SoHo House West Hollywood

We're back from a wonderful trip to California! I will be posting trip stories and photos later. This lunch break post is dedicated to the SoHo House in West Hollywood.

My new brother in-law is a member of this exclusive club called the SoHo House. It originated in London but they now have "houses" in several cities all over Europe and the U.S. In order to become a member you have to be sponsored and submit an extensive application so we were very lucky to get to have brunch at the SoHo House in West Hollywood during our stay.

They do not allow photography so I have found some photos online to show you all how unbelievable this place was! I loved the decor. It was absolutely beautiful.

This is the main lobby once you step off the elevators on the penthouse floor. I loved the cool blue paint, the dark wood hostess desk and the beautiful white marble stair case.



As you come up the stairs you are in the main dining room, bar and you can see outside onto the balcony.





We walked around the balcony with sweeping views of L.A. to get to the garden.


The garden was so picturesque! They had these beautiful and very real olive trees and lemon trees around a pond. This is where we got to have brunch...just imagine how beautiful it was during the day when you could see for miles!





We also got to take a tour of the screening room. They allow members to screen movies before they are released to the public in this beautiful red velvet room. How cool is this?




We also saw Larry King having breakfast. What a treat!

Texans and TV Talk

I watch Good Morning America every morning while I get ready for work and there's always a part where Sam the weather man goes outside and lets a few members of the crowd say "hi mom" or whatever else floats their boat. He always asks where they're from and everyone usually just says the state they are from. "I'm from Florida" or "We're here all the way from California" etc. Well not the Texans. Seriously, every single Texan says their city...like "I'm from Corpus Christi" or "We're from Dallas" etc. Isn't that funny?? Why do we do that?

I mean I do that. When I'm traveling and people ask me where I am coming from, I always say Dallas. I never say Texas. Is it because it's such a big state??

Anyways. I thought that was interesting.

Are you watching American Idol? For some reason I have really gotten into this season. I love Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez that I was curious to see what they brought to the show. Now I'm hooked.

I LOVE Scotty McCreery. Nothing wrong with a good male country vocalist. He was 16 when he auditioned no big deal.



I am also a big fan of Pia Toscana, Casey Abrams and Lauren Alaina.

On the flip side, I officially heard the worst song ever yesteray by Rebecca Black. Have you heard about this? It's terrible. I will never hear the word Friday the same again.

Giddy

Y'all, I am SO giddy to go to Los Angeles in 2 days! I can hardly stand it. It is going to be such a wonderful trip.

The main purpose of the trip is to be there for my sister, Alicia's stateside wedding.


She and her man, Deddy got married last summer in Israel and unfortunately we could not attend. Thus, I'm really looking forward to being apart of the celebrations this weekend!


Aren't they cute?!?

I will also get to squeeze in a quick visit with my dear college friend, Whitney. Some sweet time with my immediate family (the whole gang will be there) and some family on my mom's side that reside in California.

PLUS because our one year anniversary is next weekend (March 27th), we decided to take advantage of the scenery and we will be staying a couple days after the wedding in Santa Barbara.


We have massages booked, dinner reservations set, a list of wineries to visit!! Oh my. I am beyond giddy.

I can stop saying...

that I don't have a camera!! David and I just purchased this baby for an anniversary gift to each other. I cannot wait to use it!!




It's a Canon EOS Rebel T2i. Supposed to be one of the best "beginner" SLR cameras. We have not had a camera for a whole year!! We even had to borrow someone else's camera for our honeymoon. I am just SO excited to have this camera.

Watch out world. There's no stopping me now!

What I'm Loving Today

Let's get straight to it.

Loved this low fat turkey chili recipe (click HERE). It was delicious for dinner last night. Plus, it really was ready in 20 minutes!



note- not my picture. I didn't use that much cheese :)

I am also in love with my NAP blanket from Brookstone.



I literally can't sleep without it. I take it with me when I travel and dream about it at work. Seriously, love this blanket. Totally wouldn't mind it in a queen size for our entire bed! Then we could look like this.



bahahah. That makes me laugh.

Ok, let's continue. I am loving that I have a haircut appointment tonight. Can't wait to get some of the bulk thinned out.



Love these mint skinny cow ice cream sandwiches. They taste like thin mints and mint chocolate chip ice cream. SO good.



In one week from tomorrow I will be on my way to Los Angeles for my sister's wedding then off to Santa Barbara for our one year anniversary celebration!! Woo hoo!!

What are you loving today?

Weekend Wrap-Up

I had a great weekend!! I hope you all did too.

Date night on Friday started it off right! David and I have been wanting to try out some of the restaurants in the Bishop Arts District. It's nestled right next to Oak Cliff which scared us at first, but it turned out to be so adorable!







Here's a little history in case you were wondering. Oak Cliff, originally named Hord’s Ridge, was first settled in 1837 as a farming community and in 1845 William H. Hord built the first permanent residence on the west side of the Trinity River. In 1887, hoping to draw in a better class of residents, the more appealing name of “Oak Cliff” was designated to the area.

Commonly known for being Stevie Ray Vaughn’s old stomping grounds, the Cliff has had its share of famous and infamous natives and residents, including guitarist Rocky Athas, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow (Clyde’s actually buried in a cemetery on Ft. Worth Ave.), Yvonne Craig (Batgirl), Ray Wylie Hubbard, Nancy Lieberman, Harvey Martin, Lee Harvey Oswald, Ray Price, Dennis Rodman, B. W. Stevenson, Jimmy Vaughn (Stevie’s brother); and T-Bone Walker, to name but a few.

We decided to eat at Veracruz Cafe and it was delicious! I would definitely go back.





Saturday I spent the day and night with Hannah for her bachelorette party!! It was so much fun! I don't have a camera yet so I'll have to snag some pics off facebook later..

Here's to counting down for next weekend! I live for the weekends, don't you?

Free Thoughts Friday

I am just going to free five random thoughts in my head today. It's probably going to be the most BORING post you ever read. Sorry.

1. I can't get my "title picture" to be centered on this blog. It's driving me NUTS.

2. I mentioned in my post yesterday, I've been watching Bethenny Getting Married and I can't get that wedding planner out of my head. I finally realized who he looks like.

Here is the wedding planner Shawn Rabideau.



He looks exactly like Tony Hale who plays Buster from Arrested Development.





Glad I figured that out.

3. I am so not ready to be in a swim suit. Two weeks from today, I'll be in Los Angeles. The house we're staying at has a pool and the hotel David and I are staying at for our one year anniversary has a pool. Yikes. Two week fast anyone?

I think I may have to get this Michael Kors Swimdress. $132 at Macy's.



4. I need a haircut. Bad. My hair is just getting so "un shapely." Ya know what I mean? I like the length I have going right now, it just needs a little shaping...

and 5. David and I did not cook dinner ONCE this week. Sigh. I feel like a failure as a wife. We just never made it to the grocery store so salads at Eatzi's were so much easier! I don't think we'll cook tonight either. Just thought you all should know.

Have a great weekend everyone!