near year's resolutions check-in.

did you know today, july 2, is the exact halfway point of the year? yup. kinda nuts it's already here, huh? i agree. so, figured today was a good time to check in on where i'm at with the 2013 goals i wrote on january 1.

1. be present. be in the moment. focus on the conversation at hand. 

personally. professionally. don't get distracted by other things. be present. listen, take it in & digest it.

2. dwell less.

yeah, it's always on the list. but i swear i'm getting better. 

3. more vitamins. 

another repeat, but i did do pretty good last year so here's to hoping for daily.

4. lose the word "busy" from my vocabulary.

i was even annoying myself at how often i used this word. we're all busy. and busy is totally subjective. busy to me may be your most relaxing day. we're all dealing with jobs, kids, life. "how was your day?" "busy"- find another descriptor. dig deeper, people. 

5. step-up my skin care products & regimen. 

i find it so overwhelming. facials? easy. but skin products? so many decisions and marketing. bleh.

6. read my magazines or unsubscribe.

digital and print. enough said. this goes for online newsletters and catalogs, too.

7. make more time for hobbies. 

i love to DIY. i've got a new sewing machine & an dresser dedicated to supplies. do it. use 'em.

8. cook more. eat less. 

i love to dine out and have a bit of a portion control problem. if it tastes good, i'm not stopping.

9. go shopping in my own closet.
it's okay to re-wear outfits. and even be photographed in them - twice (ah!) get creative. mix & match.

10. be a hostess, not hostress
they. are. friends. they don't care if you have fresh flowers or a perfectly clean house. it's just about spending time together. in fact, they'll probably appreciate your relaxed approach (less pressure on them when they reciprocate) and you'll have more fun chatting verses stressing about the lighting & the playlist. let your friends pour their own wine - if they judge you, consider your friendship. imagine how much more we'd all just "stop by" if we didn't push pressure on each other to whip up Pinterest looking cheese boards and come with a bow-tied hostess gifts in hand. a bunch of my girlfriend's and i have talked about being better at this... and it's awesome. i used to panic if danny sprung on me that he invited jack & jane over without any notice. his response, "i think we have some hot dogs and chips - nobody cares." i would immediately start flying around the house and off to the grocery store i'd go. stress. but you know what? if they're legit friends, they really don't care... just always keep a fully stocked bar ;)

overall, i'm doing pretty good. some much better than others. i just hate taking horse pills. 

... how are your resolutions going? 

at 10:30 am today my little brother will be an official college graduate.

he was technically done last winter, but today he walks the walk and turns his cap's tassel. 

my bro's got a business degree and a brand new j-o-b to prove it. 

we're super duper proud of you, steven. 

in the spirt of graduation, i just happened to stumble upon this video of University of Arizona's
recent spring commencement finale slideshow turned electronica dance party complete with lazers.
nice work, wildcats! now that's how one of the nation's top party school does commencement. 

welcome home miracle baby.

<<< we were at dinner with dan & tiffany when they broke the news that they were pregnant. we were thrilled. it was the end of june. they were due on christmas day.

so when we got the call on september 11, 2012 that they had welcomed their baby girl, devin bailey, into the world the emotions were mixed. at just 25 weeks, devin was born at 1 pound 7 ounces.

there was excitement for our friends who just became first-time parents, but we all knew that the next few days, weeks and months were going to be tough. each one of their text messages and phone call updates brought tears and smiles to our eyes. it was an incredible sight to see such a tiny spirit fighting so hard.

we're so excited to announce that after 124 long days in the NICU, devin bailey has gone home! home sweet home. 

congratulations, dan & tiff. we can't wait to meet this little miracle.

looking back at 2012.

{our last photo of 2012. just hours before the ball dropped}

all in all, 2012 was a damn good year with some significant milestones for us:

we finally sold our home. 

we moved downtown into a little tudor we adore. 

danny turned 30. 

we purged a ton of stuff & got super organized.

i advanced my career with the start of two new jobs (so weird).

we both hit health & wellness goals. 

i continued chronicling our memories via this blog.

we made new friends and strengthened existing relationships.

we made a decision to keep our phoenix zip code and really embraced our city.

we toasted 10 years together as d & t.  

here's to hoping for an even better 2013 for us, our family & friends! 

i've got a good feeling about it.

new year's posts from the past: last year here, NYE 2011 here & here.

---

someone turns seven (eh, 47) today.

mr. huntie:

i sure do hope you know how much your dad and i love you.

it may seem borderline creepy, but we don't care. you're the best.

my milkbone wish today is that scientists figure out an age-defying dog serum soon 

so you can be in our family forever. 

happy 7th monsterpants.

read more all about huntie here.

birthaversary week :: the final act.

last week was officially dubbed my "birthaversary" by alicia. my birthday + our wedding anniversary being only days apart and not landing on labor day weekend this year, did make it feel like 10 days of non-stop celebrating. the final to do was last friday night in phoenix when a group of us headed downtown for happy hour at bliss / rebar followed by jammin' out (and time-out) at a local blues bar. thanks to everyone who celebrated with me - and us - last week! 

xoxo

so excited ryan & steph (colton, too) were able to make it. she's 7-months preggo! looks great, huh?

ting tong & ry-guy

love me a tall coffee. get it? like a tall from starbucks. yeah, you probably do. 

what are nick & angela starring & laughing at? oh this....

megan and me having a little too much fun with the outside portable AC unit. 

and then, we went to Chars...

and it was at chars i got put on time-out by danny. i pouted for some time. 

let's be real - griiiiiiillllzzzz loved it, ting. you know he did. 

side note: it was only the second time in 7 years that i celebrated my birthday in phoenix. 

portlandia.

we spontaneously decided to celebrate labor day weekend 2012 in oregon -- portland and the willamette valley (a friend taught us how to pronounce it, like damn-it willamette).

i had never been to portland so that was a plus (danny had his bachelor party there), and it felt appropriate to do wine country as a throwback to our engagement weekend in 2008 (spent in napa valley & san fran).

it was an awesome weekend. i didn't really know what to expect. i've watched a few episodes of "portlandia" ("put a bird on it" video clip - ha!) and knew it had to be pretty granola and funky with a city motto "keep portland weird" - but it was so much more than that. did you know portland is on a river and a total foodie city? yeah, i didn't.

the minute we landed, we surrendered our rental car to the hotel valet and hit the city streets in search of food and drink... and that never stopped. it was one of the best getaways we've had in a while and exactly what we wanted - no agenda, a hip city to explore, beautiful weather and tons of places to relax & eat.

all weekend we joked that we were conquering portland one calorie at a time.

we spent the majority of our time in the funky Pearl District. we walked - a lot - and that was awesome because a) we could burn some calories and b) we kept organically bumping into places and things that people had told us to check out - Powell's Books, Voodoo Donuts (never waited - the line was ridiculous all times of the day), McMenamins and a gazilla breweries and restaurants. 

some of our favorites:
-- Irving Street Kitchen: we had a 3-hour dinner at the bar. it was amazing. great vibe. great food.
-- Isabel: wonderful brunch. I had the breakfast quesadilla with a pineapple mimosa - yum!
-- Stumptown Coffee: an oregon staple. best vanilla latte ever. starbucks, starschmucks.
-- Clyde Common: cool restaurant/bar adjacent to the Ace Hotel. tasty drinks served in fun tea-time stemware.
-- Central: stumbled upon "bar alley" - wood picnic tables. awesome vibe. 50+ speciality cocktails.
-- Sizzle Pie: fun little slice shop, you know, for a mid-day "snack."
-- Deschutes Brewery: some of Ting's fave craft beers + an amazing tuna melt served with honey mustard!

first pic of the trip

see that bottle? it's specialty honey mustard. deschutes went up 10 points in my book.

 all those white marks are chips of paint missing. people throw coins towards that copper "dish" to make it down the shoot and into the pot. kinda fun / kinda scary when you're sitting at the bar and coins are flying everywhere.

bikes! everywhere bikes.

lobby at the Ace Hotel.

tea time for two at clyde common, next door to the ace hotel

next!

 

we saw a bunch of pink boxes walking around and knew we were close to the uber famous Voodoo Donut. That's the line - doubled back! And that was the smallest we ever saw it. We didn't have the patients to wait in line for a $4 donut. Maybe next time. 

leaving Voodoo we saw this adorable alley with tables, restaurants and bars. we grabbed a table in the sunshine at Central. those 3 people are the servers, bartenders & chefs. the guy kept riding his bike to go get fresh bread and bring it back. 

from central, we decided to walk down to the river. i didn't know portland was on a river. fact.

danny showing me where the majority of his bachelor party happened - on the grass for the giant beer fest.

a common scene over the weekend: ting stretching out his calves. that's another story.

obviously that walk to the river required a snack. we found this little mexican shop on the corner of a street.

the rogue brewery & ale house. good beer, but we were not feeling the brewery. two-stars.

you may notice danny went from a beard to this lovely handlebar stash. this happened after a full day of "exploring" - clearly my husband was inspired by the portland vibe.

d, finish your flight and let's gooooooo. i was ready.

portland is just so cool. period. 

we were wandering around and ended up in this super swanky area. didn't spot a single bum. weird for pdx.

so we laid in the grass for a bit.

via social media, a longtime friend of mine & his wife (our super talented wedding photographers - StudioCastillero) and i figured out we'd all be in portland at the same time. we met up for drinks - randomly, his wife and him stumbled upon the same alley and picked the exact same picnic table at Central that we had loved the day before! great minds. 

snack time! a few of the TONS of funky portland food trucks. our fave was "volksawaffle" in an VW.

we even scored tickets to see Yesayer at a cool Portland venue called the Crystal Ballroom at McMenamins, a four-story high school converted in a concert and event venue. the old hardwood floors and chandeliers were shaking like crazy - it was pretty rad.

 major late-night bike meet-up.

until next time portland... keep it real. and weird.