Chasing the Sun

After getting home from the Dodger game on Friday night, I got to bed later, then woke up early to head over to my friend’s house to check on the dogs. I was, once again, the house sitter for my friends who are moving to Texas, and they’d had another trip planned before they decided that. So, they asked if I’d be able to watch the dogs again. I said ‘yes’ right away. The first day gave me London vibes with the cloudy skies and rain falling. I had a hot chai latte, curled up on the couch with my books, a journal and usually a dog sitting right next to me. I also had a chance to catch up on new movies and TV shows I’ve been putting off.  It reminded me of my apartment days - getting sushi takeout and watching trash celebrity news, watching movies all the time, sitting outside on the back patio, listening to perfectly curated playlists from Spotify. This time, I didn’t have any visitors or listening parties, but it felt like a nice little staycation. They live in a gated community wit...

    It feels like this weekend is kicking off a busy and fulfilling summer ahead. My parents and I decided to play hooky on the first Friday in May to go to a Dodger game and the drone show following the game. We’d gotten the tickets for my dad’s birthday because they played against the Atlanta Braves. He’s always so hard to shop for, so we opt for experiences these days. The Braves are his other team since he was born in Georgia. Sure, the game wasn’t until later, but my dad doesn’t just have a typical job where he can just get off early. So we all just took the day off so we didn’t have to rush down there. We all had a lazy morning, taking it easy around the house before getting ready. We were ready to go and left around 2 p.m., to make the drive down to Valencia. We had a late lunch/early dinner at Wood Ranch, one of our favorite spots. I got the Carolina BBQ sliders with the peanut coleslaw. You just can’t go wrong with it! And their garlic bread is to die for. You could ...

I started this blog in 2018. Wow, where has the time gone?  We have now arrived at summer 2024, so we're talking about nearly seven years ago. Summer 2018 was probably the best of my life, other than 2019 when I traveled to London, Italy and the Netherlands. I was still in my 20's, always on the go and always looking for the next adventure or something to get excited about. I did it well.  And I knew it was going to be a good one. I had plans but I was also open to whatever it filled in for me. Times have changed a bit. There was a pandemic, I switched jobs around a few times, moved out on my own, then moved back home a few years later, lost most of the friends I had those adventures with...You get the idea. Life is different. Either way, I came up with a bucket list of ways to make it a great summer, and keep finding ways to add to it...Here it is:  Disneyland  Trip to Nobu in Malibu with my Team Swelce girlies Solo beach trip [Oceanside/Long Beach area] Trip to a n...

It has been rare this summer that I've actually spent much time in town. But, the next four weekends are going to be busier, so it was good to stay home last weekend and not have any set plans. Friday I actually had to work on Friday, so I did that until about 2 p.m. I came home and ate lunch, freshened up and then went to the movies with my parents to see "Mamma Mia 2" and it was great. Just the right amount of lightheartedness, fun and music galore. It's the perfect summer movie encapsulating love, relationships, mothers/daughters and even fathers/daughters. I love a feel good movie, walking away and feeling inspired by life and art.   Later that night, I met up with one of my good friends at Starbucks for a treat and a heart to heart. I can't stress having good girlfriends enough. Those who know your heart, but also allow you to have your moments and say what you need to say. It's good to remember you're never alone in this crazy world. ...

A couple months ago, I saw that Jesse McCartney was going on tour and I wanted to go. I was a big fan back in the day, so I had to get tickets just relive my younger years. I don't have many friends who are fans, but sent one of my best friends a text and she was in. She was with me during the Jesse McCartney obsession phase, so she got it. We were in 7th grade when "Beautiful Soul" came out and we'd sing it all the time at recess, complete with hand motions (total nerds, ha) and essentially, it was part of our childhood, really.  We bought the tickets and we were ready to go!                                _____________________________________________ Fast forward to Wednesday morning. Liz and I left for LA around 10 and made it down there around noon. Car rides are usually my favorite, because if you have great company, it's just you guys and the open road for a couple hours. We jammed to our Jesse...