some commerical commentary throughout the intense shows!

 

In October? I have to do that yucky glucose test for pregnancy, HH and I are planning to hit up some more soccer games, I've got a fun shopping event, my first baby shower!!!, and of course - Halloween!







Is it Fall Yet?

Here we are, jumping into September!  This year is flying by, and I can't believe we will have a baby here in just four short months.

In August...

 

The beginning of August started super fun for me, as we were on our Girls Trip in Seattle!  You can see tons of photos and read all about the girl time in my recaps HERE.

 

We made some big changes with the vehicles in our life - more details to come on that soon!

 

Handsome Husband and I started a baby registry, and the next day I enlisted the opinion of non-Mom but great friend, Cute Apartment to round out the registries with necessities, and of course some cute frilly pink items for our little Princess.

 

We helped warm the new home of our some of our newer friends that HH has met through law school.  The Chicago transplants are loving their new place in Orange County - they are close enough to see Disneyland's fireworks and walk to Angels Stadium!

 

Hat Dad and Gardening Momma invited us over for dinner, and it ended up being just the four of us.  A rare occurance, and though we love big family dinners with Sisters Singer and Swimmer, it's nice to get some one-on-one (or two-on-two, I should say) time with the 'rents.

 

We officially hit the half-way mark in this pregnancy!  20 more weeks (less now!) and this little girl better be on her way!  You can read weekly Bumpdates HERE.



 

Handsome Husband is officially back in school - a bittersweet time, for sure.  Sad for the summer to be over, happy to be inching closer to that finish line.

 

Cute Apartment and I took after the Real Housewives of Orange County when we took a painting class at a local restaurant.  We both walked away with some pretty pictures, and it was a fun middle-of-the-week night out!

 

We had a big birthday party weekend, with MIL Red's fiance, Mr. Bear's, 50th birthday and Cousin Ronomon's 30th birthday parties squeezed into one fun weekend!

 

And tomorrow we will end the month spending the day with some of our very favorite people, watching one of our HH's very favorite sports - we're heading to a Galaxy Game with our friends, Twin Oh Yeah and Future Dr. Babies.

With our friends all the way back in October 2011



Aloha August!

Double month recap time!  Oh yeah oh yeah!

In June...

We started off the month with birthday celebrations - dinner at Goofy's Kitchen for Sisters Singer and Swimmer, and a local Italian restaurant for Gardening Mom.

 

I had a long overdue meeting with an old friend, filled with catching up and apologies, forgiveness and moving forward.

 

We headed to the San Clemente pier to one of our favorite restaurants for a perfect Saturday lunch with Cute Apartment and her Boyfriend Number Cruncher.

 

Arizona was calling our names, and we finally got back out on the boat!  The whole family went out for Father's Day and it was so nice to spend some time in one of our favorite places (especially with the addition of brand new air conditioning!).

There was lots more family fun to be had when Uncle Firefighter, Nurse Auntie, and Cousin Snapshot and her darling kiddos came to visit!  We had two lovely dinners, and it was nice to see family that we don't get to see as often as we'd like.

We finally revealed to family that there was a little BABY in our future!  It was so fun to tell all of our family, and a relief to have the secret OUT!

I got to get some more practice in with my camera when I took some photos of Mother-in-Law Red, and Mr. Bear.

I graduated from 1st trimester to the 2nd trimester of my pregnancy - time is flying!

In July...

Handsome Husband spent some time at the International Negotiation Conference, negotiating with law students from all over the world!

We celebrated the 4th of July by hosting our friends for beers, bbq and a big surprise!

 

Best Cousin and I headed to the fair to see Colbie Callait, and I was inspired to write my first letter to our little baby on the way.

We got to see all of our favorite future lawyers at a Vegas-themed birthday bash!

HH and I spent the day with Cousin Study Buddy and company - breakfast followed by a fun-filled day at our neighborhood water park and pool!

Handsome Husband's family finally got together for another Poker Tournament!  It had been long overdue, and I was so happy (almost as happy as I would have been had I won again) that Tutor Girl took home the prize!

We got another little peak our our sweet New Years baby on the way, and a few days later held a Gender Reveal party to find out whether we are expecting a baby boy or a baby girl!  I can't wait to share with all of you in just a few days!

In August? The ladies in my family head to Seattle for a long weekend, there are lots of birthdays to celebrate, HH goes back to school, and we'll get to see our little Baby M again!



Summer Summer Summer Time

In May...

 

Gardening Mom took me as her date (I'm a lucky girl!) to a fabulous Kentucky Derby Party at one of her coworker's beautiful Corona Del Mar home.

Handsome Husband officially finished his first year of law school!  We were both overjoyed and ready for a summer break!  We celebrated the end of the year with his fellow classmates at a White Trash Bash where camo, wifebeaters (the tank tops, not the people), and cut-offs were everywhere.

With the end of his school year, came the beginning of his softball season!  That's right, HH is back on the field with some former coworkers hitting home runs out of the park this summer!

To celebrate Mother's Day, we hosted our families at our home for a lovely brunch and gift exchange.

HH started his summer intership, which has already proved to be challenging, exciting and a learning experience!

We got together for some Taco Tuesday (of course I had to be different and get a sandwich) fun with some friends - a few members of the good old Taco Tuesday Club.

My dear Best Cousin made the big move from Oregon to So Cal, and we headed over to my parents' house (where she'll be staying while she builds a little life here for herself!) to greet here and have some yummy grub with the family.

Almost a year ago at the river for Father's Day Weekend in 2012.

We had a very long overdue (like seriously, it was originally planned in March) double date in at Best Friend Cute Apartment and her boyfriend, Number Cruncher's house.  She made a fantastic spread of grilled salmon, asparagus, brocolli, mashed potatoes and more!

HH and I had a romantic and super fun (not to mention, healthy!) date night at home on our own the following weekend, sponsored by Fresh and Easy! 

We got to watch Brother AG graduate college, and spent the day celebrating with him and my Father-in-Law and HH's younger half-sisters!

On Memorial Day, HH headed to Temecula to spend some time with Brother AG and company, while I spent the evening at a BBQ at Hat Dad and Gardening Momma's house.

Both Sister Swimmer and Singer finished up their very first year of college - I can't believe it's already been a year since we watched them graduate high school!

What's coming in June? Sisters and Gardening Mom will all celebrate a birthday, I'm hoping we're heading to Arizona for Father's Day Weekend again, and I better get to spend some time lounging at the pool this summer!  

No April Showers Here

In April...

 

I got to spend a lot of time with Cousins Halloween and Teeny Girl, as their mama Cousin Study Buddy studied into the late hours with my very own Handsome Husband.  Law School final time is a real joy, lemme tell ya.  But the only saving grace has been hanging out with my two little friends so much!

 

We had a long overdue dinner with Baker Girl and her husband, The Esquire, over for dinner.  We got to catch up with them, and we loved hearing about their new home plans, their exciting jobs and just catching up with an all-around wonderful couple.

 

We celebrated Lucky P's arrival and Tutor Girl's second time becoming a mommy with a Sip and See at Grandma Beach Bum's house.  I put together a super (in my never to be humble opinion) adorable and useful gift that you can see HERE.

We had a fun morning at the Farmer's Market at Orange County's Great Park with Mother-in-Law Red and Mr. Bear.

To celebrate two years of smiles for Sister Swimmer and her BF YOLO, and for me to get some camera practice, we headed to San Juan for some cutesie photos of the happy couple!

Handsome Husband's family got together at Lucille's BBQ to celebrate two special birthdays!  Grandpa Backgammon and Uncle Lighting!

Another HH Family event - the Annual Family Golf Tournament!  For the past few years, I've enjoyed attending the tournament and taking photos, as this girl is no golfer.

We had a fun night out in LA to celebrate the birthday of my dear friend, Best Friend Swagger!

I had a fun day with Gardening Mom, hopping around our community garage sale, hitting up a garden show or two, and doing some craft area organization!  May sound boring to some, but we live for some good sorting of craft supplies!

HH got deep into studymode for his upcoming finals, which start May 1st!

 

Linking up with Jennifer.



Kiss Me, It's April

In March...

We returned home from our East Coast Vacation, which you can read about HERE.  Look out for another vacation recap coming this week!

I hosted a birthday dinner for Hat Daddy-o, and made the most adorable miniature desserts, also coming to a Stress Case blog post near you soon!

Gardening Mom and I made it all the way to Pasadena to check out the famous Rose Bowl Flea Market, and walked away with two wooden ducks (Mom, not me).  It was at the same time slightly overhyped and completely overwhelming.

I turned the big 2-5 and my generous parents took me and Handsome Hubs to a wonderful surf and turf dinner at Fleming's Steakhouse in Newport Beach to celebrate.

Handsome Hubs and I hosted a birthday party to celebrate our 25th birthdays (we are a week apart!).  The theme was Tacky Las Vegas, which you can read more about HERE.

San Diego friends!

Me and Twin Unicorn on the L, Best Friend Swagger and I on the R

St. Patrick's Day came, and with it came Tutor Girl and Cousin Ronomon's new bundle of joy, Lucky P.

HH and I with P on St. Patty's

A week after me, HH turned 25, and we had a fancy date night at the movies.  Have y'all heard of Cinepolis?  It's amazeballs, gotta check it out.

The super comfy seats at Cinepolis

Mother-in-Law Red and Mr. Bear hosted a yummy Italian birthday dinner for us to celebrate our big days with HH's fam.

Cousin Study Buddy turned a year older, and we got together over Mexican food and Coors Lights (and funfetti cake!) to celebrate!

We had a little belated dinner with my family at our place to celebrate HH's birthday with his all-time favorite dinner - Salsa Chicken.

We ended the month with a family fun day at Grandpa Beach Bum's to celebrate two awesome things: Easter, and Cousin Teeny Girl's 5th birthday!  

R: Cousin Teeny Girl aka The Birthday Girl! L top: The Heartfelt Family, R bottom: Me and Lucky P

The Month of Love Comes to an End

In February...

We watched the Superbowel at not one, but two family homes - first half at Gardening Mom's with regionally appropriate food (Maryland crab cakes and San Fransisco sourdough bowls hello!) and the second at Grandma Beach Bum's with a super yummy dinner to end the night!

Aunt Fancy Chef and Uncle Lighting took us to a lovely dinner filled with stories, laughter and a little wedding ring chatter.

We went bowling (at the most ghetto bowling alley I've ever been to, mind you) with some of Handsome Husband's law school pals.

We had a miniature goodbye with Best Friend Fashionista as she headed off to NYC to start this most exciting chapter in her life.  It wasn't too traumatic, being that we would be seeing her in mere days when we rendevouzed in the Big Apple on our vacation.

HH's family hosted another quarterly Family Poker Tournament - keep an eye out for some good news from that coming soon on the blog!

This, my friends, is what marriage looks like.

(Not sure what I'm praying for here - maybe for HH to relax!)

We hosted a little triple-date breakfast at our house for Twin Beauty School and The Bouncer; and Best Friend Cute Apartment and Number Cruncher.  We killed quite a few bottles of champagne - and by we, I mostly mean HH, myself, Cute Apartment and Numbers.  Beauty School and Bouncer are way more responsible than us!

I got hit with quite the case of a nasty cold that was followed with some horrific allergies.  Needless to say, our Valentine's Day was very romantic - it included me sleeping drugged up on cold meds and HH studying.  Ahh, love.

Handsome Husband and I attended our first "Law School Prom" as were calling it - otherwise known as Barrister's Ball.  It was so much fun, and I am truly so delighted to be meeting all of these wonderful future lawyers, but more importantly future and current friends.

HH, myself and Cousin Study Buddy at "Law Prom"

After a fun morning-after breakfast with our Law Prom pals, we headed down to San Diego to celebrate the homecoming of an old friend of HH's, World Traveler! WT was in the Peace Corps, and we literally had not seen him since HH graduated college back in 2010.  It was so nice to see him, it was as if no time had passed since HH and him had seen each other.  Aren't those the best kinds of friends? 

World Traveler in the middle - he looks so worldly, no?

I had the best ever day off work for President's Day.  A morning of sleeping in; an afternoon of lunch with my favorite girl, Cute Apartment; and a couple glasses of wine with Cousin Study Buddy?  Just what the doctor ordered.

To avoid packing for our vacation, I headed to dinner with Ms. Art Teacher (who is actually no longer teaching art, but whatever).  It was overdue (as it always seems to be, damn busy adult lives!), but as wonderful as always.

And of course - we headed out on our vacation. 

That we are on as you read this blog post!

Not to worry, full recaps to come upon our return.

In March?  We'll both turn ancient (read: 25), Tutor Girl is having a wittle baby, Hat Dad and Cousin Study Bud are having birthdays, and Easter is happening.

January is OVA!

I can hardly believe we are already one month deep in 2013...time is flying!

In January...

 

We started off the year dancing and drinking our asses off at The Derby, our local dueling piano bar, with some wonderful friends.

 

 

We headed to the boonies San Bernardino to welcome our good friend Twin Navy home during his short leave.

 

Twin Navy himself, with his cutie wife looking on.

 

Handsome Husband went back to school to kick ass in the Spring semester the way he did this past Fall.

 

To celebrate the new semester, we headed to the diviest bar in Orange for a little Law School Karaoke Contest.  I'm just going to come right out and say it: my rendition of Call Me Maybe would have won if I was eligible (students only shmudents only).  Though, HH's track did a cute little number themselves:

 

 

Tutor Girl and I kicked it into gear and started walking again like we used to so much pre full-time job, house hunting, crazy life stress.  And I realized how out of shape I was when the pregnant chick was doing better than me and my legs were sore for days.  A few weeks later I even incorporated C25K back into my routine, maybe I'll make a runner out of myself afterall.

 

Handsome Husband had his last day of work as an official employee (the dude is working from home now, lucky right?), and a week later had a lunch to say goodbye to his coworkers friends that he's worked with for the past two years.

 

My best girls and I headed to Solvang, CA for our annual Girls' Weekend!  We drank lots of wine, and even went on a fantastic wine tour.  Check out the favors I made for the ladies HERE, and even see the Instagrams HERE.  And keep an eye out for the full recap coming later this week!

 

We had a double date dinner at Cute Apartments' new place (a cute condo this time!) with boyfriend, Number Cruncher. 

 

A whole lot of us headed up to San Pedro to see Mother-in-Law Red's new home.  Lots of drinks and fun were had with family and her closest friends.

 

And we ended the month with a long overdue meeting of the Taco Tuesday Club where we had a margarita or three and ate some Mexican food with some of our favorite people.







2012: A Year In Review

Check out 2011's review HERE.

January

We rang in the New Year  at our local Dueling Piano Bar, with my dearest friend, Cute Apartment.

Cute Apartment hosted a Very Merry Taco Tuesday Club Belated Christmas Party, which sadly was one of our last outings as the group sort of splintered in the coming months.

I managed to spell my own last name wrong, and document it at that.

Handsome Husband's family spent a Day at the Races in Santa Anita, and we made some moola by betting on horsies with cute names.

My favorite girlfriends and I took off the Arizona for Girls Weekend 2012, a tradition started the year prior in Palm Springs for my Bachelorette Party.

I got together with my blogging buddies, Neely and Amber, and co-hosted the Fabulous Valentines Challenge here on this little blog.

I started my Lots of Link Love series, and have loved spending the year recapping my favorite posts around the blogosphere.

February

Cute Apartment, Tutor Girl and myself headed to San Diego for my first-ever (and sadly, so far the only) Blogger Meet-up!  You can read about it on their blogs HERE and HERE.

HH's fam hosted another quarterly Poker Tournament, and Handsome Hubs himself took home the trophy this time!

We celebrated our first married Valentine's Day together, which truthfully was quite uneventful, but for some very sweet surprise gifts in my car after class from HH.

Tutor Girl and I hosted a Springs Sweets Swap on our blogs!

I had a friendship end unexpectedly, that truth be told still leaves me quite confused and hurt (10 months later).

We celebrated our first wedding anniversary, and I surprised HH with a dinner full of friends in San Diego.

March

As always, March was filled with birthdays - my Hat Daddy-o's, mine and HH's to name a few.

We officially started our Hunt to Homeownership on March 3rd - the day that we saw our home for the first time.

We celebrated St. Patrick's Day at a local pub, but not before being super social (as seen below) at a house party.

HH and I headed to Vegas for the weekend with Cousin Ronomon and Tutor Girl to celebrate our birthdays, anniversaries, and anything else we could think of at the time!

I celebrated my 1-year Blogaversary with a week of guest posts about Why We Blog.

 

April

We celebrated Easter with a brunch at Aunt Fancy Chef's House, and a dinner with Cute Apartment and her new boyfriend, Number Cruncher.

The fam, HH and myself headed to the little town of Blythe to celebrate some family anniversaries and birthdays - and spend some time with my favorite cousins.

Grandpa Backgammon celebrated a birthday in fun way with a night of wine tasting, lovingly planned by Gma Beach Bum!

The Family Golf Tournament came and went, and again I served my purpose as non-golfer, but super great photographer.

Twin Unicorn and I marched along with Grandma Beach Bum in the annual March for Babies Walk in Newport Beach.

 

May

Sister Singer performed in her last musical in high school, and we cheered her on like always.

We celebrated Mother's Day with a brunch in Newport Beach, followed by a fabulous Potluck at Grandma Beach Bum's.

I chopped off my super long hair to donate to Locks of Love.

HH and I headed to Palm Springs for the weekend with some of our closest friends to celebrate Memorial Day!

Felt like a real grown-up when I had to take a day off work to serve at Jury Duty for the first time.

June

Another month full of birthdays - Sisters Singer and Swimmer turned 18, and Gardening Mom celebrated one too (and y'all know I know better than to share a grown ass woman's age on this blog!).

We got together to celebrate Mr. Boot Camp's college graduation - fajitas, Patron and beer made for quite the little shindig.

Handsome Husband had a stomach ache one night that ended up being appendicitis and resulted in him having an emergency appendectomy - this was scary and I wrote about my minor parking lot breakdown HERE.

We watched Sisters Singer and Swimmer walk across the stage and throw their hats in the air as they graduated high school.

To round out their big graduation weekend, we headed to Arizona to celebrate their accomplishment and Fathers Day with Best Cousin and company.  Best Cousin wrote about it HERE.

We got together with some of our dear friends from San Diego to wish Twin Navy well on his adventure to Boot Camp (and incidentally, we will be seeing him again for the first time since next weekend!).

We jetted off to Florida for our long-awaited Disney World trip with my Sisters!

While I was in Florida, I had some fantastic bloggers share their stories about life When They Were 18.

July

We had a low-key 4th of July with multiple barbeques and some fireworks at our beloved local lake.

We were finally knee-deep into escrow for our first home, and we had an inspection near the end of the month.

The fair came to town, and we enjoyed a day with our friends.

I planned a fun Family Girls' Night Out at The Melting Pot, and we enjoyed martinis and fondue on a lovely Tuesday night.

August

The month started off extreme with our annual Arizona trip.

HH and I celebrated four years of being an us by going to an All American Rejects concert at the Fair!

My amazing Handsome Husband had orientation for Law School, and attended his first official day as a Law Student!

We headed up to Los Angeles to celebrate BF Fashionista's birthday at a fun sushi restaurant.

Cousin Ronomon had a birthday and we spent a day at the park celebrating.

Right before the month ended, we closed escrow and officially became homeowners!

September

We moved into our new home, and rejoiced that we had finally made it there!

Grandma Beach Bum celebrated a milestone birthday, and we had a lovely night out at the St. Regis to celebrate.

Our incredible friends helped us over one long weekend to paint the majority of our house, and we were insanely grateful.

October

I celebrated my one year anniversary at my big girl nursing job, and even got a little raise!

We got to head to San Diego for Alumni Weekend at HH's Alma Mater and spend some time with our old friends.

Gardening Mom and I headed to a family Halloween Party, where I rocked my Honey Boo Boo costume all night long!

Handsome Hubster was the coolest guy around when he brought my Halloween Layer Dip to work for a potluck.

 

November

We finally got to celebrate our newfound homeownership with friends and family when we hosted our Housewarming Party at the beginning of the month.

Tutor Girl did us a total solid and took some photos for our Holiday Cards this year.  See some hilarious outtakes HERE.

Best Cousin came for a visit and we had some wonderful girl talk.

Mother-in-Law Red celebrated a milestone birthday and we had a wonderful brunch at Grandma Beach Bum's in her honor.

We got to attend the annual Tree Lighting Ceremony for HH's (and Gardening Momma's) company again, and enjoyed some music, food and friends as always!

I spent a weekend in LA visiting with three of my favorite girls ever: Sister Swimmer, and Best Friends Fashionita and Swagger.

Cousin Ronomon hosted a fantastic birthday dinner for Tutor Girl in their home fit with amazing homemade Italian food.

We celebrated Thanksgiving with dinner at Gardening Momma's and dessert at Grandma Beach Bum's.

HH's family had their annual Ladies' Baking Day where we got to make tons of holiday goodies together!

The family weekend for HH's family continued, as we got together to take portraits as a group.

 

December

I hosted a little girls' night in when I had a Victoria's Secret Fashion Show Viewing Party at our house.

We were very multicultural when we attended our town's Christmas Tree Lighting and Menorah Lighting all in one weekend.

HH and I got to pick out our first ever real tree together for our first Christmas in our new home!

Handsome Husband, Cousin Study Buddy and I hit the road up to Orange for a little shindig to celebrate the end of finals for our law students (first semester, that is) - all dressed to the nines in ugly Christmas sweaters of course.

Aunt Fancy Chef hosted another wonderful Ladies' Tea for us to celebrate the holidays together.

Gardening Mom has a beautiful Hanukkah Dinner, and I didn't consume nearly enough latkes to tide me over all year.

I hosted my first big holiday at our home: Christmas Eve.  With beef tenderloin, Christmas music, and a trip to see the lights around the neighborhood - the night was a wonderful success.

Handsome Husband and I had our first ever alone Christmas morning together, and it was glorious.

Christmas Day was long but lovely - presents at Gardening Mom and Hat Dad's, brunch at a local golf course with a gorg view, and an afternoon and evening of family fun at Grandma Beach Bum's.

We had a fabulous night out with some of my oldest friends at our very favorite dive bar.

And funny enough, tonight the year will end just how it started: at our local Dueling Piano bar with friends, booze and lots of laughs.



Monthly Recap: Yes, I'm Still Doing Them

November and December flew by almost entirely un-recapped!  Tune in next week when I reminisce over the whole past year.

In November...

 

We hosted our Housewarming Party - it was so wonderful to see our friends and family come and celebrate our accomplishment in buying this home.  Our Journey to Homeownership really felt like a war, and it felt good to celebrate our victory.

 

Left: Dr. Groomsman, myself and Best Friend Dodger

Right, from top to bottom: Myself and Soccer Girlfriend (Groomsman Concussion's longtime girlfriend, to be exact), Cuties Cute Apartment and her boyfriend, and my girl Future Dr. Babies and me

 

We got together with Cousin Ronomon and Tutor Girl and their sweet son, Lil C to take some quick photos for our Christmas Card this year - check out the hilarious outtakes HERE.

 

My Best Cousin came for a visit, and we disgracefully did not take a single photo together!  However, it was so nice to catch up with her, and spend some time one-on-one with one of my very favorite people.

 

Election Day came and went, and Handsome Husband and I rejoiced in the our living room over the results.  I don't talk politics much on the blog, but my lady parts were scared there for a minute.

 

Mother-in-Law Red celebrated this big 5-0 and we had a lovely brunch with the fam at Grandma Beach Bum and Grandpa Golfer's place.  You can find the recipe for the Nutella Pastries I made HERE, and the fun gift we gave the MIL Red HERE. 

 

We kicked off the holiday season with another Tree Lighting hosted at an outlet center owned by Gardening Mom and Handsome Husbands' company (yep, they work at the same company!).

 

{Via}

 

Handsome Husband's wonderful boss and her kind husband took us to a LA Galaxy soccer game - a conference final game at that!  And luckily, they won!

 





I finally headed up to LA for a long overdue visit.  While there, I managed to squeeze in a dorm visit and dinner with Sister Swimmer, a night out with Best Friends Fashionista and Swagger, and a wonderful brunch!

 

Loyola Marymount University visit, night out at Laurel Hardware, and brunch at open air dining Faux Pas Bistro

 

Handsome Husband's family got together to celebrate another November birthday - sweet Tutor Girl's!  Chef extraordinaire and Tutor Girl husband, Cousin Ronomon, created the most wonderful Italian dinner we got to enjoy in celebration of TG's special day.

 

Cousin Ronomon and happily pregnant Tutor Girl posing at her birthday dinner

 

Thanksgiving brought a super yummy dinner prepared by Gardening Mom, followed by dessert at Grandma Beach Bum's table.  So much food, so little time.

 

As if I didn't gain enough weight on Thanksgiving, it was Girl's Baking Day the day after Thanksgiving, where we kept the tradition going another year by getting ourselves covered in flour and baking far more than necessary amounts of cookies.

 

The family weekend continued as we took family photos with HH's entire extended family.  The photos turned out beautifully, though the act of taking them wasn't exactly relaxing (strong winds, short dresses, small children and eight women in the family...you do the math).  We were able to let off some steam at the Family Poker Tournament later that night though - I got second place again.  Or First Place Loser, as I like to call myself.

 





 

In December...

Sister Swimmer and I got to attend Jingle Ball (all because of HH's amazing ability to win tickets to just about anything and everything), a local concert hosted by one of the biggest radio stations in our area.  The highlight?  Taylor Swift's amazing show.  The low?  Our terrible seats - get it together, KISS FM!

 

{Via}

 

I hosted my first Girls' Night In, when I had my favorite local ladies over to watch the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show at our home.  Read more and see photos HERE.

 

Handsome Husband made it through his first semester of law school, and to celebrate he (and myself and Cousin Study Buddy) donned ugly Christmas sweaters and hit up the end of the semester/Christmas party hosted by a law school friend.  HH also celebrated the occasion by drinking a few too many beers, and following that up with a shot of hot sauce...straight out of the bottle.  He was in rare form.

 

Aunt Fancy Chef hosted another wonderful Ladies' Holiday Tea - read about it and see some pretty photos HERE.

 

Gardening Mom hosted a wonderful Hanukkah dinner full of latkes, brisket, and some pretty menorah lights.

 

I hosted my first Christmas Eve Dinner, a tradition I hope to continue for years to come.

 

HH and I had our first-ever Christmas morning alone (only took us 5 years), and it was so fun to spend the morning with my love in our quiet little home before we spent the rest of the day shuttling between houses.

 

And next week, we will spend our last night of 2012 singing and dancing the night away at the same place we did last year.  Isn't it funny (and comforting, in a way) how so much changes a year, but at the same time - so much stays the same?





Adios, October

In October...

 

We made our first ever mortgage payment!  A sad day for our bank account, but a satisfying feeling all the same!

 

Aunt Fancy Chef and Uncle Lighting came over and treated us to two fun surprises: dinner out and a super generous housewarming gift of some new lighting fixtures for our new home!

 

Ms. Art Teacher and I had a long overdue gab session, for which she supplied the sweetest little minuature champagne bottles.

 

So dang cute.

 

We unloaded some of our junk, that just so happened to be other people's treasures, at a garage sale lovingly hosted by Grandma Beach Bum aka Garage Sale Expert.

 

Family poker night rolled around again and this time I made a disgrace of myself, finding myself first out - but luckily Handsome Hubs grabbed second place!

 

I had a double twin day when I was lucky enough to have lunch with Twin Beauty School (now a graduate of Beauty School, bee-tee-dubs) and dinner with Twin Unicorn!

 

I got to spend a few hours with Lil C when his mom and daddy-o headed out for date night.  We even ventured out to Michaels for some supplies - mama practice, I tell ya.

 

Lots and lots of house projects were worked on - photos, recaps and before and afters coming very soon!

 

Handsome Husband and I got to spend some time with our San Diego buddies when we went down for his Alma Mater's Alumni Weekend for Athletes.  It was so much fun to watch HH play with his old teammates again!

 

Gardening Momma and I trekked it out to Highland for a Halloween party my cousin and her family throws every year, and judging by the amount of fun we had this year, I'd say we'll be back next year!

 

And on Wednesday, for our very first Halloween (or holiday, in general!) in our new home, the plan is to sit on our patio and hand out candy to the many many adorable kids that surround us in our neighborhood (is it hot in here, or is that just my baby fever?).

 

And clearly, by the looks of this post, I did not take nearly enough photos!