Last weekend was a whirlwind of events involving mass amounts of friends. Our 5 year SCU reunion was up to bat so we all got together for a little friendly time. The reunion was awkward as reunions go, but it was great seeing folks nonetheless. The morning after the awkward social event we relieved ourselves with a little bay to breakers action…
Superheros uniting at BART…
Then the race..
Whoa nelly, chaos and craziness. That is all I have to say.
I did it! I found me a pair of good ‘ol cowboy boots and I must say, they are darn comfy. These duders fit me like a glove…as though they were made for my feet. All broken in and stuff, I am IN LOVE! I know, people think cowboy boots are silly (especially folks in SF), but I am embracing this symbol of our American heritage like none other. I wear them to work, I wear them to bed, I wear them when I go for a run (ok, the last two not so much, but I would if I could).
If you were ever to own one pair of shoes in your life…consider cowboy boots. That is all I have to say.
This is what happens when my bro goes home….
1.) He gets too distracted by the chaos of a toddler wanting to play, dogs wanting to play, a dad drilling into an ostrich egg, etc. that he has to set up his office in the garage. Funny thing though…neighbor kids were intrigued by a man with a card table in a garage working on a computer that they rode their bikes up to see the spectacle.
2.) The fumes from the garage did a number on my bro…he got a little high and played the accordion until the wee hours of the morning…
The first in a long series on my trip home to Boulder…Cooper and I went home for a super short time but we were able to pack a lotttttttttttttttttttt in!
Such as:
Tons ‘o trampoline time…
Pigging off…
Chuck E. Cheese!
Roller coasters for toddlers…
Skee ball…
Fatboy hammock lovin’…
Soy sauce…
and back to jump…
Goooooooooooooo NayNay!
Action packed? Yes. Could I keep up if I was my sister (pregnant with a 2.5 year old in toe)? Nooooooooo way. Don’t know how parents do it.
Last weekend Cooper and I were dog sitters for my bro’s brown boy: Finney. Oh my, I need a dog. 1.) We (Finney and I) spooned for a solid 3 hours and it could have lasted longer but my phone went off. It was true spooning (he is about my height when on his hind legs)…he even had his head on my chest while in a deep deep dream. Oh my. Heaven. 2.) Dogs create for a greater social life when you don’t have one. Every spot we ventured to people would talk to us about the dog. In a city where people are closed off and don’t acknowledge one another…if you have a dog life is different. 3.) Dogs can be tourist attractions. Finney likes to carry Nathan’s shopping bags as “his job.” After Cooper bought a t-shirt Finney claimed ownership of the bag. When you are walking through Union Square or along the cable car route…let me tell ya…a dog carrying your shopping bag is a bonafide tourist attraction. Photos were taken care of us that day…if only I had taken a shower.
This coming weekend we are off to Colorado for 48+ of more dog time plus babypalooza Actually, Amelia is no longer a baby now that she is sleeping in my bed, but there is a big baby brewing in my sista’s belly and he/she is about to pop!
Thank you, Mr. Flanagan, for three things:
1.) For having a beautiful sister who got married in Zihuatanejo last year and enlisting Cooper for the photo job. Now Zihuatanejo is almost our second home (or at least one of our favorite places to relax) and folks get married in Zihua simply because of the photos they have seen of your sister’s wedding.
2.) For introducing Cooper to the Diana camera. I LOVE the what it does to these photos! The colors are so rich and rustic…gives me tan when in reality I am whiter than the whitest white. (P.S. I learned last night that the rich colors come from cross processing the film…not the camera).
and 3) For agreeing to send us one of your prints in honor of the Alice Cooper 7 year courtship. Such an honor to have your print on our walls.
Three weekends ago (yes, three weekends…I am a little late with this, but I have to post it for my own recollection 298723 years from now) my dad had a little over 24 hours of down time between shifts at the ER so Cooper and I met him half way at Morro Bay for a brief jaunt of father/daughter/daughter’s boyfriend time. We had such a great time drinking free wine at the hotel, scarfing hundreds of the largest and juiciest strawberries I have ever encountered, eating seafood, walking against the wind, going to sleep at 9pm (dad was on a different schedule), perusing a shell shop that looked like it was stuck in the 1950’s….
bolder hopping…
soaking up the fresh coastal air…
hopping creeks…
hopping more creeks…
enjoying long walks on the beach…
taking drives with the top down…
and embracing our silver Audi convention.
It was hard to leave, but I think it was a refreshing break for all involved. If only the boot barn had the coveted cowboy boots I am after…
Cooper and Ali’s Wee (Yet Wondrous) Cool Small Space on Apartment Therapy…Vote for us!
Only three days to vote!…Apartment Therapy has chosen our 502 square foot place for their Cool Small Spaces Contest and now we need some voters. Our space isn’t that cool, but I think because we don’t have any square walls and very little actual consistent wall space (without doors or windows) it is pretty cool. We entered the contest because we are trying to come to terms with actually liking a small space. Although there are a number of cons, we are trying to embrace the pros.
To vote you have to click on the comments field in our posting, then register. Don’t worry…they just want basic info, not your unborn child.
The link to see the posting (and to vote!): Cooper and Ali’s Cool Small Space on Apartment Therapy
How often do I confess to accidentally going on a shopping spree? Just about after every weekend when we don’t have a wedding. This past weekend was no exception.
Saturday morning Coop-dizzle and I went to Dotty’s for breakfast with Emily (we miss you!). It was an early arse morning so we had the entire day to be super productive. Rather than doing all that needed to be done, we first went to Nordstroms Rack where I filled a cart with crap, worked myself into a tizzy, then put everything back except for a pair of flamingo colored shoes which I will probably return. After two hours at “the rack” we decided to pop into Room and Board to check out the couch we have been lusting after for the past month or so. Needless to say, we spent about 3 hours there and bought the couch as well as an Eames Lounge chair. Aye carumba. These guys are going to be like celebrities in a tiny space that isn’t worthy of their presence. Then we stopped at Ikea to get a quick and cheap lunch (yeah, we eat at Ikea. If I told you what we went there for you would laugh and make fun of me…$0.50 hot dogs…yes, hot dogs from Ikea…we were on a budget!). Our budget flew out the window when we purchased the coolest ever white storage locker from their “as is” section. Woops, woops, woops. Here are the goods…I’ll post more photos when then actually arrive…
We don’t have a wedding this weekend. I wonder what trouble we will get into….
I am so slow to keep up with life. It doesn’t help that I get consumed with random projects and don’t put the important things first…but lo, it happens.
So, two weekends ago we were in Sayulita to shoot a wedding and had a fabulous time. If you ever get a chance to go to Puerto Vallarta, make a date to go to Sayulita for fish tacos. I would make a trip to that town just for the fish and shrimp tacos. Zihua and Puerto Vallarta take the cake as far as my favorite Mexican lands on the Pacific side (I haven’t spent much time on the Caribbean to state a preference). What really makes it for me are the small towns, nice beaches, and good drinks. I am trying to get my entire family to rent a villa in Sayulita for a holiday or something. First my sister has to pop a baby out.
The bride and groom were AWESOME, I hope we can become long term friends when then start to return from their wedding high. Both were such geniuses yet perhaps the best part folks I have come across. They rally, that is for sure. I will let Cooper talk/post more about them and their wedding when/if he can ever get around to blogging.
Here are a few photos of the trip. Cooper shrunk for the first half of the celebration…
Cooper taking a photo of me
Cooper taking a photo of the guests
Cooper in action. He has amazing form.
When Cooper came back to adult size we practiced taking photos of ourselves. We need work on the art of trying not to make his head the largest thing ever (which it is) and mine tiny. We decided that this was the best way to arrange our noggins (the reverse set up is a disaster, let me tell ya):
