Thanksgiving

Bryan and I had a pretty low key Thanksgiving this year! It was sweet, and we just spent the day together. We made a few things that we wanted to eat and tried a couple new recipes (as in fresh-green-beans-and-no-velveeta-green-bean-casserole). Bryan also pulled out all of the Christmas decorations for me!! I love decorating for Christmas!

In other news... Laura, my friend from Mississippi who lives just down the street from us here, has been battling a mouse the past few days. She really doesn't do well with tiny creatures in her living space, so I've tried to help her plug holes and catch the little bugger the last two nights. We thought that tonight would be round three, but the mouse got himself half caught in a trap we set last night and Bryan went over there this morning and valiantly and chivalrously 'took care' of the little problem.
I got there last night to find an 8 inch tape 'wall' blocking the little guy into a small closet. He started to scale the tape wall like a ninja so I whacked the tape with a coat hanger to get him off of it. He clung to the coat hanger, screamed at the top of his lungs (not unlike this), and then Laura and I screamed at the top of our lungs. It was terrifying. I'm pretty sure if Bryan had come over last night the little issue could have been resolved in the first half hour instead of ending several hours later with Laura and I drinking in her kitchen and the mouse cowering somewhere that we couldn't find him.

We are looking forward to a quick trip home this weekend for Sophie and Paul's wedding! We can't wait to celebrate and see family! It's been too long!

PedroTheLion

We went to the Brighton Music Hall last night to see Dave Bazan play through Pedro the Lion's Control album! It was such a good concert! I've seen him play (when he was still Pedro) at least three our four times and it's always a great show!

Control was my favorite Pedro the Lion album so I was really excited to go see it performed all the way through. They also played some old stuff that I haven't heard in a long time and one or two new songs that they are working on for a new album.

Between a few of the songs he would take a question or two. Someone asked "What's the key to a successful marriage?" and what he said really struck me as true. He said you have to take it seriously and if you leave a back door open for a way out or for a plan-B then it'll never work.

Birthday Weekend!

I've had the best birthday weekend!

Bryan took me out to dinner on Friday and we ate delicious oysters (and one oyster that tasted like the aquarium smells--- but mostly delicious oysters)!

Yesterday Bryan and I went to 'World's End,' a park designed and laid out by Fredrick Law Olmstead, the same landscape architect that created Central Park in New York. It was originally designed to be a subdivision but was never completed. There are no houses there but the trails and carriage roads and views are great!

We stopped by a ridiculous (and charming) tiki restaurant that Bryan has been eyeing for kind of a long time. It was weird and we were the youngest people in there by at least 45 years...

Last night we met up with friends for drinks!

Bryan got me an ombre hair do for my birthday! Woo!

And today Ian, Erin, Bryan and I went out to Hwy 1 to eat lunch at Hilltop Steak House... It has always looked amazing and apparently in the 60's it was one of the top restaurants in America. It was crazy and I was definitely not disappointed! They even sang Happy Birthday to me!
Again, we were the youngest people in there by at least 40 years...

Unfortunately this sign is dark... it is a giant (like tallest sign on the whole road)  cactus that says 'Hilltop Steak House'

There were cows out front... Enough said.