Vintage Mom (Part 3)

Vintage Mom was back at Easter when I had an early morning Church Service (thanks to Adam for joining me and taking these photos).  I knew exactly what I wanted to wear from when I had packed it back in January!  It was a gorgeous Easter Sunday and I was happy to honor Mom by wearing something of hers.

This mint green wrap skirt was one of many wrap skirts in Mom's closet.  I had borrowed a couple of them when I was in some plays in High School and am glad to bring them back into my wardrobe.  This one was soft and comfy and I wore it with a white lace tank and silver sweater, which Mom had bought for me a while back.  I had to bring out my silver pumps that Mom liked too.

Both my Aunt's had mentioned they remembered her wearing the skirt, and I wished that I was able to.  It was perfect for Spring and Mom always loved Easter.  On top of going to Church, she loved having Good Friday off so that she could help Bobby and I color eggs.  Sometimes we'd get the fancy coloring sets with glitter or accessories, but it didn't matter to us, it was just time spent with Mom.  Since I could remember, we always went to the Egg Hunt and that tradition continued long after Bobby and I were no longer young enough to participate.  She took all my younger cousins and their kids too.  Mom was so excited to help the kids find eggs and see their faces that she would hide the eggs again just to have them discover them!

I know this Easter, Mom was up in Heaven taking all the little children, who were taken far too soon, just as she was, on their very own Egg Hunt.  I can only imagine the look on their faces as this sweet woman helped them along and smiled back.  I know she's shining down on all of us <3

Easter Sunday :D

It was a long-awaited Easter as I noticed I was eating far more cookies this year since I couldn't eat candy, and although giving up soda was fairly easy and I enjoyed drinking more water and my skin reaped the benefits (Jennifer Aniston knows what she's talking about), I was stoked when I finished up my shift at Bar Lubitsch on late Saturday night/Sunday morning and ate a piece of Ginger Candy.  Sigh.  I missed those little pieces of goodness!

Bungalow Shenanigans with Ash & Raph

I got up early on Sunday morning to go to Church on Easter with Samantha (so glad she came with me), I got in a quick work-out and then got ready to meet Ashley and her friend, Raph, in Santa Monica at The Misfit for Brunch.  After having our first cocktail we decided to get the Punch Bowl of Pimm's Cup since we were making a day of the festivities.  For Lunch, I ordered the Asparagus Soup along with the Prime Rib Sandwich, while Ashley got the Chicken Tortilla Soup and Crispy Chicken Sandwich (lettuce-wrapped to Raph's dismay) and Raph go the Burger.  I have to agree with Raph and our Bartender, Dave, that the Crispy Chicken was absolutely amazing and what I'll be ordering next time.  I did love my sandwich too, but my soup even more!  They also had these Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies that were to die for and paired perfectly with my Double Espresso.  I'm pretty sure that we all had at least 3 or 4...or 5...

The Sunset on a sensational Easter <3

We then headed over to Bungalow (a special thanks to Alana for hooking us up with some drinks throughout the day) and we actually had a really great time!  I'm usually pretty anti-Bungalow because it's normally packed to the max, the drinks are ridiculously over-priced, and the people (for the most part) are pretty douchey.  We had a good crew meeting up with us and found a secluded spot on the patio with a table and few chairs and all of us had a blast!  The rest of the night we bar-hopped in Santa Monica, hitting up The Basement, Rick's Tavern where Dave, Garet, and I did some Karaoke, and closed off the night at JP's.

It was a day full of new places and food.  I had never been to The Misfit and always wanted to go ever since Creating Arts Company had been putting on shows in Santa Monica and I'd walk by and see the busy bar and patio.  All the bars on Main Street in Santa Monica were new to me too, so I've already gotten a great start on my New Year's Resolution for April!  It was truly a great Easter with friends and one of the best I've had since moving to LA <3

Lent, Easter, and Community

Last weekend was Easter and those 40 days of Lent went by fairly quickly!  Easter is a time for sacrifice, reflection, and positivity.  And of course, celebration, which I certainly did!  You can read more about that in my next blog ;)

At your service :)

This year I gave up the usual, candy, soda, and fast food, but new this Lent I also gave up swearing.  Overall, I did a really good job, no soda at all, and candy only once on accident at Yogurtland (it was a topping and I totally forgot), and no fast food, not even Subway!  Now, swearing on the other hand, was far more difficult.  I don't swear all the time, but there are times when you're feeling passionate, or frustrated, or even excited, and one or two happen to pop out.  In actuality, I really like some swear words, and missed using them during the 47 days of Lent.  And there were times where I swore on accident, and other times, I did on purpose, and those 30 swear words are hours I will be putting towards community service and charity.  I'm really happy to be doing some good from it all!  The point of giving up swearing was to force myself to find better and more intelligent words to use.  I've been doing my best to continue to not swear this past week and decided that I'll be more aware of when I'm swearing and contain myself to those highly anticipated moments where it's the right time and place.

Before Lent had started I was doing some Community Service for Habitat For Humanity, working at one of their Re-Stores in Torrance.  It was really fun to help people pick out items for their homes and help them decide what would work in the space they told me about.  I also got to price items, clean up around the store, and do a little home decorating as well to make sure the displays looked awesome.  I'll be happy to be back and working with some of the same people over at the Re-Store and also look forward to working on building a home when there's one a little closer to where I live.  

It's such a great feeling to help others, and to be there because I choose to be, it makes it all the more worthwhile :)

What did you do for Easter?

My Easter started out like every other Easter, getting ready for Church, picking out just the right outfit, and Sunday's choice was a floral dress perfect Spring the Sunny weather we have been having here in Los Angeles.  It was a fairly long Mass, but nothing compared to Good Friday where I spent almost 2 hours in Church, waiting to Venerate the one cross for the entire congregation, and sitting through a Sung Passion (which was actually very interesting and different, but extremely long).  I had walked into a packed Church, and luckily, a nice couple made space for me at the end of the pew.  I couldn't complain, beautiful music, smiles on faces, and happy kids!

My own Secret Recipe at Gabe's!

When I got back to the apartment I did some light cleaning and for the second time in a weekend got some Sun by the Pool...very rare for me since I get so bored just sitting in the sun doing nothing.  Since Lent was now over, it was back to Soda, Candy, Junk Food, Fast Food, and Hard Alcohol for me...although, not in that particular order.  I made a tropical cocktail whilst I sat by the pool: Passion Fruit Vodka, muddled Strawberries, Raspberry Green Tea, and a splash of Fresca.  Light and refreshing!

Then it was off to Gabe's to get my first Bloody Mary in a month and a half.  It was perfection and that's all I have to say about that.

Mmmm...junk food!

After that it was off to Rocco's in Culver City.  I hadn't been there since it opened (only to the one in Studio City) and was excited to check it out.  Made it just in time for Happy Hour and the Gin Cocktail and Mojito sounded amazing, so 2-4-1 it was and delicious they were.  Along with that, Neil and I ordered a White Pizza and some French Fries that came with Garlic Aioli.  Talk about amazing!?!  I had been craving Pizza and French Fries for so long, especially when Carolyn would order them at Gabe's when she came in to hang out, and I'd sit there, staring longingly at them.  Now was my time...and the perfect food for watching sports on a Sunday evening!

Happy Hour at Rocco's!

Since Titanic had come out in 3D on Wednesday, it was time to check it out.  It was already Sunday, and I needed to see it ASAP!  That was my 8th time seeing the movie in the theater, and what movie isn't complete without a Bucket of Popcorn, a Large Root Beer, and Sour Patch Kids.  Now, I love the movie, and was so happy to see it, but kind of disappointed with the 3D.  There were some blurry parts which made it seem unfinished, and the color was completely off when you were wearing the glasses, which you had to, because nothing was in focus without them.  I guess the 3D was more distracting than enhancing to me.  I wish they would have just re-released the movie, because I would have seen it that way!  Overall, it was an experience, but it was perfect the way it originally was, and didn't need all the bells and whistles added to it.

I had pretty much gotten everything I needed to eat out of my system...although a trip to Taco Bell, In & Out, and Jack in the Box are next on my list...I can wait a few days!  And surprisingly, I wasn't at all sick on Monday!  Everything in moderation :)

Anniversaries & Eggs

Wednesday was my 1 Year Anniversary of Hosting Karaoke at Gabe's!  On St. Patrick's Day 2011 I went into Gabe's with Carolyn and Matt and while hanging out, Amy, the Bartender, asked Carolyn if she knew anyone that could host Karaoke, and Carolyn said I should do it.  I laughed, because I had never Hosted Karaoke and had no idea what I was doing.  Even if I go to Karaoke, this would be totally different.  Amy said the other Karaoke Host would train me, and I would just fill in and work on occasion, and the rest is History!

We had a good night at Gabe's as I walked into a very busy bar.  The rotation was pretty short, but everyone was very excited to sing and everyone was a really good singer so that was refreshing as well.  One of the girls that was singing even offered to buy me a drink, which was very sweet of her.  I opened with a Pat Benatar song because I know I opened my first show with Benatar song because I always felt comfortable with her music, and I'm so proud of how much I've grown in the past year, spanning genre's and trying new artists that fit me even better.  My new song of the night was Jewel's 'Don't' which is one of my favorite song's of hers.  It was a great night of Karaoke and a perfect way to celebrate my 1 Year Anniversary!

Since I had the afternoon off after a busy week I got caught up on some e-mails and Castings and also watched some 'Celebrity Apprentice' which I actually really enjoy.  I like that they're showing all the aspects of the show, not just the business end, but the creative parts like graphic design, product development and advertising.  Of course, there's always drama in reality tv, and this show is no different since this season is all reality tv stars.  I'm not going to lie, I've been getting choked up every time the contestants present a check to their charity; it's just such a feel good moment!  I never thought I would like the show, but I'm certainly getting sucked in to it!

One of my little guys :)

Later, when I was hanging out at home tonight, I heard Colin come in to the apartment and Jess get very excited, and she told me I had to come out and see why.  Colin had gotten all the fixings to Dye Easter Eggs!  While Jess made dinner, we got everything ready, and after a very yummy meal got started on our eggs.  I haven't dyed eggs in a few years, but used to do it with my Mom every year on Good Friday after Church and it was always so much fun.  The longer you let the eggs sit in the dye, the deeper the color you got.  My Mom always made the prettiest ones :)  So here the 3 of us adults sat with dye and eggs surrounding us, glitter, stickers, egg holders, and the wax pencil.  We got started one by one and before we knew it, our dozen eggs were chilling and drying, an array of colors, with Colin mixing the dye to make the perfect color for his last egg.  (Which resembled more of an acorn, right Jess?)  After the eggs were dried we put some stickers on them along with glitter.  I believe Jess is going to make Deviled Eggs this weekend after we've enjoyed them!

Happy Early Easter!