retrospect.

5 days into 2010 and I'm pretty pleased so far. Besides this awesome cold that popped up yesterday. But as much as I'm happy to look into the future, I just want to look back on 2009 for one last moment. Like saying goodbye to a shitty friend that you're still nice to whenever they call because you had some good times together.

Trust me, a year ago I never would have dreamed I'd be living in Downtown Santa Ana, that I would have as many friends as I do, and that my whole world would be turned completely upside down because of a silly website called yelp.

March changed everything. I finally got that second job I'd been needing and for once would be paying for all my bills on my own. A week before I started at Fresh & Easy I went to my first yelp elite event at Grand Central in Santa Ana. There I met my lovely friend Christopher Hall, who really changed my life by asking me to join him for a drink at Memphis. I met Johnny that night, and I'm sure a few other people in my drunken haze, but by meeting CH I felt more welcome than anywhere I'd ever been before. I slowly started to drag friends to Memphis with me on Johnny nights, until one night after a long day at Disneyland, I needed a drink. I decided to venture to Memphis on my own, and that was the best decision I've ever made. I met a ton of people, hung out with Johnny, and had a blast. After that I didn't need anyone to go with me because I was quickly making new friends [and a new family] in SA.

CH introduced me to my awesome friend Nicole in April and we hit it off right away. She talked Chris & Johnny into letting me cater a gallery opening, which got lush pastries off the ground. I catered a show for Joseph Hawa at The Box Gallery and it was one of the best experiences, even though it was completely nerve wrecking. But I learned that the nerves are a good thing. They make you want to be better.

Soon enough I decided it would be best to get out of Garden Grove and actually move Downtown. Right after I moved I ended up making one of the best friends I've ever come across. I swear he's my other half. My bacon best friend. I knew Andy from the bar for months, and we'd talk and drink, but it was always just bar talk. One night I decided that he shouldn't drive home and brought him back to my place to sober up. We talked until 5am. Who knew that we would hit it off so well? It's fate I guess. And even though in the following months we had our share of ups and downs, it has somehow made me a better person. And probably a more sober person now. I don't know how I drank so much sometimes! He's a great friend and I'm happy that I found him somehow. Our friendship transcends language and time zones and miles and sobriety.

Another amazing amazing friend I met thanks to Downtown is my Patty. She's one of my best friends, probably the closest girlfriend I have at the moment, and I love her every single day more & more. We've been through so much in such a short amount of time that I know we'll be friends for the long run. I'm lucky because she just lives upstairs and I can call on her anytime I need someone to listen to my drama or just grab a sandwich with me from Subway. She makes it easy to be myself and not worry what other people think. And I know no matter what, she's loves me. And you really can't buy that kind of love... sometimes you just luck up and find it at the bar.

I got my heart broken worse than ever before this year, and now that it's finally healing I'm feeling more like myself again. It's a refreshing way to start a new year. And as much as I try not to regret things, there are some things that I wish I could have changed. But I'm hoping that this will only make me into a more conscious person. More aware that I'm hurting others or hurting myself.

So thanks 2009 for teaching me a lesson or two about life. You gave me hope that I'm not a total loser, and actually I'm a pretty awesome person. You got me to be brave and try so many new things. But you also kicked my ass [it was deserved at times].

I'm going to get back to making a mix cd for someone that may never hear it, and that's okay, cause it's probably more for me anyway. Sometimes I just need to get stuff out of my system, even if it's just in the form of some silly music from my not so huge playlist.

xx

kogi.

Orange County got their very own Kogi truck a few months ago, and BBF & I have been talking about having a Kogi food adventure ever since. It finally happened yesterday!


Between the line, ordering, and waiting to get our food 1 1/2 hours had passed, but the wait was well worth it. We loaded up on Kim Chi quesadillas, pastrami hot dogs, short rib tacos, and sliders and headed to David's house to share the wealth.


We were so full afterwards that it was hard to go to work for the rest of the night. But I'll definitely be back for more soon. Very soon.

alcohol.

This is my new favorite song. And the BBF's anthem. I think we're gonna go see them next week at Chain Reaction... it will be messy and amazing.

thanks.

It's Thanksgiving for a little bit longer, and even though I'm not really keen on holidays, this one was pretty good. I saw family that I haven't seen in years, ate a lot of great food, and still get to sleep in tomorrow morning.

So in the spirit of things, here's a few things that I'm pretty thankful for from this past year...


Great new friends... BBF came outta no where in my life and I'm really happy that we somehow clicked right off the bat. It's nice to have someone that I can talk to about anything, get in stupid fights with, and still know that at the end of the day he'll be there to make me laugh. And get me drunk [even when he's 400+ miles away].


CH! CHCHCH! Thank goodness for yelp and the stylenetwork. I'm so thankful that this guy is in my life. I'm thankful for him pushing me to start lush pastries and giving me my first big job, for talking me into moving to downtown, and for even little things like letting me crash & having 7am balcony conversations. I'm a lucky gal to have such an awesome friend.


Gotta love the lush pastries bunker!


Nicole not only is the amazing fixer of my hair, but she is also one of my dearest friends. She always know how to make me smile, especially with awesome bbq adventures and frozen yogurt runs. She will forever be my crazy jager sister + 3am dance party partner in crime.


Patio on my patio! Patty seriously had me at hello. Or at least after a late night at Memphis on her first night working. MISE EN PLACE 4 LIFE!


My Johnny love! Thanks for showing me that I am a fucking star... because I am... and so are you!


I'm so in love with David. Like so in love. He gives me the best advice [which I really should listen to], pours me shots of vodka at 1pm on Wednesdays, and will always let me gossip about my stupid life problems. And the whiskey tastings are a good perk as well! Let's have another Goat Hill adventure and play some more epically long games of pool.


UH-MAZING FOOD!!! I've eaten so many good things this year thanks to food adventures. Oh goodness... thank goodness I'm not a crazy picky eater anymore. Special trips to San Diego just to eat a Nacho Cheese Burger might be the greatest thing ever.




And really good beer! Lots of it. Too much sometimes. Thanks for all the foggy memories.

Hope everyone had a fantastic holiday. I'm looking forward to hanging out with my brother and my amazing friends in downtown tomorrow. This is going to be a good weekend. Especially since Saturday is both Brian's Post Turkey Day party + an amazing birthday party. It's gonna be fun and fat, my two favorite things.

xx

ink.

BBF uploaded the pictures from my tattoo party so I could post them.





Everyone kept asking me how I was doing. I said "great" every time. High pain tolerance is FTW!



Finished product [a bit bloody].

I still need to get some decent pictures of my diamond because BBF totally failed on taking pictures of me getting my knuckle done. But once it's all clean and healed I'll get some nice shots.

I'm still so incredibly happy and am counting the weeks until I get paid again. I need more ink now.

xx

forever.

Diamonds are forever, but I prefer tattoos. My best friend Andy [BBF... Bacon Best Friends?... we have a weird friendship to say the least] decided to start on his sleeve and I've been wanting to get my knuckle tattooed for awhile, so we decided to have a tattoo party weekend. We ventured to Sid's Tattoo in Santa Ana, Ca Saturday night to get his started. Our friend Bill was doing the deed. His tattoo took about 3 hours and is an amazing traditional black and grey [I'll post pictures soon].

As for me, Bill told me about this special they were going to be having every Sunday for the next year. $60 Sundays! You pick one of 7 designs and it's only $60. So I saw one of the designs Saturday while Andy was being tattooed and made a joke that I should get it with the word "MUFFIN" written above... and that was it. Everyone was sold, including me, and Bill offered to do my knuckle as well.

So off I went Sunday afternoon with my lovely love Patty to get me scarred for life.



I am so incredibly happy with how they came out. Andy came by to visit while I was getting them done which made the BBF Tattoo Party 2009 a success.

Now to decided what to get with my next paycheck...

xx