Riding on the Metro

The Metro was crowded. Hot. Humid. Stinky. I was over it. A woman shoved her way past me, separating me and my husband. I watched as Todd had no choice but to move about 15 feet away from me, grateful for the silent “You okay?” he shot me with his eyes across the train packed with Parisians. 

“I’m fine,” I wordlessly nodded back. But I wasn’t fine. I wanted off this damn train. I wanted the smelly man across from me to stop leering at me. I wanted the other smelly man next to me to stop brushing my hand with his as he pretended to just be adjusting his position on the pole. I wanted to lean against my husband instead of this sweat-slicked pole. I wanted to reach our stop and escape to the perfect summer afternoon above ground. 

As we approached the next stop, I hoped enough people would exit that I could breathe again. Instead, twenty more boarded.

Vegas, Baby. Vegas!

The Hubs and I are back from a kick-ass weekend in Sin City. Although, can I really call it that knowing that I went specifically to catch The Fresh Beat Band in concert? Hmm.

No. I'm not a crazy lunatic. I know I don't have kids. So why on earth would I be SO FREAKING EXCITED to have tickets AND VIP passes to The Fresh Beats show? Well for one, the hilarious looks we kept getting from parents thinking The Hubs and I were weirdo adult fans of the Nick Jr hit.

But really because our dear friend IS Marina! We're so damn proud of and happy for her, it's crazy. I'll admit, I totally teared up when I saw her on stage. And again when I looked around the room and saw literally thousands of kids cheering for her. And again just now as I typed that. Sheesh! Ball of proud friend mush, I am. Love you, Tara.

Since our gal was playing a huge gig at Planet Hollywood, we decided to make a weekend of it. Vegas, baby. Vegas.

Stellar view from our Aria room.

His & Hers

 

Jean Philippe Patiserrie ~ gorgeous!

A completely edible creation

 

Good morning, Vegas.

Aria. Perfection.

Yes!!

Can you spot the celebrity fan?

"It was a great day!"

The Fresh Beats meet a very important fan!

Beauchamps & Fresh Beats!

Luck be a Lady B?

Lucky in love, anyway.

Party by Pinterest

Are any of you as addicted to Pinterest as I am? Recently inspired by all the pinners with much better style than yours truly, I was having a helluva time narrowing down all the pins I wanted to try! How would I find the time to attempt all of the pinteresting pins that were pinspiring me?  And who would I share all my Pinterest interests with?

So I came up with an awesome solution. Throw a party! The Hubs could hardly hide his eye-rolling and sighing at my surprisingly expensive Pinning Spree. "But honey, it's a bunch of DIY yourself projects! It SAVES money!" I said, attempting to justify the large pile of Micheal's shopping bags I lugged into the kitchen and reminded him, for the fortieth time, that I needed him to go pick three dozen oranges out of our tree and blow up the blue pool floaties while I made orange and aqua cake stands out of wooden candlesticks.

But when I walked into the backyard to greet our guests with a tray of orange slice jello shots (like these), The Hubs had to admit that it was the best party we've ever thrown. Pinterest, FTW.

{ Beauchampions' World Famous Liberating Liberty Lemonade }

{ Sno-Cone Station! }

{ A fresh spin on the waffle cone }

{  Dessert buffet in our summery orange & aqua color scheme }

{ With bevvies to match! }

In true me style, I was having far too much fun in the pool with our besties to take any pics but you get the gist. I did snap one at the very of the night, as our dear friend Dave (of the crazy talented David & Devine) showed me just what a huge hit my dessert buffet was.

Oregon is for Lovers

The Hubs and I flew to Lincoln City, OR this weekend for a magical affair. My bro-in-law got married! It was an amazingly heartfelt and intimate celebration of a spectacular couple. The breathtaking evening was filled with so much love and joy and laughter. I think their best friend and officiant Dondi said it best when she said there was nowhere else any of else would have rather been.

We turned into giants balls of mush as Brad said, "I love you because you believe we are time lords" and Ben vowed, "I promise to end you swiftly should you fall victim to zombies." Now that is true love, people. 

Congrats Brad and Ben!

 

 

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.

A Very Merry Beauchamp Christmas

The Hubs and I have returned from a perfectly blissful Christmas week in Charlotte, NC. Celebrating with my Beauchamp clan could seriously not have been more perfect! I love The Hubs. I love being his wife. And I LOVE that I get to be a part of his amazing family. My time in the South with Mike, Kitty, Tish, Scott, Brad, Ben and Kelsie was exactly what the Dr. ordered.

Started the trip with a family Italian dinner and got some very exciting news while we broke bread and drank vino. Then a lovely ladies day with my mom-in-law Kitty and sis-in-law Tish complete with an exquisite meal at 131 Main and ceramic painting at Dish it Out. My bro-in-law Brad introduced me to the artery-clogging deliciousness that is Bojangles and I indulged in my tradition of consuming as much North Carolina sweet tea as humanly possible. We spent much of the days leading up to Christmas elfing and prepping for the big day, laughing and loving as we all found the perfect thoughtful gifts for each other, gorging ourselves on Tish's delicious cookies all the while. And of course, there was Kelsie.

I love my niece! Two-year-old Kelsie is a ball of unstoppable, hilarious energy. I had so much fun playing with her, it was ridiculous. I miss her so much already!

Music lesson. Natch.

 

They don't call him Dr. for nothin'

Tish and Scott hosted a tasty Taco Tuesday and I was totally jealous of their kick-ass tortilla press. I didn't even realize how much I want to make homemade tortillas until I saw them do it. Of course, no taco night, or really any night with my sibs-in-law, would be complete without some Patron silver. Yum! After Kelsie wowed us with her maraca skills (see awesome video below!!), we headed over to the Cook house for an insane Christmas light display (see awesome video in link!!)!

Christmas was a perfect evening of mouth-watering food, great company, and great gifting! There was so much laughter, especially during the Beauchamp Gaffle, that my abs actually ached the next morning.

Kelsie's righteous new dino book

Tish, Ben and my Totally Awesome Ultimate Cool dad-in-law Mike

Farmville money!!! Kitty is also sporting a necklace made by yours truly.

Mike kept saying the two were a lot alike. I'm starting to see the resemblance.

We got the matching cookie cutters! Wooohoooo!

Kitty's awesome gaffle gift

Kelsie and Uncle Bradical

Ben's hamster balls!

Christmas by Lady B

On our way home, the airline gods gave The Hubs and I a Christmas miracle. Surprise upgrade to first class seats! Booyah! Merry Christmas, indeed.

Our first class view.

Our entire visit to Charlotte, I was hoping it would snow so I could experience my first White Christmas. Naturally, this what the Beauchamp house looked like the day AFTER we left!

Oh, we also caught a matinee of "Little Fockers." But I think it's safe to say that we'd all just rather forget that 2 hours ever happened.

Happy Holidays!