Happy Wife

I know I say it a lot. But I really, really love The Hubs. I couldn't be a prouder wife.

First, there was this:



And then, at the end of a week that left me so tired and overwhelmed that I thought I might just break, he sent me this.

I. Love. The. Hubs.

Books! Books! Shaka Laka Laka Books!

So I want to start a book club. I heart books. Love them. Love them feel of 'em, smell of 'em, look of 'em. Love, love, love books. And like any good movie or TV show cliffhanger has shown you, there is something so fun about turning to the person next to you and sharing the "What the ???", "Did you see?" and "Can you believe?" moments.

I want to do that with books. And some cocktails. And some laughs. And some insight. And some debate. And some education. And some awesomess. Join me, won't you?

I want to read the books below and then some. Want to make a decision on the first book and start this literary love-fest by Feb. 1. Drop me a line if you want to join and by Feb 1 I'll let ya know which book we're starting with, followed by calendars of upcoming books as suggestions come in. We'll start a FB group to discuss online and plan on a fun biblio bash at the end of the month.

And the nominations are...

 

 

A Little Romance

I love The Hubs. So much.

After getting in his convertible and realizing it was top-down weather in January, I received a text at 9am Friday morning. "According to my calendar, there's not a single thing going on this weekend. True?" Nine hours later, we were on our way up to Santa Barbara for some off-season (and therefore CHEAP!) coastal romance.

We checked into the oceanfront Santa Barbara Inn. Yes, oceanfront. Seriously y'all, a room on the beach in January is so cheap, it's like they're kidding.80 degree weekends and swarms of Angelenos aren't typically expected until at least March. Upon our concierges suggestion, we hit Holdren's for some plate lickin' deliciousness. Bacon wrapped filet, taters, and our absolute favorite Chianti made for a very happy LadyB. And while sitting at our candelit table, we realized we had actually eaten there once before. Our first ever weekend away together. The weekend we fell in love. And sat at that very table. Cue the "awwww"s or "barf"s now.

We meandered up State St. and wandered into Wildcat. At first glance, an empty little bar that 20 minutes later transformed into a kick-ass dance party. When our feet couldn't take anymore, we hailed a taxi, in which a sign read "If you puke in the cab $100 cleaning fee." That seemed fair.

Saturday morning we awoke to the kind of picturesque California day postcards are made of.

 

So we proceeded to have the most perfect weekend possible. Great food, exploring, much needed relaxing, and beaching, all capped off with French goodies at Renaud's Patisserie, made for some content and romanced Beauchampions.

Bloody Mary the size of my face. Nom.

Zoo!

I guess if you gotta be stuck in a zoo, get an ocean view.

Hit the vinyl jackpot in Just Play Music. Their $1 bin is a treasure chest.

Some of my loot. I finally replaced the first record I ever owned!

My Hubs.

Resolutions Are for Suckas

Happy 2011!!!!

I've never been a big fan of making New Year's resolutions. Mostly because I never, ever keep them. Instead, I have a list of things I'm hoping to accomplish this year. Some big, some small, some silly, all awesome. Let's see how many I can cross off this list in the next 364 1/2 days!

1. I quit smoking exactly 29 days ago. Let's not start up again, hmmm?
2. Build doors for my awesome shoe shelving unit. Gotta protect the goods!
3. Have an art show.
4. Make salted caramels.
5. Lose some pounds. And keep them off.
6. Open an Etsy shoppe.
7. Sell 10 paintings.
8. Read Lady Chatterly's Lover. I can't believe I haven't done that yet.
9. Plant flowers in our yard in time for spring.
10. Learn to turn on the fireplace by myself.
11. Get a new, grownup bed!!!!
12. Workout 4 times a week. No ifs, ands, or big butts.
13. Get the finishing touches put on my tattoo.
14. Dye my hair Jessica Rabbit red. Immediately dye back if it looks ridiculous.
15. Host more dinner parties!
16. Start a book club.
17. Spend more time with my ladies.
18. Learn to sew.
19. Revamp the dresses I had custom made in Thailand last year.
20. Go to Disneyland with The Hubs. Can't believe I haven't done that yet, either.
21. Make grapefruit-infused vodka with fruit from our tree.
22. Finally print our wedding pictures. (Bad bride!!)
23. Master the perfect croque monsieur for The Hubs.
24. Stop making other people's problems my own. (Yes, I know that sounds resolution-y but I don't care. It's important I do it.)
25. Complete my dining room photo wall project.
26. Make gnocchi from scratch.
27. Use my camera to take pictures, instead of as a paperweight.
28. Get Toby a brother?? (still undecided on this one, but 94.2% sure I wanna add to our awesome family)
29. Romantic weekend in San Diego with a stay at the Westgate and a trip the Hash House for a Bacon Bloody Mary.
30. Finally take some cooking classes with my bestie, Yvette. 
31. Start the children's book series I've had percolating for a while.

So there ya have it! I'll amend the list as necessary throughout the year and keep a cool list thingy on a sidebar to keep you posted on my progress!

Happy New Year!