My Birthday and Erin's Visit

So my old roomie Erin came to visit me during my birthday weekend. We went out for brunch on Saturday morning then shopping around the neighborhoood...

Later that evening we went to the little shop of crafts where we painted pottery!
Erin and Rachel did Mosaic tiles.
Then we ate dinner at this great persian restaurant, called Persepolis.Then we had delicious Junior's cheesecake to top off our perfect evening!

I had a great birthday!!!

So A LOT is going on, and I'm going to be pretty busy. My Best Friend from High School is getting married in San Diego this weekend, and I am going to be in the wedding! So I'm flying down there, but coming back to meet my parents and hang out with them for two weeks! It's going to be so much fun! I am so happy to be able to see everyone.

Lips

Do you remember as I child I always wanted to have a birthday party where I was princess or even Queen? Well, I got my wish... sort of. I had a DRAG queen birthday party!


It was a co-workders birthday Wednesday, and she wanted to celebrate my upcoming birthday as well, so we went to this restaurant called, "Lips" where all of the waitresses are also drag queens! It was so much fun. And let me tell you, these diva's have got it goin' on! We had about 25 people in our party! Lots of people from work as well as some close friends came out to celebrate.

Happy Easter

I admit it. I am a terrible Blogger!

Having said that, I feel comfortable to move on with my life and let you know what's been going on.

1- The weather. It's not spring. It's cold and evil. I would love some warmth. It's literally freezing when I wake up in the morning (31 degrees today!)

2- But...The hills are alive with the sound of music. The Ziegfeld Theater was playing The Sound of Music. So I went to see it with some of my friends and had a marvelous time. It was so much fun watching it on the big screen. The crowd was cheering after the songs, and we couldn't stop singing all weekend.

3- Goonies never say die. We watched another childhood favorite of mine at home Saturday night, while pigging out on junk food. I love The Goonies!

4- Happy Easter! We had an excellent Easter program at my church on Sunday. My roommates even came to watch. Then after church we went to Rachel's parents house for a huge, fantastic Easter Brunch! Her whole family was there and we had such a nice time.
Then my Mom sent me a great Easter basket. I will be eating candy for the next couple months! I love peeps!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Matchbox Twenty, Alanis Morissette, Madison Square Garden, Valentine's Day... what more could I ask for?

Me outside "The Garden"
Amber, my "date" for the evening
So we kind of sat on the side, slightly behind the stage...
In case you can' tell... that is Rob Thomas.

I <3 Rob

View from the top

In case you weren't convinced of how fabulous my life is yet, check out the view from my office...

Home for the Holidays

Oh FAKE Christmas tree, how plastic are your branches.

Me and my sis-sis with Stocking from Santa...

and loud pajamas!

Eddie and the girls opening gifts.

Belly Sisters

President Gordon B. Hinckley

1910-2008

I just wanted to take a couple of moments to remember a great man. On Sunday night, President Hinckley passed away. He was 97. He was President of the church for more than half of my lifetime. He was a great example and such a strong leader. I felt that he really helped so many members (like myself) strive to be better and grow closer to God.

I know that he is in a better place where he will be reiunted with his family

He will greatly be missed.

Fa La La La Laa La La La Laa

So I am back in California, ready to celebrate the holiday's with my family.

Before I left NY, my friend Nick came to visit me. We went to my office party, saw a Broadway show, went to the MoMa, out to eat... below are some pics from what we were up to.

The holiday party at the Rainbow Room. Me and two of my friends from work.
Our Christmas TreeOur festive living room

Nick at Serendipity

(Sorry Nick, I warned you that you would make it to the blog!)



Me at Serendipity. Frozen Hot Chocolate- YUM!
Me at the MoMa

(Monet's water lilies)

Happy Holidays

I absolutely love this time of year in New York. We have snow, all of the lights are up, loads of Christmas cheer! It has also kept me very busy! Some things to update you on:

• My roommates and I hosted our first annual "Holly Jolly Holiday Jamboree". Friends and family came over for an open house and helped us decorate the tree. It was a huge success! (except my family wasn't there)
• FAO Shwartz is awesome.
• I have a fabulous cocktail party to attend this weekend for my work... more details to follow
• My upstairs neighbors (who I am desperately trying to love) have decided to take up playing the electric guitar at 11:30 at night (amidst the laughing, yelling, stomping and such)
• I love Clementines!
• Snow looks beautiful from my window office.
• Oh, no... I think they've started a band. Is it appropriate to yell up there "Shut Up!!"?
• Thank you for Christmas Cards! I really enjoy receiving them.
• Enchanted is my new favorite movie. If you haven't already done so, you MUST see it!
• I will be coming home next week and I can't wait!

LONDON

I had such a great time in London last week. I was able to work at the office a couple days, then go see the sights with my friends.

We went to the tower, tower bridge, Notting Hill, the London Eye, the Tate Modern, Westminster Abbey, St. Pauls Cathedral, Covent Garden, Trafalgar Square...

I also got my haircutwhile I was there. I was inspired to get a very european bob...

We also made our own Thanksgiving Feast!

Halloween in Montreal

Last weekend we went on a road trip to Montreal. We had so much fun! The drive up was gorgeous! The leaves were changing and there were so many great colors.
Montreal was a beautiful city. This was a view from the mountain we climbed.


My halloween costume... enough said.
"The group" John Smith, Pocahontas, a witch, me and my scary bridesmaid, and two other dudes

We set this on a timer and threw leaves into the air...

Happy Birthday Rachel

On Sunday, Rachel (my roomie) celebrated her 25th Birthday! Jenny (my other roomie) Jill (Rachel's Sis) and I threw Rachel an awesome party on Saturday night.
We served great appetizers and everyone made their own "mocktails" We had all kinds of juices, and syrups, cherries, sugar... It was very tasty!
We also had a card-making table set up where people made birthday cards for Rachel. Some people were very creative. Then we played a mean game of apples-to-apples. I tied for first :(
It was a great time and I think that everyone who showed up really enjoyed it. Here's to awesome party planning experience!!!

Apple Picking

Monday was a holiday, so Rachel, Amber, Rachel, Dave and I went apple-picking upstate. A perfect fall activity! The only problem was the weather. It was like 95 degrees outside!! It was so hot and we spent most of the day complaining. We picked huge bag of apples and left. We were really hungry and wanted to eat at Cracker Barrel, but there wasn't one nearby. Then on our way out, we experienced brake problems. They were smoking and smelling- not a good sign- so we pulled over and found an Audi dealership. We waited there for a while and they couldn't find anything wrong! Luckily there was a Cheesecake Factory in the vicinity. So we stopped and had a huge lunch... definitely the highlight of the day. The ride home wasn't too much fun either because it was so hot and our butts were sticking to the leather interior. And of course we experienced traffic. We were really exhausted when we got home! Now I have way more apples than I know what to do with. Holler if you have any good recipes.

What's going on

Hi!

So I have realized that I've failed miserably in keeping up my happenings on the blog :( I am sorry if you have been dying to know what's going on with me.

Not too much on my end, but I do have some VERY exciting news to share! My little sister, Ashley, just got engaged!!! Congratulations. Her and Brandon make a great couple, and I know that they are going to be very happy together :)

I was trying to post a picture, but as it turns out, I failed again.

I have been keeping very busy. I started an HR course at NYU which has been very interesting so far.

I became an awesome hairstylist (if I don't mind saying so myself). Rachel let me have creative control over her hair, so I chopped it and styled it!

I went to a Mets game on Monday for Family Home Evening. It was Mormon night! We had a great time, although the seats weren't nearly as good as the last time I went...

A view from the cheap seats; my friends Amber, Jenny, Scott, and Rachel


Tuesday night I went out to dinner with my old boss and my new one. We had a really nice time at this great restaurant in SoHo.












Jen and Rebecca

The cons at the moment: I have no time to do my laundry, it suddenly became hot again in the city, and there is a strange smell in our kitchen. The pros: I've been so busy I have no time to get bored, fall is coming and I get to see the leaves change, and the weekend is almost here!

I will try and keep you posted with all of the latest Shilo happenings... stay tuned.