Life Lately

Hiiiiii y'all! Gosh, it has been a long time since I've been on this little blog of mine. Life has been very busy, which is a wonderful thing. My business, Simply Beautiful, is really starting to take off and it's the most exciting thing! There are some days where I really can't believe how lucky I am to be able to do what I love. I've been working with lots of awesome new clients, and I'm just so thankful! My company has a LivingSocial deal out for the next 2 weeks, so if you're in the Orange County area and need some organization help, click here!

About 2 months ago, I got a voicemail that literally had me jumping up and down screaming. It was the Ellen show offering me Season 11 Premiere tickets! I returned the call (and thanked her over and over again) and asked why they called me (usually you request tickets on her website and they're really hard to get), and they told me that for the premiere, they were calling people who were already in the database (I have been twice before).

I brought Katie and Lindy with me, and thank goodness we took my car because Ellen gave us all TVs!!!! 

It was a VERY good day :) I love these girls, and in 2 weeks, we're going to see Chelsea Lately! I don't really watch her show, but I have an obsession with TV tapings so I'd go to just about any. And I'll be with these awesome girls, so it's guaranteed to be a good time!

Doug's birthday was just a few days ago- Happy happy happy birthday, my love!!!!

A few weeks ago, I watched the entire Breaking Bad series just in time to watch the finale. Yes, it absolutely lived up to the hype. I couldn't have loved the finale more. Dexter, however, was about the worst finale of all time. I'm still bitter.

My mom came out to visit last week, and we had a lovely time, as always! We took the TMZ Tour (my 2nd time) and laughed for 2 hours straight. I spotted Famke Janssen (the wife from Taken, and apparently also in X-Men) at Chateau Marmont, but she was lame and ran away from our cameraman. 

And as you may have noticed in the above picture, I chopped my hair off and added a ton of low-lights. I also decided to finally bite the bullet and try the Brazilian Blowout. I have been considering it for 2 years, and I am SO HAPPY that I got it. It basically takes all of the frizz out of your hair, leaving it smoother and shinier. To have straight hair, it used to take me around 30 minutes to dry and straighten it. Now, it takes 5. It is LIFE-CHANGING! My hair has never felt so soft. It feels like a new head of hair! I'm still getting used to the color- this is the darkest I've ever had it. I'll probably add more blonde next time, but it's fun to be a semi-brunette!

The City by the Bay

Doug and I spent Labor Day weekend in San Francisco, and we had a fabulous time! Doug grew up in the Bay Area, but it was my first time there so we made sure to see all of the typical tourist spots. Prepare yourselves- this post is picture heavy! :)

The view from our room. We stayed at Parc 55 and LOVED it! Such a great location. One huge tip we have in case you're planning a trip to SF- parking fees are insane in the city (our hotel's was almost $60/DAY!) so we parked at a BART station on the other side of the bay and took that into the city. Parking was free, and our tickets totaled to less than $25! 

Chinatown

My favorite part of the trip was seeing Alcatraz. I have a weird fascination with all things scandalous, so this includes anything jail-related. (Anyone else love the show Lockup? :) Our advice for this- take the earliest tour you can! We did the first one, and by the time we were leaving it was already getting so crowded. 

It was cloudy and ominous during our time on Alcatraz, which was very fitting. 

The one thing I didn't get to see was the Golden Gate Bridge...it was hiding in this fog all weekend :(

Next, we headed over to Pier 39. It was so much bigger than I had expected!

And then we walked around Fisherman's Wharf...

...where the Bushman just about scared me to death! (He has been doing this since 1980!)

After he scared me, we watched him scare everyone else. There was also this adorable seal patiently waiting to be fed.

Then, it was time for my beloved Ghirardelli. 

Lombard Street

It was a very short trip, but we managed to see everything except for Chinatown in one day. On our way back home, we took the semi-scenic route on the 101 to see Santa Barbara. 

We found the most adorable restaurant right on the beach. This is the view from our table.

And that was our trip! One last piece of advice- PREPARE YOURSELF if you plan to visit this beautiful city. My calves are still killing me from all of those hills! ;)