January wrap-up!

I haven't been posting much lately, so I'm going to pack a lot of stuff into a little post.

First, Mark started a company! It's called Subtorious Sound (the link will take you to the website), and he will sell audio software that he's made. Here's the logo I made for the company:

Second, wedding plans continue. The date is set (JULY 2!), but the location is no longer Cheekwood. Now, it will be at The Mill at Lebanon in The Loft area. I'm working on our Save the Dates, which I don't want to share, yet, because I want you all to be surprised when you see them in the mailbox! Mom, Chelsea and Corey have been amazing -- searching for cool decorations to go with our colors and theme. Mom's been working on a winning table setting! (Love you guys!)

Third, I've been making some really great friends! Chelsea (whom I mentioned in an earlier post), is shooting our engagement pictures at the Getty museum this Saturday. Should be a good time! She's also invited me to a Zombie Prom, that I will be attending, but if any "undead" start biting each other, I'm out. (Chelsea works in the horror film industry; unlikely friend for me, right?!) These pics are from last weekend where we went to see a friend's band play in Hermosa Beach.

(I forgot to actually get in a photo myself...)

Fourth, I've been cooking some delicious things!

1 - zucchini fritters

2 - orange/cinnamon chicken + veggies

 

3 - healthy cookies (no sugar or butter, what?!):

and 4 - vegetable couscous + wine (I didn't make the wine.)

Fifth, we got a TV, and because of that, we finally got our living room set up and feeling cozy. I'll shoot/post a video later, mostly for Tenderheart to see. :)

Sixth, I got a new side gig where I write/schedule/post tweets for a number of companies. The jobs are just stacking up! (I also got a job at Subtorious Sound as Vice President of Operations. I am the graphic and marketing guru there!)

Seventh, I am a member of Goodreads, a social networking website that is centered around books. I have pledged to read 60 books in 2011, and so far I've read 5. Five a month will get me to my goal! The books I've read are Suzanne Collins's Mockingjay, Mario Vargas Llosa's The Feast of the Goat, David Nicholls's One Day, David Sedaris's Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, and Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go. [Notice the widget at the top right of the blog; you can see my Goodreads profile by clicking there!]

Eighth, I love you and miss you all! I hope to be in town sometime soon.

Love from the west coast -

j

we're so high-tech.

Our Christmas present from Michael and Melanie (Mark's parents) arrived today. Due to our lack of tables as well as wires that connect to the speakers, we are temporarily housing the TV on Mark's desk.

After three years of living together, this is our first TV. We still will not get cable; Netflix, Wii and internet streaming will be enough!

Love,

j

finally back in la la land

Mark and I had a fun, busy two weeks of traveling. Here are a few highlights!


Nashville, TN
Christmas is Nashville is always a blast. Mom's house was decorated to the max, and I loved hanging out with my mom and sisters, although Chelsea had to work more than I wanted her to. Maggie was my driver, and we had a lot of fun talking, singing and laughing in her hot little five-speed. We also had many nights of sisterly chats, including ones that woke up the middle sister even though she had to work early. :)

My entourage went with me to shop for a wedding dress. (The lively group included Mom, Chelsea, Maggie, Emily, Corey Ann, Melanie, Ally, and Erin.) Thanks to all of you, we found a winner at Southern Belle Rose on White Bridge Road. I absolutely love it, AND it was on the clearance rack. Cha-ching!

Erie, PA
Erie was relaxing. I met my future nephew, Jack, fed him sweet potatoes and pumped him up to crawl. Jack is all Freeman -- dark hair, dark eyes, and beautiful.

We ate well, drank delicious wine, and had tons of good conversation. Carl and Stephanie will be leaving Erie soon when Carl serves in the Navy, so this trip will probably be my last to Erie! Such a nice town.

Cleveland, OH
On a pit stop through Cleveland on our way to St. Pete, we stayed with Michelle's family for a night. After visiting with our lovely Michelle, her family showed up, and hilarity ensued. Mark and John Primeau were guzzling his homemade brew, MaryAnne was schooling us in chicken foot and dominoes, and Michelle was feeding me detox tea. Of course Kat led an improv game that bested Mark and me, but the sisters were fantastic! The Primeaus are definitely a fun bunch, and their hospitality was endless!


St. Petersburg, FL
As Mark so eloquently said, we had a "novel experience" this New Years Eve. After waiting for about an hour to receive dinner at the club dining room, we headed down to the dance floor to cut a rug before KC and the Sunshine Band played. Mark and I rocked out to the DJ beforehand, and when KC came out we had secured a position at the front and center of the crowd. KC even came up to boogie right in front of me -- score! Melanie was stuck next to a couple that used a walker as a dance prop, and her foot was repeated rolled over while her sides were repeatedly jabbed with the walker's handles. Mark and I "dance/fought" for our place, and he had to get fierce to put a wild woman in a NYE hat in her place. We made it back to the hotel for the midnight fireworks show, and I made it to the toilet in time to throw up. Yay!

I got sick in St. Pete, and Mark followed. He caught a more serious strain of the bug, though, and ended up in the ER with a saline drip and anti-nausea medicine. We delayed our flight back to LA for a day and stayed with Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Steve to recover. Thanks, guys!

Here's a pic that Ally, my future sister-in-law, took of me and Mark on NYE! Thanks, Ally!

 

Ally and Scott are expecting a baby boy in April! So excited for them. :) 

Miss you all!

Love,

j

introducing: Chelsea Stardust

Mark and I have been getting out of the house some to hang out with friends! Yay for us! Here are a few pictures for proof...

This picture was taken by the lovely Chelsea P., alias Chelsea Stardust, who is one of my new friends! We were at Bergamot Station, a large art gallery complex in Santa Monica, and this is me in an old diner that was inside one of the galleries. Mark pointed out that I look eerily like my mother. :)

These pictures are from a party last Friday night, and Chelsea P is the lady in the photos with us! Chelsea B and Maggie might be interested to know that Chelsea P is a huge horror movie buff, and just got a job (woop!) with the production company that made Paranormal Activity. (She invited Mark and I to a screening of Insidious, a new horror film, but we humbly declined. Er, we're big babies.)

[If any of you brave kids want to look at her website, you can see it here: Chelsea Stardust. On it you will find an amazingly creepy photo shoot of serial killers and the like. Eeeek!]

soclose!

my beautiful littlest sister

Happy birthday to the most fun, littlest sister I could imagine. Chelsea and I loved to play with you, whether we were zooming you around the house in (slightly) unsafe baby strollers or pretending you were a puppy. You were the most fun toy we could have. And wait, you're a PERSON, not a toy for Jessica and Chelsea! And wait, you're seventeen years old today! I'm infinitely proud to have such smart, lovely women as my sisters. So, seester, happy birthday. We shall celebrate in a few weeks when I am home. I miss you lots.

 

 

i like pie.

For thanksgiving I made Mark's favorite pie - a chocolate/pecan/bourbon pie from Melanie's recipe. (Melanie is Mark's mom, my future mother-in-law!)

I hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving! Love, J