Top 5 Reasons To Be Excited About CA

If you're a little behind on your blog reading and missed my big announcement a few weeks ago, I'm moving to California! Since then, I've been doing a lovely little segment called Top 5 Reasons to Be Excited About California! If you've missed any of the previous editions you can check them all out here. 

1. Musso & Frank's Grill. I've had the pleasure of eating at Frank & Musso's Grill in Hollywood and it's great. The food is really great and the prices aren't bad either. It's the oldest restaurant in Hollywood and has been visited by star after star. 

2. Oranges. I know a lot of people think that Florida has the lock down on producing Oranges but California provides a significant amount of the countries oranges. Ojai, California which is about an hour and a half north of Los Angeles produces the most oranges in the state. 

3. Paramount Studios. I know I've mentioned my hope to work as an extra for some more cash but I'm really hoping I can get a job on the lot. If I could even work security that would be great! Here's to keeping your fingers crossed!

4. Flea Markets. I've heard Los Angeles and Long Beach have some of the best flea markets out there. I know the Long Beach one is held every 3rd Sunday and I can't wait to shop amongst the 800 sellers. 

5. The Beach! California has tons of sand and plenty of beaches to choose from. 

Live in California or you've visited? Have a place you think I should know about? Leave me a comment and let me know! You might just end up seeing it on here!

The Unofficial Start to Summer!

Memorial Day always marks the start of summer for me! Vacations, bbq's, my birthday, tans and everything fun happens in these summer months! Hope everyone is having a Sunny Day! 

To get this summer started off right, I decided to participate in Man Candy Monday. I was never a big fan of his but recently with the discovery of She's the Man, I have a giant crush on Channing Tatum. I mean really... he's gorgeous. 

Why yes... you're welcome.

The Absolute Truth

If you're interested in a guy but he's not calling, texting, tweeting, facebooking or e-mailing you... then chances are he's just not into you. 

I don't care if people say that he's shy or really busy. If he likes you or he's at least interested then he'd find a spare second to reach out to you. What the silence really says, is...

I firmly stand by all of these beliefs. 

Theater Thursday

It's Thursday and around here that means one thing.... Theater Thursday!! This week's featured movie is a film I just discovered last week and every since I haven't been able to get enough, She's the Man.

She's the Man stars Amanda Bynes as Viola Hastings, a girl who loves soccer so much she's willing to pretend to be her brother Sebastian just to get a chance to play on the field. 

When Viola's girl team gets cut from the budget at her school, she decides to take her brother Sebastian's place at his new prep school. Since no one knows him, she enlists the help of her friends to give her a make over to make her a man. 

When she gets to her new school and takes over the role as her brother Sebastian she finds herself rooming with fellow soccer player, Duke (Channing Tatum). Over time she begins to have feelings for Duke but since she's pretending to be a man she can't tell him how she feels. Plus the fact that she's there for one thing... to play soccer. 

Along the way, she has to deal with the real Sebastian's girlfriend, Olivia who is Duke's crush but falls for Viola as Sebastian and many more crazy obstacles before she can see if Duke likes her for her and if she can make it out onto the soccer field. 

The Trip Up North

Apart from white water rafting, I went up north to help celebrate one of my best friends Birthday. Technically her birthday wasn't until yesterday but I could only swing Friday-Monday off work and hey, you do what you can for good friends. 

So Friday it all started with the drive to northern West Virginia. Got there and proceeded over to the Robinson Mall in PA where I did some major damage at Forever 21. I am a complete sucker for their clothing. They always have such great stuff! Here's a few things that I bought: 

 

 

I can't wait to wear it all through the summer. Plus I'll be talking it all with me when I move, so I felt it was worth buying. Plus hello... Forever 21 is so affordable! 

Once shopping was done, we all great ready and headed out to a local place called P3. It happened to be another person's birthday that night, Rachel (who is the sister of Leanna, which is a good friend of mine). Everyone who ended up going rafting was there that night. We did tons of karaoke before hitting the hay and trying to prepare for the next day of rafting. 

Saturday was white water rafting day but that's all the day I met Frownie. Who's Frownie? Well he's a brownie with a frown drawn on. That morning, we stopped at a Kings Restaurant. I'd never heard of or ate at one and as soon as I saw Frownie, I fell in love. So I got a stuffed Frownie and he spent the rest of the trip with us. We even thought about taking Frownie on the raft but decided against it. Expect the adventures of Frownie to make an appearance every now and then from here on out. 

Sunday was the big day. It was the day of Kristin's surprise Birthday Cookout. We made up this elaborate plan to get her out of the house and keep her busy until the afternoon. We shopped around and then headed to get pedicures. Then it was back to the house to surprise her! She got the cake she had been talking about! 

All in all it was a great weekend and I loved getting to see my bff and making some new friends in the process. In fact, the whole weekend made me a little sad. Why? because I realized exactly what I'd be missing once I move. I'll miss being able to see my friends a lot easier than it will be living 3 time zones away. I'll miss seeing the beautiful scenery that's on the east coast. I'll miss getting to see the fall leaves change colors and I'll miss the hot east coast boys. Man... moving is going to be fun but so bittersweet. 

White Water Rafting

I'm back! I made it up north and back and made it out all in one piece! As I mentioned before on Friday, I was heading up north to visit my friends and go white water rafting for the first time. Let's just say it was awesome! I'll post more later on the trip but right now here's the low down on the rafting...

(getting ready to head into a rapid)

Saturday morning we got up bright and early and made the two hour car trip to Ohiopyle, located in western Pennsylvania. We went with White Water Adventurers Inc located along side the Youghiogheny River. We chose to do the lower yough, which is normally a class III and takes anywhere from 3-5 hours to complete. However, with all of the rain the water was up a considerable amount to 9 feet. It made the trip only about an hour and a half and bumped it up to a class IV. I can't even imagine doing the Cheat River which is a class IV/V. Tons of rocks that are usually exposed, couldn't be seen and a guide was required to be in every raft.

Anyways, the 6 of us piled in our raft and got underway with our great guide Andy. Who by the way was completely awesome and cool. He knew his job in and out and I'm pretty for sure all of wouldn't have made it down the river without him. Plus we all thought he was funny, cool and not bad on the eyes. 

(can't see us? Yeah neither could we. Andy had a nice view though)

So we're going down the river and we hit a rapid. I got rocket launched out first thing. Literally, we had probably been in the raft maybe, maybe 10 minutes. 

(See the two flailing legs in the air? That's me)

The best part of the rocket launch was having no idea that I got thrown out until I was sucking water down my lungs. However, Andy came to the rescue and tossed me back into the raft like a bag of cookies. Hello... I was dead weight. I held onto that oar like a champ though! Death grip! Both times actually....

(In calmer waters: Guide Andy, Leanna & Hope)

Everything after that was going great, down the river. We finally get to the last rapid and we hit a rock. We were all talking and apparently not paddling (oops, who would have thought you really had to do that on a rafting trip?!) and completely hit a giant rock. Needless to say it happened so fast, all of us except our guide got knocked out of the boat. I think it rattled everyone because we ended up getting pulled out of the water by 3 different rafts and I even saw the emergency rope get thrown out into the water. Thankfully, once again I got tossed back into the raft like a bag of cookies. 

After we made it back to dry land, we posed for a photo....

The group plus 2 guides. 

My Personal favorite favorite was of me goofing off before all the mayhem began...

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and count all the bruises I acquired. Haha! But it was an awesome time and I'd definitely go again. 

The Weekend that Almost Was.

If you follow me on twitter then you might already know a little back story to this....

So early this morning, I'm heading out for my vacation. I'm going further up north in Pennsylvania and will be joining 5 of my friends. On Saturday I will be partaking in this bright and early....

White Water Rafting. Am I scared? Umm... I wasn't until I google imaged photos of it. So now... yes, yes I am. Thankfully, I got some great advice from one of my favorite bloggers out there JAX (seriously check out her blog, she rocks). I'm sure it'll be fun and I can't wait to see all of my friends but this wasn't the weekend I had planned. I had thought about scheduling my vacation to here...

I pictured myself getting off the plane late Friday night and catching a london black cab to my hotel in Kensington, sleeping off the jet lag to wake up refreshed the next morning. I'd sight see around Big Ben and hit up the London Aquarium that I've missed twice! 

I'd walk around town shopping my favorite London stores like Boots, Marks & Spencer, New Look and Top Shop. I'd stop by the souvenir shops and see if there was any Wills & Kate Catherine paraphernalia left over from the wedding... and of course buy it. 

I'd squeeze in every bit of London I could until Monday morning would come for me to board the plane back to the States and vow to find a job there, get a work permit and move because no matter what it's always felt like home there. 

Sadly, the weekend won't be going that way. With my upcoming move to California I couldn't see spending 1,000 dollars on airfare and hotel alone for only 2 full days. Maybe I'll get there again soon.... In the meantime, wish me good luck on white water rafting... I may need it! 

Theater Thursday

It's Thursday so that can only mean one thing... it's Theater Thursday!! This week's featured movie is, Summer Rental.

With Summer almost upon us, I thought I'd remind everyone of the great John Candy film, Summer Rental. Jack Chester (John Candy) is an overworked dad who decides that the best thing to do would be to take the family on a vacation to the beach. What could be better? 

Or... so he thought. Almost from the very beginning of the vacation things begins to unravel and continue to get worse. Between neighbor feuds and his children's demands, Jack finds himself involved in a yacht race to reclaim his pride and respect. Forget the fact that he has no idea how to sail a yacht. 

This is a classic 1980's movie and a John Candy classic, not to mention it's a summer fun movie! Check it out, if you haven't already! 

Top 5 Reasons To Be Excited About CA

This is my 600th post. Wow! I never thought I'd post that much over the years when I first started blogging! So a big thank you goes to everyone who reads. I really do appreciate all the comments I've received and all of the fellow bloggers that I've came into contact with! So what's a good way to celebrate 600 posts? Well... that's still a surprise. 

So for now how about another edition of the Top 5 Reasons to be Excited About California! If you've missed any of the other reasons why it's great to live in the Golden State you can catch up on them here. 

1. The Homes. If you've been to Los Angeles then you've seen some of the amazing homes in and around town. Houses can range anywhere from a million or less to high double digits. $$$ Such stunning homes! This one is Simon Cowell's house....

2. The Mechanical Bull. Ever heard of the Saddle Ranch Chop House? Well guess what... now you have. Not only can you eat a good meal and an adult beverage... you can ride the mechanical bull. It's been featured on their VH1 show and on Sex and the City. 

3. Palm Trees! I don't know what I like so much about them, but I can't get enough! They can be found all over the city and state and they always make me smile! 

4. Scott Caan. Well... well... tweeter just keeps getting better with age. While he's not filming the new Hawaii 5-0 guess where he lives? L.A!

5. The Beach! 

Have you ever been to LA? Have a suggestion on something great in the city? Let me know! 

I Do, I Don't

It came to my attention a few days ago that the last three people I have dated are now either engaged or married. Yep, let's check out the score board. Me-0 Ex's- 3

Ex #1- We broke up. A few months later (as in about 3) he meets the girl and a year later is engaged and getting married.

Ex #2- We break up. Two months later he meets her and then another month later they get engaged. Then if that doesn't sound fast enough for you, 3 months later they got married. Yeah... I somehow don't see that one lasting.... considering he cheats non stop on her.

Ex #3- We break up. A few months later they meet and about 6 months after dating have got engaged. They'll be getting married even before the year mark of their relationship.

Now am I sad about this? No, no not really. None of them were the one. Obviously, since we broke up. But what the heck?!? Literally the last 3 people I have dated are now engaged/married to the person they met right after we broke up. Every single one of them.

When did I become that girl? Do I make them realize what they want and I just don't have it? Am I too much, not enough or just not the right one? The realization made me wonder. I've heard a lot of people say that it just all comes down to timing. Maybe so. Either way, I just find this streak very odd and disturbing.

Has anyone else had something like this happen?

Weekend Review

My weekend only lasted one day. In West Virginia, there was a special election held on Saturday and since I've volunteered to work in every election since I turned 18, I wasn't about to stop the streak. I spent Saturday working the polls and helping to get the state one step closer to a new Governor. 

Thankfully, I had a fun day on Friday! I went out and did a little bit of shopping. I picked up some new jeans at American Eagle and I can't wait to wear them! I think their really cute. 

I also picked up some new cute jewelry at Charming Charlie because hello... who doesn't need more jewelry?!

Great cocktail ring & Peacock necklace

Besides the shopping and the election work, I didn't do much else but sleep! Here's to getting out of today's case of the Mondays! 

Theater Thursday

It's Thursday so that can only mean one thing around these parts. It's Theater Thursday! This week's featured movie is, A Chorus Line.

The 1985 A Chorus Line stars Michael Douglas as a casting director who's looking to fill 12 spots for dancers in a new broadway musical. The day starts out with dozens of hopeful dancers trying to make it to the next round of auditions. As the day goes on and as dancers get sent home, they begin to get more and more nervous. 

What the dancers don't know, is what the director wants. Douglas pushes them to open up like they've never done before during an audition. Singing and dancing are only two of his requirements. He wants emotions, raw talent and honesty. As the day goes on the dancers and director begin to get at the end of their ropes. 

Who will make The Chorus Line? Who will be out? If you've never seen this movie, it's a good mix between dancing, singing and acting! Watch it!

Top 5 Reasons To Be Excited About CA

It never gets boring or old in the Golden State! This week's Top 5 Reasons to be Excited About California. If you've missed any of the previous reasons why California is awesome, they can be found here. 

1. Chris Pine. Yeah, have you seen this hottie? He's single and lives in Los Angeles. Who cares that he's rich and famous... he's hot!

2. L.A.'s finest. I'm all about safety and the men and women of the Los Angeles Police Department are all over the city trying to keep everyone safe. Plus... hello, there is some hot cops out there. 

3. Amusement Parks. The Santa Monica Pier has a few rides but within driving distance from L.A. is Disneyland, Universal Studios and Knotts Berry Farms.

4. As Seen On. Los Angeles has been the back drop to tons of Hollywood films. Just by driving around town you can see a few that have been featured in the movies. One of my favorites to see while in L.A. The Beverly Wilshire Hotel from Pretty Woman. 

5. The Beach! Because hello... everyone loves the beach!