A few days!!

A few more days y'all!! I am so excited to be coming home!!!

So the other day on my way home from work I saw 2 different cars with Auburn stuff on them. I was so excited! We truly are everywhere. I am a stern believer that everything happens in threes. It might not happen initially but it does. 2 days later I'm at the gym and see a guy with a huge AU in his shirt. I of course went up to him and said war eagle. We start chatting and learn that we live right across the street from him and his wife and he is from Atlanta. They will also be in Glendale so I'm sure we will get together with them soon.

Other things going on in our lives:
-Got my ring re sized and they polished it so it looks absolutely beautiful for when I'm home!
-The beach saw snow!! The city of Hermosa Beach brought it a crap ton of snow! They had semi-pro snowboarders show off their "skills" then opened it up for the little ones to play. Afterwards we got sushi and it was so good. I'm not a huge sushi person but it was fabulous! I even tried the Dragon roll and loved it!

little kids sledding down the hill

-We went hiking in Malibu Creek State Park very early in the morning last Saturday. It was gorgeous so it was worth it. We also came across the old M.A.S.H site where they filmed the outside scenes. For someone who never watched it, it was just ok. I'm sure the die hard fans love it!

This past weekend was pretty mellow. Went to dinner on Friday at a new place (new for us) I forget the name but it had more of a bar feel to it. Was just ok. Saturday we went the mall to do some shopping and of course it was crazy! However the highlight was eating Chickfila which was amazing! I guess it's better for my figure that there isn't a free standing Chickfila in the South Bay area. That evening went to another new restaurant for us called Silvio's which is a Brazilian BBQ place. Since Scott has been obsessed with Brazil after he lived there for 2 months last year we had to try it. It was no bueno. :( Scott was very disappointed.
On Sunday it continued to rain as it is right now and will be raining until Wednesday. Almost all of LA set rain amount records yesterday. I guess it is very fitting that I am getting a new rain jacket for xmas.

I can't wait to be on the east coast!

J

A big shout to my mom who is celebrating her birthday today!!

2 weeks away

Well the reason I haven't been updating the blog is because my computer is in the shop...again. This is the 3rd time since August it has been looked at. I think I need to get a new computer and the guy at the repair place agreed with me. Well that's probably not going to happen anytime soon due a little something I like to call a wedding.

Speaking of weddings...our new wedding date is 8/13/2011. The church is a go now and thankfully we were able to change the date at Wimbish House. We are getting married at the church I grew up going to called The Cathedral of St. Philip. Its the huge Gothic looking one on Peachtree in Buckhead. I initially didn't want to have it there because we weren't going to invite enough people to fill even half the church, but other churches wouldn't have me because we were not members at their church. I'm still a little pissed about that. Moving on... I am told they can make it intimate in the main church we shall see.

I am so excited to come home! Its 2 weeks away!! Yay!!

I hope everyone is staying warm over there I hear is it freezing!

J

Not offical yet

I may have jumped the gun a little on the date. Apparently I was told the church was available on my date but now it isn't. It's been a very stressful morning. Please disregard the date I put up yesterday. I will have an update soon, I hope!

Some advice for those who have yet to get married. If you ever have the chance to get married in Veags, take it!!

J 

Broken

So we arrived back from Vegas without too much damage to our bodies and bank accounts. We had a lot of fun! I love Vegas! Unfortunately I can't write a full post on Vegas just yet because my computer is broken. It has decided it doesn't want to turn on. I would use Scott's computer but he left for Tucson yesterday. I promise it will be soon!

Wedding update: We are getting married 8/6/11! We are having the reception at The Wimbish House. I am really excited about it! The place is amazing! I am still working on the church...

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I can't wait to see everyone in a few short weeks!

J

Turkey Day = Vegas

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I want to start off the blog with an update on the wedding planning.

Well the wedding plans are coming right along much to Scott’s chagrin. He wanted to enjoy being engaged for a while before we started planning. Now I totally understand that and if he wanted to wait a while to get married I might have just enjoyed it for a while, but no the boy wants to get married like tomorrow. Which is very cute and romantic but boys don’t understand the amount of time and energy it takes to put a wedding together.

I have picked a reception venue and am in talks with the people. We just have to sign the contract and give them a nice fat check and we are good to go! I will officially tell the world where once all that has happened. Finding a church has been a whole different story. Apparently a lot of churches in the city won’t let you get married there unless you are a member. Well I think that’s crap! I'm an Episcopalian just like them and because my parents didn’t want to drive all the way down to midtown for church I can’t get married there. Ridiculous! I went a little bridezilla on them. I know I'm going straight to hell! So anyway the church is still up for grabs. We will see what I can do but it probably won’t happen until after Thanksgiving.

I have plans to try on dresses when I'm home in Atlanta and I have some ideas for the rest of the wedding so I'm feeling good about it right now. We will see how long that lasts...

Tomorrow we are going to have Thanksgiving dinner at Scott's sister's aunt's house which is his ex-step mom's sisters house. It definitely won't be the same without my family but we do get to spend about a week together during Christmas. LA has been experiencing a cold snap the last few days so it definitely feels a little like home.

On Friday we are headed to Vegas to meet up with Scott's best friend John and his girlfriend. John is a huge gambler so he stays for free and he is letting us use some of his points for a room. We are staying at the ever classy Flamingo. I'm excited! I haven't been to Vegas since LHD's bachelorette party. Both Scott and I have the always important Vegas outfit and will definitely have pictures to post from the weekend.

Happy Turkey Day and good luck to Susan on her half-marathon!

J

He liked it so much he put a ring on it...

Well I'm sure all of you have heard by now that Scott and I are getting married. He finally put a ring on it! The ring is gorgeous and we couldn’t be more thrilled to be starting our lives together.

Attention west coast peach readers…. I need help with ideas for reception site venues. I want something off the beaten path that is indoors as we are probably getting married in August which is just about the hottest month of the year. I have some ideas right now and my mom is going to see some places this week, but new ideas are always welcome!!

Last weekend was fabulous as you can imagine but we also did a lot of other things before the proposal. Saturday morning we went on a semi-early morning walk on the beach (Scott had ring in his pocket but too many people around). The beach was crowded due to a surfing competition which was kind of cool to see. After the walk we had a fabulous brunch at Crème de la Crepe. It was the jam!! My crape had tomatoes, avocados, cheese and lettuce. Awesome!!! One downside we sat outside which is on the sidewalk of the restaurant and according to city code they can’t serve alcohol to their outside seating because there isn’t a railing. I thought that was crap! I wanted some champagne! I digress…

In the afternoon we of course watched Auburn beat Georgia. I had about 5 heart attacks during the game. After the game we went on another walk on the beach to watch the sunset (again ring in pocket and again too many people). That night we went to a party at Scott’s buddy’s house. There was an ice/shot luge of which I participated in. 

Sunday morning we got up and went to church. We have been trying to go for a month now and we finally made it. There was a couple who sat behind us that just moved to Cali from Atlanta. We thought this was awesome! So after church we chatted and will definitely get together at some point. Small, small world. That afternoon Scott had work to do so I went straight to the beach to get my vitamin D in.

When I got back from the beach Scott wanted to run some errands then go for a walk on the beach. (at this point I'm like how many walks on the beach are we going to go on this weekend) I say yes only if he comes with me to the gym to sign up.  So we both end up signing up for Gold’s Gym. It’s a huge facility and I think we are going to like it. I need to get wedding ready!

So we finally go on this walk on the beach and on the way back towards the house (still on the beach) he gets down on one knee. Now at this point I am in total shock. Kid you not I don’t say anything but shut up! OMG! for like 15 seconds. Scott said he was nervous that I wasn’t going to say yes. I'm like power walking back to the apt so I can call people on the east coast before it gets too late. I do catch my family and they were so excited. Because I couldn’t talk to a lot of people that night and the excitement of getting engaged I did not sleep at all that night!! Still recovering from the lack of sleep.

I will probably start a little wedding blog once we set a date and what not so be on the look out for that.

Attention 90210 watchers:  If you watched the latest 90210 episode you have seen where Scott and I live. The scene was about 2 seconds from our apt. It was the scene when one of the characters is driving a red hot Bentley at the beach. Scott had actually seen the Bentley parked in a parking lot near our apt a month and a half ago. There seem to always be crews filming near us. I'm not sure why they like our little city but it’s fun to see!

Can't wait to see everyone in about a month!

J

Hey! Batter, Batter!

On Thursday night Scott got a call from his old roommate David asking him to fill in at their softball game that night. Scott had previously played with them before when he lived in LA but didn’t join this year because he wasn’t here at the beginning of the season. Like the good girlfriend I am I happily went to cheer him on. Unfortunately the team didn’t pull out the W. I believe the game was called because the other team was up by like 14.

Scott playing catch

Batting

After the game we went to a bar that used to sponsor them called Upper Deck in Hermosa Beach. It was fun but we stayed out way past my bed time. I am exhausted today.

This weekend is actually jam packed. Saturday we will be watching the AU/UGA game, then dinner with some friends and then a house party that night. Sunday, hopefully some beach action then trivia at a bar in Hermosa. Maybe some dresser shopping, I am in desperate need of a dresser. All my clothes are either hanging up or still in boxes.

Side note on the Cam Newton fiasco, I am so sick of hearing about this. Everyone who plays college football gets perks. They are going after him because he is the best player right now and MSU is bitter that he didn’t pick them and we kicked their ass this year. Why do you think that Cadillac Williams drove a Cadillac? Some dumbass writer at the AJC wrote an article about why Cam should sit out of the AU/UGA game. Well duh! Of course you want him to sit out of the game you are probably a UGA fan. AJC, let’s try to be a little more objective shall we. If he is guilty then he has been ineligible ALL season the whole season is wiped out. I am eager to see if my Tigers can put all this mess behind them and win the next 2 games proving to the sports world that they won’t let the pressure get them down. This country says we are all innocent until proven guilty. However all the sports writers don't feel that way. I want to see facts not some he said she said bullshit. War Cam Eagle!

J

Downtown or Mexico?

So this past week was the first week at my new and improved job! So much better! The company pays for lunches every day which saves a lot of money. They do so because they don’t want their employees leaving for lunch.  I get into work about 7:30ish and leave around 3:30ish. It’s not a bad gig. The people are really nice and I met a fellow Atlantan! I was floored that another southerner worked at the same company. Also all the big movie star celebs agents are in a building next door to me. No celeb citing yet…

Friday night we finally went out on the town in Hermosa Beach. I of course got drunk, shocker! It was a lot of fun and I found a place to shake my groove thang! :) Saturday, Scott and I along with some of his friends from work who were in town went to Downtown LA. Before having lunch we went to what reminded me of a Mexican market place called Olvera Street.  Much like the markets in Mexico everything is cheap. Scott and I have been on the hunt for a few weeks for some Mexican pottery to decorate the apartment. We didn’t need to look any further. We hit the jackpot!

Olvera Street

We went to the world famous Philippe’s restaurant for lunch which is the birth place of the French Dip.

Now I usually don’t like beef sandwiches (if I'm going to put meat in a sandwich it’s going to be turkey) but I LOVED it! It was so good, no wonder it’s so famous. I did take the ever wonderful biting into the sandwich shot but I looked a HOT mess so I will not be distributing that all over the internet for the world to see. I don’t know how Anthony Bourdain and especially Adam Richmond from Man V. Food eat on camera and still look good.

The Counter at Philippe's



Scott and I outside Philippe's

After eating we went to the Fashion District. Scott told me not to get too excited because it was less like Nordstrom and more like a Mexican market place. I was kind of put off by the site of it. It looked like someone had cut out a piece of Mexico and plopped right in the middle of LA. And to be quite honest I didn’t see any fashion anywhere. So don’t worry for those of you who make the trek out here we will NOT be going there!

We left the work people because they wanted to go to Hollywood and Scott and I have already been there, done that. Since Auburn had already played that day and it was a little cloudy at the apt we decided to go find a sunny beach. Scott said there was a beach in Palos Verdes that we would be able to walk down to. No such luck. We didn’t find a suitable unrocky beach until San Pedro. We hung out for a while then headed back home. As we arrive home we come to find out that the sun had eventually come out at our beach.  I'm staying home next time!
I found it yall! I found a bagel place that is almost at good at Einstein’s! It’s called Noah’s Bagels. Maybe I like it so much because everything is the same right down to the packaging of the schmear. It was so weird. They must have the same manufacture.
On other almost unworthy for the blog notes I got the oil on my car changed which set me back a pretty penny. Who knew synthetic oil could be so expensive. We also did laundry which was very exciting.
And last but certainly not least I have booked my flight home for Christmas! I will be in Atlanta from the 24th to the 30th. I hope to see as many people as I can!
I hope everyone had a great weekend!

J

2 weeks!

I just noticed that I haven't written in 2 weeks! Yikes! I'm sorry ya'll! Someone needs to let a sister know so you guys can have something to read at work! Ha! So there is lots to catch up on lets get right to it...

Well I quit my job at Kondaur because I was offered a job at another company. It is closer to home, more pay and no working on the weekends. I worked for 12 days straight which might explain the no blogging in 2 weeks. I am not meant for working so many hours. Don't ever leave a good cushy Bank job, ever! The new job is in Century City which is right next to West Hollywood. It's a really nice area that has a Houston's right down the street. The company is called Nuveen Investments and I'll be working in the client services department. I'm really excited about the job! So send me good thoughts tomorrow!

Not much to say about last weekend considering I was working ALL weekend but I did manage to leave work on Saturday in time to watch the AU game. We went to a bar in Hollywood where the LA Auburn crew watches the game every Saturday. We had a lot of fun and met some awesome fans! We will definitely go back.

This weekend Scott and I celebrated me quitting my job with drinks at a bar at the beach on Friday with some of his co-workers. After the bar we went back to our house. We started playing drinking games and because I haven't been drinking lately I got drunk really fast and was passed out by 11:30pm. I woke up the next morning to find 30 empty beer cans on the kitchen table. Apparently the party didn't stop when I went to bed.

Saturday Scott was pretty hungover but we managed to make it out of the house. We went down to the pier and rented bikes. We rode them all the way down to Manhattan beach. It was such a pretty day too. In fact the whole weekend was gorgeous. In the afternoon we of course watched the Auburn game. Just found out that we are #2 according to BCS. At least we don't have the pressure of #1 anymore but still so close to the Championship game.

Today we went down to Laguna Beach. Scott thought it was ridiculous that we drove 60 miles to a beach when we live 100 yds from one. However I fell in love with Laguna. The coves are so pretty and it's not as crowded. As soon as we got down there we ate a restaurant called The Cliff. You would know it from Real Housewives OC where they had an end of season party a couple seasons ago. It was beautiful!

He is sooo cute! I love him in pink!

After lunch we went for a walk on the beach then headed home. We were both pretty tired from our weekend of drinking and football.

I promise I won't go so long without an update!

Love ya'll

J

Some catching up...

Well Scott has finally made his return to LA and I couldn't be more excited! Since I started working this past week one of his co-workers picked him up at the airport. I met up with them at a bar in Redondo Beach called Pats II. It is one of Scott's most favorite bars. We left after one drink so I could show him his surprise at home and he LOVED it!!

Above is a picture of a California road that Scott has had for years but hadn't framed it yet. As you can see the picture is pretty big so framing was going to be expensive. I found a 40% off coupon at Aaron Brothers. They did a great job and did I mention that Scott LOVED it?!?

This weekend hasn't been the best weather at the beach which stinks so we got ourselves out of town on Sunday and into the mountains. Scott's dad used to own a mountain house in Wrightwood which is about 2 hrs outside the city. 



On top of the mountain above the clouds

Once we got above the clouds it was clear skies. After our picnic lunch we toured the city a little. I bought a bottle Pinot Noir called Wallflower which is made in Santa Barbara. I can't wait to try it!!



The main drag in Wrightwood

When we arrived in California on the 10 hwy I immediately got excited because I knew that we were going to be passing Joshua Tree National Park and I have wanted to see one in person for a long time! Well as we went for miles on the 10 without a Joshua Tree sighting I became very upset. Scott said the Joshua Trees can only be found further into the park but said not to worry because on our way to Vegas you can see them for miles. Well I didn't have to wait until Thanksgiving because today we finally found one!!

Totally pumped! Finally a Joshua Tree!

Well the weekend is coming to an end and my second week of work is starting tomorrow. Before I go you guys probably want to know about my first week. Well it was interesting to say the least. Here are some highlights. The company is quite different than the Bank I've been working for. Firstly there is a media room on the first floor that has TVs with couches, pool table and a keg that is always on tap. I can't believe they have a keg. Another thing, all the kitchens on each floor have two fridges which are stainless steel, one for the usual bring our lunches food and the other is filled with cokes, energy drinks and Snapples all for the taking. I don't know of any other company that does that. That has to be a huge overhead cost. Well don't think that everyone at the company doesn't work hard for all the perks. I will be going from working 8ish to 5ish to working 7 or 8 to 7 or later and working on weekends when we need to. I am totally exhausted from my first week so I hope I start getting used to it very soon, but Scott is totally excited because I'm making money!

Miss everyone!

J

Girl Talk

With Scott gone for another week I decided I needed to get my ass out of the apartment. My little "vacation" is getting boring and I need something to do. Thank goodness work starts on Monday. It's hard moving and leaving all your best girlfriends so I decided I needed to get out and develop more friendships here.

On Thursday night Shannon and I (she is the wife of Scott's old roommate who was also out of town) drank some wine and went to Redondo Beach Brewery which was just OK. My burger was like $11 and not worth the money. I can get a much better burger at Houston's for the same price. Side note: as soon as Scott gets back we are headed to Houston's cause Jamie got a job!! (happy dance) But we had a great time. You don't realize how much fun girl time is until you live with a boy. Boys don't want to hear about the gossip and of course you can't gossip about your boy right in front of him! Ha!

Scott and I are very thankful that half of his family lives in LA so we have people here to rely on if needed. Scott's sister Tina is a senior at Loyola Marymount. She has been dating a guy named Eric for about 6 months now and I have not had to pleasure of meeting him yet. Scott met him months ago and you know how big brothers are with their sisters very protective. So I needed to check him out of myself as the nice more impartial one of the relationship. Last night Tina and Eric made a great dinner for us then we headed out at 10pm to go see The Social Network. I'm in my mid-twenties so a late movie was way past my bedtime but I was able to stay awake and it was a really good movie. I recommend it to everyone! As far as Eric goes Scott needs to lay off he's a nice guy, but frankly what brother wants their sister dating any guy at all.

Today will probably be filled with more time at the beach and tomorrow I'm having lunch with a family friends' son and his wife who live out here.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!!

J

A Job, Yall!

I just wanted to update yall on the goings on of my life. First and most importantly I have been offered a job with Kondaur Capital Corporation. This company buys bad mortgages from banks then they either rehab and sell to a bank or sell the house. I am really excited to have a job and one that will keep me in the real estate arena. I haven't worked with mortgages before so this will be a new experience. I am supposed to start next Monday provided my background check is clean and let me tell you I'm kind of worried! Ha!

I am definitely going to enjoy my last week of "freedom" because starting next week I will be working 50+ hrs a week. I also found a great place to get my eyebrows threaded. I was really worried about finding someone that was great. My girl in Atlanta is the jam so the new person in LA has a lot to live up to. I am also trying out a new hair person. He is seems like a nice guy and will do a fantastic job with my hair.

I am here in LA all by myself because Scott is working in Texas for 2 weeks. Not only do I miss the hell out of him but he is in Laredo which is a border city and those Mexican gangs have really been active lately. I hate it! I am planning a little surprise for him when he gets back but I can't say on here someone might tell him. Don't worry its nothing dirty I will post a picture once he gets back. It is something he has wanted to do for a long time and now that I am almost employed I figured its a great time to spend the money.

Well that's about it I hope all is well with everyone else. I miss everyone!

J

Los Dogers!

Last Thursday Scott and I went to a Dodger game. It was my first adventure to Dodger stadium and it was fun. Apparently this stadium is the oldest stadium now that all other cities have built new ones so that was kind of cool! The people of LA love the Dodgers especially the Hispanics of the city. With a vast majority of fans who speak Spanish the Dodgers have been nicknamed Los Dogers. I love it as I'm a Spanglish speaker. Ha!

I don't know if the Dodgers won or not because we left early but we had a good time.

To appease LG and Turtle....I didn't cheer or purchase a big foam finger!

Troop Beverly Hills

This past weekend Scott and I along with Scott's old roommate David and his wife Shannon went on a fabulous trip to Sequoia National Park to go camping. I'm not one to camp on a regular basis or at all, but I have camped before so I definitely went into the weekend with an open mind and lots of wine! :)

We arrived on Friday night and immediately set up camp and opened the double bottle of wine. Once we finished that bottle the boxed wine was opened. We end up hanging out with the couple camping next to us and keeping other people around us up til 1am. Oops! It was a good time though.

Well those same people we kept up the night before woke us up the next morning bright and early. I guess that's karma for you. We get up eat breakfast and decide which trail to attack in the morning. Scott, Shannon and I tackle the 1.6 mile trek up to a waterfall. Sadly David didn't come because dogs were not allowed on the trails. Why would you allow dogs in the park if they couldn't go on the trails. We thought it was ridiculous.



My hiking outfit. :)

So about half way up to the waterfall the rubber on the bottom of my hiking boots started falling apart. Now a little background. I have had those shoes since 8th grade. They got me through high school and college so I was in a bit off shock that this was actually happening. So Scott rips the bottom of the shoes off so I can still walk. Thank god there was still some rubber there so I could still make the hike. 

So we make it back down the hill to the campsite and set out for an afternoon of sightseeing. Sequoia National Park is know for it's big ass Sequoia trees. It is also home to the biggest tree in the world. I'm going to tell the story of the afternoon with pics.

This is the Car Tunnel. We did drive the car through but this pic is way more fun!



This pic was taken halfway up Moro Rock.

This is at the top of the rock. There is one small railing between me and the edge of the rock, scary!

Moro Rock from the road. It is seriously high up there



Scott at the waterfall. At this point in the season there was only a trickle of water. We have to come back in April/May to see lots of water.



Saturday night we listened to the Auburn game on David's XM radio from his car. It was very 1950s listening to a game and not watching but we won! War Damn Eagle! We continued to drink our boxed wine and had a great time around the fire.

Sunday morning we packed up and headed out. I rode back to LA with David and Shannon because Scott had to go to Stockton, CA for the first few days of the week.

Well I think the camping weekend was a success and I think we will go on another trip soon!

Day 3 and 4

Well I'm finally getting to the last 2 days of our trip. It's only taken me 2 plus weeks to get this done. Blame Scott I had a hard time getting the pics from him as all of them were on his camera. Ok here we go....

After a crazy night with the Dorman's we headed out to Phoenix to stay with my cousin that night. There were 2 ways to get to Phoenix one was going north then south to see White Sands the other was south to see the Carlsbad caverns. We decided to go see White Sands National Park. The terrain was anything but ordinary. It started out with complete desert area to a lush valley. Below is a picture from the lush valley.

To get to White Sands we had go up and over a mountain on back roads. On top of the mountain we came across a town called Cloudcroft which looks like a town straight out of a European ski town. It was so cute. Scott and I would love to go back during the winter to see the snow.



Going down the mountain on the way to White Sands. Its the white in the background. This picture doesn't begin to describe how beautiful it was.



Finally made it!



It was so bright we could not take our sunglasses off at all. Probably wasn't a good idea to wear long sleeves that day.



After White Sands we headed to Las Cruces to eat lunch then get on an actual highway for the rest of the trip. New Mexico was by far our favorite state. There is so much to explore. You could spend weeks and weeks seeing all the there is to see.

We finally make it to Phoenix around 7 to find my cousin was having a Fantasy Football picks party that night complete with a keg. We walked into a total frat party and were totally exhausted. Needless to say we didn't get a lot of sleep that night but it was good to see Jay.

The next morning we were up early and ready to get to LA! The last day was filled with a lot of the same scenery as days before, deserts!

YAY! We finally made it to California!

On the way to LA you go through Palm Springs. I don't think my car has ever had a degree temp that high.

We finally made it to LA!! Yay!!



I think this was a great way to end the trip.


Well I hope you enjoyed reading about the highlights of our trip. Overall we had a lot of fun, but I don't think I want to sit in a car for 4 days ever again!

A little bit of this and that

Well its our second week here in sunny California and so far I like it. One reason could be I can go to the beach at 2 in the afternoon while everyone else is in the office. Hopefully soon I will have a job and won't be able to do that anymore but I'm enjoying it while I can.

Yesterday I went to the DMV to get a California drivers license and to register my car. To obtain a Cali drivers license you have to take the written test. You are supposed to study for something like that but I took a couple of the sample tests online and expected it to be very similar to that. Boy was I wrong....that test was semi hard. Did you know that in this state you can't smoke in the car with children 18 or younger?? Well that was one of the questions I got wrong. BUT I passed the test by the skin of my teeth. Thank goodness! I did not want to go back there!

Oh and yesterday while trying to find my car insurance card I noticed that in fact I didn't have it in my car  and have been driving all over without it. I don't recommend driving cross-country unless you have it! Thank goodness we didn't get pull over.

This weekend we are going camping in the Sequoia National Forest with some of Scott's friends. Scott was told to bring some food just in case we didn't catch anything to eat. I told him we are DEFINITELY bringing food for all meals! I'm not one to eat off the land. Of course Scott rolled his eyes. He'll get over it. I will let everyone know how this weekend goes! ;)

I hope all is well on the East Coast!

J

On the road day one and two

Our first day started at 6am so we could make it to Dallas that night. The first day was the worst day for me. It was very sad to leave my family and friends. As my emotions were running high I'm sure Scott was thinking "Is this going to last all four days in the car?" Well it didn't by the time we reached Louisiana I was kind of back to my old self.

I was exposed to a lot of new things on the road that day: the mighty Mississippi, crop dusters (the job not the bodily function), I had brisket in Dallas and did you know that most of the Texas roads are known as FM roads which means Farm to Market. Had no idea that even existed! Now everyone who reads this will know too!

Below is us entering the great state of Texas.

Once we finally got to Dallas we met up with Rhodes for some Texas barbecue. We went to a place called Hard Eights. Scott worked in Dallas last year for a few weeks and fell in love with this place so we had to make a trip. I had brisket for the first time there. It was really good. All this food talk is making me hungry!

It was great to see Rhodes. I promise you he gets taller every time I see him!

Well the next day we got up and did it all again. Our plans for day two involved seeing The Dorman's whom I love.

Just to let all ya'll know...there ain't shit in West Texas. I'm not kidding, there is nothing! Well except for turbines. They are everywhere and they are HUGE!

We finally got a reprieve from the heinousness that is West Texas as we made it to New Mexico.

Southern New Mexico is much like Texas but better because the Dorman's live there. The city they live in is quite interesting. Carlsbad is like living in Spain. There are siestas, not kidding. Here's what happened, LHD told us to get to Carlsbad around lunch so we could go to her favorite lunch spot. We'll we didn't get up as early has we wanted to so that put us behind by an hour. Now in a "normal" city most restaurants are open from 11ish in the morning to 10ish at night knowing that after lunch and before dinner would be a little slow. Not Carlsbad they think well no one will want food between 2 and 5 so we will close to take a nap. (not sure if they actually nap but they aren't working and could have made good money from us as we were hungry!!!) So we arrive at 2:15 with no where to eat that was authentic to Carlsbad. Well we ended up at Chili's. We drove 2 days to eat at Chili's! Ha! But the most important thing is we go to see our friends.

That night LHD made dinner and enthusiastically showed me how to make it so that I am more domestically desirable. Her and I drank 2 bottles of wine while the boys finished a bottle of Sweet Tea Vodka we brought them. It was a late night than another early morning.

Days three and four to come...

J

LA

I know I was supposed to update along the road but each day was more draining than the last and we don't have internet at the house we are staying at so Shannon has graciously let me borrow her computer so I can look for jobs and update this thing without having to go to Starbucks.

We have found a place to live!! Yay!!! It is in Redondo Beach, .1 miles from the beach and cheap rent. We made our first trip to the beach from our place yesterday and it was amazing. It was the first day the sun was out at the beach. weird, right? Well the beaches in the South Bay are weird. There is intense fog in the morning which usually burns off by 1pm but ever since arriving in LA that has not happened except for yesterday. It was a great day!

I will post our days on the road very soon!

Today is filled with finding a job, getting things set up for the apartment and finding a job!

I miss everyone in Atlanta!!!!

J

Birthday/Last Hurrah at the beach!

This past weekend two of my best friends (Lauren and Sonal) made our way to Jacksonville Beach to celebrate my birthday and party one last time before my move cross-country. The idea for this crazy weekend started with a couple drinks at Houilhan's and as you can imagine it escalated from there. We even decided matching tees were necessary for the drive down there. I'm sure people thought we were crazy!

Sonal's brother Rishi and his beautiful wife, Bejal were our gracious hosts. They recently moved down there so Rishi could attend law school. As you can imagine he didn't get a lot of his reading done that weekend. :)

Below are some pictures of our crazy night out on Friday at Dale Earnhardt Jr's bar called Whisky River (yes there isn't supposed to be an "e" interesting, right?) Well even though it wasn't grammatically correct we loved it. One because we can have a good time just about anywhere and two because the music was good and the drinks were cheap!

On Saturday we went the the beach and hung out at the pool.

On Saturday night we went to this fabulous restaurant called Aqua Grill in Ponte Vedre for my birthday dinner! Everything we ate was sooooo good! I gained five pounds that night! As soon as we walked in the door the manager sent over some shots for us, we should have known the night was going to be awesome!

Sadly our weekend came to an end, but not before we drove 30 minutes in the opposite direction to go outlet shopping!

Just so everyone knows....the drive to Jacksonville is a solid 6 hours..allegedly! That's for you Turtle! Ha!

Birthday

We have less than 24 hours before we hit the road. I have cleaned, packed, cleaned and than packed some more. I'm so over this packing thing. I can't wait until we are settled in our place at the beach.

I recently celebrated my 26th birthday. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I am not happy about being so close to 30, but I will be strong.

Scott took me to Wisteria for my birthday dinner. Scott thought it would be funny to trick me into thinking we were going to Fellini's. Once we turned on the street I knew what was up but was still craving pizza alas I had to sacrifice for for fine dining. Wisteria is the place he took me for our first date and Valentine's Day so its kind of our place now.

Of course I couldn't leave Atlanta without eating at Houston's one more time so the family went there for my birthday.  I won't be going too long without Houston's as there is one in Manhattan Beach! Let's be serious I would never move to a city without that place.

I will try to report from the road and will definitely take LOTS of pictures to post! Until next time!

J

Big Move Out West

Hello all! I have never blogged before but with the big move to LA I wanted to keep everyone in the loop on our life on the West Coast. Scott and I hit the big open road on August 30th at the crack of dawn for our 4 day trek to LA. We will be making stops in Dallas, Carlsbad, NM to visit the Dorman's and Phoenix. It will be a very interesting trip and one that I am looking forward to.

A big shout out to Kate Saussy for helping me come up with the name for this blog.

I'm looking forward to sharing our adventure!