What a Difference a Week...or two Makes

Um...wow. So, within the last two weeks my entire world has been flipped and turned on its head. Seriously.  If you know me, you know that Van received and accepted an amazing job offer at a start-up finance tech company in...LA. Yeah! His new office is literally in the center of Hollywood.  I am still floating on Cloud 9, and so very, very, very excited to be moving home. This is exactly what we dreamed of happening, we are thrilled.

It has recently hit me though, that I will be leaving Pittsburgh, in a matter of 2 short months.  So strange to think about moving back after spending two years of our lives here.  I honestly think that if you have the opportunity to live somewhere that you don't consider "home," for a couple of years- I would absolutely recommend it.  We were exceptionally lucky in that we were able to move back to where most of our friends/family live after a couple of years.  But seriously, I strongly suggest getting out of your comfort zone for a couple of years- because I have changed and grown so much as a person. 

Believe me, it hasn't all been fun and easy.  Actually, some points were probably the lowest in my life.  The first year especially was rough.  Van's first year of school was definitely the most challenging, he was figuring out what he wanted to do and traveling a lot for school.  I learned who not to work with again.  Hah.  I'd never lived more than an hour away from my family, and had certainly never lived anywhere other than the west coast.  But...I did it. And I'm really proud and happy, because honestly Pittsburgh is definitely a gem- and I'll always have a special place in my heart for this city.  I've also made some life-long friends, who I adore and will miss like crazy.  Luckily, a few of them have LA connections. :)

So last week, Van and I decided to celebrate by going out to dinner.  We were celebrating these major life-changing events, (all happening in the next 3 months).  In order of future occurrence:  Van's Graduation, Our move back to LA, Our wedding, Honeymoon in France, and Van's new job.  We also need to find an apartment and move into said apartment- but I'm not worried about it. We know the area we want to live in-(NOT WEST OF LA BREA). Haha.

We decided to go to Root 174 in Regent Square.  This new restaurant is actually located in the old location of probably my favorite restaurant in Pittsburgh, Legume.  The interior is very small and intimate.

I ordered the pork loin and Van ordered the hanger steak.  The meats were delicious and cooked perfectly.  We weren't as thrilled with the side-dishes, nothing too special, but the meat was perfect.

The restaurant is also BYOB- so we indulged in a delicious cab.

I nixed the dessert, although the neighboring table ordered some type of chocolate cake and it looked delicious...but I'm getting married in 3 months, so am being mindful. :)
Anyways, we are extremely happy that A) Van has an awesome job, and B) We are moving back home! Thank you universe. I owe you one. Also- Pittsburghers, I'm pretty sure we are going to have a pig-roast before we move, because we have to with our yard. You are invited.
xxM

Ch-ch-changes...

I'm feeling...a little emo, and a lot reflective right now.  I think, (and I am not trying to jinx anything) that it is officially Spring, after the most mild Winter Pittsburgh has had in the past 10 years.  Pittsburghers- am I wrong?!
Although it did snow a tiny bit today, (ie 10 minutes) it was also sunny at some points. So strange.
Spring is also showing through my beautiful little orchid- it is blooming, with 2 additional buds!

Van's mom bought us this little plant when we first moved to Pittsburgh, almost 2 years ago.  I have miraculously kept it alive, through all of the traveling and moving apartments with 3 ice-cubes a week. Uh-mazing.  I really do love this little plant though- and what can I say, it is flourishing.

So...lots of life-items are changing for me, (did you get the Bowie reference)? I am currently still hard at work with the health and wellness consulting company- with probably our biggest event of the year coming up later this month.  I'm definitely going to blog about that event soon.  I'm also wedding planning, (from across the country) which is...fun (thank God for help in CA), and taking a Nutrition class, that I am thoroughly enjoying.  I am blessed in a lot of ways.

Van will graduate with his MBA from Carnegie Mellon in 2 months.  He has interviewed all over the country, but we are hoping to move back to CA to be closer to family.  Nothing is definite at this point.  I don't want to talk about anything too much, until something definite happens- but you guys will be the first to know where we are headed next, or if we are staying in Pittsburgh. Also, Van and I are getting MARRIED in 3 months and are fortunate to be going on a honeymoon to Europe afterwards.

Right now- I'm just trying to focus on the next 3 months, and with the sage advice from my mother- not put too much pressure on myself with wondering what is next.  But, I'm not going to lie, it's hard...can you feel me? If you know me- you know that I am a planner, and I'm not a fan of not knowing anything.  Especially, where I'm going to be living in 3 months, the housing/moving situation, or what I'll be doing in terms of school/employment.  Blah. 

Anyways, although there is a lot of uncertainty  in our lives right now- I'm trying to look at our situation optimistically and be excited about it. Trying.

Positive thoughts/vibes/prayers are always appreciated- and especially now.

xM

Header and Herve!

First of all- I want to thank the very talented Nick Wagner- for my awesome new header!  I collaborated with him on this- as I wanted an industrial feeling and the LA skyline.  It just so happened that those are Nick's specialties.  I am so happy that I met Nick at my former place of employment in Pittsburgh- and I absolutely love my new header.  Thank you!!

I also have another print by Nick that is framed and on my mantle, literally. Love it.  Thank you again!

Alright-this weekend I also took care of a lot of wedding items.  Fairly mundane; I ordered my cake-topper, and the pen for my guest book, as well as our toasting glasses, (I didn't even realize I needed these until I was told by my wedding planner). And I also ordered my garter- which will double as my something blue.  Ahhhhh! Am I really getting married in 3.5 months?! That is insanity to me.

Anyways, I finally have my beautiful wedding rehearsal dinner dress- from Herve Leger of course.  I have a connection and loyalty to this brand because I worked at the Beverly Hills/Rodeo Dr. store for almost a year when I was 23 and interning in LA.  So crazy, right?  I have literally seen enough Hollywood elite boobs and butt to last a lifetime- no joke.  Take me out for a cocktail and I will regale you with my stories.  Ha- jk.  But yes, I still have some wonderful friends that work at the store and they tell me when an exceptional sale is happening- so that I can afford the clothing.
My new Herve Leger "black card".

 Herve Leger are basically all bandage dresses- similar to Aaliyah from the 80's.  I ordered a beautiful short white bandage dress, and had it sent to me.  Love it so much! Please excuse the crappy photo, it truly is a gorgeous dress!

I'll try it on for you guys after I have bought a pair of Spanx and have my hair/make-up did.  I don't want to put any make-up on tonight because I had my first allergic reaction to a facial-creme product this evening.  No bueno- my face looks like a cherry.

But yes- totally beautiful, I'm in love and so excited to wear it to my rehearsal dinner.  Van couldn't believe I bought a white dress- since I almost exclusively wear all black, all the time.  This is honestly the BIGGEST motivation for me to work out and eat well- because even though Herve Leger is amazing on ALL body types, especially girls' with boobs and butts, I still want to rock it!

I'm going to keep icing my red face and hope the Claritin kicks in and helps the allergic reaction- le sigh.
xxM

Korean Swag

Gee, it is Sunday, Feb. 5th, what in the world could possibly be going on today? I am obviously not a huge professional sports fans. Don't get me wrong, I love going to any type of sporting event/games and cheering on my home teams, but I'm not some crazy die-hard fanatic.  It's not me. But yes, I don't live under a rock so I am aware of some type of football event happening in a couple of hours. Ha. The extent of my knowledge about the Patriots is that Tom Brady is married to Gisele.  Anyways, two of my besties from the west-coast visited me over the weekend, and flew home this morning.  I'm sad. :( They made the trip to New York first, and then flew to Pittsburgh on Friday.  It was so fun to catch up with old friends and show them around Pittsburgh our new digs.  We took them to Hofbrauhaus and to Shadyside, Friendship and Lawrenceville. We showed them some of our favorite restaurants and bars, lots of bars. Lol. It was such a short trip- but really fun to see them.
Below are the ladies at Round Corner Cantina last night. Haha. Love the 1.5 hour waits for a table at Piccolo Forno. That pizza makes it all worth while though.

Also, my bestie, Katie, (the blonde in the middle) recently came back to the states from a year teaching abroad in Seoul, Korea.  I unfortunately couldn't make the trip over to Asia to go see her, but she brought me back so much cute swag- love it! Including my friendship bracelet in the above pix.
She knows my affinity to Hello Kitty and skincare products, so these items are perfect for me:

She also knows who I will be voting for in 2012...love these!

Also, these little cosmetic accessories are so adorable...holy crap, why can't all my perfume and lip gloss come packaged like these little guys? Doesn't the one in the middle kinda look like me?! The pink bunnies and the girl are scents and the red bunny is lip gloss. Love.

Finally, we have this little guy.  Resemble anything to you? Two words: Penis Park. Click here for all the details- this is real. Amazing.

 

Wowza. I'm glad that my friend saw this and thought of me. Haha. But seriously, she brought both Van and I back so many thoughtful presents, and Seoul sounds like a truly incredible city.  I would like to visit Asia someday.   Looking forward to seeing you ladies at my wedding in 4 months! 

Enjoy the Superbowl, if you are watching.  I'll be watching the commercials.

xxM

I Heart Meat and Potatoes

I think it's hilarious to reminisce upon the fact that I used to be a semi-vegetarian before I met Van, meaning I did not eat very much meat, and when I did it was mainly sushi and occasionally chicken. After five years- my how things have changed.  Don't get me wrong, no one forces me to eat anything, because I do what I want and obviously eat what I want.  I like to think that Van opened my eyes to the wonders that are pork and veal and lamb and on and on and on. Am I making any veg-heads sick yet? Who knows, maybe one day I will come to my ethical/philosophical senses again- but right now I am enjoying my meat! Also, if you know me- you know that Van is a phenomenal chef- and cooks/prepares a lot of meat that I get to enjoy.
Last weekend was Van's 29th birthday- last year in his 20's, so I took him out to a relatively new restaurant here in Pittsburgh that we've been wanting to try, Meat and Potatoes. The gastropub is located in downtown Pittsburgh, and parking was down the street in a neighboring lot.
I made reservations, so we were seated right away- and the place was packed.  We started with drinks of course. An IPA for Van, and a stout for me.  I'm not a fan of hoppy beers.

Then on to appetizers...pate (my favorite) and mushroom arugula flatbread. The pate was better than the flatbread, but both were good. Btw, the portions are huge.

Next up were the entrees.  Even though I never really order pasta as a main course, I wanted to try the gnocci pasta, which is basically potato-dumplings deliciousness.

As you can see the gnocci also had bits of pork in the sauce, everything from pulled pork to pork belly.  Really. Tasty.
Van went with the pastrami burger(burger plus pastrami-style pork belly) and fries.  He liked the burger, (so big he couldn't even finish it) and the fries were average.

 Yes, that is a fried egg on top.

I would give the overall experience as well as the food a solid 4 out of 5 stars.  The portions were extremely large, which in my opinion isn't always the best. The atmosphere had a cool vibe, and the bar was packed and loud.  We will definitely be back, maybe even for my bachelorette party here- and I'm loving that several new restaurants are opening up in Pittsburgh.  Keep it coming PGH!
xxM

Over 3 weeks late...Happy New Year!

My poor little neglected blog. :( Le sigh. What can I say- I was traveling until the 3rd of the year, and then just busy with work, etc. Also, without getting too descriptive, because I don't deal with loss very well- I've had a lot of it in my life recently.
Anyways, I truly hope that you had a fabulous holiday- however you celebrated it.  I hope that you were able to spend some time with loved ones, and do something for yourself.  It's so important to remember that.  I spent my last holiday with my family as a single person. Ha. I'm so dramatic, but seriously- the countdown to my wedding is upon us. >5 months!  Van and I still have not spent a Christmas together- 2012 is going to include many firsts. Also, I have the best birthday in the world- 12.12.12.
But yeah, spent the holidays in lovely Orange, and then met Van and some friends in Tahoe. Yeahhh!
Below are some of my favorite photos from LA/OC. Check out this delicious pizza from Pace. 

 

And some Xmas Eve photos with the whole fam-damily:

 Did you notice my cousin Rebecca's amazing ugly sweater?!

Ha! Then on Dec. 28th I flew into Reno to head up to beautiful snowless Tahoe.  Tahoe was literally sans snow- none. I didn't even go snowboarding because the snow on Heavenly was all man-made and nothing too exciting, so I didn't want to spend the money on the lift ticket.  However, we did have an amazing group of friends and spent most of our time hiking, cooking and playing lots and lots of boardgames.  I am officially obsessed with Dominion.  Holy crap- it's addictive.  I also finished books 2 and 3 of The Hunger Games.

It was a really relaxing and fun trip-reminded me of Summer. 

The beautiful cabin view:

 Here are some of our hiking photos:

Heather and I decided it would be fun to try to replicate our senior photos. Ha!

On to NYE '11- my fiance and his bestie Ted have this strange love of being twinsies- whenever possible.  I don't think that I will ever get it. 

Yes, those are matching sweaters as well.
The girls, Us and the group.

Happy. New. Year.  I don't really do/like New Year's resolutions- but I truly think that 2012 is going to be glorious, and I hope that yours is too.  Lots of changes, new adventures and excitement.  Cheers!
xxM

Birthday Week

Tomorrow marks the official end of my totally ridiculous and delightfully perfect self-proclaimed "birthday week."  Also, it is SNOWING in Pittsburgh today. Just lightly though, and it is actually really pretty.  I am still thrilled to be heading back to CA tomorrow for 2 weeks. Woot.
Last weekend Van and I headed to NYC to celebrate my birthday.  We stayed in a clean and kind-of funky hotel in China Town and saw some friends, an amazing theater performance and ate some delicious food. 
My favorite restaurant on this trip was Mario Batali's Babbo in the West Village.  We didn't have reservations, but arrived at the restaurant right when it opened and were seated within 15 minutes.  I recommend that tactic- the bar is fun too.
Anyways, I ordered an arugula salad...It was HUGE. Almost a joke. So big, but delicious none the less.

 

And as my main course, I chose the beef-cheek  ravioli.  Definitely the best food choice of the night.  Van ate most of mine. Ha.  But seriously, literally probably the best pasta that I have ever eaten in my life.  And I've had a lot of pasta. You can't really beat handmade pasta, filled with beef-cheeks. :)

Van's main course was pretty too- a rabbit dish.

We checked out the MET and the Moma, we always walk so much in that city, which is nice. Cold- but we were bundled.  Below are some night shots.

Then, after we got home from NYC I had a pink red-velvet surprise waiting for me in Pittsburgh.  Thank you LISA SOLIER for my beautiful cake!! I LOVED IT!!

Yummmmm...yes, it was as delicious as it looks.   
Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes.  As I always say, I don't mind getting older- I just don't want to look any older. Ha. :) Universe, can we make some kind of a deal and make this happen? Please.
The countdown to 12.12.12 begins, someone recently pointed out that Dec. 12th, 2012 is supposed to be the last day on earth.  Let's go out with a bang then, shall we?
Peace, love and happy holidays!
xxM