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! 





My Super Sporty Weekend

When Handsome Husband was still just my Smart-Ass Redheaded Fiance and played college soccer, many of my weekends were filled with sports. 

I would rush out of class on Friday afternoons to head home, throw on my cheering gear, speed to the stadium and start the weekend off with a Friday afternoon or night game.  Depending on whether the team won or loss would depict how fun the rest of our evening was, but even with a loss there was usually some kind of social event to drown our sorrows at (read: drink a lot).  Saturday might be filled with a practice for HH, and some studying or errands for me, but on Sunday it was back on, with either a late morning or early afternoon game to end the weekend.  During soccer season, it felt like it consumed my life on the weekends.  There were the occasional roadtrips, but even then, often times I was glued to the computer watching live stats, hoping to see my man's name pop up as having scored!

This weekend felt reminiscent of those college soccer days, because it was overflowing with sporting events.  HH might not have been the star of them all, but it was a fun weekend, albeit a little different than our current average.

Friday after work, we headed down to San Diego to watch HH's alma mater stomp Cal State San Bernardino (sorry I'm not sorry, your girls' soccer team is annoying, and both of your teams lost!).  We stopped at the bar on campus, Home Plate, first for some beers (okay, water for me...I miss beer) and to meet up with some friends.  I love being on campus and going to games with the guys that HH used to play with in college.  It is so nice to have friends that you can go months or even years without seeing, and then meet up with on a whim, and talk (and tease each other, like the boys do) like no time has passed at all.

Saturday we had a busy day, which started off with a kickball game with some of the newbies HH has made friends with at law school.  As usual, my Handsome Hubs was the rockstar of the game, kicking it out of the park for some home runs more than once!  After the game, we were invited to attend a BBQ at Best Cousin and her awesome boyfriend's new place!  It was so nice to see their new digs, and what do you know it?  We watched some baseball upon arrival (#SuperSportyWeekend).  We stuffed our faces with some awesome food (I may or may not have have about 8 slices of watermelon), and met some nice very nice friends of Best Cousin's.  From there, we were off to see the new movie, Captain Phillips, after being invited by Aunt Fancy Chef.  We got another trip to the luxury movie theaters, and every time we go, I wonder why I ever see a movie at any other type of theater.  The movie was awesome, by the way - I'm thinking it has a few Oscar nods coming it's way.

Sunday we were greeted by a morning visit from my very own Gardening Mom to do some, what do you know, gardening!  Our little patio was in desperate need of a spruce up, and good ole GM came through, making it look a billion times better.  After some chatting with Gardening Mom and some morning lounging (time I probably should have spent checking off things on my October To-Do List), Handsome Husband and I headed to La Habra for a soccer game.  HH plays in a men's league on Sundays and I try to make it to a few games throughout the season.  It's pretty nostalgic watching my favorite guy kick the ball around.

Handsome Husband chatting with a friend pre Sunday game.

And that was my super sporty weekend.

What did you do this weekend?

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!







How to Do a Baseball Game Right

I've lived in Southern California all my life (about 23 years of them in Orange County, within 30 minutes of Angels Stadium), but until recently, I had never been to a night Angels game.  I know I know, it's like never going to Disneyland (which, you know, I never do) - just another thing to take for granted.

Now don't get me wrong, I had been to a few daytime ballgames, and good God, I did not see why people enjoyed them.  It's hot as hell, and a baseball game lasts forever while I start to die of boredom in the blistering sun.

But all of that changed last month when I learned how to do a baseball game right.

It all started when Handsome Husband's law school buddy and huge Angels fan, Sports Lawyer, invited us to a baseball game.  HH told me we would be sitting in Diamond Club seats, and as I'm sure he expected, anything with Diamond in the name is alright by me.

The seats directly behind home plate...that's The Diamond Club seating.

{via}

I was excited to see the Angels play at night, and as always, spend time with these new friends of ours that have been so incredibly kind and friendly as we've gotten to know them over the past year of so.

Now that I have learned the best (and in my opinion now, only) way to do a baseball game, I'm sharing that knowledge with you.  Now get our your credit cards, and get to a ballgame!

1. Attend games only with Sports Lawyer, or people who have a passion for the team you're watching play or sport in general.  They do things big, and those are the people you want surrounding you. 

2. Park in the very front spots.  I am a lazy biz, so you'll imagine my excitement when I realized that we were parking practically on the damn field. 

3. Eat at the buffet at The Diamond Club Restaurant before the game. 

 

The patio of The Diamond Club Restaurant, where we sat while eating our dinner, and also stayed for the entirety of the game.  Hard to want to go sit in your folding baseball stadium seat when you've got a whole table to spread your shit out on with a fabulous server coming every 15 minutes to make sure you've got all you need.

 

4. Don't be one of those people who cannot look away from the game.  Even Sports Lawyer, who loves it, can enojy a simaltaneous conversation.  My personal opinion on sporting events is that the memories you make with the friends you attend with will be much longer lasting than the game in front of you.

 

5. Take your time indulging in the buffet (we're talking 5-6 trips over a few hours, people), and make sure to wash your food down with some cheap beer.  (Okay, the cheap beer thing is just me, most of our party actually ordered good beer, but nothing beats BL for me!)

 

6. Top off your fantastic meal with some super fabulous desserts to share.  Bonus points if you can order a dessert that makes your husband this excited.

 



7. Document your view, and make sure to share on Insta.

I mean, right?

8. Happen to catch the most hilarious dance-off between two spectators that you've ever seen!  I truly wish I would have thought to record the moment, because no words could do it justice.

9. Thank Sports Lawyer and his very generous parents in person, and with a blog post to seal the deal.  Thank you, A Family, for the wonderful evening - you are a family full of generous, kind and inclusive people and we are so happy to have met you! 

And that, my friends, is how you do a baseball game right.