Playdate with Noah!

Thursday night the girls and I bundled up to cheer on the Mission Viejo Diablo's at little Matty's football game against my old High School, the Dana Hills Dolphins. For such a little guy he was one mean defensive lineman! Way to go lucky seven! And what added more to the excitement of the night, Allie's older sister Jessica and her cute baby Noah came to cheer her brother to his 14-7 victory, while the men were out on the Hobby Yacht, catching some fresh lobster for their Sunday dinner. Can you say jealous? But it's okay, because you know what they say, when the boys are away, the girls will play. And oh did we ever, didn't we Noah!!! I just love that little face!

Urban Living at Astoria

A new high rise is nearing completion in Irvine called The Astoria. With it's downtown Orange County location, this metropolitan marvel lends itself to a lifestyle of Urban Living. This past week my mother and I had the opportunity to tour the property with the ASID program at The Interior Designers Institute in Newport Beach. With our hard hats on we headed up to the 14th floor to take a look at the penthouse suites and marvel at the rooftop view. The approximate 3,000 sq. foot floorplans include a gourmet kitchen, 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, and a dramatic city view. I think this distinctly different property will be an exciting opportunity for those looking for a substitute to the Urban lifestyle. Next time you're in Irvine driving along the 405 Fwy, be sure to look up!

Grand Finale Calling Party!!!

Get out to your polling places and Vote YES on Prop 8 today!

DHHS Homecoming 2008

Saturday night my adorable (and by adorable I mean very handsome and manly) brother Scott, attended his first High School dance with the lovely Tawny Zambrano. They looked absolutely fantastic! And in case you've done the math and are wondering why so many ladies, Devyn Gibby (the little hottie on the far right in the group photo) brought FOUR dates. Way to go Devyn! Lucky ladies if you ask me.

Break the Fast

For a little over a year now I've been on the Activities Committee in the San Clemente 5th Ward. My specific assignment has been to coordinate our monthly Break the Fast. I must say, it's been a fun calling, but it definitely has its challenges. This Sunday I just couldn't get over how amazingly helpful my committee was in "preparing every needful thing." I was especially impressed with this guy, Brother Jason Perry, chef extraordinaire. This kid has got it goin' on. He showed up at church with a handful of pressed aprons, a pot bubbling with his incredible homemade spaghetti sauce, and an attitude of "How can I help!" I can't thank my committee enough for all the hard work they do every month. Thanks guys for making me look good!

Freaky Friday Halloween Bash!

Happy Halloween!!!

What a face! You'd be spooked too if your Mommy was a Mummy! Love you little buddy! Happy Halloween everyone!

She takes after me!

My friend Jen from High School and her adorable daughter Kambria are visiting from Illinois for a few days while her husband is away on business. Since they're only in town for a few days, and I hardly ever get to see them, I decided to take the day off (I can do that ya know!) to enjoy lunch and a little retail therapy.
I love this candid shot of Kambria shopping at Fashion Island. She had obviously been watching us try on purses, putting them on our shoulders and walking around. So she nonchalantly grabbed my shopping bag and put it on her shoulder and started walking around like a little shopping diva. It was so cute! She's such a good little shopper just like her Auntie Aubrey. It was a proud moment for me!

Happy Birthday Little Bird!

One year older and wiser too! Happy birthday, to you!  Love you sis!

Prop 8 Calling Party

My roommate Allie is in charge of the YES on Prop 8 calling campaign in our ward and to help everyone stay excited about their phone calls we had a Prop 8 Calling Party at our house. There was pizza, peanut M&M's, Diet Coke, and lots and lots of phone calls. If you missed it we'll be having another one Monday night as we sprint to the finish line. Come on over and join us.

Inhabit Wall Flats

Recently I've been putting together a design for a client in Irvine who needs help texturing the walls of his Urban Contemporary condo. In my search for a unique application, I came across this great new product on the market called Inhabit Wall Flats. These versatile tiles are not only paintable, but can be laid in any direction and on just about any surface to create a unique, embossed look. They were also voted "Eco-friendly Product of the Year" by Interior Design Magazine. I can't wait to see how the final design turns out. Should be quite exciting.

Nellie Gail Ranch

I met with a prospective client this afternoon to view the home he recently purchased in Nellie Gail Ranch. It's a beautiful property in a fantastic neighborhood, but just needs a few tweaks before it's move-in ready. Here are a few pictures of the property as it now stands:





Unfortunately, it may be several months before I can get my hands on it because there's talk of another 60 day escrow. I guess that'll give me plenty of time to come up with some exciting concepts for my design. You'll have to stay tuned to see what we do...

PCH Demonstration

A special "Thank You" to Heather for putting together this awesome video of the YES on Prop 8 demonstration from Saturday. Be sure to visit YouTube by clicking HERE to rate the video and leave your comments.

For more information about Prop 8, visit our blog at http://www.preservingmarriage.blogspot.com/.

OPERATION YELLOW

Saturday afternoon the roomies and I walked down to the corner of PCH and Golden Lantern to join some of the YES on Proposition 8 campaign supporters. The idea behind the movement was to have "YES on Prop 8" banners waved along PCH at every major intersection from San Clemente to Seal Beach.

I feel like our efforts today were a great success! It's truly an incredible feeling to stand up for something you believe so strongly in and then have other members of the community honk, give a thumbs up, or even stop by to wave a sign with you for a few minutes.

After finishing up at our street corner we all piled in the car and headed down the coast to give a few honks, hoots, and hollers to the other supporters. It was so great to see everyone else out in full force having so much fun.

Regardless of the negative slander we recieved, what we did today has given me a greater hope that Prop 8 will pass, as long as we continue doing all we can to share our excitement with the commmunity and encourage those YES voters to get to the Polls.

FYI - I don't normally look so homeless. I enjoyed a run on the beach and was a sweaty make-up-less mess. Don't hate. Just vote YES on 8.

CALLING ALL HOUSEHOLDS

Vote YES on Proposition 8 to preserve traditional marriage.

Aubrey goes Hepburn

After weeks of careful consideration, hours of deep contemplation, and many sleepless nights, I've finally decided what I'm gonna be this year for Halloween...

What are you gonna be?

Spielberg Challenge

As part of the second round interview process for the Managerial position at the Laguna Design Center, I was invited to a come up with a design for Mr. Steven Spielberg's home office. The only information given was the room size and the location of the door and windows. The rest was up to me.

When I arrived at the showroom, I was given one item as my inspiration for the space; a deep chocolate colored rug with a large geometric print. I was told to choose furniture, fabrics, trims, and a wall covering to complement it. I quickly envisioned Mr. Spielberg sitting behind his desk, looking over his office, and then it came to me. Hollywood Chic. Something trendy, contemporary, and extremely lush. A gentleman's retreat. An inspirational headquarters. An Oscar winning design.

I went to work pulling fabrics, choosing furniture, and designing a layout. At the end of my thirty minute scurry I was pleased with my selections and turned in the final design. I have to wait a few weeks while all the other applicants go through the same process before I find out if I've made it to the third of FIVE rounds of interviews! Whether I get the job or not, I'm still grateful for the learning experience and can use it to build myself as a designer for the future homes I'll create.

Career Paths

As if I don't have enough on my plate already with this Interior Design business venture of mine, I've decided to see what jobs are hiring right now. This week I dusted off my portfolio, updated my resume, and put on my business suit for a few interviews in Laguna. They are totally different from anything I've done in the past but that's just part of the excitement!

JOB OPPORTUNITY #1:
The first interview was for a Floral Shop in downtown Laguna Beach. They're a new company and are trying to expand the events side of their mostly retail shop. If hired, I would work as an event planner/floral designer for weddings, corporate events, and any other kind of work I can find them. It's an exciting opportunity and something I've always wanted to get in to. Plus, I think I'd be good at it. Creating, designing, inventing, marketing, networking. Could be fun!

JOB OPPORTUNITY #2:
The second interview was for a position at a showroom in the Laguna Design Center as a Showroom Manager. It's a big title, and one I'm not sure I'm even worthy of. But I applied anyway. The showroom sells fabrics and furniture to the trade in addition to commissioning outside design jobs. I think it would be exciting to take on the responsibility and a great opportunity for growth. I'm just not so sure I could handle the stress of running an entire showroom.

I'm still tossing and turning about the two jobs. Maybe I'll just forget about them both and continue doing my own thing. After all, I love being my own boss!

Prop 8 Phone Calls

Sunday the Young Single Adults of California were asked to focus their Proposition 8 efforts in a new direction. We, as a group, have been commissioned to make over 1 million phone calls in the next 14 days to registered voters throughout the state. The idea is to encourage the YES absentee ballot voters to send in their ballots and to encourage the undecided voters how important it is to vote YES. I had such a great time making my phone calls Monday. I spent almost 4 hours on the phone, contacted over 200 voters, and found out that more than 80% are voting YES. I loved it! I felt like I was back in the RC at the Missionary Training Center. I just couldn't get enough. I'm already looking forward to making more phone calls tomorrow, and the next day, and the next, and the next . . .

The COLOR CODE

Since moving into my new place with my new roommates, I've been overly impressed with how well we get along with each other. I've never known what to attribute it to until tonight when we were bored and decided to take the COLOR CODE personality test. I'm pretty sure I've been taking this test once a year for the last 10 years, everytime hoping for some exciting new result.

Well tonight when I took it again with my roommates I was pleasantly suprised to find that we were all BLUE! But what is even more interesting to me is that after finding out we were all blue, we learned that each one of us has a strong amount of each one of the other colors. I am mostly blue with a little red. Katie is mostly blue with a little white. And Allie is mostly blue with a little yellow.

Basically, I've come to the conclusion that becuase we all have a lot of blue, we can relate well with each other. But because we each have a little bit of another color, we compliment each other. I obviously bring to the table a more assertive personality, while Katie is the peacemaker, and Allie is the playful one.

So what does all this even mean? Well, this is how it works:

RED – “Red” personalities are motivated by power, or the ability to get things done and move from Point A to Point B. They are focused, proactive, natural leaders and can be argumentative.
BLUE – “Blue” personalities are motivated by intimacy, or connecting and sharing deeply and meaningfully with others. They are quality-oriented, nurturing, analytical and emotionally intense.
WHITE – “White” personalities are motivated by peace, or the ability to stay calm even in the midst of conflict. They are kind, self-regulated, diplomatic and timid.
YELLOW – “Yellow” personalities are motivated by fun, or living in and enjoying the moment. They are spontaneous, charismatic, sociable and forgetful.

Have you taken the test yet? What color are you?