Celebrating My 26th in Style

For the past few years I haven’t really done much for my birthday. When I turned 23 Trav proposed and we had our engagement party so anything bigger than that was just out of the question. When I turned 24 we were 2 ½ months away from our wedding and I had little time to stop and pull together a party. When I turned 25 we were living in Philadelphia, although my husband did his best to gather some of our East Coast friends for a fun birthday dinner, it was not the same because I missed my friends and family on the West Coast.







 So this year I decided it was time to do something fun and exciting. I got the idea to take a limo over to the Central Coast for some wine tasting with my girlfriends and Mom. I put everything together and was super excited for the day to come. WELL….little did I know that the night before us girls were to leave on our wine tasting trip my husband would pull off the best surprise birthday party for me (and my only surprise party at that). It was Friday evening and I had had the longest day at work. My parents invited us out to dinner and I was not really feeling well and thought about canceling. I ended up deciding to go only after I ran to the mall to try and find the perfect outfit for wine tasting. I was already running late and was supposed to run to my parent’s house and pick up my sister because my parents went to the restaurant early for happy hour. I got home, got ready in a rush and was out the door with Trav to pick up the little sister. When I got to the house I honked the horn expecting my sister to run out, jump in the car and we would head off to dinner. Instead I got my sister running out of the house saying she needed my help because the cat had thrown up all over the dining room and she couldn’t clean it all up by herself. By this time I was a little peeved and jumped out of the car mumbling profanities under my breath! When I walked in, the house was dark and I headed straight for the cleaning supplies in the kitchen….as soon as I turned the corner lights came flashing on and a huge “SURPRISE” was screamed at me. Shocked and in complete aw that my husband would do something so special for my birthday just blew me away.

Everyone Enjoying Dinner



My Amazing Husband and I

All of our closest friends and family were there to help me celebrate the big 26!!!! It was a night filled with great food, lots of drinks, presents, photos, cake and laughs. It definitely took away the shock of turning 26 and realizing I am 4 years closer to 30. Thank you to my amazing husband for putting on such an amazing party, thank you to all of our friends and family that came to help me celebrate and thank you to my parents and sister who helped my husband put on his first party! I love you all!

Gotta Love Birthday Cake



Friends

Friday night was a blast and I didn’t go to bed until around 1am. Poor Trav had to be up at and work by 6:30am and I was up at 7am to get ready for our limo ride to the coast (leaving at 9am). So up I went and off to my parent’s house to meet up with the rest of the girls before jumping in the limo and heading off for a day of fun. We drank mimosas, talked about how we all knew each other and laughed all the way to our first stop…Tobin James Winery.

Mrs. Bonds & Mrs. Arburua



Thank You Brooke for my very special tasting glass!



Hehehehe





The Girls

This is by far one of my most favorite wineries. The people there are so nice, the wine is great AND there are a million opportunities for pictures. After tasting some amazing wine, taking some awesome pictures and buying some fun gifts its was off to a newer winery called Clautiere. It was this amazingly fun winery with crazy wigs to wear while you taste and fun places to take pictures with some oversized objects!

After this it was off to J. Lohr for more fun and tasting. After our 3^rd winery we were starting to get a little hungry and had heard of a newer winery that also made sandwiches for lunch.

We headed over to Sylvester Wineries and found the sandwich list to not be all that great BUT the tasting combinations were fabulous. Kelle and I did the wine and chocolate pairing and I was in Heaven. What more could a girl ask for….friends, family, wine and chocolate!  There were also some fun places to take pictures here inside old cable cars and in front of the barrels.

Finally we went and got lunch and were able to call my grandparents who live on the coast and invite them over to hang out with us before we left town. It was so great to see them as I don’t get to see them as much as I would like. After lunch it was back in the limo and off to our last winery of the day. We decided on Robert Hall because it was on the edge of Paso and on our way out. When we got there they were starting to wind down from the day and we were one of two parties in the tasting room. We tasted a little and then were asked if we would like a tour of the caves. Of coarse we all said yes and headed down the flights of stairs to the “caves”. It was the icing on the cake for such a fabulous day. We were told all about the fermenting process and were able to taste wine still aging in the barrels. After our tour it was back in the limo and off to home. We drank a little more, sang some oldies and laughed at pictures from the day. Thanks to all the ladies who came…I had a fabulous day and it wouldn’t have been the same without you all there!




Spring has not quite sprung!

After living back East for almost 2 years I have officially decided I really miss the four seasons. Don't get me wrong its great being back home near friends and family, but one of the things I enjoyed most about Philadelphia was seeing the seasons change. Unfortunately California doesn’t have the same idea, especially if you live in Bakersfield. Our weather has been so nuts lately. First it’s cool in the mornings, enough for a light coat and by the end of the day I am roasting because the sun is out and shining brightly. Last week we had rain and the temps dropped down but still no sign of spring. To me, cool mornings with warmer afternoons and random rain showers are a very good indication that spring is here. I have yet to see the beautiful flowers popping up everywhere and the trees sprouting new foliage on their oh so bare branches.

To be honest it’s a little depressing and it is become a huge issue in my closet. You see I am the girl that will pack away all of her winter clothing (ie sweaters, coats, gloves, scarf’s, etc) when the weather starts to warm up and I bring out my Spring/Summer wardrobe. Well since our weather just cant make up its mind I now have half and half in my closest with little room for anything else.

 Girls I am sure you can all relate to this. I am definitely not looking forward to the weekend I will have to spend putting away, unpacking and putting away process once our weather warms up a little more and stops teasing me! So for now I wait…..and wait…..and wait…..for Spring!

Girl’s Weekend Away

I have been so busy with work and coaching that I had not gone down to my most favorite place in California since we had moved home. I called up my beautiful friend Hailey and told her I was planning a trip to her neck of the woods with another friend Brooke, for the weekend. That Friday couldn’t have come fast enough. I was super excited to be in my car, rocking out to my new play list while driving down the coast to San Diego. I arrived a little before Brooke did that night and was sooooo excited to see Miss Hailey and her new place. The view from 33 stories up was breath taking and I instantly felt relaxed as we waited for Brooke to arrive. Once we were all situated we decided to go out on the patio and enjoy the 65 degree weather IN THE MIDDLE OF JANUARY!!!!! We ended up catching up and talking until 1:30am before heading off to bed. Saturday we slept in a little and woke to the sun shining very brightly in the windows.

 I was up first and decided to take advantage of the great views by grabbing a magazine (had to catch up on my celeb gossip) and sit out on the patio listening to the hustle and bustle below me.

 Later that morning after some much needed lounging we decided to get ready and head of too PB for lunch and early happy hour. We could not have asked for more perfect weather. We actually saw people in board shorts and bikinis out on the beach and decided to break out our tanks and flip flops for the day. Our lunch was prefect, we sat right on the beach people watching and having great conversations while enjoying some much needed strawberry mimosa’s. Next it was off to Tower 23 for more happy hour drinking. A few pomegranate mojito’s later and we were feeling great. Brooke and I decided to celebrate our weekend away with a nice shot of Patron Tequila.

After our happy hour session we went back to Hailey’s for a quick nap before going out on the town. WELLL…..What was supposed to be a quick nap turned in to a 2 hour long nap and Brooke not feeling so well. So Hailey and I hung out and watched movies and a little later on Brooke joined us. We decided we would be old ladies for the evening and stay in with out frozen pizza’s and Lifetime movies!

Sunday Brooke had to leave early and drive to LA for some quality time with her family at a Laker game. So Hailey and I decided to spend some one on one time together and have a spa day at Re:Vive salon and day spa. About four hours later we came out with relaxed muscles after our massages, polishing clean skin from our facials and beautiful bouncy hair after our shampoo and blowout. It was a fantastic start to the day. After our relaxing experience we did a little shopping at Nordstrom and ate lunch at the café. Soon it was time to go and say goodbye. I thanked my oh so sweet friend for a fabulous weekend, promising to be back sooner than later. I headed off towards Long Beach to meet up with my husband before driving home. It was the perfect two day getaway and I cannot wait to go back soon.

January 2011

This month has been quite crazy for Travis and me. Trav has been super busy working his new job and realizing that sleep is so precious. My amazing husband gets up at 5am everyday, dresses warm for the cold weather, kisses me while I am half asleep, tells me he loves me and is out the door for his one hour drive to work. Once at work he picks up his company vehicle and is off for the day working outside in the cold not always having the chance to stop for lunch or rest. About the time he gets to work I am up and getting ready for the day. Thankfully my drive to work is only ten or fifteen minutes and I am able to sit at a desk and work indoors with the heaters on. After a long day of work for Trav he is home to shower and help me out around the house. Lately he has been doing my grocery shopping, cleaning some and cooking dinner. Three days a week I coach JV cheer at one of the local high schools which occupies my time for about two or three hours after my regular job. By the time I get home on these days I am exhausted as is my husband, we eat dinner, watch a little TV and usually get in bed around 9:30p or 10p. I tell you the older you get the more you realize you need your sleep. As much as we are tired and wish we had more time to spend with each other Trav and I are so thankful that we have been blessed with amazing jobs that allow us to live on our own and have the things we do.

Travis and I are among the masses this month declaring that it is time to get back in shape and set some goals for ourselves. I have been doing well at collecting some really good and low cal receipes off line as well creating some of my own. We decided to start out slow and have been doing moderate exercising at home with our Wii fit. It gives us a chance to spend some time together while burning off a few calories from the day’s meals. I personally love the yoga part of the Wii fit. It is super relaxing after a long day and stretches out my muscles while perfecting my posture. Sometimes we get a little competitive and try to see who can out score whom on some of the Wii games. Trav joined the gym and I am in the process of getting back into one as well. While we lived in Philly we made it a point to run 3-4 times a week and I really miss that. I decided to push myself and set a realistic goal in order to hold myself accountable for working out on a regular basis. I have signed up to run a 5k race in April to benefit a local charity. I think it’s the perfect start for me and it will make me feel good about accomplishing my goal as well as doing a good deed for a charitable cause. I will keep you all posted on my progress as the race gets closer. I am setting a goal of running this 5k in under 30 minutes!!!

NYE

For the past few years my family and I have gone to Café Med for our New Years Eve celebrations. I do have to say they put on a pretty fabulous spread and at a very reasonable price. A full dinner buffet of meats, mashed potatoes, veggies, shrimp, salads and appetizers are all displayed and at your disposal all evening. My mom, sister and I especially enjoy the dessert bar that features some of Café’s most popular treats….such as petite fours, chocolate dipped strawberries, and so much more. There is always a great live band there to play a fun mix of music and usually after a few drinks and some amazing food everyone in the restaurant is dancing the night away. This year we invited our great friends Josh and Stephanie along for the festivities. Poor Stephanie looked so adorable in her dress especially with her comfy slippers on (she had knee surgery a week later) and Josh was enjoying the time with his long lost friend….my husband!!!

My parents, sister and friends were all there as well and it was a great time to talk, eat too much, pig out on sweets and feel festive in our dress up clothes. Drinks were drunk, shots were had, pictures were taken and lots of dancing was going on….before we knew it the countdown was on and we were seconds away from 2011. Thankfully for the 2^nd year in a row my husband was there to ring in the New Year with me and we had our first kiss in 2011. Its crazy to think that yet another year had passed and we were finally home, living in California close to our family and friends. What started out as a year of counting down to our final trip back home, ended with yet another count down welcoming in the New Year ahead of us….full of possibilities and full of change!

Our Christmas Marathon...the 3 days of Christmas

It all began December 23rd.....
This day began a little crazier than most but ended with a bang. I work for our family business and arrive every morning at 8am. Usually I sit at my desk, drink my protein shake and read a few news articals and my emails before offically beginning my day. Well needless to say it didnt happen on this very cold and wet Thursday. My mom came into my office with a little something wrapped up in a towel. (For those of you who know where I work this will make a lot of sense) Bundeled up in her arms was a tiny baby kitten with bright blue eyes and a tan colored body. The poor baby had found his way to our shop guys towel basket and had buried himself in there to stay warm. One of our employees found him and took him in to my mom, knowing we are BIG cat lovers. Needless to say this little ball of fur received milk, food and a warm heater to sleep in front of after two baths. He is now a part of our family and we love him dearly.
  A week of so before this a very dear friend of mine invited me to a girls Holiday dinner and night out at Cafe Med . I could not decline this wonderful oppritunity to spend an evening all dressed up with a bunch of beautiful woman drinking wine, eating fabulous food and catching up. I had already anticipated the evening and went to my new favorite boutique to pick out the prefect dress for the night. Trav decided to go hang out with his brother and some friends at Tahoe Joes that evening while I was out with the girls. It ended up being a wonderful evening filled with lots of laughs, cute pictures and an extra surprise thrown in by my wonderful and sweet friend Hailey. She knows I am a huge Chargers fan and could not resist giving me the PINK Chargers zip up hoodie, long sleeve football tee and of coarse some matching boy shorts. Thank you Hailey for my first present of the season and for beginning my Chargers wardrobe.

Friday December 24th....A
I was so thankful I had this day off as I had about 5 million errands to run, a house to clean, a scrapbook to finish for my husband, and of coarse some pampering for myself as well. Thankfully I was able to get most of my errands done, and get ready for the "Lara" family tradition of mass on Christmas Eve. I was a little stressed out as I had been putting together a very special Christmas present for Travis and it wasnt quite ready yet. I had decided while we were still living back East to make a scrapbook for my husband off his four year tour of duty in the United States Coast Guard. It was a pretty hefty task as I started it in Philly, brought home what I had done and continued to work on it while we moved into our new place and tried to get settled before the rapidily approching Holiday. Needless to say I didnt quite manage my time properly and was still rushing to finish by Christmas morning. That evening I went to mass with my parents and sister as we have done for the now 25 years of my life. It was a beautiful litergy followed by lots of song and worshop to celebrate the birth of our Lord. After mass I rushed off to the other side of town to begin our marathon of a weekend. We kicked it off with a night of laughs, good food and lots of kiddos at Trav's cousins house. It was great to spend time with his dad's side of the family and love on baby Dominick a little before heading off to our next destination. After fun with the kids and the Arburua side of the family we headed to my parents house to sit by the fire and open gifts from each other. My parents and sister loved their gifts from the East Coast and my dad was extra excited about his special beer we brought back with us when we drove across the country. We were spoiled as well with gift certificates, clothing and new dishes for the house. It was a long day but a wonderful evening spent with lots of family and lots of love. After my parents house Trav and I went home and he fell fast asleep after a long day at work and long night of visiting. I took this as my perfect chance to finish Trav's scrapbook and get it under the tree by morning. Well....3am rolled around and I was finally able to crawl in to bed after watching  A Christmas Story twice and putting the final touches on this very special gift.

December 25th...Our Saviour Is Born

We woke up early with BIG smiles on our faces. This was offically our first Christmas together EVER...and Trav's first Christmas home in 4 very long years. All I have ever wanted for Christmas is him there by my side and this year I finally got what I have been praying for. It was a crazy morning of getting ready, packing the car and sorting presents. We did however find a few moments to open gifts from each other. I have the most amazing husband ever....he did not need a list this year and took no hints from me..(okay maybe one) and went off on his own to buy my gifts. He did an amazing job and I definitley was a spoiled little wife this year with my new shoes and purse! I only let him open a couple gifts and told him he had to wait to open his big gift.

We left our house and headed over to my in laws house for a Christmas breakfast and gifts to/from our family. Trav got spoiled BIG time with new golf clubs and I am saving my gift certificate for some later shopping!
After breakfast and gifts it was off to Trav's moms side of the family in good ole Tehatch as I call it, for more family fun and gifts. Up the hill we went and an hour later we were there. We snacked on crackers and homeade cheeseballs while talking and getting ready to open gifts. Gifts were opened and once again we were spoiled by all of our family. I decided it was then that I would present Trav with his scrapbook. It was truley a family collaboration. Trav's parents bought the actual book, I put in pictrues along with his aunts and uncles, grandparents and mom and dad. I explained that I wanted him to always have those memories at hand to remind him of his adventures around the world serving his country in the Coast Guard. I know by the look on his face that I did good. He loved the book and was so happy to share a few memories from each picture, letter and award. I give myself a pat on the back for this one!
After gifts and a few more laughs we gave hugs, said goodbyes and were off to my parents for dinner and time with my aunt, unlce, cousin and her hubby. So off we went back down the hill headed to my parents laughing and singing along the way! We had to make a quick stop at our house to pick up a couple of gifts and our little kitty and it was off to more family fun. We arrived just as the clouds rolled in and it started to rain AGAIN. We laughed, snacked on dads famous poppers, chips and dip and some great wine while sitting by the fire. Mom and dad made a great dinner of prime rib, potatos, cranberry sauce, stuffing and grandma's homeade bread. After dinner we opened gifts lounged around and ate on my cousins vast assortment of cakes, pies, cookies and other yummy treats while listening to the rain. After everyone left Trav and I stayed to hang out. I helped clean the kicthen while Trav found a warm spot in my dads leather chair and took a winter snooze!

Sunday December 26th....
Well my mom and I are avid shoppers and decided to brave the craziness and get up at 7am for a little day after shopping. We hit Hallmark (yes they actually have really cute things) and I hit up Target for some wrapping paper and gift bags. After finding a few great bargins I hurried home to make..well attempt to make my very first bean dip. Well the bean dip turned out great and I had just enough time to jump in the shower and get ready before we loaded up the car and headed off to the coast to see my Mom's side of the family and my Grandparents. We had a very nice drive and talked about all the fun things we received the days before. After two hours we were there and happy to be out of the car. Hugs were given to all the family we were so happy to see after almost a year since our last meeting and we settled in to football watching, girls gabbing in the kitchen and everyone snacking on Grandma's famous punch ,cookies and my bean dip. We had another amazing dinner followed by even more goodies and then it was time to all cram in the living room for presents.

 Of coarse we let the little ones go first as they are just super excited to see what is beyond the wrapping paper and had some great laughs at the fun gifts they received. Next it was the "big peoples" turn and we all go by age so it takes awhile getting around the room of 20+ people. We were once AGAIN spoiled and treated so wonderfully by our family and were delighted that everyone enjoyed the gifts we had given. Traditionally we would have stayed the night and done a little shopping in SLO the next day while the guys went to breakfast.

Tis the Season for Getting together Again...and Again....and Again

My most favorite time of year is Christmas and the Holidays surrounding it. It seems like the Holiday's bring out the nice in everyone. It doesn’t matter what is going on in the world around us because it all seems to disappear during the Holidays. It’s such a time of reflection on the year and a time to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior. I love shopping and seeing the hustle and bustle of people rushing to pick up gifts and hot drinks for cold days and turkey's for family dinners. There is just something about this time of year that truly warms my heart.
We have officially moved into our new apartment and are settled for the most part. I had to hurry and get unpacked because I could not wait for our trip to the Christmas tree lot to buy our first LIVE Christmas tree. Two days after the tree came home it was fully decorated and I couldn’t wait to start wrapping and putting gifts underneath.

This Christmas is super special for Travis and I as it is was our very first Christmas together and our first Christmas together with all of our family. Travis has always been gone serving our country and protecting our water ways so that we may enjoy peace of mind knowing we are safe; so this year its his turn to enjoy the time with family and of coarse his wife! We both agree that we are so happy to be back in California BUT we are definitely missing some things about the East Coast. We have spent some nights reflecting on the things we loved about living in Philadelphia. I really missed visiting NYC this year at Christmas and cannot wait to plan a trip back. There is just something so magical about seeing such a big city all lit up and decorated so beautifully that makes me smile. We both agree we miss the snow (a little bit) not the 4-5 feet but maybe 4-5 inches would be nice. California cannot make up its mind right now and our weather has been wet, wet and wet with over 6+ inches of rain just in the month of December and more to come. Of course we miss all of our friends that we made while we lived back East as well as our wonderful family in Charlotte, Heidi, Brian and Sonya. Life back home has been amazing and so much fun; we would not change it for anything. We have been enjoying our trips to all of the restaurants we missed, seeing family and friends on a regular basis and attending fun Holiday parties too.

A few weeks ago Trav and I were invited to a Christmas party by one of our closest friends, Brooke. Her cousin was throwing an “ugly sweater” party and we decided to stop by. Needless to say we didn’t wear our ugly sweaters but, I am so glad we decided to go. I wouldn’t have missed Brooke and all of her cousins singing the 12 days of Christmas for anything. I don’t think I have laughed that hard in a long time. We really enjoyed having a few festive cocktails, catching up with friends and celebrating this wonderful season.

                                                              Love them All

Best Friends

                                                              My Amzing Hubby and I

                                                                  Brother and Sister

Just one week after the oh so fun "ugly sweater party" my parents hosted their 25th annual Holiday bash at their house. It was a work in progress for a good 3 days to set up tables, chiars and for my mom to decorate her home. The real challenging task was that the party happened to be held during one of the worst, wet and cold storms our little town has seen in a very long time. We had averaged 6+ inches of rain and I am pretty sure receieved another 3+ that day alone. We stayed warm with outside heaters, tarps put up by Trav and my dad and a great fire. I am sad to say I did not take a single picture BUT I had a blast seeing all of our friends especially our dear friends Josh and Stephanie who have been living in England and my dearest freiend Emily who traveled over from the Coast for a visit! We all ate way too much, drank a little too and talked the night away about being married and growing up. It was a wonderful night and yet another reason why I love the Holidays!