With full bellies we made our way over to the Sommer's for the Friday night agenda: The 5th Annual Christmashup Holiday Dance Party! Cuz that's the way we do it in the LBC!
Thanks Kent & Nellie for putting on a fabulous holiday party. The glow sticks were a total hit! I am so loving the month of December! Merry Christmas!!!
Every year for the last 100 years, millions of viewers have enjoyed watching beautifully decorated yachts, boats, kayaks and canoes sail along the harbor in the Annual Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade. Unfortunately, due to the severe weather, the parade was canceled for tonight only. Just our luck! But it's ok because we still had ourselves a blast cruising through the harbor, looking at all of the Christmas lights, playing games, eating pizza, and sipping hot cocoa. It may have poured, but it certainly didn't "rain on our parade." It's always a good time on the HOBBY yacht!!!
Twenty-five was a great year for me and I hope it will be for my dear friend, Miss Adrienne Curry! Tuesday night a few close friends gathered at Mosun in Laguna for some Sushi and to celebrate the birth of this beautiful woman. Gentlemen, she's single. Hurry up already! And what Tuesday night would be complete without a little 80's dancing at Oceans? You know we had ourselves some fun. Happy 25th Birthday Adrienne!!!
This year the Ritz is all decorated in PURPLES! Just look at those gorgeous flowers. I'm in love. Shades of plum, violet, magenta, and lavender! Purple just so happens to be my very favorite color...for now. It changes from season to season.
Next stop on the list was the GIANT Gingerbread House. This year instead of doing their usual Gingerbread "House," they constructed a Gingerbread Sandcastle. How appropriate! It's completely edible (we're all still a little skeptical on the windows), and is made of things like waffles, cream puffs, ribbon candy, donuts, and more. Oh, and don't mind our ridiculous Prom poses. Sometimes we just can't help ourselves. And people wonder why I'm not married. "GROW UP!" No thanks.
Sunday evening I joined a few friends at the Emmett home for some holiday treats at Kristin's Annual Christmas Open House. While there, she snapped this cute pic of Brandon and me and it reminded me how much I LOVE any and all dresses with pockets. I mean, pockets on pants are great, but they're so much cooler on dresses. So roomy! Just think of all the things you can do WITH pockets that you can't do without. You can warm your hands, or keep some lip gloss in them. You can even grab a cookie and save it for later...which I may or may not have done. Okay, gross. I didn't do that. But I could've if I wanted to. If you ask me, the world is a better place because of dresses with pockets.
The best part about it is when you pull up to the house, you turn your radio station to 90.5 FM and the lights simultaneously flash to songs such as Carol of the Bells and The Grinch. Check out this awesome, but not so high-quality video I found on youtube of the lights in action. Turn up the volume. It's pretty incredible. I'm not gonna lie.
High School MusicalNow that's talent!
But then I came across the site for the Mesa Arizona Temple with my name listed in the description. Why? Well, several months ago while visiting my sister and brother in Arizona, we went to the temple and after a session I took a few shots that turned out awesome. So, I submitted one to the church and until now, had no idea they were added to the Mesa Arizona Temple website. Cool, huh! Click HERE to see my photo with credit to my name and everything! Just scroll down and it's the 8th picture on the left. Then try googling your name. You might be surprised at what you find.
You must read this book! For this month's San Clemente 5th Ward Book Club we read Dr. Laura Schlessinger's book "The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands." Okay, now before you go laughing at us for reading a book we obviously have no business reading, hear me out. We will be married someday (power of positive thinking). Therefore, we need to know what to expect someday in that future marriage, and how to properly care for and feed that future husband, right? And, from our discussion tonight, I think it's actually helping me and others in our dating life. Yes Mom, I am working on it. Despite what many of you think, I am trying to give her grandchildren someday. Anyway, I loved the book! I thought it was a fabulous read and would highly recommend it to any and all women, married or single. I think it's full of wonderful counsel that, if applied, will lead you to a most successful marriage relationship. And after having listened to Dr. Laura on the AM radio for years, I rarely if ever, have heard her give ill advice. If you'll read this book with an open mind and a humble heart, you'll love it. It'll motivate you to be a better spouse, lover, partner, companion, listener, communicator, sympathizer...you get the picture. It's good. Read it.
Sunday my little nephew Dallen was blessed in my sister and brother-in-laws ward in Arizona. Because I wasn't able to make it to Arizona with the rest of the family, I stole these pictures off Mark & Jacki's blog. Isn't he just precious!
It all started Friday night when Katie, Paula, and I went over to pick up Tristen and help her fall in love with Disneyland all over again. While waiting for her to decide on just the right outfit, Katie and I stuffed our pockets full of the giant colorful gumballs on her kitchen table. 
This year marks the 52nd Annual Laguna Beach Hospitality night where Santa, escorted by the Laguna Beach Police and Fire Department, makes his way to downtown Laguna Beach for a night of Christmas Extravaganza. Most all of the retail stores along Forrest Avenue host late hours and offer free food and gifts to shoppers throughout the night. As one of the locals, I was able to enjoy a bit of the holiday cheer as I handed out free red roses and gift bags to those who stopped in to see our beautiful flower shop De La Rose on Glenneyre Street. I'm getting more and more excited for Christmas to be here as the holiday festivities continue. I hear there are quite a few Christmnas events going on throughout Orange County tonight from 2nd Street in Long Beach to San Clemente's downtown Del Mar Street. Hopefully you can get out of the house tonight and find yourself some holiday cheer tonight!
Thursday evening my Mother and I had the pleasure of attending a Cocktail Party (hold the cocktail please) in Newport Beach for the oh-so-talked-about Interior Designer, Barclay Butera. Barclay himself was there in living color to sign his publication debut "Living In Style." For many years now Barclay has been creating clean, classical interiors known for their luxury and livability. In this "visual compilation of his most iconic work," Barclay showcases five design themes: Desert, City, Mountain, Beach, and Town & Country. If you can appreciate beautiful design, I highly reccommend you add this work of art to your collection. And a special thanks to Adrienne, Kristin, and Tiffany for a fantastic evening. Great party!
Photos courtesy of Tara Paddock
Unbelievable. Moving. Inspiring. Just a few words I would use to describe tonight's OCMCO concert. It was truly fantastic. Held in the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Hall in Orange County's Metropolitan District, the Orange County Mormon Choral Organization, comprised of adults, teens, and young children from all over Orange County, performed their Annual Christmas concert. 
I'm a mix of 3 and 4 so I guess I'm a TAILORED ROMANTIC. And just for fun, why don't we put a fortune cookie twist on this game and turn it into: "I'm a TAILORED ROMANTIC....in bed!" So tell me, what do your pillows say about you?
Monday my little brother Scott's first FREE Podcast was released on iTunes.
Ok, so the pictures I promised of us dancing in the rain didn't quite turn out. Lame. At least this one is half-way decent. I love my girls. I love the 80's. And I love the rain!
