Jillian

I don't like this picture but I am posting it in honor of Jillian's last day. I am so happy for her but I am going to miss her.

L's Salon

My coworker Jillian is a hairstylist and she has decided to go back to working full time as a stylist at L's Salon in Carpinteria. Her last day is tomorrow and I am sad to see her go. I'm not friends with many people I work with so it's a bummer when one of them leaves.

More Flan

A few months ago Veronica (a member of the housekeeping staff that works for my company) brought me some delicious homemade flan. She brought in more today in this cute tin.

Abacus

I received an abacus in the mail today as a gift from the insurance broker I work with through my company. I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to do with it but I'll figure something out.

Despicable Me

Ted and I watched Despicable Me this evening. It is a super cute story and the three little girls in the movie were especially cute.

What Are The Odds?

Ted and I watched a Comedy Central special featuring Greg Giraldo this evening. During one of the laugh breaks they panned to the audience and I saw my friend A.J. To say I was shocked is an understatement. I can't even imagine what the odds are of recognizing someone in the audience of a taped comedy show from 10 years ago. Crazy!

Oui Oui

Ted and I are going to Paris in September and I can hardly wait. Woo hoo!

Catfish

Catfish is a strange film to say the least. Ted and I watched it several weeks ago and I still don't know how I feel about it. It's kind of creepy, kind of sad, and kind of interesting all at the same time.

A Duck Out Of Water

A duck was hanging out outside of Ted's office today and he snapped this picture. We've had a lot of heavy rain lately. I guess even ducks occasionally need a reprieve from the rain.

I'm An Otter Scrubber

No new picture today so I decided to post a picture of the otter bookmark I bought when we visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium last month.

Leroy

The animals in my ASPCA calendar are so cute I feel they each deserve their own blog post. This month features Leroy, a beautiful orange cat.

The Kids Are All Right

Ted and I watched The Kids Are All Right last night. It has an interesting premise and it is well acted. It wasn't quite what we expected but overall we enjoyed it.

It's Been A Long Time

I've been reading up a storm on my Kindle and I decided to go to the library and check out some free books. It's been several months since I've gone to the library and it was nice to be back exploring the stacks and picking out books to read.

The Wild Plum Cafe

One more post from our trip to Monterey. When we went to dinner Friday night we saw a cute cafe and decided to try it for breakfast Saturday morning. The food was so delicious we ate there Sunday morning too.
Picture #1: The entrance to The Wild Plum Cafe.
Picture #2: The menu board.
Picture #3: They had beautiful tulips on all of the tables.
Picture #4: They had a message board where patrons can write messages. It was an interesting and colorful touch to the space.

Feed The Pig

A group of employees in our Ventura office is participating in the American Cancer Society Relay for Life in May. They put these piggy banks in the break room so employees can contribute to their fund raising efforts.

Ann's Birthday Part 3

There were so many great moments on our wine tasting trip I decided to share one last set of pictures from Ann's birthday.
Picture #1: Kitty, Ann, Phyllis, Carlyn, and Adele at Beckmen Vineyards.
Picture #2: The tasting room at Beckmen Vineyards.
Pictures #3-4: Sunstone Winery.
Picture #5: Last tasting of the day at Sunstone Winery. Carlyn, Kitty, Ann, Phyllis, Adele.

*These pictures were taken on 3/12/2011.

Additional Birthday Pictures

My friend Kitty took lots of pictures of our wine tasting trip and she emailed some of the pictures to us today.
Picture #1: The limo picking us up in the morning. Pictured left to right- Beth, Adele, Carlyn, Ann, Phyllis.
Picture #2: Kitty snapped a better picture of our delicious lunch.

*These pictures were taken by Kitty on 3/12/2011.

Sweet Girl Scout

I bought girl scout cookies from my coworker Cyndi's daughter. When Cyndi delivered the cookies she dropped off this thank you card her daughter Emma made for people who bought cookies from her. She included a picture of a Samoa because that is her favorite girl scout cookie. I think that is a very sweet touch.

Winery Cats

Something I learned during our visits to the wineries yesterday is that many, if not most, wineries have a winery cat. We met the winery cat at three out of the four wineries we visited. Unfortunately I did not take a picture of the cat at Beckmen Vineyards. They were all super friendly and completely nonplussed about all of the people milling around them.
Picture #1: Princess who resides at Alma Rosa in Buellton.
Picture #2: A framed picture of Princess in the gift shop.
Picture #3: Smitty who resides at Sunstone Winery in Santa Ynez.

*These pictures were taken on 3/12/2011.

Happy Birthday, Ann!

Today is my coworker and friend Ann's 60th birthday. Our mutual friend Kitty planned a wine tasting trip to celebrate Ann's big day. We visited four wineries- Alma Rosa, Rusack, Beckmen Vineyards, and Sunstone.
Picture #1: Let's get this party started! First stop Alma Rosa Winery in Buellton. Pictured from right to left- Kitty, Phyllis, Ann, Carlyn, Adele, Beth.
Pictures #2-3: Alma Rosa Winery.
Picture #4: A view of Alma Rosa Winery. It doesn't look like much from the outside but once you pass through the gift shop you are led to a charming outdoor tasting room.
Picture #5: Ann, Phyllis, Adele, Carlyn, and Kitty outside the tasting room at Rusack.
Picture #6: Lunch at Rusack. Kitty brought an assortment of delicious treats for us to snack on. From bread and cheese, to pasta salad, to grapes, it was the perfect culinary compliment to a day of wine tasting.

Highway 1: Part Three

A few more pictures from our drive down Highway 1.
Pictures # 1-3: Beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean and California coastline.
Pictures #4-6: Sea lions in San Simeon.

*These pictures were taken 2/20/2011.

Monterey Bay Aquarium: Part Three

A few more pictures to share from our trip to Monterey. After a wonderful afternoon exploring the aquarium Ted and I had dinner at R.G. Burger. Every place we ate on our trip was delicious and R.G. Burger did not disappoint. You can't go wrong with burgers, fries, and a brownie sundae for dessert.
Picture #1: A colorful underwater scene.
Picture #2: Jellyfish.
Picture #3: Pretty penguins.
Pictures #4-5: Dinner at R.G. Burger.

*These pictures were taken 2/19/2011.

Highway 1: Part Two

We saw so many amazing sights on our drive down Highway 1 I couldn't fit them all in one blog post so here are a few more.
Pictures #1-2: Beth in front of the Bixby Bridge.
Picture #3: Another beautiful vista.
Picture #4: I never met Burt Acker but he sure chose a beautiful resting place.
Pictures # 5-6: More views of the Pacific Ocean.

* These pictures were taken 2/20/2011