Happy Birthday Cole!!!

Dear Cole,

You're such a good boy! We can't believe how big you're getting!!!! We miss playing with you every week at Grandma and Grandpa's house, but we are excited to see you at DISNEYLAND soon!!!!

Keep watching out for your big brother, and tell him we miss him too! You are such a fun, smart, silly boy and we love you so much!!! Have a GREAT 3rd birthday, and eat an extra piece of cake for us, ok?

love, uncle john, aunt kerry and audrey (your cousin)

Looking for Local...

It's that time of the month.. I need an eyebrow wax.

What to do?

Where to go?

How to know?

MY go-to, one-and-only, BEST aesthetician who has been doing my eyebrows since I was 16-years-old is in RENO. And, no way can I wait for my next trip mid-August.

You can't trust your eyebrows to just ANYONE.

Believe me.

Your eyebrows help shape your face, and I have a very specific style.

My new aesthetician will LOVE me, I'm sure. ;)

Well...

Naturally, I found myself perusing the internet.

Search terms: Spa Huntington Beach...Best Spa Huntington Beach.... Best Aesthetician Orange County... uh, still not what I want...Best Spa Orange County...

Finally, something...

The OC Register {my new local newspaper} Announces Annual "Best Of Orange County Awards". Great! This should work.

{CLICK}

AND THE AWARD

FOR BEST SPA DAY...

MAY I HAVE THE ENVELOPE PLEASE...

Burke Williams, full-service spa in Mission Viejo & Orange. 13,000 square feet, treatments include use of full-size whirlpool spa, steam room, and sauna.

{uh.. too far, and 13,000 square feet..probably not baby-friendly}

1st Runner Up: Swiss Clinique, Corona Del Mar. Specializing in anti-aging, facial reflexology, and Japanese Cosmo face-lifting.

{not sure what all that means, but I don't see eyebrow wax on the menu.}

{Fail}

Well, while I'm here...

What else can I learn about the "Best of Orange County"? We need some solid recommendations as the newbies in town.

Allow me to share some other award recipients with you...

BEST PLACE TO BUY KIDS' CLOTHES

1st Place: A tie.... Old Navy and Target

2nd Place: Kohl's

BEST ASIAN RESTAURANT

1st Place: P.F. Chang's (multiple OC locations)

2nd Place: Pei Wel (6 locations in OC)

BEST COFFEEHOUSE

1st Place: Starbucks

2nd Place: Kean Coffee

BEST PET STORE

1st Place: PetSmart

2nd Place: Petco

{IS THIS A JOKE??????}

I would say yes, must be. But come to think of it, every "local" I've casually been able to ask,

Where's a good place to eat in HB?,

has responded with:

BJs,

Cheesecake Factory,

IHOP

.

.

.

I refuse to believe that these results, and the FEW conversations with locals that I have had mean that there's no quality, locally-owned businesses in Orange County.

Obviously, that's not the case.

And, I get it. I'm in PR. Those "Best Of" awards are equal parts a true battle between businesses to win the honor of saying that they are THE "local favorite" as much as it's a battle between those local PR firms- spinning, pitching influencing and stuffing the ballot boxes.

And, because I do the work that I do I can EASILY tell who's a real winner, say for example in RENO Magazine's "Best Of Reno" issue, and which "winners" just hired a good publicist (like me).

STILL, how disappointing OC Register. You are journalists. Where have you journalistic ethics and integrity gone?

More business for me, I suppose.

I'm not too worried though. Over time John and I will meet more and more people, and explore more and more OC areas. We'll find our own LOCAL favorites...restaurants, bookstores, coffee shops, clothing stores, etc...

In the meantime, we'll just enjoy the entertainment we have, right at home, for free...

LIKE THIS:

{PRECIOUS}

.

.

But, since we're talking about fun, local things to check out in HB...

This weekend is the Nike US Open of Surfing, just south of the HB Pier.

CHECK. THIS. OUT.

{and click here to learn more}

Have a great weekend!

And, if you know of any good spas down here, keep me posted! I'm still looking!

love, kerry

Picture Find!

Q: How many doggies do you see???

---------_,=.=,_

------,`=.-o---`\\___

-----/---o\\--(0-----O

----/-o----\\---- ___/

----|----O--|-----\\)

---`,o---_/--o .--`------

-----`"`;-O--(---------

--------/--.--""``\\\\----

------.`-O------.\\,,||

----.`------""`|-`""`----

|\\-/--O--o---__|------

-\\|-o--.-`----`\\---

--\\-_-o---O----|

---(---o---.-`--

__`.____/___/_/

A: 19

How'd you do?

love, kerry

On My Love List: Paper

Some of you are already laughing.

You know I have a real love for paper.

It's true.

I love note cards, stationary, pads of paper, single sheets, journals, notebooks- you name it!

I'm excited by fun paper weights, elegant finishes, interesting binds...

I love paper and stationary stores! My latest obsession- Sugar Paper in LA. Check them out.

And, well, who doesn't love a great greeting card? Be it Christmas, a party invitation, birth announcement, Father's Day card {refer to previous post for a real-life example}, ETC...

Greeting cards are great! Fun to pick out, assemble, mail, receive.

I love paper.

Ask my mom, it's always been a love of mine.

In fact, I think she has this very picture of me, at the same age, playing with paper...

{uninterested in all the fun, real toys around}

Audrey takes after her mommy on this one....

Paper's great!

It's really been on my mind lately as I plan for the most important birthday party of my life-

Audrey's 1st Birthday Party!!!!

I've sent some good cards in the past...

You may have seen some of my work.

So, this card's really gotta be something.

And, it will be no matter what, obviously.

But, still.

.

.

.

.

.

Audrey, what do you think?

I know, it's tough.

The quest for the perfect card...

I'm always searching.

And now that I'm a "blogger", or whatever, I have the PERFECT platform to share and recommend my favorite online paper and stationary stores with you!

Kinda fun.

On My Love List:

Tiny Prints

Minted

Paper Culture

Paper-Source

Pear Tree Greetings

Cocodot

Polka Dot Design

You're welcome, and happy paper purchasing and card creating!

love, kerry

Backpacking

I love to travel.

I love to explore new places, and learn new things. I enjoy an adventure. I like putting myself out there...even if it makes me look stupid. I enjoy meeting new people, and exploring other cultures.....

I'd like to say that traveling is a hobby of mine {and John too...yes, you do have hobbies}, but really?

Not many people can claim "travel" as a true hobby.

Sure, I did the typical graduate from college, blow your savings on a backpacking trip through Europe thing...But, world traveler?

I have been lucky enough to see more than a dozen European countries, and a lot of the United States too. And, perhaps I've been even more lucky to have spent significant chunks of time in two countries (France and Italy), and made life-long friends abroad. But, there's still so much I'd like to see, people to meet, and places I'd love to visit.

And, maybe {hopefully} one day I'll have:

1) More Money

2) More Time

to really live my travel dreams.

But for now, travel for me means 1 trip per month to Reno for work.

{Grateful, by the way}

LONG gone are the days of grubbing it, sharing a room with friends (or a dozen strangers in a hostel), skipping meals to save money for museums (or beer), ETC, ETC, ETC...

I'm a MOM now, and Audrey is a part of every move I make...

{Joy}

And, obviously-

I

WOULDN'T

HAVE

IT

ANY

OTHER

WAY!

In fact, last week I took my greatest BACKPACKING trip of all time.

Orange County (SNA)--> San Jose (no plane change, just stop)-->Reno (RNO)

Why was is it so GREAT???

Thank you for asking.

Well, because it was Audrey's FIRST EVER plane trip!!!!

See, I'm still backpacking!

I've just traded up to the Ergo Baby Carrier {thank you Grandpa Dan}!

And, let me tell you-

despite being a little worried....

Audrey was soooo good!

People (fellow moms, not naming names) made me very concerned that Audrey would probably:

scream the entire flight in fear,

scream the entire flight in pain (ears),

move non-stop/never sit still,

bug the person next to us,

kick the seat in front of us,

act super bored and annoyed,

ETC...

Not the case with MY baby!

But, I will say...

My biggest challenge to report...

.

.

.

.

.

Major arm cramping from:

{A Sleeping Angel}

Are you kidding me? She couldn't have been more perfect!

And, when she was awake, for example the first 10-15 minutes of each flight, she was pure joy.

Curious about all the new people during boarding,

friendly with the people sitting in our row,

excited by the captain speaking over the intercom,

surprised by the feeling of take-off,

Perplexed while looking out the window and traveling through the clouds...

She was....

{Sigh...Nuf said.}

My favorite backpacking trip to date.

love, kerry

Happy Birthday Judy!!!

Dear Judy,

We know you and Steve are having a fabulous time in SF, but still we want to wish you happy birthday!!!!!!!!

You're the type of person who doesn't celebrate YOU very often...It's always about others. So, I hope today is extra special for YOU, and know that we're here in HB thinking about YOU, toasting to YOU, missing YOU and looking forward to our next visit.

Thank you for EVERYTHING that you do. We love and miss you! Happy birthday!

love, kerry, john and audrey

GREAT Grandpas...

Audrey, you've got some GREAT great grandpas who LOVE you more than you'll ever know.

They think you're so funny, smart, beautiful, silly, AMAZING...

I'm so glad that you have them, and that they have you...

love, kerry

On My Playlist: Summer Mix

And...

"Holdin On to Black Metal" by My Morning Jacket

"Windows Are Rolled Down" by Amos Lee

"Bruises" by Chairlift

"I Wanna Go" by Britney Spears

"Two" by Ryan Adams

"Kalifornia" by Kashmir

"At or With Me" by Jack Johnson

"E.T." by Katy Perry (feat. Kanye West)

"Let it Fall" by Lykke Li

"Touch From Your Lust" by Ben Harper

"Rumour Has It" by Adele

"Mountain Man" by Crash Kings

"City Middle" by The National

"Beautiful, Dirty, Rich" by Lady GaGa

"Whatever Your Like (Single Version)" by Anya Marina

Enjoy!

Reno, see you in the morning!!!

love, kerry