Blogging, Beaching, Running

This weekend was so jam packed with fun and friends I totally need a day off to recover from it all!

A weekend of OC Bloggers, brunch, beach views, and the Brea8K race!

The weekend started off with an OC Blogger event.  I saw Melyssa advertise it on her blog The Nectar Collective that there was going to be a brunch for Orange County, California bloggers and I felt like I had to go, and I am so glad that I did.

The event was held at Great Over Good in Santa Ana and was a perfect, creative space.  It was a joy to meet other bloggers in person, eat some amazing food, and pretend I am crafty.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="717"] I made a craft and even tied a ribbon on it. Please do not notice that the ribbon could have been shorter.[/caption]

One of my favorite movements came from Jess from Jess Loves This Life.  As soon as she met me she said "Penny!" and I knew I would love her.  I told Penny she had a fan and she has been unbearable ever since!

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="717"] Jess from Jess Loves This Life![/caption]

Another highlight for me was meeting Rachel, Nicole, and Raewyn in person. I had already read their blogs so it was cool to meet them face to face after reading and sponsoring their blogs.

I think the best part of the day for me on a personal note was not just meeting more bloggers, which was amazing, but being encouraged that pursuing my PhD was the right thing to be doing.  I was kind of getting discouraged and considering not doing it next year.  Some of the ladies that were there were are actually working as professors already or were in school.  They totally gave me the encouragement I needed to know that I was making the right choice and that even though it would be hard it was worth it.  Um hello working 3 days a week!

After the brunch I decided I needed some "Erica Time" and went down to San Clemente for a few hours to walk around and soak up the beach.

I love San Clemente.  It is my favorite beach town to just go and hang out and shop, eat and walk along the beach.  It is not overcrowd like some of the beaches in Southern California and it is relaxed and welcoming.

While I was there I tried my hand at using my camera a little more and took a few photos to document the lovely day. The first four photos were of a cute little shop on Del Mar that had awesome shabby chic furniture and handmade signs. I would have spent my whole paycheck there if there was a way to get it all home.

Then I went down to the pier and took some photos of the scenery.  Sorry if you do not like beachy ocean photos.  This would be the time to quite reading my blog if you hate beauty.

[caption id="attachment_891" align="aligncenter" width="620"] San Clemente Pier[/caption]





I also had the opportunity to participate in an 8K this weekend, I thought it was a 5K but whatever, I owned it.

Truth be told I didn't run that much. I ran enough so that when I say "I ran in an 8K" it isn't a lie.  It was a very fast walk though and I beat all those old people and children so that as all that mattered.  If you are thinking about a 5K or 8K or half marathon or whatever, just do it.  It was really fun and not at all terrible.

[caption id="attachment_894" align="aligncenter" width="620"] I ran in the 8k Brea Classic and the picture a stranger took of me was tragic so all you get is this to prove I did it.[/caption]

One last note before I leave you for today.  I just want the world to realize I am so smart when it comes to hockey.  I made the following prediction on Friday's post, A Girl's Guide to Olympic Hockey, and I was right!  If only I was in Vegas at the Sports Book and I could have made a few dollars.

[caption id="attachment_868" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Bam! I called it![/caption]

Linking up with Rachel and Emily today as I provided a wrap up and I am grateful for the great weekend I had!

I also ail be continuing my series on starting a blog tomorrow with the following theme:

Homeless Chic In The Sports Book

You guys!  I just got back from three days in Reno, Nevada and I have to tell you I have never been so grateful to be back in California.  If you are from Reno, I truly hope you are not going to stop reading my blog.  Maybe you can tell me what I missed, because that place was cray!

I went to the "Alex Dunfee of cities" this week to check it out to see if I could potentially live there and go to the University of Nevada for my PhD.  The answer is no!  I call Reno Alex Dunfee because it reminds me of the geeky littler sister that just can never be as pretty and fun as the big sister, Las Vegas.

On Thursday my mom, Penny, and pal Justina, loaded up my mom's Honda and set out for the glory of Reno.  9 hours alter we arrived at our hotel and fell asleep (we are wild women).

We then hit the town and did what you can do in Reno, visit the university and go to casinos.

 The look you see below is called Homeless Chic.  It really is simple.  All you need are cute boots, skinny jeans, and a flannel from the men's department.  This one comes from Macy's.  I recommend you wear a fitted T-shirt with some feminine touches to help bring out the chic and turn down the lumberjack. It also helps if you have a cute dog.

After I decided there was no earthly reason I could go to school there, we headed downtown for some drugs, I mean for some gambling action.

I actually am not a gambler by nature.  I can not sit at a slot machine and feed it my hard-earned money. I also am extremely intimidated by the poker tables so I head over the sports book to place my money on professional sports.

Ladies, I urge you to find a sport you like, learn about it, and then go to a casino and bet on that team. It makes the game more fun when you watch it and I am pretty sure it is super sexy.  Each time I have gone to place bets on sports my friends and I are the only ladies there.  You get a lot of attention from men. Granted some of them are gross bookies or whatever, but this is where you will find the most normal guys.

Justina and I joined forces and made a parley with three teams. A parley is when you bet on more than one team by the way. I am happy to tell you that we know our hockey and we left Reno with $70!

We then decided that there was not much left to do so we came home a day early.  We stopped at the Emigrant Trail museum and learned more about the Donner Party freezing to death and turning to cannibalism in the Sierra Nevadas.  It was gross and I wanted to eat a hamburger right when we left.  I know this is a weird place to go, but I really like to learn at least one thing when I am on vacation and that was the most famous thing that happened around there.

All in all I am glad I went to Reno.  I made some money, found a new fashion, and was grateful that I did not have to travel across the mountains in a covered wagon to get to California.

Oh and Penny got to play in the snow for the first time.  She actually had a hard trip, but she is tough and bounced back yesterday.

So take a lesson from me: if you find yourself in Reno, wear a flannel, bet on the Ducks, and stay away from the south end of town.  There were way too many people walking around at night making bad choices.

I am also participating in Kym's What I'm Loving Lately Giveaway this month.  Be sure to visit her blog Travel Babbles and enter blow for your chance to win this super awesome planner!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

On Moving On

I am currently sitting in the teachers lounge in a pink snuggie writing this post and waiting for basketball practice to end so I can go to Rubio's and eat some fish tacos!  As I sit here and catch up on all things blog I have been thinking about what I would do if I did not live in Southern California anymore.  

California has a lot to offer and more often than not I love it here.  Some of my favorite things about Cali are that the weather is usually wonderful, the beach is about a 45 minute drive away, the mountains are an hour away, there is great entertainment in concerts and theater, the sports teams are good (Hello Ducks!) and my family is all here. . 

Despite my general appreciation for The Golden State I often get the itch to leave.  There is a lot about my life here that I am pretty sure I can live without such as the insane traffic, overcrowding, the shallow, vapid people, the pace of life, the smog.  I could go on and on, but I am not looking to be negative.  It will suffice to say that if I had a good reason and the potential for some good friendships I would up and move.

I was reminded of my desire to get out of dodge when I read Helene's post about the Texas State Fair.  I grew up going to the Arizona State Fair, because I grew up in Arizona, and it was always fun. I am a small town girl at heart and there are times where I want to get out of this fast paced life. I told Helene that I was jealous of her state fair going ways and she told me to move to Texas.  It was funny because I actually have thought of moving to Texas and a few other places.  I decided it was time to share my list of places I would relocate to if the circumstances were right.

Austin, Texas 

 

I have heard that Austin is really great for people my age.  It is smaller than Dallas and Houston, but larger than the small towns that the southwest is known for (am I allowed to call Texas the Southwest?)  It know there is huge music culture there, which I would love.  I also know that the University of Texas Austin is amazing.  I have actually thought about applying for school to get my doctorate there. 

 Washington DC 

My uncle is so cool.  He took this while visiting my cousin last year.

Maybe it is all the episodes of The West Wing I have watched, great memories from my high school trip, or my uncle's beautiful photographs, but I could totally picture myself living in our nation's capitol. 

 Nashville, Tennessee 

 

I will be dead honest and say that a huge draw to Nashville is the possibility of falling in love with an up in coming country music star.  I mean, really how amazing would that be?  

 Chicago, Illinois 

I realized I have a thing for pretty cities and bodies of water.

I have always heard Chicago is amazing.  My niece is studying at the University of Chicago and she just loves that city.  I also want to pack up and move whenever I read Tay's posts about this city. 
 

So what cities have I missed in my search for my next place to live in?  Also if you know of any awesome opportunities in any of these cities let me know, seriously.

  

Anywhere With You

Two of the things I love the most are music and traveling.

Total tourist look through the streets of Europe.

Frankenstein face as we go through Frankenstein.

I am somewhat musical and come from a family of musical people.  My grandmother has a beautiful voice.  When she was young she actually sang on the radio.  My mom was more of the instrumental type and can play the french horn beautifully. I can sing, not as good as my grandma, but I can carry a tune, and I played the oboe and clarinet, and taught myself guitar.  I am not any sort of a musical prodigy, but I know enough to know good music when I hear it.  I am so glad that I had musical people in my family because music has always been a part of my life.

My mom also passed down to me a love of traveling. I like to think my mom fell in love with travel when she was in high school.  Her family moved to Germany when she was in her teens.  My grandfather was the principal of an American high school on the base army base.  From the stories she tells it sounds like she loved it there, and cried when they left her senior year.

Visiting my mom's old high school a few summers ago.

The gazebo from The Sound of Music.  I am 16 going on 17.

Growing up summers meant family vacations.  My mom instilled in me the importance of travel from a very young age.  Growing up in a small town in Arizona was awesome but difficult at times.  I had friends who had never been further than Phoenix their whole life.  I found them to have a small world view and were very narrow minded.  

We took many road trips and flights around the US and Canada.  I cannot remember a summer where I was not traveling.  As a result I have a great love for travel and think that the more you see the better off you will be.

I did not intend to be so wordy here.  Really all this post was going to be was a little play list of my favorite travel songs.  There is sometime quasi-romantic in a song about traveling or a song that uses places.  I actually find them more romantic than the super gushy romantic songs.  I think it is because traveling with someone you love seems more plausible to me.  Romantic candle light dinners in hotel rooms sounds nice, but like a lot of work.  Driving down the road and checking out a wall made of gum sounds like true romance.

I think that the movie Eliabethtown has some blame to take here.  How great was that road trip Kristen Dunst made for Orlando Bloom?  Totally romantic right?

For example Jake Owen's new song "Anywhere With You" totally makes me swoon.

I'll go anywhere,
West Virginia baby I don't care
Mexico on wild hair
Have you ever seen California
Pick a spot on any old map
I travel light and my bags are packed
Just as long as I'm where you're at
I'm gonna have a real good view
I'll go anywhere, anywhere with you

The Eagle's "Take It Easy."

 I just love the easy feeling of this song.  I also love that they mention Winslow, Arizona.  I grew up about two hours away from Winslow and I can not believe that place made it into a song.  This song makes me wanna drive and find cool new places to explore.

Simon and Garfunkel's "America"

Really almost any Simon and Garfunk song screams road trip to me Growing up nothing said road trip like S and G.  It was my family's go to CD.  I know all the words and harmonies to their songs and I still love it.  How beautiful is this song: 

"Kathy, I'm lost," I said, though I knew she was sleeping
I'm empty and aching and I don't know why
Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike
They've all gone to look for America 

I also love books about travel, but that might be a post for another day.  

love! Erica