Shop Till You Drop!

Today was going to be all about shopping!  We went to South Coast Plaza, H&M, Ross, Target, and Bed Bath and Beyond!  Oh, how I miss all those American superstores! 

But before we got the shopping underway, we headed off to lunch with my dad at Nick's D Oro, a family owned Italian restaurant near the middle school I once attended! My dad comes here every Wednesday for lunch with one of his best friends, and I have tons of memories of coming here after school to eat one of their GIGANTIC slices of pepperoni pizza with my friends!  This was taken with my iphone... there's no special magical lens with this photo!  The slice is REALLY that big!

Dad and I... and Aaron across the table! :)

The pizza was great, but the company was even better! 

Having lunch with my two favorite guys was definitely the highlight of my day! 

A day in LA!

First of all, I'm embarrassed about the lack of interesting photo's I took today, since we did happen to do some really cool and interesting stuff, but I'm happy to say it was a fun day and there were NO car accidents, just an alarm mishap!

First stop was downtown Los Angeles where we drove in search of the garment district!  I've been a couple times before and have found some great stuff, so I knew Aaron would like it!  I happen to have an excellent memory when it comes to remembering locations, but we drove in circles and circles to no avail.  Uuugghhhh.  :(  

Instead, we parked and headed in search of a cool restaurant for lunch!  Unfortunately, we were nowhere near any cool restaurants, but rather the downtown business area, so we followed the crowds and opted for the ready made section at the local Ralph's Grocery Store!  We shared this platter of unhealthy food!  haha

We had had enough of downtown, and decided it was time for a little beach outing, so we jumped in the car and headed down the FWY to Santa Monica's Promenade!  This is the spot where you can usually spot a famous actor while they're out to lunch or shopping.  Aaron swore he saw famous athletes and a rapper, but couldn't figure out who exactly they were!   

We spent some time perusing the shops at the Promenade before heading to beach...

I love, love, love this photo I took of Aaron with my iphone!

While I didn't take this photo of the Santa Monica Pier, I can say that if I had it would have looked just like this!  It was a beautiful day and Aaron and I were standing right about here as the sun set over the ocean!

After the sun had gone down, we jumped back in the car and headed to Palos Verdes, an upscale hilly community with gorgeous views of the LA area and ocean!  I left all the photo taking of this area to Aaron, but he hasn't uploaded any yet, so you'll have to wait to see how gorgeous it actually was!

We got home around 10pm to find my mom rocking her new Auburn shirt that Aaron gave her for Christmas!  She's a die hard fan and had never had any Auburn clothes, so Aaron decided he would make it a tradition to get her a new shirt every year for Christmas! 

As you can see, she wears them proudly!

Not sure yet what the plan is for tomorrow, but I'm sure we'll make the best of it!  You can't go wrong when you're vacationing in California!

Family photo's with the camera timer!

It's fun to see the types of pictures you can get when you set up your camera on a BBQ and hit the timer!  This family was due for some fun shots, so before we bid farewell to my big sis, Amy, we hung out in the backyard and snapped these photos!

We call this "the sister shot!" and yes, Persia the cat is in it on purpose! 

My parents love this cat like she's their 3rd daughter! :)

Me and my mom!

My sis and mom!

Amy stuck a flower in my mom's shirt, which made her laugh!  I love this shot!

Just as in love as the day they met!

... and always having fun together! 

A girl couldn't ask for a better family!

"Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family."

~Anthony Brandt

The Donut Shop!

There's this tradition between my dad, sister and I that whenever we're home, our dad takes us on a special dad and daughter date to the donut shop down the street.  I always look forward to this time with my dad and of course the delicious cinammon rolls that haven't changed since the first time I ordered one back in Middle School!

My dad never orders a donut, because he's a health nut! 

Instead he sips on coffee and watches my sister and I eat all the junk!

Last year we started a tradition of taking a picture with Singh, the owner.  She knows my dad really well because his office is nearby and she knows all about my sister and I because my dad is Mr. Social and likes to talk about his girls!  

Thanks for such a fun tradition dad!  Amy and I are so lucky you're our dad!

Aaron's here!

We dropped off Amy at Long beach airport tonight and picked up Aaron, 2 hours later at the Orange County Airport!!  I was sooooo happy to see him! 

It had been over a week, which is a long time for the two of us! 

Before heading home, we stopped off for dinner at one of my parent's favorite Tex Mex places for some delicious Mexican food all together!

It's so good to have Aaron here in California with me and my fam!

Tomorrow the two of us are heading to LA for some shopping, photography, beach strolling, and a little sight seeing!  Wish me luck... not sure if I've ever actually driven to LA, much less after a year of not driving!  Crossing my fingers for a safe and fun trip! :)