Color-coding life

Do you use a planner? I have always admired people that were that organized, but I have also always loved my ability to remember dates and times correctly. But, after today's work meeting and my very extensive to-do list (new mega-huge work project in the works that is top secret but will share soon, I promise), my school schedule, and personal errands my brain hit overload in the memory department. And viola! iCal to the rescue! Creating my color-coded schedule really tickled my fancy, but it also caused a mini-anxiety attack while looking at the big picture. But, it will be so worth it to get it all accomplished!

The Halfway Point

First day of classes:

8 a.m. - Arrive on time to my first class. I haven't taken a class this early for a long time, let alone actually attend, so I was very proud of myself! Halfway through class my brain with spinning from a caffeine high. I just recently took on a pretty heavy coffee addiction. Even now that it is 2:33 p.m. my head is still in a haze from the Sumatra blend.

10 a.m. - Paid the house bills for the month BEFORE I got the reminder email. Even more proud of myself for remembering.

12 p.m. - Walk to Venture Management class. Even more proud of myself for remembering an umbrella because it started POURING rain so hard I could hardly see in front of me.

2 p.m. - Buy 2 additional books for classes at the bookstore. No pride here.

2:15 p.m.- Forgot my headphones at home, so now I am sitting in the library writing this and reading the first chapter of The Endangered Species Act at Thirty, when I want to be watching last nights episode of Gossip Girl. Really not proud of myself.

Right Now - Closing my laptop to go to Power Step Aerobics class. Proud of myself for working out when all I really want is a nap. Go me.

Just My Type of Movie

I don't mind cleaning up other people's messes, but I think I would have to draw the line at cleaning up a dead guys brains. However, watching Rose and Norah (Emily Blunt and Amy Adams) do it in Sunshine Cleaning was definitely worth my while.

The people who created Little Miss Sunshine came back with another signature quirky movie about two sisters who start a cleaning business cleaning up messes other people won't touch. They even went as far as to bring back the obnoxious Grandpa, Alan Arkin, to play another unconventional Grandpa.

I love movies of transformation. This movie has two great ones as the sisters forge through life seeking a semblance of meaning in their lives.

Happy Belated Birthday!

I feel so terrible that I missed a birthday, but to my credit I didn't know her birthday was on September 21st. So, I want to wish Christine (my name twin) a Happy Belated Birthday! I am sure she will be surprised to see this! And I know she will laugh at this cheesy kitty cat video.

New Hair

I have the best hairstylist. I love that I can trust his vision when I have none of my own. I went in with no idea other than I want to chop my hair off and came out with a fun cut and color.

I wanted to show you right away the new hair, so I don't even mind that it is a crappy Photo Booth picture!

1969

I haven't shopped at the GAP for a really long time. But, to my pleasant surprise I read that the GAP updated their denim collection, so I decided to check it out.

I completely have fallen in love with GAPs new premium denim line- 1969. The GAP hired a new denim designer, Jason Sheeler, who has designed for Giorgio Armani and is using higher quality denim like that used in True Religions. Jason says that what makes the jeans premium is the fit. I agree. What makes me even more excited is the price. I picked up the Real Straight, Sexy Boot, and Always Skinny (in black) for the price of what one pair of my other "premium" denim jeans cost. Woohoo, look at me being thrifty! (almost).

Check it out and tell me if you agree. Another tip- the jeans shrink about 1/2 inch in length, but stretch out during wear about a half a size, so buy them snug.

Black & White

I use to make fun of the store White House Black Market for limiting their inventory to just two colors! Now, look what I came home with after my latest shopping trip...

Black and white!

Thank goodness my hair is a bright blonde right now!

Fall fashion is my favorite.

I love sweaters, jeans, hats and layers.

I love this years stripes and plaids.

LIVE IT/SHARE IT/WEAR IT - The Monument of Our Hearts

I tuned into Survivor for the first time since the second season to watch a friend of mine outwit, outplay, and outlast the other nineteen contests on Survivor Samoa. The show hasn't changed since I watched it in middle school, but CBS seems to be doing a really good job keeping the drama high with very volatile cast mates. I already have a deep dislike for Russell, the bully, as he is making the game a living hell for the yellow team. Thank goodness Brett is on the purple team right now!

Brett, has been pursing his dream of launching a cause-based clothing company, "The Monument of Our Hearts." The line strives to leverage his brand to actively support and advocate for health body image. I find the line and message so inspiring and much-needed in today's fashion. I also am so excited, being an entrepreneurship student myself, that Brett took the risk of opening his own label. If only I had the capital right now, I would fully invest in his company (let me know if you are interested and I will pass your name along to him). I am so glad he was able to display the clothes for the world on Survivor- great publicity for a great brand.

TMOOH just went live with the website a few weeks ago- check it out here: http://www.tmooh.com/ . You can't buy the clothing JUST YET, but it is coming soon. To check out some of the creative designs tune into Survivor on CBS Thursdays at 8 p.m.

Connect with TMOOH on Twitter for the latest news!

OOOO-SSSS-UUUU Oregon State, Fight, Fight, Fight

I had to break out all my black and orange because football season is here! Although we did our best cheering on the Beavers, they still couldn't pull out a win on their home opener! Hopefully they have better luck with Arizona this Saturday. Chris and I we so excited to spend the day with Isaac and Jennifer.

And no football game is complete without chugging 40s during half-time!

Finishing Off Our Trip in Wine Country!

The last time I was in Califonia's wine country I was 12. I complained about touring wineries and tasting grape juice. Now, it is a completely different story. Chris and I raced from Albuquerque to Sonoma to spend the end of our vacation exploring wine country. The first day was walked around the plaza in Sonoma and then went out to a few wineries off Highway 12. Our stops included Imagery Estate, Kunde, Chateau St. Jean, St. Francis and Paradise Ridge. I was not a fan of any of the Imagery Estate wines, in fact I tasted tire rubber in all the reds. But, the art they showcase on the labels is so creative that I wanted to buy the bottles just for decor.

On the first day I was so much more of a fan of the atmosphere and design of the wineries than the wines (I am just a biased Oregon varietal girl)! Kunde had a beautiful patio and water feature in front of the tasting room (think garden party).

But, my favorite winery look was Chateau St. Jean. I am the biggest fan of Mediterriean inspired design, but they winery went over the top with its French villa infusion. This would be the most perfect wedding location ever.

We went back to the Sonoma plaza for dinner. The next day we hit the wine scene early by visiting Artesa and Chateau Carnernos. Both are beautiful, showy wineries that feature many sparkling wine varietals (I love bubbles)!

Chateau Carneros:

Then we made our way to Ledson. Ledson was over the top for me. A little gaudy, don't you think?

Once we made our way out of Sonoma and into the Russian River Valley and Healdsburg, I was much more in my element. I enjoyed the more laid back feel after visiting all these more pretentious places. We checked out Foppiano, Merriam and Sapphire Hill. We ate lunch outside at the Healdsburg Grill, which I would 100% recommend. Healdsburg has great shops and tasting rooms to check out in the downtown area.

We left that evening and made our way up the 101 in the fog. We were so closed in, I never even saw the ocean. We got back to Grants Pass that night and our road trip was officially over. It was such an eventful and unforgettable trip. Chris is the best travel companion I could ever ask for. I loved spending all my moments with him! What a great close to summer!

Enjoy the Freedom of the Road.

Shuffling through all the photos I took from my road trip is so overwhelming right now. But, I really want to share with you how incredible of the time I had. Chris and I drove down to southern Oregon really late at night to bunk with his family, and so we could get a 3 hour head start in the morning. This was us leaving the driveway!

We drove 13.5 hours the first day-from Grants Pass, Oregon to Salt Lake City (519 miles on one road). It wasn't so bad either (this is coming from a girl who had never driven over 5 hours consecutively in her life)! But, there was one freaky part... having the gas light come on in the middle of nowhere and having to make it 55 miles to the next gas station with no cell service if we broke down! Besides that mini-drama the rest of the drive was easy-going. I was entertained by an audio book called Under the Banner of Heaven that was one of the most captivating books I have ever heard, but I love non-fiction and I love hearing about twisted extremists. We spent 2.5 days in Salt Lake City visiting Chris' brother who recently moved there to work for the VA. Day one was my dream day as we shopped for 6 hours and hit up a sushi bar to replenish. Day two we watched a baseball game and day three we went to the zoo. This is Chris, Aiden (Chris' nephew) and I at the Salt Lake City Bees baseball game showing off our blue tongues from all the cotton candy we ate!

Here is Chris and Aiden at the zoo. Being on Chris' shoulders is definitely the way to tour the zoo! You can cruise above the crowds and you never get tired!

I was so sad to leave Salt Lake City, but we had so much more country to discover! Since we didn't have an itinerary (on purpose) we got a lead on an incredible place in southern Utah called Zion National Wilderness. So on we went!

For scenery, I thought it was equal to the Grand Canyon! I enjoyed it more than the Grand Canyon because there were less crowds and better hiking. Here is the view when you first enter the park:

Our first night camping was in Zion and we had so much fun making a fire, roasting brauts (bad idea), drinking wine, and stargazing. Zion had the most star-filled skies I had ever seen.

Here is Chris roasting a brauts. They were no good, so we had to use the camp stove on the rest of the package.

Enjoying the Brickhouse N.V. Pinot Noir out of plastic kegger cups!

Chris being the sommelier he is! haha.

The next morning we woke up and tackled the Observation Trail aka 4 miles of straight uphill climbing. Look at the trail below:

View from the top! We climbed 2600 ft in elevation, so we were standing at about 6600 ft.

From Zion we drove to the Grand Canyon to witness more exquisite views. We only stayed in the Grand Canyon for one night. We did a 3 mile mini-hike, but the thought of hiking downhill first to see what we already saw up at the top to then turn around and huff-and-puff back up wasn't so appealing to us! But, seeing the biggest hole in the ground was pretty dang amazing none-the-less!

After the Grand Canyon we jetted over to Albuquerque, New Mexico (I learned how to spell it on my own!!) to visit a bunch more of Chris' family. The first day there we drove an hour up to Santa Fe and had lunch at a restaurant that Chris' cousin is a chef at. It was so spectacular that I can't think of adjectives good enough to describe it. La Boca is located in downtown Santa Fe and is a quaint restaurant. We were so surprised they were able to fit us in for lunch on such short notice.

Here is Jonah, Chris and I outside La Boca.

Santa Fe is celebrating their 400th year anniversary with non-stop fiestas! I love mariachi bands! The cream outfits are so adorable!

We planned our trip around a major event- his Grandpa's 80th Birthday. To celebrate we all went to the University of New Mexico football game. Chris' Grandpa, Mike, was the kicker for the team in 1952 and received the nickname "Goldentoe." Here is the whole crew tailgating before the game:

More coverage of the road trip coming soon... up next- California Wine Country!

Yep. Uh Huh. You're Right.

Love is a verb.

A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving. ~Lao Tzu

The 14 day Road Trip is beginning in 3 hours! Tonight we will be driving down to Grants Pass, Oregon where we will be swapping cars. Then tomorrow morning we will be up bright and early making our way to Salt Lake City... Stay tuned!

Hoyt Dogs!

To all my Portlanders:

If you ever go out in Northwest Portland you have to try a Hoyt dog! Last Saturday we met up with our friend Cushman and did the bar circuit in Northwest. We got to listen to some great and some not-so-great karaoke at Gypsy, take shots of Rumplemintz (our personal favorite hehehe) at Marathon and Ringler's, wander around downtown Portland for hours (from our own bad judgement), meet up with some people who found a brand new (in the plastic still) game of Candy Land (lucky!), play some arcade basketball game (Cushman dominated), and finally, eat a Hoyt dog!

The Hoyt Hot Dog Stand started out by a girl bringing her grill to the street one night to cook hot dogs for her friends. Since, it has transitioned into a hangout between the hours of 1 and 3 am. The original girl recruited her friends and they now BBQ hot dogs and sell them for $4. It was by far the best hot dog I have ever had. They offer Brauts, Lousiana Red-Hots, and 8" Beef with all the fixins' (even cream cheese, who would have thought?).

I love the idea and wish I had thought of it myself! It was a cool way to meet all sorts of new people.